April 17th
Dan led Phil up the stairs, noting to later clean up the trail of water that visitor left behind them.
"I'm sorry about the clutter," Dan muttered as they walked into the flat.
"Oh, it's fine!" Phil reassured him. "It makes it cozy if anything..." he spoke softly, talking to himself more than the brunette man in front of him.
"Take this." Dan tossed Phil a fluffy towel, which the man quickly caught and wrapped around his shoulders.
"Thanks." Phil shivered.
Dan took a few strides across the room, grabbing his phone and turning back to Phil. "Here." He unlocked his phone and opened up the keypad for Phil to call his friend.
"T-Thanks." Phil gave Dan a grateful smile, dialing his friend's number.
"I'll go make us some coffee," The young author decided, turning towards the kitchen door.
"Oh no, you don't have to do that..." Phil politely tried to decline Dan's offer, but he was having none of it.
"You're freezing; I'm making you coffee!" Before Phil could object, Dan hurried off to the kitchen.
...
A few moments later, Dan returned, two steaming mugs in his hands. Phil was pacing around the opposite side of the room, having a rather intense conversation over the phone.
"Look, Al, I'm really sorry, but please!
I know, I know!
You will? Oh, thank you so much!
Ok, see you in a bit, bye." Phil ended the call and set Dan's phone down, running a hand through his hair and sighing.
"Here's your coffee" Dan's voice pulled Phil out of his thoughts, causing him to jump.
"Oh, thank you!" Phil took the cup graciously, giving Dan a smile.
They stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, Dan sneaking the occasional glance at Phil.
"How can he be so effortlessly attractive?" Dan wondered to himself, watching Phil sip lightly at his coffee. "So, what did your friend say?" He asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.
"He agreed to come pick me up...but he's at least an hour away. Is it okay if I stay here until he arrives?" Phil bit his lip nervously, looking at Dan.
"Oh yeah, that' s fine! I wasn't really doing anything important anyway." Dan smiled reassuringly at Phil, trying to ignore the feeling of excitement that had nestled its way into his stomach.
Phil sighed in relief. "I literally cannot thank you enough!"
"It's my pleasure." Dan grinned.
Phil beamed, pulling the towel tighter around his shoulders.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Dan exclaimed, standing up quickly. "Stay here, I'll be right back."
Dan hurried off into his room, quickly rummaging through the old oak draws of his dresser until he found a pair of black sweatpants. He tossed the clothes onto his bed as he made his way to his closet, browsing through his t-shirts until he found a plain white one that he thought would fit Phil. He began to walk into the lounge but quickly stopped in front of a mirror, making sure his hair looked alright.
"Here." Dan walked out of his room with the clothes in his hands. "If you're going to be here for a while you might as well be comfortable.
"No, Dan, you've already done so much for me, I'll be fine!"
Dan just rolled his eyes, a small smile played on his face. "Phil, you're going to catch a cold! And besides, you're dripping water."
Phil blushed slightly, muttering apologies.
"It's fine, now get changed!" Dan handed the ebony-haired man the clothes, motioning to the nearest bathroom. Well, the only bathroom.
Once Phil was out of the room, Dan made a quick attempt to tidy up.
…
By the time the whiny creaking of the bathroom door broke the quiet in the flat, Dan thought it was safe to say the room looked reasonably cleaner. And by 'reasonably cleaner' he meant that most of the assorted clothes and candy wrappers laying on the ground had been swept under the timeworn couch.
"Thanks for lending me the clothes, the shirt is a bit snug, but it fits well enough." Dan heard Phil call out as he paced out into the lounge.
"You're welcome." Dan finished hanging up a coat in the closet. "I'll put your wet clothes in the um…" Dan faltered as he turned around to face Phil.
The shirt he had given Phil was a bit small for him, but it only showed off his figure more. His hair was still mostly straight, but the rain had caused certain strands to become wavy or tangled, giving him a rugged appearance.
Being a writer, Dan tried to think of more unique and elegant ways to describe things, he enjoyed using the power of words to romanticize ordinary objects. But now his mind had gone mostly blank and all he could seem to think of was, "Oh my gosh, he's hot."
"Erm, Dan?" Phil waved slightly, pulling Dan out of his trance.
"Oh, um, sorry I just- I just um, lost my train of thought..." Dan stammered out, a flush rapidly coloring his cheeks.
Phil just laughed quietly, but there was an unmistakable smirk of amusement in his eyes.
