A/N: I get out of school soon, you know what that means…

Also, idk if I said this before but I know very little about British school systems so I'm treating Dan and Phil's school like it's American, sorry

Dan's POV

"Uhg, look at this," I groaned, holding out my phone towards Phil.

Shoving his schoolwork aside, he took it, glancing down at the message displayed on the screen:

"Hey danny boy, im in charge of setting up the end of year dance and i want you and phil's opinion, which theme should we go with?

-Hollywood

-Starry Night

-Tropical party

-Classy

I don't really like the tropical idea, but Annie made me include it :/

Let me know what you think! ^.^"

"What are you saying "uhg" about?" Phil asked, sliding my phone back to me.

I raised an eyebrow sitting up on my bed, "The school dance? The whole idea of it is just so cliché and pointless.

Phil looked at me oddly, "You think so?"

"Oh definitely," I snorted, "People talk it up to be some amazing and romantic ball, when really it's just a bunch of teenagers either sitting alone in the bleachers or sucking each others' faces off in front of everybody."

Phil's face fell. "Oh, I didn't realize you felt that way," He responded softly, tearing at the corner of his study guide.

"Does it matter that I feel that way?" I asked, leaning back against my pillows.

Phil shrugged, "Kinda, yeah. I mean, I was going to see if you wanted to go but apparently you don't."

A pang of guilt twisted in my stomach, I hadn't even considered Phil might want to go. "You wanted to go with me?"

Phil nodded, glancing up at me sheepishly.

"To be fair, I've haven't been to a dance in a few years, maybe they changed?" I offered, pulling him into a hug.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to; I want you to have a good time," Phil smiled, leaning into my embrace.

I grinned, kissing his cheek. "I always have a good time when I'm with you," Phil blushed at this, "Now, hand me my phone."

I opened up Val's message, typing a quick response.

"Hey Val, we both agreed that starry night would be a really cute :)"

Phil's POV

It was the savory smells of dinner that lured Dan and I downstairs that evening.

"I think my dad was supposed to get home today," Dan thought aloud as we walked downstairs, "I wonder if he made it back yet..."

As if on cue, Dan's father stepped out of the kitchen, enveloping us both into a tight hug. "Hey you two!"

"Hi Mr. Howell," I laughed, enjoying the fatherly embrace I hadn't felt in years.

"Dad," Dan's voice was muffled in his Dad's shirt, "When did you get here?"

"A few hours ago," He replied, releasing the both of us, "I would have come said hi earlier but I had some files I needed to drive down to the office, then Mary asked me to make some copies for her, then I had to go to the library because our copier wasn't—You don't care about that, do you?"

Dan shook his head.

"Well in that case, what have you been up to?"

The boy shrugged, leading us into the kitchen and taking a seat at the table, "Nothing, really."

Sitting next to my boyfriend, I smiled knowingly at the annoyed look on Mr. Howell's face.

"Nothing? Not breathing? Not eating or drinking? Not even existing?"

Dan sighed wearily in response, giving his dad a tired stare.

"Teenagers these days, you can't hold a conversation with them for more than a minute!" Mrs. Howell laughed, setting steaming plates of a delicious looking casserole in front of us before taking a seat as well.

"Oh, I know! I haven't had a full conversation with my beloved son since he was twelve," Although sometimes, if I'm lucky, I manage to get a few grunt-like noises out of him," Mr. Howell continued with a woeful expression.

I began to snicker, but bit my tongue when Dan shot me a glare.

"What about you, Phil, how have you been?" Mr. Howell asked, turning to look at me, "And I want an honest answer, none of that 'I'm fine' B.S. like someone-" Mr. Howell glared at his son, "—gives me…"

Dan rolled his eyes at his dad, but was smiling nonetheless.

"Well," I thought for a moment, "I'm getting better. I mean I still have a few mental illness issues, but since things in my family have gotten sorted out I've been a lot happier," Dan smiled, grabbing my hand under the table and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"That's great, sweetie!" Mrs. Howell added. The smile she had on her face was one of pure, motherly admiration and I absolutely adored it.

"Very great!" Dan's dad agreed. His eyes briefly drifted over to Dan, a mischievous smirk creeping onto his face, "And uh, what about this one, is he treating you well?"

Dan shot his Dad an evil look, stabbing his casserole with a fork.

