Chapter three: Tears, Starbucks and hugs

"Dan!" Phil called.
"Yeah?" Dan yelled back. He was in his room, shoving on a top. Phil didn't reply so Dan went and looked for him. Phil had gone to get redressed out of his slept-in clothes. His door was open and it was obvious that he wasn't in there. Confused, Dan wondered into the lounge.
Phil was sitting on the sofa, his head in his hands.
"What's up?" Dan frowned.
"I just got a text from Becca," Phil looked up. Dan's face dropped, "Oh…"
Phil glanced over to his phone which was on the arm of the sofa. Dan took the hint and picked it up. The text from Becca read as follows:
"Hey babe! I hope you managed to talk to Dan ok last night. Anyway, my friend wanted to meet you. I feel weird texting this but would you say we're a couple? I think we are, I mean, we've been meeting up for a while now. I think that means we're together. I don't want to scare you off though. Will you be ok meeting my friend? I hope so. See ya honey Xxxxxxx"
Dan didn't say anything until he mumbled, "Shit."
"My thoughts exactly," Phil agreed.
Dan handed Phil back his phone and said, "Well… What are you going to do?"
Phil stood up and started pacing. "I don't know! She said that we're together now so does that mean… Does that mean I'm cheating on her?!" Dan stopped Phil mid-stride by pulling him into a hug. "I don't know," He said soothingly, "Just calm down, we'll work something out."
Phil took a deep breath and then pulled away from Dan's embrace. "What do I say? I don't think I should tell her this by text… What so I tell her?!"
Dan had never seen Phil this helpless before. "Well," He began, "Text her back saying that perhaps meeting her friend wouldn't be such a good idea and ask to meet her somewhere. Say you have to talk to her."
Phil bit his lip. He wasn't too sure about this but there wasn't any other way around it.
He nodded and started the text:
"Hey Becca. I don't know how to say this but I don't think meeting your friend would be a good idea. Could I meet you today? I need to talk to you."
He felt guilty but he had no other choice. He sent it and put his head in his hands again. Dan sat next to him and put his arm around him. "Don't worry Phil," He said, "It'll all be fine."
"But I've practically cheated on her!" Phil whined. Dan thought fast, "I don't think you have."
Phil looked up.
"I mean… It's not like we slept together or anything…"
Phil's face twisted with worry.
"Plus," Dan quickly added, "You didn't know that she thought you guys were a couple. As far as you knew, you were a free agent."
Phil thought about that. That was technically true, right? He felt a bit better but his face dropped when his phone notification went off. Dan took the phone out of Phil's hand before he could see it. The text from Becca read:
"That's fine. I'm not forcing you into anything. Yeah sure, I'll meet you at Starbucks in an hour? Xxxxx"
There were less kisses. Dan took note of that.
"What does it say?" Phil bit his lip again. Dan read out the text and added, "See, its fine."
Phil frowned, "Fine… Until I tell her. What do I say?!" This was where Dan wasn't too sure. He thought for a moment while Phil stared at him, his eyes pining. "Are you going to tell her about us…. Or are you just going to end things with her?"
Phil hadn't thought about this. "Do you think I should tell her?" He asked.
"Well," Dan started, "It depends if you want to tell her the truth of why you're ending it."
Phil sighed. "I suppose I should."
Dan nodded. "It might make things a little easier." He put his arm around Phil again protectively. Phil lent his head on Dan's chest. He wasn't looking forward to this.

