Chapter 1: Stars Cross
Dan Howell was, by absolute definition of the word itself, a tease. He smiled at boys and girls alike and batted his big brown Bambi eyes like an innocent school student, pure and unaware of how seductive his nature truly was. It drove his peers completely mad, and his overprotective parents even madder. In Dan's eyes, the rest of the world was crazy, and he was the only one with a correct sense of sanity. In reality, his young mind just couldn't comprehend the overwhelming power his attractiveness held over the easily sensationalized.
That's the main reason Phil Lester, his elder by over four years, instantly became intoxicated with him. Many people still argue to this day that it was borderline obsessive behavior, but they do not know Dan's piece of the tale. They do not know his shameless sins or clever tactics. Moving forward, to Phil, Dan was the light of his life, his young Lolitaesque lover who could get whatever he wanted with a mere grin or effortless flick of the wrist. For God's sake, just the taste of his sweet cherry lips or midnight smile could lead a man to murder for him.
"Dan Howell," Phil Lester would say to himself over and over again, letting the words gracefully slip from his slightly parted pink lips. "Dan Howell. Dan-How-Ell. How can three simple clicks of the tongue have such a massive affect on me? Dan... He was Danny, plain Danny, in the morning, standing five feet eight in one black sock and a baggy t-shirt. He was James in slacks. He was Dan at school. But in my arms he was always mine, simply mine and mine alone."
As for Dan Howell, he felt the same intense passion the older teenager felt for him, possibly even more so. The brown haired boy spent countless hours thinking of Phil, imaging their next date, their next fervent encounter together. Of course they could only meet in secret, most likely shrouded under the cover of darkness, but those facts only added to Dan's already immense excitement.
Oh, if only he had seen it back then. Maybe he would have saved himself a lot of misery, or maybe he would have ended up miserable anyways. This tale begins at the beginning of Dan's freshman year of high school, right before his first official meeting with Phil Lester.
~Page Break~
"I really don't want to do this," Dan complained from the backseat of his mother's car, mindlessly playing with his silky soft fringe that fascinated all of his classmates. He was currently lying flat on his back across all three seats, refusing to sit up properly and fasten his seat belt. On a normal day, his mother would have demanded for him to correctly position himself, but she was not in the mood for a battle this morning.
"I'm afraid it's not a choice, Daniel," his mother, Angelina, chided from the driver's seat. "Besides, it's the start of your high school career! These are going to be the best four years of your life!"
"Or maybe not," Dan muttered beneath his breath, speaking softly so his overly gleeful mother wouldn't scold him.
"Besides," Mrs. Howell purred, a smug smirk tugging at her glossed lips. "Maybe you'll meet a nice girl this school term."
"Or a nice boy," Dan added, now focusing on the sleeves of his dark blue school uniform cardigan.
His mother physically flinched in her seat, but thankfully the brown haired beauty was too preoccupied to notice.
"Daniel," she began calmly, keeping her temper in control for the sole sake of appearances. After all, she couldn't afford to go off on her son this close to his new high school. What if the other parents saw her doing such a thing? What gossip and lies would they spread about her then? "We've never really discussed this delicate topic, and your father and I have never questioned you until now, but are you... Well, are you gay, son?"
"I don't know," Dan deadpanned, rolling over onto his stomach and throwing his feet in the air. "Am I?" he questioned, giggling a little bit at the end.
"Daniel, please!" Angelina shouted. "This is a very serious conversation!"
"What a shame," Dan sighed sarcastically, rolling his cartoon eyes. "It looks like we'll have to wait to finish this conversation after school."
"Fine," his mother mumbled as they pulled into the school's drop-off zone. "Enjoy your first day of school!"
"Of course I will!" Dan replied with mock prep lacing his voice and a cheesy fake smile plastered across his face. "I'm sure I'm going to love my first day at Gagehall Academy!"
Dan turned and made a mad dash for the academy's main entrance before his mother could reprimand him. Sure, the brown haired teenager loved her to death, but sometimes her behavior was horrendous and slightly impossible to handle.
"Dan!" a voice called from across the courtyard. "Over here, mate!"
The fourteen year old whirled around and smiled when he saw his two best friends, PJ Liguori and Louise Pentland, quickly approaching him. He high fived PJ and pulled Louise into a tight hug when they finally met him in the middle of the courtyard.
"First day of grade nine," PJ noted. "Are you nervous yet?"
"Me? Nervous?" Dan sneered, subconsciously placing a lose strand of hair behind his ear. "Dream on."
PJ snickered and scanned the busy student area. "I'd watch my back this year if I were you, mate."
