88. Cloud Nine
I check the clock on my phone for the thirtieth time in the last five minutes, which reads 7:58. I'm sitting at Dan's desk, in front of the computer, Skype already loaded up. I had sent Shane my username, and he said he'd call me at eight o'clock exactly.
I adjust my hair for the thousandth time, which I had curled, then straightened, then curled again. It had taken me almost two and a half hours to prepare for this interview. I cried from stress only once, but came extremely close to cancelling the interview more than once. Somehow, I had been able to do my hair and makeup to something close enough to exceptional. Call me conceited, but after the comments I've been receiving, I was going to do whatever it is I can do to look the complete opposite of trashy.
7:59. A knock comes from the door, and imma head snaps to the right, where Dan is standing in the doorway. A look of empathy crosses his face, and he walks toward me, crouching in front of me. He grabs my hands, entrapping them in his own.
"You have nothing to worry about, trust me," Dan tries to reassure me. "Obviously Shane wants to do this, and I'm sure he'll be completely understanding. It's going to be fine."
I sigh, knowing I'm overreacting. However, no matter how much reassurance I'm given, my anxiety's not going to budge. But I don't want to worry Dan, so I put on my steadiest smile. "I know. I know it's going to be okay. I'm just trying to convince my nerves."
He gives me a cute smile. "You're going to nail this." He looks as if he's about to add something else, before a ringing comes from the computer screen.
Shane Dawson is Calling...
The sensation of having the wind knocked out of me fills my chest, and I look up at Dan. He gently kisses me in the cheek, before letting go of my hand, and standing up.
"You want me to stay in here?" He asks. "I can even just sit in the corner so Shane doesn't know."
I shake my head. "I think that would only make me more anxious," I admit honestly. He gives me an understanding smile, before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. I take a deep breath, and decide not to keep Shane waiting any longer.
I click the green button, and Shane's cheerful smile pops up onto the screen, fuzz surrounding the edges.
"Hey!" He greets me with the laugh I've heard in all of his videos. The familiarity loosens the knot in my chest, and I can relax just a bit more.
"Hi, there," I reply, waving at the camera and letting my hand fall awkwardly by my side.
Shane must be able to tell I'm nervous, as he instantly says, "(y/n), I know this can be nerve wracking. However, this is going to be an interview, not an interrogation. I want you to be as honest as you're comfortable with. And remember, we have the power of editing, so you don't need to feel like you're walking on eggshells. It's just you and me."
I instantly feel more comfortable around him, as if a large weight had come off my chest. "Thank you. I mean, I'm not going to lie, I'm incredibly stressed."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. If it seems like I'm digging too deep, just tell me."
I let out a nervous laugh. "With as much of my baggage that I've put on the internet, I don't think that's something you're going to have to worry about."
He gives me a smile. "Okay, well, let's get started." He then turn to his left, which I can only guess is a camera, and says, "Hey, guys, so I'm on call with the actual (y/f/n)."
"Hi!" I wave to his screen, already seeing in my head how the layout of this video will work.
Shane put his hands on his face excitedly. "Ah, I can't believe I'm actually with you right now!" I laugh at his energy, instantly making me feel more relaxed. If there's one thing he's good at, it's definitely this.
"Okay," he claps his hands together excitedly. "When and why did you start your YouTube channel?" He asks.
My eyebrows crease together as I try and think of a good response. "Well, I think at first, it was just because I needed a sort of place to unload my baggage. I couldn't get a therapist, and only a one or two people in my life actually cared enough to listen to me. Eventually, I realized not only how much my channel was helping me, but that it was also helping other people."
"Okay, so, was it supported by the people in your life?"
I shrug my shoulders. "Only, like, two or three of my friends really knew about it. Especially because I was talking a lot of shit on the channel, I didn't really want anyone else to find out." Shane laughs, looking at his camera.
"Honestly, big mood." He looks at his phone, where I'm guessing all his questions are written down, before looking back up at me. "So, I can relate to you in the fact that, both of us as kids, grew up pretty poor. Was it ever your plan to someday move to London?"
I can't help but let out a laugh. "Hell, no. My entire life, I was convinced I would always live well below the poverty line. However, I was making money from my channel, and there was so much shit going on that I just wanted to leave behind. So, kind of on a whim, I just got up and left."
The interview continues smoothly, much to Shane's credit. Somehow, talking to him is similar to talking to a friend. He knows exactly how to keep me comfortably, and no matter what sort of information I expose, he doesn't do anything to make me feel like I was a weirdo. He acted like he understood.
