Just Friends (Dan Howell)

Chapter Thirty-Four

After 5SOS finished playing, they said goodbye and left with Faith. I said that it was an honor to meet them and that we should meet up again. Faith agreed, and the two of us exchanged numbers.

"Bye, girl who wants to screw me!" Luke waved.

"Bye!" I responded. "And my name is Lillette!"

"Alright, Lillette," he said with a wink. Ohh God.

Then he turned to Dan. "Bye, boy who thinks that everyone wants to screw me!"

"It's Dan," Dan said calmly. "And it's true."

Luke laughed. As he walked past me out the door, he flashed me a crooked grin and bit his lip. My eyes widened, and he mouthed, Call me.

Then they were gone.

I looked at Dan. "Holy shit."

~~

Back in the party, people had split into groups again. Many were clusters clamoring about the surprise band performance (for free!), though there was one large clump in the middle of the room.

Dan and I approached the group. I noticed Jenny and Phil were part of it. I squeezed my way through the crowd, pushing my way to the front.

There in the middle was Joe with a guitar.

"Joe?" I asked in wonderment.

"They want me to sing!" He shouted over the din. He pulled a miserable face. "I'm scared to sinnnnng!"

I exchanged a glance with Dan. Then I marched over to Joe's side and grabbed his hand. "Are you scared to sing with me?"

He stared at me, startled for a moment, then grinned. "Not at all."

"What song should we sing?" I asked. I turned to the crowd. "Any suggestions? Dan?"

Dan shrugged, smiling.

"Midnight Memories!" A girl in the crowd called.

"Jesus!" Joe spat. "No, that song's impossible."

"Hmmm," I thought.

"Steal My Girl!" Dan offered.

I smirked at him. He flushed. "Alright," I smiled. "Let's go, Joe. Play it."

He strummed the intro on his guitar, and we sang together,

"She been my queen
Since we were sixteen.
We wore the same things,
We dreamed the same dreams,
Alright.
Alright."

I smiled. We didn't sound horrible, actually. In fact, we sounded pretty good.

"I got it all,
Cuz she is the one.
Her mom calls me pal,
Her dad calls me son,
Alright.
Alright."

Joe sang the next part on his own. I had faith in him, so I left him to it.

"Oh I know,
I know,
I know for sure."

"Come on, you know the words!" I shouted at the crowd. "Sing along!" Everybody joined in.

"Everybody wanna steal my girl.
Everybody wanna take her love away.
A couple billion in the whole wide world.
Find another one,
Cuz she belongs to me!
Everybody wanna steal my girl.
Everybody wanna take her heart away.
A couple billion in the whole wide world.
Find another one cuz she belongs to me."

I patted Joe on the shoulder. "You've got it from here, mate." Not really paying attention, I leaned over and gave him a sisterly peck on the cheek. Then I joined Dan back in the crowd.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Joe's like a brother to me," I said calmly. "Didn't really realize it till now, but... well, there you have it."

"Oh," Dan looked uncomfortable. "So you and Joe... aren't...."

I smirked. "Dan. If I'm not gonna date you, I doubt I'll date Joe Sugg. He has over five million subscribers!"

Dan pouted, so I shoved him teasingly. "I'm only joking! Come on, let's party!"

We found Marcus, Niomi, Jim, and Tanya and spent time with them, making small talk. We hadn't really had the opportunity to talk to Niomi or Tanya, so it was nice to get to know them.

Around 11:45, Marcus said, "Lil, I can't believe we haven't filmed a collab before! We should definitely film one soon."

"Yeah, sounds cool," I grinned, but inside I was freaking out.

Then, there was a loud shout from the kitchen. We turned. Joe was on Caspar's shoulders, holding a tray full of glasses of champagne. The tray wobbled dangerously. Zoe and Alfie were watching, making sure the glasses didn't fall.

"Everybody grab a glass!" Joe yelled. "It's almost New Years!"

Everyone surged forward. Alfie, Zoe, and Joe were handing out glasses as fast as they could. Jenny and Phil were busy pouring more.

Dan, Marcus, Niomi, Jim, Tanya and I waited for the rush to die down before heading over.

Jenny handed me a glass and smiled. "Is strong stuff, that is!" She slurred.

"Alright, Jenny," I smirked. She was gonna be feeling this one tomorrow.

Then, at 11:59, Caspar stood on the bar in the kitchen. "Everybody, shut up!" He shouted. "The countdown is starting soon! Everybody, find a special someone! Make sure you have champagne! Ready?"

Dan stood beside me, smiling. We linked the arms that were holding the champagne glasses, which were our right arms.

Joe climbed up beside Caspar, and they linked arms too. Together, him and Caspar started the countdown, and everyone soon joined in.

"10! 9! 8! 7! 6!"

I looked into Dan's eyes, feeling happier than I'd felt in a while.

"5! 4!"

Dan returned the look. His eyes shone. No words needed to be said. I couldn't imagine life without this dork. I decided then that we'd never have a falling-out again.

"3! 2!"

"ONE!" Joe and Caspar screamed, gulping the champagne from the glasses in their linked arms, then cheering loudly.

Dan and I beamed and threw back the champagne. Then, we released arms and whooped.

"Ready?" Joe shouted from atop the bar. "Three, two, one--"

The entire room screamed, "HAPPY NEW YEARS!"

We all started dancing, laughing and drinking. At one point, Phil stood on the bar with Jenny and sang Girl Almighty to her.

"Let's have another toast
For the Girl Almighty!"

Everyone whooped and toasted to that.

I don't remember much of the rest of the night, but I do remember helping Jenny into the back seat of our car around 4:30 am. Then I sat shotgun (just too buzzed to drive) while Jim Chapman drove us home, me giving directions.

I thanked Jim profusely. He waited in our lounge till Tanya picked him up. Then, I tucked Jenny into bed while she rambled about how she loved Phil more than waffles.

"Good night, Jennifer," I whispered.

"Good night, Phillette!" She chirped.

I sighed, laughing, then closed the door. I walked down the hall and collapsed onto my bed, my head pounding painfully.

Even with a hangover brewing, this had been an awesome New Year's Party.