Dan had attended the funeral. He had showered and dressed in silence. His mum had come to the apartment to take him to Phil's parents house where the hearse and hearse party would depart together for the church. When they arrived at Mrs. Lester's everyone exchanged solemn greetings and sat waiting in the living room. Mrs. Lester was desperately asking if anyone needed anything, her state of shock and grief causing her to flit around and try to distract herself from the pressing situation.
He funeral cars pulled into the drive way and the hearse stopped on the road. Dan glanced out of the window and saw Phil's coffin through the glass of the hearse. He ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet, bringing up only bile, as he hadn't eaten for a few days. Silent tears were streaming down his face. He couldn't stop shaking. This was actually happening. Phil was really dead. His decaying body was in the coffin outside. He jumped as he felt a hand gently rubbing his back.
"It's okay sweetie, we can get you through this. Come on," his mum said, hooking her arm under his and helping him to stand. They walked back into the hallway. Mrs. Lester was smiling but had panic in her eyes, "right, shall we do this then?" Dan knew he should comfort her and let her know she didn't have to be strong for everyone else today, she was allowed to show her emotions and break down if she needed to. But he couldn't, he'd lost the ability to speak.
The journey to the church was mostly quiet, apart from a relative of Phil's who clearly couldn't handle the silence and kept trying to make jokes. This was not appreciated but nobody said anything as everyone has their own way of grieving. When they finally arrived to the local church they saw a large sea of people, all dressed in black. The fans. Dan had forgotten. When it was announced that Phil had passed word spread through the Phandom like some sort of plague. Dan had received countless letters and messages with condolences and commiserations. The time and place of the funeral had been leaked but Phil's family had asked for people to not turn up out of respect for the loved ones affected.
When it was time for them to enter the church, if Dan had been himself he would have noticed that the mass of people did not enter the church but stayed outside to allow the family some privacy. As soon as he stepped through the front doors Dan looked to the altar and saw Phil's coffin. Dan took a seat on the front row between Martyn and his mum. Prayers were said, hymns were sung, and poems were recited. The vicar had spoken to the family and friends and family of Phil and written his own speech, saying how happiness and compassion radiated from Phil during his life. How his life had touched many others. Dan wasn't paying attention, he couldn't concentrate, but he heard his name flit through the air in the vicars speech. His mum squeezed his hand and wiped her eyes with a tissue.