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Phil was usually extremely passionate about his job. Working as a producer for Buzzfeed Video wasn’t something everyone could do, and his workplace was filled with dedicated, extremely creative colleagues. He took pride in doing what he loved for a living, and there wasn’t anything he disliked about it. Except maybe one guy in his office.
They didn’t get into any conflict. Usually everyone in their team got along, and if they didn’t, there wasn’t any arguing — you just stayed out of their way. But of course there was something that forced them to work together, and while that wouldn’t be a problem for itself, the task at hand made him frown just thinking about it. Said disliked guy was Dan Howell, and he was infamous for his outlandish ideas. (Unfortunately, outlandish ideas were the Buzzfeed specialty, and he ended up being one of the most productive workers.)
Howell had come into the meeting room ten minutes late, sweaty and with a flash drive threatening to fall out of his pocket. “Dan? Why are you running late?” Catherine, their lead, asked. Phil knew what was coming: another stupid proposal that would be hailed by everyone in the room. He just hoped he didn’t have to take part in it. “I had to finish this presentation,” said Dan. Everyone’s gazes turned to him.
“I have a video concept. Permission to present?” He asked. Cat looked displeased by interrupting the briefing they were doing before he came in, but nodded — she knew better than to ignore one of the best workers in their team. Dan smiled and handed her the metallic flash drive. She plugged it in and waited as he found the presentation file. By this point, Phil was already considering asking to leave to the bathroom.
The first slide had “Singles Get Married For A Week” written in huge bold font. Phil’s brain instantly screamed an internal no and his lips turned down into a frown. “As all of you know,” Dan started, pointing to the projected screen, “married life isn’t exactly easy. It’s filled with… Hardships some people can’t even overcome and end up breaking it off. So I thought — maybe we could see how two single people, who aren’t used to commitment, deal with living together. They’ll be forced to elaborate a romantic activity and show affection daily, and we’ll document it for a final product around 5 minutes.” He clicked his tongue.
“Obviously, we’ll need volunteers. To make this easy on everyone… I’m sorry to say, but I’ll be volunteer number one,” he spoke. “I’ll need someone else who’s willing to either move in with me or let me move in with them. Can be any gender, and don’t worry about the producing because I’ll be in charge of everything.”
Unfortunately for Phil, who had been silently praying his project would be turned down as a completely stupid idea, Cat looked very pleased with it, nodding along to Howell’s waffly explanations and smiling. She spoke up and Phil regretted even getting out of bed that morning. “That sounds absolutely wonderful.” He groaned. “Does anyone volunteer to participate in the experiment?” Oddly enough, nobody raised their hand, and he noticed Dan blushed. Phil was confused, because he’d heard Tyler and Lily from the directing team fancied him, and they’d definitely be up for it.
Dan was biting his lip and looking down. He looked a bit upset, like he felt people not wanting to participate was a rejection towards him and not the idea itself. What happened next was a blur of events that frankly enough, Phil completely lamented.
He raised his hand. Immediately, he felt the regret seeping into his bones, but it was too late. Cat had already beamed and said “that’s wonderful,” and Dan’s smile had blossomed back onto his face. Phil didn’t know why he did it — he disliked the concept and he wasn’t fond of the person he’d have to “marry” for the next week, and just thinking about living together with Howell for a week made his stomach churn. It wasn’t as much of a personal issue as it was professional; his antics and working standards completely differed from Phil’s, he was messy and not the best at communicating, and if he couldn’t stand being in the same team as him… marrying him sounded like an awful idea.
“Howell and Lester… or should I say Howell-Lesters?” Cat looked proud of herself for the subtle jab. “You’re all set, then. Dan, do you have an estimate for how long it’ll take, including the week of recording?”
When Dan replied “a couple of weeks should be enough to have it all done”, Phil’s mind was already somewhere entirely different; his brain was bustling to imagine all the worst possible scenarios of sharing a bed, going on a date and living with Howell. Suddenly, a week sounded like the longest time possible.
After they finished the morning briefing, Dan stopped Phil on his way out. Great, he thought. Immediately, he scolded himself — being patient and nice was his signature around the Buzzfeed offices, and he’d rather not ruin that. He pulled his best smile and nodded. “Dan, hello! Excited to work with you,” he lied. He couldn’t help noticing the other’s soft sigh.
“Listen, no camera smile,” Dan told him. Phil’s face fell. “We have some mutual friends. I know you’re not my biggest fan, but… What you did for me was really nice? So thanks?” The way he spoke showed his lack of confidence, and his statements sounded more like questions. Phil nodded and reached for his phone. When Dan looked at him confused, he had to explain himself.
“We’re gonna be living together for a good week,” said Phil and smiled — this time, a genuine one. Even if it was Howell, knowing someone felt better because of him had a positive effect on his mood. (That and the coffee Tyler offered him during the meeting, but that was beyond the point; everyone knew coffee was the best way to destroy his moody mornings.) “So I guess I should have your number, since we’re married and all.”
He handed Dan the phone and watched as he typed his contact information in. When he got it back, he noticed Dan had saved himself as “Hubby <3” and giggled. Maybe Howell wasn’t that bad of a person, really. Maybe, just maybe, all he needed was a silly experiment; perhaps they’d be great friends by the end of it.
Phil tried not to think of the way Tyler had piped in with “best case scenario, you fuck, because I’m feeling this chemistry”.