1.

The time on his laptop display read 10:38pm. Tumblr was open on the screen, as it usually was this time of night. Moonlight was creating a thin stream of light through the mostly-closed curtains, the sun having finally decided to set that summer night.

Dan was not wearing headphones, as his brother and his friends were already making enough of a racket out there in the main area of the house. No one could hear him over the slightly muffled music coming through under the door.

His brother's parties were few, unlike many of his friends' parties, but when Dan's brother decided to host, it was always loud and long-lasting. Dan could usually block it out using Tumblr, YouTube and – well, just really the Internet in general.

The Internet was always there, and while it could be seen as sad that it replaced real friends, Dan was perfectly content. He never really saw the appeal of parties, or going out, or getting drunk for shits and giggles. Even dating held little to no appeal – and he was attracted to both girls and guys. He wasn't really a social person, and that's all there was to it.

Since he spent so much of his time in his room, it was pretty well known among his brother's party-goers that you didn't go into Dan's room – you picked just about anywhere else to have your drunken hookups. Dan felt pretty secure in that rule.

So, it was quite a big shock when his door burst open and a guy stumbled in. Dan drew back involuntarily; suddenly glad he was still wearing a t-shirt and jeans. That would have been even more awkward than this already was.

The first thought that hit Dan's mind when he looked at the intruder was the sudden burst of colour. He was wearing dark purple jeans and a galaxy-printed shirt dusted with silver glitter, and were his nails painted? On anyone Dan could think of, it would have looked weird, but the oddly creative clothing suited this guy.

"Hi, I'm Phil!" the stranger chirped, clearly not realizing that this room was not open for the party.

The next things Dan had noticed were that the person – Phil - was holding a red cup, and the way he had stumbled through the door.

Oh shit, he's drunk, Dan thought to himself, inwardly groaning at the idea. He had to be, there was really no other way to explain the irritatingly happy behaviour of this person. Plus, he was 110 percent sure that was beer Phil was holding, and you had better not spill that on my floor.

"What are you doing in here?" Dan asked, annoyed.

Phil didn't answer, instead he just looked around the room, at the dark clothing strewn everywhere, the band posters on the wall, and the laptop still open on the unmade bed. Dan had the uncomfortable feeling that Phil was taking in just as much of his lifestyle from his room that Dan was taking from Phil's clothes. He had to admire the irony in the situation – they were pretty much polar opposites.

"Would you mind leaving?" Dan said with ice in his tone. "I don't have any alcohol in here."

Phil's eyes widened, as if an incredible idea had just come to him. A grin spread across his face, and if it was any other time, any other place, Dan might have smiled too. It was just so unexpectedly infectious. Phil lowered his voice and looked Dan straight in the eye.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Dan didn't know what possessed him to nod.

Phil leaned in closer, right to Dan's ear. Before Dan could protest at the unaccustomed closeness, Phil whispered, "This is just apple juice," and stood back up, swirling his cup around in his right hand.

Dan blinked. "So you're not drunk, then," he said warily.

"Nope!" Phil replied, taking a sip of what was apparently apple juice.

"Well, you're sure acting drunk," Dan replied.

Phil looked mildly taken aback by this pronouncement. "Why would you say that?"

"You almost fell through my door!"

This earned a laugh. "I'm the clumsiest person alive!" defended Phil.

When Dan didn't respond to that, a silence fell on them, but it wasn't quite awkward. The ice seemed to have been broken by their unusual introduction. To an outsider, it might have appeared that Dan was thinking over Phil's last sentence, but actually he was just confused. Dan was curious about this person, though he hated to admit it. He had never met someone like this guy before.

Phil broke the not-quite-awkward silence with a much unexpected question. "Do you want to go out?"

Dan spluttered, choking on air. He couldn't believe that. This guy, thinking he could just waltz in here, or, trip in here, and then ask him out –

"Not like that!" Phil backtracked, contrasting Dan's horrified expression with a slightly embarrassed one. "No, just, like, get out of here."

Dan raised an eyebrow, not getting the full meaning of his words.

