The next day, Dan and Phil simultaneously sit at their desks at the beginning of school right as the bell rings. "Good morning, class! Happy Friday!" Mr. Thompson calls as he walks to the front of the room. "Let's jump right in, shall we?" He begins taking attendance and the rest of the class sits in silence until he's done. "Great, thank you, everyone. See you on Monday!" Mr. Thompson moves to sit at his own desk in the corner, several feet behind Dan and Phil's table.

"Ugh, I am so ready for the weekend," Phil says, turning to Dan. "Yeah, me too," Dan replies. "Anyway, back to what we were talking about. We still on for lunch?"

"Yeah, I think so. But believe me, Dan, you have nothing to worry about. Andrew's a good guy, and he wants to apologize." "Ok.. I still just don't understand why. He had the entire last year to apologize, or, I don't know, maybe just not make fun of me," Dan says in annoyance.

"I'll let him explain himself at lunch. And as for stopping everything now, he said it had something to do with me moving here," Phil offers. Dan quips, "My knight in shining armor," with a little grin and raised eyebrows. But then he softens, and Dan just gazes up into Phil's eyes.

Phil returns the gaze, looking down into Dan's soft eyes, obscured slightly by his fringe, when someone sits down roughly next to him. "Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" Phil breaks the gaze and wildly turns to his left to see Paige smirking at him. "What?!" He asks with wide eyes. "Am I interrupting something?" She looks back and forth between the two, still smirking.

"No,"Phil says, reaching up to adjust his fringe. "This is a perfectly fine time." He adjusts his fringe again. "Alright. Well, I was just coming back to say hi," Paige smiles. "Hi," Dan speaks up. "I'm Dan. I don't think we've met before." "No, we haven't. Though I've been in this class the whole time," she mutters.

"Anyway.. wait, what happened to the girl who was sitting here before?" Phil gestures to the seat Paige was now sitting in. "You mean Brooke? And seriously? She's been out sick the past few days. Did you not notice?" Paige gives them a look. "Of course I did..." Phil trails off, blushing, and Dan looks away, suddenly very interested in the tabletop.

Thankfully, they're saved by the bell. Paige stands, calling over a goodbye as she leaves, and Dan and Phil pack up with the rest of the class. "See you at lunch," Phil says. "Yep, see you."


Phil enters his Chemistry classroom and sits in the corner next to Peyton, who was sitting on her phone waiting for class to start. "Sup, Peyton," Phil says as he slides into the seat. At Phil's presence, Peyton looks up in surprise and immediately sets her phone down on the table, turning towards him. "Philip... Middle-Name Lester!" Peyton exclaims. Phil laughs at that. "Oh my god, what?" He mimics her shrill tone. "You stop that! Now, we have to talk about what happened yesterday." "First of all, stop being so loud. Second, what about yesterday?" "Um, I don't know, everything!" She cries. Phil gives her a look, and she cringes slightly. "Sorry. First, I'm glad you're being open about who you are. Not exactly the ideal way to go about it, but..." Phil gives her another look. "Ok, ok, sorry. Second, how could you not tell me about Dan?!" Peyton exclaims.

"Peyton!" Phil hisses, glancing around the room, still somewhat empty, however. "And what about Dan?" At this, Peyton's frantic excitement drops. "Aren't.. aren't you guys dating?" Phil widens his eyes. "No," He says forcefully, glancing away and adjusting the hem of his t-shirt. "Oh. Sorry, I just assumed.. cause you're both gay, and you seem to really like him..." Phil sees Peyton turn away in the sides of his vision. "It's fine. You're not the first one to make that mistake, anyway.."

Peyton visibly brightens at that. "Oh, ok!" Phil rolls his eyes but smiles at Peyton's perky personality. But she softens again. "But, Phil.. doesn't that tell you something about your relationship?" She prompts him gently. "I mean, I do like him.. a lot.." "Aw, I knew it!" "..But he doesn't like me like that," Phil finishes awkwardly. "Are you sure?"

Suddenly, the bell rings and the rest of the students begin to take their seats, and the teacher cuts Phil off from responding. "Alright, class, take out your notes, we'll continue where we left off yesterday!" Mr. O'Brien calls from the front of the room. "Just think about it," Peyton says quietly. "Please."


Finally, 3rd period ends, but somehow, it's still too soon. "Ready for lunch?" Andrew asks Phil as they approach each other after class. "Yeah." The two walk together down the hall, but when they reach the spot they normally turned at to meet the others, Phil slows and touches Andrew's shoulder. "Can.. can we not walk with Jack and the others today?" Andrew smiles and nods reassuringly, and they continue walking down the hallway to the cafeteria.

