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It took Dan five weeks to sum up the courage to ask the cute guy in his English class out. Well, not out out. Just on a date sort of thing. Although, Dan hadn't called it that when he had asked him so he wasn't even sure if it was a date. He was kinda hoping it was though.
Dan had noticed him since the start of term; it was his black sweepy hair that had caught his initial attention. He was sat at the table next to his so Dan could often hear him talking to the guy next to him.
From what he heard, Dan had concluded that the cute guy was a bit weird. Although, you'd kind of expect him to be with his Pokémon backpack and the fact that he actually did up the top button of his shirt. Weird.
Dan often found himself wanting to join in with some of the conversations. He was also a bit of a gaming nerd. When he had heard the cute guy mention an anime he was currently watching and the guy next to him sounding kinda judgy about it, Dan wanted to push him out of the way and talk to the cute guy about Sword Art Online all day.
Although, Dan couldn't do that because one, they were in class, and two, he wouldn't have the balls to do that anyway. Dan was the quiet loser in the back who barely spoke. How was he even supposed to talk to his guy?
During the third week, Dan knew he was developing a slight crush on the guy. Which was completely stupid because he only saw him in English and they had never spoken before. The guy probably hadn't even acknowledged Dan's existence. Which was fine. Dan could deal with that.
Although, as time went on, and the more he overheard the cute guy talk about the most recent Muse album, Dan was finding it harder to stick to his original plan. He soon found himself really wishing he had an excuse to talk to him.
They had no other classes together though and Dan was pretty sure this guy was fairly new because he had never seen him before this term. Or maybe Dan was just that unobservant. But surely he would have noticed this guy? Yeah, he definitely would have.
Dan didn't even know his name until the fourth week when their teacher had told him to stop daydreaming. Dan noticed that he did that a lot. He was often staring out of the window or doodling in his book.
Mrs Clark had stopped her readout of Sonnet 41 to say sharply, "Philip Lester, would you pay attention." Dan's eyes had widened when he saw the cute guy look up, flustered, and quietly apologise.
It was now coming up to Halloween half term and Dan was already feeling down about the fact that he would have to wait a week to see the cute guy again or hear him speak. Jeez, since when was Dan such a creep?
As he was lacking a little in the friendship department, Dan knew it was going to be a long week of doing nothing. Unless.
Unless he actually did something about this little crush.
During the last week before half term, he formed various plans in his head. Most involved finding the guy on FaceBook and messaging him because Dan knew he was too much of a wimp to actually go up to the guy in person.
What if he didn't have FaceBook though? Come on, everyone had it. But what if this guy didn't?
Dan was more or less psyching himself out by Friday. It had gotten to the point where he was thinking about giving up and trying again after half term. Although, even he knew that was bullshit.
English was the last lesson on Friday and Dan was both glad and angry about that at the same time. You know, for obvious reasons.
He didn't pay attention as Mrs Clark analysed one of the shitty poems they were studying. Then again, he never paid that much attention usually.
This time, it was different though.
He tried to listen into the various conversations the cute guy- uh Philip was having with the guy next to him. They were mainly talking about the best Pokémon characters. Well, Philip was. The guy next to him was just nodding along and staring blankly at the board.
Dan heard something at one point and really felt the need to join in with the conversation. Really, he could easily just lean over. Philip was sat closest to him and even though their table was a little in front of his, there was definitely a chance that Dan could just slot himself into the conversation.
"I don't know really." The guy next to Philip was sighing. He really didn't sound like he was enjoying the conversation.
Philip still sounded enthusiastic though as he asked the guy a different question. "Okay, well... What about this one: Charmander or Squirtle?"
Dan's ears pricked. He definitely knew the answer to this one.
"Uh I don't know," The guy groaned, "Charmander?"
No, that wasn't right.
"It's actually Squirtle." Dan found himself saying.
Both heads turned back in his direction. The agitated guy looked even more exasperated and Philip was smiling. Like, actually smiling at Dan.
Dan continued before he had the chance to wimp out, "You would think it's Charmander because it evolves into a freaking dragon. But Squirtle evolves into this badass looking tank thing with cannons. Like, how can you beat that? Especially with all the water moves it can learn to take down a Charmander. Plus, it's cute."
