lighter || phan au || prequel to cold

c h a p t e r // t h r e e

the next time we meet is at the tesco by my flat.

i am still confused.

and not just over the cereals.

"hard choice, that" he says. i turn around so quickly i nearly trip over my own feet. he smirks, but not in a way that makes me feel like he's judging me.

"phil" i say.

"dan" he says back. "can't make up your mind?"

"i've only got twenty quid" i say. "is cereal really worth it?"

"oh, same actually" he says, pointing at his pocket, where i can just see the corner of his wallet. "i don't get paid until next sunday, and i may have overspent this month. in a very irresponsible fashion."

"so did you get cereal?" i ask. he holds up an empty shopping basket, grinning.

"i was just coming to decide about that" he says. "twenty quid for a week and a half, is cereal a necessity? what do you think?"

"i'm going for it" i say, grabbing a box of shreddies. phil laughs, and grabs the box behind mine.

"alright, i'm in if you are" he says. "what else?"

"maltesers" i say. he laughs.

"at least cereal has some health benefits, you're gonna survive on chocolate?" he says. "not, i dunno, fruit or something?"

"fruit is overrated" i say. "maltesers are the best."

"if you're getting maltesers, i'm getting popcorn" he says. "c'mon." he grabs my arm, but not roughly. i know that if i pulled away, he would let me go.

which is exactly why i let him pull me to the snacks aisle.

he grabs two boxes of microwave popcorn from the shelf, and tosses one into his basket and one into mine.

"i'm not sure if you're a popcorn fan, but this one comes highly recommended" he says.

"by who exactly?"

"by me, of course! i'm a connoisseur of sorts where popcorn is concerned." his eyes sparkle when he laughs.

"alright, then i've got a recommendation for you" i say, heading down the aisle to where the candy is. he follows me, and looks unsurprised when i dump a massive bag of maltesers into his basket.

he looks a bit more surprised when i place two of the same size bags into mine.

"those are five quid each" he says.

"i can actually read" i reply. "i know what i'm doing."

"i see that" he replies. "and now that you've spent fifteen of your twenty quid, where to?"

"ramen noodles" i say. "thirty cent a pack."

"you're the picture of health" he says sarcastically. but he follows me to the ramen noodles and grabs as many packs as he can afford.

he gets into the checkout line first.

when it's my turn to pay, i watch him walk out the door. he turns and waves through the window at me, and then he's gone.

again.

//i'm finally reading tatinof what an adventure//