"And... I want you guys to know that I'm gay." The words were out of my mouth before I even had another second to think. I pressed the button to turn the camera off, then turned to my boyfriend of 3 months, Tyler Oakley.
"How was that?" I asked nervously. "I'm not really sure what to talk about next." Tyler leaned over and put his head on my shoulder.
"I think it's perfect, babe. Maybe you should talk about your story of coming out to your family." He paused. "When do you think we should tell our viewers about... us?"
I took a deep breath and bit my lip. "I'm not sure. It's definitely another big step, although I have a feeling a lot of the viewers are shipping Troyler already," I said with a laugh. "How about I finish this video and we go out for some coffee, yeah?" Tyler smiled and nodded, leaning back in his chair.
Tyler and I were staying with Caspar Lee and his family for a few weeks in London. Caspar is South African, but his parents also own a flat in London. Ever since Tyler and I met at VidCon, we became fast friends and slowly progressed to more than that. Now we just had to figure out a way to tell our audience.
I finished the video, ending it with my classic sign-off, and Tyler and I walked to a nearby Starbucks. Caspar was filming a video with Alfie all day in the park, so for today it was just Tyler and I, left to explore London. We each grabbed the usual cappuccino and walked around downtown for a bit.
We peered in the windows of all the shops as we walked, talking about YouTube and Tumblr. Suddenly, Tyler stopped and gasped, pointing at the window.
"Oh my goodness..." he said, taking me by the hand. "Troye, it's the Disney store! I didn't know they had these in London!" He was hopping from foot to foot, looking like an excited fangirl. Then again...
I smiled. "Shall we go in?" He rolled his eyes and opened the doors, immediately heading for a rack with Mickey Mouse shirts and hats.
"TROYE! You've got to try these on with me," he exclaimed, holding up a grey sweater with none other but Mickey Mouse on the front which appeared to be three sizes too big. Tyler shook his head. "What size are you girl?"
I blushed, scratching the back of my neck. "Um... usually a small." Tyler dug through the rack and produced two shirts, handing the smaller to me.
I slipped the sweater over my head and stood in the mirror, modeling the outfit. Tyler laughed and posed with me. I dug out my iPhone and took mirror selfies.
"This shit's going on Instagram," Tyler exclaimed. After we had uploaded the pictures (which received a generous amount of Troyler comments), we bought the sweaters and walked over to a park across the street.
"See, now we're the gay Mickey Mouse crew," Tyler said matter-of-factly. "Hashtag ain't nobody messin' with our clique."
Tyler and I sat down on the edge of a fountain. I flicked a coin in for good luck, smiling as I saw a little girl chasing away the pigeons that had swarmed around her looking for a bite to eat.
My hand rested on the stone fountain as we sat there in silence for a bit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyler's hand inch over to mine, resting his on top. Suddenly, two girls who appeared to be around 16 ran up to us shrieking. Their phones were already out, eyes widened. I quickly jerked my hand away from Tyler's and looked up.
"Oh my god. Oh my god I can't believe it I just-" exclaimed one. "You're- it's-"
Tyler smiled and stood up. "Hi! It's so nice to meet you."
"I love your videos." the other one exclaimed, rushing over to me. "Could I please have a picture?"
I grinned. "Of course!" The two girls held out their phones for a picture individually with Tyler and I.
"Um, I'm sorry to bother you guys so much, but could we have a picture of, like, just you and Troye? In front of the fountain?"
I glanced over at Tyler, who was fixing his hair.
"Sure," he replied. We both stood up and I slung my arm around his shoulder.
"Do you girls have YouTube channels?" Tyler asked.
"Oh, no, we don't," one replied, "but we watch your videos religiously. I love you guys so much! It was really great meeting you. I heard you were staying with Caspar, but I didn't expect to find you here!"
"It was great meeting you guys, too," I said.
"Thank you so much!" they both cried, and rushed away.
It was weird, thinking about how YouTube had turned me into someone else. I wouldn't say I've changed or I've become a 'superstar', but my life would have been so much different if I didn't take the jump to start posting videos on YouTube. I definitely wouldn't have met the love of my life and some of the greatest friends I'll ever have.
"That was cool," he said. "I always like meeting our viewers." I nodded.
We sat in silence again for a while until my phone rang. The screen lit up with 'Caspar'.
"Hey, what's up?" I said after I unlocked my phone.
"Troye, you wanna go out to dinner with the gang later tonight? Zoe found this great place and made a reservation for us."
"Sure, what time?" I asked.
"Be back here around 6," Caspar replied.
"Will do, thanks."
I turned to Tyler after I hung up. "Wanna go out to dinner tonight?"
"Is that, like, an invitation on a date?" he replied with a cheeky grin.
I blushed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Zoe made reservations for all of us to go out and Caspar says be back around 6," I said.
"Alright, that leaves us 3 more hours in the big city... wherever shall we go next?" Tyler gasped, clutching my arm.
I laughed as we headed towards the shops, Tyler's elbow linked between mine.
an;
i really hope you guys liked the first chapter (: feel free to leave comments/constructive criticism, second chapter will be coming soon! ~sarah x
