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Dan has graduated from NYU and needs to find a place to live in New York with very little money. Cue a cute coffee shop barista who happens to have exactly what Dan needs. This was written for the Phandom Reverse Bang. Thank you to my amazing beta, Tasha @yourfreindlyblogstalker. Check out the artwork by @candanandphilnot here.
Read on AO3
Dan walked into a coffee shop he had never heard of before. He normally went to Starbucks, but a friend had recommended this place. So, Dan figured he would try it. He looked around. The place looked like all the pretentious coffee shops he saw on instagram, he didn’t know what else he expected, most of his friends were pretentious. That’s what he gets for being a drama major at one of the most prestigious arts universities in the world, NYU. Dan walked up to the man behind the counter. He was about Dan’s height with pale skin and jet black hair.
“What would you like?” the man asked.
“Black coffee,” Dan said.
The man raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised by the simple order. Dan figured this was probably the kind of place where people ordered their coffee down to the degree it should be served. “Coming right up,” he said.
Dan sat down at a table toward the back and took out his phone. It was late afternoon, so there weren’t many people there. According to the sign posted in the window, the place was closing in about fifteen minutes.
The man gave Dan his coffee in a to-go cup, then he started cleaning the store.
“I can go, if I’m in the way,” Dan said.
“It’s alright. It’s nice having company. No one usually comes in at this time.”
Dan nodded, and the man continued wiping down the counters and tables then started singing along to the music playing on the radio. Dan tried to hold back the laugh trying to escape from his throat, but he couldn’t.
The man snapped back to reality. “Sorry,” he said.
Dan noticed that a blush had spread across the man’s face. “Don’t be.”
“Like I said, people usually aren’t here now.”
“So, you forgot I was here.”
“Not possible.”
Dan raised his eyebrows at the man, and the man must have just processed what he had said.
“I should probably go,” Dan said, starting to stand up, “Let you get back to work.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Dan sat back down. Another song came on. Dan recognized it, Time is Running Out by Muse, and started bopping along to it.
“You like this song?” the man asked.
“Yeah, Muse is one of my favorite bands.”
“Mine too. My name is Phil, by the way.”
“Dan.”
“Nice to meet you Dan.” Phil was just about done cleaning the store. He still needed to wipe down the table Dan was sitting at, and probably mop the floor, but he couldn’t do either of those things while Dan was still there.
“Nice to meet you too. I’m going to go now and let you finish closing.”
Phil looked disappointed. “Maybe I’ll see you again.”
Dan nodded. He didn’t want to commit to anything. This wasn’t really his kind of place, but he did want to see Phil again. Dan left the coffee shop and headed back to his apartment.
His apartment was actually his parents’ apartment. Although it may as well have been his, since his parents were rarely there. Except for today. When Dan walked through the door, he saw both of them at the kitchen table, and his mother must have cooked because there was pot roast on the stove and three plates on the table.
“Hi,” Dan said.
“Hello,” his Dad said.
“Is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine,” his mom said, “sit down, Daniel. We need to have a chat.”
Dan sat.
“Daniel,” his dad said, “your mother and I have been talking, and we think it’s time for you to start looking for your own place.”
“What?”
“Well, you’ve finished university now. You’re an adult. You can’t live with us forever.”
“I know, but where am I supposed to go? I can’t afford to live on my own.”
“You have some money saved, you’re working, and your dad and I can help out a little at least for a month or two,” his mom continues.
Dan didn’t know what to say, not that it mattered, he realized the conversation was over when his mother got up and started serving dinner.
After dinner, Dan went up to his room and spent the better part of the night on the computer looking up apartments online. None of them were in his price range.
The next morning, well, afternoon, Dan found himself in front of Phil’s coffee shop. That wasn’t the name of it, but it’s how Dan had started thinking of it.
The coffee shop was relatively empty. There were a few people as far away from the door as possible. Dan thought they must be aspiring screenwriters because their heads were buried in their laptops. He walked up to the counter and was about to order a black coffee, when Phil asked him what was wrong. Dan was trying to hide how upset he was. He used to think he was good at hiding his emotions, but obviously he wasn’t since this practically stranger could see through him. Dan was about to say “nothing,” but he ended up blabbing to Phil about the entire conversation he and his parents had the night before. Phil listened patiently.
After Dan had finished, Phil said, “Do you want to come over? My shift is over. I have to wait for my cover to get here, but once she does we can go.” Against Dan’s better judgment, he agreed. A smile spread across Phil’s face, “Great.”