I have no idea how long the interview's been going, but it's definitely been well over an hour. Thankfully Shane has the power of editing, as there were plenty of tangents we've gone off on and joked that most likely wouldn't be taken too well by the internet. Finally, he seems to be wrapping it up.
"Okay, so, I know that if I had been able to watch your videos as a kid, you would have done wonders for my life and happiness." I instantly feel a blush rush to my cheeks, and try to figure out a way to express how much that means to me, when he continues. "I've seen all your videos, laughing and crying countless times from your different stories."
He pauses for a bit of drama, before continuing, "You're incredibly multidimensional, and unlike a lot of people on social media, no shade no tea, one of the only people who's been able to show that you have flaws. You prove that no matter how low someone is, they can always make it to the top. From everything and everyone I've seen on YouTube, you are something that truly sticks out."
"Thank you," I breathe, my heart palpitating in my chest. Pressure stings behind my eyes, and I know on the camera anyone can tell I'm on the verge from tears. "Coming from you, you have no idea how much that means to me."
He gives me a reassuring smile. "So, um, I know this is crazy, but I feel like I'm sort of known for making decisions without really thinking them through. However, I know this is something I definitely want to do."
I'm sure anyone can hear my heartbeat now as it echos in my ears, and I want to say something, but a large rock forms in my throat. I have no idea where this is going.
"Well, from the impact you've made, I can't help but feel like it's almost a disservice to only dedicate part of a video to you." He sighs, obviously playing the audience and adding tension, before continuing. "So, I want to be able to see who you really are. I want to know every one of your flaws, what makes you tick, how you've somehow been able to accomplish everything you've done."
Part of me thinks I know where this is going, yet I try as hard as I can to suppress it, not wanting to get my hopes up. However, I'm miserably failing. Tension pumps through my veins, and I wring my hands together. Anyone can obviously see my thoughts running a thousand miles a minute.
"So, basically, what I was thinking was, I would fly you, and Dan, of course, out to LA. I want you to take part in a series, all about the astounding phenomenon that is your life. Obviously, if you're not up to it, I understand. However, it would be an honor."
I immediately cover my mouth with my hands, failing at suppressing the sobs escaping me. Bulbous tears come from my eyes, and I hope and pray to every God that exists that this is real. Shane only chuckles, obviously satisfied by my reaction.
"I-uh-yeah!" I exclaim, my voice cracking. "Yes, of course!"
Shane laughs cheerfully, and I nearly fall out of my seat as a wave of emotion washes over me. "Oh...oh my fucking God," I breathe, trying my best to regain myself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," he chuckles, and a weird mix of a laugh and sob escapes me.
We finally end the Skype call, and I sit back in the desk chair, giving myself as much time as I need to pull myself together before seeing everyone else. I immediately know I'm going to ask Dan if he's down with going to LA for a few days, but I don't want to immediately give away that something happened.
After about fifteen minutes, I look in the mirror. My eyes definitely aren't as swollen as before, and I've calmed myself down enough that the tears are finally done falling. Thank God I had put on my waterproof mascara.
Dusting off my pants, I take a deep breath, before opening the door. I walk into the lounge, and everyone's heads turn to me, expectant looks painted on their faces.
"Did it go okay?" Dodie immediately asks, but I ignore her and Phil, only looking at Dan. I'm unable to hide the grin on my face, and he stands up, his brows knitting together in confusion and concern.
"You okay?" He asks, chuckling nervously. My smile only widens, so large that my cheeks are pushed up so much they make my eyes squint.
I take a deep sigh, trying to keep myself from just exploding with excitement.
"How do you feel about going to Los Angeles?"
The room becomes so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. However, it only lasts about half a second, before all three of them let out a different noise to express their excitement. Phil guffaws, Dodie squeals, and Dan lets out a hearty laugh.
"You can't be bloody fucking serous?" He asks in a breathy tone. "He...he invited you to come to LA?"
I nod my head. "Well, me and you," I reply. "We didn't work out a lot of details, really, but he insists on paying for the plane tickets, and I'm sure we can afford some sort of hotel-" I would continue the ramble, but Dan cuts me off. He wraps me in a monstrous hug, pulling my feet off the ground and spinning me around excitedly, both of us laughing like idiots.
"This is fucking amazing!" He exclaims, putting me down, but not letting go of me. "Oh, my fucking God, Shane fucking Dawson!"
"I know!" I shout, and Dan hugs me again, squeezing me tight and swaying back in forth. We're both completely ecstatic, and forbid ourselves from letting go of each other. Even ad we calm down, he holds onto me, my face against his beating heart.
