Puppy love (Phan AU)

Chapter 31

They did end up getting that pizza and later that night Tabitha had asked if she could go to the school dance at the end of the year. Which Phil agreed to because it was just a school dance. There were teacher to watch them, there was obviously no alcohol allowed and Phil figured she had already proven herself at the carnival for being responsible and trustworthy. Dan had noticed how she grabbed her phone immediately when he had said she could go and smirked softly when he saw her face lit up. She had a date. He was sure of it.
Today was the day before the dance was supposed to take place. He said supposed because some teachers had to cancel and now the dance was threatened to be canceled because they didn't have enough chaperones.
"Pleaseeeee, Phil." Tabitha begged with her hands folded together like she was praying.
"No, I'm not going to your school to volunteer." Phil told her again. Dan sat on the counter watching with an amused smile how Tabitha kept bothering Phil while he was trying to make them lunch.
"But Misses Jolene had to give birth and Mister Smith has a burn out while two other teachers already called in sick!" Tabitha repeated again.
"Why don't they ask other people? Why are you bothering me with this?" Phil questioned as he flipped some sausages.
"Because I don't want some old, grumpy person there. I've seen some of the volunteers. They're all the types that will just yell at us for standing too close or complaining about being too wild or whatever." She explained.
"Don't stand too close and don't be wild then." Phil replied as if that solved her case.
"Phiiiil." She rolled her eyes annoyed.
"Dan, tell her I'm not going." Phil pointed at him with a fork without looking up.
"Dan, tell him he should go." Tabitha told him then with her hands on her hips. Dan laughed and held his hands up.
"I'm not involved in this war." He chuckled. Tabitha groaned and Phil smirked.
"Fine, guess I won't go. Didn't have a dress yet anyway." She said angry before going to her room.
"Tabitha, wait, food's almost ready!" Phil called after her, but she already slammed her door closed. Phil lifted his eyebrows as he sighed. "She chose a great time to start acting like a regular teenager." He looked up at Dan who shrugged.
"You can't blame her. She was gonna go with that Dil guy she likes." He told him with a lopsided smile.
"She what?" Phil asked confused. Dan laughed softly.
"Dil? The guy from the carnival. The one she keeps mentioning and texting?" He replied.
"I didn't know she liked him." Phil said dumbfounded.
"Wow, you have not been paying attention." Dan chuckled. Phil turned off the fire and walked up to him.
"I always pay attention." He told him when he stood between Dan's legs.
"Mister, you wouldn't even notice if she'd have an engagement ring on her finger." Dan joked placing his hands in Phil's neck.
"Is that so?" Phil asked with a smirk.
"Yep." Dan hummed. "Blind as a bat for love, you are." He grinned playfully.
"Love, hmm?" Phil smirked and Dan recognized that smirk. He was planning something. Before he could say or do anything, Phil pulled him closer and tilted him up while giving him kisses in his neck.
"No, Phil!" Dan screeched as he tried to hide his neck by holding even tighter on to Phil so he wouldn't fall. Phil stopped and spun him around with a smirk. "You're awful!" Dan giggled and Phil grinned before putting him on the floor again and kissing his lips softly.
"Tjeez it sounded like someone was getting killed." Tabitha's voice sounded and they quickly pulled back. Dan felt his cheeks burn.
"Uh, he kissed me in the neck. I, uh, I can't handle being touched in the neck." Dan scratched the back of his head. He was sure his head was as red as a tomato.
"Yeah, I think everyone got that memo." Tabitha chuckled with her usual twinkle back in her eyes. Dan laughed as well then and saw Phil smirk at him.
"You know as a revenge I'd say Phil should go to the dance." Dan grinned sweetly at him.
"What? No, I won't!" He replied defensively but Tabitha was already cheering as she ran up to hug Phil.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She proclaimed excited. Phil looked dirty at Dan who just shrugged with an innocent smile.
"Dan's coming too." Phil then spoke up.
"What? I'm not a legal guardian. I can't go." He blinked surprised at the way his plan blew up in his own face.