Right on cue, a girl walked up behind Phil. She had clearly come from the staff entrance. Phil greeted the girl, then said “I’m just going to make something and then I’ll get out of your way.” The girl nodded. Dan stood off to the side near the door while he waited for Phil. A few minutes later, Phil came out from behind the counter. He had taken his apron off and he was holding two to-go cups. He held one out to Dan. “Caramel Macchiato. On me.”
“Thanks,” Dan said. Phil nodded and then they left.
When Dan and Phil got to Phil’s apartment, Dan couldn’t believe it. Phil lived in a two-bedroom apartment on the upper west side. Just the living room was at least the size of his parents’ whole apartment. “Make yourself at home,” Phil said. Dan sat on the couch and noticed Phil’s entertainment system. He had a wall-mounted, flat-screen TV along with several video game consoles on the table underneath, and stacks of video games on either side.
“I never want to leave this place,” Dan joked.
“You don’t have to.” Phil said, sitting down next to him. He wasn’t joking.
“What?” Dan said.
“Stay here. With me.”
“I can’t afford this place.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“What do you mean don’t worry about it? I can’t just stay here and not pay rent.”
“I don’t pay rent here either. My parents bought it for me.”
“So, I can just stay here? For free?”
“If you want to.”
“Of course I want to, but…”
“But…”
“Well, what’s in it for you?”
“What would be in it for me?”
“I don’t know, but you don’t pay rent, so you don’t want a roommate for money. So, why do you?”
Phil took a deep breath. “Company.” The simple answer caught Dan off guard. Phil continued, “I never had a real friend before, at least not since I was a kid. I was getting to the point where I was about to put an ad up on Craigslist.” Despite his best efforts, Dan couldn’t hold back the chuckle that escaped from his throat. Phil rolled his eyes. “Anyway, when you came into the shop, I really wanted to be friends with you, but I could tell it wasn’t your kind of place…”
“How?”
“I could tell you were hesitant when I asked if I would see you again. So, when I saw you today, I didn’t want to lose the chance again.”
Dan took all of this in. “But, why me? We don’t even know each other.”
“I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character, and I know we have the same tastes in music and coffee. Which are the only two things I really care about.”
Dan laughed. “And video games.”
“Do you want to play?”
“Always.”
“What game?”
Dan ran his eyes over Phil’s collection. “Mario Kart.”
Phil set it up, and they spent the rest of the afternoon playing. Dan won more often than not. Around 8pm, Dan said he should probably get going.
“When will I see you again?”
“Are you working tomorrow?” Phil shook his head. “So, when can I move in?”
Phil’s face lit up. “Seriously? You want to?”
“Yeah. I mean I need to let my parents know first, but since they want me to move out anyway, I don’t think it will be an issue.”
Phil jumped up and hugged him, nearly toppling both of them over. Dan grabbed onto Phil’s shoulders to steady himself. “I’ll see you soon.” He was about to walk out the door when Phil stopped him. “What?”
“We don’t have each other’s numbers.” Dan took out his phone and handed it to Phil. Phil put his number in Dan’s phone. “Text me, so I have yours as well.”
Dan nodded and texted Phil. Phil’s phone buzzed. “I’ll see you soon,” Dan said. Then he left.
When Dan got home, his parents were watching TV in the living room. “Hi,” he called.
“Hello,” his mom said.
“How’s apartment hunting going?” his dad asked.
“Good, I think I found a place.”
“Really?”
“Yeah”
“Where?”
“Upper West Side”
Dan’s parents looked at each other. “Who’s paying for that?” Mr. Howell asked.
“A friend.”
“Since when do you have friends who live on the upper west side?”
“Since when do you know any of my friends?” Dan shot back.
“Daniel! Show some respect.”
“Can’t handle the truth? You haven’t given a shit about me for as long as I can remember. As soon as I was able to take care of myself, you expected me to be an adult.
“That’s not true, Dan.” his mom said.
“Really? So, why did I have to get a job when I was fourteen? Why have I always been home alone after school since I was seven? Why are you insisting that I move out of a place that you’re hardly ever in?” When Dan finished, he ran up to his room and slammed the door, leaving his parents in the living room dumbfounded. He knew he was being childish, but he also knew that if he kept going, he was going to cry, and he was not about to give his father the satisfaction of seeing that. When Dan regained his composure, he texted Phil.
Dan: Can I move in tomorrow?
Phil: Sure, but are you going to be able to pack everything by then?
Dan: Do you want to help? ;)
Phil: Of course! What time?
Dan: 11
That was enough time that he would be awake and his parents wouldn’t be home.
Phil: See you then :)
Dan smiled to himself and texted Phil his address.
