Dan sighs quietly to himself as he fixes the flower crown resting on his head, before heading into the library. It's lunch time and Dan has always refused to eat in the cafeteria due to being constantly bullied by the other students. He just feels much more comfortable in the library, it's quiet and warm. And he just so happens to be on the librarians good side so she doesn't mind whenever Dan comes in during lunch.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Robinson,” Dan greets quietly once he walks into the library.

Mrs. Robinson looks up and smiles at Dan, sending him a little wave.

Dan smiles back at her before making his way over to the books. He looks around before walking down one of the aisles. He’s just finished re-reading the entire Harry Potter series as there’s a new Harry Potter related movie coming, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. But now Dan wants to find something new to read. He’s read quite a lot of books so it will be hard to find a new book for him to read.

It’s been about ten minutes since Dan’s started looking for a book to find, but he’s had no such luck.

Now he’s trying to reach a book on the top shelf, but he’s quite short and can’t reach it.

“Come on,” Dan grumbles as he stands on his very tippy toes, reaching as high as he can. He gasps lightly when his flower crown falls off his head and falls onto the floor. “Damnit. I just want the book.”

“Having troubles?”

Dan looks over and blinks a few times when he sees none other than Phil Lester.

“What are you doing here, Lester?” Dan asks, raising his eyebrows. He’s not necessarily friends with Phil, but they surprisingly get along with each other, despite being total opposites, whenever they happen to  pass each other. Dan only has a couple classes with Phil, though Phil hardly shows up to any of them.

Phil is a punk boy covered in tattoos who loves to cause trouble around the school.

Meanwhile, Dan is a shy boy who loves to wear bright colored clothing and flower crowns on his head.

They’re total opposites but honestly Dan doesn’t mind Phil. He just doesn’t agree with the lifestyle Phil chooses to lead. Phil smokes and parties. Dan isn’t into that scene and tries to stay away from it.

“Is that a tattoo I see on your body?” Phil asks, walking closer to Dan.

Dan gasps and quickly covers his arm up. “No, you didn’t see anything…” He says.

Phil smirks and crosses his arms against his chest. “Who would have thought that pretty boy Dan Howell has a tattoo? Let me see it. I’m obsessed with tattoos,” he says.

“Gee, I wouldn’t have guessed that,” Dan says before glancing down at Phil’s arms, which is covered in all sorts of different tattoos. Dan’s always wanted to ask him about what his tattoos mean but they never really hung out so he never got the chance. “Please. You can’t tell anyone.”

“Why not?” Phil asks, raising his eyebrows. “Tattoos are cool.”

“Yeah, but they aren’t really my aesthetic,” Dan says. “It’s just a small one…” He pulls his sleeve down and shows Phil the tattoo of a flower that he has on his wrist. “It represents me and what I love.”

“A flower? That’s so boring,” Phil rolls his eyes.

“Boys! Quiet down back there!”

Dan jumps slightly and then he looks over at Phil. “We’ll talk later. I don’t wanna get kicked out,” he says.

“Of course not. Do you have a pen?” Phil asks.

“Um-” Dan pats his jeans pockets and then he pulls out a pen. “Why?”

Phil grabs Dan’s arms and then he writes his number on it. “Call me later or something. I wanna hear more about that tattoo,” he says. He winks at dan before turning around and walking away.

“Wait! Oh, God damnit-” He looks up at the book he wanted and sighs. Dan bends down and then he carefully picks up his flower crown from the floor and gently places it on his head. He looks up when he hears footsteps and blushes when he sees Phil has returned back.

Phil walks over to him and reaches up, grabbing the book Dan wanted before from the top shelf.

“Thank you,” Dan whispers as he takes the book from Phil.

Phil smiles at him before walking away again.

Dan takes a deep breath as he holds onto the book. He just had a full blown conversation with Phil Lester, and Dan loved every single second of it. Phil doesn’t seem like the tough, punk boy that he makes himself out to be. He seems sweet, though he’s sure if Dan told him that he wouldn’t appreciate it very much. Phil’s reputation is very important to him, though Dan never understood why.

