Dan woke up with a headache.
Did he get drunk last night?
No. Dan hasn't had a drink since he got to this new apartment. He just never had the time to go check out the clubs.
The time or the person?
Dan shook his head, groaning into his hands. He slid out from his monochrome bed, grabbing his phone from under his pillow before he completely got up.
Quickly turning his phone on, he saw that he had an unread text. Several, actually.
3:45 AM
"Phil: Did you pass out on me?"
3:48 AM
"Phil: I'll take that as a yes haha."
7:30 AM
"Phil: Good morning, Howell!"
10:47 AM
"Peej: I thought you were coming early today. ..."
10:48 AM
"Chris: Peej's gettin rlly mad lol"
"Chris:Guess I'm the only one here to calm him down"
11:03 AM
"Chris: ;)"
Dan unlocked his phone and began to reply back to Phil. "this is like four hrs late, but hey" then he went to Pj's messages.
"I thought you were coming early today. Come on, Howell, stop getting drunk."
Snorting, Dan typed back. "calm down we don't even open up until noon ill be there in sec damn"
He hit sent and went to Chris' messages. "oh god dont tell me you did anything" After hitting send, he read over the texts and saw the time jump, eyes twitching. "you didnt...right?"
After sending Chris that text and becoming a little concerned that his coworkers might have had a little 'fun', Dan went off to go get dressed.
He stopped by the mirror, looking at himself and slightly hating how he looked. He just got the front part of his fringe dyed a red color, and that was pretty cool, but he looked tired. Physically and mentally. He sighed and just played with his fringe until it looked nice enough and began to grab the first black shirt he saw. It was plain, which was okay, but Dan low-key wanted his "Yeezus" shirt. He shrugged to himself. He'll dig it out another day. He quickly opened up a drawer and leaned down, grabbing a pair of black jeans.
Dan began to put his outfit on, hearing his phone buzz once. Twice. Three times. He grumbled something, sliding his head through his shirt before walking over and seeing what it was about.
"Chris: i dunno"
"Chris: take your time by the way"
"Chris: i wouldnt mind a round two ;)"
Dan felt his eyes twitch at the last text. He looked straight ahead, wide-eyed. Did Chris and PJ...?
He felt his phone vibrate again, causing him to look back at his phone.
"Phil: I stopped by your parlor earlier and you weren't there. I..."
Dan locked his phone, mentally noting to finish reading that text later. He stood from his bed, sliding his phone in his back pocket before heading out of his messy room.
He walked up to his lounge, sighing slightly as he grabbed his leather jacket hanging on a couch and some band lanyard with keys on it. He put the jacket on and slid the lanyard over his head, walking to his door.
He opened it, sliding his phone out of his pocket with one hand while walking out and pulling the door closed behind him with his other hand. Once it closed, his dropped his hand, reaching for a key on his lanyard.
Once he reached out and locked the door, he dropped the lanyard, walking away once it hit his chest. He began to walk down the shabby apartment stairs, looking down at his phone. He unlocked it, looking at Phil's full text.
"I stopped by your parlor earlier and you weren't there. I met your coworkers. They seem like a cute couple."
That's when Dan stopped dead in his tracks. That was all he needed before mentally screaming.
PJ and Chris had sex in the work place.
•••
Dan quickly opened the door to the parlor, staring at the two men in front of him.
PJ didn't look anymore happier than Dan did. He turned around as his coworker put his jacket up, looking at the clock. Once Dan's footsteps got closer, he spun back around, frowning.
"You're late." He spoke with the stern 'mom voice' as Chris put it one time.
Dan totally ignored him. He kept walking over. Once he was in front of the desk PJ was behind, he slammed his hands down. "You guys fucked?!"
Almost immediately, PJ felt his face heat up. His angry expression dropped to a clueless one. He turned to Chris, raising his eyebrows. "You told him?!"
"No!" Chris said immediately. "Well- I mean, I hinted at it!"
Dan hung his head, scoffing, clearly irritated. "I mean I knew it would happen soon, but in the new parlor?! Come on, you can have better common sense than that!"
