Chapter Text
Dan wasn’t a bad student-really.
Okay, maybe he got a bit snarky with his teachers from time to time, and maybe he talked too much with his friends when he should be reading.
Maybe he hadn’t brought his sport kit for the past few months, either-he really couldn’t remember. And yeah, sometimes he was caught doing his homework in class right before it was collected.
“But do I really need a tutor?” He groaned, feeling his parent's glares at the back of his head without even turning to look at them. He knew his dad was miffed to be pulled off work to sit in the headmaster’s office about “his situation”, and his mum wasn’t exactly pleased to find out Dan had been forging her name on all the notes that had been coming home.
“It’s not a tutor, Daniel. It’s a peer mentor-someone your age, who can hopefully…inspire you to do better.” The headmaster said with a tight smile. It didn’t quite fit his stern face that usually scowled at the swarms of teens in the hallway and barked orders at them day in and day out.
“He’ll do better.” Dan’s father cut in, voice sharp. “Trust me, he will.”
The headmaster nodded along. “We all just want to see Daniel here do his best. And hopefully, with the help of Philip, he can. Philip?”
Dan turned his head a little and bit his lip as “Philip” walked through the door, clutching his backpack straps tightly. Dan snorted softly under his breath as he took him in.
Philip was tall, but hunched over slightly, as if he was almost afraid of how tall he was. His uniform was baggy on his wire-thin frame, and his trousers stopped an inch or two above his ankles. His mousey brown hair fell in his eyes a bit, over his clunky black glasses. Dan can’t even make eye contact with him-the boy’s gaze was firmly focused on the floor, and then out the window next to him, and Dan feels himself roll his eyes.
So, he wasn’t picked on enough by the various twats at school. Now he has to have the nerdiest guy he’s ever laid eyes on hanging around him all the time?
Dan didn’t even realize that the headmaster had been talking with his parents until his mum nudges him gently. “He’ll take it very seriously, right, Dan?” She asks, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, mum.” He said after a moment, forcing himself to try to sound mildly involved.
The headmaster’s smile grew by just a centimeter and he nodded. “We’ll get those marks up in no time. Daniel, Philip, you may go-remember you two will meet at lunch tomorrow in the library, understood?”
Dan’s already speed-walking for the door, Philip following behind quickly. He turns to say something to him-what he’s not sure, but just something. To his surprise, though, the other teen is already off down the hallway-Dan can just make out his head bobbing down the hallway, and with that, he lets out a dramatic sigh and heads off down the other way.
This is going to suck .
-
Lunch rolls around the next day, and it takes Dan everything in his power to drag himself down to the library. He’s only 10 minutes late, which is pretty good for him, but when he sees Philip next to a pile of books he groans softly and tries to turn away. Screw Dad, screw Headmaster Johnson, screw-
Philip looks up at him, and for the first time the two lock eyes. They’re so…blue. Like swimming pools. And they’re wide. And suddenly, Philip’s lips are moving. Why are they moving? Why is it not enough for Dan to stare into those eyes and-
“Um, are you going to sit down?” Philip’s voice cut through Dan’s brain fog, and Dan’s a bit startled to find out what his voice sounds like-soft, and low, and a bit uneven.
“Oh. Oh, yeah, uh, just-just stretching!” Dan forced a smile, doing some kind of lunge-thing. Oh, God, he’s fucking lunging in front of this guy and he’s so close to running out and running away from this godforsaken place and living in the woods for the rest of his life-but instead his brain does something right and he quickly moves to take the seat across from Philip who’s giving him a weird look.
After an excruciatingly long pause he nods a little. “Well…hi. Hi! I’m Phil. I’m, um, gonna be your peer mentor-as you know-and, uh, we can work on, y’know…school stuff.” He says, clearly trying too hard to sound upbeat and friendly.
Dan doesn’t really care, though. Phil’s name forms into a small wooden ball and rolls around in his brain. Phil, not Philip, but Phil-it sounds so much nicer. Phil really is a cool name. How has Dan never noticed that before?
“So. What do you want to work on?” Phil asked suddenly, pulling a textbook out from a stack. “I know math is a tough one for you, but-”
That pulls Dan out of his thoughts. “You know my grades?” He asked, suddenly defensive.
Phil’s face flushed suddenly, and he moved to fiddle with his tie in an uncomfortable manner. “I-I mean, I just got an overview...” He said softly, taking a moment to study the look on Dan’s face before moving to give Dan's shoulder a small, uncomfortable pat before awkwardly placing his hand on the table "Y-You just need to put a bit of work in, that's all."
Oh, boy. Another person reminding Dan he wasn't living up to some potential he supposedly had. As he rolled his eyes Phil flipped the textbook open.
"Well. Slope's not gonna solve itself." He said finally, just a small bit of heavily forced cheer in his tone as he pulled out a notebook from his bag and started working on one of the questions. "Let's get started, shall we?"
-
Three weeks later, Dan shuffled into the library to find Phil at their table (he could grumble about how they had their own table another time) with a pair of headphones on, fingers tapping softly on the table as he scribbles in his notebook quickly.
It's at that moment he realizes he really doesn't know much about Phil. Not that Dan's admittedly done much spilling of his own life-sometimes he'll grumble about Davis, the jerk who's constantly out to get him, or share something funny one of his friends did, and Phil will give a small nod or laugh or whatever and get back to work.
