We finally had a schedule but I had such a bad week I could create only angst so I decided I better wait it out. Enjoy this one, I had so much fun writing it, it should be illegal :D

Dan woke up on a Friday morning with renewed energy. When he glanced around his room and saw that the leather jacket still rested on his chair, he smiled big and got up instantly. He's never dressed to school as quickly as then. Even his mother glanced at him questioningly after he almost bounced down the stairs.

Thankfully, his classes didn't drag - Dan may have spent the most part of them doodling and daydreaming about a certain pair of blue eyes - so thankfully, they didn't drag.

They - Phil and he only, PJ and Chris were off again (no school projects for sure) - they were sitting in the classroom they called theirs. It was no longer empty. Not to them. It was lunch time and they talked, as they always did.

"I don't believe you!"

"Do believe me, I'm dead serious," Dan swore and Phil laughed, setting his sandwich away.

"And what happened next? Did you go to the hospital?"

Dan glared at Phil.

"Of course I did! I had to. It was the worst experience of my entire life, though. Everyone was looking at me funny when we were waiting for our turn. I literally couldn't breathe so I must have looked like a dying tomato."

"I'm sorry I'm laughing," Phil apologised but didn't sound like he meant it at all. He wiped his eyes - he had been crying from laughter at one point. True friend. "It's just kinda funny it happened on your birthdays."

Dan shrugged in response. "Ironic, I'd say."

"But seriously? Such a big alergic reaction because of an ice-cream?"

"Tell me about it. I felt like shit for a week even after they gave me the medication."

Phil's eyes widened at that. He looked at his sandwich like it was a monster.

"God, I could accidentally murder you one day and I wouldn't even know it was me," he said with a scrunched nose and horror painted on his face.

Dan laughed. "You wouldn't. I mean- You wouldn't, right?"

The boy beside him burst out in laughter and nudged Dan's knee with his lightly.

"I don't know if I want to test this theory out. I'm not that good at CPR," Phil admitted, a smile on his face, "so I wouldn't try to, probably."

"I'm sure you'd barge in and save the day, if you had to," Dan replied, certain, and bit into his sandwich.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Phil retorted, chuckling when Dan rolled his brown eyes and quickly swallowed the bit.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe because you're my boyfriend?"

Phil grinned, "Yeah, I am."

Dan blushed a little, his mind and heart both screaming at each other, trying to figure out why three words had such a big power.

"And a friend," Phil added. "And after considering all the pros and cons, maybe I'd help you in the end."

"In the end?" Dan echoed, staring at Phil with a raised eyebrow. "I would so break up with you, if you didn't save me," he joked and Phil muttered, 'You wouldn't,' which granted the boy a playful shove.

Dan was halfway done with his lunch when the question fell.

"Why did you change schools?"

He chewed longer than it was necessary, buying himself time. Sighing, he put away his sandwich. He didn't feel like eating anymore.

"The same reason as everyone, I guess," he muttered and looked at Phil. The boy watched him closely, forehead wrinkled. "Fresh start," he said, like it explained everything. "You know how it goes. New school, new friends, new. . . enemies," he mumbled the last part, casting his gaze down, away from Phil's observant blues.

"But it didn't- it wasn't the same as now?"

Dan looked up at Phil, forcing a smile.

"I didn't score the slut reputation there, if that's what you're asking about."

"I'm not-"

"I know." Dan smiled again, but it must be not as convincing as he thought because Phil just glared at him stubbornly.

Dan sighed, let the smile fall off his face as he stared out the smudgy windows.

Some students took seats outside on benches and some sat on the green grass. Every unnecessary part of clothing had been used instead of a blanket. The majority of the Mayhell was probably counting the time left until the end of classes and beginning of the weekend. The majority probably discussing about the latest school news. About the party Phil and he were heading to.

He didn't know if he wanted Phil to know. Dan couldn't pretend then and live as if nothing has happened. And some days that pretend was all that helped him to get through the day, through his classes. Phil knew and it wouldn't be a secret anymore, he wouldn't be able to shove the memories under a big rug and ignore them.

