Chapter 2

Dan's POV

"Dan, honey! Dinner is ready!" I heard my mom shout from downstairs. I was laying down on my stomach trying to do my math homework, but no matter how hard I tried I just didn't get it.

I could feel a headache coming on and decided to take a break from studying, if you can even call it that. Does staring blankly at your textbook for half an hour count as studying? I didn't think it did, but it didn't seem to matter as much as food when my stomach started growling at me.

"Coming!" I closed my text book and stood up, quickly fixing my white skirt before heading down stairs. My mom had just finished laying out the table when she saw me near the kitchen's entrance. She furrowed her brow, giving me a look of concern as she looked me up and down. I bit my bottom lip, shifted my weight to my other leg, and waited for her verdict.

"Honey, those shoes don't go very well with that outfit! You should have worn the white ones I bought you last week!" She placed a hand on her forehead in mock exasperation.

I rolled my eyes at her. I loved my mom, I really did. She accepted my gender expression and sexuality when I came out to her without any qualms. My mom even supported my liking for everything pastel and went out of her way to buy me feminine clothes. However, she could be a bigger diva than me sometimes which drove me crazy.

"Mom, drop it." I whined and pouted down at her. "I am not even going out. It's not like I have any friends to hang out with anyways." I muttered that last part, but of course she heard me anyways.

"What ever happened to Jason?" She frowned, slightly tilting her head to the side. "You guys used to be so close back in middle school. Always going to each other houses and playing games together. I miss having him over." She had a look of melancholy in her deep brown eyes which cause guilt to build up inside my chest because I knew I was the reason he didn't come anymore.

I couldn't stop the cringe that took over my face at the thought of how we were now.

"We don't really get along anymore. Some stuff happened... I um don't really want to talk about it."

My mom furrowed her brow, but nodded her head anyways. After a few more seconds understanding registered on her face and she crossed the kitchen to give me a hug.

"Oh honey, is okay. Sorry for asking." She pulled away and smiled at me.

"Come on, let's go eat. Today you can have Salted Caramel ice cream afterwards as desert."

I grinned down at her at the mention of my favorite ice cream.

"Have I told you how much I love you today?" I said with a goofy smile causing my mom to burst out in laughter. She shook her head at me fondly, and placed her hands on her hips.

"You could say it more often, you know." She concluded with a pat on my cheek and turned around to take a sit at the table as did I.

"By the way. Your father called. He is taking you out on Saturday." A groan slipped my lips at the thought of spending the entire day with my dad.

It's not that I didn't like spending time with him. I loved my dad and enjoy bonding with him. The thing is that my dad tended to turn a blind eye when faced with a difficult situation or problem. That's how he coped with things, by pretending they weren't there. Just like he pretended not to hear me when I came out to him last Christmas, choosing instead to watch the baseball game on TV than dive any further in the uncomfortable topic. His inability to deals with his problems probably being one of the main reasons why my mom and him divorced when I was five years old. Although it hurt, I was just glad he didn't outright reject me like some parents did to their children.

"Sorry Danny, but you have to spend time with your dad. He gets you Saturdays and Sunday that's the deal."

I sighed and sunk down on my chair, knowing there was no getting out of that one.

"Alright, but I am going to be needing two scoops of ice-cream instead of one as compensation."

-/-

I was about to go to bed when I remember what Mr. Goodman had told me this morning. I picked up my jeans from the floor and started searching through the individual pockets. I pulled out the piece of paper the professor had given me with the tutors number. I briefly debated whether to text them now or wait later this week. I decided to text him right then since I knew I would forget if I didn't.

Taking a deep breath, I began typing a message.

Hi, I am Dan. I am in Mr. Goodman Algebra 2 glass. He gave me your number and said you would be able to help me. I am kind of failing all his exams. Do you think we could meet up tomorrow? I could use the help.

I hit send, laid down on my bed, and waited for my phone to come to life.

I was beginning to fall asleep waiting for a reply when my phone started vibrating in my hands which were resting on my chest. I quickly opened up the window with our conversation.

Hi Dan, thanks for contacting me. Mr. Goodman mention something to me today about someone wanting tutoring. Does next Monday after school work for you? We can meet up at the library since is quite there.

