Twisted // phan

six

A/N - heyheyhey welcome back I know it's been forever so soz but there's a certain feel I have to feel to write this story the way it needs to be told. Enough excuses, enjoy reading (phil's part in this chapter is one of my favorite things I've written)

Dan

It was lunch hour. Dan was sitting at his usual lunch table with the same people he'd been hanging around with for the past week and a bit now. Lunch was never anything special but at least he had a group to sit with.

His new friends were fine, they were. Except, all they could talk about was nothing and Dan just didn't understand it. The small talk about celebrities and teachers and 'oh no I have a presentation tomorrow' and god if he hears one more fake laugh he is going to shove a spoon into his eye.

While he disliked the medicrody of the conversation, it also fascinated him; how seriously and personally they reacted to things that had no effect on them, how his friends lived so vicariously through the lives of others. Despite him thinking this, he was with them. He shared his opinions he gasped and laughed at all the right times but in a manner that made him seem awkward in a quirky kind of way. If only they knew how tiring it was for Dan to keep up this persona.

It was officially two days since the party. Two days since he'd spoken to Phil and Dan had a childish hope that after their conversation things between him and Phil would change.

He was wrong. Phil ignored Dan in the halls, not even giving him a mere second glance as if they had never talked in the first place. But that was okay, he was used to having low expectations. It was the best way to avoid inevitable disappointment.

Then again, maybe he was way over thinking the whole thing. Maybe it was just a conversation, a few words shared between two people at a party. After all, parties are for talking, right?

Dan tried to tell himself these things. He wished he could really believe that the exchange was nothing but against his best efforts, his gut told him that this thing with Phil - whatever it was - was going somewhere. He was probably just being silly.

His thoughts faded away and he was brought back to reality.

So sure, he was in a friend group that was skin deep and yeah, maybe they all had one person in the group they were particularly close with, leaving Dan out and okay they had an endless amount of inside jokes he didn't understand but that's just the way it goes right? That's just high school.

Casper talking about how nervous he was for his chemistry test and how he hadn't studied at all and how he was surely going to fail. He sounded pretty upbeat for someone who was about to get a below passing grade. There, another thing Dan just didn't understand; why do we think it's funny to fail tests and skip homework? Why does that make us relatable? Why does it have positive connotations?

Still, Dan went along with the conversation, adding a funny anecdote of his own about the horrific time when he had forgotten to do an assignment once resulting in him staying up all night to write only for his printer to break right before he had to leave for class, awarding him a few laughs from Cat and Louise.

What's Phil doing right now?

Dan found himself asking this all the time even though he knew that the answer was most likely smoking or day drinking or whatever it was that popular kids did when they skipped class.

Then Dan remembered Phil's words from the party;

"Don't you see? It's assumptions people always make assumptions and they're always wrong."

Dan agreed. He knew he was surrounded by a society that only knows what it thinks it knows. Yet, he was constantly making assumptions about Phil. He felt a wave of guilt flash over him that quickly settled into a sinking feeling that resided deep in his chest.

The bell rang and Dan mechanically got his books from his locker and headed to class.

The feeling lifted when he realized he got to go home for the weekend. It quickly returned when he remembered that his parents were still away and would be for another week. Looked like he'd be having a frozen pizza weekend again. It sounded fun to others but got old and sad really fast.

As he walked home he thought about Phil, certain that Phil wasn't thinking about him. But that was alright with Dan, after all, he was trying to force himself to stay realistic. Maybe this time, just this time, he could dream as he was absolutely positively intrigued by Phil Lester.

Phil

Phil sat in the only spot that had a little bit of grass at the cliff. It was Friday, Phil's favourite day to be up there; no school the next day and nothing stopping him from staying out all night watching as lights in the city went out leaving just stars and the moon to the bright pinks and oranges of the early sunrise.

He wasn't one for music, he preferred hearing the distant sounds of traffic and birds chirping. Music would just block it all out, which would be tragic as sitting on the cliff and watching and listening to the night turning to morning was the only beauty Phil still saw in the world that resonated deep within him.

He wasn't sure what about the cliff drove him to keep coming back. It was cold and hard. But it was a rock and it would always be there and it would never change. He didn't always go there to see and observe, most of the time it was just a quiet place for him to smoke and get away from the world.

But no matter his reason for being there, he could never ignore the clarity in the air or the feeling he got in his chest when he looked out and saw the city below him; like all the weight he carried was lifted. None of his problems ever seemed that bad on the cliff, they were just as small at the cars beneath him.

Friday night was his. No matter what trouble his mother was getting into or what party was going on, he always spend the night sitting in the grass with a blanket wrapped around himself watching and thinking. He didn't even smoke on Friday nights, he didn't need the nicotine when he could feel so calm just sitting in his spot.

It didn't work on other nights though, no other day was ever the same as Friday. No other day had the same feeling of peace. On Saturday, though he might still go the cliff, he would do so with a cigarette in his mouth and a heavy heart. Sometimes he would overthink until tears were rolling down his face and sometimes he would feel nothing at all. He never cried on Fridays.

In his years of going to the spot, he had never come across another person. It confused him, surely it was on maps and surely the city looked after it but Phil had stopped pondering such things long ago as he knew he would never find an answer anyway.

That night, he was thinking about Dan who seemed to be what he thought about most lately. Phil knew that Dan and seen him in the halls and he was painfully aware of how no communications had been made between them. Phil had reason for his actions, he knew that if he developed any sort of friendship with this boy and he would end up over sharing and trusting and in Phil's experience, nothing good ever came from someone knowing everything about you.

After all, he had already let Dan in a little at the party. Something in Dan's eyes those deep brown eyes made Phil forget all the walls he put up. This boy was dangerous, Phil never felt inclined to tell anyone anything about himself until that night. But though he tried to fight it, he wanted to talk to him again he wanted to know what was in this boy's mind, how it worked. What were his hopes and dreams? What was he afraid of? What made him happy, what made him sad?

He'd never find out. Dan was the new kid and Phil was the popular kid and PJ surely would have a good laugh if he saw Phil associating with the likes of Dan. Why did he hate fake people but then follow the unspoken rules of social hierarchy? It was hypocrisy at its finest.

Most of the lights had gone out in the city and all Phil could see were stars. He didn't notice time passing - he never did when he looked out at the little balls of flame in the sky. The morning came before he knew it and he had a new feeling in his chest.

Maybe it was hope.

A/N - I hope you loved it! Thanks for all the votes on the last chapter. If this gets 4 votes I will guarantee a new chapter by Sunday ttfn