A/N: haha yeah i'm making a phan story because i get random ideas out of nowhere and i can't seem to get them out of my head? anyway i actually don't know where i'm going with this honestly but i'm in extremely happy mood atm because i fINALLY FINISHED MY WINTER BREAK HOMEWORK (for math though i have science left fml) HELLA

one thing before i begin: have any of you read two roads meet? HOLY CRAP I /HIGHLY/ RECOMMEND IT OKAY IT'S ONE OF THE BEST PHANFICS I'VE EVER READ. i cried when it ended but really you guys should read it. it made me exPLODE with feels — and it's really well written. it's amazing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!

disclaimer: i don't own dan & phil and blah blah blah you get what i mean

setting: AU

warning: rated T for Dan(and Chris)'s language lmao

enjoy!


Prologue

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The year was 2009, and a certain 18 year old was making his way through the streets of London.

He wasn't one for crowds, or for people in general. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to fix it — but failed, because someone had bumped into him as he was doing so. Goodness gracious. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head and stalked off, weaving through humans and almost crashing into little children (he was 6'0" for goodness sakes, you couldn't blame him) but eventually — through the crowds and noises, he had successfully made it back to his house in one piece.

The brown-haired male stuffed his left hand in his pocket (his right was holding a shopping bag) and sighed. He didn't really have an interesting life, which was okay in his opinion. He strongly preferred browsing the internet daily than going out and interacting with people. Today was one of the days that he actually did decide to get his lazy ass up and moving, but he only did that because he was in need of new clothing.

... Not that his wardrobe was all that interesting, it usually consisted of black/gray shirts and pants alike, there was the occasional colored shirts that he did have/enjoy wearing but he liked wearing black and gray more. It kind of suited him the best.

He entered his house and closed the door behind him, making his way to the sofa in the lounge.

The male took his laptop and was about to turn it on — when his phone rang. It was laying facedown next to him, but he eyed it apprehensively. Really. Some people had bad timing. After listening to his ringtone for a few moments and debating whether or not to pick the phone up, he groaned and finally flipped it over, reading the contact name — which read Chris Kendall. Sighing, he picked his phone up reluctantly and answered the call.

"Hello?" He said, watching his computer load as he did so.

"DAN!" Chris yelled back, startling Dan which made him nearly drop his phone on the floor. Moments later, he managed not to drop it, but he blinked and returned to the call right after maintaining his sudden shock (and after recovering from Chris's loud shouts).

"Chris, what the hell do you want?" Dan mumbled, massaging his temple. "Calm yourself down, will you? I almost dropped my phone when you freaking yelled into my ear!"

Dan could hear Chris laughing, and he rolled his eyes even though he knew Chris couldn't see him. "Cheer up, Dan. I know you're a bit moody these days — "

"Excuse me?"

" — But hey, to lighten things up, I'm thinking of throwing a party." Chris said, cautiously. "You know, so you'd get used to people and such. That, and we haven't seen each other in person for quite a while, even if it was just a few weeks ago. I want you to meet a new friend I've found recently, he's really nice and stuff and I know you'll like him. A few other people are coming too, if that's okay."

"Um... When you say 'a few other people' I'm not too sure what you mean by that." Dan said, biting his lip. He wasn't great at making friends or introducing himself either. Instantly a wave of panic rushed over him, trying to make the message clear that Dan did not want to go, even if Chris was one of his few friends. He prayed that Chris would realize inviting him would all just be a mistake and leave him be to his internet browsing.

"Oh, shut up." Chris snorted. "You're coming, alright?"

Dan groaned. "But, Chris — "

"Listen, I know that you don't like human interaction and social things — but I really want you to meet this guy okay? He's just like you. Well, kinda. Maybe a little less like you in appearance but I promise you that you won't regret meeting him, okay? Promise! Now, party's gonna be tomorrow at my place. I'll be picking you up, alright?" Chris then said.

"Won't you tell me his name?" Dan asked, sighing, but Chris had hung up.

