"Phil, you honestly need to tell Dan. I know you don't want to but maybe it'll help," PJ said.
It was the next day when PJ was over at Phil's house. He was spending the night. Dan was supposed to be coming over a little later but it was still early, around 6 o'clock. Phil was still slightly upset that PJ had taken Dan to the party last night but he wasn't that upset as he had already talked to PJ about it. PJ did feel guilty about the whole thing.
Phil and PJ were both sitting next to each other on Phil's and were just chatting.
"Why do I have to tell him? You know I hate talking about it," Phil said.
"I know it's still a hard subject for you, and I don't blame you. You went through a lot before, but Dan is also going through a lot right now. He's in the same place as you were last year and you've come so far since then, don't you think? You're not letting the bullied get to you. They finally stopped messing with you after years of torturing you. Dan doesn't deserve to go through all of that like you did, and he needs help," PJ said.
Phil took a deep breath. "I just don't even know where to begin, there's so much to tell," Phil mumbled.
"Would it make you feel better if I was there? You can tell him tonight when he comes over," PJ said.
"Um," Phil looked over at him. "You would really do that?" He asked, smiling slightly.
"Of course I would. We were there for you back then and we'll still be there for you now," PJ said.
"I don't know if I've ever told you this before, but you really are the best friend I could ask for," Phil mumbled.
PJ smiled. He wrapped his arms around Phil and pulled him into a hug. "You're welcome,"
Phil laughed as he hugged PJ back, smiling as he did so.
"Now, let's talk about Dan," PJ said as he pulled away from the hug.
"Why do we need to talk about Dan?" Phil asked as he looked over at PJ.
"He's totally in love with you," PJ said, smiling.
"Are you being serious? How do you know this?" Phil asked.
"He told me," PJ said. "Do you like him back?"
"I-I don't know. I mean, yeah… I thought about it before and I have a crush on him but we've only known each other for a couple months. He's a really cool guy and our friendship is too important to me. What if something goes wrong?" Phil asked.
"Ugh. Come on, Phil. You're just as bad as he is! You guys worry way too much about these things. You both know how you feel about each other so why not be together? You guys would be so good together," PJ said.
"You really think I should ask him out?" Phil asked nervously.
"I really think you should and so does Chris," PJ said. He gave Phil a reassuring smile.
"I-I think I will. After we tell him about the thing later," Phil said.
"Oh my God. Finally!" PJ exclaimed as he threw his arms up.
Phil laughed and pushed him playfully, knocking him over. Both Phil and PJ went into laughter.
Two hours later; Dan finally arrived at Phil's house. Phil was extremely nervous about talking to Dan. There was so much that he had to tell him and he didn't know how Dan was going to react, as there was a lot of things to talk about. And now Phil promised PJ that he would talk to him about being in a relationship with each other. PJ kept telling him that Dan was in love with him and felt the same way but Phil just didn't want to say the wrong thing and mess everything up. The only thing he was worried about was ruining their friendship.
"Look who's here!" Phil said excitedly as he walked back into his bedroom with Dan.
PJ looked up and smiled as soon as he saw Dan. "Hey!" He stood up from the bed and gave Dan a hug.
"Hey," Dan said, hugging PJ back. They finally pulled away from the hug. "Sorry I couldn't come earlier. Mum made me finish my homework first," Dan grumbled.
"You are falling behind in like all of your classes," Phil said.
"Hey! You're supposed to be taking my side!" Dan whined, pouting.
Phil laughed at him. He shook his head. He bit his lip nervously as he looked over at PJ, who nodded but didn't say anything. Phil sighed and then he looked over at Dan again. "Okay, look Dan, there's something I need to tell you," Phil said.
Dan looked over at him. "Uh oh. You sound pretty serious," he said.
"It actually is serious. Let's sit down," Phil said.
Dan and Phil both sat down on the bed, Dan sitting beside PJ. "So, what's up?" He asked.
"Do you, um… do you remember when I told you about a kid who tried to commit suicide last year?" Phil asked.
"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?" Dan asked.
"It has to do with a lot more than you think," PJ told him.
Dan looked over at him and frowned, then he looked over at Phil again. "What's going on?" He asked.
"I never told you who that person was…" Phil said.
Dan stared at him, not sure what was going on. He was a little nervous. "Are-Are you going to tell me?" He asked.
"That person… it was, um, it was me…" Phil mumbled. He quickly looked down at his hands.
Dan's eyes went wide with shock as he stared at Phil. He nervously looked over at PJ. "Is it true?" He whispered.
PJ took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "It's true," he told Dan.
"Phil?" Dan asked as he looked over at him. "Why did you do that?" He asked.
Phil sighed and then he finally looked up at Dan again. "I was in a dark place. I was already the dorky kid who everyone thought was weird… and then people found out that I was gay which made everything so much worse. I could handle it at first. I didn't care what people called me but then I started getting beat up at school. My body was covered in bruises and scars. Mum and dad found out. I just… I couldn't take it anymore. I hated everything and everyone. I started self-harming and then I started taking drugs and finally I tried taking pills. PJ found me afterwards and saved me," Phil explained.
"Why are you telling me this now?" Dan asked quietly.
"You're going through the same thing as I did last year," Phil said. He took a deep breath, "Dan, you need to talk to the principal and tell him what Luke is doing and how he made your life a living hell at your old school."
"Our principal doesn't stand for bullying at school. He helped me and Chris out a lot after Phil tried to commit. Nobody bullied us afterwards. We haven't been bullied since then until Luke came to this school," PJ said.
"Do you really think this will help? If I go to the principal?" Dan asked.
"Somebody has to do something about Luke. He can't keep doing this to us. We all know how he feels about gay people. But, we shouldn't have to run and hide every time we see him with his stupid gang in the school halls. The principal will put an end to this," Phil said.
Dan took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll go to the principal on Monday," he said. He looked over at Phil and sighed. "Fuck, I can't believe you almost died!" He yelled. He reached over and flung his arms around Phil and hugged him tightly.
Phil chuckled and immediately hugged him back. "Don't worry. I won't ever do that again. I'm in a much better place thanks to PJ and Chris," he said. He glanced over at PJ and took a deep breath. He knew what was coming next and his nerves were getting to him.
"Tell him," PJ mouthed, as he stared at him.
Phil closed his eyes and held onto Dan, as they continued to hug.
Phil was absolutely terrified about telling Dan how he felt. Even though PJ told him that Dan felt the same way, there were still many other things that Phil could do that could ruin his friendship with Dan. Phil didn't want to lose his friendship with Dan.
His and Dan's friendship with the most important thing and the only thing he really cared about.