Summary: Dan is an openly gay sixteen-year-old. His religious parents are less than excited and believe his homosexuality could be cured. Dan is forced to hide under a mask of a 2001 emo kid and go to church every Sunday, which he absolutely despises. But maybe not anymore after a fateful encounter with one Phil Lester.

"Dan! Are you ready?" Dan's mum called from downstairs. Dan sighed and finished fussing with his hair. "Like I have a choice. My hair's a mess," Dan mumbled.

Every Sunday, Dan was forced by his family to go to church. Ever since he came out to them as gay, everything connected with anything remotely 'girly' was banned and given away to some lucky poor girls. His precious colorful shirts and jumpers, a girl's wig that he borrowed from a friend, his bracelets-- all gone.

They made him buy more 'boyish' clothes that had no colour. Black, black, the occasional grey, a few whites, black. His closet was crying.

His earrings were also thrown away and now he only owned one black pair.

"I'll be down in a minute," Dan yelled, voice monotone. He didn't believe in God, he only believed in mankind. But it was slowly draining away, too.

Dan trudged down the steps, carrying his eternally black jacket around his arm. His mum and dad smiled at him. He did not return it.

His mum's eyes travelled down to his right hand and she frowned. "What is that, Daniel?" She pointed to Dan's silver ring. It was simple, save for Japanese characters engraved in the inside that read the name of some sort of anime. Dan looked down to see what she was on about then his gaze flickered back up to his mum's eyes, unafraid and unashamed.

"A ring, mother."

"Boys don't wear jewelry."

"It's a ring."

"I demand you take it off."

"Mother--"

"Daniel, listen to her. She's your mum," Dan's father interrupted. Dan looked up at him with a frown. He pulled it off and shoved it in his pocket. They both smiled again.

"Let's go," his mum called and off they went to the car. As soon as Dan got in the car, he slipped the ring back on.

The journey to the church was uneventful to the point that he was glad that the church songs that played from his mother's iPod was upbeat. He really missed his Green Day and FOB but his parents did not allow such profanities played in the same atmosphere as them. They also banned his earphones because he might be listening to Satan or something.

They arrived just in time for the ten o'clock mass and his parents dragged him out of the vehicle and into the church.

"Oh, we're just in time!" his mum rejoiced.

It wasn't always like this. They used to not drag his ass out of the house and force him to attend but when he came out, it all changed. Dan was lucky they didn't force him into priesthood. Probably because they thought Dan would actually enjoy being around boys 24/7.

Dan sang the songs, replied to the priest, but he mostly scouted the place for someone nice to look at. Then, he found him.

A few rows to the front and across the aisle was a black-haired boy with the best ass that he had ever seen.

Damn.

His skin was almost translucent and his hair looked soft. His skinny jeans hugged his legs in all the right places and Dan was sure he found that someone. Very nice to look at indeed.

"Peace be with you," the priest said. Dan nodded at his parents and to the persons around him. Dan quickly glanced back at the man he was looking at before.

Turn around. Turn around. Turn around.

And he did.

Dan internally squealed. The boy locked eyes with him. Blue like the colour of the sky. He was beautiful.

Dan smirked and winked. The boy's eyes widened but he smirked back.

Dan felt his heart flutter and he grinned at the boy.

For the rest of the mass, nothing else happened. A few exchanged glances but nothing else. When the mass ended, Dan and his parents followed the crowd to the outside.

But when Dan felt an aggressive tap on his arm, he turned and saw the black-haired boy grinning at him. Dan's eyes lit up and he waved slightly.

The boy caught up to him and he held out his phone in front of Dan which was opened to Notes. Dan looked down and read it.

"Next time, stay at the very back seat, left side"

Dan looked up and smiled.

:///:

The next Sunday, Dan's parents did not question their son's giddiness and excitement. They complied with his whimsical favour to sit at the farthest row at the left side of the church.

Dan did not know why he followed the boy. He barely knew him so... why?

Why follow a complete stranger?

Dan shared this story with a few friends and they all warned him and told him to be safe. Except for one.

One friend gave a different reaction. That reaction filled his mind for the rest of the week.

"Black hair? Blue eyes? Pale skin?" PJ, a friend of Dan's, said, eyes wide as saucers.

"Yes... why?" Dan asked, curious. PJ rushed to get his phone from his pocket and his fingers moved quickly on the screen. PJ tilted the screen to show Dan a video.

It was him. On his friend's phone.

"What the fuck?" Dan snatched the phone from its owner and PJ pointed to the boy's face.

"That," he said "is Phil Lester."

Phil Lester.

Apparently, he was a YouTuber with over thousands of subscribers. Dan resisted watching any more videos of him, wanting to know Phil by talking to him in person on Sunday.

Dan scanned the back row for Phil and when his chocolate eyes laid on midnight black mop of hair, he grinned and practically skipped over beside him, his parents walking behind him less enthusiastically.

Phil turned his head to Dan and their eyes met. Phil smiled and Dan did too, face warming up.

"You came," Phil whispered in his ear, breath tingling Dan's cheek as the priest entered. Dan decided not to tell him that he wouldn't miss this for the world even though it was true.

Dan barely listened to the Gospel readings in the first place but with a very attractive man beside him, he couldn't even pretend to respond to the priest properly. Before he knew it, everyone was holding hands while singing Our Father.

