dans pov
I sit at my desk doing homework for another few hours; it takes forever because I have to reteach myself all the material I was supposed to learn in class today. I become increasingly aware of the minutes passing by the entire time. I try not to glance at the clock, but each notification I get on my phone only draws attention to the passing time and the looming deadline of dinner getting closer. Finally, around 6 o'clock I hear my mom's car pull into the driveway, and I glance out the window to see her parking in the garage. I take a deep breath. This is it.
It's routine by now, almost the end of September, that every Thursday my mom goes into the office and stays for a meeting she has at 4 pm. She's some kind of businesswoman, I actually don't really know what she does, but she meets with her boss and coworkers every week for something (again, I don't really know). Then she stops on the long commute home to pick up takeout for dinner, and my dad gets home just a few minutes after she does.
And here my mom is. With the takeout. For dinner.
I reluctantly close my laptop, resigning to finish my lab report later, and head downstairs. My mom is bustling into the kitchen with a bag from my favorite pizza place swinging around wildly at her hips. "Hi, Dan!" She exclaims when she sees me, a smile spreading across her face.
"Hi, Mom," I reply weakly, trying and failing to match her upbeat attitude. My mom is usually very busy every week with her work, so she tries to make the little time we can spend together enjoyable. Even if she didn't have a meeting, she'd still be busy working in her home office in the basement, a low effort pot roast simmering in the Crock-Pot upstairs all day. The only good thing about the meeting is she's forced to go into the office, can't make dinner, and brings home a delicious meal from a restaurant we don't usually go to.
Tonight, it's our usual meal of pizza and garlic bread from a cute little Italian place I love near my mom's office building. She sets the bag on the counter and pulls out two small pizza boxes and a lone box of bread. "This is it?" I ask in confusion.
"Yes," she replies and looks at me. "Your father isn't joining us tonight, remember?"
With a jolt I remember that my dad, some kind of salesman (again, don't really know - you should get the idea by now), is having dinner with a client tonight. My heart sinks. I was all prepared to come out tonight, and now half the people won't even be here! I make a snap decision to tell them tomorrow night instead; I don't want to go through this twice. Besides, I want to tell my dad on my own terms, not my mom simply relaying the message to him, but it's not him I'm really worried about. I think my dad will be a lot more accepting, and I want him there when I tell my mom, who's more conservative and will probably be more intolerant about it.
"Well don't just stand there, come help me with this!"
I hurriedly get out plates and silverware to help my mom set the little table in the kitchen. After a minute, we sit down and I pile my plate with a few slices of pizza and bread. "So, how was your day?" My mom asks with a smile before taking a small bite of her fancy vegetable pizza.
I swallow thickly. "Fine, I guess," I respond. "What about you, how was work?"
That's all I need to say. My mom starts going on about her coworkers, who sound like complete morons from her perspective, and her annoying boss who doesn't know how to do anything. Maybe that's why I know nothing about her job; I start tuning out everything she says (that seems to be a theme of today). Once there's a small lull in the conversation and I realize she's done ranting for now, I ask something about a promotion she was talking about last week and she starts again. I don't mind it, I'm not much of a talker, and it seems she really needed someone to listen to her tonight, especially because my dad is out.
A few minutes later, she trails off with nothing more to say. "Sorry," she says with a little laugh, "I'm just rambling on. How's school going? I know you said it was fine-" she rolls her eyes "-but what about your classes? Are they going okay?"
"Yeah, I guess," I reply noncommittally. "We did a cool lab in Chem today." I shrug.
"Yeah? And how are your grades doing?" She asks earnestly.
"Good, A's and B's."
"Good."
I finish off my last slice of pizza.
"Well, I'm going to go finish up an assignment. Did you do your homework?"
"Almost done," I sigh.
She smiles a tight-lipped smile and puts her dishes in the dishwasher, disappearing downstairs in an instant. I sigh again, toss my plate in the sink, and retreat back to my room.
phils pov
I wait for a message from my soulmate all night, but at 10 pm still nothing has come in. I've been worrying about it for him the entire afternoon, and I just can't wait any longer:
hey, did you do it? how did it go?
I cringe at how stupid my message sounds but send it anyway. A reply comes in after a minute:
oh shit, i'm so sorry, i forgot to tell you. my dad is at some stupid meeting tonight so i decided to do it tomorrow
oh okay, nbd. lmk how it goes tomorrow!
I wish I could ask him more questions about himself, but how am I supposed to do that over a text message? And if he won't even tell me his name (although I'm sure I already know it), he probably wouldn't even pick up a phone call, let alone meet in person.
sure, ofc - good night his next message states.
I bite my lip and type: night, dan
My finger hesitates over the send button for a few seconds that stretch until what feels like an eternity until finally I delete the last word before sending it.
A great exhale escapes my chest and I relax into my chair, rubbing a hand down my face. I hate this. I know it's incredibly selfish; but, he's coming out tomorrow so, we can be together soon. I hope.
A/N: hey guys! i know this chapter isn't the best or most exciting but hopefully you still liked it. i hope everyone had a merry christmas and happy new year! i go back to school this week, kms. finals went well despite my lack of studying and i hope you all did well too! as always, fav, follow, and review please :) ~l