Disclaimer: I don't own Dan and Phil nor anyone associated with them
Hey Pastries, so I'm gonna go on a bit of an update frenzy, because my friend SmoshPhanGrrl, has left me tons of prompts that I need to get started on. So, here we are This is one of her prompts "Dan catches 16 year old Zach with some booze and/or cigarettes and gets pissed while Phil is trying to calm Dan down, while still being stern."
Zachary - 16
Zach looked down at the bottle of booze in his hand...he knew it was bad, he'd seen the specials and the anti-drinking PSAs, his friend Emma called it'juice that burns' as a sort of weird insult. He didn't know why. Still, he wondered what it was like. He'd seen Josh do it (albeit whenever Emma wasn't around) and he knew a few adults who did drank. He didn't really, but now he was curious. He wasn't technically falling into peer pressure because no one was pressuring him to do it. He was just curious, and his parents had always told him to try new things. He opened the bottle. Immediately he saw Emma's face appear in his mind, her striking blue eyes looking down at him in disappointment and anger...he'd asked her once why she was against them. Since, they weren't that bad...then she told him her grandpa died from liver failiure after being an alcoholic most of his life. 'We all die at some point, I could get hit by a car tomorrow so why quit when I could die anyway' he'd said told her...then the guilt hit him in the gut.
Was it worth sating his curiosity, if it meant hurting his friend? She wasn't there, Josh did it too, she wouldn't have to know. She always knew though...said a voice in his head...Josh reeked of alcohol when he did, and Emma would ignore him for the rest of the day whenever he did. She would make little comments and give him these looks, honestly Josh only kept doing it because he said Smoking gave him relief and Emma needed to calm down. Still, Emma was one of his best friends and it wasn't worth starting a fight over. He alcoholic beverage down when Dan opened the door.
"Hey Zach di...what is that?" Asked Dan, noticing the bottle and immediately Zachary hid them behind his back. Now he was really regretting buying it.
"Nothing a-absolutely nothing." Said Zachary, Dan knitted his brow and Zachary realized how juvenile he sounded.
" Really, if its nothing you should have no problem showing me what it is then." Said Dan, Zachary looked away before slowly taking out the box.
"Their Josh's..he accidentally left it here." Said Zachary, who felt even more guilty for throwing his friend under the bus. But Josh did drink, so it wasn't uncommon to think he'd leave them here on accident.
" So, if I were to call Josh right now and ask if he left a bottle of booze here and he should come pick them up. Would he say they were his?" Asked Dan, Zachary's eyes widened slightly. He bit his lip and nodded, Dan went over to the phone resting on the desk and began to dial the phone number. Zach's heart was beating faster and faster...he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead. He was in so much trouble that was for sure...he swallowed the lump in his throat, when the phone started ringing.
"Hello? Yeah Josh this is Mr. Howell-Lester did you accidentally leave an alcoholic drink?..no?" Said Dan turning to Zachary, who avoided his gaze. "Ok, thanks thats all I needed to know. Bye."
When he hung up, Dan looked to Zachary who looked down at his feet.
" I don't know what makes me more mad the fact that you bought this or that you lied to my face. How could you be so stupid, what on earth were you thinking?" Asked Dan harshly, which through Zachary off.
"I...I don't see the big deal, a lot of teenagers drink." Replied Zachary in self defence, he knew if Emma were here she'd probably smack him...but honestly this was just to get Dan off of his back.
"Whats going on?" Asked Phil, as he went over, having heard the commotion.
"Our son bought alcohol and then proceeded to lie to my face about them." Said Dan, and Phil immediately wondered if he'd just stepped into an after school special. He cleared his throat and placed a hand on Dan's shoulder.
"Now Dan, I'm sure that if we let Zachary ex-"
"You're a hypocrite!" Exclaimed Zachary, and it took all of Phil's energy not to facepalm. "I've seen those pictures on the internet of you and papa at a party drunk. Plus, you drank and still drink wine when you do Internet Support Groups. So as usual you're being over dramatic and a hypocrite."
"Zachary don't call you-"
" Just because I did it doesn't mean you should, and that is beside the point." Said Dan, making Zach scoff once again interrupting Phil who was growing steadily annoyed, especially since when they argued he was always caught in the middle.
" No, the point is you just don't want to be wrong for once." Said Zach, Dan shook his head and as the fighting continued, Phil's head kept on pounding. He grabbed one of Zachary's shoes from the floor and slammed it down on the desk, surprising both Zachary and Dan as they looked at him.
"Enough! Enough fighting! What is the matter with you two? You're supposed to be father and son, you're supposed to get along and love each other. Instead, somehow you always end up bickering. I know it was worse before but still, the two of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Dan, you are a full grown man arguing with a teenage boy. I understand you are discipling him, I understand you are trying to do your best here but listen to what he has to say. Sometimes we don't always understand the bigger picture, and we need to listen to his side of the story every once in awhile. " Said Phil, before turning to Zachary. " And you, Where do I begin with you? For one drinking is bad for you, we have always old you to never do it because of consequences. For another don't lie to us. There is no reason why you should ever have the need to do so, don't use what we did as an excuse to throw it in our faces and further more your father and I love you very much. We want whats best for you, and that includes this. now I will take that."
He snatched the bottle, and looked from his son to his husband who were both very stunned.
"Honestly sometimes it feels like I have two sons instead of one, now the two of you will stay here and talk things out and when you can actually act like both of your ages you may come down for dinner." Said Phil, before slamming the door.
" Well that was unexpected." Said Zachary leaning against his desk.
"Yeah, but he's right...we should stop fighting. So tell me then, what happened?" Asked Dan, Zach sighed ad looked up at him.
"I just wanted to try it, I know its bad, I know that I'm not supposed to drink it and it has health hazards and all of that other stuff, but I just wanted a small taste. I was going to toss it away...plus...I didn't drink any." Said Zachary, Dan recalled that the bottle had infact been full. "I just saw Emma and she...probably would've smacked me upside the head if I did...I didn't want to start a fight...bu I did anyway. Just not with her."
" I'm sorry, I know I should have listened, but I saw it and..I thought.."
"I know what you thought, you always think I do something wrong or you don't trust me enough." He stopped, when he said those last words, remembering his fourteenth birthday and what happened. "I mean...you think I'll do something wrong or stupid, and I won't but you automatically assume I do and...I don't...but you don't bother getting my side of the story. I thought if I lied...you'd believe me."
"Zach, listen, Its not that I think you're doing something wrong or that I don't trust you. I just don't want you to make the mistakes I made, yes I drank too when I was eighteen. I also suffered massive hangovers and those were not fun, yes I drank wine when I do Internet Support Groups but thats only when I do those videos. Clearly we both have some things we need to work on." Said Dan, Zachary nodded before going to open the door and walking past Phil who'd been listening in.
"Things didn't go so well?" Asked Phil curiously.
"Nope." Said Dan.
