Dan smiled happily as he strummed the last note on his guitar. He was finally done. PJ clapped encouragingly as he also smiled "well done Dan, im proud of you" he congratulated. Dan grinned as he stood up, beginning to place his guitar away in it's case. "I better head home…Phil will be worried" Dan said softly. "yeah sure, it's been great hanging out with you" PJ grinned "come visit again soon, okay?". "sure" Dan answered as he gave his friend a light hug. "bye" he said, giving PJ a small wave before letting himself out the front door. Dan sighed softly to himself as he walked back towards his flat. he had been spending so much time with PJ recently that he hadn't spent any time with Phil. It had been a good couple of weeks, even a month that he hadn't sat down for a game of sonic or watched Buffy with his best friend. He knew this really upset Phil, he could just tell by the way Phil would look at him when he was actually in the house. He hated making Phil upset or angry but he needed to be with PJ to do this.

Phil was once again, at home, on his bed, with his headphones in. Muse's Supremacy blasted through the small speakers, straight into his ears, and his eyes were squeezed shut as if it would shut the outside world off around him. He brought his arms up and covered his eyes, locking his arms together. He hated this. Dan was never around these days any more, and Phil was starting to feel like, maybe, Dan didn't like him any more. That hurt more than anything. Dan was... Dan was the most important person in his life, and he needed the boy. His life support, Dan was, ever since the numbness had started.

Dan finally arrived back at the flat, opening the door quietly then stepping inside. "Phil?" he called out as he took his shoes off "are you in here?".

Phil hadn't heard a thing, due to the music being so loud. He gripped the sheets as the tears fell from his eyes, feeling his body tense up. Why was Dan always off with PJ nowadays?

Dan slowly walked towards Phil's room, guessing he'd be in there if he was in. "Phil?" he asked as he knocked on his friends bedroom door. "Phil are you in there?" he asked louder. completely unaware the older boy could not hear him.

Phil flipped over onto his stomach and let out a quiet choking noise, oblivious to the fact that Dan had come back home. "Why Dan?" he mumbled into his pillow, hands grabbing around under his pillow for what he seeked. He couldn't find it and let out an angered sigh.

Dan sighed softly before opening the door "Phil?" he asked gently as he made his way over to his friends side "are you okay?"

Phil nearly jumped a mile in the air when he felt Dan at his side, and scrabbling to sit up, tugged out his headphones. He brought his knees up to his chest, contemplating what to say. "Do I look it?" was one of the options. "I'm fine," he mumbled, not looking up.

"Phil..." he half whispered as he placed a hand on Phil's arm. "you're obviously not...come on, tell me?" he asked, trying to smile but failing. he could tell Phil was upset about something.

Phil flinched his arm away, holding it to his chest. "I'm... I'm fine, okay?" he sighed exasperatedly, letting his lips twitch up into a smile, even though his eyes were filling with tears.

"oh...Phil..." he whispered, quickly wrapping his arms around the older boy. "please just tell me, I know you're upset about something, please"

Phil twitched subconsciously, having missed the feeling of Dan's hugs when he was in one of these moods, and also because Dan had rested his arms on a cut on his side. "N-nothing's wrong."

Dan looked into Phil's eyes. "Phil" he warned sternly "tell me"

Phil sighed and looked down. "I'm sure you'd rather PJ told you what was going on." It was a cheap shot, sure, but he didn't care.

"Phil...is this...is this about be spending time with Peej?" he asked softly, still looking into his friends blue eyes.

Phil cowered, waiting for Dan to start ranting. He crossed his arms, wincing as the material of his shirt caught on the cuts up his wrists. "I... Dan, you don't get it."

"Phil...there's a reason I've been spending so much time with Peej...do you want me to show you?" he paused biting his lip softly "im not sure you'll like it but..."

Looking up, Phil smirked a little. "I'm sure hanging out with PJ's a lot more fun than having any kind of fun with me, but sure," he sighed, letting his legs fall flat on his bed.

