Ignited: Nova
Ignited Chapter 2- Nova
Pairing: Dan Howell/ Phil Lester and PJ Liguori/ Chris Kendall
Rating: M
Warnings: Swearing and eventual fluff/smutt
Word Count: 5,849 (whoops)
Summary: AU superpowers. The lights has been there for as long as Dan can remember. It’s apart of him and he can’t help but love the light. But sometimes the burning and itching under his skin won’t leave until it shines bright and illuminates the sky.
Dan’s life changes forever when he is trust into a world of magic and mystery inside the walls of the Nova Institute for the Exceptionally Gifted and Talented. Dan Howell/Phil Lester, PJ Liguori/ Chris Kendall.
Notes: It took so much willpower for me not to call this chapter “You’re a Nova, Daniel.”
Link to Chapter 1: Lumos
It’s ridiculously green. Every mile the car moves, more and more trees seem to appear, and Dan supposes he understands the need for secrecy, the need to hide, but he hadn’t even realized there was any place like this left in the world. The only explanation his mind can even come up with for something as massive as this is someone from the school keeping the forest growing, maybe even hidden from the rest of the world, and the thought of it kind of terrifies him.
There’s an entire world out here that Dan didn’t even know he was a part of, and now he’s being indoctrinated into it in the scariest and most insane way possible - by literally being dragged out into the middle of nowhere. Somehow, he’s the only one concerned about this.
“Are you excited, honey?” his mum asks, and Dan can hear the excitement clear in her voice. He knows, given the chance, she would live on campus with him for his entire term at the Nova Institute, just to witness all the incredible things they both know they’re about to be introduced too.
“I guess so,” he replies, though if he’s honest, he’s really not sure. He’s happy to have the chance to gain control over his abilities, which only seem to have increased in tenacity throughout the years, and he’s happy to get away from the all consuming, suffocating mass of his parents obsession over his powers, but he’s also terrified, because he knows that, once he’s on campus, he’ll be expected to use his powers, and that is really not something he wants to do.
Only part of it has to do with how many times his parents have told him he has to be careful, to avoid anyone seeing him, though. He’s dangerous. This thing he can do with the light is terrifying, and it wouldn’t be the first time he’d hurt someone if something went wrong at this new school.
“Don’t be like that, honey, I’m sure it’s going to be great!” his mum says, her voice cheery. Frankly, Dan wishes she could attend in his place. Maybe there was someone on campus who could transfer his powers, and then he might feel safe.
“I’m just nervous, mum,” he reassures her. He doesn’t turn away from the window, staring blankly at the tree’s as they blur past him instead.
“You’re going to do great. I’ll visit you every second weekend -” as he’d known she would, “and I’m sure you’re going to progress really well. There are so many teachers and students there who will help you, I’m sure. Before you know it, you’ll have mastered every aspect of this crazy thing you can do,” she promises. Dan can practically feel her grin piercing into the back of his head.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he agrees, but he’s not so sure he believes her.
--
It’s a whirlwind, the minute they reach the campus. The school is huge, dark, and looming - practically a castle. It looks expensive, almost exactly like what a high class ‘specialist’ school would look like. The kind of ones you see on the TV that you don’t think was actually possible.
The Nova school however, exceeds those expectations.
Dan doesn’t have much time to take it in, though, as he finds himself being greeted by some sort of escort not three minutes after he’s climbed out of the car. His mother beside him is over joyed, beaming everywhere she looks. Nerves are pulsating through Dan, because while this is somewhat amazing, it’s also terrifying.
“Daniel I presume?” A lady greets him as he enters. Dan can only assume he’s in the foyer. It’s huge, complete with a large reception area - a desk surrounded by glass windows.
“Yeah,” Dan confirms. His mother on the other hand, holds out her hand in greeting.
“I’m Carol Howell.”
