ART DECO | PHAN

six.

1/16/17

phil lester sighed, tapping his fingers on the glossy surface of the library desk he was sitting at. the surface was smooth, yet scarred with years of students scratching the surface, faded colors from markers and highlighters joining the marks.

he ran his fingers through his dark hair, causing it to ruffle up before falling back into place, a few strands still sticking up with a mind of their own. was he even coming? he had seemed a bit out of it when they had planned this, so maybe he had forgotten. or maybe phil had scared him off.

phil swallowed, straightening his glasses. he had worn them because he had, for one, been tired and lazy that day, and they really did help him see better than contacts. even though he didn't like them very much, when he was focusing he tended to reach up to straighten them, which looked rather odd when they weren't there.

phil was preparing to give up and just leave when a mousy brown haired boy rushed through the door, his face hidden in shadows, his hands covered by long hanging sleeves. the boy looked up, spotting phil and beelining to his table.

"hey," phil greeted him, his face bright again. he wasn't the type to reprimand someone for being late.

"hi..." dan looked anxious, he was playing with his fingers and fidgeting in front of him. "i'm r-really sorry, i forgot, i hope you weren't here long..."

phil shrugged. he had been there a while, but he wasn't about to say that. "nah, it's okay. don't worry about it."

dan nodded nervously, sitting down across from him. his brown eyes flickered over phil's face.

"you wear glasses."

phil cringed a bit. "sure do."

dan blushed, his gaze falling. "i like them."

"you do?" phil frowned, watching him curiously. dan nodded.

"yeah. they look nice on you."

phil bit his lip. "thanks... eva says they're ugly and too clunky, but they really do help my vision."

"eva?"

"oh, sorry." phil laughed. "my girlfriend, i don't think you know her."

"oh." phil swore he heard some disappointment in dan's tone, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "okay."

phil cleared his throat. "it's kinda stuffy in here, and it's a nice day... do you wanna work outside?"

dan shrugged, nodding after a moment. "sure."

phil stood, shrugging his bag over his shoulder. he almost reached out to take dan's hand; he looked like a child in that sweatshirt, or a lost duckling; but he caught himself. "c'mon."

phil led him out onto campus, where the hills were. there were a few large oak trees, and that was where students worked or hung out and talked most days, but today no one was out. phil figured it was because of the little bit of icy bite in the air. phil didn't mind it, though, and he hoped dan wouldn't.

they sat under the largest one, and phil leaned against the tree, while dan sat across from him, his legs crossed.

"so... what are we doing?"

dan bit his lip. "i don't know... well, i had an idea, but it's probably pretty dumb."

"no ideas are dumb," phil replied immediately. "shoot."

"okay..." dan paused, his eyes shining a bit while he thought. "i was thinking, like... a civilization in the clouds. kinda like heaven but without the religious part... where everyone's perfect."

phil hummed, nodding, and tucked his hands behind his head. "that's good, i like it. one question, though..." he frowned. "what's perfect? like, isn't that subjective?"

dan shook his head. "no... i mean, i guess some people have different opinions. but you know... smart, and funny, just nice to be around and skinny-" he flinched at that last word, but phil didn't ask.

"alright... personally, i think perfect is a silly construct, but i get it. that's good, we can go with that. mr. g likes creativity."

dan nodded, beaming, pleased that phil had accepted his idea.

"good. so we just have to figure out everything else."

phil nodded, thoughtful. "yeah... what do you want to do with the presentation? we could do a model..."

dan nodded slowly. "i'm not very good at art..."

phil snapped his fingers. "i know, we can cut out pictures of supermodels and things like that, and make it out of that. that's artsy and a good statement, right?"

dan nodded, smiling. "yeah, that's perfect."

phil grinned at him, pleased they had been able to be so productive. this was better than he had done with a partner in ages.

phil flinched when his phone buzzed from his pocket, surprising him, and pulled it out. he had about three texts from eva, all talking about some party she wanted him to go to that night. he sighed.

"what's wrong?" dan asked softly, watching him. phil shook his head.

"oh, there's some party tonight for the football team and cheerleaders. eva wants me to go." he paused. "hey, you should come. that might make it bearable." he flashed dan a hopeful smile, but the boy shook his head.

"no, no way. i'm not a party person."

"oh come on, it'll be fun. you can come as my guest."

dan frowned, his face tinted pink. "shouldn't your girlfriend be your guest?"

phil waved his hand dismissively. "no, she's a cheerleader. she's already invited."

dan chewed on his lip, making it swollen and a darker shade of pink. he hugged himself.

"okay," he said finally, his voice soft. "but only for, like, ten minutes."

phil beamed at him, leaning over to hug him, a touchy person by nature. "great."

dan's eyes widened as phil's arms wrapped around him, enveloping his small form, a sharp breath escaping him. "ah-"

he pushed phil away after about half a second, shaking. phil laughed softly.

"sorry. i got excited."

dan avoided his eyes. "it's okay."

phil smiled at him gently, running his fingers through his hair. "i can pick you up tonight?"

dan nodded tightly, his pupils a bit blown out. he pulled his knees to his chest, making himself into a protective ball.

"sure."