Septiplier One Shots

Pieces

(Mark's P.O.V.)

I smile and bow, the cheers from the audience making me happy and confident. After my bow I walk off stage, repeating the song over and over in my head. "Renegades" by X Ambassadors. It's the song I chose to do for the annual singing show that my theater does each year. This is only my second year participating, but boy do I love it.

Not only do I love my theater, I've met a lot of cool people and we've done a lot of cool productions, but I love singing. This show is practically what I live for. I just love it. The lights, the practice, the music. Everything. And a lot of people say I'm a really good singer. In fact as I walk backstage many of my friends tell me I did absolutely perfect. 

And, though I am grateful for the compliments and I thank every one of them, I don't care at the moment. Right now I'm just working on getting my way to Seán, who is performing next. Many people, including myself, say he's the best in the theater (next to me). And this is far from the first time he's performing. But I still want to help get rid of those jitters that anyone gets.

I walk up to him, just studying him for a moment. My best friend. His face is a mixture of excitement, sadness, and fear. I don't know about the sadness, but the other two I understand. I'll ask him about it after he goes on. He's wearing a nice, blue suit, one that compliments his brightly dyed green hair and his blue ocean eyes. Overall, he looks amazing.

"Hey." I say, making him jump a bit and whirl around to see me, only to chuckle.

"Damn it Mark, you scared me." He says, smiling slightly. I smile.

"Sorry. How're you feeling?" I ask as he looks out the curtain again. He exhales slowly, shrugging.

"Nervous. Excited. All of the above." He says, biting his lip. I put my hand on his shoulder, him immediately relaxing under my touch. 

"You'll do great." I say, and with that we wait, listening to the music. There's a minute long intro on the song Seán's performing, so we wait until his cue to walk on. And then he looks at me, smiles, and walks on stage to the mic with about five seconds to spare before having to sing. And I watch with a smile, listening to his beautiful voice.

"I'm here again,

A thousand miles away from you,

A broken mess, 

Just scattered pieces of who I am,

I tried so hard,

Thought I could do this on my own,

I've lost so much along the way..."

His singing is beautiful, and there isn't a sound anywhere except for his voice and the music. It's as if the whole world has stopped just to listen to him.

"Then I see your face,

I know I'm finally yours,

I find everything,

I thought I lost before,

You call my name,

I come to you in pieces, 

So you can make me whole..."

His voice gets quieter near the end of the chorus and he looks at the ground as the little instrumental plays. When he starts singing again, he sounds... Sad and it makes me very concerned but I just listen.

"I've come undone,

But you make sense of who I am,

Like puzzle pieces in your hands..."

His voice cracks a small bit and I can see tears start running down his cheeks. Why is he crying? And on stage? He... He's never cried on stage. I don't think I've ever really seen him cry. Why is he so sad? What's going on that I don't know about? As he sings the chorus the tears keep coming and it becomes hard for him to keep his voice steady.

"Then I see your face,

I know I'm finally yours,

I find everything,

I thought I lost before,

You call my name,

I come to you in pieces,

So you can make me whole..."

He doesn't manage to hold the note, looking down at the ground as the music swells. I can hear soft cries coming from him, being amplified by the microphone. 

"I tried so hard! 

So hard!

I tried...I..."

He breaks down crying, clutching the microphone for dear life. The music stops and all that's heard is Seán's crying, his sobs. And it's enough to make my heart split in two. The curtains close and I rush on stage, helping Seán backstage to a private rehearsal room to keep the others out. As soon as we get in he collapses on the floor, broken.

He cries. He sobs. He curls up, pulling his knees to his chest, back against the door, head in his hands. I sit next to him, an arm around him both protectively and reassuringly. We sit there, the only sound being his crying and my breathing. Even the chaos outside is unheard right now. And then I decide to ask.

"Seán what happened out there?" I ask softly, but loud enough that he can hear me over his own cries. He shakes his head slowly.

"I...I can't.." He cries more and I wait, just letting him cry. And he keeps crying. Whatever this is has gotten him really worked up. 

"What's wrong?" This somehow set him off. He opens his eyes and stands, making me stand too. He starts yelling, tears staining his cheeks. 

"I can't do this anymore Mark!" He yells, and I can practically see him tearing himself apart inside. "I can't just sit here and be quiet! I can't sing these songs anymore without breaking down cause every single one reminds me of the one thing that tears me apart! I can't keep hiding my feelings anymore!" He inhales shakily, letting out a choked sob, and he looks at me. His eyes show nothing but sadness. And he yells. What he says, makes my eyes go wide.

"I love you Mark! I always have! Ever since I met you I thought you were amazing and talented, and the kindest person in this place! Every song I sing makes me think of you and how you'll never feel the same about me because you deserve someone so much better. But I don't care because I love you! I love you Mark Fischbach!" He looks to the ground, eyes closed, in tears.

I just stand there, taking in everything he just said. He loves me. My best friend. My singing partner. My acting partner. The person I spend pretty much every minute of every day with. Seán McLoughlin loves me. And he thinks I deserve someone better? I smile softly and I stand right in front of him, lifting his chin with my thumb and forefinger to make him look at me. His cries quiet a bit as he looks me in the eye.

"Who out there is better than you?" I ask and he seems taken aback by my words. I chuckle softly, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. I close my eyes, inhaling deeply and listening to his cries. He holds onto me, grasping my shirt and staining my shoulder with tears. But I don't care. "I've thought that way about you since I first saw you sing." 

And we stand there, hugging, together. And I finally understand. I understand why Seán chose that song. I understand why he started crying. I understand everything. I especially understand that I love Seán and he loves me too. For once, I think something has turned out exactly like the song says.