Dan gasped deeply, shooting up from his spot on the ground and looking around wildly. Where had he gone? What happened? Where was Phil?

His surroundings now coming into a blurry sort of focus, the man began to calm himself down slightly. Deep breaths. He slowly checked every part of his body for wounds, finding none. Was everything just a dream? But if it was just a dream all along, then why did it seem so real?

The entirety of the surrounding area was covered in trees, beams of pale sunlight coming down through the gaps in the overbrush. Small animals ran past him with glee, bringing a sort of overall calmness to the entire area. Dan took another deep breath, laying back down on the grass and closing his eyes, his curly hair falling over his closed eyelids. For the first time in his life, he felt completely calm.

But then his mind began to race. Where was the city? How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was being out in the street, standing by the streetside. He didn't remember feeling anything, just the sight of his entire world going black, even sounds seeming to be distant in that moment. A scream and a screech. The last bits of memory he had before everything went blank.

Was this it then? Was this heaven? It wasn't really what he imagined it to be. He envisioned someplace distant and up in the clouds, somewhere beyond even the brightest of imaginations. He had always joked that he would end up in hell, and after a while, he started to believe it. But deep down inside Dan knew he was a good person, or at least better than a good amount of others, and that thought by itself gave him peace. Maybe he really did make it here. He could finally rest.

But what about Phil? Dan furrowed his eyebrows in worry, his mind beginning to run faster and faster. Would he really never be able to see his best friend again? Suddenly his breaths became unsteady, almost as if his entire world was collapsing around him. What about his YouTube channel? Did they notice his disappearance? How long had he been out? Would he ever be back? Was he…

dead?

Suddenly Dan shot up from his position, almost like waking up from a nightmare. The once peaceful landscape was now significantly darker, the light only coming from a single source: a tree. The tree was shining a bright shade of white on a dark landscape, swirls of grey flying around it in a seemingly random pattern. The sight would have been almost beautiful if he hadn't realised the coincidence; the vision before him was the exact same one he had seen for years on his arm. His tattoo.

The image appeared a lot less ominous in person than it did on such a small scale, the very aura drawing him towards it. The curly haired man slowly fumbled towards it until he could nearly touch the trunk, the swirls dancing around him like wind on a cold autumn's day. The bark of the tree seemed to glow and shimmer, but only slightly, leaving him dazed. But then he saw something else. Or rather, someone.

There, beside the trunk to it's right, was a faint figure. The silhouette was tall, around his height, but slightly shorter. The coloring of the person before him was a pale yellow, radiating a sort of happiness and sunshine that this world had seemed to have forgotten. It was only then when the realisation hit him.

That figure was Phil.

Dan reached out to him, trying to find his hand. Tears had started to fall without him realising as he got closer and closer to it, his vision getting even more blurry. All he wanted was to see his friend again. But then suddenly, as he grabbed again desperately for his friend's outstretched hand, his vision went dark again. He was panicking. He was dead. He was dead. He was dead.

Only then, did he wake up.

Phil hadn't slept since it had happened. In the waiting room of the hospital he sat, waiting for someone to tell him he could go in to see his friend. He had seen it happen. He walked out his front door, only to be met with the sight of Dan standing on a curve. Phil had seen it coming. He had started to run. But despite it all, Dan just stood still, completely oblivious to what was happening around him. Phil was screaming, tears falling from his eyes as he tried to stop the inevitable. But he was too late. He watched as his friend flew across the pavement, Phil approaching him with wobbly knees. He saw the life drain from his eyes as he was taken away into the ambulance, convincing the paramedics to let him ride in it with him. And lastly, he saw as he was taken into emergency care, leaving him to wait. And there he still sat.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

He knew his friend was in stable condition. Car injuries happened all the time after all, the procedure should be relatively simple. But that fact didn't make the constant playback any less terrifying. His brain wouldn't stop replaying the events of the previous evening. Running. Impact. Limp. Lifeless. Phil could normally manage to make every situation jovial and positive, but this was one circumstance that even he could not fix. All he could do was wait.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Lost in thought, the man felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Reflexes having shot his eyes open, he jerked his head off to the side to see what was the matter, relaxing again sheer moments later: it was just a nurse.

"Mr. Lester, your friend is awake. And, well, he's asking for you. You can head in if you're ready, we'll give the two of you some privacy."

Phil immediately shot up and followed the nurse into the room down the hall, trying to keep himself from bouncing with excitement. He would get to see his friend again. He was ok. The nurse fiddled with the lock on the door, creaking it open painfully slow. His mood then immediately fell.

Dan had his right leg and arm wrapped up casts, his leg being elevated with a sling. However, despite everything, upon him entering the room, Dan's face lit up with excitement, just like a kid on Christmas Day. Small tear tracks that had appeared on his face now seemed even smaller underneath the gigantic smile on his face, the look just emanating relief and happiness.

"Phil! Oh my god, I'm so glad to see you. I never thought I'd see you again, and I thought I was dead, and maybe you forgot about me, and…."

He was cut off by a gentle hug from his friend, dusting his cheeks with a rosy tint. Dan hugged back with his left arm, more tears falling, but this time, from happiness.

"God Dan, didn't realise you were such a crybaby. Can't believe I'm even friends with you." Phil remarked sarcastically, giving him a sideways smirk.

"Well at least I don't suck ass at Mario Kart."

"Well at least I'm not the hypocrite that complained for DAYS about MY 'all or nothing' calls, but then made one himself."

"But you accepted it. What point are you trying to make here, Lester."

The two stared at each other 'angrily' for a second before breaking out into laughter, Phil falling back into the chair beside his bed. They cackled for at least a minute before finally calming down, Dan leaning his head back on the bed frame.

"It's good to have you back, Dan. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"I'll tell you what. You would have explained to the others about what happened, grieve for a year, and then forget about me and move on with your life. That's how the cookie crumbles."

Phil waited for him to chuckle at the end of saying such a thing, but he seemed serious. He gave his friend a shocked and confused expression, scooching his chair closer to the bed so he was nearly face to face with his friend. Dan looked like he was about to continue, but Phil put a finger to his lips, shutting him up.

"Dan, what are you talking about? I would never forget you, and neither would anyone else. You've been my best friend for 9 years Dan, and you've been a lot of people's idols for about that long as well. You mean a lot to a lot of people, but especially me. You just made me laugh longer and more genuinely than I have in a while, and you just got out of a mini injury coma. If that doesn't say anything about how amazing you are, I don't know what will."

Dan looked completely in shock. His face was now dusted with an even darker shade of pink, the sight bringing a smile to the other's cheeks. At least he could do one thing right, and that was to make other people feel good about themselves. And in the end, that's what matters most, right?

"Hey, Phil?"

"Yeah?"

"When I was in my mini coma, like when I was in the ambulance, did I say anything? Just out of curiosity."

The question caught him off guard, but he answered honestly anyway. Did Dan say anything? He reached back to that moment, shivering at the thought of having to relive it again. But at least this time, he had a reason to. As he replayed the same events then again, the thought hit him.

"Yeah actually you did. Something along the lines of 'remember the tattoo, remember the change.' What is that, a song you're working on or what? Cause it sucks."

"Honestly, I have no idea. Just wondering, ya know?"

"Weird."

And so the duo sat there and pondered the lines in comfortable silence for a while, so deep in thought in fact, they didn't notice the nurse walking in and telling Phil to leave. He didn't want to. He just wanted to stay by his friend's side and think.

"Remember the tattoo. Remember the change."