Blue Neighborhood (Phan)

WILD

Phil waded through the crowded bleachers, spouting random apologies at people as he crossed in front of them, temporarily blocking their view of the field. Phil didn't know much about fitting in, but his brother had always gone to football games and he'd had a decent social life, so he figured it couldn't be a bad start.

Just when he was about to give up hope and stand along the fence with all the other people who couldn't find a seat, he noticed an empty space near the end of a row. It was next to a pretty freckled girl with curly brown hair.

"Hi," Phil smiled at her awkwardly, "Can I sit?"

"Yeah, 'course!" she grinned, scooting over a little so that he could sit comfortably.

"I'm Phil Lester," the boy introduced himself, sticking out his hand.

"Sophie," the girl smiled. She giggled but didn't take his hand.

Stupid, Phil thought to himself, No one shakes hands anymore.

"Are you a freshman?" Sophie interrupted his thoughts, smiling genuinely.

"Uh, yeah," Phil said, "What about you?"

"Senior," she replied.

"Given my seat away have you?" Phil looked up to see a tall, curly haired boy in a well-decorated letterman's jacket standing over him.

"Oh, sorry!" Phil's face turned red, "I didn't kn-"

"Awe Peej, you're a bean pole! You can squeeze in!" Sophie laughed, scooting over and pulling Phil as close to her as possible so that the curly haired boy could fit in on the other side of him.

"Who's this?" the boy asked Sophie, gesturing to Phil.

"This is Phil Lester," she replied, "He's a freshman."

"Oh yeah, you're Martyn's little brother right?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Phil smiled weakly, "D'you know him?"

"Everybody knows him," the boy laughed, "How's he enjoying college?"

"Um, good I think," Phil said, "I dunno, we don't really talk much."

"Understandable," the boy laughed, "I'm PJ by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Phil smiled, not offering his hand this time.

"You t-" PJ was interrupted as cheers erupted from the crowd and Sophie screamed "Yeah! Go Panthers!"

"Did we score?" PJ leaned over to ask Sophie as Phil strained his eyes to make out what was happening on the field.

"Duh!" Sophie squealed, "Shh, sh!" she hushed, leaning over to whisper to the boys, "We have to kick for the extra point. Our kicker's really good! He's already been offered college deals."

"Dan Howell," Phil said, his eyes landing on uniform number 47 as he went for the extra kick. It was good, and the entire crowd exploded in cheers once more. A group of girls in front of them held up signs with things like "#47 FOR PRESIDENT" and "DAN-THER NATION" written on them. Phil joined in the shouting as the entire crowd began chanting "FOUR-TY SEV-EN, FOUR-TY SEV-EN!"

"You like football?" PJ asked, a little surprised, as Phil sat back down.

"Uh, sort of," Phil said, avoiding eye contact. PJ wasn't fazed, but Sophie gave Phil a knowing look and he felt his face turn red.

"I don't like football, really," PJ admitted, oblivious to Sophie and Phil's silent exchange.

"Peej," Sophie said, shooting him a look.

"What?" he asked, confused. They exchanged a few looks before PJ turned to Phil, then back to Sophie. "Oh," he said, taking the hint, "Ohh. Right."

"Yeah," Phil said, his face burning bright red. Sophie must have noticed his embarrassment, because she nudged his arm encouragingly.

"It's okay," she said, "I come for the same reason," she nodded toward the cheerleaders and Phil's jaw dropped.

"Really?" he asked, "You too?" She nodded reassuringly.

"Between you and me," Sophie whispered, "I heard he gets gay when he's drunk."

Phil giggled a little, his face flushing. It was true, the thought of Dan Howell drove him wild, but he thought his crush was a secret only he and his poetry would ever know about. "It's okay," he said, the color returning to his face, "I don't-I don't want anything like that. I know he would never-" he stopped himself mid-sentence. Love me, he thought. He would never love me back. "He doesn't even know I exist," Phil shrugged.

"Well, hey," PJ piped up, trying to make me feel better, "We're going to a party after this, if you wanna come."

"Uh, sure," Phil smiled, "I'm not gonna get, like, hazed or anything right?" he asked.

"Don't worry!" Sophie said, "Just stick with us."

"Sounds like a plan," Phil smiled.