Dan sighed softly as he left the room. he quickly picked up his guitar case and returned to Phil's room. "I...uh...he taught me how to play guitar and..." he explained shyly as he clumsily unzipped the case and got the guitar out.

Phil watched Dan leave the room quickly and dragged up his sleeves, folding his arms across his waist to try and stop the skin snagging.. "Right..." Phil said, his eyes never leaving Dan as he fumbled with the case.

Dan smiled at Phil softly "I wrote a song for, well...you" he said nervously as he held the guitar properly.

Phil's eyes widened, his throat starting to dry out at Dan's words. He'd done WHAT "...is that why...?" he began, tearing up again. "I'm sorry for being such a child about it," he murmured.

Dan just smiled at him "it's okay. do you...wanna hear it?"

Phil nodded, not wanting to say another word in case his voice completely cracked and he ended up sounding like a pubescent teenager.

Dan nodded, nervously glancing down before starting to strum slowly. he gave Phil a small smile before beginning to sing "When I look at you, I get this feeling. your eyes, your smile, they still give me butterflies. I've never felt this way about anyone before." he paused slightly biting his lip "This feeling of love makes me feel so complete"

Phil's voice was still dry, but his eyes were totally different; they were streaming with tears as he reached up and wiped them away. He smiled weakly, not knowing what to say. Dan actually felt /that/ way about him?

Dan smiled, nearly in tears himself as he continued to sing "I love you with all my heart, my heart beats only for you. I never thought that I could ever feel this way about anyone. you're the only one for me and I hope...I'm the only one for you" he grinned.

Phil cleared his throat, feeling disgusted in himself for doing what he had done, all because Dan actually liked him back. "You always were," Phil whispered, feeling his heart melt at the sound of Dan's voice.

Dan felt a few tears drip down his face as he stopped playing. he smiled at Phil, carefully placing the guitar down then moving quickly to hug his friend tightly "I love you Phil"

Phil instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around Dan's neck, burying his face in the younger boy's shirt. "I can't believe you, Dan," he chuckled dryly. "You're mad."

Dan pouted slightly "how am I mad, I just wanted to learn a little guitar so I could sing a song. not much mad about that" he said with a small smile.

Phil shook his head, pulling Dan closer. "You wrote me a song. Me, of all people. Honestly, you're insane," he mumbled. "I love you."

"what's so weird about writing you a song, I needed to tell you I loved you somehow and I know how much you like your music" he answered softly and he tightened his grip around the older boy "I love you so much, I really, really do"

Phil pulled back from the hug, tears still in his eyes. He wanted to know why Dan loved him since he didn't even love himself. "I love you more than toast," he smiled weakly, pressing his lips against Dan's softly.

Dan kissed back softly, smiling into the kiss slightly "I can't even think of a comparison I love you that much" he whispered as he gently caressed Phil's cheek.

Phil sighed happily into the kiss, his hands locking around Dan's neck, knowing the boy might flinch at the touch. "Dan..." he whispered, pulling back and resting his forehead against Dan's. "W...Will you love me no matter what?"

"of course" he paused "...why?" he asked softly, looking into Phil's eyes again.

Phil pulled his hand back and held his wrist out to Dan, revealing a load of cuts of different sizes and depth. "I... You needed to know." Phil dropped his gaze to his bed sheets.

Dan gently took a hold of Phil's arm, just gazing at the cuts. he wasn't angry, more sad than anything else. Dan carefully kissed each cut, smiling slightly as he did so "now they're all better" Dan smiled softly at Phil "and so are you"

Phil felt a tingle up his spine as Dan kissed each cut, and he brought his eyes up to Dan's. The warm brown enveloped his heart. "I'll try," he whispered, really meaning it.

"I'll help you...and soon, everything will be fine" he whispered with a smile "because I love you and I am never letting you go"