Phan - Heaven's Gonna Wait.

    "Phillip Lester?"
"Yes?" Phil replied nervously. He knew who was on the other side of the phone. It was the hospital. The image was stuck in his head. The image of Dan. He had been waiting for this phone call.

~ One day Earlier ~
"Give us the iPhone" one of the chavs said. They were following Dan and Phil down a street and now the pair were walking backwards away from the 3 men. Nobody else was around as it was late at night.
"Can't you just leave us alone? Buy your own iPhone dickheads." Dan spat at them.
"Right, you've had it now gay boy." another chav said and the next few moments were a blur. Phil felt himself being pinned down to the floor by one of the other chavs. He watched as the other two tackled Dan to the floor. Dan tried to get them off him but they both pulled out knives.
"Leave him alone!" Phil screamed knowing what they were going to do. He squirmed underneath the person that was on top of him but he was stuck. The chav forced Phil to look as Dan was stabbed over and over again. He listened as Dan's screams of pain became quieter and watched as his eyes slowly closed and he stopped moving lying in a pool of his own blood.
"C'mon, let's go before the cops turn up!" and all three of them ran. Phil lay there for a while breathing heavily, until he realized Dan was going to die if he didn't get help.
"Dan?" Phil cried shaking his best friends still form. He saw Dan's chest rising and falling weakly telling him he was still alive. "You're gonna be okay, I promise."
The ambulance and police arrived moments later. Phil went with Dan in the ambulance, he held his hand tightly as nurse and doctors did everything to keep him alive until they got to hospital, but Dan didn't wake up, he stayed unconscious. A nurse shone a light in his eyes to try and get a reaction but none came. Phil saw his eyes were cloudy and dull. They weren't the usual bright brown he saw and it killed him inside knowing his Dan wasn't there. He continued to look at Dan's eyes until they closed again and an oxygen mask was place over Dan's face. His breathing was weaker than it was on the street and a voice pulled Phil right out of his thoughts.
"We're losing him!" a nurse cried and Phil's gaze turned to Dan's chest as his breathing slowed then stopped.
"We need to do something!" a doctor replied but the rest was muffled to Phil. He just stared at Dan's chest willing for it to rise and fall again, but it didn't.
"He's lost a lot of blood!"
"We need to get this boy to hospital now!"
Phil just clung on tighter to Dan's limp hand hoping it would bring him back, until he was eventually forced to let go as Dan was rushed into hospital.

