A/N: I just want to preface this update by saying this chapter contains a lockdown drill at Dan and Phil's high school. It has nothing to do with and was definitely not inspired by recent events involving school shootings and other school violence. However, I do want to take this opportunity to remind my readers how important school safety is and to remember all the students and staff that have lost their lives during school shootings. Now, please enjoy this chapter!
It's the Monday after Phil had... essentially stolen Dan's music. But Dan had thrown it away, so what did it matter? ...Is what Phil told himself. But even if he had thrown it away, Dan of course noticed it was missing, and his stomach had immediately plummeted as he put two and two together that Phil must've taken it. And Phil's no idiot, he could put two and two together and figure out what the song was. Because of this, Dan clung to the hope Phil hadn't taken it; he was mistaken, he'd misplaced it somewhere in his room.
So Dan tore up his bedroom, flicking through every piano book he had, checking every shelf and drawer, running his hand underneath every piece of furniture in that damn room. But of course, nothing. Then Dan checked the music room, the stairs, the hallway, nearly every room in his house, knowing it was futile and that he was acting like a complete idiot. The memory was still crystal clear in his mind of him taking the paper from Phil's hands, crumpling it, and throwing it in the trash can. There was no other explanation; Phil had taken it.
That was why, Monday morning, Dan was absolutely dreading going to school. Phil would be there, standing by his locker with the knowledge of what Dan had written about him, for him... Dan honestly didn't know why he had written the song. He just had all these bottled up feelings about Phil, so he expressed them the only way he knew how, through music. But now Phil knows them.
But when Dan got to school the next Monday, Phil didn't say anything to him. He wasn't acting odd toward Dan, not any different than usual. In fact, he seemed even more comfortable around Dan, if not more quiet. Maybe Phil was just tired, but it was more like a voluntary, thought-filled silence than a sluggish, sleep-deprived one. In truth, Phil was spending that whole first class trying to come up with a way to breach the subject of Dan's and his feelings for each other. He couldn't right then, in the middle of class, and not during lunch with all their friends around. But it turns out, 7th period, Dan breaches the subject for him.
Mr. Thompson stands up from his desk in the back corner, where Dan and Phil are sitting, and strides to the front of the room. "Good afternoon, class! Please take out your homework from last night and start discussing with your table partner." Dan and Phil happily turn to each other.
"Okay, so it was basically about how Judaism and Christianity affected Islam, right?" Phil confirms with Dan.
"Um, yeah, I think. Wait, what did you get for number 4?" The class continues comparing answers and reviewing what they had learned, and Mr. Thompson comes back up to the front a few minutes later. He calls the class to attention, and they start going over the worksheet all together, when suddenly, a siren blares over the loudspeaker, and an automated voice states "LOCKDOWN. LOCKDOWN," over and over again.
The entire class freezes for a second, staring at the speaker. Then Mr. Thompson springs into action. "Alright, everybody! Most of you go hide in that corner over there, some of you can go under that table with the side on it, and a few can hide beneath my desk!" He yells, rushing into the hallway to see if any students are out there. He ushers a student, Katherine, inside (Phil recognizes her from his biology class), then quickly pulls down the blinds on the door and locks it.
Meanwhile, the class stands and most students hurry over to the corner the teacher had indicated. "Phil, come on!" Dan grabs Phil's hand and drags him into the other corner and behind Mr. Thompson's desk. Phil hesitates for a second. "Er, Dan?" He glances down at their hands, still clasped together. Dan follows his gaze, then blushes profusely. "Oh! Um, sorry.." he quickly drops Phil's hand and lowers himself into a cross legged position, avoiding Phil's gaze.
Phil follows Dan's lead, dropping to the floor in that awkward way only someone over 6 feet can relate to. He uses all four limbs to get himself situated while Dan watches with amusement (still slightly red, however). Then Phil accidentally kicks Dan in the shins; he gives an apologetic grin, and says, "Can you see why I need both hands to do this?" Dan grins a bit and watches until Phil is finally comfortable.
"Sorry about that." Phil gives a cheeky grin, then hesitantly places his hand over Dan's. Dan takes a sharp inhale and looks up into Phil's eyes, shocked, before glancing back down and adjusting his hand so that their fingers are interlaced. Abruptly, the lights go out (presumably turned off by Mr. Thompson), and the now silent class listens to his pattering footsteps from the light switch to the cluster of students gathered in the opposite corner.
Finally, the noise of the voice repeating 'lockdown' and the gentle whine of the siren over the loudspeaker turn off, and the school is left in complete silence. Dan turns his head to look up at Phil, just barely visible in the small amount of sunlight unable to be blocked by the window blinds. Phil returns the gaze, and squeezes his hand gently with a small smile. Dan's eyes flutter closed, and he gently rests his head on Phil's shoulder (which was at the perfect height, may I add).
