It was almost a week later when Dan had another encounter with Phil. Before then, they hadn't even met each other's eyes, let alone shared a word with each other. Dan was just walking down the halls alone (PJ and Chris had a lunchtime detention) when someone randomly grabbed his arm and pulled him into the deserted janitor's closet. Dan let out a tiny yelp before the person put their hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. "Hey!" Phil chirped, taking his hand off of Dan's mouth and stepping back, a smirk on his face.

"Why are we in here?" Dan nervously glanced at the door which was now closed and then back at Phil who had one eyebrow raised.

"I don't know." Phil shrugged, folding his arms. "I'm really bored and you were walking around like a loner so.. I thought we could hang out."

"I am not a loner!"

"That's adorable."

"Stop calling me adorable!" Dan frowned at Phil but the frown soon became a small smile when Phil ruffled his hair.

"I like your smile." Dan muttered before blushing slightly.

"Cute. Do you want to skip next lesson? I am sure no one would notice."

"Where would we go?" Dan looked down at his feet, suddenly feeling nervous that he was in a closet with his crush.. wait.. that made it sound weird. Not like that!

"I don't know. We could just.. I have an idea. Just trust me."

"Trust you?" Dan pulled an unsure face. "I'm not sure.."

"Please?" It was Phil's wide, innocent eyes filled with kindness that did it for Dan.

-

That was how Dan ended up blindly following his crush out of the school gates and down the road. Dan had no idea where they were going but, for some reason, he trusted Phil. He felt like he should. "Where are we going?" Dan asked for what felt like the one hundredth time. He could tell that Phil was beginning to get agitated with his pestering questions but Dan was generally worried. His heart wanted him to trust Phil but his head was telling him that he was about to make one of the biggest mistakes in his whole life.

"I've already told you. It's a secret." Phil suddenly stopped in his tracks to turn and look at Dan. "Trust me, okay?" He mumbled before leaning forward and cutting Dan's sight off with his pale hand.

"Phil, I don't know if I can trust you. You could be leading me to my death for all I know."

"Please?" Dan bit his lip, unsure on what to do and whether to trust the rebellious boy standing with him.

"Fine." Dan was officially fucked. He gave into Phil too easy. He had only known him a week or so, he shouldn't be trusting him so much.

-

Phil removed his hand from over Dan's eyes so that Dan could see where they were. "Why did you take me to a hill?" Dan muttered, trying his best not to burst out laughing.

"Because, when you sit on it, you can see the sky perfectly. There isn't a single tree in the way." Phil explained, his voice sounded like he was inside a dream or at least thinking deeply about something.

"How did you find it?"

"I live about three minutes away. The first day I got here, I wandered around for a while and ended up here. It has such a lovely view."

"Oh, that's cool."

"It's my hideout so.. don't tell anyone about it, okay?"

"I won't." Phil sat down on the soft cushion of grass before leaning back so he was lying down. He tapped the space behind him, gesturing for Dan to take a seat with him. Dan hesitantly laid down on the grass, wincing when he realised it was cold.

"Look at the clouds." Phil mumbled, dreamily staring at up at the white shapes in the sky. "I see a rabbit, there." He pointed up at a cloud which clearly resembled a rabbit.

"Yeah, I see that too."

-

They had sat on the hill for around half an hour, just pointing out different shapes in the sky when Phil turned slightly, perching himself up on his elbow. "Do you like it?" He asked, catching Dan off guard.

"Like what?" He blurted out, turning so that he was facing Phil too.

"The hill, you idiot."

"Yeah.. I guess."

"It's really peaceful. It's a nice place to just sit down and think about life. I come here literally every day.. so, if you need me, you can find me here."

"I agree. It's very isolated.. which is a good thing. Sometimes people need a moment to be alone to contemplate everything that is going on in the world."

"Somebody understands! I like you, Dan."

"Why me? Why don't you take one of the populars down here instead? Someone who you actually hang out with?"

"You're different," Phil started, staring straight into Dan's eyes. Anyone else doing the same would make Dan feel completely uncomfortable but Dan found himself embracing the moment. "I can trust you."

"You can trust me? How do you know you can? I could turn around and tell everyone about this place. How do you know I won't?"

"Who would you tell? You were afraid to skip school, I don't think you would dare to tell people about my secrets. You're petrified of me too, don't act like you're not."

"Yeah.. you're right. I like you too, Phil."

"You do? Well that's a surprise."

"Why?"

"As I just said, you're petrified of me."

"So? That doesn't mean I don't like you."

"What time is it?" Dan lifted up his sleeve to check his watch.

"Four."

"We've been here for that long? I should probably get home." Phil stood up, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"You don't have to."

"I feel like you would get yourself lost. Come on." Dan joined Phil by standing up and grabbing his bag and placing it over his shoulder. Phil then held out his hand and Dan took it without even thinking.

