All The Way

Chapter Eight: Awkward Alliances

**Third POV**
Jack took his usual seat in the back row of the theater room, crossing his arms across the backpack sitting on his lap. Mark came in with the group of seniors, and walked over to sit beside Jack.

"Mark," Felix snapped, motioning him to come over, with a jerk of his head.

Mark hesitated, standing in the middle aisle, looking from Felix, to Jack, then back at Felix. Something inside Jack stung, the fact that Felix was making Mark choose hurting more than it should've. Luckily, Mr. Avidan made his choice simple.

"If you do not sit beside your partner, you will lose 20 citizenship points."

Felix mumbled a swear beneath his breath. Mark smirked, and walked over to Jack. The closer he got, the more anxious Jack became. His cheeks grew hot, his palms sweaty, his hands fidgety. Mark noticed a nervous tick Jack had, where he tapped some kind of beat against his backpack. He had noticed the tick before, but never understood what caused it. Jack, on the other hand, was unaware of his nervous tick, and continued tapping his bag, bouncing his feet to distract himself from how warm Mark was. He radiated heat, making Jack even more hot and bothered.

"Good morning," Mark whispered, his sweet, husky tone fluttering pleasantly against Jack's eardrums.

"M-morning," Jack stumbled, unwilling to contain a pleased sigh after his short sentence.

Mark grinned slightly, Jack's eyes widening at the sound he had made. The brown-eyed boy admired how he made the Irish boy feel. And he was so bad at bottling up his emotions, so Mark noticed every nervous tick, and shaky breath.

"How was the rest of your day, yesterday?" Mark asked, attempting conversation, as Mr. Avidan began roll.

"Umm, good, actually," Jack admitted, thinking about last night.

After sulking over Mark, Robin had taken Jack out for ice cream. They came home and played prop hunt, as they ate their ice cream. It was fun to laugh, an action Jack rarely experienced anymore.

"How was your night?" Jack asked, the jealousy in his voice making Mark grin.

"Um... it was fine," Mark mumbled.

It was like any other night at Felix's. They played video games, and joked about school. Felix yelled at his pugs, and mumbled in Swedish, as he tried his hardest to beat Mark in whatever games they were playing. Mark enjoyed keeping Felix company. Both of them needed it. Mark would do anything to keep from going home sooner than he had to, and Felix would do anything to push away the dark, lonely feeling circling him.

"Hmm," Jack mumbled, and unzipped his backpack, pulling out his script.

"What do you mean, hmm?" Mark questioned, curiously.

"Nothing," Jack whispered, shaking his head. "It's nothing."

"It's never nothing. Come on, spill."

"You're too good for Felix," Jack admitted, rubbing nervously behind his slightly pointed ear.

Mark stared at the side of Jack's head, thinking of the right words, but the perfect sentence wouldn't form on his lips. Instead, he reached out, taking Jack's small, cool hand in his. Jack tensed, Mark's warm touch sending goosebumps over his skin, making the hairs on his arms stand up. He looked up at Mark, light eyes wide in confusion.

"Um..." Mark let go of his hand, and rubbed the back of his own neck, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead, "Sorry, I don't know why I did that."

"Uh, it's... uh... okay," Jack stumbled, cheeks burning.

Felix glared over at Mark and Jack, their awkward, yet adorable actions towards each other infuriating him. Cry chuckled at his obvious jealousy, and tapped his head along to the best in his head. Felix sat with his legs up on the empty seats beside him, and looked to his right, up at Cry who sat in the row behind him, in the same place he always sat. Cry cleared his throat, Felix's blue eyes making the shy boy, nervous. He sunk into his white hoodie, pulling his mask over his eyes. Felix stared at the boy. He was strange, yet impeccably interesting. Almost... enticing.

"Why do you wear that mask?" Felix asked, shifting, so his body was pointed more in Cry's direction.

"Um, we should really discuss the script," Cry whispered, his whimsical tone making Felix's heart speed up.

"You shouldn't hide your face," Felix whispered, so quiet, he thought only he would hear.

But Cry heard. His hearing was exceptional. The years of hiding his eyes had somehow enhanced his other senses, just as it happens to those who lose their sight. Although Felix's words were a compliment, Cry didn't believe him. He suffered from self-esteem issues, and social anxiety. He didn't believe any compliments he received, let alone believe anyone who showed any interest in being his friend. He was raised by a single parent- his mother- who constantly worked to raise enough money to support him, and his two sisters. Cry was the oldest, but one of his sisters was only two years younger than him, and was practically the adult of the house.

Too much responsibility on his hands causes Ryan to snap, curl into a ball, and cry in the secluded darkness of his room. As a young child, Ryan had been bullied in school for being small, and skinny. He was smart, and had glasses, making him the nerd of the school. As he got older, nothing changed. He still needed glasses when it came to reading, and was still bullied for being a nerd, and emo. He wore hoodies to hide the scars, and a mask to hide the dark rings beneath his eyes from the constant lack of sleep. His anxiety made life more difficult than it had to be, and the incessant bullying didn't help.

"And you don't need to be a jerk. Yet you still are," Cry said, his passive attitude surprising Felix.

Felix stood up, and walked around to sit beside Cry. Cry shifted nervously, pressing his side against the wall, his heart beating loud in his ears. Felix noticed his body tense, and his shaky breaths, so he decided to slide over another seat, leaving a space between them. Cry relaxed slightly, but still felt overwhelmed with nerves that twisted his insides, painfully.

"I'm sorry if I make you nervous. Shit, I don't know why I'm such an asshole. Please, if we are going to work together, you gotta let me in, man," Felix sighed, exasperated.

Cry moved his mask up, and looked over at Felix. His piercing blue eyes locked onto Felix's. The boy made Felix nervous, his glance making something stir in his stomach. His heart skipped a beat when a smile crept over Cry's pale lips.

"Everyone makes me nervous, Felix," Cry said, matter-of-fact.

His sad tone made Felix frown, the pain in Cry's eyes plain as day. Felix held out his hand, hoping Cry wouldn't notice his clammy palm.

"I'm Felix Kjellberg."

Cry smiled, and shook Felix's hand. "Ryan. But I prefer Cry. My sisters call me Cry."

"Nice to formally meet you, Cry."

"Pleasure."

"Partners?"

"Yup," Cry chuckled, his soft laugh making Felix's eardrums hum.

The shy boy had a strange effect on Felix, but he liked the awkward alliance they were developing.

PewDieCry!!! I think I fell into the PewDieCry ship before the Septiplier ship, I can't remember. I absolutely adore Cryaotic. He just makes me smile. I miss Pewds and Cry playing together, but it was awesome to hear them read a fanfic together during Cringemas! Hhaha anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.