What Others Don't Know- Phanfic

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

^I love him and Dan so much❤️😊^
Phil's POV:

    I plopped down in my seat for first hour, still thinking about my little argument with Peej. I'm such a jerk to most people, why do I care? Is it because Dan is basically the only known person on Earth that I can relate to?
    Mr. Joan asked us to take out our assignments that were due today. I rummaged through my folder and pulled it out.
    "Now, does anyone have any questions!?" He asked in his over dramatic voice. He always sounded like a crazy scientist who was about to have a breakthrough. I liked that about him. I always laughed a little when he paraded around the front of the class, tapping the front of kids desks with his yard stick.
    After a few people asked questions I heard Dan's voice. "Uh, could you go over number thirteen?" He asked, sounding a bit timid but surprisingly not very quiet. 
    The teacher had looked at his paper to see what number thirteen said and before he could even finish reading it Dan spoke again. "Okay, thank you." He said this before Mr. Joan could even reply.
    The class went a bit still with confusion. I turned around and looked back at Dan, wondering what he was on about. He was looking at his paper, writing a note with red pen. 
    "Uh, excuse me?" Mr. Joan asked. I didn't have to tune into his feelings to know he was clearly as confused as the rest of us. Dan didn't look up or respond, as if he didn't realize Mr. Joan was speaking to him. "Dan?" Mr. Joan spoke again in attempt to get his attention.
    Dan looked up. "Uh, yes?" He asked, beginning to feel confused and anxious. Had Dan read Mr. Joan's mind and thought Mr. Joan said it aloud? Is that how he knew?
    "I, uh, didn't say the answer to number thirteen. Why did you say thank you?" Mr. Joan asked, not rudely but definitely confused.
     "What do you mean?" He asked, becoming even more confused. Suddenly his facial expression changed as if a light bulb just went off in his head and his mood changed dramatically to embarrassed.
    "He probably read your mind, Mr. Joan!" I heard a voice say. I knew immediately it belonged to Chris, someone who was a friend of a friend. I looked over and saw him and his mate chuckling.
    "Yeah, freak!" His friend chimed in, chuckling even more and only stopping when he spoke to make his voice sound cold. I looked back at Dan who's face was an even deeper shade of red. Mr. Joan looked like he didn't know whether or not to apologize to Dan.
    "Leave him along, jack ass." I mumbled just loud enough for them to hear, but not Mr. Joan and definitely not Dan at the back of class.
    "Boys, nock it off. This isn't first grade, grow up!" Mr. Joan fired back at them. The boys continued to chuckle.
    "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Joan. Really sorry..." Dan said quickly, just loud enough for Mr. Joan to hear, but barely recognizable.
    "Now, now, Dan. Don't worry about it, that's fine—boys!" He reassured Dan and then scolded Chris and his friend again, due to the fact that they were still laughing.
    Dan looked back at his paper and folded his arms, laying his head on top of them and sighing. I felt bad, knowing what it felt like to be different. I didn't know what it felt like to have the whole world stare at me for it though.
    I turned back around, glancing at the girl who had slapped me in the prior day. She glared back at me and I put my hands up as if to tell her to calm down. She simply heaved a great sigh, rolled her eyes, and looked back at her paper. As she did this she
wrote her score at the top of her worksheet, 30/30.
     The rest of the morning seemed to fly by as it always does. I walked up the steps from fourth hour Career Quest, the only class in the basement except for the weight lifting unit in Gym (the weight room is in the basement).
I got to the first floor and rounded the corner, heading towards the gym. I got a nasty glare from a girl who I assume I slept with and didn't call back. I simply responded by flipping her off and continuing to walk.
I got in line for lunch, deciding to have the pizza calzone over chicken nuggets. While I waited in line I saw Dan sitting at a table, all by himself with no tray of food in front of him. Did he have an eating disorder as well, or was today just an off day? He's probably just no hungry... I told myself although I knew it most likely wasn't true based on his feelings.
Lunch continued to fly by and so did the rest of the day, along with the rest of the week. It was finally Friday morning and I was ready for the day. I sat up in bed, pushing away the blue-green duvet cover and sitting up. I pressed the stop button on my phone, ending Dragonfly Keeper alarm I had set. As I got out of bed I reached over and put on my glasses.
Friday's were typically my "relaxation days" so I decided not to wear contacts today. I left my glasses on as I got ready, wearing a blue jumper that said "PUGS" along with a cartoon image of a pug on the front and a pair of black skinny jeans as usual. I slid on my mismatched socks, today wearing Batman and pumpkins.
I went down the steps, feeling elated since the weekend was near. "Morning, mum!" I said cheerfully as I walked over to the toaster and plugged it in.
"Morning hun. Sleep well?" She asked, walking to the dining room and setting a basket of clean clothes on the table.
"Slept great. It's finally Friday!" I said cheerfully, taking white bread out of the cabinet and butter from the fridge.
    "So, hows it going with him?" My mother asked. A bit confused, I turned and looked at her with a puzzled expression as I took out a plate. "Daniel. How's it going with Daniel?" She asked as I pushed down the button and my bread slid way into the toaster.
    "Oh, okay I guess. We've talked a few times. Peej still doesn't like him." I said, taking out a butter knife and setting it next to the butter.
    "Well, talk to Daniel more!" She said. She sounded like one of those "cool mums," or was trying to.
"Mum, you sound like Regina George's mum from Mean Girls. That's mother's job!" I said laughing, feeling my tongue poke out of the side of my mouth as it always does when I laugh.
"I'm not sure whether to be offended or not..." She said, pretending to be actually offended and pouted. She broke her act and started laughing just as my toast popped up. I took it out and started buttering it.
After finishing, my mum went into the dining room to fold clothes and I sat at the island and ate, also getting a cup of orange juice. After eating I went back up the steps and into the bathroom.