The seconds tick by. Two minutes pass. Phil breathes in the smell of Dan's hair, the tantalizing scent of him just inches away from Phil's face. Five minutes pass. Phil begins rubbing Dan's hand gently with his thumb, tracing the knuckles, ridges, and creases. Ten minutes. Phil looks back down at Dan, and he must've been able to sense the gaze, as Dan's eyes flutter back open. He pulls back and looks up into Phil's eyes. Thoughts of Dan's song flood Phil's mind, along with memories of all the little things that clearly added up: The stolen glances each had snatched of the other when it appeared he wouldn't notice. How Dan always sat next to him and talked to him much more than his any of other friends. What Dan had said to him after the football game. The situation they're in slips Phil's mind, and he is seconds away from leaning down and pressing his lips to Dan's... when the principal comes onto the loudspeaker.
"Good job, everyone, with the lockdown drill. The police department was very impressed with how well you did. A full report will be sent out to the teachers. You may now return to class." It seems everyone in the class lets out a breath they had been holding the entire time. It was a drill - no real danger had been present. Mr. Thompson hurriedly flicks on the lights, and everyone begins to stretch and stand up.
Dan and Phil glance at each other and, reluctantly, Phil looks down at their laced hands. Dan sighs, and Phil looks at him apologetically. He untangles himself from Dan, and, in that same awkward way as before, uses all his limbs to push himself up off the floor. Phil looks back for a moment to see Dan getting up as well, then returns to the desk. But he sits in Dan's chair on the right instead of his, on the left. Dan slips into Phil's seat a second later, flashing Phil a questioning look. "What?" Phil asks innocently. Dan just shakes his head before turning back forward.
"Yo, Daniel, why are you sitting in Phil's chair?" Paige asks him as she plops into her own normal spot.
"Ask him," Dan says, gesturing to Phil, who just gives the same nonchalant shrug as before.
Mr. Thompson then walks to the front of the room. "Like Mrs. Snow said, I was also very impressed with how well you did with the drill. You behaved exactly how I would want you to. Nice job! Now, let's get back to work..." Once the class finishes going over their homework, they begin taking notes on Mr. Thompson's lesson for the day. But then Dan feels something nudge his right hand, resting on his thigh underneath the desk, as his left hand was taking notes above the desk. Dan looks down in surprise to see Phil nudging his hand, then he looks up questioningly at Phil. Phil just raises his eyebrows before returning to the lesson, his left hand moving to rest on his thigh underneath the desk, his right hand continuing to take notes.
Now Dan understands the reason for Phil switching their seats. But first, Dan gets up to blow his nose, and upon returning to his chair, "accidentally" scoots it much closer to Phil's. Phil's breath hitches, and he glances over at Dan, just inches away now. Dan smirks, and starts taking notes with his left hand, his right arm coming to rest on his thigh again. But his right hand crosses the small space to Phil's hand, still underneath the table, and lightly touches it. Phil grins and laces their fingers together. The two begin taking notes again, Dan's left and Phil's right hands scribbling away above the desk, while underneath their opposite hands are clasped together in secret.
They continue this for the rest of class, their dominant hands taking notes while their opposite hands lay intertwined beneath the desk. Too soon, the bell rings, and Dan and Phil quickly untangle themselves from each other lest someone see. They put away their things in silence, and a few seconds later both stand up. "Hey, um, Dan? We need to talk," Phil says as he faces Dan, blushing slightly and biting his lip, curled into a little smile.
"Er, yeah.." Dan agrees with a smile as his cheeks begin to flush.
"After school?" Dan nods, and Phil gives a small smile.
"Cool. See ya later," and he starts to walk out the door.
"See ya.."
Once school is over, Phil and Paige leave class together and arrive at Phil's locker several minutes later. "Hey, Dan," Phil says.
"Oh! Hey, guys!" Dan says, turning around.
"Dan," Paige acknowledges him, but she doesn't go to her own locker. "I like your shirt," she points out Dan's Twenty One Pilots t-shirt.
"Oh, um, thanks!" Dan gives a shy smile.
"Paige, not to be rude or anything, but can you leave? I, uh, need to talk to Dan. Alone," Phil says.
"Ah, need to discuss all the hand-holding, right?" Paige grins, rocking back on her heels with her hands stuffed in her pockets. The boys gape at her. She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes. "Oh, come on. You were sitting inches apart from each other, and your other hands were noticeably missing for the entire period. Not to mention I could see you," she snorts. "I don't even want to know what you were doing during the lockdown drill."
"Paige! We were not doing anything," Phil hisses.
