I stepped back, looked at Elle, and hugged her all over again. “I can’t believe you’re real?!” And that we’d pulled it off. We’d actually gotten to meet?!

I also couldn’t believe that, even after an all-day flight, she still looked like a goddess.

“Sweaty, puffy, and probably stinky but yup, very real. Oh…” She dug in her pocket and threw something in my bag. “This is for the plane.” It was very much Toblerone shaped—she’d done well. I didn’t ruin the surprise by telling her I had something for her too—a thank-you package under her pillow (specially wrapped in tinsel, as I knew she was secretly into it). Fred’s sausage roll T-shirt that I’d been sleeping in since he left it at mine. I knew she’d love it and, well…it felt right that a bit of Fred should be waiting for her too. Fred loved the idea. I’d also left the details of something Pot Roast had passed on via Dean last night—details of her Boxing Day party that Elle and I were both invited to. I had a feeling Elle might be up for it.

“I can’t believe I only get, what”—I looked up at the clock—“two minutes with you. There’s so much to cover. Starting with THANK YOU FOR THE MOST BONKERS HARD BRILLIANT thing I’ve ever done in my life.” I realized I was holding her hands—I just didn’t want to let her go, let any of this go. “Honestly, Elle, I’ve had the most amazing week ever—all thanks to you.”

“DITTO. Like a million times ditto.” She kept looking at me if she also couldn’t believe I was real. “I’m missing everyone so much already! Who KNEW a bad idea could lead to all this?”

“Bad ideas are the best. Oh, congrats on the win, by the way. Well, the post, I mean…” Elle had made the official announcement just before she took off. It was my favorite post of hers EVER. Along with more photos from her trip, she’d announced that she wasn’t claiming the prize, wished everyone luck, and told everyone that her account was changing to be a whole load more honest. Starting with her telling everyone about how she’d shut down her old account because of trolls, and if anyone was going through the same, her DMs were open. I couldn’t help but notice she’d unfollowed Dove too.

After reading it, I was definitely leaving here a bigger fan of hers than ever.