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philsdrill · 7 years ago

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Chapter 21: Interference

Fic Summary: “Everyone had a link with their soulmates, some could hear some of their partners thoughts, some had a tattoo that would appear with their partners name; for me, I knew when they got sick.” For a while Phil has thought that his soulmate might have an eating disorder and doesn’t expect to meet him in the restaurant where he works.

Genre: a lot of fluff, recovery, really fucking domestic, waiter!Phil

Warnings: eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, hospitals, panic attacks, references to past abuse, mentions of suicide, mentions of self-harm, a lot of awkwardness, small amounts of smut. This is potentially triggering so for your own sake, please think twice about reading if anything this might affect you.

Disclaimer: I don’t have personal experience with eating disorders, but have done some research. If I have anything about them wrong, feel free to send me an ask and I’ll sort it out.

Word Count (for this part): 6.4k

[Uploads will be approximately every couple of weeks! (hopefully)]

A/N: Okay this chapter is kinda fillery and not very focused on Dan and Phil, but has quite a family vibe and we see how they can use their experiences to help dans brother and his soulmate... Also I’ve started the next chapter and I’m finally free from high school (forever) so that’s good news for me getting time to write :D

MASTERPOST

<= Previous Chapter

Dan’s POV:

The next day, it seemed that both Adam and his soulmate were feeling a lot better. I suspected it was probably their first sexual experience together as soulmates, even if they hadn’t been physically together. It wasn’t something that Phil and I had been able to experience, but I was willing to bet it was quite something.

Wednesday and Thursday flew by in a jumble of activities with a couple of meals out thrown in there. Nothing terribly eventful happened; Phil and I were both careful about what we ate and felt fine as a result. Phil did find himself having to ask if something contained dairy, and with it being a fairly healthy place, I got on okay.

We went out both days: going to an old car show that was happening in the next town and doing a little bit of shopping with Adam. He hadn’t had any luck with meeting his soulmate, but their bond was quickly getting stronger. Adam was spending a lot of time in his head, trying to help his soulmate. He was probably still borderline suicidal, but both parties were feeling the bond strengthening and that meant something.

With it now being Friday lunchtime, we were getting ready for Phil’s doctors appointment. There had initially been the possibility of Phil’s mum going with him so I could stay with Adam, but she’d had something else on. Okay, maybe we could’ve left Adam at our flat, but I still didn’t quite feel he was stable enough to be left on his own.

We left about two o’clock, giving us plenty of time as the appointment was at quarter past. I drove us there, as although he had no reason to be, Phil seemed a little anxious. I’d make sure to go into the appointment with him so I could be there if he needed me.

Phil checked in at the front desk to let them know he was here, then the three of us went to sit in the waiting area. We hadn’t been sitting down long when I noticed Adam starting to act a little weird. He seemed to be holding his head as if it was hurting him and he looked really dazed.

“Adam?” I said, trying to get his attention, “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Adam mumbled, “There’s like some weird interference with my soulmate bond and I don’t know what’s happening, it’s making my head hurt.”

“Okay,” I nodded, taking in what he was saying but not being sure what to do, “I’ll stay with you when Phil goes for his appointment and maybe we can go outside and see if that helps.”

“Thanks,” Adam, nodded, burying his head in his hands again.

I’m sure he’d heard most of what was happening, but I relayed the situation to Phil, apologising that I wouldn’t be coming with him into his appointment after all. Phil took it okay, I knew he would. He understood that what was going on with Adam was a lot more complex and unpredictable than his appointment.

I took Phil’s hand in mine as he waited to be called, giving him what little comfort I could. In doing so, I noticed the guy who had given me weird looks for holding Phil’s hand last week. He was back, but this time with a teenage boy next to him. It struck me that he was maybe around sixteen or seventeen. He looked a little older than Adam, with the clear beginnings of some facial hair and a more developed figure. What puzzled me, however, was the relationship between the two of them. The boy was clearly not comfortable with the older man. Even as an onlooker, I could see the tension between them. There was a resemblance, so I knew they must be related, but I couldn’t quite figure out how.

“Phil Lester?” the doctor’s voice broke through my thoughts and made Phil jump in his seat.

I let go of Phil’s hand, allowing him to get up. I mumbled a little goodbye to him, telling him that I would see him soon. If Adam and I weren’t here when he returned, the furthest we would be was outside. I watched as he made his way over to the doctor, relieved when he was welcomed with a comforting smile. Phil was in good hands.

