non-binary → phan (on hold)

16. ice cream fingers

summer-time had been approaching quickly, basking us in warm sunlight and ridding us of the cold and evil bite of winter air, crowds of people providing bright smiles for those who walked by. phil was by far the happiest, always skipping down the street and tugging gently on my hand. taehyung was the sad one, almost in a consist pissy mood, grumbling about taking extra classes over the summer due to his bad grades.

i had seen less of connor and troye since the weather had started to warm up, but i didn't mind, because connor had never dropped full contact with us. alfie and zoe had also been absent of late, enjoying their summer vacation filled with travels of many different continents and countries. billie had troubles finding times to talk due to her schedule, but she did her best to call me when she could, always complaining about the grading system in america.

that left only the three of us, which was most often times reduced to phil and me since taehyung always seemed to be sleeping or at the school, but that didn't bother me much. as much as i missed my friends (billie especially), i would not let that ruin the cheery mood of summer.

during the winter, i had gotten behind on almost all of the essays i had to do for university, but by the time spring was finishing up phil had helped me to catch up. this had relieved most of my stress, leading this summer to feel both airy and warm instead of suffocating and hot. 

i sat on a wooden bench next to phil, bottles of cool water held tightly in our grasps as we pointed out some of the cutest dogs at the park. letting my head rest on phil's warm (and sweaty, ew) shoulder, i laughed, swallowing a mouthful of water before pointing a shiba inu. "that's my favorite dog. i relate to it the most."

"god, dan," phil sighed, exasperated. "will you ever let the doge meme go?"

i shook my head, chuckling as i lifted my lazily from his shoulder. "no. it's like my most recent branding, meaning even if i tried to let it go, there will always be those few people that just won't let me forget."

phil rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "i'm sweating like a sinner in a church. could we go to your place, or at least somewhere with air conditioning?" he pulled his phone out, turning it on before quickly sliding it back into his pocket. "we've been here for an hour now."

"an hour?" i stood up, grabbing onto phil's clammy hand. "we are going home now. this is more than my usual outside time."

"yay! can we get ice cream on the way there? are we going to your place or my place? i don't have air conditioning at the moment but it can get cool if i leave enough windows open. i have wifi also, but so do you. it's up to you, daniel, so-"

"phil, stop rambling," i said, pulling him in the direction of my place. "mine is closer. plus there's an ice cream vendor on the way there."

phil gasped. "we're going."

⌲

he pressed his hand against his stomach, groaning dramatically. "i never thought i would say this, but that was a lot of ice cream, and i feel like i'm dying." 

"i guess you could say that your stomach is sick and it's all in your head," i responded, chuckling lightly at my reference before falling onto my couch, laying my head in phil's lap. my phone dinged in my pocket. my eyebrows knitted together, knowing that there was really no one else that would be messaging me at this time. 

"is she touching his chest now? did he take off her dress now?" phil sat on the arm of the couch, tugging his shoes off of his feet, tongue poking into his cheek in concentration.

i laughed, pulling my phone out of my pocket to check my notification. "aren't you glad that you took enough interest in me to look up that song almost immediately after you left that party?" my phone screen lit up, providing me with enough information to know that billie had texted me, only leading me to become more confused.

"yes. honestly, it's such a bop and i don't care when it came out," phil chuckled. 

i sat up. "billie just texted me, asking if i have time to call her." i held out my phone to phil, allowing him to read the short conversation between the two of us. "i don't know if i should feel concerned or not. doesn't she have school?"

phil laughed. "they're on summer break, dan."

"oh," i said. "that's right. i'll go call her right now."

my heart started beating quickly as i remembered how i hadn't heard billie's voice at all since she left. the second she picked up, i jumped, greeted with a loud, "yo, danny boy! my boy! my bitch!"

"hi, bils. what's up?"

"not much, i just called because-" a loud slamming was heard in the background. "finneas, hey, nice to see you. now fuck off. where were we, dan- that's not what i meant, you fucking lizard! stop that! i look like a sock."

"hello, billie, i am still here." i chewed on my thumb, phil raising an eyebrow at me and mouthing a 'what the heck is going on'?

"i'm sorry, dan. my brother is being an asshole. i swear i'm not calling just to annoy you, i actually had to tell you something important, but people in this house don't seem to understand quiet." i heard a loud sigh. "he left. but you know how i turned sixteen over the winter?"

i made a hum noise.

"well, my brother just had his high school graduation, and he's thinking about attending a university near you and well..." billie paused, shrieking. "i might be moving back to england! my brother said i have the option to live with you, i just have to fly over with him, but i'm allowed to live with you since i'm old enough now. isn't this exciting?"

"what the fuck, oh my god-"

"dan, is everything alright?" phil asked, sliding off of the arm of the couch to sit next to me. "is billie okay?"

"tell him i said 'hell yeah'," billie responded, muffled laughter coming through the speaker.

"she said 'hell yeah'. and i'm okay too. i'm really amazing, phil."

phil laughed. "oh, alright."

billie phone started crackling. "okay, daniel, i gotta go. my brother's already packing his things and i've gotta help. let's hope he gets an acceptance letter soon, though i wouldn't be surprised if most of the universities rejected him." i heard a shout in the background. "i was fucking kidding, dude. i'll see ya later, danny boy. my boy. my bitch."

"bye billie!" phil shouted over my shoulder as billie was hanging up. he frowned. "i was a tad bit late."

i sighed happily, pulling phil into a hug. "phil, she's coming back! at least i hope she does, because if so, this might just be the best year of my life. literally."

he pulled away from the hug, wrapping his fingers around my neck and pulling me closer to place a gentle peck on my lips. i giggled, giving him a tiny kiss back. he smiled widely, resting his forehead against my own. "i love you, daniel."

"your fingers are sticky."

⌲

author's note! i'm in the mood to sing "sugar, we're gOING DoWN SWINGIN, I"LL BE YOUR Number ONE WITH A BULLET" but also "b o g o  s h i p d a"

like am i emo or am i a kpopper?¿
-di