'THE NEWEST HIT BAND', read the headlines. The band, Van Goth, had become an international sensation overnight.
Music blasted from Phil's stereo speakers that he had bought on a shopping spree a few weeks back. He had not used it until then. Phil had contemplated putting it in a third installment of his 'things I regret buying' franchise but decided to listen to the band, Van Goth, that was all over Twitter. Many people take Phil as the kind of guy who doesn't really listen to emo music, but as he walked around his flat, listening to Van Goth, he began to feel a sense of completion; like the band was what his ears were craving for the 30 years he had been alive.
First came the intro, the drums and the guitar harmonizing perfectly together. Then the keyboard kicked in and took the song to a whole new level. But it was the voice that tied everything in together, joining the instruments seamlessly as if it was a tool that could be played just as easily as a triangle. The voice was like thunder echoing through Phil's very being. The feeling was intoxicating and Phil found himself wanting more.
Phil guiltily binge played their songs, putting each song on repeat multiple times to satisfy his needs. When he finished his last round of songs, he sat on his sofa and looked at his window. A faint orange glow shined through his day curtains and illuminated his flat with a warm aura, something he looked forward to in the evening. He got up and walked over to his kitchen and filled up his kettle with water and set it on the hot stove. Then, he went over to his cupboard, pulled out his favourite mug and plunked a tea bag in. The adrenaline from listening to Van Goth had not washed out yet. When his kettle let out a loud screech, he poured the steaming water into his mug and drank his tea while thoughts of going to a Van Goth concert circled his mind.
"What are you doing?" The voice startled Phil, causing him to spill some of the hot liquid onto his hand. He turned around, it was his roommate Adrian. He was wearing black sweatpants with a potato sack-esc sweater. Adrian closed the gap between him and Phil, he snatched his mug out of his hands and sniffed it. "Seriously man? Tea? AGAIN?" He walked over to the kettle, still on the stove, and poured himself a cup of tea. "Tea's disgusting, I have no idea why you drink it!", he exclaimed as he sipped his tea. He lowered his tea quickly, splashing a few tea drops on Phil. "Now, where did those crumpets go?"
Phil left the kitchen and went back to his room, where he settled onto his blue and green bed and opened his laptop. He moved his mouse over the safari button and clicked. He searched 'Van Goth'. The band members popped up. 'Samuel Lombard', read the first result. He was the lead guitarist, according to a fan page, created by the user VanGoth#1Fan3. He had perfect, creamy white skin. His honey brown, windswept hair perfectly complimenting his sky blue eyes. His silver lip ring made him look tough, and made him look enticing.
The second member listed was 'James Peterson', the drummer. His platinum blonde hair covered half his face. He had incredible peach skin, which played well with his greenish-hazel eyes. He had a smooth, gold nose ring, making his innocent look fade away into the background.
The third was 'Pierce Blume', the keyboardist. His dark skin looked like a delicious chocolate bar that any woman would love to bite into. He had a long face and deep, dark brown eyes. He had extremely short dark brown hair and his lips were plump and ripe like they were stung by a dozen bees.
Phil scrolled down and gasped when he saw the last band member. Adrian walked into the room and looked at him weirdly, until deciding Phil was just being normal Phil, obsessing over silly things. He slowly backed out, afraid he would become infected by whatever disease Phil had.
But for Phil, this was not like any normal celebrity crush or obsession he had ever had. He was looking into the eyes of the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Phil felt something inside him, something he had not felt for anybody else he knew. But the thing that surprised him the most? This gorgeous person… was a man. Phil had to hold back tears as he stared into the alluring face of Dan Howell, the lead singer of Van Goth.
Phil yawned and looked at his bedside clock, 5:35 AM. He shook his head, how could've he been awake for so long just searching up band members? Phil lifted his duvet and stood up, put on a sweater to compensate for the cold night and went out to the kitchen once more. As he walked through the narrow hallways of his flat, music came sounding loudly from Adrian's room. Phil nestled his ear on the door and listened.
"If you love me, never let me go,
Don't let me fall like the beautiful snow,
I just want you to know,
I love you and I'll never let you go."
Being allured by the music, Phil began to sing. Softly as a whisper, to as loud as in a mosh pit. He sang his heart out to every lyric that he had memorized during the day. Phil danced around the hallway, carelessly bouncing off the walls. Phil shut his eyes and let the music take over. He pranced along the hallways, hoping nobody was watching him. Suddenly, Phil heard a crash. He opened his eyes and saw that he had crashed into Adrian's favorite pot.
Adrian rushed downstairs, thinking there was a burglar or that the world was finally ending. But what he found was much, much worse. Phil had broken his favorite pot. The one he was proud of, he had made it when he was in the 4th grade. When he saw Phil sprawled on the ground looking guilty, he let out a scream. "WHAT THE HELL DUDE?", he yelled. Phil looked up in defeat.
Adrian let out a deep breath. "You're lucky I made like, twenty of them.", he sighed. "Ok, get changed, I'm taking you out to breakfast," Phil smirked, finding a chance to tease Adrian. "You're taking me out? Am I your girlfriend or something?" Adrian rolled his eyes and said, "You know I have a boyfriend, right?" He left the room before Phil could answer, but could hear Phil chuckling as he hurried out.
