Here's to Billy Shakespeare
Act 1, Scene ii
As Phil walked out of his physics class a little while later, all he could think about was lunch. He hadn't gotten to eat breakfast that morning; Pim had stolen his alarm clock to use in some crazy Fashion Zombie revenge scheme so he'd overslept. He'd barely had time to get dressed and brush his teeth before Keely had shown up to walk to school.
He was so caught up in his thoughts of his stomach that he didn't notice the girl walking next to him until she spoke. "Hi, Phil!" She said, rather enthusiastically.
Phil jumped, a little startled. He looked over to see the girl who sat two seats behind him in physics walking next to him. She was few inches shorter than him with a mop of unruly auburn hair, green eyes behind Buddy Holly glasses and a weird sort of fashion sense that made one wonder if really meant to look like that or she just got dressed in the dark.
"Uh, hey, Marci," Phil replied, thinking as he studied her that she kind of reminded him of Daria, only sans the sarcasm.
She smiled at him. "Wasn't class just fascinating today?"
"Uh, yeah," Phil agreed although he'd been much to busy thinking about how he was going to win his bet with Via to pay attention.
"So, do you think maybe we could...uh...you know, have lunch together?"
From the way she was smiling at him, Phil could tell that it wasn't a just-friends kind of lunch she had in mind. Why does this have to happen now? He thought, trying to figure out some way to let her down gently.
"I'm already meeting someone for lunch," he said, "Sorry, Marci."
She looked at little heartbroken but still managed to smile. "That's okay. Maybe some other time?"
"Sure."
She turned and headed back down the hall as Phil breathed a sigh of relief. One crisis adverted. Now if only he could get through the rest of lunch...
A few minuted later, Phil was sitting next to Keely on the grass in the school courtyard, eating the sandwich she made him.
"Whoa, Phil, slow down! That sandwich isn't going anywhere!" Keely said, watching him practically inhale the sandwich.
"Sorry," he said,"I didn't get to eat breakfast thanks to my darling sister."
Keely laughed as he swallowed his last bite. He almost wished he hadn't eaten so quickly because suddenly it was the moment of truth.
Phil took a deep breath and, not looking directly at her, said, "Hey, Keely, do you think on Friday night you and I could maybe go out to dinner and movie, you know, just the two of us, alone?"
When he looked at her, she was grinning ear-to-ear. "Phil Diffy, are you asking me out?"
That was certainly not the reaction Phil had expected. "Uh, yeah," he replied, a little shocked.
"Finally! It sure took you long enough. I was starting to wonder if maybe I would have to ask you out."
Phil couldn't help laughing. "So, is that a yes?"
"Of course it's yes!" She gave him a playful shove and they both started laughing.
The next morning, Phil waited for Via at her locker with a triumphant grin on his face. When she finally arrived, he said, "You, my friend, owe me lunch."
Via's jaw dropped. "No way. You didn't."
Phil nodded. "Just ask Keely."
As if on cue, Keely came around the corner, on her way to the broadcast lab. When Via saw her, she grabbed her arm and pulled her across the hall. Phil couldn't hear what they were saying but after a few seconds they shared a girlish shriek and he had a good idea of how the conversation had gone.
When they both rejoined him, Via said, "All right, Phil, you win."
"And you owe me lunch," he said, with a smug grin.
Via smiled. "No problem. It's worth it just to see you two finally get together."
A/n: Thanks for all the great reviews so far! Stay tuned for Act II, Scene i: Just as everything seems to be working out for everyone, Phil goes and screws it all up.