"I-I'll put your wet clothes in the dryer for you." Not waiting for Phil's consent, he snatched his old clothes out of his hands and quickly strode into the laundry room.
…
Phil watched Dan hurriedly shuffle out of the room, clearly embarrassed. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he sat down on the edge of the couch. He scanned the room, silently analyzing all the contents. Phil was an observer, always looking for something to spark an idea for his next painting. His eyes finally landed on an old typewriter sitting by the window, a messy heap of paper surrounding it. He hesitated for a moment—he usually didn't like prying, but there was something so fascinating about Dan, and he couldn't help but want to learn more about him. He took several steps towards the typewriter, glancing down at some of the papers surrounding it. Most of them contained a hastily written scrawl of notes, but one of the documents caught his eye. Stooping over, he tilted the paper so that he could clearly see it.
"My Demons"The title read, sparking a burning curiosity in Phil's mind.
The darkness clawed at my mind, daring me to give up and fall into its cold, dead grasp. I tried to escape; to run as far as I could from the grotesque monsters lurking where only the daftest of people dared to adventure. I tried to free myself from the hellish mental stage I had so foolishly allowed myself to fall into. But then again, even the most valiant and insolent of individuals would-
"What are you doing?"
Phil spun around, feeling like a child who had just been caught sneaking cookies before dinner. "I- I was just..."
Dan glanced down at what he had been reading and his eyes widened. "Oh, don't tell me you read that! It's horrible!"
It was Phil's turn to look surprised. "What do you mean it's horrible?! This is amazing!" He exclaimed, looking back down at the paper. "I didn't know you were such a gifted writer!"
Dan blushed. "Th-thanks I guess..." He mumbled, looking down at his feet.
"I'm serious Dan, this is incredible." Phil scanned the rest of the page, reading until it stopped.
Dan stood next to Phil awkwardly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "It's not that good, it's just an idea I wrote down then never finished..." He trailed off awkwardly.
"It is that good Dan." Phil smiled. "I'd love to see some of your other work sometime!"
Dan smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Yeah..." They trailed off into an uncomfortable silence.
A large clap of thunder quaked the building, causing both men to jump.
"So," Dan began, the rumbling dying off, "since you're going to be living in my apartment for an hour, tell me more about yourself."
"Well," the ebony haired man began as the pair took a seat on the comfy, patchwork couch. "My name is Philip Michael Lester, but if you haven't already guessed I prefer to be called by Phil, and I'm twenty-eight... How old are you?" Phil inquired, to which Dan replied, "I'm twenty-four, I should be in my last year of university, but it just didn't work out for me..." Dan trailed off, a hint of shame and embarrassment in his voice. He knew he had good reasoning to drop out of school, but he was still worried that people would get the wrong idea of him and think he was just lazy, or stupid even.
"What do you mean by that?" Phil asked.
Dan hesitated, carefully thinking through his words. "Well, when I graduated high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I made the horrible decision of picking law, which I literally had no interest in whatsoever. Because of choosing something so dull and tedious, I ended up being stressed and confused by the whole subject. I spent countless nights staying up until four in the morning studying for tests that I would only end up failing. So finally, after asking several friends for advice, they agreed I should take a break year. It was during that break year that I started writing a lot, not just the short stories I had done in the past. Now I just figure that there really isn't a point in going back. I have a job and have chosen a new career path, I feel like it would do more bad than good to me right now." Dan chose to not add in the part about how he couldn't afford it anyway.
Phil nodded sympathetically, giving Dan an understanding smile. "I think you made the right choice. It sounds like you have your life organized out now a lot more than you did then."
Dan bowed in agreement before querying his next question. "So, speaking of uni, what did you study in college?"
A small spark seemed to leap into Phil's eyes, though Dan figured it could just be a trick of the dim light. "I studied several different branches of art... I hoped that I might be able to get a job painting for people, you know, special requests or whatnot, but it didn't work out. Now I work at the Nightly Glass (A bar I made up) every other evening from five to eleven o'clock. Although I still paint in my spare time."
The younger boy thought it was a bit strange that his only job was working at a bar. Judging by his clothes he seemed pretty well off. He decided not to ask about it, it didn't seem like a very appropriate topic for two people who had just met. Dan decided on a simpler question instead.
"So, What books do you like?"
A/N: sorry this is a really abrupt ending, the chapter ended up coming well over 1k words and I'm trying to keep these short. I promise actual relationship related stuff will happen between D&P soon.