“Excellent, lovely to meet you both!” The receptionist replies, smiling widely. She’s not too old. Infact, she doesn’t look much older then someone in their mid 20’s, and it makes Dan wonder, is she like him? Does she have an ability to? “I’m Vanessa Evans. Welcome to the Nova Institute for the Exceptionally Gifted.”
She shuffles over to her desk momentarily, pulling out a few forms.
“We just have a few documents we need you to sign Mrs. Howell. And while that’s underway, we’ll go ahead and get going with Daniel's tour and show him to his new room. We’ll have someone take your bags from the car shortly.”
His mother nods, taking the paperwork easily, though she looks a little put out that she won’t be going on the tour with Dan. The expression on her face informs him that he’ll be grilled about everything later, and he suppresses a loud sigh. Dan’s mum wishes him well, promising him that they’ll see each other soon, and then Dan is whirled away through an abundance of corridors and wide open spaces.
“You’ve actually had excellent timing. We have a new student starting today also. He should just be waiting in the main hall.”
Dan’s mind reels, there's a main corridor? As opposed to the hundred he feels like they just walked through? Dan’s never been good with directions, and by the sounds of it, this place is one giant maze.
Eventually, they turn down a hall much grandeur than the last few one’s they’ve traversed through, and Dan realizes they’d taken his mother and him through a side entrance of the school, as opposed to the front, as he’d expected. It only takes one glance around the new hall for Dan to understand why - when people come looking, wondering what the hell this place is, the teachers probably don’t want them to see the artifacts and strange looking statues surrounding the hall.
There’s something much more magical about this area of the school, and it suddenly hits Dan that he’s really here. The receptionist, or whoever she is, very well could be just like Dan, or she might not be, but there’s not doubt about where he is any longer.
He’s in a school full of people nearly as strange as he is.
The main hall is long, and Vanessa takes it at a brisk walk while Dan glances around him, taking in the way the school seems to make his skin prickle in a way different than his own powers do, but similar at the same time. It’s not until he finally glances forwards that he realizes the student Vanessa had mentioned before was already standing in the middle of the hall.
Dan’s eyebrows raise. The other student is pale, and he’s ruffling his brown hair, waiting somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.
“Christopher Kendall, meet Daniel Howell.” Vanessa greets as they finally meet up with him in the middle of the room. Vanessa’s smiling just as warmly as before at them both, and somehow, it seems to put Dan at ease. Chris just gives a short sort of wave, and Dan lets out a small breath, completely grateful that there is someone else just starting. At least he won’t be the only new kid.
“Alright, well. It seems the professor is running a little late. He was meant to meet us here, but there’s no sign of him just yet. He’ll be the one to take you on your tour, get you situated, and let you know all that you need to know. In the meantime, I’ve really got to go. There’s much to get organized now that we’ve got two new arrivals, and I’ll need to get your schedules printed. If you don’t mind waiting here, he shouldn’t be too long,” she explains, her smile sympathetic as she gives a little wave and turns on her heel to leave. Her footsteps are just as brisk as before, and before they know it, she’s gone.
Dan can feel his abilities beginning to prickle under his skin now that they’re alone, fear and nerves fueling the small fire just under his skin. He wills himself to calm down a bit, but it’s hard when he’s never been in a situation like this.
“So,” Chris states suddenly from right next to him. Dan jumps. Chris's voice has a northern ring to it, which isn’t anywhere close to where they are. It sounds like he might have come a long way to be here. Maybe he has more reason to be nervous then Dan does.
“What’s your ability?”
For a moment, Dan just stares at him, half in surprise, half in offense. He’s never been asked that before, because no one is supposed to know, and yet here he is in a school designed for individuals with abilities, unsure how to respond. Are you even supposed to ask that? He doesn’t know
“I, uh-” he mutters, sputtering a little bit at his at a loss for words. “I can, create light- sort of. It’s complicated,” he tries to explain, his voice low and probably difficult to understand. Dan knows he’s mumbling, but talking about his powers makes him feel vulnerable. He half expects Chris to demand Dan show him, and he doesn’t want to.
