Dan's Overhead

Dan looked up as he heard a scuttle in front of him. Laying on the desk in front of his head was a small, folded shred of paper. He opened it and read it to himself.

“Dan, were you serious about a date?

Phil”

His eyebrows creased. Of course he was serious! Why wouldn't he be? He got up to go find him.
Phil wasn't in the usual seat he sat in. Dan checked all around the library – fiction, nonfiction, biographies, children's books, sci-fi, magazines, and everything else – but he didn't seem to be found anywhere. Dan thought it was a joke. Was he hiding from him?

“Phil?” Dan called quietly so that he wouldn't disturb the other readers. “Phil, where are you?”

“Dan?”

He turned around to see him standing alone by the staircase to the second floor. “Hey, there you are. I was looking for you.” He held up the paper. “I got your note. Of course I'm serious about a date! I would never toy with someone like that.”

“Really? You think I'm... good-looking?”

Dan's cheeks went a little red. “Yeah.”

Phil held back a much needed smile. “So, do you want to get a coffee? They have a Starbucks upstairs, I think.”

“Yeah. It's great up there.”

Dan showed him the upstairs lounge. People bustled around like a small shopping center. Many people had books checked out from the quiet library below. The place wasn't too big, and only had the Starbucks as a shop. It was nice, and though people spoke to each other, it wasn't that loud, so people were still able to read their books.

Dan guided Phil to the Starbucks and had him order whatever he wanted. He fixed his glasses and ordered the same as Dan – caramel macchiato. With their drinks, they sat down together.

“So, Phil,” Dan started. He wasn't very good with dates. “You really like to read, huh?”

He nodded. “I read a lot. It's just something comforting to do. You probably think it's weird or geeky....”

“What? No, it's not. It's kinda cute.”

“You think a nerd like me is cute?”

“I think you're adorable.”

Phil forced back an embarrassed smile. He sipped his drink. “I'm sorry I ran away from you. Its just... I'm really quite terrified of certain people and well... I thought you might be one of them.”

“One of who?”

“Its stupid. Never mind.”

“No, I really want to know. I mean, if you want to tell me.”

He looked down. “Its just these guys. I call them the 'gang.' They sorta pick on me for being a book geek and call me a faggot and stuff. I mean, it doesn't matter.”

Dan's mouth dropped open in disgust at hearing of people so mean. “Phil, of course it matters. That's not cool. How could they do that?”

He shrugged.

“You shouldn't be terrified of anyone. I promise, you'll always be safe with me.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” Dan thought for a moment. “Do you, perhaps, come here to the library to escape them?”

He shrugged again. “I guess so. They don't know I'm here.”

Dan thought that it was sad. A beautiful boy like Phil was bullied for liking books. What's so wrong about books? “I'm telling you, you'll be safe here. And don't be afraid to talk to me, ok?”

“Thanks, Dan. Sorry for accusing you of being one of them. You're just so handsome. I thought they were trying to lure me in again. It wouldn't be the first time. I got scared.”

Dan was silenced at the word handsome. Phil really thought that about him? The idea made him giddy. “It's ok. But what do you mean 'lure you in?'”

“They know I'm gay, so they make it worse by paying people to tease me. You don't mind, do you?”

“This is a date, isn't it?”

Phil cutely smiled at him. He seemed like such a sweetheart. Why would anybody want to hurt him?