LOST BOY | PHAN

three

dan absolutely loved phil's parents.

the first time phil invited him over, he was shaky and jittery and an absolute mess all day. he paced his room, messed with his hair, and changed three times. phil watched him amusedly from the window, except for when dan made him cover his eyes while he changed. he even put on the most normal thing he owned, jeans, but even those were a faded lilac color.

"they won't care if you wear a skirt," phil said finally, looking up from picking at his cuticles absentmindedly. dan looked at him, and blinked. how had he read his mind?

"t-they won't?"

phil shook his head, glancing at him again. his hair blew in his face, obscuring part of his face. "no."

"oh..." dan bit his lip nervously, looking toward his closet. "w-will you, will you p-pick something for me?"

phil's lips curved into a hint of a smile, and he nodded. he climbed through dan's window rather agilely, making his way across his room.

he only dug through dan's cluttered drawer for a moment before pulling something out. he touched it gently, as if it was made of paper and string. he held it out, his long fingers curved gently around the article of clothing. "this?"

it was a pink tennis skirt, the fabric folding in on itself all the way around in even spaces. dan was fairly certain it was his favorite article of clothing that he owned, but he was terrified to wear anything like that to school. he already got beat up and ragged on enough as it was. he chewed on his lip.

finally he nodded, taking the skirt from phil's outstretched hands. "okay," he whispered, his eyes wide and fearful. phil nodded encouragingly.

"i won't look," he muttered, laughing softly, his hands coming up to cover his eyes. dan smiled.

he changed out of the jeans, pulling the skirt on. it was a tiny bit too big for him, but he was growing into it. he paired it with a fuzzy pink sweater that hung so low on him that it nearly covered the skirt, and smiled.

"you c-can look."

phil uncovered his eyes, looking at him and grinning. "you look so pretty!" he reached out, his fingertips brushing over the hem of the skirt, his skin making contact with dan's stomach for a split second. "here..." he helped dan tuck the sweater into the skirt, fixing it gently so that it had a bit of bagginess to it. dan's cheeks tinted cherry red when he turned to the mirror.

"thank you..." dan beamed with pride. phil nodded, smiling at him.

"you're welcome."

phil stood up, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers before dan could even think to react. he tugged him to the window, ducking below the foggy glass.

"c'mon..."

dan squeaked when phil tugged on his hand again, struggling not to fall out the window. his bedroom was in the roof, and he was a tiny eleven year old... he didn't think a fall from that height would be good for him. but phil was older and smarter (thirteen seemed absolute decades away to dan), and he clearly knew what he was doing.

he helped dan step out onto the slightly slanted roof, his knees shaking a bit at the effort of not slipping up. the bright afternoon sun shone in dan's eyes and he held his free hand up to shade them. he didn't want to misstep due to his sight being obscured. the rough tiles were scattered with orange and red leaves as well, which made him even more nervous.