Great. Now Dan was forced to attend Chris's party (and it wasn't a special occasion!) and to meet some guy that apparently was just like him. Of course, Dan appreciated the thought of Chris trying to make him make new friends, but each time he did the people Dan met never just connected to him. They had different music tastes, likes, and basically everything. So Chris's plans always slid downhill and Dan always ended up by himself in the corner of the room on his phone.

Not that he cared.

He checked the date on his phone — October 18, 2009. Dan sighed and threw it on the space next to him.

Dan wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.


Soon enough, tomorrow came.

The date was October 19, 2009 — and Dan was in his room, in his bed. It was now nearing 6 o'clock, meaning that Chris would be coming to pick him up from his house soon, and that the party was going to start too. Throughout the whole day Dan had been moping around in his room, knowing that the party would be a complete disaster of his social skills. He thudded his head on the wall — softly, cause the last time he did that he had a bruise on his skull — and dreaded the hours.

Dan wasn't even dressed yet, though he knew that Chris was coming soon. Heck, he didn't even know what to wear.

Then, the doorbell rang, and Dan groaned. Chris was here. Crap.

"Dan? Open up!" Chris's voice called from the door, knocking.

It took Dan ten minutes to fully convince himself to get his butt moving and actually socialize with other people. He had totally forgotten that Chris was at the door until Chris pounded on it again, nearly making Dan fall out of his bed. "JUST A SEC!" The teen yelled as he leaped out of bed as he undressed and pulled on his black skinny jeans, cursing his deformed butt and nearly falling down in a rush.

"DAN, DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU'RE BARELY GETTING DRESSED NOW!"

Dan froze, holding a pair of mismatched socks in his hands as he looked at the direction of the door. He laughed nervously as he yanked them on and apologized to his friend. "SORRY, CHRIS!" Immediately Dan heard an exasperated sigh in response.

Moments later, Dan had frantically grabbed a black t-shirt and shoved it over his head. He pulled on a black jacket and stared at himself in the mirror. A scrawny boy with brown hair brushed neatly to one side and with dark brown eyes was staring back at him, looking miserable. Dan sighed as he pulled on his shoes and took his phone, shoving it into his front pocket as he finally met Chris at the door.

When he'd opened it, Chris was on his phone, clearly gotten tired of waiting for Dan. Then Dan cleared his throat after five minutes of Chris not noticing him right away, and Chris nearly jumped. Then he grinned, eyeing him from head to toe. He gave Dan a thumbs up. "About time! Let's get this party started."

Dan exhaled. He was so not ready for this.


They'd arrived at Chris's house thirty minutes later.

Dan's eyes scanned through the cars parked, surrounding Chris's house, and gulped. Did he really invite that many people? And he only said a few, too! Goodness gracious. He could hear the blasts of music from outside the house, and there were lights flashing everywhere. He swiveled around to look at Chris in the driver's seat who was grinning back at him. Chris must've saw the panicked look in his face, and he placed a reassuring hand on Dan's shoulder.

"Don't be scared, Dan, all of them aren't too bad." Chris said, smiling at him. "I promise you that. Oh yeah, about that one guy I wanted you to meet! He should be inside, I saw him earlier. His name's — " He was cut off when he heard shouting and yelling coming from his house. "Uh oh. Well, I'll better see what that's about. Come on, Dan, I'll introduce you to some people."

Dan gulped as Chris got out of the car, Dan cautiously tailing him close behind.

The heavy noises of music got louder and louder as Dan and Chris got inside the house, and Dan's jaw nearly dropped open. There were loads of people everywhere, lots of them chatting and laughing together. Dan blinked — once, twice — to soak it all in. People were sitting on couches, joking around, getting snacks and drinks — and they all seemed to know each other. That made Dan feel worse.

Chris laughed. "Turns out there wasn't a problem at all." He turned to Dan, who was staring around him, the levels of panic rising in his stomach. When Dan turned around to look at Chris, he was too busy looking around the room, drumming his fingers on his chin. "I'm pretty sure I saw him around here earlier..."

"Um, Chris?" Dan asked timidly, unable to keep his eyes off the number of people in the room. "Is PJ here?"

