#ohphantastical

“Louise, you don’t understand, this is like the hundredth time this guys taken a shower at three in the morning! And it happens every. Freaking. Day.” Dan huffed, fixing his hair and furrowing his brow. It was currently five o’clock in the evening and Dan was working his shift at Bella Rosa’s Bakery while complaining to his friend and co-worker, Louise Pentland, about his neighbors ungodly bathing hours.

   “Go easy on the guy, Dan. Maybe he works late shifts or early shifts.” Louise wiped down the last table and faced the distraught brunette. “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do to stay clean. You of all people should know that!” That earned a groan from Dan as he rubbed his eyes, subtly flipping off Louise. The blonde haired woman snorted and threw her dirty rag at Dan, making him squeal and swat it away.

   He scowled, “That guy’s working hours shouldn’t have to interrupt my sleeping schedule. The pipes run right through my bedroom ceiling and I am one hundred percent ready to fucking fight him if he wakes me up one more time! I will fight him Louise, I don’t care what his reasons are.” Louise mimicked Dan, twirling her finger next to her ear. “I’m not loopy you sausage. I just want some fucking sleep is that so much to ask?” Just as the words came out of his mouth the bell by the door rung and a short, pale man walked into the bakery. He was wearing a green hoodie over a gray t-shirt that had some comic print on it that Dan couldn’t make out and jeans that looked like they were meant to be skinny but sagged quite a bit. There were bags under his eyes, his tousled brown hair falling into his light brown eyes.

   There was a tap on his shoulder and Dan turned around, coming face to face with a smug looking Louise. “Didn’t your mum ever tell you that staring was rude, Daniel?” She giggled and patted the tall man’s shoulder, walking to the break room. Dan rolled his eyes, he wasn’t staring at the man because he thought he was cute, he was just analyzing the guy like he does with eighty percent of the customers which just so happened to be somewhat attractive males. Not every guy had to be his new crush. Deep in thought, realizing that he was left alone with this stranger, Dan tried to busy himself by going through the cakes and muffins the bakery had in stock.

   “Excuse me? Sir?” The customer stood at the counter, smiling softly but awkwardly, almost like he didn’t want to talk to him. Dan wiped his hands on his apron and joined the man by the cash register.

   “Sorry to keep you waiting sir! What can I get you?” He gave the man the best ‘I’m-Dead-Inside-But-My-Manager-Will-Fire-Me-If-I-Don’t-Smile-At-Everyone’ smile he could muster.

   The man was looking at everything except for Dan. “Can I have half a dozen blueberry muffins and half a dozen banana nut muffins, please?” Dan nodded and pulled out a box, picking out the requested muffins and arranging them in a checkerboard pattern before returning to the checkout counter.

   “That’ll be thirty-eight seventy-two, please!” Dan watched the man pull out a credit card and slid it to him across the counter. He swiped the card and handed it back. The man slipped the card into his pocket and grabbed the box, turning to leave.

Louise opened the door to the break room, smiling like an idiot. “Damn Daniel, he could’ve been ‘the one’! You guys could’ve live happily ever after but there he goes, right out the front door. The love of your life. Gone. Just like your dignity.” His friend tousled his hair.

   “Piss off Lou! I’m gonna go home early today and try to get some sleep before my neighbor wakes me up at the most ungodly hour.” He untied his apron, hanging it up on the rack next to the cash register. “And tell Darcy I said hi!” Dan smiled and waved a quick goodbye to Louise before walking out the door.

***

   Dan lived about three blocks away from the bakery so he usually walked home which was good since he barely exercised. The walk was short and he thought of lots different things, one thought leading to another but they all ended with him wanting to sleep. When he got to his flat, the first thing he did was lay down on his bed, settle into the perfect Dan-sized crease he had made, and pass the fuck out.

   Unsurprisingly, the ‘short’ nap he planned to take turned into a nine hour long nap.

As soon as Dan hit his deep sleep mark, he was woken up by the sound of water rushing through the pipes above his room which got him worked up enough to get him on his feet as soon as his eyes opened. It was two fifty-six in the morning and he was livid; this guy has kept him from sleeping for the past two months and tonight was the last straw. Dan rubbed his face to get himself awake before leaving his flat and storming up the stairs. He knocked angrily on the door to the flat above his and folded his arms, waiting for his neighbor to open up and explain himself.

