It had been about three weeks since (Y/N) and Dan had finally confessed their feelings for each other, much to the pleasure of Phil. After all those months of constant back and forths, oblivious feelings and the inability to even admit their true thoughts, the two idiots had finally formed a relationship. Well, that's what Phil knew. Nobody else outside their little group was even aware of the girl who had swept Dan off his clumsy feet.
While Phil desperately hoped they would find each other, there were a few moments in which he would feel a small prick of doubt rise within himself. Would this development change the dynamic of their friend group? Would they see him as that awkward third wheel, the one who tags along and provides nothing useful to the conversation? Before they got together, that was all Phil would think about, worrying himself to sickness. Thankfully, all his fears were quickly dispelled when they hung out once more. It was as if nothing had changed between the three of them, save for the fact that (Y/N) would purposely sit a smidgen closer to Dan on the couch.
Even now as they sat together, they didn't give the impression of two people dating. If anything, they looked like the best of friends, laughing, joking and pestering one another occasionally. Phil couldn't help but crack a small smile, feeling overjoyed that they had finally managed to relax around each other now that they were honest with themselves. Yeah, they liked each other. No need to be painstakingly awkward anymore.
"Phil, stop staring into space and answer the question! You're going to run out of time if you keep that up."
Phil blinked several times, giving his head a good shake before facing the television. He adjusted his glasses, squinting as he started to read the question displayed on the screen. "Uhm..." mumbled Phil, trying to gather his bearings. "What nationality was the author who conceived the fable 'Babiole'—" The harsh sound of a digital buzzer came from the television, followed by disappointed fanfare.
A prerecorded line crackled from the screen, sounding displeased and upset with Phil's delayed reaction time. "I'm sorry, but you are out of time. Maybe a different contestant will know the answer?" His condescending tone made Phil's ears burn a little.
Beside him, Phil could hear Dan's unsure voice. "Eh, I don't really know the answer to this one. I've never even heard of a Babi... Baba-whatever." He sighed, looking at his low score. "Damn, I guess the CPU will snag this one.
"Psh," huffed (Y/N), selecting the same question with an air of confidence about her. "Then allow me to steal those points, my dears." Without hesitation, she selected an answer. It appeared to be a French author, the boys having never even heard of such a story.
"Lucky guess." scoffed Dan, crossing his arms in annoyance. Phil saw him glance at his points once more, pouting when he saw how he was in last place. Despite his minor hiccup, Phil was resting comfortably in second place; (Y/N) was currently dominating the game, her score double that of Phil's.
(Y/N) let a small chuckle escape, a mischievous grin on her face. "Don't be such a grumpy gus," she teased, poking Dan's side with a playful nature. "You'll give yourself permanent frown lines if you keep that up." She snickered like a child as she brought her attack to his face, strategically landing a finger where his dimples were. Phil noticed the wobbly grin stretching across Dan's features as he tried to keep up his mopey facade. However that would prove difficult as (Y/N) had a way of making him smile. Sure enough, the brunette was soon laughing along with her, grinning happily as they lightly bantered.
The group finished their game after a few more rounds, the victory going to (Y/N) without a shred of doubt. Dan had almost claimed second place, yet Phil's quick thinking and lucky guessing had allowed him to stay above for a little longer. In the end, Dan had to accept that he was not the quiz master he had been raving himself to be.
(Y/N) mentioned how bronze wasn't so bad since it reminded her of his eyes. Dan quickly accepted bronze with a shameless blush.
As their day continued outside of video games, Phil felt pretty comfortable for the majority of it. There was nothing like hanging out with his friends on a pleasant day such as this. Since the weather was quickly warming up, they had decided to open the windows for some fresh air, clearing out any lingering winter staleness. Once and a while a gust of wind would send loose papers twirling around the apartment. Whenever this happened, the three of them would laugh and make a game out of who could collect the most before they hit the ground. Unfortunately for Dan, Phil won this game. (Y/N) came in second while Dan was left in last place again, forced to bare the bronze award one more, though he didn't seem as bothered by it now.
As time flew by, it eventually came time for (Y/N) to head out. She explained that she had made plans with Allison to accompany her to a book sale downtown, surprising the boys since they didn't take Allison as the avid reader type. "Oh trust me," said (Y/N) with a smile. "She can read multiple books in one day. She showed me one of her piles on her days off. It's insane the amount she goes through. That's why I thought the book sale would be good for her and I. Now we can save money and read while we're at it!"
(Y/N) walked towards the door and collected her things, slipping on her shoes. When it came time for her to leave, she gave a wave to Dan and Phil. "Thanks for today; I had fun!" She nodded in their directions. "See you later, Phil. Dan."
