"He has trouble listening to us, doesn't he?"

Chris and I were walking to my car, hand in hand after a relatively relaxing school day. We had soon spotted Phil talking to Dan, who didn't seem to be asking many questions, but rather laughing at the answers.

"Only when it comes to matters of his heart. Unfortunately for us, Phil's a hopeless romantic. Which means when a guy catches his attention all logic leaves his brain."

I sighed. I had hoped Phil wouldn't fall for Dan, but unfortunately that hadn't happened. Sure, Dan seemed like a great guy, from what I had seen. But Chris had also seen him with Jamie. And anyone who aligned with Jamie couldn't be good news. Phil had already been through enough crap with Jamie and his crew. It would completely shatter his heart if it happened again.

"What are we supposed to do, Pj? He won't listen to us." Chris asked, concerned.

"Keeping him away from Dan won't work. Until we can work out where Dan's loyalties lie, we can't let Phil out of our sight. If we coddle him in cotton wool maybe we'll be able to save him this time."

We got into the car, clicking our seatbelts on. I turned the radio on, settling for a station with actual good music.

"It just doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.

"There has to be a reason for Dan hanging out with Jamie. You saw him earlier, he doesn't seem nasty enough."

"You're the one who saw him yesterday." I pointed out.

"I know, and I'm not saying I didn't. He was sitting there. But he wasn't looking. Everyone else was cheering and laughing, but Dan seemed almost...ashamed. Like he didn't want to be there. Or he didn't like what was happening."

"He only came to the school yesterday. There's no way he got on the popular's side that quickly if he's not like them." I pulled up in front of Chris' house. He sighed, opening the door to get out but I reached out for him, my hand on his upper arm.

"How about we invite Dan to hang out with us tomorrow? That way we can work out his intentions. Maybe he is a good guy, maybe he just got caught up in the wrong crowd."

"Sure." Chris said. He sounded normal, but I saw a hidden sadness in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm just worried for Phil, that's all. See you tomorrow?" He turned around and pecked my lips.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." Chris got out of the car, and shut the door. I waited until he had entered his house. Something wasn't right with him, but I didn't know what.

I kept thinking about Chris all afternoon, and late into the night.

He'd been acting really strange recently, but only when he thought no one was looking. When he was around Phil and I, he seemed like his normal self. Funny, happy, witty. You couldn't tell anything was wrong. But I knew Chris. Better than Phil, better than he knew himself, possibly even better than his family. I saw the uncertain look he had when he thought I wasn't looking. I saw his sad smile, his dejected walk. I saw, I noticed everything he ever did. I just couldn't work out what was wrong.

Wednesday morning rolled around. I picked Chris up in the morning, like usual, and drove to school early. We caught up with Phil just as he was walking into school.

"Hey, guys. You're here early."

"Yeah, we uh...we thought it would be good to get here early." I said.

"Pj and I have decided to give Dan the benefit of the doubt. If you're willing to give him a chance, then so are we." Chris said.

Phil looked a little shocked. "Really?"

"Of course. There's a reason people say 'never judge a book by its cover'. And that goes for people as well."

"Thank you guys, so much. I promise, you'll see what Dan's like; you'll see how great he is." Phil hugged us both, a tight hug that made me gasp for air.

"Have you seen him yet?" I asked, slipping out from under Phil's hold. Phil opened his mouth to answer but was cut off when Dan walked up to us.

"Hi Phil. Chris, Pj." We said hello back.

"Dan, we may have gotten on the wrong foot yesterday. Would you like to hang out with us today? It would give us all time to get to know you better, and you us."

Dan looked at me, a little shocked, but nodded nonetheless.

"Sure. Sounds great."

By the time we had put our stuff away the bell for class went.

"What have you got?" I asked, as we walked to homeroom.

"Media." Chris said.

"Psychology." Phil replied.

"I uh...I have Maths." Dan added.

"And I have Art. Do you want to meet up at recess?"

"I have to go to the library..." Dan said.

"How about lunch? That gives us half an hour." Phil suggested.

"Sure...sounds great." Dan said. He didn't sound sure of himself, but when I looked at him he seemed normal. I shook it off; I was probably imagining it anyway.

REVIEW-REPLY THINGYY!

Chapter 3:

NeverlandNat: Aren't they adorable?! I have such big plans for them. They're nice people; of course they'll give Dan a chance. But how do we know he's not like Jamie? Just joking. (Or am I?) Phil has a kind heart...and that's not always a good thing. Thanks!

Its-real-to-us: Yay for cuteness! Phil's a clever boy, I think he'll be okay. (Maybe) Don't worry, it wouldn't be a Phan story if Dan abandoned Phil. Aren't they? That's twice they've been called cute. I must be doing something right ;)

Kittykat0989: Thank you. I can't wait to see what you think. Couldn't split those two up. (Or could I?)

Midnight4568: Yeah...quite sorry about that. There is a reason for that, I promise. Not everything can be sunshine and rainbows.

AccioPhandom: Wonderful! Reasons that will be revealed in chapter 6. (If everything goes to schedule). Interesting phrases you use there my dear. The wait is over!

BONUS FOR CHAPTER 2!

Midnight4568: Technically, there is a youtuber called Jamie, and I do happen to watch him; but the Jamie in this story is an OC. The name is a coincidence.

Hiihateyou: Um...don't do that? I don't think it's a good idea, anyway. I mean. It's great you're excited, that's what I want. But I don't really want you to hyperventilate. 10%? That's not a lot. I'm honoured.

Hi, if you've read this far. It's very nice of you. I appreciate it.