Phil's face popped up on my phone screen and I tried to reach it without getting up, overbalancing and toppling in a tangle of bed sheets onto the carpet. Cursing and blinking at the bright screen, I pressed answer.

"'Lo?"

"Hey, Dan. Are you up?"

"I am now." I grunted.

I could hear his giggle, even distorted and tinny from the phone it still made me smile.

"Sorry. Actually, no I'm not. It's a lovely day, don't waste it!"

I rolled my eyes, but chose not to comment.

"I just wanted to know if you were doing anything today? We're going with Adam and Bryony to look at filming locations in town and I thought you might want to come along."

I nodded happily then remembered he couldn't see me. "Yeah, sure. What time and where and stuff?"

"We'll meet you at the train station in half an hour. Byeee!"

"Wha-? I'm not even dressed yet, wait!" But he'd already hung up on me.

Cursing, I flung open my wardrobe looking for a clean pair of jeans. No luck. I chastised myself silently, turning instead to the floor and kicking bundles of clothes aside with my foot.

I managed to pull on a jacket as I ran down the stairs, glaring at the grey jeans I'd opted for. I never wear anything other than black, but times were desperate. Shovelling cereal into my mouth I sped out the door and into the street.

*

"Cheese!"

We pulled out our awkward photo smiles, Chris somehow managing to weasel his way out of the picture and behind the camera.

PJ pulled at the Polaroid and shook it to develop it before scribbling a date and time on the white boarder with a pencil and shoving it into the folder.

We had been wandering aimlessly around town for half an hour, not paying much attention to scenery and instead trading banter and enjoying the rare burst of sunshine. Chris photographed a couple of residential streets that looked promising, but there was nothing particularly apocalyptic in suburban Reading. Bryony, Adam and Phil were deep in discussion about some anime show they all watched so I hung back to join Chris and PJ, trying not to look too awkward.

"A good location means everything, though. If we don't get the shots perfect, we can spend days editing and then realise we have to reshoot them. It would be a nightmare. I'm just not happy with anything we've seen so far." PJ said seriously.

Chris nodded glumly. "It just all looks so... thriving. We need chaos, rubble, despair. Not little kids playing on scooters."

I walked along silently, in that horrific just-in-front-because-there's-no-room-on-the-pavement spot. I was racking my brain, desperate to win their friendship, when I had an idea.

"How about a building site? I mean a big one. There'll be no one working on a Sunday, and obviously lots of rubble and stuff. There's the site at the end of James Street? They're building a whole estate, I think."

PJ beamed at me like I'd just cured every disease on the planet in one go, and a warmth swelled in my belly.

"Perfect! Why didn't I think of that? HEY guys!" He called ahead, "You're going the wrong way!"

Quickly, we backtracked through town. I was still a little smug over my (admittedly pretty minor) breakthrough, giving me confidence to talk to PJ some more.

"So, how long have you known Chris and Phil?" I asked.

"Phil, about three years, but Chris I've known since forever. We went to the same nursery but I didn't see him for like five years when we moved to 'big school.' Then one day I was filming myself in the living room, just a sonnet thing I was doing for English, and Chris bloody Kendall stuck his head through the window and joined in with the most horrific Jamaican accent I'd ever heard." He smirked, flashing a glance at Chris who returned it with a wink. "We've been together ever since." He shrugged.

I blinked. "What?"

"Huh?" PJ hadn't heard me, or maybe he was pretending. Somewhat deliberately, I thought, he grabbed Chris's hand and swung it between them as they walked, a serene grin across his face.

"Oh, I er, didn't realise that you were... I-" I blinked furiously, trying to get my head round it. A platonic friendship group? Apparently not, not at all actually. I was probably wrong about Phil too. What if he was gay? I'd definitely been leading him on, we slept in the same bed for Christ's sake. I screwed my eyes shut.

"What, is there a problem?" PJ didn't even raise his voice, but there was something in his tone that made me blush furiously and stutter as I tried word vomit my way out of anything that might be offensive.

"I ahh, no not at all I - no that wasn't what I meant. I was just ah surprised I, no, I don't mean- I just didn't realise I-"

Chris shook his head reproachfully at PJ, punching him in the arm.

