Stay by My Side

The Gods felt threatened by the human race. They were just too powerful and Zeus had a foreboding – one that was just too strong to ignore; humans would rise up against him and the other Gods and overpower them. So he made an important decision. A life changing one, if you may. He split every human in half, so rather than having four legs and arms and two heads, they became the humans we know today. Not to mention a completely erased memory, courtesy of the Gods. When you hear someone speak of finding their ‘other half’ they mean it literally. They just don’t know who they are and what they look like.

That’s why every human has a marking on their outer ankle, almost like a tattoo. No one else has the same marking except for their other half. That’s how they identify each other. Some humans will spend their entire life searching for that one person that can complete them; while others, well, they settle for less. The one’s that do find their significant other, however, are the ones that worry Zeus. They are the ones reaching their full potential and could possibly overpower the Gods. That’s where Dan Howell and his brother, Ian come in.

Dan and Ian are Zeus’ sons, both Demigods; half human, half God. This means they are amongst the humans split; however they were raised to hate humans. Tough luck for their other halves. Dan and Ian are the guys accountable for all of the mysterious disappearances lately.

When a human finds their other half, Dan is the one to– well to put it delicately, get rid of them. Dan loves his life and wouldn’t want to give it up because of the ignorant human race. He was thorough, strong and showed no mercy. His father couldn’t be more proud.

This brings Dan to where he is now, a small neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York just one day before New Year’s Eve. Dan looked across the street at Jamie and Deena, two humans who have just found out they have the same marking on their ankle. In response, Dan rolled his eyes, put his black hood up, attempting to save his dark hair from the snow and began crossing the street towards the two. Jamie and Deena were too deep into a conversation to notice the man clad in all black approaching them. Not that it would have mattered anyway, they still would have ended up in Dan’s trunk and thrown into Sheepshead Bay.

It was Dan’s night to be on call; Ian wanted it off. And so, Dan spent the rest of the night trying to get some sleep between each alert on his pager, notifying him when a new couple met; whether it was in New York or Paris, Dan was there. Another perk of being half immortal? Teleportation. Thankfully things seemed to slow down for the last few hours of the night so Dan could get some sleep. After all, it was New Year’s Eve the next day.

As usual, Ian had big plans for the two of them. Last year they went to China and celebrated the Chinese New Year. The year before that they were in Ireland. This year, however, Ian suggested a quaint pub in London. Dan happily agreed to it. Within seconds they were there, soaking in the loud atmosphere; he’s always loved London. It was crowded, but a nice kind of crowded. Dan and Ian had no problem getting seats at the bar within minutes and they ordered a few drinks.

Dan looked around the pub, taking it all in. The walls were cluttered with sports memorabilia and signed photographs. His eyes swept past the UK flag and slowly landed a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. And he was attractive. His hair was a jet black, with fringe much like Dan’s, which contrasted perfectly with his pale skin.. He noticed Dan staring and smiled at him, his finger tapping on his empty glass – an invite to join him. He immediately ordered another round of drinks and brought them over to the beautiful man.

He offered the drink to him, and he accepted. “I figured if you were going to keep undressing me with your eyes, you should at least buy me a drink first.” He said with a smile tugging at his lips.

“So are you saying that since I bought you this drink, I’ll actually get to undress you?” Dan retorted, smirking at the light blush that spread across his face.

“I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

The man’s name was Phil and he was brilliant – different than any other human Dan has ever met. Not only is he smart, but he’s hilarious, genuine and well, the most attractive man he has ever lied eyes on. And unlike nearly everybody else in the pub, he was dressed similar to Dan, in dark skinny jeans, except Phil was wearing a bright teal colored shirt that accented his eyes perfectly. It wasn’t long before the two of them were back in Phil’s apartment and Dan was ripping said clothes off of him.

Their mouths fit together perfectly as Dan’s hands fervently felt their way down Phil’s bare chest, stopping only when he reached his belt. Dan detached his mouth from Phil’s momentarily as he worked on getting his tight jeans off. He felt Phil tangle his fingers in Dan’s hair giving it a slight tug, silently asking for his lips once more, to which he complied. In his entire existence, Dan has never kissed anyone so passionately before. As he pulled away once more to catch his breath, he finally got rid of Phil’s pants, and was just moving back up to take off his boxers when his marking caught his eye.

His marking. Dan’s eyes snapped back to it – the arrow with the circle on either side of it looked familiar. Way too familiar. Suddenly, his pager went off. Then it all clicked.

“Well, shit.” He muttered. Phil sat up, his skin flushed and dark hair beginning to stick up in all directions.

“Is everything okay?” He asked, alarmed at his sudden change in behavior. Dan looked at him, eyes wide, pager still going off. Of course it wasn’t okay. What were the odds of him actually running into his other half? Dan’s mind raced as he got up and threw on his shirt, getting ready to leave.