Laughing, I responded with: "Oh yes sir, very much so."

"But not too well, right?" He asked, clearly implying something

"Dad!" Dan's face had gone pink.

I laughed nervously, sure that I was a similar color.

"I'm just saying," He pointed out, wiping off his mouth, "I'm not here all the time and sometimes your mum works late…"

My blush deepened and Dan covered his face with his hands, "D-Dad, please,"

"I was a teenager too once!"

"Now Jared," Mrs. Howell said between laughs, "you've tortured the poor boys enough!"

"Agreed," I muttered, thankful for the conversation to come to an end.

"Oh fine. I'm sorry," he chuckled, "you're just so fun to pick on, Dan."

"Shut up…" Dan grumbled, hiding his face in his palms.

~Later that night~

Something most people with a mental illness will understand is that even if you feel okay for months, you still have those moments where it all comes back.

"Don't you think it gets annoying? The Howells are probably getting tired of having another mouth to feed, it's only a matter of time before they kick you out."'

"No," I tried to reassure myself, "Dan wouldn't let them do that."

"But would he though? Maybe he's getting tired of you too, what if he's realizing you aren't the person he thought you were when you started dating?"

"It doesn't work like that…" I did my best to stay positive.

"Why did he even fall for you in the first place? You're not that attractive or talented…Maybe he just thought you would be easy?"

Pushing my anxieties aside, I grabbed my phone,

"There you go again, dragging Dan down with you."

I opened up my messages, selecting on Dan's contact.

"He's probably already asleep, don't bother him with your problems. His love for you is shaky as it is."

"Hey, u awake?" Despite the voices in my head, I pressed send. I waited less than a minute before getting a response.

"Yeah, y?"

"I don't want to be alone"

I didn't receive a text back this time.

"See, no one wants to deal with you, annoying piece of sh—"

My thoughts were interrupted by the creak of my bedroom door swinging open.

"Hey," I was greeted by Dan's silhouette as he lay down next to me.

"Hi," Relief flooded though me as I rolled over, wrapping my arms around Dan and greeting him with a kiss. His lips were soft and warm against my own, a comforting anchor in the icy storm of my own thoughts.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, scooting closer to me.

I smiled softly, wondering what I had done to deserve someone like Dan. "Just stay here with me."

I felt Dan nod, his hair gently brushing my collarbone. "Of course."

Already feeling a bit better, I wound my arms around his waist, pulling him close to me. He rested his forehead against my own, pressing a soft kiss to my nose.

"Dan, you still love me, right?"

"Phil," Dan sighed, cupping my cheek "I have fallen harder for you than I would have ever thought possible. I know it didn't seem like it, but even in the very beginning I couldn't get you out of my head."

I thought back to the rude, arrogant Dan I used to know, thankful that he had changed for the better.

"The common idea is that the longer you're with someone the less interest you take in them, but that is hardly the case with you. With us. Every day I fall more and more in love with you," Dan's smile was barely visible in the darkness, "There is nothing on this Earth that can compare to the feeling of your arms around my waist or your lips on my own; nothing feels as homely and comforting as your hand in mine," Dan intertwined our fingers, squeezing my hand gently, "Although I would hardly call myself religious, I would argue that lying here with you is the closest I will ever get to a heaven on Earth. And if this actually is the only heaven I'll ever know, both before and after death, I'm okay with that. Because honestly, there is no where I'd rather be than right here, right now, with you."

"Dan," my voice was barely a whisper as I was brought close to tears. How the hell had I gotten so lucky?

"So yes, to answer your question," Dan ran his thumb over my cheekbone, "I do still love you, and that will never change,"

Unable to find words that could compare with his, I pressed my lips firmly to Dan's, wrapping him in a tight embrace and pulling him closer until there was almost no room between the two of us. He ran a hand though my hair, combing it away from my face gently.

We remained intertwined for God knows how long before finally pulling away for the sake of oxygen. "I love you too," I whispered, pressing another quick kiss to his lips.

Dan laughed softly, his breath brushing my cheek, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

A/N: THIS IS SUPER CLOSE TO BEING OVER AND IDK IF I'M READY OR NOT UHG

ALSO I POSTED A Q&A THING SO LOOK AT THE NEXT CHAPTER

Also y'all should go check out my other fic Write because I'm gonna primarily focus on that one after I wrap this up.