#i bet a lot of phil's friends felt uneasy about dan at that time

[goldenpinof]

(since you mentioned him) i joined the phandom about 6 months after the whole charlie thing, and one thing that confused me to this day is why on earth phil didn't immediately cut ties with charlie afterwards, because if someone tried to out my partner in front of millions of people, that person would be dead to me. but then again, it would have probably been too obvious at that point in time to do that immediately. idk, i just hope he got therapy and became a better person (and maybe even reached out privately to apologise)

good take. but i don't know what should happen for Phil to cut ties immediately with anyone. also, i think the internet was very different back then and Dan was identifying as bisexual, kinda. so by saying that he preferred holding balls Charlie wasn't specifically outing him. it was a joke, a bold one but still a joke, and it could be turned into an even more funny joke, but damn, it escalated pretty fast. that "private stuff" did more damage than balls imo. like, man, you can have a beef on twitter dot com and joke around but there are things that you shouldn't say unless you're a complete dickhead. and yes, Charlie didn't say anything in the end but the fact that he could only because Dan got snappy at some point.. it said a lot. but also they were in their early 20s, very hard times if you ask me. add attention seeking to usual problems with education, jobs, friendships and relationships overall. it's sad that Charlie didn't think that him revealing "private stuff" would hurt not only Dan but also Phil. and Phil was more of a friend than Dan. like, i really think that sometimes people don't think about consequences not because they are bad people but because they are stupid and adrenaline is flowing in their veins, and that was exactly it.

[septic84]

The boy at the Creek

A03

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” Phil was escaping his tormentors, it seemed like this was a daily occurrence.  Buck and Dillon had been his bullies for years, but this year they started to chase after him. He ran back behind the school and down a path that led into the woods. Phil was uneasy about this path; however, he knew it would be the easiest way to lose them.   

“We’re going to find you, freak,” as he ran, Phil’s eyes scanned for places that he would be able to hide and wait them out.  Stick and plants crushed beneath his feet as he could feel his heart thudding against his rib cage. As he went off the beaten path, he found a hollowed-out fallen tree, it was damp and mossy, but it would have to do. Phil forced himself into the log and waited.  

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” taunted Dillon.    

“Down the path, I bet we will find him there,” Phil listened as their footsteps started to fade into silence. He took a deep breath and extracted himself from the log, patting it as he exited as if to thank it. He heard a creek nearby, looking down at the dirt covering his hands he decided to follow the noise to wash them.  As Phil was walking instead of running, it provided him the opportunity to observe nature. The sun was shining through the leaves, birds were chirping, and the creek gave a gentle sound in the background the enhanced the feeling of calm.    

When the trees broke and the shrubbery cleared to the shore, Phil jumped, startled by someone sitting near the water.  Their back was turned to him, all that was visible and a mop of brown hair and a black tee-shirt.  Moving purposefully, Phil did his best not to be detected as he tried to get a better look at the person. As he went back through the woods, he was able to see the person was a boy, about his age, his eyes were focused down, and as Phil followed his gaze, it landed on his hands. His hands, however, were moving in a wide swirling motion and just beneath them, was a small pile of stones, swirling upward near his fingers. Phil gasped and quickly ducked as the boy’s head snapped in his direction. Phil stayed still for what seemed like hours, then slowly turned his head back to the boy, but he was gone. Phil wasn’t sure how the boy could have left without Phil hearing him. He stood up, shrugged, and made his way down the creek to wash up. He wasn’t sure who or what he had seen, but he did know that he had to get home.  

“Is that you love?”  

“Yeah, mom.”  

“Mercy, Phillip, how did you get so dirty?”  

“Ah, I fell.”  

“You fell?” She cocked her eyebrow suspiciously.  

“Yeah,”  

“Hm,” She crossed her arms. “Fine, don’t get all the mud and grass on the carpeting.” Shaking her head, she walked back to the kitchen.  

Blowing out a breath of relief, Phil left his dirty shoes and shirt by the door, walking up the stairs to shower. Who was that boy? He must have had extraordinary powers to move those rocks and to disappear. Phil idly wondered if this boy was dangerous, but it didn’t matter. Phil doubted he would see the boy again anyway.  

“Philp Lester, you get down here and clean up this mess you have left behind,”  

“Coming, mom.” Phil sighed.  

“Oh, lookie there, Buck, the freak has the nerve to show his face back here.”  

“It’s school, Dillion, I am required to be the here,” Phil sidestepped past them, but missed the foot that jutted out, causing him to fall.  

“First day on your new legs, asshole?” Buck scoffed, kicking him and walking by. Phil laid there while they walked into the school.   As he moved, pain engulphed his stomach, moaning he stood up slowly, brushing off his clothes.  As he walked into the building, Phil thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t have time to investigate, he was already late.  