Adam’s state hadn’t changed either way and I was about to suggest going outside, when my attention flicked back to the teenager sat across from us. He didn’t seem to be having too great a time either. He had his head tipped to one side, resting on his hand. His eyes were rimmed with red and his sleeves were pulled up to his fingertips.

I was just trying to figure out what sort of problem he might be here with - it wasn’t uncommon for me to start analysing other patients in waiting rooms - when he made eye contact with me. At first he looked startled, which anyone would if they realised they were being watched. Then some kind of recognition crossed his expression which puzzled me. I shouldn’t know him should I? I followed his gaze more carefully and realised that it was actually focused on Adam. Surely they wouldn’t know each other.

Turning my attention away so I wasn’t so clearly watching, I listened in to what he said, “Dad that guy over there is an old friend who I haven’t seen in years… I’m gonna go talk to him.”

He started to make his way over but I was still in too deep thought to let Adam know. I guess he must be someone who used to go to Adam’s school and then moved up North. That would be the only explanation.

“Dan,” Adam said, urgently, “Dan, I don’t know what’s happening. I’m like seeing myself from across the room and hearing everything twice and my head hurts so much.”

I was about to try and find a doctor who could help him, when a realisation crossed my mind. The boy walking across the room. Adam seeing himself from across the room. The interference. This was his soulmate.

“Adam, it’s your soulmate, he’s here,” I told him positively, lifting pushing his hands away from his head and forcing him to look across the room.

Adam looked up and the expression of his face transformed immediately to one of wonder; his eyes wide in surprise and a smile on his face. The boy reached us and Adam immediately got up to hug him, not even saying a thing.

I watched as they hugged. I could tell there was more being exchanged between them than just a simple embrace. They hugged for what seemed like the best part of a minute, before finally, they collapsed back into the seats.

It was only now that they formally introduced themselves. I guess they still hadn’t been able to exchange names through their minds, even in that moment of meeting.

“I’m Ethan,” the boy said.

“Adam,” Adam replied.

They proceeded to talk very quietly; I presumed so that Ethan’s dad wouldn’t figure out that he’d met his soulmate. For the five minutes that followed, they wouldn’t stop talking. I couldn’t hear any of what they were saying, but that didn’t bother me.

They were interrupted when another doctor came through to the waiting room, calling out “Ethan Barclay?”

“That’s me,” Ethan mumbled, getting to his feet.

“I'll talk to you when you're out, okay,” Adam said to him.

“Okay,�� Ethan said, heading away with a small smile on his face.

Adam and I watched Ethan head over to the doctor. His dad didn’t follow him, not even glancing up to watch his son walk away. Okay, maybe Ethan hadn’t wanted him to join, but the fact he didn’t even look up showed their relationship wasn’t the best.

I knew Adam would be doing his best to keep a neutral expression, but I could tell there was a lot going on in his head at the moment. He was smiling, but also shaking at the same time.

“You okay?” I asked him, putting an arm around his shoulders, “It’s a lot, isn’t it.”

“I-I’m fine, just a little shaken up,” he said, stumbling over his words, “I wasn’t expecting that. Oh god, I’m so glad I’ve met him, but we can’t let his dad know, so I’m trying to keep a straight face.”

“Good plan,” I mumbled to him, “Now, seeing as he used the excuse of you being an old friend he hasn’t seen in years, we can see if his dad’ll let him come over or something. Like we’ll wait ‘til he’s back out from his appointment, but I’m happy to go over and speak to him.”

“That would be good,” Adam said, “I’d better come too though, and make a good impression.”

Phil came out of his appointment and made his way over to us, looking slightly puzzled, probably about why we hadn’t stood up to go. I mock patted the seat next to me, gesturing for him to sit down. At first, I made no explanation, starting with asking him how the appointment had been.

“We just talked about how I’ve been feeling over the last week. I explained that I’d felt fine every day apart from that little milk incident. We’ve agreed that it's definitely lactose intolerance,” Phil told me, sounding a lot more relaxed now that the appointment was over. “I’m to continue avoiding it, but he says that I may find that things with minimal amounts of milk are okay, like popcorn with a splash in the ingredients.”

“You feeling a bit better about things now?” I asked him, my hand sliding across his lap to find his.

“Yeah, I’m happy to have it confirmed and I feel like I can get on with my life now, even despite a few dietary adjustments,” Phil said cheerily, “It was horrible not knowing what was making me sick, but it's okay now.”

