A/N: Somehow this idea popped into my head, presumably because a) nostalgia trips and b) let's be real, Pheely is one of my OTPs. Never expected the first thing I published to be non-Harry Potter, since that's basically all I read fic-wise (and, yeah, I'm supposed to be working on a ScoRose right now), but hey.
Does anyone still care about Phil of the Future now that it's 2015? (Answers self: No. But I do so it's okay.) Phil and Keely are just too dang adorable. Enjoy!
Phil squinted at his paper, furrowing his brow and tapping his pencil against his chin. He was this close to finding a solution to his math problem, but seriously, if his third attempt backfired again, he was probably going to -
"Phil!" Keely exclaimed, flapping her arms in front of his face excitedly and completely knocking him out of his reverie. Well, technically it hadn't been a reverie, exactly. He'd been keenly aware of his best friend's presence on the other side of the table, not to mention half-distracted by it this entire time. (But only half-distracted, since he was Phil Diffy and knew how to take studying seriously, even when he kept having urges to look at - uh, talk to his best friend. Come on, that had to count for something, right?)
"What is it, Keel?" Phil replied, laying down his pencil in surprise. Not that he minded taking a break from problem 38 at this point.
"I just had the bestidea," Keely enthused, grinning from ear to ear. "We've never gone thrifting together before, and I bet you would look so good in vintage."
Phil raised his eyebrows but couldn't help breaking into a grin himself (Keely's smile tended to have that effect on him). "Yeah, I think you mentioned that before, actually."
Keely knit her eyebrows in confusion, a facial expression he had always found adorable. "I did?"
"Yeah," Phil said, smiling at the memory of their crazy night trying to ward off Vice Principal Hackett during his family's disastrous dinner party. "That one time I changed us into my parents? It was right before that. I was wearing a leather jacket for some reason," he noted, squinting and shaking his head.
"Huh," Keely said, resting her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "I wish I could remember more of that night. I try all the time, you know, but it never works." A minute later, she smiled widely. "Anyway, I stand by my former claim. We've gotta get you into some crazy retro clothes, Future Boy!"
Phil threw his head back and let out a fake groan, but his still-present grin betrayed him. "Do I have to? When are we gonna have time for this, anyway?"
Keely perked up. "Well...my homework's done. So we could go right now." She nudged Phil's foot under the table and batted her eyelashes, the combination of which made Phil's heart skip in surprise.
"Uh...um...yeah," Phil gasped out, trying to sound normal as his pulse raced. "Thrift shopping. Right. Sure! Let's go," he agreed, hoping that by some miracle his face wasn't as red as it felt right now. Keely gave him a look - glad you find this amusing, Keely, he thought dryly - and grabbed her purse, standing up. Running a hand through his hair to clear his head, Phil did the same.
"Whose car are we taking?" he asked, grabbing his jacket.
"What, no Skyak?" Keely frowned, pretending to be unimpressed. "Kidding!" she laughed when he fixed her with a glare. This was typical for them; she would joke about using future gadgets in public, and Phil would always respond with the darkest look he could muster. (It probably wasn't very dark, but hey, he tried). Anyway, it was all for show, since he trusted Keely with his life. She'd never slip up on his secret, and he loved that he had a friend like that.
Who would've thought the best friend I've ever known would be from one hundred years before my own time? he thought, not for the first time. Sometimes the sheer absurdity of it all hit Phil anew and he wouldn't be able to stop grinning. Other times, he felt a bitter twinge in his chest. I'm not supposed to be stuck in this century forever...one day, I'm supposed to leave her.
He tried his hardest not to think about that.
"We can take mine since I know the place," Keely suggested, rummaging around in her bag for her keys. Phil watched her blonde hair tumble around her face, then shoved his hands into his pockets. Pretty sure Keely doesn't think of you like that, Diffy, he reminded himself. She wouldn't be roping you into these girly shopping trips if she did. And you need to remember how important she is to you as a friend. F-r-i-e-n-d, he emphasized.