Phil was not chased after school today, but his curiosity about the boy he saw the day prior drew him back to the creek.  Slowly he made his way to the water, careful not to alert anyone to his presence. The boy was there once again, this is time with his legs stretched out and crossed, leaning back on his hands with his head tilted up and his eyes closed. He looked relaxed; Phil couldn’t recall a time when he had been as comfortable as this boy looked.  A smile crossed his lips. Phil wondered what thought had caused his dimple to make an appeared.  He felt his cheeks heat up, realizing how carefully he was observing him.  The boy slowly opened his eyes, looking towards the water; the creek started to babble, and suddenly, a funnel formed, dancing back and forth between the shores. The boy was confident, and if you asked Phil, it looked like he was messing around.  

Phil had watched in awe for several minutes before a rumbling echoed off of the water; it was going to storm. Reluctantly Phil pulled his eyes away from the funnel and made his way back home.  As lightning slashed through the sky, Phil couldn’t help but wonder if the boy was making his way home as well.  He didn’t know, but he had hoped he was safe.  

“Phil, dinner,”  

Phil sat down at the table, smiling at his mother. “You’ve been coming home later, what are you doing?”  

“Walking,” He answered quickly, “It helps me sleep.” It wasn’t a lie; he was doing a lot more walking lately.  

“Well, that’s good, though I was hoping that perhaps you had made a friend,”  

“Mom,”  

She held up her hands, “I know, I know.” Phil had always had a hard time making and then keeping friends. It was something that would make him sad had he thought about it, so he chose not to.  He was okay being alone; at least that way, he was never embarrassed for saying the wrong thing. “Don’t take it personally, love; it’s just a nosy mother.”    

“It’s fine, may I be excused?”  

“You may,” Placing his dishes in the sink, and he looked out the window at the rain. It was beading down and rolling off the glass.  He once again hoped that the boy by the creek was warm, dry, and happy.  

It was Friday, and classes had just ended. The last two days, Phil had watched the boy as he sat, made rocks float in the air, the water swirl, and yesterday he watched him pick a flower on the opposite side of the creek and bring it to his nose. Today Phil felt a little braver and stood behind a tree that was much closer than the tree he had hidden behind the rest of the week.  Phil noticed the wind picking up as the leaves danced in his peripheral vision, and the breeze fluttered against his cheeks. The boy looked sad today, and though he didn’t know him, it made Phil sad.    

“I know you’re there ,” Phil  gasped, ducking down, he heard the boy chuckle, “I can still see your foot,” Phil stepped out from behind the tree.  

“Ah,” he rubbed the back of his neck  

“I feel as if we should exchange names, you’ve been watching me for a week.”  

“Sorry,” Phil bit his lip and looked at his shoes  

The boy stood up, “It is rather rude, is it not? Staring,” he walked towards Phil, “Still, I am not sure if I know what I would say if I came across what you did.” He stuck his hand out, “Dan,”  

Phil took his hand, shaking it lightly. “Phil,”  

“It’s nice to know your name, Phil.”  

“You too,” as Dan shifted, Phil flinched.  

“I’m not going to hurt you.”  

“Okay,”  

“So, how did you find me?”  

“I was hiding in a log and wanted to wash off my hands,”  

Dan pursed his lip, “From what?”  

Phil shook his head, “It’s not important,”  

“No, I suppose not. You live around here?”  

“Not too far, I go to school just over that hill,”  

“I figured as much,”  

“Right, well I better get going,”  

Dan smiled and clapped Phil on the shoulder. “It was good to meet you, Phil. No more hiding, yeah?”  

“Right, see you around,”  

Dan, the boy at the creek, had a name. As embarrassing as the entire circumstance was, Phil was thankful that he knew the boy's name.    

Saturday’s Phil was alone from the time he woke up until later evening as his mother was working.  He got out of bed early today, it had just gone past 8:00, and he couldn’t sleep anymore.  After pouring his cereal, he loaded Mario Cart and started to play, he knew he would grow bored of it, but he played anyway. It was days like these that he wished his brother wasn’t away at Uni. After about an hour, he grew restless and decided to go to the creek. Maybe Dan would be there.  

Phil had almost gotten to the creek bed when he heard a stick snap behind him. He spun around, and there stood Buck and Dillion. Shit.  

“Hey, freak boy,” Dillon stepped forward, “Gonna run again?”  

“Just stop it, Dillon, leave me alone.”  

“Nah, don’t wanna,” Buck lunged forward, shoving Phil to the ground, causing him to land flat on his back. The breath was forced out of him, and he saw stars in front of his eyes.  “Get up and fight, pussy,” Dillion kicked dirt at him.  

“Leave,” The voice seemed to thunder from a distance; it sent chills up Phil’s spine.  

“Who the fuck are you?” Buck demanded.  

“It’s of no consequence who I am, and you should leave. Now.”  

“Look at this kid, thinking we can’t kick his ass too.”  

“Dan, just go, it’s fine,” Phil said up sluggishly.    

“Yeah, Dan, you should go.”  

“No.”  

“No?” Dillion charged at Dan; with a flick of his wrist, he was elevated high up in the air. Buck charged next, and  effortlessly;  he joined his friend.  

“What the fuck, man?”  

“Put us down,”  

“I warned you; you did not heed the said warning. I will give you another chance, however, being a decent being. Now, will you leave?”  

