bugsnackdeville

[bugsnackdeville]

closed starter for @itssmeeeeee location: lucky cat cafe

At the Christmas party he’d attended with his girlfriend and all of her friends, Phil had been given a task - one that at the time had been almost impossible to complete, but he’d kept the job in the back of his mind for the next two months that had passed on by. Not enough so that he had bothered going out of his way to find the man he’d been asked to question out in the world, but enough that when he saw Smee walking into the Lucky Cat, he didn’t hesitate to call for his break early. Maybe it was weird - actually, no maybe about it, he was definitely being weird - but Phil didn’t care. Grabbing the other man’s order before his coworker could call out his name, he came around the corner and headed over to the little table Oliver had claimed for himself. “So,” he starts with a smile, setting the drink and a free pastry down in front of him and hoping that would be enough to make this whole thing less awkward. Not that he actually cared if it was awkward, he’d done a lot of stranger shit in his life than this. “You’re the guy dating Tink, huh? I’m Phil, if you don’t remember. Wendy’s boyfriend.” He didn’t want to jump right into his line of questioning, that would be too much even for him, but he was ready to get right into it at any moment if this small talk didn’t go over well. He was a man on a mission, determined to find out whatever he could about this guy and his connection to the fairy that until very recently so deeply hated his girlfriend.

[bugsnackdeville]

If the squeeze of his hand and small smile hadn’t been enough to reassure Phil that things really were okay, the declaration that he was stuck with her certainly would have been enough. “It’s not stuck when I’m exactly where I want to be,” he corrects with a grin of his own, returning the hand squeeze and bending over ever so slightly to place a kiss on her head before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close into his side. It still amazed him sometimes, the fact that a girl as smart and stunning and all around just fucking fantastic could really want to be with a guy like him - but he knows better than to question it. Both because he doesn’t want Wendy feeling sorry for him in any way while also because he knows she’d likely just tell him he’s being silly. Still though, it feels at times like he lucked out far beyond what he ever would have thought he could. “He was very… proper,” he comments, hoping the word isn’t some kind of offense to the boy if he ever finds out he’d used it to describe him.

At the question of how the rest of his night was going, Phil lets out a small sigh as he remembers his conversation with his sister’s girlfriend earlier. Looking around as if to see if he could spot either of the girls, he frowns when he doesn’t see either of them - alone or separate. “I think I might have my own sibling drama going on,” he answers with a shake of his head as he turns his attention back on Wendy, giving up looking for his twin. “She invited Dash tonight, for god knows why. And Kelsi was so worried about it she came to me asking for advice. Which is kind of wild, actually. I’ve never had someone really want my opinion or help on a serious situation before. Sucks that it was about the asshole Flash and not something I actually could have helped her with.”

It made sense, his desire to be upfront about something like this, but it still would've been appreciated had he mentioned his plan first. Wendy had already known John would be difficult to convince that she could like someone other than Peter, her brother having seen the many trials and tribulations she'd faced trying to get their friend to see her that way in the past. It seemed one of the similarities the two boys shared was their inability to be discreet, though Wendy would agree that perhaps it was better for John to know about her boyfriend's past career sooner instead of later. If she herself could get over it, so could he.

Wendy gave him a nod of understanding and a squeeze of his hand, the reassurance that she wasn't upset with him. At least he knew not to touch the topic in front of his parents: her father's reaction would be even more severe. "I understand why you wanted to tell him. He'll come around--he doesn't really have a choice, anyway. You're stuck with me now," she decided, her worried expression softening to a smile. "I'm glad you liked him, though. He can be a tough nut to crack at times: he's much more reserved than Michael, if you couldn't tell." Not that it was a bad thing: they were just vastly different people, all raised under one roof. "The rest of your night has been better, I hope?"

[bugsnackdeville]

For all she was promising him that it was alright and even going so far as willingly taking the blame for this mess herself, Phil couldn’t help but feel even more guilty as he hears the deep sigh that she emits at his confession. She was trying so hard not to act disappointed, but he knew that’s exactly what she likely felt. Or frustrated at least, that much was for certain, even if she put on a good face about it like she always does when pushed into difficult situations like this. It was partially nice to see that she was willing to do the same thing for his mistakes as she would any of her friends, but mostly he just felt bad for having made the error that put her in this position in the first place.

“I didn’t go up to him meaning to tell him, I promise. It just sort of came out. We were having a good talk and I really liked him, and I don’t know. I didn’t want him to find out later and be pissed that I never told him,” he explains himself, though he doubts it really does much to help his case. The whole situation had been so much easier with her other brother - he hadn’t even had to be the one to bring his former career up, Michael had approached him to discuss it. But still, just from the stories he’d heard of John Darling, he should have had the foresight to know dropping that bomb so casually wouldn’t have gone over well. “Okay. Yeah. No more talk of sex tapes in front of any Darling, that sounds like a good rule. I can stick to that.” Or at least, he would try his damndest to do that.

