supermarket flowers // phan

aisle four

dan violently shivered as he pulled his thick black parka jacket around his goosebump ridden torso. pellets of rain hammered down on his black umbrella, that was doing very little to shield him from the downpour that was coming from the black thundering sky.

"fuck fuck fuck" dan hissed to himself, leaning against the bus stop outside the supermarket.

the sky erupted into another unnerving rumble, causing the birds to flock in all directions. the street was quickly lit in a purple haze as a violent bolt of lightening fell from the sky dangerously close. dan sighed, reluctantly taking down his umbrella, he didn't fancy being set alight by nature at the expense of dry hair.

a pair of headlights pulled out of the store car-park on the opposite side of the road, dan rubbed his knuckles against his eyes and brushed rain drops from his thick eyelashes, trying to focus his tired eyes on the figure in the car. he was just about adjusting to the figure when the black car pulled up beside him.

"tough luck howell" phil jeered as he rolled down the window

"oh fuck off" snapped dan, pulling his hood tighter over his thick head of hair, scowling.

"perhaps i won't offer you a lift then" phil said simply, running his hand through his hair, pushing it back off of his head.

"i'm fine with the bus thanks" dan said shortly, looking away from phil cool stare

"get in" phil stated, gripping the steering wheel

"no" replied dan, digging his heels into the concrete, now pooled with water.

"stop being so fucking stubborn dan, just get in" phil snapped back, his fingers turning white with how tightly he was gripping the wheel

"no" dan repeated, crossing his arms across his chest with vigour

"you're going to freeze" phil said, dan was shocked at how phil's tone softened slightly. dan had an internal debate with himself, the bus wasn't for another twenty minutes and the lightening was striking the ground relentlessly.

after ten seconds of silence, phil exhaled loudly.  "suit yourself" he said, reaching for the handbrake

"phil, wait" dan said awkwardly, stepping forwards and reaching for the door handle. he clumsily clambered into the car, greeted by the comforting heat blasting out of phil's heaters and the faint smell of the vanilla air freshener hanging from the mirror.

"so why are you doing this? we aren't exactly best buddies" dan said, breaking the few moments of awkward silence lingering in the air, ruffling his wet hair, pushing it back off his forehead.

"because i'd have to cover your shift after you make yourself sick standing in the rain" phil retorted, rolling his eyes

"charming" dan said, pressing his body further back into the heated leather seats. phil just snorted in response and started drumming his fingers against the wheel, frustrated with the traffic they were now stuck in.

"where am i dropping you off?" asked phil , turning to look at dan

"uhhhh... you can just drop me off at the tesco if you like, i'm only a five minute walk from there"

"i'm taking you to your door"

"no no really it's fine i don't want to be a bother"

"you do my head in" grumbled phil, slowly etching forwards in the traffic

"good" grinned dan, satisfied with how easy it was to get under phils skin, "20 sands lane if you're serious about dropping me to the door" he continued.

phil mumbled the quickest route to himself as he edged forward in the traffic, reaching out to turn the radio on, blanketing the thick awkward silence in the air.