Dan Howell had been a YouTuber for 4 years. He spent most of his time on the internet, whether scrolling through tumblr or replying to the few messages he got on twitter. He had just over 100,000 subscribers, and the number looked like it would stay the same for quite a while into the future. Although he certainly had enough fans, he'd never been to any YouTube conventions. He'd never seen the point.

His fans didn't seem to mind this attitude. The members of the 'internet support group', as he called them, all came across as people who were just as socially awkward as he was, so the way he saw it, they wouldn't mind. Maybe he was actually doing them a favour by never turning up at vidcon, or Summer in the City, or any of the others. He was saving them from any more awkward situations.

At least, that was how he thought of it.

It was early summer. Dan was all ready to miss another convention, the fifth one so far. Vidcon appealed to him possibly the least out of them all, as the few YouTuber friends he had were all British, so at least at SitC he was around less unknown faces. He pulled out his phone and clicked the screen on and then, almost instinctively, off again. He never had any messages. Spending all your time in your tiny studio flat with only a laptop for company didn't give you the best social life, but Dan convinced himself that he didn't care.

He flipped open his laptop and opened tumblr. There were a few pictures floating around. He smiled at a clever edit from his last video - Internet Support Group 3 - and continued scrolling. That was it. His audience were creative, but didn't seem willing to share some of the things they made. They were a bit like him in that respect.

Dan's phone vibrated and he jumped. It was such a rare occurrence that he was surprised every time it happened. He turned it on and saw a message from one of his only friends.

KickThePJ Hey Dan - you coming over later? We haven't talked in a while. Everything ok?

Dan sighed. He hadn't seen PJ in a while, that was true, but he wasn't particularly inclined to leave his flat today.

Danisnotonfire maybe tomorrow

The reply came almost instantly.

KickThePJ but danyul I haven't seen u in ages

Danisnotonfire I'm tired Peej

KickThePj too late. I'm outside.

Danisnotonfire wat

KickThePj come ON. I want to see u

Dan sighed. He pulled himself up from the sofa and clicked his phone off. He slid on his shoes and grabbed his coat, then, locking the door behind him, he made his way down three flights of stairs to the pavement, where PJ was waiting impatiently. Forcing a smile, he approached the car. PJ smiled back.

"Hey Dan!"

"Hey Peej. Good to see you," Dan lied.

He got into the car and PJ started the engine. "You and I have a lot to talk about, Daniel," he said.

Dan sighed. He already knew what PJ was going to say and, to be honest, he really didn't want to hear it.