He’ll never forget what he did to those kids, back when they all thought it was just fun and games.
Chris looks at him. “Create light- sort of?”
Dan freezes, because the voice that just came out of Chris’ mouth is, in fact his own.
“Are you...you can repeat people? I mean, like what they say?”
Dan suddenly finds himself grinning slightly. Because okay, yeah, that is kind of cool.
“Mimicry,” Chris clarifies. “I used to ace drama class.”
He doesn't get time to respond, because the professor finally enters the hall then, and to Dan’s surprise, he’s actually one of the guys he’s met before.
“Nice to see you again, Daniel, and you too Chris,” he greets. The sound of his voice is surprising, because he didn’t actually say anything last time they met, and Dan feels a little intimidated, because he’s even more authoritative than his partner had been.
His words register after a moment, and he bites his lip. He doesn’t actually know how the professor had managed to meet them both when they’d just arrived at the academy on the same day, and he’s left to assume Chris might have taken a little longer to get here, but then again, he doesn’t know what power this guy has.
“First and foremost, my names Tobias, but the students here generally call me professor T,” the professor states. “Usually we do a tour of the school first. However, I’ve noticed on your schedules that you’re in the same practical class. I thought it would be good for you to watch some of your fellow students first, and maybe get acquainted.”
Swallowing, Dan’s sure his heart skips a beat. He nervously glances at Chris out of the corner of his eye. He can’t read his expression, but Dan’s willing to bet he’s just as nervous as Dan when he starts to subconsciously fidget with his fringe again. He follows alongside Chris and Professor T, though, once they start moving, and keeps his eyes on his surroundings.
They wander through more hallways, until they’re kind of outside.
They pass what Dan assumes is the Classroom area of the school, which seems to be divided via a huge courtyard, and that’s when Professor T begins talking.
“School life here won’t be that much different from what you’re accustomed too. From 8:30 to 2, you’ll attend classes the same as you always have. You’ll continue where you left off in your year, learning maths, English, and science. The biggest difference you’ll find in your morning curriculum will come from history, where you’ll learn where you came from, and what you are. We are what we would call the Nova generation, but I’ll let your history professor get you caught up on all of that,” he explains, voice loud in the courtyard. There are no students about, which confuses Dan.
It’s already a quarter past 3. Shouldn’t there be students milling about?
“There’s no Physical Education, however. Instead, at 2:30 sharp, you’ll attend your Practicals. That’s where we’re headed now. Practicals will be where you use your powers in a safe environment in order to learn control and understand your full abilities. The facility and administration at the Nova Institute have split up the students into notable groups composed of each different type of power. Every group contains as much of a variety as possible. This is done to prevent competition, and to help you focus on your own growth, rather than watching someone with a similar power outstrip you,” Professor T explains. Dan glances at Chris, realizing suddenly that it is a bit strange that he will be taking a class where he’s meant to use and explore his powers with someone whose power is a far cry from his own.
“However, there is more to it than that. You will find, as you grow older, that not all Nova are good, and their abilities match that. By exposing you to as many types of powers as possible, we hope to give you the best chance possible to defend yourselves.. knowing and understanding the kinds of abilities that a Nova can have will help you to best judge a situation and by therefore expect what your opponent might be capable of, and, consequently, how to defend yourselves, and potentially others, against them.”
The very thought of having to defend himself against another human being terrifies Dan, and he suddenly wishes he could just go home. He nearly stops moving altogether, except Professor T has began to walk faster, almost as if he’s forcing Dan and Chris not to dwell on what he’s said in favor of keeping up with him. Dan doesn’t doubt that’s exactly what he’s trying to do, and stretches his legs out longer to keep up.
“You’ve actually come on the perfect day. Friday’s are for sparring. What you’re about to see is your first proper introduction to the world you were born into. I hope you’re ready,” the man summaries, and suddenly, they’re entering an underground tunnel that Dan had most definitely not seen coming.