The insistent beeping of his pager snapped Dan out of it. “Um…yeah. It’s just work paging me. I’m sorry but I have to go,” He apologized as he jogged to the front door. But that wasn’t before Phil noticed Dan’s marking as well.

“Dan, wait!” He called out, but the door was already slamming shut, leaving Phil dumbfounded and in his boxers.

The freezing December air felt almost welcoming on Dan’s hot skin. He leaned against the brick building and attempted to catch his breath and smooth down his hair. Right as Dan was beginning to calm his nerves, he looked up and saw Ian.

“What-What are you doing here?” He asked shakily.

Ian let out a small laugh. “Dude, relax. My pager went off and gave me this address so I came to check it out. Why are you here? What happened to that cute guy you left with?”

Dan took a deep breath. “Oh, we…uh, he ended up throwing up in the taxi on the way to his flat. He must’ve had too much to drink. So that didn’t exactly work out the way I planned.” What was going on? He just lied to his brother…who is one of the only people he is honest to. Ian smirked at Dan’s faux disappointment.

“Well that sucks,” He replied, checking at his phone. “Well it’s only eleven thirty, so you could still find someone to hook up with, if you really want.”

Dan quickly shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Let’s just go get a few more drinks before the New Year.” Ian grinned at his younger brother and pulled him down the street towards some bars.
The moment Ian offered he find someone else to hook up with, Dan knew he was screwed. Like really, really screwed. He had absolutely no interest for anyone else, not even for a one night stand. The only person on his mind was Phil. Which didn’t surprise him whatsoever, after all, he was his other half. And honestly, Dan was scared shitless. If his Father found out…he just might kill Dan and Phil himself.

Or worse, make Dan kill Phil. And Dan knows he can’t disobey Zeus, nor would he be able to follow his command. It’s only been a few minutes since he left Phil’s apartment, and since then he’s been the only thing on his mind. You could say this was going to become a big problem.

In attempt to distract himself from Phil, Dan buried himself in work for the next few weeks. He volunteered being on call nearly every night. If he wasn’t busy killing humans, he was thinking about Phil. He longed to feel his lips against his again. He needed to see that crooked smile of his, his bright cerulean eyes and hear his voice one more time. Then Dan’s pager would go off, snapping him out of it again. He would breathe a sigh of relief and take off in the direction of the reconciled couple. This was the routine he began slipping into. He hardly slept, and as a result he began getting dark circles under his eyes. Ian tried helping, of course. He would turn Dan’s pager off once he would fall asleep, in hopes his younger brother would get some much needed sleep. But it would never last long.

“Dan we need to talk,” Ian commanded, sitting next to him on his cheap couch.

“For the millionth time, I am fine.”

“Don’t even start with that bullshit,” Ian interrupted, cutting him off. “I know something has been wrong with you since New Years. It’s almost February, Dan. I get you don’t want to talk to me. So I’m going to call Dad and tell him there’s something wrong with you, and maybe he can help. I’m really worried about you..you don’t eat, you don’t–”

“No.” Dan simply stated. Ian frowned, waiting for him to continue but he didn’t.

“That’s all you’re going to say?” Ian questioned, glaring at Dan.

“Look, I am not going to talk to Dad.”

“Why?”

“It’s nothing, honestly. I just haven’t felt like myself lately. But if it makes you happy, I’ll talk to someone…okay? Just not Dad.” It was true, he hasn’t felt like himself lately. Dan is no longer happy with his lifestyle, and suddenly his small apartment is beginning to feel too big and empty with just him in it.

Ian’s lips tugged up into a smile, satisfied with the outcome of this. “Yes, just talk to someone. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Okay, I will. Now, if you don’t mind I’d really like to get some sleep.” Dan mumbled, smiling at Ian’s relieved expression.

“Oh! Of course! And why don’t you take the night off,” He added, grabbing Dan’s pager and leaving the small apartment. Dan breathed out a sigh of exasperation. He loved his brother dearly, but he just cut him off from every possible distraction. And that got Dan to thinking.

Maybe Ian was right, maybe he should try talking to someone. He considered talking to Athena, but quickly shot down his own idea. Her and Zeus were way too close for that. Then he thought of it: Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. She hated Zeus with every ounce of her being, he was the one destroying love, which is what she is all about. Granted, she hated Dan and Ian, too. But maybe with the predicament he was currently in, it would be different.

“Oh Dan,” She sighed, looking at him sadly.

Aphrodite uncrossed her arms and tucked her golden hair behind her ear. Dan was right, she couldn’t hate him after hearing his story.

