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A cigarette hung from his lips as he walked down the street. He pushed his hair back to fix the swoosh in the front. He had done his hair for this occasion, it was it was slicked back on the sides and in the front, there was a swoosh and a few strands hung in his face.
Phil hummed to himself and pressed his lips around the end of the cigarette and inhaled. He stopped walking for a moment and blew smoke to the side. Dropping it to the ground, he crushed it beneath his feet and kept on.
He was a bit of way from home, but he was going to meet Dan, so the distance was worth it. Dan was the boy who stole his heart from the beginning. From the time he saw him he was head over heels and wanted to get to know him. Luckily for him, Dan had no problem with that and the two became close very quickly and eventually became more.
But with Phil living a bit of a walk from Dan they didn’t get to see each other often. Most times they would end up meeting on a beach and spending the day there. Sometimes they’d fall asleep tangled together under the stars.
It was close to their anniversary and Phil wanted to take Dan somewhere for a night. Mainly just to have a good time and to celebrate them. It was hard to do that sometimes because it always felt like the world was against their relationship in many ways.
Phil had a friend for years before he met Dan. The two of them were close, but as soon as he found out who Phil fancied he dropped Phil. It made Phil question if risking all his friendships was worth it for someone. The first time he kissed Dan on the beach showed him it was more than worth it. He tasted like sweet candy and thankfully didn’t mind the taste of cigarettes on his breath.
“Phil!” He heard someone yell, he recognized Dan’s voice instantly. He looked up and saw Dan running towards him and he smiled.
It looked like Dan’s hair was curly, something that he had been doing more of lately. Phil was enjoying it and Dan seemed to have a confidence boost with it. He watched Dan run and chuckled when he slammed himself into Phil, nearly knocking them over. He wrapped his arms around Dan and swayed them for a moment.
“Hey baby,” Phil kissed the top of his head and Dan hummed. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Dan looked up at him and stood on his tiptoes and planted a kiss to Phil’s lips.
Phil wrapped his arm around Dan and the two started to walk down the street. It was dark except for the sparse street lights that weren’t the brightest. He could see that Dan was wearing the stud in his ear that Phil bought him and he smiled.
“Where are we off to?” Dan asked.
“I figured we could go to one of those late-night diners,” Phil looked at him, “Get something to eat and have a malt shake or two.”
Dan nodded and looked at Phil. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a malt shake.”
“What? Really?”
“Yep,” Dan chirped.
Phil stared at him. “Oh, this is happening now. How can you not have had one? They’re only the best.”
Dan laughed and Phil laughed along with him. He was taking him for a shake, there was no doubt about it now. It was baffling to him how Dan never had a malt shake before. Everyone had one at least once.
Phil slipped his hand in Dan’s and intertwined their fingers. Compared to his own, Dan’s hand was warm and soft. Even a year later Phil still gets butterflies when he holds Dan’s hand. There is a part of him that always ends up wanting to jump over the moon and scream from the rooftops that he was with the cutest boy in the world.
How Dan ended up as his boyfriend was a mystery to him. Dan was the sweetest boy ever to exist and Phil loved him a lot, he wasn’t sure if he ever would stop loving him him.
“What are you thinking about?” Dan asked him and tapped Phil’s shoulder.
“How you’ve never had a malt shake before.”
Dan laughed and pushed him playfully. “You’re still on that?”
“No,” Phil smiled slightly and looked at Dan. “I was thinking about how you ended up my boyfriend.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re just very out of my league is all -“ Phil looked at him before turning his back to look away, “- not that it’s anything bad or something like that. Just, I didn’t think you’d ever be my boyfriend.”
“You’re weird you know that?”
“You’ve told me a few times yeah,” he smiled.
Dan swung their hands as they walked under the stars. Phil would occasionally peek over and look at him. This boy was special, wasn’t he? He just hoped that someday he could marry him. Sure they’d only been together just shy of a year, but Phil liked to have hopes for the future. He was allowed to have hope and hope he did have.
