dan

Dan walks slowly along the path, his already scuffed shoes kicking lose stones along the concrete.

He's on his way to school, only, he doesn't want to go. He never wants to go actually, but today in particular as he is starting at yet another new school. He's had friends at his past schools, but there's always those few people who won't leave Dan alone, so he ends up moving away.

After the 'accidental' push down the stairs which grazed Dan's face and the 'accidental' lunch tray of hot soup spilling onto Dan's face, his parents decided it was time for school number twelve, which involved moving yet again.

Dan hates knowing he uproots his family, but at least it's only him and his parents - and his parents found jobs here easily too. His father is an architect, and is currently working with this big company, designing something he can't tell Dan about. As for Dan's mother - she's a doctor. Dan's parents both work horrendously long hours, leaving Dan home by himself a lot.

Dan knows his parents love and care for him, but he knows it must be a bit deflating knowing their own son can't see their faces.

See, Dan has this condition where he can see everything perfectly fine except for faces. All faces are blurred and distorted. Dan can see pictures of individual facial features, he knows what an eye, nose and mouth look like, but in paintings, drawings, photos and real life, every face is unrecognizable and blurred to Dan. No doctor knows why, and there's nothing they could do - they've been trying to fix it (and still are) for around twelve years.

Dan just has to live with his condition for now. The doctors have nicknamed it 'blurry face', and Dan still to this day, has not seen a complete human face - not even his own. Everything else is crystal clear - even animal faces - but Dan's brain just won't let him see human faces. Basically, to Dan, every face looks like it's been blurred on photoshop.

Dan slows as he catches sight of the school. He had to walk because his parents are both busy working this morning - which isn't unusual for Dan. Dan's condition does make him a target for teasing, and also labels him as a weirdo, misfit and/or outsider. Dan tries to keep his condition a secret, but it always gets out, and Dan always ends up leaving.

Maybe this will be different. Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly.

Dan steps through the gates, instantly gaining at least a couple of stares. Although he cannot see the stares exactly, he sees heads turn his way, you'd think that it'd be sort of creepy - all the faceless people - but it's all Dan knows anyway.

"Hey, are you new?" someone asks - a guy, Dan assumes, judging from their voice, build and clothing style, "you look new, and kinda lost. Do you need help?"

"I uh-" Dan stammers, struggling to find the right words to say, "yeah I um, yeah."

"Okay, well, I'll take you to the school office, so you can get your timetable, and then we'll go from there. Are you in my year? You look like it," the guy says, "my name's Pj by the way, I'm in grade eleven."

"Um, I'm Dan, I just moved here," Dan says nervously, his eyes drifting around the schoolyard, "I'm in grade eleven too."

"Awesome!" Pj says, "follow me."

Dan walks behind Pj, struggling to keep up. This guy was energetic and enthusiastic, two things Dan definitely isn't, especially at school. Dan almost has to jog to keep up, and eventually they arrive at a building with 'office' marked on a sign out the front. Dan walks in while Pj waits out the front.

"You must be Dan Howell," the lady at the desk says, her voice gentle yet firm, "am I correct?"

"Um y-yes," Dan says, stuttering slightly.

"Right, well, I have your timetable, locker information and some final forms for your parents. Come back if there's any issues what so ever. Also, your teachers have been notified about your... Condition," She says, handing Dan some papers, "I hope you settle in well here Dan, this is a good school, and you seem like a good person."

Dan gives her a forced smile, clutching the papers in his hands and walking out. He hates when people do that, treat him like he has a disease, or is disabled. He knows that technically, he is kind of disabled, but he doesn't want to be constantly reminded by others of that fact - he reminds himself enough times.

"Hey! We have a few classes together! Awesome!" Pj says when Dan shows him his timetable, "if you want, I'll show you around today."

"Um sure, that'd be nice," Dan says, looking over and smiling at Pj, "if you don't mind..."

"Course I don't!" Pj says, grabbing onto Dan's arm, "so, you have, wow, grade twelve English first, so I'll take you there, but I have ancient history then, so just wait there and we'll go to art together, okay?"

Dan nods. Even though Pj was just being really nice and friendly, it was a bit too full on for Dan's liking, but hey, no one else was offering him help. Pj leave him outside the classroom. Dan breathes in before opening the door, the classroom half full. Dan targets the middle of the room, and sits at the furtherest desk to the left, two rows from the back. Dan is a grade ahead in English, as he skipped a year due to his great grades and interest in the subject, so he's probably the youngest here.