"Well actually that doesn't matter. They just need responsible adults." Tabitha told him.
"Aha but I'm not responsible and I'm barely an adult." Dan pointed pleased with himself.
"Either you come with or I'm not going." Phil smirked, knowing very well he couldn't take the dance away from Tabitha again.
"Fine. What does a chaperone even have to do?" He gave in and Tabitha cheered again before hugging him too.
"Nothing much. Just make sure no one gets drunk or get in fights or whatever." She shrugged as she replied his question.
"You have no clue, do you?" Dan laughed.
"Nope." She shook her head.
"Great, I'm already looking forward to it." Phil sighed grumpy as he returned around to his food. "Come on, let's eat before Louise gets here." He said as he put the food on the table. Tabitha had asked Dan if she could go out to shop for a dress with Louise. Dan had said yes instantly because he knew how much Louise would love that.
"What do we have to do now, Tabs?" Dan asked her as they were eating. "Call the school, go there, mail?" He summed up. She looked up at him, still with a pleased smile.
"Call them and they'll tell you what and how I guess. That's what they announced after the last test." She told him.
"You're calling." Dan quickly looked at Phil.
"Uh uh, you brought us into this mess, you're calling." Phil smirked. Dan sighed annoyed. He knew that was only fair, but he hated phonecalls. They always made him anxious.
After lunch Tabitha gave him the phone number of the school. Dan sighed as he typed it in.
"You better appreciate this." He pointed at the young raven haired girl.
"I do. I really do. Thanks, Dan." She smiled grateful as he held his phone to his ear. A woman picked up and Dan set up his most responsible adult voice. Just like when he had to make an appointment with the dentist or something like that.
"Yes, hello. You're talking with Daniel Howell. I'm calling about the need of chaperones?" He asked. The woman on the other line sounded pleased he called. She explained what being a chaperone meant and asked him if he still wanted to be one. He looked at Tabitha who was looking up to him.
"Yes, I do. And so does Philip Lester." He told her.
"Wonderful. Can I get your details send to me, please? Names, birthdates, telephone numbers,.." She summed up with a cheery voice and Dan pointed from Phil to his laptop.
"Mail." He whispered and Phil opened his laptop. "Yes, we're sending our information via mail right now." Dan told the lady on the phone.
"Lovely. May I ask how you are linked with the school?" She asked him then.
"Of course, my boyfriend is the legal guardian of Tabitha Casper." He replied.
"Boyfriend?" The woman commented surprised. Dan rolled his eyes and Phil looked up annoyed as well.
"Yes, is that a problem?" Dan asked between clenched teeth, trying to still sound friendly.
"Uh, no, no. Of course not, mister Howell. I'm, uh, glad you want to help the school." She quickly replied a little panicky and Dan lifted his eyebrow unimpressed.
"Right, okay. So we come to the school half an hour before the dance starts, right?" He asked her to be sure so he could hang up.
"Uh, yes, yes, half an hour." She replied.
"Okay, see you then. Goodbye Miss..." Dan started to end the conversation.
"Bradbury." The woman replied and he saw how Tabitha scrunched up her nose, hearing that name.
"Goodbye miss Bradbury." Dan said as he ended the call. He let out a deep breath as he shoved his phone in his pockets again.
"No one likes Miss Bradbury. She's the kind to give detention while smiling at you as if she's doing you a favor." Tabitha spoke up.
"Yeah, I can imagine. Anyway we're officially chaperoning tomorrow." Dan replied.
"Yes, I'm gonna tell the others immediately." She smiled happily before going to her room.
"Others?" Phil asked, but she was already gone. Dan snickered as he sat down on the armrest of the couch. "I'll get you back for this." Phil looked up at him as he closed his laptop again.
"What? I'm also going. You already got me back." Dan laughed. Phil wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him on his lap.
"Not enough." He smirked when Dan let out a surprised noise. He kissed the brunet softly. Dan shuffled a bit more upright so he could kiss Phil better. As they deepened the kiss they got startled by Tabitha coming back in the room.
