"I'm going to use the bathroom real fast," Dan told Phil as Phil nodded and walked out the school.
The school day had finally passed by. Everybody was going home and Dan couldn't be more happier to leave school. He thought the day was going to be much worse after people found out that he and Phil were dating each other. But luckily, after about the third period class… everybody seemed to have gotten over the news, which Dan and Phil were thankful for. Neither liked having the spotlight on them, for obvious reasons. Dan hadn't heard from Luke since first period, which was always a bonus for him.
Dan sighed as he pulled out his phone and raised his eyebrows when he had a few missed texts from Phil. He smiled as he opened them up and read them, as he continued walking towards the bathroom. He turned the corner and walked into the bathroom. He gasped as soon as he bumped into somebody. He looked up and his eyes went wide when he saw Luke.
Luke looked over and glared as soon as he saw Dan. "Howell," he growled.
Dan went to turn to runaway but Luke quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "Where do you think you're going? We have some unfinished business," he warned as he kept a hold of Dan's shoulder, holding onto harshly.
"Let go of me!" Dan shouted as he tried to escape from Luke's grip.
"Thanks to you've I've been suspended from school!" Luke hissed.
"I did nothing, you did this to yourself! You're the twat who goes around tormenting people!" Dan yelled. He gasped when Luke pushed him against the bathroom wall. Dan stared at him with wide eyes.
"Don't fucking talk to me like that," Luke growled angrily.
"I'll talk however I want to talk," Dan said. He took a deep breath. He let out a cry when Luke slapped him.
"You will pay for this and I will make sure of that. You may think you're safe in this school but you're not," Luke whispered. He grabbed Dan and then he threw him onto the ground. Luke looked down at him and shook his head. "Pathetic." He whispered before he walked out of the bathroom, laughing as he did so.
Dan groaned as he turned onto his back. His eyes began to water up as he stared at the ceiling.
"Dan?" Dan looked over and bit his lip nervously when he saw Chris standing there. "Did Luke do this to you?" He asked as he dropped the bag that he was holding. He walked over to Dan and helped him sit up.
"I-I guess he's angry at me for what happened this morning. He got suspended," Dan said.
"We need to get you some help," Chris said. He went to stand up but Dan quickly grabbed him.
"No! I don't want Phil to find out about this!" Dan hissed.
"Dan, your head is bleeding. I'm not just gonna leave you here," Chris said.
Dan frowned and gently touched his forehead, and sighed when he saw blood on his fingers. "Great." He mumbled.
"Sit there," Chris said. He walked over to the paper towels and grabbed a couple.
Dan looked up at him and blinked a few times as he watched him. "You've done this before, haven't you?" He asked.
Chris looked over at him. "I've had to do this for PJ once or twice," he said.
"PJ's been beaten up before? Why would anyone do that to him?" Dan asked with shock.
"PJ tries to stand up for himself as much as he can whenever someone tries to bully him for being gay or whatever reason, which I guess is a good thing… depending on the situation. PJ's mouth gets him in trouble sometimes. People like Luke hate it when people try to stand up to them, which is why you're sitting on the floor with a bloody forehead right now." Chris explained. He sighed as he stared at Dan for a few seconds. He walked over to one of the sinks and got one of the paper towels lightly wet. He walked back over to Dan and bent down so that he could see his forehead better. Chris carefully started to try to clean Dan's forehead. Dan flinched slightly when the wet paper towel touched his forehead. "Sorry," Chris mumbled.
"I always used to think you didn't like me," Dan said.
"At first, I didn't…" Chris admitted. "I get jealous whenever PJ gets close to someone new and I really need to stop doing that."
"And PJ got close to me?" Dan asked as he glanced up at Chris.
"PJ likes you a lot… as a friend and everything," Chris said.
Dan couldn't help but smile. "PJ's like an older brother to me. He always makes sure I'm okay, which is nice…"
"Yeah. It's why I haven't really been around you, when you first started hanging out with PJ. I know it seems like I hate you but I really don't. I'm just really protective of PJ and I may or may not have jealousy issues," Chris said.
