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Phil thought that if you had to describe his life using a color, it would probably be something along the lines of beige, or maybe taupe. Something plain and non-offensive and completely forgettable. His life wasn’t bad, though, that certainly was true. He had a lovely family, and he had a few good friends, he even had managed to land an internship to work at the BBC. So, no, things weren’t bad; they were just a bit boring.
He listened to his professor drone on and did his best to pay attention, but felt his mind start to drift. It was Friday, and it was starting to get warm outside, and he really just couldn’t help it. Phil rested his head on his hand and stared idly out the window at the students milling around the campus. He longed to be among them and out of the building. He felt spring fever under his skin like an itch he just couldn’t quite scratch.
The scraping of chairs and an influx of the volume of voices around him snapped him out of his revere, and he slapped his laptop shut and quickly put all of his items away. He rushed out of the room, eager to get outside and into the fresh air, as the room suddenly felt stifling. The hallway was crowded, but Phil considered himself a bit of an expert at navigating the maze of students.
Phil dodged and weaved through the mass of bodies crowding the hall easily, saying hello here and there to the people he knew and smiling politely to those he didn’t. It wasn’t until he got a text and made the mistake of taking his phone out of his pocket, looking down to see who it was from, that he felt himself collide with someone.
The collision was just enough for them to both be knocked down to the ground, their belongings scattering across the floor. Phil sat up and looked around at his backpack and the books he had in his hands, along with the stranger that he had collided withs’ bag and a four rolled up scrolls, rolling down the hall. Phil stood up and ran to collect them, afraid they would be stepped on in the sea of people, and turned back to the person he had run into.
The stranger had gotten up and gathered the rest of their things, even picking up Phil’s fallen backpack, and was smiling kindly at Phil, waiting to exchange their items. Phil stood stupidly for a few seconds, staring longer than what was probably considered socially acceptable, but he just couldn’t help it. The boy in front of him was just so pretty. He was tall and broad, with wild curly brown hair and dark amber eyes. His smile brought out a hint of dimple in both of his cheeks and Phil could feel his pulse increasing the longer they stood there. A blush rose to the boy’s cheeks and Phil finally came to his senses, stepping forward to swap belongings.
“I’m so sorry. I should know better by now than to try and use my phone in the hall,” Phil said, handing over the scrolls.
The stranger passed over Phil’s backpack and juggled the scrolls in his long arms.
“It’s okay, even the most experienced hallway veterans occasionally succumb to the temptations of technology.”
He smiled wide and the dimples appeared again, caving his cheeks in.
“Thank you for understanding,” Phil said laughing lightly. “I’m Phil, by the way.”
Phil stuck out his hand awkwardly, arms still full of books, and the boy laughed, extending his arm out and shaking it the best he could with his arms full, too.
“I’m Dan,” he said.
Phil stood awkwardly for a second, not wanting the conversation to end, but unsure of how continue. Thankfully, Dan seemed to have the same idea.
“I hope I didn’t make you late for anything?” Dan asked a bit nervously, a small smile on his face.
Phil smiled back, grateful that he seemed to be on the same page.
“No, I was just in a rush to get out of my class. It’s nice out, so I was gonna get some fresh air. I hope you aren’t late now?”
Dan shook his head. “Nope, I was just gonna go get a coffee, I didn’t have any time this morning.” He paused for a few seconds, adjusting his scrolls nervously. “Would you maybe like to go get one with me?”
He was full on blushing now, his pursed lips making his dimples appear even deeper somehow. Phil grinned broadly, almost dropping his books in his eagerness to agree.
“Yeah, that would be great!”
Dan beamed and they headed toward the double doors together. Phil could feel butterflies swarming around in his tummy, making him feel a little more nervous than he normally might.
“So, what are the scrolls for? Are you plotting to steal the crown jewels?”
Dan chuckled. “No, they’re for my philosophy course. I had to do a project and I did mine like the scrolls from Skyrim,” he mumbled a bit like he was embarrassed.
“You play Skyrim?!” Phil asked excitedly.
“Yes, I love it. Do you play?”
“Not too much,” Phil admitted, “but I play a lot of other games, like Fallout and Final Fantasy. I really love Zelda and Mario Kart, too.”
Dan’s eyes went wide and he looked a bit elated.
“Those are some of my favorites, too!”
They talked about more of their favorite games and it carried them all the way to the coffee shop that was right down the street from the university. Phil opened the door for them and Dan smiled shyly and thanked him.
They ordered their drinks and sat down on the worn out sofa near the window.
“So, philosophy, huh?”
