Phan Oneshots

Written in the Stars

  When the most unlikely of things-being cast as Romeo and Juliet in English class- brings Dan and Phil together, it impacts both of them in ways they could never expect. (4530 words)

Warnings: Mentions of alcoholism and swearing

I'm so sorry it's been so long! I have no excuses for months without an update, but I hope you will accept this fic as an apology, though it contains vomit-inducing amounts of cheesiness.

It's another lifeless day. Phil sits hunched in his desk, earbuds blasting Pierce the Veil disguised under a baggy blue hoodie.

"Lester. Lester! LESTER!"

Phil pulls out his earbuds and turns to the teacher, a middle-aged man with the dead eyes of a longtime high school teacher.

"I said, you will be reading for Romeo."

Oh god. Oh god, this cannot be happening. If there is some sinkhole beneath Phil waiting to swallow him up, now is an ideal time. Because the thing is, Phil won't just feel the embarrassment of having to read such romantic lines to another student. He is also one of the only openly gay students at Langton High.

"I..I really don't think that's a good idea..."

Unsurprisingly, not a single hand shoots up.

"Well then, I will have to pick one...how about you, Daniel?"

All eyes land on the boy sitting in the back of the classroom. With a leather jacket, black skinnies, and a harsh brown gaze that is more intense than Phil's ever seen it, Dan Howell is effortlessly cool.

"Juliet is a girl. I am a boy." Dan's words are exaggeratedly slow, as if he is speaking to a small child.

A chorus of chuckles erupts from the class, and all eyes turn back to Mr. Kingston.

"Isn't your generation supposed to be so accepting? Surely this won't be a problem."

"Actually, it kind of will be a problem."

Mr. Kingston walks over to Dan and whispers something. Phil isn't sure exactly what he says, but when he's done Dan snaps, "Fine," and that is that.

Mr. Kingston casts the rest of the class begins to read the prologue. Phil loves the idea of soulmates, of star-crossed lovers, that there is someone out there that perfectly completes you. He lets the words wash over him like rain.

Mr. Kingston finishes the prologue just as the bell rings. His next words are drowned out by the sound of furious zippers and pounding feet but they still manage to fill Phil with dread.

"Tomorrow we'll start reading lines!"

Phil gathers up his stuff and lets himself get caught in the tide of students, but he accidentally knocks into Dan on the way out.

"Watch it," Dan hisses. "This is all your fault."

"Sorry," Phil mutters, hurrying out the door before Dan can say anything else.

The next day Phil trudges back into the room, dragged down by the knowledge he is about to read romantic lines with someone who is probably homophobic and definitely hates him.

With that crushing reality in mind, Phil can barely hear the first few scenes.

All Phil wants to do for now is get through each day without having any attention drawn to him, and this is doing the exact opposite. So much for making his way through English as the boy in the blue hoodie whose name no one knows. So much for coming into high school and disappearing without a trace four years later.