#cheeseline

Chapter Two

“Ughhh! Phil, My hair!” Dan was acting as if he were the Wicked Witch of the West and Dorothy had just thrown a bucket of water on him. Of course, it was raining. He ran a hand through his dampened brown locks.

“Dan, your hair is fine. Besides, you look good with hobbit hair.” Phil’s comment made Dan look up so quickly he thought he might have gotten whiplash. He blushed profusely, glad of the dark sky.

“Shut up. Now are we going home or what.” Phil smiled at Dan’s frown, which made him act even grumpier. He couldn’t understand why Phil was making him act this way, when before they had had a comfortable banter between them.

“Sure, if you want to get drenched!” Phil replied cheerily, leaning against the trunk of the tree they were under.

Dan grumbled in response, “Anything’s better than standing underneath this tree all day.” He leaned reluctantly next to Phil. Suddenly feeling awkward, he took out his phone and checked Twitter. “What should I tweet? ‘Stuck under a tree’?”

“Add ‘my worst nightmare’.” Phil had been looking over Dan’s shoulder, so when he turned his head he was face to face with Phil, their noses only centimeters apart.  

“Oh!” Dan paused, staring into two incredible blue-green eyes. He turned his head back to his phone quickly, his heart racing. “Alright.” Phil had already shifted away and was looking down at his own phone.

It was an excruciating two minutes of silence before Dan decided to say something. “When?”-”Did you?” Phil spoke up at exactly the same time as Dan. They looked at each other and Dan burst out laughing awkwardly, “I can’t believe we do that so much!”

That’s when Phil started giggling too, “It’s like we have a connection! Are you telepathic?” Phil was making gestures between their foreheads. So Dan grabbed Phil’s pale hand and put it flat on his forehead, doing the same with his hand on Phil’s forehead.

“What am I thinking?” He could feel the warmth from Phil’s palm.

“Ummm, milk?” Phil answered, looking unsure, but then he was smiling and laughing. Dan felt comfortable again. He was making Phil laugh and that constant knot that had been in his stomach lately had finally started unraveling.

Dan grinned widely, “Not exactly.” He took his hand off of Phil’s forehead, laughing. “I was thinking about how this isn’t so bad. At least I’m stuck under a tree with you. Much rather you than someone else.” He didn’t know why he said that, but he knew that it was true. The two were leaning against the tree again, watching the water drip from the leaves.

That’s when he noticed that Phil was blushing. It was also when Dan started shivering. “Are you cold?” Phil asked, sounding somewhat concerned. He shook his head. His body said otherwise, his arms were wrapped around his torso, and his shoulders were hunched. “You sure? Do you want my jacket?” It was Dan’s turn to blush.

“No, I’m fine.” Dan didn’t want Phil to be cold, but he wouldn’t say that. “Look, the rain is letting up. Why don’t we start back?” He wanted to go home and sleep. The knot was back, twisting his stomach in a tiring way.

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“Look at that Dan! A rainbow!” Phil pointed at the sky excitedly. They had been walking in silence, but now Dan looked up. Phil glanced over at Dan’s face. His brows furrowed, “Are you feeling ok?” They stopped walking and Phil put his arm around Dan's shoulders.

“Yeah, just a little tired I guess.” He perked up at Phil’s touch.

Phil gave his shoulders a squeeze, then exclaimed, “I can’t believe that the rain let up so quick. Plus the fact that there is a real live rainbow in front of us. Right here in London! A real feat of nature.” He still felt tired, but Phil’s smile cheered him. He assumed that everyone’s best friend could always make them feel better with just a smile.

“Very true. It’s always so dreary here.” Dan looked away from Phil’s face and back up at the brightening sky.

He couldn’t tell the difference between the warmth of Phil’s smile and the sun.

Phil pulled away from him and started walking again. “Come on, lets get home” Dan paused, taking a picture of the fading rainbow, then followed Phil down the pavement.