New To Me (Phan)

Chapter 1

"Dan, meet Phil"

I looked up from my phone to see PJ standing over me, lunch tray in hand. My attention instantly slipped from him to the black-haired, blue-eyed stranger standing next to him. "Hey," I said as I stowed my phone away, feeling it would be rude to continue browsing tumblr. The two set their trays down and sat opposite me.

"Hi," Phil greeted me in response, his bright smile slightly crooked.

"Phil's new here," PJ added. "Just moved here from... where was it again?" PJ asked turning to Phil.

"Lancashire."

"And how are you liking it here?" I asked, feeling as if I should make at least a little effort to socialise. It's rare that PJ ever brings anyone back to our table. He only does it when he deems them worthy enough, and, evidently, Phil passed the test.

"It's not bad. Teachers are nice enough, met some cool people," Phil said politely, nodding in approval. His dark, side fringe came dangerously close to falling into his eyes before he casually swept it back in place.

"But I'm the coolest, right?" Chris suddenly appeared at the table, moving my bag onto the floor so he could sit down next to me. "The name's Chris by the way. Spiffing to meet you."

Before Phil could respond, PJ interjected with "No. No. No. I'm the coolest person you've met so far, right Phil?" Both PJ and Chris leaned toward Phil with their best puppy dog eyes on display. I shook my head slightly, smirking. Idiots.

Phil chuckled and glanced between the two of them, before flicking his eyes over to me. "No, I think Dan wins that contest." I cocked my head in confusion. I've barely said anything. "The shirt," he added helpfully, nodding his head at my shirt. "That automatically earns you the title of 'coolest'." I glanced down at the shirt that I was wearing today; A plain black tee with MUSE written across it. As the shirt itself wasn't particularly stunning visually I could only assume he's a fan of the band. I looked back up to Phil and made to comment on it when PJ and Chris started up their usual banter.

"But look at my shirt. It's got this neat little breast pocket with a fancy button and everything," Chris was saying, holding his pocket open to Phil as if to prove that it was indeed a pocket.

"But look how devoid of colour Dan's shirt is. Mine's got blue and purple, and look there. A little red circle," proclaimed PJ dramatically, pointing out each of the colours individually.

This continued on for a while. Phil laughed at the pair of them, occasionally interjecting his own thoughts on their outfits. Adding bizarre suggesting like, "Maybe if it had a lion on it. I'm a fan of lions," to which Chris and PJ came back with their own equally bizarre retorts.

Silently observing all of this I was impressed at how confident Phil seemed. You'd think being the new kid would be daunting, but he didn't look at all nervous or anxious. I suppose it helps finding the right people. Trust PJ to be able to instantly detect those he knows will get along with the group. It's like a sixth sense of his. He's never once been wrong in his judgements, and it seemed as if Phil wasn't going to be an exception.

Phil glanced over at me, and it was then that I realised I was staring. My cheeks flushed and I smiled awkwardly back before turning my attention to the half eaten bread roll in front of me.

Me, I'm not as friendly as PJ and Chris. Like I think I'm generally a good person. I'm kind and thoroughly non-intimidating. I'm just not as outgoing I guess. I'm not one to go out of my way to strike up a conversation with someone.

The bell rang signalling the end of lunch. "What do you have now, Phil?" PJ asked. Phil pulled out his timetable while Chris leaned over in attempt to read it upside down.

"Hey! Media! Dan, that's your class!" Chris proclaimed. Phil put his timetable away and turned to me with a friendly smile.

"At least there'll be one friendly face," he said.

"Friendly? No. Dan's the school bully," PJ said, a serious look crossing his face. So serious, in fact, that Phil momentarily had a look of genuine confusion and concern on his face.

"Oh, yeah. He has this really violent streak. Just look at him the wrong way and he'll fasten a shiv out of the nearest object and gut ya right there and then," Chris added, motioning stabbing someone with his fork.

At this point Phil had gathered that it was a joke and laughed before swinging his bag over his shoulder. "I am truly terrifying," I added sarcastically. Definitely sarcastically, as I had about the same level of evil as Winnie the Pooh.

"Just refrain from any wedgies and swirlies. We want our Philip to actually survive his first day," Chris said, before he and PJ headed off.

I swung my bag onto my back and headed off toward the computer labs, with Phil following beside me. "Your friends are very entertaining," Phil remarked as we made our way to class.

"Oh yes. They're a hoot." I don't know why everything I say comes out sarcastically. It's like my default setting. Even when I am being genuine (as I do actually find Chris and PJ hilarious to be around) my brain automatically translates the words into such a way to make me sound facetious.

"You're not as talkative as them," Phil pointed out. "Why is that?" I glanced over at Phil to see him intently studying my face. I flicked my eyes toward the floor to avoid his intense gaze. Eye contact. That's another thing I've never been great with.

Still feeling his gaze upon me, I shrugged in response. "I'm just not a chatty person I suppose." I realised how boring I must seem compared to Chris and PJ. And not that it really mattered to me before, but I found myself actually caring what Phil thought of me. So, breaking my usual habit of not going out of my way to make conversation I said, "So, uh, you like Muse?" I cringed internally at my awkward attempt to keep the conversation flowing.

"Yeah, yeah. I love it. Especially Origin of Symmetry."

"Oh me too! Which song is your favourite?" I asked, actually excited to have found someone interested in the same music as me.

To my surprise, the conversation just kept going from there, and with virtually no effort on my part. Phil, as it turns out, loved a lot of the same stuff that I did, not just music. We liked the same games, the same foods, the same shows. It was incredibly easy to talk to him. So easy in fact that we spent the entirety of class doing exactly that.

I could see myself becoming good friends with Phil.