Dan and Phil had been researching this strange grey glow for over a week now. Their audience had finally seemed to have picked up the hint that they were offline, starting to make small conspiracy theories about their disappearance from the media.

Was there a new book coming out?

Did they have a fight?

Were they on a honeymoon?

Were they sick?

Had Dan moved out?

Were they dead?

In a way, some of the assumptions WERE true. Well, metaphorically. Dan and him were sick on curiosity and anguish, almost like a drug. The two, Dan especially, were desperate to find an answer to explain all of the events of the past couple days. They searched news sites. Forums. Reddit. Nothing seemed to add up. It was almost as if the duo were the only ones to have experienced this in the entirety of human history! Or at least, if they weren't the only ones, the previous victims had decided to keep their exploits a secret.

That fact in particular wasn't very surprising. Phil personally didn't think that putting this online was a very good idea. They both had the huge personas as "Dan and Phil" and he just felt that this would just overcomplicate the entirety of… well everything. How would their audiences react if they felt that… real? After all, there was such a thing as too relatable.

However, it did seem that we were running out of options. Google is supposed to have all the answers…. right? But what if it didn't. What then?

The best option then would be to just give up and let nature take its course. If the tattoos were meant to define everyones' futures, was there any point in trying to understand it? Maybe the best solution was to simply let destiny control the course of history. After all: why worry about something that you can not change?

Dan hadn't slept in days. Ever since he had returned back to the apartment with Phil, nothing had really been the same as it had been. As much as he wanted to deny that something had changed between them, it was painfully obviously. While it was impossible to tell what that change was exactly, the air between him and his best friend seemed almost electric, like if one of them were to take a wrong step… all hell would break loose. Or was he just hallucinating?

The search was beginning to get frustrating. How could there have been no studies done on such a phenomenon? Tattoos of this sort had been around for centuries, so how had there been no observations recorded of one turning grey? The sheer thought of being completely unique not only amazed him, but also made him terrified. There are two sides to the internet after all. The side that is loving and respecting of one another, the side that he first met Phil from. But then there was the other side. The side full of homophobic idiots with no right to own access to the internet, people that bully each other into submission.

Which side would find their issue first? Was there any way of telling for certain? No… but Dan was prepared to take risks.

"Phil, wouldn't it be easier if we just contacted someone else to help us with all of this? It doesn't have to everyone, just enough to try understand this or wha-"

"Dan don't you understand? We can't go public with this! We could be seen as freaks! Over a decade of hard work building our personas, down the drain! Do you want that Dan!"

Dan visibly flinched. You could sense the tension in the air, see the fear in his eyes.

Why did I snap like that?

"Dan, I'm sor-"

"No. Phil I understand. If you don't want my input. I won't give it to you. Now… I just need a walk."

Phil leapt towards his friend and grabbed onto his wrist tightly. "No! I'm not going to let you walk out on me again! Please. I promise I won't snap out again."

"Too little too late Philly. Now, just let me take a walk. Please."

The pain in his eyes was terribly obvious, shattering Phil's heart to pieces. Why was he forced to see that look in his eyes so frequently lately? He missed the days when they could just lay on the couch and binge watch until unholy hours in the morning, the jokes, the bants… what happened? What happened to their lives to destroy everything he loved?

The damn tattoo. That's what.

"Fine. Just… please come back. Don't be too long. I'd miss you."

With that last bit, Dan's expression seemed to soften a little, looking down to his friend and giving him a faint smile.

"Trust me. I won't be long, ok?" After that, he simply turned around and left, closing the door gently behind him. At least he didn't leave on an argument.

But Phil wasn't ready to give up just yet.

He knew his friend too well. Dan wouldn't be back until he was completely cooled down…. and god knows how long that'll take. Maybe it'd be better to text him. Then he could talk to Phil when he was ready to, not just because he was forced into it.

"I hope this works…"

Phil pulled out his phone and scrolled through the contacts, finding the one labeled "Rat." Just glancing at it made him chuckle. Even in contacts they couldn't stop making fun of each other. Tapping on the icon and into messages, Phil took another deep breath. How is he going to start this off?

Maybe with a casual, "Hey whatcha up to?" Yeah no. He KNEW what he was up to.

Straight to the point with, "Dan, why'd you walk off?" No, that wouldn't work either.

He's obviously overthinking this. Dan's his best friend, surely he would understand that he's worried about him… right?

'Phil: Hey, Dan, you ok? Sorry about what I said earlier, can you wait for me outside?'

Read. But no response. Typical Dan. He NEVER responds to messages, much less when he literally just walked out the front door.

"Why am I even worried anyway? He probably just went to Starbucks or something, he'll be back soon."

But what if he wasn't?

'Phil: Sorry for bothering you again…. but can you meet me outside? I miss you. We can just ask someone else about all this, how does that sound? Get a little weight off our shoulders.'

Read. But no response. Phil doesn't know what he expected, but to be left on read was certainly not it. But his nerves were becoming too much. If Dan wasn't going to let him bring him back, then he'd just have to do it himself. Peaceful force never hurt anyone.

Dan wasn't even sure where he was going. He just wanted to… wander. Get his mind off everything. But the more and more he thought about Phil, thought about home… the more he wished he could just sleep. Sleep away his mind. Sleep away his life.

Buzz buzz

"I've only been gone 5 minutes and I'm already being bombarded with notifications? I guess this is what I get for not putting my phone on vibrate."

Dan pulled his phone out of his sweatshirt pocket and turned it on, the bright screen causing him to hiss playfully. After the brief moment of waiting for his eyes to adjust, he scanned the screen, looking for any new notifications.

'IMessage: Philsy'

"Why would Phil be texting me? Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."

Dan sighed and clicked on the notification, fingerprinting his way into the phone.

'Phil: Hey, Dan, you ok? Sorry about what I said earlier, can you wait for me outside?'

What he wanted to say? "Phil, I'm sorry too for storming off. I'll come back in a minute, do you want anything while I'm out?" What he did say? Nothing. Nothing at all. It was like his brain was in total shock, all thoughts of his future clouding his mind. But one thought in particular sent shivers down his spine, only bringing up more questions.

Did the tattoo already know this was going to happen?

Buzz. buzz

'Phil: Sorry for bothering you again…. but can you meet me outside? I miss you. We can just ask someone else about all this, how does that sound? Get a little weight off our shoulders.'

He couldn't take this anymore. He could feel the worry seeping from the words on his phone screen. He knew Phil meant well. He knew that he wanted to see his friend again. He knew he wanted to sit with Phil on the couch again, just like old times. He knew he wanted Phil to cradle him in his arms and tell him everything was going to be alright. He knew he wanted everything to be normal again.

But he knew that that wouldn't happen.

Not for a long time.

He needed to clear his head. He needed time to think everything over. Dan didn't want to panic his friend anymore, so he took a deep breath. Standing on the edge of the pavement and the road, the man pulled out his phone and turned it on.

"Phil deserves an explanation. I'll be back soon. I wasn't angry. I was just overreacting."

The air seemed to still in that moment. It was like the world had begun to move in slow motion, the breeze being the only sign time was still passing. As Dan slowly began to type out his response, he didn't realize he had begun unconsciously to move forward. He heard the swurve of tires on cracked asphalt. He heard the deafening screams and sobs from Phil close behind him. And then everything in his world went black.