phil doesn't really ignore dan at school anymore. he keeps his defenses up and doesn't give into calling dan a friend, but he doesn't complain when dan sits next to him and he answers when dan asks him questions.
the truth is, phil wishes he didn't care about dan but he does.
dan still sits with phil at lunch even if he's made close friends with aj linguine now, the boy who leaves phil at graduation and the girl with pink-tipped hair that phil vaguely remembers having a name like elouise. it reminds phil of the books his mum used to read him when he was younger, and phil thinks he likes aj and elouise objectively.
dan deserves better friends than phil and phil wishes they weren't in this compromising position of being forced together so that he could stay invisible and invincible and dan, well, dan could sit with his friends at lunch. the friends that will actually openly appreciate him.
but it scares him how much he also doesn't want that. his mind is filled with turmoil, because he thinks dan is his friend.
most people seem to adore dan at school and phil's noticed he's making an effect on his reputation and vice versa. more people actually know phil's name and dan seems mysterious for wanting to hang out with the kid most people don't remember.
his head hurts an awful lot and he hasn't been sleeping much recently, which brings him here, trying his best not to fall asleep as the teacher puts on a documentary on what they're learning.
he was sure sleeping in class wouldn't help with his participation grades and grades in general which he'd been struggling with in between his time with dan and his time of (usually unsuccessfully) trying to sleep.
so maybe, phil fell asleep for just a little bit but the teacher was sparing and he was up by the time the bell rung.
it was friday, phil would be homeward bound for the whole weekend after today. he could get through two more classes, right? -
he's never hated computer apps more, he thinks while finally exiting through the big school doors. they had a substitute teacher and even thought the period was only 45 minutes it dragged on so long that it felt like 2 hours. he couldn't wait to go home and play some breath of the wild. susan, his digital horse, probably missed him.
he was just about to step into his truck when he heard an all-too-familiar voice. "hey, phil, wait up!"
he was so close to freedom.
dan huffed for air after he scraped to a stop on his converse. "are we hanging out today?"
phil sighed, and scratched his neck, "um, i didn't think so, but–"
"we should! we haven't had a sleepover yet despite us both being free last weekend, so we should now." dan blurted, "or um, not. that's cool too"
phil scuffed his shoe against the pavement and internally cursed mr. browsers for everything and cursed dan for being endearing.
"get in the car,"
dan lit up like a star.
stars. lots of stars. warm brown eyes.
phil didn't hesitate before slamming his key into the ignition and driving towards dan's.
a/n: i forgot that the u.k. doesn't learn about american history and hamilton was in the first draft and i wanted to include that here
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