Touch ☞☜ Phan

Chapter Eighteen

Phil flicks his paintbrush at my face, splattering royal blue paint all over me.

Phil giggles. "You appear to have blue freckles now!"

I wipe off the paint and stare at Phil emotionlessly as he begins to place even strokes of blue paint on his bedroom wall.

I grin deviously before heading over to the other side of Phil's bedroom and beginning to paint stars.

Once Phil turns around in order to dip his brush in the paint again, he spots me and laughs. He heads over to me and boops my nose with his paintbrush, leaving a wet, blue-colored dot. Phil stares at me dreamily. "Do you remember the stars from our picnic?," he asks, beginning to paint a blanket under my stars.

I nod and paint Phil's and my meal on the blanket.

Phil smiles. "Remember those cookies that you baked?," he asks, drawing circles before adding some dots resembling chocolate chips in them. "It was so sweet of you to get almond milk."

I begin to paint a carton of almond milk beside Phil's cookies.

"Remember when we first met?," I ask, adding a few colored pencils to Phil's and my mural, wishing blue didn't have to be the only color of paint available to me in this moment.

Phil smiles. "Remember when I came back after you told me about your power?," he asks, adding a pair of hands touching to our masterpiece. "I'll always be here," Phil says, looking into my eyes.

I pull Phil into my arms and connect our lips. Phil pushes me against the nearest blank part of his wall, and I slide down it, taking him with me. We tearily laugh.

"We'll have to paint over our mural once it dries," I say, taking a break from laughing to wipe away some tears.

"Let's leave our mural for now," Phil says, causing me to laugh again.

***

Phil sits down at his kitchen table as I begin to set down all of the food that I prepared for his family (which includes myself).

Phil's mum grins as I set down an immense, Olive Garden-esque salad in the center of the table.  "Philip, you should invite Daniel over more often," she says.

"I hope you'll stick with that statement later," Phil mumbles just so that he and I can hear.

"Thank you for the meal, Dan," Phil's dad says, sincere gratitude decorating his entire face.

"You're welcome," I reply, sitting down.

Phil's mum and dad recite a Catholic prayer as Phil and I stare at each other with pure fear in our eyes, neither of us having any idea what will be coming out of coming out.

The eyes of Phil's parents flutter open before Phil's mum shouts, "Let's dive in, boys!," causing Phil and me to both let out hearty laughs.

"So, when did you and Philip meet?," Phil's mum asks, beaming.

"On the first day of school," I reply, grabbing Phil's hand from underneath the table.

"Oh, that's very nice.  I'm glad that Philip has met some lovely people at North."

"Do you guys have any classes together?," Phil's dad asks.

"Yes, art," I reply, smiling.

"Ah.  Thank you for helping Phil out with painting his room."

Phil and I look at each other and laugh.

"It's no problem," I say, although painting with Phil has created a few problems; some of which had to be washed off my face, and some of which will have to be painted over later.

Phil takes in a deep, awkward breath.  "There's something that you two should know."

"Well, I'm certainly glad that your mum and I should know it already because I was afraid that it was intended to be a secret," Phil's dad says.

Phil's mum chokes on her tea, laughing.  She gently slaps her husband on the wrist.

"Dan and I are dating," Phil says.

Phil's dad nods.  "That's cute," he says.

Phil's mum glares at her husband before turning to her son and saying, "That's wonderful, sweetie."

"I always told Phil to date somebody who can cook before my wife over here informed me that I had been being problematic."

"Treat Dan right," Phil's mum says sternly to her son.

Phil covers his eyes and laughs.

"Well, I know where you've been sleeping at on most nights now," Phil's dad says.

Phil and I exchange fearful facial expressions while his dad laughs.

"Could you pass the baguette?," Phil's mum asks.

"It appears that Phil already did," Phil's dad says.

"You two support my relationship?," Phil asks nervously.

Phil's mum and dad nod.

The corners of Phil's mouth turn upward.  "I'm so relieved."

"Be cautious when you tell Dan's parents if you haven't already," Phil's mum warns.  "Not everybody is as accepting as your father and I are.  We've accepted this part of your identity ever since you tried on those bonnets at the shops when you were little."

Phil buries his face in his knee.

"Your mum and I love you," Phil's dad says.

"I love you guys as well," Phil says sheepishly.

"I love you," I tell Phil, and he kisses me in front of other people for the first time.

Author's Note

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I've been talking to this guy. I hope that we'll end up like Dan and Phil because he is SO CUTE and the sweetest ever to me.  Wish me luck.  🍀  I love you all! 💚