Dan awoke to the sound of his own voice, accompanied by the tone of another familiar person. He slowly rose from his bed, raising his hands over his head as he performed one of the biggest stretches he had ever done, feeling like each and every bone in his body was snapping in harmony. He let out a monsterous yawn, groggily rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before allowing his focus to manifest for the day. He took a moment to compose himself before stiffly shuffling out of his bed, brining his black checkered comforter with him as a shield from the morning's cold.
Slow as a slug, he edged his way in the direction of the noise, following the path towards the gaming room. He was greeted by the sight of Phil hunched over in the chair, no longer in his pajamas and with no bed head in sight. Dan gave a little wave, his friend giving a small nod as he continued staring at the monitor. "What're you doing up so early?" questioned Dan, the first words of the day coming out a little sloppy.
Phil kept his eyes glued to the screen, his gaze scanning over every detail with great precision. "Just double checking the video for anything you may have missed last night. Looks good so far, I only had to change one little title sequence for you." He replayed one part of the video over and over again, his brain running a million miles per second as he made sure everything was up to standard. Dan was secretly happy that Phil had decided to double check it, otherwise he probably would've uploaded a wonky video. Plus, it meant less work for him; score.
"Cool, so I take it you're the one who's going to upload today?"
Phil gave an affirmative grunt, his gaze never wavering from the task in front of him. "You slept in a little late. This week you kept waking up early so I was surprised to see you still asleep by noon."
Dan cocked his head to the side, now realizing why his friend was all dressed for the day by this point. He had slept in later than he had all week, probably due to his late night editing session. "Ah well, it's nice to sleep after waking up so early; it's been a while." Dan took note of Phil's slightly dismissive nature, a frown dragging his lips downwards. "Hey Phil, are you alright?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just had a little trouble sleeping last night is all. Tossing, turning, you know."
"Oh, alright. Sorry, you just looked a little shitty while you sat there. Why didn't you sleep in a little before editing?"
Phil scoffed, an amused tone returning to the man. "I can't sleep in when we have a guest coming over. That would be rude, wouldn't it? I certainly wouldn't want to walk around in just my pants while a girl was here, right Dan?". Phil wouldn't look up, but Dan could plainly see the mischief on his face as he tried to decipher the meaning of his words.
Admittedly he was still half asleep. What, was Louise coming over or something? She wouldn't be phased by what he was wearing; they'd been through worse. But it couldn't be her, she was probably busy watching her kids. Maybe it wasn't her then? They never had many girls over exc-
Oh, fuck me.
"Heh, judging by the look on your face I assume you remember who I mean?" This time Phil was looking directly at Dan, a snicker evident in his voice. "While you were busy sleeping, I was making sure at least one of us was dressed well enough to greet (Y/N) at the door when she came over. That is... unless you want to, Dan. I'm sure she wouldn't notice that you're hiding your boxers underneath that comforter you pulled around yourself."
Dan subconsciously pulled the sheets closer, a red blush tinting the tip of his ears. "You- Phil, why the hell didn't you wake me up?! Jesus Christ, what time is she going to be here?"
His friend shrugged as he tried his best to hide the smug look on his face. "Hmm, actually, she should be here any moment now. I said she could come over to see what editing a video is like. Also, it was the perfect opportunity for her to finally watch one of our videos; I applaud her stubbornness to not even watch a single one of them since she's been here."
Dan groaned loudly, shoving Phil in his chair as he felt panic wash over him. "God dammit, Phil! You knew I'd still be asleep, didn't you?" His friend just shrugged, a slight bubble of anger boiling inside Dan at how childish his friend was being. "You are the absolute worst, you know that?"
"I try~" sang Phil, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Dan stomped out of the room towards the bathroom, vowing that he would get his revenge on his friend eventually. How would he do it? Dan had no clue, but he'd have a big storm coming eventually.
Dan threw his comforter outside of the bathroom before he entered, immediately shutting the door behind himself as he rushed to make himself look presentable. Unfortunately for him, his hair was far too gone to salvage with a simple comb, his curls matted and slightly greasy. Begrudgingly, Dan was forced to stomp into the shower to fix this problem. He just hopped he had enough time before he made an absolute fool of himself.
