Beautiful

Chapter 17

Dan's POV:

Despite my objections, Phil cooked us some spaghetti at home. I had to admit, it was yummy.

"Phil, this is so tasty," I told him. "Better than any restaurant around."

He blushed at that. "Thanks, but, we both know I'm not that good."

"But you are."

"But I'm not."

"But you are."

"Dan."

"Phil," I smirked.

He rolled his eyes playfully and took our silverware when we had finished eating. I set my eyes upon the table he'd set up. He'd gone above and beyond with the candles and the decorated table cloth. That was when I heard him shout my name.

"Ah!! Dan help!"

I raced towards the kitchen.

"PHIL ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!"

"Dan there's a spider! May you kill it?"

I smashed it aggressively.

"Thanks!" he exclaimed perkily. "O-Ok Dan I think it's dead. Dan?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You called for my help like that so I could kill a spider?!"

"It was really big, and I got scared. You didn't seem afraid at all. Don't you have a fear of spiders?"

"I was worried about you, you twat! I thought you got hurt or worse! Don't ever do that again, you hear me, damn it?!"

He choked back sobs. I realized right then and there I made a mistake.

"I-I'm sorry. You're right. Y-You hate spiders and I asked you to kill it yourself. I frightened you. I'm a terrible person."

"Phil, hold on. Hey, shh, I'm sorry," I said, rubbing his back. "You are not by any means a terrible person. I got too riled up. It was unnecessary, but I just feared the worst. I'm glad you're ok. Besides, it's gone now, right? Neither of us had to really think about it too much."

He nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I've ruined the whole thing now, haven't I?"

"No, not at all. I understand completely the worry that you felt. I thought I could've lost you too when you had that nightmare."

I wrapped my arms around his torso. "The good news is I don't think either of us are leaving anytime soon, yeah? Hey, how about we watch a movie? Wanna see Ian and Anthony's new film, Ghostmates?"

"That sounds like a great idea! Anything besides Charlotte's Web."

I glared at him with anger, but after a moment I couldn't stop laughing, and he joined in. "I'll go make the popcorn. You can set up our Google chromecast. Since I'm making the popcorn, no spiders can scare you this time."

"I'm never gonna live this down."

"Phil," I said, leaving to prepare a bag of the salty and buttery snack.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Still?"

"It's gonna take a lot more than a spider to convince me to stop loving you."

We got everything ready and sat down on the couch as the film played. It took awhile, but eventually I decided to be the confident one as I placed my arm around Phil's shoulders. I heard a light gasp escape his lips, but he instantly placed his head on my chest and squinted.

"Relax, I don't bite," I said comfortingly.

"I'm not really an interesting guy."

"What?"

"I'm not interesting. That's why I feel the way I do. I don't get why you're doing this. Why you're dating me. There's so many other options for you."

"What's that supposed to mean, love? You having second thoughts?"

"No, no. I just...don't understand," he mumbled.

"Philip Lester, I'd choose you. In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you. Out of the 7 billion people on earth, I'd choose you. You're so special to me. You are interesting. Too interesting. I can't get you out of my head. I don't know what's dragging you down all of a sudden, but it needs to go away because...whatever negative things you're saying about yourself are lies. I love you, Phil. What do you see that's so interesting about me? I'm normal. Brown hair and brown eyes. Sarcastic British guy. Can't get any duller than that."

"Dan, are you joking? Your brown hair is gorgeous. It's so smooth, and even though you hate when it curls, I love it. Your eyes are mysterious and they constantly leave me in wonder. Your sarcasm is a part of your humor, who you are. You say you're antisocial, but you seem so bold in your approach. I wish I had your bravery."

"Your eyes are so bright. Whenever Tumblr tries to give them to me it's a disaster, but, on you, they're like gleaming blue crystals. I love the way your jet black hair moves when the wind blows upon it." I paused. "Dang."

"What is it?"

"I think I've fallen in love. Hard."

"I can say the exact same. I think...I think I've loved you this whole time, and never realized."

I stroked his hair. "If only it could be like this forever."

"How about we savor this moment, and never forget it, ok? We'll look back on this when we're old and gray and our kid has grown up."

I stopped stroking him for a second. He could sense my hesitation and tried to rephrase his sentence.

"I mean-uh-if we were to get there, and, uh-even involve...but that's completely...erm..."

"Boy or girl?"

"Really?"

I nodded.

"Well, I've always wanted a little girl."

"Oh no. We wouldn't name her Susan, would we? Please tell me we wouldn't name her Susan."

That made Phil laugh hysterically. "No-ho. No. Not unless we wanted that name."

"Thank God."

"How about you? What's your preference?"

"Honestly, now that you mention it, I want a little girl, too."

"Dan?"

"Yes Phil?"

"I can hardly wait for this. For us to be a family. With our little girl. I'm sorry if this is a lot at once, I'm just so excited."

"It's ok, Phil. I am, too," I assured him. "I am, too."