A/N: I HOPE YOURE HAPPY ASHLEY
OK SO I HAVE LIKE HALF THE CHAPTER WRITTEN AND LIKE FIFTY MINUTES AND IM ORETTY SURE THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG CHAPTER WHY DO I PROCRASTINATE UHG
Idk how I feel about this, it feels a bit rushed at first, but I think I redeem myself at the end *winks aggressively*
My chapters seem to be getting longer
WC: 2,439
My parents—now both sitting on the couch—stared at me blankly.
"So let me get this straight," My mum shook her head. "You want to see if he can live with us?"
"Just for two years, until he can move out on his own." (I don't think I said their ages but if I did and this is wrong pls tell me)
My dad sighed, giving my mum a tired expression.
I had spent the past half hour telling them everything. Well, I might have left out the parts about Phil and I kissing, but they really didn't need to know that.
When I began explaining the kind of person I used to be, they were clearly disappointed, not that I expected any different. Although I did my best to assure them that I wasn't like that anymore.
"You do understand what you're asking us Dan? This is a big deal."
"I know Mum, but please, he needs a place to stay or he'll be shipped off to some shabby old building filled with crying, parentless kids!"
My mum gave a knowing glance to my father before letting out a sigh and turning back to me. "We want to meet him first. If that goes well, then we will look into getting him situated in the guest room.
"You mean it?!" I leapt up.
"Surprisingly, yes." Mum smiled wearily.
"Thank you!" I dove onto my parents, enveloping them in a hug.
After setting up a few more details, I ran upstairs and texted Phil.
PHILLLLLLLLLLLLL
Phil: yeah?
MY MUM SAID THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH UP BUT SHE WANTS TO MEET YOU FIRST!
Phil: omg, are u serious?! :D When?!
She wanted to come tmmrw around five, is that okay?
That's great! I cant wait!
I know!
*several minutes of silence*
I got to meet one of the victims today.
How'd that go? Phil had been pretty anxious to meet and apologize to whoever his dad hit.
It was a seven year old girl, her mum was killed on impact and she's going to be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life. I told her how sorry I was and how my dad was a bad person who was going to go to jail, and that I didn't like him either. You know what she told me?
Oh my gosh…. what?
She told me she forgave him, that her mommy always told her to forgive people, because if they did something bad then that means they have had something bad done to them too, and they just don't know how to be happy again.
Oh
I don't even know what to say
Neither did I, I just hugged her and cried.
Life is sad.
Yeah
I'm really exhausted so I'm gonna go now.
Goodnight
Goodnight x
PHIL'S POV
The day dragged on slowly as I waited in anticipation for five o'clock to come. I couldn't believe this was actually happening.
It was 5:05 when I heard a knock on my door and a nurse stepped in accompanied by Dan and his parents.
"Dan." I grinned.
"Hey." Dan smiled back, taking a seat at the bottom of my hospital bed.
"Mr. and Mrs. Howell, I'm so glad to finally meet you!" I exclaimed, turning to face the couple.
Mrs. Howell smiled, and began to say something but stopped as Mr. Howell walked over to me with a dead-pan expression, shook my hand and said, "Hi, so glad to finally meet you, I'm Dad."
We all groaned.
…
The next hour or so was filled with light conversation and generic questions.
"What's your favorite subject?"
"Have any siblings?"
"What career do you want when you grow up?"
Finally, the subject of me moving in was brought up.
"Well Phil, you seem like a lovely person, and we'd be more than happy to let you stay at our house."
I smiled breathlessly. "Thank you! I don't really have any money right now, but once I get settled I can find a job and pay rent if you'd like, I hate for you to have to spend all the extra money.
"Oh don't even think about that. We're practically adopting you, you don't need to pay rent!" Mrs. Howell brushed off my offer.
"So when can he move in?" Dan asked eagerly.