"Yeah, see you later (Y/N)!"said Dan rather sheepishly. Phil could see how stiff he was as he waved their friend goodbye, his muscles practically creaking from how strained he was. As the door closed, (Y/N) quickly shot her hand out one last time, giving a hasty wave as she disappeared behind the door. Phil waited a few seconds, counting silently in his head as he had done many times before. Three... two... one...
"Ugh!" screeched Dan, throwing himself onto the couch as Phil has predicted. Anytime (Y/N) left, Dan had this funny habit of completely shutting down and falling into the nearest object in defeat. "Phil, I messed up again! I can't even do goodbyes properly! It's so simple; give her a little peck on the cheek! Perhaps an embrace?! But noooo-o, I have to get all stiff and act like an awkward friend to her!"
Phil sighed, sitting down next to Dan's sprawled out figure. He gave him a comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry, you'll get there, I believe in you!" Unfortunately for Dan, he had been on a heavy losing streak ever since he started dating (Y/N). Both in games and in life apparently. Whenever (Y/N) left, he and Dan would take the time to come up with a game plan for the poor, lost lover boy, trying their best to come up with an ingenious plan for Dan to express his feelings for her.
So far, they had nothing.
After countless nights of brainstorming, taking notes and watching every cheesy romance movie to date, they couldn't come up with a plausible way for Dan to break out of his bumbling shell. Even when they thought they had something, it was most likely that Dan would get cold feet on the actual day and never go through with it, ending the interaction with the same awkward stance. Phil groaned to himself in frustration. This was such a difficult task, but he was more determined than ever to help his friend out. They would come up with the perfect plan to woo (Y/N)! He was so sure of it!
Phil grabbed a pile of paper that was on the counter nearby, looking down to see their hasty scribbles from last night. On each page was an idea on how to get Dan and (Y/N) to share a magic moment together, the ultimate goal being the possibility of a kiss. Of course, these were the same papers that (Y/N) and the boys had been collecting whenever the wind blew through the apartment. It had all been apart of one of their failed plans— She would see the papers, see how hard Dan was trying to impress her and then; Boom! Sparks would fly and the plan would be a success.
Obviously this didn't work. They crossed that off the list.
One of their previous plans had been a walk through the park. Phil would mysteriously leave the group and leave the two of them alone. Then, Dan was supposed to walk her down to one of the traveling carts that came once a week with spring flowers, being all romantic and offering them to her. This would surely woo her, if not for the fact that they got the day wrong... and that said florist had been arrested the week before for importing rare and endangered species to the UK without permission. Yeah, turns out he was apart of some obscure plant-based Black Market.
They were forced to cross that plan off as well.
Dan had gained inspiration from one of the many romance movies he and Phil had been watching a few nights prior. He was going to borrow a dog— perhaps keep it, but that was neither here nor there—, invite (Y/N) to come walk it with him and befriend the dog to a ridiculous amount. When she sees how good he is with animals, she would surely fall for him more. It would be a perfect moment for Dan to lean in a give her a kiss, saying some cheesy line he had picked up from the film and solidify their romance on the spot. Unfortunately, when Dan had asked to borrow a dog from the dog shelter, they were sorry to inform him that they had no more dogs left; they had all found loving homes during their monthly Adoptathon. While this warmed the hearts of both boys, they were forced to bring a cat along instead. Unlike dogs, cats were a lot less willing to cooperate with people. The animal yowled and scratched at the boys when they tried to get it out of the cage, carving its claws into their arms and hands. A woman walking by the shelter heard the commotion and came into the shop. She took one look at the cat and decided to adopt it on the spot. As if to spite the boys, the cat became cooperative and loving in the woman's arms, purring like an innocent kitten. After that fiasco, the shelter was happy to announce that all their pets had been selected for loving homes.
Obviously this plan was a failure too. They crossed that idea out with their mangled hands, but not without adding a little note on the side; a cheerful reminder that all the animals were now in loving arms. This was one of the only failures that had a happy ending.
Now they were back at square one, floundering through their notes and trying their best to come up with a plausible plan for Dan's hopeless pursuit at romance. Some plans were way too cliché. Others were impossible to achieve. On the odd chance that one idea was within their reach, they would either find a flaw in the formula or Dan would get cold feet at the thought of it. Admittedly, it was tiring being the wing man for Dan, but Phil would be damned if he didn't come up with a plan that would come out victorious. A few bumps in the road wouldn't stop him from creating the perfect plan.
