So Far Away

Informal Roots

Dan didn't halt his internal punch up until he entered the school, as that wasn't the elephant in the room anymore. As he reached the school gates, Luke slowed down to meet Dan.

"Hey, mate, I know you're nervous and all, but there might be a few dickheads today that will focus on you. I mean, you're different to the normal school day, but relax, yeah? You can sit with us for as long as you like, but if you find a different friend group, we're not gonna stop you."Luke smiled.This action theoretically should have comforted Dan, but the huge possibility of failure, embarrassment and endless consequences utterly terrified him. 

For an unknown reflex, Dan turned to Phil. For some reason, he felt safer with Phil than Luke or Jacob. As soon as the two made eye contact, Phil's eye's widened and he turned his gaze to the ground.  

The action resonated with Dan like a punch in the gut. Today was going to be a battle.

~

Goddamn it, Phil thought. God-fucking-dammit. The cute new exchange boy makes VOLUNTARY eye contact with you, you dickhead, and you look away. Idiot.

The chime of the school bell rung out. As they approached the roll call lines, Phil watched as Dan and Luke approached the principal for Dan's schedule and timetable. He sighed. He hadn't meant to be such a fuckwit around Dan, they'd had ONE awkward moment. Phil made the split decision that if he was going to make any consecutive choices and attempts at friendship, it should be towards Dan.

~

In the first class, Phil was still deep in thought about Dan and this morning. That was, until a teacher appeared at the door.

"Excuse me, mind if I briefly interrupt?" The teacher spoke.

"Oh, not at all!" Ms Grodwell said, stepping away from the board. "What do you need, sir?"

"Could I borrow a student who wouldn't mind spending the day leading a new student around?"

Of course, on the offer of a day off of learning, nearly every hand shot up. Ms Grodwell chuckled, searching the room.

"Ah, Mr Purcell! Would you mind following Sir up to the office?"

The boy hissed in success, gathering his belongings and leaving the room. Phil sighed yet again, resuming his work. If this morning was his only chance to truly befriend Dan in his wonderful journey, then he'd fucked up. Big time.

~

Dan sat impatiently in the office. After being handed sheet after sheet of information and being reassured that if he had any issues, to simply talk to a 'friendly student', he was tired already. 

A boy marched through the doorway, followed by the teacher who had introduced him to the school.

"Daniel, this is Thomas. He'll be showing you around today. Thomas, please make sure you take Daniel to every staffroom and introduce him to every head teacher. Thank you." The teacher spoke with a tired tone.

This 'Thomas' nodded, before reaching for Dan's hand. Dan flinched at this gesture. 

"Hey mate, name's Tom. Welcome to STRAYA!" He said, laughing.

Dan chuckled, before following Tom outside.

"So you're from Germany, yeah? Wow, what a temperature difference. How are you dealing with the heat?"

"Oh, alright I guess." Dan said quietly. He would kill to escape this awkward encounter. How great it would be to have Luke, or Phil here to help. Oh god, the only people he was confident around were his host brother and a boy he fancied slightly who he'd only known for 20 minutes. 

Fuck.

~

Recess chimed, students flooded from the buildings like carp from a river as teachers shouted to "STOP RUNNING!". Dan had been quickly abandoned by Tom, with his best wishes and a few warnings about 'sevvies', whatever the hell that meant. As Dan saundered down the path, he searched for a place to sit, quickly spotting Luke and Jacob.

"Hey man, how's your day been?" Jacob yelled, laughing slightly.

Dan suppressed his anxieties to smile back, and nod his head. "Yeah, alright. Tom has left me already."

Luke's face dropped. "You had Tom Purcell lead you around!?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah, he was kind of weird."

Jacob chuckled. "Biggest pothead out there, he is."

Luke punched Jacob, before turning to Dan. "Dude, I hate to be forceful, but you're sticking with us for the rest of today."

Dan relaxed at this proposal, a wave of assurance washing over him. With this state, he mustered up the confidence to ask a question.

"Where's Phil?"He said, watching carefully for the boys' reactions.

"Oh gosh man, how do we say this nicely. We both love Phil, to bits, but he's a bit distant. He keeps to himself quite a bit too." Jacob said.

"Yeah" Luke added, "Phil's a great guy, he's hilarious when he's in the mood. But other than that, he keeps to himself. He's been studying a bit excessively recently, too. Don't know why, the guy's got awesome marks. But hey, that's his business. Why, got a thing for him?" Luke smirked.

Dan had to shield his face to hide a blush. "No." He stated quietly.

"Well, if you do, I wouldn't erase your chances completely. Phil's always been recluse about his sexuality, which is a dead giveaway that he's not 100% straight." Jacob smirked. Luke punched him in the shoulder.

"I love Phil, man, and he's cool. Don't worry about him, Dan. He does what he does, we can't change that." Luke said.

Dan nodded, opening his bag to put away his various sheets. The two boys seemed to easily dismiss Phil's behaviour as shyness, but Dan wanted to get to know Phil more. 

Something about Phil drew Dan in, and they'd barely exchanged words.