"As soon as he wants. I mean I assume you still need to get your bags, but the hospital staff finally managed to contact your mum, and she gave us the permission to let you stay with us. She will be coming to visit soon, of course. After hearing what happened she wanted to come home as soon as possible. "
I seriously doubted Mum would be home within the next month, but that didn't matter to me right now. All I cared about was the fact I would actually be living in a safe home with people who cared about me. I'd be living with Dan.
DAN'S POV
I felt like a little kid again as I sat on the steps, waiting anxiously for my Mum to get home from picking up Phil. I wanted to go with her, but she left when I was still in school. Her and Phil had decided on getting him moved in the very next day so she left to pick him up and help him pack nearly three hours ago. I had been staring at the door since I got home.
When I finally heard a car pulling into the driveway, I sprinted outside faster than I knew was possible for me. Phil was standing next to Mum, helping her take his bags out of the trunk.
"Need any help with that?" I was over enthusiastic to get Phil unpacked and situated, even if it meant struggling to pull a suitcase up the stairs.
"Yes actually." My mum pulled a suit case out of the trunk and handed it to Phil. Get that over there." She motioned to a cloth bag full of toiletries. "Now why don't you show Phil to his room?" My mom suggested.
I nodded, picking up one of Phil's bags and motioning for him to follow me.
I led him upstairs, passing my room and leading him to the last door on the hall.
"Sorry it's a bit plain…" I opened the door and lead Phil in. "It's usually meant for elderly family members." I explained, glancing at the out of date decoration and bland color scheme. "I'm sure I have a few extra Muse posters you could use to make it a bit more colorful."
Phil walked into the room, looking around with interest before turning back to me and smiling. "It's great, Dan. Thank you."
I shrugged. "No problem."
"No really." Phil's smile had lessened. "Thank you. Like I would actually be in an orphanage or a foster home or something if I couldn't stay here."
"No one deserves everything you went through Phil, it's the least we could do." Although the conversation was over, we held the other's gaze for a bit longer before Phil finally cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I should probably unpack."
"Oh um, yeah. Do you need help or…?"
Phil shook his head. "No, thanks though."
"Okay, I'll go see how long till dinner is ready." I tried to walk out of the room, but instead ran into the wall.
Phil burst out into a fit of muffled laughter. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I um just uh, I'm-Imgonnagocheckondinner." I could feel my face heating up as Phil's quiet laughter followed me down the hall.
Phil's POV
I unpacked most of my stuff pretty quickly. I didn't do the neatest job of folding my clothes, but there were more important things in life than that. Exhausted, I flopped back onto the white queen-sized bed. It was a measurable step up from the hospital cot. The mattress was so comfortable, I guess I could take a quick break from packing…
I must have been more tired than I remembered, because the next thing I knew Dan was shaking me awake.
"Phil?"
"What?" I blinked groggily, trying to focus on the hazy image of Dan's face hovering over mine.
"You fell asleep."
I groaned, pushing myself into a sitting position. "Oh yeah." I muttered, rubbing my eyes.
Dan laughed, shaking his head slightly. "I brought you some food." He handed me a box of Chinese food and a plastic fork. "Mum was going to cook a formal meal, but she decided you would probably want to get unpacked more than you would want to eat. We'll have something better tomorrow night.
"Oh no, this is great. Thanks." I took the dish from him and began eating.
"Well as much as I'd like to stay and talk, I have math homework, so I'm going to go sit in my room and cry for an hour." Dan gave me an obviously fake smile.
"Same." I laughed.
"Call me if you need anything, or even if you don't. Anything to procrastinate my homework."
I shook my head, laughing. "Just get out."
I was too busy eating (same) to notice the way Dan glanced at me as he exited the room.
…
I had been lying in bed for over an hour, unable to fall asleep. It always took me several days to get used to staying at a new place.
Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep any time soon, I decided to unpack some more. I got up and was about to unzip my bag when I heard the delicate sound of music drifting down the hallway. Confused, I opened my door, and stepped into the hall. Dan's bedroom door was cracked, letting a thin sliver of amber light into the hallway. I could hear the music better now, and realized it was coming from a piano.
