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"Hi Miles! Hi Mr. Edgeworth!" Phoenix exclaims as Miles opens the door, his father standing in the living room further behind him. Gregory smiles and waves. Miles looks rather shy as he makes tentative eye contact with Phoenix, fidgeting with the doorknob, but it doesn't last long as Phoenix grabs his friend's hand and drags him up the stairs. "I got the new season of Signal Samurai, we have to watch it together!"
They make it to the media room upstairs and Phoenix excitedly unzips his backpack, revealing several VHS tapes, all Signal Samurai. "When did you get these?" Miles asks incredulously.
Phoenix grins. "My mom got them for me, can you believe it? I didn't think she even knew what this show was!"
"Really? Your mom got them for you?" Miles asks, not hiding his surprise. Phoenix's mom is sweet, but he can't help but agree that she isn't the most observant when it comes to her son.
"Well..." Phoenix starts, and then trails off, looking down at the tapes in his hands. "I haven't really told anyone, but she's been extra nice to me since my dad moved out."
"Oh." Miles sits down on the floor, facing Phoenix. "I'm sorry. That sounds awful." He had kind of been wondering why Phoenix wanted to come over to his house more often lately. Maybe this was why.
Phoenix looks back up, still smiling, but not nearly as brightly. "Yeah. I don't really get it. My mom said they still love me, but that there are some things that are hard to understand until you get older." He pauses and sighs. "But they don't really seem happy, or like they like each other. So I guess I wasn't that surprised when she told me."
Miles sits in silence for a few moments, then finally says, "I'm sorry Phoenix." He pauses. "I don't really know what that's like."
Realizing that of course Miles wouldn't know firsthand what he's talking about, Phoenix takes a moment to figure out how to explain. "Okay, well, you've been to Larry's house, right?" Miles nods. "So you've seen his mom and dad. They're kinda weird, right?" Phoenix laughs, and after a second, Miles joins in, nodding in agreement. "But even so, they're still really nice to each other and you can tell they like talking to each other and stuff." He pauses again. "My mom and dad aren't really like that anymore. They're never really around at the same time - I think they stay out of each others' way on purpose now. Even when they are in the same room they don't talk much at all."
Miles frowns, but isn't sure what to say, so Phoenix continues.
"Or, what about when I had a crush on Megan?"
Miles tilts his head to the side, eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Who?"
"You know, Megan? At school?"
"Oh, yeah. She's the girl with the pink backpack that always wears her hair in braids, right?"
Phoenix nods. "Yeah, that's her! I really liked Megan a lot. I thought she was really cool and I wanted to hang out with her all the time. And even Larry's parents still seem to like hanging out with each other. So it kinda started to make me think my mom and dad must not really like each other." He pauses for a moment. "So I guess that's why I wasn't really surprised by any of it."
Miles can only gaze at his best friend sitting across from him and the sad expression on his face, the unfocused look in his eyes, the way his mouth is drawn tightly to one side, wishing he knew what to say to make everything better. He can't stand to see Phoenix looking like this.
After a moment, Phoenix glances back down at the VHS tapes - then suddenly pops back up, smile glowing once again. "It's okay though! My mom bought me these, so I'm happy we get to watch them together!" He turns toward the entertainment center, turning on the TV and then the VHS player. While Phoenix pops in the first VHS tape, Miles realizes something about what Phoenix just said. He takes a moment to work up the courage to ask him about it.
"You... Liked Megan? But you don't like her anymore?"
Phoenix hits pause on the VHS player, then turns around, once again sitting cross-legged, facing Miles. "Yeah, I don't like her anymore. I heard her and Taylor -" he stops abruptly, averting his eyes from Miles.
Confused, Miles asks, "You heard her and Taylor what?"
"Well..." Phoenix appears to be debating whether to continue, but finally relents. "I heard her and Taylor making fun of you, so I don't like her anymore."
Miles looks down at the floor between them. It's not like he doesn't know the other kids find him a little weird, but it still hurts to hear it.
"I told them they were being mean and they need to stop it, but they just laughed at me too. So that's why I don't like her anymore."
"Oh." Miles still doesn't look up.
Phoenix doesn't like how sad Miles looks, so he tries to change the subject to something happier. "What about you Miles? Who do you have a crush on?"
Miles still doesn't look at Phoenix, but now his face has turned bright red. "Umm..." he starts, not sure how to get out of answering the question.
"It's alright, you can tell me! I won't tell anyone, I promise!" Phoenix reassures him, smiling innocently, brilliantly.
"Umm... I don't have one..." Miles says quietly, eyes apparently glued to the carpet between them.
Phoenix tilts his head ever so slightly, a knowing look spreading across his face. "Oh, you haven't had your first crush yet, huh?"
Miles finally brings his head up to meet Phoenix's eyes. But he feels too shy to answer the question - whether to continue lying to his friend, or tell him the embarrassing truth. Both options feel too awkward.
Phoenix just smiles sweetly, grabbing the remote as he moves to sit next to Miles and face the TV. "Well, don't worry! When you do have your first crush, it'll be somebody great!" he says cheerfully, leaning backwards. One of his hands lands on Miles' outstretched hand. He stares down at their fingers resting on one another, not quite intertwined, then glances up at Phoenix, who has turned his attention back to the TV screen.
After a moment, Miles asks, "How do you know that?"
Phoenix turns to look at him, beaming. "Because you're great! If you like someone, it means they're great too!"
Miles doesn't say anything in return, just looks back down at Phoenix's hand still on his. He can feel his cheeks getting warm again.
Suddenly, Miles feels Phoenix shift closer, hug his knees to his chest, and rest his head on his shoulder. His whole body tenses, not knowing what to do with their unexpected closeness. But Phoenix knows just what to say to Miles. He always does.
"Besides, I really like you Miles."
They stay like that, watching Signal Samurai for hours, until Gregory calls them down for dinner. When they finally move apart, Miles looks at Phoenix, gathering up as much courage as he can to say what's been on his mind for the last five episodes. Finally, he takes a deep breath, steels himself, and says -
"I really like you too Phoenix."