For all she'd prepared her boyfriend for the first conversation with her middle brother, Wendy was just now realizing she might have forgotten the request to specifically not mention the questionable career he'd kept before they'd gotten together. She simply tried not to think about it too much: what girl would want to constantly have her boyfriend's previous sexual relations on her mind so often? Of course it wasn't something John was comfortable with, as it had taken Wendy herself quite a long time to get over, but this certainly wasn't the way she'd wanted her brother to find out about it.

"Okay," she accepted with a deeper breath, a sigh coming out the other end. "It's my fault, really, I should've told you explicitly not to mention a thing." In her defense, Michael had also gotten past it quite easily, for reasons that would have nothing to do with John's perception of the matter. She could only imagine the conversation that was to follow with her brother, the kind of scolding he'd give her about how she should have higher standards for herself. But, she trusted Phil, and really, hers should be the only opinion of him that mattered. "It'll be okay--he'll be okay. I'll talk to him." John was simply used to her liking Peter: the kind of boy who had hardly even kissed a girl before. "Just, um, try not to talk about that in front of him, or my parents, if you can, in the future?"

[bugsnackdeville]

It was very polite of him to be extending an apology for leaving the party so early in the evening, but also completely unnecessary, really. An event like this wasn’t super fancy or important - people would be coming and going all night, there was no need for anyone to explain themselves on that, certainly not his girlfriend’s brother. But Phil also doesn’t want to seem rude by not showing appreciation for his effort in showing up in the first place. “No offense taken, don’t worry about it. There’ll be plenty of other times for us to hang out,” he promised, hoping that would indeed be true. At the mention of his height and the seemingly good things that had been said about him, his grin only grew and he nodded his head a couple of times in agreement. “That’s fair. Being tall is basically the number one thing people ever actually remember about me. And that my sister and I used to eat bugs when we were kids, but we’ve phased out of that by now.” Or at least, Lil certainly had - Phil on the other hand was known to still occasionally down a beetle or worm if dared or offered enough cash to do so. “Oh man, that would have been so cool. You guys are all awesome - you remind me a lot of my own friend group. People used to call us the Rugrats. Or at least, our parents and Angelica did. And yeah, no apartment can really handle a full Halloween bash. We just lucked out that our parents and their friends chose this week to sail out on their old folks cruise.”

For a second he considered explaining exactly why he was switching venues but John wasn't keen on giving away personal details to someone he'd just met. He nodded his head, "Yes, I would like to get out before it becomes too crowded. I hope you don't take any offense to me leaving, I'm sure the rest of the night will go on just fine without me." A similar apology had been given towards his siblings earlier in the night, but he thought it was necessary to give one out to the host as well. The fellow seemed to be as nice as everyone said he would be "I could only pray the pictures and stories do me justice, but if not, my apologies in advance. You—I'm afraid—are up against high expectations. Both literally and figuratively. I could only hear how tall you were before I had to see it for myself, and I must say I was not disappointed. However, I also hear you would've made a good Lost Boy, and that claim is not made lightly." It was too early for him to tell but if Nibs was the one saying such things then perhaps that wasn't a bad judgement. But John didn't feel so much like a Lost Boy anymore as to critique opinions so it wasn't his place to agree or disagree. "I have to thank you for that, if it weren't for you and your sister hosting, my friends would have thrown a party instead and their apartment is under no condition to host this many people."

[bugsnackdeville]

“He’s the king of fucking assholes,” he corrects, shaking his head slightly as he forces himself to stay where he is. To stand next to Kelsi and continue the conversation instead of taking off and searching for Dash himself to kick the fucker out. Lil had warned him that an invitation had been extended to her ex-situationship and he was expected to be on his best behavior if they ran into each other, but Phil hadn’t actually thought that the other boy would have the guts to really show. He probably saw nothing wrong with attending a party at the home of the girl whose heart he so easily smashed like it was nothing. Fuck, he really hated the guy - but at least he was certain in the fact that he knew his sister felt the exact same way. Something that it seemed Kelsi didn’t realize. “Oh no. Don’t worry at all. Lil would be a fucking idiot to want that fucker again and you know she’s way smarter than both of us. Or, at least me. And even I can see how ridiculous that would be.” Placing a hand that he hopes is comforting on the girl’s shoulder he finally offers a smile and pushes his own anger at Dash and his mere existence away. “You’re good. She likes you, like a lot. The fact that she actually let me meet you proves that. She probably just invited him to show how done and over it all she is. Girls can be petty like that, you know. But yeah, nothing’s gonna happen there. You’re all good.”

