A Matter of Perspective

19 - Producer Josh

"Hey mate, how are ya?" Joe Sugg's warm voice could be heard before his face materialized on the screen of Josh's iPad, their Facetime call lagging a bit despite the high Internet speed Josh spent hours setting up in order to make his editing suite as high tech as possible. "Can you see me? Because I can see you and you're looking quite irritated."

Josh chuckled to himself as he fiddled with a few cords on his desk, "Nope, can't see you. It's this bloody WiFi connection...pure shit, mate."

Joe's face suddenly appeared, and after a few grainy seconds, the image of his smiling boyish face appeared, a teasing glint in his eye as he relaxed back into his chair in his home office.

"There he is," Josh announced in a loud voice. "How are ya? It's been a while, gone full Aussie yet?"

Josh could just make out the blush on his friend and colleague's face as he shook his head, smiling sheepishly, "Nah, still a Brit. Though you'll be proud to hear I didn't even get sun burned while in good old Oz."

Josh raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Well, I made Di put sun cream on me every three seconds - partially for the sun, partially for the free back rubs," Joe shrugged, relaxing back in his seat. "How are you? How were your holidays?"

Josh returned the shrug, "Fine. Cold."

"Everyone says that to me when we're sharing holiday stories now," Joe chuckled. "I didn't realize how many people wished they could be on an Australian beach for Christmas. It was better than expected, but I still think it's bloody weird."

"It is a bit," Josh mused. "But still...I'm jealous."

Joe shook his head, "Well, we're back now. For a long old time."

"No holidays on the horizon?"

"Nope," Joe replied, popping the P dramatically. Josh could tell there was a bit of annoyance at his tone and he raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"We're just so damn busy," Joe elaborated after a beat, his voice heavy with exhaustion just thinking about their upcoming schedule, "Tours, rehearsals, TV appearances, YouTube, more tours..."

Josh nodded, "You two really don't go easy on yourselves. Which speaking of...why are we having this call? More In the Pan, or something new?"

Joe grinned, sitting up a bit straighter and rubbing his palms together, "Well, I've had a few In the Pan ideas I wanted to run by you. And then also chat about getting my main channel up and running again."

Josh nodded, noticing the excitement in Joe's eyes. Though  he had just been lamenting his busy schedule, the prospect of more exciting work on the horizon had caused an immediate shift in mood. He had known Joe for a few years now, though their work together had really picked up within the last 18 months when Joe had taken on Strictly, allowing him less time to create and edit. As a freelancer, Josh had more availability in his schedule to hit the hectic and fast deadlines Joe and other YouTubers put on themselves - and so a hesitant partnership had been born out of necessity - where Joe would create and Josh would occasionally edit and upload when he was in a pinch.

Things changed, Josh remembered with a fond smile, when Dianne had suddenly appeared in Joe's life as more than just his dance partner. He could still remember the meeting Joe had scheduled where he'd first proposed In the Pan...

~~~

"How was tour?" Josh asked, plopping down on the gray couch in Joe's living room, gazing at the two big mirror ball trophies sitting on the floor in the corner.