"Alright, what if you bring her to the movies? Not anything scary since you can't even watch the trailers without soiling yourself." Phil ignored the mocking grumble that came from Dan. He looked at his paper, tapping his pencil against his lip as he borrowed aspects from separate lines. "Then... Oh, I don't know. Take her for a nice evening walk? One around the center of the park. You know, that one spot where all the lights turn on at 9:00 PM. I think the flowers are in bloom?"
"Hmm..." hummed Dan, tapping his finger against the table. He scribbled something down on his paper, taking notes has he relayed his thoughts out loud. "They are. They're those nice purple ones; Lilacs I think? But wouldn't it be better to do that in the morning when you can see them more? All you see at night is a bunch of moths circling the lamp posts." Dan shuttered at the thought. "Can we switch it up?"
Phil considered this. "Well, the parks are usually so packed during the day and it wouldn't really give you guys a chance to share a moment alone. Plus, a lot of movies that would be good for the two of you only run near the evenings. Tsk, your only option would be to pick the night walk."
"But a movie is such a common theme. She'd probably think I'd try to do that creepy 'arm-over-shoulder' thing that a lot of people do on a first date."
"Yeah, but would you?"
Dan narrowed his eyes. "Would I what?"
"Do that arm-over-shoulder thing? I couldn't picture you doing that."
"I—" Dan's face reddened in shame. "Okay, I probably wouldn't do that. I don't know, it's a little—"
"So you're too scared is what I'm gathering?" Phil didn't mean to sound as harsh as he did, but his tone gave a different impression. He wasn't trying to sound rude, but he wasn't getting anywhere with Dan at this point. "Dan, I think you need to take a leap of faith with this. Just do what feels natural?"
Dan recoiled as if he had been shot, placing a hand over his heart as he sputtered out of control. "N-natural? Phil, natural isn't good! It'll only drive her away! I need a plan that would impress her, something that would keep her from getting creeped out by all my—" He seemed a little lost for words, fumbling with his fingers and creating air quotations. "'Strangeness'? I don't know, just me isn't enough! It's not impressive!"
"Dan!" Phil stood up abruptly, shocked by both himself and the words Dan had spoken. "You can't be this down on yourself; you're a great person! And this so called 'natural' isn't a bad thing at all! You can't keep thinking that you'll drive people away by just being you. I mean look at me; I've been with you for nearly 10 years and those have been some of the best years of my life! Not because of a facade that you put on or the things you do to try and seem impressive. Dan, I'm friends with you because you're you. There isn't anything wrong with just being Daniel Howell. If anything, it's perfectly perfect to be yourself!"
"Not only that, but (Y/N) sees nothing wrong with who you are. She became friends with us, accepting us for being natural. Not only that, but she fell for you soon after. Not some fake image or some guy who was spending every moment of his day creating an alter ego of himself. She fell for you, that awkward British guy who can't even show basic affection towards his girlfriend. That's right, she's your girlfriend. She chose you as you did with her. Isn't that all that matters?"
Dan seemed dazed after Phil had finished his motivational scolding. "My girlfriend...?"
Phil slapped his forehead, creating an audible noise upon impact. He jumped up and down as he tried to get his point through to his friend. "Yes! Girlfriend! (Y/N) is your girlfriend, now isn't that something impressive?! And it all happened without the need to put on a show! So stop worrying about creating the perfect scenario and go woo (Y/N)! Sweep her off her feet like a damn hurricane!" Phil was practically sweating during his speech, each word and syllable coming straight from the heart. He meant every bit of what he said, desperately hoping it got through to Dan. This was his life and there was no way he was going to let his best friend sabotage himself all because of the hesitation within his soul. "So? What do you have to say?"
Dan was silent as he ran his thumb along the rim of the pencil. He placed it between his fingers and began twirling it around, watching the eraser bit tentatively. It was a good while before Dan could think of something to say. "Well, I guess you've got a point there. It is rather tiring thinking about plans every night before bed. They never work anyhow..."
Phil looked up expectantly. "Yeah?"
"Mhm," Dan put the pencil down, taking a piece of paper and crumpling in his hand, tossing it to the floor. He smiled softly, seeming a little different than before. "So you say I should just forget the plans and go with what feels right?"
"Yes!" said Phil, nodded his head hastily. "Exactly! You can do this, just have a little faith in yourself!"
"What feels right... What if I don't know what's right, Phil? What if I mess up and do something wrong?" His voice was barely a whisper. Phil had to strain his ears so he could hear the brunette's nervous and timid voice. "If I mess up, what do I do then?"
"Well...." Phil shrugged his shoulders, lowering himself on the couch so he could sit beside Dan. "Sometimes you just have to go with your gut instinct. A lot of the things you keep worrying about will probably never happen. If anything, the only wrong thing you can do is keep stressing about the perfect plan." As if to make his point, Phil took another piece of paper and trampled it under his foot, the crisp edges crackling on the floor. "Sometimes the perfect plans are the ones you didn't plan for."