PJ was also one of Dan's few friends, too. He'd met him and Chris at the same time, forming a bond. "Oh yeah, he's over there." He pointed over to a curly, brown haired smiling guy who appeared to be talking to several other people. PJ caught sight of Dan and Chris and waved a friendly hello over to him, Dan returning the wave with an awkward smile before turning back to Chris.

He took deep breaths before he told Chris the truth. "Chris, I can't do this."

"What? Of course you can." Chris said, frowning. "I know it might be hard to talk to people you don't know, but... try, okay? For me. I'll introduce you to Louise, Zoe, Alfie, and such. They're all very nice and kind people, okay? And... I swear I saw Phil around here... Where on earth can he be?"

Phil? Dan blinked. "Um, who's Phil?"

"He's the guy I was talking about earlier, y'know the one where I said you guys were both really alike?" Chris said, as he gripped Dan's wrist and edged him along. Dan nearly stumbled but luckily caught himself after breathing a loud sigh of relief. Chris then grinned and nodded, as he walked towards a small group of people that seemed to be around Dan's age.

A pretty girl with long brown hair noticed him, and Chris. "Hi Chris! Thanks for inviting me. Who's this?" She said, blinking at Dan who didn't say anything, too busy staring at her and the other two people with her, both boys. Chris then nudged Dan — hard — in the stomach, Dan winced from the pain and gave Chris a death glare, who stared back at him determinedly.

Then Dan coughed. "I'm, uh... Dan Howell. It's nice to meet you... ?"

"I'm Zoe Sugg," the girl said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you too, Dan." She nodded at Chris politely and returned back to talking with the other two boys beside her, Chris grabbing Dan's wrist once again — pulling him away from the three of them. Dan let out a sigh of relief that he had been holding and shook his head.

Chris sighed, but he grinned. "That wasn't so bad. That was Zoe, Alfie Deyes, and Joe. Zoe and Joe are brother and sister, and Alfie's just a friend of theirs. See? You just need to get past your awkwardness and just interact. It's no problem, I don't see why you worry too much. I'll be right back, I need to find Marcus. Make friends!" He added, as he walked off leaving Dan standing in the middle of the hallway, unable to say anything back to Chris.

Dan did not care what Chris said, that was an absolute nightmare. He had frozen like a deer in headlights once Zoe had said "Who's this?". It had broken the dam that he was holding all his anxiety and panic in, and had made him suffer of thinking what he was supposed to say next without seeming totally stupid. The good news was that Chris wasn't with him anymore, so he could go on his phone —

Once Dan had clicked it to show his screen, his eyes trailed over to the upper right hand corner where it read the battery, and — Oh, no.

He'd forgotten to charge it!

Even more panic erupted inside of his stomach. His battery percentage was at 8%! He was not going to last the whole night here until the party ended, and it was barely 6:15. Dan facepalmed and cried internally about him forgetting to charge his phone — how could he even forget? Goodness gracious! This was a whole bucket of fun for Dan. Great, just great. He should've never picked up Chris's call in the first place. Dan should've locked himself in the car and refused to come out. He should've never left the house.

And now he was stuck at Chris's party, having a miserable time while everyone else was being social and having fun.

Dan leaned against a wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets, thinking about how his life was completely miserable. He cursed his awkwardness and bent his head down in shame as he desperately wished for someone to take him home, far far away from this place. He did not care if Chris was disappointed in him leaving straight away. He did not give two fucks

Dan was thinking all of this while walking to the snacks table and munching on a few chips — honestly the only things he liked about parties was the food, and Chris ordered a lot of food. He'd came back to the same spot on the wall a few moments later, if he would be stuck here for hours and hours then might as well eat. Dan checked his phone once more and mourned that he hadn't even thought of bringing a charger with him just in case. Life sucked right now.

He had finished his food and was browsing on his phone a few minutes at a time, in order to conserve the little battery he had left. And then, when he chuckled quietly at a picture he had found on the Internet — BAM.

His phone slipped out of his hands.

