Phil had a secret. A big secret. Luckily, no one knew about it... but Phil knew everyone else's secrets. You see, Phil had a special ability. Kind of like a superpower, but different. Phil had the power to read minds. Everyone in his family could. It was a trait that was passed down through the generations, yet no one had an explanation for it. Perhaps there was something in their DNA that allowed them to hear other people's thoughts. Maybe it had something to do with magic. However, they couldn't research this phenomenon, obviously.
Now, I know what you're thinking. And no, this isn't a story about how Phil gets found by scientists who want to experiment on him. This is a love story. And, like most romances, it starts with a crush...
It was the day after winter break had ended. Every high school student had reluctantly returned to school, and Dan Howell, one of these students, was watching the seconds tick by as he zoned out and stopped listening to the teacher's lesson. Honestly, she expected everyone to pay attention the day after break? Dan was still on his schedule of staying up till 4am and sleeping in till noon. All he wanted to do was go home. Sadly, it was only about halfway through the day. Dan sighed at this; a few minutes later, the bell finally rang.
He packed up his things as people started filing out of the classroom, then stood while slipping on his backpack. Normally Dan always sat in the back corner of the room, so he was the last one out the door. He made his way to the front of the room, staring down at his phone and not really looking where he was going, which was probably why the second Dan walked out of the classroom, he ran smack into another person.
Dan's phone jumped out of his hand, landing facedown on the floor, and Dan almost fell with it, had it not been for the steadying hands that suddenly grabbed his shoulders. "Woah! Sorry about that, mate," the person said. Dan's heart skipped a beat. Oh, god, please no.. Dan thought, and he looked up through his eyelashes at the tall boy standing in front of him. Of course, it was the person Dan thought it was.
"Sorry - er, it's all right - no, um, I mean - sorry," Dan stammered out, blushing, stunned by the boy in front of him.
His name was Phil Lester. He was new that year, but it didn't take long for him to get settled at the school. Probably the most popular guy in school, Phil was gorgeous, and a fantastic football player. He and his friends were actually very nice people, so of course, everyone liked them. Including Dan. Especially Dan.
Phil had been the subject of Dan's attention for the entire last semester. About a week into the school year, Dan first heard about Phil from his friends. A few days after that, Dan first saw Phil and his friends in the hallway. And just like that, Dan was captivated by him. It seemed every time he was around, Dan's eyes were glued to him. Over time, Dan noticed many things about Phil that other's didn't. The way his whole face lit up when he laughed. They way he stuck his tongue out when he smiled. The way his cheeks would tinge with pink whenever he was embarrassed.
"Er, here you go," Phil's voice snapped Dan back to reality. He looked down and realized Phil was holding his phone out towards him.
Dan flushed as he took the phone, pocketing it and trying to drive the thoughts of Phil out of his mind. "Thanks," he breathed.
"No problem. See you later, Dan," Phil said, and he turned and started walking in the direction he had been heading before Dan ran into him. How does he know my name? Dan thought. However, Dan brushed it off, collected himself, and a few moments later followed Phil in the direction of his next class.
This next class was one of the new classes Dan was taking this semester, only a semester long. As Dan kept walking, he became aware that he was following Phil. Maybe our next classes are just near each other.. But no, a minute later, Phil turned into Dan's next classroom. You have got to be kidding, Dan thought. Ok, just be cool, be cool.. He walked into the classroom. Are you seriously giving yourself the 'be cool' talk? Jesus fucking Christ, Dan, get a grip on yourself. Dan started to walk to the back of the room, and he spotted Phil chatting to someone between a few desks. Phil caught Dan's eye, and gave him a small smile as Dan passed. Dan gave a tentative, awkward smile back. That was not being cool! Dan yelled at himself while he slipped into the desk. Thankfully, the bell rang before he could melt into a puddle of humiliation, and the teacher walked in, further distracting him. "Alright, class, take a seat!" The teacher called. Dan's eyes followed Phil as he went to sit at a desk just diagonal from his. That's not going to be distracting at all...