"God, I love you so fucking much," he breathes.
In that moment, I don't think I could have ever been any happier.
~~~~
It takes a week to plan out everything for when we go to California. A trip this big usually takes people months to plan, however, and the fact that we were so late to the game was basically a guarantee for extreme stress. However, Shane must have been some sort of superhero, as he was able to figure out any roadblock in an almost supernaturally quick amount of time. Due to this, the amount of anxiety attack I have is significantly lower than it would've been if Dan and I only had ourselves to help plan this trip.
One week later, and we have everything packed and ready. On the desk sits our passports, our suitcases, along with the outfits we plan on wearing tomorrow planned ahead of time. It's Sunday night, and we'll be leaving tomorrow. The plane takes off at seven in the morning, and the flight being eleven hours long, we'll be landing at ten in the morning, California time.
Dan paces the floor as I sit cross-legged on the desk chair. Even with everything planned out, both of us are on edge. Usually Dan's the one that can keep me calm and collected. However, since he's also in a panic, it's up to me to keep myself calm.
"Dan, maybe we should get to bed," I advise, although I already know that's not really an option.
He shakes his head. "No, there's no way I'll be able to get a wink of sleep tonight," he answers.
"Yeah, I know," I nod. "However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try. If we don't at least rest, we'll be way too exhausted tomorrow."
He sighs, dropping onto the bed, leaning back and covering his face with his hands. Wanting to do anything to help calm him down, I stand up, walk over to him, climb on top of him and straddle his lap. His eyes shoot open, a blush running across his cheeks. However, by the expression on his face, I know I'm doing something right.
Looking down at him, I push the hair from his forehead, exposing his chocolate eyes. As he gives me a goody smile, I can't help but laugh.
"Everything...will...be...okay." I bend down and kiss him on the nose between every word, before kissing him deeply on the lips. Dan immediately succumbs to it, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me tight. After a few seconds, however, I pull away, grinning mischievously down at him.
Dan's hands still on my hips, I instantly let out a gasp of surprise as he flips me onto my back, towering over me as my hair covers part of my vision. I let out a loud laugh, both of us breaking into laughter. He muffles his face into my shoulder, the warm breath escaping him tickling my skin.
He drops to his side, and I wrap my arm over his chest, snuggling my head into his shoulder. Even with all our nerves, I'm somehow able to fall asleep.
The alarm goes off at four in the morning. Normally, it would be impossible for me to get up this early. However, the excitement pumping through me is enough to get me out of bed in only a couple seconds.
I brush my hair, letting it hang loosely over my shoulders. I quickly dress in the outfit I had set out last night, which consisted of leggings, an oversized utility jacket, and Dr. Martens.
Luckily, even though we were landing in California today, we wouldn't be meeting Shane until tomorrow. Call me vain, but I'm glad his first impression of me wouldn't be after being on a plane for eleven hours.
Dan's POV
(Y/n)'s able to basically jump out of bed, but for me, I have to use every ounce of strength that to crawl out from under the covers. After groggily getting dressed, I walk to the bathroom, where (y/n) stands in front of the mirror.
The dazed look that sits in her eyes as she stares into space sets my entire being on fire. As she sits in front of the mirror, getting ready, I can't help but watch her from the doorway. The little smile as she applies blush makes my heart explode. As she ties her hair up into a ponytail, pulling out a few stray pieces, a small grin can't help but creep across my own face. She makes eye contact with me in the mirror, giving me a silly smirk before chuckling. As I laugh along, my heart becomes light as air. As I watch her reflection, I admire every movement she makes.
Is this what it's like to be in love?
Your POV
Dan stands in the doorway as I pull my hair into a ponytail, pulling a few stray pieces out to frame my face. I make eye contact with him, chuckling as his slow mind takes time to even princess his surroundings.
"You good?" I ask, packing up my makeup to store in my suitcase.
"What? Oh, uh, yeah," he mumbles, turning back around and walking out the doorway. I chuckle, before leaving the bathroom.
After we finish completely getting ready, Dodie and Phil groggily arrive in the hall. I seem to be the only one in this apartment who's fully awake. Dodie and Phil both hug me, then Dan, goodbye, before waving us out the door.
As we step onto the pavement, Dan motions toward the cab he had called ahead of time. After throwing our things into the trunk, we hop into the backseat, making sure one last time that we have everything we need. The last thing I need is for us to have to turn around.
