You sit on your couch, scrolling through Tumblr, looking at all the American memes that just seemed to show up everywhere.
You've been living in London for about a year now, and this is your first 4th away from home.
There are no bald eagles flying casually through the streets, no Stars and Stripes flying, and most importantly: no overpriced, totally illegal fireworks.
You close your laptop. You've had enough American memes for one day, especially since you're so far away from your home country.
You're wearing a navy shirt with USA written on the front along with an American flag, white shorts, and red Converse. You even put on one of those metallic red, silver, and blue tinsel headbands that are really itchy, but really patriotic.
You still don't feel very festive. It's nighttime, and no fireworks are going off. No colored bits of gunpowder are exploding in the dark sky. It makes you upset, to say the least.
A knock at the door interrupts your thoughts. You sigh and as you get up and head for the door.
"I'm coming," you groan as you yank the door open, but you soften when you see Phil standing in front of you, smiling widely. "Phil?"
"(Y/N)! I have a surprise for you!" Phil exclaims immediately, and you laugh. He's wearing his bright blue shirt with the red collar and the white stars on it, along with blue, star-shaped sunglasses.
"Phil, what're you-"
Phil cuts you off when he grabs your hand and pulls you outside into the hallway of your flat.
"What's this surprise you're talking about?" You laugh as Phil leads you down the stairs of your apartment building.
"I can't tell you! Then it wouldn't be a surprise!" Phil grips your hand tighter as the two of you run outside into the night. Phil immediately turns to the right and leads you down the pavement, like he knows exactly where he's going.
He slows to a stop once the two of you reach a public park.
"What are we doing here?" You ask breathlessly as Phil continues to lead you through the park.
"You ask too many questions, (Y/N)," Phil replies.
After walking for a few more moments, Phil stops in a little clearing. There's a few benches and a small creak flowing through the middle.
You walk closer, and you see Dan. He's standing there next to the little river, smiling.
You hear a match strike up, and immediately the little space around you is illuminated by a glowing yellow light. A sparkler.
"Surprise!" Phil shouts next to you.
"Happy America Day, (Y/N)!" Dan exclaims, waving the sparkler back and forth. It leaves a translucent trail that immediately disappears. You notice he has an American flag wrapped around his shoulders.
"It's called the Fourth of July, but-" You can't help but laugh.
"We know, but isn't it more fun to call it America Day?" Dan smiles.
"You guys..." You smile and shake your head. "Why did you do all this?"
"Because," Phil says, lighting up another sparkler. He hands it to you, and you smile as the familiar yellowish glow lights up your face. "We know you're American, and we thought you would probably feel homesick, yeah?"
"Yeah," you smile sadly. You love your home country. All the foods you can't get here in England, the memories from when you were little, not to mention your family is back in America.
Dan wraps his arm around your shoulder and gives you a sideways hug.
"Thank you," you whisper, leaning your head on his shoulder.
"You're welcome," Dan says in a fake American accent, and you laugh.
"But that's not all!" You hear Phil say. You turn around and see him sitting on one of the benches in the park, holding up what looks like a bottle.
"What's that?" You ask, walking closer to him.
"It's tea!" Phil smiles one of his signature smiles. "It wouldn't be America Day without dumping tea into a body of water!"
You roll your eyes playfully and laugh. You glance over at the little creak flowing through the clearing.
"Are you serious?" You laugh again.
Phil nods eagerly and hands you the bottle of tea. You pass your sparkler over to him as you take the bottle. You open it and run over to the river.
"Am I actually going to do this?" You ask them.
"Wait, you haven't done this before?" Dan asks in mock seriousness. "Don't all Americans celebrate the Fourth of July by dumping tea into a harbor and taking their pet eagles for a walk?"
You laugh and shake you head before flipping the bottle over. You watch as all the tea pours into the little river.
"Thanks, guys," you say, smiling.
"You said that already, (Y/N)," Dan says, taking a sip from his bottle of tea before dumping it into the river as well.
"I mean it. You guys are the best for doing all of this," you sigh contently.
"Sorry we couldn't get any real fireworks," Phil says. He's holding two sparklers, so he hands one to you. "We looked, but-"
"No," you shake your head. "No, this is perfect."
You smile as Dan and Phil hug you, taking care not to set themselves on fire with the sparklers.
You couldn't ask for a better Fourth of July.
♡fin♡
Happy 4th guys!