Dan laughed. "Well, you don't have to worry. I don't see PJ as anything more than a brother," he said.
"Clearly I can see that now," Chris said, smirking slightly.
Dan blushed. "I know you're talking about Phil," he mumbled.
Chris laughed and then he continued cleaning Dan's forehead.
20 minutes later; Chris finally had finished cleaning Dan up. Dan's forehead was bruised and his cheek was still red but it definitely looked better. Dan was glad that Chris had helped him because he didn't know what he would have done without him. He was glad that he had found out that Chris hadn't actually hated him as well.
"Where the hell have you been?" Phil asked as soon as he saw Chris and Dan walking out of the school. Dan immediately walked over to Phil and hugged him tightly. Phil frowned as he looked down at Dan. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer as he hugged him. "What happened?" Phil asked calmly.
"Take a wild guess," Chris said as he walked over to PJ.
"Luke?" PJ asked nervously as he reached over and grabbed Chris's hand.
"That would be correct," Chris said. He sighed as he walked closer to PJ, holding onto his hand.
"Dan?" Phil asked. He looked down at Dan. "What did he do?" He asked.
Dan glanced up at Phil finally as he held onto him and he took a deep breath. "I just want to go home," he said quietly. He quickly whipped away a tear that had slipped out of his eyes.
"I'll drive," PJ said. He gave Phil a reassuring smile.
Phil nodded. He opened the car door. He let Dan get in first before he got in and shut the door.
PJ sighed and then he looked over at Chris. "Do you know what happened?" He asked.
"Not really. I mean… I was walking into the bathroom just as Luke was walking out and then I found Dan lying on the floor in the bathroom. Apparently Luke's angry about what happened this morning though I don't know why he's taking it all out on Dan; he's the idiot who got himself in trouble. Dan's really upset about what Luke did but I'm sure he'll be fine, honestly. Phil knows how to make him feel better. I tried to help clean him up as much as I could but…"
"You helped him?" PJ asked with shock. PJ knew how Chris had felt about Dan before which was why he was so shocked.
"I know I haven't exactly been the best towards Dan but I saw him lying there and I just couldn't leave him like that," he said.
PJ couldn't help but smile. "Dan is a really nice guy, you should get to know him," he said.
"I'll try to but I'm not making any promises," Chris said jokingly.
PJ rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh whatever," he said. He leaned forward and kissed Chris a few times before they both let go of each other and walked over to PJ's car and get in; then PJ immediately drove to Dan's house.
Dan sighed as he led the way into his house, Phil following behind him.
"I'm home, mum!" Dan yelled before he started to walk towards his bedroom.
Phil stopped walking and frowned as he watched Dan.
Dan stopped as he reached the hallway. He looked back at Phil. "Aren't you coming?" He asked.
"Yeah, of course," he said. He quickly walked over to Dan.
Dan grabbed his hand and then they went to Dan's bedroom. Dan shut the door and locked it once they were in Dan's bedroom. Dan looked over at Phil and bit his lip when he saw that he was already staring at him.
"Are you really okay, Dan?" Phil asked as he walked over to him.
"I'm fine. I-I'm just frustrated," Dan said. He walked over to his bed and sat down. He grabbed one of his pillows and held onto it. "I tried to keep my mouth shut but I still ended up in trouble?" He scoffed.
Phil walked over to Dan's bed and sat down next to him. "You didn't talk to the principal, did you?" He asked.
"I totally forgot about it," Dan said. He shrugged his shoulders.
"You have to talk to him tomorrow. He will make sure that Luke will be stopped once and for all. You shouldn't have to be scared have being beaten up your whole high school life just because you're gay!" Phil exclaimed.
"I know!" Dan yelled. "I will. I will talk to him," he said quieter.
Phil bit his lip as he stared at Dan. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked.
"Maybe," Dan mumbled. He took a deep breath.
Phil frowned. He wrapped his arms around Dan and pulled him into a hug.