She nodded along in listening to the worst of what this guy had done, one of which she could almost relate to; Not knowing when or if she, herself, would've had the balls to officially ask out Lil had it not been for her asking first. But that was a non-issue now so she tried to not let that thought afflict her. Kelsi tried following along but it was hard to even really believe what she'd been hearing in the first place. It was a plan so absurd that it didn't even sound real at first but the aggravation in Phil's voice sounded too genuine to be something to joke about. "I'm sorry you were lied to. He sounds like an asshole." That much she was sure of, which only made her reassess if she was okay with him being here at all. The obvious was telling her that it was fine, since it was fine with Lil, but a greater part wondered how she could forgive and/or forget what happened so easily that she was inviting him around to parties already. It certainly hadn't been what Phil wanted to actually happen. Her nerves had probably been obvious, as they'd always been, but this time around she decided to do the smart thing and ask for reassurance. "I shouldn't be worried, right? Like, if she's okay with being around him then I should be too, right?"

[bugsnackdeville]

The moment he watched as John’s entire face twisted in what could only be described as disgust or anger or just a general judgment, he knew he’d messed up. That maybe bringing up his past career on the first meeting hadn’t been the smartest thing to do - but it had gone over well enough with the other Darling boy that Phil hadn’t actually considered that the older of the two brothers might not be as chill about it all. In his defense though, it was a major thing to know - something that had almost prevented Wendy from dating him all together, and he didn’t want to repeat that by any means. It was better to just get it out in the open, he had thought, than let John find out about it some other way. Obviously that might not have been the case, though.

As the boy walks off, stopping by his sister first, it’s not a surprise when just moments later there’s a tug on his arm and he’s being pulled down to lean over and meet his girlfriend at eye level. It was an awkward position to stand in, but one that Phil was more than used to at this point. “I might have fucked up,” he admits with a frown, really not wanting to tell her anything more but knowing that she’d have a million questions if he left it at just that. “It was going well, I think, but then I kind of mentioned my sex tapes and he got kind of pissed…” He winces as soon as he confesses it, already knowing that Wendy wasn’t going to be happy with the way the situation had turned out.

~time skippy to halloween~

Though Wendy had been slightly nervous about the first meeting of John and her boyfriend, apparently, she should've been even more so. As she watched her brother's expression turn sour as the two spoke, her stomach dropped, fully sinking into the floor as John approached her with a brief demand that they needed to speak soon, but that they were going to have to wait until tomorrow. Wendy couldn't possibly imagine what had gone so wrong, but she had to figure out immediately, before either of the boys could make anything worse. With John already out the door, the only person she could get anything from was her boyfriend himself, who Wendy urgently pulled to the side with a tug of his arm.

"Did something happen with you and John?" she asked as she tugged him down to her level, hoping she wasn't speaking too loudly for anyone besides the couple to hear. She knew her brother, and something had to be wrong. Whether Phil had said something to offend him, or that John had simply decided he couldn't stand him, remained to be answered. "He just said I'm going to need to talk to him tomorrow about something, and he seemed upset ... is everything okay?"

[bugsnackdeville]

Hearing his name called, Phil instinctively turned around to see who it was, only to be startled at the sight of his sister’s girlfriend. Not that it was a bad thing, Kelsi coming up to him, it simply was just a surprise. He hadn’t expected her to be the one to make the first move on their next interaction. “Yeah, ‘course,” he agrees with a nod, though he has not a clue what this conversation could potentially be about. But once she mentions his sister’s ex, his eyes shoot up to go looking around the room in search of the boy as he listens to the rest of Kelsi’s worries. “First off, they aren’t really true exes. The asshole never had the balls to officially ask her out or make the big move,” he starts, frowning as he doesn’t catch sight of the blond head of hair that belongs to Dash. For all he had promised to be on his best behavior if he ran into the boy, Phil couldn’t help but tense up and be ready for a second confrontation. “I can’t believe he actually showed. The fucking audacity.” A word he normally would never use, but since meeting and then dating Wendy Darling, his vocabulary had widened vastly. “He was never actually into her. He was just trying to like mess with her mind so his fucking middle schooler soccer team would beat hers. It was fucking pathetic and ridiculous and Lil was crushed about it. I was fucking crushed about it. The dude pretended to be my friend and it was all just bullshit.” There was more to the story than just that necessarily, but it pretty much summed it up as far as Phil was concerned.

