Those Who Trust (Phan)

Part 22

Thank you guys for the lovely comments. It's been more than two weeks, and my beta is very busy at the moment, so this chapter is unbeta'd. Hope you enjoy. x

Phil's coffee was still hot, steam rising from the mug. He was still in his pyjamas and hadn't yet rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. While reading the news online, he could hear raindrops pelt against the window. They had been lucky that the weather had been fine yesterday, or else their plan would have fallen through. The rim of the cup pressed against his lower lip, Phil could only smile remembering their trip. He took a sip of coffee, and his eyes darted to the panda plush toy he had positioned on the couch for now. The way Dan had blushed upon receiving it had been nothing but adorable and Phil really hoped that Dan had meant it when he had said that they should do something similar again soon.

Placing the mug on the table, Phil couldn't stop thinking about where he could take Dan to next. Maybe he'd enjoy the aquarium, or a weekend trip out of London. They could drive down to Brighton and spend the weekend at the beach. After all, Phil had a car, conveniently parked a few blocks away in a garage. The monthly fee for parking there was enormous, but Phil didn't want to miss the luxury of having a car, getting behind the steering wheel whenever he felt like he needed to leave for a while, and aimlessly driving through the streets of the city, or maybe even out of the city to clear his head. Truth be told, he didn't need the car very often, and it was technically just a waste of money, but his job paid more than enough for him to keep it. He'd bought it when he had still lived in Manchester, and it reminded him of the weekend trips he and his friends from the north had made. He missed them a lot sometimes, sadly couldn't see them as often now as he wanted to, but it had been his decision to move south, and looking at where he was at the moment, he would make the same choices again.

Skimming over the headlines from an online newspaper, Phil was surprised to hear the sound of keys unlocking the front door. He hadn't expected Dan back for at least a few more hours. He listened to the shuffling and Dan kicking off his shoes, before taking the few stairs up into the long hallway.

Phil smiled as soon as Dan came into view, and was about to wish him a good morning when he caught the look on his flatmate's face. And that's when the bubble of contempt and happiness he'd been living in since yesterday popped without a warning, as if being penetrated by a needle out of the blue.

Dan looked furious, and Phil's never seen him like this before. His entire body screamed attack, the way he stomped up the stairs and had his shoulders squared, head actually held high for once. If Phil wasn't so confused by what was going on, he'd actually be quite proud of the way Dan was holding himself for once.

"How could you?" The words were spoken way too loudly for a peaceful Sunday morning, and Phil noticed the way Dan's wet hair was curly from the rain.

"Wha-"

"I told you no, and yet you still did it!" Dan was right in front of Phil now. He was only slightly taller than Phil when both of them stood, but now that Phil was sitting, Dan was towering over him. "I said no, but you completely ignored my wish!"

His face was red and tiny droplets of salvia came out of his mouth. Phil wiped one away that landed under his right eye, mouth agape but not sure what to say. Dan was looking at him expectedly, as if waiting for him to justify himself, but Phil wasn't even sure what he had done wrong. Yesterday had been fun and not once had Dan told him not to do something, except for when he bought Dan's ticket and the plush toy. Surely that was not the reason Dan was raging right now?

Phil stood up, not to intimidate but to make sure that both of them where on the same level when talking to each other. "I have honestly no idea what you're talking about. If I did som-"