You drive back home from PJ's. It starts to pour down with rain.
"Stupid rain. I can't see a thing!" you exclaim.
Dan chuckles. You can tell that it's forced, though.
"Don't worry, Dan. We'll find him. I promise," you say quietly.
*le time skip*
You arrive back home around 2am. It's not raining anymore. It's snowing... and it's spring currently. You roll your eyes at the weather and unlock the door. You hurry Dan inside and shut it again quickly.
"British weather makes no sense," you say, slipping off your boots and walking up the stairs.
"I know," Dan replies glumly, following you.
You yawn and rub your eyes. A thought pops into your head.
"Uh... Dan, this is going to sound really, really self centred, but are we still making that video tonight...?"
He takes off his coat and drapes it over his arm.
"I don't know. I know that it's really important, and I want to do it too, but it's pretty late... what do you want to do?"
"To be honest, I'm really tired. And I probably look like crap. Could we film it tomorrow instead?"
"You don't look like crap. You just need some sleep. You've been searching all night for Phil. Thanks for that, by the way... I'm sorry for being so distant."
"It's okay. I'll do anything to help you guys."
There's a pause.
"I'm going to bed. See you in the morning," you say, giving Dan a kiss and walking off to your room.
*next day*
After you wake up, you get up straight away, unusually. You trudge into the kitchen and see your phone on the worktop. You pick it up.
There are still no messages or calls from Phil.
You sigh and make yourself some cereal. Dan walks in, holding his phone. He puts it away, looks up at you and shakes his head.
You sigh again, take your bowl and walk into the living room. Dan's hot chocolate from last night is still there.
You turn the TV on and settle down to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
*le time skip*
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Dan jumps up from the sofa and runs down the stairs, almost falling over.
You follow him, your heart thumping. He hurriedly unlocks the door and flings it open.
"Hello, here's your mail for today," the postman says, handing Dan a pile of letters and a cardboard box addressed to 'Mr Philip Lester'. He turns around and walks back to his red van.
Dan's face falls. He slams the door and walks slowly up again. You follow him, picking up any letters he drops.
Once you reach the top, he dumps the letters on the floor and curls up on the sofa.
You drop your pile and sit down beside him. You start rubbing his back, slightly awkwardly.
He sits up, moves closer to you and puts his head on your lap.
*le time skip again*
"Do you hear that?" you ask Dan.
"What?" he replies.
"Shh..."
You both listen. You hear a timid knocking sound on the door. You exchange an excited look with Dan and get up quickly.
You rush down the stairs. When you reach the bottom, you stop and wait for Dan. He crosses his fingers and opens the door.
On the step is Phil, looking drenched.
Dan jumps for joy and envelopes Phil in a hug, getting his jumper wet. He doesn't seem to care.
"Hey Dan, hi Y/n," Phil says, smiling at Dan.
"Phil, where were you?! You scared the s*** out of me!" Dan exclaims, pulling back and waggling his hands.
Phil laughs. "You'll never believe me."
You look down at the floor and see a big puddle where Phil is standing.
"Phil, you're making the floor all wet! Go and get changed, then tell us what happened."
"Yes, ma'am!" Phil says, grinning at you and saluting.
You roll your eyes as Phil ascends the stairs, closely followed by Dan. You close the door and follow them.
*le tiny time skip*
Phil comes into the living room, wearing a fresh blue and black shirt and skinny black jeans.
"Well?" Dan asks Phil impatiently. "What happened?"
Phil laughs and takes a breath. "It all started yesterday, when I went into town to get a better tripod. It was quite late, and close to the shop's closing time - I was one of the only people left inside.
"So I was just looking at the tripods, completely mesmerised, when I heard a loud clank. The whole shop was plunged into darkness. The shop owner must have closed the shop, not realising I was still in there. Luckily, I had my phone with me, which I used to call Dan... but he didn't pick up."
Dan looks really sad. "I'm so sorry-"
"It's okay," Phil assures. "Anyway, then I used the torch light on it to see if I could find any food. I found some half eaten biscuits under the till, which lasted about an hour. I wasn't bored, because I played Crossy Road for ages.
"Around midnight, you both texted me. I was in the middle of replying, when my phone died, making it really dark again. I decided that it would probably be a good idea to get some sleep, before the silhouettes of the objects scared me.
"In the morning I nearly gave the staff member a heart attack when he unlocked the shop. I apologised, got out as quickly as possible and got a taxi. It was raining so much! I realised that I only had enough money to take me half of the way to our house, so I gave the driver all I had. He dropped me off halfway there, at the side of the road. I had to walk all the way here, in the rain and snow. That's why I was soaked."
You and Dan stare at him, open mouthed. You speak first.
"That's kind of like Five Nights at Freddy's. Or the Hunger Games."
"Yeah, it's really like Five Nights at Freddy's, Y/n," Dan says sarcastically. "There were creepy animatronics in the tripod shop, security cameras that you can only view for a certain time and things actually attacking you. And-"
You cut him off. "Shut up, Dan." you say, shoving him playfully.
He ignores you. "It's totally like the Hunger Games, too," he continues. "The way they both have poisonous fog, an evil president, 12 districts, etc..."
He trails off. You cross your arms and try to look angry. He chuckles at you. You ignore him and turn to Phil.
"Is he always this annoying?"
"I'm afraid so," Phil replies, laughing.
"Did you get your tripod in the end?" you ask.
"Yeah," he replies, grinning and pulling a tripod out of his bag. He stops and stares at it.
"What?" Dan asks.
"I bought the wrong one."
Dan facepalms.