I was making breakfast when my phone rang. I turned off the cooker and took the bacon out, before answering the call. It was Dan. My phone was placed between my shoulder and ear, so I could put the bacon in a sandwich. Dan said nothing for a while. There was just an odd breathing sound, that sounded like sobbing. I called Dan's name down the phone, but there was no reply. After a few more minutes, I gathered he had pocket dialed me again, and was about to hang up when I finally heard something.
"PJ?" Was all that came from my friend. He sounded scared, and his voice was nothing more then a whisper. I was starting to get worried.
"Dan, where are you? What's wrong?" I asked, urgent to know what was upsetting him. He stayed quiet for a while, nothing but small cries breaking the silence. Finally he spoke up, his voice louder and clearer now.
"PJ, I'm at home. I need help. Can you come?"
"I'll be there in about fifteen minutes,"I said dropping my breakfast. It must be important if he's asking me for help rather than Phil. I mean they're best friends, they know each other inside out. I couldn't help but be jealous of Phil, I would love to get to know Dan better. But now wasn't the time for envy, Dan needed help.
I got in my car and drove as fast as legally possible. I was at Dan and Phil's flat in no time. It's one plus side of living close to them. It took me a couple minutes to get to the door, but even from far away, I could hear My Chemical Romance coming from inside. I didn't bother knocking, I just waked straight in, Dan was expecting me anyway. I noted the music was coming from Dan's room, but when I checked, there was no sign of life. Then I heard crying.
"DAN!" I called out. A sound so quiet it was barely audible came from somewhere. Eventually I traced it to the bathroom, and was going to barge in, but something made me stop. I don't know why, so I knocked instead.
"PJ, don't come in yet. I need you to promise you won't judge me," Dan said hastily, his voice hoarse.
"Dan, I wouldn't judge you. Ever," I replied after a moments hesitation. I was about to enter when he suddenly spoke again.
"NO! Not yet. I need you to think back. To a while ago, when you and Chris slept at mine and Phil's. When we lived in Manchester. The night that Chris and Phil went on the balcony to talk. And I told you something I had never told anyone."
I thought back to that night. I remembered it clearly. Chris and Phil were on the balcony. They really shouldn't of been out there, because both of them were completely hammered. But I was glad to have a moment of peace, where it was just me and Dan. I remember Dan was wearing his Donnie Darko tee, my favourite of his shirts, and he had a ton of bracelets and wristbands on his arm. After a moment or two of silence, I complimented the bracelets to ease the tension. He gulped slightly when I mentioned them, but tried not to show it. He looked at Chris and Phil who were obviously in their own world, before looking back at me. He made me promise not to tell either of our friends, then told me about the depression he had when he was a teenager. How he felt like such a loser, and that he felt like everyone hated him, even his parents. I felt confused about why we were talking about this for a moment, until he took all of the things off his arm and I saw what he was why he brought this subject up. All the way down his wrist, there were scars. He told me he self-harmed in his teenage years because he felt so unwanted, and that everyone wanted him to suffer. I stared in awe. Dan was an awesome person, he had no need to self harm. What's worse, he could give a story for each individual scar.
I came back to the real world, and opened the bathroom door; Dan needed me. There was blood everywhere, and I mean everywhere. In the bath, the sink, on the floor. I had somehow managed to find it way half way up the wall. Dan was on the floor, hugging his knees in the fetal position. Immediately I looked at his tear stained face. It was full of remorse. I sighed, as Dan started crying again.
"I didn't mean to... I just... It just..." He managed to stutter through the tears. I sat next to him and put my arm around him. I felt so sad that he had done this.
"Why, Dan. Just start from the beginning. You can trust me, I promise." He nodded in reply and began to tell me about his brother, Adrian and how he was annoyed with all the Dan-girls. Dan went on to tell me his parents blamed him for Adrian being upset, and are now angry with him.
"They even said 'Don't bother coming home for Christmas'." His eyes were filled with new tears. I took his arms away from his legs, to see every last scar he made long ago, had been reopened. The worst part, there were new cuts on his arm. I see where the blood came from, it was streaming down his arm like a waterfall. A razor was on the floor next to him. And where he had held his legs, there was now a large wet red patch. There was nothing I could do, but hug him. We stayed in the embrace for a long time, but I could see Dan's skin getting slightly paler.
"Dan. You've lost a lot of blood. We need to-" I started but Dan cut me off.
"Peej. Don't take me to the hospital. Please," he pleaded. I couldn't say no to his big brown eyes. Instead I rooted around in the cupboards until I found some bandages. Carefully I wrapped the fabric around his cuts. Dan winced at the pressure being put on them. He had stopped crying, however, and seemed to be in a better mood
"You're always so nice PJ," Dan smiled looking into my eyes, "And your eyes are the same shade as links hat. That's something to be proud of." I smiled at him in response. I wanted to say how much I loved him, but I couldn't, in case he didn't feel the same.
"I feel sleepy," Dan moaned. He was starting to act a little more childish, which meant he was feeling better. My mind kept making me want to laugh at how cute he was being.
"It's probably from all the blood loss," I giggled slightly, "Lets get you to bed, dinosaur." I pulled myself up before offering out a hand to Dan. Reluctantly he grabbed on and I led him to his bedroom. My Chemical Romance was still blasting out, so I turned his stereo off before his neighbours called the police on us. Wearily, Dan collapsed on his bed. I pulled his covers over him and tucked him in. He looked so sweet and innocent. I was about to leave, to clean up the blood in the bathroom, when his hand clamped around my wrist. He may have lost a lot of blood, but Dan was still strong enough to pull me into his bed.
"Thanks PJ," He yawned, "But can you not tell Phil?"
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed, dinosaur," I promised. Dan put his arms around me, refusing to let go.
"I love you PJ Liguori," Dan mumbled, before falling into a deep sleep. After a few moments hesitation I replied very simply.
"I love you like Link loves Zelda, Dan."