A/N: I read a post from tumblr that got reposted on pinterest with this prompt in it. I really liked the idea, so I decided to try and write it. So, here it is. I can't find the original post, so just keep in mind this is not my original idea, but this fic itself is entirely my own. Enjoy!
dan's pov
"C'mon, Dan, this is fun!" I look at him. "Really, Phil?" I say skeptically. "Yeah! Just 'cause PJ isn't here doesn't mean we have to go home," Phil replies. "C'mon, we never hang out in bars!" "Yeah, there's a reason for that," I roll my eyes but laugh a little in spite of myself. I survey the near-empty bar, rare for this time of day, but it was a small little bar on the edge of town. Phil and I had specifically chosen this one to meet up with PJ because of that. But PJ had to cancel at the last minute! Now Phil was practically forcing me to stay here with him. Not that I was complaining...
The little bell on the front door tinkles softly and two girls walk in giggling. They sit together near the end of the bar, away from the table we were sitting at, and the bartender goes to serve them. I turn back to Phil, drinking his coffee, and take a little sip of my own coffee. Ugh, we were gonna be up all night.. and not in the way I would like.. God, Dan! Stop it! I scold myself. I can't be thinking these things about my best friend.
"Ok, part one of our Night on the Town," Phil says dramatically, "we'll go talk to those girls." "Ok, first of all," I interrupt. "'Part one?' 'Night on the Town?'" "Yep," he laughs a little and sticks his tongue out in that infuriatingly adorable way of his. "What, are we completing objectives for a Sims social event?" I ask incredulously. "Yeah! First, we'll talk to those girls. Then we'll grab a bite to eat and hit the streets of London!" Phil exclaims excitedly. He babbles on planning this little excursion in his head, but I interrupt again. "Okay, next, we're not talking to them!" I say. Phil turns to look at me. "Why not? We need to be a little more social. Besides, when was the last time you had a girlfriend?" He points out. "Phil, you know I haven't had a girlfriend in years," I mutter awkwardly. Phil must've sensed this was a touchy subject for me because he doesn't continue the conversation. Dan, this is a perfect opportunity! Tell him you're bi! The little voice in my head urges me. I had struggled with my sexuality for a long time before figuring it out (with the help of Phil, in more ways than one). I kept trying to convince myself it wasn't true, I was straight, the 'phan' thing was just made up by our fans.. but all of it was true. I'm in love with-NO! Another voice interrupts. You can't be thinking things like that, I remind myself. There were a million reasons it wouldn't work. What would the internet do, he doesn't even like me back.. the list goes on. So I had been trying to fall /out/ of love, but it's easier said than done..
"Hey!" An upbeat voice I haven't heard before jolts me out of my thoughts. I look up from absently fiddling with my straw into the eyes of one of the girls. She was attractive, having short dark brown hair, blue eyes. Phil's eyes are much more beautiful. I push that thought out of my head and respond to her. "Hi." I give an obligatory awkward smile. "I'm Caitlyn, and this is Allie," Caitlyn gestures to her friend, also attractive, with longer, lighter brown hair and brown eyes. "Hey! I'm Phil, and this is Dan," Phil greets them cheerfully and gives me a look. "Nice to meet you," I say. They look at each other, giggle again, and Caitlyn goes to sit in the chair next to Phil while Allie settles down into the chair next to me.
We start talking and about 5 minutes later Allie asks us, "Soooo, what are you guys doing tonight?" "Nothing, actually, our other plans got cancelled," Phil says. "That sucks," Allie sympathizes with Phil. "What were you gonna do?" Caitlyn jumps in. "We were gonna meet up with our friend PJ, but he bailed," I reply, silently cursing PJ for condemning us to a night with these ladies. I already wasn't really in the mood to go out (Phil had to practically drag me out of bed), and now I had to chat up two drunk, bubbly women in a bar?
"Well, do you want to hang with us? We were gonna go to a party later," Caitlyn says. I notice that Allie shoots Caitlyn a look, as if she was trying to telepathically communicate with her friend to not invite the two random guys in the bar. Same, Allie, same, I think. "Yeah, sure. Where is it?" Phil agrees. Now it's my turn to shoot my friend a look. I kick Phil underneath the table and glare at him when he looks my way. "It's at our university on the other side of town," Caitlyn replies. "Oh, well, I just remembered we need to do something," I say. "What?" Allie questions. "Erm, just.. run some errands," I make up lamely. "Haha, been there!" Caitlyn laughs. "Yeah, well, maybe we could meet up another time?" I ask, desperately trying to make this less awkward and just leave already. The two girls look at each other and say, "Sure!" simultaneously. Phil and I exchange numbers with Caitlyn and Allie and head out of the bar.