   “Hello?” The door opened and a tall, pale man was standing in front of him with a towel around his waist. His eyes were blue with a hint of green which was complimented by his black hair that was styled in the same fringe style Dan’s.

   “Yeah, hi my name is Dan and I live below you and we seriously need to talk about your showering habits.” Dan motioned to the man’s towel.

   The man chuckled nervously and stepped aside to let Dan in. “Let me go change and we’ll have a chat, yeah?” He shut the door behind him and disappeared down the hall. Dan took a seat on the armchair in the corner of the room and looked at all the plants this guy had. There were cacti on every windowsill and a fig in every open corner. The walls had what seemed to be family pictures from when his neighbor was a kid and Buffy The Vampire Slayer posters plastered where ever there was an empty space. All the furniture was brightly colored and most of the throw pillows, seat cushions, and curtains had different designs and color patterns. Dan thought about is his own flat, all the black, white, and gray furniture and the aesthetic he created over the course of two years.

   “Sorry for taking so long, Dan.” His neighbor rounded the corner and sat on the couch opposite of Dan. “What did you say you wanted to talk about again?”

   Dan cleared his throat and brushed the hair off his face. “Well, um…?” He stuttered, mentally face palming himself for not asking the guy for his name.

“Oh God I probably seem so rude, I’m Phil.” The man smiled softly and stuck his hand out. Dan reached out and shook Phil’s hand, returning the smile.

“Well, Phil, I don’t want to be rude or anything but why do you shower at three in the freaking morning? That’s the time when most people are, you know, asleep and the bloody water pipes run right through my bedroom so you can see why I have a bit of a problem.” He watched as the man’s cheeks turned red, his eye’s showing an immense amount of embarrassment. There was silence and the two men just stared at each other.

   The silence was broken by Phil, who let out a forced laugh. “Wow, this is… really awkward.” He played with the hem of his shirt, avoiding eye contact.

   “I have time.” Dan smirked, folding his arms. To be honest, Dan was dreading his decision to confront Phil and was silently hoping he would disappear to his bedroom.

   “If it’s an explanation you want then I’m afraid I don’t have one. I just take showers late at night.” Phil continued to avoid eye contact, looking at everything possible that wasn’t Dan.

   Dan laughed harshly, studying Phil’s features. “That is complete, irrefutable, utter bullshit. You are the only person in the entirety of England who showers at three in the morning with ‘no reason’.” He ran a hand through his hair, which had started to curl making him look like what he thought was a hobbit.

   “Dan, this is the honest truth. I have absolutely no reason to shower as late as I do. It just happens! I sit on my couch after work, I put on some anime or Buffy, I watch a few episodes then BOOM! It’s three in the morning and I still need a shower before I leave for work at eight.” Phil finally looked at Dan. His blue-green eyes locked onto Dan’s brown ones and neither of them spoke. It was like a never ending staring contest, Phil daring Dan to question his story and Dan daring Phil to tell a lie.

   “So… Anime, huh?” Dan raised an eyebrow. Not in a teasing way, he also enjoyed some anime when he got home from work, but in the ‘You forget to shower because you marathon anime?’ kind of way.

   The older man rolled his eyes. “It’s very entertaining! I’ve been watching a new one called Free! for the past few weeks along with Attack On Titan. I know it’s probably not the explanation you’re looking for but it’s the only one you’re gonna get.”

   “Don’t get me wrong, Phil, I love anime as much as the next guy. Especially Free! and Attack On Titan but that’s besides the point.” He was interrupted by and yawn, and a contagious one at that because Dan could see Phil try and stifle a yawn as well. “You could always take a shower before you start marathoning them.” Dan watched as Phil rubbed his eyes and played with his fingers.

   Phil and Dan had another staring contest but is wasn’t as awkward this time. “I could try but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, Danny.” Dan usually hated it when people called him Danny and he almost called Phil out on it but it seemed so natural coming from his mouth. Like he’d called him Danny a thousand times before. “And I don’t mean to be rude but I still have to take a shower and it’s almost four in the morning.”