"Come on, guys. You have a room." She complained. Phil snickered.
"You're right, Tabs. Come on, Dan." He nodded at the other boy with a playful smirk.
"Phiiil." Thabita whined while Dan slapped his chest with a grin.
"Stop making your niece uncomfortable." He laughed and Phil chuckled.
"Alright, alright. A man can't even do what he loves in his own apartment." Phil stood up to get them a glass of coke.
"Oh, poor you." Dan coeed with a grin. Phil pointed at him from the fridge.
"Careful Howell, don't forget you're not in the clear yet." He threatened. Dan laughed.
"I'm so scared now." He pretended to shake in fear. Phil huffed.
"You should be. I'll get you when you least expect it." He told him.
"Like how you're putting something in my coke now?" Dan wondered with a smug smile.
"What? How did you know?" Phil looked up at him surprised.
"I didn't until you just admitted to it." He grinned pleased with himself. Phil glared at him and Tabitha held up her hands.
"I'm out." She said as she walked over to the bathroom. Phil looked at her a she locked the door behind her.
"She's talking to someone." He spoke up confused. "Why would she be talking to someone in the bathroom?" He wondered as he set the two glasses on the coffee table.
"Stop listening, you're way too curious." Dan laughed.
"She's talking about us." Phil told him. Dan blinked up surprised, but then he remembered she was going to tell her friends they would chaperone. He opened his mouth to remind Phil of that as well, but the other boy held up his finger to listen better. He turned to Dan with big eyes then.
"She's explaining we're chaperoning." He told him.
"Yeah, that's what I was gonna tell y-" Dan started.
"No, I mean she's explaining that that's why you're 'not in the clear'. She was calling someone when she came in." Phil told him. Dan's eyes widened. Great, now a bunch of teenagers are going to speculate what they were doing on the couch. "She's coming out again." Phil said when she unlocked the door. "Tabs, Louise will be here soon. Are you ready?" He asked her. She looked at her phone for the hour.
"Yeah, give me a second." She replied. Dan could just hear her reply someone on her phone before she closed the bedroom door. "A friend of Dan's." Dan wondered who she was chatting with.
"Well that's not awkward at all." Dan sighed, hiding his face on Phil's shoulder. A few seconds later Tabitha came back in the room.
"Who were you calling?" Phil asked her curious. She looked annoyed.
"Can you for once not listen?" She wondered.
"Wh- I wasn't listening, I-" He tried to seem casual but failed. "Okay, I listened. But only because I heard you talk in the bathroom and heard our names." He defended himself.
"I was just going to show Eliza something Louise bought for me." She explained. "And now everyone saw you kiss on the couch and threaten each other by putting stuff in each other's drinks. So thanks for that." She sighed.
"Who's everyone?" Dan blinked with shocked eyes. He thought she was calling a single person not video chatting with an entire group.
"My entire class. It was a group chat because I was gonna tell them you were chaperoning and then some others started talking about what they'd wear and stuff like that." She told him.
"Oh God." Dan muttered, hiding his face again. How was he supposed to just show up tomorrow like no one had seen that? Phil hummed.
"Guess we can't be chaperones tomorrow. We'd only embarrass you more." He shrugged which forced Dan to look up again as well. Tabitha shook her head.
"Uh uh, you're not getting out of it that easy. You didn't embarrass me. Well, you did a little, but they thought it was funny you two trapped each other in the chaperone roles." She spoke up. And Phil sighed.
"A man could try." He shrugged just as the bell rang.
"That'll be Louise." Dan stood up to walk to the door. He still didn't know what to feel about the whole situation, but he guessed it wasn't that bad.
"Hey, Louise, come on up." Dan told her as he pressed the button for the door downstairs. He left the door open so she could just walk in.
"Who's ready to go shopping?" She said with a wide smile as she came in. Dan laughed and Tabitha raised her hand with a chuckle before putting on her shoes.
"So how's it going here?" Louise asked while Tabitha was getting ready to go out.
