Fix Me | Phan High School AU

Chapter Seven

A/M: HI

IT'S ME

This is slightly shorter than the other chapters but oh well .-.

DAN'S POV

I awoke with a pounding headache, one of the many torturous side effects of a hangover. Why the hell did I think it would be a good idea to drink that much vodka on a school night?

Groaning, I sat up in bed, running a hand through my hair.

6:49

I stood up shakily, swallowing the bile that immediately rose into my throat. Hobbling over to my dresser, I grabbed a bottle of Advil out of the top drawer, downing a few tablets.

I walked into the bathroom and cringed at my reflection: I had dark bags under my eyes and my skin was a sickly pale color. I attempted to flatten down my hair with my hands, but the strands immediately stood back up.

Fortunately, one shower and a hair-straightener later, I was starting to look halfway decent.

I forced myself to shuffle down the stairs, walking into the kitchen.

"Morning Dan!" My mum chirped. I never understood how she acted so happy at such an ungodly hour of the morning.

"Yeah," I muttered, grabbing a piece of toast and tearing off a large bite.

"You look tired."

I took a deep breath, biting back the snarky comment on my tongue. "Yup."

Before she could make another attempt at conversation, I muttered a quick goodbye and hurried out the door. Pulling my earbuds out of my pocket, I plugged them into my phone and began blasting My Chemical Romance.

They're gonna clean up your looks

With all the lies in the books

To make a citizen out of you.

Because they sleep with a gun

And keep an eye on you son

So they can watch all the things you do.

I glanced up wearily at the bleak sky, noting how much it seemed to match my mood.

Because the drugs never work

They gonna give you a smirk

Cause they got methods of keeping you clean

My lips formed silent words as I recited the song, lost in my thoughts.

They gonna rip up your head

Your aspirations to shreds!

Another cog in the murder machine!

Music had always been my dirty little secret. The bands I tended to listen to the most were what the rest of my friends referred to as "suicidal emo music." Not losing my temper as they mocked it was difficult, but I had mastered the art of pretending not to care some time ago.

They say teenagers scare the living shit out of me!

They could care less as long as someone will bleed!

So, darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose, maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me!

Arriving at school, I glumly shoved the front door open, nearly knocking over a horror-stricken freshman. I completed my usual (and extremely dull) routine before heading off to my first class, French.

I stopped outside the door, taking a deep breath before standing up straight and plastering a smirk to my face. I shoved the door open, sauntering over to my desk where I threw my bag down and slumped into the plastic chair.

"Howell, do you have last night's math homework?" Sam turned around from the seat in front of me, waving a blank sheet of algebra problems in the air.

"Damn, we had homework?!" I muttered, my head still throbbing from the alcohol.

"Yeah, Mrs. Pareglo assigned us five pages of work, the bitch."

My attention was drawn away from Sam as the door swung open and Phil stepped in.

He was wearing a black hoodie with the cover art of The Black Parade on it, causing me to press a smile. He had a pair of dark grey skinny jeans on, drawing notice to his thin frame.

He turned around, his eyes first landing on my shoes before he quickly glanced up, meeting my eyes. I held his gaze for a minute, then glanced down at his shirt and back at his face with a slight smile. He looked away, fidgeting with the edge of his sleeves.

Suddenly, he tripped and fell, pushing a desk to the side as he went down. The class burst into laughter. I watched as a blonde kid pulled his foot back, looking down at Phil with a smirk.

The boy shakily stood back up, allowing his fringe to cover most of his face while he scurried to his seat.

"Alright class quiet down." Mr. Allen, our French teacher, called out tiredly as he walked into the room. "Take out your books and turn to page forty-seven."

PHIL'S POV

I didn't bother paying attention to the lecture—I had already taken a few French classes at my old school so I had a perfect score in the class.

I allowed my gaze to travel around the room, studying the behaviors of my fellow peers. Most of them were performing usual habits of boredom: drumming their fingers on their desk, doodling mindlessly on their papers, examining their fingernails in great detail...

My gaze drifted over to Dan, who was staring mindlessly off into space. What the hell were all those texts about last night? Did he even remember them? He didn't seem too drunk at the time, but he could have continued drinking after we talked...

I remained lost in my head for the rest of class, my thoughts occasionally drifting back to Dan.

As the students began to pack up, Mr. Allen struggled to get our attention. "Oh. Mr. Howell, Mr. Lester, I would like to see you both after class."

I looked over at Dan in confusion, but he seemed just as oblivious as I was.

The students slowly trickled out into the hall until only Dan and I remained.

"Mr. Howell..." The teacher began, walking around to the other side of his desk. "As I'm sure you're aware, you are failing my class."

Dan quirked an eyebrow. "Have you held us back simply to insult me, Sir?"

"No Daniel, I was actually going to suggest that Mr. Lester, who happens to be one of the best students I have ever had, should tutor you. If it suits his schedule of course."

My eyes widened. "What, you mean like after school hours?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes, Phillip that is exactly what I am implying."

I glanced over at Dan who bit his lip in thought before turning to me. "It's fine with me, I guess. I could use the extra help and I doubt my mum would care."

I nodded, unsure of how to feel about this. I could always make up an excuse not to do it... then again, would it really be that bad? Dan didn't seem that awful. I sighed, praying this wasn't going to be a mistake. "So, does tomorrow night work for you?"

Dan nodded, giving me a small smile. "I'll text you my address."

"Excellent!" Mr. Allen clapped his hands together, grinning cheerfully. "I'm sure your grades will be improving in no time!"

A/N: this is where things begin to get interesting. ;)