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“You want me to do… what, exactly?”
“Just…” Jack flapped his hands excitedly, and Phil raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Just come with me to this party, mate. All of our old friends from secondary school will be there, it’ll be great. You can bring, what’s his name, the guy you’ve been making videos with.”
“Dan?” Phil hedged hesitantly. This was already seeming like a bad idea. He’d never liked parties, and the only people he’d known in secondary school that he wanted to see again were the ones he already did. He really shouldn’t even be considering this.
“Yeah, that’s the one. Bring Dan, you can introduce us all to him. You’ll love it, I promise,” Jack pitched, and he could be awfully persuasive with his eyes when he wanted to be. That and Phil was just horrible at saying no, especially to someone who tried so hard to be a good friend as Jack.
“Maybe,” Phil agreed noncommittally. He’d be moving out to Manchester soon enough, he probably owed one last hurrah to all his friends. Besides, it would give him an excuse to invite Dan over again. Not that he needed one, really, as he was pretty sure that Dan was just as crazily in love as he was at this point. But it would be nice to introduce him to his old friends anyway.
“Love to hear it. See you there, mate,” Jack enthused, grinning at Phil and patting him hard on the shoulder. Phil smiled awkwardly. This had the potential to go very wrong.
~
“You want to show me off to all your friends, Lester?” Phil kind of loved the way Dan looked on Skype calls, a bit pixelated but adorable and happy and all his. He did kind of want to reach through the screen, though, and pull him into his arms like he did when they were actually together. But for the time being, this was perfect.
“I guess,” Phil answered, shrugging. He could never stop smiling on these calls, it was like some sort of muscle rebellion. “I really just want to see you again, they’re all just a bonus.”
“You’re seeing me right now,” Dan pointed out, although Phil could see the way his shoulders drooped a little when he said this. They both knew how disingenuous that comment was.
“Yeah, but it’s not the same,” Phil disagreed, tracing over the lines of Dan’s face on the computer screen with his finger. “I want you here. With me.”
“I want to be there with you too,” Dan admitted quietly, curling further into the blankets on his bed. Phil was fairly sure it was impossible to be more fond of a person than he was of Dan. “And you know I’m going to your friend’s party, right? I’m not skipping on the chance to be your piece of arm candy.”
“You’ll be the sexiest piece of arm candy there,” Phil promised, and Dan smiled in that half-hidden way he did whenever Phil complimented him. It was a very good incentive to compliment him more often.
“Of course you’ll think so,” Dan teased, biting his lip in a manner that seemed unconscious, but Phil could never be quite sure. “And I think I’d like to meet some of your northern friends. If they’re anything like you, I’m sure they’ll be a bunch of weirdos.”
“Hey,” Phil protested half-heartedly, grinning as Dan smiled cheekily. He couldn’t really argue that he was a bit odd at times, but he figured there were far worse things he could be. “You’ll be the weird one up here.”
“Oh, now that’s a terrifying thought, being the only normal one in a room full of Phils,” Dan mused, and that brought to Phil’s mind the strangest image of fighting a bunch of clones of himself for Dan’s hand in boyfriendship. That was a little bit scary of a thought, he wasn’t going to lie.
“They aren’t exactly like me,” Phil corrected, blinking himself out of his strange clone fantasy. “I’m much cooler than all of them, I promise.” Dan snorted in what Phil hoped was exaggerated disbelief.
“I don’t think ‘cool’ is the exact word I’d use for you,” Dan countered airily, and laughed when Phil threw a pillow at his computer. “Hotter than all of them, maybe, but I’d wager that most people are cooler than you. You’re pretty lame, bub.”
“I’ll take that,” Phil allowed. He honestly didn’t really care where he marked on the coolness meter, as long as he was happy with himself. And it was hard not to be when he was talking to Dan, as cheesy as that may be. He should probably stop letting all these sappy thoughts go unchecked , but he really couldn’t find a reason to.
“Do your friends know that we’re together?” Dan asked abruptly, and Phil frowned, shaking his head. They’d talked about this a few times before, usually late at night when Dan was willing to get a bit more vulnerable than he usually allowed himself to be. Dan wasn’t comfortable with people he barely knew knowing about them, and Phil didn’t mind keeping it between them. It wasn’t a big deal.