Phil walked through the hallway, the buzz of students' thoughts humming in the back of his mind. He had had this ability to read people's minds his entire life, and over time Phil had managed to learn more about it. Phil discovered he could hear everyone's thoughts around him, but learned to ignore them as much as possible. However, he could focus in on what one person was thinking, and hear their thoughts quite clearly. It became easier to read one person's mind the more Phil had listened to that person. While he was listening to one person's thoughts, it was like he was in that person's mind. if he chose to, he could think something and the other person would hear it as well.
Phil was walking down the hallway, when suddenly, a boy walked out of a classroom and straight into him. It became clear why when the boy's phone slipped out of his hand onto the floor. Phil's reflexes kicked in, and he quickly grabbed the boy's shoulders to steady him before he fell. "Woah, sorry about that, mate," Phil said. The boy just stared at him as he stammered out a reply. Though Phil normally didn't read people's minds (he thought it was a rude invasion of their privacy), something about this boy intrigued him, and Phil wanted to know what the boy was thinking. Phil almost instantly picked the boys 'voice' out of the hum of thoughts always present. Then scenes of himself flashed through Phil's mind.
Always from afar, these memories ranged from months ago to weeks ago. This boy (Dan, Phil picked out from his thoughts), seemed to have quite a few of them. Phil's smile, Phil's laugh, Phil blushing, Phil talking. It was quite clear Dan had a crush on Phil. Phil started to blush a bright red, and he reached down to pick up Dan's phone for something to do. "Er, here you go," he said awkwardly, holding out the phone. Dan thanked him. "No problem. See you later, Dan," Phil said, and he quickly headed to his next class.
How does he know my name? Phil realized he was still listening to Dan's thoughts, and that he slipped up calling Dan by his name. But he didn't stop reading Dan's mind. There was just something about him.. Maybe it was because Dan had a crush on Phil, and Phil wanted to see what Dan saw. Or maybe it was because Phil thought Dan was cute, too...
Phil kept Dan's thoughts in the back of his mind throughout his walk to his next class. Mostly he was thinking about Phil, little things Phil had done Dan thought were cute. Dan kept getting distracted by other things happening in the hallway, and Phil thought it was really interesting to hear his perspective. After Phil had turned a few hallways, it seemed Dan had done the same. He heard Dan trying to convince himself they may not have the same class next period. Why doesn't he want to have a class with me? I thought he liked me? Phil thought.
A few seconds later, Phil arrived at his class and walked in. You have got to be kidding, he heard Dan think. Okay, so we do have the same class, Phil thought amusedly. "Phil!" A voice called. Phil looked around the room and found his friends Gabe and Ethan standing by some desks. "Hey, guys!" Phil walked over to them and joined their conversation, but registers Dan's thoughts in the back of his mind. Just be cool, be cool.. Dan was thinking. Phil grinned at Dan's thoughts. Then Dan walked in the doorway. Phil watched Dan walk toward him, and when he passed, their eyes met. Phil smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way, but Dan gave a nervous half-smile back as he passed. Ok, I see why he didn't want to have a class with me, Phil thinks. He's so awkward and nervous.. but that just makes him even cuter. Phil smiled again in spite of himself. "Phil?" Gabe looked at him weirdly, and Phil remembered that he was standing by his friends. "Nothing." Phil gave a little shake of his head, and Gabe turned back to Ethan.
Then the teacher walked in and called for the students to take their seats. Phil looked around for an open seat, and spotted one just diagonal from Dan's. If I sit there I could hear his thoughts better, Phil mused. Phil! I thought you didn't like listening to other people's thoughts. He scolded himself as he sat down. Yeah.. but Dan's different, another part of his brain protested. Phil laughed internally as he heard Dan's thoughts about Phil's choice of seating. How did he never notice Dan before? Well, he tried not to make a habit of listening to his classmate's thoughts. That was going to change...
A/N: hey guys! hope you enjoyed this fic. i got the idea to write this from the writing prompts page on instagram, i hope you liked the first chapter! next one to come soon, i promise. don't forget to review, follow, and favorite, and please check out my other stories! i published a oneshot a few weeks ago i'm really proud of so id love it if you could check it out uwu (oH god i've been using that ironically how did it turn into part of my vocabularyy) ~l