"Terrible." Phil commented salty. Louise raised her eyebrow at Dan who chuckled.
"We've got to chaperone tomorrow and someone isn't all too happy about that." He explained.
"But someone else is!" Tabitha called from the front door.
"You better be!" Phil called back and Tabitha giggled softly while Louise looked at them with an amused smile.
"So are you guys coming with us then?" She wondered.
"What for?" Phil questioned with a confused frown.
"To buy clothes for tomorrow of course!" She laughed.
"Is that necessary? Can't I just wear my ordinary clothes?" Phil sighed.
"No, Louise is right. Let's go." Dan commented and Phil let his head fall back.
"This just keeps getting better and better." He complained.
"Come on, grumpy. It'll be fun." Dan extended his hand to pull Phil off the couch.
They went to the mall together where they decided to split ways. Dan and Phil went to find themselves something nice for tomorrow. Not a suit, but not a simple shirt with a funny print either. They got theirs pretty fast.
"Let me guess? Black?" Phil asked pointing at Dan's shopping bag. Dan laughed.
"I mean, what did you expect?" He opened the bag to reveal it was indeed black. Phil chuckled wrapping his arm around his waist.
"Edge with a side of class." He joked.
"Damn right." Dan grinned. "What did you get?" He asked Phil then.
"I'll show you at home." The older boy replied. "Any idea if Louise and Tabitha already found what they needed?" Phil wondered.
"No clue." Dan replied. They walked to some benches in the middle of the mall where they'd wait for the girls.
"You reckon that Dil guy is a good one?" Phil asked him then. Dan chuckled.
"I don't know, Phil. I haven't actually met him either." He replied and Phil looked down. "But I'm sure he is. He seemed nice enough and Tabitha is smart enough to not go out with douchebags." He added upon seeing Phil's slightly worried face.
"Yeah, she's smart. But love can make blind. Especially at her age." The raven haired boy looked up at him. Dan shrugged.
"You can try as much as you want, you won't be able to save her from a broken heart." He said softly. Phil looked annoyed as if he didn't like that fact. "You can be there for her when or if it happens though." Dan added and Phil nodded softly.
"Yeah. Let's hope it won't be necessary." He muttered. Dan wanted to say something else as he looked at Phil with a sympathetic smile, but Phil suddenly looked up. Dan looked over his shoulder and noticed Louise and Tabitha coming their way. He waved them over with a big smile. The girls stopped in front of them with wide grins.
"Found what you were looking for?" Phil asked.
"We sure did." Louise smirked.
"Louise also bought me heels." Tabitha beamed. Phil looked up at her with big eyes.
"As a present for her good grades." She shrugged and Phil smiled at Tabitha then.
"I'm sure they're all going to look amazed at you." He told her.
"Sure thing." Tabitha replied sarcastically.
"Hey, are you doubting my totally non-biased opinion?" He asked her, feigning offense.
"I wouldn't dare." She chuckled.
"Good." Phil nodded before standing up. "Am I the only one who wants ice cream?" He asked then.
"Nope, I've been craving ice cream from the second we arrived." Louise admitted.
"Perfect, let's get some." Phil grinned and Dan chuckled. They walked hand in hand up to the ice cream bar where they each ordered their favorite flavors. Dan and Louise were talking on a bench while Phil and Tabitha were goofing around a little further. Dan snickered under his breath when Phil tricked Tabitha and pushed his ice cream against her nose.
"He's really good for her, isn't he?" Louise smiled at the duo as well. Tabitha was now taking revenge by trying to do the same to Phil.
"Yeah, they're good for each other." Dan smiled fondly. "Phil's a lot more open and vulnerable since he took her in and she's gaining more and more confidence again with him around." He told her.
"And you don't have anything to do with it, I assume?" Louise smirked at him. Dan laughed.
"I don't think so. I'm just a bystander." He replied. Louise looked at him knowingly. Dan shrugged and smiled at the two raven haired idiots in front of him. He honestly couldn't imagine his life without them anymore.

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Can someone explain to my why on earth I can't seem to update these stories regularily??