Dan looked to Phil, observing his features carefully. "You sound so sure about this. How do you even know this'll work?"
"Psh, I don't know anything." Dan's shoulders slumped but soon straightened out as Phil continued. "But that's the fun of it. Make the most out of the unexpected. That's what life is all about, right?"
"I guess..."
"Of course it is!" Phil slung an arm over Dan's shoulder, bringing him into a friendly hug. "I never planned on meeting you, and (Y/N) never planned her meeting with you at that convention. But good things came out of it, right?" Phil broke into a loud chuckle, looking around the room and seeing all their outlandish plans scrawled across the paper. "I think it's time that we clean up this mess. We need to clear the air."
The two of them rose from the couch and began collecting the paper that littered the apartment. Phil would have to gently remind Dan not to look at the words on the paper no matter how hard he wanted to. If he wanted things to come to him naturally, he would need to stop relying on a plan. Much to Phil's ease, it would seem that Dan was finally beginning to understand. With a confident smirk, Dan took all the paper and crumpled it into a massive ball, making a game out of it as he tossed it into the garbage from a great distance.
Dan scored without any issue. It would seem his luck was finally beginning to turn.
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"Okay girls, what's the status on the 'Dan-velopment'?"
A lone teen sat in her bed with a laptop on her lap, typing away furiously as she scanned through various fan sites on the web. Beside her was her phone, screen bright as it displayed the phone icon on speaker mode. She kept her eyes glued to the screen as she waited for her comrades to respond over the line
"Okay so, obviously there's that one picture we managed to snag from like... three weeks ago? Yeah, that one. But there's also this one from a few months back that went pretty unnoticed—"
The teen scoffed, flipping some of her hair behind her ear as she favorited a particularly raunchy edit of two men together in bed. "Please, I saw that one a while ago. But I thought it was an edit at first. People do that a lot."
The girl on the other line let her voice falter a little. "Um, yeah I guess. Anyway, you can't really see much in that picture except the umbrella and their feet. But! There is another angle I found that clearly shows it was Dan and Phil walking with that girl. Ugh, what do you think, adoring fans? A-Whore-ing fan? Could be both."
"Based on what we saw at that Starbucks a while back, I'd say they were into each other." The voice on the phone line audibly gasped, followed by a coughing sound. The teen huffed. "Yeah, I know. It's not fair. Obviously she's just getting in the way of Dan and Phil. She's practically splitting them up by just by being there!"
The voice on the line sounded strained with worry. "You don't think she'll cause them to be apart from each other, right!? Oh my God, they have to stay together, that's how it's always been. They're like, totally soulmates! She can't just break up Phan like that!"
There was a different voice on the line, a much less shrill voice than the first girl. Her's was calm and full of reason. "Now hold on, we don't know much yet. We should probably lay low and see if anyone else has any info on this girl? We could put the pictures we have on the forum and see if anyone will contribute to the mystery."
The lead teen nodded her head, her eyes never straying from the page on her monitor. She cracked a wicked grin as she reblogged a rather inappropriate comic featuring two men once more, one with brown hair while the other had a raven's tone. "That sounds like a good plan. There's strength in numbers, right? Obviously it's not everyday you see them walking the streets, so keeping our followers engaged in their affairs will help us get info quick." She reblogged one more thing before finally turning away from her screen, blinking wildly behind her glasses. "Okay, this meeting is adjourned ladies. It's been a pleasure as always."
"Totally! Talk to you guys later! Bye!" The first girl's line went quiet.
"Okay, I'll talk with you another day. Remember, we need to take this slowly and with as much caution as possible. We don't want this getting out of hand." After she didn't receive a response, the girl quickly ended her conversation. "Goodnight.' The line went dead.
The final girl sighed, hanging up the conversation for good. She turned to her laptop, sniffing as she looked at the time. 3AM, not a bad time to head to bed. She closed the laptop, making sure the screen's sound didn't wake her parents in the next room. "Please, it's not going to get out of control. If anything, we'll be the ones in control once we get our answers." The girl gave a yawn, finding her way into her covers as she retired for the night.
A/N: Heyo, back at it again with those late updates! Sorry, it's busy times at uni once more. I'll try to get a chapter out at least every month. Perhaps every two weeks? We shall see! Also; development? Oh my, what trouble will we get into this time around?
On a side note, I'm thinking of adding names to each chapter as to give it a little more pizzaz. Naming something 'Chapter' is kind of boring, no? That addition would be later in the week though.
Have a good day guys!
—B