A True Theorist ~ A MatPat Fanfiction

0.11

A/N: Not accurate description of MatPat's actual house. I tried. Trust me. I tried.

His house was smaller than the others in the neighbourhood, yet bigger than her own. It was white, slightly stained by the weather. It was two storeys high, and all the windows had curtains opened. It was like one of the houses you'd see in every town. But this one was special in a way. It was going to be hers.

Lilli dropped her suitcases at the door and looked around. It had wooden floors, neatly polished, like the ones in her school hall back in Australia. She stepped further inside, MatPat right behind her, watching over her.

"You like it, Lil?" he asked, placing one hand on her right shoulder. She flinched at the touch, then became used to it after a few seconds. She smiled slightly.

"Yeah. It's cool," Lilli replied. They stood there idle for at least three minutes, looking out at the house. She still couldn't comprehend that she wasn't only in the house of her favourite YouTuber ever, but that she was also his daughter. She finally allowed a few tears to escape her eyes, racing down her face like two cars on a track.

MatPat removed his hand from her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lil. Those people, I-" he stopped, running his fingers through his hair like a comb. "I can't begin to imagine how horrible they were to you. I'm sorry we didn't look after you,"

"It's okay, Mat," Lilli replied, giving him a hug. "If you raised me with Steph, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I wouldn't be as selfless, I wouldn't be as forgiving, I wouldn't have the gratitude for smaller things in life. Things happen for a reason. I'm sorry you never got to see me grow up,"

She was a mess. Her tears ran faster than the stampede that killed Mufasa in The Lion King. She sobbed into her father's chest, her throat aching. He rubbed his hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her. His eyes started to glaze over as they stood again in the hall.

The midday sunlight still shone through the windows, the curtains like rolling waves in the wind. Lilli and MatPat stepped back from each other, and she remembered her thoughts in the car. What if this IS all staged? No, it can't be. No actor is this genuine...

Suddenly, there was movement coming down the stairs. Around the corner came a white cat with two darker patches on it's head. It purred as MatPat stroked it's back, and weaved between his legs.

"C'mere, Skip," MatPat said as he cuddled the cat. Lilli smiled slightly, for Skip not interrupting a live stream, but having a welcoming introduction. She reached out towards Skip, but he withdrew himself.

"It's okay, he does that to all strangers," MatPat stated. Strangers. She wasn't supposed to be a stranger.

"Make yourself at home, Steph should be coming home soon," he said as he picked Skip up. Lilli stood up, and walked to the end of the hall. She looked around the living room, the sight the least foreign thing she'd seen in the whole house.

"GT Live?" Lilli asked as she spun around to see MatPat placing Skip down near a pot plant. He walked over to stand beside her, and again, placed a hand on her shoulder. Was this something all dads did? Lilli asked herself as she looked to see the camera wasn't set up yet, but lying idle beside the sofa.

"Yeah, we're streaming one tonight. It's a bit late, but it's longer. We were going to play Sara is Missing, I'm thinking of a theory, but I don't have the time to play that and another game for the live stream, so we're doing it again, but more research and viewer driven," he stated as Lilli sat down, feeling somewhat comfortable on the couch she had seen countless times through a computer screen.

"Sounds great," Lilli stated, patting the couch beside her. MatPat sat down beside her, and sighed. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept in days. He probably hadn't, researching and recording, and then editing. And planning the live show. "Mat, do you need me to help with the livestream? I could be behind the scenes with Jason, or I could help with the camera, or-"

"Lil," he stated, shutting her down mid-sentence. "I know you want to help, and I'm very grateful," Lilli stared at the carpet, feeling useless. She knew what was coming. She'd probably ruin it all if she did it, anyway.

"Ah, what am I kidding? The more the merrier!" he stated. She looked up at him, surprised. Astonished.

"Really?" she asked, finally realising something. Something itching at the back of her head for ages. "What about my other family? My friends?"

MatPat stepped back, realising he never really thought that far. What about her friends and home? How could he expect her to just stay with a man she knew over the internet?

"Well, how long were you planning on staying? Are your friends living anywhere near here?" he asked, taking out his phone, messaging Steph.

"I was leaving in a few hours, and my friend Jess would still be leaving. She auditioned for a school of arts, and she's hoping she got in. If she does, she comes to California every three months until she can afford to live here. My other two friends live here, just on the other side of this estate," she replied, MatPat still facing his phone. She adjusted her glasses, and tried to concentrate on the fact she would never be put down by her old family, and never have to see her old school.

But there were things she'd miss. The early mornings when the kookaburras would laugh and cackle at the sun as it rose higher. The salty breeze as she walked along the beaches. The smell of smoke, the heat and ash falling from the sky when the sugar cane was being harvested. The cars rushing past in the busy streets of Brisbane when she had the money to see a musical with her drama class. She shed a slight tear, MatPat kneeling beside her, placing his phone down.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to, Lil, there's always the internet-"

"I can't go back. I already told my carers I was leaving, that I was staying here for my senior year. And Jess has already packed, and Becky is trying to enrol me at the same school as Darren, which is actually pretty good," she stated. Mat's phone started vibrating, and he nodded for her to answer it. She held the phone up to her ear, and answered the call.

"Hello?" she asked, looking at MatPat as he smiled, and started setting up the camera.

"You ready for your first GTLive?" asked a voice that could only belong to Stephanie. Lilli started taking small light breaths, and near dropped the phone. She couldn't believe it.

"Always! When are you going to be home?" Lilli asked, trying to calm down.

"In less than five minutes, I'm turning the corner down our street," Our street...

"See you soon then, and thank you guys so much," Lilli gazed over to MatPat as she spoke, and as Stephanie hung up, she breathed a sigh of relief. it was all happening. All she needed now was for Jess to be accepted into the A Capella school, and things would be somewhat familiar.

A/N: Thanks for 1.2k reads guys! Wow, I can't believe this got so much attention! Thanks to everyone who has read this thus far, and the next update is coming soon! I just finished term, so expect a lot of updates! Thanks again, Charlie x