The next morning, Dan woke up to an empty house as expected. His parents typically left for work around 7, and it was already 10. Dan got up and got himself some breakfast before brushing his teeth and taking a shower. By the time he was done it was a quarter to 11. Phil would be there any minute. At five to 11, Dan heard a knock at the door. He opened it and saw Phil standing on the other side. He was holding a bunch of flat cardboard boxes.
“Hi,” Phil said.
“Hi,” Dan said, stepping back so Phil could walk through. “You brought your own boxes?”
“I figured you didn’t have since this was so last minute.”
Dan felt his face heat up. He couldn’t believe how well Phil knew him already.
Phil looked around the apartment, and Dan was suddenly conscious about how small the apartment was compared to Phil’s. “Do you want anything? Coffee? Water?”
“I’m fine, thanks. Should we get started?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Dan said, heading towards his bedroom. It only took them a couple of hours to pack everything. Dan didn’t have that much stuff, and he figured he could leave his video games since Phil had all the same ones and more. Dan had gotten a couple of suitcases and threw his clothes and sheets in them. They had packed everything in Phil’s car and were standing on the sidewalk in front of Phil’s car. Dan was seriously considering just leaving and not telling his parents, but then Phil asked if his parents knew he was leaving. Dan considered lying and saying yes, but he knew Phil would be able to see right through him. He shook his head.
“Dan! You have to tell them!”
“Why? It will probably take them at least a week to even notice I’m gone.”
“That can’t be true.”
“It is.”
“Dan. Tell them.”
“Fine.” Dan pulled out his phone and texted his parents that he was moving out. He wanted to send a snarky comment along with it, but he knew Phil was reading the text over his shoulder. “Sent.” Dan said. Phil nodded, and they got in his car and drove to his apartment.
After only a few days, Phil’s apartment, well now his apartment, felt more like home then his parents’ place ever did to him. Especially since Dan didn’t have to worry about rent. He spent some of his time searching for auditions, usually when Phil was working at the coffee shop. The rest of the time he just ate, slept, and played video games. It was exactly how he thought adult life would be when he was a child. He never expected it to actually happen though. Phil got home from the coffee shop a few hours later. He was holding a box. “What’s that?” Dan asked.
“A present.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes I do.”
Dan opened the box and saw a Cartier watch. “Phil, I can’t accept this.”
“Of course you can.”
“Why would you do this for me?”
Instead of answering, Phil leaned in and kissed Dan. The kiss caught Dan off guard at first, but after a few seconds, he was kissing Phil back. “That’s why”
“Phil! You don’t have to buy me expensive watches for me to kiss you!”
“I want to.”
A smile spread across Dan’s face. “Come here.” Phil was already right in front of him, so he took a step closer to Dan. Dan kissed Phil harder than before.
“Wow,” Phil said after Dan had pulled away.
“You don’t need to buy me anything for me to kiss you.”
“Ok.”
“What’s wrong?”
Phil sighed. “It’s just that with every relationship I’ve been in, the person always expected stuff, you know? Someone finds out that money is no object and then they expect you to buy them the moon.”
“I don’t want the moon, Phil. Just you. I love you.”
Is that what you want people to think about you? No. You want them to think you’re great! And you are!
Stop telling people about how crappy your art is or how bad your writing is or how you’re stupid at math. Stop apologizing for not being perfect. No one is. You don’t have to apologize for being human.
The next time you type, “Sorry this sucks, but-” or “I know it’s not any good, but-” or “You don’t have to look at my stuff because it’s awful but-” delete that part of your sentence and leave whatever’s left. Give people the chance to enjoy what you made or be proud of what you accomplished before you tell them they should be disappointed.
Something I’ve been enforcing on a Discord server I’m on (the r/fanfiction server, it’s really nice) is The Jar™.
Think of it like a swear jar. If you say you “suck”, or anything along those lines (to be interpreted however your friends like), you have to pay the jar.
The payment? One (1) positive thing about your writing, or writing 100 words on your current wip. I tried to bump it down to “a sentence”, coincidentally (hah) after the “should be writing” jar got implemented too and thrown at me, but that got vetoed. >.>
So, either you say something to counter the negativity, or you have to make more stuff (and thus improve).
Also works for art btw, just swap out the 100 words for an art equivalent.
If you feel like you can’t just leave out the ‘I suck’ substitute it for a neutral statement. I often say something about the work process “it took me a long time to come up with this” “this is a quick sketch in class” “this was an idea I had while on the bus”.
It’s an easy “filler” that (for me) takes a bit less courage than immediately jumping to the things I like about it, and it gives me some perspective and helps me appreciate it more. What didn’t I like about this? Was it because it’s a rough sketch? Well I did this in 10mins, so that’s pretty good for that. Did I expect to write more in these 3 hours? Maybe, but that was a lot of work.