Philip was nodding as soon as Dan had said 'badass'. "Yeah, exactly!" He beamed at Dan.
"Maybe you two can continue this nerd talk then," The other guy moaned and turned back to face the front.
Philip continued to smile at Dan and was apparently waiting for him to say something.
Dan was a little lost for words as he hadn't intended in actually engaging with this guy. Still, he had may as well take advantage of this.
"I'm uh Dan. Are you new here?" He asked quietly.
Philip nodded. "Yeah. New in September. I'm Phil."
Dan hadn't really thought about it before but the name Phil seemed a little weird. Like, it seemed too old for this guy but it also fit him really well at the same time.
"I've seen you around school." Phil continued randomly when Dan hadn't said anything else. "You're in the Maths room next to mine."
Dan blinked. This guy actually knew about his existence?
"Oh. Yeah. Um..." Dan was a little flustered.
"I didn't mean for that to sound quite so creepy," Phil giggled nervously.
"It didn't, don't worry," Dan quickly requited, "I've noticed you around school too."
The worried look left Phil's features and he smiled again. He opened his mouth to say something else but Mrs Clark interrupted, "Philip, face the front. Repeat what I just said."
Phil's face dropped and be turned back to the front.
Dan felt a little bad for getting him in trouble but he was buzzing. He had actually talked to the cute guy. What was the next step? Stalk him on FaceBook?
He took his mind off it by copying down the notes from the board for the last fifteen minutes of class. The others on his table were talking about a Halloween party some guy in their year was hosting.
Dan obviously hadn't been invited so he was blanking the conversation. Although, that reminded him that he was going to have a lonely week off ahead of him. Not that he cared. That much.
The bell rang and Mrs Clark dismissed them, telling them not to relax too much over the break.
Dan started gathering his things together. He was already feeling sorry for himself. His parents would be working all week and unlike him, his brother actually had a social life.
The rest of the class were talking loudly and already leaving the room.
Dan stood up, shoved his bag on and made to follow them out when he stopped.
Phil was standing next to his table with his Pokémon bag on and a smile on his face. "You want to walk to the gate together?" He asked.
Dan was lost for words. All he could do was nod like an idiot with wide eyes.
They walked out of the classroom in silence and made their way down the hallway. When they turned the corner, Phil suddenly said, "Looking forward to the week off?"
"Uh yeah, I guess." Dan shrugged in response. "I'm not doing much."
"No plans?" Phil raised an eyebrow at him.
Dan just shook his head. No use in pretending he was actually cool.
"Why don't you make some then?" Phil carried on quietly. Was he hinting at something?
Dan thought about that and realised that now was the best time to ask him out. Well, maybe not out out. Unless he was into that.
"Did you want to meet up?" He suddenly found himself asking.
They had reached the door and were now walking outside towards the gate.
"Me?" Phil seemed surprised by the question and it was enough to knock Dan's confidence.
"Um if you want. I mean, you don't have to. I just... I'm sorry. I've been wanting to talk to you for ages and I-I... I'll just shut up now."
He quickly started walking away from Phil towards the gate and could really feel embarrassment tears making an entry.
"No, wait!" Phil called after him and jogged to catch up with him.
Dan stopped walking to let Phil join him again. He kept his face towards the ground though.
"You're the first person here to actually ask me to hang out. I was just surprised." Phil regulated his breathing again.
"Really?" Dan's voice was quiet as he dared himself to look up again.
"Yeah." Phil was smiling again and wow, it really was such a happy smile. "I'd love to meet up."
"Cool." Dan tried not to make it too obvious how happy he was. "Are you on FaceBook? I could message you."
Phil was shaking his head. "I'm not. I had to delete it. I'll give you my number instead."
He was then taking his bag off and pulling out a pen.
Dan's brain was a bit behind as he watched him.
When Phil had a pen, he stood up properly again and held out a hand.
When all Dan did was present him a confused expression, Phil said, "Give me your hand."
Dan was even more confused as he held out his left hand and Phil took it in his.
He then started writing down his digits with his other hand on Dan's palm.
