Without love ~ phan

Chapter IV

Dan's POV

Saturday. No Link. No Tracy. No Phil. No students. Thank god.

An empty schedule. Time available for a hot girl. Perfect.

A ring from the phone. Should I pick it up? I don't think it through.

Hello?

It's Link.

He says he has news. Newer news than him breaking up with Amber. Newer news than the acceptance from his peers slipping away.

He's done it. The time has come and there's nothing I can do.

Phil's POV

I'm back home from the park now, back home from my entwining thoughts. Albeit my ideas for how to get Link together with Tracy were plentiful, none seemed to be logical. Instead, doubts seemed to be cancelling them out and forming into a neat list. Reasons upon reasons of how it would never make sense for them to be together. He's popular, she's not. She's spontaneous, he's not. He has standards, she doesn't. So on, and so forth, and what have you.

If only I was more confident in her. If I was, then I could just tell her to make a move and he might or might not fall for her, but at least she would have a chance. At least it would be out of her system. She could be as upbeat as her songs and dance moves make her out to be. Sadly, all of my doubts have formed from memory not imagination. Hope will be all I will have, all I will need to grasp onto if she ever does show him her love.

You know what they say, if you have problems, ignore them and they'll go away. So that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm laying on the couch and feeling my feet in someone else's shoes, becoming a fictional pair of eyes to see a different world around me. Reading, I'd say, is a constructive break from myself that always leaves me grateful for the liberation. Even if the ending turns me into a disgusting mess of emotions on the floor. Thankfully, I've only just started this book and the innocence of it so far is reassuring.

I've been reading for awhile, immersion coming easily thanks to a near empty house. Then, without warning, the landline rings and I almost let it go to voicemail. Talking to people is less important to me than figuring out a plot twist. But then I remember that my dad still isn't home and it could be him telling me when he'll come back, so I stand up to get it.

"Phillip Micheal Lester you will never believe what just happened to me!!!"

Oh, it's-

"I'm sorry for my volume but the thing that happened to me is too big for my normal voice!!!"

Tra-

"I'm gonna say it now so hold onto your hat!!"

cy.

Disappointingly enough, I don't have a hat so instead I sit back down. And hold the phone a farther distance away from my head of course.

"I'm hanging out with Link tomorrow!!!!" In the simplest way to put it, I need to take a moment to collect myself. Just a few seconds ago, I required the comfort of another universe to hide away from the impossible. Now it seems the impossible is giving up, asking the possible to lift some of the weight of its shoulders.

It's crazy how short this moment is. It's crazy how everything I thought I knew disappeared through just a single sentence. Everything I expected from humanity thrown off course. The destruction makes me intensely giddy. Only to balter will give justice to my emotions right now. So I stand up and proceed to dance around the kitchen...leaving the phone behind.

Muffled yelling is coming from the sofa and I halt mid-spin to retrieve the phone. And thank goodness I do, I was very close to knocking over one of many houseplants neatly arranged on a shelf. "Sorry Margery," I whisper as I put the alocasia back into its exact place. Hearing more noise in the form of Tracy's voice, I dash to the phone whilst keeping myself on my toes. "But I don't exactly know what it means, you know what I mean? I mean, he said word for word, 'let's hang out tomorrow' but that could be interpreted in two completely different ways. Either I can check off round one and move on to round two of my very detailed relationship plan, which I never thought possible by the way, or he's just looking for a friendship and I'm surely not prepared for either of those possibilities. You need to help me figure this out!" It all comes out in one breath and our panting is matched in rhythm.

"I know what I can do!," I say without missing a beat. "I can help you prepare for it!" She lets out a very loud gasp, or she just threw her phone out the window. Who can tell the difference? "I have an even better idea!," she shouts. "Why don't you come with me?" Wow, that came out of nowhere. I can't imagine that spending a day with pretty boy Larkin will do wonders to a nice Sunday. Oh but she's so excited, and she wants me to be there. She should get what she wants despite my silly negativity.

"Okay, I'll do it."

Dan's POV

"At least let me come with you," I say, not bothering to hide my desperation. By some magical force, I've managed to keep myself from hanging up the phone on Link. If anything could make me be so rude as to cut him off, it would surely be this. Yet all of that is out the window now, it's too late. He's already gone out and gotten himself a date destined for disaster and I can't stop it. But I can put a damper on things.

A sigh escapes the phone, one that's known utter misfortune. Then he says, "Why would I let you do that?" Trying to think on the spot, especially involving lies, has never been something I'm good at. I'm usually an open book, but right now my pages are in risk of getting ripped. So, because the awkward silence is giving me breathing problems, I say something stupid. "Because I know we're at a... rough patch in our-in our friendship right now, and I really think it would be good if we... hung out. Not to mention, I think Tracy... would be... helpful in helping us... achieve maximum... capacity in our... relationship." Oh my god, Dan. What did you just say? There's no way he'll buy this.

Now, a taunting pause of held breath and silent prayers. Please don't shut me down Link, I don't know what else I have in me to try to convince you. "Okay, whatever Dan. I'll see you tomorrow," he says as if he's just trying to get out of talking to me further. He hangs up and I'm left alone to think everything through. Did I say that last thing out loud? It's no matter. He's said yes and that was certainly the wise decision. Now I just have to break them up before they get started. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Easy as pie. Easy as... letting someone go. Oh, no.