piano lessons // phan ((being rewritten))

introduction

phil could hear the music before he opened the door.

as he walked up the steps leading to his front door, the first notes of a song could be heard. he didn't pay it much mind, assuming it was coming from the neighbor's apartment.

phil had come home early, the lunch with his mother ending sooner than expected. In the middle of her gossiping about someone called susan and her good-for-nothing husband ron, she got a call, immediately getting up and apologizing for her early departure. phil brushed it off, thankful for an excuse to go home. he was too kind to tell his mother that he didn't really care that susan didn't like her new linens, nor did he want to continue listening. he was also extremely tired, as he spent the previous night staying up to an ungodly hour finishing a video he had promised his viewers.

the music was faint, just barely audible. once he inside his apartment he realized that it was actually not the neighbors, but someone else. the thin walls made it easy to identify where it was coming from as he drifted towards the noise, intrigued by the sound. the music got louder as he bounded up the stairs, following the sound to the hallway leading to his bedroom. he ended up outside the room across from his, the music clearer now.

immediately forgetting his previous exhaustion, he listened closely. the door was closed, the sound still a bit muffled. phil leaned against the wall, trying to hear the music better. deciding to investigate further, he carefully opened the door, relieved when it didn't creak. he paused, taking a few steps forward to look around the room. there, seated at an old mahogany piano, was dan howell.

phil's best friend sat, his eyes closed and his fingers cascading over the black and white keys. oblivious to Phil's presence, he continued to play. leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, phil silently watched dan, noticing how effortlessly his fingers glided over the keys. other than the quiet breaths of the boy at the piano, the music was the only sound to fill the room.

dan was perched on the edge of his seat, his back straight and his head swaying peacefully to the music. he looked like he was lost in a trance, the notes slowly hypnotizing him.

the melody dan was playing sounded familiar to phil, but he couldn't remember exactly where he'd heard it before. dan played the piece beautifully, not even having to look at the papers in front of him to know the notes. phil had heard dan at the piano before, but this time was different. usually it was quick little tunes, not something that sounded like it belonged in a symphony. and even though phil had never heard dan play this certain song before, the notes were strung together almost seamlessly, evidently showing off his practice.

phil was no musical genius, but he felt that even mozart himself would be proud of dan's performance. with his limited knowledge on the subject, he was unable to realize that the song dan was playing was actually one of the easier pieces of classical music, as difficult as it sounded.

after completing the piece, dan sat still for a few seconds, not quite ready to open his eyes yet. he had learned this particular song the first year he'd started lessons, and he was proud that he still remembered it after all this time. whenever he did play classical songs like this, he'd get transfixed in the piece. his surroundings would disappear, and nothing mattered except playing everything correctly.

dan might've sat at the piano forever had phil not sneezed, alerting him of his audience. he spun around so suddenly it felt like whiplash, a blush quick to form on his face.

"w-what are you doing here? i thought you were at lunch," dan stuttered, his eyes going wide.

phil cleared his throat awkwardly, walking into the room to sit on the bed. "yeah, but mum had to leave early, so here i am. i heard you playing, you've gotten really good. what song was that?"

still trying to recover from his embarrassment, dan stared at the ground.

"beethovensmoonlightsonata," he mumbled.

"what?" Phil asked, tilting his head to the side.

dan took a deep breath, trying to slow down his pounding heart. after all, this was his best friend, why was he so nervous? "it's beethoven - moonlight sonata."

dan stared at Phil, who looked like he was lost in his thoughts. he half expected phil to criticize him, to go on about how terrible he sounded. but he knew phil, and he knew his friend was too much of an angel to ever talk badly about him. it felt like ages before phil spoke again, his eyes filled with hope. "can you teach me how to play it?"

"really? you want to learn moonlight sonata?" dan asked, thinking there was no way he had heard correctly.

"yeah, why not? it sounded amazing when you played it, and i want to be able to play a song that well."

upon hearing this, dan's blush continued further.

"you sure?" dan asked doubtfully. phil lester, a boy who had gone his whole life without playing a single note on the piano, wanted to learn moonlight sonata? could he even read music?

"i'm positive," phil replied confidently.

dan sighed, staring at the piano. even though the song wasn't considerably hard, it definitely wasn't a good beginner's song either. without turning to Phil, he addressed him. "you know you're not going to learn this in one night, right?"

phil pondered over his friend's words, seeming to consider them. a few seconds later he began to nod, looking back at him. "okay, then we'll do a little bit every evening."

resting his arm against the piano, dan looked at his best friend and laughed. "you're insane, you know that?"

"so I've been told."

"are you sure you want to learn this song? we could start with something easier, like 'mary had a little lamb.'"

but phil had already made up his mind. he could already picture it, him playing the song just like dan had. he had a goal, and he would do anything to achieve it, to make the thoughts in his head a reality.

"no, I'm sure," phil said, nodding once more. he wasn't interested in learning the basics, all he wanted was to learn the same song he'd heard dan playing. if dan could do it, maybe he could do it as well. he seemed to forget that dan had been playing piano for years, and the fact that he'd had professional lessons at one point in his life.

phil, shrugging his shoulders and grinning, gazed at the sheet music in front of dan. "how hard could it be?"

a/n: yooooooo so i now have a hundred followers! that's wild, so in honor of that I'm starting another short(?) phanfic :)) hope y'all enjoy,,