"You have to stop, your chewing drives me crazy," Carnel groaned and shifted in his seat as he drove.
"Suh uh," Philip mumbled incoherently with a mouth full of gummy bears.
"Dude! SHH!"
Carnel scolded.
Philip rolled his eyes at his best friend and his weird pet peeves.
"Stop clapping your lips! I will strangle you any time now Phil!" Carnel exclaimed.
"God Carbitch you're such a pain!" Philip scolded after he swallowed his snack.
Carnel glared at his best friend.
"Five more minutes and I'll be free," Carnel mumbled to himself, motivating himself.
They were nearing a meadow in a small town called Meadowville, known for meadows across its small town.
"Hah! Yes! We're here!" Carnel yelled in relief, but his smile was replaced with a frown when he saw a dark blue car parked under a tree.
"A meadow?" Philip mused. "Picnic time!"
He excitedly climbed down from the car gathered all the snacks from the backseat in his arms and dropped it on the natural grass in front of him.
"Hey, kid, what are you doing? Put them back inside!" Carnel chuckled, calling out for his best friend from inside the car.
Philip ignored him and continued arranging the snacks on the lawn.
"Hey, Philly, the car's out of gas, wait here while I fill her up okay!"
Carnel yelled.
"'Kay!"
Carnel reversed his car and left.
Philip was crouching absentmindedly, arranging the snacks in an orderly manner. Once. Twice. Thrice.
His name was called out just as he was about to do it a fourth time.
Philip looked up when a pair of shoes stepped into his line of vision.
Philip stumbled back and fell down on the lawn, his senses consumed with shock.
"Wh-what what are you doing here?" Philip's heart thundered in his chest.
His heart had a way of beating erratically when Fletcher Handerson stood close to him. Now, it was beating erratically with the combination of shock.
"I wanted to see you," Fletcher said, kneeling in front of Philip, picking up the snacks and examining them.
"Huh, Lays," Fletcher hummed and tore open a packet and reached it out to Philip, who looked shocked to do anything.
Fletcher rolled his eyes.
"Calm down, I'm not here to kill you," he mumbled and pulled back his hand, and crossed his legs, sitting comfortably.
"Why did you want to see me?"
Philip seemed to be coming back to his senses.
"I like seeing you."
Philip's face flushed.
"Whatever do you mean?" Philip kneeled and reached out to open another packet of Diary Milk Silk.
"I didn't post anything about you on the forum," Fletcher looked at Philip straight in the eyes.
"I figured as much."
Philip was trying hard not to concentrate on how wrongly Fletcher had tore the packet earlier. It looked like somebody cut off half its face.
"Is this a coincidence or a setup?"
"Does this look like a coincidence to you? In the middle of nowhere?"
"Okay, a setup." Philip nodded and cast his eyes downwards as he carefully opened his chocolate.
"You're not wearing my bracelet."
"It's yours?"
"Yeah, mine."
"I removed it after I read the thing." Philip mumbled.
He didn't understand why he was set up for a 'date' with his crush that nobody except Carnel and maybe Cedric knew about.
"But I do carry it with me everywhere," Philip sat back on his heels as he dug inside his pocket.
Fletcher looked away and smiled and looked back at Philip.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Fletcher commented.
Philip was too busy staring at Flecter's face as he smiled.
He's never seen him smile like this before. At least not closely.
He noticed that Flether's eyes look lighter when he smiles. As if he had been waiting for this one moment all day.
"Philip," Fletcher waved his hand in front of Philip's face to grab his attention.
"Sorry, what was it?" Philip asked, biting into his chocolate and sitting across legged like Fletcher.
"Never mind."
"It's okay tell me."
"I said you look pretty."
He lied about saying it.
But he didn't lie about thinking that. Fletcher's just grateful he got to say it and see Philip blush for the second time that day. That too because of him.
"I'm not sure I know what to answer to that."
"A thanks would be nice."
"Thanks." Philip resorted to mumbling.
Fletcher liked seeing Philip happy. Even if it was just for a few minutes. He liked when the weeping boy's eyes looked clear and curious. He liked Philip's childlike persona when he wasn't crying.
"Philip?"
"Yes?"
"I want to confess something."
Philip nodded curiously, nibbling his chocolate and watched Fletcher set down the packet of Lays.
Fletcher inched closer towards Philip until his nose was slightly grazing Philip's.
"Are you okay with this proximity?"
Fletcher's minty breath fanned Philip's face.
Philip didn't have enough strength to move his eyes from Fletcher's.
"I'm taking that as a yes," Fletcher murmured and inched closer, resting his forehead on Philip's and closed his eyes.
"F-fletcher?"
"I like you."
"U-uh--"
"I've always liked you. I like seeing you fiddling with the locker. Even if you do it a thousand times on repeat, I'd still like seeing you."
Fletcher cupped his face with both his hands and opened his eyes, looking inside Philip's now teary eyes.
"I--"
"You would doze off on the yellow couch sometimes. You would scrunch your face like this."
Fletcher created a small frown on Philip's face with his thumb finger and erased it, smiling softly at him.
"You're someone I know."
It didn't take long for Philip to cry.
He'd always only imagined how Fletcher would tell him he likes him back.
And after a long time, reality was better than his imagination.
It was perfect.
Fletcher wasted no time in wiping Philip's tear covered cheeks.
"Can I hug you?" Fletcher asked softly.
Philip nodded, still crying and clumsily wrapping his arms around Fletcher's neck.
Fletcher wound his arms around Philip's waist and pulled him close, trying to let him that know he's got him.
But what of the outcome?
"Philip?"
"Hm?"
"Will you let me be there for you?"
~
Choco trying to contain their excitement after this chapter be like: