Special Boy // phan

-11-

"So is that your power? Fireproof Dan?" Phil asked softly. I shook my head.

"The day after that, I pressed a lighter to my arm. It burnt like hell. I thought I might have done it wrong so I tried to catch myself on fire three times after that. I guess the fire was just on my sleeve when Louise did it. So I got lucky. I'm not impervious. I..." but I didn't know where that sentence was going so I went silent. Silence with Phil wasn't like normal silence. It was more of an embrace than a pressing force.

"We have to go back, danisnotonfire," Phil mumbled, forehead still against mine. We had been comfortably leaning against each other like this for nearly half an hour now, wrapped around each other and sharing our air. It was nice, better than nice, and I kept expecting him to lean in and just kiss me already. Was it obvious I liked him? Was it obvious that I wanted him to? Was it obvious that I didn't care that I'd only known him for a week, I just wanted to kiss him until all the stars went out?

"Yeah. I know. AmazingPhil." I felt a sort of sad smile take over my mouth. Kiss him, you idiot.

"We need to get to bed. We both have class in the morning." I nodded, my arms around Phil tightening as he shifted slightly. I could feel his heartbeat pounding against the inside of my elbow, from it's position against his throat. His heart was beating almost as fast as mine. I wonder if he could feel it.

"I don't want to go back. My roommate would kick my ass if I showed up late. He's a scary dude, he can throw fireballs." Phil laughed and raised his eyebrows, sensing my *ahem* exaggeration, and I relented. "All right they're meatballs, but still terrifying."

"Come back with me," he said, almost offhandedly. My breath caught in my throat. "I can read you more of my list of power guesses."

"You're never going to get it," I chuckled, but my mind was somewhere else entirely. Go home with Phil. Go to Phil's dorm. Sleep in Phil's room. In Phil's bed. With Phil. So close. I could reach out and touch-

"So are you in? Sleepover? Slumber party at my dorm? I don't have a room mate or anything so we don't even have to worry about making a mess." Phil was laughing again, and suddenly it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.

"Sleepover!" I grinned, and Phil followed suit.

Suddenly, we plummeted several feet downward.

A scream bubbled from my lips as my grip on Phil became vice-like, choking him and probably only disorientating him more as he tried to regain his balance. We really didn't fall that far, but my heart, already pounding, built up to a speed that could not have possibly been healthy.

"What the fuck!" I screamed, shutting my eyes tightly. "This is not a fucking joke!" Phil made a noise in the back of his throat and regained his balance, his arms around me almost as tight as mine around him. I felt tears leaking from the corners of my eyes.

I never thought the whole "your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die" thing was true, and I was correct. The one thing that crossed my mind was "Shit. My parents are saddled with my student loans" and that kind of sucked. But when Phil stopped going down, and my grip slowly retracted from his throat, and my breathing returned to normal, I pressed my face against his shoulder.

"Why did you do that?" I mumbled, my heart still pounding. I didn't give him time to respond before saying, "Take me back down. Please." Phil shifted, still silent, and began floating, slowly, back to the ground.

When all four of our feet were on the earth, we were suddenly supporting each other, still tangled together. Phil let go of me first, and fell back to lean on the car, clutching his chest like his heart was trying to escape.

I leant next to him. We waited for a while. The night was still.

I didn't know what we were waiting for. Phil didn't seem to either. We were silent.

"I'm sorry," Phil mumbled finally, breath still slightly ragged. "I don't know what's wrong with me." I shook my head, and leant it on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Just... really scary." He took a deep breath.

"I've never lost control like that." We both went silent for a few minutes as I contemplated what that meant. Lost control? Could I have died?

"Let's go back. I'll get you all set up in my dorm," Phil said, pulling away from me. He opened the passenger door of his car and sat before I could respond, obviously avoiding my eye. I sighed and yanked the driver's door open, sitting in the seat.

"I'm in building A," Phil mumbled. I smiled, trying to bring the conversation back up and trying to make Phil laugh, or at least smile, or at least not look like he had seen a ghost.

"A for AmazingPhil?" I questioned, turning onto the main road that would take us back to campus, considerably slower this time. Phil just nodded. "I'm in building B."

"B for... Bad Dan?" Phil asked, cracking a small smile. I could tell it wasn't real, and could see that Phil was far away.

What had happened up there? Was Phil okay? Was it something I did?