"Dan, will you please just hurry up? PJ's already there and waiting for us!" Phil called from the bottom of the steps. He sighed as he looked up the stairs.
"Give me a minute!" Dan called back to his best friend. Phil sighed and shook his head.
It was a Saturday evening when Phil Lester and his best friend Dan Howell were planning on going out to meet-up with their friend, and also Phil's boyfriend of six months. They were all planning on going to the cinema to see 'Catching Fire'. Dan was quite excited about going to see Catching Fire but he wasn't looking forward to sitting through the movie with Phil and PJ.
Phil and PJ had only been dating each other for six months and Dan hated that Phil was dating someone else. He tried not to show it but he was a very easily jealous person, which was something Phil knew. Dan had always liked PJ. They were like brothers. But, ever since he asked Phil out… things have been different. Dan didn't speak to PJ much unless he absolutely had to. PJ already knew that something was up with Dan but he just figured that Dan was busy with filming and editing for his Youtube videos so it didn't bother him that much.
Dan had been in love with Phil for as long as he could remember. They've been best friends for over four years. They've both never had girlfriend/boyfriend's before so this was very new to Dan and Dan didn't like it at all. He didn't like the fact that Phil was always out with PJ and spending all of his time with him. Sure, they were boyfriends but it annoyed Dan. Dan and Phil didn't speak to each other every day but he still liked having Phil's presence in the apartment. Dan knew that Phil was there but now Phil was barely at the apartment. Dan wanted to say something to Phil about the whole situation but he also didn't want to hurt PJ or Phil's feelings and he didn't want to make himself look like a complete idiot.
The only problem was that Phil had no idea that Dan was in love with him.
Phil bit his lip as he pulled out his phone and called PJ.
"Hey, where are you?" PJ asked when he answered his phone.
"Sorry. Dan's taking forever to get ready but I promise we'll be there soon," Phil assured PJ.
"Okay, hurry up. I want to see you," PJ said.
Phil blushed. "You saw me yesterday, Peej..." He said.
Dan was just walking out of his room and he was walking over to the stairs. He looked down and sighed when he saw Phil was talking on the phone. He didn't even have to think about who Phil was talking to, he knew that it was PJ that he talking on the phone with PJ.
"I know I saw you yesterday, but I just like seeing you every day." PJ said.
Phil laughed and shook his head. "You're such a weirdo," he said. He glanced up and sighed in relief when he saw Dan standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at him.
Dan raised his eyebrows as he stared at Phil.
"Hey, I gotta go, Peej. We're just about to leave," Phil said.
"Okay, see you soon then. Love you!" PJ exclaimed.
Phil smiled. "Love you too. Bye!" He replied. He finally hung up on PJ and then he looked up at Dan again. "Are you ready to go now?" Phil asked.
"Yes, I'm ready now. Why are you in such a hurry anyways? I mean... we're gonna make it in time to see the movie," Dan said as he walked down the stairs.
"You always leave at the last possible minute and it just gets really annoying," Phil said.
Dan scoffed. "Whatever. Anyways… are you and PJ just going to be making out the whole time during the movie? Because, if you are then I don't want to sit with you two," he said.
Phil rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, we won't be making out the whole time. We're not that couple. PJ isn't like that. You know that," he said.
Dan sighed. "Whatever. Can we just go?" He asked.
Phil frowned. "What's the matter with you?" He asked.
Dan looked over at him. "What are you talking about?" He asked.
Phil sighed. "I don't know… it's just… lately you've been acting different," he mumbled.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. I'm fine. Everything's fine. You don't have to worry about anything," Dan grumbled. He went to turn to walk out the door but Phil quickly reached over and grabbed his arm before he walked away. Dan looked over at him with shock.
"No. Everything is not fine and I am worrying. You've never acted like this before, Dan. You just… you just seem different. I don't know how to explain it. It's like… ever since PJ and I started dating you've been kind of distant…" Phil began.
"Maybe it's because whenever you're with PJ… I feel like a third wheel. It's like I'm not even there when you two are together. You both completely ignore me and it's really, really annoying," Dan snapped. Phil stared at him with shock. "And it's really not fair because you're my best friend and it feels like he's taken you away from me." Dan whispered.
"What on Earth are you talking about? You're still my best friend, Dan... nothing can change that ever," Phil told him. "We'll always be best friends. You knew that I would get a boyfriend eventually. I wasn't going to stay single forever." Phil said calmly.
"I can't help it. I can't help that I'm a jealous person," Dan said.
"What do you have to be jealous of?" Phil asked curiously.
