Just Friends (Dan Howell)

Chapter Forty-Six

I stared down at my schedule. This sounded amazing. Jenny and I had a meet-and-greet together with our fans today, from 9 am to 3 pm. Then, we'd be on a panel like the one at PlayList from 4-5. And at 6, we were on the VidCon main stage in order to play a live game of the 7 Second Challenge with Dan and Phil.

The best part was that we got from 8-9 free, along with an hour between the meet-and-greet and our panel. That meant we'd be able to watch other YouTubers perform on panels, the main stage, or have meet-and-greets. I'd even heard that Joe was having a book signing, the poor guy.

Around 8, the doors opened, and teenagers started flooding in. I saw several girls wearing LilTalks t-shirts. If you were a fan of mine, you were called a LilBoo, so these t-shirts had a cartoon picture of my head, a pondering look on my face, and a hand on my chin. A thought bubble was coming off my head, and it read, I am a LilBoo and proud! Then, in small lettering, it said, LilTalks YouTube Channel. Become a LilBoo now!

Hey, had to get that promo in somewhere in the merch.

Jenny has released one piece of merch herself. She had a golden rubber wristband that said in blue lettering, Jennophile. I thought it strange that Jenny called her fans Jennophiles, like a mixture of her name, Jenny, and pedophile. But hey, whatever floats your goat, I guess.

"So, where do you wanna go?" Jenny asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I dunno, we have an hour," I said, glancing down at the schedule I had. Then a thought struck me. "Let's find Tyler Oakley!"

"Okay!" Jenny beamed.

We searched our cards. Finally, I spotted his name. "Okay, he has a meet-and-greet right now, and then is on the main stage at 3. Should we get in line for the meet-and-greet or surprise him on the main stage?"

Suddenly, Marcus and Joe brushed past us, walking fast. I overhead Marcus say, "...behind the screen, jump out, and grab Tyler."

"Hey! Joe!" I called. He stopped and turned.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"To surprise Tyler Oakley at his meet-and-greet," Marcus informed me.

"Can we come?" I asked.

Joe and Marcus exchanged a look. Joe looked a little skeptical, but Marcus had a huge grin on his face. Then, Marcus said, "Come on, then!"

Jenny and I followed the boys around behind Tyler's small cubicle. I caught a glimpse of the queen himself, posing for a photograph with a fan.

Tyler's meet-and-greet cubicle was made up of three draperies, hung up around him. We hid behind the back drapery, right by the corner, so we could jump out and surprise him.

"Hey, y'all!" Tyler was saying with a huge smile on his face. "Yeah, of course I'll sign your book!"

I peeked out and saw him stooped over a girl's notebook, scribbling in it. The girl looked about 14. She couldn't seem to stop smiling.

Finally, he handed it back to her. He hugged her, then she walked off, leaving Tyler by himself, waiting for the next kid in line to step forward.

Joe turned to us, and mouthed, "One... two... three!"

All yelling, we threw back the drapery and rushed Tyler, who spun around and screamed. Marcus swooped Tyler up bridal-style, and spun him around. Tyler was still hollering and making a racket. Then Marcus set Tyler down, and Joe tackled the American in a hug.

"Oh my go-o-od!" Tyler whined. "That was so scary, don't do that, Marcus!"

Joe cackled, backing up and standing between Marcus and me.