One-Shots

Malibu {P}

"Come on, Phil!" I say running down the beach, getting sand practically everywhere.

"Bear! Slow down!" He chases after me. 

So I do. He pulls me into a tight hug. 

"Thank you so much for taking me here, Lion." 

"It's my pleasure."

And we stare at the waves. And the sky. They're the same shade of blue. Dark blue. But the colors didn't blend. Funny isn't it. They're exactly the same, but they stay separated. 

"Get out now, Phil. I'll be seeing you around." 

"Dan?"

"Go, Phil!" 

So he ran. And he never went back. He didn't have to. 

Phil took my hand and we started walking farther down the beach. The sun started setting. The mix of red, orange, and yellow. Phil started rambling about the way the colors blended together. I didn't really listen to his words. Just the sound of his voice. That's all I needed in that moment. 

"Thank god the sun is going down. It's so warm," Phil ends. 

"It's getting hot in here," Phil sings as I laugh at him.

"I wish my fucking fan worked."

"Language," Phil says in a sing-song voice. 

And I paused that memory right there. After that, it strays from perfect. 

"Phil, I still can't believe you took me here. To Malibu of all places. You know I would have been fine with our ice rink."

"Yeah, yeah, Howell." 

We both chuckle at the use of my last name. He hadn't called me that since the last day of high school. 

"I'll be seeing you around, Howell," He says.

"What if you don't?" I whisper. 

"Won't I?" 

He pulls out a bill. A first month's rent. 

"At our apartment!" 

And I'm crying even more. Since sixth grade we've talked about this. And he went through with it. I love him so much. 

"Dan?" Phil says and stops walking.

"Yeah?"

"You've made me so happy. I love you. From our apartment to our house, from England to Malibu, I love you." 

He falls to one knee. The sun setting behind us. He pulls a box from his jacket pocket. 

"Daniel James Howell, will you marry me?" 

A perfect moment with a perfect man. Too good to be true. In Malibu.

And then I woke up in an empty king sized bed. Phil Lester passed away three years ago today. 

and malibu was where where he was supposed to take me a day before that happened.