Imagine If....

It was a Tale as Old as Time... {Pt 2}

It was the next week and you still hadn't seen your brother Jakob. You knew he wasn't going home though because the mail was starting to stack up on his front porch. Once you found that you, you went to the police to file a missing person report. They told you that they would keep an eye out but you had this feeling they wouldn't really do anything. All they told you to do was to sit at home and wait for them to find him. Yeah, fat chance in hell that was happening.

So from your home, you've set up your own 'base of operations'. It sounds more impressive than it actually is. It's just a corkboard you hung on your living room wall with possible locations he might be and where you've already checked. Even though you know it's a long shot, you call Jakob's phone every day, hoping that he would call you back. He hasn't yet.

You were sitting at home watching yet another episode of Criminal Minds. I mean sure, it probably wasn't the best thing to watch with your brother being missing but it was good quality programming.

Just as you got up to make a bowl of popcorn, there was a sharp knock on your door. Your attention immediately snapped towards the door. You didn't actually have any friends, so who the hell would be knocking?

You know the saying 'curiosity killed the cat', well you've killed a lot of cats, just like today as you padded your way towards the door.

When the door opened, Mark's face appeared in the small opening. You slammed the door, but Mark stuck his foot before it could close all the way.

"Just let me talk ok?" He asked you, an exasperated tone in his voice.

"Last time I let you talk, you not only called me an idiotic sorority girl but said that my depressed brother who's been missing since YOU fired him didn't mean anything to you! So, enlighten me on why I should let YOU talk!" You weren't afraid to let a snippy tone into your voice. You'd long let go of the fact that this guy was going to be nice to you. "Speaking of which, how the hell did you find out where I live?"

"I have people for this sort of thin-" Before Mark could finish his sentence, you interrupted him.

"You have people to stalk innocent citizens?"

"Innocent? Have you forgotten about storming into my office and destroying my property?" 

Crossing your arms over your chest, you mumbled 'Touche' under your breath. "As I was saying, I came over to apologize actually. Some of the things I said to you the other week were uncalled for, especially the idiotic sorority girl comment."

"Good, you apologized. Now you can leave me the hell alone!" 

"I thought about what you said, and I want to help. I feel terrible thinking that I may have caused Jakob to do something to himself. I need to make sure he's ok, I just need to."

"It took you this long to realize you wanted to help out?" You watched as a smile slowly began to take over his face as an innocent look appeared in his eyes.

"What can I say, sometimes I'm slow." He paused for a few moments before continuing. "I have resources, money that most people don't have. Whether you choose to admit it or not, you could use the help." You watched as Mark's eyes began to float over your shoulder to your makeshift 'war room'.

An amused expression crossed his face briefly before he made eye contact with you once again. "I'm not asking you to become best friends with me, I'm just asking that you let me help find your brother, please." Despite the anger that was rising within in you, you felt yourself nodding your head.

How you felt about Mark didn't matter. What mattered was finding Jakob, and you would do whatever it took to find him. Even if that meant working with the Beast.

(A few weeks later)

Time had slowly ticked by since you agreed to work with Mark to find your brother. It was sad to think that you've put with the arrogant, inconsiderate ass that is Mark just to find nothing else on your brother. You were no closer to finding your brother than you were a few weeks ago which frustrated the hell out of you. All you wanted was your brother to be back safely, but apparently, that was too much to ask for!

Since starting the search for your brother, you've gotten barely any sleep. The dark circles under your eyes seemed to increase in size every day. You were snippy to everyone you talked to, which only was Mark but still. Just because he was a douchebag 99.9% of the time didn't mean you had to act the same way towards him.

The two of you were currently sitting at your house, doing another in-depth search for your brother. You were talking to a few of his friends on facebook to see if they knew where he went while Mark chatted with a few of his contacts throughout the state of California, as well as a few in nearby states too.

After the fifth friend told you they had no idea where Jakob could be, you slammed your laptop close. Constantly running into dead ends was starting to frustrate the living shit out of you.

You roughly ran a hand through your hair as you thought what your next move could be. Maybe you could check your home state of New Mexico, you haven't checked there yet. As you opened your laptop back up, you heard Mark speak up next to you.

"Another dead end for you?"

"Yeah, but I just realized, I haven't checked New Mexico, that's where we came from. Maybe he went there, that's where he has to be!" You spoke frantically as tears welled up in your eyes.

"Check that in the morning Y/N. You need to get some sleep, besides if he's in New Mexico there's nothing you can do about it in the meantime." There was a concerned tone in his voice that you aren't used to hearing.

"If he's there then I can get him to come home! He's there- I can feel it Mark."

"Y/N, take a break, ok? We'll pick this up in the morning-"

"I don't want to, can't you see that? I just want to find Jakob and I won't stop until I do!" Just as you started to frantically search the internet, you watched Mark's hands as they slid over the edge of your laptop, closing the screen softly.

"Relax, I'm not telling you to not look for your brother. You need to take care of yourself while trying to find your brother. Think about what he would want you to do right now." You stared straight ahead as Mark moved the computer to your coffee table.

"I guess you're right-"

"It's not often when I'm right, but when I am it's the important moments." With your eyes falling to the ground, you felt Mark's hand come up to rest on your upper back. "We'll find Jakob Y/N, don't worry," Before you could respond, your phone started ringing. As you went to pick it up, Mark snuck his hand in and answered it for you.

"Y/N's not available at the moment, can I take a message?" Your eyes narrowed as you glanced at Mark from the corner of your eye. There were a few moments of silence before Mark spoke again, this time towards you.

"There's someone who wants to talk to you."

"Who?"

"Jakob."

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I should just be known for my cliffhangers at this point :D

We've hit 200 comments guys, thanks so much!!! Love you all :)

~Miranda~