"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but your drawings were absolutely dreadful Phil! I'm sorry, but I just can't help myself!"
(Y/N) was chattering excitedly about the video she had just helped film, cackling like a madman whenever she replayed some of her favorite parts with Phil. She had admitted that her personal favorite was the sad emo pigeon, the finished results akin to a catastrophic trainwreck. No amount of edgy 2000's music could fix that aviary travesty.
"It was a lot harder than it looked! We had barely anytime to draw, much less think of a clever way to design our images. Trust me, the reason we're on Youtube isn't because of our art skills."
(Y/N) snickered loudly, covering her mouth as she tried to be polite in front of her friend. "Oh, you don't say?" Phil narrowed his eyes in mock sadness, pushing his bottom lip out into a sad pout. (Y/N) quickly turned her words around. "Wait, no! I didn't mean it in a bad way!"
Phil broke his facade and let a mischievous smile creep forward. "I'm only kidding, (Y/N). We know that we suck at drawing! This challenge though, it was quite fun. Thanks for helping us film today, it was really nice of you."
She smiled up at him, giving his a thumbs up gesture. "Yeah, no problem! It was really cool to be apart of this, and I got to see what one of your videos is like first hand, so that's also pretty awesome." Her grin suddenly faltered, her head tilting to the side as she looked around the room in confusion. She pointed to the empty doorway. "Say, where did Dan run off to? He seemed to be in a bit of a rush."
With a curious hum, Phil looked to where (Y/N) was staring, wondering where Dan went as well. "Huh, you're right. He probably just ran to get something, or he drank too much and was holding it until the video was done." He snorted, letting out an amused puff. "Honestly, it's something he would totally do. That guy has some strange mannerisms."
Seemingly satisfied with the answer, (Y/N) shrugged, her attention back towards the table in the room. "Can I look at your drawings again? I can't get enough of them, I may end up taking a picture so I can laugh about it later." Phil chuckled, extending his hand out as an invitation to survey the drawings one last time.
"Go ahead, I'll just be in the other room getting something. Be back soon!"
(Y/N) made a noise of confirmation, her eyes glued to the misshapen designs as she tried once again to hold back her laughter. Phil could feel his ears light up in slight embarrassment; It would seem that he'd have to learn how to draw better in the future so this didn't happen as often.
Phil made his way through the doorway, his eyes grazing over the flat's empty common room. Dan wasn't there, neither was he in the kitchen. With a quick glance to the side,Phil could tell that he wasn't in his room either. He smirked to himself, maybe Dan really had waited until the end of the video to use the restroom. Seeing as it was a rather lengthy recording session, Phil was impressed that he had lasted that long in the first place. With a few more steps forward, the sight of a closed bathroom door came into view.
Feeling a sudden burst of mischief, Phil decided to knock on the door and heckle his friend for abusing his bladder that long. This wasn't the first time he had done this, and each time Dan was chastised for not going beforehand. The worst when he had drunk two full water bottles right before one of their live performances; he was lucky that they had an intermission at that show!
As he was about to rasp his knuckles against the door, Phil noticed how it was slightly ajar, a thin stream of light pouring into the hallway. The door was open; Dan never made that mistake. Tapping lighty, Phil leaned into the door and called out. "Dan? You okay?" At first there was nothing, only the sound of the bathroom's fan and running water. Phil waited anxiously for an answer, the unnatural silence sending ripples of unease across his skin. This was unlike his friend, the foreignness of the situation chilling. "Dan?"
Unable to take anymore of this bizarre behaviour, Phil pushed the door forward, a hasty apology ready on his lips in the event that he had made a grave error. Bringing his head upwards, Phil was about to recite his worried justifications until a loud, alarming sneeze ripped through the air.
"Achoo!"
Phil jumped backwards, a startled noise escaping from his mouth as he tried to make sense of what just happened. He clasped a hand over his thumping heart as he tried to steady himself. "Dan, what the heck was that!?"
Leaning against the counter with a hand in the air was Dan, his head lowered and his eyes closed as he readied himself for another sneeze. With a false wheeze, he sniffed forcefully, groaning as he blinked several times before turning to Phil. "Sorry, just felt a few sniffles coming on. I thought my nose would come off with how hard I sneezed!"
Phil stared at his friend with how ridiculous he was being. "Oh, that's why you ran off. I thought something bad had happened to you. Have you suddenly gained allergies to something?"
Dan shook his head, sniffing one last time before straightening himself out. His face was quite flushed, but then again it could've been from how much he was holding in these sudden sneezes. Phil cocked his head in concern. "You're not coming down with another flu, are you?"
His friend chuckled lightly, shaking his head at the idea. "No, of course not. Just the dust trying accelerate my already short life." He smiled, pleased with his joke. "All good, Phil. Sorry to worry you."
Phil felt relief wash over him with the return of Dan's snarky tone, the familiar timbre reassuring. Happy that the mystery of his disappearance was solved, he urged Dan to come back with him. "Come on, we have to say goodbye to (Y/N) before she goes. I don't think she'll want to stay all night for the editing process. Heck, even I don't want to stay up that long as well!"
The brunette nodded, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to straighten it out real quick. Following Phil, the two made their way back to Phil's room where they had recorded the video. Sitting at the table was (Y/N), her cheeks rosy from how much she was grinning at the poorly drawn creatures. Upon noticing their arrival, she looked up, giving a soft greeting.
"You know, these aren't half bad when you look at them from a distance... with squinted eyes. Why, I'd almost say that this looked like a pretty good... 'thing'." She beamed, an uncapped marker hovering over the drawings.
