Chapter Text
Dan Howell mentally sighed as he walked into his psychology class for what seemed like the hundredth time since he started his sophomore year at university. He didn’t hate his psychology class, surprisingly, he actually loved his professor and the material interested him. However, not a single person in his class seemed to want to acknowledge his presence during class. Of course, Dan isn’t usually the person to enjoy engaging in social interactions, but something about his classmates excluding him in all conversations irked him. Dan was the odd man out, always sitting in class with no one to talk to. He tended to listen in sometimes on conversations, but every time he considered adding to it, the moment didn’t feel right. It seemed everyone had a group of friends and Dan was left with himself as his own friends had taken other classes.
Whenever his professor allowed the class to work in partners on an assignment, Dan always got stuck with the person whose usual partner wasn’t in class that day. It wasn’t as though Dan was incredibly antisocial during his psych class, he could keep up a conversation, but he preferred to stay quiet and out of everybody’s way. Some of his classmates would talk to him and he would reply back cheerfully, but that ended up being the extent of his interaction with anyone in the class.
Dan took his seat and pulled out his phone. He failed to contain the smile that broke out as he saw a Twitter notification from his favorite YouTuber, AmazingPhil.
Super nervous to be starting my last year of university at a new school! Hopefully I make some new friends!
Dan scrolled through a lot of the replies that Phil had sent out, a majority of them wishing Phil luck. Dan tapped out his own reply to Phil.
Keep us updated on your new uni life! (:
He read it over a few times before deeming it worthy to tweet. Dan sighed as started to scroll through his feed, watching as Phil replied to some tweets. He’d be lucky to get a like from Phil, let alone a mention.
Dan spent a majority of his time on the Internet. Even he has to admit that this can sometimes be unhealthy, considering how late he can stay up watching YouTube videos. His grades are still pretty decent, but he knows he doesn’t spend as much time on his course work as he should. He spends most of his day rewatching AmazingPhil videos, and falling slightly more in love with the internet persona every time he watches a new video. Dan refreshed his Twitter feed one last time before seeing his professor start to walk to the front of the class.
“Good morning class! Today we will be starting our unit on personality psychology, which some of you may find extremely interesting.” Dan was contemplating taking out his notebook in order to actually write down what the teacher would be saying when he heard the door burst open.
“Sorry! I couldn’t find the classroom! I just transferred here yesterday and haven’t found my way around yet.” Dan’s back stiffened and his breath caught in his throat. He recognized that voice. He knew that voice. He listened to that voice practically every day. Dan’s heart pounded in his ears as he turned his head slightly to confirm his suspicions.
He was immediately met with the most beautiful deep blue eyes, slightly covered by black hair. Dan heard himself gasp before realizing he was even doing it. It was him. It was Phil. He looked disheveled and out of breath from running. He brushed his hair back from his face and Dan felt his face go red as Phil gave him a small smile. Dan quickly turned and looked down at his desk.
There was no way Phil Lester was in his class. There was absolutely no way his favorite YouTuber was standing just 4 feet away from the desk he was sat at. This had to be some twisted dream, there was no fucking way that Phil Lester was in his class. Dan’s thoughts were bouncing around in his head so much that he didn’t notice his professor nod at Phil and gesture to the empty desk in the back next to Dan.
Just as Dan’s mind started to calm down, he looked up to see Phil sitting down right next to him. Dan’s felt lightheaded as he slowly took in Phil’s appearance. He was wearing a bright green hoodie (a hoodie Dan has seen many times in his videos) and a pair of jeans. It was, admittedly, a simple outfit but Dan couldn’t help noticing how nice Phil looked in it.
Dan tore his gaze away and tugged his notebook out of his backpack to hide his face as he pretended take notes during class, silently begging the time to go by faster. There was no way he would be able to comprehend anything in class today, or ever again. He just wanted to go back to his dorm and assess the situation before he accidentally makes a complete fool of himself in front of Phil. Luckily, it wasn’t too long before the professor was dismissing the class and called Phil up to his desk in order to catch him up on the weeks’ worth of work he had missed. Dan practically ran out of the class and to his dorm before he could let his thoughts catch up to him.