Chris gave a sly grin, nudging the curly haired man. "Yeah, Peej. Have some common sense!"
PJ groaned, clearly irritated with this conversation. "We didn't even fuck!" He started, turning around to rant. "I was angry and Chris was high!"
"You got high?" Dan interrupted, looking at Chris, who just shrugged.
"I mean, I didn't know what was wrong with him, so I was getting mad at him too for being so slow! Then he started telling me to calm down and next thing you know we were making out!" PJ spoke quickly, not even noticing the door make it's chiming sound, telling them someone came in.
"And it got a little heated! It was only a quick handjob though! We didn't fuck, Howell! We didn't fu-" He spun around while talking, seeing the new face. "Oh...my, god." He whispered, flaring up.
Dan spun around from the whole fiasco, staring at Phil. "Oh. Hey, Phil."
"Uh, was this a bad time to step in?" Phil asked. He was holding a basket in his hands, looking around the parlor nervously.
"Peej was just telling Dan about our handjobs earlier this morning, so I think it's an ok time." Chris chimed in, grinning.
PJ's hands were hiding his face.
Phil's cheeks dusting a pink color. "O-oh my." He chuckled nervously, avoiding Chris' gaze. "Wow, uh, well I was just seeing if Dan is here again."
Dan dug in his pockets, fishing around for a cigarette. He really needed one. "Do you need me for something?"
Phil gestured to the basket of things. "I just wanted to give you guys this. It's like a welcome basket. You know, for like neighbors?"
"Are those flowers from your own little place?" PJ asked, walking to Phil. He took the basket, sniffing the lavender place in there. "They smell amazing!"
Phil's cheeks went back to the pink color. "It's nothing, really. Just some flowers that nobody were really looking at this time of year."
Dan gave him a smile. "They're lovely. Thanks."
Out of nowhere, Chris took the basket and fished out some cookies, grinning. "You bake?"
Phil shook his head, laughing lightly. "My coworker. Her treats are really delightful so I thought it would be nice if she made something for you."
Chris nodded, barley listening. He tore into the package, taking a bite of the baked good. "Are you and this coworker...?"
Phil was confused for a second, quickly widening his eyes. "Oh, no no no! I mean, I don't like her in any sort of way like that!" He mumbled, turning a shade of red.
Chris smirked. "So you're into dudes?"
Phil felt pressured. He gave a shrug holding his hands up in defense. "I mean- I'm into whoever I like! They can be whatever gender they prefer! Love is love and gender shouldn't control that." He quickly explained, clearing his throat.
Dan gave a smile. He liked that whole small speech Phil gave. It really warmed his heart to hear something like that.
Before things got too quiet, Phil cleared his throat again. "I'm gonna go. I bet Heather needs me." He said, walking towards the door. He waved as he opened the door. "I'll see all of you later!" He called, walking out and back to his shop. Dan watched him leave, throwing a glance at Chris, who grinned in return.
"Nice. I like him," The older man mumbled, looking at PJ real quick before speaking again. "He's a keeper, Howell."
Dan jumped slightly. "What?" He spoke, shaking his head. "Shut up, Kendall." He chuckled, finally finding the box of cigarettes stuck in his back pockets.
Before he grabbed them out, he thought for a second. Somehow he didn't want to. He wanted to not smoke ever since those pretty pair of blue eyes told him that he hated smoking.
Dan shook his head, grabbing the pack and sliding it out of his pocket. "Hey, Peej, Chris. I'm going out for a smoke." He spoke flatly, walking towards the doors. Before he opened them, he closed his eyes, turning around for a second. "And please, I'm begging you, please, don't fuck on the counter." And with that, he walked out.
•••
They day went on like normal after that. Dan helped finish up the setup for the shop and bickered amongst Chris and PJ like normal and basically it was all good.
They ended up all leaving around 8:00-ish, meaning Dan still had a while before he was actually tired. He decided maybe to check up on Phil.
He walked out of the parlor last, making sure all the lights were off and the door was locked before making his way next door to the small, cute flower shop.