The Boy With The Sad Eyes • Phan AU

Chapter 1

Mysterious.

As cliche and tumblr as that seems, that's the first word that came to my head when I first saw that boy.
This boy was a regular who came to my families bookstore and coffee shop .
I lived in a small town just a little bit away from Manchester so it's the only bookstore in town. Now honestly it shouldn't be a weird thing that this boy comes into our shop everyday but every time I make eye contact with him, I can see sadness radiating from his eyes. Not only that but occasionally I see him staring at me, examining my every move. Whenever we make eye contact he doesn't look away, but I quickly do.
I admire him, and I wish I could speak to
him and find out all his secrets. Of course I never would because I'm always busy in the shop and have social anxiety anyway.
I looked at the clock, 2:58, he'll be here soon. He always comes at 3pm he hasn't missed a day since the first time he came in a few months ago.
"Dan! Come sweep the floor!" I heard my mom yell from the back of the shop. I sighed and grabbed the broom.

When I was finished I looked at the clock, 3:35. The boy hadn't come into the shop yet. This was new. He never came in later than 3:10.

I put the broom up and went back to the counter. I heard the door ding and looked up, hoping to see the boy but it was just my best mate, Connor. "Hey." He said in his adorable American accent. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on him but he has a boyfriend called Troye.
Fortunately our town was not homophobic at all. Troye and Connor were happily out as gay and I was out as bi and no one really cared.

"What'll be mate?" I asked Connor. He scanned the sweets that we had. "I'll have two cinnamon rolls please." He said.
I grabbed the cinnamon rolls in a piece of wax paper, put them in a bag, and handed them to him. "Are you gonna stay?" I asked. He looked guilty, "Sorry i can't. I'm handing out with Troye later." I sighed, "Have fun, And that will be £5" Connor payed then left. I looked at the clock 4:03. The boy still wasn't here.

----

The rest of the day was slow and we had barely any people come in. The boy never did show up and it bothered me more then it should have. I mean he has a life, maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend, or heck, maybe he's married.

My shift was over at 6 and i was sure to leave as soon as the girl who works evenings came in, late as always. She's supposed to come in at 4:45 but she never does because she knows I'm not off until 6.

"Mom, I'm leaving!" I yelled to my mom who was baking some small cakes. "Alright honey! There's pizza in the fridge or you can pick something up."

I left our cute little shop and pulled out my phone.
Are you still hanging out with Troye or can i come over?
I started walking in the direction of my house when i ran into someone, falling over. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry i-" i cut myself off when i saw who i ran into, the boy. Then i saw the black eye. "Your eye! Are you okay? What happened? Do you need to go to the hospital? Ill take you if yo-" He interrupted me, "no no no I'm fine. I just ran into a pole, barely hurts. Are you guys open?" I stood up, "Yeah we're usually open to 8pm, my shift just ended. Go right in."

He hesitated for a minute, "Well there's no reason to go if you're not there."
"W-what" I stuttered. Then he ran. I grabbed his wrist, "Wait!" But he flinched so hard i let go, and he was gone.

What the hell just happened. And i still don't know his name.

I felt buzzing in my pocket I took out my phone to see a text from Connor.
Troye's still over but you can still come and chill w us
I replied
Yeah I'll be over in 10.

I went in the opposite direction that the boy went, to Connors house.

-----

I didn't stay at Connors for long, him and Troye kept acting all lovey and honestly it was making me sick.

I headed home, in the dark, completely alone. Nothing to worry about at all. My anxiety was sparking up the entire time but I made it home safely.

I ate some pizza, took a shower, and went to bed.

I stayed up for hours thinking about what he said. "Well there's no good reason to go if you're not there".

I finally fell asleep at around 2 am.

---

I woke from a restless sleep to my phone ringing. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID, Mum. I answered the call and was immediately met with screaming. "It's nearly 1pm! Why aren't you here yet!" I looked at my alarm clock, which was set back at 12:00.

"I-I I'm so sorry Mum! My alarm clock must've unplugged or something! I'll be there in 15 minutes." I told her. "You better!" She said then hung up.

I got out of bed and grabbed my jeans from the floor and grabbed the first shirt in my closet, a plain black t-shirt. I grabbed my straightener and plugged it in. I turned it on and ran downstairs. I put on my shoes and grabbed a granola bar. I ate it and checked my phone. I didn't have enough time to straighten my hair. I ran upstairs and unplugged my straightener. I ran back downstairs and out the door.

I quickly walked to the store, which fortunately wasn't very far. I walked in the door and behind the counter. I kissed my mum on the cheek. "I'm so sorry I'm late Mum, my alarm clock somehow was unplugged. "It's fine just go to the kitchen and see if the muffins are done."
"Alright mum."
I pushed past the swinging door into the kitchen and opened the oven, I took out the muffins and checked them, they were done.
I took them out of their slots and placed then all on a platter, a few fell apart and I put them into the reject pile.
I moved the platter through the door and opened the display case. I lined them up in single file and put the £2 price tag in front of them. I covered the remaining and put them under the counter.
Suddenly the door dinged and the blue eyed boy walked in. He was wearing sunglasses but I knew what was underneath. My mother helped him. He ordered a sweet flavored coffee as always. He made eye contact, or maybe not, I couldn't tell with the shades.
I got a surge of confidence, "So how are you today?" I said to the boy.
He looked surprised and a blush came to his face, "I-im good, thank you."
I was going to ask for his name but he was out of the door before I could ask.