"Found 'em!" Keely said, holding up her keys triumphantly. "Okay, let's go."
The doorbell jingled as they stepped in to the tiny shop. Phil, who had never been thrift shopping before, marveled at his surroundings. Sure, thrift shopping existed in the future, but it was so much easier to get clothes from future-malls, where you didn't even have to try them on. Besides, he was a guy, and the only people who bothered with thrifting in the future were alterna-girls (who, he'd noticed, seemed to exist in every century).
"Oh, Keely!" exclaimed a tiny, white-haired woman as she stepped out from behind the counter. "It's been too long since I've last seen you, dear!" Her eyes widened when she took notice of Phil. "And who's this?"
"Um, this is my friend, Phil," Keely explained, flashing a sheepish smile. "He moved to Pickford last year. Phil, this is Mrs. Eldridge - she's been running this shop for the past twenty years."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Eldridge," Phil said, extending a hand and flashing a smile. "This place seems pretty interesting - there's definitely nothing like it in Kansas." Keely raised her eyebrows at him knowingly - it had been a while since he'd had to break that excuse out.
The elderly shoplady started asking him all sorts of questions about Kansas - Phil thought he was maneuvering them quite skillfully - and made sure school was going for him. Finally, she released him from her scrutiny, saying, "Well, Keely's a regular here, so I'm sure she can give you the grand tour. It's so great to meet you, dear!" She gave Keely a knowing smile before returning to the counter, humming to herself.
"Oh, boy," Keely muttered, immediately steering Phil by the shoulders towards one of the racks on the other side of the store. "I think Mrs. Eldridge thinks - well - never mind," she mumbled, her cheeks turning pink.
"What?" Phil chuckled. They'd stopped in front of a display of sweaters, some of them with the craziest patterns on them that Phil had ever seen. "That we're going out?" He tried to sound nonchalant as he posed this question, but out of the corner of his eye he studied Keely intently. Maybe the way she reacts will give me insight as to whether she'd ever consider it.
Keely laughed nervously, sifting through the sweaters without meeting his eyes. "Probably. I mean, apparently half of our school thinks that too - oooh, shawl collar!" she exclaimed, pulling a thick navy sweater off of the rack and holding it up for Phil to see. "What do you think?"
Phil's head was spinning. Half the school thinks we're going out? Okay, that was news to him. He was hardly knowledgeable (fine, entirely clueless) about these sorts of things and could hardly believe what he was hearing. And to be honest, he still didn't understand how the whole gossip-spreading-within-the-H.G. Wells-student-body thing worked.
He coughed, attempting to cover up his surprise. "Uhhh...sure," he replied, forgetting Keely's question. She clapped her hands together excitedly and threw the sweater into her cart before getting distracted by the next one. "Ooh, a tennis sweater! What do you think? Cable knit, varsity detail, and perfect for tennis matches."
Phil shot her an amused look. "Keely, that looks exactly like the type of sweater that jerk Robert wears all the time. I don't think so."
"Ugh, you're right," she surrendered, putting it back on the rack. "We definitely don't need any anti-Puddinator vibes interfering with our tennis matches."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Phil smirked. His eyes fell on the women's sweater rack, and, spontaneously deciding that there was no way he was going to let Keely have all the fun on this trip, he grabbed the first sweater that caught his eye. "Hey, Keel, how do you feel about orange? And, uh…" He squinted at the sweater, trying to figure out what was going on. "Green...fuzzy things?"
Keely looked up, her eyes widening in horror. "No way, Phil! I mean, sure, I like the seventies, but not that much."
"No seventies..." Phil pretended to consider as he searched the rack for other crazy-looking items. "Then I bet you'd be into...this," he announced with a dramatic flourish, brandishing an oversized sweater with murk-colored patterns all over it. As a bonus, it carried a distinctly mothball-y smell.
