Then *Poof* You Were There: A Markiplier fiction #Wattys2014

Chapter 2: Why Hello There

(Play the music now!)

Comic Con was just around the corner and I was planning to take the weekend off and back down to Austin to complete my promise to my friends back home. Lindsay, my roommate, had looked at me strangely all week as I worked on my Gaz costume, going as far as to bleach and dye my own hair purple like the crazy character's. Seeing as my roommate wasn't a big nerd like myself, I didn't give her the time of day to explain what I was doing. She would just sit on her bed and read her gossip magazines while texting her friends and listening to whatever was considered "hot" at the moment. Most nights she was out at frat parties anyway so I usually got the room to myself. I just hoped that while I was gone she wouldn't use my bed as a place to have sex with her boyfriends. Yes, boyfriends. I've counted three at this moment.

"Have fun at loser-fest," she coldly stated the day I left, flipping the page of her current mag with a long pink nail. I shook my head and left the building as fast as I could without running anyone over with my suitcase and platform boots.

The three hour drive wasn't too bad. I blasted all my favorite songs in the speakers and even deliberately freaked out a couple of conformists when stopped at lights by rolling down my window, turning the song to some morbid or screamo song and yelling all the lyrics from memory while adjusting my black lipstick glancing over at the preps who were gafawed at not only me and my music, but also my sticker-encased car with all my favorite bands plastered on, the only exception being a red 8-bit style M I had made myself. I gave the rocker sign to them before flipping them off as the light turned green and rolled up my window again.

Needless to say, I'm a bit of a crazy one.

Once I had gotten to my parents house, I was welcomed with warm arms by my encouraging parents and reckless little brothers, who were nerds themselves. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

My room had been turned into a guest bedroom/study with a big desk in the corner behind the door and my bed where it had always been. The walls were the same as they had always been except no posters were left on them. I had taken all of them with me when I went to college.

I crashed on my old bed and gave a sigh of relief, glad to be back home. And with that, I went back to old habits; my tablet taken out of my backpack within seconds and tuned to my favorite youtuber. Since my friend, Bri, had introduced him to me a year and a half ago, not a day has gone by when I didn't watch at least one video of his. He was the one who made last summer bearable. I had been down all last summer, but his videos made each day go by easier as I slowly fell for his chocolate eyes, bubbly personality, and a smile that could make anyone drool. I had fallen in love with someone I had never met before, but that never stopped me from dreaming that one day, he would be in my life for real and not just through the screen. And like every video, I said the opening and ending along with him, giggling like the crazy fangirl I am and falling asleep thinking of the adventures waiting for me tomorrow.

~The Next Day~

"JASMINE! SAVVY! CHRISTINA!" I shouted as I ran in my costume towards my friends I hadn't seen in months and gave them all big hugs. While they did wear shirts that sported Pokemon or Zelda, I was the only one in our group who was dressed from head to toe in a full-on Gaz costume from Invader Zim. But I didn't care as we were there to have fun and be as nerdy as we wanted to.

"James is going to meet us inside. He's got some stuff this morning so he'll text me when he gets here," Savvy explained as we walked into the already long line to wait the next hour before they let us in.

But once inside, we realized the wait was worth it. It was different from the other Wizard World comic cons we had been to, as it was much larger and people we actually knew were starting to set up their tables to the left.

Throughout the day, we took pictures, bought cute little nick nacks, and I even had a couple people ask to take pictures with me! Two little kids dressed as Zim and Gir wanted to take pictures with me and I had Jasmine take one too. I had been to Comic Con the previous year but it was nothing like this. 

After a while we decided to split up. Savvy and James wanted to go meet some guy, Christina wanted to check out all the pokemon stuff, and Jasmine and I wanted to see the art. We chose to meet back up in an hour or so at the front doors so we could have enough time to get to the screening of the new Marvel movie coming out. 

"Jasmine!! Look at this!" I pointed a few prints of Inuyasha fan art and we both squealed in delight. In the end, she bought a Sesshomaru print, an original piece from a talented painter, and a Zelda print. I myself bought a 3-set of creepypasta art and 2 pokemon posters for my brothers. 

"Man we scored today!" I exclaimed to my best friend. She laughed like a maniac which made me laugh even harder and we both ended up taking a breather where there weren't so many people. 

"Dude can today get any better?" 

"Hah, I'm not sure Lex. Of course, this isn't like San Japan was, but still fun." 

"Yeah." I looked around at all the people who were dressed in costumes and those who weren't. I saw a pokemon, a joker, a Superman, Markiplier, a couple minions, and...wait what?! 

"OUCH! Stop squeezing my shoulder! you're gonna-" 

"ITS MARK. OH MY GOD ITS MARK." I pointed at the man I (assumed) was Mark Fischbach who thankfully wasn't looking this way. Jasmine rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, letting me know my fangirling was starting to overflow a bit. I stopped pointing and squeezing her shoulder and got up. 

"I'm going over. He never said anything about coming to Austin, so there's gotta be a reason he's here." 

"Uuuuh nope. You just want to meet him and go all googly eyed at him. You want to hug and kiss him and steal him away to your dungeon of fangirl fantasy doom." I almost fell back down I laughed so hard. I know when she's joking or not and she half is half is not. "Go to him if you must. I'll wait here and see where the others are at." 

She gave me a little shove and before I knew it I was several feet away from the man on the screen. His glasses reflected his phone, which was currently on Twitter. Suddenly my years of shyness came back and I just couldn't do it. I started to take a step back when he looked up and saw me to his right, staring at him like a scared puppy. At first he was confused, but it was only for a moment when he realized I was a fan, smiled, and waved me over to sit next to him on the floor. I'm sure my face went red as I slowly walked over and quietly muttered a simple "hi". 

"Why hello there, miss. You seem awfully star struck. Do I remind you of someone perhaps?" A million thoughts were runnning through my head as I nodded ever so gently, like the first time I told a guy I like him. His warm eyes were filled with delight as he motioned for me to scoot closer. I did, and I as I got closer to him the more I saw him as a whole. He wore a gray hoodie and dark blue jeans. His hair was styled the way he usually did, and he had little stubble as if he forgot to shave that morning, but in the cute way. His smile was big and bright with perfect white teeth, and his glasses reflected me now instead of a phone screen. 

"M-Mark..." was about as much as I could muster at once. 

"Yes?" 

"Iiiim a huge fannn annd uh....I...." I really didn't know what to say. I had dreamed so many times of finally meeting this man, but now that it was happening for real I couldn't get the courage to actually talk to him. 

"Its okay. I can see you're a little shy. Let me start." He turned his body towards me a bit and held out his hand. "Hello dear fan! My name is Markiplier and it's a pleasure to meet you." I couldn't keep in my excitement anymore and I burst out laughing practically rolling on the floor. Once I had finished my fit of giggles I looked to Mark and realized he too was laughing on the floor. 

Maybe I knew then and maybe I didn't, but that was the start of what was to be my new adventure.