A/N: Yeah… after a week of absence, it’s back! ^_^ Hope you like! <3
Summary:
Dan has been thrown into a completely new environment as he joins a popular boarding school, Blackwood Academy, as a new student. After meeting Phil, a ringleader of the most infamous group of students in the school, Dan realises there’s a lot more to him than the man-made definition formed by other people’s opinions.
-
Chapter Six
As Dan follows Phil down the corridor, he makes the effort of hanging a few paces behind him in the attempt to pretend he’s not with him. His eyes dart around the campus as they walk out of the main building and down to Block 3, terrified that someone he knows is going to see us.
“Hurry up.” He beckons urgently once he’d noticed how far behind Dan is.
“Sorry.” Dan mutters, obediently yet unwisely quickening his pace, still keeping his head down as he catches up with him.
On arriving at Block 3, Phil opens the door, not bothering to hold it open for Dan behind him as they enter the building, being met with the familiar maze of staircases and corridors.
“Where are you?” Dan asks timidly.
“Top.” He nods over to a staircase, guiding Dan over before climbing up.
After arriving at the top, he indicates over to a solitary door, which Dan wouldn’t even notice if it isn’t for the fact Phil had pointed it out on account of the fact it’s tucked right away behind the corner of a corridor.
“Here I am.” He mutters, flicking out his key and unlocking the room, letting Dan in first.
Dan’s immediately met with the hundreds of band posters completely covering the walls, the mess of clothes and various school books scattered along the floor, and the photos splayed messily across every inch of his wardrobe. He sneaks a better peek at them, his eyes scanning the many faces of Phil in every picture, obviously blind drunk and holding half-empty alcohol bottles with Wolf-Boy. His attention is drawn to a picture of them mid-kiss, so he figures his estimations of them being in some sort of relationship, platonic or not, pretty plausible.
Phil throws himself down on the bed that Dan presumes is his. The other bed looks barely touched, although Dan notices a peculiar Charlie-shaped dent lying right next to where Phil lies on his bed, answering his question before he even asked himself it.
He only then realizes how silent the atmosphere is, and it’s beginning to get uncomfortable.
“Sit.” Phil orders, sitting up from the bed and positioning himself, cross-legged opposite where Dan’s stood. He politely takes off his shoes before positioning himself on the other end of the bed, mirroring his actions.
“So…Dan.” He begins once Dan glances up into his intensely glittering eyes.
“Yes?” He replies too quickly, his nerves getting the better of him.
“Do you like it here?” Phil jumps straight into his questions, although Dan can only sense genuine curiosity colouring his tone.
Dan gulps. “When people aren’t beating me up, it’s pretty alright.” He mutters, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
Phil narrows his eyes, ignoring the bitterness in his response. “Different from your old school?” He pauses, looking at Dan as if he has a genuine interest in what he’d like to say for himself.
Dan gulps. "Not really.” He hesitates. “Well, appearance-wise, obviously."
"Came from a comprehensive?” Phil raises an eyebrow.
“Uh- yeah…?” Dan narrows his eyes, apprehensive as to where he’s taking this.
“Me too.” Phil nods.
“How long have you been here, then?” Dan finds himself asking before he can stop.
“Too fucking long.” Phil sighs, glaring into space before answering properly. “Joined in year eight.”
“Right.” Dan nods politely, desperately trying to plan an escape route or an excuse he could make to leave. He’s decided he doesn’t want to be here. He doesn’t know why he’s here.
“Liking it?” He asks instead of escaping.
Phil’s expression suddenly dropped. “You think I like it here?“ He asks rhetorically, and Dan doesn’t know why he bothered asking.
"You don’t exactly help yourself, though, do you?” Dan narrows his eyes, reflecting back on the conflict in the dining hall.
“You think they’re in the right?“ Phil raises his eyebrows in mock-surprise.
"I certainly don’t think you are.” Dan widens his eyes in response.
“And you think you know me enough to base that opinion?” Phil tests, and Dan gulps suddenly. He doesn’t know anything about him.
“I know enough.” Dan shrugs fearlessly instead of backing down.
“Evidently not.” Phil contradicts.
Dan turns to him. “Try me."
"Why should I trust you?” Phil narrows his eyes, lowering his voice.
Dan shrugs. “I trusted you.” He indicates to the fact he’d allowed himself to follow Phil into the danger of his room.
Phil shakes his head. “It’s not the same thing, though."
Dan tries to straighten out his thoughts. "Okay, so; you hate it here?"
Phil nods.
"You hate the people here?” Dan asks.
Phil nods again.
Dan frowns. “Why don’t you just move back home, then?” He suggests in a rather more insensitive tone than what was intentional.
Phil’s expression softens. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
He gulped his fingers toying with his fringe. "Doesn’t matter.”
Dan decides not to push him. “What about Charlie, then? And your other friends?”
Phil gives a small half-smile. “I love Charlie.”
“You don’t act like you do.” Dan thinks out loud again, and as soon as Phil glances up at him in disgust, his eyes immediately fill with mental apologies.
“And how do you think you know that, then?” Phil questions almost angrily. “Do you think you know enough about us to base an opinion on how much love there is between us?"
Dan can’t help but notice the way Phil’s voice turns cold at the mention of the word ‘love.’
"I never said that.” He defends. “I’m just telling you how it looks from the outside."
"Why do you think I care about that?” Phil mutters.
“If you wonder why everyone treats you in the way they do, you probably should start caring."
"Who says I’m wondering?” Phil raises his eyebrows, the irritation in his voice beginning to grow. “Stop acting like you know everything. If you haven’t forgotten, you’ve barely been here a week.”
Dan gives up, leaving them to sit a brief silence.
“Fun conversation.” He replies, swinging his legs over Phil’s bed in preparation to stand up.
“Wait.” Phil suddenly stops him, and Dan feels a hand on his wrist, restraining him
“What?”
He swallows nervously. “Are you going?” His eyes gaze up into Dan’s and instead of the defensive anger and spite that’s so commonly present in them, Dan can only now sense what he detects as sadness, and maybe even loneliness.
“Yep.” Dan answers curtly, nibbling his lip.
Phil’s expression suddenly freezes, and before Dan has a chance to question anything, their silence is interrupted by a familiar voice clearing his throat behind them. Dan’s heart stops, and he swivels round to be met face-to-face with Charlie.
Fuck.
“Why is he in here?” Charlie demanded, rudely pointing to Dan as if he isn’t in the room “What were you doing?”
“Dan, leave.” Phil hissed.
“Yes, Dan, go. Now.” Charlie growled, angrily pointing me to the door.
“I know where the door is, thanks.” Dan hisses, Charlie’s nerve infuriating him.
“Use it, then."
“Shut up, Charlie.” Phil snaps in his authoritative voice, verbally shoving Dan out of the door and slamming it in his face once he’d made it outside alive.
Dan listens to the argumentative tones of Phil’s and Charlie’s voices coming from behind the door as he begins walking down the stairs in his way back to the common room.
He thinks it’s probably sensible to refrain from sharing what had just happened with the rest of his friends. He decides it’s probably something worth keeping to himself.