“Yes, fuck, yes. Just let us go.”  

“Very well,” After lowering them to a safe distance to the ground, the fell to the forest floor. Both boys scrambled and took off. “Now then, are you alright, Phil?”  

“Yeah, I mean, I think.” Dan extended his hand to Phil, taking it Dan helped him to his feet. Phil did not realize that he was shaking. “You need not fear me.”  

“I’m not sure about that, you obviously are a superhero,” he paused, “Or villain, I don’t know. The way you say things, it’s,” Phil shook his head, “strange,”  

“I am articulate and well educated. I am not sure how that is considered strange.”    

“People don't talk like that,”  

“Well, I do.”  

“I got that,”  

“You came looking for me, did you not?”  

Phil blushed, “I suppose I did,”  

“Well, you’ve found me. I am here on most days.”  

“So, which are you?”  

“Beg your pardon?”  

“Superhero or supervillain?”  

Dan laughed loudly, “Neither, I am just different,”  

“How old are you?”  

“Same age as you, I imagine,”  

“Where do you go to school?”  

“I am homeschooled.”  

“Right,” Phil took a deep breath, “Sorry, this is just a lot.”  

“Is it? You’ve seen me use my ability before,”  

“Yeah, but not on people. I mean I am grateful that I am not bleeding right now, don’t get me wrong, it just is a little unnerving.”  Dan’s face fell.  

“You’re frightened of me,”  

Phil felt guilty, “Maybe a little, I’m sorry.”  

Dan smiled sympathetically, “Honesty, I like that. We could go sit by the creek if you’d like.”  

“Okay,” Phil followed and sat beside Dan. “Are you one of the X-men?”  

Dan smiled broadly, “Not quite,” He looked at Phil, “My family all have powers, I got  Telekinesis.”    

“Can you transport, too?”    

“Come again?”    

“Just, the day with the storm, you were gone in a flash without any noise,”    

“Oh,” He paused, thinking for a moment, “ I am used to being unnoticed, and no offense intended, you are not very aware of your surroundings. If you were, you would have known that I had spotted you, the first day you were here.”    

“You did?”    

“Of course, you are not that quiet; I am afraid.” His sheepish smile made Phil blush again.    

“I am not good at this,” Phil gestured between the two of them, “or really anything involving people.”    

“Neither am I,” He smiled again, “May I ask you something?”    

“Sure,”    

“When you said you had been hiding, was it from them?”    

Phil nodded, “They’ve always been assholes, this year they started to chase me.”    

“Why?”    

“Why do bullies do anything they do?”    

“Fair point, though I doubt they will be any trouble now.”    

Panic crossed Phil’s face, “What if they tell someone?”    

“Tell them what exactly, that a teenaged boy held them in the air with his mind to protect the kid they wanted to assault physically?”    

Phil scoffed, “It does sound mental,”    

“Indeed.”    

“When did you know you had powers?”    

“Oh, well, I’ve had them my entire life, and as my family all has powers, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized it wasn’t everyone, just us. Well, not just my family, but that “normal” humans were not like this.”    

“So, other members have other powers?”    

“Yes.”    

“Wow, my mind is blown.”    

He smiled, “It’s nice, to be honest with someone who isn’t a relative. I don’t have any friends,”    

Phil smiled, “Well, now you do.”    

“Is that so?” Phil nodded emphatically. “That makes you my first,”    

“Mine too,”    

Dan started to twirl his hand, making the water form into a funnel, “I can only do this when I am happy,” Dan said, “Wow, that is a very lame thing to say, is it not?”    

Phil shook his head, “I think it’s wonderful. You were happy earlier this week too,”    

“That also was because of you. It was quite amusing to me that you thought I didn’t know you were there.”    

“Hey!”    

“I’m a sorry, friend like I said you are not as discrete as you think you are.”    

“Yeah, yeah. Dan?”    

“Hm?”    

“What happens when you’re angry?”    

Dan stilled, the water instantly falling back into the creek. “It’s not as pleasant as water funnels and stone swirls,”    

Meekly, Phil asked, “It’s that bad?”    

“It can be.”    

--------    

After sitting what seemed to be hours, Phil stood up, his stomach growling. “Hey, do you like video games?”    

“I’m not a caveman, Phil. Of course.”    

“Wanna go to mine and play? My mom is at work until 7, and we can order pizza.”    

“Ah, you want me to come over to your house?”    

“Well, yeah, there isn't Mario Kart here, is there?”    

Dan looked down, hesitantly, “I’ve never really been to anyone else house,”    

“It’s about time, don’t you think?”    

“Yeah. I mean, thank you yes,”    

“Relax mate, it’s not that formal, and we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”    

“No, I do, show me the way.”    

It had been at three months since Phil invited Dan to his house and they had become fast friends.  They still met by the creek every day when Phil was done with school, and Dan showed Phil several things and even had levitated him up to the tallest tree.    

“I can see my house from up here!”    

“Be careful Phil; you still can fall you know,”    

“I won’t,” the branch cracked before Phil could understand what was happen and he was falling. As he expected impact, he closed his eyes, waiting for the pain, but It didn’t come. He felt a hand on his shoulder.    

