Dan is a punker who spends his days listening to metalbands nobody's ever heard of and scaring the shit out of grown-ups and kids. Phil, on the other hand, is an anxious, shy boy who dearly loves his plants more than anything.
There he was. Dark hair with flaming red stripes, several metal piercings in his ears and eyebrows, a tattood dragon curled around his arm. Ripped black jeans and a dark T-shirt with the name of a band Phil had never heard of. A black leather backpack and an attitude as if he owned everything. Dan Howell.
Phil, with his oversized green sweater and flower backpack couldn't help staring at Dan, who stood only a few meters further, taking his books out of his locker. "Are you staring at me?" Phil blushed heavily after hearing Dans voice. He's caught me, he thought, now what? Phil shook his head, still blushing, and tried not to make eye contact with the punk boy. "Don't worry", Dan said with a smile, "I'm used to getting stared at. Most people think I look weird." Phil shook his head again, waving his hands like nervous birds. "I- I don't think you look weird at all! You look perfect." Dan lifted his eyebrow, amused by Phils nervous voice. "Really?" "Yes, I mean-" Dan took Phils arm, trying to calm him down. "Easy there. Calm down. I won't hurt you." Phil let out an excusing smile. "I know. I'm sorry. I just tend to get nervous around people." Dan breathed a laugh. "Really? Then when do you calm down?" Phil shrugged a little, his voice quiet and his cheeks pink. "With my plants." "What kind of plants?" Phil was suprised by Dans sign of interest in something as silly as his houseplants. This punk boy was so much nicer than he had ever expected. "Well," he started hesitantly, "I have cacty, dandelions, lillies and roses, a whole garden full of them. I care for them and they make me feel at ease." Dan loved the passion in the flower boys eyes, the smile he had while talking about his beloved plants. It was cute to see how the boy in pastel colors seemed to open up while talking. "What's your favorite flower?" Phil asked suddenly. Dan smiled before answering. "It might sound a little cliché, but I love roses." "No, that's not at all cliché! Roses ar my favorite too. You know, you should come over to see them once?" "What?" Dan had been a little too busy with staring at Phils eyes, who had the color of those little blue flowers, what was their name again? "The flowers, of course", Phil said, laughing. The schoolbell rang, and Phil felt that he didn't want to go away from Dan. Dan, on the other hand, took a pen out of his pocket and rolled up Phils sleeve to write down a series of numbers on his pale wrist. "Listen, I have to run to get to math, but call me if you want to talk, okay?" Phil nodded and Dan sprinted away, leaving Phil completely speechless and utterly confused about what had just happened. He had not only talked to Dan, but also gotten his number. Phil really had to control himself not to scream from happiness as he took his backpack and ran to his English class, knowing that this was absolutely the best day of life.
