phil led him up to his room, dan's hand trapped in his.

the stairs creaked under their feet and phil realized that, while he was used to it, dan surely wasn't. dan had a clear slight distaste to this entire place, but phil didn't blame him. it was pretty awful.

phil's room smelled like smoke and too much cologne. he shared it with his only "brother" that was actually older than him, but he was hardly ever around. phil didn't really know what he did all day, just that he came home smelling like every single sin imaginable and crashed every now and then.

phil sat down on his bed, which was actually just a torn apart red hammock in the corner of the room. this wasn't forced by lack of finances, this was just a personal preference. dan blinked at him, hovering awkwardly by the door.

"you can come in if you want," phil deadpanned, watching him only a little bit curiously. dan nodded, blushing, and stepped in a bit farther. phil chuckled, moving aside a bit so there would be enough room for dan to sit next to him, watching him expectantly.

dan finally walked across the room, sitting next to him a bit nervously.

"so," he said softly after a moment. phil lit a cigarette, waiting for him to continue speaking. "when does this game start?"

phil shrugged, smirking a bit. dan seemed anxious to begin.

"whenever we want it to."

dan nodded slowly, playing with a string on the hammock. "okay."

silence followed and phil sighed, the faint sounds of shouting floating up to his room from below.

"your house is kind of a mess," dan said finally, breaking the silence. phil shrugged.

"yeah. told you."

dan chewed on his lip, surely enough to break the skin. "next time we should go to my place."

phil raised his eyebrows. "i doubt yours is any better."

dan blushed, his cheeks flushing a light pink color. phil smirked.

"whatever," the boy muttered. phil laughed at him.

dan just glared, reaching out and taking his cigarette from him. phil fully expected him to throw it again, or stomp on it, but instead he just brought it to his lips. he took a shaky drag, coughing afterward as smoke trickled from his lips and trying to cover it up. phil laughed.

"be my boyfriend."

dan choked, coughing even harder and hitting his chest. "w-what?"

phil nodded, watching him intensely. "yeah. date me."

dan blushed, his cheeks a darker shade of red now. "okay."

phil nodded, grabbing the cigarette back from him. "this is for big boys, honey."

dan scowled at him, crossing his arms. phil grinned, and blew smoke in his direction as the screaming downstairs got louder.