Chapter 7: Chance Encounters and a Motorcycle
Haiku
It comes when it comes
Don't try to fight the feeling
Fate is what it is
It's a school night at the Lester household. A man slams the front door without a glance toward his wife. She knows that her husband's anger has reached another high peak. When he's mad, he can't stay in the house. The more that he looks at her, the more likely that his hypothetical fists of fury can become literal. He isn't a violent man. After 17 years married to him, he has never once laid a punch on her. They'll slap each other, but nothing to leave a serious bruise. But that can change at any moment. Life isn't always predictable, and that includes his actions.
Susan rubs her temple, staring at the window to the left of the front door. Johnathan will be back in a few hours. He needs time for his anger to dissipate. It's safer for her and her kids. She would rather have her husband hit her than Martyn and the twins.
He's wrong. I'm right. I'm always right. He disagrees with most of the house's rules. She believes that he's too lenient, letting the kids do what they want. When she looks at Martyn, she thinks that she failed him; she's lucky that his disobedience hasn't brought home an F. At least Phil and Fiona bring home A's and B's. The twins listen to her and their friends haven't pressured them to get tattoos or piercings.
She and Johnathan have a difficult time working out their problems. They "half-ass" them, a term that she has gotten the habit of saying because of Martyn. Leaving them alone could be worse, because it would make them miserable than they already are. If they don't vent out their frustrations, they wouldn't be decent role models to their kids. Their children come first before anything else.
The kids mean everything to her. She doesn't want them to end up like her and be stuck in a one-sided marriage.
~:~
Somewhere in a bar at a run-down side of the city, Johnathan is sitting at a bar stool. The redundant hip-hop music tears through his ears and his head falls in a cloudy fog. The liquor burns his throat, and he takes another big gulp from his glass. He's a bit drunk, though his drunkenness won't hinder him from driving home safely. Bars are the only way that he can escape his broken marriage.
That bitch. The ungrateful term is the only way that he can describe Susan. He's tired of the way that she thinks that her ways are always the right way. He doesn't blame Martyn for being the way he is. Martyn rebelled against her, just like him. He wishes that he allowed his oldest son to dorm at his college. He hopes that Martyn will move out as soon as possible; his son deserves to start a new life far away from his home.
He calls out to the bartender and orders another drink. Last drink before I go home.
"Had a rough day?" He rotates in his seat. A woman with shoulder length auburn hair and gray eyes is looking at him, warmly smiling at him.
Miss, if only you knew.
~:~
Tonight is a night to unwind for the red-haired woman. Her husband suggested that she should go for a night out after she worked tirelessly on a project for her latest client. Taking his suggestions, she called two of her friends for a girls night out. It's the first time that they are spending time together like this. With kids and each being mothers, the married women don't have a lot of mutual free time to spend together.
Tabitha is happy that she met Eliza Sugg and Erica Pentland. They each have kids that have befriended their son. Aside from the kids of her friends, she has met the rest of Dan's friends. She's particularly fond of Phil and Fiona, who gave quite a memorable performance during their karaoke session when she first met them. She wishes that she can meet their parents, though Dan has told her that the twins have a situation at home that won't allow her to meet their parents until further notice.
When she reaches the bar, she waves to the bartender and orders a martini. While waiting for her order, she glances to the man sitting next to her. The man has ruffled black hair, light blue eyes, and a slight scruff, and he looks incredibly stressed.
"Had a rough day?" she asks him. The man turns to her. Up close, she notices the man's handsome features. Whoa… eh, so what if you're married. You can look without touching.
"If only you knew," he mutters.
"Want to talk about it?" She's the kind of woman that can tell when a person at a bar is having a rough time. Over the years, she has talked to people with problems ranging from stress at work to being financially broke. She learned that communication between strangers can be an effective solution to momentarily forget about problems that life throws at people.
"You're the first to ask that tonight."
"I thought you could use a little company." She peers down at his hands. He has a wedding ring on his ring finger. Perhaps something happened with his wife.
"I think I do." The bartender pushes their orders to them. "I'm Johnathan."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tabitha." She drags her drink closer to her. "The night is young. What would you like to talk about?"
"Hmmm… you're married, right?"
"Nineteen years." Nineteen years with my wonderful Simon.
"Nineteen. Impressive."
That's what everyone says. "How long have you been married?"
"Seventeen." His wife must have really fucked something up if she's the reason why he's here.
She takes a sip of her martini. "Not bad. Do you have kids?"
