Two Halves of One Soul (Phan AU)

Chapter 12

They weren't necessarily the eyes he wanted to see, but he was thankful Chris had been there to hold him up.  He heard a muffled "oof" from under his shoulder blades and realized the reason Chris had been so quick to catch him.  PJ was revealed, sitting on the floor and leaning back against Chris's legs as Phil regained his balance and stood back up. "Sorry Peej." Phil's rushed apology whistled out as he looked at PJ's flushed face. All PJ could do in response was shake his head and offer a small smile.

Phil held out his hand in another apology, and PJ graciously took it, color returning to his face. The doorbell rang shortly after and the two soulmates left the room together to answer it. Phil shadowed them, curious to see who was there and silently hoping it was Dan. He hated to admit he was a little disappointed when Louise stepped through the door. As much as he loved her, her presence couldn't calm the anxious butterflies swirling in his stomach. If anything, it made them worse as he had to wait longer to face Dan.

After Louise showed up, houseguests started pouring in until Phil thought at least half their year had to be there.  But still, he hadn't seen Dan.  The anxiety in his stomach continued to build as it neared midnight.  All his efforts went into distracting himself, but it was hard to do when his eyes continued to flit around the room every five minutes, searching futilely for a familiar mop of dark hair standing out above the heads of the crowd.

It was 10 o'clock when Phil decided to give up.  The party had started 4 hours ago and if Dan wasn't here yet, Phil assumed he just wasn't gonna show.  On the other hand, if he was here, Phil noted that he was doing an infuriatingly good job at making himself invisible.   He found it hard to believe that a boy over six feet could hide himself; he knew from personal experience how hard it was to keep from making your presence known.

In another attempt to take his mind off his best friend, he danced.  He closed his eyes and swayed with the music playing through the speakers in the room, completely losing himself and drifting to a whimsical memory.  He wasn't at the party anymore, he was in Dan's room sitting by the piano and watching Dan's clothed fingers fly across the keys.

So much for trying to take my mind off him, Phil mentally huffed, but let his thoughts wander as he languidly moved to the beat.  One by one, people started to join in dancing instead of awkwardly shifting in place until eventually everyone was rocking with the song.  Phil kept his eyelids lightly closed the whole time, none the wiser to his surroundings and all those now dancing with him. 

Of course, even with the knowledge that there were still a ton of other presences in the room behind his closed lids, Phil still jumped when a hand clamped onto his shoulder and spun him around.  His eyes were wide open and he was staring at the gloved hand grabbing him, walking his gaze up its arm and to a pair of dazzling caramel eyes. 

"Dan," he sighed the name, slightly breathless from the intensity of their locked stares, though Phil would blame it on the dancing if anyone asked.  "Dan, I-" "No," Dan's authoritative voice cut him off, "I have something to say."  Phil prepared himself for the worst, maybe Dan saying he never wanted to see him again, and nodded in response.  The brunette honestly looked like he was on fire with the heat of his gaze, like he was ready to tear Phil to shreds or... Tear up?

"Dan, are you-?" Phil started, concern clearly evident in his voice before Dan spoke over him again.  "Phil, you have to let me say this or else I don't think I'll be able to work up the courage to actually confront you again."  Dan let out a whooshing sigh before taking a deep breath and continuing.  "I'm sorry for how I reacted at Louise's, I guess I was just overwhelmed and a little drunk and there was too much pressure with all the eyes.  I hope you meant your offer when you said you still wanted to be friends because I'll definitely take it.  I want so badly to stay friends.  It's a great offer for me."

When Dan finished speaking he timidly looked up at Phil again to find a smug grin plastered to his face.  "You see, Daniel, the thing is," Phil swallowed dramatically, making Dan squirm in anticipation for his response, "That's not great for me.  I know that you don't like the soulmates thing cause you're afraid of tearing me from something or someone else, but there's no one else I would rather be with than you." The countdown started and everyone was chanting along, but Phil wasn't done yet. "I don't care if we have sparkles flying from our hands or not, and I'll be just as careful as you are about touching people if it means we can be together. I love you, Dan, no matter what, and I hope you feel the same."

Tears slipped down Dan's cheeks now, happy ones this time, as he furiously nodded his head in agreement with Phil's speech. "3, 2, 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The room erupted, balloons and glitter falling from the ceiling, and when they reached one, Phil crashed his lips to Dan's.

And there were sparks.

A/N: Confused? Don't worry, all will be revealed in the next chapter.  I'll try to stick to the weird schedule I have, so it'll be up in around two days probably. Please vote and comment :) Thanks you guys!