"I'll add my name in case you forget," Phil giggled a little.
When he had finished, he let go of Dan's hand and returned his pen back to his bag.
Dan didn't want to say that he could have easily taken his phone out of his pocket so he didn't. He just stared down at the eleven numbers on his hand with "Phil x" next to them. Wait, was that a kiss on the end?
"I've gotta go." Phil slung his bag on again. "My brother's picking me up and he doesn't shut up when I'm late. Text me about meeting up."
He then smiled before turning and going out of the gate.
Dan just stared dumbly after him before looking back down at his hand and smiling.
~
Dan wasn't too sure what to do. He had never been on a date before. Not that this was a date... Didn't stop Dan from partly wishing it was.
He messaged Phil the next day (trying to seem cool by leaving it a day because he was a loser) and asked if he was free the following Monday.
Phil replied within a couple of minutes saying he was free and ending the message with two smiley faces.
Dan, who was used to getting no smiley faces and was now suddenly receiving two in one go, felt stupid butterflies settle in his stomach.
After talking himself into it, he told Phil to meet him at the corner of his street at seven in the evening.
Phil asked why they were meeting so late but Dan wouldn't tell him.
Dan kind of had a plan on what to do but he was scared it would seem creepy or weird. He had always wanted to take someone on this sort of date and even though Phil probably didn't like him like that, Dan was still going to try.
When Monday came, he was practically shitting himself all day. He regretted planning an evening date because it meant a lot of waiting around and worrying.
He was glad his parents either trusted him enough or didn't give a shit to let him go out after seven. Like, sure he was fifteen but there were some dodgy people in the neighbourhood next to his.
He wore his most treasured black skinny jeans and his Muse t-shirt, hoping it would act as an emergency conversation starter. He knew it was getting cold out so he tugged on his black hoodie and left before he could talk himself out of it.
Phil wasn't there yet when he reached the corner so he leant against a sign there and pulled his phone out. It was four minutes to seven and already dark. He was early so no wonder Phil wasn't there yet. Jeez, he knew was eager but he needed to tone it down a little.
"Hey."
Dan looked up from randomly scrolling through Tumblr to see Phil standing in front of him with a nervous smile on his face.
Out of all the things Dan could say, he went with, "You wear glasses?"
Phil automatically touched the rim of his black glasses and nodded. "Yeah. My eyes were acting up today so I didn't put any contacts in. I like your t-shirt."
Dan couldn't stop looking at him. If it was possible, Phil looked even cuter in glasses, and Dan hadn't even thought that was feasible.
Phil frowned after a moment which caused Dan to suddenly remember he was the host of this little get together.
"Oh yeah, thanks." He looked down at his t-shirt before smiling at Phil again. "Okay, so, uh... Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Phil asked as Dan turned.
Dan stopped and thought for a second before saying, "Surprise."
Phil didn't question anymore and they set off.
The walk was quiet for the first few minutes and Dan couldn't tell if it was an uncomfortable silence or not. In the end, he decided to fill the silence just so it didn't sound quite so bad. "So um thanks for agreeing to meet up with me."
They reached the edge of the trees to the little wood near Dan's house. Dan often liked to wander around in there so it seemed fitting to take Phil in. Although, he'd never taken anyone else in there before.
"No problem," Phil was grinning, "I was surprised you asked. You always seemed like the loner in the back that didn't want to talk to anybody."
"Well, yeah," Dan smirked, "But I did want to talk to you." He led Phil past the big oak trees, deeper into the wood.
"Why me?" Phil asked the question Dan had been hoping to avoid.
"Uh..." Dan quickly thought of a way to say it without it sounding incredibly creepy. "I just thought you were cute that's all..." He sideways glanced at his companion.
Phil blinked a few times. "Oh." He eventually smiled shyly, "Thanks."
Dan felt like smashing his head against something, running away and apologising repeatedly all at the same time. Instead, he settled on saying, "That sounded bad. Sorry."
Phil looked at him with wide eyes. "It's fine, honestly. I just didn't expect that either. You're full of surprises."
Dan could feel a blush creeping onto his cheeks so he looked straight ahead again, aware how embarrassed he must seem. They were also coming up to their destination anyway.