closed starter for @bugsnackdeville location: deville halloween party

"Hey Phil, can I talk to you about something?" Though the time shared between the two were not as great as it could've been, mostly due to Kelsi's nervousness around the tall guy, she did feel comfortable enough to go up to Phil about a concern she had. It was one that involved his sister so she figured that if anyone had any clue on how to help, it would be the person who knew Lil best. "So Lil's ex is here and she told me not to, like, stress out about it and I'm trying not to but it's hard to do that when there's a weird vibe she gets into when she talks about him." If she was truly honest, she would even say she could feel it on days after her girlfriend was done with work but Kelsi was just hoping that was just her nerves trying to trick her. "And I know she probably did invite him just to be polite but I guess I'm unsure of how to feel about that. And I think I feel extra weird that I don't know why they broke up." With the truth out there, she felt a bit bare and partially a bit regretful now that she'd shown her vulnerability. "All I know is that it ended badly and I don't want to keep asking her about it but I also feel like if I knew maybe I would know how to not be an idiot like that guy. So I guess just I'm asking for you to tell me what happened between them."

[bugsnackdeville]

It was a bit of a surprise, the rejection of his drink considering he was pretty sure the Darling boy had just recently arrived at the party, but he rolled with it easily. “Oh, no problem. You’re heading out soon?” he can’t help but ask, considering the night was still so young and they were pretty much the only party that he knew was happening tonight. But who knows, maybe John had friends outside of the lost boys that he didn’t know about or maybe parties just weren’t really his scene - either way, he was going to make the most of the bit of time he did have with the other boy. Beaming at the mention of his girlfriend speaking highly of him, Phil nodded to indicate he felt similarly. “Same, man. I mean, I’ve seen pictures and stuff, but it’s not the same as finally being here in person with you, you know.” Taking a sip from the cup he’d earlier mentally declared his own, he sets the other one down on the table beside them just to free up his second hand. Not that he was really going to be doing anything with it, but he had felt a bit silly standing there double fisting the drinks while John had nothing in his own hands. “Well I hope so, it’s too early in the night for anyone to be getting messy or for any fights to have broken out yet. We’re still in the clear of all that drama, and hopefully we’ll stay that way all night.” Though with this many people here in one spot, drinking and smoking as much as they likely will be, it was highly doubtful there wouldn’t be at least a bit of drama found somewhere. “Us? Oh, no. Lil and I are usually more of a board game night type of party hosts. But our parents were out of town and someone had to throw something for the holiday - so we figured why not us?”

By the looks of his tall stature, John could already assume who it was. He held out his hand, thinking the other offered the same but instead he found a gift he couldn't take. He raised his hands in surrender, "Thank you, but no. I have to drive soon." His plans. for the night didn't end in the Deville house, perhaps if he had the time he could stop by the end of the night but he didn't want to make any promises he couldn't keep. "It is nice to meet you, Phil, I get to finally put a face to the name I hear Wendy talking so highly about." The new presence in his sister's life was something to get used to. The only thing that bothered John about it was that he didn't know of who to go to for a sincere evaluation of the man. He didn't feel like there was anywhere he could go to find an answer that wasn't in service of Phil or saying all the right things to let John feel like he could let his guard down. He was sure his father already examined Phil personally to see if the guy really was good for Wendy, so there wasn't much need to worry but he still did anyway. He just couldn't help but think there wouldn't be a need for so much worry had Wendy dated someone they all already knew about. "Yeah, it seems like everyone is having a good time. Do you always throw parties like this one?"

[bugsnackdeville]

Despite the fact that he’s known he was likely in love with Wendy for quite some time, he’d yet to let himself really think about just when and how he was going to tell her. This was his first time being in an actual relationship, he was learning everything as they went along, but he did know that saying the big l-word too early could be fatal to certain relationships. He had hoped theirs would be strong enough to withstand that potential mistake, but hadn’t quite been ready to risk it. Wendy had already had to work through so much to come to terms with her feelings for him, the last thing Phil wanted to do was add another potential stressor on top of that. But it turns out he had been worried for nothing - because the way she rushed over to sit on his side of the booth and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug showed just how much she really meant those words.

