Playing With Fire || d.h

39. Celebrity Fish Puns

Your POV

"I'm free!" Phil comes marching into the living room, his hands thrown in the air, a slight limp from not using his leg for so long. "No more lying on the couch all day, no more awkward showers, no more uncomfortable itches I can't reach!"

"Well, I mean, I'm pretty sure everyone has those their entire lives," Dan replies, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a goofy grin on his face.

Phil places his hands on his hips, and looks at Dan disapprovingly. "Wow, way to rain on my parade."

"At least you don't have to deal with two of those things," I offer.

"See, you need to take a leaf out of her book!" Phil exclaims, causing me to laugh and Dan to roll his eyes.

Dodie suddenly appears around the corner, leaning against the doorway. "Calm down, Phil. The doctor said you still shouldn't exert yourself too much for the next few days."

"Trust me, he's not gonna struggle with that," Dan mutters, earning himself a slap in the arm. He looks at me with a faux hurt look on his face, rubbing his arm dramatically. I raise my eyebrows, as if to say, 'you deserved it.'

"Let's go somewhere!" Phil suddenly exclaims.

"Did you not hear what I literally just said?" Dodie scoffs, but Phil only ignores her.

"I've been cooped up in the house for ages, I can't stay here another minute."

"You know, it wasn't like you couldn't leave at all," I say.

"Yeah, it's so easy to limp around in a huge cast with crutches while in rainy London, isn't it?" Phil retorts sarcastically.

"True," I respond.

"Well, where do you want to go, then?" Dodie asks. "As long as it's nowhere near stairs," she adds, causing everyone besides Phil to laugh.

"I don't know about you, but I have a serious hankering for a hot, juicy burger," Phil suggests.

Dodie, Dan, and I look at each other, then shrug our shoulders. "Why not?"

We head out of the building, and Phil dramatically throws his arms up and takes a deep breath. "Ah, fresh air!" He exclaims.

Dodie snorts. "You were literally just outside earlier this morning when you had to get your cast off." Once again, Phil ignores her as he starts skipping down the street, a worried look casting itself over Dodie's face. "If he breaks his leg again, I swear to God, I'm gonna snap every other bone in his body."

We eventually come to a rustic bar, smelling strongly of burgers and grease. The hostess lead us to a large leather booth, Dodie and Phil on one side, Dan and I on the other. Luckily, Dan sits to the left of me, so I'm not exposed to the entire bruise. Every time I see it, and overwhelming feeling of guilt fills me, and it's still nearly impossible for me to ignore it. I flip through the menu, trying to decide what to order.

"Ooh, we're gonna get their onion rings as an appetizer, they sound way too good to pass up."

Dodie rolls her eyes slightly dramatically again. "Whatever you say, your highness."

Our waitress comes by, and we all order our food. Of course, Phil made sure to mention the onion rings as soon as she walks up to our booth, making her laugh at his urgency.

As she walks away with our orders, Dodie shakes her head in fake disappointment. "What? I really, really want them," he says innocently. "I've been eating nothing but takeout and pancakes for the last few weeks."