I walked into my room with a plan: I was going to find the best Christmas present I could for Phil. I pulled out my laptop and started googling things I could get him that were as good or even better than the CD he gave me.
It was almost nine when I realized that I hadn't studied at all for calculus, but I didn't care about that. I just wanted to find the perfect present.
At 10:30, my phone rang. It seemed to be a telemarketer, so I ignored it, letting "Sugar, We're Going Down" play.
Oh my god, that's it.
I pulled up ticketmaster and typed "fall out boy tickets" into the search bar. It took a couple of seconds to pop up, but I found what I wanted pretty soon.
"Concert in Sacremento, California, December 23."
It was a little bit of a drive, but it wouldn't be too bad. I clicked it and saw that the tickets were fifty dollars a piece. I felt my heart drop slightly.
I had almost three hundred dollars in a savings account, but I was trying to save that for college or something important.
But this is important. I need to do this for Phil.
I went into my bank account online and transferred the money I needed for the ticket into my checking account quickly, then went back to the website.
The concert was right before Christmas, so that might be a little complicated, but I was determined to make it work.
But what if Phil went on vacation for Christmas? Then I'd spend a hundred dollars on nothing. I picked up my phone quickly and found Phil's contact. I realized that he might've been asleep, so I texted him.
Are you doing anything on the 23 of December?
I stared at my phone, awaiting a response. I wanted to buy them now, I was so excited for it. One of his favorite bands is Fall Out Boy, so hopefully he would enjoy it.
My phone buzzed with his response.
No, why?
I beamed happily and went back to my laptop. The ticket-buying process was easy, I just had to print the tickets when I was finished.
I hit print and took off down the stairs to the office where all of my dad's computer stuff was. I threw open the door and marched in. I grabbed the warm papers from the tray and walked back out, closing the door behind me. I was so excited for this, I could barely feel my fingers.
I went back up to my room, my exhaustion finally catching up with me. I closed my laptop and placed it on the floor next to my bed. I picked up my phone to put it on the charger, but found a missed call from Phil.
I redialed quickly.
"Hello?" His voice was slightly muffled.
"Hey," I responded cheerfully.
"Why did you want to know what I was doing on the twenty-third?"
I can't tell him yet, but I have to give him the present before Christmas, or it would completely defeat the purpose.
"You'll find out tomorrow," I replied.
"Okay," he said slowly. "When tomorrow?"
"After school."
"I don't know if I can wait that long," he chuckled.
"I have faith in you."
---
The next morning I hopped out of bed with an extra pep in my step. I grabbed the tickets and carefully put them in my binder.
I stepped out of my house wearing Phil's coat and for the first time this winter, I didn't really mind the cold. It felt good on my face.
I met Cat outside her house and started walking toward school.
"You're smiling," Cat noticed.
"It's a good day," I responded happily.
"Stop it, it's really weird," she said. "Also, you didn't straighten your hair."
I put my hand up to my hair and felt the curls that I try so hard to hide.
I shrugged. "I must've forgotten."
Cat glanced up at me with a worried expression. "Are you on drugs or something?"
"No."
"Did you get laid?"
"What? No, you know I can't do that," I responded hastily.
"You can with Phil," she smirked. I felt my face heat up against the cold air.
"Stop it," I warned, my smile faltering slightly.
"You could totally have sex with him, though. As far as we know, he's the only person that you can," she thought out loud. My face felt like a furnace in the below-freezing air.
"Stop, please," I begged.
She shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal, but it kind of was. She was right, I probably wouldn't ever meet someone else who I can touch without panicking. Phil is possibly the only person I could ever be...intimate with. My heart raced at the thought of sex. I've never really pondered the possibility of sex before, seeing as I knew that it was impossible. I've never really had any interest in it either.
"And now you're back to normal," Cat said with a smile.
---
The school day seemed to pass slower than it ever had before. It seemed like forever by the time we got to lunch.
I went to meet Phil at our usual spot on our way to lunch. As soon as I spotted him, I felt my face heat up again. I remembered the chat with Cat earlier that morning.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi," I mumbled timidly, trying to hide my blush.
