~Phil~
-----

The lullabies can put you to sleep but they can also keep you up at night.
I'm living proof of this statement.

Sometimes I'll fall asleep with no problems thinking about the good things in life. Sometimes I'll smile when I managed to get a lot of writing done that day and other times I'll smile because I didn't get abused by my parents that day.
But, more often than that, I'll lie awake at night and just stare at the ceiling. I'll go through all of my flaws and just worsen my own depression. I'll feel like I'm drowning and that no one can save me. It's hard to explain.
Tonight was not one of those nights where the lullabies kept me awake. Tonight was the night they put a smile on my face. And it was all because of a brown haired, brown eyed freshman that would stick with me for the rest of the year.

*****

"Phil! Time to get up and get ready for school!"
Normally this would be the moment when I would groan and complain about it only being Tuesday but I was actually excited to go to school. I would get to spend another day with Dan and I would get to know him even more. That thought alone was enough to motivate me to get out of bed and throw on a quick outfit consisting of a Muse T-shirt and a pair of jeans. I probably spent about five minutes getting ready after that. Though I found myself spending extra time on my hair and making sure that my fringe was just right. I thought that this was quite strange since I normally wanted to spend as little time as possible on my hair.
"Phil! Hurry up in there or your eggs and bacon is going to get cold!"
I quickly hurried out into the kitchen, the scent of the eggs and bacon leading me right to them.
"Aw Phil, you look awfully nice today." Brenda smiled. "Is that the name of the band that you and Dan were listening to yesterday instead of doing your homework?"
My heart skipped a beat after she said that. I had gotten up in the excitement of having Dan over that I had forgotten to finish the homework that we didn't get finished. Needless to say, I was going to be rushing in first period to try and get it done.
"Yeah." I replied to Brenda, trying not to make it obvious that I had neglected doing my homework. "It's my favorite band along with his. I would love to see them in concert. It would be the greatest thing ever."
"I'll keep that in the back of my mind." She smiled.

*****

It took a lot of willpower for me not to call not Dan's name happily when I saw him. But he was with his girlfriend Cat so I don't think that he would appreciate me interrupting his moment with her. Luckily for me, they gave each other a quick kiss goodbye and he went over to me.
"Love the shirt." He nodded in approval. At that moment, he took off his coat to reveal that we were wearing the exact same shirt.
"Great minds think alike."
"I agree."

"Your elevator super powers never fail us, do they?" I smiled at Dan as I got my stuff out of my locker and handed it to him. I made sure that my notebook was always on my lap though.
"Don't say that!" Dan cried as we headed back downstairs. "You might jinx us!"
He sighed with relief when we made it without any problems.
"Hurry and get your stuff because someone may have forgotten to finish the homework that he didn't finish after a certain someone left."
"Shit!"
I laughed as Dan made the realization that he didn't finish the homework either.
"Go! Go! Go!" Dan cried, racing to his locker. I honestly don't think I've ever seen anyone move so fast in my life. Nonetheless, I moved as fast as I could trying to keep up with Dan. By the time I reached him, he was already as his desk scribbling down answers and glancing up at the clock every once in a while to see how much time he had left.
"Hey, wanna aid me with that?" I asked him, getting out my unfinished homework and making an emphasis on the word aid.
"Very funny Phil." Dan's tone was rushed as he moved his paper closer to me so that I could see the answers. "Here you go."
"Thanks." I began quickly copying down the answers. The two of us were done right before the bell rang.
"We have to use that team effort to finish our AP Politics homework later." I smiled.
"Sounds like a plan."

What followed was a long and boring lecture from our AP Calculus teacher about stuff that I honestly don't care about. I multitasked, writing down notes in my notebook for this class and writing my story in my story notebook. My teacher didn't care that I did it because I got good grades in class.
What is even happening?
Dan had passed me a note.
I don't really know honestly.
We kept passing back and forth for a while. Each time, I loved his handwriting. It was just so perfect. It seemed like Daniel Howell didn't have a single flaw. He was impossibly perfect.
I hate this class so much.
Yeah, me too.
"Howell! Lester!" Our teacher stopped mid-lecture and looked directly at us. I felt everyone's eyes focus on both Dan and I. But I mostly felt them focusing on me. It became harder and harder to breathe. I didn't like being the center of attention. Not at all. "Are you passing notes in my class?"
My teacher's voice sounded distant and all I could hear was my own voice screaming in my head.
"Phil, are you okay?" Even Dan's voice sounded distant.
It felt as if everything was closing in on me and that I just needed to get out.

Suddenly, I was moving. I didn't question it. All I did was close my eyes and focus on breathing. My head was still screaming at me but I heard the sound of a door closing. It sounded closer to me.
"Phil, I'm serious when I ask you if you're okay." Dan's voice sounded closer to me. My eyes were still closed and I was still focusing on my breathing.
"Phil, please talk to me." Dan's voice was cracking. "You're scaring me."
Hearing that was enough to make me open my eyes and look at him. I could see the concern in his eyes. He was concerned for someone that he had just met yesterday.
"I-I'm okay Dan." I smiled. "Thank you."
Dan let out a sigh of relief. "Do you want to go back in there?"
"No." I told him, making sure that my tone was serious. "I don't want everyone staring at me again."
"Okay, we'll stay out here then."
"I don't know how I'm going to make it through the rest of the day."
A small smile crossed his features. "What if we get ourselves out of school?"
"Dan, I don't think skipping school is a good idea." I said to him. "Besides, what will your parents think if they found out that you skipped?"
He just shrugged. "I'll just worry about that later."
"Well, I'm not skipping." I crossed my arms to make myself appear more serious.
"It's either you skip or you go back in there and face everyone."
I gulped. Was I really willing to risk getting in trouble for skipping?
"Fine." I didn't bother hiding the nervousness from my face. "I'll do it."
Dan smiled. "Wait out here. I'll get out of here."