soulmates // phan

chapter one

Twenty-two year old Dan walked through his small one person apartment. He was on his way to his job at the library. He liked it. It was peaceful and isolated. He was an introvert, after all.

He made sure he had everything and he left, locking the door behind him and putting his keys in his jacket pocket. He began his walk.

The library wasn't too far away, just a ten minute walk. He had been working there for almost three years, he got the job just after he turned twenty. He was opening today.

He fished his keys out of the pocket and found the library key. He unlocked the front door and walked in. He flipped the sign from closed to open and walked up the small set of stairs into the main area.

He unlocked all doors and sat in the seat behind the desk. His job was pretty slow. He only got up to help someone find something, or to check out books. He rarely answered the phone but he was thankful for that. He didn't particularly like talking to people, especially when it was over the phone.

Usually the only people that came in the mornings were elders, or older adults. Dan grabbed a black sharpie off of the desk in front of him and looked at it. He liked drawing.

He took the cap off and began to doodle on his right forearm. He drew a small flower. He knew that his soulmate - if he had one - would see it, too. But, he didn't know. His soulmate never drew back.

Dan continued his doodles until he had to do his job and help a woman find a genre of books. He was done with that quickly.

Soon enough, Dan's coworker, friend, and supervisor, Louise, came in and said hello to Dan. She was wearing a pretty sun dress and leggings. If Dan wasn't gay he'd probably fancy her, besides, they weren't soulmates. Nothing he drew showed up on her, and vice versa. That was okay, though.

It was rather nice to see Louise's arms be noted on. There were to do list things, reminders, and doodles. Dan always wondered if his soulmate got his messages and looked forward to seeing them everyday.

Dan went back to his seat and continued. He wrote a simple message, "good morning :)"

He hoped there would be a response, though there usually wasn't one.

Dan continued doodling when he looked up to see who was all in the library. A few mums here and there, still a few elders, and a man looking to be in his early to mid twenties. He had a black fringe opposite Dan's, and blue eyes. His skin was so beautifully pale. He wore black skinny jeans and a maroon jumper. He was looking at Dan.

Dan looked back at him, the man smiled. Dan's heart stopped.

Dan looked down again, and blushed. He sorted through some papers on the desk to pretend to do something productive.

Louise came back to the desk and sat in a chair next to Dan.

"Dan, why don't you sort out some books over there to see if they're all in proper order?" Louise pointed to the area where the man was. She winked.

"Please don't make me," Dan said.

"I'm your boss," She reminded.

Dan rolled his eyes and Louise laughed, "Good luck."

Dan walked over to where he was and went to the opposite side of the shelf. It was pretty out of order here, so Dan actually had something to do.

He felt eyes on him. The man was looking at him again.

Dan awkwardly looked away from him and continued working, but he still felt his eyes on him.

Eventually, Dan finally spoke, "May I help you?"

Phil just shook his head, "I'm sorry. I just noticed the drawings on your arm. Your soulmate write that?"

"I wrote it," Dan said.

"I see," Phil said with a smile, "Well, they're very pretty. I'm sure whoever is receiving them is very happy about it."

"Uh, y-yeah," Dan stuttered. "I-I'm Dan, by the way."

"Phil," He said. Dan smiled.

"Do you have a soulmate, Phil?" Dan questioned, "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind at all," Phil said, "And I haven't found him yet."

"Him?" Dan asked.

"I'm gay," Phil clarified, "Openly."

"Oh," Dan said bluntly, "It's good that you're not afraid to tell others, especially people you just met."

"Yeah," Phil said, "I had some trouble with it in school, and with my parents, but it all worked out in the end."

"That's really good," Dan smiled warmly at Phil.

"What about you, Dan?" Phil asked, "Do you have a soulmate?"

"If I do, I haven't met him yet. I also happen to be gay, so I know it'll be a guy," Dan said, finding a strange trust in Phil even though they'd just met, "But I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't."

"I really wish I knew, too," Phil said.

"Yeah..." Dan said.

"Well, let me give you my number. I've got to get going," Phil broke the short moment of silence.

"Alright," Dan smiled, looking to Louise and pulling out his phone. Phil took his phone out as well and they swapped numbers.

"See you, hopefully soon," Phil smiled and left.

"Bye, Phil," Dan smiled back and waved. Was he just flirted with?

He made his way back to the desk and sat down with a sigh.

"So, how'd it go," Louise said with a grin.

"We got each other's numbers," Dan said, "He's sweet."

"You think he's your soulmate?" Louise questioned with a smirk.

"I didn't see anything written on him," Dan said, shrugging.

"He was wearing long sleeves," Louise insisted.

"Well I'm not going to assume anything. I don't want to get my hopes up," He defended.

Louise groaned, "I suppose you're right."

Dan laughed. A few silent minutes passed by, and soon, Dan felt an itch on his left arm. He looked down at it in a surprised manner.

"Morning :)" it said in black marker.

"Um, Louise..?" Dan said, surprised. He immediately showed her.

She gasped, "He finally wrote back! Oh my god! Dan!"

Dan grinned. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

/a/n hope you liked the first chapter :) I thought it was pretty cute

Have a good day/night where ever you are!

-Emily