“You can open your eyes, Phil, you’re on the ground.”    

Phil cracked open one of his eyes cautiously, then the other. “You saved me?”    

He smiled widely, “Of course I did; I knew you would fall.”    

Phil smirked, “Thanks, Dan.”    

“Don’t mention it,” Their eyes met briefly before Dan turned away.    

“It’s really cool being friends with you Dan, even though I am sure I bore you,”    

Dan stood up, clapping him on the shoulder, “Never a dull moment with you, Philip. Don’t fret about that.”    

---    

“Cheese is delicious, Phil.”    

“No, it isn’t,”    

“But you eat pizza,”    

“It’s not the same, and it tastes like pizza, not cheese.”    

“That doesn’t even make sense, Phil.”    

“Yes, it does,  Dan,”    

“You’re so stupid,”    

“Your mums stupid.”    

“Are you going to yours or not?”    

“It’s Saturday, of course!”    

Phil hadn’t told his mother, nor had she met Dan yet. For some reason, whenever Phil brought it up, Dan became nervous and changed the subject.  They had been playing for most of the afternoon when the front door opened, Dan’s face blanched.    

“The bloody power went out, so we were all sent home early. I brought Chinese, oh, hello,”    

“Mom, this is Dan, Dan this is mom,”    

“Hello, Mrs. Lester,” Dan said quietly.    

“It’s nice to meet you. Would you like to stay for dinner? There’s plenty.”    

Dan stood and shoved his hands into his pockets quickly. “My humblest apologies, ma’am, I must be on my way. Thank you for the offer. I will see you later, Phil,” with that, Dan nodded and left.    

“You made a friend?”    

“Yes,” his mother held his face in between her hands, “I’m happy for you to love, I’m sorry I made him leave.”    

“He’s just shy,”    

“He understands you then, perfect.”    

Phil was more than confused by the way Dan left; it made things all the more confusing. He had to check on Dan, Phil got out his phone.    

“Are you okay?”    

“Yes. My apologies for my behavior earlier.  Can we talk tomorrow at the creek?”    

“Yes, when?”    

“9:00 AM.”    

“Okay,”    

Dan did not respond, and Phil was even more confused. With an uneasy commotion in his guts, Phil tried to go to sleep, knowing that in the morning he would have answers.    

When Phil approached Dan, his hands were again in his pockets, his eyes to the ground. “Are you cross with me?”    

“No, I’m just confused.”    

Dan sighed, “I wanted to be honest with you, I just wasn’t sure how much you could handle, and I couldn’t reveal my abilities to your mother. You understand, don’t you?”    

“No,”    

Dan took his hands out of his pockets, and they were shaking and glowing blue.    

“What the hell, Dan?”    

“When I’m nervous, my hands glow.  Blue is anxiety, nerves,”    

“You’re anxious?”    

“I am.”    

Phil smiled sympathetically, “Relax, Dan. I’m not mad. I was just confused.”    

“Oh, okay.” Dan sighed and was visibly relieved.    

“Well, this is weird.”    

Dan laughed, silently shaking his head, “You’re an outstanding person, Phil Lester.”    

“Yeah, yeah.”    

----    

Phil was due to the creek bed immediately after class, but he hadn’t shown up yet. Dan had texted him three times with no response, so he decided to go look for him.    

“Finally got you, freak. No guard dog either.”    

“Please,” Phil said weakly, clutching his side, “Stop,”    

“Please, stop,” Buck mocked, “Nah, don’t want to.”    

“Lookit him, such a wuss,” Dillon laughed.    

“Get away from him!” Dan screamed. Phil had blood trailing down his face from his nose.    

“Fuck, Dillon, look,” Dan’s hands were clutched and glowing red, his whole body was shaking. As Phil met Dan’s eyes, he noticed they, too, were glowing red.    

“Who made him bleed?” Dan demanded,    

“Holy shit, dude,” Buck slowly backed away, only to be stopped by Dan and hoisted high into the air.    

“I will ask again,” he said through clenched teeth, “Who. Made. Him. Bleed?”    

“I, did okay, I’m sorry,” Buck begged,    

“All by yourself?” Dan focused on Dillion, “I’m sure that you helped, didn’t you?”    

“No, man, no,” Dan rose Dillion into the air as well.    

“Both of you should suffer should pay for your despicable behavior.” Suddenly both boys started to sputter and gasp for air. “Terrifying, isn’t it?” He rose them a bit higher, “to be completely helpless, alone with no help in sight,”    

“Dan,” Phil choked,    

“Because the both of you are vermin, scum, a waste of the air you breathe,”    

“Dan, please, stop.” Dan turned to Phil, “Please, relax. Don’t kill them,”    

Dan scoffed, “You can’t be serious, they attacked you, Phil,”    

“I know,” Phil coughed, “But you are too good for this,”    

“You don’t really know that, Phil. You don’t know me,”    

Phil inhaled, “You’re wrong. I do know you. You are gentle, caring, kind. You don’t kill Dan. I know that.” Dan looked at his nose, and his eyes glowed brighter, “No, don’t look at my face, look into my eyes,” When Dan looked at Phil, his eyes slowly turned back to their beautiful brown. “That’s it, set them down, Dan. Let them go.”    

