When Her Dreams Came True

~Chapter 4~

"Welcome home Gabbie!" The two men were holding a cake between them, a white cake with a whisker pattern in black icing and "Welcome home" written in red. The kind gesture moved Gabbie to tears. But she didn't crumple on the floor. She held her head up and grinned at them through her tears. "You may not be our official or biological daughter but you are like family to us." Phil began. Dan continued, " so we decided to make a celebration out of it! You deserve..." but he didn't get to finish his sentence. Gabbie launched herself at them, nearly knocking them over and saying "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!" Dan and Phil looked at each and laughed softly. "You're welcome."

The last few weeks of the summer holidays were spent sorting out the paperwork for Gabbie's official adoption and accommodation. It was rather difficult but worth it. Gabbie was given a proper black bedroom where she could hang out surrounded by her treasured Dan and Phil merch. Life was bliss. She was finally enjoying herself after the shock of what happened to her mother and the videos Dan and Phil had uploaded had caused many questions, which was funny. She knew she would never properly get over her mum but she was making progress.

Then came the matter of school. It would be too much of a hassle to take the train to her school in Bristol anymore so they thought the easiest solution would be to pull out and go to one in London. It was hard to say goodbye to her friends there but she would still be able to visit them and vice versa. Gabbie and Phil endlessly scrawled through Google to find the perfect school for her. They eventually found one, a fifteen minute tube ride away. The summer holidays were drawing to a close and Gabbie was preparing to go into Y11. The reality hit her a few days before when buying the uniform. She had always hated meeting new people and she found it difficult to make friends. What if no one liked her? What if she was bullied? What she cried in the first lesson? These what if questions circled endlessly like vultures preying on her self-esteem and confidence. The night before was awful, when Dan came to check on her before going to bed himself, he found her crumpled in a heap on the floor, sobbing. "Gabbie?! What's wrong?!" He said, rushing over to her. "It's just," she began but couldn't finish her sentence. Dan had figured it out. "You're worried about school, aren't you?" She didn't speak but nodded. He smiled softly. "It's ok! Everyone gets nervous on their first day at school. Plus you've done it few times before!" "It'll be harder this time!" Gabbie retaliated. Dan was puzzled and asked why. "Because everyone will already have friends and won't want a weirdo like me joining in!" She buried her head in her hands and let out big loud sobs. Dan almost felt like crying himself. He hated seeing her like this. He looked over his shoulder and saw Phil, with tears in his eyes. He also came over and they both pulled Gabbie into a hug. They couldn't think of anything to say, they just stayed there until she calmed down. "Hey now I have an idea." Phil stated. Dan and Gabbie looked at him expectantly. "Why don't we all sleep in the same bed tonight? It'll help Gabbie out and it'll feel like we're a family!" No other persuasion was needed. Dan, Phil and Gabbie all slept in Dan's monochrome bed, content and calm about tommorow's events.