Rosey Smiles against Peach Carnations // Chapter One

A fun peice for the Phandom Reverse Bang! It’s been a bumpy road but I have honestly loved the experience to kickstart me back into writing. 

Thanks to @rainbowchristy for doing an amazing job Beta-ing for me, couldnt have asked for better!

Make sure to check out @jorzuela who is such a talented artist! Check out their art here!

Dan was stressed, actually not just stressed, exasperated. He could feel the anger bubbling upside him, the sweat dripping down his forehead and practically the steam billowing out of his ears as he ran down the London road. Clutching a ready-to-explode binder in one hand and his phone in the other as he placed one foot before another along the stoned pathway. 

Why couldn’t this happen to anyone else?

He glanced down at his phone to triple-check the address as he slowed down to catch his breath, he wasn't particularly athletic but this was an emergency. The anger bubbling up inside him was being let out in his thoughts, bouncing back and forth but always coming to the same conclusion.

How hard is it to follow a deadline and sort out some god-damn flowers?

The rational part of his brain knew that it wasn't as easy as that. At that point, if someone told him being a wedding planner was easy then he'd probably punch them in the face, to be quite frank. A situation like the one he was currently in would prove them extremely wrong; it was one of the reasons Dan vowed to never get married himself.

As he wiped the beading sweat from his clammy forehead, he peered down the street. The shop that caught his eye looked like an exploding rainbow of colours in the abundance of monotonous buildings it sat between.

As he approached the obnoxiously colourful building, more details came into view. There were so many details, in fact, he couldn't help but stop his rushing train of thought for just a moment to take in the scene that lay before him. His eyes bounced from pots full of daisies to the bushels of roses that lay carefully propped against the contrasting stone background. The stone itself had to stand out too, of course, with the green ivy dancing up the walls and slithering into the thin cracks of the withered building. Everything in the building was so blindingly vibrant and packed with colour it almost made Dan feel he was looking in an alternate world when looking elsewhere on the raggedy-pathed road. He slowly reached towards the door, being cautious as if a single wrong move could shatter the imagery that surrounded him. 

The cold metal of the handle pulled him out of his wonder; it felt so harsh compared to the warm feeling that was radiating around him. Dan coughed slightly, clearing his throat, before he gathered his thoughts as he pushed open the wooden frame.

If he thought the outside was marvelling, then he was in for a shock when he saw the interior; he never thought colours could be so… colourful. His eyes bounced around his head, darting from side to side and soaking in every aspect of the magical world his eyes fell upon.

A man whose complexion was so void of colour itself it was like putting chalk on a blackboard caught Dan by surprise, his slender hands delicately arranging some Orchids in a burgundy pot. The man stopped momentarily and turned towards Dan.

His blue eyes seemed to stand out more than any of the hydrangeas, bellflowers or delphiniums that were scattered around the store. A river of ink-like hair fell across his forehead, sticking out in odd places and forming a peculiar, controlled mess.

“Hey there, how can I help you today?” the man spoke, the words flowing eloquently from his plump, peach lips as he lifted up the now filled pot and placed it gently on the shelf behind him.

The northern twinge in his voice caught Dan by surprise and helped Dan snap out of his world of wonders, pretty flowers and even prettier boys.

“Oh, Hi!” Dan coughed out, trying to formulate at least a semi-coherent sentence. “I’m Dan Howell from DJH Weddings.”

The mysterious man smiled, one that seems to outshine any of the sunflowers that were perched around the shop.

“I’m Phil! Nice to meet you. I’m assuming you’re needing to book for a wedding?” He asked gently. “When’s the big day? We’re happy to accommodate!”

"I, um, thanks," Dan stuttered, suddenly flustered. "It's… next week, the 24th".

Dan reached his arm up and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he watched the man’s eyes widen at the short timeframe.

"The 24th? Blooming heck, usually people book months in advance. Wedding planners usually go a year in advance!" Phil stressed, reaching around and grabbing a green leather journal that was visibly well-used, covered in splotches of dirt and crumpled corners.

"Trust me, I know," Dan stressed, feeling his cheeks start to warm up over the mild embarrassment and stress of the situation. "I've been in the business 7 years, I know how to plan some flowers. My original arrangement was cancelled today.”

The man's eyes seemed to soften with a hint of pity. Surely if anyone understood the hidden stress behind flower arrangements it would be him.

“Just, please,” Dan begged, ever so slightly emphasising ‘please’ to express the amount of need he had for this. “If you can fit me in, brilliant. If you can't, then I'll have to find somewhere else.”

Phil’s brow furrowed slightly as he opened the rather abused journal that lay before him, he didn’t reply but instead engrossed himself with flipping his slender fingers through the crumpled pages. Mindlessly, he reached over to his left without even a glance and picked up a pencil that was laid along the wooden bench.

Dan watched as he fiddled with the pencil, spinning it around between his fingers and making odd little notes in the journal, before slowly sighing and looking up at Dan.

“I can make it work.”