Dan lowered them down when they were released the sputtered and choked.    

“Who the fuck are you?” Dillion gasped.    

“I’m the guy who was going to kill you, but Phil saved your lives. Remember that next time you go after him. If it were not for him, you both would be dead where you stand.”  At that, both boys scrambled away, leaving Dan and Phil alone.    

“Phil!” Dan crouched next to Phil, who flinched.    

“I’m fine,” He pushed himself up, wincing in pain.    

“No, you’re not, you should go to hospital,” Dan reached for Phil, his hands shaking and now glowing blue.    

“Dan,” Phil nodded to his hands,    

“I’ve never been that angry,” Dan whispered.    

“I know,”    

“I was going to kill them, Phil. That is what I meant. You don’t know me; I could have fucking killed them.” Dan collapsed to his knees, covering his eyes and started to sob.    

Phil scooted closer to him, “But you didn’t, Dan, you didn’t.”    

“Only because of you, Phil. I, I am so scared,”    

“Then I won’t leave you,”    

Dan pulled his head out of his hands, “You still want to be my friend?”    

“Am I concerned? Yeah, but yes, Dan,”    

“Phil,”    

“Dan,”    

Dan leaned closer, closing his eyes, and their lips met; Phil cradled Dan’s cheek. Phil heard a hum and noticed they were now both in the air, floating peacefully.    

“Ah, Dan?” Phil asked, pulling back.    

He laughed, “You know how I can make water swirls when I am happy? This, Phil, is what happens when I am delighted.”    

“I’m happy too,”    

“Phil,”    

“Yeah?”    

“You are my sanity; you are why I could stop. My abilities have never been tested this far, and I’ve no idea what would have happened had you not been here. I need you, Phil, more now than ever.”    

“And I will be here, Dan; I love you.”  Dan met their lips again, as they spun and twisted over the creek they had first met.  It was as if nature itself had decreed it to be. And from that point on, both knew they would never be alone.  

---

Send me prompts, please :)  

[itsmyusualphannie]

you had me at hydrangea

Chapter 3/6 - aloe you vera much

“I want him to see the flowers in my eyes and hear the songs in my hands.” ― Francesca Lia Block, Dangerous Angels

a phan flower shop/video editor au

(read on ao3) - start from the beginning!