"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Nothing," I answered quickly. I wasn't about to tell him that he was the only person I could have sex with and that's why I was so flustered. That would cause too much embarrassment on both of our parts.
"Alright," he said slowly. I glanced over at him when he looked away. He was incredibly attractive; it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have sex with him.
We sat down at our table and noticed that Cat wasn't there. We both peered around the cafeteria, and spotted her sitting with Marcus and a couple of his friends. I rolled my eyes with a smile at her attempt to stick close to Marcus. She was determined to get him to ask her out.
"I really can't wait," Phil spoke loudly, startling me. "Why did you ask me what I was doing on the twenty-third?"
I smiled as I realized what he was talking about. "Are you sure you don't want to wait?"
"Yes I'm sure!" He yelled in exasperation.
I pulled out the binder that held the tickets with a smirk. I carefully removed the tickets and handed them to him.
I watched carefully as his face changed from confusion, to understanding, to excitement. "Merry Christmas," I giggled, and he looked up at me with happiness written across his face plainly.
"Oh my god," he whispered, and threw himself at me. His long arms wrapped themselves around me and pulled me into the best hug he's ever given me. "Thank you so much, Dan. You're going with me right?"
"Of course, that's why I bought two."
He chuckled and released me. "This wasn't too expensive, right?"
I shook my head. "You deserve it anyways."
His face turned slightly pink as he glanced back down at the tickets. "December twenty-third?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you didn't have plans or anything," I explained.
"Even if I did have plans, I wouldn't hesitate to cancel them for this."
---
Cat joined us at our table half way through lunch. "What are you two smiling about?"
Phil showed Cat. "Dan got me concert tickets."
She looked from Phil to me quickly with a smirk. "A date?"
My eyes got big, and so did Phil's. "No," we both said.
"It's not like that," I muttered.
"Mmhmm, okay," she assented.
---
The next couple of days passed relatively uneventfully. Cat kept muttering, "totally a date," every time we were all three together, making Phil and I blush. She was right to assume that, though. It did seem kind of like me asking him on a date.
I might have considered that if I wasn't so excited to give him his tickets, and maybe even gone along with it. It was too late now, though. The opportunity already passed.
Phil and I started to act a little more reserved around each other. The awkwardness of the whole thing made us quick to correct any accidental innuendos or flirtatious remarks. It was kind of funny, really.
But every time it happened, I felt a little flutter in my stomach.
The looming concert caused Phil and I to bubble with excitement. He informed me that it was going to be his very first concert. It was mine too, so it was a new experience for both of us.
The week before the Christmas, the whole school went on break. I'd never been happier to get out of school. Phil was enthralled because he got a 94 on his chemistry exam.
"Thank you so much, Dan," he shouted as we walked outside. "With out you, I wouldn't have been able to get an 'A'."
---
The morning after school let out, I woke up to almost a foot of snow outside. Winter is my favorite season because of snow.
I grabbed my phone and immediately called Cat.
"Mm hello?" She answered groggily.
"Get up, it's snowing."
"Fuck off," she grumbled. "I hate snow."
"Come on, let's go play in it like when we were kids," I begged.
"Ask your boyfriend to," she muttered, then hung up.
I groaned at her use of the word "boyfriend," but it wasn't a bad idea. Phil loved everything.
"Hello?" He answered after the second ring.
"Hi, it's snowing," I sang.
"So that's the white stuff falling from the sky," Phil giggled sarcastically.
"Shut up, what are you doing currently?" I asked.
"Eating."
"Okay well I'm coming over and we are going to enjoy the snow," I beamed.
"Does the infamous I-hate-everything Dan Howell like snow?" Phil joked.
"I'll be over in thirty minutes," I ignored him.
"See you then," he chuckled and hung up.
Not only was it snowing, but I also got to hang out with Phil Lester.
AN:
Yo, go read my new story! It's called "the world in black and white" and I'm having a lot of fun writing it! (: