One Hell Of A Life

chapter fourteen: enter dan and phil.

Em POV:

Right, so most people think that YouTube is this massively divided place, where the gamers and the vloggers are mortal enemies, and the beauty gurus and the sporty channels envy one another. When, really, that never happens. We are all connected in one way or another.

And that was the case when I first met Dan and Phil.

Phil and I ran into each other at Summer In The City one year, and immediately bonded. Of course, then he had to introduce me to Dan, Pj, Chris and everyone.

And click, we were all best mates.

This was after I met and became incredibly close with all of the Sidemen. Once I introduced Jide to Dan and Phil, I suppose they were slightly scared of him, but that could've just been them being massive introverts.

I can relate.

I bonded with the pair for a lot of reasons. One being that the three of us can be incredibly awkward, and another being that I absolutely adore Kanye West. Oh, and I was an avid Buffy fan as a teenager.

I mean, sure, there is an age gap between the pair and I, but so what? Is that massively important? I mean, sure, it's weird to think that when I was in Year 7, Phil was graduating York University with his master's degree. When I had turned thirteen, Dan was dropping out of Uni. In my last two years of secondary school - at ages fifteen and sixteen - I remember listening to the Dan and Phil Show and Internet Takeover on Radio 1.

But, at the end of the day, who cares? Mates are mates, no matter what age, race, gender, whatever.

However, against Dan and Phil, I kind of stuck out. The two like to be as low key as possible, which means fashion is toned down to jeans, a tee, and trainers most of the time. Dan might throw a hat into the mix, but only once in a while.

The three of us are extremely diverse; I am female, they are male. I am black, they are white. Dan and I are internet homos, Phil is a little ray of sunshine. Phil and I dress colourfully (sometimes), and Dan dresses like every day is a casual funeral. Phil hates cheese, Dan hates moths, and I can't stand seafood.

So, after an incredibly long day out, we three returned to Dan and Phil's apartment. It would be one of their last nights there before they'd move somewhere else.

"Imma miss this place." I sighed as I walked in.
"Psh, I fuckin' won't." Dan remarked, shutting the door behind him.
"Really?"
"Em, I don't think you quite understand the flaws of our apartment. The ceilings are literally falling apart, there's a glass door in our kitchen; I'm pretty sure you've experienced for yourself what it feels like walking into that thing." Dan continued.
"Don't even get me started on the drills!" Phil huffed.
"Those cu-"
"OKAY! Okay! I get it. You hate living here." I laughed.

The walls around me looked bare. The mirror in the living room had been taken down; all that was left was the sofa and the TV.

"Rah." I exclaimed, taking in my surroundings. Dan picked up his laptop and walked out of the room, not saying a word.
"Are we not going to stay in here?" Phil questioned.
"I thought that Em would like one last go on the piano." Dan smirked.
"Oh, yeah." Phil smiled.
"Really? That would be amazing." I grinned.

So off we went through the iconic existential crisis corridor and into Dan's room.
"Jesus Christ, this is weird." I was taken aback by the sight of the nakedness of Dan's bedroom. Pretty much nothing on his bedside table, pretty much nothing in the entire room, to be honest.

Dan pressed a G note.
"AHHHH I'M TRIGGERED." I fell to the floor, face down whilst Phil sat on the bed, creasing away.
"Hey! That song is still one of my guilty pleasures." Dan protested. "Don't even lie, it's on your playlist." He swiped my phone from my back pocket.
"Oi!"
"Don't 'oi' me." He said, scrolling through my Spotify playlist.

"AHA! EXPOSED!" Dan waved my phone in my face, showing Phil and I the anthem of the emos.

Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.

I won't even lie, right, I was truly saddened when they decided to part ways with one another.

"Stop shaming me! I can't help but still feel drawn to MCR."
"Bet you don't know all the words anymore." Dan looked at me, doubtfully.
"Bet you I do!" I smiled matter-of-factly. "Bet you don't know the piano chords anymore."
"Bet you I damn well do!" He exclaimed.

"PROVE IT!" We both shouted in unison.
"Okay, that was a bit mad." I cocked an eyebrow.
"Still. Sing it." Dan probed.
"No chance. If it doesn't have rap in, then I don't want to know." I folded my arms, avid on my choice.
"You can't just nope out of a situation like that!" He complained, sinking into the butt chair behind his piano. "Go on. At least give us a quick Panic! tune."
"I've just noped out!" I shook my head.

"Come on, Em, there's only the three of us here." Phil comforted as I perched on the end of Dan's bed next to him. "We know you can sing. It's not embarrassing or anything; it's something to be proud of!"
"W-Well yeah, but-"
"But what?" Dan turned around, raising his eyebrows at me like an infuriated mother.
"I, erm, don't know the words." I stuck my chin out, hoping that the excuse would work.
"Bullshit!" He yelled, face upturned, confident in his words.

As usual.

Dan began playing the chords of Let Her Go by Passenger.
"You won't even sing a one hit wonder?" Phil pleaded. I sighed.
"Fine." I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth in the most outrightly annoying way possible.

Immediately, a smile sprung on Phil's lips, and Dan did a weird, inappropriate wink.

Well you only need the light when it's burning low,

The thing is, though, not even Dan and Phil knew how much this song meant to me. In fact, nobody did, bar one person.

Callum Airey, aka, Calfreezy.

That was our song.

a/n:

1K READS?? WTF????

i have no words. this is well and truly mental.

thanks so bloody much! i'm glad that you've made it this far and are enjoying the chapters.

again, tysm for reading!

lee x