Discovery. Flower Crowns And Stars Prequel

Chapter 3

Guess who's going back to school today..

"Are you feeling okay?" Dan's mum asked when she noticed Dan was just pushing his food around on his plate.

"I'm fine, mum." Dan mumbled and both of his parents exchanged worried looks.

"Daniel, speak to us." Dan's dad said, making Dan sigh loudly.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"We're worried about you."

"Why?"

"You haven't eaten a thing and you always look so sad. This morning too.. why didn't you want to go to school?"

"School's boring."

"Daniel," His mum's voice was sharp, as if she was getting fed up. "There's something else."

"There isn't!"

"We can tell." Dan groaned before dropping his cutlery onto his plate and abruptly standing up. He then stormed up to his bedroom.

He practically collapsed down onto his bed as the house went completely silent. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block the tears off from escaping but one managed to slide down his cheek. Dan was quick to wipe it away.

He laid there, staring up at the glow of the dark stars on the ceiling, for around an hour before he heard his parents come upstairs, talking to each other in hushed voices. Once Dan heard their bedroom door shut, he slipped out of his room and headed downstairs.

He opened up the front door before quietly sneaking out of the house.

It was quite dark outside except for the streetlights which towered above Dan, who felt small and utterly helpless. He followed the road up for a bit before reaching the back of the hill. He climbed up to the top and dropped down so he was lying on his back. The sky was lit up by the different stars and it was beautiful.

The hill was Dan's method of escapism. The stars always calmed him down and, as weird as it sounds, they were his friends. They'd always be there to listen, no matter what mood he was in. Even if clouds covered the sky, Dan knew they were still there. They'd never leave him.

There wasn't a single tree in sight, meaning Dan had a perfect, uninterrupted view of the sky.

That particular day's topic of thought was his parents. He wasn't sure if he should tell them the truth or lie. He spent a good hour weighing out the pros and cons of telling them and he still didn't know.

A benefit would be that his parents could help him get happier but, in all seriousness, what could make him happy? There wasn't much his parents could do, was there? Maybe they could send him to another school but he'd rather not have to restart all his school work. Generally, he believed his life was a lost cause.

Dan must have sat on the hill for at least two more hours, just thinking. He came to the conclusion that he'd wait it out for a bit and, if it got any worse, his parents would be the first to know.

-

"Where have you been?" Dan's dad asked as soon as the front door closed behind him.

"Out." Dan mumbled, not in the mood for another stupid argument.

"Where? Have you been with someone?"

Dan snorted. "You know I have no friends."

"Daniel," Dan almost flinched at the sharpness in his dad's voice. "I'm not in the mood to argue with you. Tell me where you've been and we can both go to bed."

It couldn't hurt, right? It's not exactly like Dan's dad could stop him from going out or anything. Plus, Dan was exhausted; he just wanted to go to bed without any further hassle.

"I went and stargazed, okay?"

"Where?" Dan's dad still looked completely unimpressed; he was obviously skeptical.

"A hill at the park."

"Why?"

"It helps me cope when I'm sad."

"Why on earth would you be sad?"

Dan stared at his dad in utter disbelief. "Why would I be sad? I have plenty of reasons."

"Daniel," His voice was softer now. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Dan threw his hands up into the air in exasperation, suddenly feeling very irritated. "You don't care. Mum doesn't care. No one cares."

"Dan-" Dan didn't allow his dad to finish his sentence: he shot past and rushed up to his room.