"Don't worry about it, Dan, you wouldn't have known. We were playing it down because we weren't sure how you would react, seeing as you've only just met us. PJ's just testing you." He grinned reassuringly at me and I smiled weakly in return.

I didn't have a problem with it, of course I didn't. But did it change things? I couldn't help thinking that it might. I was looking at them completely differently, and I scolded myself internally. Nothing had changed. It didn't make any difference to me that they were together. And it certainly didn't mean Phil would be gay, too. That was just ridiculous.

I stayed pretty silent for the rest of the walk, trying to take it all in. I only just stopped myself from asking about Phil, worried I might offend them somehow. And that would make it look like I liked him. Which I didn't.

Did I?

*

Soon, the building site was looming in front of us. It was bigger than I remembered, and I couldn't help grinning: it was perfect. The half-built houses looked like they'd been hit by a bomb, and there was plenty of rubble around for 'special effects'.

PJ pulled his camera out again and Chris climbed inelegantly over the fence to get a good look, staying well clear of the whistling builders in their hi-vi jackets. They were all a lot larger than Chris and covered in tattoos, and somehow they didn't look like they'd take too kindly to his impromptu visit.

PJ finished sticking the last picture in the folder and checked his watch. "Crap, we're running out of time. We have to film next weekend, which means we really need to find the other two locations."

"Adam and I aren't really involved in the whole camera stuff, I doubt we'd be much help so why don't we head back into town and pick up everything we'll need for makeup and costumes and stuff?" Bryony asked, slipping her hand into Adam's. Well, that was new. But not totally unexpected. If the others noticed, they tactfully chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, we should probably split up, we'll get more done," Phil agreed. "I can take Dan to the forest, and you two can get another train and find some nice landscapes and stuff?"

Well, I guess I didn't get a say in the matter. I tried to ignore how excited I was all of a sudden about the prospect of spending an afternoon alone with Phil. In no time at all, I was sat on a train back up to college, a little smile of contentedness fixed to my face.

"Don't worry," Phil grinned across the little plastic table. "There's no witch in these woods, I promise."

*

The forest was dark, patches of dappled sunlight filtering down through the leafy canopy. We followed a mud path that wound down into the valley. Vines of ivy wound their way around the trees, tangling across the path and reaching upwards towards the sky. Where the sunlight hit the floor, patches of bluebells sprung up, shivering in the breeze.

"It's too pretty for a horror movie," I frowned, watching a blackbird flit through the foliage.

"You underestimate the power of video editing!" Phil grinned. "A couple of filters and some subtle blurring and we could turn this into a midnight graveyard. We do need to find a thicker patch though, away from the path."

I nodded, veering out into the undergrowth but Phil pulled me back. "Wait. We've got time. I want to show you the river, I can't believe you've been here three months and never once gone near the woods."

I rolled my eyes, following him over a fallen tree and snatching my jacket away from the brambles I unwillingly toppled into.

"I should have gone with Chris and Peej." I grumbled, inspecting the tear in the fabric.

"You wouldn't want to be third wheeling with them, trust me," he cringed. "You want to know why I spend so much time in here?"   

I raised my eyebrows.

"I have to go out every evening for an hour so they can have sex." He grinned.

I gasped in horror. "Seriously?! God. Can they not just, be a bit subtle about it...?"

"We tried that at the beginning," he nodded in agreement, "Only they didn't know when I'd be back and I kept walking in on them and, I mean, we're close, but it was pretty awkward. They'd basically given up their sex life to let me move in with them, and I really appreciated it. So one day I just sat them down and sorted it out." He shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes I'll just stick my headphones in and let them get on with it, I mean that's the sort of thing you have to deal with when sharing a room."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

I tried to picture it and then immediately stopped trying to picture it.

"Wow. Okay. Can I ask what time they... what time you go out each evening? So I know not to call or anything. Ugh."

Phil snickered at me. "It varies, I'm afraid. Sometimes I'll just go out whenever I feel like a walk and they'll be mysteriously changed into their pyjamas when I get back. Other times they'll just start making out and I'll hot tail it out the window."

I wasn't sure how serious he was being, but I didn't want to ask. I wasn't all that experienced in the field of sex.

"Look!" Phil said suddenly.