I took the straightener out from the drawer and plugged it into the outlet to the right of the faucet and set it down on the sink. While waiting for it to heat up i took out a comb and brushed out my black mess of hair. Picking up the straightener, I took a bundle of hair from my fringe and pulled the straightener down it.
After straightening all my hair I went into my room and grabbed my backpack along with my phone which had my earbuds wrapped around it. Going down the carpeted steps as usual and thinking don't slip I called out to my mum. "I'm leaving now, mum. Bye!"
"Bye, hun! Thank you for not yelling!" I smiled a bit at this, grabbed my house keys, and opened the door.
The sun was quiet bright, it looked and smelled as though it had rained early this morning or in the middle of the night. I took a deep breath because I loved the smell of the air after it rained. There were small puddles filling up the slouches in the asphalt road. I walked off my stoop, avoiding puddles on the pavement.
I looked ahead and saw Dan, but he was quit far up ahead. I walked quickly, hoping I'd be able to catch up to him. I unraveled my earbuds and once again went into Spotify, selecting a playlist I was following called Paper Thin (this is an actual thing. It goes along with a phanfiction called Paper Thin. Read the story, listen to the playlist. I am listening right now!) and pressing Shuffle. After one song, about three or four minutes, I had caught up to Dan. He had his earbuds in and so loud I could hear them. He was listening to Guns For Hands. I tapped his shoulder and he jumped and swung around, as if scared of me or expecting someone else.
"Dan, chill. It's me." I said smiling, putting my hands up as if in defeat, the same thing I'd done days before with the girl who sat next to me in science.
"Oh, h-hey Phil." He said pulling out one earbud as I did the same, only he turned his music down.
"Turning up your music that loud is quite bad for your ears, ya know." I said gesturing with my earbud in my hand.
"Oh, I know. But people who smoke don't get told to stop smoking very much, do they?" He said in a tone that sounded curious. He was looking at his feet now. "And I think breathing is loads more important than hearing, yes?" He continued, chuckling although it sounded fake.
"I suppose, yeah." I said, laughing a bit as well. "Sorry again, about Pj. I don't understand why he dislikes you so much. You're not doing anything wrong." I said, trying to sound sincere, something I wasn't used to doing due to my "total ass hole" act.
"It's fine I guess. Honestly, I'm used to it. And we both know why he does it." He said, glancing at me. "He doesn't like that I can read people's minds. He thinks I'm a freak like everyone else does." He said, sighing and looking back down at the ground. He didn't sound terribly sad, more so neutral if anything.
"I don't think you're a freak. I am a bit curious though. I've always been interested in these things. If you don't mind me asking, what does it sound like?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Honestly, I don't mind you asking because you're the first person to ask if it was okay. Literally, nobody ever has. Not even doctors." He said, rolling his eyes at the last bit.
After another moment he continued. "I can't turn off the sound of others thoughts. It's like when people are talking, loads of people. You can zone out or tune out the noise, right?" I nodded. "For me, it's like being in a huge room with loads of people. It's easier to know the voice, know the person, to have their voice memorized in your mind. For instance, I can easily hear my mum and dad's thoughts. A complete stranger or someone I haven't known long, let's say Pj for example, would be more difficult. It's completely possible, just not so easy. But the noise will always be there, over the years I've just had to learn how to ignore the noise." I nodded again, trying to show I understood what Dan was saying.
"S-Sorry," he mumbled. I looked at him, puzzled, wondering why he was sorry. "does that even m-make sense?"
"Yeah. I get it." More than you know... I thought. After a moment I spoke again. "So, what am I thinking?" I asked, trying to sound casual again.
He looked at the ground, pausing, almost debating something behind the curtains of his mind. "Well, uh, that's the thing... I c-can't hear your thoughts." I looked at him, suddenly feeling extremely intrigued. "That's never hap-happened with another person. Ever. That's why when I first m-met you I probably looked so shocked. It wasn't because of Pj, it was be-because I heard nothing from you. It was silence. I was freaked out." He said, still looking at the ground.
"Wow." Was the only word that could escape my mouth. My thoughts, on the other hand, were running mad. Was this because I could read feelings? Is that why he can't read my mind? But why could I still read his feelings? Should I tell him about my feeling thing?
"Yeah. This mind reading thing has gotten me into some annoying situations. My parents, mainly." We were about to cross the street to the neighboring pavement strip which belonged the school. Dan didn't look as we crossed, just continued to look at the ground. I did, though.
"I know." I said. Dan stopped walking and someone honked their horn. He jumped and continued to walk.
"What do you mean you know?!" He said, not in a mad way but definitely surprised and confused. Shit. I thought. He doesn't remember because he was so wasted.
"Um, I don't know... Ijustassumed." I said quickly. Too quickly. Damnit. Why' d I have to do that?!
"You're lying!" He said back. We were in front of the school now, still on the pavement though.
"I thought you couldn't read my mind?" I said, giving an awkward laugh in attempt to lighten to mood. He just looked at me, most likely thinking Get it over with Phil. "Ugh. Fine! Fine." I said in defeat. I grabbed Dan's arm and turned him around, walking down the pavement in the direction of the park.

    A/N: Hello again! I'm really excited for the next chapter. I want to work on it straight away. There's loads of amazing possibilities of what might happen swarming in my head and I don't know which one to pick! I guess I'll just see how it goes and change it if I don't like it. I enjoyed writing this chapter. It was pretty long. I was almost going to include them at the park in it but decided to split it otherwise it would be a really long chapter. Thanks for reading! That's chapter 13 of What Others Don't Know! Stay alive, lovelies❤️|-/

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