And it does the same for people who see your work. Knowing an artists/writers/etc creative process helps me appreciate their art too. Knowing whether something was easy or difficult or took a long time invokes different feelings. If you feel like you need to put yourself down so your audience will be gentle with you, don’t! Do something like this instead
Also, feelings are feelings and it’s your art, your words, your blogs. But when folks who are just learning and have far less skill than you do see things like “I suck and this art is horrible” but they’re really impressed, it can really leave them worrying that they’re not good enough.
Once again, I just appreciate him making such an open video SO MUCH. It's so eye opening hearing all the things he was going through the last few years, many of which we knew nothing about..
it just makes me realize what a strong person he is, how much he actually does think of his job and never takes his position in life lightly, and how much he thinks about what he wants to put out there and how he wants to present himself to us.
Hearing about his family struggles and his struggles with anxiety and work these last few years put so many things in perspective for me. It's so easy to look at his videos and just think that all he's doing sometimes is making silly, easy to watch videos to keep his channel going (don't get me wrong, I ADORE these videos), but realizing how much of his private life and struggles he censors to create exactly the experience he wants us to get from his channel is really eye opening to me. It'd probably be easier (if not more successful, even, going by how many popular vlogging channels there are) to fall back on sharing everything and getting people involved in his private life, but he doesn't want that. It's so nice that he lets us see glimpses of his personal life but I respect his work ethic and actual real ambition to create specific content (no matter how chill or simple it looks at times) so much!
This gentle reminder of how much effort and thought he puts into who he is to us and what he shares and how much he works was so important to me. I honestly respect him so much for the way he manages his career and the way he's never taking it for granted, treating his own content with the respect and thoughtfulness it deserves
phil still managed to be nothing but a ray of sunshine during his ENTIRETY of his career despite in the background dealing with an explosive rise to fame just as his dad got sick, investing their live savings into an uncertain career path, bridging the social media age with the traditional media, management and creative freedom issues, deaths in the family, and learning how to be their own managers and business owners. all because he wanted to make people happen no matter what was going on in his personal life. this man fucking radiates nothing but light and goodness and i appreciate him so damn much
a reminder that dan and phil aren't disappearing, or abandoning us and that both of them have said that with their own words. the vibe i keep getting from them is so hopeful and bright and just...ready? they're taking space to heal, to grow, and they're still planning on taking us along for that journey, but now they're being more authentic with us and trying to establish boundaries and parameters that will make things feel better for them and, therefore, better for us. they like...trust us again. they want to be authentic. phil wants to follow his dreams and dan wants to be a mental health ambassador and an lgbtq+ activist and they want to be youtubers too because they love it and us, but they want to be healthy about it and i am so, so proud of them. dan and phil are so smart and so caring and they love us so much, and now its time to just trust them, because everything that has happened since june 13th has felt so right. the future is bright
“i didn’t really talk about it online at the time, as i wanted my online presence to be something that you guys can come to forget your worries rather than taking on mine. while this was all going on, it made it harder as on the outside, it just looked like i wasn’t planning anything new when in fact, i was trying to work on stuff at the same time. when you’re working on something, you don’t wanna be annoying and be like, “secret project coming in three months!” it’s better to wait until you have something interesting to share or just “beyoncé” it. the problem is when you suddenly announce it, some people will just think it was just an easy, breezy task that just magically appeared. it is never a breezy task. this made me realize that people only know what’s happening in your life if you’re talking about it online, as there’s so many daily vloggers and people that share the most intimate juices of their life. and seeing everything in that person’s life is totally normal. so whether i’m keeping what i’m going through or what i’m working in private, it can seem like from the outside that nothing’s happening at all. sometimes i wish people knew that i was having a hard time with my family or overwhelmed with work. like one time, we spent ages working on a dan and phil travel series, that we spent months working on. we had a whole crew assembled, we pitched it to people, and it was ready to go when the people that commissioned said their plans had changed. that we’d have to wait a year to film it, which totally clashed with all our other plans and we just had to let it go. so yeah, i guess there is more to life than what someone’s posting on social media and you never really know what someone is going through or what they’re working on.”
Summary: Dan was looking forward to his school trip to Disney World with his friends for over a year, but his friends are closer to each other than Dan. So, Dan ends up rooming with an older student, Phil. Dan may end up with a new friend or maybe something more.
Word Count: 3672
Beta: @phillies-quiff
A/N: This fic was written for the @phandomreversebang based on the art and prompt from @billacookie. Check out the art here. Read on A03.