The path had been sloping downwards but now it dropped steeply, twisting and winding around the tall pines. Through the needles, I could see a glint of blue. Now that the crunch of our trainers on the dry leaves had stopped, I could hear the water too, rushing over the rocks.

"Come on!" Phil grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling me down.

He was holding my hand. He might be gay.

And then I an epiphany: I didn't care.

Only, he didn't stop when we reached the water. And my downward momentum coupled with the force of his hand pulled me straight in after him, clothes and all.

"Shit!" I screamed. "It's freezing — my clothes — what are you doing?!"

Phil was laughing and still moving forwards, leaning into a breathless front crawl and dropping my hand.

"Come on!" He panted. "You need to stay warm!"

"I can't move in my clothes!" I hissed. "Shit, my shoe's come off!"

In a second, Phil had duck-dived under the water and emerged spluttering and triumphant, clutching my shoe.

"It didn't go far, silly. And I'm serious, you either need to get swimming or get out - you'll freeze otherwise." With that, Phil was splashing in a messy backstroke towards the opposite bank.

I wavered for a moment, the bank looked so warm and dry and tantalizing, but then, there was a part of me guiltily pushing me forwards. I wanted to impress Phil.

Making a quick decision, I waded back towards the bank and scrambled over the rocks. I shed my shoes and my heavy jacket then turned to the water again, scanning the trees.

Shivering, I shinnied up a drooping willow whose branches hung out far across the water. Hidden by the veil of whispery green, I watched Phil. He'd reached the other bank and was treading water, squinting at my jacket on the bank and looking adorably confused.

With a grin, I launched myself off the branch — landing with a satisfying splash almost on top of Phil.

I surfaced, gasping. "God, it's cold." I was so close to Phil, I could see the water clinging to his eyelashes and dripping down his cheeks.

"Feels good though, right?" He grinned. "Or can't you handle it?"

I splashed him. He splashed me back. I tried to dunk him, but he was faster than I'd expected and slipped away easily. He let me almost catch him, then sank below the surface, came up behind me and pushed my head under the water. He swam away giggling, floating on his back again and staring at the sky. I could see the blue reflected in his already cerulean eyes.

He grabbed a low branch and flipped over, bobbing, to wait for me. I put my hand next to his and we hung together, watching the ripples. When we didn't move, the river lay smooth, the water dark and clouded.

"Can you drink it?" I asked.

"No. You'd die."

"Seriously?!" I gasped. I'd swallowed half the river when I jumped in.

He grinned. "No, it's grade B. Which is pretty clean. About three miles further up it spreads out into creeks and goes through the marshes. You wouldn't want to swim there."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's tidal by then, so you never know what the depth is. There's loads of sinking mud, too."

"I like how you know things." I said without thinking. Phil looked right at me.

"You do?"

"I like a lot things about you, actually." It sounded like such a line that I cringed.

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Your lips are blue."

He reached across and touched my mouth with his finger as if he could brush the cold away. And it was kind of embarrassing the way my body responded. My heart racing, my skin trembling. I wanted to kiss his finger.

"You don't exactly look warm yourself." I whispered.

"Maybe we should get out then."

But neither of us moved.

He leaned towards me. His eyes were sparkling and flecked with flashes of white. He kissed me gently, his hand touching my cheek.

Too soon, he pulled back. "I really think we should get out. You're shivering like mad."

I buried my nose and mouth into the curve of his neck and kissed him once, gently. We clambered out together and raced up the river bank, shivering violently now. We hopped about, teeth chattering, trying to rub ourselves dry.

"Run." He said, "Come on, we need to get warm."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me along the grass. At the trees I wheeled him round and made him skip back. We took turns giving each other instructions. Up and down the riverbank - jumping one way, hopping back, aeroplane impressions (wings and engine sounds included) before sinking ragged and laughing onto the grass in a small patch of sunlight.

"That," I gasped, "has only just begun to warm me up. I swear I've never been so cold in my life"

"You should try the sea next," Phil laughed. "And I don't mean pretty sandy beaches, I mean the wild sea. There's this place I go sometimes, a few miles away by the bay. It's got amazing waves, really ferocious. I'll take you one day, if you like."

"Promise?"

"Course."

And we both smiled, and my hand reached for his and clasped it tight.