Just Friends (Dan Howell)

Chapter Forty-Four

"What," Dan panted. "The actual fuck was that?"

"I don't know," I replied. "That room must be, like, full of gas or something, to make you see hallucinations!"

"Take deep, cleansing breaths," Dan instructed me. We both took five large, deep gulps of air. It felt wonderful, even if the air was slightly dusty and warm.

Then, Dan looked at me. "Are my eyes still..." he swallowed. "Still plastic?"

"No," I said, relieved. His eyes were regular, round, warm, and beautiful. Like always.

"Jesus Fucking Christ," Dan groaned, clasping a hand to his chest.

"I know," I agreed.

"Come on," Dan said. "I'm done. Let's head back to the hotel. That was entirely too freaky for me."

We headed down the hallway until we found an exit door. We stepped through into the muggy LA sunlight. As we stood waiting for a taxi, we chatted.

"I thought stuff like that only happened in movies or fanfictions," I said.

"I know," Dan agreed. "I mean, you passed out randomly and I--"

"That was not randomly, okay!" I laughed. "That doll was frickin' scary!"

"Okay," Dan ceded. "But when you passed out, I started freaking out. Not only because you were unconscious and I didn't know why, but because you had left me in that room by myself. If you hadn't been in there with me, I wouldn't have been able to deal."

I was touched, so I just smiled up at Dan. "Of course. You would never be able to deal without me."

"I don't know how I lived 24 years of my life without you," Dan laughed breathily.

A taxi then came by, so we climbed in and got back into the hotel. Well, actually, it dropped us off at a shopping center about a block away from the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, I realized it was almost eleven at night.

"How did that happen?" I asked in wonderment. "We weren't gone all that long!"

"Must have been the shopping center," Dan shrugged. "We did get food. And merch. And window shopped."

"Yeah..." I sighed. "Well, I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, Dan."

"Goodnight, Lillette."

Then, I opened the door and stepped into my room.

~~

VidCon was done. We had met so many wonderful fans. We were all getting back onto the plane. I sat between Dan and Jenny, glad to be going home, but sad to leave VidCon behind for a year.

We took off, and the flight was as long as ever. I nestled my head on Dan's shoulder. He rested his head on top of mine. I heard Jenny and Phil whispering. The atmosphere in the plane was just very peaceful, even a little romantic.

Then the turbulence hit.

We were still over America. I'd say we were above Oklahoma. The plane started shaking and rocking. Screams pierced the air. I heard some people puking. The small capsule quickly filled with the scent of sick.

Now, I'd been on planes before. Many times. I'd encountered turbulence before. I thought I had encountered bad turbulence before. But no. It was nothing compared to this.

We would get tossed to the left, hard, then drop into a nosedive, shoot back up so that our lungs tried to commit a mutiny, then would bounce around, the seatbelts cutting into our stomachs.