He gasps as he’s suddenly enveloped by cold air, and shivers, glancing around him as the environment shifts from one of a very elite castle-based school, to something much more grungy and earthy.
The further they walk, the more the tunnel opens up, until they’re standing in a walkway very similar to the halls of the school, wide enough for large groups of students to pass through easily. The air becomes a little less chilly, a little less foreboding, and then they’re stood in a very large room not unlike the huge main hallway that Dan has a feeling is directly above them.
How much more of this school is there that Dan doesn’t know exists? It feels like there are more secrets here than can ever be revealed. Rather than exciting him, this only fills Dan with more anxiety.
Tobias turns to them.
“This is the main entrance. Just as there’s the main hall in the main school above us, there is a main hallway and entrance down here. There are multiple entrances to the practicals room, as it’s nearly as large as the school above, and each entrance is used by different students, depending on their needs. Just as you’ll find out later, there are maps placed in every room to help you navigate to where you need to go. Your practicals group is in room number B84, down the East Corridor. We’ll need to be fast if we want to catch any of the actual sparring before your classmates leave.”
And then they’re off again. Dan can see that Chris is just as overwhelmed as Dan is by all of this new information being thrown at him, and it helps to calm him a bit, frightened as he is. They turn down another few hallways, Dan watching as they go past room after room, placards hanging next to doors to tell them where they are. Every fifteen feet or so, Dan’s not sure, he see’s a map, clearing indicating where they are, and where they’re headed. Exit’s are highlighted with neon green letters, just like any other building, but Dan has no idea what’s powering them, as they don’t actually appear to be connected to anything. It’s almost as if the letters are just floating there, in mid-air.
He looks away, choosing instead to turn his focus back to Professor T. He’s afraid if he thinks about things too hard, he’ll fall apart.
Eventually, Professor T stops in front of a large grey door, different in size and material than any of the others. There’s no sound on the other side, but Dan knows this is where they were headed. He gulps, feeling his powers burn at the tips of his fingers again. He thinks he sees a flash of light burst from one of them, so he curls his fingers into a fist, and waits.
“I want you to not be afraid, now. My gift is basically a shield. It’s the reason that I give the tours. When we enter that room, nothing will be able to hit you, or hurt you. Just stay close to me, and you’ll be fine,” Professor T forewarns them, and then he’s grinning for the first time, a kind of excitement lighting up his eyes that gets Dan a little more fired up. He and Chris scoot in closer to him, Dan curling his fingers in tighter to his fist.
“Okay,” they both agree, nodding in understanding, and then Professor T is swinging the large door open, and the hallway erupts with the sound of clashing elements and steel. Dan’s head is whirring. He feels like he’s on autopilot as he trails after Professor T, the door falling shut behind them. Dan doesn’t hear when it clangs.
All he can hear is the woosh of fire, and his eyes catch on to it immediately as it erupts skywards, lighting up the room from within. Something smothers the flames abruptly, and Dan hears someone shouting at someone else to be careful. As his eyes attempt to scan around the room, he quickly notices four adults dressed in hazard orange, their eyes carefully trained on the large room full of close to twenty students.
They’re like lifeguards, Dan realizes, as another one shoots their palms out, abruptly preventing a large green plant looking creature from swallowing another student. Dan watches as the plant disperses in a folly of leaves, covering the student instead.
His jaw drops open, and his eyes swing back and forth over the students in the room. Plenty of them are fighting with offensive skills, shooting flurries of fire, and ice, and water alike at each other, while others seem to be fighting with something a little less obvious.
A girl and boy close to the door Professor T had led them in through are staring each other down, and from time to time, Dan can see the girl flinching away from the boy, casting her hands out as if to prevent him from doing something unseen.
Dan flinches at the very idea of not being able to see what he’s up against, and his eyes swivel away.