It felt raw, it still felt too raw to think about Bradfield.

"Dan?" Phil said softly and something warm squeezed Dan's hand.

Phil.

"I-" He hadn't realised there were tears on his face. "Stupid. . ." he mumbled, wiping them with the sleeve of his blue sweater.

Phil didn't comment on it, he didn't say anything. He simply was there, beside Dan, his hand a comfort so big that it bordered on normal and magical.

"Oh God," Dan groaned, looking up and blinking, praying he could talk about it without feeling like he was about to cry at any second. "This is so stupid."

"It's not."

"It is," he insisted, turning his head toward Phil's for a split second. He hung his head down, biting on his bottom lip.

I want you to know that you're my friend and if there's anything, anything at all that bothers you- like, anywhen, anytime, if you ever want to talk, you know I'll listen, right?

"You don't have to tell me," Phil said softly, giving his hand a little squeeze.

Phil was his friend. But Rob had also been his friend and how did their friendship end? They've turned into something that was hard to explain. Phil, though. . . Phil was different. And Phil was his friend and has agreed to help him and has stuck by him even though Dan had so many enemies and Phil has yet stayed and came up with the idea how to protect him.

"It's nothing that interesting. Normal school drama," Dan muttered.

"It must have been hard if you had to change schools."

"It- I thought it wasn't that bad," he said, thinking about when did it really go to hell. "It started innocently. I had- I really like pastel colours, as you must know by now, but people didn't like my change," he drifted off. "They would-" Dan looked down and blew out a breath, "They would make their opinion clear to me. Some students only stared at me and my clothes wherever I walked because 'why a boy would wear pastel colours' and some were more. . . verbal about it. It wasn't that bad but. . ."

"But what, Dan?"

Dan fixed his eyes with Phil's.

"It changed. Quickly. They started bullying me. At first, just joked about how pretty of a girl I was and then it wasn't enough." He took a shuddering breath. "My parents noticed one day. . ." he drifted off and studied his hands.

They would need to be blind not to see and realise what was happening. He came back home with bruises almost evey day - arms and legs purple and clothes torn.

"We moved. It was fine. For a year. And then everything went to hell again," he said, sighing.

At least he's changed schools, right? And from one nightmare jumped right into another.

"It won't happen again," Phil said softly and Dan realised he must have said his thoughts out loud.

The boy's blue eyes seemed so sad, his lips turned downward, the always present smile absent for the moment.

"I promise," he whispered and Dan felt as if he were falling down as he gazed into Phil's eyes, as if he were plummeting into an abyss so deep he wouldn't be able to get out.

He wanted to tell Phil he shouldn't make promises he couldn't keep.

But it was all a pretend. So they could pretend that nothing would happen again, as well.

*** Pastel pagebreak flowers ***

"We're hanging out before the party. Would you like to come, too?"

Dan was sure he must have looked as surprised as he felt.

"Ugh, I- yeah, I mean, I don't have anything to do," he replied, staring at Phil as they walked with the flow of the students toward the entrance.

"Great," Phil said, grinned and squeezed Dan's hand.

Dan swallowed heavily as they approached the blue mazda and Phil opened the passenger door for him. He fastened his seat belt and his fingers curled a little around the strap of his bag. Phil walked around the car and sat in the driver's seat. He smiled at Dan and started the engine.

They drove to Dan's house first.

"I don't promise I'll be quick," he warned as Phil stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe it'll be better if you go home, I could come to yours as soon as I get ready."

"It's okay, I'll wait," Phil said, corners of his lips turned in a small smile.

"You sure?" Dan asked. He doubted Phil wouldn't get impatient. Dan was extremely picky dressing up for school. Deciding what to wear for a party could be only worse.

Phil rolled his eyes as he settled in his seat and turned up the music. The Fall Out Boy blared through the car and Dan shook his head but smiled.

*** Pastel pagebreak flowers ***

He tugged at his brown curls, huffing as he sent daggers at his wardrobe.

