irl

Chapter 28

Valentines day, yet another day in which Dan was forever alone. Phil, of course, had plans with George. Louise was busy with her boyfriend, too, so Dan was truly alone. Deserted in his flat on the evening of February fourteenth, he didn't know what to do.

He felt a familiar feeling creeping up on him, loneliness. Ironically, it was the same type of loneliness he had talked to Phil about the previous night. Yet, here he was, feeling it all over again on valentine's night. His heart ached knowing that Phil was out enjoying the evening with his fuckboy boyfriend. He still believed that George had purposefully gotten Phil intoxicated enough to have sex with him with Phil's drunkened consent. He let it slide, knowing that arguing about it any longer with Phil may result in loss of his friendship. He didn't want that.

Dan spent the night of Valentine's day at home watching a shitty romance movie while stuffing his face with popcorn.

~•~

"Now this is nice," Phil said, entering the bowling alley with George, who's hand was interlocked his his own. They got a sideways glance from a young girl, who's face scrunched up at the implication of the two men being in a relationship. They shrugged it off, ignoring the kid. When the girl ran to her mother pointed at the two, the mom said quite loudly, "don't point, that's rude!" In a stern motherly tone. The couple laughed.

"This seems like it'll be fun," Phil said, smiling at George. "I do have to warn you, though, I'm the most clumsy person you'll ever meet, so I suck at bowling."
"I know something else you suck," George winked before chuckling. The innuendo made Phil slightly uncomfortable, knowing what had happened only a few nights prior. Phil gave a weak laugh, and George caught on that sex jokes weren't the best option at that time.

The two began bowling, both extremely competitive, even though both were pretty bad at that game. Phil nearly dropped a bowling ball on his foot twice, as if he were in Looney Toons or something. Phil ended up winning, and George congratulated him by taking ahold of his hips and giving him a kiss.

"Get a room," they heard the sassy girl from earlier say as she walked past. The two just shook their heads and chuckled at the oblivious child. The mother scolded her once more, taking her by the hand and dragging her out of the establishment.

"I really really like you," Phil said, turning to George. He couldn't muster up the courage to say that he loved him, though he did.
"Well, I love you," George smiled, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Phil's lips.

~•~

Valentines day came and went, as did the season of winter. Slowly, the chilly air became less chilled, and the temperatures began to rise. George and Phil spent a great amount of time together, Dan and Louise became closer in this time, too.

Dan's feelings did not fade one bit.

Every time Phil did something remotely cute, he couldn't help but admire it. Every time Phil talked about George in high regards, he couldn't help but break a little. But that's why Dan had Louise. He vented to her all he wanted and she listened, offering her best advice.

Soon, it was May. May sixth, to be exact. It was warm and flowers were budding all around. Dan sneezed as he stepped outside, and he cursed his pollen allergies.
He walked to his car (Phil was with George that day, they had a date almost every Sunday), and plugged in his phone, playing his edgy Spotify. He refused to show his emo-ness in public, but at heart, he still loved those "emo" bands.

Running a hand through his curls, he started up the car and headed for the bar where Louise was working at that moment. The evening air held a little winter in it, still, but Dan just pulled on a leather jacket to warm himself. Walking into the homely bar, he sat himself right where Louise was stationed behind the bar and greeted her.
"A beer, please, miss," he gave a wink and she smiled.
"Why, sure, mister. What'll it be?" She put on a (shitty) American southern accent.
"Guinness, like the manly man I am," he inwardly laughed at his joke: he wasn't manly in the slightest.

Louise retrieved the bottle for him and leaned on the counter.
"So where are the lovebirds tonight?" She raised an eyebrow. Dan's cheerful mood dropped slightly, but he had gotten better with coping.
"Mini-golfing," he said, taking a sip of his alcohol. Louise nodded, her sigh laced with sympathy for her friend. "They're really serious, aren't they? What's it been, two months?"
"Three," Dan corrected with a dry chuckle. "Three months going strong. You know what I've noticed, though?"
"What's that?" She questioned, curiosity begging to take in more information.
"Phil has not met the parents. It's not like they're that far, either. I may or may not stalk George's Twitter, but it seems that his parents live just outta town. Am I overanalyzing this?"
"Maybe," Louise admitted, "you've been hanging in there pretty well, but I know you're still digging for George's flaws. I didn't meet my boyfriend's parents until we were five months in. I think it's normal for the parents to have not met Phil yet, sorry Dan," Louise shrugged, offering a sad smile.
"You're right," Dan said, shaking his head, "in my heart I know that George isn't a bad guy, I suppose that I just want him to be," Dan thought aloud, sighing. "I'm jealous. I'm weak," he mumbled, but Louise caught his words.
"You're in love, Dan. That happens when you're in love and it's okay, it's normal. I know it's hard for you, you've always been kinda sensitive, but you've been doing great, regardless. Just keep pushing though, everything will turn out just fine," she smiled, handing Dan his second bottle.
"I sure hope so, Lou," he put on his happy mask and took a sip of his drink.

Ey another update because why not? I finished writing this book so I can post whenever I want now.

Speaking of writing books, I am working on a new one that'll probably be published some time after this one is finished, so keep an eye out for something different and interesting.