Internet Infatuation (YouTuber Fanfiction)

Chapter XXII

Phil POV

"Does that answer your question, then?" I asked in a breathy voice, after Dan pulled away from the kiss.

He had his fingers lightly touching his own lips, when I finally opened my eyes, still stuck in the moment. I still felt the ghost of his lips on my own, and I was already wishing that they were there again. My thoughts felt muffled, like they were being overwhelmed by something else so much that they weren't exactly clear or coherent.

Surprisingly, he looked at me thoughtfully, as if considering if it truly answered his question or not. It answered it pretty clearly, if you ask me. "I don't know," he began, but by the time of his voice, I could tell he was feigning innocence. "I might have to give it another go, just to see if the results match up in order to fully-"

I shoved him playfully, effectively cutting him off. "Shut up, Dan!" I exclaimed, trying but failing to stifle a giggle that was arising from my throat.

He shrugged, and confessed,"It was worth a shot. But to answer your question honestly, if say it answered the question fairly well."

"Fairly?"

"Okay, fine, it answered it very well," he admitted, quicker than I would've expected from him, but I wasn't complaining. "But I wasn't sure if it was too soon to say so."

"Too soon?" I sputtered. "You consider almost six years too soon, Dan? Really?" He shrugged. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I can think of a few things-"

"DANIEL HOWELL!" I shouted in a yelping voice. I know I pretty much said that it took him long enough to actually admit to anything between us, but we literally just kissed, and he was probably thinking of the dirtiest images possible, knowing him.

"What? I was just thinking about us cooking together someday. The whisking was very vivid." He said that last part with a sly smile on his mouth, but if there was an inside joke involved, I didn't catch it. I gave him a look to convey that I wasn't buying the idea that he imagined us doing something so mundane in the future, but then again, he was imagining us being together in the future, so I didn't say anything.

"Alright, but seriously," I started, while grabbing one of his hands in my own. I'm not sure why I did it, other than on a whim, but he didn't object, so I didn't second-guess myself. "I don't know what this means exactly, but whatever this is, I think we both know how the other feels." I paused, and looked up to meet his eyes intently. "I be liked you as a lot more than a friend for a long time. I know, like isn't the best word to use, but I don't think I've ever really been in love before, so I'm not sure if I am now, or-"

I stopped, realizing I was rambling, and took a deep, shaky breath to calm myself down. I opened my mouth to speak again, but Dan beat me to it. "Phil, it's alright. If you aren't ready to say it, or don't want to, then you don't have to. Instead, you could say..." he trailed off, thinking of the right word, and after a second, he finally got it.

"Infatuated."

A small smile creeped it's way up my face, and I glanced down at my lap quickly as I tossed the word around in my brain. Infatuated. I liked it. Not to mention the fact that it was so Dan. I nodded slowly. "Infatuated," I said, testing the word on my tongue. A strange thought entered my mind, and I wondered suddenly if I've ever actually said the word 'infatuated' aloud before. It's not like I've ever had reason to use this word in particular, usually just substituting it with another simpler word that everyone else used, because it was easier.

"So what about you, then?" I asked suddenly.

"What about me what?" Dan asked curiously.

"Are you infatuated?" I asked, already using he word like it was the easiest thing in the world, and momentarily catching me by surprise. But at the same time it felt natural, and I think Dan either understood that or simply didn't think much of me saying he word infatuated, because he didn't even acknowledge it.