Trust

Dan - Past

 To say that Dan was nervous was an understatement. All throughout the car ride, he'd begged his parents to take him back home and that he desperately didn't want to go. His parents turned a deaf ear to his cries, and Dan soon realized that all his screaming was just a waste of energy. 

He kept silent the rest of the way, until he could see the building that had the words Ridgewood Primary School plastered on the wall. Another thrill of fear shoots through him and he swallowed, throat suddenly dry. Once the car was parked, Dan's mother got out of the driver's seat and opened the car door for her son.

"Come on, Dan," she coaxed, stretching out her hand for him to take. Dan pouted and took her outstretched hand in spite of himself. Dan's father joined them on the journey into the fairly large building. The walk to the classroom was quiet, but Dan didn't mind the silence after a while.

"Go make friends," his father urged, pushing him off in the direction of the open door of the classroom. He stumbled in, biting his lip when the teacher looked over. To his relief, the teacher gave him a warm smile and gestured for him to come in. He gladly gave in, deciding to sit beside a black haired boy that looked just a bit taller than him. His table was empty for some reason, but Dan didn't mind it. He didn't want to make friends anyways.

He made sure to avoid eye contact with anyone. It could be taken as a sign of interest, and that was not what Dan wanted. He restricted his gaze to just his paper and occasionally the teacher that was floating around the room. He managed to catch another glimpse of his table mate, however, and made a mental note that his eyes were an amazing array of colors with blue, specks of green and hints of yellow. Dan was instantly jealous. He had deemed his own eyes as boring a long time ago. Brown eyes were so common.

He'd gotten lost in a train of thought when a cough interrupted him. Dan jerked his head up to look at his table mate, presumably the one who'd tried to get his attention. The blush that adorned his cheeks confirmed his suspicion and he finally sighed.

"What is it?" he asked, sounding annoyed instead of friendly. The black haired boy suppressed a frown, biting his bottom lip instead.

"Do you have an extra pencil I could borrow? I promise I'll return it," he said politely, and Dan mentally kicked himself for sounding like an ass compared to him. He forced a tight smile on his face, taking out his bag of supplies and digging through it until he produced a pencil. He handed it to the boy, who immediately grinned.

"Thank you!" Dan gave him a respectful nod, but didn't respond. He didn't want the boy thinking that he wanted to be friends with him. Friends were a burden that Dan didn't want to carry.

At the end of class, the boy returned his pencil just as he said he would.

"Thank you so much! My name is Philip, but you can call me Phil," he said, still smiling. Dan pursed his lips together, not bothering to pretend to smile.

"My name is Dan," he responded curtly, stretching out his hand for a handshake. Philip, or "Phil", seemed to be confused by Dan's formality, but he shook his hand anyway.

"It was very nice to meet you," Phil insisted and Dan gave another small nod. He soon found himself on the way to the entrance of the school, where he caught sight of the car immediately, He ran towards it, trying to forget about his day at school. The sooner he left this place, the better. He quickly got into the car, absentmindedly putting his seat belt on.

"How was your day?" his mother asked, starting the car and beginning the drive back to their home.

"Terrible," he deadpanned, staring out the window as the school disappeared behind them. His mother sighed.

"Did you make any friends?" she tried.

"Unfortunately, yes," Dan responded, once again monotonously. He rested his head in his hands, staring blankly at the back of the driver's seat.

"What's his name?" Dan's father asked after a moment's silence.

"Phil," Dan answered shortly, and his father sighed. His parents stopped asking questions and he was grateful for the silence. There was no more conversation for the rest of the ride to their house.

A/N - Hello again everyone! This is the next chapter in the story. Please comment your opinions. Thank you so much for reading!

Keep smiling :)