What could he be listening to? Dan smirks a bit as he creeps up behind him and suddenly pulls the headphones off, pulling them over his own ears.
Colours of the world
Spice up your life!
Every boy and every girl
Spice up your-
"Hey!" Phil yelps, his face tomato red as he scrambled to grab his headphones away from a cackling Dan.
"Mate-Mate, don't tell me you're listening to-"
"Shhhh!" The librarian shoots them both a dirty look and Phil snatches his Walkman back, burrowing his face in his hands.
"You're listening to Spice Girls?!" Dan hissed once he was able to mostly control his laughter, nudging Phil's shoulder lightly.
"They're-They're Top 40's for a reason!' Phil shot back, whining gently. After a moment he looks up at then though, and for the first time since Dan's known him-he laughs, covering his mouth with his hand.
Something inside Dan turns all bubbly as he hears it, and he feels his cheeks warm up, barely even hearing as Phil continues.
"And it's j-just the one song, anyways. I've got my whole mix h-here." He pops open his Walkman and hands Dan the CD with "PHIL'S DAILY MIX!!! ^_^" drawn on with Sharpie.
Dan's eyes skim the song titles scribbled between stars and smiley faces. There's a couple Beatles songs, a Steps song (Dan rolls his eyes playfully), a few he's never heard of, and then-
"CITIZEN ERASED?" Dan practically shrieks, earning another nasty look from the librarian and causing Phil to shrink down in his seat.
"A-And Micro Cuts, yeah. You like Muse?" Phil whispered, his smile spreading across his face as he looked at Dan hopefully, his entire face lighting up as Dan nodded back.
Proofs and Pythagorean theorems went out the window. The rest of the lunch they whispered back and forth about all things Muse, and other musical artists. And, for the first time, as the bell rang Dan was sad to have to part ways.
"I'll walk you over to French, I've got German right across the way." Phil said as he gathered his things. The two stepped out into the hallway, but as they rounded the corner towards the language wing Dan found himself walking face -first into a mound of sweaty flesh.
Davis looked down at him with some sort of grimacing smirk. "Oh, Howell. Off running around being a gaylord ?"
Dan's face grows hot as he steps away from Phil, expecting him to make some snarky comment to him as well. Instead, he shoves Dan against the locker and heads off down the hall, leaving Phil to give Dan a sympathetic look as he brought his shoulders up and clutched his books tighter to his chest.
"Davis is a total-a total butthead. Ignore him." He said finally, voice small as he quickly took a step or two back. "An-Anyways…"
"Yeah. Anyways." Dan grumbled, turning his face away from Phil's. He only turns back when he hears some papers rustling next to him, turning just in time for a pen and scrap of paper to be shoved under his nose.
"Can I get your AOL username?" Phil asked, a hopeful look in his eyes. "In case you-you have homework questions or, um, need some help."
Dan blinked a few times before scribbling danisnotonfire down, handing it back over. "Um, sure? I guess? Just don't bug me too much about studying or anything."
Phil nodded, carefully folding the paper once, twice, three times, until it was barely visible and sticking it in his uniform trousers pocket.
"Well, ah, see you later, Dan!" Phil said, a crooked smile on his face as he turned and rushed off down the hallway.
What a weirdo. Dan thought. A nice weirdo, maybe, but still a weirdo.
-
AmazingPhil: Hi, Dan!!!
AmazingPhil: It's Phil! From school! ^_^
AmazingPhil: Tho I guess you probably figured that out already haha!!
The messages come quickly, one after another, the same night. Dan's busy playing some flash game he found when they come in, and he can't help but huff out a small huh to himself.
danisnotonfire: o hey phil
danisnotonfire: didnt think ud talk tonight
Phil responds almost immediately, and Dan can picture the same smile he saw earlier today, with those same flushed cheeks.
AmazingPhil: Haha I just wanted to say hi!
AmazingPhil: I also wanted to mention you're the first muse fan I've met @ school
AmazingPhil: Unless you know any others?
danisnotonfire: ahahaha no sadly /:
AmazingPhil: I was hoping you would! It's just us then
AmazingPhil: Maybe we need to have a muse dance party in the library
AmazingPhil: (/^_^)/ \(^_^\)
AmazingPhii: That's you and me dancing lol
Dan couldn't help but chuckle at that.
danisnotonfire: i dont think the librarian wud like that v much
AmazingPhil: She could join in!!!
AmazingPhil: Maybe she's our secret 3rd group member
AmazingPhil: Break it down Ms Delgado
AmazingPhil: (/^_^)/ \(^_^\)
Dan's fully laughing now, shaking his head as he pictures it in his mind. It's hard enough to imagine Phil "breaking it down", let alone their 70 year old librarian…
danisnotonfire: rlly bad mental image thx m8
AmazingPhil: Oops haha!
AmazingPhil: Okay so I was thinking………….
AmazingPhil: You know a bit my music taste now
danisnotonfire: u mean spice girls?
AmazingPhil: Shhhhhh it's one song!!!1!!!!
AmazingPhil: Anyways
AmazingPhil: Its only fair you tell me what you like!!!!!!
Dan paused before grinning. He hadn't expected Phil to want to talk about anything besides literary annotations and proofs, but this was getting interesting. After a moment or so if thinking he typed back.
danisnotonfire: u ever listen 2 fall out boy?