----------------
You hadn't expected Phil to text you so soon after they requested a few days to work on their videos. So when he had asked you to come over and watch him edit their work, you were quite excited to see it happen.
For the past few days, you had mostly been lazing about your apartment as you looked for something to do. You could only read so many times before your eyes started to hurt from the constant strain of configuring letters to words. Drawing had been a nice time killer, but even you couldn't keep drawing as you waited for the boredom to pass. Sure, you could go outside and explore a little more, but the weather hadn't been the greatest this week; it was either rain, snow or the dreaded mix of both. You had expected the UK's weather to be gloomy, but even this was a little excessive.
Thankfully, you had Hailey by your side to make things better. Well, not physically by your side but through text. This long distance friendship thing was a little hard on both of you at times, with the time zone differences and her busy schedule it was difficult to get a word in edgewise. Either one of you was sleeping or the other one was about to sleep. Admitly, you hadn't really had the chance at all to give her an update on things, but she was understanding of that. You both were living such crazy lives at the moment that it was insane to expect so much right away. Luckily, you had finally been able to pick a time that worked for the both of you; a slim hour in the day was all you could do.
MSG from Hailey
Alright girl, how's it been? It's been such a busy week that I haven't even had the chance to talk to you! So sorry omg!! ;-;
MSG to Hailey
No no no, it's okay! It's been a busy one for me too, so don't even worry. How are things?
MSG from Hailey
Well work's been super busy, I took some summer courses that have been one helluva workload, so basically I stay inside all the time when I'm not at work lol. Been goofing off and yeahh. I miss you tho!!!! :((((
MSG to Hailey
Oh no, don't overwork yourself! And I miss you too, it's been a little lonely without you here.
Truthfully, you did miss her. You guys had been best friends for so many years so that wasn't a lie. However, you hadn't exactly been as lonely as you were playing it off to be. You had made two crazy friends within a short amount of time. You weren't sure if you should mention this quite yet as you had no idea how she would react to the news. On top of that, if you ever told her who you had made friends with, she would most likely die within a few short seconds. Unlike you, Hailey was a first class fangirl when it came to Youtube stuff; you were secretly relieved that you weren't as obsessed with those internet people as she was.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Hailey wanted to know a little more then you had been putting out there.
MSG from Hailey
So have you met anyone new? You can't just be hiding in your apartment till uni starts up again, go outside once and awhile! Go meet people, go meet some boysssss~
You rolled your eyes at how persistent and simultaneously childish she was being. Leave it to Hailey- the social butterfly to tell you to make friends. Not only that, but she was somebody obsessed with the dating scene, a real flirt she was. When you had been living together, every week she had her eyes on somebody new. Whether this was a good thing was debatable since she was always going out to bars with some guys she had just met. You often worried for her safety when she got a little too carried away with her coquettish behaviours. This was one of the things that made you apprehensive to move across the sea; you couldn't watch out for her.
MSG to Hailey
Trust me, I've gone out side quite a few times. But the weather here isn't exactly the greatest to walk out into, so I've mostly been indoors. As for boys-
You had to be careful with your next words. You didn't want her questioning you any further than she already was.
-no thanks. I'm okay without the whole dating scene.
MSG from Hailey
Oh come onnnnn, you must have met some cute british boys right? If they're british they're automatically hot! ;)
MSG to Hailey
If anything, they're super nice when you talk to them. Just because they have an accent doesn't make them part of your fairytales, lol.
MSG from Hailey
Oh?? Does that mean you've met some nice boys then?!!
Oh.
Ah fuck. Nice one (Y/N). Now she'll keep asking about this
You sighed in annoyance, your ringer going off a million times per second as you were bombarded with question after question from your curious friend. This was just like her, always trying to put together something to meet her fantasy visions. What was with her with boys and british? It was like she was a cult follower or something.
You decided it was best to just tell her straight up. Of course leaving out the tiny little detail of who they were. You had seen how Hailey reacted at the convention surrounded by these internet celebrities so you had no doubt that she would be overbearing and intrusive when she found out you befriended Dan and Phil; from what you remembered, she was obsessed with them.
