Vlogmas: a YouTube Christmas Special [YouTube]

Day 17

On the seventeenth day of Vlogmas, YouTube gave to me:

Dirty Santa, But Not Like That, At Least, Not In The Current Climate (Dan Howell, Phil Lester, Louise Pentland, Jack Howard, Dean Dobbs, wirrow, Benjamin Cook, Hazel Hayes, Carrie Hope Fletcher [danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil, Sprinkleofglitter, JackHoward, DeanDobbs, OMFGitsJackandDean, thewirrow, ninebrassmonkeys, ChewingSand, ItsWayPastMyBedtime])

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You can hardly believe how many people Dan and Phil managed to cram into their little lounge. When Dan had described it over text as a 'small, intimate get-together', you'd imagined he and Phil, yourself and Louise, and maybe PJ or Bryarly, but not this crowd.

You and Lou are still stood in the doorway of the lounge gaping at the mass of people there, coats hanging halfway off your shoulders, when Dan himself elbows his way over to you, grinning pretty merrily for a self-pronounced hermit. "Welcome to our humble abode," he says, sweeping his arms awkwardly and threatening to spill the styrofoam cup of hot cider in his hand. "I know it's a little mental right now, but once people get settled it'll be a lot less overwhelming."

Phil appears behind you. "Yeah, in the meantime, come into the kitchen and get some festive goodies. I made them all by myself and so far no one has collapsed from food poisoning, so I'd call that a win." He takes your coat and leads you into the kitchen. Halfway there, Louise is intercepted by someone - probably Hazel or Jack - and vanishes into the black hole of people. You and Phil continue into the kitchen, where things are thankfully much calmer.

"I didn't know you and Dan went outside enough to have this many friends," you tease Phil as you pick up a plate and start to look at the "festive goodies" laid out on plates across the countertops.

He laughs, draping your coat over the back of a stool. "When Dan and I settled on the guest list, I didn't actually believe everyone was going to come, but apparently I don't give us enough credit because, well..." He gestures in the direction of the lounge.

"I didn't see Chris and PJ, are they coming?"

Phil shrugs, handing you a cup of fragrant hot cider and leaning against the counter. "PJ's out of town and I think Chris had a prior engagement. He might be filming, but you know how he gets about sharing stuff like that." He takes a sip of his own drink and adds thoughtfully, "He used to not be so weird and secretive about his work."

You nibble on the edge of a cookie shaped like a snowman and are pleasantly surprised when it isn't burnt. "I just assumed it was because he felt like it was braggadocious."

Phil shrugs again. "In any case, he's not here." Perking up visibly, he grabs your wrist and tugs you back into the fray of the lounge. "I just remembered, [withheld] wanted to meet you!"

"[Withheld]?" you repeat with a frown. "Who's that?"

"Y'know, [withheld]," Phil says. "He's wirrow. [Withheld] is his real name."

He keeps jabbering, weaving around people with you in tow, but suddenly you feel a new hand on your other wrist. You look to see Hazel, who mouths something at you intently, motioning in big windmills in the direction of the corridor. "He has a surprise for you!" you catch over the din of the lounge.

You frown, but can't pull away from Phil. "Uh, okay."

You meet wirrow, who is really nice, but probably thinks you rude as you can't help but be distracted by what Hazel had said to you just moments earlier. A surprise? From who? You catch yourself biting the skin under your thumbnail. After enduring a few minutes of conversation, you excuse yourself. "I'm so sorry, I've just got to pop off to the loo..." you say, smiling at wirrow. He grins and nods, then turns to keep talking to Phil as you make your escape, wiggling between people and searching heads for Hazel. Honestly, there isn't even that many people here, but the flat is so small that even those few people take up a lot of space.