It's All About You ⌘ Joe Sugg ✓

Chapter 49

We all keep trudging along the stony shore of the beach for a while longer, and Zoe never seems to stray far from my side. It's like she is too scared to leave me alone. Joe keeps giving her funny looks but she just smiles at him.

There is only so long we can wander along the beach and eventually people start talking about heading home. My eyes flick to Dan and Phil who are both staring at their feet, the wind from the sea ruffling their hair. I keep my eyes locked on Dan while I listen to Marcus explain in detail where he parked his car. If telepathic communication was possible I would be mentally screaming at Dan to speak up - it's now or never.

We all walk back up to the pier that runs alongside the pebbly beach and start making farewells. I know that Zoe, Alfie, Niomi and Marcus all live in Brighton so they don't have a long way to travel, however the rest of us have to catch the train again.

"It was so good to see you again Eila." Says Alfie as Zoe leans in to give me a hug. Everyone else follows suit and I'm starting to worry that all these tight hugs are damaging my rib cage. By the time everyone has given me a squeeze there is only Dan and Phil left. Everyone falls silent and turns to look at them as Dan clears his throat loudly.

"There's... Uh... There's something we wanted to tell you guys." Dan says in a serious tone which causes everyone to fully focus on him. He looks so awkward and nervous that my heart nearly goes out to him - but I remember what he did and I instantly feel glad about what he's doing.

"Well... Phil and I are together, and have been for about two weeks now." He says the words quickly, as if he is desperate for them to be out in the open. I don't doubt that he's been carrying the weight of those words for a while now, and even though I'm still partially annoyed at him I feel some happiness that the truth is out there.

There is a small silence after he speaks and for a moment the only sounds I can hear are the insistent squawkings of nearby seagulls and the distant crashing of waves on the shore. The breif spell is broken by Zoe, who starts yelling out "We're so happy for you!" while walking foreword to enclose the two awkward boys in a hug. Caspar surprises me by walking towards the cluster and wrapping his arms around, creating a sort of group embrace. Slowly but surely everyone joins in, until Joe and I are the only people still standing awkwardly to the side.

"I suppose we should join in..." I whisper to Joe who looks seriously torn. He glances at me and raises his eyebrows.

"Only if you want too..." I make my decision before he even finishes his sentence and I fling myself into the group hug. Joe follows behind me and finally all of us are circled around Dan and Phil, arms linked together to form a human barricade around the two. I glance over the heads and make eye contact with a teary eyed Dan - before I can stop myself a small smile spreads across my lips, and he returns it with a genuine grin which makes me feel warm inside. While he is smiling at me I picture Sophie with her ex, a radiant grin on her face... I picture her happy being back home and I realize that I have no reason to be mad at Dan anymore. It took him a lot of courage to tell even this small group of people and I can't even imagine what the pressure must be like to tell everyone else.

Everyone retracts from the group embrace eventually and we all start to say our final goodbyes. Both Dan and Phil walk up to me, their cheeks a little wet from the overwhelming emotion felt a few minutes ago. I watch with a smile on my face as Dan wipes away the moisture, desperately trying to return back to his usual guarded and sarcastic self.

"So, we're good?" His words sound desperately hopeful.

"Oh shut up you idiot, I already told you I forgive you." I say the words quietly with a joking tone of voice. Nobody else hears what I'm saying except for Joe who is standing about a meter to the left of me.