Dan was antsy as he deplaned in Florida. He had been looking forward to this trip for over a year now. All the GCSE and A-level students could go to Disney during the winter half-term. He couldn’t go last year because he was only in year 9. The school somehow passed the trip off as being educational. No one really bought that it actually was. Dan was convinced that included the administration. Once they all got through customs and baggage claim, they took a shuttle bus to the hotel.
Once they got to the hotel, everyone sat down in clusters with their friends, waiting impatiently. Except for a Year 13, Dan recognized as Phil Lester. Dan didn’t know much about him other than his name. Phil was sitting on the floor against the wall, staring at his phone. Dan must have been staring because Phil looked up and caught Dan’s eye. Dan looked away, trying to tune back into the conversation his friends, Logan and Adam, were having. Their chaperone, Mrs. Miller, called for everyone’s attention. “Before you head up to your rooms, I just want to go over some rules for this week…” Dan tuned the rest out. He knew what she was going to say, be respectful of the people around you, keep the noise to a respectable volume, don’t walk around by yourself, blah, blah, blah. The rules have been the same for every school trip Dan has been on since primary school. Dan snapped back to reality when he heard Mrs. Miller call his name.
“Ooh.” His friends said, although not actually loud enough for anyone else to hear. Dan elbowed Logan before getting up and walking over to Mrs. Miller.
“Yes, Miss?” Dan said.
“Daniel,” she said, “there’s been a bit of confusion with your room.” Dan waited for her to continue. “Well, on your form, you said you wanted to room with Logan.”
“Yes…”
“Logan said he wanted to room with Adam, and Adam put Logan on his form.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get this sorted. You can have a seat.”
Dan went back and sat down.
“What was that about, mate?” Adam asked.
“Nothing.” Dan said staring at the floor. He saw Logan and Adam look at each other and shrug out of the corner of his eye.
Mrs. Miller went through the rest of the forms. She got through most of the pairs before she got back to Dan.
“Daniel,” she said, “you’re going to room with Philip.”
Dan and Phil both got up and walked over to Mrs. Miller.
“What?” Dan said.
“I know it’s not typical to put two different years together, but there aren’t that many sixth form students this year, and Philip, you said you didn’t mind who you roomed with, correct?” It wasn’t really a question, and they all knew it.
“Yes, Miss,” Phil said.
“Good.” Mrs. Miller handed Phil their room keys, and they got their luggage and headed towards their room.
After everyone got their room assignments, they had a couple of hours to settle in before they went to dinner. When they got to the room, Dan put his suitcase next to one of the beds, then flopped onto it, rolled over, and stared at the ceiling. He turned his head and saw Phil unpacking.
“You should unpack, too,” Phil said.
Dan grunted in response.
“So, how did you end up with me as your roommate?” Phil was asking just to make conversation. There was nothing unkind about his tone.
Normally, Dan would’ve made some noncommittal response, but for some reason he wanted to tell Phil the truth. “I only have two mates, and they decided to room with each other.” “What about you?”
“None of my mates wanted to go. They think we’re too old for Disney”
“You’re never too old for Disney.”
“That’s what I said!”
Dan couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.
A little while later, they went downstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Dan met up with his friends who were sitting with a few other people from their year, while Phil went and sat with some of the girls from his year. Dan tried to be involved in the conversation his friends were having, but it clearly started before he got there, and he was having trouble keeping up. He kept sneaking glances over at Phil, who seemed to be having a good time, laughing at something one of the girls said. Dan wished he knew why he was so drawn to him. There was just something magnetic about Phil that Dan couldn’t put his finger on.
“Dan,” someone said. He couldn’t quite tell whose voice it was. Dan snapped back to reality.
“You alright, mate?” Adam asked.
“Yeah,” Dan lied. No one pushed him on it. His friends continued their conversation. Dan tried to participate more now. But every once in a while, he caught a glimpse of Phil in his peripheral vision.
Breakfast the next morning was pretty much the same. Dan pretended to be interested in his friends’ conversation, but he kept sneaking glances over at Phil. The only difference was the reminder not to walk around the park alone, and that lunch and dinner would not be provided. They were going to Epcot today.
Everyone got on the shuttle bus. Once they got to the park, Mrs. Miller told them they had to meet back where they were at 9:30pm to go back to the hotel. They all got off the bus and split up into their groups. Dan and his friends just walked around aimlessly. There weren’t really any rides at Epcot, so there wasn’t a lot to do. They saw a few characters. Dan wanted to get signatures from a few of them, especially Jasmine, but he knew his friends would never let him hear the end of it if he did.
Eventually, Dan got hungry. He asked his friends where they wanted to go.
“What about the fish shop?” Logan said.
“Really?” Dan said. “We can get fish and chips anytime. What about the Japanese place?”
