Set Up •●• phan

VI

Dan hurried after Phil, dodging round people and apologising to everyone he bumped into. He had no idea where they were going and, come to think of if, no idea why he was trusting a virtual stranger, but he went along with it anyway. When they reached the edge of the room Phil opened the door to a hallway.

"We have a choice here," he told Dan. "We can go to your room and I can help you get tour stuff ready, go to my room, or go all the way upstairs to the roof garden."

Dan's eyes lit up. "Roof garden?"

Phil grinned and opened the door for Dan. "Let's go."

Dan padded after Phil, trying to make as little noise as possible so he didn't disturb anyone in their rooms. They weaved through an endless maze of hallways and Dan was beginning to wonder if Phil actually knew where they were going, when they stopped at a door.

"After you, sir," Phil said.

Dan smiled slightly and stepped through the door on to the roof.

At first the scene seemed unremarkable - a bench, a few bushes and a fountain, but as his eyes adjusted he saw that the paths extended in every direction, weaving among flowers and bushes, circling chairs and all joining together around the fountain. Tiny fairy lights were woven around the plants and Dan found himself smiling as Phil stepped into the garden behind him.

"How did you find this place?" Dan asked.

"I was a bit drunk last vidcon, and I was roaming the hotel trying to find my room, when I stumbled on this random door. Being drunk, I thought it was my room, so  I fell asleep on that bench. When I woke up, I realised where I was, so I traced my steps back to the lounge so I could always get back here" Phil explained, talking for rather longer than he needed to. "It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

Dan grinned. "I love it."

Phil smiled back, and beckoned to Dan. They walked along one of the paths, all the way to the edge of the roof, and sat on a bench looking out over the city.

"I hate to be rude," Phil began, "but I've never seen one of your videos."

For some reason, Dan didn't feel the usual feeling that this was an insult. In fact, coming from Phil, it didn't sound bad at all.

"I'm not especially well-known in the YouTube world, I guess," Dan told him.

"Subs?"

"A hundred thousand. You?"

"Same! I think that's pretty well-known, to be honest."

"Really?"

"Definitely. When I first came to vidcon I only had fifty thousand, but you'd be surprised at the number of other YouTubers who've heard of you."

"Really? None of them seemed to recognise me," Dan said.

"Carrie?"

"We've been friends for ages. That doesn't count."

"Fine, but tomorrow, when you end up talking to them all, you'll be surprised. Trust me."

Dan raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. He liked Phil too much to argue with him.
There was a silence on the roof for a few minutes. Dan seemed to be thinking as he stared out over the city, in a world of his own. Phil took the opportunity to look over at Dan.

Phil, although he hated to admit it, fell in love far too easily. He always vowed to himself that next time he met someone, he'd take the time to get to know them first, but it never made any difference. As soon as he saw someone he liked, he'd feel that familiar sensation in his stomach, and he'd fall head over heels in love with someone who inevitably would ignore him at best, or use him and then ditch him at worst. And the worst thing was, every time he thought they'd be different. That they'd notice him, and want to know him, but it wasn't ever true.

He tried to pretend he wasn't falling in love with Dan, but it was impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was nothing he wanted more to gaze into those chocolatey eyes and tell the owner of them "I love you".

Almost as if he'd read Phil's mind, Dan turned and smiled at him. Phil blushed furiously and turned away.

"Are you OK?" Dan asked him, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," Phil answered, a little too quickly. An awkward silence descended.

"Hey... Dan?" Phil said, after a few moments.

Dan turned. "Yeah?"

"I was just wondering - I mean, I know you won't want to -" Phil started, stumbling over his words, "but I thought maybe we could - I mean, we have a few days before vidcon properly starts - but only if you have time -"

"Spit it out, Phil," Dan said, sounding vaguely amused.

"Do you maybe want to go out for a coffee tomorrow?"

"There's nothing I'd like more, Phil."

Internally, Phil was almost hysterically happy that he'd finally managed to successfully ask someone out (even if they didn't realise it yet). Externally - "cool. See you tomorrow in the lounge?"

"Sure. Eleven?"

"Eleven."

They walked back through the door to the hotel together, and Phil gave Dan a brief hug before leaving.

"Good to meet you, Dan. See you tomorrow."

They smiled at each other before turning in their separate directions.

Dan unlocked the door to his room and sat down on the bed. His case was sitting in the corner of the room but he barely noticed it. He collapsed onto his bed. Tomorrow would be a good day, even if Phil wasn't already planning for it to be.