Andrew and Phil reach the lunchroom a few minutes before they normally would've, and, surprisingly, Jack and the rest of the team are already there. He must've been 'talking to Coach Stuart' again, Phil thinks sarcastically. He knew Jack just didn't want to be near him. Phil and Andrew hesitate in the aisle for a moment. The cafeteria was L-shaped, and a walkway split the larger square and the smaller square, with places to buy food scattered along the walls and in the walkway. The football team's table was almost directly in the center of the large square, of course, and Dan's table was just across the walkway in the corner of the small square. Andrew and Phil look back and forth between the team's table and Dan's before heading over to join Dan and his friends. Phil had to admit, he quite enjoyed seeing the team's faces when they saw where he was sitting.

"Hey, Dan," Phil says as he and Andrew arrive at the table. "Can we sit?" Dan hurriedly gestures for his friends to make room, leaving two open spots between him and Emmett. Phil takes the spot next to Dan, and Andrew scoots in next to Emmett. Dan's friends just stare at the two football players, unsure of what to do. "Um, guys," Dan addresses his friends, "This is Phil and Andrew. Phil, Andrew, meet Lucas, Nathan, Ben, and Emmett." He points them out around the table. "Hey. Nice to finally meet you guys," Phil says with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Mmhm," Lucas crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows at the two. "Lucas," Dan hisses. Lucas leans in close to Dan and whispers back in his ear, "What? Do you want me to like your boyfriend?" He wiggles his eyebrows at Dan. "I swear to God if you don't shut your fucking mouth right now.." Lucas just smirks and leans back away from Dan, looking around the table. It isn't until he sees Phil's bright red cheeks he and Dan realize everyone heard what they were whispering about.

"Anyway," Andrew says, pointedly ignoring what just happened, "I'll get to the reason I'm here. Dan, I'm really sorry for everything that happened last year. And, mostly thanks to Phil here, it's not going to happen again." "Thanks," Dan says sincerely, however, he takes a bite of sandwich so he doesn't have to say anything else. Silence falls over the table, and for a few awkward seconds the everyone just eats their lunch quietly.

Finally, Nathan speaks up. "So, how's the football season going?" Andrew (and Phil.. but mostly Andrew) talk about how they've all been working really hard and how everyone's feeling good about the first football game of the season next weekend. "Sorry I've been going on about football. Uh, Dan, what do you like to do?" Andrew inquires.

Dan reddens slightly at the sudden attention. "Er, well, I'm really into video games. And I like to play piano. All of us," he gestures to his friends, "are actually in a band together." "Oh, woah, that's pretty cool! I've never known anyone who actually had a band. What do you all play?" Lucas chimes in and explains what everyone does in the band (he plays bass, Nathan vocals, Emmett vocals and guitar, and Ben plays drums). "And you said you're the keyboardist?" Andrew asks Dan. "Yeah, I am. I play classical piano too, though."

"Oh, that's right," Phil says. "Didn't you say a couple days ago I could take lessons with you?" "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that!" Suddenly, it seems like the two boys become trapped in their own little bubble, and they whisper back and forth to each other about a time, Dan's address, how excited Phil was, etc. etc.

"Are they always like this?" Andrew asks the rest of the table incredulously. "Well, this is the first time Phil has sat with us," Emmett says quietly, "but yeah, pretty much. Whenever Dan talks about Phil, whenever he's in the same room as Phil.." Andrew laughs. "Yeah, that's about the same with Philly."

"What's about the same with me? And what have I told you about calling me that?" Phil rejoins the conversation as the he and Dan had finished theirs about Phil's piano lesson (it was going to be tomorrow afternoon at Dan's house). "Sorry, Philly, and nothing," he dismisses Phil's questions. "Alright..." Phil trails off suspiciously, and the seven boys settle into a surprisingly easy conversation for the rest of the lunch period.


The next day, Phil sleeps in until about 11am, then rolls out of bed and grabs his phone, groggily stumbling downstairs. He checks all his notifications, then begins to watch Netflix while he eats his breakfast/lunch. Phil knows his mom was already at work, and would be for the rest of the day. Phil then begins to get ready for his piano lesson with Dan at 1 o'clock. He anxiously rummages through his closet for an outfit, before eventually deciding on a casual t-shirt and jeans. Why are you getting so nervous? This isn't a date or anything..

Once he's dressed, Phil glances at the clock again. It still only read 12pm, so Phil flops onto his bed and restlessly starts watching another show on Netflix. He gets through another 2 episodes of Friends before deciding it was fine to leave, so Phil slowly goes downstairs, puts on his shoes and jacket, then starts his car.

Phil puts the directions to the address Dan gave him into his phone GPS and starts the 10 minute drive to the house, singing along loudly to his phone's playlist blasting through the car's speakers. Soon he arrives at Dan's house. Easily the largest one on the block, it was painted a pristine white. The exterior looked perfect, and the lawn was neat and expertly trimmed. It seemed the total opposite of Dan, who loved black, and, judging from his locker, was messy and disorganized. Still unsure if it was the right house, Phil cuts the engine and walks up the driveway. He checks his phone before knocking - 1pm on the dot.