“No,” Phil answered out loud. “It’s not like I just told them without asking you first, Dan. I’m not a complete asshole.” Dan seemed to relax a bit at the answer, and Phil wondered if he’d actually been worried that Phil would just out him to strangers like that. That wasn’t a fun thought to have.
“Sorry, I was just checking. Is it okay if we can be just friends around them when I come over there? It’s just that hardly anyone knows about my whole-” Dan waved his hand around in the air vaguely, and Phil understood. He hadn’t heard Dan used the word ‘gay’ to describe himself once in the almost year now that he’d known him. “-thing, so yeah. I think I’d be more comfortable like this.”
“That’s alright,” Phil assured him. As much as he kind of did want to show Dan off to his friends, at least this way he could dodge the light teasing and all the questions that came with introducing a boyfriend. “You’re my best friend, you know. It won’t be hard to act like it.” The smile that came across Dan’s face at that probably had enough power to melt a person. It was likely a good thing Phil wasn’t with him in person, or he would be a pile of goop right now.
“You’re my best friend too,” Dan told him, and for a few long moments they just stared at each other, beaming like idiots. This was probably what Dan meant by him not being cool, but Phil was only growing more and more confident that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Aww,” Phil cooed, the affection he was feeling quickly becoming overwhelming. “You’re so adorable. I feel like I have to bite you or something now.” Dan laughed, covering his mouth with one hand as Phil grinned at him.
“What’s up with you and all the biting? There something you wanna tell me about?” Dan prodded lightly. Phil was about to respond when he heard a faint noise from the background on Dan’s end, and the younger boy abruptly turned his head like he was listening for something. “Aw shit, my mum’s calling me. Call me later, alright Phil? Love you.”
“Love you too, bear,” Phil responded, smiling smittenly even as Dan’s face disappeared from the screen.
~
“You are too pretty,” Phil mumbled against Dan’s hair, wrapping his arms tighter around his boyfriend’s middle. Dan had arrived just an hour before, and he was already in Phil’s bed, cuddled up against Phil’s chest as Phil ran a hand down his back. “You’re gonna have to stay here forever.”
“Shut up,” Dan giggled, nuzzling closer into Phil’s chest even as he said so. “Just a few more minutes.” Phil honestly did want to stay like that forever, at least in that moment. Feel Dan warm against him, smell his familiar scent with every inhale, no cares in the world besides his armful of Dan.
“But I missed you,” Phil pouted, rubbing a circle with his hand between Dan’s shoulder blades. He found it a bit strange, if he was being honest, that there was a hot guy in bed with him and all he wanted to do was hug him. Especially since this wasn’t even the first time he’d felt like that.
“I missed you too,” Dan confessed, lifting his head to look Phil in the eyes. “But I don't want to keep all your mates waiting. Wouldn’t want, what was his name, Jake or John or something, too pissed at me before I've even met him.”
“Jack,” Phil filled in mindlessly, bringing his hand up further to stroke through Dan’s hair. “And he won’t care if we ditch on him. We can just stay here forever.” The intensity of Phil’s feelings for Dan scared him sometimes, but he’d never been the kind to let fear get in the way of honesty. Not when it really mattered.
“Phi-il,” Dan laughed, drawing Phil’s name out into two separate syllables. “Isn’t this party kinda the whole reason I came?” Phil frowned.
“I hope it’s not the whole reason,” Phil protested, and Dan rolled his eyes, scooting forward so his face was closer to Phil’s. Phil readjusted his hands to rest on Dan’s hips, playing with the hem of his shirt.
“It’s not the whole reason,” Dan allowed, shrugging a little. “But I do want to go. I want to see what your life outside of the internet is like.” It was very difficult to say no to Dan when he was that close.
“Alright,” Phil found himself agreeing. “But stay here just a few more minutes?” Dan rolled his eyes again, but then he was kissing him, so Phil couldn’t even be mad.
~
“Hi! Phil, nice to see you, and you must be…” Phil could see the slightly strained look on Jack’s face as he tried to remember Dan’s name, and almost laughed and that proud expression that came over him when he finally did. “Dan! You must be Dan. Come inside.”
“Hi Jack,” Phil returned, smiling a little. He couldn’t hear any blaring music and see any flashing lights, so he figured this couldn’t be too overwhelming of a party. Maybe he’d actually have fun.
“Hi,” Dan echoed, lifting his right hand in the most awkward little wave Phil had ever seen. He looked a bit nervous to be meeting all these new people, and Phil was physically pained by the fact that he couldn’t just wrap him into a hug.