Besides, there wasn’t a day when Dan wasn’t on his mind. He was always thinking of things that he wanted to take him to do someday or just laying around with Dan. Sometimes he invited Dan over and they just cuddled, watched movies, and ate popcorn. But sometimes it wasn’t as innocent.
They were still a bit away from the diner, but that was alright. It gave them time to be alone without having to worry about the judgmental stares from others. Things like that didn’t bother Phil, but he didn’t know how bad it would bother Dan and he didn’t want to take that chance for anything.
He looked over at Dan. God, he was pretty. He was so fucking pretty and Phil didn’t know how to handle that. Dan’s hair was curly and he had a white shirt on. He was wearing one of Phil’s worn out leather jackets. It was big on Dan but he looked cute in it. The way the moonlight reflected off him made Phil all but see stars. There was no way he ever was getting over the way that he looked.
“Is that it up there?” Dan asked about ten minutes later.
Phil looked up and saw the glowing red neon sign and nodded. “Yeah, come on.”
He squeezed Dan’s hand and started walking a tad bit faster. Luckily this diner was open 24/7 so they didn’t have to worry about being rushed. That was one of his biggest pet peeves honestly. Not because he had to hurry, but because usually, the workers were awful to him. Things like that turned him off of certain places if he was quite honest.
Walking up to the building, Phil opened the doors for Dan. From the outside, it looked like the front was made entirely out of glass. Dan smiled at him and walked inside and looked down at the floor. It was black and white, almost like a checkerboard. Dan looked around and smiled. Phil smiled at him and nudged his shoulder.
“Like it?”
“It’s so cool,” Dan looked around, “I’ve never been to a diner like this before.”
On the ceiling, there was what looked to be a giant vinyl, one that had what Phil was assuming an artist from the 50s. Around the vinyl was a thin neon red light that illuminated the place. The booths that ran along the sides of the walls were all red and white. In the center of the floor were two tables and back against the wall was a jukebox.
“Phil!” Dan said all but bouncing as the two sat in a booth, “They have a jukebox.”
He opened his mouth to speak when a waitress walked over and laid two menus on the table. “What can I get you two boys to drink?”
“Cherry coke please,” Dan said and looked at her.
She nodded and wrote it down on a notepad before she motioned to Phil. “Just a coke please.” She nodded, wrote it down again and smiled at them before walking off.
“I’ll be back,” Dan said and got up and rushed back to the jukebox. It was only 10 cents for 3 songs and Dan smiled. Phil watched Dan shuffle through the songs from his seat. Choosing 3, Dan came back and sat across from Phil.
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
Cryin’ all the time
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
Cryin’ all the time
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine
Phil chuckled and watched Dan bop his head along to the music. “Elvis huh?”
Dan nodded and smiled, picking up the menu. “I like some of his songs.”
Phil grinned at him. God, he was in love and each moment Dan stole his heart more and more. Shaking it off, he looked through the menu and could swear he was drooling already. There was so much that they could get. Most of it seemed appealing, while others didn’t.
“Can we share garlic fries?” Dan asked and Phil looked at him.
Phil looked through the menu quickly to find it under the appetizer section. It was described as a large basket of fries topped with a creamy garlic herb sauce. Phil all but started to drool.
“Yeah of course.”
Their waitress came back moments later and sat their drinks in front of them. Dan smiled looking at the glass, which looked like replicas of vintage Coca-Cola glasses.
“Thank you,” Phil said.
She smiled and nodded again. “Have you guys decided what you’re getting yet, or do you need another moment?”
Phil looked at Dan and raised his brow.
“Can we get another moment please?”
“Of course,” She offered a polite smile and walked away again.
Phil went back to looking through the menu. He was looking at what other appetizers they offered. It seemed like they had what you would expect them to have: chicken tenders, potato skins; there was also a thing on the menu about cheese sticks and Phil internally gagged. Who likes cheese that much? There was a teriyaki burger that piqued his interest. It had cheese on it so he would just have to order no cheese.
“Okay,” Dan said setting the menu down, “I know what I want.”
Phil nodded and smiled at him. He sat his menu down and hummed along to the song. He tapped his foot to the beat and Dan giggled at him.
“What?” Phil asked and raised his brow.