-

Dan and Phil were walking down Dan's street, their hands still linked. Dan was really satisfied with the moment and he never ever wanted it to end. They weren't really talking much but that was okay; the peacefulness just added to the satisfaction of the moment. "This is my house." Dan mumbled, bringing himself to a stop.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Dan." Phil let go of Dan's hand, making Dan frown at the lingering heat.

"Bye." Dan mumbled, smiling softly at the boy in front of him. Phil then leaned in and pressed his lips against Dan's cheek before turning around and wandering back down the street. Dan lifted his hand up to where Phil had kissed and sighed: the boy practically had him wrapped around his finger.

Dan slowly walked into his house, not sure whether to believe that he had just skipped a whole lesson with the mysterious Phil Lester who kissed his cheek. Dan just couldn't get his head around the idea that the actual Phil Lester said he liked him. It just seemed.. odd. Dan was never popular so why on earth would someone so cool want to speak to him? Phil said it was because he was different but was that a good different or a bad different.

"Dan, you're home!" Dan's mum called, her voice sounded a mix between anxious and irritated.

"Yeah?" He responded, walking into the kitchen and putting his bag on the table. When Dan noticed that his mum had her arms folded and was practically glaring at him, he paused in his actions. "What have I done?"

"Apparently you weren't in period five today. Care to tell me where you disappeared to?" Dan swallowed, his eyes suddenly widening in fear.

"I didn't go to it, that's all."

"So you're telling me that you skipped class?"

"Kind of.."

"Kind of?"

"Someone wanted me to go with him somewhere and it was so much more important than writing about stupid things no one cares about."

"What's with your attitude today? How is something more important than your education?" Dan just shrugged before turning around and beginning to walk towards the stairs. He mum's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Daniel Howell. You are grounded."

"Thanks. I like being grounded. It means I can stay in my room for a long time without anyone caring." Dan then stormed up the stairs; he had no idea what was going on with him. He was never usually that rude to anyone and he absolutely hated shouting at people. Why was he so rude?

He sunk down onto his bed and took his phone out from his jacket pocket. When he pressed the power switch, it lit up with messages from PJ and Chris. They were concerned about why Dan hadn't shown up to the last lesson and suddenly Dan felt really bad for not telling them where he had been. That was why he clicked into PJ's most recent message and called him. They deserved an explanation for his absence, didn't they? They were his friends after all. "Hey Peej." Dan muttered into the phone once PJ had picked up after a couple of rings.

"HEY PEEJ? Why weren't you in English? Me and Chris were so worried! We thought you had been kidnapped or something!" PJ practically screamed, making Dan wince at the loud noise.

"Firstly, I am really sorry. Second, it's Chris and I."

"What?"

"It's Chris and I. You said 'me and Chris'."

"Like I care. Where did you go anyway.. it's not like you to skip class at all."

"Phil took me-"

"Phil? Why were you hanging out with him again? He's dangerous. He's corrupting your good brain and turning you into a troublesome guy like him!"

"He's really nice actually. We just went to his special hideout and talked. It was amazing. I really like him, you know?"

"Dan.." PJ sounded mildly distressed which made Dan furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yes?"

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah, of course-"

"No.. do you like like him? Do you have a crush on him?"

"No!" Dan blurted out all too quickly, making PJ suspicious.

"You do, don't you?"

"Maybe.. He's just really sweet and he kisses my cheek all the time and-"

"We're both talking about the same Phil Lester, aren't we? You need to stop talking to him.. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt! Phil told me himself, he wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was really-"

"Dan.. I'm really worried."

"Stop worrying. Anyway, it's not like you're my mother. You can't tell me who I should and shouldn't like."

"I think I can if it involves you getting hurt."

"PJ.."

"Dan.."

"Dan!" Someone called and Dan soon realised that it was his mum shouting from downstairs.

"Look, Peej. I'm really sorry. I have to go."

"Okay.. bye." PJ ended the call before Dan could even say goodbye. Dan frowned, bringing a hand through his hair. He knew PJ just cared about him but he really didn't understand why he was so protective over him. He sighed, plugging his phone in so it would charge and wandering downstairs to see his mum.

"Dinner's ready." His mum grumbled once he was downstairs. Dan didn't even bother to respond, he just sat down at his usual seat and picked up his cutlery. He wasn't hungry so he just pushed his food around on his plate. It was his favourite, pasta, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to eat it, he just felt revolted by the smell. "Are you okay? Pasta's your favourite.. why aren't you eating it?" Dan was asking himself those questions too; he wasn't sure of the answers himself.

"I'm fine, just not hungry." Dan laid his knife and fork down on his plate, shaking his head to himself; if he took a bite, he would most likely throw it back up.

"Did something happen today that I should be worried about?" His mum sounded genuinely concerned about her son but that just made Dan feel worse.

"Not at all." Dan pushed his plate back and stood up. "I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight."

I am actually quite proud of this book so far ^-^