Lists | Phan

One: The First Step

"Fall Out Boy, huh?"

The girl seemed to take a while to register what he was saying. Her eyes flicked to Phil, then down to the notebook and she suddenly broke out into a grin.

Smile back.

"Yeah, I really like them! Do you?"

Look sheepish. Scratch back of head.

"I've only gotten into them recently." Not a complete lie. Smile. "Heard a couple of songs. Got any recommendations?"

Good job, he thought slyly to himself. Address something the other party is passionate about. Take an interest.

It clearly worked, the girl launched into an explanation of different songs that were either "good" "really good" or "oh my god you have no idea how amazing no seriously take my word for it" as she packed her belongings back into her bag.

Lean forward to show interest.

Smile.

Laugh.

So far, so good. They'd only just met and this stranger was displaying open body language and chatting animatedly, an easy smile decorating her features. Phil collected one last piece of paper from the floor and stood up.

Brush hand over hers when giving back belongings.

A shy smile and soft blush spread across delicate face.

Perfect.

The girl stood up too, patting away the dust that'd found its way onto her baby pink skirt. Thankfully, the rush of passengers had almost completely died down, only a small trickle of people coming down the stairs to the platform to wait for the next train.

The girl looked up at Phil.

"Thank you so much, um....."

Tell her your name. Smile.

"Phil."

"Phil! I'm Cat."

Keep on fucking smiling.

"Nice to meet you, I hope you didn't get hurt when you tripped?"

Look concerned. Lean forward.

The girl – 'Cat'- blushed again.

Too easy.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me out, you're such a nice guy!"

Heh, aren't I just.

"I'm late to meet my friend though, so I'd better get going. Maybe see you around?"

Smile. My face aches, constant smiling is tough work, fuck.

Nod.

"Yeah, maybe. Enjoy your day, and be careful!"

Phil waved to her as Cat walked away. As soon as she was out of sight, he backed up against the wall behind him, breathing heavily. His heart was going a mile a minute and his throat was dry.

Calm down. Calm down, you're fine. That went really, really well. Breathe.

No one around him paid any attention as he wiped his hands on his jeans again.

Okay. Shopping.

His legs were shaking.

This is just the beginning.

Eren forced himself to calm down and exited the train station.

Just the beginning.

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