Colors (Phan AU)

fourteen

Light was shinning through the blinds of the window and onto his face. He attempted to open his eyes, but sleep held them shut. He noticed a sweet aroma in the air and something soft against his cheek. He heard the soft breath of another person next to him in his bed. His eyes finally fluttered open.

He smiled when he saw Louise curled up next to him, and he buried his face in her soft hair. She didn't wake, but she snuggled close against his warm body.

He began to remember the events leading up to this.

"Hey Dan," Louise had said to him at school. "Are you busy this weekend?"

He felt nervous and out of breath. "Um no I'm not. Why?"

"Well," she said, "I was wondering if you'd like to maybe hang out on Friday night...?"

He smiled, a genuine smile, something he hadn't done in a while. "Yeah, that'd be great."

Then the tardy bell rang for class.

"Dammit," he murmured. Then he told her, "we will talk more in class later, okay?"

She nodded in response, adding a small smile. They went in opposite directions, to different classes. Everything had been different for Dan after the tragedies he'd seen, but Louise made him feel better. When he was around her, he could see color, a thing few others had seen.

They had made official plans later that day during their class together. (The weird teacher was no longer there, someone else took his place.) They decided to just get a nice meal, head to the park and hang out for a while, then go their separate ways.

But that's not how it worked out.

That Friday, Dan and Louise went to a decent restaurant, a not too expensive one, but still good.

"Oh, you don't have to pay," Louise told him. "I'll pay." She started to grab her wallet.

"No, it's alright, I'm paying." Dan handed the waiter the amount to pay the bill and a small tip.

"You didn't have to do that," Louise said as the waiter walked away. Dan just shrugged. He wanted to do it for her.

Dan then drove them to the nearest park. A few people walked on the sidewalk around the playground area, but they paid no attention to Dan and Louise. The two of them sat on the playground like in almost all romance films, and they talked.

"You know I've been thinking..." Louise trailed off.

Dan turned to look at her, her beautiful eyes focused on the ground. "Me too," he told her.

"What have you been thinking about?" She asked, finally meeting his gaze. He couldn't get over how pretty she was in color.

"You." He looked away.

"What about me?" Louise leaned closer to Dan, wanting an answer.

Dan suddenly turned to her, their faces only inches apart. "I love you." The whisper was barely loud enough to hear, but the following kiss was enough for others to notice.

He remembered her lips being so soft against his. Her warmth seeped into his body, his veins, his heart. She pulled away from the kiss and looked around.

"What is this?" She wondered aloud.

"That," Dan said, putting two fingers under her chin. "That is color."

They were making out again.

Dan remembered everything else as a blur; he don't know when or why they decided to go back to his house. Although he had a pretty good idea why, he knew that wasn't the case.

So the next morning when he woke, he felt warm with love, inside and out. He knew Louise had felt it too, she had seen the colors. But he wondered, would she always see the colors around him now? That was the question that was bugging him. He wouldn't know the answer for a while.

He felt her stir next to him. Her eyes fluttered, just as his had when he woke.

"Good morning, sunshine," he whispered to her. A tired, but genuine smile worked it's way across her face. Once she finally opened her eyes, she looked around.

"I see color," she whispered.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

He felt her nod against his shoulder. "It really is."

They both fell back asleep in each other's arms, happy because of the color.

They were lucky Dan's mom never found out; Louise snuck out of the house later that evening and was never caught. Somehow they managed to keep the thing between them a secret. They were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. The next Monday, nobody suspected a thing.

However, it was different for Phil.

He noticed the way Dan and Louise looked at each other. He noticed the smiles they exchanged. He noticed them hanging out and talking more often. And it was that Monday when Phil realized he was hurt. Phil felt an overwhelming sadness. Dan didn't want him, Dan wanted Louise. Phil knew he couldn't change that.

He walked through the halls without Dan. He didn't sit at the lunch table with Dan. He didn't sit next to Dan in class. But Dan didn't even notice.

Dan didn't seem to care.

Dan only wanted Louise.

And Louise wanted Dan.

Phil couldn't accept that fact. The hours went by, slower than a slug, and Phil felt he couldn't take it anymore. He was sick of seeing the two together. He knew what was happening, but he never said a word.

The final school bell had rung, so Phil headed out to his car. His eyes were focused on the paved parking lot which he drug his feet across. Car keys dangled from Phil's pinky finger as he struggled to carry his school stuff. Too much homework, he thought to himself.

He had reached his car and attempted to open the door when he dropped his things. Great job Phil, he thought sarcastically. His papers, luckily, hadn't flown away in the wind. They had gotten caught under the back tire of the car, leaving tire marks on the paper. Quickly, Phil collected his possessions and put them in the backseat of his car. He thought his day couldn't get any worse; then he turned around.

He saw Dan and Louise by Dan's car. They were kissing. Phil's jaw dropped.

He hurried into his car, but didn't start it. He sat there wanting to cry, but no tears came. He wanted Dan.

He wanted Dan for himself.