Sam and Colby: The House

4

"You did this," Colby said, pointing at his screen.     

                "Me? What? The hell I did! That was you and Sam!" I exclaimed.

                "Sam and I contributed to it but the reason it's where it is right now is because of you," Colby said.

                "Okay, well what about Corey and Jake?" I asked.

                "Again, they contributed to it. But this would not be happening right now if it weren't for you. Hell, it might not have ever happened if it weren't for you, Vanessa," he said. Tears sprang into my waterline when he said my whole name like that.

                "Baby," I breathed, not sure how to react. I blinked hard, causing tears to roll down my cheeks. "Well what did Sam say?"

                "Nothing, he's downstairs staring at a pile of bricks," said Colby.

                "What! You didn't tell him first?" I asked.

                "I just found out when we were all standing there!" he replied. "But you're my girlfriend. And my best friend, so I'm going to tell you everything first."

                "No, sir, you are not. Sam is your best friend, not me," I said sternly.

                "Baby, we've talked about this. No one thinks you're overshadowing or replacing Sam in any way, okay? You're both my best friends, just in different manners. I love him a lot, and I love you a lot. I don't love you guys in the same way, just like I don't consider you to be my best friends in the same way. Nothing changes based on who I tell first," Colby said. He looked back at the screen and shook his head yet again. "Holy fuck," he whispered.

                "What? Is it still going up?" I asked.

                "Yes. And do you want to know why?" he asked.

                "Why?"

                "Because of you," he said.

                "No, because of you and Sam," I argued.

                "I know you're the one who wins fights and arguments around here, but you are not going to win this time. You did this. You're the reason this is actually happening. Thank you," he said. I stood there completely dumbfounded, at a loss for words for once in my life. "Well?" he asked. I just stared at him. "Are you going to say something?"

                "I, I don't—I don't know what to...," I stuttered. "You're number 343."

                "Number 343 for what? You keep doing this thing where you say half of a fact and expect us to know. You're a whole ass genius. I need things spelled out for me when it comes to this stuff," Colby said with a small laugh.

                "You're the 343rd YouTube channel to hit 10 million subscribers," I said.

                Seeing that number on his phone screen didn't seem real. Saying the words out loud didn't feel real. But the smile that Colby gave me and the excitement I could feel radiating off of him from the big hug he gave me? Those were so, so real.

                "You did it, baby," I whispered into his ear, my voice slightly strained from how hard he was hugging me.

                "I love you so much," he said, his voice at a whisper.

                "I love you so mucher," I replied. He started laughing quietly and I couldn't help but join him. Nothing was funny, our smiles just weren't strong enough to convey the intensity of the emotions we were feeling.