"Three. Two of them are twins."
That's ironic! "Wow! Really? My son has friends that are twins."
A hint of a smile appears on his face. "What a small world."
"I haven't been here long, actually. My husband started his new job here about three months ago."
"What does he do?"
"He works at a law firm. You?"
"I'm a hotel manager."
The small talk progresses to a light conversation. They discuss our careers and share more about themselves. In the midst of their conversation, Eliza and Erica approached the pair to tell Tabitha that they were leaving. After a quick goodbye, the two mothers left the bar. The adults return to the topic of their kids.
"What are the names of your sons?" Johnathan asks.
"Daniel, or Dan since that's what's he likes to be called, is my oldest. He's 16. Adrian is 12." Simon and I can always go for a third.
"The twins have a friend named Dan."
The irony continues. "What are the names of your twins?"
"Phillip, or Phil for short, and Fiona."
She gasps. Is he joking? "Lester?"
He looks at her in confusion. "Yes."
Johnathan.
Johnathan Lester.
This is the father of Dan's friends. "My name is Tabitha Howell. I think our kids are friends."
He laughs. "This really is a small world."
The two share stories about their children. The revelation of their kids already familiar with each other is a genuine surprise. She never anticipated to meet Phil and Fiona's father in this scenario. She expected to meet him under more proper terms.
The minutes tick away. By midnight, they are out on the streets, walking down the sidewalk as he walks her home. Johnathan is a great man and his wife is a lucky woman. But she's still curious about something: he hasn't told her the exact reason why he was at the bar. All he told her was that he needed time for himself. The man has children. Isn't there a rule for near middle-aged men to prioritize family over alcohol?
"It was nice talking to you," she tells Johnathan as they are walking along the block where her house is.
He grins. "You too. I had a great time, stranger."
"We're not strangers anymore," she says cheekily. "Especially since Dan, Phil, and Fiona are good friends."
"Then that means we'll see each other soon."
She nods. "Why don't we exchange phone numbers? Maybe we can meet up sometime and talk more." She gets lonesome being at home alone while Simon is at work.
"Of course. I like talking to you too." They input their numbers in each other's cell phones. By making a new acquaintance at a bar, she feels like a teenager all over again. I didn't expect the night to end quite like this.
"Can I ask you something before I go?" she questions hesitantly.
"What is it?"
It won't hurt to ask. "Your wife… is she the reason you were at the bar?" He never brought up his wife's name. He knows the name of her husband, so it's fair to know his spouse's name in return.
A flash of sadness reaches Johnathan's eyes. Oh no... I shouldn't have brought it up. "Susan is a reason for why my whole life is a mess."
~:~
At a lamppost not too far away from the Howell residence, Johnathan explains his story with Susan to Tabitha. He tells her how they met, how he admired her confidence that later revealed her true shallow and narrow-minded personality. He tells her how his cowardice prevented him from dropping her as his friend, how he should have done so because it took one drunken night at a friend's party to ruin his life when he knocked up the blonde-haired pessimistic woman. He tells her how they kept the baby, how he promised to support their child, how he married her to appease their parents. He tells her how she was the one that chose to name their oldest child Martyn, even though he disliked the name, how he was happy when she allowed him to name one of the twins Phillip if she got to name the other twin Fiona. He tells her how he couldn't love her the way that he's supposed to, how he chose not to divorce his wife because he didn't want to abandon his three children, how they fight over their parenting styles because she's overprotective over their children and he knows that it's preventing them from achieving their full potential. He tells her how he cries himself to sleep sometimes, how he wishes that he could rewind time so he never met Susan. He tells her how he ended up at the bar tonight because it was another night that his wife was too much to handle and all he craved was a few hours to leave his problems behind.
Tabitha listens attentively. Johnathan is a blubbering mess when he finishes speaking. There are tears in his eyes threatening to spill at any second. I must look like a hoodlum. He's taken aback when she kisses his cheek.
"What was that for?"
"For being honest." She raises a hand and her fingers pauses over his chest. She clutches the cotton cloth of his shirt. "I'm here for you. After what you told me, I'm restraining myself from doing unpleasant things to Susan."
"What are those unpleasant things?" If you want to slap Susan, be my guest.
"You don't want to know."
He's astounded by Tabitha. His frustrations over Susan disappeared when he spoke to her at the bar. He poured his frustrations into a rant to a woman that he met a few hours ago. She listened to every word. She remained silent until he completed his long speech.
