Going to school the next day was the last thing that Phil wanted to do. Having to face Dan would definitely be awkward, maybe only on his part, but nonetheless.

  He hadn't been able to get that dream out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. Everytime he closed his eyes, he could feel the hot heat of Dan kissing him and taste the metallic blood being forced into his mouth. It was like some sort of gory wet dream playing over and over again against his will. It was driving him crazy.

  But he couldn't start missing days just because he was scared. No, he wasn't scared, just nervous. About what, he didn't exactly know. It wasn't as if Dan could possibly know about the dream, or anything Phil had done afterwards. He didn't even know that Phil was obsessing over him like this, or at least Phil thought he didn't know. It wasn't as if Dan could possibly know about the dream, or anything Phil had done afterwards. He didn't even know that Phil obsessing over him like this, or at least Phil thought he didn't know.

  And so it was early in the morning that Phil stood in front of the school, his stare wary and his stomach uneasy. There were other students all around him, pushing and yelling to get through the front doors as quick as possible, but Phil remained still. He was hesitating, stalling his time because his stomach was twisting the wrong way. But he couldn't put it off for too long, because the bell rang and he had to get to class before he was late.

  He was glad he didn't see Dan until second period, because he surely wasn't prepared to see him just yet. And he had some time to mentally prepare himself, so he wasn't acting too weird around Dan. He couldn't pay attention in class for the life of him, the overly perky teacher up front doing nothing but bore him senseless. He chose instead to doodle aimlessly in his notebook, trying his hardest not to draw the images that were constantly were flicking through his head.

  But even when the period had ended, Phil wasn't ready. He was a sweaty mess, his hands constantly rubbing against his pants leg to wipe the moisture from them. Why was he so anxious? Just thinking about Dan sent his stomach into a nervous frenzy, and he could barely breathe around the lump in his throat. He needed to get it together, or Dan would definitely know something was up.

  Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and pulled open the door of the classroom.

  As usual, the teacher was late getting to class, which meant all the other kids were out of their seats being as loud as possible. There were students who weren't even in this class, wasting their lunch to see their friends. And sitting all the way in the back was Dan, his head buried in his hands, as if he had a migraine. Hell, maybe he did. His leg was bouncing underneath the desk agitatedly, and Phil could see from here that his whole body was tense.

  Images started flashing through his head instantly, of a certain pair of hands running heavily over his body, legs tangling with his own...

  Phil bit his lip, dispelling the thoughts quickly before making his way over to where Dan was sitting. He had maybe only a few minutes before the teacher showed up and he had to go to his own seat.

  "You don't look like you're enjoying yourself too much." Phil said, crouching down beside the desk, and trying not to shiver when Dan looked up at him. He smiled somewhat crookedly.

  "Oh, please. I'm having the time of my life right now." Dan muttered. His eyes were dark, darker than their usual brown, and Phil had a flash of those eyes turning completely black, even the whites.

  "Looks like it." Phil laughed, pushing the image away. "But seriously, you okay?"

  "Not at all." Dan replied, running his fingers through his hair roughly. "I didn't get any sleep last, do you see these bags under my eyes? Not a good look. And why do they have to be so loud?"

  "That's how high school works, Dan." Phil said.

  "Skip class with me." Dan said suddenly, reaching out and grabbing Phil's wrist. Phil looked at him like he was crazy, but Dan looked dead serious.

  "I can't... I don't skip class." Phil said, dumbly. "And this is, like, you're third day here, and you already want to get in trouble?"

  "We won't get in trouble if we don't get caught."

  "Of course we're gonna get caught." Phil said.

  "I swear we won't." Dan said, almost begging. "C'mon, we have lunch next anyway. And do you really want to sit through this class for the next fifty minutes? There are so many better things we could be doing, besides wasting our time, sitting and listening to some old prude talk about wars and dead people."

  Phil stared at him. He was actually considering the idea, skipping class with Dan. It wasn't totally essential that he stay, he was sure he could just use someone else's notes. And it wasn't as if he was missing the whole day, just one class. Plus, it was with Dan. Who wouldn't go along, if offered the chance.

  "If we get caught, I'm blaming it all on you." He said, and Dan smiled widely at him. God, he was attractive.....

  "Yes. Come on, let's go before the teacher gets here."

  Dan grabbed his hand, pulling him through the crowd of kids and over to the door. No one even glanced at them as they left the classroom.

