Disclaimer: I don't own Dan or Phil. I also don't own any other YouTubers you may see in this story (such as KickThePj [PJ Liguori], crabstickz [Chris Kendall], sprinkleofglitter [Louise Pentland], etc.), any real life references you may see, social media (Primarily YouTube, but also Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.), music/song references, as well as artists/bands (such as Muse, MCR, etc.), and whatever you recognize. I am not creative enough to own that stuff :P I do own my OC, Abigail Elizabeth Woods, who I think is creative...?
(If you are reading this author's note, then it means that I have successfully updated on October 5th, and that I am also crying that I can't watch the documentary because of stupid YouTube Red *wails*)
Enjoy!
P.S- I need to stop with the MCR references, but I just keep listening to The Black Parade/Living With Ghosts and I always cry :P
Chapter 23: Party at the End of the World
Lots of things happen in the next few months.
They go home after the Hollywood show and come back around mid-July. Phil uploaded a video after returning, and Dan filmed an Internet Support Group so he had a video to upload during the Australian leg of their tour.
Despite all their pleads, Abi decided not to join them on their Australian journey. She said that she needed to get some things done - it was all very vague, and eventually, Dan and Phil just let her stay home with Striker.
It wasn't a complete lie; she really did want to get things done. The thing she didn't mention to the two boys is that of those things involved getting a job.
She got an email when she came back from TATINOF: USA from a local record store not too far from their flat. It was a job offer to sort out records and recommend music to customers. She had been told that someone had found her music blog and really liked her opinions, so she wanted to prepare for her job interview in early-September and become more active on her blog to improve it.
And it worked; she gained more followers, more attention, and, most importantly, more experience. She listened to two or three new albums a day on repeat, and she would draft her opinions the following night to write a proper review the next day. It was a slow, but productive process. She also used the time alone to prioritize her resume, since she has a lot more experience than she did when she got a job at Tesco all those years ago.
Even if Striker was there to keep her company, she was still a bit lonely. Louise, PJ, Chris and Carrie came and went to hang out, but she still felt that the house was a bit empty without Dan and Phil. She realized that it wasn't the same without the two goofing around the house. They uploaded enough videos during the month of August to keep her satisfied, but it was weird watching their life unfold on a screen rather than experiencing it with them.
But she scraped through the days, and eventually they came back in September with gifts involving stuffed kangaroos and some weird shrimp-egg-thing Phil got and was determined to hatch. She ended up spilling the beans about her job the day the day before the interview, since they found her resume in the living room, and they celebrated by going to the same pizzeria that they went to with PJ and Sophie.
Speaking of pizzeria, Phil also reunited with Rosa once again the night they went to the place. After that night, they started becoming closer; it went from small dinner dates, to staying over for movies, to even staying the night at her place. Dan and Abi didn't mind; as long as they got all the info they wanted and was able to tease the hell out of him, they didn't care about Phil's recent absence, as it was mostly due to being happy, which is all the black-haired Brit really deserved.
And Dan and Abi had some more bonding to do anyway; with Phil being occupied with Rosa, it gave them more opportunities to become closer. Abi knew she wasn't ready to become a "thing" with Dan, but she was pretty sure she wanted to soon.
Dan seemed that way too; they went on casual dates they called "hang-outs" and shared a few "platonic" kisses, because according to Dan, "That's just what friends do".
It wasn't, but Abi didn't care.
So September came and went with its busy schedules and tight deadlines; they were preparing for the release of Dan and Phil Go Outside, and the release of their two YouTube Red original movies in the beginning of October. Abi had went to her interview, then was called back later in the month.
After all her hard work, in the beginning of October, she found out she got the job. Ecstatic, Dan, Phil, and Abi decide to celebrate all of their milestones; a new job, the end of a TATINOF-filled era, and new beginnings with new people.
And that's when their life hit breaking point.
All their friends sat around the TV in the lounge; Louise, Carrie, PJ, Sophie, Chris, Rosa, Felix, and Marzia. Phil's laptop was propped open on the coffee with a live-countdown to 7:00 PM. Abi comes into the lounge from the kitchen with three big bowls of popcorn balanced in her hands. Dan trails after her with a case of beer in one hand, along with party hats and party poppers in his other hand.
"Okay, guys; ten more minutes until TATINOF comes out on YouTube Red," Dan says, his voice giddy with excitement as he handed out drinks and party accessories. "Everyone put on your party hats and get ready to blow the party-poppers; you're always being filmed."
This gets a laugh out of Felix, who says, "Typical stalker-Dan!"
Dan laughs uneasily, his mind still on the recent stalker-like events, but brushes it off. Phil gets a handful of popcorn, which draws Striker's attention, and he gives him a small piece.
"We'll film the countdown finishing with the streamers everywhere, then we post it on Twitter, announcing the official release," Phil says through a mouth of popcorn. "Then the night is ours to watch...ourselves, I guess."
Abi laughs. "Wow, this event is kind of narcissistic; the fact you guys threw a party to watch and admire yourself on the 'big screen'."
Dan rolls his eyes as Striker curls up beside Phil on the ground.
"I can't believe you are the first Brits to have a YouTube Red original series," Louise gushes. "Gahh, I'm so proud of you two!"
The closest person she can hug is Phil, who was sitting beside her on the floor, so she squeezes him and gives Striker a small pat on the head. Phil blushes.
"This is just an excuse to make money," Chris teases. Dan shrugs in the same matter.
