Special Boy // phan

-7-

Phil let out another chuckle, looking down at his fingers, which were tapping the lid of the cup of coffee he was drinking. Never having been a coffee person, I ordered a hot chocolate with some weird flavour, and Phil, as promised, had paid again. I promised to pay him back, but he just laughed.

"You could just Trade me. We'd call it even." I shook my head quickly, and he laughed again, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in a signature AmazingPhil smile. "But you promise, if I guess it, you'll tell me I'm right?"

"On my life." I dragged my finger across my chest twice, crossing my heart. He had the most beautiful smile. I decided now would be the perfect time to interrogate him.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" He pursed his lips, pushing a shock of hair out of his eyes.

"You know so much about me. And I know next to nothing about you. Plus, I think you're cute, and you share my enthusiasm of powers."

Oh. Oh. "Well," I said after taking a small sip of my hot chocolate, heart racing, "My name is Dan Howell. I'm here for Power Studies. I like bears and llamas and dogs. The colour black." I like you. "I don't know, what else..."

"Any special talents?" I chuckled, casting my gaze back down at my drink. "Other than your power."

"Well, I can play piano." I took another sip of my scalding hot chocolate as Phil nodded in approval.

"You'll have to play me something sometime." I chuckled.

None of this seemed real. Just over a week ago, I had never met a Big in my life. And now, here I am, with the Big, the AmazingPhil, who called me cute, who wanted to know about me and actually seemed to care, who shared my interest in powers and, though he was pushing to find out mine, wasn't passing the line into uncomfortable. He was cute, he was kind, and he was... snapping in my face.

"Earth to Danny? You're staring." He smirked as I flinched, startled, away from his fingers. I was staring, in his direction, but I honestly was zoning out. I already had his face memorised anyway. There's no need for staring.

"Don't call me that," I chuckled, clutching my cup and casting my eyes away. I wasn't really being serious, Phil could call me anything he wanted.

"You call me bird boy! I think at least one nickname is necessary." Phil cast a glance up to the clock on the back wall, and I realised we had been talking for nearly an hour. It felt like much less time than that. Time flies.

"Well, my friends call me flame boy. Though sometimes it's 'Dan is not on fire'." I felt a smile tug on my lips due to them memory. My friends are such dorks.

"Are you going to tell me the story or should I wildly speculate?" Phil asked, smirking and leaning back in his chair, revolving his wooden stirrer in his half-full cup of coffee. I pursed my lips and looked up, pretending to think about it.

"I'd like to hear your theories." Phil just shook his head and chuckled.

"Perhaps another time. We have to go to class." Phil stood and grabbed my bag before I could, slinging it over his shoulder along with his own. I narrowed my eyes.

"Are you robbing me?" I loved Phil's laugh.

"No. I'm walking you to class."

The cool night enveloped us as we left the warm cafe, and I immediately felt a chill sweep over my body despite the warm drink I had just had. But I smiled anyway as Phil continued talking about what it was like to fly.

"It's just... oh god, I can't even think of words! It's... well, you've been in an airplane, right?" I just nodded. "It's like that, that sensation deep in your stomach. You're up in the air, and the wind is ripping at your hair and clothes but you just go faster and faster and... and you're breathless, but you don't want to stop." Phil glanced over at me after stopping abruptly, lowering his hands from his wild gesticulation. "What are you smiling about."

Think of a good lie, Dan. "Flying sounds fun." Phil nodded.

"It really is. We should go for a fly sometime. Hey, I just thought of something," he said quickly, his tone of voice making it very evident he hadn't just thought of it, and had been thinking of it for a while. I raised an eyebrow as we reached the door of our PS classroom. We both stepped to the side to allow the flow of kids into the lecture hall to pass by us.

"Should I wildly speculate or are you going to tell me?" I mocked, lowering my voice a few octaves trying to imitate him. He just chuckled.

"You should be my sidekick." If I had been drinking something, I would have spit it out, dramatically. So I just choked on my own spit instead, making a very attractive gagging noise.

"P-pardon?" Phil gave me another one of his smiles, and pressed a finger over his lips.

"Perhaps another time. Get to class." He shoved my bag into my hands, and I just stood for a few seconds, mouth gaping like a fish. I finally cleared my head, and blinked a few times, trying to focus my eyes. He didn't even know my power. He barely knew anything about me. Sure, we hit it off, and I tried to pretend I didn't like him but god knows I do, but him asking me to work for him? And not just be an Angel, though even that would be too high of praise. He wanted me to be his second-in-command. I'm dreaming.

I brought my left hand up to my right arm, and pinched myself, hard.

"Oww."

"What the heck was that?" Phil quickly slapped my hand away, failing to hide the smirk donning his lips.

"I'm dreaming. That's the only explanation." I took a deep breath, a sting resonating along my skin like an electrical current.

"You're cute. Go to class."

"You're coming, too," I responded quickly, my statement coming out as more of a question. He just grinned and shook his head.

"I'm on call. But I'll see you later." He pulled his purple mask from his backpack and pressed it to his face, winking at me through it, and walked off, quickly, pulling an earpiece from his pocket and tucking it around the shell of his ear. I watched him quickly walk away with wide eyes, and Chris and PJ decided that would be a great moment to walk by.

"Who was the hottie in the mask?" Chris chirps in a falsetto, clasping his hands below his chin.

"Fuck off," I moaned in response, softly prodding the bruise now blooming on my arm. I felt a smile tug my lips upward. AmazingPhil's sidekick. Okay. Sure. Why not?

Weirder things have happened.