And fell, towards the ground.

Now, of course this all happened in slow motion through Dan's eyes. HIM AND HIS STUPID BUTTERFINGERS! Did he really just drop his phone? Now, this was even more great! Dan would've imagined everyone turning around and snickering while Dan tried to disappear through the wall, completely and utterly mortified

But the crash never came. Dan opened his eyes and nearly banged his head on the wall.

Someone was standing in front of him, holding Dan's phone in their hands. Dan gulped and examined the person who had just saved his phone's life. He was a few inches taller than Dan, and almost had the exact same hair as him except it was parted on the other side, and a tad longer. And, wow. He had the most beautiful pair of blue eyes — was that a hint of green and yellow in them? He had pale skin and was wearing a yellow plaid collared t-shirt that suited him well, along with black skinny jeans and converse.

"I — Er," Dan said, stupidly. He punched himself mentally and nodded at the other male, who stared curiously back at him. Come on, Dan you fucking idiot thank him already! "Uh... Thank you. For saving my — my phone." Dan finished, awkwardly. Idiot! Dan cursed at himself.

The other male smiled at him. "Ah, no problem." He gave it back to Dan, who gingerly took it. "I'd freak out personally if I nearly dropped my phone too, don't worry." In awe, Dan saw as he pulled out his own phone. "I can't live without this, you?" His eyes flickered, and Dan could see them — even if the lights in the house were flashing brightly.

Dan chuckled, forcing himself to look into the other's eyes. "Er, yeah."

A couple of minutes of awkward silence dragged by.

"So, are you a friend of Chris? What's your name?" He said, apparently trying to start a conversation. Dan was a bit taken aback. No one had ever been this curious to learn about him before. And... well, this guy seemed like a nice person. Dan shrugged, deciding to let him talk.

"Yeah, I am. I'm Dan. Dan Howell." Dan looked over to the male who was now besides him, his eyebrows raised in recognition.

"Oh, so you're Dan!" He exclaimed brightly at him, when Dan stared at him quizzically. "Chris told me all about you, you know."

Dan fixed his fringe before saying anything back. "What do you mean 'so you're Dan?' I'm pretty sure I haven't met you before... ? I'm sorry I don't quite recognize you, though," he added quickly, worrying that he might offend him. Personally he would've recognized those beautiful blue eyes anywhere, but Dan didn't say that part out loud. Instead, he bit his lip nervously.

"Oops, sorry. I haven't introduced myself." He said apologetically. "I'm Phil. Phil Lester."

Phil? That name sounded oddly familiar. Then it clicked. "Oh! Yeah. Chris mentioned you. He said that you and I had similar interests and stuff like that." Dan remembered. "I think he was looking for you earlier, to introduce you to me." Dan looked back at Phil, who smiled brightly.

"Well, Dan, it's nice to meet you at last," Phil said politely. "So, what do you like?"

"Like? As in... ?" Dan trailed off.

"Anything," Phil had answered.

"Um..." Dan said. "Have you ever heard of the band... Muse?" He trailed off, seeing the look in Phil's face and deflated. Just as he thought he would be able to make a new friend... but suddenly, Phil's eyes brightened and Dan blinked in surprise.

"Yes! They're one of my favorites, what's your favorite song?" Phil said. And he wasn't even saying that to just be nice and fake a conversation. He really liked the band Muse. Immediately a bright smile fixed itself on Dan's face. Maybe they did have things in common after all.

He was about to respond when Chris walked over, seeing him leaned against the wall and Phil standing right next to him. He grinned has he approached Dan and Phil, and raised an eyebrow. "So, Dan! I guess you've met Phil. And Phil, I guess you've met Dan! All on your own too, I'm very proud. Well, anyway I seem to be interrupting a very deep conversation — " he said those last few words slowly and grinned mischievously, " — so I'll leave you two be!"

And with that, he left — leaving the two of them to burst out laughing. Thus, they then discussed their favorite songs, animals, likes, dislikes, and just about everything. Throughout the whole conversation Dan had to admit that Chris was right. Phil was exactly like him. He laughed when Phil had told him that he really liked lions, and in return Dan told him about his liking of llamas. Dan was actually having a blast — and pretty soon the party was over.