"Likely story," she says with a smirk.
"You would have heard us!"
"So that's the reason you weren't doing anything? Cause you would've gotten caught?"
"No - that's - that's not - that's not what I meant-" Phil sputters.
"Mmhm," Paige smirks again, then turns with a flip of her ponytail and sashays down the hall toward her locker.
"Erm, anyways.." Phil turns back to Dan. "M-maybe we can find somewhere a little more.. private to talk?" They glance around at the only other people down the hall who were looking their way, perhaps trying to hear what they were saying now that Paige and Phil's loud conversation had intrigued them.
"Yeah. The Dungeon is right around the corner," Dan suggests. The Dungeon is the students' nickname for the only hallway downstairs from the ground floor (so it was essentially underground), which contained all of the fine arts classrooms.
So Dan and Phil sling their backpacks over their shoulders and walk down the hall, passing Paige, who was alone at her locker, on their way to the Dungeon. The two walk in silence, then turn the corner and go down the stairs. Phil slows as they approach the first set of lockers in the empty hallway, then turns and leans against one, facing Dan.
"Ok.." They start simultaneously. Dan and Phil look at each other in surprise, then hurriedly gesture for the other person to speak. "You first," they say in unison again. Dan lets out a shaky laugh and Phil bites his lip with a smile. "Shall I start?" Phil asks. Dan nods with tentative smile.
"Ok.. I - I know we said a while ago we were just friends.. like brothers. But.. I-I like you a lot more than that. And in a much different way. Now, call me crazy, but after everything that's been happening recently, especially today, I think it's safe to say you feel the same way," Phil says with a grin. Dan gives him another tentative nod and smile.
"Yeah, I do."
Phil sighs in relief. "Oh, thank God. So.. would you maybe want to go out with me sometime?" He asks hopefully, almost holding his breath. Even after being best friends for months, something about Dan made Phil feel all fluttery inside.
"Of course," Dan says softly.
The simple phrase does nothing to calm Phil's butterflies, if anything, it makes them flutter even more.
"So, how 'bout we go to homecoming together? I know it's this weekend, so kind of short notice, but I mean now that we're together.." Dan rambles, and Phil lightly nudges his shoulder to interrupt him.
"Yes, I would love to go to homecoming with you," he says. Dan smiles again.
"Great, okay!"
Phil opens his mouth, hesitates for a moment, then finally continues: "Just.. can we not tell anyone we're going, like, together? I just don't think I'm ready for everyone to know..." Phil gnaws on his lip and he looks down.
"Yes, of course, Phil," Dan instantly reassures him. "We don't have to tell anyone until you're ready."
"Thanks, Dan."
Dan looks up at him with the sweetest eyes and sweetest smile as Phil looks down at his soft face. Ugh, it's just not fair how cute he is.
"Wait, uh, can we tell our friends?" Dan asks him. "I don't really want to keep this from them."
"Oh, yeah, of course! Just not, like, the whole school, you know? Maybe just the people at our lunch table?"
"Yeah, they're basically the only ones I want to know about this."
"Alright, cool. Well, this sucks, but I have to get going. Practice. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
"Yeah."
Phil begins to walk up the stairs again, but he suddenly turns back around and paces toward Dan, who was still standing there. Phil comes closer until he's just inches away from Dan's face, until suddenly, he stops. "Sorry, erm.. would it be alright if I kissed you?" He breathes. Dan just nods, unable to breathe. Phil hesitantly cups a hand behind Dan's head and presses a soft kiss to his lips, but just as soon as it starts, it's over. They stare into each other's eyes for a moment, until Phil breaks the silence:
"Oh, and before I forget..." Phil reaches behind himself and pulls Dan's song out from his backpack, and presses it into Dan's hands. "Maybe I can hear you play it again sometime?"
Dan nods, speechless, and Phil smiles again. "Alright, bye," he says quietly, and then Phil's gone again. Dan stands there for a minutes longer, staring at the sheet music, then reaches up and touches his lips, remembering the feel of Phil's lips on his. And, with a little grin, Dan glides away.
A/N: hey guys, thanks for reading this update! i hope you enjoyed; finally Dan and Phil are together! like i said at the beginning in the first a/n, the content of this chapter has absolutely nothing to do with recent school violence. i got the idea for this chapter literally months ago, and it has been sitting finished in my doc manager for weeks now (just had to do some editing, also i published a phanfic last weekend and it'd be amazing if you could check it out, titled "target practice"), so i'm v excited to publish this chapter! this chapter is because i basically asked myself "what would force dnp to be very close for an extended period of time?" and bam, this idea blossomed. so i hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it, and don't forget to review, follow, and fav if you feel so inclined :) xoxo, ~l