Discovering Love // phan

Fifteen

  Dan was never the type of person who went out of his way to make friends. He never really had a reason to, and the only reason he ever really talked to people was if they approached him first. As it was, his only real friend so far had been Phil.

  But with Jace, he curiously found himself reaching out.

  Admittedly, Jace was the type of guy who was friends with everyone. He was naturally charming, with his constant smile and wide, shining eyes, he was just approachable. And that, with Dan's own amiability, was how they became such close friends over the next few days.

  It was funny, because Dan had at first questioned why Jace wanted anything to do with him. He had thought he was suspicious of some sort of mischief. But now they were basically inseparable. They actually had some things in common, ranging from favorite kinds of music and books, to just general likes and dislikes. They could spend countless minutes, sometimes hours, talking and laughing about anything and everything.

  Dan wondered why he had ever found the boy suspicious of anything but being nice. He felt kind of guilty for thinking he was up to something no good, because he was completely wrong.

  But even with the excitement of making this new friend, Dan couldn't help but notice that him and Phil were growing slightly distant from each other. It was only small things, like awkward silences that were never usually there, or unanswered texts and calls, but it was still there. And Dan wasn't surprised that Phil eventually called him out on it. Not long after, the arguing was back, and Dan was actually surprised that they were usually centered around Jace.

  According to Phil, Dan was spending just a bit too much time with Jace, and that he was getting in the way of...them. The first time he had brought it up, Dan scoffed at him, because it was just completely ridiculous. Him and Jace were close, yeah, but that didn't mean he was gonna start ditching his boyfriend just to hang out with him.

 After a few more times, Dan had come to conclusion that Phil was only jealous. It was a bit selfish, thinking so, but it was really the only thing that made sense.

  It was most likely the simple fact that...Jace was attractive. It was an undeniable observation, and it was probably that fact that made Phil worry. But he should know that Dan would never be so much of a hussy as to just leave him for the the next, brand new pretty boy that came along. He wasn't like that.

  Strangely, whenever he and Phil got into one of these skirmishes, Dan always found that hanging out with Jace was sort of a way to make all the anger go away. He, of course, never told Jace that he was the center of some very heated discussions between him and Phil, but it didn't really matter.

  At the moment, him and Jace were sitting at their usual spot under one of the large trees outside. It was their lunch period, and Dan was also still getting over another yelling match with Phil. And if that wasn't enough, Jace started asking about him.

  "So that guy you always hang out with, with the blue eyes? Are you guys, like....a thing?" Jace asked, and even though Dan was still irritated slightly, he couldn't help but smile at the curious look Jace was giving him.

  "You could say that." He replied. "But I don't really know at the moment."

  "Oh. Trouble in paradise or something?"

  "Pretty much, yeah." Dan said, laughing slightly. It was quiet between them again, but it wasn't weird, or awkward. Dan drifted off into his own thoughts, about how he could possibly try and make up with Phil, and he jumped slightly when Jace spoke again.

  "I really don't mean to pry or anything, but can I ask what's wrong? Between you two, I mean." When Dan didn't say anything right away, Jace looked away shyly and smiled. "You don't.... you don't have to answer, if you don't want to. I'm always too curious for my own good."