Phil's house wasn't what I had expected it to be. I had expected a huge room with a balcony or maybe just a window that you could get out of and see the whole city. Maybe my imagination had taken over. I had instantly connected Phil with a pretty rich kid but his house was normal. Slightly bigger than mine but not by much.
The wallpaper was peeling off in the hallway and was in dire need of redecorating but I didn't say that. Even if I weren't too cold to speak, it wasn't my place to say anything but it did make me wonder what Phils home life was like.

He ushered me through the door, a little too urgently for my liking but I put it down as him being cold and wanting to get inside. I jumped when I entered the living room and saw a figure there. I would've tried to run away if Phil wasn't standing right behind me and blocking the only exit I could see. I expected the person to be Jessica or Alfie,  I expected Phils kindness to end up being a trap. Instead, an older women stood in front of me.
She was obviously Phils mum. She looked much older than my own but that was due to the slight greying of her hair and the bags under her eyes. She had the same crystal blue eyes as her son. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her figure was skinny but not scarily so. She looked a little confused when she saw me but smiled all the same, her smile widend when she looked at Phil.  I instantly relaxed.

"Sorry I'm so late. Would you like a cup of tea?" Phil's voice was soft, caring, gentle - everything it wasn't when he was with Alfie.
"No, darling, its fine," his mother shook off the offer and messed with the bun on her head, trying to flatten down the stray bits of hair. "How was practice?"
"It went well," Phil said.
"I knew it would," she beamed. "I'll have to come to a game sometime." That was odd... his mum seemed so interested in his basketball playing. She wasn't anything like I had imagined her to be when Phil mentioned her in Dance class.
"Its nothing special. Don't waste your free time on it," Phil told her non-chalantly. She was about to reply, maybe she was about to argue with him, but he spoke before she could, "this is Dan, by the way."
"It's nice to meet you," she turned to me but glanced at Phil for a moment before shaking my hand. She recoiled from my grasp quickly and rubbed her hands together. "You're freezing," she told me and I looked down at my red hands.
"I'm much better now I'm inside," I replied. My hands were doing that tingly thing that happens right before they go from being numb to having feeling.
"Good, good. Will you be staying long?"
"Me and Dan have a group project to do," Phil lied. I wondered why he lied. "I ate at practice so Dan can have what you made me."
"Philip, I am more than capable of feeding you both," his mother burst out exasperated and shook her head.
"I know, mum, I honestly have already eaten," Phil defended himself before pushing me in the direction of the stairs.
There was something definitely going on in the Lester house.

"You're such a liar," I declared as soon as he closed the door to the bedroom. I stood in the middle of the room, not sure where to put myself. I didn't want to touch anything because it felt like I'd be intruding if I did.
"Oh it was nice of me to let you into my house, wasn't it? There's no need to thank me," he said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. I ignored the comment and pressed on the matter.
"When you started dance you told me your mum said if you didn't she'd make you quit basketball... that's not true, is it?" I challenged him.
She seemed so supportive of his choices. I had only met her for a brief moment but I got enough information to know she looked proud of Phil, of his after school activities.
"Not... not one hundred percent but-" he began, his sarcasm had been wiped away and he was stumbling over his words.
"-and you knew I'd be there, right? Did Jessica tell you?" He didn't reply and I laughed humourlessly, his silence gave me the answer. "Of course Jessica told you." I shook my head.
"She did but it's not what you think," Phil began.
"Really?" I scoffed.
"I chose to go there because I wanted to... I don't know...get closer to you?" It sounded like a question. He ran a hand through his hair and messed it up. "But when I was there I realised it was a mistake."
"To get closer to me?" I asked without thinking, I could hear the dissapointment in my voice.
"No, god no," Phil hurried to get out, "it was a mistake to be there, I shouldn't have intruded like that and I know I made you feel uncomfortable."
"You did," I agreed.

A silence descended on us quickly. It was uncomfortable because neither of us moved and neither of us spoke. It was like everything had been frozen around us. We just looked at eachother until it became too awkward to even do that. I cleared my throat to rid the tension.
"I'm very grateful you helped me out," I began, "but I would like to get back home..."
Not that I had much of one to go back to. I would probably wonder the streets until the early hours of the morning and let myself in when I knew my parents would be sleeping.
"Why were outside like that?" Phil asked me, ignoring my previous statement.
"I..." I nearly told him. I nearly told him about my mum hitting me, about how she made me feel, about staying at Chris's only to avoid him. It was so easy to get carried away when it was just me and him. I felt like I could tell him about the whole galaxy even though he would probably just share it with the others. Phil on his own was so different compared to Phil with Alfie and I had to keep reminding myself that both Phils existed. "It's personal," I played it safe.
"Go home then," he shot at me instantly. He walked passed me and fell down onto the bed.
"What?"
"Isn't that what you want? Go home," he repeated and held the fabric of the duvet between his fingertips like it deserved his full attention more than anything else.
"I-I.." I stuttered.
"I knew it!" Phils head sprang up and he looked me in the eyes from where he sat, I still didn't move from the middle of the room.
"What?" I asked, feeling stupid.
"Stay here," he told me. "Even if you wanted to go home, which I now know for sure you don't, it's way too cold and my mum doesn't have a car anymore. We can walk to school together tomorrow, or separately. Whichever is easier for you."
"I cant just stay here," I scoffed.
"Why not?" He creased his eyebrows up like he had forgotten about our school history.
"Because you're Phil Lester," I explained.
"And you're Dan Howell," he said back. "Now the naming game is over, make yourself comfortable and I'll be back in a minute."
Before I could argue, he was already out the door.