| Dedicated to Meg, my muse and inspiration, and Misa, who ships Phan- But just doesn't know it yet.

«Just...» Dan had already let his anger take over and Phil was simply waiting for the inevitable to happen. «Shut up! » With that, Dan stormed off into his room, slamming the door behind him as to sever himself from his friend, who would've otherwise followed him.
Walking over to the bed, Dan let his anger wash over him, together with the thoughts that had flooded his mind.
He sat down on the edge of the mattress, letting himself slide to the floor. Why had Phil had to say those things? And how had they crossed his mind in the first place?
At this point, Dan wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel more angry or more confused.
Although 'disappointed' was also a word he might have taken into consideration. For a split second he almost caught a glimpse of his younger self standing in front of him. Oh, Dan, how could you be so naïve? He cursed under his breath, noticing the glint his other self held in his brown eyes. Did you really think you'd be together forever?
Dan shook his head fiercely, as a bitter taste crept into his mouth. He realized that thinking that way only showed he was little more than a boy; a boy starving for affection.
His disorganized, frantic thoughts made their way into his mind again.
For Phil to have come up with such a plan…He must have thought it over.
Or maybe Dan had acted in such a way that had given Phil the wrong idea…The idea he wanted him gone.
He pulled his knees up to his chest, setting his forehead against them in a quiet attempt to escape from the harsh reality.

A soft knock on the door interrupted his solitude and made him jerk his head upwards towards the noise. «I don't want to talk anymore. » He managed to say, desperately trying to keep his emotions out of his voice.
He obviously hadn't done a very good job, because the handle moved anyway, followed immediately by the door being pushed open and Phil's head peeking in the room.
«Can I come in? » He asked, but Dan knew he would, whatever answer he gave.
Sure enough, it only took Phil a few moments of silence and a second later he was sitting next to Dan, on the floor. «Sorry…? » He said softly,, only to receive an annoyed grunt as an answer.
He sighed as he thought back on how they'd even gotten into that situation. Phil had only wanted to make things easier for Dan, give him back his privacy. His life.
After all, Phil was older and felt like he had to be responsible for his friend; he was the one who had to make the difficult choices and this was one of them.
«Dan… » Phil started, touching Dan's knee softly with his hand. «Please don't be this way. »
He was trying to sound reasonable, but he knew straight away it would be hard with Dan acting the way he was.
The younger one lifted his gaze to meet his friend's. «You can't suggest something like that and just expect me to be happy about it! » He replied accusingly, before standing up to rid himself of his friend's touch on his knee. It burned…It burned so much. Almost more than Phil's words had.
«No, not happy… » Phil conceded, imitating the other and standing up, all the while resisting the urge to lay a hand on his shoulder.
«What, then? » Dan's voice lashed out as he balled his hands into tight fists. «Don't tell me you were expecting me to just accept it. »
Phil's gaze lowered at that, not able to find a suitable comeback. No, he hadn't expected Dan to just accept it, but he had hoped he would. «It would be better. » He muttered, timidly meeting his friend's gaze.
Dan shook his head, while he battled against his temper. «You, leaving? How would that make anything better? »
A moment of silence took over right after, while Phil's blue eyes met the warm brown ones. «I'm messing up your life. »
His voice was soft, meant to be a gentle explanation for what he had suggested in the first place; that each of them went their separate ways.
Dan, however, wasn't soothed by the tone Phil had used: his expression was one Phil had never expected to see.
It was as if the turmoil inside him had finally spilled out in his deep brown eyes, along with his aversion to the words the other had spoken. Without another word, Dan stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door and leaving his bewildered companion behind.

Despite his trying to convince himself that Dan would return shortly, Phil knew deep inside that this was no passing, shallow phase. The brown-haired boy had reacted in such a way that it seemed as if Phil had touched an extremely sore spot.
He was confused, really, as to what might've set his friend off; he had only wanted to make things easier for Dan by eliminating his presence in his already complicated life.
Sure, it wouldn't have made Phil any happier, but sacrifice for what was best was what friends were all about, right?

Dan wasn't back that evening. Nor was he back the evening after that.
The worry which had started to grow in Phil from the moment Dan had slammed the door got deeper, until something dangerously similar to desperation took over.
More than once Phil found himself holding his phone, ready to dial Dan's or any other friend's number. The realization that Dan didn't want to be found, however, stopped him from following through.
He just would've had to wait this one out, patiently awaiting his friend's return.
Phil tried to go about his usual business, but nothing seemed to bring him the same satisfaction without Dan around.
The apartment started to become eerily empty, more and more every day.
Loneliness had begun to settle in when Phil realized he couldn't even bear spending a week without his best friend. How could he possibly face a lifetime?
He planned on apologizing to Dan as soon as he came back- he had to come back sooner or later- and Phil repeated the words he'd say every day, hoping he would remember them when the time came.

By the time two weeks had passed, Phil started losing faith again. Maybe Dan had taking his time to think everything over and had finally embraced Phil's suggestion. But even that option didn't make any sense, because everything Dan owned was still in the apartment with Phil.
A new day was born, but the Sun's rays, that had cheered Phil up so much in the past, now brought no solace: the 26-year-old got up as usual, but his smile was nowhere to be seen.
Dan had taken that small, important feature with him when he had slammed the door behind him.
Phil opened the fridge, letting his gaze wander over the food inside, but not really seeing it. He stood like that for a while, shutting down his mind. He needed the peace and silence more than he had imagined and was grateful for that temporary darkness.