Logan and Adam both made disgusted faces.
Dan rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll go to the Japanese place, and you guys can go to the fish shop and we’ll meet after.”
“You can’t walk around by yourself, mate,” Adam said.
“So, walk me there, and then I won’t be walking alone.”
Logan and Adam shrugged, but all three of them walked to the Japanese place. Once they got there, Dan asked them again if they were sure they didn’t want to join him.
They both said they were sure. So, Dan went inside and Logan and Adam headed off. Dan was about to ask the hostess for a table for one, but then he saw Phil sitting with the same people he sat with at dinner the night before. Phil got up and headed toward Dan.
“You’re not allowed to walk around by yourself, you know?” Phil said.
“Funny,” Dan said sarcastically.
“Where are your mates?”
“They’re boring. They wanted fish and chips.”
“Why? We can get fish and chips any time.”
“Right?”
After a beat, Phil said “You can join us if you want. We have an extra chair.”
“Thanks”
Phil nodded and headed back to the table. Dan followed him. Once they both sat down, Phil introduced Dan to everyone. Then he said, “We got every type of sushi to share.”
“Sounds good.”
The food arrived not too long after that. Everyone was eating and talking. Dan felt much more comfortable around Phil and his friends than he ever did around his own.
The meal was winding down. The waitress came over and asked if they wanted anything else, which they didn’t. They were all stuffed from the sushi. Once they paid, they got up, Phil waited for his friends to walk ahead, then he said, “You can hang out with us if your friends ditched you.”
“Thanks, but they said they would meet me here when they were done.”
Phil nodded, and they walked outside. Adam and Logan were there.
“Finally,” Logan said, “we’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”
Phil cocked an eyebrow at Dan. Dan ignored Logan’s comment. “Guys, this is Phil,”
“Alright?” they all said at the same time.
Dan saw Phil look at all of them. “See you around, mate” Phil said, then he jogged to catch up to his friends.
“Mate?” Adam asked.
Dan shrugged and tried to act nonchalant, but he was just as confused. Phil Lester was his mate?
The rest of the day was uneventful. They continued to walk around aimlessly. When Adam and Logan got hungry and wanted to go to the fish shop again, Dan didn’t even put up a fight. He was still full from the sushi. They got back on the bus to the hotel not too long after that.
Dan woke up the next morning. Once his eyes focused, he saw Phil at the desk on his laptop. He had obviously showered already since his hair was wet. Phil must have noticed Dan staring. Phil turned to Dan and they exchanged good mornings.
“How did you sleep?” Phil asked.
“Good, you?”
“Alright. I couldn’t really sleep because I was excited about today.”
Dan gave Phil a confused look. They were going to Animal Kingdom today. Which in Dan’s opinion was by far the least interesting park. “Really?”
“Yeah. I just want to see all the animals. Maybe befriend a giraffe.”
Dan laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“Shut up,” Phil said although he was laughing too at this point.
Once they had both calmed down, Phil said, “Seriously though, I really do love animals. I wanted to be a vet.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I even worked at a vet clinic for work study in Year Ten, but I passed out when the vet did surgery on a dog’s jaw”
“That sounds traumatizing”
“It was, but at least I learned that being a vet wasn’t for me. Have you thought about what you want to do for work study?”
“Not really. I probably should, I only have a couple of months now. Although, knowing myself, I’m probably going to submit the form at the last minute and just get stuck with whatever everyone else didn’t want.”
“Well, what do you want to do?”
“I want to be an actor, but what are the chances of that actually happening?”
“You never know. It could happen.”
“I guess. We should probably go downstairs for breakfast.”
“Alright.” Phil closed his laptop and they both got up, and headed down to the lobby.
They didn’t have as much freedom to wander around as they did the day before. There was only so much to do at Animal Kingdom. They all went on the Safari first thing. Phil and his friends were at the front, and Dan and his friends were at the back. Dan was looking at Phil more than he was at the animals. Fortunately, Phil was so enthralled by the animals, he was completely oblivious to everything else. They did see a giraffe. Phil looked disappointed that he couldn’t get any closer to it. After the Safari, they could technically walk around on their own, but there weren’t really any rides. All the shows had specific times, so they all pretty much stayed together the whole day.
On the bus on the way back to the hotel, Logan said, “What’s up with you and Lester?”
“What are you on about?”
“You’ve been staring at him all day.”
Dan blushed. “No, I haven’t,” he said even though he knew it was true.
“Yes, you have. You have a thing for him or something?”
“No,” Dan said defensively. Then he turned to the window to make it clear the conversation was over. He didn’t turn his head until they got back to the hotel, and he felt Logan get out of the seat.