   “Oh god, I’m so sorry! I’ll get going now, Phil.” Dan stood up, a blush creeping along his cheeks. He shuffled over to the door and reached for the knob when Phil grabbed his arm.

   Phil looked just as, if not more, embarrassed as Dan. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to but tomorrow I’m going to have some friends over and we’re going to watch Howl’s Moving Castle.” He rubbed the back of his neck, combing his fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “Figured if you’re into Free! and Attack On Titan you might be into Studio Ghibli too. You can bring a friend of yours along too if you want!”

   Dan smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah that sounds fun. What time should we be here?” He watched as the black haired man processed what he just said. Hey, it was almost four in the morning and they both were tired as fuck.

   “Everyone should be here around eight. It’s a B.Y.O.S too. You’ve got to bring your own snacks and be prepared to share because my friends eat like there’s no tomorrow.” Phil let go of Dan’s arm and returned the soft smile.

   “Sounds good. I’ll see you then, Phil.” Dan waved and walked out of Phil’s flat, making his way back to his own flat. When he got back inside he dropped himself onto his bed and closed his eyes, running over the events that just happened. The pipes above his room started to make that unholy noise which told Dan that Phil had started his shower and before long, he was out cold.

***

   Dan watched as Louise locked up the bakery for the night before they headed to Phil’s place for the movie. It totally blind sided Louise, as she wasn’t one for surprises, but when Dan countered her refusal with his pouty face, she had no choice but to say yes. He was grateful for the blonde woman’s cooperation because he was one hundred and ten per cent sure that he would’ve made a fool out of himself if left to his own devices with Phil and his friends.

   “Alright. The shop is locked up, we have the cakes, I look presentable, you look okay, and we have thirty minutes until eight!” Louise rattled off her mental checklist, making sure everything was in order before she met the man that put her through hours and hours of mindless rants. “So tell me some things I’ll need to know about Phil before I show up at his front door with three different types of cakes and a twenty-four year old who looks like a fourteen year old going on his first date.”

   Dan rolled his eyes and grinned. Leave it to Louise to tease him about a guy he’s only known for less than twenty-four hours. “Well, his flat is very bright- bright furniture, bright decorations, bright everything- and mismatched. Literally none of it goes together but when you meet him and get to have a conversation with him it kind of works.” He knew Louise was a stickler for aesthetic so he was trying to give her some peace of mind before she saw the explosion of color in Phil’s flat. He talked about everything he noticed when he was at his flat last night. Dan talked about the abundance of house plants and the collection of Buffy The Vampire Slayer posters that were accompanied with his family pictures.

   Louise’s jaw dropped when Dan (not so) subtly introduce the fact that Phil’s friends were also going to be attending the movie with them. “Daniel James Howell you are so lucky we’re best friends or I would drop this cake on your head right now! How could you not tell me there would be other people there? Oh God, it’s already five to eight and now you’ve gone and put me in a panic!” She rambled on and on and Dan kind of felt bad about it but at the same time he didn’t. There was no way he was going to let himself be left alone in a room with a man he just met (and fancied quite a bit) and strangers.

   Fast forward three to four minutes and Dan and Louise are at Phil’s front door, both of them hesitant to knock. Dan looked at Louise and Louise looked at Dan before nudging him towards the door. Just as he was about to knock, the door swung open revealing a short brunette girl. She wore a dress similar to Louise’s though it was darker and the sleeves were longer and her eyes were the same shade of brown as Dan’s. His heart sank a little when Phil popped around the corner behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

   “Come on in guys! This is Marzia, Felix is on the couch, and PJ’s running a bit late but he’s bringing one of his friends too. Oh, and I’m Phil, by the way!” Phil introduced himself to Louise, stepping back to let them inside. Marzia smiled and took the cakes from them, putting them on the counter next to seven plates of cookies and nine bowls of popcorn.

   “Hey Phil, this is Louise, she works with me down at the bakery.” Dan gestured to the blonde woman beside him and watched as the two shook hands. Phil showed them to the living room and helped Marzia bring blankets and beanbags from the other room.