“Do you know who Daniel Howell is?” the annoying voiced girl at the other end of the phone said.
“Yes, what’s happened?” Phil asked the nerves building up inside him.
“We’re going to need you to come in.” the voice said.
“I’m on my way.”
Phil ran out of the house and into the car outside, not caring about the speed limit he drove to the hospital scared over what might have happened. Every time he phoned the hospital they said that Dan wasn’t well enough for Phil to go see him.
    20 long minutes later he was standing outside the door that led into Dan’s room.
‘Be prepared, he’s in critical condition, we’ve done the best we can.’ The receptionist’s voice rang throughout his ears. Sucking in a breath he pushed open the doors and gasped.
There was his Dan lying on the bed, but he was unrecognizable. Phil couldn't see his face at all from the breathing equipment that was on it.  Too many wires for Phil to count ran from his arms, chest and neck into different machines. A brace held his neck and head in place as he had been stabbed there too. Bandages also covered the majority of his arms and there were even some on his face. Phil knew Dan had a blood transfusion because he’d lost most of his at the stabbing. Pulling himself together, he silently walked over to the uncomfortable chair next to Dan’s bed, sat down and once again held Dan’s hand tightly, but not tight enough to hurt him. He noticed the breathing equipment was clamped onto his cheeks, Phil had never seen this apparatus before, he’d only ever seen an oxygen mask. He watched as Dan’s chest rose and fell weakly, so weakly Phil could hardly see it. The heart monitor gave slow beeps, slower than it should be, but like the receptionist said he was in critical condition. He may not even survive. Phil sighed and sat back in his chair knowing it was gonna be a long day.
     A week later, a nurse walked in to check on Dan. Phil smiled at her as she approached and she returned the greeting. There was nothing new with the nurses’ arrival, Phil watched nurses come in every day, give Dan multiple injections, then leave. Luckily, Dan was no longer in critical, but none of the machines or the breathing equipment had been taken away. Phil was surprised when he heard the nurses voice.
“He’s coming round, Daniel? Daniel can you hear me?” Dan could hear someone talking in the distance. He knew he was conscious from the overriding pain that came from every part of his body. Then, he felt pressure on his cheeks, something holding his neck in place and things that felt like wires coming from all over his body. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw a woman bending over him. He couldn’t move or speak and he felt so weak. He tried to do something but all he could do was move his eyes. Dan couldn’t even turn his head.
“I’m going to get a doctor.” The nurse said in what appeared to be herself, just after he heard a door opening and closing he saw another shadow looming over his eyesight. It was Phil.
“Hey.” Phil said shyly. Dan just looked at him, he was struggling to breathe properly even with the equipment. He felt tired, but his mind told him to keep his eyes open. With a lot of effort, he just about managed to reach his hand up by about 2cm which Phil grabbed and sat back down. The door opened and closed again and now 2 more people were bending over Dan.
“I don’t think he’s breathing properly.” the nurse that was there before said noticing Dan’s jagged breathing.
“No, you’re right he’s not, but it’s only natural.” the doctor replied.
“I think it’s best if we put him back to sleep for awhile.”  the nurse suggested looking at the doctor.
“Yes I think you're right, what do you think Phil?” the doctor said looking at Phil. The nurse disappeared.
“Whatever’s best.” Dan heard Phil’s soft voice coming from his left as the nurse reappeared and handed the doctor a needle. Dan felt someone pick up his arm as he felt a sharp pain in it. Immediately he felt drowsy, he tried to fight the anesthetic but his mind wasn’t strong enough to, so he just let the darkness take over him and the pain go away.
Phil sat faithfully next to Dan’s side for the next 72 hours until he woke up again, this time his breathing was better, but he still couldn’t have the equipment taken away. The neck brace was gone though although he couldn’t turn his head from the pain.
“You’ll get better Dan, I promise.” Phil said comfortingly squeezing his friend’s hand.
    Another long week later the breathing equipment was gone and some of the wires were taken out. Meaning Dan could now talk. Phil watched as the doctors took away the equipment, Dan’s breathing automatically went funny and jagged as he struggled to breathe until the oxygen mask was put on which made it slightly easier. When they left Phil piped up.
“How do you feel Dan?” he asked
“Like death.” Dan replied, his voice was hoarse and even those 2 simple words had left him breathless.
“Well that’s understandable, you were stabbed 24 times.” Phil said.
“I thought I was...” –Dan stopped for breath- “going to die.”
“You did for awhile, but they brought you back.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I was petrified.”
“D-D-D-Did they hurt y-you?” Phil noticed Dan’s stutter but didn’t say anything. The boy had been stabbed in the neck after all he wasn’t exactly going to be a pro at talking.
“Nope. They ran after they stabbed you.” Phil also noticed Dan’s eyes widening in fear and he started trembling “No don’t be scared! The police caught them a few hours later! You’re okay don’t be scared!” Phil said softly.
“Phil?”
“Yes Dan?”
“I l-l-love you.”
“I love you too.”
“No, I mean I really l-l-lo-love you.”
“And I really love you too.”
“In like a re-rela-re-relationship kind of w-w-way.”
“Yes and I love you in a relationship kind of way too.”
Phil turned and saw Dan looking at him with shocked eyes. He smiled at him.
“Phil?”
“Indeed Daniel?”
“Can you hold me?”
“Yes I can.”
Carefully, Phil got up from his seat and climbed into the small bed with Dan. He felt Dan’s arms wrap around his waist and hold him tightly. He stroked Dan’s hair as he held him back. It was a few moments later Phil realized Dan was falling asleep.
“Phil?” Dan asked sleepily
“Yes Dan?”
“When I passed out, I heard voices calling me, they were telling me to come join them, in heaven.”
Phil kissed the top of Dan’s head “Heaven’s gonna have to wait then.”
“Yeah.” Dan replied as his eyes closed and he fell asleep in Phil’s arms.