Lights, Camera, Action

City of Opportunity

TWENTY-SIX: CITY OF OPPORTUNITY

Mark's POV

Comic Con was a lot of fun, but I was still really happy to get back to my apartment in LA. I'd be going to Vidcon soon, but a little break from conventions was better than no break at all. I needed some time to record extra videos for when I was gone, plus I wanted to see Alyssa again. I always missed her, even when I wasn't gone for long.

"Hey," she smiled sweetly when she stopped by my place after I got back home.

"Come here," I said, pulling her inside and shutting the door. I lightly pinned her against the wall and kissed her and I felt her smiling into the kiss.

"It's nice to see you too," she laughed.

"Sorry, I guess I just missed you," I explained.

"I noticed!"

"Well, I mean, you can't send me sexy pictures over the weekend and not expect me to be excited to finally see you in person," I added.

"Hey, you started it!"

"Whatever! You're the one who wanted to 'Netflix and chill' if I'm remembering our text conversation correctly," I reminded her.

"Maybe I meant that literally."

"Alright, sure, you meant it literally. Let's just binge watch some shows then," I proceeded to the couch, a smug look on my face. Alyssa grabbed a water bottle from the fridge before joining me. "It's kind of hot in here, don't you think?" I pulled my shirt up over my head and tossed it onto the floor.

"You cannot be serious," Alyssa shook her head in shame.

"What?" I stretched and flexed, pretending to not know what she was talking about.

"I hate you so much," she told me, despite the fact that she had decided to sit on my lap and make out with me.

We didn't even bother relocating to my bedroom this time. Her kisses were aggressive and I could tell she didn't want to waste any time. I put a random TV show on for background noise so I wouldn't even have to worry about neighbors complaining - they never said anything about me having music or my TV on too loud. The rest of the day was pretty calm after that. We took the time to actually watch some things on Netflix and munch on some popcorn.

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Before I knew it, Vidicon had arrived. Alyssa wasn't busy with auditions this time, so she went with me. We met quite a few other Youtubers there and of course we got together with Wade as well as Matthias and Amanda. As usual, it was busy and tiring but also enjoyable. It felt good to be going to so many different events in so many different places, just because I felt like I was actually meeting quite a few different fans. Conventions were one of the best ways for me to connect with my audience these days, now that I had acquired such large amount of subscribers. I could never reply to every tweet, comment, or message online, but I could stop and meet most of the people who came to see me at cons. Even if we had to have short conversations, it meant a lot more to me when our interactions were in person, and I was sure they felt the same.

Soon after Vidcon, I went back to Cincinnati for my brother's birthday. My family was anxious to see Lys again, so I convinced her to come with me. My mom was absolutely delighted to see her and she even got to meet some family members who didn't know her yet, which went really well. They all liked her, tattoos and all (she was still afraid that they'd judge her for them, but I was able to convince her not to purposefully cover them all up). She got a chance to hang out with Molly while Wade, Tyler and I went out for drinks, but I made time to take her on a date out in Cincy too. It was a great couple of days, and I didn't really want to go back to LA. I never did. Of course, I was fine when I went back, but it didn't feel nearly as homey or comfortable as my mom's house or Wade's place or even my old college campus did. I was sure that eventually I'd move back to my hometown, but for now LA was full of opportunities for me, not to mention the fact that Alyssa was slowly becoming successful there. It felt like we were both going to be stuck in that city for a while. Luckily, I had grown somewhat fond of it, and so had my girlfriend.

One day, about a week after we had gotten back to LA, Lys called me frantically at lunchtime. She was so out of breath on the phone when I answered that my heart began beating out of my chest - I thought something was seriously wrong with her or that something bad had happened to Aubrey or a family member.

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you answered. I thought you might be recording or something," she breathed into the receiver.

"What's going on? Is something wrong? Are you alright, Lys?"

"Yeah, I'm just freaking out a bit. I got a call today, about my Violets audition," she responded.

"Oh, okay. Right, so what's the verdict?" I was having trouble forming the correct words considering the fact that I was sure I'd be rushing to the hospital just a second ago.

"I got the role. I'm going to be the star of a movie, Mark, a HUGE movie. The fans of the books have practically been demanding that they be made into films. Everyone's going to see it when it's out."

"That's amazing. That's really, really incredible, Lys. I'm so damn happy for you!"

"Thanks, so is Aubrey. We were literally squealing a few minutes ago. Webster thought we were insane. And I'm sure Alex is going to freak out. And David and my parents...I still have some people I need to tell, so I'll have to talk to you later."

"Alright, well how about a celebratory fro yo date after you're done?"

"Sure, just give me an hour. I'm planning on keeping my phone calls as short as possible so I can get through them all now," she agreed.

"Okay, sounds good. I love you, see you soon."

"I love you too, Mark. Thanks for supporting me. See you in a bit."

When we got our frozen yogurt, Alyssa seemed happier than she had been in quite a while. This was a big break for her, the job she had been waiting for. Acting was her passion, and I knew this was a role she was going to have a lot of fun with. I just hoped that she didn't have another Jason situation, because I loved seeing her this excited and passionate about something. Her being so full of joy made me feel just as elated, and that made everything better and more enjoyable, including the content I put on my channel. If only that feeling was permanent.

Hey guys. Sorry, this is kind of a filler chapter and I know it's a bit all over the place. I have some interesting things planned for the next few chapters, though. Despite the fact that this chapter isn't much, I hope you still enjoyed it. If you did, please vote for it and I always love hearing want you think in the comments section. Thanks for reading!