After Hours - PHAN

"It'll be fun... what? Is wittle phillywilly scaaaawed!"
Alex, Charlie and PJ were laughing at me, poking at my stomach. Chris was nervously laughing behind them, obviously not too into the idea, but his head was so far up PJ's arse he'd agree with anything.
I gently tugged at my fringe, trying to redirect my embarrasment. "Phil." PJ finally got annoyed that I wasn't giving in, "You're gonna stay here or you just aren't cool enough for us... Right Chris?" PJ bit his lip after he said 'Chris', forcing the other man to answer with his penis--
"Yep, PJ. If he doesn't do it he's out, for good," Chris stumbled out, playing with his collar.

The guys, who I'd thought were my friends, had dared me to stay at school over the weekend. That is- in a cold, non-heated, huge building, with no company and locked in.
Obviously I didn't want to do any of this shit they wanted, but they were all I had. All I'd ever had...

(Play Group...)
"HEY. YOU!!" Tiny PJ had screamed in my ear, showing off a toothy grin.
"Hello! Want to play with me and Lion! Rawr!!" I giggled, waving lion around in his silky raincoat.
"What? You silly! I want to play with the cars!" he seemed to look at me like I was some sissy little girl.
"Well... Can Lion come too.....?"
He sighed, "Sure.. Maybe he'll fit into the pretty red one!!"
(Back to present day...)

Though, when me and PJ had met, he'd been nicer-- more accepting that I wasn't exactly 'tough'. Though, now we were older, PJ was dating girls and getting drunk, and seemed to forget the times when we'd play in the shimmering forest with Lion and jump from trees like aeroplanes.
Now PJ... Wasn't PJ. He was just some evil spirit inside PJ's shell, blanking all feelings from his once joyous soul. All he did now was get drunk and fail exams, not to mention the fact he was only leading Chris on to get some action when no girls were around (something Chris didn't seem to mind, seeing as he was head-over-heels in love with PJ)
"So, Lion boy? Staying?" he stared at me, almost mockingly, as if he knew I would because I had nobody else.
I looked back at Charlie and Alex. They were assholes. I'd never liked them, but PJ had, so they just followed us around. I'm pretty sure PJ changed for them, started failing school and messing people about--- and he got the idea to lead Chris on, what with Charlie and Alex being a gay couple (This was no secret. Sometimes you could hear them getting at it in the school bike shed.)
I looked at Chris. He was looking at PJ, melting his once trustwothy mind away.
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." They all bared their teeth at me. PJ looked disgusted that I'd given in so easy.

But, hey. I have nobody else.

------------------------------------------------

I'd waved off my 'friends' about 3 hours ago. It was now 6 o'clock and I was crouching behind a bin to hear when the care takers and headmistress were leaving.
Oh, I hear someone...
"Hehe--- Mark, but you're married!" I heard in the distance.
"Sarah? Nooo, she's just... an old friend..."
"But you've got 3 kids, you dog!"
"No, Zoe, 3 broken cond'ms" . Laughter.
I saw Mr. Brickly, our caretaker, dragging Miss. Hook, our head mistress, along the marble floors of our school hallway. Miss. Hook was stumbling behind Mr. Brickly, obviously a bit tipsy. The two were at the door in moments, Brickly searching for his keys and unlocking the door as fast as he could. CLICK. The lock snapped open, the sound causing my ears to sting a bit.
The married man and my headmistress clawed at eachother and planted kisses whereever they could, before slamming into the doors and bursting outside, then ---
CLICK
-locking the doors once more.

I was alone.
In school.
Alone.

I hugged my hoodie closer to my body, feeling more alone than ever. I always felt as if I was by myself, even when the halls were packed with people barging into you and screaming into your ears. I'd be surounded by people with noone to talk to.
This was worse.
There was too much silence, too much empty space for me to actually say something instead of being interupted.... With nobody to hear.
It made me want PJ to be himself again, not the disgusting piece of shit he was now...
I dug into my pocket and pulled out Lion. I'd dressed him in a tiny hoodie and he had a small backpack on, just like I did. "We're in this together, old pal," I whispered into his mane, feeling as if he was the only person worth talking to.