Dan looked down at his hands and quickly went silent.
"Dan?" Phil asked nervously. "Hey, come on... talk to me,"
"I'm jealous b-because…" Dan couldn't believe that he was actually about to tell Phil that he was in love with him. Dan wasn't prepared for this. He didn't want to ruin the friendship that he had with Phil. He didn't want to ruin the friendship that he had with PJ either but he would do anything to be with Phil and this could be his only chance. "I-I'm jealous because you're dating someone wh-who isn't me." Dan mumbled.
Phil blinked a few times as he stared at Dan. "Dan, what are you…?" Phil started to ask. He took a deep breath. "What are you trying to say?" He asked nervously.
"I'm saying that I'm in love with you, Phil! Jesus Christ." Dan whispered.
Phil's eyes went wide with shock. "Y-You're what?" He asked with shock.
Dan looked away from him and didn't say anything to Phil.
"You've never told me this before? Why are you telling me this now when I have a boyfriend?" Phil asked as he crossed his arms against his chest.
"Because, I was just afraid that you wouldn't feel the same way about me and I didn't want to ruin our friendship. Our friendship is the most important thing to me. I can't lose you. I need you more than you think, Phil... I really can't lose you," Dan mumbled.
Phil frowned. "You could never lose me as a friend, Dan," he whispered.
Dan finally looked at him. "How do you know that, Phil?" He asked.
Phil bit his lip nervously. "Dan, you've always been my best friend. You've been there for me through the best times and the worst times. Nothing can break the friendship that we have. I admit that I have been spending quite a lot of time with PJ since we started dating each other but I just… I don't know. It's different but a good different. I like being around PJ. As much as I love our apartment… it's nice being out with PJ." Phil smiled.
"You deserve better than PJ," Dan mumbled.
"Now just wait a minute! PJ loves me. How could you say that?" Phil asked.
"PJ doesn't love you like I love you," Dan said. He took a deep breath as he stared at Phil.
Phil shook his head. "I can't believe this. You're being absolutely ridiculous, Dan. We'll talk about this later. We're going to be late," Phil said. He pushed passed Dan and then he finally walked out of the apartment without saying another word.
Dan sighed and shook his head. "Well done, Dan..." Dan mumbled. He also turned around and walked out of the apartment. He was not looking forward to this. Not at all.
20 minutes later; Dan and Phil had finally arrived at the cinema.
Phil hadn't spoken a word to Dan since they left the apartment. Dan felt awkward but he was determined to fix things. He wasn't about to let his and Phil's friendship fall apart.
Dan and Phil were just walking into the cinema. Phil looked around and smiled as soon as he saw PJ. "Do you see-" Phil gasped excitedly. "Peej!" He called.
Dan rolled his eyes. He watched as Phil walked towards PJ.
PJ looked over and smiled when he saw Phil. "Hey! It's about time you got here," he said.
Phil walked over to him and PJ immediately gave him a hug. "Sorry. A certain someone was taking freaking forever to get ready," Phil said. He rolled his eyes.
Though, now that Phil thought about it… maybe Dan was trying to make them late on purpose?! Now that Phil knew how Dan felt about him. But, Phil wasn't going to say anything about that. Phil didn't want to have to worry about Dan. He just wanted to have a good time with PJ. He always loved being out and about with PJ. It was nice and relaxing.
Phil smiled as he hugged PJ back. PJ pulled away a few seconds later and then he kissed Phil once. PJ glanced over and saw Dan walking next to Phil. "Hey Dan." PJ greeted.
Dan looked over at him and gave him a fake smile, remaining silent.
PJ raised his eyebrows and then shook his head. "Okay, well, the movie is about to start in five minutes. Do you want to get any drinks or snacks?" He asked.
"Come on, you know me. I never eat watching a movie!" Phil exclaimed.
PJ laughed. "That's right. Dan? Do you want anything before we go in?" He asked.
Dan shook his head, still not saying anything to him.
"You're being awfully quiet today," PJ said to Dan.
"Guess I'm just tired," Dan mumbled. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want anything."
"Okay then..." PJ said. He blinked a few times.
Phil looked over at PJ and gave him an apologetic look.
PJ reached over and grabbed Phil's hand. "Let's go," PJ led the way into the movies.
Phil glanced back at Dan and took a deep breath.
After the movie, Dan immediately left the cinema and wanted to go straight home.
Although, he did very much so enjoy the movie and he left the cinema with a smile on his face. Dan just couldn't stand being around Phil and PJ. It was so awkward for him and he felt left out more than ever. Phil was doing everything he could to avoid Dan. Dan hated it. He wanted to talk to Phil. He needed to talk to Phil before it was too late.