“You’re cute ’s all,” Dan said, blushing and playing with his sleeves.
Chuckling Phil shook his head and their waitress walked back over. Phil went ahead and ordered the garlic fries and his burger, making sure to tell her no cheese. He hated cheese and was hoping they wouldn’t mess up his food. Dan told her a veggie burger and she nodded before heading back to the kitchen. Phil looked at him confused.
“A veggie burger?”
Dan nodded and smiled. “I thought it would be interesting to try. Plus, if I don’t like it I can steal yours.”
The jukebox made a noise and flipped to the next song. A sweet melody started to play and Phil looked back at it. Dan was still toying with his sleeves and started to quietly sing along.
And they called it puppy love
Oh I guess they’ll never know
How a young heart how it really feels
And why I love her so
Phil rested his elbows on the table and held his head in his hand. Dan was still singing along and Phil watched him fondly. A smile was on his face and he could feel himself falling deeper for him. Dan was just perfect and he loved him so. Phil wasn’t much of a sap or a romantic person, or at least he didn’t think of himself as one, but when it came to Dan, he was willing to be the most romantic he could be and the biggest sap.
Phil continued to stare at Dan with an adoring smile on his face and Dan smiled back.
“What are you doing now?” Dan asked, laughing slightly.
“Watching you.”
“You’re weird you know that?”
Phil sighed contently and hummed. “You’ve told me once or twice.”
Dan went back to singing and moving his head gently and Phil kept watching him. Dan stopped after a moment and a fond smile came on his face.
“It’s almost our anniversary.”
“I know,” Phil said with looking amused, “That’s why I brought you here. Plus I have some gifts I still have to get you.”
Dan blushed and looked down. “You don’t have to get me anything Phil.”
“Shut up,” he laughed, “Let me buy you stuff for once.”
Dan stared at Phil. Phil smiled again and looked at his boyfriend. He was absolutely in love with this boy and it was the best feeling in the world. It was like Phil was on cloud nine and the feeling was absolute bliss.
While they were waiting for their food another Elvis song came on and Dan started to dance in his seat.
“Phil,” he stood up and held his hand out, “Dance with me. Please?”
Phil looked up at him. If he was honest he didn’t want to dance. But he wasn’t about to tell Dan no. He took Dan’s hand and stood up. Dan started to dance and Phil followed his lead. To be fair, he didn’t know how to dance, but he was trying for Dan.
The warden threw a party in the county jail
The prison band was there and they began to wail
The band was jumpin’ and the joint began to swing
You should’ve heard them knocked-out jailbirds sing
Dan was glowing. He had the happiest look on his face and god Phil was loving it. He could see the other waitresses that were there in awe at them and watching them. One walked over and put another dime in the jukebox and chose a song.
The two of them danced beside their booth until the song was over and Dan pouted slightly. A soft melody started to play and Dan walked closer and laid his head on Phil’s shoulder. Which was fitting since the song seemed to go “put your head on my shoulder.” Phil smiled and kissed the top of his head. He swayed them back and forth gently.
Dan leaned up and kissed Phil as he smiled.
Put your lips next to mine, dear
Won’t you kiss me once baby?
Just a kiss goodnight, maybe
You and I will fall in love (you and I will fall in love)
The two slow danced together for the entirety of the song. Phil would whisper sweet things to Dan and tell him that he loved him. He could see the joy radiating off Dan each time and it warmed his heart.
Over the next hour or so the two sat in their booth in bliss. Once their food came they ate and talked about everything and anything. They made plans to go back to the beach in the following days. Dan mentioned wanting a puppy that Phil was going to try and surprise him with if he could.
Finishing up their fries, which were better than he thought they would be, Phil was pleased. The two had been eating for a while now and listening to the music. That meant Dan was taking Phil’s dimes and playing more songs from the jukebox each time.
When Dan came back, Phil looked at him. He was gonna go ahead and order a malt shake for them to split. “Is chocolate okay?”
“Chocolate what?”
“A malt shake silly,” Phil chuckled.
“Oh, yeah. Sounds perfect.” Dan beamed.