You've Always Been Hard To Ignore | Phan

At the front of the classroom, the teacher drones on and on about chloroplast and plant cells. Everyone in the room is taking notes, but I'm barely listening. I just can't concentrate. I never can in this class. It's just...Phil. He's so distracting. And he's always there at the back of my mind. I keep a list of the things that I see him do. Not on purpose, though. It just kind of happens. And it's strange, I know. He's my best friend. But he's just always there. Him and everything he does. I can't help but notice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Phil drop his pen on the floor. I surreptitiously watch as he bends out of his chair to pick it up. I like the way the sleeve of his black jacket hangs off of his arms. I like the contrast of the dark fabric against his pale skin. And I like the way his fingers curl around his pen as he picks it up.

Phil begins to write again. I can hear the scritching of the pen on paper, the subconscious tapping of his foot against one of the legs of his desk. He stops writing and looks at his pen, scowling slightly. He looks up, catching me staring at him, but he must not notice.

"Hey Dan."

"Yeah?" I respond.

"Can I borrow a pen?"

"Yeah, sure." I grab a pen from the front pocket of my messenger bag and hand it to Phil, our hands brushing as he takes it from me.

"Thanks," he says before he turns back to the task at hand.

I like a lot of things about Phil that other people might not notice. The little things that he does. It's hard to look away, and I've never been quite sure why that it.

He's just always been hard to ignore.