New To Me (Phan)

Chapter 7

Charlie had started joining our table for lunch and with him came a couple of his friends, none of whom I'd ever met prior to their arrival. It really reminded me of how few people I actually knew at the school.

Our group of four had almost doubled in number and I didn't like it one bit. With PJ and Chris alone I could barely get a word in but now it seemed almost impossible, and I was left to sit there awkwardly (which admittedly, was what I did best anyway).

Thank God for Phil though, for making my lunchtimes somewhat bearable. He alone picked up on my unease and went out of his way to include me in every conversation. And when that inevitably failed he would sometimes distance himself from the conversation altogether and just talk to me instead.

This always earned me a few glares from Charlie who sat on Phil's other side. But it never bothered me. In fact, I relished in it.

To put it bluntly, we didn't like each other. From the get go I didn't like him and he didn't like me. I didn't know if anyone else had managed to pick up on our mutual distaste of one another, but Phil certainly didn't. He remained blissfully ignorant of the silent war Charlie and I waged for his attention.

Would a good friend have taken a step back and allowed Phil to spend time with his boyfriend? Yes.

Was that what I did? No.

I couldn't help it. I didn't cope well with jealousy.

In other circumstances Charlie and I would have probably gotten along. He wasn't a necessarily a bad guy, and neither were his friends. But I had just gotten used to the idea of having a best friend, and already I felt as if I were being replaced.

I know Phil didn't mean to do it but we were gradually spending less and less time together. Whenever I asked if he wanted to hang out he would already have plans to do so with Charlie. He seemed genuinely upset at having to say no each time so I could at least breathe a sigh of relief that he wasn't intentionally distancing himself. But still.

Fuck you, Charlie.

I stared glumly at the contents of my plate, in no mood to eat any of it. Nobody around the table really noticed and the lunch time chatter continued unperturbed. Not that I was paying any attention. It was just background noise to me.

Out of the corner of my eye I studied Phil. I watched him as he talked and laughed and smiled. If I could ignore the fact that he had his fingers intertwined with Charlie's underneath the table, I could almost fool myself into thinking things hadn't changed.

Phil didn't notice me staring, but PJ did. I looked up to find him casually leant back in his seat with arms folded, silently observing me. When we made eye contact he gave me an amused smile accompanied with a questioning cock of his head. I quickly looked away, silently cursing myself. So much for subtlety.

"What do you think, Dan?" Phil said to me, nudging me with his elbow and making me jump.

"...about what?" I asked, uncertainly.

Phil chuckled. "Has anyone ever told you how amazing of a listener you are?" He said with a grin. "The party." I looked at him blankly. "On Saturday." Still nothing. "At Stephen's house." Nope. Didn't ring a bell. "That guy over there." Phil said nodding his head at one of Charlie's friends.

I rolled my eyes. I knew that much.

"It's going to be fun. Right, Charlie?"

I looked over at Charlie who was fuming quietly in his seat. For I'm guessing Phil's sake alone he plastered a fake smile on his face and said, "Yeah, you should come." My brain automatically translated it to 'I'm obligated to invite you but I really don't want you there.'

"A party? Well that sounds exactly like my kind of thing. Dancing, socialising, drunk strangers having sex in the corner. I love it." I said, voice positively dripping with sarcasm.

Phil frowned in mock devastation. "C'mon, Dan. Pleeeeaaase." He nudged my shoulder playfully with his own and I decided to ignore the fact that this was all Phil had to do to make me smile. Against my will I felt the corners of my mouth curve up. Curse you, Phil. "It'll be fun."

I was just about to refuse again when Charlie spoke first. "Yeah, and don't worry about the whole people having sex in the corner thing." Charlie interjected. "We have class. We'd at least find a closet." He said indicating him and Phil.

The smile slipped from my face. I really didn't need to hear that. I did not find that amusing in the slightest. I looked to Phil for his reaction but didn't receive much of one. He simply chuckled uncomfortably under his breath. No, not exactly uncomfortably. Nervously?

Was Charlie's joke not so much of a joke after all? Was he being serious? Why was Phil flustered? Back the fuck up.

No, I most certainly did not want to go to the party. Oddly enough I didn't find the prospect of me sitting alone in a room full of people I didn't know, and didn't want to get to know, while you fucked Phil in some closet somewhere, all that appealing. So thanks for the insincere invite but I would literally rather be anywhere else.

"I'll be there." I said, ignoring Charlie and addressing Phil instead.

I internally face palmed. I don't know why I said it. It was a terrible idea. A truly awful 'I'm going to regret this later' idea. But Charlie's look of complete annoyance and Phil's breathtaking smile were both enough to convince me that it wasn't.

I returned Phil's smile, except mine was a smile of pure gloating rather than excitement. My eyes met Charlie's, challenging him to revoke his invitation now that I'd shown interest.

"Great." He said through gritted teeth.

"Great." I countered, still smirking triumphantly.

Phil looked between us, smile still in place and oblivious as ever. "Great!"