-PREQUEL TO SERIES- The New Girls (YouTube FanFic)

[Chapter 3] Home Sick

Author's Note: Okay, so I deleted the last chapter (which was "I'd Like You To Meet Someone") because I think I'd get more out of the story if I didn't take things too quick (which I thought I was doing). So here's the new chapter and I hope you like it! -rac06h10ael

-Rachael's POV-

Over the past few months, I became great friends with Anthony, Ian, the Smosh Games crew, and a few other YouTubers who lived in the area. But it just felt...wrong. I mean, sure, I was sort of living the dream of moving to California with my sister, becoming famous YouTubers, meeting and becoming friends with other YouTubers, and so on. But my sister wasn't here with me. And Nachael wasn't that famous yet. And only I was friends with these people, not Natalie. Like I said before, it just felt wrong.

Along with living half the dream, I've been feeling really home sick, this February more than other months. And it must've showed, because Anthony invited me over out of the blue to play some video games. When I got there, he told me Kalel was out for the day so it'd be just him and me. He popped in the game and of course it had to be MarioKart, something Nat and I used to play all the time when we weren't Just Dance-ing.

I picked up the controller and started to play with him. He beat me time after time again, which was unusual. We just finished yet another race and Anthony jumped to his feet in victory and started doing some sort of victory dance.

He glanced down at me and his dance was short lived, "Is everything okay, Rach?" He asked me concernedly.

I looked up at him and shook my head, setting down the wii remote next to me on the couch and pulling my knees into my chest, "Not really."

"Oh..." He paused the game and sat down beside me, "Do you...want to talk about it?"

I smiled slightly, "I don't think you really want to hear me rant on about nothing."

"It's got to be something," He retorted, turning towards me, "I mean, you're not even upset that I beat you. Something's got to be up."

I shook my head.

"Come on. You're a girl. You like to talk about your feelings, right?"

I laughed, "Not all the time." He tilted his head to the side, still thinking I wanted to talk about it. "Fine," I moaned, "If you want to know so badly, I'm home sick. And I miss my sister and I don't like living here alone."

"You're not alone, Rach," He told me in a comforting way, moving slightly closer to me on the couch, "You've got Ian and me. And everyone else."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Yeah...I guess...but it's still not the same. Natalie's not here."

"Then why don't you go visit home?" He suggested.

"I can't afford to. I barely make enough to stay in my apartment, let alone pay for a round trip back home," I replied dismally. I frowned, "I guess I'll just have to wait till she graduates this summer."

-Anthony's POV-

I hated seeing Rachael like this. It wasn't fun. It wasn't like her. "I guess I'll just have to wait till she graduates," She told me. And that's when I got an idea. A crazy one that just might work.

"Hey," I remarked, "Can I see your phone for a second?" I stuck my hand out.

She gave me a confused look before slowly placing her phone in my hand. I jumped to my feet, escaping into the office. "Hey!" I heard her yell as I shut the door behind me and scrolled through her contacts until I found Natalie. I pressed the dial button and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, Rach, what's up?" Natalie greeted in a friendly way.

"Is this Natalie?" I retorted.

There was a brief pause before she retorted, "Wait...who is this? And what are you doing with my sister's phone?"

"It's Anthony. Anthony Padilla."

"Anthony Padilla!?!" She shouted through the speaker, "What are you doing with my sister's phone?"

"I actually needed to call you, and I didn't have your number for myself," I explained, "But...when do you think your next vacation is?"

"Why...?" She asked skeptically.

"Well, because..." I sighed, "Rachael's miserable without you here, and I think if you came to visit her, even if it was just for a few days, she wouldn't be so sad."

"So you're asking me to come to California just so Rachael will stop being miserable?"

"Pretty much," I replied with a chuckle.

She sighed, "I guess I could think about it..."

"That'll be great!" I exclaimed just as I turned around and saw Rachael leaning against the threshold of the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face. "Hey, I'll call you later, okay?" I pressed the end call button and lowered her phone to my side, "Hey, Rach..."

-Joey's POV-

I was hanging out with Kalel today, something we hadn't done in a while. I think the last time we hung out, actually, was before she started dating Anthony. He was a cool guy, but I didn't really like him. In my opinion, he didn't seem like the kind of guy for Kalel. But she's happy with him, so I keep my mouth shut.

We were sitting outside of a small restaurant in town while she told me all about this new girl Anthony and Ian have been hanging out with a lot lately. Her name was Rachael and she was from some up-and-coming YouTube channel called Nachael Squared. I hadn't heard of it before, in all honesty. "I swear, Anthony's like infatuated with her," Kalel told me as she sipped her iced tea, "He always finds an excuse to hang out with her. Like today was because she's been down lately and he wants to cheer her up by playing video games. It's crazy..."

"Do you find her...competition?" I inquired, picking at the food in front of me.

"Competition?" She repeated before scoffing, "No. I just think she's some girl who's utterly lost in California and a girl who Anthony feels the need to help."

I chuckled, "It sounds like you're jealous of her."

"I'm not!" She argued, "I swear!"

"Whatever, Kalel..." I leaned back, "Hey, you know what? I think I want to meet her too. You said she's a YouTuber right?" She nodded her head yes, "Then maybe I could do a collab vlog or video with her."