previous chapter | next chapter

~~~

Dan missed Phil, ridiculously. It’d been a total of seven days since Phil had stopped by the flower shop. Logically, Dan knew that he was probably just busy with the project he was working on, but Phil had left the shop early last Thursday, presumably to pack for his trip to see his parents, and he hadn’t even come on Monday. Although Phil came in only on Mondays half of the time, he almost always showed up on Thursdays around two o’clock. It was Thursday again, almost 3 in the afternoon, and Phil was late.

Dan had to force himself not to stare at the door. It was torture.

“You know, you could help!” Louise said from the back room.

Dan did not want to help. In fact, he was disgruntled that Louise was even here today. He had specifically told her soon after Phil had started coming by that she was to leave as soon as her shift ended at noon on Thursdays, but apparently a shipment had arrived late today and she had to be here. Dan was sure that she just wanted to watch him try to talk to Phil.

“Dan!” called Louise, with a firm tone.

Sighing very heavily, Dan heaved himself off the stool and went into the back. Louise was clutching a handful of ribbon spools and a heap of disorganized flowers. She looked relieved upon seeing him.

“Good,” she said, thrusting the flowers at him. “Go sort these into the bins. I accidentally dropped them.”

Dan sighed again, very put upon, but took them. He trudged into the front room, beginning to separate the flowers and drop them into the correct cases. Louise followed him, trying to untangle one of the ribbons.

“So…” she started brightly, “when will Phil be here?”

Dan scowled at the hydrangeas. “He’s usually here by two.”

“Oh,” Louise said, sounding disappointed. “He’s late. Do you think he’s coming?”

“I don’t know.” Dan moved to another bin and Louise trailed behind him. “You need to ask him out,” she encouraged.

Dan rolled his eyes, though he had his back to Louise and she couldn’t see it. He didn’t want to talk about Phil, but Louise was persistent.

“Coffee,” she suggested. Her hands moved rapidly over the tangled ribbon. Dan could see the movements over his shoulder and he was reluctantly impressed by her ability to unknot things. It probably came with having two daughters that loved getting things tangled up.

“He brings coffee,” said Dan. “Every time. Either from his home or the coffee shop down the block.”

“Get his number,” Louise said firmly.

“Ugh,” said Dan in reply. His handful of various flowers was almost halfway sorted and he wanted out of this conversation. The hanging ivy pot above him had been overwatered and it dripped onto his shoes as he fit a pair of tulips into their proper container.

“Invite him to your piano recital next month!” said Louise, suddenly excited.

Dan felt bleak at even the mention of his recital. “God, no,” he said. “I haven’t even gotten my last piece finished yet. And stop reminding me about that.”

Louise patted his shoulder sympathetically. She had to reach up very far to do so, but didn’t seem to mind the effort. “You’ll do great,” she assured him. “You have a few more weeks to finish it and practice.”

Dan crammed the last bunch of daisies into their bin. “Yeah,” he agreed. He wasn’t going to tell her that he hadn’t even started it. “When are you leaving?”

Louise would probably have been insulted if she wasn’t used to Dan’s bluntness by now. She just poked Dan in the side as a reprimand and said, “Probably in a few minutes. I’ve gotten most of it unpacked.”

“If he comes in while you’re here,” Dan told her, “do not speak to him. At all.”

She was smiling. “Okay, Dan.”

“No, really,” he insisted. “Don’t.”

“I said okay.” Louise patted him again, her eyes scrunched with the effort not to laugh loudly at him. She headed to the back again and Dan stared after her in frustration. Sometimes, he wondered why he even worked here. If they hadn’t been friends and she hadn’t needed to spend more time with her daughters, he would never have accepted her job offer. He didn’t fit in here. It was too...bright.

The ivy pot dripped onto his head.

“Fuck off,” Dan told it. He went back to the counter and dropped onto his seat again. Louise hadn’t told him to follow her, after all. He glared at the sheets and sheets of scrawled notes and music across the counter. They were awful. Nothing seemed to come out right, and he wanted to just shred everything and start all over again. He wanted Phil to be here and cast secretive looks at the papers so Dan could maybe, this time, have the courage to tell him what he was writing. He wanted...he wanted a lot.

He wanted Phil to ask him out.

But it had gone so awkwardly that first time he thought Phil was going to ask him out, technically the second time that they had met, that Dan had been too afraid to bring it up. It had been almost three months ago, a few minutes after Dan arrived to take the shift from Louise and the second time Phil had ever come in.

Dan hadn’t realized Phil had been in the shop until he’d held out a handful of tulips for Dan to ring up. Dan had been leaning over his sheet music, angrily scribbling over the last twelve horrible notes he’d written, when the bright yellow tulips were thrust under his nose. He’d almost fallen backwards off the stool and had flailed, grabbing Phil’s outstretched arm to regain his balance.

“Fuck,” Dan had said, hastily correcting his balance and releasing Phil’s arm. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine.” Phil had smiled at him, but it hadn’t been a mean smile, and Dan had liked it instantly. “Are you okay?”

Dan had mumbled assent and clambered to his feet, ringing up the purchase. He’d snuck little glances at Phil, almost in disbelief that such a beautiful man had come back to this little hole-in-the-wall shop. He could barely remember the first time that Phil had come in, about three weeks ago. “It’s been a while,” he’d said, handing the flowers and Phil’s change back to him, then felt sheepish that he had said it.

“You remembered!” Phil had said. He looked thrilled. “Yes, I...I’ve been busy. But I wanted to see you again.”

“You did?” Dan had felt that annoying little patch on his cheek starting to burn.

But Phil had been blushing too. “I...yeah. I, actually, I wanted to ask you if -”

The front door had blasted open, interrupting Phil, and he’d taken a hasty step back from the counter. Louise had swept in, her blonde curls flying. She’d rushed past Dan and into the back, then emerged seconds later.