Pastel clothes were scattered all around the room - on his bed, on the floor - everywhere. Dan was sure he had gone through every single item of clothing he had. Still, in that moment he felt like he owned only one piece of jeans and a sweater, both which didn't fit his partying mood.

At this rate Dan was going nowhere.

He sighed and looked through his wardrobe again. He skimmed through the pastel colours but nothing caught his eye.

God, why dressing up was so hard when he had to actually go out somewhere?

Dan sat in his chair, staring at the picture of him, Ellie and Rob which still hung on the wall beside his desk. He munched on his bottom lip. Rob was definitely who had set up the posters around Mayfield. Only three people had that picture, including Dan.

He couldn't stop thinking about what happened week earlier. It hurt to think that his former friend had done that. They used to get on really well. He, Rob and Ellie. They used to be a team and now it was all gone. Though the change was for the better, Dan had a hole in his heart that throbbed from time to time.

Scary how quickly everything has changed and from having good friends, he had two enemies. Ellie, who must be hating him, and Rob, who wanted Dan to be his human shield.

Dan sighed and closed his eyes, leaning against the chair but something poked him in the back. He turned and almost laughed when under layers of his t-shirts and sweaters, a black leather jacket stared back at him, its various clasps likely being the reason of what hurt his back.

He reached for the jacket. Not thinking much, he stood up and, walking to the mirror, put it on. Dan smiled at his reflection. He loved the leather jacket since he saw it, but he liked the owner even more.

"You look cute."

Dan jumped and spun around toward the window and toward Phil who was- who was suspened in air, it seemed?

He watched as Phil pulled himself up the windowsill and set his right foot on the floor, then the other. The boy raised his hands and released a small,

"Tada!" as he stood inside Dan's room, no longer hanging outside his window.

Dan blushed as the realisation struck him that he was wearing Phil's jacket. And Phil said he looked cute. He, Dan Howell, looked cute in Phil's effing Lester opinion.

"How did you even get here?" he asked, trying to sound casual about the whole thing. Such comment was nice, at most, but it was a friendly comment. Friends do say things like that. Sometimes.

"Your neigbhour lent me a ladder."

"What?!"

"He left it outside," Phil explained, shrugging, "it was like an invitation."

"You stole a freaking ladder to get here?"

"I got bored of waiting, you can't blame me," he said as he glanced around the room. His eyes rested on Dan and the same sly smile appeared on his face. "I see you're liking my jacket." The boy nodded in his direction and sat down on the bed, watching Dan.

"I was just checking if it wasn't dirty," Dan mumbled and Phil chuckled.

"It fits you well," he only said.

It wasn't even a 'You look sexy/great/so good I don't want you to ever take it off' but Dan turned into a blushing mess.

"Thanks."

"You should wear it for the party."

Dan snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

Phil picked up one of Dan's shirt, "Actually I think I may have an idea."

He stood up and took off his black t-shirt. Just like that.

"Woah, woah, what are you doing?" Dan asked, voice squeaky as he stared at Phil's naked chest.

Technicially, Phil wasn't naked, but oh God, his fucking chest was.

Phil froze, "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he choked out quietly, flushing at his own words.

The boy blinked twice, slowly, and Dan regretted having said that at all.

But, hey, Dan was gay, Phil should have known that as well as the whole school. And he had a crush on Phil, for fuck's sake, which made everything more complicated.

"I mean, you're not going to strip naked, right?"

"Not if you don't pay me," Phil retorted jokingly, a blush on his cheeks as he put on the t-shirt he found on Dan's bed.

Dan made Phil blush. His life goals were complete.

"Umm, I think I have something even better for you," Dan commented as he stared at Phil in front of him and the pastel green t-shirt he wore.

Dan didn't get why Phil just dressed into his t-shirt, but he didn't mind to have to get through the process once again.

"Really?" Phil asked with a creased brow.

"Really," he echoed as he walked up to his wardrobe.

