Just Friends (Dan Howell)

Chapter Seven

I stood in the rain, slowly swaying. This was beautiful. Who cared about shit auditions? All that mattered was life. Beautiful droplets of liquid emotion falling from the soupy sky onto bare skin. Breath in, breath out. Exhilaration coarsed through my body.

I didn't care what time it was. Jenny was probably waiting at home, eagerly wanting to hear how my audition went. Sorry, Jenny, I thought.

Then I started down the street.

~~

"She won't pick up!"

Dan watched as Jenny paced back and forth, an anxious look on her face. She was in his and Phil's lounge, where they had decided to wait until Lillette was done with her audition.

"I'm sure she's fine," Phil tried to soothe Jenny.

"No, she's not!" Jenny yelped. "She could be lying in an alley, stabbed or something...."

Dan laughed.

Phil's eyes widened and Jenny turned, her eyes glowing in rage. She stalked up to him, but he was so much taller that she had to tilt her head back a fair amount to look up at him.

"What are you laughing at?" She snarled.

"You honestly think she's been stabbed?" Dan asked incredulously. "Really?"

Jenny's nostrils flared.

"She probably just wants some alone time," Dan continued. "She did just have an audition for a movie! That sounds pretty stressful to me!"

Jenny bit her lip, but the anger in her eyes was subsiding. She tossed her phone from hand to hand nervously, glancing around the flat.

"Hey, Jenny," Phil tried to play peacemaker. "Why don't we go out and get Lil a gift? You know, for when she gets back from the audition?" Then, when Jenny looked reproachful, "You can hold onto your phone, in case she calls."

Jenny hemmed and hawed for a moment, shifting her weight. Then she looked up, met Phil's eyes, and relaxed slightly. "Alright, Phil."

"Want to come, Dan?" Phil offered.

Dan shook his head. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I need to brainstorm ideas for a new video." Also, I don't want to intrude on the Phenny time.

"Okay," Phil shrugged. Then he put his arm around Jenny's shoulders and directed her down the stairs. "Come on, Jenny, let's get going. Who knows, we may see Lil while we're out."

Dan stood in the lounge, hands in his pockets, until he heard the front door shut. Then he exhaled.

Why didn't Lil answer her phone?

He had just met the girl! It would be a shame if something happened to her the day after he introduced himself to her. She's fine, he told himself. Don't worry yourself too much. Besides, you weren't joking about needing to brainstorm. Your subscribers are getting restless.

Dan went into his room, grabbed his jacket, and left the flat, making sure to slip his phone into his pocket on the way out.

~~

I walked down the pavement, which was now dark with rain. I examined a number of small curio shop windows, but didn't stop to browse. I felt bad, because I had ignored three calls from Jenny, but I was in too much of a mood to talk to my best friend.

I eventually arrived on the block where we'd gotten coffee with Dan and Phil a few days prior. Maybe I would just walk home, and wait until Jenny arrived. No, because then she'd go out of her mind questioning you.