Author's Note: The Creeper series continues! As I noted in the last chapter, these were actually written and posted a while ago on Tumblr and AO3 and I just hadn't gotten around to posting them here. If you want to read my stuff right away after it's written and posted, it's best to follow my Tumblr at "adorkablephil".

The First I Love You

"It's terrrrrrible!" Dan moaned, dragging out the word with the melodrama only a teenager could muster.

Phil tried not to laugh. Dan looked so dejected in the Skype window, he knew any amusement would be taken badly … but Dan was so cute like this, with his pouty lips and dramatic hand gestures.

"It's not terrible, Dan. It's funny!"

"I can't figure out how to do the lighting right, so it's all wrong in most of the shots. It's way too dark. I should shoot it all over again." His head was hanging low, his sad eyes not meeting Phil's.

"I'll show you some stuff about how to do lighting when you're here for the weekend, okay? And I don't think you should reshoot anything, because it'll feel less spontaneous. I like the energy of the stuff you already have, and your editing is getting better every time!" Phil tried to inject as much cheer as possible into his voice, hoping some of it would rub off on this poor, insecure boy. Dan was so talented, but he just couldn't see it yet, which sometimes frustrated Phil but also made him completely determined to encourage him to express all the creativity Phil knew was there.

"People at the Halloween gathering are going to think I'm a complete freak if they see this. Especially if any of them speak German." Dan was looking at Phil now, but he looked really embarrassed.

"Yeah, I meant to ask you about that. What was it you said in German?" Phil knew other people watching the video would be as curious as he was.

Dan looked away. "You'll hate me."

Phil laughed. "I could never hate you, Dan, no matter what weird thing you put in your video."

"But you're so nice and … whatever … wholesome. I'm rude and obnoxious and crude and gross." He was looking dejected again.

"You've watched my videos. I'm not always all that wholesome," Phil objected, almost offended.

Dan looked at him directly when he spoke this time. "But as a person you are. It doesn't mean you aren't … you know … sex on legs. It doesn't mean you can't make me come in my pants…" He looked embarrassed but also turned on as he met Phil's gaze. There was a pause, and Phil wondered if Dan was relishing the memory as much as he was. "But you're just genuinely nice. I'm not a nice person."

Phil sighed. "Dan, yes, you are a nice person. You care about other people. Your sense of humor may be different from mine sometimes, but we still make each other laugh, right? And I wouldn't want you to be just like me. I like you for the person you are. And I want to see the videos that you want to make, and I think other people will want to see them, too. I don't want you to be like anybody else. You have so much potential, so many unique ideas! I want to see what you have to show the world."

After a pause, Dan smiled softly. "You really are the best, you know?"

Phil smiled back, "I think that would be you."

Dan rolled his eyes, then just gazed into his webcam for a long time, looking into Phil's eyes in the only way he could from so far away. "I miss you," he said softly.

"I miss you, too," Phil said, smiling. "But we'll see each other in London in just a few days. I can't wait to see you again! I want lots of hugs!"

"Just hugs?" Dan asked with a wicked little smile.

Phil grinned. "I'm working on that. I think I may have found somewhere for us to stay the night where we'll have a bit of privacy."

Dan grinned back. "Privacy would be good."

Phil just gazed at him. Dan was so lovely, such a complicated and interesting bundle of teenage hormones. Phil felt a bit like a molester for a moment, but pushed it down. Dan wasn't a child, and he was a strong, independent, talented person who just needed some encouragement sometimes. Staring at that face in the Skype window, though, Phil just couldn't look away from those irresistible eyes. He knew he had fallen in love with the boy already, but he didn't want to rush things by saying it yet. Sometimes the words were right on the tip of his tongue, but he held back. He didn't want to scare Dan off.

Dan was gazing back at him, not saying anything. They did this a lot during their Skype calls, just looking at each other, sometimes smiling, sometimes just sort of communing in a silent way, just being together.

"I love you, you know," Dan said quietly. He looked nervous.

Phil was momentarily stunned. He really hadn't expected that, hadn't realized they were so much on the same wavelength. He'd thought he would be the first to say it, and he hadn't planned for it to be over a crappy webcam. But he couldn't leave Dan hanging. "I love you, too." Phil smiled. Dan smiled back. Phil was sure they both looked like the worst saps in the world, and it was the best thing ever.

Dan's dimples were showing, and he looked absolutely adorable. "I wish I could kiss you right now," Phil said.

"Me, too." Dan's voice was small but happy.

A long silence stretched between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They were just looking at each other and basking in the glow of newly-declared feelings. It was almost painfully sweet.

After a while, Phil cleared his throat and looked away, then back. "So … about your video. I think you should upload it."

"Okay," Dan said easily. "If you think it's ready, I trust your judgment. I'll post it tonight." He was obviously drunk on young love and willing to agree to anything.

"Will you tell me what you said in German?" Phil asked mischievously.

Dan grinned. "I said, 'I had your mum's cum juice for breakfast.'"

Phil's shocked laugh burst out of him. "Oh my god!"

"Yeah," Dan replied with a bit of chagrin. "Hopefully I don't have any subscribers in Germany."

They both laughed, and Phil felt probably the happiest he'd ever been.