Dan pays the cab driver as we arrive at the airport, and I pull each of our suitcases from the back. We walk into the airport, signing in, and walking to the gate. Luckily, each of our suitcases was small and light enough to qualify as carryon luggage, so we go straight through customs, have ourselves checked, and get to the terminal in less than an hour.
Dan and I take our luggage to the gate, Dan falling into the closest seat and throwing his head back, closing his eyes. I look around the airport, and spot a nearby Starbucks.
"I'm going to get a coffee, you need anything?" I ask Dan, pulling my suitcase to sit beside his chair.
"Yeah, can you get me a triple mocha frappe, and...a croissant?"
I can't help but roll my eyes. "You do realize it's, like, five in the morning?"
He pouts his lip, giving my puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
"Ugh, fine," I moan, turning on my heel. Even with being annoyed, a small smile forms on my face as Dan chuckles behind me.
About fifteen minutes later, I stand behind an impatient businesswoman, waiting for our orders. Considering this is an airport, you'd think they wouldn't be taking their sweet time.
"Hey, um, are you (y/f/n)?" I turn around to see a young girl, around sixteen or so, along with her mom. Her face brightens as she sees me, and I can't help but smile back.
"Um, yeah, I am," I answer, trying my best not to mumble or sound awkward.
"Can...can I get a picture with you?" She asks, before quickly adding, "I mean, if you're busy, I get that. I just...I just thought I'd ask."
"Oh, of course!" I instantly reply, and look around the airport. "You wanna just take it right here?"
Her mom pulls her phone from her pocket, and I wrap my arm around the girl. It's not hard to put a grin on either of our faces.
"Thank you!" The girl graciously thanks me, before rushing behind her mom, who's obviously in a rush. Smiling to myself, I grab the two drinks and croissant that have been sitting on the counter.
"Bloody hell, I thought you got abducted, or something," Dan instantly reacts as I walk toward him, and I roll my eyes, handing him his drink and croissant.
"No, but I did get recognized in public for, like, the third time now," I reply, sitting next to him and taking a sip of my Pink Drink.
"Wow, I guess you're really famous, now," he answers me, chuckling slightly, and I roll my eyes.
"Oh, shut up, mister six and a half million subscribers," I retort. "My channel has only now just blown up, and I'm still adjusting to it."
"Yes, and I am very proud of you," he answers. "I mean, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be going to Los Angeles."
"Aw, thanks," I gush, dropping my head on his shoulder.
I end up falling asleep, surprisingly. A few hours later, Dan shakes me awake, and I realize we're boarding the plane. After stretching, I grab my suitcase, and follow behind Dan to the line. After everyone in front of us boards, Dan and I have our tickets scanned, walk through the terminal and onto the plane. Trying my best to not form awkward eye contact with any of the other passengers.
"Oof..." Dan somehow manages to pull both our suitcases above our seats, and sighs heavily as he plops down beside me. "Eleven hour flight, here we come."
"Don't remind me," I instantly snap, leaning my head back in the seat. My heart clenches, as if I've just had the wind knocked out of me, and the flight hasn't even taken off yet.
"Oh, my God, I completely forgot you've never been on a plane before," Dan quickly replies, a touch of panic lacing his voice.
"Don't worry, I haven't," I retort, squeezing my eyes shut.
Dan instantly grabs my hand, and my eyes shoot open, me looking at him.
"You don't need to worry," he tries to calm me down. "I know it's scary, but you'll realize there's nothing to worry about. I've been on plenty of flights, and nothing's ever happened."
"Yeah, well, there's a first thing for everything," I breathe, squeezing his hand tightly. He sighs heavily, and I instantly know I'm obviously frustrating him.
"Did...did you bring your ass needed pills?" He asks, and it's like a lightning bulb goes off above my head. I hastily search my bag, excitedly pulling out the orange translucent bottle. I pick out one of the purple disks, dropping it under my tongue. As I do so, a loud roaring fills the plane, and I realize we're just about to take off.
Even with the medication kicking in, I gulp heavily, squeezing Dan's hand with strength I didn't even know I had. Staring out the window, I watch the ground zooming below us, until eventually, we're off the runway. Everything shrinks at an increasing speed, until before I know it, we go through clouds. Everything disappears, nothing visible but white fluff and the sunrise. I turn to Dan, a beautiful smile forming on his face. I lean back in my seat, and let myself drift into my mind.
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Heyyy sorry if I don't post super often the next few days, my phone's currently not working and I'm not sure yet when I'll get it fixed. However, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all later!
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