"We're here." Dan stopped after a few more minutes and climbed through some bushes without a second thought.
Phil followed mutely behind him.
Dan stopped when he reached the field and looked back at his companion.
Phil stopped as well and Dan quietly assessed his reaction. His eyes were wide with wonder and a small smile was slowly appearing on his lips.
"So uh..." Dan cleared his throat nervously, "I like to come here sometimes just to look at the stars. If you lie on the grass, you get the best view of the sky."
In the near-dark, the field looked almost magical. There was a mix of dandelions and daisies littering the grass and they swayed slightly in the light wind.
Dan walked into the field a little more and sat down in his usual spot.
Phil watched him silently before following him and sitting down next to him.
Dan had already run out of things to say. He lay back on the grass, hoping the stars would do the talking for him.
Even though it was still early, stars were twinkling above him and he smiled at them fondly.
"This is cool." A voice reminded Dan where he was.
He looked over to see Phil gazing up at the sky, slowly lying back as well until he was lay next to him.
"Really?" Dan's voice was small.
Phil turned his head to look and him and nodded as best he could while lying down. "It really is."
"I'm glad you think so." Dan looked back up at the night sky. "I was worried you'd think I was a loser or something."
"You're not a loser." Phil's voice sounded slightly outraged. "You're cool."
Even though it wasn't the most exciting thing to be called, Dan still felt butterflies start up again.
"Plus you know some good Pokémon facts."
A smile spread across Dan's face. "I guess I do."
He started thinking about the situation he was in and why the fuck Phil had agreed to meet up with an almost stranger. Maybe that was the difference between adults and teenagers. Teenagers just didn't give a shit.
After a few minutes of silence, Dan turned his head to look at Phil again. Phil was still staring up at the sky with a smile on his lips.
Dan couldn't help but watch Phil. It was much more interesting than the stars for some reason. Why hadn't he invited him here before?
"Why are you staring at me?" Phil mustered a giggle and turned his head to look at Dan.
Dan had already gone red. "I uh..." He spluttered, wanting Phil to look away again but he wouldn't.
Phil was still smiling though and it was honestly one of the most enthralling smiles Dan had ever seen.
"You're um... Nice to look at," Dan mumbled, looking away out of embarrassment.
He heard Phil giggle again before saying, "Are you saying I'm prettier than a star?"
"What?" Dan had to look at him again.
Phil's smile turned up even more at the corners. "You would rather look at me than the stars. So does that mean I'm prettier than a star?"
It was Dan's turn to chuckle. "If you want."
"I'm prettier than a star!" Phil giggled again and looked back up at the sky.
Dan kept the smile on his face and looked up as well.
"You're pretty too, by the way."
Dan felt himself freeze for a second. He slowly looked at Phil again.
Phil was already looking at him with a nervous smile on his face. "Just to let you know."
"Th-thanks..." Dan wasn't sure what to say. He'd never received a compliment like that before from another guy. Or from anyone really.
"Can I ask you something?" The smile had gone from Phil's face and been replaced with an unsure frown.
"Go ahead," Dan shrugged and found out it was hard to do that while lying down.
Phil's cheeks were tinted pink and he cleared his throat nervously. "You said you wanted to talk to me before because you thought I was cute..."
Dan nodded despite feeling embarrassed again.
"Do uh... Are you gay?" Phil's face was even pinker after asking that and Dan's face was pretty close to following.
Dan looked back to the sky and said quietly. "No... I uh... I like girls too."
"But you like guys?"
Dan nodded. "Yeah."
Phil was silent for too long so Dan looked at him again. Phil had an interested look on his face which wasn't what Dan had expected.
"How did you know? Like... That you liked guys as well?" Phil finally asked.
"Um I don't know... I thought this guy was hot and then yeah... That's it really." Dan wasn't sure what else to say.
"Oh." Phil's expression changed slightly.
"Why do you want to know?" Dan didn't know if this was prying or not but he went with it anyway.
Phil bit his lip and sighed, looking at the stars again. "Isn't it obvious?" He said quietly.
Dan understood what he meant but he kind of wanted him to say it himself.
