Pretty Boy

25

Over the next few days, mum and dad had enrolled me into my old secondary school. I didn't want to tell Phil; I wanted me showing up to be a surprise.

The following week was spring break and it was nothing special. I had stayed at home, played video games with Adrian, while PJ was out with Chris. Thankfully, the two hadn't come home and shagged. Adrian has been through enough trauma when it comes to hearing his brother through the walls.

The next Monday, I was back at school. Mum had gotten me up bright and early so she could make me breakfast. I must say, this first day experience was a lot better than last years. No yelling. No rushing. No threatening to get rid of my straighteners. It was bliss.

Before I headed downstairs for breakfast, I threw on a simple outfit. A pair of black skinny jeans, white converse, and a short sleeved, button down shirt Phil had gotten me for my birthday. It was white, with black polka dots, and a black Saturn was embroidered on the left shirt pocket. I stuck in a pair of white earrings, straightened my hair, and headed downstairs.

"Hey mum," I greeted.
"Hey bub," she smiled. "Are you ready for school?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Where are your brothers?" she asked. "Adrian! PJ! Come on! Breakfast is gonna get cold!" she yelled. "Are you excited to see Phil?"
"Very," I beamed.
"So, how are you gonna do it?" she asked, setting a plate of pancakes down in front of me.
"What do you mean?"
"How are you gonna show that you're back? Are you gonna wait on the roof? By his locker? What?"
"You're way too interested in my love life," I giggled.
"Well, can you blame me?" she laughed. "Adrian isn't dating and PJ just fell ass backwards into Chris so, nothing big or romantic ever happens," she frowned.
"Well, if you must know, I'm just gonna go through a normal day until Phil finds me,"
"Damnit, you're boring too," she huffed.
"Offended," I teased.
"You should be," she chuckled. "Hurry up, boys!"

***

Mum had driven all three of us to school that day; she dropped us off with five minutes to spare. I knew Phil would be nowhere in sight because he always gets to the school half an hour early and goes to the roof, so he could take care of the plants. Once we walked inside, PJ ran off to find Chris, and Adrian left me for some of his friends. So, I was stuck alone.

I headed for my new lockers and started unloading all of my things. As people walked by, I could hear them whispering things about me. None of them were necessarily bad, there was just more confusion than anything else. Once I closed my locker, I started walking towards my first class. Then, Louise saw me.

"Dan!" she shrieked. "You're back!" she smiled as she hugged me. "Oh, we've missed you so much!"
"I missed you too," I said. "Hey, um, where's Phil?"
"Roof, why?"
"Just wondering,"
"Oh! Let's go tell him you're back!"
"No!" I yelled.
"No?"
"No... I wanna keep it a secret until he sees me..."
"Okay, fair enough," she said. "Just find me at lunch and tell me everything that happened,"
"Will do," I smiled. "See y'later Louise,"
"Bye, Dan," she waved as she headed off to class.

I pulled up my phone and started scrolling through my notes so I could find my schedule; my first period was earth science. I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous class and started heading towards the science hallway.

I wanna be studying stuff in space. Not the crap down here on earth.

I walked into the rather dark classroom and asked the teacher where I sat. Luckily, my seat was all the way in the back.

Rad, I can fall asleep and he won't even know.

I set down my backpack, among other items, and started opening up my binder. Once everything was set up, I noticed more and more students were walking into the classroom. I looked up and observed everyone trudging in; they all looked miserable.

As students sat down, I started doodling in my notebook. I drew shitty little planets and even some rocket ships; none of them were as good as Phil's drawings. As I continued to mindlessly draw, he walked in... But I didn't notice.

I stuck my tongue out and colored in my uneven stars. Then, I heard, what sounded like a bunch of books, hit the ground. I jumped a little in my seat and looked to the front of the class. He stood there, with glassy eyes, and his mouth slightly hung open.

"Dan..." he whispered.

He let his backpack fall of his shoulders as he walked towards me. I lightly placed down my pencil, closed my binder, and stood up from me chair. I cracked a smile and started walked towards him as well.

Tears were streaming down his paper white cheeks as he plastered on the biggest smile I've ever seen. Once he got to me, he wrapped his arms around me and spun me around. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he cried into the crook of my neck. Whenever I heard him cry, I couldn't help but sob as well. We stood there, in the middle of the classroom, looking soppy and stupid as ever but, we didn't care.

Once we pulled away from each other, he placed both hands on my cheeks and pulled me into a sloppy kiss. I missed him so much. I pulled away and let out a giggle as I wiped his tears away.

"I missed you so, so, much... You don't even know," he said, hugging me again.

We started rocking from side to side as we continued to cry into one another. I missed everything about him. I missed his smiles, his hugs, his kisses... I missed Phil Lester...

"I love you so much," he whispered, kissing me once more. "So, so, so much..." he let out a sigh and smiled. "Please, never leave me again... I love you... I love you so much, Daniel James Howell..."
"I love you too, Philip Michael Lester," I hugged him, and mumbled into his chest, "more than you know."