I pushed the door open enough for me to look in the room. Dan was sitting on a bench, facing the instrument, his back turned towards me. His fingers slid gently over the keys, a soft, familiar tune wrapping itself around my mind. And although it was faint, I could hear him singing quietly.
"Cause the hardest part of this, is leavin' you."
The boy continued playing for a few more minutes, until the song finally ended, the last note fading into the night.
"I didn't know you could play piano."
Dan jumped so bad I was surprised he didn't fall out of his seat. He quickly spun around, the shocked expression on his face illuminated by a soft, yellow glow. "Phil, when the hell did you get there?"
"Sorry, I should have knocked." I ran a hand through my hair guiltily.
Dan muttered something in agreement.
"You're very good by the way." I didn't have to see his face to know he was blushing.
"T-thanks." Dan brushed his fringe out of his eyes nervously.
Not knowing what to say, we stood in an awkward silence.
"You're up late Daniel." I finally muttered, leaning against the doorframe.
Dan let out a huff of laughter. "I could say the same for you, Phillip. Why're you up? I thought you'd be asleep in a second."
I shrugged. "I'm practically sleepwalking right now, I just have too much on my mind to actually relax."
"Understandable." Dan mumbled.
"Why are you up?" I countered.
Dan shrugged. "Sometimes I just get an urge to play piano at…" Dan glanced at his clock. "one thirty in the morning."
"Do you ever get caught by your parents?"
"Nah, it would take God himself to wake them up." Dan shook his head and grinned.
I glanced at the small piano and back at Dan. "Can you play something for me?"
Dan looked surprised. "Oh um, I don't know…I mean I'm really not that good…"
"Oh that's BS, you're amazing!" I gave Dan a playful punch to the shoulder.
The brunet shrugged dismissively.
"Please play something? For me?" I pouted, poking him in the arm,
Dan rolled his eyes. "Fine, but just once. And I'm choosing the song."
I grinned happily, bouncing on the balls of my feet.
Dan walked back over to the piano, taking a seat on the bench. He stared hesitantly at the keys, probably trying to think of a song to play. Finally, he pressed his fingers down on the keys, and a quiet G chord broke the silence.
"Wise men say," His voice was trembling slightly as he began singing, but he grew more confident with every word.
"Only fools rush in, but I can't help, falling in love with you.
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin?
Cause I cant help, falling in love with you.
Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be.
Take my hand, take my whole life too,
For I cant help, falling in love with you.
For I cant help falling in love with you."
Dan let out a shaky breath, turning to face me. "I know my singing was a bit rough, I usually…Phil?"
"Dan…" I breathed. "That was, that was beautiful." There was no other way to put it. The song suited his voice well, his piano skills were flawless…I mean I might be a bit biased, but that was probably the best thing I had ever heard.
Dan blushed for the umpteenth time that night. "T-thanks"
"I'm serious, it was lovely."
Dan smiled shyly and stood up, I noticed his knees were trembling slightly. "Well, it is getting quite late, you should try to sleep. "
I nodded in agreement as Dan joined me by the door. "Yeah, you too."
"Sleep well then." Dan yawned.
"Yeah, you too." I bit my lip in hesitation before continuing. "Oh and um, Dan?"
"Mhm?"
"One more thing." I stepped forward, placing my hands on either side of Dan's head and pulled him into a kiss.
Dan made a surprised noise, tensing up in shock. It only took him a minute to regain his composure as he slid his arms around my waist. Now knowing he was okay with this, I pulled him closer. I was engulfed in the strong sent of vanilla and cologne, it seems like an odd combination, but holy crap it's amazing. I move one hand to his back, running the other one through his hair.
We finally pulled away from each other, wide-eyed.
"Phil." Dan exclaimed, panting.
"Goodnight Dan." I smiled, giving him a quick wink.
Before he could say anything, I returned to my room and left him standing, dumb-struck in his door frame.
A/N: when it's Halloween but the only emotion you feel is dead inside
I haven't felt festive for anything for the past two years .-.