Keely narrowed her eyes, catching on. "Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you, Phil -"
Phil made a big show out of rolling his eyes, though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. "Keely, Keely, Keely, don't be unreasonable -"
"You want to play sweater games, Phil? I can play sweater games," Keely said confidently, crossing her arms and stepping forward in challenge. "If you expect me to actually try on the ridiculous items you're proposing, then you have to swear to buy everything I pick out for you. And wear it to school," she added, lifting her chin.
Phil narrowed his eyes. "What if you pick out horrible things?" he countered.
Keely grinned deviously. "I might pick out a few. But you said so yourself, I have great taste."
Phil stepped closer to her, so that they were only a foot or so apart. "You sure? Because I don't really recall saying that."
"'My taste in guys isn't that bad, but my taste in robots stinks?'" Keely quoted, cocking an eyebrow. "I mean, for all intents and purposes, that's close enough," she said, waving a hand dismissively.
Phil shook his head slowly, amazed as always by Keely's unique form of logic. Her brain worked in a completely different way than his did, but that was what made hanging out with her so fun. "Say I were to agree," he began slowly. "Hypothetically!" he added when her face lit up. "I think the number of items I have to buy should be limited to a reasonable number. I mean, that's only fair, it's not like I have an unlimited allowance -"
"Deal," Keely agreed immediately, sticking out her hand for him to shake. "Five things. And that means I'm not trying on more than five things you pick out for me, by the way."
"You are so sneaky," Phil chastised, biting his lip and grinning. "Fine." He grabbed Keely's hand and shook it.
"Hey, Phil?" Keely said after a few moments.
"Hm?" he replied, already lost in his friend's olive green eyes. Nobody in the future had eyes like that; in fact, nobody else's shade of green even came close -
"You're, um, still shaking my hand," Keely pointed out, and Phil glanced down, springing away with a blush. "I - uh - sorry," he apologized, utterly mortified. "So, I'll, uh, I'll just be going to pick out some awful clothes for you now," he announced, gesturing unnecessarily over his shoulder. "Totally awful. Yep," he clarified, nodding to himself decisively before speeding off as far away from Keely as he possibly could.
Keely shook her head and grinned, giggling to herself. "And that is no doubt why I keep you around, Phil Diffy."
"Keely!" Phil called. "Open up. I found something really weird and - " He checked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "I need you to tell me what it is," he whispered emphatically.
"One sec," came Keely's voice. After a moment, the dressing room door swung open and Keely stepped out, wearing a light blue gingham sundress that fit her perfectly. "Whaddya think?" she implored, spinning around in a circle so that the dress flared out. "I know I kinda got sidetracked from my original mission of finding clothes for you, but this was practically calling my name and besides, I already found a killer leather jacket for you that I'm super excited about…right, I'm rambling again. Sorry." She smiled and cleared her throat. "So?"
"You look...fantastic," Phil told her honestly. Beautiful was his instinctive reaction, but he made himself bite his tongue on that one. Willing himself not to be affected by Keely's long legs or bare shoulders, though the dress was by no means revealing, he swallowed hard and glanced away.
"Really? Cool," Keely smiled, oblivious to his discomfort. "I'm so glad I found this. Oh, so, what was it you wanted to show me?"
Phil held up the narrow, silky strip of cloth he'd bunched into his hand. "What the heck is this?"
Keely started laughing. "That? It's a tie, Phil! Don't tell me you haven't seen a tie before."
Phil made a face, shaking his head. "Uh, we definitely don't have those in the future. I haven't seen anyone wearing them around school, either. I mean, how are you even supposed to wear something this insubstantial?" Holding out the tie to examine it, he decided to try knotting it around himself, sash-style. Laughing, Keely placed a hand on his arm to stop him.
"It's not like that. They're a formal accessory, like what businessmen wear, or for going to a dance. Guys usually wear them with a collared shirt or a suit," she explained, coaxing the tie out of Phil's hands and positioning it around his neck properly. Phil, completely unfamiliar with the concept of tying things around his neck (wouldn't that thing choke him?), tried to wriggle away.