"Downtown isn't far from here," Phil clarified. "And, I know a cute little cinema that's playing the Avengers tonight."

"And you would know that how?" Dan asked cynically.

"Because I work there!" Phil grinned. "Can't you just see me handing out popcorn?"

Dan had a sudden mental image of Phil in a uniform. It didn't really fit what little he knew about Phil's personality. "You probably eat the popcorn," he said, in a sudden burst of laughter.

"I do," Phil agreed, laughing along. "So, how about it?"

"You're sure this isn't you asking me out on a date?" Dan asked. "Cause I am bi, and –"

"No," Phil said, cringing. "This is about the movie."

Dan laughed again, and without really considering it, he nodded.

"Great!" said Phil. "Let's go out the window. The people out there are nuts."

"Plus, I want to lock my door," Dan added. "You never know what someone might – do – in my room while I'm gone."

After appropriate locking measures had been taken, the two climbed out the window. The clock read 11:24, and they had almost the whole night ahead of them.

"So, my car's over there," Phil said, as they walked away from the house. There was no need to sneak, as everyone in there was too occupied slash drunk to care. It was a fairly new-style car, but one thing stood out from it – Phil had absolutely covered the bumper in stickers.

Also, it was pretty beaten up, like maybe it had been in a few accidents. Dan noticed that right away, and compared that fact and the slight shaking of Phil's hands.

"I'll drive," Dan volunteered, and he could see Phil visibly relax, even in the dim light they were getting from a street lamp.

"Okay," Phil agreed, sighing. He slid into the passenger seat, and Dan marveled at how fast Phil trusted him, a total stranger, to drive his car.

The next few minutes blurred as Phil gave instructions and Dan followed them. They got lost a few times, due to Dan's nervous driving and Phil's utter lack of a sense of direction, but eventually they made it.

The cinema was tiny, nothing like the big movie theaters one often finds in city areas. The lighting was old-fashioned, and so were the front displays and ticket counters, but the inside was all modern. It even had one of those new Coca-Cola machines that dispensed a hundred types of soda, although Phil sadly informed Dan that only fourteen of them worked.

They had to hurry, because due to this being spur of the moment, they had missed the trailers. Phil bought the popcorn, waving Dan off when he tried to pay for it and greeting the girl behind the cash by name – "hi, Natalie, you got the night shift? Stay strong."

As for the movie, it was amazing as always. Both boys had seen it before, and as there was nobody else in the theatre (who even goes to midnight showings?) they could talk, and fangirl, as much as they wished.

When they walked out of the theatre, Dan was, quite surprisingly, feeling no regret towards his decision. Phil was actually cool. They had a lot in common, including that they were both huge nerds and both loved anime.

"To be honest, who ever walked out from The Avengers without shipping two of them?" Dan said, smirking.

"Ugh, but Thor and Loki? That's so weird!" Phil said, shuddering.

"Don't insult someone's OTP, ever," Dan warned, and then continued, "Personally, I ship Scarlett Johansson with herself," which made Phil laugh.

All too soon, they were back at Dan's house. The time had flown by without either person knowing where it had gone. A silence fell, and this time, Dan broke it, albeit somewhat awkwardly.

"That was really fun," he said, not quite meeting Phil's eyes due to his blushing. "We should stay in touch."

"Yeah, let's!" Phil said. He pulled a pen out from his pocket, and rifled around in the glove compartment for a piece of paper, but came up with nothing. He looked at Dan. "Pass your hand."

Dan held it out, and Phil neatly wrote a phone number across it. "Call me," he smiled, and got out of the car.

Dan followed suit, and too soon, he was waving to the other boy as Phil drove down the street. He felt happy, and hopeful, and not nearly as lonely as he had before. It was late, late enough to go to sleep without needing to browse for another few hours.

Unlocking his door made it open, and a couple of people fell into his room from where they had obviously been lying against it. Dan sighed and moved them out, shutting the door again. At least nobody had made it inside his room while he was out. Drunk people were devilishly clever with their lock-picking.

Phil was on his mind as he fell asleep, thinking about all the possibilities, and suddenly the future seemed a little less dark than it had before that night.