Surprisingly, he didn't want to leave, not after he'd finally met someone who was just like him. He sighed and smiled at Phil, who smiled back. And wow... He looked really attractive when he smiled. It made Dan's heart stop. At this, Dan slapped himself mentally again. Nope, this guy probably didn't think of him like that. After all, they did just meet two hours ago.

Dan and Phil both had a small talk as they left the house, and then Dan stopped in front of Chris's car. Chris had honked it once to alert Dan that he was waiting for him... But he wanted to say his goodbyes to Phil before he left. He might not even see him again, who knows.

It was cold and windy when they had stepped outside.

"Well..." Dan said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I guess... This is goodbye."

They didn't live anywhere quite near each other, which was a pity. And plus, Dan was still in uni so there was no way he would just drop out and not pursue what he was going to do in life. He was studying law which was extremely stressful, but hey. It was what he found interesting, so he did it, even though previously he was into drama and acting. Hard to believe, eh?

Phil looked equally sad. "Yeah... Well, maybe we'll see each other again."

"It's a small world," Dan agreed.

They stood there, smiling and gazing at each other.

Did Dan mention that Phil had really beautiful blue eyes? He could stare into them all day —

HONK!

Dan and Phil jumped, Dan's cheeks burning. Chris had rolled down the window. "Dan, hurry up and get your ass in here!" Both Dan and Phil burst out laughing, and then Dan snuck a glance at Phil, to see that the other male was staring back at him too, a pink tinge on his cheeks. He stared shyly at the ground, and only turned around to say his last goodbye to Phil.

"Bye, Phil."

"Later, Dan."

Phil turned and walked away, and Dan climbed into the car. He had put on his seatbelt and checked his phone (which surprisingly was still at 8%, it had survived!) when he faced Chris with a smile and saw that Chris was staring at Dan, a dreamy look in his eyes. Dan blinked. "Uh... Chris?"

Chris gave a little sigh and raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you have fun, Dan? With Phil?"

"When you put it that way, Chris, that sounds really weird," Dan noted as the memory of Phil's smile appeared in his thoughts. What Dan didn't realize was that he was smiling creepily to himself, his face feeling warm — until Chris pointed it out. Dan had sunken lower in his seat as Chris smirked.

"Aren't you in love with him, now? Did you get his number?" Chris said, laughing.

Dan shook his head. "No, I didn't get his number... I kinda forgot to ask him... And I'm not in love with him, Chris!"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me that after I saw you two gazing into each other's eyes." Chris tutted. "Maybe next time you'll see each other again, after all, you two are friends with me." he had said, grinning at Dan who had sighed and shook his head once more in disbelief.

They'd arrived at Dan's house afterwards, and once Dan stepped out of the car, he turned back and tapped the window. Chris rolled it down, smiling knowingly at Dan. "Thanks, Chris, for inviting me to the party," he said, and waved a goodbye as Chris left.

He entered his house and immediately charged his phone, and smiled to himself.

Wow. Today was probably one of his best days. He checked the calendar.

October 19, 2009.

The fateful day when Dan Howell met Phil Lester.

Little did they know it would be years till they saw each other again.


A/N: oh golly gee 4,000+ words — aAH. anyway, hope you guys enjoyed. I can relate to Dan in his awkwardness around meeting new people, in all honesty. aah i still don't have a stable plot line what oh i meaN yes i do know what i'm doing LOL

if you could leave a review, that'd be very very very very nice of you to do ;w; thank you :]

oh i really do hope you enjoyed uwu i'm so sorry if it was a bit boring, or even rushed aha blame my writing skills — and plus, youtubers are basically a whole new world for me to write, usually i write fairy tail stories (NALU) and along the anime world oho

happy new year's (eve) guys! idk about my new year's resolution tbh haha. i'll see you in 2015,

... and one last thing,

thank you for reading! :D

-choco