MSG to Hailey
Okay yes, I have made a few friends. And yes, they happen to be boys. However, that means nothing okay? They're just some down to earth guys who I enjoy hanging out with and they've been nice enough to show me around town so I can get used to it. Nice guys, that's it.
MSG from Hailey
Okaaaaay, if you say so (Y/N)~ ;)
MSG from Hailey
Kk, I have to get ready for work. Talk to you soon!
You sighed loudly, feeling exhausted by how excitable your friend was. On top of that, she assumed that the two boys you met were love interests; how crazy was that? You scoffed to yourself at the absurd thought. Falling for Dan or Phil? Pssh, that's crazy talk. We're just friends.
Just friends. Those words echoed in your mind rather pleasantly when you thought of Phil. Someone as innocent, naive and goofy as him was like a spark of bright energy in your life. Not even an endless ocean could extinguish him. Then there was Dan; sarcastic, witty and clever as a snake. Yet even with these traits he had an overwhelming sense of humor that made him endearing. You felt very lucky to have met him again in the way you did, otherwise you may have never even crossed paths!
Just friends. It sat well with Phil, yet you couldn't deny the bitter taste on your tongue when this applied to Dan. Phil was bright, but Dan was brighter. He was something you wanted to reach out for, something you were so close to and yet...you couldn't have it. When you thought about it, your head would throb in pain with how confused you were getting. You couldn't pinpoint why he made you feel this way.
Or maybe you just didn't want to admit anything.
Your phone buzzed sporadically, ripping you away from your thoughts in an act of mercy. At first you thought it was one more text from Hailey, a last minute heckle and probe at your life. So you were pleasantly surprised when Phil's number danced across your screen.
MSG from Phil L
Morning (Y/N)! Hope I didn't wake you, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over and see what editing a video is like. I'm on the last steps now, but if you wanted to see let me know! You could watch it with us too! ^.^
Editing a video? It must be their gaming channel one. They had explained that they would be busy for the next few days catching up on their video deadlines, their most urgent one being the gaming video. They had said that they were well overdue to post something new. That was the main reason as to why you were still at home and not playing the Sims on their computer.
Even after all this time, you still hadn't musterd up the courage to watch even one of their videos, the thought of it seeming intrusive to you. You much prefer talking in person with then as opposed to a prerecorded skit on a monitor. However, that didn't mean you were turned off from the idea of watching a video with them; it might be quite interesting to see in real time.
MSG to Phil L
Yeah sure! That sounds really cool. What time did you want me there?
MSG from Phil L
Noon sound good? I think that gives you enough time, right?
You looked towards the clock; 10:45am. You nodded contently, pleased that you had enough time to ready yourself.
MSG to Phil L
Yep, that's enough time. I'll see you then.
MSG from Phil L
Cool, we'll see you in a bit!
You out your phone down, already wondering what you should wear to match the harsh conditions outside. Hopefully it would stay snowy and not progress into something worse on the way there. You decided it would be best to leave a few minutes before so you could shuffle there slowly if you needed to. With all that in your mind, you began your daily routine of not looking like a complete and utter mess.
------------------------
Phil continued sifting through each frame of the video, his glasses beginning to fall off the bridge of his nose. He positioned them, rubbing his temple slightly from the tiny headache that was beginning to manifest from the strain of the computer screen. He was almost completely done with the touch up, thankful that there was minimal damage to fix. Somehow Dan had managed to go through the night without messing up horribly, a rare sight when he was left editing alone. Phil felt himself grinning, feeling proud of how much Dan's editing skills had improved over the years.
Speaking of Dan, he had run into the shower moments ago, hastily throwing his covers across the floor of their flat. Phil rolled his eyes and got up from his seat, grabbing fistful of the banket and bringing it back to his friend's room. He liked to keep the flat clean whenever company was arriving, so he would have none of Dan's careless actions for today.
Phil scoffed in amaument with how flustered Dan got with his playful teasing, his ears burning a fierce red whenever he so much as mentioned (Y/N). Dan could joke all he wanted about Phil being oblivious to romantic queues, but even a blind man could see how much (Y/N) affected him. It was so obvious that he was surprised neither of them had figured it out yet!