There’s a boy fighting with nails that look like steal, grown six feet long, and swinging out like swords. The boy he’s up against has blades made out of a substance Dan doesn’t understand, but he knows the weapons are something he created, because in seconds, they’ve morphed from katanas, to throwing knives.
Beside him, Chris knocks into him, and Dan looks over only to see a giant fireball disintegrating into nothing about three feet away from where Chris had previously been standing.
He looks up, and realizes that it’s raining, a mass of storm clouds and loud, angry thunder rolling through the sky. Lightning strikes them, but it never gets within a few inches of their heads before it’s gone too.
Dan can’t say the guy they’re just passing is as lucky as them, though one of the lifeguards seems to have stunned him. When the lightning hits, he doesn’t get shocked. Instead, there’s a look of bliss written clear across his face.
As another unseen danger passes right over them, hitting like a blow of wind into another student's chest, Dan realizes that Professor T’s shield is kind of like a dome surrounding them, preventing anything from getting within three feet of him in any direction. So long as Dan and Chris stay within those boundaries, nothing can hurt them. Dan’s grows a little more bold at that, unable to help his curiosity. His own powers seem to be reacting to the one’s shooting off around him, because he can feel the careful burn of them zapping between his fingertips, itching to come out and play.
He hesitates as Professor T leads them towards the far end of the room, where a teacher is helping guide a smaller group of students. He doesn’t want to get dragged into this whole mess. He’d hoped they were just hear to observe.
As they get closer and closer to the teacher, Dan starts to realize that the chaos they’d just passed through had been relegated to the middle of the room - a kind of stadium looking thing he only now get’s a proper look at because he’s moved through it. There are raised areas, and portions of rural terrain. The floor looks hard, but it bounces each time Dan witnesses a student fall, as if it knows when to soften and open up to avoid anyone getting hurt.
“How can so little Professors keep track of everything that’s going on?” Chris pipes up from beside him, and Dan realizes his concern as he watches a student get blown back by a suffocating looking wave. They both hold their breath as Professor T turns to take a look.
The girls comes out unscathed. She doesn’t even appear to have been affected.
“Just as the teachers are here to prevent injuries, so is the room itself. It was created by another Nova when the school opened, as were all the other rooms in the underground, and kept up by the teachers with the same abilities as the original Nova who created it. That Nova’s abilities allow the room to protect any person inside of it. Any potentially dangerous blow that a teacher misses, the room usually catches. The teachers are here as an extra measure, though the defenses have yet to actually fall,” Professor T explains. Dan watches awestruck as he starts to see the pulses of power Professor T had been talking about.
The walls seem to breathe, and even the ceiling appears to be keeping careful control over the storm brewing over head.
Dan turns back around to the group they’d been approaching, and that’s when he see’s him.
There’s a boy clearly his own age, surprisingly matching him in height, stood concentrating on another student across at the far wall, his black hair hypnotizingly dark from across the way. Dan can’t move his gaze away from him as they draw closer.
There’s beads of sweat pressed to his pale forehead, plastering the fringe remarkably similar to Dan’s own, to his skin, but it’s less gross, and more intriguing as Dan tries to understand what he’s doing. His hands are clenched at his sides, and his concentration is so intense, Dan can see the veins and muscles in his arms rippling with tension. The boy across from him is starring less intensely, appearing to strain, but not nearly as strongly as the first boy.
It’s as they get closer that Dan realizes the first boy is panting, his face burgundy red as he holds out against whatever foe he’s facing.
But as intriguing as the scene is, that’s not the reason Dan’s staring. Dan’s staring because the boy is attractive, insanely so, even as he works to hold out against his foe. Even sweat stained as if he’s been working out, even red and flushed, Dan still finds him attractive, and that’s...that’s a problem.
Well, it doesn’t have to be a problem, but Dan can already feel the burn in his fingertips changing from aggressive to warm. He recognizes that feeling, and he doesn’t like it.
