Dating a YouTuber?!

Chapter 24: Summer In The City

“C’mon, Abbey! You promised!” begged Emma as she pulled on my arm.

She wanted me to come to a YouTube convention that took place in London. Nate was already going and I had taken Emma last year but that was before I even knew about YouTubers really and now it just felt weird.

“Can’t you just go by yourself?” I questioned and threw my body back on my bed.

“But it’s our tradition!” she argued.

“We’ve only been one time, that hardly qualifies as a tradition,” I tried to reason.

“But it will be when we go today, then it’s been two years in a row. Now you even know a lot of YouTubers how can you not want to go?” Emma questioned.

I did want to see the YouTubers that went to the event. I knew that Tyler Oakley was flying in from the US to participate in the convention and film some collabs too.

Nate had wanted me to come along as well but had accepted it when I had declined. Convincing Emma was a different story; she was as stubborn as me. I hadn’t told either of them the real reason why I didn’t want to go: I was afraid, and I was beating myself up over it. I hated being this weak and scared but I was afraid I would get recognised and someone would say something rude.

“Urgh!” Emma grunted. “You’re impossible!”

She got up and left the room abruptly and I wondered how I had gotten her to give up that easily. Turned out, I didn’t.

About twenty minutes later she shoved Nate into my room. How she had managed to get hold of him and get him to our flat that quickly baffled me. He had been preparing for SITC as I left his flat.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He sat down next to me and pulled me onto his lap. He always did this when I felt anxious and I wasn’t sure if he knew just how much it calmed me.

“Why don’t you want to go?” he questioned softly and his tone alone was enough to make my throat tighten.

“I’m scared that they’ll be mean,” I confessed.

Nate chuckled lightly and squeezed me a little.

“They won’t be. The only people who come to these conventions are people who like YouTubers. They are nice and excited. It’s very different from people hiding behind their screens and typing into a comment section. They will be nice.”

“Promise?” I whispered and snuggled into his shoulder.

“I can’t promise that, and you know it,” he said gently.

“I know and I want to go, I’m just…” I sigh. “I’ll go.”

“What was that?” Emma asked as she peered her head through the door.

“Get out!” I shouted and threw one of my pillows in her direction. “Your sneaky little scoundrel!”

I blankly refused to go to the event with Nate in his arranged car and instead Emma and I took the tube. Emma wanted to be early and Nate was only leaving in a few hours. She had brought her vlogging camera and asked me to film for her as we arrived.

“Guys, I’m at Summer In The City! And I’m so excited!” Emma screamed and jumped around and I saw heads turn in out direction. I felt my cheeks inflate but I couldn’t help but laugh at Emma’s weird gestures

“I’ve bribed my sister to come with me,” Emma explained and grabbed the camera out of my hand and turned it to face me. I smiled shyly and waved before taking back the camera and focussing on her again.