"...and meteorologists are predicting quite the heavy snowfall from London to Bristol and as far north as Birmingham, beginning late Friday night and continuing on into the early hours of Sunday morning, likely to accumulate to over thirty centimetres of snow..."
"No!" I exclaim, walking into the living room on Thursday morning to find Dan curled up on the sofa, watching the weather forecast. "My Christmas party is on Saturday night. My coworkers have been looking forward to it for weeks. I don't want to have to cancel for a snowstorm!"
"Oh, darn," Dan replies, his voice lacking any real sympathy. "You mean I won't have to hide in the basement for hours while twenty people I don't know are crowded around in this room getting to spend time with you while I can't? That's a bummer."
I shoot him an unimpressed glare. "Come on, Dan. I really don't think it's your place to complain about the the party I've been planning since long before you showed up. Besides, why would you have to hide in the basement?"
"You're joking, right? You're actually suggesting I join the party?"
"Well, why not? I can introduce you to them just like I introduced you to Louise. Derek, an old friend of mine from uni, in town for a job interview or something, and crashing at my place for a bit."
"Why are you so eager to introduce me to your friends?"
"I... I dunno, Dan. I mean... you're a part of my life now, aren't you? They'd like you. Plus, I think you could use a bit of social interaction for once. You'd be surprised how much good it would do you."
"Phil... you're delusional."
"Whatever. The party might not even happen anyway. I have to go to work, see you tonight."
~~~
On Saturday morning, after sleeping in until nearly eleven, I wake up to a sliver of daylight streaming in through my bedroom window. Is the sun out? Maybe it's stopped snowing already. I roll out of bed and walk over to the window, but when I open the curtains, I find that the brightness outside isn't caused by any sun. There is a thick blanket of snow on the ground that is so incredibly white, it's almost blinding. There are millions of snowflakes floating and falling through the air, adding layers to the ground every second. I grab my phone, hurry downstairs, and turn on the TV to the weather station.
"...the winter storm warning that has been in effect since yesterday. The Met Office has advised that everyone stay off the roads until further notice..."
I collapse onto the sofa with a large sigh of disappointment. Of course the storm had to be today of all days.
When I finally unlock my phone, I find a slew of text messages in my work group chat.
Tom: Is the party still on tonight, Philly?
Tabitha: I'm assuming it's cancelled? There's 22 cm on the ground already and the snow is still coming down.
Anthony: I won't be able to make it regardless. Sorry, Phil. Roads are way too icy.
As I'm brooding over the weather and the texts and the huge letdown, Dan walks into the room yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes. "Hey, Phil," he says groggily, "there's a bit of snow on the ground."
"Don't remind me."
"You alright?" he asks, coming to sit next to me on the sofa. "Man, you really seem to care about this party."
YOU ARE READING
Broken Windows // Phan AU
FanfictionPhil is awakened at 2 A.M. by a mysterious crash coming from his kitchen. His first thought? An intruder has come to murder him in his sleep. When he creeps downstairs to investigate, however, the man he encounters does not seem to be the malicious...