For longer than Dan can remember, he’s kept himself isolated, and he doesn’t want to ruin that on some ridiculous attraction he feels to a stranger in his practicals class.
He isn’t here to make friends, let alone get in a relationship. He’s here to master his powers, and that’s it.
He manages to drag his gaze away just as the boy appears to give in, his entire body relaxing as he breathes out a long breath of air.
The last thing Dan sees are piercing blue eyes, as cold as they are warm, and as hypnotizing as the darkness of his hair.
“Professor L!” Professor T shouts. Dan and Chris share an amused look. Is every teacher here named after a single letter?
Professor L turns around and grins at them, her smile affectionate as she appears to look straight through Professor T and down at Dan and Chris instead.
“I’ve brought you your new recruits,” Professor T teases, winking at Dan and Chris behind him.
“You’ve led them right through the center of the battlefield, I see,” Professor L teases right back, beckoning them over to her. Professor T comes with them, but he moves behind them protectively, and Dan assumes it’s to continue keeping them shielded.
“It’s nice to meet you…?” Professor L says, drawing the sentence out and waiting for Dan and Chris to speak up.
They both introduce themselves, Chris a lot less shy than Dan. Professor L appears to notice his reservedness, and a voice suddenly echoes in his head.
“I understand your fear, Daniel Howell, but there is nothing to fear, here. We are all the same. No one is looking down on you.”
Dan startles, but he’s never given a chance to reply in any capacity, as Professor L launches into a clearly prepared speech where she gives a quick run down of what their week will look. Each day of Practicals appears to entail something different, with Friday's reserved for sparring, and Thursdays reserved for smaller group time with professors whose talents coincide more closely to students with similar powers. The rest is more a blurr that Professor L promises is all written down for them in the packets waiting for them in their rooms.
Apparently, there's an entire history lesson, and a school lesson awaiting them for the weekend. Dan can’t imagine having arrived on any other day of the week, with how much new information feels like it’s being thrown at them.
There are rules, apparently for both school, and Practicals specifically.
Dan’s reminded again that they’ve just been thrown into an entirely new world.
--
The tour of the school follows immediately, but it’s a quick one. As Professor T puts it, the school is much too large to get through in one day, and so they’re brought to each major zone in quick succession.
Every part of the school is actually sectioned off into different areas, though it appears as one huge castle to any outside viewer.
There’s the dorms in the north-west wing, common areas as well as the dining hall in the south-west wing directly below the dorms where the students not only eat, but hang out, and the classrooms in the entire east-wing. Directly under the school is the practicals - the only safe area of the school for actual proper practice of any and all gifts.
The “hospital wing” as Professor T puts it, is in the north-east wing of the school, in direct path of the more dangerous areas of the underground part of the school, but also easily accessible enough for students in any other area of the school.
Dan shudders at the very thought of ever having to visit there, and puts it out of his mind as Professor T explains that the underground was originally created with much bigger intentions than it was currently being used for. The endless corridors and hallways of rooms were meant for students with different gifts to get the proper training, but they were hardly ever used at this point. There just weren’t enough teacher and students combined to use up most of the rooms, and even then, most of the teachers weren’t even sure how to get into the training rooms to use them anyway.
The rooms they use for Practicals had been created much later, and are easy to enter for the students these days. Some of the other rooms are accessible as well, and are used for one on one training on Thursdays, but other than that, the underground is a labyrinth only navigable by the maps spread out through the halls, and the exit signs that led the students back up to the classrooms and dorms above.
The easy explanation makes Dan more nervous, unsure how the teachers aren’t more concerned about the rooms they can’t get into, but he puts it out of his mind as Professor T finally drags them away from the classrooms, and consequently all mentions of the underground, and to the common area’s instead.
Dan’s surprised to find so many rooms filled with TV’s, game systems, and even a pool tables. According to Professor T, some of the students with ice powers paint the lake outside with ice so they can ice skate, especially during the winter, while other students help their classmates breathe underwater so they can become a little more acquainted with the lake life.