Dan sighs, glancing around the classroom nervously. The good thing about new schools is that Dan can pretend he's normal, even if it's only for a little while, he likes people looking at him like he's not some weirdo misfit or a charity case.

"Hey, who are you?" a girl asks, sitting next to Dan, her voice flirtatious.

Dan has learnt to tell emotions and intentions from tone of voice, seeing as he cannot see facial expressions very clearly. The girl has a pretty, stripped skirt and a white top tucked. She also has long-ish, curling blonde hair with bubblegum pink tips.

"I'm um, Dan," Dan stammers, giving an awkward smile at her before looking downwards.

"I'm-" she starts, before another girl sits beside the blonde girl.

"Sorry about her," the new girls says, laughing, "she just got her hair done so she's practicing flirting on every guy she sees."

"Shhh Zoe! Just because you're beautiful and have millions of guys falling at your feet, doesn't mean I do," the blonde girl says to we friend, making Dan frown.

"I have a boyfriend Louise!" the brunette girl says, laughing at her friend.

The blonde girl sighs. "Still, I wish I was beautiful like you."

Dan doesn't like how everything runs on looks, but especially to Dan, looks don't matter. He thinks it's the personality that really matters in life, because when you grow old, gain wrinkles and grey hair, looks suddenly don't seem to matter as much.

"I'm sure plenty of guys would like you," Dan says quietly - he doesn't like people feeling bad about themselves.

"Thanks! He's cute, can we keep him?" The blonde girl says, laughing, "I'm Louise by the way, and that's my friend Zoe."

"Yeah, hey. I-I'm Dan, wait, I already said that didn't I?" Dan says, blushing and cursing how awkward he is, "um, I'm new, and I'm actually in grade eleven, but I'm in twelve for English."

"Cool! Wow, so you're like, smart," Zoe says, leaning on the desk so she can see past Louise to where Dan is sitting, "I like you Dan, you're so cute."

"Um, thanks I guess?" Dan says.

Dan doesn't really dress cute, today he has on black skinny jeans, black converses, earrings and a black t shirt with a ring of white in the middle. But if these older girls want to call him cute, then hey, that's all cool with him.

After English class is finished, Dan walks out with Louise and Zoe, whom he has gotten to know a tad better from an hour of not paying attention in class. Dan did take a couple of notes, and the teacher gave him some things to study as well though.

"Ah Dan!" Pj says enthusiastically as he sees the boy walk out with Louise and Zoe, "I see you've met my two lovers."

"Lovers? No thanks," Zoe says, laughing, "don't scare him!"

"I'm not! I'm taking him to art, we met this morning, I'm his guide," Pj says, laughing softly.

"Well, I'll see you at break, you too Dan!" Zoe says, waving before her and Louise take off down the corridor to presumably their next class.

"Do you sit with them?" Dan asks, turning to Pj as he leads Dan to art, "they're like, older girls!"

"I know, but Zoe has been dating my friend Alfie for like, a year now, so our groups have combined. It's quite cool," Pj says, "but I'll miss them next year."

"Who's Alfie?" Dan asks, frowning at the unfamiliar name.

"You'll meet him, as well as plenty of other people, after next period," Pj says, "all you have to worry about is getting to art right now."

Dan nods, blindly following Pj, ignoring all the pairs of eyes he feels burning into his back. Dan keeps his eyes on the floor, just following Pj's shoes along the path.

Suddenly, Dan bumps into something hard, stumbling backwards onto the floor with a thud. Dan winces, inspecting his hands for any grazes, relieved to find that they only sting a little, but god his ass hurt now.

"Watch where you're going loser," a harsh voice snaps at Dan, and Dan looks in front to see a pair of black high tops. His eyes slowly travel upwards, black jeans like Dan's own, a white shirt, leather jacket, tattoos, piercings, a black fringe, and then Dan's eyes land on the most amazing, beautiful thing he's ever seen in his life;

A face.

*****

an// hey hope you enjoyed! I'm not sure when I'm gonna update this one, so how about...

10 votes 5 comments for the next chapter?

I'd love it if you could get to that!! Anyway, hope you're enjoying it so far, I'm looking forward to writing more! :D