The school day quickly passed and Dan and Phil were just getting to Dan's house.

"I think that's the first time I've ever enjoyed school," Dan said as he walked into his house, Phil following right behind him. Dan and Phil didn't have to deal with any of Luke's taunts today as he had been suspended for a week and Dan actually enjoyed school for once.

"Yeah... it was really nice not having Luke around," Phil said. He turned and watched as Dan shut the front door. He smiled when Dan looked at him.

"Do you want to get something to eat first before we drown ourselves in Mario?" Dan asked.

Phil laughed and nodded. "That would probably be best," he said. He walked over to Dan and kissed him once, wrapping his arms around him as he kissed him.

Dan giggled slightly as he kissed him back. "Come on butthead," he said.

"Butthead?" Phil asked with a pout. He watched as Dan walked away from him and then he quickly ran up behind Dan and wrapped his arms around him again, spinning him around as he did so. He laughed when he heard Dan yelp. "Gotcha," he whispered.

"Phil! Stop doing that!" Dan whined. He laughed as Phil held onto him as they both walked into the kitchen. "Come on, Phil! You know I'm ticklish!" Dan whined as Phil wrapped his arms around him and tickled him, kissing his neck gently as he did so.

Phil laughed. "I know, why do you think I do it?" He asked.

Dan went to say something back to him but he immediately stopped when he heard someone clear their throat. He looked over and was surprised when he saw his mom sitting at the kitchen table. "Mum?" He asked as he pushed Phil away from him. He looked over and blinked a few times when he saw that there was a man sitting at the table as well. This was not what he was expecting to see. His mom always worked late on weekdays, and she never brought home anybody with her. It kind of scared Dan, if he was being completely honest.

"Daniel, we need to talk about something," Diane said.

"Talk about what?" Dan asked as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"Phil, would you mind leaving for a bit? You can come back later," Diane said.

"No. I want Phil to stay," Dan said as he grabbed Phil's hand.

"Hey, I'll come back later, okay? I promise," Phil said. He held onto Dan's hand as he gently kissed his cheek. He looked at Dan one last time before he turned around and then he walked out of the kitchen, leaving Dan all by himself now.

"So, you and Phil are together now?" Diane asked as she looked up at Dan.

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, we are," he mumbled.

"Why didn't you say anything to me?" Diane asked, a little frustrated.

Dan frowned as he looked up at his mom. "I-I didn't think it was important to you,"

Diane went to say something but then realized there was another person in the room.

"So, does this mean he's gay?" The man whispered to Diane.

"What's wrong with being gay?" Dan aksed angrily as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"Daniel!" Diane hissed as she stood up from the kitchen table.

"Are you gonna tell me who this guy is?" Dan asked, quickly changing the subject.

Diane sighed. "Dan, this is... well, this is... your father," she said.

Dan's eyes went wide with shock and he immediately looked over at the man. "W-What?"

"He's your father. H-He came back to town and found us," Diane said.

Dan quickly shook his head. "N-No, this isn't happening. You let this man in our house?!"

"Dan, he's changed. If you just calm and get to kn-"

"Don't tell me to get to know him!" Dan yelled as his eyes began to water up. "He hasn't been in our lives for 16 years and if you think I'm just gonna let him back in my life then your mistaken!" He immediately turned around and ran out of the kitchen.

Dan ran up the stairs as fast as he could and then he ran to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. He ran over to the bed and threw himself onto it, immediately letting tears pour out of his eyes as he hid his face in his pillows. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

Dan and his mom have been by themselves for 16 years and more. He couldn't understand how his mother would think that he would just welcome his father back into his life like that.

It was the next day at school. Phil hadn't heard from Dan since yesterday afternoon.

"Where's Dan at?" PJ asked as he and Chris walked up to Phil, who was already waiting in the lobby so they could get to close.

They had 10 minutes 'til school started and they always got to school early so they could go in first and escape the madness.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen him since last night," Phil said. He pulled out his phone and sighed when he saw that Dan hadn't replied to his texts yet.

"That's weird. You'd think he would have told you he wasn't coming today," Chris said.

"Yeah. Any ideas why he's not coming?" PJ asked curiously.

"Well... I went to his house yesterday and his mom said that they needed to talk and there was some man there. Dan looked pretty worried. I'm not sure if that has something to do with-" Phil immediately stopped talking when he saw his phone light up. "Finally!" He exclaimed when he had finally gotten a text back from Dan. "Dan texted me back." He told Chris and PJ, not taking his eyes away from his phone.

To: Phil

From: Dan

Not coming to school today. Family crisis. Call later x

"Family crisis? What does that mean?" Phil asked as he showed Chris and PJ the text.

"Guess we'll have to wait and find out," Chris said.

Phil groaned. "Come on! You know I'm not gonna be able to wait," he pouted.

"I would suggest that we skip school but... you know, I can't," Chris said. He sighed.

PJ laughed. "That's your fault for skipping for so many damn days," he said.

"I hate school, alright?" Chris grumbled. He crossed his arms against his chest.

"You may not be able to skip school... but I can," Phil said.

