Phil's POV
My mom says everyone gets a defining moment in their lives. Some get many, some only get a few, but everyone get at least one. Dad thinks she's crazy. To be honest, I had begun to think so as well. I was 16, doing averagely well in school with a few average friends and a few average moments. Nothing special ever seemed to happen. Sure, small good things happened to me, but nothing was ever great. I was on the cheer squad with my best friend, Louise. I had fun, really, but I couldn't help but feel saddened that my defining moment hadn't happened yet. My mom assured me that it didn't have to happen immediately, that I would still get it some day, but I had doubts. I couldn't help it. Nearly 17 years had passed without a single defining moment. Was there something wrong with me? Maybe there was no such thing as a "defining moment". Maybe my mom was wrong.
Turns out, she wasn't.
It was just another day in the life of Phil. I was with my squad, out on the track cheering for our team to win. Truth be told, I couldn't care less which team won, but cheering was fun. Our team was down 14-52. It was nearing the end of the third quarter. I was bored, my eyes wandering the field, staring at every little detail.
Suddenly, I locked eyes with a strangely stunning pair of dark brown eyes I immediately recognized to be a boy I sit next to in my technology class. His name is Dan. He was sweet, funny, and smart, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have a bit of a crush on him. Okay, a bit of a crush is a slight understatement. He was a year younger than me, but I still loved to think about him.
I smiled, blushing slightly, and looked down at my shoes. After staring embarrassedly for a moment, I looked up. My eyes were immediately met with the sight of his, string straight at me. I couldn't help but feel bashful.
"Phil!" Louise called, snapping me back to attention. I turned to her, a confused look painted on my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dan chuckle, his adorable dimples showing. My cheeks turned red as I realized I was thinking about him again. "Pay attention!" I nodded, mirroring the cheers the other cheerleaders were doing while staying silent. My thoughts were still on Dan. I couldn't stop thinking about how cute he looked in his marching band uniform. My cheeks heated up even further.
"Phil?" Another voice said, bringing me back to the land of the living once more. I looked next to me, seeing a small freshman girl standing next to me. "Do you want to borrow my scarf?" Her voice was soft. "Your cheeks are really pink, are you cold?"
My eyes widened, realizing how visible my feelings and thoughts were, especially when the crowds eyes were on me. Realizing I still had to reply, I shook my head, biting my lip slightly. "No, really, but thanks Cat. It was nice of you to think about me."
Cat instantly perked up, her smile seeming like it could light up the entire town. "Oh, anything for one of my squad members!" She giggled, her grin growing as she turned back to the crowd. I smiled, happy knowing I made someone happy.
Nearly an hour later, there were ten seconds on the clock and we were still down 14-52. Hey, I never said our team is any good. It's just a lame varsity team from a high school that focuses more on music and the arts, and students educations than sports for once. But the ten seconds one the clock was a great thing. We had been standing for FIVE HOURS. I was ready to sit. As the clock went down, every cheerleader counted down he seconds. Even me. Especially me.
I practically shouted the last second before taking off to form the student tunnel. It was almost done, I could almost sit.
The student tunnel, while feeling like forever, lasted about five minutes. As the last football player passed through, i immediately left, heading in the other direction. Sadly, my mom was going to be a half an hour late picking me up, but at least I got to sit. At this point, I didn't care it was going to be in the grass. So, I slowly headed in that direction, exhausted and ready to sit.
I was just passing under the bleachers when I saw Dan again, this time walking towards me. My heart beat sped up. "Oh, uh, h-hey Dan," I stuttered, my embarrassing blush creeping up on my face. "H-how's it-"
He interrupted me, a determined look on his face. "Let's break all of the rules." He breathed. He was so close to me, j could fell his breath. And then-
And then he was kissing me. I froze, shocked for a second, unable to process what exactly had happened. For once, I didn't have a single thing on my mind, instead it completely frozen. Once I realized and come to terms with the events (which, in hindsight, had not taken as long as it felt), I put my hand on his back, pulling him closer to me as I kissed back.
He pulled away slightly, a faint smile on his face. "Wait, you actually like me?" He asked, his smile fading to a confused look. I nodded, grinning. "But why?" I giggled, pulling him into a hug. I could feel his smile bearing into my back as he melted into my hug, resting his chin on my shoulder.
He smirked, peeking his head back up. "Rules regarding behavior:" he recited. "Cheerleaders will not be seen showing any displays of affection with anyone, not even with family." Looking me straight in the eye, he continued, "Philly, I thought you were a good boy."
"Shut up." I said jokingly, my smile still evident even though I tried to hide it, pulling Dan into a kiss.
A few moments later, I found myself sitting on the grass with Dan, just talking. Most of the cars had left, but a few were left, keeping the lights on. He was sat much closer to me than I had ever imagined he would ever, but it wasn't surprising, seeing how fast tonight was moving.
"So, what does this change?" I asked, leaning into his shoulder. "I mean, with us? What are we?"
He seemed to think a bit before answering this one. "Well, usually in my daydreams, you let me take you on a date to a milkshake shop, we might kiss a bit, and you decide you want me to be your boyfriend. Is that alright?" He asked, smiling bashfully.
I nodded, blushing up a storm myself. "You wanted to take me on date?" I asked, in awe of his cuteness.
"Well, yeah." Dan said, nearly tripping over his own tongue. "You can't really decide whether or not you like me based off of one kiss, that's too fan fiction."
"It's a good start though." I laughed, my entertained grin enveloping my face, the corners turning up as much as possible. "But honestly, I've known you since primary school. And I've had a crush on you since year 5. I think I know if I like you or not." I giggled. "A date still sounds really fun. Where should we go?"
Dan grinned, "Anywhere is perfect as long as it's with you."
It was that moment when I realized that mom was right. Defining moments are real. The moment we became a thing was one of them. Turns out, I got another one very soon, only five years later, at my wedding. And hey, Dan was there too. As the groom. But that's really another story for another time. I got a lot of defining moments through my life, but they were usually revolved around Dan. I know, I was obsessed with that dork. But I loved him. Strangely enough, he liked me too. If I had known this was how my life would end up, I would never had questioned my moms instance that everyone gets a defining moment.