Dan patiently waits for the school day to end.

As soon as school finally finishes, Dan rushes home so that he can be able to call Phil. He didn’t see Phil again for the rest of the day so dan just assumes that he skipped the rest of his classes, like usually.

Dan giggles as he runs into his room and jumps onto his bed. He reaches over and grabs his phone from his night stand. He carefully pulls his sleeve up and looks at the number on his arm. He made sure to protect the number from getting smudged or ruined in some type of way.

“Hello?”

Dan has to stop himself from squealing excitedly when Phil picks up. He had been terrified all day that Phil gave him a fake number. It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened to him.

“Phil? Um, i-it’s me… D-Dan,” Dan mentally kicks himself for stuttering.

“Dan? Who- Oh. Dan. Yeah, um, hey. What’s up?” Phil asks.

“You didn’t forget that you gave me your number, did you?” Dan asks, his heartbreaking slightly.

“Only for a second, but now I remember,” Phil chuckles. “So, do you wanna hang out?”

“Oh. What do you mean by hang out?” Dan asks, slightly nervous.

“I mean hang out. Like, can I come over to your place or something?” Phil asks.

“Oh, okay. Yeah… you can come over. My parents are rarely home so it’ll just be us,” Dan tells him.

“Cool. What’s your address?”

Dan tells Phil his address, and after they hang up, he jumps off the bed and runs around the house, making sure that everything looks cleaned and organized. He doesn’t know why he feels the need to impress Phil but he just wants to. This is the first time they’ve really hung out together. First impressions are always important after all. This is the perfect opportunity to become friends with Phil.

And… maybe more? It’s not like Dan has a crush on the punk boy or anything.

“Hey,” Dan greets as he opens the door and lets Phil inside the house.

“You didn’t tell me you were rich,” Phil says as he looks around the house in awe.

“What do you mean?” Dan asks as he shuts the door before looking over at Phil.

“This house is fucking huge,” Phil says. “I mean I expected it to be posh and everything but not like this,” Phil says. He looks over at Dan and raises his eyebrows.

“Oh, yeah… usually I don’t tell people my family is rich because otherwise they’ll just want to hang out with me because of the money. I don’t have the money… it’s my parents,” Dan shrugs.

“What do they do?” Phil asks curiously, walking over to Dan.

“They travel around the world… and do lots of promotions and stuff,” Dan explain. “Wanna go upstairs?”

“To do what?” Phil asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“No!” Dan laughs and shoves Phil playfully before grabbing his arm and leading the way upstairs.

“Jesus Christ, why do you have so many stairs?” Phil asks once they reach the top of the stairs.

“I told my parents we didn’t need it but they insisted it. I mean… it’s just me living here, and the workers,” Dan looks over at Phil and laughs when he sees how out of breath he is. “You get used to it. Come on, let’s go to my room-” He starts walking down the hallway but Phil holds up his hand.

“I need a moment-” Phil says, taking a few deep breaths.

“Oh, come on!” Dan laughs. “It’s not that bad-” He grabs Phil’s arm and drags him down the hallway.

They finally make it to Dan’s bedroom. Dan pushes the door open and they walk in.

“This house is insane,” Phil says as they enter Dan’s room.

“It’s cool, but it’s big and you realize how lonely it is. I’m not really friends with any of the workers here so there’s no one to talk to. My brother goes with my parents most of the time so he’s never home,”

“How come you don’t go with your parents?” Phil asks curiously.

“Oh, travelling isn’t my thing,” Dan replies. “So, what do you want to do?”

“What are the options?” Phil asks. “There has to be something in this house of yours to do.”

“Well, we can watch movies on the big screen and I can have the butler bring us up some snacks. Or... we can play video games and I can kick your ass at Mario kart,” Dan grins as he looks over at Phil.