"Relax," Keely instructed with a smile, looking him in the eye. "I promise not to hurt you." Phil suddenly became aware of how very close she was to him, and his throat went dry.
"So, what do guys in the future wear when they want to look dressed up?" Keely asked, her gaze now focused on whatever the heck she was doing with the so-called 'tie'. Her fingers deftly looped the fabric around itself, brushing against Phil's chest in the process, and even though she was doing a great job keeping her promise not to choke him, he was now finding it very difficult to breathe.
"Ummm...we have these special socks," Phil managed to croak out, unable to tear his eyes away from her. Keely was right there, and the scent of her shampoo was assaulting his senses. "We tuck our pants into them, and the higher the socks are, the more formal of an event it is." Oh, God, is the room supposed to feel this stuffy right now? Phil thought desperately.
"No way," Keely laughed disbelievingly, still concentrating on the tie. "You people from the future are so interesting."
Phil laughed nervously, then cringed inwardly at how dorky his laugh sounded. "Yep, always keeping it interesting. That's us!"
Keely finished knotting the tie and then stepped back slightly, meeting Phil's eyes. He could see every last detail of her face, from her straight nose to the green eyes he had memorized and the lips he had traced with his own eyes a thousand times. "Ta-da. I'm not sure how I feel about the tie paired with the t-shirt, but I'm sure in a suit you would look pretty spiffy, Diffy," Keely announced, chuckling at her own joke.
"Oh," was all he could get out in response.
"Come take a look," Keely grinned, grabbing his wrist and gently pulling him into the dressing room with her. He blinked at their reflection; him, completely breathless in his orange t-shirt and the strange black tie hanging around his neck, his best friend standing next to him and smiling, looking just as beautiful as always.
"Keely," he blurted out before he could stop himself, turning to her suddenly before he lost all of his courage. "Um. I…" It's now or never, Diffy, he told himself. Now or never.
"Yeah?" Keely looked confused, and a little nervous. Was that good? She was also furrowing her eyebrows in that adorable way of hers.
"I…" He put one hand on Keely's shoulder and the other gently on her waist, now feeling slightly dizzy. Keely drew in a sharp breath and Phil's eyes instantly snapped to her face, checking to make sure she was okay. She was leaning into his touch, though, which he took as a good sign (scratch that, as a ridiculously amazing, and was this even real? sign).
"I'm, uh, glad you dragged me thrift shopping," Phil said hoarsely. The back of his mind screamed at him that Keely probably thought he was an idiot, but his eyes were already trapped in a cycle of darting between her eyes and her lips, and he pretty much felt that he had lost all control over his body.
"Sure," Keely breathed, letting out a shaky giggle and placing her hands gently on his shoulders as he leaned forward slightly, tightening his grip on her waist.
"And I don't care if people think we're a couple," he continued, looking straight into her eyes. "I know I'm kind of weird, and a crazy perfectionist, and not even from the same century as you, but..." Sheesh, Diffy, why would you remind her of that?! Seriously, now is not the time!
"I'm crazy about you, Keely Teslow," he admitted, his nose brushing against hers as he closed his eyes and leaned in, the words half-mumbled against her lips.
He felt Keely smile against his lips, and his heart leapt. "I'm pretty crazy about you too, Phil Diffy," she whispered back, capturing his lips with finality. One of her hands slid into his hair, and then he was gently pulling her body against his own, and before he knew it, he was full-on kissing Keely Teslow, actually kissing her, and it wasn't a dream.
"Wow," he breathed when they broke apart, feeling absolutely on top of the world as he continued to hold Keely in his arms. He couldn't stop smiling, and he noted with relief that the dressing room door had swung shut on them sometime within the last few minutes.
"You could say that again," agreed Keely, running a hand through his hair affectionately. "Phil, I think I've been waiting to do that almost since the day that I met you," she confessed, beaming.
"Really?" he blurted, completely flabbergasted. Here he'd been this whole time, forcing himself not to do anything that might ruin their friendship, and Keely had apparently always been into him. That was so completely infuriating and yet, at the same time, so mind-blowingly awesome.