Oh well, I won't interfere... yet. He thought to himself, smirking triumphantly at his all knowing position. He was never one to act so mischievous and devilish, but then again, Dan never blushed for a girl before she came into view. He would make an exception for now, sitting back and watching this storybook madness unfolded over time.
A small knock at the door signaled Phil, the man trotting over as he immediately knew who it was. He opened the door, a warm greeting to the girl in front of him. "(Y/N)! Welcome back, it's been ages!"
(Y/N) smiled up at him, visible happiness radiating in her eyes. "Glad to be back! And it's only been a few day, Phil. Besides, you're the ones who got backtracked on your jobs and had to make up for it."
Phil stifled a laugh, his tongue poking through from her sassy remarks. "True ture, we have only ourselves to blame. Anyways, come in to the gaming room, the video should be done exporting now. We'll start reviewing it when Dan's all ready."
(Y/N) nodded, hanging her winter coat up on the rack before you made her way to the gaming room. Phil made sure to lock the door before he went to meet up with (Y/N), for once not forgetting this simple step. The amount of times he had forgotten to lock the door was staggering beyond belief.
When he rounded the corner, Phil found (Y/N) perched on their couch, her eyes wondering over to the editing software as it finalized the finishing details. He took a seat in one of the rolling chairs, inviting her to come closer. "Ready to watch the video?"
She nodded eagerly, yet her eyes gave away some confusion. "So this would be your gaming channel one? I'm guessing the Sims since that's what I can see in the frames."
"Yep! In this one we tried to make our Sim hook up with his technically-not-boyfriend boyfriend. A lot of drama ensued, trust me."
(Y/N) chuckled, covering her mouth slightly in effort to hide how much she was grinning. "Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me that you have a whole episode of trying to make two Sims fuck?"
Phil bit his tongue, a horde of giggles trying to break past the barrier. "Well when you put it that way, it sounds kind of creepy! We were just being the romance gods that our poor boys needed!"
That explanation didn't make anything better as (Y/N)'s composure quickly left her, her giggles becoming high pitched as she let out some frantic squeaks of amusement. This was enough to send Phil over the edge, his tongue poking through his teeth as he howled with laughter, his hand coming up to cover his mouth with how hysterically he was laughing. By this time, the two of them were red faced, teary eyed and looking like a bunch of deranged lunatics.
"Phil? What's so fun-" Dan had walked into the room to find both (Y/N) and Phil on the ground, clutching their stomachs as they fought for breath. Phil could only sputter out a few breathy sentences before collapsing to the floor again without another word. The same thing happened with (Y/N) except she had managed to get a few intelligible words out.
"We- the Sims- you watched- fuck?!" She screeched higher when she said this, bringing her hands to her eyes as she wiped away some rogue tears that had rolled down her cheek. The two of them were having a blast on the floor while Dan stood over them, visibly confused by the spectacle that was before him.
"Oookay, I'm just going to... leave for a bit." Dan tried to walk out of the room, but not before Phil grabbed his ankle in protest. Dan looked down and tried to wiggle his ankle out of his friend's grasp.
"No! We need to watch the video! Dan, come on!" Dan was still trying to wiggle free, then Phil decided to pull a little harder. Like an ungraceful gazelle, Dan began to flail as his balance was pulled from him, crashing down to the floor in front of the doorway. On his way down, his arm had somehow hooked onto one of the chair, tipping it onto the ground with a thud.
"Oh come on! We're not even recording an episode and I bring a chair down with me!" Everyone was on the floor now, two of them laughing their asses off and one feeling a little steamed. Eventually Dan was able to see the humor in this and crack a smile at how ridiculous his friends were. "You guys are too much to handle, you know that?"
After a few moments, the two giggling figures were able to calm themselves, shakily standing up as they repositioned the mess they had made. Dan and Phil both sat in their usual spots while (Y/N) hovered behind them on the couch, her eyes eagar and her posture restless.
"Video time?"
The two boys nodded. "Video time"