   Felix, a blonde guy with a beard who was slightly shorter than Phil, was sprawled out on the couch scrolling through his phone. Everything was quiet and Louise was starting to look uncomfortable until Felix spoke. “How long have you known Phil, Dan? He hasn’t mentioned you before today.” He asked, his eyes never leaving his phone screen.

   Dan stuttered, “A-A few months, I guess? I mean, like, I-I’ve known of him for a few months but I really just met him last night.” Felix chuckled and ran a hand through hair, finally turning to look them.

   “Then he must really like you if he invited you to movie night and let you bring a friend.” He sat up and put his phone on the cushion next to him. “It usually takes him a while to get comfortable with people so don’t fuck it up bro.” Dan nodded furiously and Louise rolled her eyes.

   “So is Phil dating Marzia or is she just a friend?” Louise changed the topic and Dan felt a little nervous about what he would say, wishing she hadn’t asked so bluntly.

   Felix laughed. “Well we’d have a serious issue if they were dating because she’s my girlfriend.” Dan relaxed a little and smiled at him, he might have a chance after all. Their conversation was interrupted when Phil and Marzia came back into the room holding three beanbags and seven blankets, dropping them on the floor in front of the T.V.

   “Great! All that’s left now is for Peej and his friend to get here then we can start!” Phil flopped onto the chair closest to him and Marzia climbed up next to Felix.

   “So what do you do at the bakery, Louise?” Marzia piped up, a warm smile on her face. Dan guessed that she could feel the awkward between them and was trying to make everyone more comfortable.

   Louise returned the smile, playing with the hem of her dress. “I’m the assistant manager so sometimes I  bake the pastries and clean the tables and other times I work the register and handle supply orders!” She turned to Dan and squeezed his shoulder. “Dan started working with us a few months back and he’s a natural when it comes to baking. At first I thought he’d burn the place down making the muffins but he’s like a baking master.” Dan blushed, elbowing Louise’s side.

   “Piss off, Lou! It’s not like I just whipped up muffins from scratch. I just followed the recipe that you left me because you said you’d shove me in the oven if I didn’t.” Dan mumbled. The others laughed at the imagine of someone as tall as Dan tucked into an oven and there was a knock on the door. Phil stood up and left to open it.

   A tall, curly haired man and a much shorter brown haired man walked into the room followed by Phil a few moments later. “Now the party can really start! I’m PJ, filmmaker extraordinaire, and this is Chris,” the tall curly haired one motioned to the shorter one who waved at Dan and Louise, “He’s an actor. A great one at that.” PJ moved the beanbags into a pile in front of the couch and plopped onto it. Chris laid down next to the beanbags, resting his head on PJ’s leg and pulling out his phone.

   “Now that the party man is here let’s get the snacks out and the movie on.” Chris tapped away on his phone screen and Felix stood up.

   “I’ll grab the cookies, Phil grab some popcorn, Dan grab the cakes, and Louise grab whatever’s left.” Felix marched away followed by Phil, Dan, and Louise. They grabbed what they could and they only lost five pieces of popcorn on the trip back to the living room. When they got back, PJ had moved himself to the chair Phil was sitting on and Chris was splayed across the beanbags. Marzia was curled in the corner of the couch which left room for two more on the couch and two on the slightly smaller couch.

   Felix set the food down and sat next he girlfriend on the couch and Phil plopped himself on the other one, distributing various bowls of popcorn. Dan and Louise looked at each other and set their stuff down before figuring out who sat on which couch. Louise, being the woman she is, got the big couch next to Marzia and Felix and Dan got to sit next to Phil.

   “Everyone remember the movie rules?” Phil stared at Chris who sheepishly put his phone back into his pocket. “No phones, no talking, and no making out.” Marzia rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at him.

   Felix groaned. “It was one time bro! Are you never going to let it go?”

   “The titanic was sinking, Felix, and you two were shoving each other’s tongue down your throats!” Phil pointed out, starting the movie.

   Dan took his shoes off and tucked them underneath himself on the couch, focusing on the intro to the movie. He picked at his popcorn and shoved three pieces in his mouth at a time unlike Phil, who picked out one piece at a time and never let his attention stray from the movie. They carried on like that for another half an hour and not much changed.

