Phil scrambled from Chris's embrace and ran from the room, straight into his own,
"PJ, STOP!" Phil yelled, stopping as fast as he could without falling over. PJ stopped shouting at the wide-eyed, vulnerable boy that was huddled into the corner of his bed and both of them looked at Phil. Chris quickly stumbled into the room after him, crashing into him, but Phil held his balance,
"No, Phil! I'm sick of him being here, and I'm tired of wandering through to my room only to bump into a girl trying to slink out of your room unnoticed! I'm sick of his attitude, and I'm completely over how he treats you! Look at you, Phil! You're in tears! I haven't seen you cry since…" PJ's voice was stern and loud, "You know…"
"PJ… he didn't do anything wrong…" Phil whimpered, "He's not as bad as you think, I promise. He's… he's my friend too, Peej."
"I don't… I don't get it, Phil," PJ turned and headed out of the room, his shoulder hitting Phil as he hurried past him,
"PJ, come on…" Chris insisted, PJ ignored him. Chris shot Phil and apologetic look, "I'll check on you later, okay?" he said and followed PJ from the room. Phil's eyes immediately made their way back to Dan. He didn't look like himself. He looked scared. What happened to the Dan that didn't give a fuck? What happened to the Dan that felt it perfectly acceptable to break a guy's arm because he didn't like what he had to say? Why didn't Dan just knock him out? Phil knew he could. Phil knew he probably would any other day, but he didn't know why right now was different. He looked unsure, and… helpless.

"I'm so sorry, Phil…" Dan uttered softly, his voice trembling,
"No, don't be. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run out like that, I just… I got scared. It wasn't you," Phil walked over and climbed next to Dan, not touching him at all because he legitimately looked very much shaken,
"I'm so sorry…" Dan repeated in the same hushed tone. Phil looked over to him and put his hand out, still worried that touching Dan at this point might not be a good idea. Dan took his hand and soon felt Phil's thumb stroking the skin of the back of his hand in a circular motion,
"Did he hit you?" he asked, Dan nodded,
"Not too hard, don't worry…"
"Why didn't you… why didn't you fight back?"
"Because he's your friend, and I figured you'd hate me more if I, you know, broke him," Dan said with a little smile.
"Maybe we can have nice things after all," Phil laughed, "I don't understand why you're so shaken though…"
"It just wasn't a good time…" Dan sighed,
"Is it ever a good time for one to be attacked by another?"
"Um, yes. Literally anytime but after you've just kissed the first actual friend you've had since you were like 14, only to have him run out in tears afterward,"
"I'm sorry about that…" Phil put his arm around Dan and immediately felt the warmth of Dan's arm around his waist, "It was just overwhelming and…"
"And..?"
"I'm sorry, Dan… I'm just- I'm not into guys…" Phil said, looking into his deep brown eyes as he sat firmly in his embrace, holding Dan's fingers in one hand while his arm draped comfortably over his shoulders.
"That's, um… that's perfectly okay, because I'm not- I'm not into guy's either," Dan stuttered, pulling him closer and feeling Phil squeeze his hand tighter.
"Not that there's anything wrong with, you know, being into guys," Phil quickly added,
"No, no! Not at all…" Dan continued, "Especially when the guy is like, really- um, really attractive."
"Or if they're absolutely adorable," Dan added with a nod,
"Or, um… completely sexy,"
"Phil, I think you're totally hot," Dan spat out. Phil looked up at him and Dan felt butterflies in his chest, as if they'd run out of room multiplying in his stomach and decided to fly up and tickle his heart. Suddenly Phil's lips were on his, and Dan's hand was cupping Phil's jaw, his thumb brushing over Phil's cheek. Within seconds Dan was dominating the kiss, gently biting down on Phil's bottom lip, receiving a quiet moan from him and using it as an opportunity to slip his tongue into Phil's mouth, kissing him deeply and pulling him closer. He couldn't get close enough for his liking, more than anything, in that moment he longed for Phil's body to be so close to his own that they were the same person; one, single, whole person. For the first time in his life, he understood. He understood intimacy, both physical and emotional. He wasn't in love with Phil, of course he wasn't, it was just a kiss, but simultaneously it was more than that. It was a kiss with someone that he actually cared about and that cared about him. While he wanted to bring that physical intimacy to life, at the same time he wanted to hold onto that strong feeling and he prayed to any god that would listen that Phil, his friend, would feel that need, the soul-lifting, yearning, sweltering desire for that intimacy too.

Dan pulled away and held his face close to Phil's, just breathing and taking each other in. Dan studied Phil's movements, every blink, the way he chewed his lip, his throat as he swallowed the saliva that must have built up in his mouth.
"Please don't cry," Dan whispered, his mouth turning into a cheeky grin,
"I'm not gonna cry," Phil whispered back, gently shaking his head,
"I might," Dan chuckled, feeling Phil's breath on his skin as he laughed a breathy laugh, "I'm still not into guys."
"No, neither am I…"
"I think I might be into a guy though…" Dan continued, "As in singular, not plural."
"That's good," Phil pressed his nose against Dan's before shyly continuing, "I might be into you to…" Dan laughed and Phil watched as his entire face lit up. Phil pulled apart and stood up, fixing his hair and pulling down his top to rest over the top of his jeans, and then Dan was behind him, his hands running down his arms until his fingers interlaced with Phil's. Dan walked him forward, pushing him against the wall and kissing his neck gently; he turned Phil around, quickly joining their hands again and pinning them above his head on the wall behind him. Dan smiled and kissed Phil again, gentle little kisses on his lips, his cheek and his nose, before Phil leaned forward and took Dan's lips in his own. Phil's arms slid down from above his head, now at waist height, but still pinned strongly to the wall. Phil felt Dan's tongue brush against his and he smiled, so Dan ran his tongue over his teeth until Phil's smile dissipated and he could kiss him more passionately. Dan pressed his body against Phil's and a faint 'mmm' passed through his lips, the vibration tickling the lips of the ebony haired boy in front of him.
"Uh. I'll, um- I'll come back later…" a confused and startled voice said from behind them. Dan dropped Phil's hands and took a step back, both of them turning to see Chris standing in the doorway, mouth hanging wide open.
"Oh, no! Chris!" Phil ran forward and grabbed him, stopping him from leaving, "Okay, please. Don't freak out."
"What's um, what's going on?"
"We, uh- we kissed," Phil said bluntly, feeling the awkwardness radiating from Dan behind him,
"I seem to have noticed that. I'll let you get back to it, I'll be out of your way now…"
"No, Chris. Please."
"How long has this been going on?" Chris asked, motioning his hand between Dan and Phil,
"About 10 minutes," Dan chimed in. Phil held back a laugh, but Chris caught his smile,
"Alright…" Chris breathed, "I'm assuming this is going to be another secret between the three of us?" Phil looked back at Dan, seeing his nod,
"Yes, please…" Phil smiled. Chris wrapped his arms around Phil,
"Please don't kiss me," he joked,
"I wouldn't dream of it," laughed Phil, breaking from their friendly hug.
"I had no idea that you…" Chris began but couldn't finish the sentence, he had no idea how end it without offending one or both of them.
"We're, uh. We're not into guys," Dan laughed, followed by Phil. Chris just gave them a confused, 'I don't even want to know' kind of look.