JaPHAN

CHAPTER 3

Dinner that night was spectacular. As it turned out, Phil had made reservations for a very popular Japanese sushi restaurant. The food was fantastic, and Dan had an amazing time with his best friend. It was almost as if they were on a date...almost.
After their meal, they both agreed that they were incredibly tired. So they went back to the hotel for an early night in, though Dan as usual, stayed up a bit late on Tumblr while Phil slept idly by. And Dan had to admit, they ended up sleeping a bit closer than necessary that first night in Tokyo.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Dan wake up!" Phil called.
"Yeah?"
"We have to meet those nice fans, Henry and Jordyn, at the Ghibli museum!"
"Oh yeah!" At that, Dan sprung out of bed. He actually couldn't wait to see those two again, he really enjoyed talking to them the day before.
"We have to take public transport to get there," Phil said. "It's a bit far." Dan nodded, trying not to think about his awkward experiences thus far on public transport. They showered quickly, changed, and were soon heading out the door. They decided to catch a bus, as they didn't feel ambitious enough to catch a train. The nearest bus stop was a few bustling city blocks away. And when it pulled onto the curb, its doors swinging open, Dan climb on first, grabbing the railing. Phil's hand brushed against his as he climbed on behind, causing Dan's pulse to quicken nervously. He could barely pay the bus fares, as his mind was immediately sent elsewhere.
"Sit there!" Phil hissed from behind, pointing to the nearest empty seat. Dan simply nodded, and sat down. His brain seemed to be clouded, all because of a simple touch of the hand. And Phil sitting so close right now surely didn't help his case.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
It was only a little later on in the bus ride when Dan returned to normal, the hidden euphoria from the previous moment dying down inside him. That was when his phone buzzed, signaling that an authorized Twitter user had tweeted him.
"Oh my god," he laughed, passing his phone to Phil. "Read."
"From Nick Jonas, wow Dan," Phil read, pausing to smile. "at danisnotonfire...'hey buddy you in London?'....Dan!"
"Figures!" Dan replied. "The one time we're not in London, Nick freakin' Jonas wants to hang out with us!"
"You," Phil said quietly. "He wants to hang out with you."
"I wouldn't hang out with Nick Jonas without you," Dan said endearingly, perhaps a bit too endearingly, because Phil looked at him with an unreadable expression. Quickly, Dan cleared his throat. "Because he knows you too of course."
"Oh...right," Phil said simply, perhaps a bit disappointedly, before gazing back out the window. And they spent the rest of the ride in silence.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*
They reached the Ghibli museum at noon, just in time to meet their new friends who happened to take a cab.
"Look, there they are!" Phil pointed out to Dan as Henry and Jordyn approached. It was easy to tell it was them, from Henry's mostly black outfit, though today he was missing the hat and wore a My Chemical Romance tee, and Jordyn's laid back jeans and a school tee, though today her hair was curly and bounced as she walked.
"Hey guys!" they called, smiling and approaching.
"Hey!" Dan said, smiling back. Both Dan and Phil gave them a hug. "How are you guys today?"
"Great!" Henry answered. "Our teachers didn't give us any trouble about meeting you two here."
"Yeah, they practically pushed us out the door...because technically this field trip is supposed to 'teach us about the real world'," Jordyn said, rolling her eyes. Dan shrugged.
"Sounds like that would have been helpful, for my anyways." It was Henry's turn to shrug.
"Eh, it's alright." He gestured to the door of the museum. "Shall we?" Phil smiled.
"We shall."
And the group walked in.
Once inside, they were greeted by a friendly, English-speaking Japanese woman.
"Welcome to the Ghibli museum!" She announced, smiling at them. "A family visit I see?"
"Ah-" Jordyn opened her mouth to correct her.
"Actually we're-" Phil started.
"We're just-" stuttered Dan.
"Friends," Henry said finally, smiling. "We're all just friends."
The lady blinked, as if acknowledging that they were absolutely insane, before wishing them a happy visit.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*
After visiting their first few museums, specifically the newest one, The Haunted Tower (which they all agreed was amazing) Dan and Jordyn decided that they wanted to visit the Gift Shop, leaving Phil and Henry alone.
"So," Phil said, smirking slightly, and sitting down on a bench. "Jordyn...she's a good girl, you're a lucky guy." Henry almost spit out his water that he had just sipped from the bottle.
"You mean to tell me that you think Jordyn is my girlfriend?" He laughed out loud. Phil frowned.
"She's not?"
"No!" Henry giggled for a moment more before becoming serious. "She is my best friend though, but that's all."
"Well, I wish I could say differently for me and Dan," Phil sighed, deciding that he was close enough friends with Henry to share his feelings.
"Huh?"
"Me and Dan," Phil said softly. "We're best friends...but that's all we'll ever be." Henry gulped.
"So...do you...uh..?"
"Have feelings for Dan?" Henry nodded. "Yeah," Phil admitted. "Always have. But I know he doesn't feel the same way. And I don't want to mess things up...it hurts sometimes though. A lot." At this, Henry placed an arm around Phil.
"I think," Henry began. "You should tell Dan how you feel. But when the time is right." Phil looked at him for a second, then began to nod, slowly, then faster. He smiled.
"You know what Henry? You're right."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Some school you two go to," Dan acknowledged as he and Jordyn scanned the gift shop shelves for anything interesting.
"It's a boarding school," she informed him. "For...special kids, like us."
"Special?" Jordyn sighed.
"Orphans basically."
"Oh," Dan said, dumbstruck. "I'm sorry." Jordyn shrugged.
"It's alright. We're all each other needs. Henry's like...my brother." Dan grinned at her.
"I'm glad you two have each other. You're like Phil and I...except..." He trailed off.
"Except what?" Dan looked at her seriously through a shelf of Totoro snow globes.
"I'm going to tell you something that I don't want you to tell to anybody else. Because I trust you." Jordyn nodded.
"I won't tell anyone, I promise." Dan could tell that she was genuine, so he took a deep breath before speaking.
"I think I...have feelings for Phil." He studied Jordyn's face carefully, expecting either disgust or fangirlish happiness. But he found neither. Instead, she was simply thoughtful.
"I think you should go for it then," she said finally. "Tell him how you feel."
"Yeah but what if I ruin everything?" Dan asked. Jordyn smiled at him sympathetically.
"I have faith in you, Dan. And I have faith in your guys' friendship." As it turned out, those were the very words that Dan needed to hear. And soon, he decided that he would set the plan that he had kept in the back of his pocket for three years into action.