Though it’s mostly a joke, he knows there’s a bit of truth behind her statement and it all seems so wild to Phil to hear. Bringing pastries and tea had been so natural, a nonbrainer action really, one that he never would have thought could mean so much to someone. But he wasn’t going to fight her on it because he was pretty sure he had fallen just the same, with each little note of the latest edit to her novel and every small smile as he brought her a treat or refilled her cup throughout his shifts. There wasn’t one huge exact time that he could pinpoint when exactly he knew he loved her, but rather a bunch of smaller exchanges and shared moments that all added up to the feeling. “I love you,” he returns right back, grin just as wide and bright. “Well, technically it was a half sandwich - since we split it, but next time I’ll bring you your own, just to make sure that confidence is still there.” It was easier now, to joke and behave the way they always do together. The small big of worrying and confusion he’d had regarding the entire Peter situation nothing but a distant memory at this point. “It’s okay. I get it, really. And I wasn’t mad or anything, for the record. It was just confusing, yeah. But I trust you. And I love you. So if you say it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.” He pauses for a moment, realizing there was another huge part of the Peter story that he had yet to fully ask about. “Are you okay, though? With Peter leaving? I mean, even if you didn’t want to be with him like that or think of him that way anymore, he’s still one of your best friends…”

When she'd shared the sentiment, she hadn't expected to hear it returned so quickly. Wendy had said it because she knew it was what she felt, wholeheartedly, and also because she thought it might give Phil some confidence in where they were, as a couple, but she hadn't thought she might hear the statement reciprocated so effortlessly. It came like a wave of relief over her, like she could now tell him anything that aws on her mind simply because they were in love: nothing would be as daunting to say as those words she'd just gotten off her chest. A wide smile grew on her face, the sudden eagerness simply to be near him coming over Wendy that brought her to her feet briefly, only to be seated again on Phil's side of the booth as she grasped for him in a tight embrace.

It took the writer a moment to find her words, simply wanting to bask in the moment of being truly in love for the first time, and having it said back to her. With Peter, her biggest fear had always been loving him and never being able to receive it back, but, at the very least, Phil had proven to her that she wasn't unlovable; it had just taken time to find the right person to give her love in return. "I love you," she echoed with a giddy grin as she released from her hug, sitting beside him now. "I think, every time you've brought me a tea and pastry here, it's grown a tiny bit until I was confident enough to say it over a whole sandwich," Wendy joked, though the sentiment was true. "I'm sorry about all the confusion with Peter, and how he approached you, I really am. But, that's all in the past, for me. I care about you, about us: that's all that matters to me now."

[bugsnackdeville]

closed starter for @johnmdarling location: deville halloween party

There was only one last person in his girlfriend’s life that Phil had yet to meet, and for some reason he couldn’t help but feel like it might also be the most important one too. Of course Mr. and Mrs. Darling had been a big deal too - but he’d met them both before he was officially dating their daughter, which had lessened the pressure of it all. Besides, Wendy’s brothers seemed to mean more to her than either of her parents, if he were being honest. And while Michael had taken to him easily, everything he’d heard about the other Darling boy made it quite obvious how different the two brothers were. John was a college boy, the serious type that worked at a library and sounded far more strict and to the book than either of his siblings. Which, knowing all that, it could be said that Phil had been somewhat putting off their first meeting. Not in a deliberate or obvious way, he just simply hadn’t gone out of his way or taken extra steps to seek out the boy. But tonight, at the halloween party he and his sister were throwing at their parents’ place, there were no more excuses either boy could pull for not talking to each other.

With two drinks in hand, his own special mix he liked to show off at every event like this, he finally caught the boy alone and figured there was no time like the present to get this started. “Hey John,” he greets with a grin, holding out one of the cups in an offering. A great beginning, he felt confident of that much. Where it went from here though, that was what had Phil ever so slightly nervous. “I’m Phil, it’s nice to finally meet you like officially. Are you enjoying the party so far?” It wasn’t a question he’d normally care about, but it felt like the proper thing to say as the one throwing the event - which he hoped the Darling boy would take notice of, him doing his hostly duties.

[bugsnackdeville]

Maybe another guy would be upset that all of this had been kept from him for the past few months, that he had been led to believe the only hesitation Wendy had held over dating him had been his side career and he was never told anything about her feelings for another guy. Perhaps he should be annoyed, maybe that was the normal response to a situation like this. But Phil simply can’t find it in him to begrudge her never bringing it up. Maybe it was something she thought everyone knew about, or that Nibs or one of the other lost boys he had started befriending at the time would have already told him. Or maybe she simply just didn’t want to make an already complicated situation even more confusing for them both. Either way, it didn’t matter. She had chosen him. And she was declaring her confidence in that decision, which was all that Phil really needed to hear.

