Hey! I'm sorry it took me ages to upload this chapter, but I really couldn't decide how to end this story! So, this is the penultimate chapter! It's only short, but I hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for reading!
*Phil's POV*
When I open my eyes, I am startled at first by the brightness. I squint through the sunlight that is having no effect on the cold air, and smell the familiar smell of the man I love. I lift my head up quickly off the bench, suddenly aware of someone's presence next to me. There may as well be two suns in the sky.
Dan smiles back at me, half a look of concern, and half a look of happiness on his beautiful face, and his big brown, eyes shine, even in the faint winter sunshine, which is lowering in the sky, turning it a light orangey colour.
"Oh my God, Phil!" Dan says in a relived tone. "You've been asleep for ages! I was about to call an ambulance! I thought you'd never wake up, thought-"
"Dan, calm down! I'm okay!" I interrupt his babble. He goes to say something else, but stops himself, and instead, he wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. I hug him back tight, trying to get some heat from him, because considering the fact that I have been curled up on a bench for god-knows-how-long, I am pretty cold.
I don't know how long we are here, embraced in each other's arms, but in the time, I start crying, remembering the events of the fast couple of weeks, and somehow manage to blink them back, so that Dan doesn't notice.
"Come on." Dan says, standing up and holding out a hand to help me up. "Let's go inside, you're freezing."
"Starbucks?" I say, accepting his hand, and wobbling on my feet for a couple of seconds before we start to walk.
"Sure." Dan says, pulling me closer by putting an arm around my waist as we walk down the narrow path, the thought of a nice, warm coffee urging us on.
*Dan's POV*
With the warmth of Starbuck's hot chocolate inside us, Phil and I venture back out into the park, hand in hand. I have only just got over the worry of finding him, slumped unconscious in the park. It sounds stupid, but I thought he was going to die. He was freezing, and my brain foolishly jumped to a conclusion that he had done this to himself. There were cuts on his fists and blood on the floor, and he was cold to the touch.
I find it strange that six weeks ago, I feared for my own life. I was stupidly in a constant worry of death, using google to diagnose myself and stressing about it when anything was slightly wrong with me. But since I met Phil, things have changed dramatically. I no longer worry for myself, but instead, it's him who I stress over. In the past month, he has helped me out of my health anxiety, and I will never be able to explain with words how grateful I am for that.
Despite hating the idea at the time, I am glad that mum forced me to go to the Support Group. It seems like a lifetime away, when I first saw the insecure guy with the midnight black hair, and dazzling blue eyes. Sometimes, I can remember the butterflies I felt when I first looked into those eyes that you could almost swim in, but that is probably helped by the fact that I still feel those butterflies sometimes, when I look at Phil.
I suddenly realise that I am clutching onto Phil's hand like he's going to run away. I loosen my grip with a small 'sorry', but judging by his face, he didn't mind anyway. He just holds mine tighter.
The sun is almost down by the time the bus arrives, and we take a seat at the back, where we did on the night of our trip to the London Eye. That was the day everything got so much better.
*Phil's POV*
The bus drops us off at the end of my road, and once again, we are left to make our own way home. I remember the first time Dan and I walked down this road in the dark. I remember how Dan was terrified of the fox, and I fail to keep a small grin off my face.
"What are you smirking at?" Dan asks, squeezing my hand and chuckling a little.
"Nothing." I reply.
"What is it?!" He says, stopping in his tracks. "I'm not moving until you tell me!" he crosses his arms across his chest, like a stroppy toddler.
"Well," I start, "I was just hoping that there weren't any foxes around tonight." I say with a grin. It takes a few seconds of confusion before Dan realises, and he cringes at the memory.
"Get lost, Phil!" He says, catching up with me, and lightly punching my arm, playfully. I am suddenly overwhelmed with a huge urge to kiss him, and I just go with it. I quickly turn to face him, and grab his face, kissing him square on the lips. He reacts almost immediately, and in this moment, the rest of the world doesn't matter again. It's just me and Dan, in our little world. Our tongues explore each other's mouths, and I could live in this moment forever if it wasn't for the headlights that lit the road in the distance.
We reluctantly break apart and carry on walking, acting casual as the car passes us. We soon reach home, and that is where we can finally relax.
"I love you, Phil." Dan says, looking deep into my eyes.
"I love you too, Dan." I reply, staring right back at him. He leans in, and we lose ourselves again.