“I’m glad,” I said, happy for him, “But I’m here for you if it ever gets too much.”

“Thanks,” Phil mumbled happily, “Umm, why are we still here?”

“Well…” I started, unable to stop a smile from forming on my face as the news was so exciting, “Adam’s met his soulmate.”

From the fact I was whispering, Phil gathered that he wasn’t to make a big thing about it. He looked at me, a little puzzled, wanting me to explain.

“His name’s Ethan. He had to go for his appointment, but Adam’s gonna speak to him once he’s out. Ethan’s dad thinks that Adam is an old friend, so we’re hoping we can invite him over to our flat for a bit so they can get to know each other, or ‘catch up’,” I explained in hushed tones to Phil.

“Okay,” Phil nodded, looking excited but a tad concerned, “Ethan… d’you know if he’s okay?”

“Well he’s alive and I saw him smiling, so that’s two positives,” I explained, “Okay, he did look like he’d been crying not long ago and he had his sleeves pulled up to hide his wrists, but I think he’ll get through this.”

The three of us waited there for Ethan came back out of his appointment. He wandered through the waiting room, stopping at the counter to organise his next appointment. He spoke to his dad for the best part of thirty seconds, before making his way back over to us. This time, Phil and I got a proper introduction to him and he learned that I was his soulmate’s brother.

Before he could get involved in too much of a conversation with Adam, I mentioned to him what I’d mentioned to Adam and Phil, “Adam’s staying with me and Phil at the moment, but we wondered if you’d like to come over to our flat and ‘catch up’.”

Ethan nodded, “Yeah, that would be fantastic, but I’m not sure if my dad will let me.”

“Well we’ll come over with you when you ask him,” I said confidently, “Phil and I know what you’ve been going through, so we get that he might be a little hesitant.”

“Thanks,” he said, running a hand through his hair nervously.

I noticed as he ran his hand through his hair that his sleeve slipped, revealing a number of red scars, but I averted my eyes and didn’t say anything.

I realised that there was nothing stopping us from going to ask Ethan’s dad now, so we got up and headed over there to see him. I did the talking, kindly asking Ethan’s dad if he would mind us having him for the afternoon. I mentioned how it would be good for them to have a catch up and that Phil and I wouldn’t be going anywhere.

After asking a couple of questions, such as where we lived and what relation I was to Adam, he eventually agreed. However, he wanted a word with me alone before we left. I sent Phil out to the car with Adam and Ethan and spoke to Mr Barclay within the waiting room.

“That’s your soulmate isn’t it, he said, what’s his name?” he asked me.

“Phil,” I responded, nervous as I knew this man was very homophobic.

“Well, I want you and Phil showing no affection in front of my son, okay. It’s wrong for you to be with someone of the same gender and I don’t want this tainting my son,” he said, firmly, “In fact, if it was down to me, I wouldn’t even let him go to your flat in the first place, but I can tell it means a lot to him, catching up with your brother. He’s been going through some hard times of recent and although our relationship is a bit strained at the moment, I’m doing this to make him happy.”

“Okay,” I nodded, “I understand. Well personally I don’t agree with your viewpoint, but Phil and I can keep our hands off each when he’s there; that is fine.”

“Thank you,” he said, a strained smile on his face as he clearly had to try to be polite, “Now, as I said, he’s been going through some hard times recently. He’s tried to take his life… twice. Just keep an eye on him for me; I don’t want him to miss out on his future with a good job and a nice wife.”

“I will do,” I promised him, “Phil and I are going to be at home the whole afternoon and we’ll make sure to keep an eye on him.”

“Okay, thank you,” he said, “Ethan has his phone, make sure he calls me for a lift home. He can’t be out on the streets by himself.”

“Okay,” I nodded, “Equally, Phil or I can give him a lift and save you the bother.”

“That would be great, but still get him to let me know when he’s on his way,” he finished, “Right, goodbye… Dan.”

The four of us headed for the car; Phil drove this time as he no longer had the nerves about his appointment. I sat with Phil in the front whilst Adam and Ethan sat in the back. The two of them were talking a lot already and I knew I should think up a couple of ground rules for them. It wouldn’t be hard for two teenagers to get carried away and have sex before they were ready. Being destined to be together for life doesn’t necessarily mean you should jump each other the first time you meet.