Phil walked into his room, contemplating what to wear. He decided that if he put some music on, he could decide quicker. He connected his phone to his speaker and pressed the bright green icon with three curved, black lines. Spotify opened, and Phil clicked 'SHUFFLE'. His new favorite song, 'If You Love Me, Never Let Me Go' by Van Goth, came on. He found himself swaying to the music. Almost in a hypnotized state, he changed out of his pink and purple long-sleeved pajamas into a long-sleeved black shirt and faded blue jeans. Adrian came into his room and told him to hurry up.
Adrian and Phil walked to a cafe about a block from their flat. It was still a little dark and you could sense the gloominess in the air. It seemed the city was only starting to wake up, and that the sunshine finally came out, as if to say "Good morning, Phil." They walked in silence, only speaking to say a polite "hello" to passersby. They were used to this, they were such good friends that they didn't have to communicate through words. They almost had a telepathic connection.
They soon arrived at the cafe. Phil ordered a plate full of pancakes, and Adrian ordered some scones. Phil stared outside at a tree swaying in the morning winds as Adrian was finishing a text. "I invited Cameron over, hope you don't mind.", said Adrian, cautiously as he put his phone away. Phil felt the rage inside him grow. He strongly disliked Cameron (Phil didn't like to use the word 'hate'), he had no idea why. Ever since the first encounter Phil built up a distaste for him and his attitude. Luckily for him, the feeling was mutual. Phil put his head in his hands just as he received his food. He down looked at his generous stack of pancakes as the waitress placed a napkin next to him. Purple lipstick was smeared over the top faintly resembling a name and a phone number.
"Another one?", exclaimed Adrian, smirking as he picked up the napkin. "You always get the ladies, when will one of 'em be interested in me?" They both shared a laugh. "You know you're gay right?" They chuckled just as a reminder of Adrian's gayness walked through the door. Cameron. "Ah," said Adrian, moving over in order to give space to Cameron, "just the reminder I needed." Cameron sat down next to his boyfriend and gave him a playful kiss on the cheek. "What did I remind you of?" Cameron asked, stealing a chunk of his scone. "That I'm gay," replied Adrian while stuffing scones into his mouth. Both of them laughed and shared a long kiss (which Phil would call a smooch), before remembering Phil was there with them.
"Phil!" Cameron said in an enthusiastic voice, Phil could hear his sarcasm hidden behind the cherubic greeting. Phil swallowed his last slice of pancake and smiled. "Long time no see." They shook hands, "Indeed, long time." An awkward silence cut through the air. Phil pulled out his phone and checked the time, a mere half hour has passed. "I think I'll head off," said Phil, shimmying his way out of the booth. He placed a £5 note on the table, "this should cover most of it." Adrian waved his hand, "See ya later, mate." Phil smiled at Cameron and Adrian, who were snuggling up and taking advantage of the privacy, and headed for the door.
The cold November air breezed through Phil's hair as the walked along the shops on the sidewalks of London. Despite London being a rainy country, today wasn't. The sun was out, lighting every corner of the road. A bus drove noisily passed Phil as he took out his keys to open the door to his flat. After enduring the long walk up the stairs, he sat down on the sofa, switched on his television and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. Automatically a reporter popped up on his screen with the headline 'FANS GOING WILD! FAKING SOULMATES?'. He listened intently. "Fans of the sensational hit band, Van Goth have been doing the extreme since they announced that they'll be going on a tour this coming year." The woman's face changed from being all intense to a serious face which Phil could only describe as a parent's concerned face. The woman continued. "Various reports from parents say that their teens have been writing the lead singer's name, Daniel Howell, on their arms. Some even going the extreme and actually TATTOOING his name permanently. Here's Moira Porter on the story."
Phil switched off his television, he couldn't believe that other people in the fandom would do such a thing. Sure, he was a HUGE fan too, but he wouldn't go the extreme and fake his soulmate. He always expected his soulmate to be a girl he'd meet online. He would ask for her number and then hear her voice then see her name appear on his arm. The girl would ask him if her name appeared and he would say yes and ask the same thing, she would also say yes. That was his fantasy, and still, at 30 years old, no name has appeared. Phil sighed at the realization of this and went into the kitchen, he had regretted not ordering a coffee.
He switched on the coffee machine and poured some grinded beans in, set a coffee filter down and waited for the coffee to brew. Phil glanced at a pug wall clock which he had bought back at Manchester, it read 7:53. His coffee machine let out a loud beep as Adrian slammed the front door of the flat. "Phil! Where you at?" Phil picked a mug which had a colourful bird on it and started pouring the hot brown liquid heaven. "I'm in the kitchen!" He replied. He could hear Adrian's footsteps as they echoed down the hallway, Adrian appeared at the glass kitchen door. "Oh, yeah that's better. Coffee. Pour me some won't cha?" Phil rolled up the sleeves of his sweater, "Sure, hand me a mug." Adrian handed Phil a mug, which he received in a way that exposed his inner arm.
"Whoa! Mate, where'd you get that sick tattoo?" Adrian laughed, "did ya stop at a tattoo parlour on the way home?" Phil looked at his roommate in confusion, he hadn't recalled getting a tattoo, and he hadn't gotten drunk these past few weeks. "What do you mean? I didn't get a tattoo-" His voice drifted off as he realized what had actually happened. He looked down at his pale arm and saw two words that were barely illegible, but Phil could still make out the letters. He examined them carefully and opened his mouth in complete shock.
Daniel Howell, it read.