"Really," she giggled, pressing another quick kiss to his cheek and then, unable to resist, his lips. "You basically had me from the moment you started teaching me fractions. And dancing with me and your willingness to hide under the table for me didn't hurt either," she grinned.
"Speaking of which," he joked, tucking a loose strand of Keely's hair behind her ear, "we can be boyfriend and girlfriend without hiding under any tables, right?" Keely whacked him on the arm, then grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his.
"Absolutely," she promised. "No hiding. And please, don't make fun of the ridiculous fifteen-year-old I was," she groaned, smiling despite herself.
"Aw, but you were ridiculous," teased Phil, pulling open the door for her and leading her out of the dressing room by the hand. "You couldn't even 'fess up to your mom that you didn't want to join the cheerleading squad. I mean, I had to really push you on that one, Keel," he recalled, shaking his head slowly.
"Oh, that's rich coming from the boy who couldn't even bring himself to tell me how many toes he had before our tomato field trip!" Keely shot back, before stopping in place. "Uh, which is five, like any other normal person," she added loudly. Then she glanced down, realizing she was still in the dress she'd tried on. "Wait a second. I need to change out of this, and you never brought me any crazy clothes, even though I found some for you. So...what now?"
Phil grinned mischievously, letting go of her hand as he made a dash for the outerwear aisle. "I almost forgot about that, Keely, but thanks for reminding me," he called back over his shoulder as she groaned, shutting herself back into the dressing room.
In the end, Keely was forced to try on a glittery tutu, billowy star-print pants, a dress completely covered in ruffles, and a violently neon tracksuit ("This has two parts, so just so we're clear, it counts as two items!" Keely had warned firmly). Phil, on the other hand, went home with the leather jacket and tie, two pairs of pants, and a cardigan ("You should get in touch with your nerdy side more often, Phil, it really suits you," Keely had giggled). They had just pulled back into Phil's driveway, and Keely turned the car off, glancing at Phil.
"I know we said that we wouldn't hide the fact that we were dating, but do we tell your parents tonight or…?"
"I don't mind telling my parents. It's Pim I'm worried about," Phil admitted with a grimace. "She's gonna make so much fun of us."
Keely patted his hand consolingly, then rested her head on his shoulder with a little laugh. "I'm so glad I don't have an evil little sister," she sighed. Phil chuckled and used his arm to pull her closer, and they sat like that silently for the next few minutes, both with huge grins on their faces. I can't believe I get to kiss my best friend now while still getting to joke around with her like I always have, thought Phil. This is officially the best day of my life, and apparently I owe it all to thrift shopping.
When Phil and Keely finally stepped through the doorway of Phil's house, Pim came bounding down the stairs. "I was starting to think you wouldn't ever make it back," Pim sighed, directing a pointed glance towards her brother. "Darn it." Then, her eyes fell on Phil and Keely's beaming faces and narrowed suspiciously. "Just what are you two so smiley about?" she hissed, encircling them slowly. "Stop...beaming!" she finally beseeched, flapping her arms in desperation. "It's gross!"
Phil couldn't help it - he started laughing. If there was one thing that really set Pim off, it was being left out of the loop. Keely, too, started to shake with suppressed laughter.
"MOM! DAD!" yelled Pim. "PHIL AND KEELY WON'T STOP SMILING, AND IT'S STARTING TO FREAK ME OUT!"
"Not everyone is as determined as you to be irritable, honey!" floated Barbara's voice down the stairs, breezy and unconcerned. Pim huffed loudly, shot one last menacing glare at Phil, and then stomped back upstairs, presumably to drag her parents down to witness her brother's unnatural behavior for themselves. Meanwhile, Phil grabbed Keely's hand and raised his eyebrows.
"If that reaction's anything to go by, we're gonna have a pretty interesting time at school tomorrow," he grinned, making sure to keep his voice down.
Keely squeezed his hand. "Bring it on, Future Boy."