I grinned after reading the text.

Yes, that's perfect!

Another text came almost immediately after my replied.

Great, I'll be waiting at the back of the library beside the Fiction section. See you then!

I finished reading the text and quickly typed out:

Wait, you haven't told me your name…Do I know you?

I waited and waited for a reply, but it never came. I was confused by the silence and left wondering who this person exactly was. Maybe their phone died or they fell asleep? I thought as I felt my eyes grow heavy and my breathing slowed down. I finally fell asleep around midnight with my phone next to me on the pillow.

-/-

As soon as I opened the double door to school my eyes started searching for icy blue eyes and a dark jet fringe. It didn't take me long to spot Phil, leaning against some lockers surrounded by a group of girls who were trying to get his attention. He looked bored out of his mind as they chattered on and on about something or another.

I bit my lip and shifted my weight from one leg to the other. I'd had never gone out of my way to talk to Phil before, being too intimidated by him to even consider saying hi. What if he decided he didn't like me because I was gay and made me his target? School was already hard enough with Jason and his goons pushing me around every chance they got to add another person who hated my guts to the equation.

I grimaced. For some reason, I couldn't stand the thought of Phil being like them.

I stood awkwardly in the middle of the hallway, considering just turning around and walking the other way. That was the easier option, that was the safe option. However, I wanted to at least thank Phil for helping me out yesterday. He had comforted me in my panic state and carry me to the nurse's office. He couldn't be as bad as people made him out to be if he was willing to put up with me, right?

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to Phil whose eyes widen in surprise when he noticed me standing beside him. I must have been seeing things because I could've sworn a faint blush crossed his face before he quickly scolded his features back to a stern expression. The girls had also stopped talking and now were glowering at me.

I fidgeted with the end my shirt and forced a small smile on my face.

"Hi." I whispered and looked at the ground, unable to meet their intense gazes.

"Hey" Phil said just as quietly as if afraid I would run away at any second. This for some reason made my heart rate increase and my hand start to sweat.

"What do you want? Don't you see we are talking?" One of the girls huffed and crossed their arms, seemingly annoyed for being interrupted. I think her name was Cindy. She was a pretty blonde with a dimpled smile much like mine.

"Sorry, I Um," I coughed and glanced at Phil through my eyelashes. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping me out yesterday. It was really nice of you…" I could feel my face start to flush as memories of how I had cried my eyes out on his shoulder entered my mind. How embarrassing.

"What is he talking about Phil? Is it true? Did you help him?" Cindy looked at him confused along with the other girls in the group.

I saw something cross Phil's eyes at that moment that looked akin to panic. However, it quickly disappeared and he began shaking his head 'no'.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You must have confused me with someone else."

Now it was my turn to furrowed my brow in confusion. There was no way that could have happened. I could never mistake those icy blue eyes with someone else's. It was him who I saw.

"I am pretty sure it was you. Don't you re"

"It wasn't me." He hissed out at me with narrow blue eyes which made me take a step back. His eye widened when he saw me backing away in fear.

"Dan, I am so-" He was cut off by the sound of the bell signaling us to class.

He groaned loudly and ran his hand through his hair.

"I have to go." He said curtly before heading to his class with the girls on his heels, leaving me standing in the middle of the hall confused and slightly hurt. I knew it was a bad idea to talk to him. He was probably embarrassed to be seen with me.

I sighed and started to drag my feet to my first class of the day which I ironically shared with Phil.

When I entered the room, everyone was already in there sits including Phil. He was sitting all the way in the back row, staring outside the window and paying me no mind for the first time in months. I should have been happy that he wasn't staring at me as usual, but strangely enough I wasn't. In fact, I was sort of disappointed that he was ignoring me after I had worked up enough courage to talk to him this morning.

I felt my shoulders slump in defeat, and after one more glance, I began making my way to my desk. I sat down and lowered my head to look at my lap. From the corner of my eyes, I saw a white piece of paper on my desk. I furrowed my brow in confusion and hesitantly flipped it over. There was only one word written on it 'sorry'.

A/N Hey guys sorry for the crappy chapter. It's been hectic lately at work, but things should pick up after the next chapter.