phil lester couldn't believe what he was doing. he woke up at five in the morning, four hours before he had to, and drove to dan howell's house to get him breakfast. he couldn't believe himself, even in the slightest. he was never awake this early, not ever, although he supposed he would've been up anyways thinking of dan. oh dan.. what a lovely boy.

phil parked outside of a mcdonald's and dan laughed. "how romantic of you phil," he muttered, probably not meaning for phil to hear him. "what was that?" phil asked, if only to verify what he had heard. "nothing," dan piped,  and hurried his pace to the building. phil smirked to himself and hurried in front of dan to open the door for him. "what's w-with you and being a gentleman?" dan stuttered, smiling sweetly behind the sleeve of his jumper. "there's something about you that makes me want to be a gentleman," phil said, causing dan to blush.

they entered the practically empty restaurant. "dan, what would you like?" phil asked. "pancakes and a hash-brown, but i'm paying this time," dan insisted. phil laughed. "oh no you aren't. i was the one who woke you up so early, was i not?" he asked. dan paused, and said, "yes, but still-" phil cut him off. "exactly! so you're letting me pay!" phil said cheerfully. dan grumbled a, "fine," before sitting down at a table and leaving phil to order.

after getting their food from the counter, phil walked back to eat and placed dan's food in front of him. "phil, this isn't fair. you've spent so much money on me lately. i've got to make it up to you," dan pouted. phil couldn't help but admire his little pout, which was quite cute. "you can! but not with money," phil replied. "then how?" dan asked.  "i- i'll figure it out. in the meantime, eat up, we only have fifteen minutes before we have to leave for school," phil said, digging in to his own food. dan nodded in response and chewed gingerly on his hash-brown.

/|\

"phil, hurry up! we have like three minutes before first period. let's go!" dan exclaimed, tugging phil to his locker to get his books. phil laughed. "dan, don't worry about it. we have three minutes, and my locker is in the same hall as the english room," he said. "i know, but still! i wouldn't like to be late, thank you very much!" he huffed, stopping at phil's locker. "now get your books and let's go," he ordered. phil moved in slow motion, turning his combination ever so unhurriedly, just to torment dan further. "jesus christ phil, please go faster," dan said. phil chuckled and opened his lock, grabbing his books and locking it back up. he then just stood, leaning against his locker, staring at dan. "ph-phil, what the hell are you doing?" dan stuttered, losing the urgency that was apparent in his voice only moments ago. phil's lips twisted into a warm smile, stating simply, "i'm studying you." dan grabbed his wrist. "you can study me later darling, let's get to class," dan's eyes widened and his grip tightened on phil's wrist, and phil sensed it was because he had called him darling and was only just now realizing it. dan had called him darling. darling!  dan's words echoed in his head for a few moments, phil relishing them. he decided not to comment and let dan drag him to english.

the two made it to class just on time, and the bell rang just seconds after they sat down. "nice of you to join us, lester, howell," mr. yarrow nodded at the two. "someone's grumpy," dan muttered under his breath and phil's had to hold in his giggles. "alright class, you know what to do. get on with it," mr. yarrow said and the stream of chatter started. dan and phil worked more on the project, like the rest of their class, until dan looked up and caught phil staring at him. "phil," dan scolded. "hey! i'm studying you. this is purely for project reasons," phil argued, and dan just rolled his eyes. "whatever you say lester," and just moments after he said this, the bell rang.

"hey, i'll see you at lunch, yeah?" phil asked. dan nodded a little before scurrying off to his next class. phil couldn't stop himself from watching him leave.

/|\

lunch truly could not come slower. phil tapped his pencil on his desk, at lest two beats a second. he was itching to get out of class. he wanted to see dan, and he couldn't do that until lunch. the clocks seemed to stop and phil did not appreciate it. if anything, he wanted them to do double what they normally would, but it seemed they were doing only half. once the bell rang, phil ran out the door. he stopped at his locker to put his books away, then slowing himself down to a walk. he took shallow, deep breaths, calming himself. the last time he was this excited about seeing anyone was nate, and nate had moved before phil could express his feelings for the boy. he was over nate, of course, as it had been years since he had last seen him. he approached the cafeteria doors and pushed them open.

when phil walked in, everything seemed to be dragged-out and in slow-motion, but it was good in this case. he headed over to the table, watching dan's every move. dan glanced up from the book he was reading and looked up at phil. his face broke out into a large grin, and his dimples became more pronounced. phil smiled back, setting his sketch book down on the table. "hey love! i'll be back. i've got to get my lunch," he said, gesturing to the growing lunch line. "al-alright," dan replied, his stutter back. phil thought dan's stutter suited him, but he definitely liked it better when dan was confident and spoke without his stutter. his voice was rich and he read the phone book and phil would still listen for hours.

phil joined the continuously-growing lunch line, tugging a few bills out of his pocket and handing it to the lady at the register. he thought back to this morning. "phil, this isn't fair. you've spent so much money on me lately. i've got to make it up to you," dan pouted. phil couldn't help but admire his little pout, which was quite cute. "you can! but not with money," phil replied. "then how?" dan asked. "i- i'll figure it out," phil said.

what could dan do for him? more importantly, what did he want from dan? and then phil got an idea. he knew exactly how dan would make it up to him.

