stranger things//phan

part 1

it's a cold afternoon, only a soft glow granted by the sun to light up the pavements, and everyone who is unfortunate enough to feel the need to get out of the house today, is stuffed in warm clothes and mufflers and hats.

dan is one of those unfortunate people too, shuffling his hands into his coat pockets to relieve his numb fingertips, and shrugging his shoulders as if it will make the cold go away. it doesn't work, obviously, and dan is reminded of that every other second by the chilled tip of his nose.

the only thing that is merely comforting him, is the fact that he's outside his apartment after a solid week, and the fact that him and aiden are going on another "make up" date. it's been a long time coming really, after aiden literally kicked dan out at two am without any transport a week ago and dan had a blocked nose and a headache lasting a good four days.

today dan was feeling better, and aiden was yet again making his life miserable by calling him to "their" fancy version of a coffee shop, for a date where he can make up for what he did in twenty minutes.

dan was annoyed just by the thought of it.

nonetheless, after ten minutes, he took a deep breath, pushing his now warm hands against the glass to open it, quickly welcomed by the smell of coffee and muffins and cookies and warm. the waitress smiled at him momentarily, knowing that dan came here atleast twice every month, and dan returned her smile half heartedly before walking over to his usual table near the window and taking a seat.

he sighed out of relief once his body started getting used to the heated interior of the place, taking off his jacket and hat, ruffling his hair and leaning back against the cushioned chair. his eyes focused outside the window, watching nothing in particular but moving images blurred by the fog, and he moved his eyes back inside once a waiter was standing next to him waiting to take his order.

"one hot chocolate, sugar on the side," his voice was low and the waiter just smiled before nodding, walking away.

dan: i've reached

aiden and him never really texted so he doubted if he would even see it, forget replying, but dan didn't really care. he liked the lumbered interior of this place and it was calming sitting here and stare at nothing in particular, sipping slowly on a hot drink.

he wished he would have brought along his computer when he saw one of the girls open her laptop, her face lit up by the soft glow emitted by the monitor. he sighed, leaning back into the cozy sofa chair, mindlessly tapping his blunt nails on the table, trying to find something to do rather than simply staring at strangers who were engaged in one or the other task, be it quietly talking into their phones or laughing with their friends and their significant others.

none of them had any idea how much dan wanted to be in their place.

dan groaned in frustration after five minutes, unlocking his phone and trying to access the internet, but unfortunately there was no network here, and he just didn't have enough money right now to pay for the wifi.

it was when his hot chocolate arrived when dan calmed down a bit, since he didn't look like some freak quietly sitting in the corner and doing nothing but stare outside or at other people. he dissolved two sugar cubes in his drink, stirring it slowly, not feeling guilty at all for consuming the high amount of calories because he figured he was running low on energy.

he took a sip gratefully, content with the taste of chocolate melting on his tongue, and he scrolled through his contacts to dial aiden.

"the number you have dialed is not reachab—" the robotic voice began and dan ended the call before he could hear the rest of the statement. it had been a torturously boring twenty minutes, and he was getting hungry and annoyed and he just wanted to go back home and lay in front of the tv.

"are you waiting for someone?" the waitress asked loudly, her voice was slightly obnoxious, and dan raised his head to look at her, cheeks flushing when he realised a few people had turned around to look at him, as if they were all expecting an answer.

dan just nodded hesitantly, and the waitress left, the people around him returning to their previous activities. dan let out a breath of relief once he wasn't the centre of attention, shuffling back in his seat so he could be more unnoticeable.

an hour.

that was how long dan waited before he started getting sympathetic looks from the people sitting around him, the waitress had come about five times to ask about his order and everytime he had just shook his head in embarrassment, the lady just pursing her lips in an understanding gesture and nodding.

he felt pathetic, the shop getting smaller and smaller with each passing second, and the girl who was sitting on the table next to him shut her laptop, ready to leave, but not before approaching dan.

"hey, are you still waiting for the person to show up?" she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and dan nodded bashfully. he hated aiden for doing this to him.

"hope they didn't ditch you," she said, yet another sympathetic look directed towards him, accompanied by an awkward pat on the shoulder. dan just bit his lip and nodded again, trying to hide behind his empty cup of hot chocolate.

he pulled out his phone again, trying to dial aiden, but it was a lost cause because his phone was not reachable yet again. dan slammed the phone on the table harshly in frustration.

he could just leave.

he could, but it would just end up like last time, when he thought he'd waited long enough for aiden, and just as he reached home, aiden was calling him angrily, blaming him for being late for their date. aiden hadn't spoken to him properly the following week, claiming that he had left his friends to come and see dan, and that dan was an inconsiderate little shit.

dan would hate for that to happen again.

so he waited.

and waited.

and waited.

another twenty minutes passed in boredom, and now dan wasn't even annoyed. he was just tired and sad, and he felt a level of embarrassment that he hadn't ever before. the waitress had stopped asking him for his order, only shooting him a comforting look, and dan just rested his head on the cool wooden table, trying to loose the redness in his cheeks and the heat spread evenly around his face.

"babe, i'm so sorry i'm late," the voice was loud, and dan raised his head in confusion, wondering who the hell was yelling in such a quiet place. his lips parted slightly when a stranger slid into the seat across from him, offering him a charming smile.

"there was so much traffic, i'm really sorry, you must be hungry right?" the stranger was still talking loudly, and dan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, wondering what the hell was happening, and when he looked around, the waitress was giving him a smile and the people who seemed to shoot him apologetic looks every once in a while, seemed to have dropped a weight from their shoulders, all of them staring at dan momentarily as if he had succeeded in something grand.

"hey, i'm phil and whoever didn't show up, is an absolute dick,"

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hey i hope you liked this !! tell me what you think of it so far in the comments pls i need all the reassurance