DEADROSES | PHAN

-ˏˋ three ˎˊ-

☾ ☽

phil was absolutely captivated.

he was so incredibly invested in the freckled boy he had met at the bookstore, he was curious about the way he seemed so cautious about the flowers in front of his house and how he had flowers in the first place.

it wasn't a common thing - in fact, phil hadn't seen a single other house with flower boxes out front. that was why he had stopped in the first place. and, to his surprise, it had to be the house of the pretty boy with the strange loud clunky shoes.

he was captivated in his eyes, the way he always looked perplexed and a little worried, and the way his dimples popped when he even slightly grinned.

but mostly the flowers.

he had so many questions he hadn't gotten to ask; where had he gotten the seeds? would he teach phil how to make the flowers look so alive? and why in the world did he wear those odd shoes?

dan was a mystery, and phil figured that was why he was so incredibly interested.

the next few days, phil waited. he took extra shifts at the shop, offering to take eliza's late one and having gotten back a suspicious glare, just waiting for the boy to come back. but he didn't - not for a few days that is.

dan didn't grace the doors of the book store for four days. it was almost seven at night when he finally did, and phil jolted awake from the armchair in the back, shoving the large gardening book off his lap.

"hello...?" dan called out, voice wavering and cautious. phil watched him look around for a second, squinting at those shoes. finally he stood up.

"hey!"

there wasn't anyone else there - in fact, the store was supposed to close at six. phil had just been completely distracted.

dan's face lit up gently when his chocolate eyes landed on phil's. his lips tugged into a smile.

"we meet again," he said softly, and phil laughed, shrugging.

"must be fate," he said casually. not the fact that i've been trying to meet you again for the past week. "what can i do for you?"

dan bit his lip, frowning delicately. "i need-" he cut himself off, his eyes flickering up to meet phil's cerulean ones. "actually, i don't know what i need. do you have any suggestions?"

as someone who worked at a book shop, phil was practically trained to know the answer to these types of questions, but he came up blank.

"uh..." he stuttered, trying to think of anything he thought this boy would want. "w-what do you like?"

idiot. eliza had taught him the trick of guessing what the person wanted to read by how they looked and dressed and talked, or by their previous purchases. dan clearly liked the stars, and flowers, based on his yard -

shit, had eliza taught him to be a stalker?

he was snapped out of his haze by dan's honey voice infiltrating his consciousness.

"um, i like adventures. and romance." his eyes lit up like fireworks. "and poetry." he giggled. "basically everything."

phil snapped his fingers at him, grinning. "that i can do."

dan let phil lead him to the back of the store, and soon his arms were piled with books.

"well," dan said lightly, struggling to hold them all. "these ought to last me awhile."

"yeah." phil glanced at his feet sheepishly. he was suddenly embarrassed for going off like that, dan didn't need to harbor his obsession. "can i tell you a secret?" he tapped the top book. "these are all my favorites."

dan blinked, his dark eyelashes fluttering, and his smile grew even more, if that was possible. his face gave off a sort of warm, welcoming feeling, phil noted. it made you feel happy just to look at him.

"good." he nodded promptly, whirling around to move towards the counter. "i'm interested to see if your taste in books is the same as your taste in clothing."

phil glanced down at himself, surprised - he was wearing a black t-shirt from highschool that was too small for him that had a rose sewn over the pocket, and ripped skinny jeans. he had ripped them, it was clear they hadn't been bought that way.

phil rolled his eyes.

"was that a joke?" he asked teasingly, pushing through the small door to the employee's side of the counter.

dan giggled, pressing his lips together. "maybe."

phil liked the way dan spoke, he realized as he rung up dan's books. he talked as if everything was new to him; telling jokes, teasing someone, asking for a certain book. he reminded phil of those people who are locked in an attic their entire life and are seeing the world for the first time.

when phil finished totaling the purchase, he slid the pile across the surface of the counter to dan. he met his eyes, determined.

"let me pay for those."

dan stared at him, surprise shadowed in his eyes.

"what? no!" he frowned. "i can't let you do that."

"why not?" phil shrugged, shoving a hand in his pocket. "i'm the one who dragged you into getting all of them, after all."

dan laughed, covering his mouth as if he didn't want phil to see, and shook his head.

"no way."

he handed phil the money, and went for the door.

he had pushed it open by himself before phil could even argue or help him with it, and was already down the sidewalk. phil stared back at him in awe.

"at least let me help you carry those home!" he shouted after him, finally coming to his senses.

"no thank you!" dan called back. "i have to get home quickly! i snuck out!"

phil frowned to himself, shaking his head. he snuck out? what did that mean? did he not live by himself?

phil started to go back inside before remembering one more thing he had wanted to ask.

"oh, can i-" he started, whirling around, but he trailed off when he realized dan was already out of sight. "get your number," he mumbled to himself, scratching the back of his neck and chuckling.

god, he was so weird.