“Forgot my phone,” she’d said to Dan. She hadn’t noticed Phil, whose bright orange shirt matched the case of garish marigolds behind him, but she reached up to fix the twisted collar of Dan’s t-shirt.

He’d leaned a little toward her, barely sparing her a glance. He hadn’t wanted to look away from Phil, who had gone quiet and unobtrusive. “You’re useless,” Dan had told her, but she’d just laughed and stood on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.

“See you tonight, darling.” She’d left immediately after that, and Dan was left alone again with Phil. He had been irritated that Louise had reminded him of her friend’s wedding that she’d convinced him to play for tonight. He didn’t want to think about it until it was actually happening. Generally, he never wanted to think about things until they were upon him.

“You wanted to ask me something?” Dan had said to Phil, trying to forget what Louise had mentioned. He’d hoped desperately that Phil would ask him out. Ask him anywhere.

“Oh,” Phil had managed, glancing after the door that was still inching its way shut. “I just...wanted to ask you. Where you got that shirt.”

Dan had glanced down at the plain black t-shirt that he wore. “Um. Primark? I think.”

“Cool!” Phil had shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. “Okay. I’ll...see you later, then. Bye!” He’d left the shop in a flustered rush and Dan had been left standing awkwardly alone.

Dan had felt ridiculously self-conscious and uneasy after the encounter, but it had faded by the next time Phil came in, exactly a week later. Phil had never asked him out, though, and Dan certainly wasn’t going to mention anything. Then Phil had started coming every week, sometimes twice a week, and every time he stepped through the door with his bright smile and stupid face, Dan’s hopes of being asked out were renewed. Maybe today would be the day...if Phil ever actually got here.

“Daniel!” Louise was bellowing, and Dan’s head snapped around. He didn’t realize that he had been off in his own head, but from the tone of Louise’s voice, she had called for him a few times already.

“What?” he yelled back at her.

“What’s wrong with the speaker?”

Dan rolled his eyes. “I’ve told you about it like ten times already. It hasn’t been working for almost four months, so I put it in the back.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Louise. “I guess I should replace it.”

She’d said that about five times already.

“You should,” Dan agreed. “It’s sad in here with no music playing.”

Louise came out of the back room, typing away on her phone. “I’m adding it to my shopping list,” she announced. “I’m sure the flowers will appreciate it.”

Dan sighed and leaned against the counter, his back to the door. The sheet music slipped under his elbows and he barely managed to retain his balance on the narrow stool. “I don’t think they’ll care. Most of them are clipped and dead anyway.”

Louise pointed a long finger at him, her pink nail accusing. “Don’t say that,” she ordered. “They’ll hear you.”

“You sound like Phil,” Dan said, smiling fondly at the thought without intending to do so.

Louise caught the expression and her eyes narrowed. “If you don’t ask him out,” she said, still pointing, “then I’m going to.”

“He’d be a good dad,” Dan told her.

“I bet he would,” she said, tone laced with sarcasm, “and I’m sure that means a very different thing to you than it does to me, who has actual kids.”

Dan was offended at her insinuation. “I do not have a daddy kink!” he insisted.

That, of course, was when he realized that the door to the shop had been opened. Louise’s eyes widened with glee and Dan cringed so hard he thought his head might retreat into his neck.

Please don’t be Phil, he thought wretchedly. He turned his head ever-so-slowly.

It was Phil.

Louise cackled from behind Dan.

“Hi,” said Phil. He was smiling.

Dan wanted to throw himself into the bin under the counter to join his crumpled attempts at sheet music. “Hhhhh,” was all he could get out.

Louise emerged from Dan’s shadow and out past the counter. “Hello!” she said to Phil. “I’m not allowed to speak to you. Goodbye!”

“I actually fucking hate you,” Dan said, but he hadn’t actually said it. He had thought it very intensely at Louise. She almost certainly received the message, with the ferocity of Dan’s glare, but she only waved cheerfully at them both and then left.

Dan closed his eyes, very briefly. “Can we pretend that didn’t happen?”

“Sure,” Phil agreed amiably. The amusement was clear in his voice.

Dan opened his eyes but couldn’t bring himself to meet Phil’s gaze. He noticed the lack of a computer bag on Phil’s shoulder. “Not staying?” he forced himself to say, instead of wallowing in his mortification.

“Oh, no, unfortunately,” Phil said. He looked disappointed upon saying it. “I have a meeting with my supervisor, actually. It’ll be terrifying. I wanted to stop by and get some flowers for him.”

Dan thought that it was a strange thing to get for one’s boss, but who was he to judge? He had never gotten gifts for Louise or his talent manager. Maybe that’s why he was a terrible employee.

“Okay,” he said. “What did you want to get?”

Phil looked at him, a pleading smile on his lips. “I dunno. What do you think I should get? What bouquet do you think could imply ‘sorry for being slow at my job and I promise I’ll get this one in on time’?”

Dan gave him an unamused stare. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t know anything about flowers and their meanings? And I don’t think there are any that will give quite that...specific…of a message.”

Phil moved closer and it was only then that Dan really paid attention to the thick-rimmed glasses he was wearing, matching the black stripes on his tight button-up shirt. His sleeves were too short, and his jaw was bristly with an afternoon shadow. He looked fucking hot. Dan wanted to punch him, maybe. It should be illegal to go out in public looking like that.

“Fine,” Dan said, instead of just staring at Phil’s bare arms. He yanked out his phone and glowered at the black screen, which unapologetically reflected the deep bags under his own eyes and his uncontrollably messy hair. He felt hideous compared to Phil. “I’ll look up ‘flowers for a boss.’”

“Thanks!” Phil said brightly, as if he didn’t have his own phone and search engine that he could use to look it up.