It was about two hours later now since Dan arrived home from the cinema. It was around 8 o'clock. Dan was sitting in the lounge, he was sitting on the couch. He had been for the past hour. He'd just been sitting there, staring at the TV even though the TV wasn't even on. Dan didn't care though. He was just sitting there and waiting for Phil to come home. Though he wasn't too sure if Phil was actually coming home after what happened earlier.
"Dan?" Phil asked as he walked into the lounge.
Dan blinked a few times. He looked over and sat up as soon as he saw Phil.
"Phil," Dan whispered. "I… I didn't think you would come home."
Phil shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't going to but I just…" He shook his head.
"Can we talk?" Dan asked. Phil looked over at him. "Can we talk about earlier?"
Phil sighed and he slowly nodded. "Yeah, we can talk..." he mumbled. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to Dan. "So? Talk." He said calmly.
"I'm really sorry, Phil. I didn't want you to find out like that. I just couldn't hold it in anymore after hiding my feeling for almost four years," Dan said. He took a deep breath. "I've loved you for four years. You've never had a boyfriend the whole time we've been friends. And then suddenly PJ asks you out from out of nowhere and everything changes. I don't like change, you know that. I always have trouble adjusting to change."
Phil nodded. "I didn't know you felt like that before," he whispered.
"Because I never told you. You knew that I was gay but you didn't know how I felt…"
"I wish you would have told me sooner," Phil said, quickly cutting Dan off.
Dan blinked a few times. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I've always had feelings for you, Dan..." Phil admitted.
"You have?" Dan asked with shock. That was the last thing Dan expected Phil to say.
Phil nodded. "I'm just being honest with you," he said.
"Well... why didn't you say anything?" Dan asked quietly.
"The same reason you didn't. I didn't want to ruin our friendship," Phil said. Dan sighed.
"Can I try something?" Dan asked nervously.
Phil bit his lip nervously as he continued to stare at Dan, remaining silent as he did so, though he had a feeling what was about to happen. "Go ahead," he whispered.
Dan took a deep breath. He scooted closer to Phil. He nervously leaned forward and then he finally pressed his lips against Phil's, closing his eyes as he did so.
Phil's eyes went wide with shock. He knew it was coming but he was still surprised. It was weird for Phil to have Dan kissing him after they've been friends forever. It took him a few seconds before he finally started to kiss Dan back but then he quickly pushed Dan away.
Dan frowned as he looked at Phil. "Was it that bad?" He asked nervously.
Phil shook his head. "No, the kiss was fine. We just... can't do this. I still love PJ with all my heart and soul. I don't want to hurt him. He's done nothing wrong to me," he mumbled.
"Please, Phil. We both feel the same way about each other. I'm sure if you just talked to PJ…"
"I don't know..." Phil mumbled. He took a deep breath.
Dan sighed and then he looked away from him. "Well then," he mumbled.
"But, I do love you, Dan…" Dan stared down at his hands. Phil wrapped his arms around Dan and pulled him closer. Dan looked up at him. "We'll figure this out." Phil said.
"I love you but I just don't want PJ to hate me for doing this," Dan said.
"PJ won't hate you. It takes a hell of a lot to get PJ to hate you. Come on, Dan. I-I mean… I've only been with PJ for six months. Maybe it'd be best if me and PJ just stayed friends, he might be upset for a while but I'm sure he'll get over it." Phil said. He shrugged his shoulders.
Dan bit his lip. "Don't do this just because I'm a jealous idiot…" He began to say.
"No! No. I'm doing this because I want to do it. I love PJ and I always will but… I'd choose you over PJ any day. You're my best friend, Dan. You mean a lot more to me." Phil whispered.
Dan blushed. "Phil…" Phil smiled. He leaned down and kissed Dan's cheek.
"I'll talk to PJ later, don't worry all that, okay?" Phil whispered. Dan slowly nodded. He turned and then he scooted closer to Phil. Phil smiled as he gently held onto Dan. "Everything's fine, we're going to be fine. That, I can promise you." Phil assured him.
"I love you, Phil." Dan mumbled as he rested his head on Phil's chest.
Phil chuckled. "I love you, too." He whispered. He continued to hold onto Dan.
Phil didn't really care that this relationship was happening so fast, he knew that this was the right thing to do. He just wanted to be with Dan like this forever.
The only thing that he wasn't looking forward to was breaking the news to PJ. He just hoped that PJ would forgive him and they could still remain friends with each other.
