ART DECO | PHAN

ten.

1/18/17

phil lester squeezed her soft hands, that smelled like lilac, and always had.

"i'm sorry, baby." he raised his eyebrows gently, in the way he knew she loved. "forgive me?"

eva watched him, eyes flickering over him as if suspicious.

"maybe..."

phil enveloped her in his arms, a huge bear hug, lifting her off her soft carpet for a moment. "please?"

she grinned, trying to hide it, her hair tumbling over her shoulders. "god. you're such a dork." phil beamed.

"you know it."

he set her down, running his fingers through her hair and pushing it back. she slapped his hand, but she was smiling now, her cheeks tinted a rosy shade of pink.

"you're perfect," phil muttered.

she giggled. "i know. now, go get ready for the game."

phil nodded, sighing. honestly, he was exhausted, and he really didn't want to play. not tonight. he wasn't in the mood to have the whole entire school's eyes on him, honestly.

but if he skipped, he wasn't sure eva would forgive him again so easily.

he made his way back toward his dorm, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets.

it was weird to miss someone he hardly knew, but whenever phil thought he might be enough focused on something else, dan floated back into his thoughts like an adorable mosquito.

he was just so weird. not in a bad way, either. just in a... way. phil couldn't describe it.

he was the saddest person phil had ever met who still managed to be funny, and clever. dan's emotions were underlying. they were a storm cloud, but it floated behind his head, instead of over it. and no matter how hard phil tried to peek behind his back and see them, dan would turn, guarding them.

phil was so lost in his thoughts that he almost ran into someone, and he shook himself out of it, stepping aside.

"sorry."

the girl- katie, he recognized- shrugged, watching him in an odd way. "don't worry about it."

phil nodded, feeling a bit uneasy. he walked past her, the feeling of eyes on him causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

he slipped into his room, closing the door behind him. he coughed a bit at the immediate smell of smoke. liam spun in the desk chair, grinning at him.

"hey phil."

"hi..." phil waved his hand in front of his face, fanning away the scent. "can't you open a window or something?"

liam shrugged. "i could..."

phil sighed. "never mind."

he made his way to the bed, tugging his shirt off and grabbing his jersey. liam was doing something on his phone.

"is there a party tonight?" phil asked, more of dire curiosity than actual wonder. liam shrugged.

"probably, dude. the people here can't go five seconds without getting drunk." he raised his eyebrows. "your girlfriend being one of those people."

phil sighed. "yeah. trust me, i know."

after he was done changing, he collapsed on the bed, closing his eyes. he still had an hour before he had to be on the field. his mind wandered in dan's direction again.

what was he doing right then? was he happy?

and if he was there, would phil be able to make him any happier?

phil ran his hands over his face, rubbing at his eyes. he really needed to get over this. if dan didn't want to be around him, he couldn't stop him.

still...

phil gave up, picking up his phone and finding dan's contact.

studying tomorrow?

he got no reply, not right away at least, so phil tossed his phone aside. he was just being stupid. dan was probably busy.

"girl problems?" liam asked from the desk, his tangled hair falling in his face when he looked down at his phone. phil shook his head.

"no..." boy problems. "just some stuff with my partner for a project."

"dan howell?" liam asked immediately, and phil frowned.

"yeah... how'd you know?"

"whole school knows, man." he looked up. "apparently you guys are cute together or whatever, because there's a shit ton of rumors going around."

"rumors?" phil pushed himself up in the bed, leaning back on his elbows. "like what?"

liam shrugged. "that you're cheating on eva, or will be... that you stopped him from killing himself and now he's obsessed with you, that's a good one..."

phil frowned. "that's stupid."

"yeah. tell that to everyone else, though. this place eats up drama."

phil nodded, licking his lips. it was shitty that people said things like that, but liam was right. there was no way he could stop it.

"i hate rumors."

liam just nodded, his attention returning to his phone. phil sat up fully. there was no point in getting any more rest, he needed to focus.

"see you out there," phil muttered, starting for the door. maybe he could get in some practice time.

"see you."