Hypnotised (Magnets Book 2)

Chapter 15

Phil's POV
The blinking red light of the camera had never looked so intimidating. It flashed on and off rhythmically, on and off. On. Off.

It hadn't really sunk in yet. I had cancer. I was going into surgery. They were going to cut my skull open. I had cancer. My body was fighting itself.

I could die.

I was scared. Frightened, even. This cancer would change our lives- the money was one problem we would have to work around. Being a YouTuber did provide well- combined with the radio show we were quite well off. But surgery cost heaps and that chemotherapy was not exactly cheap.

I also needed to tell my mum. God, I was dreading that phone call. I couldn't imagine her reaction. I didn't want to be a cause of pain- to her; to anyone.

God, I'm beginning to sound like Hazel Grace.

"How's the filming going?" Dan asked as he popped his head in, interrupting my train of thought.

I swivelled around in my chair. "I... I need you here," I confessed.

"Okay," Dan said kindly and understandingly as he pulled up a chair next to me.

"Hello Internet!" He said, doing his little wave thing. I followed his lead.

"Hey guys!" I said, surprised at how natural this felt. At how calm I appeared to be when my insides were twisting themselves into knots.

"So..." Dan began. "Today we have some sad news."

That was clearly my cue. "So..." I faltered.

"Start from the beginning," Dan suggested.

I took a deep, shaky breath and began. "So last week I began to wake up with these headaches and I got all these dizzy spells," it's all coming out now. "So I went to the doctor- who said I needed to go to the hospital for an MRI."

"Which is basically a brain scan," Dan interjected.

"Yeah. And so after studying the prints the doctor pretty much told us that I have..." I swallowed, preparing myself for what came next. "Brain cancer."

There was a moment of silence.

"Mmmm watcha say," Dan sang all of a sudden. We both burst out into laughter

"So," I tried, still laughing, "I'm going in to surgery in a couple of weeks and they're going to cut out the tumour. After that I'll go through chemotherapy- which means I'll be feeling like shi-sheep," I heard Dan stifle a giggle, "for a while. So if my posting becomes irregular please bear with me."

"What he's trying to say," Dan cut in again,"is that if he's too unwell to upload don't be a little twat about it because he's too busy trying to stay alive."

"No! You can't say that, Dan!" I argued.

He shrugged. "I can say whatever the bloody hell I want to stick up for my boyfriend."

It took me a moment. I turned my head to stare at him in astonishment.

"Did you just-"

"Yep, that's right! We're coming out as a couple. It's been- how many years?" He asked me.

"3? I think it's been 3... Wow..." I replied, trying to keep my wits about me.

"So, yeah! That's what's up in the Howell-Lester household. Phil's got cancer and it turns out you shippers were right."

Then taking me completely by surprise, he reached over and grabbed my chin, pulling towards him for a kiss. We kept it PG for the viewers. No tongue.