“Great to meet you, Dan. Come on, there’s snacks right this way,” Jack told them, and Phil perked up a little at just the mention of snacks. Dan laughed a little at that, which made Phil feel about twenty times better about the situation. They followed Jack through a hallway to a living room type area, where a few people Phil recognized from going to secondary school with were sitting.
“Phil!” called a familiar voice, and Phil smiled at the voice. He walked over to sit beside her, and he felt Dan follow him.
“Hi Anya,” Phil greeted cheerfully, taking a seat next to her. He didn’t always feel the most comfortable in group settings like this, and being in a room with a bunch of people he’d barely talked to in years was a bit awkward, but he’d stayed in touch with Anya well enough that he didn’t feel completely alone.
And there was Dan too, of course, but he didn’t count.
“I’m glad someone I’m actually friends with is here, I've forgotten the names of like, half these people,” Anya admitted to him quietly, a hint of amusement in her tone, essentially mirroring Phil’s thoughts. She seemed to notice Dan then, and her smile widened. “Oh! You’re Dan, right? I’ve seen you in some of Phil’s YouTube videos.”
“Yep, that’s me. I’m the funny internet guy,” Dan confirmed, a little sarcastic but with a genuine smile on his face. Phil kind of wanted to poke his dimple, but figured this wasn’t the time or place.
“There are probably worse things to be known for, you know,” Phil pointed out, because really, he’d spent three years at this point trying to be known as just that.
“Hmm, I don’t know Phil,” Anya argued fake-thoughtfully. “Are there worse things than being known for association with you?” Dan laughed out loud, and Phil had to put a lot of effort into not doing the same.
“Shut up,” Phil grumbled, trying his best to suppress a smile as he spoke. He glanced over at Dan, who was still laughing, and okay, maybe that wasn’t the best idea for when he was actively trying to not smile. He quickly looked away, catching Anya staring at him with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. Phil blushed and tried to look like he had no idea what she meant, but he’d never been a particularly good actor.
“Oi, Phil,” Jack said, appearing very suddenly nearby them. Phil just barely managed not to jump from his startlement. “Would you and Dan like anything? Snacks, drinks, the like.”
“Ooh, yea. Snacks and drinks would be nice,” Phil agreed cheerfully, and Jack grinned. “Whatever you have is fine.” Dan made a confused face as Jack walked away, but didn’t say anything, and Phil didn’t ask him about it.
Jack returned with popcorn and beer after a few moments, and started a conversation with the room as a whole. There were only about ten people there, and Phil felt some of his social anxiety ebb away as he remembered that hey, these really were just his old friends. Even if they looked a bit different and some of them seemed considerably less cool now whe. compared to the friends Phil had made at university.
The same didn’t apply to Dan, though, and Phil really hoped he was having a good time regardless. He seemed to, laughing out loud at jokes and occasionally adding in his own, but it could be hard to tell with Dan sometimes. He was rather scarily good at the whole fake-happy thing.
After the second time Jack offered to refill Phil’s drink without extending the offer to the rest of the group, Dan gave Phil a strange look that Phil couldn’t quite place. He met Dan’s gaze, raising and eyebrow questioningly, and Dan rolled his eyes before leaning in to whisper in Phil’s ear.
“Does Jack fancy you or something, ‘cause he seems like he’s trying to impress you,” Dan observed, and wait, was Dan jealous? Phil kind of wanted to laugh, but he figured Dan wouldn’t appreciate that.
“Oh, no, he’s straight, I believe,” Phil assured him quietly, flicking a quick look to where Jack was laughing at a joke that some guy (Phil was pretty sure his name was Stephen) had just made. “He just made a kinda massive mistake a couple of years ago, and I didn’t talk to him for a while, and he’s still trying to make it up to me.”
“Oh,” Dan said, shrugging a little as he leaned away. He still appeared a bit dubious. “Alright.” Phil would explain the entire accidental-outing situation sometime later, when he wasn’t surrounded by the people in question.
There was a strange moment during their conversation that Phil just barely noticed, where Anya leaned over to talk quietly with Jack. She threw a quick grin at Phil as she settled back down, and Phil decided he wasn’t going to make much of it. He could enjoy himself without letting pointless anxieties get in the way.