“I’m happy too,” he returns the sentiment with a small smile, despite the fact that his own feelings had never been in question. At least, he didn’t think they had been. Sure he had held minor crushes on other people before, but nothing compared to what he felt for Wendy - even from the very start. Phil had known since the night they met, sitting on Nib’s floor just looking at different photos in each others’ camera rolls, that she was special. The soft smile that had been playing out on his face turned into a full grown grin, all potential worries about Peter or Wendy’s feelings for him completely forgotten when she dropped the l-bomb. It was something he had been considering a lot lately, but hadn’t been entirely sure when the right time to confess it would be. This was his first real relationship, the first actual girlfriend he’d ever had, and he knew that was different than just telling his friends how much he cared for them. “I love you too,” he admits easily, no hesitation whatsoever. “I think I’ve loved you for a while now, actually. But I didn't want to, I don’t know, scare you or anything saying it too early.”

Phil's reaction to her speech brought immediate relief, a release of deep breath she'd been holding in anticipation. She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd been upset with her for how she'd felt about Peter before making the decision to be with Phil. All of it had been complicated, but it was only because she'd thought so long and profoundly over who she wanted to be with. Of course, in the beginning, there had been a few moments of doubt when Peter had admitted he'd now felt the same way she had for years. But, now, sitting across from the boy she'd come to know so well over nearly a year, Wendy knew she was where she was meant to be. She didn't like to dwell too much on the future, or whether things would change that would have her think differently, but, for now, her heart was in exactly the right place.

Wendy gave him a firm shake of her head, insistent that his suspicions were wrong. "No, I have no regrets. I don't wish anything differently," she assured him sincerely. "I said yes to you because I knew we could be wonderful together and I am so happy, Phil." There had never been a doubt of where she stood with Phil, though it hurt her inside now to know that he had reason to question her. Perhaps it was as good of a time as ever to tell him exactly how she felt, the feelings that had been growing stronger in the past few weeks. She'd never said the words aloud to anyone, not in this context, anyway, but, with Phil, Wendy had been holding onto them so long that it was better to say them now than never. "I don't just like you, I--I think ... I love you, Phil, and it's okay, you don't have to say it, if you don't feel it, too, but I do, and if there's any way to convince you that I have not a single doubt about you, I hope that's it."

[bugsnackdeville]

There was plenty that he could say in Troy’s honor, if he really wanted to defend the boy. They’d had enough double dates for Phil to feel confident he wasn’t really as big of a poser as his new friend seems to think he is - but that doesn’t really matter. Hearing how great the guy that won Sharpay’s heart might be wasn’t what Slightly needed to hear right now. He needed to be supported, rather than have his unrequited crush rubbed in his face even more than it already was. “I think there’ll be a lot of us ready to fight if he does fuck it up again,” he agrees instead, nodding his head at the sentiment. At the mention of his girlfriend, Phil couldn’t help the way his entire body perked up and a giant, dopey grin grew on his face. Whether Wendy had already told her friends about their recent developments in their relationship, he wasn’t sure, so he knew better than to share absolutely everything that had happened - but there was one big milestone that he just couldn’t help but want to tell every person in his life. He wanted to scream it from a rooftop or announce it over a football game loudspeaker or something. “They’re going good. Really good. She actually told me that she loves me the other day. And I obviously said it back, because I do, you know, love her. Like a lot. More than I thought it was possible to potentially love someone.”

༝༝ 🦊 ༝༝

It was a little sticky; the fact that Phil had been married to the blonde and that his friend, her own guitarist had developed unprofessional feelings. Whatever the Troy guy had done to deserve a second chance he didn't understand but it had given him all the more reason to move on. While Slightly didn't mean to put his new friend in a position where he had to pick a side, it still hadn't made sense to the musician that she'd given a guy like that another shot. From all he'd ever heard it was how much this Troy guy had fucked up but maybe that was the jealousy talking. "Yeah, just seems like a poser to me," Slightly said giving a shrug as he stretched his arm over the back of the couch. "He better not fuck it up that's all I'm gonna say." To him, that bastard didn't know how lucky he had it and what kind of girl he'd been missing out on all this time. "Speaking of girls way out of our league, how're things going with Wendy?" While Slightly had been enjoying his newfound friend, it would be cut to an abrupt end if anything was done against the girl he considered family. So far things had been good but they were both aware of the difference between the girls and them.

[bugsnackdeville]

“I’m just glad she’s bouncing back and doing so well after the whole Flash thing,” he admits, something that he would never dare to say aloud to his sister but feels confident it’s safe being told to Wendy. Not that he didn’t think Lil was capable of getting over a shitty situation and a bit of heartbreak, but the whole Dash situation had just been far worse than anything she’s had to deal with before. And it was Phil’s duty as a brother to be worried about her during times like this.