  He'd never skipped a class in his life. He prided himself in being a semi decent student, one that wasn't exceptionally smart or unique, but not one who was downright intolerable. But still, he felt a rush of excitement pass through his veins as they quickly but deliberately made their way through the halls, occasionally hiding from wandering teachers. Dan was still holding onto his hand tightly, and Phil glances down at their interlocked fingers every now then, smiling slightly.

  They reached the door to the back, where they had spent lunch together, and Dan pushed the door open, pulling Phil with him and letting it close slowly, so it didn't slam. He turned, and Phil saw that he was smiling from ear to ear, and he couldn't stop his own smile spreading. His heart was racing in his chest.

  "I haven't done that in a long time." Dan said wistfully. Phil wondered exactly how long ago it was.

  "That was scary." Phil said, his smile growing wider until his face started to hurt. "But really fun."

  "Beats sitting in class?" Dan asked.

  "By a long shot." Phil said. He looked around, at the empty lot, his heart starting to slow down slightly. "What do we do now?"

  "Huh." Dan said thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

  Phil shook his head, laughing at Dan's blank expression. "You, are something else."

  Dan only shrugged, and they made their way over to the spot they'd shared the other day. Phil realized they were still holding hands, but he didn't mention it, for fear of Dan pulling away. As much as he hated to admit it, he liked it, being able to touch Dan like this, even if it was only going to last for maybe another few seconds. It was just...nice.

  "I wanted to say, I'm sorry." Dan said, facing Phil as they sat down on the cold slab of concrete. Phil stared, confused, at him, before smiling slightly.

  "For what, exactly?" Phil asked.

  "For the other, when you told me you were...you know..." Dan trailed off, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

  "When I told you I was gay?" Phil said, quirking an eyebrow.

  "Yeah." Dan said. " I didn't mean to come off as hateful or anything, honestly. I was just surprised, I didn't really think..."

  " It's fine, really, Dan." Phil told him, laughing at his obvious discomfort.

  "It's really not, I mean, I'm bisexual myself, so it's not like I don't understand or anything, and I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea, thinking that your sexuality was going to change anything between us, cause it's really nice having you as a friend, and I didn't want me being dick to ruin that, so....sorry." He was out breath by the time had finsished, glancing at Phil from behind his hair shyly.

  "We're still friends, Dan." No matter how much I want us to be more. "It happens all the time. It's not like you know my whole life by just looking at me."

  "Yeah." Dan muttered. "Okay. Thanks."

  "No problem." Phil said. They sat there in comfortable silence after that, Dan staring down at the ground and Phil trying to keep his eyes off of Dan. Uselessly, of course.

  "Tell me something about yourself." Dan said suddenly from beside him, jolting Phil from his staring contest.

  "What?"

  "Tell me something about you. Something most people don't know." He smiled over at Phil, his eyes shining. " It doesn't have to be, like, personal or anything." Phil stared at him bemusedly, before nodding his head.

  "Um, alright." Phil said. "But you have to do the same." Dan nodded at him, and Phil thought for a second.

  There wasn't too much about him that most people didn't know from a few days of hanging around him. Other than the gay thing, obviously, but other than that, nothing. He was possibly the most boring person alive.

  "Uuh...I mean." He stuttered. "I, uh, I'm a very passionate fan of anime." Wow, that was lame.

  "Really?" Dan said, his grin stretching even wider. "Well, it just so happens that I have dedicated my heart and soul to the art form that is anime."

  Phil laughed at him, his heart twisting in his chest. At least he hadn't made a fool out of himself. And, wow, they had something in common. "Looks like we were meant to be." He said.

  And that's what they talked about for the next half an hour, and even all through lunch. Comparing animes they had watched and arguing about which characters were better and whether the anime had done justice to the manga.

   Japanese cartoons, who would have known?

                                              ******************************************************

    a/n: Heya there, baes, lookin' good today, did you get a haircut?

  What's up guys, Courtney here once again, hoping that this chapter was everything you hoped for. It took me a while to write, but I wanted it to be good, and here it is. Was it good?

  That's all for now babes, peace :3

  OH! That reminds me! I was kinda sorta maybe thinking of entering Discovering Love into the Wattys, but I don't know. Would you guys vote for it, if I did? Let me know, please and thank you.

  Okay, byyyyee.