“I know..I love my life the way it was. At least I thought I did until I met Phil..and now, well now I just don’t know anymore. I can’t get my mind off of him. Now that I’m saying it out loud, it almost seems crazy. I barely know this guy..”

“And that’s where you’re wrong, Dan. From the day you were born, a connection was made between the two of you. You felt comfortable when you were around him didn’t you?” Dan nodded, not looking up at her. “That’s because his presence was always there, with you. That’s how it feels for him too. So it gives the illusion the two of you have always known each other. It takes two unmatched humans to fall in love in about six months. It takes two halves to fall in love in as quick as six hours. It’s amazing really.” Aphrodite smiled, showing off her perfect white teeth.

“I can’t see him again, though..it’s too dangerous.” Dan argued.

“So what are you saying, Dan? You want to go back to your old way of life? Killing every day with the occasional one night stand?”

“No. I really don’t.” He said, answering truthfully.

“Exactly my point. I’m not saying everything is going to be rainbows and butterflies from here on out. It isn’t going to be easy. But you came to me for a reason. You knew the kind of advice I would give to you, Dan. But you need to be careful. This is very dangerous and you know very well that it can result in death. Not only for Phil, but for you as well.”

“I know, I know. I just..how am I not going to get caught? By Ian? By my father?”

Aphrodite smiled sadly at him. “Those are questions that I do not have the answers for, my love.” Dan nodded, he should have expected that.

The moment Dan arrived back in New York he had a plan formulated. A dangerous plan, but it was something. Dan quietly snuck into Ian’s lavish apartment in upper Manhattan, to his bedroom. Ian was passed out and snoring slightly with his pager resting on his bedside. Dan carefully turned it on silent and left his apartment.

In all honestly, Dan could not believe he was doing this. Not only was he disobeying his father for the first time in his life, but putting himself in a whole lot of danger. It was rather thrilling actually. Dan quickly ran his fingers through his brown fringe until he was satisfied with the looks of it before teleporting to London, just outside of Phil’s loft. Taking deep breaths, Dan climbed up the stairs to his floor and knocked on the oak door. It was silent for a few minutes before he heard footsteps, a loud yawn and unlatching of locks.

“Dan?” A wide eyed Phil asked incredulously.

“Hey, Phil.” He stepped aside, opening the door to invite Dan in. Phil’s apartment was a little small, but homey. Posters and knick knacks could be found all around the living room and the smell of coffee brewing wafted from the kitchen. Dan took a seat on his couch, noticing his usual black attire contrasted greatly with the white material. “I should probably start off by saying I’m sorry,” Dan mumbled. “I know me leaving like that was kind of a dick move.”

“It was a really big dick move,” Phil agreed with a small smile while pouring some coffee into a colorful mug.

Dan returned his smile before continuing. “I know this isn’t an excuse, but I was freaked out, and surprised. And I just.. I couldn’t process it at the time, so I panicked. But I’m here now.”

Phil joined him on the couch, his eyes lit up. “It’s alright, I get it. It’s not like either of us were expecting it. I think your reaction was pretty normal. Although I typically don’t have experience with these things,” He joked.

Dan let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. He was relieved Phil was so understanding to his – well, to his lies. And he couldn’t help but feel guilty for it, for the first time ever.

Dan knew he couldn’t stay very long at Phil’s but it didn’t make leaving any easier. He made sure to keep track of time, knowing London was six hours ahead of New York. And Dan couldn’t stay so long that Ian would wake up, realizing he didn’t have his pager. So, he said his goodbye to Phil, after talking for a little over an hour, gave him his number and assured him he’d be back in a few days, explaining he was here for business, which technically wasn’t a lie.

The next few weeks consisted of Dan burying himself in his work, in attempt to not raise concern from Ian, or especially his father. His father’s scrutiny is the last thing he needs right now. While Ian was sleeping, Dan would sneak phone calls or visits to Phil. The black haired boy consumed his thoughts day in and day out. There was one night in particular in which Dan was on call, but spent the night tossing and turning, dreading the alarm on his pager. It didn’t take long until it would shriek into the silence of his apartment and he’d be in a completely different part of the world within seconds. Tonight it was Spain.

Dan followed the couple that just discovered their markings, waiting for the perfect opportunity to do his job. The look of adoration on the man’s face as he looked at his other half, reminded him vaguely of him and Phil. And that just made this so much harder. Before Dan could back out, he took out his gun and fired two bullets before immediately teleporting back to his apartment. Immediately he felt bile rise up in his throat and then he was throwing up his dinner and his guilt all over his bedroom floor.

Dan’s gut twisted itself into knots and he knew this is what remorse must feel like. After all his years of killing, he never has felt remorse. Things were beginning to change and Dan isn’t sure if it’s for the better or for the worse.