My phone lay on the wooden desk, still lit up with a text from PJ.

-Hey Dan - Phil just walked in and asked if you were okay, I panicked and said your uncle died — sorry, really hope your uncle hasn't actually died.

Peej-

I was scribbling an essay in messy blue biro, cursing my laziness as I read yet another angry email from my teacher.

And thinking.

And trying not to think too much.

*

Hey Peej, thanks so much and sorry for being such a-

Peej, sorry if I was a bit-

Hi - thanks and just to let you know I'm not-

Suddenly, a decision formed in my mind. I stopped trying to reply to PJ and brought up the dialling screen instead. Phil was on my speed dial, next to my mum. How tragic.

 "Hi, Dan?" Phil's voice seemed surprised and a little apprehensive. I breathed out slowly through my mouth and closed my eyes.

"Hey Phil. I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I - I'm just gonna tell it how it is, Peej told me about your boyf- some guy called Jakob something. And I was a little surprised. My uncle didn't die, PJ was just covering for me. I overreacted, man period or something." I tried to keep my tone light but cringed internally, "I was just in a bad mood I guess, sorry mate."

I squeezed my eyes shut as I waited for a reply.

"Dan- I- Jakob's not my boyfriend! I wouldn't even call him a friend, he's just a-an acquaintance who I used to spend time with — Dan we're not together. You have to believe me. Dan, I-"

Phil sounded upset, and as he paused I could almost hear him chewing his lip.

"I really like you, Dan." His voice was suddenly quiet. "I only like you. And, if you want to know, the reason I was happy earlier was that, well, I had just seen Jakob. To tell him I didn't ever want to see him again. Me and Jakob, we were never like that. He probably has a girlfriend for all I know."

"Oh," I let out the breath I had been holding slowly through my nose. My head was a blur, the room was spinning in front of my eyes as I tried to take in his words. "Who is he then? Why do you spend so much time with him? What-"

"I- can't tell you. I'm sorry. it's complicated. If I could, I would. I promise. You have to trust me."

I stayed silent; lost for words for a full minute staring blankly at the wall.

"D-Dan? Are you still there?" Phil's voice came over the phone.

"Yeah," I breathed out, "Okay. Well I, thanks for letting me know. I- Bye." I hung up and immediately swore loudly.

Quickly I fumbled for the redial button, but changed my mind; instead bringing up the message I'd been typing to PJ and erasing it.

Hey Peej. Thanks for that, I really appreciate it, but I just told him anyway — spur of the moment thing.

Quick question: Do you trust Phil? Cheers.

Dan-

I waited.

Suddenly I realised I was chewing my nails. I wrenched my hand away from my mouth, cursing. I thought I'd ditched that habit years ago. I eyed the crudely bitten stumps with disgust.

1 new message: PJ Liguori

Hey Dan, I did wonder what you'd said to make him lock himself in the bathroom. No worries. As to your question, you've got to make those decisions for yourself. Someone else's opinion won't change yours, this is a part of life you have to deal with alone — I can't dictate your morals. But, for what it's worth, I would trust Phil with my life. Try not to hurt him.

Peej-

My intake of breath was so sharp I managed to choke on it. Smooth. Coughing and spluttering, I reached again for the redial button.

"Hey-"

"Phil!"

"I- yeah, um, hi Dan."

"I'm really sorry I hung up on you, my mum just came in my room. I just wanted to say I..." Suddenly, I was terrified. I couldn't get the words out. I squeezed my eyes shut and decided to opt for the word vomit technique; a classic. Guaranteed to woo and impress.

"Ireallylikeyoutoo."

"Oh," Phil said, "Well, that's good." He started giggling, trying to choke out words through his laughter, and I couldn't help joining until we were both spluttering down the phone.

"I've got to go," Phil said eventually, gasping for breath. "But I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah sure." I grinned. "Bye, you."

"Bye, Dan."

I sat for a moment, staring at my computer screen, a huge smile spread across my face.  My phone buzzed again.

1 new message: PJ Liguori

Good call. See you tomorrow.

PJ-

*

"So, who is this Jakob kid if he's not your boyfriend?" PJ was lounged across the grass, soaking up a rare sunny morning with a ham sandwich and half a banana.

