Of Earth and Sea

Chapter Seven

Dan was sitting alongside Kat and Troye during History of Elements, in the midst of finishing up their work. They were typing away on their keyboard, their eyebrows knit and their lip between their teeth as they concentrated. They sighed, leaning back to think about their next analysis point before returning to typing, loosely biting their thumb nail while resting their chin on their hand. Kat looked sideways at them for a moment before returning to her own work.

Dan was completely oblivious to their surroundings as they listened to a song by Kanye West, tapping their foot to the beat. "Okay, so the use of short sentences shows the... panic and quick pace of the men going into battle. It represents chaos..." they mumbled under their breath, typing furiously, leaning over the laptop.

They were halfway through the next paragraph when they noticed laughter coming from another table. They looked around, finding nothing, and went back to writing, left with a feeling of unease. They bobbed their knee up and down anxiously, falling out of their rhythm. They ran their hands through their already messy locks, heaving a soft breath of air from their nostrils.

"You okay, Dan?" Kat asked, her eyebrows furrowed in perturbation. Dan looked up and nodded, biting their lip. Troye eyed them as well, his own eyebrows creased together.

"Nice hair, Howell," someone said suddenly, making Dan jump. They looked up to see Dan's ex girlfriend Niki staring at him from her table with Phil and PJ. Her eyes were narrowed with determination, a smirk held on her lips.

Dan and Niki didn't end on the best of terms. They went on a date together near Halloween in which they went to the nearby village for a coffee date. It was nice and cozy, but Dan didn't feel right. A few days later(the day before Halloween), Niki confronted them in the library. She said she heard a rumour about them hitting on Rhea and wanted to know if it was true.

Even after they insisted for a good few minutes, she still didn't believe him. It turned into an explosive argument which got them both kicked out of the library, both drenched in angry tears. Dan told her they didn't want to see her again and she returned with the use of her middle finger. Dan went to bed that night in a fit of tears that he knew Phil noticed.

Now, almost a month later, she still wasn't over it. She still had it in her head that Dan never liked her and had cheated on her with a friend. They supposed it came down to some sort of low self-esteem or something, which they could relate to a bit too much.

Dan narrowed their own eyes across the class to their ex. They could feel eyes from other surrounding tables, but ignored them to glare at the girl. Troye and Kat stared back at her as well, glaring just as much, if not more.

Niki chuckled dryly. "Do you even own a brush?" she joked, hitting her chin out proudly. "You look like a freaking hobbit!" Dan bit their lip, their cheeks burning.

"Yeah, you look like a hobbit," Phil shot back, looking sideways at Niki. He looked almost nervous and unsure with himself.

Niki shook her head, letting a dark curl fall into her face. "You look ridiculous, Howell. Can't you remember to use a straightener?" she drawled, "Or were you too busy with your little girlfriend Rhea?"

Dan curled their hands into fist. They were glad that Rhea wasn't here to listen to someone misgendering them, but since they were absent, Dan vowed to make sure that their friend didn't get any shit from some asshole who was just trying to pick a fight.

Troye placed his hand on one of Dan's arms, shaking his head and mouthing, "She's not worth it." Dan rolled their eyes and brushed the boy off, going back to leering at Nikita.

"For the last time, Niki. I am not dating Rhea," they snarled, lowering their eyes intensely. Niki smiled lopsidedly, tilting her head.

Phil snorted exaggeratedly and blurted out, "I doubt that, Howell! Y-you're always bringing her to our room every night!" Dan stood up, knocking their chair backwards onto the floor keeping their fists on the table. Phil was lying and he knew it.