Discovering Love // phan *rewrite*

1

English class was the ninth level of Dan's own personal hell.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy reading and  learning about literature, it was just that the school system wasn't too focused on actually teaching it coherently. And Ms. Parsons idea of 'making a lesson fun' was handing out crossword puzzles.

So he mostly doodled in the margins of his notes for the whole hour. Louise always got on to him about not paying attention and intentionally ruining his grades, but Dan was perfectly okay with his average marks.

He was just putting the finishing touches on a very detailed drawing of his own middle finger when the door opened and a new kid walked in.

He was new because no one else knew him, and that was rare in such a small school in their small town. He talked to the teacher up front, and then faced the rest of them with a small smile.

"This is Phil Lester, everyone," Ms. Parsons said. "He'll be with us the rest of the year. You can sit by Dan, in the back."

Dan glared at the single empty seat next to him and kissed his isolation goodbye.

Phil was tall and lanky, carefully making his way through the rows of desks to reach his seat. He set his books down and gave Dan a cursory glance. Dan figured neither of them were going to start any conversations soon, which he was fine with.

He figured the rest of the class would pass in silence, considering their teacher was more than happy to hand out five minute worksheets and let them wait out the rest of the period quietly instead of actually teaching. It was a surprise to everyone when she announced they were doing a month long project for a final exam.

"We're going to be reading Romeo and Juliet," she said, holding up a copy of the book with a proud smile. "At the end of the month, you'll do a presentation on one of the topics that I'll hand out to you. Work in pairs, I'll let you choose your own partners."

Everyone slowly twisted in their seats, picking out their friends from across the room to work with. Dan stayed where he was, because he didn't even really know anyone in this class. He didn't go around making friends very often. More than likely, he'd end up with a total stranger, and that made him even more annoyed.

"Wanna team up?" Phil looked over at him waveringly, looking unsure about his question. "I don't know anyone. You look like you don't either. Might as well?"

"Okay," Dan said, cause honestly, he wasn't going to do any better. Phil was new, and it was only a school project; afterwards, they would go their separate ways. "Have you ever read it before?" He asked, staring at the copy of the book Ms. Parsons had handed him.

"I never finished it," Phil said, and then smiled. "But everyone knows how it ends anyway, right?"

"Yeah, very stupidly." Dan hadn't read much Shakespeare in his life, but he knew this was one of his least favorites. "'Love story' that's not a love story, but most people still think is a love story."

Phil flipped through his copy disinterestedly, and shrugged. "I mean, it's kind of a love story. In the beginning, at least, before all the tragedy."

"Aren't they, like teenagers in this story? What kind of teenager falls in love with someone after a day?"

"You're telling me you don't fall in love with anyone who shows you even the slightest attention? What kind of high schooler are you?" Phil said this with a smirk, but Dan didn't smile.

"I don't really believe in love," he said.

When most people heard that, they honestly didn't care. They assumed he was Donnie Darko-esque cynical, and that he just hadn't found the right one yet, and when they verbally suggested this, he verbally told them to fuck off. But Phil reacted with picture perfect shock, and Dan silently reveled in it.