Once Dan got off the bus. He stormed up to his room. He tried to unlock the door with his key card, but it wouldn’t take it. Phil was next to him a few moments later.
“Dan what’s wrong?” Phil got out his own key card and unlocked the door. He held it open for Dan.
“Nothing.” Dan walked through the doorway and flopped onto the bed.
“Dan…”
“It’s stupid.” Dan rolled over facing away from Phil.
Phil waited for Dan to continue.
“My friends think I have a thing for you” Dan mumbled.
Dan rolled on to his back. He really didn’t want to see Phil’s reaction, but he did out of the corner of his eye. Phil looked at him wide-eyed.
Dan turned over and buried his face in the pillow. A few moments later, Dan felt the mattress move. The next thing he knew, Phil was rubbing his back.
“It’s alright, Dan.” Phil continued to rub his back.
Before Dan knew it, it was the next morning. Dan looked over at the other bed. Fortunately, Phil was still asleep. Dan went into the bathroom to get ready for the day. When he got out, Phil was sitting up on the bed. Dan tried to not make eye contact with him. Dan spent the rest of the morning on his laptop. When it was time to go downstairs, he didn’t even wait for Phil like he had the past two days.
Dan did a pretty good job of avoiding Phil for most of the day. At least until he went to Space Mountain. Phil was ahead of him in line. It didn’t take long for his friends to spot Phil too. When Logan did, he called out, “Hey, Dan! It’s your boyfriend!” A bunch of other people from their year who were waiting in line laughed. Dan wouldn’t let himself catch Phil’s eye, so he had no idea what his reaction was. Dan got out of line and started power walking as fast as he could away from everybody. “It was a joke, mate,” Adam called after him. He had no idea where he was going. He just needed to get away from everyone. It didn’t take long for a shadow to fall over him. Dan knew exactly who it was without turning around.
“Dan! Stop!” Phil said.
“Fuck off”
“I can’t. You’re not allowed to walk around by yourself.”
Dan slowed down and let Phil catch up. “Why do you care?”
“They were talking about me too. You realize that, right?”
Now Dan stopped. It hadn’t even occurred to him how Phil felt. “I’m sorry”
“You don’t need to apologize, Dan. Just talk to me. Come on.” Phil led Dan to an empty bench, and they sat down. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
Dan looked up and tilted his head back, bracing himself for what he was about to say. “I like you.”
“I like you too”
“You do?” Dan looked at Phil for what felt like the first time in days.
Phil nodded.
They kissed. It was short and sweet. When they pulled apart, Dan had a smile spread across his face. He looked over at Phil and saw the same expression. Dan couldn’t believe it actually happened. He kissed Phil Lester.
“My offer still stands by the way,” Phil said.
“What?”
“If you don’t want to hang out with your friends, you can hang out with me.”
“Thanks.”
Dan and Phil spent the rest of the day together. He didn’t see Logan and Adam once until they were getting on the shuttle.
“Mate, what happened to you?” Adam asked.
“Pft, like you care?
Neither Adam nor Logan responded.
Finally, Adam said “We’re sorry.”
“You don’t even know what you’re apologizing for”
Adam started to say something, but Dan cut him off, “Forget it, mate.”
They all got on to the shuttle. Adam and Logan took their usual seats towards the back of the bus. Dan sat up front with Phil. Dan stared out the window for most of the ride back to the hotel. Phil was talking to some people from his year. Dan was content. He would have to make up with Adam and Logan at some point but not tonight.
Dan practically jumped out of bed the next morning. Phil was already up and laughed when Dan nearly fell over.
“Excited?” Phil said
“Shut up” Dan had a smile on his face though.
They both got ready and headed downstairs. They were going to Magic Kingdom again today.
Once they got off the bus, they decided to go on Space Mountain, since they never actually got to the day before. After that they were just trying to find rides that didn’t have ridiculously long lines. Phil somehow convinced Dan to go on Splash Mountain. After they got off, Dan was trying desperately to dry off to no avail. They walked around aimlessly for a little while.
“I don’t know why you thought that was a good idea,” Dan whined, wringing out his shirt again in a desperate attempt to dry off and get the chill out of him.
“Splash Mountain is fun”
“Yeah, when it’s 30 degrees out and you dry off in five minutes. Not in the middle of winter, when it’s barely room temperature.”
They walked past a gift shop.
“Here,” Phil said, “we can buy some new clothes”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“We’ll look like tourists.”
“We are tourists.”
“No one else needs to know that.”
Phil gave Dan a look.
“At least not before we start talking.”