“Oh, hell yeah. You’re going fucking down,” Phil grins back at him.

Dan giggles and then he grabs Phil’s arm and takes him to the gaming room.

“Holy shit. Am I in heaven?” Phil asks as he looks around at all the gaming systems in the room.

“Probably,” Dan answers before he walks over to where the wii is and puts in Mario Kart.

“Hey, I know that I seem a little shocked right now but I promise not to tell anyone that your families rich, and I promise that I’m not using you for any money,” Phil says as he watches Dan.

Dan looks over at Phil and smiles at him. “Thanks… that means a lot to me,” he says.

Phil grins. “Now about this kicking my ass?” He asks, walking over to Dan.

“Grab a beanbag and get comfortable,” Dan laughs and stands up after having the game setup.

Dan and Phil end up playing video games for over two hours. Dan ended up winning Mario Kart, although Phil claims that Dan cheated which then turned into a heated argument but they got past that.

Now they were just relaxing on the beanbags in the gaming room, eating snacks, and talking.

“So, do you have any other tattoos?” Phil asks as he looks over at Dan. “Or do you have just the one?”

“Just the one,” Dan answers honestly. “I want to get another but I've been too afraid… and plus, tattoos are expensive as hell and my parents would kill me if I used their money for tattoos.”

“Oh, come on. Get another tattoo! I have a friend who has a tattoo shop and he gives me tattoos for free,” Phil says. “We could even go today if you wanted.”

“Whoa. Really? But… what would I even get though? I already have the flower tattoo,” Dan says as he holds up his wrist. “I don't want to get a tattoo where it's visible to others. I want to keep it hidden.”

“Okay, um… I don’t really know… what do you love besides all this flower stuff? Do you have any hobbies or something that you're passionate about?” Phil asks curiously.

“Well… I do really love music. I learned how to play the piano when I was younger and I think I’m pretty good at it. What tattoo could I get out of that?” Dan asks, looking over at Phil.

Phil thinks quietly to himself for a few moments. “Oh, I know… I've seen people get little music notes behind their ear. It's small and hidden,” he says. “I think that will be perfect for you.”

“Okay,” Dan smiles and nods, feeling himself getting excited about getting another tattoo.

“Sweet! Let’s go get a fucking tattoo then,” Phil says excitedly.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening right now,” Dan laughs. He’s been thinking about getting another tattoo for awhile now but he’s been too scared to actually get one. “But wait… will it hurt?”

“I'm not sure, if I’m being honest.  My ear is the one part of my body that I don't have tattoos. Although maybe I could get something tattoos back there. I'll think about it,” Phil grins.

Dan giggles. “It's our first time hanging out and you've already convinced me to get a tattoo,” he says.

“They don’t call me a bad boy for nothing,” Phil says as he stands up from the beanbag.

“Are you really a bad boy though?” Dan asks as he stands up as well. “You don’t seem like one to me.”

“I smoke, I skip classes and I never do any of my homework. Pretty much all the teachers hate me because of all the trouble that I cause around school with my friends. So, what does that tell you?”

“I mean, yeah, but… you’re not mean. I don’t see you bullying anyone?” Dan raises his eyebrows. “Most bad boys at our school pick on me because of how I dress and my sexuality but you’re not doing that?”

“There’s a difference between being a bad boy and a bully. I would never think about bullying anyone, especially because of someone’s sexuality,” Phil says. “That’s just fucked up that they do that.”

Dan smiles, “That’s good to know,” he says before following Phil out of the gaming room. He doesn’t care what anyone says about Phil. He may be a “bad boy” but Dan thinks he’s really sweet.

An hour later and Dan is sitting in a chair at the tattoo parlour, currently getting a tattoo on his ear.

“Hey, I’m going to go out for a smoke. Is that okay?” Phil asks as he stands up.

“Yeah,” Dan says as he glances up at Phil.