Finally making my decision on what was best for them, I spoke up to let them know, “Adam, you and Ethan can go into your room as long as you keep the door open.”

Adam groaned, “C’mon Dan, why?”

“Adam, you’re fifteen and I know what it’s like being a teenager. I’m not letting you two get carried away when you’ve only just met,” I explained.

Adam produced another disgruntled noise, then raised his eyebrows at Ethan. It unsettled me a little to know that they communicating through just their thoughts.

“You’re fifteen?” Ethan said aloud, after a delay.

“Yeah,” Adam replied, a little stunned, “Why, what age are you?”

“Seventeen, only by a couple of weeks though,” Ethan explained.

“Ahh okay,” Adam said, now looking more calm, “I’m nearly sixteen; my birthday’s on the twenty-fifth.”

“Oooh so you’re not legal yet,” Ethan teased, “No wonder you’re brother’s all worried about that.”

“Shut up,” Adam said, turning red.

I was quite amused by how the pair of them were getting on already, though really it should’ve been no surprise since their souls have known each other their whole lives. I stopped listening into their conversation when Ethan brought up the other night, as their mutual masturbation was not something I really needed to hear about, as interesting as it was.

Phil pulled into the car park for our block of flats, where Adam and Ethan had to momentarily pause their conversation to get out the car. After informing Ethan that we were on the second floor, I handed Adam my key and told the two of them to go on ahead.

Phil and I took it a little more slowly, feeling a bit like old men in comparison to the two teenagers. When we went through our front door, a couple of minutes after the other two, I found two pairs of matching Vans abandoned on the floor. I found that quite endearing, that they happened to have been wearing the same shoes.

I was glad to see that Adam had listened to my request and kept the door open. He and Ethan were both sitting cross-legged on the bed, one at either end, talking to each other. As I was heading to the kitchen anyway, to get myself something to drink, I thought I would be a hospitable host and ask them if they wanted a drink too.

“Do you guys want anything to drink?” I asked, standing in the doorway.

“Yeah, umm some ribena would be nice,” Adam said, knowing that was something that we had.

“What do you have?” Ethan asked, “Like fanta or lucozade or something? It was a blood test I was in for and I’m feeling kinda… ehh…”

“Yeah, we’ve got lucozade,” I said, thinking of when Phil needed it earlier in the week.

“Thanks,” Ethan said, as I left the room and headed for the kitchen.

I made three glasses of ribena and took one of the lucozades out the cupboard. I left mine and Phil’s in the kitchen and took the drinks through to Adam and Ethan. Adam now seemed to be hugging Ethan, or at least holding him in a slightly odd way.

I didn’t think much of it until Adam spoke up, “Dan, he’s feeling dizzy, what do I do?”

“Right, he needs to lay down,” I said, laying the drinks down on the bedside table and helping Ethan off Adam and down onto the bed.

I don’t think he actually passed out, but he was certainly close to it. Once he was safely laying down and Adam was no longer freaking out quite so much, I pulled a chair across the room and sat down to speak to them.

“Ethan, you’re going to be okay. You just need to lay down for a minute and then get up slowly,” I explained, “I’ve brought you lucozade so that’ll help.”

“Are you feeling sick at all?” I asked him, feeling that was important to ask as it often went with dizziness.

“No,” he mumbled, “But I feel kinda weird.”

“Have you eaten today?” I asked, knowing that often you couldn’t eat before a blood test.

“No,” he said, “Not since… lunch yesterday.”

“Oh god, right,” I said, “I’m going to get you something to eat. D’you like… uhh... ham sandwiches?”

“Yeah, they’re okay, thanks,” he agreed.

“Okay, stay lying down for the moment, I’ll be back in a couple minutes,” I explained, again hurrying off for the kitchen.

I roped Phil in to help, knowing that he’d be able to help me get the sandwich-making done faster. I explained to him what was happening and he jumped up to help.

“Maybe grab him one of those energy drinks?” Phil suggested as he cut up the sandwiches.

“Already done,” I said, “I was going to get it for him and I came back to him almost passing out on Adam.”

I took the sandwiches from Phil and took them through to Adam’s room. Adam gave him a hand to sit up and lean against the headboard, then I passed him the food and drink.

“Something similar happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I had a blood test,” I explained, “Drink up and have some of the sandwiches and you’ll feel better in no time.”