As soon as Dan got to his dorm room, he tossed his backpack into the corner of the room and flopped into bed. Dan had been lucky enough to get a room to himself for the semester as his roommate had dropped out right before the term had started, so he didn’t have to worry about a roommate this year. However, as Dan’s luck tended to work, it would only be a matter of time before administration paired him up with a new roommate.
As Dan lay in bed, a million emotions and thoughts were running around in his head.
Alright Dan, assess the situation . Did this even actually happen to you?
Phil Lester, the Phil Lester was in his psychology class. That was a fact. Phil Lester, AmazingPhil Phil Lester, sits next to him in his psychology class. That was another fact. What would he even tell Phil when he talks to him? Should he let him know that he follows Phil’s YouTube and Twitter accounts by the minute? Should he even talk to Phil?
“Christ on a tricycle, why is this so stressful?” Dan exclaimed before throwing his pillow over his head. He yelled into it for a second and then fell back into his thoughts. He was laying there trying to ignore his own thought for a few minutes when he heard his phone ding. Digging his phone out of his jeans pocket, Dan saw there was another Twitter notification from Phil.
My first class wasn’t too bad, and I saw the most adorable brown eyed boy in class. This place might not be so bad.
Dan’s breath caught in his throat for the third time that day. There’s no way. Phil can’t be talking him, he had his head stuffed in a notebook all during class. Dan didn’t even bother unlocking his phone to see replies to the tweet and tossed his phone on the other side of his bed. Burying his face in his hands, Dan decided he wouldn’t let Phil know. He couldn’t let Phil know how obsessed he is with him, there’s no way.
Dan sat up in bed and grabbed his laptop off the desk next to his bed, deciding that ignoring his problem through social media was the easiest solution at the moment. Just as he was opening up YouTube, he heard a knock at the door. Groaning, Dan placed his laptop back onto his desk and got up. Didn’t the person knocking understand that Dan was trying to forget the existence of other people? He took a breath and pulled the door open to reveal the epitome of his existential crisis.
“Hi, um, I’m Phil. I was assigned this room, and I’m sorry it’s so sudden, I hope you don’t mind.” There he was. Phil Lester once again, with his stupidly adorable face and stupidly beautiful eyes, standing in front of Dan and all Dan could do was gape at the man. Phil looked even better up close and his facial features were much more defined, better than any high definition quality video could ever show. After noticing he’d been staring for much too long, Dan mentally shook himself.
“Um, yeah that’s fine. Sorry about the mess, I kind of wasn’t expecting a roommate right now.” Dan winced at how harsh that seemed to come out and he saw Phil noticeably shrink back. He wanted to hit himself for being the one to cause that reaction.
“I’m sorry if it’s a bother. I could ask for a different room assignment if it’s too much, I completely understand.” Phil backed up and picked one of his bags off the ground. Dan frantically searched for the right words to say, he couldn’t miss the chance to share a room with AmazingPhil.
“No really Phil, it’s fine.” Phil didn’t hear him though, and continued to ramble.
“I wouldn’t want to have to share a room with someone after the semester had already started, so I don’t blame you. Honestly, they should have at least warned you or something.” Phil turned around and began to walk down the hallway.
“Wait! Phil!” Dan shouted after him before he even realized he had done it. Phil turned around, head down and shoulders drawn in. His body language practically screamed that he was uncomfortable and felt guilty. “It’s fine, I just feel bad about the mess. Come on in.”
Phil gave him a soft smile that both stopped Dan’s heart and sped it up and walked back towards Dan’s dorm. “Thank you, I really hate to be a bother.”
Dan smiled back nervously at Phil. “You’re not, don’t worry.” Phil seems to relax a bit at Dan’s words, and placed his bags on the empty mattress next to Dan’s bed.
“I have to head down and get the rest of my stuff, so I’ll be back up and I don’t have…” He trailed off and gestured to the door. Dan nodded, understanding Phil’s unspoken words.
“Just knock and I’ll let you in. I’m sure administration will be getting a key to you soon.” Phil smiled again, ruining Dan’s life, and walked out of the room.
As soon as the door shut Dan shakily fell back into bed, feeling as though he could either run a mile or sleep for at least a month. This is going to be a crazy rest of the year.