across the hall

five

||Chapter Five; Two Months and One Week Ago||

Quote of the chapter: "P.s. You stink."

Mark and E spent most of the past week in his apartment. She didn't want the week to end, she had never had so much fun spending time with one person before. The other night, they were at a get together with some of Mark's friends, playing drinking games. She drank, though maintained her sobriety well. He had one or two drinks, but quit because he had to drive them home.

They remember arriving at his apartment, but then the next thing they know is that they are waking up cuddled, naked, and a used condom strewn onto his bedroom floor. Awkwardly, when they woke up at the same few minutes, he realised he was naked and she was too. He fell off the bed as she shot up, a thin white sheet covering her nude body as he used a pillow.

Though that odd morning and night that now the two can remember clearly, they have not let it get between them. They act as though it never happened. He wishes that he could spend more time with her and get to know her even better, and eventually ask her to be his girlfriend. She wishes that she was strong enough to leave Noah. If she can't be that strong, which in her eyes is the ability to fly in others eyes, she is finally strong enough to do something. She told the girl who is supposed to be her best friend. Her best friend, who happens to be in love with Noah, glares at the girl for calling such absurd behavior and stalks off, telling Noah what she told her. That same morning, Noah told E to meet him at an old house no one has lived in for years. At that house, for the first time, he rapes her.

As the days pass, E finds herself fearing Noah more and more. She is thankful that night with Mark, the one when he took something that if she hadn't willingly given to him, Noah would have stolen; her virginity. Noah has became more worried over the days. He was afraid that now that he has done this to her, thinking he took away her virginity, he begins to hate himself. While he is home, he begins to drink, hitting her more and more often. When he is gone, he drinks heavily, sleeping with multiple girls each night.

Mark has became busier and busier with YouTube to distract him from the obvious way he feels about E. He knew he had feelings about her before their night spent together, but he is more so aware of this now, after. That night, to him, just made everything settle into place. He knows now that this girl, who he knows so much about, yet does not know her name is Oliver, that she lives across the hall, or that she is engaged to be married next year in December, is the girl he is meant to spend his life with. The last two weeks have been the best of his life and every time he thinks of her, he can't help but smile. Even his fans noticed a change in him, one for the better.

Some of Mark's fans are very smart, asking him if he is in love and stating that he is glowing. Mark, unable to answer these questions, doesn't. He avoids answering them bluntly, instead responding with questions such as 'what is love?' or 'doesn't everyone glow?' He does, in one of his videos, mention a new female friend, who he means to be E.

This, six days after their night, and three days after she was raped, is the time when the video arises.

"Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier and welcome to Markiplier Reacts To 'Markiplier's Girlfriend!?'" He grins on the screen of his own laptop. He swallows, watching the video he just edited. "This is a video that was sent to me by some of you guys, a lot actually, asking me if it's real or not. Now, I have no idea what this video is, I just started recording because this seems like something you guys want to know. Let's get started," He watches himself as he presses play on the video. The blue screen that reads Markipliers Girlfriend!? disappears and is replaced with a screen of darkness. It cuts straight into someone following him through the woods, to the cliff.