Bad Boys Don't Smile / phan

chapter six

phil

Phil didn't know why he did it - he had just felt a very strong urge to hug Dan.

He was probably going to get punched or regret it later, and Phil may have been the only one hugging, but still, it was one of the best hugs Phil had ever had - and he was the type to go around hugging nearly everyone.

"You can get off me now," Phil hears Dan say and Phil quickly releases Dan, blushing slightly.

"Sorry, you just looked like you needed a hug," Phil says, looking down and blushing slightly.

In a book or movie, this would be when Dan would say, 'thanks, I really needed it! Let's get to know each other and be friends now!', but of course, that doesn't happen.

"Whatever, lets just get this over with," Dan replies instead, his brown eyes looking at a spot on the table, his piercing glinting in the sunlight.

"Are you okay Dan?" Phil asks, trying to make eye contact with him, finally succeeding for only a second, but in those few moments, Phil can see clearly that Dan isn't okay, he's shut away and broken.

"Yep, and I'll be better when we get this over with," Dan snaps sharply, glaring back at the ground.

But Phil knows Dan is lying because he doesn't meet Phil's gaze for the rest of the day.

Phil doesn't tell anyone, especially his friends, about his hug with Dan Howell, and his growing... Feelings for the boy. Phil doesn't love him, but there's something about Dan that draws Phil to him. Phil sees Dan as two people - the person at school and the person at home - and Phil wants to see them both.

"Phil, honey, your father and I are going out for dinner with some work colleagues tonight," His mum says when she pokes her head in Phil's room at around five p.m., "we'll be back around ten."

"Okay mum, when are you going?" Phil asks.

"We're leaving now, keep the doors locked and stay safe honey, there's dinner in the fridge," his mum says, walking over and kissing him on the forehead, her necklace hanging down and hitting Phil in the nose.

"Okay, bye mum," He says, giving her a quick hug before she walks out the door.

Phil sighs, picking up his phone. Having nothing to do, he decides to start work on the English assignment, but he texts Dan first.

Phil: I'm gonna work on our English more, brainstorm and stuff, do you want to Skype or something to do it?

Dan replies a few minutes later.

Dan: no. Now just isn't a good time. Just show me tomorrow or something.

Phil sighs, frowning at the blunt text. Dan obviously doesn't want to talk, but Phil wants to know what's wrong. He doesn't reply again though, as he fears Dan will block him if he sends too many texts. Why isn't it a good time for Dan? Phil wonders.

He sighs, putting down his phone and instead, opening his laptop to a blank Microsoft Word document, the empty page staring him in the eyes, but like the page, his mind is empty and he can't think of anything to write. His thoughts were all on what Dan was hiding from everyone. Is he really as bad as everyone thinks he is, or is he just hiding something?

Phil doesn't know, but he vows to himself to know before this project ends.

Dan Howell may look and act like a bad boy, but when he drops the act, he sure as hell doesn't seem like one.

***

dan

Dan puts his phone down and sighs, running a hand through his hair.