Crack Attack: A Collection of One-Shots and Other Disturbing Shit

Mitch Time (Merome-ish)

A potentially very-triggering one-shot written while listening to "Monster" by Approaching Nirvana. (Linked above, as always.)

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Do you know what it feels like to have unlimited power? Do you know how sweet it tastes to have the minds and hearts of millions of people in the palm of your hand? Do you know how thrilling it is to lie awake at night and think of how many people would follow you to the edge of hell and back without question? This feeling, this power... It makes the rest of it worth it. With just a couple of videos a week and two or three conventions a year, I have hundreds of thousands - no, millions! - of starry-eyed, obedient followers at my disposal. They trust every word I say. They idolize me like a god. They will obey my every whim, and nothing can stop me. By the time the head honchos at YouTube find out and try to shut me down, it will be over.

They wanted me to talk, didn't they? They wanted me to notice them, say their name, praise their dedication and their skills. They wanted to feel special, like they were in the spotlight for a few seconds, maybe a minute. They came from all corners of the globe just to get a selfie with me and have me sign their hoodies and t-shirts and swords. They were just desperate for attention, and I was the one who could give them that no matter what anyone else thought about them. Yeah, I'm the King of the Hunger Games in Minecraft, but to these kids, these teens, these twenty-somethings, I'm their king in real life, too. I am their savior. They say I helped them through hard times, that I was there for them in their darkest hour. Shouldn't they be there to help me in mine? Of course, most of them won't know that they're helping me until it's too late for them to hesitate. That's true loyalty.

I've always wanted to leave a legacy somehow, but I never knew what I was going to do until now. It took me almost six years to come up with this plan and I'm not going to back out of it now. They will remember me for centuries after this. My name will live on after YouTube is dead and gone, too. I might even be the reason that anyone remembers what YouTube is at all, five, ten, fifty years from now. I will make the history books - the real ones, not just the lame ass Wikis that are wrong ninety-five percent of the time. Finally, someone will spell my whole name right.

I am going to stream it on YouTube and Twitch at the same time, just like I promised. I've been talking about it for almost a month, so anyone and everyone has heard about it by now. I waited until Ryan and his girlfriend were out of town for a couple of days, and I slipped a handful of crushed sleeping pills into Jerome's chocolate ice cream milkshake disaster when he wasn't looking. I can still hear him snoring upstairs. He isn't a threat now. Even he can't stop me. And what are the others going to do? Jump in a plane and fly over from Texas, or down from Canada, or across the ocean to stop a thirty-minute livestream? I won, boys. GG, no re.

I grab the red and black checkered packet of sugar and pop rocks, and the fake, baking soda eraser I had made specially for this occasion and set them to the side with two half-filled glasses of water. No one will know what's happening until it's too late to stop me. I need this to be as realistic and believable as possible - I only get one chance in this lifetime to make a mark like this. Satisfied with that, I check the clock and see that I have three minutes to go before the stream is scheduled to start. I'll give them an extra ten minutes, just to make sure that everyone is tuned in. They don't want to miss this, do they?

While I wait, I silently walk across the hall to the bathroom and pull the empty box of Band-Aids out of the back of the cabinet. It isn't as empty as it looks. I pull the familiar piece of Burger King straw out and carefully shake the rest of the pure white powder out onto the counter. There's no point in saving it because I won't be needing it after this afternoon; I'll never see this house again. I slowly inhale the sweet, grainy powder and feel the rush of adrenaline and confidence I needed. I am untouchable, unbreakable, unstoppable. I am stronger than ever before. I will win this game.