Phil took Dan's hand in his in a soft grip, palm against palm, skin against skin. Dan's heart fluttered in his chest and everything else was drowned out. Phil's voice was heavenly as he softly sang the lines in a deep melody. Dan only hummed half-heartedly along, his eyes unashamedly switching from their hands to Phil's face and back.

Dan couldn't help but smile at the irony. He was in church yet he was holding hands with another man that he had a light crush on.

Soon, the song was over and he was forced to let go of this angel. But Phil did not want to either. Their hands stayed intertwined for a few moments more before the cool air brushed against Dan's palm again, leaving him empty and cold.

"Daniel," his mother's voice popped his bubble of Phil and Dan turned to her, slightly annoyed. She looked less than happy and the corners of her red lips were turned downwards in a frown.

"What?" Dan asked. He knew that it took all of her strength not to scream at him right at that second just from the fire of irritation in her eyes. Dan loved annoying her when she couldn't lash out at him.

"I know why you wanted to stay here particularly. You think I wouldn't notice?" 'Well, no, mum, I actually wanted you to notice because seeing you unable to kill me on the spot is fucking hilarious but go on.' "It's that boy, isn't it?"

Dan nodded plainly. Dan's mum had smoke coming out of her ears. She had been played like a fucking puppet by her own son!

"I tried everything I could, Dan. But I'm afraid you are beyond the point of being cured." Cue eye roll by Dan "We'll have to look for a girlfriend for you, Daniel."

Oh, fuck that.

"No. I don't like girls."

"You are just unmotivated. God will help you."

"If that's what you want to believe, then God made me this way!" Dan scream-whispered. His mother sighed. "God does not approve of what you think you are. He tries his best to fix you through us."

Bullshit.

Dan groaned and pushed past his parents and left the church. He hated them. He hated how they claim that they loved him but that love only went as far as empty words. He hated the God that they believed in. The God that Dan believed in, if he did at all, was a flawed God, a God that loved all, a God that gave free will to everyone and did not control. A God that was not the reason and cause for everything.

"Excuse me," a voice called out and Dan turned around to face the source. It was Phil.

"Phil?" Dan did not believe that a stranger just followed him outside. Phil looked confused.

"How do you know my name?" Phil asked. Dan found it adorable that Phil forgot how famous he really was, that he had hundreds of thousands of subscribers on YouTube.

"A friend of mine recognized you off of YouTube," Dan explained. "Oh," Phil blushed slightly and Dan wasn't sure if he just imagined the flash of disappointment that flew by Phil's face.

"I only watched a few seconds of your video though. I wanted to get to know you in person." Phil smiled up at Dan gladly.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to."

Phil stepped closer and just took in Dan. His eyes, hair, expression, clothes and everything. Dan's face heated up.

"What's your name?" Phil questioned.

"Dan," he answered. Phil grinned. "Dan," he said, rolling the name around his tongue. Dan felt a surge of happiness when he heard Phil say his name.

"So, Dan, why did you storm out? You seemed pretty angry," Phil asked with genuine concern. Dan glared daggers at his feet like he would to his parents later.

"My parents are the typical God-doesn't-love-gays Christians. So being their gay son isn't really the best job in the world." Dan waited for Phil's response but the blue-eyed male only gave a sad smile.

"I'm sorry. My parents took it well when I came out as bi, but I'd rather not label myself as anything to be honest." Dan grinned. He wasn't alone.

"That's great!" Dan exclaimed, truly happy for Phil. Phil's smile change into a joyful one at that.

"But what did they say earlier, if you don't mind me asking?" Phil asked carefully, tone gentle. Dan did not mind at all.

"They thought that my life isn't hell enough already, what with them throwing away every single possession I have that could be remotely what society accepts as 'girly', and decided to force me into a heterosexual relationship," Dan told him in a harsh voice. Phil's eyebrows met.

"That's awful and just wrong! How could they?" Phil stated angrily.

Finally, someone understands!

"I know! It's just so freaking irritating," Dan complained, hands balling into fists. Phil gently placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. It was effective and Dan looked into Phil's ocean eyes.

"If worse comes to worse, you can call me," Phil offered with a smile. He then pulled a phone from his pocket and asked Dan: "What's your number?"

Dan told him and he was feeling light-headed. They exchanged phone numbers and the brunet just felt like this was all a dream. A guy that he had unashamedly checked out at church last week turned out to be a popular YouTuber and was now willing to help him out with his family problems. How lucky could he possibly get?

In a comfortable silence, they could hear the priest. "Let us offer each other the sign of peace," he said. Dan scoffed as he remembered how many times his parents had told him "peace be with you" but did not practice the meaning. Empty words again.

Phil took a step closer to Dan and held his shoulders in his hands. Before the latter male could react, Phil leant up and kissed him on the forehead.

"Peace be with you," he murmured. A wave of confidence washed over Dan and his body took control of the following actions without the consent of his brain. Dan moved closer and the space between them was soon nonexistent.

Dan was intoxicated with the feeling of Phil's lips against his own and how Phil kissed him back with as much passion. Dan placed his hands atop Phil's hips and pulled him ever so closer. Soon, their lungs begged for air and they were forced to pull apart.

Dan rested his forehead against Phil's, brown eyes locked with sapphire ones.

"Peace be with you."

The End.