Twitter ∞ Dan Howell

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I was, to say the least, nervous about seeing Phil. And about the prospect of possibly seeing Dan, although that was unlikely seeing as Phil and I were meeting in a public place. But still - something uncomfortable bubbled at the back of my head as I changed.

Phil was sitting by the window with his hands wrapped around a coffee. I gave him a small wave as I passed him, and he was standing by the time I was in the store.

'Phil!' I said excitedly, wrapping my arms are him in a big hug. 

'Meg!' He replied, and we sat down. He pushed a second coffee over to me. 'I got you the caramel latte, as requested.'

I was a little breathless from my quick jog from the train station, seeing as I was ten minutes late. 'So sorry about that,' I told him, digging through my bag for my wallet. 'How much was it? I'll give you a fiver.'

Phil shook his head. 'No, no, I'll shout,' he said, smiling. I must have looked like I wanted to protest, because he lent forwards, saying, 'I insist.'

'Alright,' I said reluctantly, pocketing my wallet. 'But I'm shouting next time, alright?'

He nodded. 'So! How have you been?' Phil asked happily. 'How's uni going? Dan told me you were doing design.'

I took a sip of my coffee. Ah. Sweet caffeine. 'Yeah, yeah, good. I got into architecture this year, which is what I was aiming for.'

'Oh sweet! What kind of architecture do you want to do?' He asked.

I felt the blush before I could stop it. I always felt a bit embarrassed when people asked me what I want to specialise in, because to most people, it sounds frankly weird. 'Um, jails, actually,' I said. Before Phil could go wtf  I started rattling off my reasons. 'It's kind of a challenge, you know? Like houses are fun and all that, but with jails, you have to cover everything. You have to anticipate every kind of escape attempt and thwart it before it's even been thought of. Like, is that material for the door good enough? Or is it too malleable? Could someone use a toothbrush to roll the sheets back? That sort of thing. You have to think of everything and everything. Get inside the mind of the criminal.'

Phil had an open expression of wonder. 'Whoa. That's so cool.'

I was still blushing. 'Thanks,' I said bashfully. 'It really fascinates me.' I spun the coffee cup in my hands, my palms hot. 'What about you? Any crazy new adventures on the horizon? TATINOF 2?'

Phil sighed. 'I wish! I really miss being on the road and seeing all you guys. We've got this big Youtube party thing on after the BONCAs next Saturday.' Phil's face split into a grin. 'Oh, you should totally come! It'll be so fun.'

I nearly coughed up my coffee. 'Um, what?'

'You should come to the party!' Phil insisted. 'Everyone will be there. Dan will probably take Bess, so they'll be off socialising, so I need someone to hang with.' He looked so excited, like a little kid on Christmas morning. 'You can be my date!'

I'm not going to lie, the idea of going to a Youtube party was more than mildly thrilling. My Youtube obsession had waned a little over the past few months, but I knew it would still be the best party I ever went to. Still, I was reluctant. I would stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone around me - hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Meg Cartwright? A big fat 0. 

'I don't know, Phil,' I said glumly. 'Would I even be welcome? I'm not exactly 'up there' when it comes to internet famous.'

Phil waved my concerns off. 'No one would care, trust me. People bring their non-Youtube friends all the time.' He gave me the pleading-eyes. Oh fuck, not the pleading-eyes, I thought. 'Please Meg? We'd have a blast. We could wear matching outfits! Plus, I don't want to be third-wheeling Dan and Bess all night.' He was trying not to smile. 'Free alcohol?'