Work Text:
Dan loved playing the piano and he loved getting recognition for it but he was really shy. Still, when the music teacher told him that she wanted him to be the pianist for the school musical, he couldn’t refuse.
It was after school and the first practice for the school musical had finally ended. Dan was a bumbling mess the whole time, but the other students were understanding and the teachers running it were patient. Overall, it was a good day, but Dan’s heart was still beating loudly in his chest after being put through all of that attention.
He walked down the hallway with a foggy brain, and he paid little attention to his steps as he walked. He should have heard the other person heading towards him, but he was too unfocused to notice them.
All of the sudden, he crashed into somebody else, causing his handwritten sheet music—which he had been caring in his hands only seconds prior—to fly everywhere. He wanted to be angry at the person, but he was too embarrassed to feel anything but embarrassment.
“Oh god, let me help you with that,” a voice sad. Looking up, Dan realized it was none other than Phil Lester who had spoken. Phil Lester was a football player, one of the best in the school, which made him very popular. He was also bending down to help pick up Dan’s sheet music at that very moment.
“Oh—uh—you don’t, um, have to,” Dan said, stumbling over his words. “I can get them.”
“No, it’s okay. It was my fault; I should have been paying more attention.”
Doing his best to ignore the other boy, Dan went to work picking up his sheet music (and secretly, he was very glad Phil was kind enough to help pick them up; because Phil was popular, Dan had just assumed that he would be mean). In the process of trying to pick them up, their hands brushed together awkwardly, causing Dan to look up at Phil with wide eyes. The older boy also looked up, and Dan blushed at the eye contact, his heart going wild in his chest.
Looking down, Phil said, “I think we’ve got them all,” and stood up. Dan followed his actions, griping the few sheets that he had managed to collect tightly in his hands. He knew he was going to crumple them, but he was too anxious to relax.
Phil looked at Dan with a light blush painted across his face. Extending his hand that held the sheets in them, he said, “Here you go.”
“I—uh thanks,” Dan responded nervously. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to take hold of the papers, but his hand was shaking so badly that he accidently touched Phil’s. Moving his hand away and taking the sheet music, he said, “Um, sorry.”
“It’s okay. Are you in the school musical? Is that why you have all the sheet music? Did you write those?”
Dan nodded, keeping his mouth shut tightly. He was too jittery to form coherent sentences.
“Your name’s Dan, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You should come to one of my football games, and I’ll come to the musical. That way you can make it up to me for bumping into me and I can make it up to you for bumping into you. Sound like a deal?”
Dan shrugged, feeling indifferent. He wasn’t a big fan of football, but he was willing to do anything to speed up this conversation. He was well aware that the school musical was a few months away and the likelihood that Phil would remember was slim, but that didn’t matter to him at the moment.
“Is that a yes?” Phil asked.
“S—sure,” Dan said in response, his voice timid and weak.
A week later, Dan found himself at one of the school’s football games. For much of the game, he had no clue what was actually going on, and he zoned out for most of it. He figured that Phil probably wouldn’t even realize that he had gone, but his mother was very happy to see him getting more involved with other school activities besides music. By the end of all it, he was chilly and ready to go home.
He tried to blend in as he left the field, but he failed. His earlier assumption that Phil would fail to notice him was false.
“Dan!” Phil’s voice called from behind him and he froze. A few seconds later, he felt somebody lightly tap his back in a friendly gesture. “I thought you weren’t going to show to be honest.”
“I, uh, told you I would.”
They just stood there for a little bit as everybody left. Dan didn’t know what to do; he wanted to leave, but he didn’t want to be rude. Because of this, he stood with his hands awkwardly in his pockets. Unintentionally, he stared at Phil.
Phil looked a little worn out, but that was to be expected. He was slightly sweaty, and his black hair clung to his forehead. He wasn’t in his football uniform anymore (had it really taken Dan that long to start to leave?). His blue—yellow? Green?—eyes looked at Dan, almost as if he was assessing him.
“Do you want to go get some coffee? Usually we go get pizza after a win, but I’m not really in the mood.”
Dan really wasn’t in the mood to go get coffee with Phil but he was too polite to say yes and he reluctantly agreed.
Since Dan had walked to the school and Phil had driven, they rode to the coffee shop in Phil’s car. It was a little messy and cluttered, but what Dan found really surprising was that the dashboard was covered in random stickers. He couldn’t stop staring at them. Nothing was said between the two, and the drive was rather awkward.
“We’re here,” Phil said.
They were currently in the parking lot of a local coffee shop. It wasn’t that well-known, but it was Dan’s favorite place. Secretly, he was really glad that Phil had picked that place instead of Starbucks.
They went inside and ordered their drinks (well, Phil ordered for Dan after asking Dan what he wanted, and Phil paid) and sat down. At first, nothing was sad, but eventually, Phil broke the silence and he kept on talking. Eventually, Dan forgot himself and joined in, finding Phil really fun to talk to. They had a lot in common and he realized that Phil really was a nice guy.
After that, their friendship only grew, and by the time the opening day for the school musical rolled around, Dan had even managed to develop a small—okay, large—crush on Phil.
Dan’s nerves were soaring high as he prepared to play. Phil was backstage with him just before he had to go out on stage, and he was currently hugging Dan and rubbing his back to calm his nerves.
“You’ll do fine; I’ve heard you play through these songs a thousand times and you’re great,” he said encouragingly.
Dan didn’t buy into what he was saying, but his heart fluttered at his close proximity. “Thanks.”
Before he knew it, it was time for him to step out and play. His nerves grew with each step he took, and even though he wasn’t the stare by any means, it felt like the spotlight was on him as he sat down and started to play the piano. His fingers flew over the keys with little thought from him, and he played flawlessly. In the end, his nerves were for nothing because he’s performance was definitely spectacular.
After the musical, when he and Phil were hanging out backstage, helping the teachers put away all of the props used, Phil pulled him aside and hugged him.
“I know I’ve already congratulated you on your wonderful performance, but I just want you to know how proud I am of you. I know it was hard for you to go out there and do what you did, but you did it and it was awesome.” For some reason, Phil sounded anxious—and Dan knew what anxious sounded like—but Dan ignored that and focused on the words instead of the way they were spoken.
“Thanks, Phil,” Dan said. “That really means a lot to me.” He meant it to; each of Phil’s words sent a whirlwind of butterflies into his stomach and he felt like he needed to pinch himself. A few months back, he would have never guessed that he would be best friends with Phil Lester of all people, but here he was and Phil was being super sweet.
“I—uh,” Phil said, stumbling over his words, sounding really nervous. He pulled away from Dan, scratching his head (which Dan had learned was one of his nervous habits, so Dan knew that he wasn’t just imagining the fretfulness in his voice). “I really like you, Dan.”
Dan was confused. They were best friends; it was quite obvious that they liked each other. Of course, he did briefly consider that Phil meant it in a more romantic way, but Phil was too cool to go for a guy like him.
“I really like you, too, Phil.”
“No—I mean, like, more than a friend.”
“Oh,” Dan said, feeling bashful. A blush rose to his cheeks, and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Stumbling and stuttering, he said, “I like you too, like more than a friend.”
Phil reached down between them and grabbed onto Dan’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Dan was briefly worried about the fact that his hands were super sweaty, but then he realized that Phil’s were, too, and it was probably because they were both really nervous.
“Well that’s good, because I was wondering if you’d want to go on a date with me,” Phil said, smiling. “So, will you go on a date with me, Dan?”
“I would love to.”