Dan’s unsure what the rules about gifts are, but when he tries to ask, Professor T promises him it’s all in the paper work in his dorm room, to read later, when he has more time to absorb it all properly.
Dan doesn’t argue. Instead, he follows Professor T through the common rooms, just now filling up with students, and stares with wide eyes at all the comfy arm chairs and couches, the library full of bookcases, and the room entirely devoted to billards, ping pong, and even old school arcade games. It seems like the common rooms never end, but each one is mostly equipped with the same things. Just off the library are study rooms, and Dan can already see them filling up, despite it being a Friday afternoon.
He knows he’ll be joining the ranks of these students soon, if only to keep himself focused and cut off from making awkward friendships that he’ll never be able to let last.
He shudders at the very thought of getting close enough to someone to hurt them again.
Finally, Professor T ends the tour with the promise to bring them up to their dorm rooms before he goes.
“Luckily, you’ll be right next door to each other!” Professor T explains as he leads them up a large staircase into the north-west wing of the school. “Unfortunately, we never room new students together, so you’ll be with what you might call ‘upper classmen.’ They’re the same year as you in terms of school, but they’re more practiced with their abilities than you are, and have been at the school long enough that they’ll be able to help you settle in and understand the basics,” he explained. Immediately, Dan’s heart dropped.
He’d been under the impression the dorms would be single rooms, not shared accommodation. That made staying away from other students more difficult, but not impossible.
Dan’s roommate was just going to have to deal with having Dan, the anti-social twat, sharing in his living space. He could only hope the dorms weren’t tiny, cramped things that forced them to intrude into each other’s personal space constantly, when all Dan really wanted was to study, and play games quietly and on his own on his laptop when he wasn’t focusing on mastering control over the light he could call forth.
Dan turns his attention back to following Professor T as he walks, as he needs to know how to get back to his room, but it’s difficult when he’s trying to imagine what his new roommate is going to be like.
“Phil and PJ, your new roommates, are two of the students that are currently rooming alone, so it might take a little getting used to, but I’m sure you’ll fit together seamlessly as you work out how to make enough space for the two of you. They’ll be your guides on your first day, as well, and get you as situated as possible, so don’t be intimidated. They’ve been through the process themselves before.”
Finally, they arrive in front of two doors nearly side by side, and Dan jolts as he realizes that his name is written under a plaque right next to the door, as is his roommate's name, and Chris and his roommate on the door one over.
They gulp as they glance at each other, nerves renewed, and Dan turns back to Professor T.
“Well, that’s the end of your tour! Your parents have already been released, now that the paperwork has been filled in, and your schedules, as well as a guidebook and a short history lesson are on your beds. You’ll want to read everything provided to you to the best of your ability, and if you have any questions - well, there’s plenty of students and faculty around to ask.”
With that, Professor T is gone, and Dan and Chris are left to face their new roommates alone. They glance at each other again, giving each other awkward smiles. Chris waves at Dan, and then he takes a deep breathe, and unlocks the door with a press of his palm to the glass next to, just under the plaque with their names.
The door opens, and Chris walks through, gone.
For a moment, Dan just stands there, thinking about how his mum was supposed to see him off and eat dinner with him and force every tiny detail about the school out of him, but she’s not here. Dan’s relieved, if he’s honest, but also terrified, because now he has to walk into a stranger's room all alone and meet the person he’ll be living with for the rest of the year all alone.
Taking a huge breath of his own to fill himself with a little bit of confidence, Dan marches up to the door, and does the same.
The sight he’s greeted with is definitely not the one he’s ready for.
“Hey. I’m Phil Lester, and you must be Daniel Howell. It’s really good to meet you!”
Phil Lester, as it turns out, is Mr. Attractive from Dan’s Practicals class, with the hypnotizing blues eyes that are even more so up close.
--
Link to Chapter 3: Transpire