"See? That wasn't so bad," Phil remarks as we head home. "I guess not," I grumble. Phil laughs at this and I smile a bit in spite of myself. It actually was kind of.. fun? I did enjoy talking to the girls, however brief it was, and I did like Allie. Maybe that wasn't a horrible idea..
The next day, Phil and I decide to text Caitlyn and Allie as we're eating lunch. We agree to meet up for a double date for dinner in the same bar as last night. "So, am I going with Caitlyn and you're with Allie?" Phil asks me when we're about to leave. "I think so. Did they say anything in the messages?" I say while putting on my jacket. "Not really." Phil pulls out his phone and scrolls through the texts again. "Nope, we were just agreeing on the time and place. They said it was a double date but we never really confirmed who was going with who," Phil says. "Well, Allie was sitting next to me last night, so I guess she likes me?" I question confusedly, but Phil and I just leave for the bar and don't think any more of it.
Soon after, we arrive and sit at the bar while we wait for Caitlyn and Allie. Not long after, they walk in the door holding hands. That's a bit odd, I think as I notice it. The thought is driven out of my mind as they approach us. "Hey guys!" Caitlyn says. "Hey!" Phil replies. I smile and mutter a greeting, still not really wanting to be /outside/. Allie gives a shy smile in response. I guess she was the shy one and Caitlyn was the more outgoing one. "Should we get a table?" Phil asks. "Ok," Caitlyn agrees, so she surveys the restaurant area and strides toward a booth at the edge of a wall.
When we approach the table, Caitlyn pulls Allie into the same side of her booth. Phil and I share a glance but slide in next to each other. A waiter comes to serve us and we order our drinks. Allie orders a water and Caitlyn orders a lemonade. "No more alcohol for a while," she remarks once the waiter leaves. "I still have a bit of a hangover from the party last night!" Caitlyn and Allie giggle. Phil laughs with them. "So, you guys go to uni?"
The conversation continues for a bit longer as they talk about their lives at university (they were both in their last year). "So, how did you guys meet?" I ask them. "Well, we live on the same floor in our residence hall," Caitlyn starts. "And then we just became friends, and you asked me out, what? Three months ago?" Allie asks Caitlyn. OH. The words hit me like a bolt of lightning as I finally realize what was going on. Caitlyn and Allie are a couple. That's why Phil and I didn't know who was going with which girl! They were a couple. And.. wait. They think we are a couple!
I turn to look at Phil, seeing how he was reacting to this. He just looked confused. Oh, Phil. "Yeah," Caitlyn answers Allie's question. Then she turns to us. "How long have you two been going out?" She asks. Phil finally understands what is going on, and he looks at me with wide eyes like a deer in the headlights. Oh god, what were we supposed to say?! After a second, I say, "Uh.. two years. It's been so long I had to think about it for a sec!" I laugh nervously. Why did I say that?! I had never been good in awkward social situations.
Phil just laughs along with me and the waiter comes back with our drinks. I take a gulp of water and settle back into the booth. "Oh, wow, you've been together a while! How did you meet?" Allie asks. "We met on the internet. Dan messaged me and we just hit it off," Phil answers. Why was Phil going along with this? Well, I didn't really give him much of a choice.. The conversation turns towards YouTube and our work. The dinner continues as normal, Caitlyn and Allie don't ask about 'Phil and I' again. I'm surprised to find I'm actually having a good time. Now I don't have to suppress my stares at Phil and such, cause we are 'in a relationship' now. But the surprising thing was, Phil was being sweet and staring at me too! He's just playing along, the logical part of me says. But another part of me can't help but hope.
About an hour later, the check arrives and we all split the bill. Soon we're saying goodbye to Caitlyn and Allie, but we plan to meet up again soon. "Bye guys!" I say to them, and the girls turn away and get into their taxi. I gently take Phil's hand and lead him back down the road to our apartment, determined to savor every moment of this 'date'. Because I know the second we walk in that door, the atmosphere will be ruined and Phil and I will no longer be a 'couple'. Phil isn't pulling his hand away, I think.
Well, yeah, he doesn't want this to be awkward.
Why would it be awkward?
Cause then he has to acknowledge you're holding hands, and it would be weird.
