The Shapeshifter | Phan AU

Chapter Øne

Phil
I knew I was different from my very first day at school. Before then, I'd just thought everyone else was like me. But poor, young, naive Phil was wrong.

*wibbly wobbly timey wimey*

"We'll see you later, sweetie. Have a good day." Mum smiled, bending down to give me a kiss.

"We love you." Dad said, hugging me. I gave them one last smile and walked off, guided by a teacher. He took me into a classroom, where around 30 other pupils were sat on a carpet, looking up at another teacher.

"Hello... Phil. Welcome to your first day at Oakbrooke!" She greeted, her voice sickly sweet. But I liked her. She had a kind face, surrounded by an abundance of black curls and almost always had a shine in her eyes.

After all the boring stuff, we went out to break. I sat on a bench, swinging my leg, taking bites out of my apple, gazing longingly at all the pairs and groups of friends playing together. I hadn't made any friends yet.

"Hey." I looked up to see a girl looking intently into my eyes. She had ocean-blue eyes, and long brown hair. She popped a raisin in her mouth, smiling.

"H-hello."

"Can I sit?"

"Sure. I'm Phil."

"Riley. Do you like apples? I hate them." She sighed, sitting down next to me.

"They're alright. I'm just hungry and it's what my Mum packed." I shrugged.

By lunch time, Riley was my best friend. "Riley, can I show you something? We've got to go somewhere secret though." I asked.

"Okay. How about behind the shed? Mrs Green won't notice us there." I nodded and she took my hand, leading the way. "What's this thing then?"

"Well, you've got to promise to keep it a secret first." I told her, looking into her blue eyes.

"I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die." She whispered, making a crossing movement over her heart.

"Okay. Mum told me not to tell anyone else, but I can trust you. I know I can. Here it goes." Riley twiddled a piece of her brown hair in between two of her fingers. I put all of my concentration into it, and felt myself changing. Before we knew it, I was a mirror image of Riley. She stood there, opening and closing her mouth, before doing the one thing she could. Scream. I changed back, and grabbed her wrist.

"Get away from me, you freak!" She shouted, and ran as fast as she could in the direction of the teachers. She tugged on Miss Hart's sleeve, and muttered something to her. Her face morphed into an expression of shock as well.

Miss Hart talked to my parents. Riley told hers. "Phil, sweetie. What did I tell you? You can't tell anyone!" Mum sighed on the drive home. My brother and father stayed utterly silent.

"Why not, Mummy?"

"Because it's your special gift. No one else has it, and they won't understand why you're like it."

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't realise." I began to cry, guilt rising up in me. Riley's words echoed throughout my brain. 'Get away from me, you freak!'

I had to move schools. My parents couldn't bare all the comments that were sent to me every day. Not just from my fellow pupils, but some of the teachers. Not Miss Hart. She really liked me. But 4 year olds and adults who should've known better than to call a 4 year old names could come up with really hurtful insults.

*****

I still got bullied. Not because of my secret, but because of the way I acted. I was quiet, had no friends but made up imaginary friends and talked to them. I ran around the playground with them, whispering and giggling with them. Of course, people thought I was mad. But I soon learnt to keep my friends private.

I was quiet until I met Brandon. Well, I say met. More like saw. He didn't know I existed. But I knew he did. He was 2 years older and way out of my league. So I got involved with his life to try and impress him. The drug dealing, the stealing, the smoking, the graffiti. But I never took drugs. I'd made my Mum a promise I'd never take them and I wasn't intending in breaking that promise.

I impressed Brandon, that was for sure. My little 'gift' gave me an edge. Allowed me to slip into small places by morphing into a fly or a spider. Allowed me to get to secret places and deliver the drugs. He got me hooked on cigarettes. For some period of time, I thought he was my friend, but of course I wanted us to be more. So I kissed him.

And you can all guess what happened next. He pushed me away and he beat me up. Left me for dead. I didn't tell my Mum. She had enough to worry about with Dad, and my brother trying to get into university. Our Dad had just left, without a care about us.

Brandon left me alone, much to my surprise. But a year of having some sort of friendship to dramatically having none made my life very boring. So now I've learnt my lesson. I'm never using my gift to help or impress anyone else. I'm never showing anyone else. I can't allow myself to get too attached to anyone else. I can't get involved in any other bad gangs or situations. I'm amazed I've made it to 16 years old. I probably won't make it much further though; I've spent the past couple of years ruining my lungs with nicotine and smoke.

I'm a shapeshifter. One of kind. But it's for me and me alone. I can't have any friends: I get hurt. I'm just getting through life alone.

Well, that was my plan until Dan Howell ruined it.

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AN
I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE THIS CHAPTER, which is good right, seeing as I wasn't enjoying my last book. Ngl, one of the reasons I also deleted that was because I wanted to write that (I don't like writing two things at once; too much pressure).

Can I recommend a musical? Straight Outta Oz. It's by Todrick Hall, and it's basically the story of his life but in the style of Oz. It's on YouTube, GO CHECK IT OUT, IT'S REALLY GOOD! (And short. Which is the best and the worst thing about it. Best because it's easy to listen to, worst because I JUST NEED MORE).

Anyway, love you all!!!