“Hey everyone,” Jack began after a while, waving his drink in the air as if that would make more people look at him. Phil had to admit that it worked, and wonder if he could just do the same whenever people weren’t listening to him. “There was this game I was thinkin’ we ought to play, can I have two brave volunteers to demonstrate with?”
“Dan should go,” Anya piped up suddenly. Phil blinked in surprise and looked over to Dan, who seemed to be having a similar reaction. “Get the newcomer integrated and all that.”
“Alright,” Dan agreed hesitantly, putting down his drink and standing up. Phil felt a little weird to have the younger boy leave his side. “I guess I can try it out.”
“Phil can come with you, if you want someone you already know,” Jack offered, and Phil felt vaguely like this was a trap, but really, he didn’t want to leave Dan hanging out to dry. So he stood up.
“Okay,” Phil said slowly as Jack ushered him and Dan to stand in front of the group. He wasn’t liking where this was going, and felt like compliance would probably be the best way to keep his social anxiety at bay. “So what’s the game, exactly?”
“So, I was thinking, what’s more fun than a little game of seven minutes in heaven?” Jack was grinning as Phil felt his stomach drop. He froze, suddenly hyper aware of the other people in the room. He could see Dan do the same beside him out of the corner of his eye.
“I didn’t realize just because you all knew each other in secondary school meant we all had to regress back to then,” Dan remarked dryly after a moment, and Phil laughed a bit awkwardly. He didn’t reply exactly mind having alone time with Dan, but this public setting was rather uncomfortable.
“Well, they were the best of times, right?” Jack continued, and Phil could feel the way Dan tensed despite them not being touching, and quickly hurried to intervene.
“Look, I don’t think you can make us do that-“
“No, no, it’s fine,” Dan interrupted with a little forced laugh, shooting Phil a meaningful look. Phil didn’t quite understand, but decided to go along with it. “It’s just a bit of fun, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Phil agreed, and he was pretty sure he could see what Dan was going for. Vehemently declining would probably raise more suspicion than reluctant acceptance. “It’ll be fine.”
And that’s how Dan and Phil were locked in a closet together by Jack and Anya at the strangest party Phil had ever been to.
“So,” Dan started after they’d shifted around so they were more comfortable. It was dark and a bit cramped, but not too uncomfortably so. “Do you think your friends were trying to set us up?”
“Yeah,” Phil answered after a moment, because yes, now that Dan mentioned it, that was totally what they were doing. “I think they were. At least they didn’t realize we’re actually together, I guess.”
“Yeah, but,” Dan sighed, and Phil wished he could see his facial expression better in the dark. “It’s just strange to think that someone could so easily tell that I like you, that’s all.”
“Oh, I don’t think they could tell at all,” Phil assured him, and it wasn’t a lie. Dan was much better of an actor than he was. “Anya is just good enough at reading me to see when I like someone, I think, and Jack probably thinks I fancy all my guy friends.”
“Okay,” Dan replied, and he seemed the tiniest bit relieved. Phil smiled. “What is it that Jack did to you that made him such a try-hard to make it up anyway?”
“Oh, um,” Phil laughed a bit awkwardly, trying to quickly formulate a way of explaining it in his head. “He kind of accidentally outed me to a bunch of my old friends a while back, and it just took a while for me to trust him again.”
“Ah,” Dan commented, then giggled a little. “Nothing says ‘I’m sorry for forcing you out of the closet’ then literally forcing you into a closet.” Phil laughed, and leaned forward so he could feel Dan’s body heat beside him.
“I honestly don’t really mind,” Phil told him, shrugging, although he wasn’t sure if Dan could see that. “I’m mainly just worried that they made you uncomfortable.”
“Surprisingly, I’m actually pretty good,” Dan responded. Phil tried to search his voice for any signs that he was being anything less than genuine, but didn’t find any. “I don’t know why, I feel like I usually would be. Maybe it’s because I like your friends.”
“I’m glad you do,” Phil stated sincerely, smiling to himself. All things considered, this really wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. “I’m good too, but I think that’s just because you’re here with me.”
“You utter sap,” Dan snorted, following his words with a spatter of giggles. Phil grinned, leaning forward to press his forehead against Dan’s. “Don’t think that’s gonna convince me to make out with you in here, Lester.”
“That’s okay,” Phil hummed, groping around for Dan’s hand. It took him a moment and an accident brush against Dan’s thigh to find it, but he eventually did, intertwining their fingers. “This is perfect.”