I watched as a shadow seemed to pass across Phil's eyes. He didn't reply for a moment, continuing to build his daisy chain cross-legged under the tree.

"I'd rather not talk about it, actually." He murmured.

"Oh. Kay, no worries." PJ said awkwardly, opening one his textbooks and then closing it again before averting his gaze to his hands folded in his lap.

I watched Phil's face. He seemed unhappy. Was it my imagination or was he very subtly chewing his lower lip?

Chris chose that moment to diffuse the tension by pretending to vomit up half his milkshake onto the grass and in no time everyone was laughing again.

It didn't stop me thinking, though. I made a resolution to look up Jakob Something as soon as I got home.

"How's the Shakespeare coming along?" Chris yawned at me, leaning back on his hands with his eyes closed.

Silently, I crawled forwards with a wide grin. "And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood!" I growled in his ear.

Chris jumped with a manly squeal and we fell about laughing.

"You're getting good. Too good." He raised his eyebrows impishly, and I retreated as fast as I could on my hands and knees.

"Nature seems DEAD, and WICKED dreams ABUUUSE!" He yelled to the sky in a rich Scottish accent, his face distorting horrifically as he crept towards me on his hands, twitching and convulsing.

"The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft CELEBRATES!"

I hid behind Phil's laughing shoulders, shaking with a mixture of laughter and fear.

"Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd... MURDER!!" With a primal snarl, he leapt.

I screamed and pulled Phil over on top of me.

Chris and I tousled amidst Phil's protests, Chris barking random Scottish phrases between breaths.

"Ow!"

"Noarrrgh get off me!"

"SHE BE A BONNY WEeeeE LASSSSSS!"

"Jesus Christ!"

"Shit!"

"Owwwwfucking hell mmmfffphAA"

"Away an beeil yer eaaaid! Ye gonny no get away from me THAT easily LADDIE!!"

Phil scrambled away from the mass of flailing limbs with a squeal, which left Chris on top of me howling Macbeth at the sky. "The wolf, whose HOOOOOOOWWL's his watch!"

He underestimated my dancer's legs though and with a bit of shifting I had him in the perfect position. With a grunt, I launched him into the sky. I overdid it a bit though as Chris was a lot lighter than I'd anticipated, flinging him bodily into PJ with a yell and a crash.

"You two are such children." Phil tutted, but ruined it with a snort of laughter as we untangled ourselves with moans of pain and inspected our respective bruises.

"Chris started it." I grumbled with a grin.

"Well you didn't have to employ your bloody rocket launcher legs," laughed Chris, massaging his thigh tenderly. "I'm going to have the biggest bruise."

I lay back panting with a smile, closing my eyes to the sky. Life was good.

*

A shadow fell across my face and I opened my eyes, squinting against the sun, expecting to see Chris or PJ back for revenge.

Too late, I realised this figure was far too large to be any of my new friends. A heavy boot crashed into my ribs and I cried out.

"Get up, pussy." Knuckles growled.

I scrambled into a sitting position, glancing over my shoulder. Chris, PJ and Phil sat staring stonily up at Knuckles in hostile silence.

"What do you want?" I muttered.

"I wanna know where you been all this time. But it looks like I found the answer." Knuckles let his eyes span slowly over the four of us with content, spitting out his chewing gum onto the grass at my feet. I could see his slow mind working, the cogs turning with a rusty squeal of protest. He was trying to decide whether he could get away with thumping me right here and now. A decision formed so obviously behind his eyes that he might as well have had a light bulb spring up above his head. "I guess I'll see you around, traitor."

He lumbered into the distance with a brief backwards glare.

Somehow I didn't think I'd seen the last of him.

"Well, that's enough excitement for one day." PJ said, after a moment's silence. "Let's go do some learning."

We turned uneasily back to our books, and tried to feign normality.

*

-Jake Clayton [4 mutual friends]

-Jake Mansford [friends]

-John Ford [78 mutual friends]

My room was lit only by the red glow of my alarm clock's digital display and the pale light of my laptop screen. Phil didn't have any friends called Jakob, and I couldn't find him in directory. Or in the alumni of any college in Reading.

Curiouser and curiouser.