I made sure Adam knew to shout if there were any problems, then left the room and headed back to the living room to be with Phil. Neither of us had any plans for the afternoon, so cuddling lazily on the sofa seemed like a nice idea.

“I really hope everything goes more smoothly for them now,” Phil mused, “Like they've both been hurting so much, I hope knowing each other will help.”

“Yeah, same,” I said, “But I feel like it's gonna kill Adam when he has to go back home on Sunday and leave him here.”

“Oh god, yeah,” Phil exclaimed, “I hadn't thought about that.”

“We'll see how things come together over the weekend, but I'm gonna make sure Ethan has our contact numbers,” I explained to Phil, “So if anything happens he's got someone around here who understands.”

“Yeah, good plan,” Phil agreed.

After an hour or so, I went to check on Adam and Ethan. I wanted to see how they were doing without getting in their face and I trusted that Adam would've let me know if they'd needed anything.

This time as I arrived in the doorway, I found them cuddling, Adam being the big spoon, with his arms around Ethan, who looked a little teary-eyed.

“You guys doing okay?” I asked, startling them slightly.

At this, Ethan moved to hide his face in Adam's chest and it was Adam who replied, “He's not feeling too great, but we're talking about it.”

“Ahh ‘kay, I’ll leave you to it,” I said, not wanting to intrude, “Let me know if you need anything?”

“Actually Dan,” Adam started, “I know it's not quite the same, but you’ve had issues with yourself, how d’you make yourself feel better?”

“Ehmm,” I started, trying to think about how I could relate my own experiences to Ethan’s, “To be honest, it was Phil that helped me to feel better. Like yes, it was me that actually had to take the action and start eating again and learn to love my body again, but Phil was by my side to encourage me. I wasn’t strong enough to feel better by myself, but Ethan has you now, so maybe he doesn’t need to be either. Lots of cuddles are good and talking about your feelings is by far one of the best things you can do. I think you two are on the right track already, which is good.”

“Were you… anorexic then?” Ethan asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, well being bulimic was my biggest issue, but I had anorexic tendencies too,” I explained, “I don’t think I’ve completely recovered, but I’m getting by. Accepting I had a problem was the biggest struggle for me.”

“Ahh,” Ethan nodded, “I know Adam’s told you about my dad and how I’ve tried…”

Ethan paused, looking like he was struggling to continue. After a couple of seconds intently looking at Adam, he continued, “T-takingmylife, but… I’m really struggling about how my Dad’s going to disown me if he knows about Adam. I really don’t know what to do, because I’m destined to be with Adam, but I’m going to lose my family and although they’re homophobic, it's still scary because I’m only seventeen and I’m going to be losing all their support and I haven’t even finished high school yet. Until today, I just felt like it would be easier to end it all. I know that makes me such a wuss; I’ve heard that enough times from my dad over the last month or so, but I’m scared. I just wish he would be more open minded and I could have both, but I guess I’m going to have to be secretive about Adam and I don’t know how long that could last.”

Ethan broke down after saying all that, apologising to Adam as he started sobbing into his chest. Adam insisted it was fine and I could see him trying to be comforting, rubbing his hand up and down Ethan’s back. It saddened me to see how broken he was, but at the same time, I could see a bit of me and Phil in the earlier days of our relationship in them. I was about to back off to give them some space when Ethan took a couple of deep breaths and managed to calm himself a bit.

“Sorry for dumping all of that on you, Dan,” he said, “I…”

“It’s fine,” I told him, “Honestly, I know I haven’t gone through the same things, but I know what it’s like to be struggling and spilling emotions everywhere. Also, I know it’s not much, but Phil and I will be able to help you out if you do find yourself out on the street or anything.”

“Thanks,” Ethan said, smiling tearfully, “I’d been thinking about how I’d have nowhere to go, so that makes me feel a lot better.”

“While it’s on my mind, can I just give you me and Phil’s numbers?” I asked him, “Clearly I’m hoping things will turn out okay, but as a precaution.”

Ethan agreed that was an idea and passed me his phone. I put in my number and then pulled my phone out my pocket to find Phil’s. I made sure to save Ethan as a contact in my phone, so I would know who it was if he’d called. In doing this, Adam and Ethan realised that they should probably exchange numbers too. They’d been so caught up in having just met each other that it hadn't quite crossed their minds yet.

“Dan, we need to let Mum and Dad know,” Adam said suddenly, a tad excited.

“Oh yeah,” I laughed, knowing they would be over the moon to know, “Can I send her a picture?”