   Marzia and Felix melted into a cuddle puddle and Louise settled herself into the fetal position, draping one of the blankets Phil brought down over her legs. Chris was still laying on the beanbags, using a bundled up blanket as a pillow but now his legs were tangled with PJ’s. Dan put what was left of his popcorn on the table and grabbed the blanket closest to him and pulled it over his legs. He tapped Phil on the shoulder and gestured to the rest of the blanket, obeying the no talking rule. Phil nodded and smiled, tucking the blanket around his legs, which were curled underneath one of Dan’s legs, and turned his attention back to the movie.

   As the movie went on, Dan and Phil found themselves relaxing more and melting into each other more. Phil had propped himself up against Dan’s legs and Dan tucked his feet under Phil to keep them warm. Needless to say, it upset them both when the movie ended and they had to move.

   “Another great movie night, Phil! These should be an every week thing not a twice a month thing.” Chris yawned, rubbing his face as PJ tapped on his leg.

   Marzia nodded, “Chris is right, we should do this more often. Especially since Felix and I leave for America next month.”

   “I’ll try but I can’t guarantee anything. It was great to see you guys again though!” Phil said as Felix, Marzia, PJ, and Chris all stood up and grabbed their jackets and put on their shoes.

   The small group left after a chorus of “bye Phil’s” and “we had a great time” and only Louise and Dan were left.

   “If you want to take the beanbags back, Louise and I can start putting the bowls and plates away?” Dan asked, motioning to all the bowls and plates that were strewn across the room.

   Phil nodded thankfully. “Please and thanks. This’ll go bye so much faster with some help.” He sighed as he started to fold the blanket he a Dan were using. Louise sat up and grabbed the empty bowls of popcorn that Felix and Marzia had, pouring the popcorn from the other bowls around her into one of them.

   “They were right though, this was fun.” She said, passing the cookie plates to Dan who was gather the rest of the blankets for Phil. “Thanks for inviting us.”

   “Thanks for helping with the aftermath. It usually takes a few hours but this should be done in a few minutes!” Phil chirped, taking the blankets from Dan. Louise had finally gathered all the bowls and Dan had all the dirty plates and what was left of the cakes. They left the living room to put the dishes on the counter and Louise went back to the living room to find her jacket.

   Dan took some beanbags from Phil, who looked like he was about to collapse under all of the blankets and stuff. “Where do these go?” Phil looked relieved that Dan took some of the weight off of him.

   “In the closet back here, follow me.” Phil walked down the hallway and Dan trailed behind him. He opened a door and put the blankets on a shelf at the top. “Toss the bean bags underneath and then clean up is done!”

   Dan smiled at him, “Really though, thanks for inviting us even after I snapped at you about your showering habits.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

   “It was really no problem! Besides you do you have a point about me being the only one in London who showers at three in the morning.” Phil chuckled, turning towards Dan. “If you’re not doing anything next Wednesday, maybe we can go out and grab a bit to eat for dinner?”

   “Oh, um, yeah! Sure, totally!” Dan pulled out his phone, “Let me give you my number.” He pulled up his contacts and handed his phone to Phil so he could put in his number and Phil did the same. After they exchanged numbers they walked back down the hall to the kitchen where Louise was waiting for them.

   “I really hate to break this up but I have a daughter that’s really missing her mum right now so we have to go.” She handed Dan his shoes and waited for him to put them on. “It was nice meeting you, Phil. You should stop by the bakery sometime and pick up some pastries, friend discount included of course!”

   Phil smiled, pulling Louise into a short hug. “I just might take you up on that, Louise! Have a great rest of your night guys!” He said as Louise pulled Dan out the door.

***

   Hours passed and Louise went home and Dan and Phil spent hours texting each other about anything that came to mind. They were scarily similar despite how different they seemed but that was the fun of it.

   It was two thirty in the morning and Dan was finally getting ready for bed.

From Phil ^_^: you should really watch buffy

From Phil ^_^: its almost as amazing as me!!

To Phil ^_^: i’ll check it out later but for now i think sleep sounds the most amazing

From Phil ^_^: hey dan

To Phil ^_^: yeah phil

From Phil ^_^: goodnight!

   Dan was about to send a reply when the pipes above his room started to rumble and the ungodly sound erupted from the rushing water.