Oblivious Hearts (Phan)

Chapter One

The song has such a cute coffee shop vibe I just thought it would be nice background music.

Word count: 1494

Dan was perched on the bar stool of his favourite coffee shop browsing the emails on his phone whilst waiting for his coffee. It was a warm, cosy coffee shop; the main room had mostly brown decor adding to the comfort level during the frosty afternoons Dan was fond of spending here. After 8pm the coffee shop opened its doors to the evening as a night club, the back wall folding in on itself to reveal a larger, more modern room with an old carpet, a feature the locals treasured. Sighing he continued to scroll through the endless requests to swap pastoral care roles from various teachers at the school he worked in. He clicked on an email he'd already read, several times in fact, from the local night school approving his application to study to become a counsellor. He often read it to brighten his day and give him a kick of motivation.

"You were in here last week," said a deep, velvet voice next to Dan. He turned his head to be met with a powder blue eyed stranger with black, glossy hair and piercings. Dan recognised him immediately even though his mind had been foggy when he first laid eyes on him, and blushed remembering his desires to suck the piercings.

"Oh, yeah. I mean maybe, I was here last week, on Friday, I think" Dan said, trying to sound nonchalant, but stumbling over his words, faltering under the intense stare from the other man.

"I thought so," the man replied. His voice wasn't warm and friendly, it was flat, the same tone as he would use to say the bar top was made of wood. He turned his head away from Dan and took to staring in the dregs of his coffee, much the same way he did with his brandy last week, he didn't seem interested in talking any more

"My name is Dan," he said a few moments later, hoping to start more of a conversation. It was late afternoon so it was quite empty and they could actually talk without having to shout over the music that had been blaring the previous week when the coffee shop had opened it's doors to the nightlife. "Phil." Said the black haired man, barely lifting his head in acknowledgement.

Dan sighed, waited another minute for his coffee, picked it up and turned to face Phil. Dan took a last glance at his face and knew Phil was not in the mood for talking so he padded over to a little table and sat himself down in the squishy, worn armchair. He got out his marking and made a start on his Year 11's Psychology essays. It was dull work for most teachers but he loved reading the essays when the children had actually gotten into it and shown passion. Children sometimes have the gift to be very optimistic and see beauty that adults can't. He'd made a decent dent into the pile before he even bothered checking the time as he had nothing to do for the rest of the evening so it didn't matter how long he stayed. However, when he saw it was almost 7pm he decided to make his way home before people started turning up for the coffee shops evening entertainment. He had started piling his papers together when Phil dropped himself into the empty armchair opposite him.

"Writing a book?" He questioned.

"Oh, erm, no. I'm marking my Year 11's work actually." Dan replied, feeling confused as to why Phil had sat opposite him apparently up for conversation now.

"Oh you're a teacher? That makes sense," said Phil.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dan replied, unsure whether he should be offended.

"Only that you look too innocent to have a tough, manly job." Phil said with a slight smirk.

"Right," Dan snapped, "well, don't let me keep you." He shoved the papers into his satchel and made to walk out of the coffee shop but Phil grabbed his arm.

"Sorry, I-I didn't mean to come across so harshly," Phil pleaded, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. "Please sit back down, I didn't mean to make you leave."

"It's fine, whatever. I was going anyway."

"Oh, right... I shouldn't have taken so long to pluck up the courage to talk to you I guess." Said Phil with a half-hearted laugh.

Dan melted at this. Phil had wanted to talk to him? And he was nervous about it? How sweet. Dan sat back down, and looked at Phil. He decided to wait for Phil to talk instead of make the effort himself, he wanted to know what Phil had apparently wanted to say for a while. Up close Phil looked tired, his skin appeared thin and almost translucent, but Dan thought he still looked rather beautiful.

"I noticed you staring at me the other day." Phil said, and Dan felt his face burn with humiliation. "Don't be embarrassed," Phil said, noticing the pink patches appearing on Dan's otherwise pale cheeks, "I'm flattered."

"How did you know it was me?" Dan replied, kicking himself for being an idiot and not denying it like anyone else would have done. "I-I mean... Shit... It's just, you didn't look up at all."

"I was staring back, when you weren't looking. You move like an angel by the way," Phil chuckled.

Dan scowled. "I had too much to drink and not enough to eat," he muttered in defense of his bad dancing. "Anyway," Dan said feeling more confident to ask the question niggling his curiosity, "where did you slip off to?"

Phil chuckled. "You really were stalking me weren't you?" He said, with a naughty twinkle in his pale eyes. He took a sip from his coffee, slowly licked the foam from his top lip and peered up at Dan through his long ashy eyelashes, making Dan swallow hard trying not to lose what little concentration he had. "I just went for a wander around the room. I was there alone so thought I might take the chance to stretch my legs a bit." Dan, who had been expecting something a little more exciting felt thoroughly underwhelmed with this answer. "I did however," Phil continued, "see a certain young man dancing alone, evidently absorbed in the music." Phil smiled mockingly at Dan, the tip of his tongue peeking out slightly from between his lips. Dan realising Phil meant he'd seen Dan dancing felt his cheeks prickle with heat, yet again.

"Well, I don't remember anything of the night after I you disappeared so I can't take all the credit for my dance moves, they come from somewhere deep within that is rarely tapped in to." Dan replied. Dan wished that Phil had approached him in the bar when he'd seen him dancing, with the courage of alcohol spurring him on Dan thought he might have been more confident and actually able to hold a mildly more interesting conversation than the one they were having now.

Phil shifted himself further back into the armchair, evidently he had no plans of leaving Dan's company any time soon, which made Dan happy and the corners of his mouth twitch into a slightly smug smile.

"So what's a posh little boy like you doing in a quiet coffee shop on a Friday evening? Shouldn't you be drinking with your friends? Your girlfriend perhaps?" Phil enquired.

"To start with, I'm not posh I'm articulate, there is a difference." Dan retorted. "Also, I value my students enough to warrant that I mark their hard work with a sober mind. Well, that and I have no friends, or partner, to see tonight..." He finished, rather weakly. As embarrassed by this confession as he was, Dan wondered whether Phil would pick up on his change of the term 'girlfriend' to 'partner.'

"You're not alone there, I'm in the same situation. Not the marking, obviously, but the rest." Phil said. Dan wondered whether this meant that Phil was single too. Possibly, but was he gay? Dan would have to do some more digging.

After talking for a while Phil really seemed to relax, the cold demeanour that originally greeted Dan had all but dissolved and they had a rapport to rival old friends. However, as more people were beginning to stream into the coffee shop Phil began to tense up significantly, his eyes darting about the room taking in all the newcomers.

"It's getting pretty busy in here, we won't be able to hear each other soon. If you like we could move on to another coffee shop or something?" Dan suggested, concerned for Phil who looked increasingly uncomfortable and on the verge of slipping back under his icy facade.

"Yes, yes okay that sounds like a good idea." Phil replied.

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this latest update.

I wonder why Phil is so grumpy and cold to people he doesn't know... ;)

T x