~Phil~

Phil pushed his cold hands into his fuzzy coat pockets as he made his way downtown. It was finally the weekend. He did not have to worry about the stupid project, or his teachers or Dan.

The week had completely drained him and all he wanted was a nice cup of coffee with some Animal Crossing. And that was exactly what he'd planned on doing with his Saturday.

He made his way to the small coffee shop at the end of the city market. He pushed open the door and the let himself melt into the warmth of the shop. His cold nose tingled as the heavy smell of coffee and baked bread surrounded him.

"What can I–Phil?" The girl behind the counter raised her eyebrows.

Louise.

"Louise!" Phil smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here." She laughed. Phil liked the sound of it.

"Oh, I didn't know." Phil smiled sheepishly. "Um, I'll take an espresso, I guess. Grande please."

"Alright." Louise's smile didn't waver. "Anything else?"

"Just 10 minutes of your time." Phil winked facetiously.

"Are you hitting on me, Lester?" Louise smirked.

"Oh, I might just be." Phil retorted. "Actually, I just wanted to hang out with someone. I've kind of had a weird week."

"Sure." Louise smiled almost knowingly. "Give me a minute."

Phil nodded and sat down on a table for two by large glass windows. The shop was completely deserted apart from him and Louise. But he reckoned that that was because it was just so early in the morning.

Phil had promised himself that the weekend was to be dedicated to himself only. He wasn't going to let anyone ruin it for him. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop thinking about Dan. He couldn't forget his fierce but vulnerable eyes.

To him, Dan was a walking bundle of contradictions.

After a while, Louise walked over to him with a tray. She set it down on the table and sat right opposite to Phil. Phil brought the coffee to his lips.

"So, what's up?" Louise gazed at him as she sipped her drink.

"It's just been a weird week." Phil sighed as he gulped the bittersweet coffee.

"Why?" Louise raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Did Dan do something?"

This was it. The one thing Phil was trying so hard not to think about. He just wanted to forget everything for a day, no matter how much the little voice at the back of his mind nagged him.

"No…I mean," Phil felt unsure as he bit his lip, "kind of. But I don't–"

"What did he do?" Louise narrowed her eyes.

"He didn't do anything!" Phil defended. "It's just something he told me."

"What did he tell you?" Louise asked cautiously. It was almost as if she knew something.

"He…uh…" Phil looked down and traced the edge of the empty cup with his finger. "Told me about his family."

"He did?" Louise's eyes widened and she looked taken aback. "But he never…"

"He didn't tell me much but…" Phil chewed on his lip. "I just can't stop thinking about it."

"I know what you mean." Louise averted her gaze as she drank from her cup.

"He told me that he killed his father."

Louise coughed and almost choked on her drink. "He did what now?"

"You heard me." Phil stared at his hands that rested on the hard oak table.. "And that's all that he said. Like, how am I supposed to cope with that information?"

"It's complicated, Phil." She looked really nervous, Phil noted.

"I know that, Louise." Phil felt exasperated. "Why can't you jut simplify it?"

"I don't know if I should, Phil." Louise shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I think Dan should be the one–"

"Don't you think I deserve answers?" Phil tried to remain patient as he drained his mug, the coffee leaving a bitter aftertaste. "Dan just tells me that he murdered someone and you expect me not to ask questions? Just go on working with him on some stupid project?"

Louise didn't say anything for a while. She just stared down at the tray in front of her with a distant look. Phil felt bad that he was acting frustrated with her even when she had nothing to do with it. But he just couldn't help himself.

"I don't know a lot either." Louise said finally as she looked up at Phil. "My mum and Dan's mum were cousins. When Dan's mum died, their family became very secluded. Julia didn't like that but she still tried to visit Dan and his sister as often as she could.

"Fast forward to a couple years later, Dan's sister dies. That's when they completely stop talking to us. Mum was sad but she didn't take it that seriously until last year."

Louise took a deep breath and Phil nodded in encouragement.

"One day, my mum got a call saying that Dan had killed his dad. We all freaked out because, come on, what the fuck? We rushed to the hospital and Dan's there. He looked so horrible, Phil. He looked dead.

"They ran a couple investigations and found out that what Dan did was purely an act of self defence. Apparently, Dan's dad had been beating the shit out of him until Dan snapped and killed him. After Dan recovered, he didn't have anywhere to go. He had no one left so we took him in."

Phil stared at Louise. He couldn't believe his ears.

"And he's been living with you ever since?" Phil asked.

"Pretty much." Louise shrugged. Then, she sighed and looked at Phil. "We used to know each other as kids. Dan was the smartest and nicest child. He was the one who would listen to me rant about things he didn't give a shit about just because he cared about me. He picked me up when my first boyfriend dumped me. He was always there, you know? I was devastated when we stopped talking after his sister died.

"But when I saw him on the hospital bed, everything I ever knew about him and his strength shattered. Every inch of his skin was either bruised or bandaged. And the last straw was when the officer told us about his father."

Louise drained her cup. She set it aside and looked out of the window.

"I felt like I had to pay him back. For being such a good friend. I kind of took it personally to make him happy again. I couldn't just replace his actual sister but there was only so much I could do. I mean, he did eventually start speaking to us and everything. But it wasn't the same. No one sees his smartness or kindness anymore. They just see an empty shell of a boy. And I don't know how to help him."

"Louise…" Phil reached forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you tried your best."

"Did I?" Louise looked slightly bitter. "I don't know, Phil. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because he isn't happy."

Phil got up and so did Louise. He paid for his coffee, hugged her and left – taking Dan's number on the way out.

He felt so undecided. He wanted to help Dan and glue all the pieces together. But he also didn't want to get his hands stuck in the process. He wondered if any of it was worth the pain. He wondered if Dan was even worth the trouble. A part of him just urged him to abandon Dan's problems. It told him not to make Dan's problems his own. It told him that he should just forget about Dan and carry on with his life.

Then he realised that that's what his father had done.

But he wasn't like his father.

To: Dan

So, does 9am sound okay?

From: Dan

sure

Phil sighed and threw his phone aside. He was determined to not mess up this time. He didn't want to scare off Dan.

'Scare of'? That doesn't sound like wording Dan would approve.

Phil shook his head and fell back onto his bed. He felt exhausted. He wondered when Dan's life became so important to him. Well, he reckoned that it probably was because of how much he despised his father. He wanted nothing to do with that man. Phil couldn't stand doing anything his father might.

The project was supposed to be presented on Monday. So, he just had a Sunday to prepare everything, coordinate with Dan and get the PPT done. Granted that Dan was mostly done with the PPT, but that didn't mean that Phil wouldn't hopelessly worry about it.

He flipped over and lay on his stomach; burying his face into the white sheets. He groaned slightly and drifted off to sleep. His worries were trivial in that moment.