If the smile that came so naturally on her face at the mention and thought of Peter made his stomach twist ever so slightly, no one needed to know. And it thankfully didn’t last long anyway, with how quickly Wendy was to start off by clarifying that she and the other boy were just friends and always have only been that way. It made listening to the rest of what she had to say far easier, knowing that he didn’t have to worry that maybe he had just been a consolation prize when she couldn’t win the real boyfriend she’d been after. So rather than reacting to every little bit of new information she had to offer, Phil nodded along and waited until the end, letting her get everything she felt she needed to say off of her chest before he butted in. He hadn’t meant to come across like he was accusing her of having done anything with Peter over the times they’d hung out together recently, because he truly didn’t think they had - he trusted her completely. But it was still nice to have that confirmation, anyway.

“It’s okay,” he assures her, absolutely meaning it as well rather than just saying it to placate her or make her feel better. “I was just a little surprised, I guess. I hadn’t realized you had ever felt anything more than friendship for him. And I… I didn’t want you to feel like any obligation to chose me over him or have any regret for the decisions you made. But I trust you, Wendy. I know that nothing happened - you aren’t the type of girl to do that. I just…” He paused for a moment as he thought of what he wanted to say. It was hard to vocalize exactly how he felt, given that it all sounded so conflicting and contradictory in his head even if it made sense in his heart. “I know you wouldn’t have agreed to give us a shot if you weren’t certain of your feelings for me. I don’t doubt that you like me… but I also just wanted to make sure you don’t, I don’t know, wish maybe it had gone differently? That you were with Peter now instead of me.”

"Regardless who it is, I'm happy for her. But, of course, it's more fun to have mutual friends to hang out with, too," she agreed. Though Wendy hadn't overlapped with dating Phil as Lil was with her ex-boyfriend, she of course had heard all about how tumultuous that experience had been for his sister. It was nice to see her happy after having such a devastating previous relationship. "It'll be a fun night, I think." If it was anything like the time when they'd gone out with Sharpay and Troy before, she was certain it would be enjoyable, albeit probably vastly different from the kind of nights spent in at the boys' apartment.

It was with a light laugh that Wendy pictured the scene, knowing all too well herself that Peter tended to drop out of nowhere. It would be strange, not keeping an eye open for him now that he was gone. "He does that," she confirmed, a smile cracking through her nerves. It was admittedly an interaction she hadn't expected to occur before he left, but Peter did have a tendency to insert himself where he arguably shouldn't. How was she to explain a decade-long infatuation with Peter, only to eventually choose to be with someone else in the end?

The grin wiped clean from her face, Wendy, for once, found herself struggling to tell a story. Suddenly losing her appetite, she set her half of sandwich on her plate as she pondered just where to even begin. "Peter and I are friends," she started, "that's all it's always been. For a really long time, I wanted it to be more." Wendy paused, waiting for an immediate reaction. "I'd never felt the way I felt about Peter about any other boy. But, he'd never felt the way I did, and I think ... everything changed when I met you, Phil. It was the first time Peter cared about me in that way, and it was so strange, to have everything from him change so quickly," she admitted. "I think he was jealous, honestly, that the attention I'd placed on him for so long had been shifted to you. I never wanted to hurt either of you, and as much as I'd needed time to think about all that you'd told me, about your past, I also had to think about how I'd felt. I don't think it was necessarily picking, because what I really had been thinking about the whole time was whether I was over how I'd felt for him enough to give us a fair chance. And, I was. I am. Any time I'd spent with him in the past, when we were together, nothing happened, I promise you." Whether that had been everything Peter had told him, or excess, Wendy didn't care: he deserved to know, and she likely should've told him sooner. "I'm sorry I didn't say all this a long time ago. I should've told you from the very start."

[bugsnackdeville]

“Yeah,” he confirms with a grin, both excited to meet the girl he’s heard so much about and also happy that Wendy had remembered that fact about her. “They went to the same high school together and now they work together on Sharpay’s music. I don’t really know how Lil even met her, honestly, but it’s cool.” It also made Phil happy that his sister had indeed found another person he’d never hooked up with before in any way, knowing she constantly liked to complain about how seemingly impossible it felt to do just that.

He doesn’t know what he exactly expected her to say when he dropped Peter’s name, but he does take notice of the way she seems to tense once the other boy was mentioned. Just moments ago, he hadn’t really thought he had much to worry about, only planning to bring it up out of genuine curiosity and the need to have some kind of answer from Wendy herself, but now he can’t help feeling like maybe there was more to this story than even Peter had told him. “He kind of just… dropped out of a tree and started talking,” he admits with a chuckle, only half forced. “And he told me he’s leaving, which I really hadn’t expected. He wants me to look out for you… But he also mentioned something about the fact that you well picked me over him?” The boy had gone into more detail than just that, but Phil wanted to wait to give her the chance to explain her own side before seemingly like he was accusing her of anything.