“Cool. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Phil says before walking out of the shop.

“So, is Phil your boyfriend now?” Romeo asks, glancing at Dan.

“Who? Phil? No. He’s not my boyfriend. We’re hardly friends,” Dan blushes.

“Really? Because it looks like you two are really close,” Romeo chuckles. “I’ve never seen Phil look at someone the way he looks at you. It’s kind of sweet in a way. You’re totally opposite of him.”

“Yeah, but we also have a lot in common, so does that really make us opposite?” Dan asks.

“I suppose not. It’s just the way you dress compared to the way he dresses,” Romeo says.

Dan shrugs. “I don’t pay much attention to that stuff if I’m being honest. Phil and I get along and he’s nice. He doesn’t bully me at school like the other boys do,” he says.

“That’s good. It’s always nice to have a friend,” Romeo smiles. “We’re almost done.”

“Oh. I almost forgot that you were tattooing my ear,” Dan laughs.

By the time Phil comes back, Romeo has finished Dan’s tattoo.

“Wow. You did a really good job,” Phil says once he sees the tattoo.

Dan looks over at Phil and smiles at him. “Thank you for convincing me to get another tattoo,”

“No problem. I’m glad we could get one together,” Phil shrugs.

“Did you decide on what you wanted to get?” Dan asks curiously.

“I might get something related to space. I’m obsessed with stuff like that so maybe a moon, or a star,”

“Really? I didn’t know that about you,” Dan says, surprised.

“Science is the only class I don’t skip because I’m actually interested in that stuff,” Phil tells him.

“Wow. I keep learning all these new things about you,” Dan smiles.

“What can I say, Dan? I’m full of surprises,” Phil smirks as he looks over at Dan.

Dan rolls his eyes and shakes his head at Phil, though there’s still a smile on his face.

Months pass, Dan and Phil’s friendship has only gotten stronger since they first started hanging out with each other. They pretty much spend every second of every day together. They’re attached to the hip.

The only time they don’t hang out together is when Phil is off and causing trouble with his friends. Dan doesn’t mind though surprisingly. He never expected Phil to change at all when they started hanging out. Phil’s definitely still a bad boy and Dan kind of likes it like that. It’s a balance for them.

Dan is sitting in the library once again. Lunch is almost over but he’s too focused on the book he’s reading to care about what time it is. He’s so close to finishing the book. Just a few more chapters to go through.

Phil walks into the library and smiles when he sees Dan sitting at one of the tables. He walks over to him, covering Dan’s eyes with his hands once he’s behind him. He laughs softly when Dan jumps.

Dan gasps and moves the hands out of his way. He looks up and smiles when he sees Phil.

Phil grins as he stares right back at him. “Hi,” he greets before sitting down next to him.

“What are you doing in the library?” Dan asks as he bookmarks his book and shuts it, pushing it aside.

“I don’t know. I didn’t feel like skipping with the others so I thought that I would come find you. Actually… there was something that I needed to ask you,” Phil says.

“Oh?” Dan raises his eyebrows. “Okay. You can ask me anything.”

“Well, in that case… how would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?” Phil asks, biting his lip slightly as his hand inching closer to Dan’s hand. He looks up at Dan.

“Dinner?” Dan asks. “I don’t… you mean, like a date?”

“It doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be,” Phil replies with a shrug.

“What if I do want it to be?” Dan asks, biting his lip.

“Then it looks like we’re going on a date tonight,” Phil grins, and then he reaches over to grab Dan’s hand. “So, I’ll pick you up at 7 o’clock tonight?”

“Yeah,” Dan breathes, glancing at their hands.

“Perfect,” Phil smiles and stands up. “See you later.” He winks at Dan before turning and walking away.

Dan sits there for a few moments, completely stunned at what just happened.

Did Phil Lester just ask him out on a date? Dan always hoped this would happen, but he didn’t think it actually would happen. Phil just walked in and asked him out on a date. Just like that.