"Daniel Howell, follow me to my office, please." Mr Quinn said, making Dan sigh. He forced himself to stand up and his legs were like jelly. His vision also blurred a little, probably from his lack of energy. Dan trudged behind Mr Quinn down the corridor until they reached a small door. "You haven't been showing up to class for the last week."

"Sorry." Dan grumbled, his eyelids worryingly heavy. He knew he had black lines underneath his eyes and the teacher was probably about to question those.

"PJ spoke to us the other day. He said he was worried about you." Dan bit his lip, suddenly feeling very bad about his behaviour. "You haven't been leaving your room, have you? Have you even been eating?"

"No." Dan mumbled, hoping the teacher couldn't hear him. He could.

"Dan, maybe it's best you went home."

"Please, no. I can't do that to my aunt. I was just a burden to her."

"You're better off at home. You have a therapist back there and you know everyone and you have someone to properly look after you. You really need more support than we can give you here."

"I don't want to go home."

"I'm sorry, Dan. We can't keep you here if you're unhappy."

"I'll be even sadder at home though-"

"I'll give you a week. If you don't start going to class, I'll be forced to call your aunt to come and pick you up."

"Okay..." Dan stood up, wiping his eyes with his fists.

-

Dan forced himself out of bed the next day, to both his and PJ's surprise. "Are you okay?" PJ asked, softly smiling as Dan grabbed some clothes to wear.

"Not really." Dan mumbled, shrugging.

-

"Dan!" Phil exclaimed once he saw Dan sit down at the lunch table. They hadn't shared any classes that morning so he had no idea that Dan had pushed himself to get up. "You're here! How are you feeling?"

"Terrible, if I'm honest." Dan replied, staring at the food in front of him like it was evil. He felt sick again and he knew it would get worse if he ate something.

"Oh, we missed you though. Lunch seemed boring without you. All Chris and PJ do is act all love-y and I'm just stuck third-wheeling. I missed having you to talk to."

"Did you actually miss me?"

"Of course I did. You're awesome to be around, you know. We share the same interests and I feel like I can talk to you about anything."

"You actually like having me around?"

"Yeah! You're amazing."

"You really think so?" Dan sounded so shocked and his eyes were beginning to fill with tears; Phil thought he had said the wrong thing again. Dan burst into tears and the three boys all shared worried looks. "No one has ever said that to me before. All I've ever been is a burden." Phil leaned forward and wiped away Dan's tears with his hands.

"That's very sad to hear. Dan, you're beautiful and awesome, you deserve so much more than you have. I really like you."

"Now kiss!" Chris yelled and everything felt like it was normal again. Dan found himself softly smiling to himself and the whole group were grinning too. Dan's smile was adorable, he deserved to smile so much more.

Phil shrugged, making Dan's heart beat fast. He started to lean forward whilst Dan stayed frozen into place. Just as their lips were about to collide, Phil pulled back, laughing.

"I'm straight." He chuckled but he didn't sound too sure.

Dan refused to meet his gaze, trying his best to ignore the fact that his cheeks were bright red and his heart was beating fast.