"You? Phil Lester... skipping school?" PJ asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You've never skipped school in your life," Chris said.

"Hey! Don't be so mean," Phil mumbled. He pouted.

"You're not really going to skip school, are you?" PJ asked him.

"No," Phil mumbled. He sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Look, I know you're worried but... I'm sure Dan's fine," Chris said.

PJ nodded. "Yeah. You worry too much about him. He's a big boy," he said.

"Can you blame me? After everything that's happened with Luke?" Phil asked.

"Fair point. But, come on. Let him handle this himself. He said it's a family crisis," PJ said.

"Fine," Phil groaned. "Just let me text him real fast." He said.

To: Dan

From: Phil

Text me if you need anything. Love you xxx

Chris and PJ stopped by their lockers and they went to first period school.

Chris and PJ talked for the next three minutes and then the teacher started the attendance.

"Howell?" The teacher looked up when he didn't get a response. "Where's Howell?"

"He's sick," PJ said as he looked up at the teacher. "He's not coming to school today."

"Alright then." He said and then he went onto the next student.

"Is he really sick?" PJ looked up and frowned when he saw Charlie and Alex.

"He's got some stuff going down at his house. But that's none of your business," PJ hissed.

As soon as school was over, Phil went straight to Dan's house. He didn't want to wait anymore... he needed to know what was going on and if Dan was okay.

Phil walked up to the porch and knocked on the door a few times. He hadn't even told Dan that he was coming over but he left as soon as school had ended.

A few minutes later, the door finally opened up.

Phil looked up and was relieved when he saw Dan but frowned as soon as he saw the look on his face. He could tell that Dan had been crying and he didn't like that one bit. He had seen Dan cry before and it absolutely broke his heart. He just hoped it wasn't anything serious that was making him upset like this.

"Dan?" Phil asked nervously. "Are you... um, are you okay?"

Dan took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"C-Can I come in? I-I was just worried about you..." Phil said quickly.

"Actually... there's someone that I want to meet," Dan said.

"Oh?" Phil asked. "Okay then..." He said. He couldn't help but be slightly nervous.

Dan reached over and grabbed Phil and then he gently pulled him into the house. He shut the door and locked it. He held onto Phil's hand as he led the way into the living room. "It's kind of why I didn't go to school today. When I said there was a family crisis... I meant it." Dan told him.

"What does that mean though?" Phil asked as he followed Dan. They finally made it to the living room. Phil looked up and blinked a few times when he saw the man he saw yesterday sitting on the couch. "Dan." Phil whispered as he stepped closer to him.

"Phil... I-I would like you to meet... my father," Dan said as he pointed at the man.

"What?" Phil asked as his eyes went wide with shock.

"I had the same reaction when my mum told me but don't be so scared," Dan said. He led the way over to the couch. Dan's dad immediately stood up from the couch. "Dad, this is Phil... he's the one I was telling you about earlier. He's my boyfriend." He said with a proud smile.

"It's nice to meet you Phil, my name is John," Dan's dad said as he held out his arm.

Phil hesitated for a second before he finally reached over and shook his hand.

"Phil's not usually this shy," Dan said. He rolled his eyes playfully.

Phil blushed and he quickly looked down at his feet.

"Dan's talked quite a lot about you since I've been here," John said.

Phil looked up again and couldn't help but smile.

"Shall we sit down? I've got a lot to tell you Phil," Dan said as he looked up at Phil.

Phil nodded and then the three of them sat down.

Dan and Phil sat there, talking to Dan's dad for about two hours before his dad finally had to leave.

Both Dan and Phil were quite shocked at what had just happened.

"So, that really is your dad?" Phil asked, still rather shocked, as he looked over at Dan.

They were still sitting on the couch in the lounge. Dan was too shocked to move anywhere else so they just stayed put.

Dan slowly nodded. "If my mom says it is then I believe her," he mumbled.

"He seems really nice. Do you like him?" Phil asked.

"I mean... I guess I do. It's just... he hasn't been around for 16 years. He has a lot to make up for. He missed a big part of my life. I mean... he left when I was a fucking baby and left my mom to raise me all on her own. It's always just been me and her." Dan said.

"You really should give him a chance, Dan. I know that it's tough and it'll take a while to get used to but... he seems like he really wants to make up for not being in your life. Everybody deserves a second chance though, right?" Phil said.

"I guess you're right. I just... I'll need more time to process this," Dan said.

"Well... just know, that I'll be there for you... through the ups and downs," Phil said.

Dan looked over at Phil and smiled. "I shouldn't be saying this so soon... but, I love you."

Phil couldn't help but return the smile as he stared at Dan. "I wanted to say it first."

"Got there first," Dan said. He let out a giggle. He reached up and kissed Phil.

"Do you think we'll be together forever? Be honest," Phil said.

"Well, that's the plan, isn't it? We'll be together forever," Dan replied.

Phil smiled even bigger. "Even through the ups and downs?" He asked.

"Even through the ups and downs," Dan whispered. He sighed happily.

For the first time in his life... Dan was finally happy.