PETALS | PHAN

-ˏˋ four ˎˊ-

☾ ☽

after a couple of hours, dan's knees were really starting to hurt. he'd been kneeling in front of the terra-cotta pots for a good while, trying as hard as he could to make the flowers bigger, and more vivid. he wanted to help the business, it was what was making him feel like he had a purpose right now.

eliza was sitting at the front counter reading a book about some kind of sea monster, and every now and then she'd comment about it or describe something to him, but other than that, she left him to his thoughts.

dan was so tired of being so confused. he understood now where he came from, which was all he'd ever wanted, but it hadn't brought him much peace.

could he be doing more than this? did his full potential really lie in a quiet part of london, using up his days in a flower shop? how would his parents feel, if they could see him now?

most of all, he was frustrated with his silly brain for not just being happy. he was content and restless at the same time, and he had no one to blame but himself.

dan hadn't been paying attention and when he looked down, he winced. thick green vines spilled from the sides of the pot, creeping along the floor the longer he left his fingers in the dirt. he pulled away quickly.

"woah," eliza said from the counter. she'd seen. dan blushed, embarrassed.

"sorry."

"no, it's kind of cool. you could hang it up in the window or something."

dan couldn't help smiling at her optimism. it was a nice difference from how she was when he met her- although he suspected she was turning up the charm out of guilt.

eliza hesitated, pursing her lips, before setting her book down. she pulled nervously at her light brown ponytail. "phil really hates me, huh?"

"he doesn't hate you." a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "he's just stubborn. you know that."

"yeah..." she twisted her hair around her finger. "i know i've said it, dan, but i'm... really sorry."

dan shrugged, turning back to the deformed plant. "it's alright. it's in the past, i know you didn't mean any harm."

"then why doesn't phil know that?"

dan sighed, tugging on a curl that had made its way into his line of vision. "eliza, if phil thought you meant any harm, would he even still talk to you?"

"he hardly does as it is," she mumbled, playing with her fingers.

"but he does."

"i guess."

"so, he knows." dan started to add more, but the words left him when something caught his eye from outside. something moving.

"i just wish he wasn't mad at me anymore," eliza continued. she hadn't noticed it. dan frowned, staring out the glass doors into the deepening evening darkness. there was only enough light for dan to clearly see the sidewalk, and just barely the street beyond it. "i never thought i'd actually miss him."

dan pushed himself to his feet, his eyebrows furrowed.

there it was again: something was moving. dan couldn't tell what it was... or, maybe more importantly, if it was human or not.

he ran to the doors, throwing them open.

nothing.

it was strangely windy out, and dan's blue petticoat wildly whipped around him. he could hear eliza calling his name, but he ignored her. he was staring at the pavement in front of him.

in the cracks that jutted across the concrete like lightning bolts or roads on a map... there were flowers. tiny, barely noticeable flowers.

dan kneeled in front of them, reaching out to brush his fingers over their petals. daisies.

"dan? what's going on?" eliza had followed him out, and stood behind him, hugging herself and shivering. "jesus fuck, it's cold."

"i saw something," he mumbled in response, following the trail of daisies with his eyes. "look, there's flowers."

eliza leaned over to look where he was pointing, squinting at the cracks. "dan, flowers grow in sidewalks all the time. that's normal. come on, let's go back inside... maybe i should take you home."

she was probably right... but a nagging feeling in the back of dan's head wouldn't let him believe that. he'd seen something, someone... he was positive.

he stood up and followed the trail of daisies, the wind tossing his curls around. he sped up a bit; what if they were still here?

"dan!" eliza called out, huffing loudly and rushing to catch up with him with a quiet chanted mantra of "phil is going to kill me".

dan's heart was racing with anticipation... he had no idea what was waiting, but he needed to find out. the adrenaline spiked when he got to a corner, rushing around it and into the alley to find...

nothing. again. the trail stopped abruptly where the sidewalk ended, sloping into the gravel.

he sighed, turning back to eliza, who was holding her ponytail to keep it from flying in her face.

"sorry," he mumbled, crossing his arms. the cold was starting to get to him, now that his nerves were back to normal. "false alarm."

eliza gave him a worried, confused look. he let her lead him back inside, glancing behind him every few seconds.

maybe phil really wasn't the only paranoid one.