I finally staggered to my feet, examining the open space infront of me. Green lockers on the right, red lockers on the left. The school's mascot, Dave Donkey, was painted proudly upon the marble floor, a spiral of vines and flowers in a circle around him.
The school was really quite magical without the other students ruining it.
I began walking through the halls, staring at the marble beneath my feet. The patterns were mesmerising, the lines ending in different places and specs of glitter when you looked at it from different perspectives. 'I wanna live a life from a new perspective...' I mumbled to myself, feeling as if I was learning new, actual meanings from these simple lyrics as I gazed upon this new beauty to my life.
Turning a corner, I froze. What was that noise..? CLIPCLOPCLIPCLIPCLOPCLOPCLIPCLOP. It sounded like... No. I'm just going mental. If I told anyone I was hearing things they'd send me off to be cut up and examined in a zoo.
I started speed-walking now, a little creeped at this sound.
I couldn't place what it was-- I hadn't heard an actual sound for about 3 hours (besides hearing people having an affair, but that's not an everyday sound)
I suddenly remembered the Breakfast Club and figured that today would be fun-- I'd go crazy through the school! I mean, I'd always wanted to do that skid-thing around the corridoors....
I stopped, looked around and realised I was in a long corridor. I grinned to myself, and got in a comfortable position....
Then I shot off like a bullet. WHIIP. I could hear the air hitting against my ears, the slight wind coursing through my hair- I jumped into a sideways position and skidded on the gorgeous marble....
Shit.

ASjaoidisufhdiuahsbfiIUBAIUSHBIAUDiuFUCKINGHELLDSIAHCIUSHXIUHAoUUCHYCHIUSHUIAOJSoHAOIUHSOUH
*BAM*

"Ow.. Owwwww..." I squealed as I'd fallen to the floor with a BAMM. I was in a tangle of arms, in the dark, with someone who I couldn't see properly-- I was confused what to feel. Terrified? Why were they at school!? Excited? Maybe it was someone lovely... Maybe Chris'd decided to stay with me!...
"Oh, sorry mate!" a cheeky voice said from above me. He'd obviously already gotten up, no stressing that we'd collided. I saw a hand stick out before me and I grabbed onto it and got up. I looked curiously at who this cheeky voice belonged to...
"Thank you!" I laughed out, a bit embarrased that I'd made such a deal, "Umm... but... Why are you here? Who- who are you?"
The boy looked a little confused, but then something must've clicked, "Why am I-- OH! Ha, I just like staying here... I kinda hate going home to my family, the assholes," he laughed as if it was a completely normal thing he had to tell people, "And me? I'm Daniel James Howell. Call me Dan"
He bowed jokingly, but I literally couldn't believe it..
Daniel Howell?
The one who cut off all the CCTV cameras so he could make-out with one of the Science Teachers (still unknown which one, the cameras WERE off after all)?
The one who was expelled but still ended up returning to the school for god knows what?
The one who........
Wow. I felt like I was in a royal's presence.
Dan looked at me, head cocked, "So, Lion. What's your name?"
He'd seen Lion. I hastily shoved him back into my pocket and awkwardly giggled, "Name's Phil.. Philip Michael Lester, if that's how formal you like to be"
"Yes, yes. Formal's good, Phil!" he gave me a slanted smile, turned on his heel and skipped off.
"Skipping, Dan?"
"Why ever not, Philip!? It's not as if your moany little friend PJ and his gang of gay-followers are here to judge you now..."
I wanted to defend PJ, but I realised it was all true... "Good point, posh-tot"
"HEY, I'm not POSH, Lion! Just come down here and skip with me and we'll go do some shit... Not drugs, don't be worried... C'mon, tell me why you're here..." He was still skipping off, so I speedily skipped to catch up with him.
"...Sure... Let's talk..."