Chapter Text
Dan Howell had never had any friends. He really didn’t mind because he liked to spend time on his own. However there were times he missed having a best friend. Going to movies was one of them. He didn’t want to go alone because that was just sad so he often asked his mom or his brother to join him. And when they couldn’t, he didn’t go to movies.
When he entered the new school he didn’t have any expectations about it. He knew he wouldn't get any friends so he wasn’t nervous. Dan decided to walk straight to his class and just see what would happen. He had gotten a message from his new teacher that said that he should come to school half an hour later than others so she could prepare the class. Dan didn’t mind it, actually he thought it was better like this.
As he reached the classroom door he checked once more it was the right door. 205. Yes, it was the right one. He knocked the door and a short woman opened it. Dan himself was 6’3” tall so he was not surprised to see shorter people.
“Good morning!” The woman greeted him. “You must be Daniel”.
“Yes. Nice to meet you Mrs…?”
“Mrs. Moore. I am your teacher. Come in. I can introduce you to your classmates”.
“Sure” Dan said and walked in the room.
“So, everyone. This is your new classmate Daniel Howell. He will be joining your classes” Mrs. Moore explained to everyone.
“Just call me Dan”, Dan said quickly. He was so awkward just standing there in front of the class.
“Tell us something about yourself Dan” Mrs. Moore said.
“Well my name is Dan and I like watching movies. And I also play video games” Dan said. He never knew what to say when someone asked him to tell about himself.
“That’s nice. You can go sit now. There is still one seat left in the back. You can sit there”
“Okay” Dan said and walked to his seat.
“Okay class! We still have ten minutes until break and I would like you to just speak to each others. Tell about your holiday and how are you feeling about this new school year” Mrs. Moore said and sat down behind her table.
Dan hated things like this. He never had someone to talk to. He just sat in silence and looked around the room and other people. He would like to tell someone about his holiday and maybe make some friends. There was a very loud group of boys on the other side of the room. They were shouting and telling about their holidays very precisely. Dan decided to stay away from them. Loud people made him feel sick. In the front there was a group of girls in full make up, trying to flirt with the loud boys. They were the ‘popular girls’, Dan deduced. Everyone in the class was talking to someone and Dan felt a little bit lonely. Then his eyes landed on a boy who was sitting one desk away from him on his right. The boy had deep black hair that was cut in a fringe. It was like Dan’s hair but Dan had brown fringe. The boy wasn’t talking to anyone. He was drawing something, his face so close to the paper that it was a miracle he could see anything. Dan had just decided to go to talk to him when the bell rang. He could talk to the boy during the break.
“Hey!” Dan said to the black haired boy. He didn’t say anything back. Dan thought that it was a bit rude.
“Hi! How are you?” Dan tried again. No answer. Dan decided to give up and sat down on a chair, took out his phone and started to scroll Twitter.
It was time of the next class, which was biology. Who invented the school system? It’s the first day of school and they already had real school! Dan was the last one to enter the class and the only free place to sit was next to that black haired boy. Dan didn’t want to sit next to him, because he probably hated Dan. As he had no other options, he eventually did.
“Welcome everyone. It’s your first biology class today and we will start studying right away!” The teacher said. He was quite old man who tried to dress fashionably. He had black jeans and a bomber jacket. However he didn’t look that stylish. He was clearly hyped about biology and studying.
“Take out your textbooks and read the first chapter!”
Dan hated biology. He opened his textbook but didn’t read it. Instead he noticed that the boy next to him wasn’t reading either. He was drawing that same picture as before. It was a picture of a cat and Dan had to admit that it was good one. The cat was sitting on grass and licking it’s paw. There was some chattering in class and Dan ventured to say something to the boy.
“You’re very good at drawing” Dan said silently, loud enough to be heard.
The boy didn’t answer. Dan started to get annoyed. He poked the boy in the arm. As he did so, the black haired boy jumped and looked scared.
“Why don’t you answer to me when I’m talking to you?” Dan asked him.
The boy didn’t say anything but Dan had to admit that his eyes were magical. They were bright blue but at the same time they were green and yellow. So pretty. But now the boy was writing something on on his notebook. Dan waited for a moment and then the boy handed him the paper.
/I’m sorry/ ,It said, /I am deaf and can’t hear you. You scared me, but it’s okay/
Dan’s eyes widened. He had tried to talk to the boy but he hadn’t heard him! He wasn’t being rude. Dan felt stupid. He decided to write back.
/Sorry, I didn’t know. I tried to talk to you earlier but you didn’t hear me. I thought you were being rude but now I know better/ Dan wrote and handed the notebook back to the boy.
/I’m not being rude don’t worry. My name is Phil by the way. Nice to meet you/
/I’m Dan. Nice to meet you too/
The boys passed notes the whole class, talking about movies and stuff they liked, totally forgetting biology. After the class Dan and Phil exchanged their phone numbers and Phil promised to text Dan.