October 12
"PHIL!" I yelled. I had been wandering around the airport for but so long until I found my older brother, holding up a sign with my name on it. I mean, how many 6'2 pale men with an unruly black fringe can be in one place at one time? Once I found him, I pushed my way through the crowd as politely as I could until I got to Phil. Looking the same as always- sparkling blue eyes that resemble the sea, obsidian dyed hair swept across his pale forehead, that ever-present half smile dancing across his lips... That's my older brother.
I squeaked, dropping my suitcase and violin case and opening my arms for a hug. Phil put his sign down and accepted my hug request, embracing me tightly.
"Thalia! It's so good to see you." Phil said as he let go of me.
"I know! I was so happy we could arrange for me to come and stay with you." I smiled happily, exited to be with Phil again.
"For four whole weeks... It'll be great! And Dan will be in for a sweet surprise. I told him I was only going to the store." Phil said. He then stepped back, eyeing me. "Let's take a look at you, then." He said. I put my hand on my hip and smiled as Phil assessed me. His final verdict was,
"You look the same as always; a mix between-"
"Happy and thoughtful." We finished his sentence together.
"You always say that." I commented.
"Well, you haven't changed." Phil pointed out. I fell silent, and noticing that, Phil grabbed my suitcase and the sign, heading for the exit and beckoning for me to follow him.
"Well, let's get out of here, shall we?" Phil asked me when I caught up. Running with a violin case in tow is not easy. I nodded, and said,
"Phi-il! You don't have to carry my suitcase."
"Well, you aren't taking it from me." He said. So I took second best- I grabbed the sign from under his left arm and took it, simply saying,
"Ha." Phil smirked.
"Whatever. I'm carrying the heavier thing. It's my job as your older brother."
"Phil... You know I'm twenty five, right?" I asked. It's a little unbelievable that Phil still tries to keep me protected. When he first had me on his channel, he was protective because I was a lot younger. But it's been quite awhile, I've grown up, and I can protect myself now.
"I know." Phil smiled at me, his blue eyes sparkling playfully. "I know."
*Time Skip, Dan's POV*
I heard the door open, and I knew Phil was back from the grocery store.
"Hey, Phil!" I yelled from my bedroom. I heard him shuffle around for a bit before responding,
"Hey Dan! Can you come help me with the groceries?" I smiled. He always buys more things than he can carry.
"Sure!" I got up from my Tumblr browsing position on my bed and went to help Phil. Following the sound of a struggling Phil, I walked to the kitchen to find my best friend laden with food. A ridiculous amount of food.
"Jeez, Phil, did you bring your family with you from the grocery store?" I asked, staring at all the food.
"You wish. I just need help putting all of this away." And we proceeded to put all the groceries away. As I had started to do, I labeled my cereal and let Phil label his (even though I knew full well that he'd end up eating my cereal anyway). But here was something strange- Phil bought Curiously Cinnamon* and he doesn't even eat that.
"Phil, what is with these random purchases?" I asked, looking at Phil. "You don't eat this." He placed the cereal box next to his, and paused before replying,
"I don't know. Wanted to try something new, I guess." He said. Phil looked at me, waiting for me to ask another question, but I stayed silent.
"Alright, if that's all, I'll be in my room." Phil said. He retreated from the kitchen, leaving without labeling his weird cereal, and the sound of his footsteps was lost. I, too, decided to return to my Tumblr browsing. I got to my room, and was surprised to see the door closed. I could have sworn I left that open... Whatever. I go into my room, and everything looks normal. My bed is clear, and I jump happily onto it. I grab my laptop, and look around my room again. It's drizzling now, after it had been raining for quite some time. My beanbag chair was where I left it under the window. My desk remained neat, and Phil's little sister sat scrolling through her phone at my desk chair, swiveling back and forth ever so slightly.
"Oh, hey, Thalia." I said, acknowledging her presence.
"Hello, Daniel James." She replied. I looked back down at my computer screen, and then my eyes widened once I processed what just happened.
Thalia Lester is in my bedroom.
Right now.
My eyes shot from my computer screen back up to my desk to see her smiling at me .
"Hi, Dan." She said again, smiling. My jaw simply went slack. I'm going to punch myself in the face later for making a fool of myself in front of her, but right now I'm focused on the fact that Thalia's in front of me. Right now.
"How... How are you here?" I asked, still in shock. Thalia smiled.
"Phil got me from the airport after he went grocery shopping." She was speaking as if her being here is the most normal thing on the planet. I slowly began to stand up, a smile spreading across my face.
"I'm so glad you're back, it's been such a long time..." I said. Thalia's face broke out into a broad smile.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to say that!" She exclaimed. Hopping out of my chair, she crossed the room quickly and wrapped me in a hug. With her arms around me, my face heated quickly, but I hugged her back. Finally being able to be with her after she was gone for so long... It's nice to have her back for a visit.
*Thalia's POV*
I pulled away from Dan, looking at him and declaring,
"You haven't changed a bit. It's nice to know that Dan Howell is still the same. Well, minus the straight hair." I smiled. He laughed, his cheeks getting slightly more pink as he tugged on a loose curl.
"Yeah, well if I did change too much, I know you'd be after me." Dan teased.
"Well, Phil's pretty much a child himself, but he won't change on me. Somebody has to keep you both in check." I said in my best impression of my mother. Dan burst out laughing, and just then, Phil came into his room.
"I see you found out that Lia's returned." Phil said. Having recovered from his laughing fit, Dan said,
"Oh, yeah! I wasn't at all surprised at to find her sitting in my room. You know, because that happens all the time." Dan said, giving Phil a look that was saturated in sarcasm.
"I thought you'd appreciate it more if the whole thing was a surprise." Phil commented. Dan shrugged and nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to me and asked,
"How long are you staying for?"
"Four weeks, and maybe then some." I replied. Not a huge amount of time (not after being gone for at least 10 times that), but enough to catch up with Dan and Phil, and hopefully meet some friends of my brother and Dan. There are a bunch of people I want to meet, and I've already met a few when I was younger, but I recall someone by the name of PJ Liguori being the most intriguing. I fell in love with his videos ever since I saw the short 'Tiny Planet Explorer' film, and I have yet to meet him. I'm not trying to get my hopes up, but part of me hopes I get to meet him.
"Thalia?" I heard Phil call. I snapped back to reality.
"Yeah?" Phil gave me a 'really?' look, then pointed down the hall.
"Your room's down there. You can go unpack, if you'd like." I nodded, waving to Dan and punching Phil's shoulder lightly before going down to where he'd pointed and taking in my room for the next month.
It's going to be a wild ride, I'm sure of it.
*Curiously Cinnamon is Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the UK
YOU ARE READING
The Hidden Storyteller (KickthePJ, Discontinued)
Fanfiction"Doing what I love and loving what I do. As cheesy as it sounds, it's the only way to describe the feeling of living my personal dream." Thalia Lester is, indeed, living life to its full potential- by her standard. She's been travelling across Europ...