"Phil!" Becca waved him over. He walked to where she was sitting and sat across from her. "I was just about to order something. Do you want anything?"
He avoided her eye contact. "No thanks," He replied, "I don't plan on staying too long."
She frowned but then smiled again. How could he break this to her? She was so sweet and lovely.
"Oh ok, I'll be right back," She grinned. Phil took a deep breath and tried to remember what Dan had told him: "Tell her the truth. Be honest and sensitive to her feelings." This wasn't going to be easy. Becca sat back down while she waited for her coffee. "So what's up?" She smiled. She had no idea what was coming. Phil looked at her then. "I uh…" He began. She egged him on with her emerald green eyes. "I can't see you anymore." The smile slowly vanished from her face. "What?" She asked, "Why not?"
"Look," Phil began, "It's not because I don't like you. You're great! It's just…"
"What is it? Did I scare you off with the whole 'we're a couple now' thing?" She looked as if she were about to cry. This made Phil feel even worse. "No, it's not! I've… I've fallen for someone else. It just came out of nowhere. I'm sorry."
The poor girl had only thought that they were meeting up for coffee and a chat. She hadn't expected this. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "But I've fallen for you!" She sniffed. Phil felt like crying now. "Maybe if I'd meet you first things would have been different but… I didn't so they aren't."
Becca wiped away a single tear that had made its way down to her nose.
"Please don't cry!" Phil rubbed his own eyes.
"I'm sorry," She dabbed her eyes with a napkin. After taking a deep breath she said, "I don't want this to come out wrong but did you… Did you cheat on me?" This was the one question Phil had been dreading. He looked away from her gaze. "What would you put under cheating?"
She knew that that was a bad sign. "Um… Sleeping with them? Kissing them? That sort of stuff."
Phil closed his eyes, "We kissed." He didn't want to open his eyes but he knew he had to. Becca was full on crying now. Although, not making a noise apart from the occasional sniffing. "But-" Phil counteracted, "To be fair, I didn't know that we were a couple! I didn't know that!"
Becca nodded. "It's ok," She whispered between sniffles, "It wouldn't be the first time."
Dammit! She had been cheated on before. Way to restore her faith in men, Phil!
"If I had known, I wouldn't have even thought about it!"
She understood. Her coffee order was called out then. She didn't move.
"I'll get it for you," Phil got up and went to retrieve the Latte. Becca blew her nose on a second napkin. Phil came back and handed her the coffee. "Careful," He warned, "It's hot."
She nodded and took a sip. She had stopped crying and her eyes and nose were red.
"You… cheated on me…" She looked away. Phil bit his lip, he couldn't think of anything else to say.
"I know you didn't mean to and you didn't realise that you were… But you still did."
Phil hung his head in shame. "I know," He whispered. Becca just shook her head. Her chair moved. Phil looked up to see Becca was putting on her coat.
"Don't go," Phil murmured.
"There's no reason for me to stay anymore," She replied. Phil knew she was right so stayed silent. She picked up her bag and her Latte. Before she left she said, "I can't believe you did this to me. I thought you were a nice guy…" That hit Phil hard. She walked out of the door without a backward glance.

"I hope he's ok," Dan thought as he uploaded his most recent video. While he waited he went to get some lunch. It was half twelve and he was hungry. Phil had been gone for nearly an hour. Dan was getting worried but knew that Phil was strong. He had gotten everything out to make a sandwich when he heard the front door shut.
"Phil? Is that you?!" He called. There was no reply and he heard another door shut. "Phil?!" Dan left his sandwich to look for Phil. He knocked on his door. "Phil?" He whispered through the door. "Are you ok?" Again, there was no answer. Giving up on waiting for Phil to say something, Dan opened the door and cautiously peeked in the room. Phil was lying, face down, on his bed. "Phil?" Dan opened the door a little wider. Phil was silent. Dan shuffled towards the bed and soon realised that Phil was crying. "Phil?!" Dan was really worried now. He sat on the edge of Phil's bed and touched his shoulder carefully.
"I'm a horrible person!" Dan heard Phil's muffled voice through the pillow.
"What?" Dan asked. Phil turned his head so Dan could see him. Tears were streaking down his face. Dan wiped away a couple of them.
"What happened?" He said. Phil told him everything and when he said the last thing Becca had said, his eyes welled with tears again. When Phil had finished, Dan pulled him up into a hug. "Oh Phil!"
Phil was crying again.
"It'll all be fine. You don't have to see her again," Dan said soothingly.
"She's right though!" Phil pressed on, "I'm a terrible person!"
"Shhh Phil! You're not! You're amazing!"
Phil looked up at him, his face worried. He opened his mouth to say something but Dan carried on, "Just forget about her. You have me now."
Phil nodded as Dan wiped away any remaining tears from his face. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a few minutes; Dan occasionally leaning down to kiss Phil on the head. "Are you ok now?" Dan asked. Phil took a deep breath and said, "Not really but I will be."
Dan smiled and pulled away from Phil so he could kiss him properly. When their lips touched it was just as magical as the first time. After about a minute, Dan said, "Come on, I'll make you a cup of tea." He pulled Phil up by the hand and dragged him out of the room.