Why couldn't Susan be like Tabitha? Why didn't he marry someone that takes the time to simply listen to what he has to say, instead of finding a way to contradict his points? Why isn't Tabitha single? Why will he never have a chance to fall in love with Tabitha, a woman that he yearns for a chance to have a normal relationship with?
Life is just terribly cruel.
~:~
On a slow weekend on the fourth week of November, Dan listens to I Dare You to Move by Switchfoot on his laptop. Since the night of the Halloween dance, he likes to play the song on repeat whenever he's at home. The vibrant personality of Phil fascinated him since day one. He's attracted to Phil beyond his physical appearance, and he's falling hard for the raven-haired boy.
Dan's conversation with Summer at Dillion's stripped away a speck of doubt that he had about his chances of being with Phil. Summer saw a potential in something that he has dreams about every night. Phil is a charming young specimen, and Louise had mentioned that the girls who fancy Phil and tried to ask him out have all been turned down.
What does Phil want in a lover? According to Fiona, Phil has never had a girlfriend. Dan doesn't even know what Phil's sexuality is. He's bisexual, but it's a part of him that he hasn't brought up to the group yet. His sexuality is a piece of information that he doesn't give away to anyone.
His feelings for Phil has become one of his biggest secrets. Until he tells them that he plays for both teams, he doesn't want his friends to find out that he likes Phil. He's scared that he'll hurt Fiona, who he has been suspecting might have feelings for him. He isn't blind to her constant blushing around him. But he can tell that the female Lester twin hasn't tried to ask him out yet due to her own romantic fears. Even the prettiest of nerds aren't immune to being flabbergasted around their object of affection.
Fiona is Phil's sister. If Fiona indeed likes him, then pursuing Phil could risk ruining his friendship with all of his new friends.
~:~
He sits on the sofa at 1:43 PM with his phone pressed against his ear. After another fight with Susan, he forgoes his bedroom for the comfort of the living room. His family are all asleep, and it's this late in the night when he can have his secret phone calls with Tabitha.
"Hello?" the soothing voice of a woman says.
"Good evening, Tabitha."
Despite not being able to see her face, he can sense her smiling. "Hi, Johnathan."
His muscles relax. Hell may be upstairs, but heaven is just a phone call away.
~:~
She walks along the streets, on her way to meet the man that she met one fateful night at a bar two weeks ago. Tabitha and Johnathan's growing friendship has become their little secret. For Johnathan, he needs to keep her concealed from his family to avoid his wife's wrath. For Tabitha, she's saving Simon from possible jealousy, even if he is one of the most understanding people that she knows.
I can take her on any day. Tabitha believes that Susan is a monster wife for belittling her husband. If Johnathan is wrong about something, Susan shouldn't be pretentious and drive her point further to prove herself. She's supposed to be a supportive spouse. Her support is as dead as my childhood dinosaur toy.
Tabitha calls him every day. They text as often as they can, and those texts skyrocketing on nights after his arguments with Susan. When he calls, she can hear his hoarse voice. The yelling steals his voice and time for her to talk to someone that she's beginning to deeply care about.
He's just as elated as her during their communications. He tells her numerous times that she's his reason to being able to calm down when Susan gets on his nerves. Because of her, the violent side that he reigns in has become less apparent when he argues with his wife.
"All I have to do is think about you. With you on my mind, I remind myself that I'll be going to you as soon as I walk away from her."
How long will they keep doing their secret meetings? With Johnathan being busy at work lately, they haven't been able to find time to meet for the last couple days. He has a day off tomorrow, so they are using this Saturday night to meet up.
She's glad to be a positive influence in Johnathan's life. No man should be morose for the rest of his existence. He used to be a happy man before he met the one that would turn his life into a downward spiral. If he can't have a strong marriage, then he can forge a strong friendship with her to make up for it.
~:~
It's 4:43 PM on a slow Tuesday afternoon on the week of Thanksgiving weekend at Leroy's. Minutes roll along as Phil watches Dan and Fiona chat about the next game that Dan should add in his video game collection. As a dedicated gamer, Fiona is always updated on the newest games, even keeping a word doc of a list of recommended video games for them to play in their Surface Pro.
Phil smiles at the warm exchange occurring between his sister and best friend. Fiona has been acting looser around Dan since the Halloween dance, talking to him without any prompting from Phil. Her blushing has been reduced to moments when she's away from Dan. To Phil, it's an improvement. Her ability to control her blushing allows her to behave more like a normal friend around Dan instead of the secret romantic that she is.
"Bro!" Fiona calls out. "Dan wants the newest Legend of Zelda."
"Got you covered, Fi." A shipment of the 3DS game came in last Friday and he too is eager to play it during his four-day break.
Once he grabs one copy of the game from the locked drawers, he hands it to Dan. The brunette teen beams at the sight of the game. He glances down at Fiona, then winks at her.
"I'll get to this as soon as I get home," he tells her.
"Good. When you do, tell me how far you got tomorrow."
He nods. "If I'm lucky, I might finish the main storyline by then."
"I doubt it."
"Wanna bet? I've done it for Pokemon X."
"You're on."
Phil stifles his chuckles. He'd like to see if Dan is capable of winning the bet.
If you can win the bet, then you can win my sister's heart too.
~:~
He walks out of his house on a weekday morning on a Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. For the last couple of days, Alfie has a pride and joy that has given him sweet rides. His dad had surprised him with his own motorcycle as a late birthday present. He thought that he heard a chorus singing hallelujah in the background the moment that he saw the glossy black vehicle. Now if only my love can give me sweet rides too.
"Yo Alfs!" PJ calls out from across the street. PJ's house is directly across the street of Alfie, so the two friends are always walking to school together. "Mind if I hitch a ride with you to school?"
"Sure man!" He shouldn't be the only one to enjoy his new mode of transportation.
PJ grins, then jaywalks across the empty street. "Dude, you're going to blow everyone away when we get to school."
Alfie tosses the spare helmet to PJ. His dad bought two in case he wanted to ride the motorcycle with one of his friends. The ladies will flock to me once I get to school. "That's the plan."
"How do you think Zoe will react?"
"Stunned, that's for sure." Stunned? She'll act as if she saw Marilyn Monroe's ghost. They put their helmets on and situate themselves on the motorcycle's seats. He revs up the engine and in minutes, they are speeding down the block, on their way to school.
He can feel everyone's stares on him and PJ as he parks his motorcycle in the parking lot. With motorcycles getting as much appreciation as expensive cars, he thinks that he'll be a chick magnet for the rest of the school day.
Joe is agape when the two meet him and Zoe at the end of the parking lot. Joe is looking at them in bewilderment.
"When did you get a motorcycle?" Joe asks Alfie.
"During Thanksgiving," he replies. "It was dad's belated birthday gift."
"Shouldn't he have gotten you a car?" Zoe chimes in. "You do have a permit."
"He could have, but this baby comes a close second." Alfie looks at Zoe affectionately. "I named it, you know."
"Should I ask what kind of whimsical name you gave an inanimate object?"
He swings an arm across Zoe's shoulders. "Why, after my lady love of course. I named her Zoey." It was either that or Mrs. Zoe Deyes. The second name would make Zoe do a repeat performance of their slow dance at the Halloween dance.
"I'm flattered. Now get your arm away from me!" She ducks away from under his arm, moving to stand next to PJ.
PJ chuckles. "Did you actually name your motorcycle Zoey?"
"Yup." Away from Zoe, it's Mrs. Zoe Deyes.
"Does that mean I get to take a ride on Zoey sometime?" Joe inquires.
"Any time, little man." Alfie waggles his eyebrows at Zoe. "You wanna take a spin on it with me?"
"Fuck off," she snarks.
PJ wolf-whistles. "Oh, some fucking can be done on a motorcycle all right."
She glares at PJ. "You can fuck off too."
"But you're coming over to my house later anyway to work on our project," Alfie tells Zoe.
"I can walk." No! Don't walk! Be my motorcycle dream girl!
"It'll be faster to ride with Alfie though!" Joe protests.
"Yeah Zoe." Alfie internally thanking Joe for his unintentional assistance. "I don't want my lady love to be tired."
"It's not a far walk from the school."
"Zoe. PJ rode with me and he had the time of his life," he persuades.
"Why yes I did," PJ comments.
"I don't want to bother you," Zoe reasons.
"Lady love, I don't want you to be hot and sweaty by the time you reach my house." He smirks. An image of a hot, sweaty Zoe wearing less clothes pops in his head. "On second thought, take that walk, love."
She groans. "If I ride on that stupid motorcycle with you after school, will that shut you up?"
He beams. It's the closest that he'll hear her say yes. "Knew you couldn't resist me, love."
~:~
Later that same day, Zoe walks with Louise and Fiona as they stroll along the school halls on the way to the parking lot. She's dreading to see the boy that she'll soon have to be in close proximity with. Her friends were awed when they saw his motorcycle, but to her, the vehicle is a burning reminder that she'll have to get on the death contraption with Alfie, a friend that irritates her 95% of the time. Can I strangle him? Or at least ruin his motorcycle? I can do the latter option without being sent to jail. I could spray paint his motorcycle pink. He hates pink.
Louise sighs. "You're so lucky. You get to be the first girl that gets to ride on Alfs' motorcycle."
"That deserves some laid points," Fiona jokes. Me getting Alfie laid? Uh, no thanks. If he wants to get laid, he can get laid with any of the girls waiting in the line of desperados.
"It's one ride," Zoe grumbles. "He already gave one to PJ, so it doesn't matter."
"PJ's a guy," Louise points out. "Isn't it every girl's dream to ride a motorcycle being driven with a hot guy?"
Alfie is hot, but not my kind of hot. "It is if that hot guy isn't Alfie."
Alfie is waiting next to his motorcycle when the three of them reach the parking lot, a wide grin on his face. He makes a sweeping motion to his motorcycle. "Your chariot awaits."
Zoe rolls her eyes. "It's the 21st century. And this isn't Cinderella."
"Had to try." He hands her a helmet. "Safety first."
"Thank you," she says sardonically, watching him sit down on the motorcycle. She puts the helmet on and sits behind him.
Fiona eyes them mischievously. "Do I smell a Zalfie moment?"
The only thing I smell is a Alfs' cologne. "Girl, if you're smelling something, it's the trash dump over there."
He turns his head to look at her. "I don't know. I'm feeling the love."
"Drive, slave." More like drive, dunderhead.
Alfie's eyes lights up. "I am a slave for you, lady love." Ugh… should've went with dunderhead.
She wrap her arms around his waist. She can't believe she's doing this. They are in public. She doesn't know how she'll be able to deal with the gossip about them tomorrow.
Her hair whips in her face as he accelerates out the gated entrance and onto the busy road. In the back of her mind, she's excited about riding on a motorcycle. If it's cool watching people ride motorcycles on TV, it's cooler to do it in real life.
She closes her eyes. She feels better when she doesn't think about the fact that Alfie is the vehicle's driver. She leans her head forward and buries her face on his back, the cotton of his t-shirt against her helmet. She wishes she can stay in this moment. They aren't even on a highway. If she wasn't scared about falling off the motorcycle, she'd raise her hands in the air and shout in glee.
A few minutes later, the motorcycle slows down, then comes to a complete halt. She opens her eyes and lean back.
"We're here, lady love."
She jumps off, staggering slightly. Blood, why aren't you in my legs?
"Whoa." Alfie jumps off and helps to steady her. "Don't worry Zoe. My legs were a bit shaky too when I went on my first ride."
She takes off the helmet. Alfie does too. When she looks at his face, there's a slight knot in her stomach. What the fuck?
"Feeling that adrenaline rush?" The knot in her stomach doesn't go away. "Zoe?"
She blinks. A bead of sweat falls from her forehead. "I-I-I…"
"Adrenaline rush," he confirms. He grabs her helmet. "Let's go inside and get something to drink. It'll help your head."
She nods. She follows him into his house.
First was the sleepover. Now it's a motorcycle.
Can someone tell me what the hell this means?
~:~
On the first weekend of December, four boys are having their usual gaming weekend at the Liguori residence, munching down on the food that they ordered from Taco Bell. Dan is absent since he's at one of his classmates' houses. As usual, Alfie is venting about his unconditional love for a girl that he has had his eye on for years.
Alfie needs to grow some balls. I mean, he already has a pair, but he needs to make some use of it. Is Viagra for balls in the works? If it is, Alfie should be a beta tester. He cringes. On second thought, two round bulges in the front of Alfie's jeans would only make the situation more weirder than it already is. It'll be weird for PJ and everyone else in the world who would be unfortunate to see Alfie's literal life-sized balls.
"Just tell her how you feel," Phil says, his eyes still glued to the TV as he and Joe are playing Splatoon. "If you don't say anything, you'll never know."
"Easy for you to say," Alfie complains. "You aren't in love with anyone."
"Even if I was, I'd still tell you the same thing."
"Yeah right."
"I would! Honesty is the best policy."
"That's for work, not for real life."
"I'm on Phil on this." PJ sips from the medium-sized fountain drink that he ordered with his burrito. "Zoe thinks you tease her all the time for your amusement. I know you'd tease her even if you didn't love her, but there's a difference between normal teasing and I-want-to-have-your-babies teasing."
Alfie sighs. "Zalfie babies. I bet they'd turn out great."
Joe shudders. "Dude, that made me think of you knocking up my sister. Where's the bleach?"
"There's some in the bathroom," PJ quips. I think I need some bleach too.
Alfie groans. "Not funny! I don't know if she's playing games with me or if she's really, really blind."
"Zoe is stubborn as heck," Joe agrees.
PJ takes a bite of his burrito. "I'm gonna go on a limb and say that if you don't tell her, Zoe will figure it out herself eventually. Either way, she'll someday know how you feel about her."
"Not if I keep doing what I'm doing. She hasn't figured anything out yet," Alfie points out.
"And if she does figure it out?"
"Then I'll ask her to be my Lady Love for the rest of my life."
"That's sweet and creepy at the same time." Still better than that romance flick Joe made us watch last week. "You're making a confession, not a proposal."
"So we're at a dilemma." Phil and Joe finish their round of Splatoon. Phil reaches for the remote and turns off the TV. "Either Alfie tells Zoe he loves her, or he keeps his mouth shut and hope she'll be the one to say she loves Alfie."
Alfie's eyes turn dream-like. "'I love you, Alfie.' God, you have no idea how much I want to hear her say those words."
"And you will if you just tell her," Phil reasons. "If you don't, what will happen if she starts dating another guy? You'll end up regretting not saying anything. Remember Jack?"
Joe rolls his eyes. "I think Jack would've turned Fiona down anyway, even if he didn't get together with Candice."
Phil shrugs. "Point is, you can't sit around living on hope that Zoe will be the one to run to you. Zoe is as dense as Ash Ketchum. She won't take a hint unless you tell it to her straight."
"Like Fiona is with Dan?" PJ brings up. He has a feeling that Alfie isn't the only one who has feelings for someone in the group. "Because I have a feeling your sister's latest crush is Dan." Fi's transparent when it comes to her crushes.
Joe raises his eyebrow. "Really? I couldn't tell."
Phil leans back on the couch. "Yes. But don't tell her you know. The only ones who know besides me is Zoe and Louise."
Alfie finishes the rest of his taco. "Dan and Fiona? Er… I don't see it."
"But I see it with you and Zoe!" PJ exclaims, switching the topic. He doesn't want Phil to worry too much over Alfie's comment now. This is about Alfie and Zoe, not Dan and Fiona.
"I see it, but she doesn't," Alfie grumbles.
"She will if you're straightforward. It's better to have loved than to never have loved at all."
"Peej, I'm relaxing, not at school."
"We're schooling you in the art of love," Phil jumps in. "If you want to win Zoe's heart, the best way to do so is to go out there and say 'I love you.'"
"And if she says no?"
"At least you tried."
Alfie fidgets with a loose thread on a couch pillow. "I'll tell her. Just not now. I'm not ready."
"When will you be ready?" PJ inquires.
"When I can say 'I love you' and not cry in front of her if she doesn't love me back."
Alfie truly loves Zoe. She's his priority. If Zoe rejects him, there's no telling what will happen to Zoe. He has been chasing after her since they were in elementary school.
As his best friend, PJ doesn't want to see Alfie lose a girl that he knows is the only one for him.
5k! Longest chapter so far. How did you like the names of the Lester and Howell parents? I had to include the Sims 4 gang in there somehow. I've never seen a phanfic incorporate the names of the avatars in Dan and Phil's Sims videos, so this is my way of paying tribute to those characters. Dil, Tabitha, Johnathan the minnow… they're all a part of the phandom an I anted them to feel at home in the fanfic world too.
Btw who loved Dilitha's wedding video? One of these days, I'm sure Mia Yang will do her job as caterer lol. If this is what Dan and Phil are like during a Sims wedding, imagine if it was a Phan wedding. I can hear the screaming phangirls (me included) already.
I used the name Simon for Mr. Howell as a reference to Simon the shrimp. It was either that or Kanye, but I think that would've been too weird. xD In upcoming chapters, I will be using their first names so I won't to keep using terms like Mr/Mrs. (last name of character) or his/her mom/dad, which I wanna use only during dialogue.
~ AA