"Yeah, I started with law cause I thought it made me sound smart and made my parents happy, but I hated it, so I switched half way through my first year."
Phil nodded, understanding the desire to make his parents happy.
"What about you?" Dan asked, taking a ginger sip of his tea.
"I'm doing my master's degree in video post production. I finished a degree in English and Linguistics, but it didn’t interest me that much, so I thought I would do my masters in something that I actually like.”
“That’s so cool!”
Phil grinned; Dan’s enthusiasm was contagious.
Soon one coffee became two, and before they both knew it, they had been there for three hours, the barista giving them dirty looks each time they came up to refill their drinks. They had been so caught up in talking, neither had noticed it had started to get dark.
"I guess I should probably get back to my dorm. I have a paper that's due Monday and I haven't even started it," Dan groaned, reaching for his phone and checking the time.
Phil nodded in agreement, draining the rest of his lukewarm drink.
"I should, too. I have to get things ready for work tomorrow."
Dan quirked his eyebrow. "Where do you work?"
"Oh! I work at the BBC! I got an internship there doing some post production work. I can't believe we didn't end up talking about that!"
Dan laughed lightly. They had talked about so many things, it really did seem a bit astounding that it had slipped through the cracks.
"That sounds so cool!"
"It is!" Phil agreed. "I love it. I hope that once I graduate they will hire me into something full time."
"Do you get to, like, meet celebrities and stuff?" Dan was sat a bit more forward in his seat than he had been before, an excited gleam in his eye, and Phil couldn't help but think he was even more cute than before.
"I don't really get to like, meet them, but I see them and they sometimes say hi if I'm around. Pete Wentz stepped on my foot once and apologized for like two minutes."
Dan looked as if he might faint, and Phil couldn't help laughing loudly, earning another death glare form the barista.
"I think I would faint if I was even in the same building as anyone from Fall Out Boy, especially Pete Wentz."
Dan fell back against the sofa, looking star struck.
"Well I don't know the next time that Fall Out Boy will be back, but Harry Styles is gonna be there next week if you maybe wanna come with me?"
Dan looked ecstatic, bouncing up and down, making the springs in the couch groan in protest.
"Are you kidding me?!? That would be incredible!"
They exchanged numbers and parted ways, leaving Phil with an excited knot in his stomach.
The next week passed with such ease that, thinking back, Phil thought that should have been an indication on what was going to happen. He had some of the worst luck of anyone he knew, and yet that week he wasn't late once, all of his classes were great, and he didn't trip or drop anything once. It was as if the universe was saving all of his bad luck for one particular event.
Phil met Dan in the coffee shop to get a drink before they walked to the bus that would take them to the BBC. They had been talking and texting the whole week, but Phil wasn't quite prepared for how pretty Dan would look. And maybe he was dressed up for Harry Styles, but there was a very selfish part of Phil's brain that hoped Dan had dressed up for him.
Their commute was quick and easy, and by the time they arrived at the studio, Dan was practically vibrating with nerves and excitement. Phil couldn’t keep the grin off of his face and led Dan into the building and back to where he worked.
He gave him a short tour around the BBC and to the area where Harry would be performing. Dan was so preoccupied with talking about how excited he was that he didn’t notice when his feet got caught in a tangle of wires on the floor. When he went to take a step forward and started to fall face first into the staging area, Phil felt like he could see his whole short, boring, life flash in front of his eyes.
Dan's head collided with the raised stage with an almighty 'thunk' and he laid there completely still, Phil's whole body filled with dread. He yelled for help, rushing forward once he was finally able to feel his fingers and toes again and reached a tentative hand out to touch Dan. When his fingers brushed against his shoulder, Dan moved, groaning and rolling over.
Phil felt so relieved he thought he might vomit.
"Oh, God, Dan, are you okay?"
Dan winced, bringing his hand to his head, where thankfully there was only a large lump. A group of people had converged, and an assistant already had her phone pressed to her ear with NHS on the line.
"Ugh, my head," Dan croaked.
"Do you think you could stand up?" Phil asked softly.
Dan agreed, thankfully knowing better than to nod his head, and stood up. He stumbled for a second and Phil grabbed him, wrapping his arm around Dan's waist to secure him.
The assistant chatted with them and NHS, asking Dan a series of questions, and relaying the answers back, making Phil want to roll his eyes. Of course they were going to A&E! Dan probably had a concussion, Phil wasn't just going to let him go home!
Once everyone cleared out and the assistant told them that Dan likely had a concussion and should go to A&E (Duh, Phil thought), they made their way out of the building and into a taxi. Dan was leaning heavily onto Phil, but he didn't mind.