Phil rolled his eyes and dragged Dan inside the gift shop. They both bought new outfits, although they way Dan was acting about it, you would’ve thought Phil was demanding that he walk around naked. Dan didn’t typically wear colors other than black or white, but they were in Disney world. If there’s ever a time to wear bright colors, this was it. By the time, Dan stopped acting like a toddler, they were both starving. They just went to the first restaurant they saw.
When they were done it was nearly 9 o’clock. Dan and Phil both wanted to see the fireworks show, so they headed to Cinderella’s Castle. The show started. They both stared at the fireworks as if they were five year olds seeing them for the first time. Once the last firework went off, Phil pulled Dan in for a kiss.
“That was incredible,” Dan said.
“The fireworks or me?” Phil said cheekily.
Dan slapped Phil on the arm playfully. “Both,” he admitted.
After the fireworks show, it was time to go back to the hotel.
Today was their last full day at Disney. Tomorrow they would be packing up the last of their stuff and getting on a plane to go home. Dan couldn’t believe how fast the week went. Once they were on the shuttle, Phil told Dan that he had a surprise for him.
“I hate surprises,” Dan whined, “just tell me.”
“Nope.”
Dan fake pouted the rest of the way to the park.
Hollywood Studios was a combination of Epcot and Animal Kingdom in terms of walking around aimlessly. There weren’t a ton of rides, but there also really weren’t a lot of shows. So, Dan and Phil just wandered around looking for things to do. Dan asked Phil what the surprise was approximately every ten minutes. Phil was doing a really good job of keeping his mouth shut, which just infuriated Dan. Finally, by late afternoon, Phil decided it was time to tell Dan his plan.
“I’m going to take you on a proper date.”
“Excuse me? Shouldn’t you ask me out on a date?”
Phil rolled his eyes, but he obliged. “Daniel, would you like to go on a date with me?”
“Yes, Phil, I would”
“Great. Let’s go.”
Phil took Dan to a 50s themed restaurant. He even paid for Dan’s meal despite the fact that they split the bill every other time they ate together.
Once they left, Phil said, “so how was that for a first date?”
“Amazing.”
Phil leaned in for a kiss.
“Do you think I’m the type of person to kiss someone on a first date?” Dan teased.
Phil fake pouted. Dan laughed and then kissed him.
They had to go back and meet everyone else now. They were leaving earlier than they had been, so everyone would have time to pack, and get ready to go home the next day.
The next morning they got up bright and early. Once they had finished getting ready, and packing up the last of their stuff, they went downstairs to the bus. Logan and Adam were there when Dan and Phil got there. Dan gave Phil a look as if to say give us a minute. Phil nodded and headed on to the bus.
“Hi.” Adam said.
“Hi.”
“Listen, mate, we’re really sorry about what happened the other day.”
“Be more specific.”
Logan took in a deep breath. Dan just wanted to see him squirm a little. He was going to forgive him. He didn’t really have a choice. It wasn’t like he had other friends. “I’m sorry that I said Phil was your boyfriend when I knew that he wasn’t.”
“It’s alright. You know because of you, Phil actually is my boyfriend now.”
“What?” For a second Dan thought Logan was actually angry, but then he burst out laughing.
“Good for you, mate,” Adam said.
All three of them got on the bus. Dan slid into the seat next to Phil, while Adam and Logan made their way to the back of the bus.
Before Dan knew it, he was in the air, sitting next to his friends catching each other up on everything that happened the past three days. Dan would never admit it if he was asked, but he was actually excited to go home. To have a proper relationship with Phil. Maybe even be real friends with Adam and Logan, not just someone they tolerated until someone better came along. Everything felt right.
phil has been out to his family and friends for a really long time but he really waited for dan to feel comfortable to come out on his own terms so he could come out to the world too. because he couldn’t come out on his own without implying dan. so phil really let dan take all the time in the world to feel comfortable with himself - and also allowed dan to reveal things about phil’s sexuality before he had the chance to do it himself - and only after that he could let us know like “btw i’m gay”. all this time he’s been out to the people in his life but when it came to the rest of the world, he waited for dan
dan’s 40 minute production verses phil’s 7 min video with ginger and coming out of the closet jokes is just so Uniquely Them and im glad they’ve rode this wave of pride and strength together and im so so so fucking proud and happy for phil
phil making a humoristic video and managing to balance joking around about certain things while still having an overall important message, talking about his own experiences, letting people know that your sexuality is okay and the people who don’t think so don’t deserve to be in your life, all while finding a way to be funny, is so incredibly phil and i’m so proud of him and i’m so happy he’s happy
theartofmadeline
germansingergirl
2087
jbbartram-illu
turnnoffyourmind
ellievsbear