"Hey, a guy gotta exploit his fan-base if he wants to live a luxurious life," Dan replies smoothly, which earns a giggle from Carrie.
"Besides, this is Abi's party too," Sophie points out. "She did get a job after all! Her first official one!"
Now it's Abi's turn to blush, to which Dan reminds himself to tease about later.
"Five more minutes, friends! Everyone assemble!" PJ exclaims, his eyes glancing over to the live countdown.
All of their friends rush to gather around the TV; Felix, Marzia, Carrie, Sophie, Rosa, Phil, Striker, and Louise sit on the ground around the TV, and Carrie, PJ, Chris, and Dan sit on the couch. Abi snuggles beside Dan, and he instinctively puts his arm around her.
Abi fights off a smile.
"Two more minutes!" Marzia cheers, reaching for some popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table. Felix let's out a "whoop!" and Sophie and PJ prepare to release their party poppers.
"Ooh, it's happening!" Carrie says, a smile on her face. "Soon, it'll be 7, and you guys will be YouTube Red stars! You're probably going to be more famous than any of us in a minute, thirty seconds."
"Hey! I beg to differ!" Felix cuts in. Dan rolls his eyes.
"And says the girl who performs on the West End, which is far more important than YouTube is," Dan retorts, to which Carrie's cheeks go red. Abi pats Dan's back.
"Hey, you're pretty famous in my eyes," Abi whispers.
"Says you, Miss. Tumblr-Famous." It was meant to be a compliment, but Dan couldn't muster any courage to tell her that he was thankful he was "famous" with her.
"One minute!" Phil's giddy voice startles Dan, Abi, and even Striker, who perks up at the sound of his voice.
Dan and Abi exchange a small smile as their friends watch the timer go from fifty seconds to forty. There was some unspoken feelings between them that they couldn't voice, but they made some sort of silent decision to keep quiet for the sake of their night.
"Ten!" Abi decided to brave up.
"Nine!" She locked eyes with Dan and squeezed his hand.
"Eight!" Dan stared at her, almost dumbfounded.
"Seven!" Abi takes a breath.
"Six!" (It isn't even New Year's; why does it feel like all of Abi's hard work during the year was leading up to this moment?)
"Five!" Dan continues to stare, growing confused.
"Four!" She has to make her move soon...
"Three!" ...before it's too late to do anything.
"Two!" She pulls herself up to his level, her hand still in his,
"One!" Dan can't react because,
Everyone cheers when the clock hits 7:00, and Abi pulls Dan to her lips.
They post the ten-second reaction video to Phil's twitter account the minute, but everyone complains that Dan and Abi were cut out of view. Phil wants to say that it was probably for the best, but he feels as if it was self-explanatory; Abi and Dan didn't mention it, so he won't either.
At the moment, they were a solid twenty minutes into the footage of their tour. Chris was cracking jokes along the whole way - "Didn't you split your pants at one point?" he asks, much to Dan's dismay - and Carrie was laughing through Dan and Phil's skits and jokes on-screen. Louise, Marzia, and PJ were watching animatedly, throwing in compliments here and there, and Felix took every opportunity to make Dan or Phil blush, which always made Phil smile. Dan and Abi were silent, but he could see it in their eyes; they were enjoying their company with each other, and had no shame in their actions before.
"I'm so proud of you, Philly," Rosa says, a slur in her voice that sounded like a cat's purr. "You've come so far from 2006 -" She caught herself, and added, "Or so my sister has told me."
Phil blushes, making a brave move to hold her hand.
"Thanks, Rosa," he says bashfully. "I have, I suppose."
All his friends' actions and the sound of the TV were drowned behind him. Rosa looks at Phil with wide, green eyes. Her red ponytail bounced behind her back. Phil watches as her freckles rose with her cheekbones, that moved into a small smile, in almost slow motion
"What do you mean 'I suppose'?" she echoes. "Of course you've come far! It's absolutely shocking! Imagine, you were once a teenager doing his exams in his black-and-white room. It is - you are - amazing."
Phil can't find the words to speak, but he lets the younger red-head snuggle against the crook of his neck with affection.
He continues to watch the movie, but his thoughts are elsewhere, along with his feelings for the girl sitting beside in.
The party ends, and everyone goes home. Phil heads to bed early, letting Striker sleep with him on his bed. Abi and Dan clean up, and it gives them an opportunity to talk.
"Did you mind what I did earlier?" Abi asks quietly. "I-I mean, it was more of a compulsory action; as if I did it on instinct…"
She trails off; that wasn't true, she thought. But she couldn't find any other reasonable explanation. Much to her relief, however, Dan looked more calm than she was.
"Of course I didn't mind," Dan says, finishing up the last of the clean-up. "That is everything I could ever want; you to kiss me whenever you feel like it."
Abi saw it coming, but she blushes for the umpeenth time of the night.
"So no hard feelings?"
Dan shakes his head, raising an empty beer bottle on the coffee table. He holds it by the neck and raises it towards Abi.
"To your new job?" he prompts, raising the glass in a mock-toast. Abi looks over her shoulder with a smile.
"To the end of the TATINOF era," she adds.
Dan smiles. "How about to new beginnings and open doors?'
Abi stops what she's doing and smiles.
"I like that, actually," she says quietly, and they finally realize how close they are to each other; figuratively and literally.
"I do too," Dan whispers quietly, and it's like he's begging to be kissed.
Abi, of course, delivers the act for the second time that night, and no words are said after that.
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