All Again For You

Chapter 2 *Phil's POV*

I smiled to everyone in the halls as I entered the school building. I heard the shouts and chatter as always and felt happy to see everything as it normally is. I missed school a lot over the summer, I always do. Not because I like the actual learning of school, but because I love to be around people. I like smiling faces and meaningless chatter. I had a lot of friends, and I loved them all. 

"Phiiiiiiiil!" I heard someone call to me excitedly. I turned to see Tabitha running towards me. She slammed into me and we had a quick hug, before she pulled back and started to chat. Tabitha had been one of my best friends for as long as I could remember, but like most people, we had never actually gotten close. I guess I'm what would be called popular at my school, but I never connect with anyone on a deeper level, whatever that means. Nobody wants to know me, they just want to know who I am on the very surface and add me to their library of friends. I can't say anything bad, though, because I do that to people too. It's just how things work. 

"And I'm having a big party at the lake this Friday! With the whole grade, and you HAVE to be there." Tabitha told me. She was known for her parties at the lake. I liked parties, the music and noise, slightly sweaty people laughing and bumping into each other. The whole environment of parties was nice to me. I liked places with plenty of distractions, like school, and a party is one giant distraction where you don't really have to think about anything. When I have nothing to do I start to think about things, things that I would never be able to put into words even if I wanted to, and it starts to make me sad. 

"I'll be there!" I said with a smile. Tabitha gave me another quick hug and ran off, yelling "See you then!" as she faded into the crowd. She's like a whirlwind, always doing something with much enthusiasm. I joined the crowd in the opposite direction of where she went, on my way to my first class of the day. I glanced down at the notecard in my hand that had my class schedule written on it in a barely legible scrawl. Room 207. I made my way down the very full hall, seeing familiar faces all around me. Nobody seemed to notice me, everyone caught up in the people they like better. I have friends, but they all have somebody else they like more. Maybe that's why I'm not close with anyone. I'm also kind of obsessed with telling myself that I do have friends, like I'm afraid that if I don't remind myself they exist they'll leave me. 

When I was right in front of room 207, ready to enter, foot traffic in front of the entrance turned into a jam. Someone had collided with Maggie, causing her to drop her drawings as it seemed. Maggie was one of the shyest people in my grade. She hid behind her hair all the time, never wanting to talk to anyone. She also drew, a lot. I don't think I've ever seen her sitting without a pencil and paper in her hand, and when she's walking she carries a sketchbook stuffed full of loose pages. She was on the floor picking everything up, and the boy who had bumped her was leaving her and walking into the room. I didn't recognise this boy, and I knew everyone at this school. He was very tall and had brown hair in a similar cut to mine. I frowned. I hate when people are rude for no reason like he had been, especially to people like Maggie. She's shy but sweet and would never say or do anything rude. I stopped and kneeled  beside her, immediately beginning to pick up papers and hand them to her. 

"You- you don't need to help. I've got it." She mumbled. She was just trying to be nice, I presumed. "It's okay, Maggie, I want to help. Wow, did you draw this?" I tried to compliment her, lifting up a picture of a cat sitting in a large plush chair. It was an amazing picture, actually. I had never seen her drawings before, but she was obviously very talented.

"Yeah. Bye." She said as she snatched up the last paper and flew past me and into room 209 across the hall. I got a glimpse of her face and it was bright red with blushing. Poor girl. I thought. The second I entered the room I saw Tabitha in the very back row of desks, waving to me. She always liked to sit in the back so she could talk to people. She was sitting with the boy who had run into Maggie just a few moments earlier, and I very subtly rolled my eyes at him. He appeared oblivious to everything and everyone around him, looking down and in his own little world. I plopped myself on the other side of Tabitha just as the teacher, Mr. Walker, started to talk. 

Mr. Walker made a very bland and professional sounding introduction, and then launched into the rules and lesson plans as every teacher does. I turned over to talk to Tabitha at one point, but she was turned towards the boy with the brown fringe. I had to admit, he was cute. I thought a lot of guys were cute, even my friends. I tried to push those thoughts away but I couldn't quite do it. I didn't know if I was a sinner, but I did know I liked boys in the way I was supposed to like girls. The thought of telling anybody made me want to vomit, though, so I bit my lip and looked forward, trying to get lost in Mr. Walker's monotone lecture.