Hate Me Closer (Phan)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Dan addressed Phil about how he could be swapping into Crossings with him, they were sitting on the freshly cut grass of Auburn School with glasses of ice to combat the heat they were sat in, despite choosing a patch under the shade of the buildings.

"Do you know they've offered to swap me into Crossings?" Dan asked suddenly, rattling his ice cup.

Phil's cheeks reddened and his head slyly nodded, "I'm aware."

Dan squinted his eyes at him, trying to read his friend's expression, "Did you know about this?"

He nodded, "They asked me before they offered it to you."

"And you agreed?" Dan questioned.

"Of course!" he beamed, his tone verging on a squeal. The younger boy could quite easily compare Phil to a child going to Disneyland, in this moment.

"You seem way too eager about this." Dan admitted jokingly, rolling his eyes and laying back in the sickly warm grass, "I hate summer!" he bellowed into the humid air, feeling the sweat on his back absorb into his t-shirt.

"Old buildings." Phil muttered, "They can't bloody heat up in winter, and they can't bloody cool down in summer."

"They look sexy, though," Dan admitted.

"A strange way to describe a building." Phil laughed bemusedly, "You hated me this time last year."

"Politely disliked you, actually." Dan tested, sipping on more of the cold residue of the ice he'd stolen from the Hepburn freezer.

"I wouldn't call throwing me into a wall very 'polite', if you ask me."

"Good job I wasn't asking, I was telling." Dan giggled, sitting up again, "You're going to regret wanting me in Crossings."

"Quite possibly." Phil agreed. He sighed, placing the cold glass onto his forehead as he mumbled, "What do you think of GCSEs next year?"

"I don't care because I've got my SATs complete." he thought to himself, before giving Phil a completely different answer, "I'm not worried anymore." he grinned, giving his friend a sly smile, "I think I have mostly you to blame for that."

"You wouldn't have made the progress if you didn't put in the effort." Phil pointed out.

Dan groaned, "True." He finished the last of the ice and placed the cup beside him, lifting himself onto his arms as he bathed in the shade, "What's your predictions?"

"Straight As for sciences, A*s for everything else." Phil grinned mischievously.

"Oh, fuck off!" Dan squealed, throwing the cup at him. Phil let out a small scream, standing up and stacking the cups into each other.

The black-haired boy smiled, offering his palm out to Dan who, despite the heat of the day, took his friend's hand and let himself be pulled up. He stumbled clumsily to his feet, looking up and standing slightly too close for comfort. Either of them should have moved, but they didn't until the older boy gave his friend the empty cups and muttered, "I need to finishing packing, and then I've got supper."

Dan sucked in a breath and nodded, taking the cups and walking a few steps to the side, "Me, too. Uh, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?"

Phil nodded, giving the brown-haired boy a warm smile as they turned around and walked off. He'd never have believed he'd have Daniel Howell on his side if he was told that the year before. But, seven months of friendship and it'd have been hard to imagine school without him.

***

"Dan, hurry up!" Phil screamed, standing at the bottom of the Hepburn staircase, leaning against the bannister with his suitcases outside on the pathway.