"I’m really sorry about this," Phil said.
He had probably apologized a million times from the time that they had opened the front doors and gotten into the cab, but each time he did, Dan would brandish a hand at him tiredly and give him a lopsided grin.
"It's fine. You're worth it," he said, smiling.
Phil quirked his eyebrows at him, but blushed nonetheless. He wondered if the concussion was somehow loosening Dan's tongue or lowering his guard a little.
They arrived at the hospital and Phil helped Dan inside, getting him checked in and sat in a chair. Any time Phil would try to move away or put space between them, Dan would make a low whining sound in the back of his throat and make grabby hands at Phil until he came back into Dan's space. It was unusual, but Phil couldn't act as though it was a hardship for him to cuddle with a gorgeous boy who he had a huge crush on.
Finally they were called back, Phil having to sweet talk a grumpy and tired Dan to stand up and go back with them to see the doctor. When they approached the nurse, she put a hand up to stop them.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said to Phil, "family and spouses only. No friends are permitted back."
Phil was just getting ready to release his grip on Dan and let him be released to the nurse when Dan made an indignant sound.
"Well, he's my boyfriend, why shouldn't he come back with me?"
Phil froze, both surprised by how upfront Dan was being when he was normally quiet and shy, and at Dan referring to him as his boyfriend, when they definitely had not had that conversation.
She pursed her lips at the tone Dan was taking with her, but gave a curt nod and moved to let them past.
The nurse took Dan's vitals and asked a few basic questions, and when the doctor came in, he started doing a more thorough examination.
"So, Dan, can you tell me what happened?"
"Well, I went to visit the BBC to see my boyfriend - that's my boyfriend, Phil," he said pointing towards Phil, "anyway, then I fell and hit my head."
He touched his forehead, as if to make sure that he did in fact still have a bump on his head, and then winced when his fingers made contact with it. The doctor gently tugged his hand away from his head.
"Yes, well, it seems that you hitting your head gave quite the concussion. Now, can you answer some questions for me?"
Dan answered some run of the mill questions: his full name, his date of birth, the location, and it wasn't until he incorrectly answered the day of the week and date wrong that the doctor thought there might be a little more wrong.
He ordered a CAT scan and while Dan was gone, Phil pulled the doctor aside.
"Um, I'm obviously a little worried about him, but another thing that he got wrong, is that, um, I'm his boyfriend," Phil said awkwardly.
He had no context for how to have this conversation and had no idea what it even meant.
The doctor chuckled. "I kind of thought that might be the case, considering the face you made when he said that."
Phil stared at his shoes and tried to figure out a way to explain that he wanted to be Dan's boyfriend, they just hadn't been seeing each other very long and had only hung out a few times.
"But I think it's possible Dan might have a very mild case of amnesia that is most likely temporary. The CAT scan will show us for sure."
Phil nodded, unsure how to deal with this, but didn't have to worry much longer, as Dan was brought back in, lighting up when he saw Phil.
It took a while, but soon they were able to leave the hospital, a concussed and, according to the test results, a slightly amnesiac Dan, tucked under Phil's arm. The doctor had given Phil instructions to stay with Dan that night in case there were any issues and to go along with the concept of being Dan’s boyfriend, so as to not upset him and cause any trauma. Phil had felt uneasy about this, not wanting to lie, but had agreed still, and they made their way back to the dorms.
Phil was very relieved that Dan lived in a single dorm and he didn’t have to deal with any worried or frantic roommates. He had already had to overhear Dan talk to his hysterical mother and grandmother who both scolded him for not calling sooner. They got inside and Phil ordered pizza, changing into the pajamas Dan lent him.
“You know, it’s silly that you have to borrow my stuff. I don’t know why you don’t just leave some of your own clothes here,” Dan said once he came back into the room from changing in the bathroom.
Phil balked, unsure how to reply to that, but was saved by a knock at the door. Dan answered and said hello to a small group of people standing there. They all talked low, but quickly, asking Dan how he was and if he needed anything.
“Oh, no, I’m okay! My boyfriend Phil is here and he’s keeping me company.”
Dan gestured to Phil were he was perched nervously on the edge of Dan’s bed. They all poked their heads in the doorway and looked curiously at Dan. They all seemed to break out in questions at once, all of them revolving around when he and Phil started dating and why Dan didn’t tell them. Dan simply laughed and shook them off.
“I’ll tell you guys more later. I’m tired and need to rest!” He shoved the stragglers into the hallway and shut the door. He leaned against it and smiled sheepishly at Phil.
“Sorry about them.”
