Chapter 10: The Fight

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Phil said angrily.

"Phil, can't you see it?" I said, trying to calm him down.

"You think my girlfriend is using me!" he turned to me, an angry look on his face. "How dare you, Dan!"

"Phil, she just wants more and more money, what does that tell you?" I said, getting frustrated.

"It tells me that she trusts me enough to ask for help!"

"Or she just wants you to buy her stuff..." I said under my breath.

Phil narrowed his eyes at me, giving me a look that I thought Phil would never make. "You listen to me, Dan, Beth is a nice girl, and I'm not going to let you insult her like this!"

"Phil-"

"No, Dan! Just stop! I don't want to hear any more." he said going to his room and slamming the door.

I stood there, my hands clenched in fists at my sides. Why can't he see that she's just using him? Why must he always see the good in people? I looked down at the floor, tears welling in my eyes. I didn't want him to get so mad, but I didn't want to see him hurt either. I loved him, more than a friend probably should.

I stomped to my own room, not bothering to shut off the paused video game in the living room. I shut my door and layed on my bed, planting my face in a pillow.

I cried. What else could I do? My best friend was mad at me and his supposed girlfriend is slowly absorbing his money.

I looked at my phone, checking to see if it was too early to go to sleep. 9:56 p.m. I got under my covers, not bothering to change into any pajamas.

Phil will go off to work in the morning and leave me here alone again... back to the way things were. I thought, closing my eyes.

~Phil's POV~

"He still had no right..." I grumbled to myself the next day at work. I was silently arguing with myself about my fight with Dan last night. "He had no right to call her a user..."

But what if she really is using me? Dan's my best friend, he wouldn't lie to me about something like that!

"But Beth isn't a user, she's... she's..." I looked up from my place at the counter where a line of people were watching me talk to myself. They stared at me for a few seconds, probably trying to decide if I was crazy of not. "Uh, sorry about that... what can I get you?" I asked the first person. As if my day wasn't bad enough...

By time my lunch break rolled around I was worn out. I slumped down in one of the comfortable chairs and sipped at some coffee. I rubbed my face, trying to get it to warm up. The heat must be turned down or something.

"Phil?" I heard a voice say from the other side of the room. I looked up and saw Beth looking around for me.

"Over here." I called.

She looked in my direction and smiled. "Hey! I was starting to think you weren't here." she said as she skipped over and sat down next to me. The difference in energy between us was almost scary. She was full of life and I was sitting here like a rock.

"Yeah, I'm here." I said, taking another sip of my drink.

"Are you okay? You look a little down-in-the-dumps." she said, putting her hand on mine.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine, it's just... er... I had a bit of a fight with Dan last night." I said.

"About what?"

I sighed, debating what I should tell her. "Well, it's a long story."

"I have time."

"... Well, it was kinda about you." I said, quietly. She didn't answer for a few minutes and I looked over to see why.

She looked hurt, like she was going to cry. "W-what? What about me? Did I do something to offend you? Or Dan?"

"Dan was just saying some crazy stuff last night, and it made me mad, that's all." I said, trying to calm her down.

"What did he say?"

I kept quiet for a moment before answering. "Dan thinks you're using me for my money, but I told him that it wasn't true." I said. I looked at her to see her reaction. She had a blank look on her face, which I couldn't read. "Beth? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just... can't believe Dan would think that. Why would he think that?"

"When you called last night, he was the one who answered and he thought since you asked for some more money, that it was all you wanted." I said, getting angry at the flash back.

"Really? You and Dan sound a lot alike on the phone then." She said.

"Doesn't this upset you?" I asked, shocked that she wasn't getting mad.

"Well, it doesn't make me angry, but it does hurt that he would think that." she said.

I nodded. I looked over at Beth, who was starting to look nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Um, I was just wondering if you were still going to loan me some money?" she said, not looking me in the eye.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Well, I was wondering if you could give me just a little more money last night, but since I didn't get an answer, I thought I'd ask now."

"What do you need it for?"

"Just, you know... stuff."

"What stuff?" I asked.

"Well, I saw these really nice pair of boots in the store the other day, and I didn't quite have enough for them." she said.

"You want money for boots?" I asked.

"Please Phil!" she begged.

I sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll take you shopping after I get off from work. Stop back at 3:30 and we'll go."

"Thank you!" she said, jumping out of her chair. She kissed me on the cheek and went out the door.

I shook my head. Girls will be girls, I guess.

~Dan's POV~

Our house phone rang, startling me. I got up from the couch, making sure to pause the movie I was watching, and went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey Dan." Phil's voice said.

"Phil?" I asked, shocked that he would call me after our spat last night.

"Yeah. I just wanted to say sorry for yelling at you last night." He sounded sad.

"It's okay. I should probably be the one saying sorry, though." I said, feeling bad.

"It's okay Dan, we can just put it behind us. I also wanted to let you know that I won't be home right after work."

"Why?"

"Beth wants me to buy her these boots she saw and I'm going to take her shopping. Is that okay?"

My anger started to boil again. "Did she ask you to buy her the boots?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Phil, don't you think that she can buy the boots herself?"

"Dan, don't start this again." Phil said in a stern tone.

I sighed. "Fine, buy her some boots. I'll be here when you get home, whenever that will be."

"I promise to be home as soon as I can. I have to go, Beth's waiting outside for me. Bye." Then the line went dead.

I hung up the phone, narrowing my eyes. She doesn't need those damn boots...

I sighed and went to lay on the couch. Why is Phil so blind? He thinks he's being nice, but he's just being gullible. But that's Phil. He doesn't take in to account that some people are like that.

I curled up on the couch and covered myself with a blanket. It was cold in the apartment, but I was too lazy to get back up to fix the heat. I layed there, shivering and thinking. How do I make him realize it? I could treat him so much better... but he would never see that. He's not gay. I don't even know if I'm gay. But these aren't normal feelings for a straight guy to have. I love Phil, more than I probably should.

~Phil's POV~

"Thanks again, Phil." Beth said, as I got out of the taxi.

"No problem. Anything for you." I smiled at her, closing the door. The taxi drove away and I walked to our apartment, getting my key ready. I unlocked the door and walked in, instantly feeling a cold breeze sweep through the room. "Dan?" I called. Why is it so cold in here?

I walked into the living room and saw Dan curled up on the couch once again. He was asleep but he was also shivering violently. I walked over and shook his shoulder. His eyes opened slowly and looked up at me. " Hey. When did you get back?" he asked in a sleepy voice.

"About 2 minutes ago. How long have you been sleeping? It's freezing in here!" I said, going to turn the heat up.

"Since about the time you called. How was your date?" he asked, sitting up and stretching.

"It was fine. I took her shopping and we grabbed a bite to eat. Have you eaten yet?"

He shook his head. "No, I kinda dozed off for a bit. I didn't realize I had slept for so long. What time is it?"

"About 6:00." I said. "You don't look so good." I said, observing how pale he looked.

"It's probably just from the cold." he gave me a shrug.

"Are you okay? You seem a little sad." I said.

"I'm just... lonely, I guess. You're never home anymore." he said quietly.

I felt bad. What has our friendship come to? Fighting with him, then leaving him alone all the time? "I'm sorry, Dan. I guess that's my fault. Do you want me to fix you dinner?" I asked. He shrugged again. "I'll make you something to eat." I smiled, and went to make him something.

"Phil?" he said.

I turned around. "What?"

"... You're not mad at me, are you?"

I smiled. "Of course not."

"Okay." he smiled back.