Dream a Little Dream // Daniel Howell x Reader

Chapter 18

Phil's eyes followed (Y/N) curiously as she scanned through the many isle of the shop, her gaze looking back and forth at the abundance of games on display. Her attention seemed to be momentarily engulfed by a comical umbrella hung on display, a rather crude image printed on the side. It was all grey in colour, a monochromatic hand on the outside of the umbrella; upon closer inspection, the hand was clearly flipping the bird, the words "Fuck you, rain" printed below. She seemed quite amused by this, but ultimately continued on her way down the aisles.

Looking to the side, Phil caught Dan looking at her from afar, giving her a swift glance every so often as he watched her moves. When he wasn't looking at her, he tried to look busy by mindlessly looking at some nerdy trinkets, but Phil could tell his heart wasn't into it. He seemed to prefer looking at something that wasn't on the shelves.

Feeling mischievous, Phil walked beside Dan and nudged him teasingly. "Thinking of anything in particular?" He must've spooked Dan, his friend's brown eyes going wide as he jumped into the air, stifling a small gasp of surprise. When he saw that it was just Phil, he hissed in annoyance.

"What? No, not really. There aren't many games I want to buy right now..."

"Games, huh? Why not help (Y/N) out, she seems to be looking for something."

Dan's gaze went directly to the ground, a sheepish smile spreading across his face. "No, she's fine by herself. Besides, I don't want to bug her while she's looking."

Phil rolled his eyes at how bashful his friend was being, unable to comprehend why he was being this nervous over a simple action. "Okay, I'll go help her then. You can continue staring at her from behind the shelves if you want." Dan was about to protest before Phil turned his back feeling like he was going to explode from how much laughter he was holding in. He was having way too much fun with this.

Phil approached (Y/N) from behind, tilting his head to the side as he saw what she was looking at. "The Sims 4? I didn't know you played that." Once again, it seemed Phil was a little too sneaky today, causing (Y/N) to shriek in terror at the sudden presence behind her. Phil jumped back, letting out his own shreech of surprise. A few of the lingering customers looked towards the two, confusion clouding their features as to why they were having a screaming match. Phil placed a hand over his frantic heart, giving a wave of assurance towards the people before lighting up in an embarrassed blush.

(Y/N) breathed out a heavy sigh, looking towards Phil with mock aggression. "Phil, what the Hell?! Give me a warning the next time you try to scare me shitless, will you?"

"Sorry, (Y/N). Didn't know I had all this stealth in me!"

The girl rolled her eyes playfully, lightly punching Phil's arm as her spirited attitude showed. "Anyways, no, I haven't played this yet. But my friend told me to try it sometime but I just never got around to buying it. It seems kinda fun, I guess."

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Dan and I have the game back at our flat, digital of course. You can play it sometime if you want; that way you won't have to spend your money on it."

Her eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, of course! Dan, can (Y/N) play our copy of Sims sometime?" The brunette was lurking around the corner, so Phil has no doubt that he would be listening to the two of them talk. With the way he was acting now, one could confuse the man with an amatur stalker.

Dan slinked into view a moment later, trying to look calm and collected when he looked at (Y/N). "Sure, she can play it. We could show you tonight if you want." A faint pink was dusting his cheeks; Really Dan? Try to hide it a little better.