A Freak Like Me [Septiplier]

5: Discussing With Your Mouth Full

Jack P.O.V.

The bell for lunch had finally rung, making everyone make a mad-dash for the cafeteria. I, however, waited for the stampede of pubescent teens to disperse before walking downstairs. It was a quick stop to my locker to drop off my morning books and grab my lunch bag before rerouting myself back to the English room. I liked to pack my lunch every day. One reason being the school's food sucks ass. The other was making it easier and faster to meet up with Phil whenever we could eat together.

I trudged up the stairs, thinking about what I was going to say to Phil. When I reached his room, I opened the door easily. Phil perked up from his desk with a smile on his face. I returned it, but mine was a little fake. I shut the door quietly behind me, moving to his desk. "Phil?" I asked sweetly, but that didn't last long. "WHY IN THE FUCK DID YOU PARTNER ME WITH FISCHBACH?!" I raised my voice at him, throwing my arms out for effect.

Phil's eyes widened for a moment, then rolled at me. His face landed in his hand. He rubbed his eyes, soon looking up at me while pinching the bridge of his nose. "First of all, during school hours, I'm Mr. Lester. Secondly, don't use that tone of voice or language toward a teacher. You'll get in trouble." I sighed as I dragged a desk next to his, that way I could actually eat next to him like a normal person. He pulled out his lunch bag, setting it on top of some documents that apparently weren't important. "Also, what's wrong having Mark as your partner? He's a good student, he gets all of his work done and he's one of the kindest kids I know. Did you see what he gave me for Christmas?" he pointed over to the small glass lion figurine in the corner of his desk.

I rolled my eyes at it. "I got you something, too. Feeling a little unappreciated over here." Phil shakes his head at me.

"Your gift was very lovely, too. And it's hanging up on my wall at home," he pats my back. I gave him a painting I did of a lion that took me about a month and a half to do. Phil is very dear to me, so I wanted to put as much effort as I could into it. I was just glad to see his face light up. "But seriously, what's the issue with Mark?"

I sighed as I took out my sandwich. Honestly, discussing what happened that morning to Phil wasn't exactly on my to-do list and I really didn't want to talk about it anymore. Slowly peeling off the plastic wrap on my Pb-and-j, I didn't know what to tell him. "I just don't like him," was what I finally answered, taking a bite of a partially squished corner.

Phil shook his head as he removed his lunch from its sack. "Well, you can't always work under your own rules. Sometimes you just have to put up with it. Sorry I can't do much about it." He gave me a sympathetic smile as he chewed a crisp he popped in his mouth. "I'd give you a different partner, but you'd end up doing everything on your own. Just, give him a chance, yeah?" He spun around to the mini fridge next to him, opening it to grab a small water bottle. "Want one?"

I nodded as he handed it to me. "Thanks," I held it tightly. Really I was saying thanks for the water and the fact he was there for me, even if he couldn't do much. That's why I really liked Phil. He was pretty goofy at times, but he'd tell it how it is in the nicest way possible. I was very proud to call him my friend.

Taking a swig of water and another bite of my sandwich, I decided to switch the subject. "So how's Dan?" I asked with a mouthful of bread. I'm surprised he was able to make out some of it 'cause to me, it sounded like gibberish.

He almost spat out the water he was drinking. He slapped a hand over his mouth, swallowing the liquid. He inhaled deeply before trying to speak. "Could you please chew with your mouth closed and swallow before speaking? Now, exactly what did you say?" his cheeks were already slightly pink, which caused me to giggle.

"I asked how Dan was doing," I chuckled. Seeing him like this was hilarious, so I would try to tease him at every opportunity I had.

He cleared his throat. "H-How would I know?" He didn't even look up at me when he answered.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Phil, it's obvious he likes you. I thought you'd at least be talking to him by now."

"Umm..." his gaze was on the floor. It was a bit weird to see him nervous over something like this. Still, I already kinda knew about Phil's feelings toward Dan for a long time. "I-I....I do talk t-to him...sometimes..." he twiddled his thumbs.

"WHAT?!" I shouted in shock. "FOR HOW LONG?!"

He jumped back in surprise. "J-Just a couple of months now. Calm down!"

I almost fell back in my chair. I didn't actually think they talked. Really, I thought it was just going to be a crush thing between the both of them, but it was really happening! "Why didn't you tell me?!"

He lets out a long sigh. "Because...there are a lot of things that could go wrong if someone found out," he ran a hand through his hair, trying to destress himself. "And... it's not even in that way, but someone could interpret it oddly. I just...I just don't want to get him in trouble."

I scooted close to him, gently patting his back with my hand. "No worries, Phil. Not a word about it will leave these lips," I moved fingers over my lips, pretending to zip them. That made him smile. It's not like I had anyone to tell anyway, plus I wanted Phil to keep his trust in me and know I wouldn't say anything unless he wanted me to.

"Thank you, Jack," he leaned back after I removed my hand.

After Phil told me about his conversations with Dan and we talked of other things that happened over the weekend (like my Skype call with Daithi and his anime binge), he looked over at me with an eyebrow raised. "Did you get in trouble for this yet?" he poked at the black nose ring I had in, which for some reason made me giggle.

I shook my head. "No, not yet. But honestly, who cares?" I drank the remaining water contained in the small plastic bottle before setting down on the desk in front of me. Our stupid school dress code didn't allow any other piercings but ear ones, yet no one seemed to care or follow that rule. "I just didn't want to put a stud in today. I like this one."

He nodded as he ate his last crisp and crumpled up its bag, tossing it into the bin next to his desk. "The rings do suit you better."

I smiled widely at him. "Thank you, but I'll probably change it tomorrow, just in case." He nodded again as he patted my back, telling me it was a "good idea to follow the rules," though they didn't matter too much to me. I glanced over to the clock only to see that lunch was about to end sooner than I wanted it to. With a sigh, I stood up from my chair and gathered the garbage left over from my meal. "Guess it's time to go..." I tossed the items into the bin.

"Okay. Did you want to come back tomorrow?" Phil started to tidy up his desk.

"Of course!" I nodded, pulling the desk and chair back to their original position. I pulled my backpack up onto my shoulders before heading to the door. "Text me tonight, okay? See ya!" I waved to him as I opened the door.

He waved back with a smile on his face. "Okay, see you later!" And with that, I was back out into the hall. I sigh escaped my lips as I trudged to my 6th-period class, obviously a bit earlier than any other kid to avoid the stampede once more. And even though I was kinda sad that I couldn't un-partner Fischbach, I figured that I didn't have to spend every single waking moment with him. With that in mind, and the news about Dan and Phil, I entered the classroom and waited for everyone else to join in on our next lesson.

'Hopefully, I can deal with him.'

A/N: Hey, hey hey! It's a new chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it (especially with the moving along of Phan). However, I do want to apologize for this taking so long (and being a bit crappy). Honestly, this month has been really hard for me. School started, which means a lot of homework has been placed in my lap. I've been stressed out and also lost my passion for writing for a while. Not only that, but September is the hardest month for me. But now, I am starting to enjoy writing again and even have a schedule for updates (which I officially began this week)! So this will be updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Yay! Seriously though, thank you so much for reading this and I'll see ya soon!

-Jepsyca

(also I'm kinda sick right now, which sucks, but I'll probably be okay soon)