Dan's overly self-assured smile wavered, but only for a moment. He cringed when he saw PJ smirk. Louise stood back silently and watch the interesting encounter.
Fuck, Dan cursed himself, biting his lower lip out of spite.
"And why do you say that?" he demanded, raising a perfectly arched caramel eyebrow.
"It's nothing bad, I swear!" PJ declared. "You should have seen your face, you were so worried!"
"I was not," Dan insisted, crossing his thin arms across his heaving chest.
"Yeah, okay, whatever you say. Anyway, I'm just saying you have a target on your back this term."
"A target?" Dan repeated, completely lost and confused.
"Yes, a target. Last year in grade 8, all the girls were too nervous to ask you out or even talk to you. Now, an entire summer later, they feel much more confident with their appearances and ability to attract guys like you. Just on my way to school alone I heard three girls talking about how hot they think you are, and how you'll be wrapped around their little fingers by the end of the term."
Dan laughed and rapidly shook his head no. "As if. None of the girls in grade 9 interests me. Besides, I've never been in a relationship before or had my first kiss."
"They don't know that," Louise chimed in.
"It doesn't matter anyway," the beautiful boy continued. "I don't want any of them."
"Then who do you want?" Louise and PJ asked in unison.
"I don't know yet," Dan revealed. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."
"Well enough chitchat. We better find our lockers and get organized before the first warning bell rings," PJ said.
Dan and Louise nodded their heads in agreement and together the three lifelong friends strode into Gagehall Academy. Dan frowned when he realized his locker was located in the east wing, Louise's in the west, and PJ's in the south. They went their separate ways and the brown eyed teenager began his quest for his new locker.
As Dan strolled down the bustling corridor, he noticed at least five pairs of eyes on him at all times.
It looks like PJ wasn't exaggerating, Dan noted to himself. These girls can't keep their eyes off of me! If only they knew...
Dan walked the rest of the way with his head facing the lockers, his pretty brown orbs desperately searching for locker 1609. When he found it, Dan was surprised to see a strikingly gorgeous teenager already filling the space with his things.
"Um, excuse me," Dan squeaked, too shy and awkward to speak any louder. As expected, the stunning teen didn't hear a single word he said. "Excuse me..."
Still no response. Without thinking, Dan lightly tugged on the taller boy's school uniform. Well, that certainly got his attention.
The pale teen turned around and Dan was greeted with the most mesmerizing pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. The other boy had shinny black hair, an adorable smile, and a very appealing figure.
"Is there something I can help you with?" the taller teen asked kindly.
"T-That's my locker," Dan stuttered, nervously pointing at his locker.
The blue eyed teenager pulled a slip of paper out of his back pocket and laughed. "I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz! Apparently I was assigned to locker 1608, not 1609. I'm terribly sorry about that, mate."
"It's no problem, really," Dan insisted, his voice betraying him with each word he spoke.
The ebony haired teen smiled and ran his captivating blue eyes all along Dan's slim body. The shorter boy felt his breath hitch in his throat.
Is this cute guy checking me out, or am I just imaging things?
The remarkably adorable teen extended his hand towards Dan expectantly. "My name's Phil Lester."
"I'm Dan Howell," he replied, taking Phil's hand in his own.
"You're shaking," Phil observed.
"I'm sorry, I'm really nervous right now," he confessed.
"Don't be," Phil smiled. "I don't bite."
Dan, who was way too embarrassed to respond to Phil's suggestive comment, felt a wave of relief flood over him when the first warning bell of the day rang. Sadly, his awkward distress returned when he realized Phil's hand was still intertwined with his.
"S-Sorry about that," Dan apologized, removing his hand from Phil's.
"You don't have to feel uncomfortable around me, Dan," he said. "A little mix up shouldn't complicate things this badly. Besides, we're going to be locker neighbors for the next year, so we'll have to get used to each other eventually."
I'm not nervous because of the locker switch up, I'm nervous because you're incredibly attractive!
"Yeah, true," Dan agreed.
"We should both get to class. I'll see you later mate."
And with that, Dan watched as Phil Lester strolled down the corridor, a charming sense of grace encompassing each step he took.
End of the first chapter!
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who took their time to actually read this haha. I don't know where this idea came from exactly, all I know is that I've based some elements of it from my favorite book, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
I don't know when I'll be updating next, but I'll try to make it soon. If you guys could leave a review, it would honestly mean the world to me and encourage me to continue this story.
This story does take place in England (obviously), but I'm using the American school system because I know absolutely nothing about the British school system x'D Also, can anyone figure out the significance of Dan's locker number, 1609? Whoever figures it out gets a virtual kitten!
~Naya