Just Friends (Dan Howell)

Chapter Thirty-Five

*3 Weeks Later*

"Hey, guys! I've only used this vlog channel a few times before, but I will try and make an effort to upload more often, starting today!" I smiled into the camera.

I was at Dan and Phil's flat with Jenny. We were there, getting ready to head to the concert. I had worn a summery dress just for occasion-- yes, I know it's winter, but I'm not gonna refuse to wear a dress that looks stellar on me, just because it's too cold!

Besides, it was a concert. We were gonna be surrounded in hot, screaming fangirls the entire time.

Dan stood behind me in his black t-shirt, leather jacket, and black skinny jeans. He smiled, waving at the camera while I said, "You may ask, Why today? Well, here we are at Dan and Phil's, getting ready to go to... hey, Dan, what are we going to?"

Dan leaned over my shoulder and together we said, "A One Direction Conceeeeert!"

Dan did jazz hands, looking up at the ceiling and saying, "Yaaaay!"

"In fact," I continued. "We're just waiting for Phil to finish getting ready, then we'll grab a cab to the concert! Hey, Jenny, what's taking so long?"

I turned and pointed the camera at Jenny, who was in a slumped position on the couch, scrolling on her phone. She glanced up at us, shrugged, then returned to her phone.

"I'll go check up on him," Dan offered.

"Okay, hopefully he's ready!" I replied.

"Hmmm... that's a lot to ask," Dan said quickly. "How about a kiss on the cheek for good luck?"

A few weeks ago, I'd be flustered by this. But in the last three weeks, Dan and I's relationship had changed. If was more comfortable; we both knew where each other stood. So, this didn't faze me in the slightest.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Mister Meme King," I teased. "Just go get Philip. I wanna go see Niall."

"Alright!" Dan grinned. "But now we'll know why he's not ready if he isn't!"

"Get lost!" I laughed, shoving him out of the shot.

~~

"Hey, Phil?" Dan knocked gently on his flatmate's door. "You ready to go, mate?"

"...mean so much to me. And to her, I'm sure. It's just... I want her to really know how I feel, you know?"

Dan pressed his ear against the door. Once upon a time, I had morals and would have felt guilty. This was not that time.

"Uh huh," he heard Phil say. "Yeah, it's been great talking to you guys, too. Huh? Oh, uh, Lillette? Well, um, yes, I guess. Technically. I'll talk to her about it... oh. Um, yeah, I can set that up. Okay, see you guys in about two hours. Bye."

Dan's eyes widened. It sounded like Phil was trying to set Lillette up with someone! But who? He scowled, and rallied sharply on the door. He said loudly, "Phil, we have to go! Come on out, mate!"

Then, slightly annoyed, he turned and marched back into the lounge.

~~

"Hey, Lillette!"

I squealed, throwing my arms around Zoe. "This is so exciting! We're gonna be backstage while they sing! How did you manage this?"

Zoe shrugged, smirking nonchalantly. "Well, I don't wanna brag or anything, but there's a slight chance that Harry fancies me... ever since I interviewed him months ago. So, it wasn't too hard to get special tickets."

"Ooh, Zoe," I giggled. "What would Alfie think?"

"Alfie thinks that we should get going!" Alfie said, leaning in on our conversation. "We still gotta get to the ticket booth so that we can get backstage! So let's go!"

I laughed. Then Dan, Phil, Jenny, Zoe, Alfie, Joe, Marcus, Niomi, Louise, and I all rushed off to the ticket booth. Zoe distributed our tickets, we got them checked, then the ticket guy waved over a security guard to lead us backstage.

He led us around the stage, past the special red ropes (a girl screamed and grabbed at my dress as I went by-- that was a bit terrifying), and through a side door.

We stood in a room, and I could see the stage through an open doorway.

"One Direction and their opening act will be coming through this door in about ten minutes," the guard told us. "Please enjoy the show."

We thanked him, and milled around a bit. I sat down on a plush armchair, and Dan sat next to me, a conflicted look on his face.

"Hi, Dan!" I smiled.

"Lillette," he said in a rushed voice. "Please, tell me that if anyone, um, wants you to be their girlfriend, don't say yes. I want you to be happy, but I don't know how I would handle it if you... if someone else...."

"Dan, what are you on about?" I asked, concerned. I saw Phil coming towards us out of the corner of my eye.

Dan saw him too, and started rushing his words more. "Please, Lillette, I know that you said no to me, but I won't be able to live with another incident like the one with Pj--"

"Dan," I said sharply. "That was a mistake. We discussed this."

"I know, but I just... wanted to-- say--"

Then Phil was there, and Dan shut up.

What was happening? Dan and Phil were best friends. And Dan was freaking out. I hadn't thought about it... but if I wasn't gonna date Dan, and he didn't want to see me with anyone else... what was I gonna do?

"Hey, guys," Phil smiled. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Not at all, Philly," Dan muttered, clenching his fists and staring at the ground.

I stared at Dan. This was supposed to be one of the most exciting events of my year! Why was Dan ruining it?

Phil stared at Dan, confused. Then he turned to me. "Just wanted to say, Lil, I have a special surprise planned for Jenny during this concert. I don't want to tell you guys what it is, but I'm just letting you know that you can't tell Jenny! Please?"

"Okay," I said with a shrug.

Just then, a door opened across the room. I turned. "The opening act!" I smiled.

Four people stepped through the door. At first, I just thought, They look vaguely familiar.

Then it hit me as Jenny screamed at the top of her lungs,

"SEUSS!?"

~~

"Check out who we bumped into!" I grinned, turning the camera onto FairyTale Rythmics. "You guys may know them as a band, but we know them as good friends!"

I hugged Seuss. "It's so good to see you!"

They were going to perform in five minutes. They'd come to talk to the kids with special backstage passes, and had surprised us all.

"It's good to see you too!" Seuss said. "It's been too long."

"Okay, I am super excited to see you," I said. "But you sneaky little shit! I can't believe you didn't tell us you were gonna be here!"

Seuss shrugged. "What can I say? I wanted it to be a surprise!"

A loud voice echoed over the entire stadium.

"Welcome One Direction fans! Before we kick off the night with the five teen dreams, we have a special guest tonight for the opening act! They're a relatively new face, but very excited to be here. Please welcome to the stage... Fairytaaaaale Rythmics!"

"That's our cue," smiled Seuss, swinging his guitar round to his front. He winked at us. "See you around. Let's head out, guys!"

Then the band filed, one by one, onto the stage.