Phil tried to smile back, but he knew it probably came out a bit strained.
“It’s okay. I understand they’re just curious.”
Dan came over and joined Phil on the bed, curling up next to him and wrapping his arms around Phil’s arm.
“Speaking of being curious, will you tell me about us? I don’t remember much about our relationship.”
Phil felt his eyes widen, and tried not to let himself get too stiff, as to set Dan off that something was wrong.
“Uh, well, what do you want to know?”
“Well, tell me about how we met?”
Phil breathed a sigh of relief and felt himself relax, he could do that without telling any fibs.
“That’s easy, I accidentally ran into you in the hallway and we both fell down.”
Dan laughed lightly, not wanting to disturb his head and then asked more. Phil was able to fill in most of the blanks Dan had about their ‘relationship’ in the short amount of time they had known each other thankfully.
“So, how is it you remember me, but you don’t remember any of this?” Phil asked.
Dan shook his head. “I’m not really sure. I just saw you and knew who you were. But, like, I can’t really remember like specific things. All of the things that you said sounded familiar-ish, but I wouldn’t have been able to tell you those stories off of the top of my head.”
Phil nodded, his brain swarmed with thoughts. How strange was it that Dan knew who he was, in one sense at least, but couldn’t remember meeting?
Once the pizza arrived, they ate and then Dan started to climb into bed. Phil stood awkwardly at the edge of the bed and looked around the room, wondering if there were extra blankets for him to make a makeshift bed on the floor, when Dan tugged on his arm to pull him into bed.
“What are you doing, dork? I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”
Phil climbed in and clicked off the lamp on Dan’s bedside table, trying to keep as much space between them as possible, not wanting to take advantage of the situation. Dan seemed to have other plans, though, because he pulled Phil’s arm over his waist so he was the little spoon.
“Mmm,” he hummed contentedly. “Night, Phil.”
Phil smiled into Dan’s curls and relaxed into the bed.
“Night, Dan.”
The next morning before Phil had a chance to get his bearings and to take in all that had happened the day before, he heard a loud yelling in his ear and felt himself fall out of bed. The air left his lungs and when he opened his eyes, Dan was looking at him from over the edge of the bed.
“Phil?!? What are you doing in my dorm room? And in my bed?”
Phil sat up and took a second to get his breath back in his lungs before replying.
“Don’t you remember yesterday?” he asked, rubbing the lump forming on his own head.
“Yesterday? Yeah, it was Thursday, and I had class and came home and did homework, and this morning I woke up and you’re in my bed!”
Phil blinked at him for a second, before shaking his head.
“No, yesterday was Friday. We went to the BBC and you fell and hit your head. We had to take you to A&E ‘cause you had a concussion and had, like, amnesia.”
“I had amnesia?!?” he screeched, and the pitch of his voice seemed to hurt his head because he winced and brought a hand up to feel the lump from where he fell.
“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re in my bed?” he asked, quiet this time.
“Uh,” Phil said, his cheeks turning red. “Well, you thought that I was your boyfriend, and you didn’t want me to leave, and the doctor thought it was better for me to go along with it rather than to tell you the truth and upset you and then ‘cause a trauma,’” he said, doing air quotes with most of his fingers.
Dan opened his mouth for a second, closed it, and then put his head in his hands, face ablaze.
“I can’t believe I did that,” he mumbled. “I’m so sorry you had to deal with me.”
Phil smiled, tossing his hand as casually as he could.
“I mean, there are definitely worse ways I could have spent the evening.”
Dan looked at him, cheeks still pink. “Really?”
Phil nodded. “It really wasn’t so bad. Other than the whole injury and hospital thing, I think we had a nice night.”
Dan twirled his finger around a stray piece of thread on the blanket on his bed.
“So, what you’re saying is, you didn’t mind being my boyfriend?”
Phil laughed, a bit taken off guard by how bold he was being, but figuring it was true.
“I didn’t mind. Though I’m sure there are more fun ways to spend the evening as your boyfriend.”
Dan had taken to pulling the thread now in order to avoid making eye contact with Phil.
“Well, I mean, you could find out tonight if you really wanted to?”
Butterflies flooded Phil’s stomach and he couldn't help the giggle he let out. Dan snapped his head up, afraid he was being laughed at, but the relief was obvious on his face when he saw how happy Phil was.
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Okay,” Dan said shyly.
They both sat there, smiling at each other, until Dan’s door was opened unceremoniously and a group of his friends walked in with coffee in hand.
“Good morning, love birds!”
Phil laughed and moved to sit on the bed next to Dan, his boyfriend.