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The timing of the fire alarm couldn't have been any worse.
It's five am on the morning of Dan Howell's last and most stressful final, and he's standing outside his university dorm wearing nothing but a pair of pyjama bottoms. In the pouring rain.
Fuck you too, weather, he thinks irritably.
Around him, students are standing around in various states of undress, but most at least had the sense to grab a hoodie or shirt and throw it on. A girl to his left even managed to put on a fluffy bathrobe and bunny slippers. Dan shivers, hugging his arms close to his bare chest and curling his toes.
"What do you suppose happened?" asks a voice on his right. Looking over, Dan sees a vaguely familiar face. Probably someone from his floor.
Dan glares straight ahead. "The whole building had better be burning down or some motherfucker is gonna die."
The stranger - what even is his name? Dan swears he's seen this guy before - huffs a laugh. "Yikes. Finals today?"
Dan just sighs and nods. "Yup. At 8. I went to bed an hour ago."
"I hear ya," says the stranger. "First year is a huge pain. I don't envy you, friend."
The guy is so casual and friendly that Dan raises an eyebrow.
The guy holds out a hand towards Dan. "Phil Lester, third year."
Dan returns the handshake. "Dan Howell, first year. But you knew that."
The-guy-named-Phil laughs and Dan decides he quite likes the sound. "Well it's good to meet you, Dan," he says amiably before exclaiming: "Your fingers are like ice!"
Dan snatches his hand back and shrugs. "I'm fine. It's just cold out."
But Phil is pulling off his own hoodie before Dan can even finish his sentence. "Put this on," Phil insists. It's a lime green Manchester University hoodie and it's a little damp around the edges, but when Dan reluctantly pulls it over his head it's warm and just a little too big. He flips up the hood.
"Thanks," he mumbles, burrowing his cold nose in the front. It smells lightly of aftershave and soap and it's all so horribly cliché that Dan almost groans. His life is not a romcom. "It's, erm, warm."
Phil chuckles and flashes a thousand-watt smile.
Dan's stomach doesn't do an Olympian-level gymnastics routine.
He steals a glance at Phil; his shaggy black hair, his heavy-rimmed hipster glasses, his threadbare Avengers patterned tee shirt that's starting to cling to his shoulders in the rain. How dare he be so goddamn attractive? Rude. Then going and being so selfless and nice on top of it all? Downright criminal.
"Aren't you cold?" Dan asks finally.
Phil shrugs. "Not really."
His rosy cheeks and nose give him away. Dan tuts at him and moves closer, muttering something about "huddling for warmth" and tries not to stare. Because holy shit those EYES. Is this guy for fucking real? Who ACTUALLY has eyes like that? All blue and green and radioactive. Fucking illegal.
Finally, the residence staff give the all clear and the crowd begins to shuffle towards the doors. Dan casts a furtive glance at Phil as they're shuffled forward.
"Erm... Do you want this back?" Dan asks.
Phil looks at him and smiles again. Does this guy ever stop with that face? "Nah, just return it next we see each other," he says nonchalantly.
"So the next fire alarm," Dan jests, finally cracking a smile.
If it's even possible, Phil smiles the biggest he has in the last twenty minutes. Something warm and tingly spreads over Dan's skin and he's certain it has nothing to do with the sweater or the warm foyer and everything to do with the attractive fucker in front of him.
They join the throng ascending the stairwell.
"Floor?" Dan asks as the turn the corner.
"Fifth," answers Phil. "And you?
Dan cant fight the grin spreading on his face. "Same, actually."
"Fantastic! But how have I not seen you yet this term?"
They pass the door for the third floor.
"I guess I don't get out much," Dan ventures. "I don't do floor meetings or hang out in the lounges. I just kind of... study and browse tumblr all day."
Phil nods sympathetically. "I hear ya."
Fourth floor.
Dan's feet have gone completely numb, which he doesn't think is a good thing. In front of him, Phil is rubbing his arms as he climbs climbs the stairs and Dan is sure he's shivering.
He hopes Phil has piles of warm blankets to huddle in for the rest of the morning.
They reach the fifth floor and both head for the west wing of the building. Noticing that they both turned left, both of them laugh in disbelief. It only gets weirder as they both stop at the same time.
In front of two neighbouring doors.
"You've got to be fucking joking," Dan says, trying to not burst into giddy laughter.
Phil's eyes widen and he points at Dan. "You're the piano guy!"
"I - what?"
Phil gestures wildly. "You play piano! I can hear you sometimes! You're quite good, you know."
Heat flushes across Dan's face and he knows his face is bright red. "Well it IS my major, so..."
"That's so cool!" Phil says in awe. "Ah! I should, erm, let you go. Get some sleep. Yes." He motions to his door in a cute flail-y kind of way and scrubs at the back of his hair.
Dan chuckles nervously. "Yeah I'll, er, see you around, then?"
Phil nods happily. "For sure! Good luck on your final today!'
"Hah. Thanks, I'm gonna need it."
They both open their doors, and after an awkward moment of "no you first," Dan finally shuts his door behind him.
His immediate urge is to crawl under his blankets and attempt to take a nap, but instead he heads for his desk. He grabs a note card and scribbles a quick note before folding it in half. Quietly, he opens his door and slips the note under Phil's door.
Once he's back in his room, he peels off his wet clothes and leaves them in a rumpled heap on the floor. Only Phil's hoodie gets carefully draped over the back of a chair.
When Dan finally does nod off, buried in a pile of three blankets, he dreams of a boy with a thousand-watt smile and radioactive eyes.
**
Phil,
Thanks for making this morning less shitty. I owe you a coffee and a hoodie. Text me and we'll set a date?
Dan
**
Phil: Hey! Its Phil. What's this you say about a date? :D