Adam and Ethan agreed and posed for a picture, not moving from the cuddly position they were in. I had to admit, it was very cute and I knew our mum would love it. I sent it to her, along with a little caption about Ethan.

This is Ethan, Adam’s soulmate. They met this afternoon about half past two, in the doctor’s waiting room, as Phil was in for an appointment. They’re both very happy to have met. Ethan isn’t very good mentally, but I think having met Adam is going to help him a lot. It’ll be difficult as they live so far apart, but I’m sure they’ll figure something out. A lot of hugs (and tears) have been exchanged so far this afternoon, but I think all is good.

It was a couple of minutes before our mum replied, but she was as excited as I’d imagined. Her text contained lots of exclamation marks and she wanted me to congratulate them on her behalf.

“Mum says congrats, with about a billion exclamation marks,” I told Adam, “She’s happy for you guys.”

“Ethan, are you staying for dinner?” I asked, “No idea what we’re having yet, but Phil will cook something up to suit.”

“Umm, I don’t know, I’d like to but....” he paused.

“But?” I asked, “You got an allergy or something?”

“No, I’ll just need to text my dad and see,” he said, hesitantly.

“Okay, just come and let Phil and I know when you know,” I said, heading back to the living room to be with Phil and discuss dinner.

It turned out that Phil had been thinking of making chilli chicken, which sounded pretty good to me. I knew Adam liked spicy stuff, so that would be fine it was just the three of us, but I didn’t really know about Ethan’s tastes.

Adam and Ethan came through to the living room about ten minutes later, with the news that Ethan could stay for dinner. He was now beaming, a nice change from his earlier tears. I was glad to see him looking happy.

“How d’you like chilli chicken?” Phil asked him, “That’s what I was thinking of making for dinner, but equally I can do something else.”

“Uhh... I do like chilli,” Ethan said hesitantly, “But I’ve had a bit of a sensitive stomach since I got it pumped, so umm probably something else would be best.”

“Chicken casserole?” Phil suggested, “Just fairly plain, no spices - would that be okay?”

“That would be great thanks,” Ethan said, looking a bit more relaxed.

Phil spent the next hour or so cooking. I lent a hand to chop up the vegetables and stir the pot now and then, but it was best just to leave it to him. In the end, the meal was delicious, and it suited everyone, which was ideal. It was so good that I actually found myself going up for more, which surprised Phil no end.

All four of us stayed in the living room after dinner, not really doing anything other than chatting. Phil and I had commandeered our usual sofa, but Adam and Ethan were happily cuddled up on the other one.

I realised that having seconds maybe hadn’t been such a good idea when I started to feel a bit nauseous and bloated. My body wasn’t used to that much food. I let Phil know that I wasn’t feeling so good, but there wasn’t really much we could do other than wait it out and hope I felt better. Phil became a little more cuddly after I told him that, and was more than happy to be the one to take Ethan home when I asked him.

Phil’s POV:

At half nine, it was time for me to take Ethan home. Originally Dan was going to do it, but he’d eaten a bit too much at dinner and was feeling a little off. It wasn’t anything to worry about, but he was much better off staying snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket and a glass of water than going out in the car.

I decided not to take Adam with me, because I knew that would make the whole trip longer as they’d have to say their goodbyes in the car. It was much easier for them to do that in our flat, where they had more time and didn’t have the risk of Ethan’s dad peering out of a window.

For them, saying goodbye consisted of a long hug, a few words and probably many exchanged thoughts. Adam finished it off with a kiss to Ethan’s cheek, something small which had him blushing a deep pink. I couldn’t be sure, as they’d been alone in Adam’s room most of the time, but I suspected they hadn’t actually kissed yet so that small action was really something quite big in their relationship front.

Adam looked a little sad as we left, which didn’t surprise me. It was a well known fact that leaving your soulmate was hard, but particularly so when you’d just met and everything about your relationship was uncertain. As I started the engine of the car, I looked up to our lounge window and saw Adam’s shape silhouetted against the darkness. I couldn’t make out his facial features, but from his posture, I could tell he was sad.

I think he must’ve seen me looking, because he started to wave. I realised it was probably Ethan he was wanting to wave to so I let him know.

“Ethan look up, Adam’s waving to you,” I told him, now starting to move off.