I have a little argument in my head all the way back about Phil, what being on this fake date might mean. Too soon, we reach our apartment. "Well, I had fun on our first date," Phil says to me with a little grin. I smile. He's just joking around. "Me, too." But I'm not. I reach for the handle with my free hand and open the door. Just like I thought, when we walk in the atmosphere is shattered. We look at each other and I grow very uncomfortable again. I pull my hand away and we walk up the stairs into the kitchen. He sits on the edge of the table while I lean against the wall. "Um.." I stutter, trying to find something to say. "Well that was weird," Phil says. "Haha, yeah," I agree, nervously running my hand through my hair. "I didn't expect them to be a couple." "Yeah, me neither," I say. C'mon, say something interesting! I scold myself. "Sorry I said that. I kind of panicked." Phil must know what I'm referring to, because he says, "No, that was good. I was just kind of frozen, didn't know what to do. And it was fun to pretend for a little bit," he adds as an afterthought. "Heh, yeah," I say, smiling and remembering what it felt like to be 'dating' Phil for a little while. Then the implications of what he said registers in my mind.
Wait, did he just say he /liked/ dating me? I think. Well, he said he had fun... is that the same thing? I wonder about what that could've meant. I decide to face the situation head on. "Er.. did you just say you liked dating me?" I question Phil. He stills and stutters, "Um.. no. I just liked hanging out with Caitlyn and Allie." "You said 'it was fun to pretend'. Pretend you were dating me?" I press him further. "No! I didn't say that!" Phil says. I can't tell if he's just frustrated at me or if he's panicking over the topic of conversation. But I don't care. "C'mon you've never even thought about it?! Making 'phan' real?!" I explode. Did I really just yell at Phil? About 'phan'? We never talked about it. Shit, why did I do that? The emotions just washed over me and came out.
"No! I've never thought about it and I don't want to!" Phil yells back. What did that mean? I don't dwell on it. "Really? With all the millions of people that ship us you've never even wanted to try it?" I shout incredulously. "No! Why, do you?" Phil suddenly stops shouting and shifts uncomfortably to ask his question. "Yes!" I practically shriek. All the built up emotions are coming out, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. "I love you, Phil!" I finally allow myself to say it. "And, if you can't see that..!" I trail off. Then my brain catches up with my mouth. Oh god. I just told Phil I loved him. I feel my mouth fall open slightly in surprise at myself. "Oh god.. I'm.. I'm sorry. I-I have to go. I just.. can't be with you. Bye, Phil," I say, then I turn and run down the stairs and straight out the door.
I pace quickly around the block, trying to stop the tears from flowing down my face, my mind still processing all that happened. I had ruined everything. I had admitted my feelings for Phil, to Phil. I just had to get out of there. I couldn't stand to watch Phil reject me. Around 20 minutes later, my walking has slowed and I reach the apartment again. I take a deep breath, then open the door. I walk up the flights of stairs to the main floor, and I hear crying. Was Phil crying? I wander through the flat into the living room. Phil is sitting on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his hands pressed into his face, sobbing.
I stand in the doorway, unsure if I should go in. "Phil?" I ask, full of concern. He looks up at me, then wipes the tears off his cheeks and dries his hands on his pants. "Dan?" Phil says hopefully. I walk over and sit next to him. "It's me," I laugh slightly. "Why are you crying?" "I-I thought you left me," he says. "I could never leave you. I just had to blow off some steam. I'm sorry," I apologize. "Did you mean what you said? B-before, after we got back," Phil asks. I bite my lip. "That I love you?" Phil nods. "Yeah," I admit. Phil sighs in relief, then leans over and hugs me. I hug him back, then pull away. "I-I don't understand. I.. I thought I ruined everything by telling you how I feel," I say. "I thought I ruined everything by not telling you how I feel. I-I love you too, Dan. I didn't think you liked me that way, so I tried to convince you I didn't like you that way," he says sheepishly. "Well, it worked," I say. I shove him playfully, then Phil starts laughing and I smile. "Whatever, it all worked out, right?" Phil asks. "Right," I agree. He smiles again, then leans over and kisses me. When the kiss ends, Phil says, "there's still one thing left to do." I look at him questioningly. "What?" "We have to call up Caitlyn and Allie and thank them." I smile at that, then just shake my head slightly and lean in to kiss Phil again.
A/N: I hope you liked this little oneshot! Please review what you think and favorite if you enjoyed it! ~L