Seconds after Phil knocks on the door, it opens and Dan welcomes Phil inside. "Right on time," he says, raising his eyebrows. "I like to be on time," Phil says smoothly, mimicking Dan's raised eyebrows. "Should I take off my shoes and coat?" "You can leave them by the door, and I could take your jacket, if you like." "Sure." Phil slips off his sneakers and hands the coat over to Dan.

"Nice place," Phil comments on the large front hall as he follows Dan deeper into the house. Everything on the interior was perfect as well. Wall decorations perfectly straight, pictures on shelves perfectly aligned. Not a speck of dirt or dust anywhere. "Uh, thanks," Dan replies absently as he drapes Phil's jacket over a couch in the living room, and Phil peers at the pictures of Dan and an older woman, Dan's mom, he supposed, decorating the room.

"Do you want me to show you around?" Dan asks, turning to face Phil, who was still looking at the pictures. Phil straightens, and he suddenly feels like he was caught doing something he shouldn't. "That's me and my mom on vacation around 5 years ago," Dan explains the photograph Phil had been looking at. "Ah, ok. You look a lot different now," Phil laughs. "Don't even remind me about that. I was trying to look like a 'surfer', ok?" Phil laughs again. "Anyway, do you want to see the rest of the place?" Phil nods, and Dan starts his grand tour.

Dan leads Phil into the kitchen, dining room, sunroom, and briefly into the laundry room before showing Phil into a large, open space next to the front hall containing a beautiful grand piano. "Oh, wow," Phil breathes as he runs a hand down the sleek black body. "This is where I practice my classical piano," Dan mutters, embarrassed. "Well, when my mom's not home. She gets annoyed at how loud it is, so normally I practice on the keyboard up in my room."

"Are we going to have our lesson here?" Phil asks hopefully. "If you want to. My mom's not home right now, so she wouldn't mind. All my lesson books are up in my room, though, so I'd have to go get them." "Oh, that's fine then. We could go upstairs," Phil says, however, slightly less enthused. "No, no, I could go get them. I can see how much you want to play this piano. It's beautiful, isn't it?" Dan says with a grin. "Yeah," Phil breathes, and Dan goes upstairs to get the piano books.

A minute later, Dan returns with beginner piano books in hand. Phil was already sitting on the bench in front of the piano, so Dan places a book on the music rack, setting the others on the floor, and slips onto the bench next to Phil. Surprised at the sudden closeness of Dan, Phil gasps slightly and moves away instinctively. Dan recoils at Phil's reaction. "Sorry, I, um.. didn't mean to startle you. I could get a chair from the kitchen, if you want.." Dan trails off, not meeting Phil's eyes. "No, sorry, this is fine." Phil smiles in an attempt to get past the awkward situation.

"Ok," Dan starts. "So how much do you know about reading music?" "Not much," Phil laughs. Dan teaches Phil how to read music, what all the different symbols and notes mean. Once Phil has the basic principle of it all, Dan begins to teach how the notes correlate to the keys on the piano. "Do you want to try a song?" Dan asks later. "Really? You think I'm ready?" Phil responds. "Sure!" Dan flips the pages of the books to probably the most basic piano song ever, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. They go through the notes and rhythms, until finally Phil lays his hands on the keys. "Er, no, you'd want to put your fingers here.." Dan begins to adjust Phil's hand so his fingers lay onto the right keys. Phil's breath hitches at the sudden contact, and he allows Dan to move his fingers, staring at their hands while looking at Dan in the sides of his vision.

"Ok, you want to give it a go?" Dan asks. "Yep." Phil takes a deep breath, and he begins to slowly tap out the tune. He gets through it with minor mistakes, and once he finishes Dan praises him, "Wow! That was pretty good, you're a natural. Just have to watch these notes here, and get it a bit faster," he says, marking the music with a pencil. "Thanks!" Phil smiles, his entire face lighting up. "Now, it's already been about an hour, so we can be done for the day if you want," Dan says. "Really? Well, time flies when you're having fun, right?" Dan laughs at that. "Yeah, I guess so."

"We could hang out for a bit more, I know you said you like video games too. Unless you have somewhere to be, I don't want to keep you," Dan says. Phil glances at his phone. "Yeah, sorry, I actually do have somewhere to be," Phil says sadly. "Ok, that's fine. Listen, my students usually come for lessons every week. You could do that too, if you want to keep learning." "Yeah, I would love to, this was great! You're actually a really good teacher. Does the same time next week work?" Phil suggests. "Yeah, that's perfect." They continue to chat as Phil puts on his coat and shoes. "Thanks again, I had a good time," Phil smiles. "Of course. See you later." "Bye!"

A/N: Hey guys! hope you enjoyed this chapter. don't forget to fav/follow if you like it and want to see what happens next, and please review! it's really what keeps writers going, seeing what people think of our work. xoxo, ~l