From what she'd gathered, most of why this game night was happening to begin with was for his sister to introduce him to the girl she was seeing. Which, Wendy supposed, was as good of a reason as any to get people together. Though she didn't particularly love the idea of hanging out around someone her boyfriend had slept with, she knew making a good impression on Sharpay was important, too, as she was certain all would be reported back to Tink. "She's a friend of Sharpay's, isn't she? I thought that's what Lil had said. What a small town we live in," she remarked at the coincidence of their mutual connection.

Wendy could sense Phil tense, and she glanced up from the bite of her sandwich as he spoke. Things had been going well between the two, and he'd just invited her to spend time with his sister and his friends, so it couldn't have been something that devastating. "Of course," she assured him with a nod, hoping she wasn't coming off as anxious as he seemed. Once the other boy's name was dropped, though, with a weight behind it she'd never heard before, Wendy felt her heart sink a bit. Entirely unaware of this interaction, she had no idea what Peter had said to him, leaving her nervous to hear the details of the conversation between the two boys. "Okay," Wendy said slowly, "how, um, did that go? I can't believe you ran into him before he left the island," she added, hoping his absence might make Phil feel better.

[bugsnackdeville]

It was still a bit strange, being complimented so openly and freely, but every time it happened Phil couldn’t help the big, cheesy grin that grew on his face. “That’s good. Cause I think Lil wants to put as many extra people in the room as she can to act as some kind of buffer between me and her mystery girl,” he half-joked, despite knowing it probably was indeed at least somewhat true. And his sister seemed to really like Wendy as well, and the way that he always seemed to at least be on a bit of better behavior whenever she was around, so she’d be glad to hear that the brunette was going to be able to make it after all. Nodding his head, he took a bite of his own half of the sandwich, thinking over how to best bring up the topic he knows they need to discuss as he chews.

“Uhm, there was actually something I wanted to ask you about,” he starts, feeling silly for being so nervous. This was Wendy, he’d never struggled to talk to her about anything else before, why should this be any different? Perhaps because a part of his brain couldn’t stop worrying that maybe it really was the other boy that she actually wanted to be with instead, and all of this was going to come shattering down around them the moment he questioned it. It was a fear he’d never had before, rarely ever feeling so self-conscious and doubtful, but he figured it was only going to get worse unless he ripped the bandaid off and just had a conversation about it. “I had a run in with Peter the other day…” He doesn’t mean to trail off the way he does, but his brain is still trying to think of the best way to go about this without seeming like he was upset or accusing her of anything.

Now that she had finally found an agent, Wendy had began editing her novel, which was a strange stage for her to be: she'd edited her essays and things in the past for school, but every annotation she made now felt like the end of the world, as she knew people were going to be reading it sometime soon. The Lucky Cat remained her favorite place to work on her book, knowing that her now boyfriend wasn't too far away for free tea and encouragement whenever he had a break. Though she was now in her new place with John, it was still nice to get out of the house. Wendy was mid-sentence when Phil had sat down, prompting the quick bite of her bottom lip as she finished typing what she was thinking before her eyes darted up from her laptop, then back to the table. "Oh, you're the best," she gushed as Wendy reached for the food placed before her. "Going well, I think, actually. I'm a chapter ahead of where I'm supposed to be right now, so I can make game night this weekend," Wendy reported with a proud smile, knowing how important it was to him that she was there. After taking a bite of her half of the sandwich, she tapped her lips with a napkin politely as her eyes caught the time on her computer. "You're off now, right? I think I can head out, whenever we're finished." She'd gotten enough done for the day, and she was eager to simply spend time with Phil after a long session in front of her laptop.

[bugsnackdeville]

Jacob Elordi | Bottega Veneta fashion show during the Milan Womenswear Spring/Summer 2025 | September 21, 2024

[bugsnackdeville]

closed starter for @lostgirlwendy location: lucky cat cafe

Officially clocked out for the night and his shift fully over, Phil had no real reason for needing to stay at the cafe. Most of the other employees were always so fast to get out of there the moment they were off the clock, but there was something about the environment of the lucky cat that he just really loved. Plus it helped that his girlfriend was already tucked away in one of the back booths, working on another edit of her novel, and he knew her tea was still likely most of the way full considering he had topped it off not too long ago for her. It had only been a day or so since his strange run in with one of Wendy’s closest friends and this was his first time seeing her since that encounter, so he couldn’t help the few nerves that were running high as slid into the seat across from her with his own coffee and a sandwich with two plates he planned for them to split. “How’s it going? Words flowing well today?” he asks with a smile, setting the two plates down and pushing one of them towards her with half of the sandwich. It was best to not jump right into the topic of Peter and everything he had told him.