/|\

"thank god  it's friday," phil muttered. dan laughed, the wind coming from the open window of phil's car messing up his hair. "i agree," he said. "where to howell?" phil asked dan, still training his eyes on the road. "can we go to my favorite place in the world? it is a bit of a long drive, but it's the weekend and we can get dinner on the way back," dan explained. his words rushed out of his mouth, like he was afraid to say them. "of course!" phil exclaimed, sneaking a quick glance at dan. dan's face visibly brightened.  "so what's your favorite place in the world?" phil asked.

"well.. uhm, could it be a surprise? i'll direct you and everything," dan spoke quickly again, like he was scared of the words coming out of his mouth. "sure! just let me get some gas and call my mum and let her know. she'll be cool with it," phil replied. "my mum has been telling me to go out more so she'll most likely let me stay out, i'll call her too," dan chuckled a bit. phil pulled over to a gas station and hopped out of the car. he saw dan pull out his phone before phil walked into the gas-mart. he eyed the snacks and candy, pulling at least a dozen packages off the shelves. he payed for all the food and the gas and walked out of the gas-mart. he took out his phone and called his mum. she answered on the third ring.

"hey phil, what's up?" she asked. "not much mum. so i'm with dan and he wants to take me somewher-" "oh, where?" phil's mum interrupted. "it's a surprise," phil said, his face reddening. he put the gas in his car as he talked to his mum. "but anyways, dan says we won't be back very soon, so i just wanted to let you know i won't be home for dinner," he explained. "dan and i will grab some dinner on the way back," he added. "oh well, i've been called in so i won't be home either," she chuckled on the other end of the line. "okay. oh and mum? would it be cool if dan crashed at our place?" phil put the gas pump back in the slot and looked to the brown-haired boy talking animatedly into the phone. he smiled despite himself, because when dan spoke like that his entire being seemed to light up. "separate beds, of course," he added quickly, and his mum laughed. "alright. i probably won't be home until noon tomorrow morning, just to let you know," she said. phil screamed in his head, but his mouth said "alright, we'll be good," he promised, and his mum laughed. "you better be," she teased, before hanging up.

phil took a deep breath before ducking into his car. dan was still chatting with his mother, so he tapped him on the shoulder. dan turned towards him. sleepover?  phil mouthed. dan nodded in acknowledgment, and asked his mum if he could sleep over phil's. phil couldn't hear the voice on the other line, but by dan's glowing expression he could tell his mother had agreed. "bye mum, i love you!" dan chirped, hanging up. "she said yes!" he cried. phil smiled in response and started up the car.

/|\

"alright, just one more left turn," dan muttered, and phil did as he was told. "okay.. stop here," dan said. phil parked the car in the lot. phil checked his phone for the time - it was 3:15. the two had only been out of school for two hours. phil had to admit it felt like longer than that. "so this is where you wanted to take me? a parking lot?" phil joked and dan playfully hit him in the arm. "no stupid, come on," he said, putting his hand out for phil to take. phil happily intertwined their hands and dan tugged phil along on the side walk.

"the salford museum and art gallery," dan sighed happily, walking up the steps of the building. phil followed and smiled, watching dan fondly. dan dropped phil's hand to get tickets. "and i'm paying this time," he said smugly. phil chuckled. "alright, i'll let you pay this time," he said. dan laughed softly and bought the tickets.

phil followed closely behind dan, walking around the many sculptures and paintings. "my favorite room in the entire gallery is this one," dan said. he stood next to phil for a moment before linking their hands again, and phil felt a warmth shoot from his hand, up his arm, and soon spreading around his entire body. "why is this your favorite room?" phil asked. the room was quite simple. the walls were painted a velvety-red, and adorned with all sorts of drawings. many were just simple charcoal sketches, other colored with pastels. "i like to think of myself as an artist," dan started. "and every artist starts out small. this room showcases humble beginnings. it shows art in it's earliest form - a sketch. and i love sketching and drawing, and this room reminds me that artistry doesn't end with a sketch - it begins with one."

and phil was speechless. he stared at dan for a long moment. "dan. i know how you can repay me," phil said. "yeah?" dan asked, subconsciously squeezing phil's hand. "how's that?" phil looked down at their joined hands. "dan, tell me how you feel about me," he stated simply, looking into dan's soft brown eyes. dan bit his lip for a moment, thinking.

"phillip micheal lester, how does one put into words what i feel for you? i feel heat. i feel warm when i'm with you. i feel sugary sweet, and unbelievably soppy. i feel like i'm breaking free of some sort of chain, holding me back. i feel light and airy, like i'm on a cloud, or in heaven. you're heavenly phil. and i met you only a week ago but fuck, how i've fell for you." phil looked up in surprise at dan's words. dan continued. "i'm in love with you phil. so fucking in love with you that's it's hard to breathe. it's hard to think straight while you're next to me, and not only because i'm gay," dan joked, causing phil to laugh. "but you make me feel safe. safer than anyone i've ever known. and you don't threaten me, or-or hurt me. you don't force me into anything," dan started tearing up. "d-dan, are you alright?" phil asked. dan shook his head and bit his lip to keep from sobbing. "what is it? did someone hurt you?" phil whispered, pulling dan closer to him. dan nodded, tears leaking from his closed eyes. "let's get out of here, yeah?" phil asked, and dan nodded. phil tightened his grip and led him out of the museum. "i love you too dan," phil whispered, and dan's tear streaked face broke into a grin.

< a/n >

word count ; 2293

extra long chapter to make up for the break :)

also the gaming channel video effed me up. -sam