I reversed slowly, giving them a little longer to wave to each other before finally pulling out of the car park. Ethan directed me to where he lived, which wasn’t too far away. It was past the park and more towards the restaurant, not too far from where Dan and I used to live. As we pulled up outside his house, the lights came on in the car and I turned around to see him.

He was crying a little and I could tell it was just him struggling with the thought of leaving Adam. Either that or he was dreading going back in to face his dad.

“You’re stronger than you think,” I told him, trying to be encouraging, “You can do this. Adam’s still going to be here tomorrow and Sunday morning, so if you’re parents are okay with it, you’re more than welcome to come over. After Sunday, he’ll still only be a phone call away, and as Dan said, I know it’s not the same, but we’ll be around.”

After an attempt at a smile and a wipe of his eyes, Ethan thanked me and headed into his house. I watched him go and made sure he was in his front door before I left.

I headed back home, where it turned out that Adam had been feeling a bit sad too. Dan had been trying to cheer him up, or at least trying to. He wasn’t feeling too great, so his cheering up skills maybe weren’t quite as polished as usual.

“Ethan was crying in the car about having to leave you,” I told him, “You guys, shouldn’t be so sad. You’ve met and that’s amazing and you can now talk to each other even if it’s over the phone.”

“Actually,” Dan started, “Why not go do that. Text him and get him to call you when he’s ready.”

Adam went to do that, then proceeded to be on the phone to him for the next hour. Meanwhile, I was cuddling with Dan on the sofa. He was feeling a little bit better, but he still had a bit of a stomach ache. I’d sorted him out with some peppermint tea and a hot water bottle then got a couple of blankets to make things cosy.

I think Dan’s stomach slowly started to settle, because eventually he seemed a lot more relaxed. It was hard to tell because he was still looking pretty miserable.

“Are you feeling a bit better?” I asked him, smoothly running my hands over his stomach.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said, flatly, “My stomach’s better, but I just feel a bit sad for some reason.”

“D’you know why?” I asked him softly.

“Not really, no,” he replied, “I mean I’m happy for Adam, but I think I’ve just had a long day.”

“Shall we maybe head for bed then?” I suggested, “Sounds like you could do with some sleep.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Dan replied, not really sounding like his heart was in it.

Knowing he needed the encouragement, I got up with Dan from the sofa and guided him through to our bedroom.

“Find yourself some cosy pyjamas, go and brush your teeth and get yourself comfortable,” I told him, “I’m going to lock up and say goodnight to Adam then I’ll join you.”

I made sure that everything that needed to be was locked or turned off, before making my way to the guest room, where Adam was still on the phone. I knocked and waited until he invited me in. He’d clearly paused his conversation to talk to me as I could see from the phone he held in his hand that the call was still ongoing.

“Dan and I are going to bed,” I told him, “I know it's maybe a bit early for you, but you should get off the phone soon and think about heading to bed, yourself.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll do that soon,” Adam nodded, “Is Dan feeling any better?”

“A bit yeah, but he’s still not that good; I think he’s super tired,” I explained.

“Okay,” Adam nodded, “Well I won’t keep him up by talking; I’ll say goodnight to Ethan and get myself to bed.”

“Great, thanks,” I said, smiling, “You and Ethan feeling a bit happier now?”

“Yeah; it just felt a bit soon to leave him, but it's really reassuring to speak to him on the phone,” Adam explained, a small smile on his face.

As I left and headed back to mine and Dan’s room, I heard Adam finishing up his call and saying goodbye. I didn’t wait around to hear if any ‘I love you’s were exchanged, but I wouldn’t have put it past them; they were really close pretty quickly.

Dan was sitting up in bed with the duvet wrapped around him, looking sleepy. I told him that I would be with him in two minutes and headed into the bathroom to quickly whizz my toothbrush around my mouth. Finally, I tossed on some pyjamas and got into bed with him, pulling up the corner of the duvet and sliding in next to him,

We cuddled for a little while before we tried to get to sleep, really waiting until Adam had stopped making noise. I could hear him running water in the bathroom, so I was glad he’d listened and actually got ready for bed now, rather than later.

The peaceful cuddling didn’t last long before it became peaceful sleeping on Dan’s part. He fell asleep in my arms before I had even put the lamp off, so I had to carefully reach out and flick the switch without disturbing him.

As I laid with him, trying to get to sleep myself, I held Dan close. He’d seemed a lot more fragile this evening than he had in awhile and I wanted to do my best to make him feel okay again.

Next Chapter =>

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