Dan thought that Phil was probably a sadist. There was no way he didn’t know what he looked like and the effect he would have on anyone nearby that had good eyeballs and a healthy sex drive. Dan pressed his phone screen a little too hard as he typed in ‘how to make someone ask you out,’ then hastily deleted it and asked Google ‘what are good flowers for a boss.’ Google confidently informed him that there were many excellent choices and gave him a list.

“Carnations,” Dan told Phil after briefly perusing the options. “Light red ones. They express admiration or whatever. And they go well with baby’s breath.”

Phil’s glasses made his eyes seem impossibly bluer than they usually were. “That sounds great!” he said.

Dan regretted that the filler flowers and the carnations were all in the racks behind him. If they hadn’t, maybe he could get closer to Phil and get an unobtrusive, closer sniff of the cologne he could smell from here. That wasn’t creepy at all, he tried to convince himself. He turned to pull down a generous handful of baby’s breath and added them to a pre-arranged bouquet of pale red carnations, then wrapped and bagged them. Phil had moved right up against the counter, his long fingers resting against the edge of it.

“Here you are.” Dan offered the flowers and Phil traded them for a credit card. As Dan rung up the purchase, he could see Phil poking at the bobble-head Luigi by the till.

“Is this yours?” Phil asked.

“Do you like Mario Kart?” Dan asked in reply.

“I love it!” said Phil. Luigi wobbled under his prodding finger.

“So do I,” Dan said, incredibly pleased for no reason that he could identify. “But I almost never play it.”

“Neither do I,” Phil admitted. “It’s no fun playing by myself, and my brother doesn’t visit very often.”

Dan didn’t know whether to feel better that Phil also had no friends that played Mario Kart or ridiculous for wanting to admit that he didn’t either. He handed Phil’s card back. “That’s sad,” was all he could think of to say.

“Yeah,” Phil agreed. He put the card away and just stood there for a very long moment, clearly musing something over. A finger came up to rub hesitantly at his lower lip and Dan couldn’t tear his gaze away from the movement. “Do you…” Phil began, tentatively, “well, this is probably weird, but...do you want to come over sometime and play with me?”

Dan thought hysterically for a second that ‘play’ meant something very different, and then it struck him. Phil was inviting him over. “Yes!” he said, probably too desperately.

Phil looked exuberant. “Really? I mean...great!”

“Great,” Dan echoed, his stomach twisting in excitement.

“Great!” Phil said again. His eyes behind the glasses were brilliant with delight. “I’ll...maybe Sunday?”

“Yes,” Dan said.

The bag crunched under Phil’s grip. “I’ll text you the address to my flat!” he said. “It’s not very far from here. Do you like pizza?”

That was a ridiculous question. “Of course I do,” said Dan. “Who doesn’t?”

“We’ll have pizza and Mario Kart, then.” Phil’s fingers were tight around the bag of flowers.

Dan couldn’t look away from him. He was aware that he was grinning ridiculously at Phil, but Phil had the same wide smile, so Dan didn’t feel self-conscious about it. “That sounds perfect,” he told Phil. He wondered feebly if it would count as a date. It felt like it might.

“Okay. Good. Great.” Phil took a step backwards toward the door. “I’ll see you then!”

Dan waved, an awkward flap of his hand, but Phil’s delighted expression didn’t waver as he left the shop. “Bye!”

A few seconds passed and Dan had to catch his breath from the suddenness of everything that had just happened. He felt breathless and giddy with disbelief. He needed to tell Louise. Grabbing his phone from where he’d dropped it, he typed out an urgent message to Louise. ‘invited to phls flat snday not a drill’

His phone rang approximately two and a half seconds later. Louise’s tone was shrill on the other end. “What?” she demanded. “What happened? Tell me everything!”

Dan hunched over the counter, his voice high with the excitement of it. “Phil! The Luigi bobblehead! He asked me to play Mario Kart at his flat! With pizza!”

At this point in their friendship, Louise could easily decipher his gibberish sentences. “So it’s a date?” she screeched.

“I mean, sort of,” his words stumbled over each other, “maybe? To be determined, I think.”

“If you get laid, you owe me,” she said, ecstatic.

“Louise!” he said in reproval, but he was too exhilarated to be bothered by her crudeness. Music notes had begun to spin and dance through his mind, spurned by his mood, and he ached to get them down before they left him. “I have to go,” he told her.

“But you haven’t told me what he said!” she complained.

“I have to write,” he said and promptly hung up on her. His phone chimed with message notifications almost instantly, but he’d already abandoned his phone to snatch up the pencil. It flew across the ledger lines as he urgently scrawled the notes that flew through his mind.

“Um, hi again,” said Phil, and Dan almost threw the pencil.

“Sorry,” said Phil, the apologetic laughter clear in his expression as Dan’s head flew up in fright and his gaze found the figure by the door.

“I fucking hate you,” Dan said. He was lucky he hadn’t been sitting on the stool or he definitely would have fallen to the floor with the adrenaline that had coursed through him at the unexpected voice. He hoped Phil hadn’t been standing there long enough to hear him babbling at Louise.

“I said I’d text you,” said Phil, “but I don’t have your number.” He raised the phone in his hand, face contrite. The bagged bouquet was limp in his other hand.

Dan finally was able to breathe and he shoved his phone across the counter, fingers of his other hand still clenched around the pencil with the intensity of his writing. “Send yourself a message with it.” He realized his mistake the instant Phil picked up his phone, and his mouth dropped open in sudden terror, but Phil apparently hadn’t read Louise’s rapidly-appearing messages, as his expression remained consistently neutral while he typed away at the phone. He handed it back a few moments later, his own phone vibrating with the notification. “Thanks. Sorry again for scaring you.”

“You didn’t - I wasn’t.” Dan tried to glower at him, but the effect was ruined by the thrill of his anticipation. “I don’t even like you.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Phil grinned, waving his phone with the message that he had received from Dan’s phone. “Okay. Bye for real. I’m going to be late.”

“Bye,” said Dan, watching him go this time.

He very much appreciated the tight jeans Phil wore.

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