Dan's hands skimmed over the clothes on the hangers and he hummed, looking for a perfect t-shirt for Phil. His lips turned into a smile when he found the t-shirt and trousers that would make Phil's new look perfect. He turned around to Phil with a big grin on his face.

Phil stripping down off Dan's t-shirt again was an extra benefit, surely not the main reason.

"I hope you're okay with wearing my trousers?" he asked nonchalantly as he came back with the outfit and gave the clothes to Phil.

"Sure thing," Phil replied.

His eyes narrowed though as he eyed the things and Dan grinned.

"You have to put them on, first," he offered and received a roll eye.

The boy muttered something as he put the two parts of clothing on Dan's bed. Dan bit on his lip as Phil took off the first t-shirt and pulled on the new one. He'd give anything to be able not to only observe but rather be the one who throws it off of Phil. Unfortunately, one can't have his cake and eat it, too.

"Umm, Dan?" Phil asked, voice a little strained. "Could you, um, turn around?"

Dan's eyes went wide and he blushed, looking down.

"Yeah, course," he stammered and turned his back on Phil. He had to bite the inside of his cheek not to think about Phil without his skinny jeans on. The boy must look so much better without the unnecessary piece of clothing.

Phil coughed once and said, "You can look."

Dan turned towards Phil and smiled so big that his lips hurt.

"You look great."

Walking up closer to Phil, he caught a blush on the boy's cheeks.

Dan surveyed and appreciated how well the t-shirt looked on Phil. It was white, with a print of petals on it - some lighter, some darker shade of blue - but all stayed true to the pastel style Dan loved to represent. The trousers were navy blue, much darker than the tone of the flowers. Phil's black boots added a rebellious touch to his look.

"Amazing," Dan muttered. "Wait! I have something even better," he exclaimed and ran to his desk, grabbed one item and came back to the boy.

"Do I have to change again for it?" Phil retorted with a smirk and Dan blushed hard.

God help him, Phil knew Dan checked him out.

"Close your eyes," he said, hands behind his back. Phil raised an eyebrow in question. Dan rolled his eyes but smiled. "Just do it," he encouraged.

The boy closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He muttered 'I hope you don't go all fifty shades of grey on me' and Dan laughed as he pulled out the flower crown he hid from Phil's eyes and put it on the boy's head. Tried to put it.

"Lean down, I can't reach," he whined and Phil chuckled but obeyed.

Dan grinned as he fixed the flower crown and pinned it with a few bobby pins to the black and blue hair. The final effect was unbelievable.

"Okay, done," he said with pride and Phil opened his eyes, his gaze instantly making its way towards his head as if he could see the flower crown.

Dan laughed as Phil raised his hands to feel what has happened to his fringe.

"You'll ruin it," he pointed out.

The boy walked up to Dan's mirror instead and his mouth literally fell open.

"Oh my God," was Phil's reaction and Dan shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Phil stepped closer, turning his head to left and right, examining the flower crown on his head. Dan casted his eyes to the ground, blushing.

"You don't have to wear it," he mumbled.

"I love it," Phil confessed, doing a spin and turning around to Dan, smiling from ear to ear. Dan grinned.

He couldn't pretend that Phil looked bad in his clothes - he looked amazing. Punk style was one of the characteristics about him, but pastel aesthetic. . . he pulled it so well that Dan felt jelaous.

"You look better than me in my own clothes," spilled from his mouth before he could set a restraint over his mouth.

Phil raised an eyebrow.

"Doubt it, I'd never take away your crown of cute-sy."

Dan blushed but protested, "That's not even a word!"

"It is now. We've gotta go, you still need to get dressed," Phil pointed out and Dan looked at his open wardrobe with a groan.

Phil chuckled, "You know that I'm dressing you up, right? In my clothes?"

Dan couldn't say no to that.

Sorry for saying this one was going to be a party chapter. I wanted to focus on the choice of clothing a little bit more and the chapter would be too long if I added the party part (what the heck English)

Hope you enjoyed, tell me if you did! I promise in the next one boyz go partying - even if I have to write a super long chapter :p

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