When Dan didn't say anything, Phil finally gave in. "I think I like guys too but I'm unsure."
Dan stayed silent until Phil finally looked at him again.
"Maybe I could help." Dan had no idea what he was implying but he smiled a little anyway.
Phil stared at him blankly for a few seconds before nodding and suddenly leaning in.
Dan only managed to make a surprised noise as Phil's lips touched his. It took a lot to understand what was happening. They had just been talking a moment ago. How the fuck had they moved onto kissing? Either way, Dan didn't give a shit.
He kissed Phil back as soon as he had clarified that this wasn't actually a dream. Although, it wasn't long until Phil pulled away again with a thoughtful expression.
Dan couldn't help but stare at him, interested in what the actual fuck was happening.
"That was nice." The small smile made its way onto Phil's face again.
"I uh... Yeah..." Dan was all over the place. He tried to tell himself to snap out of it but let's face it, he was never the smoothest of people.
Phil still looked analytical as he said, "Have you ever kissed someone before?"
"Well I have now," Dan couldn't help but smirk despite himself.
Phil's eyes widened slightly. "Was that your first kiss? Oh, I'm sorry!"
Dan quickly cut in, "It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Phil still looked unsure. "It was mine too."
"Oh." Dan wasn't sure what to say.
"Sorry about that." Phil was continuing anyway, "I just wanted to try it... With you."
Dan was vaguely aware that they were still lying down in a field in the woods at eight pm but he ignored those facts.
"Me?"
Phil sat up and stretched. "Yeah. I was wondering if your lips were as nice as they looked."
"And?" Dan sat up as well.
Phil smiled at him. "They were nicer." He had gone shy all of a sudden and you wouldn't have thought he had kissed Dan a few minutes ago.
"Yours were nice too." Dan had completely given up on trying to act 'cool'. Especially as he had been doing so well before.
"I'm sorry though. You probably think I'm so weird. We only talked for the first time on Friday. You were just being nice and wanted to meet up and then I went and kissed you. I'm sorry." Phil was apparently annoyed at himself.
"Hey, it's okay." Dan placed a hand on his shoulder. "I wasn't going to say no even if you'd asked first."
Phil blushed slightly at the contact and smiled. "Well... Can I kiss you again? Just to make sure of something..."
Dan smirked. "Yeah, okay." He really wasn't about to decline.
Phil smiled a little more and leaned in, pressing his lips against Dan's again.
Dan reacted quicker this time and kissed him back, still not really believing this was happening.
They both pulled away after a very long minute, needing to breathe.
"Okay. I'm certain now," Phil suddenly said.
Dan frowned. "Of what?"
"That I like guys," Phil clarified before blushing again. "And especially you."
"Oh." Dan couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face. "I like you too."
He then suddenly found confidence himself and leant in again, lingering on Phil's lips.
"It's getting late. We should probably go." Dan breathed over Phil's lips, making him shiver.
"O-okay." Phil stuttered, kissing Dan quickly before pulling away and standing up.
Dan stood up as well and they started the walk back to Dan's road.
The walk was silent like it had been on the way there but this time, something hung in the air.
By the time they reached the corner they had met at, Dan stopped and faced his companion.
"I had a nice time. Thanks for agreeing to meet up with me. I thought I wouldn't be seeing anyone this week."
"How come?" Phil frowned, seemingly interested.
Dan kicked the floor a little with his heel. "I don't have that many friends that's all."
"Me either," Phil said quietly, smiling, "I had a nice time too. Maybe we could meet up again this week? You could come over to my house and we could watch films or something. If you want."
Dan was already nodding before Phil had finished his sentence. "Yeah, yeah. I'd like that."
Phil's smile grew. "I'll message you then."
"Okay. Cool," Dan returned his smile.
Phil went to go but then stopped and bit his lip, thinking.
Dan waited to see what he would do. Although, he had a feeling he knew what Phil was contemplating.
In the end, Phil muttered, "Screw it," and practically grabbed Dan's face and pulled it towards his own.
Dan made another super attractive noise before closing his eyes and kissing Phil back. He was definitely glad he had butt-in on his Pokémon conversation on Friday.