A playful voice sounded behind Phil. "Oh, and I assume that you can do much better, Miss (L/N)?"
(Y/N) looked up at Dan, quickly becoming bashful as she waved her hands frantically in front of herself. "What? Ah, no! I don't draw very much, well, that's a lie but... Ah, no! I'm not that good of an artist!" She seemed a little nervous now, her fingers anxiously twiddling the marker around.
Dan scoffed, crossing his arms with a mischievous smirk. "Oh come on, can't you draw just one thing for us? We did it for the whole video, now it's your turn. What do you say, Phil?"
"Oh! Um..." Phil looked towards (Y/N), catching the sudden nervousness in her eyes. It was almost like she was pleading for his answer to be no. Maybe she wasn't that good of an artist, or perhaps she was too shy to draw in front of them? Phil gently nudged Dan's arm, smiling kindly. "Nope, It's alright. Maybe another time though, okay? Besides, it's getting late and we should really let you get home before it's dark, (Y/N)."
She let out a relieved sigh, dropping the marker onto the table. "Yeah, you're right. I should be heading off soon." She stood up from the table, grinning like an awestruck child. "Thanks for letting me watch one of your videos and help you out with one. Watching you guys draw was fucking hilarious, oh my god! Let me know if you ever need help with another video, okay?"
Phil nodded excitedly, "Of course! You were such a big help today. And we're happy you liked our videos; we weren't so sure what your reaction would be after seeing one. Glad it was a positive one at least!"
(Y/N) kept smiling as the two brits lead her towards the door, a few more excited bits of chatter coming from the group before she left. As she was putting on her shoes, Dan reached for her coat as he waited for her to take it. "Wouldn't want to forget this. I heard it's been quite chilly out there recently."
She nodded her thanks, her eyes drifting downwards for a split second before she looked up again. "Alright, see you guys later. Good luck with editing and such; Goodnight!"
"Goodnight!" Phil said in unison with Dan, raising their hands in a short wave before they closed the door behind the girl. The two stood in place for a few moments, unsure of what to do next.
It was Dan who spoke first. "Well, I think I'm going to call it a night. It's been such an eventful day, I feel absolutely drained. Have fun checking over the video, there's no fucking way I'm editing two in a row!" With a strained smirk, Dan turned and made his way towards his room. "Good luck, Lester."
Phil looked at the clock and yawned, dreading the late night editing session he was about to endure. With a gentle wave, Phil wished his roomate goodnight. "See you in the morning. I hope your sneezes don't come back when I decide to sleep!"
Dan looked back, a look of confusion momentarily clouding his features. "What ar- Oh, r-right. Don't worry, I think they're done for the time being. Thanks for the concern though." Phil watched as Dan huddled back to his room, the soft sound of his door shutting filling the room. Phil's eyes were narrowed as he tried to make sense of this odd behaviour.
Phil shrugged it off, it was probably because he was tired from their long day of work. Another yawn escaped from his, a valiant attempt at luring him back to his bed. However, now was not the time for sleeping; he had a lot of work ahead of him. Begrudgingly, Phil made his was back to the editing room as he prepared himself for a long night of digital cutting and pasting.
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Dan wrapped himself in a tighter ball underneath the blankets as he urged himself to fall asleep. The events of today kept flashing back into his mind, reminding him of his sudden, earth shattering epiphany;
He had feelings for (Y/N).
He had thought about it rationally, thinking of any scenario that could explain this predicament. Maybe he was just tired; confused and delusional. Maybe he just thought that way because they didn't have many female friends and his mind just gravitated towards her for a second? Perhaps he was getting sick again?
Speaking of sick, that whole charade of 'the sudden sneezes' was just a cover up to hide his blushing face. He had heard Phil coming, no doubt wondering where he had gone. Dan knew that his flushed face would cause alarm, God forbid multiple questions from his flatmate. So what did he do to cover up? He inhaled water into his nose, causing a sharp pain to erupt in his nostrils. The sudden liquid had caused his nose to seize painfully, sending a flurry of sneezes his way. Plus, the uncomfortable feeling of water up his nose had helped to calm his racing mind, even if it was the stupidest fucking thing he had ever thought of doing. Luckily, Phil had bought it; oblivious as always.
Yet Dan knew he wouldn't be able to shove water up his nose forever, that was just plain stupid and impractical. He had to make an effort to hide any indications of how he felt, no matter how challenging it proved to be. Eventually this would all blow over, these unwanted feeling destined to crumble away and free him from the shackles of infatuation. Besides, she probably didn't feel the same way at all; he was just being weird.
At the thought of (Y/N) not returning his feelings, Dan could feel his heart sting, the sharp pain causing him to place his hand over his chest. His heart ached, throbbing whenever he thought about the girl he had know for almost a month. It seemed silly to have fallen for her in that amount of time, but he couldn't help it. There was something about her that made him want to get closer.
Yet even if he was closer to her, side by side, would she ever feel the same way? Dan clutched his chest harder, grimacing as he was overwhelmed with hopeless emotions. It pained him deeply knowing that she'd never feel the same way about him; honestly, who would?
Dan sighed pitifully, rolling around in his bed in a futile attempt to fall asleep. He wanted to sleep, seeing as loving (Y/N) was something he could only dream of.
A/N: Hello, been a while eh? Sorry it's a lil' short, it's been a very busy week at work for me (Working 9hrs everyday can be a little exhausting, wouldn't you say?), so I'm hoping next week will give me a little more free time to work on stuff.
Also, thank you once again for your continuous support, whether you're just stopping by for a glance, voting or adding a tiny comment. Honestly it means so much to me! I'm having such a blast writing this! c:
Thanks once again; until next time~!