Nerves ✩ Phan AU

Chapter One

Lush was packed today, and needless to say, Dan was overwhelmed at the number of people who were swarming in and out of the store. That was normal for him, though. He was shy and nervous around crowds. Which, now that he thought about it (while staring out at the mass of people through the window to the back of store) it wasn't the best choice for him to work in retail for his first job. Either way, he was there now, and he could do nothing about it.

Dan shoved the door open, and as he walked away from it it swung inwards and outwards. Almost immediately, he was approached by a customer. He was tall, lanky, with extremely dark hair cut in a similar fashion to his own and dressed in nearly all black, with the exception of his pristine white sneakers. His fashion sense was almost completely opposite Dan's, which consisted of nearly all pastels and floral prints and frills. Yet, somehow Dan found appreciation for this stranger's look.

"Hello," Dan said, looking up into the man's eyes. "Do you need any help?"

"Yes, actually," he responded, his voice higher pitched than Dan had expected. Not that it squeaked, but it was rather friendly for somebody dressed in such intimidating clothes. "I'm looking for your makeup section, specifically your eyeliners." He said this with a smile, revealing a smiley piercing above his gums.

'How unique,' Dan thought. Then he nodded, saying a quiet, "right this way."

Dan lead him to the eyeliners he had inquired about, presenting a black liquid one to him.

"Would you like me to swatch it on the back of your hand for you?" Dan asked, looking nervously at the stranger before him.

"Uh, sure," He paused for a moment, squinting to read Dan's name tag. "Dan." He let another one of those beautiful grins flash across his face, this time a small smirk.

Dan smiled back sheepishly. He gave the eyeliner bottle a good shake, then unscrewed the cap and set the bottle down on the counter beside them. "Oh, uh, hold out your hand."

"Yes, of course," he said, doing as he was instructed. His hand lingered in the air for a moment, then Dan took the other's hand in his own and drew a small line of the back of it with the applicator. After he was finished, he let the other's hand go.

"Hmm," Phil hummed as he held his hand up closer to see the line that Dan created. "I like it, but would you recommend it?"

"Oh, well, I personally don't wear makeup but my co-workers have told me that they love it," Dan said.

"What do you recommend then?" Phil asked curiously, a small flirty undertone to his voice.

The tips of Dan's ears blushed, and he quickly picked up the eyeliner bottle and screwed the lid back onto it. "I, uh," he started, trying to interpret Phil's tone. "I like pretty much everything we sell here, but I really like bath bombs and massage bars."

"Massage bars? What're those?" Phil questioned.

"Massage bars are solid bars made with essential oils and moisturizing butters." Dan practically recited from his training. "They're typically used by one person on another, but there's nothing stopping you from using them on yourself."

"Sounds... interesting," Phil smirked, an obvious sexual joke tucked in-between his words. "Do you mind showing me them?" He asked, a grin still obvious on his face.

"Of course," Dan said quietly, his nose and cheeks completely rosy with blush at this point.

———

For the rest of Dan's shift, he led Phil around the shop showing him various products such as shampoo bars, soaps, cleansers, and bubble bars. Phil didn't really show interest in any of them, but he more enjoyed just talking to the younger one and watching him blush and stammer. Not in a malicious or cruel way, but Phil just found himself fascinated by Dan, his style of dress and the way he spoke. He was simply... adorable, in every sense of the term. Phil didn't usually find people endearing, but the way Dan blushed when Phil said anything was too cute.

"I hope I'm not taking up too much of your time," Phil said.

"Oh, no, not at all," Dan replied, even though he knew it was past the end of his shift. He shifted his weight nervously, hoping the manager wouldn't notice he hadn't clocked out yet.

"Well, anyways, I think I'm ready to get checked out," Phil said, motioning to the basket full of products he was carrying. Phil tended to be an over-buyer, but now even more so as he had Dan giving him convincing descriptions of each lip scrub, massage bar, and shower jelly they had.

"Sure," Dan said, disappointed that the man had to leave. However, he had already made up in his mind that he was going to give him his number. This was quite a big move for Dan, being the shy person he was. Dan never did that.

"Would you like some free samples?" Dan says quickly, and it comes out sounding more like wouldyoulikesomefreesamples? All he wanted was to bargain more time with Phil. Another round of blush spread across his cheeks.

Phil laughed lightly with a nod. Dan reached into the pocket of his apron and threw in a two free lip scrubs into Phil's bag.

Dan walked behind the counter and began scanning in and entering the codes of Phil's items. He had many, but what was funny to Dan was that he hadn't bought the eyeliner that he had come in for.

"Your total comes to £55.44," Dan said, pulling the receipt out of the printer. He ripped along the perforated line at the bottom. Placing the paper on the counter and sliding it over to Phil, he said, "Please sign here." Handing Phil a pen, Dan smiled and tucked his hair behind his ear.

Phil signed, and unexpectedly also wrote his number down next to his signature. Dan didn't notice this when he took it, not until he dropped the other half of the receipt in the bag with his own number on it.

"Oh," Dan giggled, but figured that he would let Phil find out for himself. "Have a nice day..." He said, then looked down at the receipt in his hand. He noted the signature. "Phil."

Phil gave Dan a smile, then he walked away saying a small, "you too, Dan."