Life Support (Septiplier)

Silence

-Mark's Point of View-

As we walked through the grocery store, I grabbed my personal favorites from the American section in the grocery store. I chuckled a little at their selection, dazed by how people here, who have never visited the states, must think of our nation. It was such a different experience here, and I felt slightly bad for the Irishmen who couldn't even buy a giant box of sugary cereal at their local grocery store. I throw some Ramen noodles and Chex Mix into my portion of the cart as Jack came back wielding cans of soup and a pack of beer.

"I know you're Irish and everything, but don't you think you should lay off on the alcohol a little bit? I mean when it gets to the point when it's too bright in cloudy Ireland, you should probably reconsider your choices," I say, chuckling. He gave me a grumpy glare as he set the soups down in the cart and wandered off to return the beer. I watched him as he walked away, posture worse than normal. I could see the scowl on his face through the back of his head. I was here to straighten him up, and my first objective was to deprive him of one of his newly formed bad habits: alcohol. If he could sober up, maybe he could realize how important he is to so many people. Maybe he'd realize how important he is to me.

A single mom with screaming kids cleared her throat from behind me. I snapped out of my thoughtful daze quickly and moved out of her way, apologizing under my breath. I felt the guilt from getting in her way burn in my stomach as I grazed the fruit isle for bananas. Jack returned to my side and still looked a little upset over putting the alcohol back.

"Aw, what's the matter, grumpy-puss?," I teased. The glaring intensified as he threw apples into his side of the cart.

We spent the rest of the grocery run in silence, occasionally throwing things we wanted into the cart. As we were checking out, a red-faced teenager came up to us, obviously nervous.

"I'm sorry to bug you, but um.....do you....are you Markiplier?," she asked me as Jack was paying. She obviously hadn't seen Jack yet. Her hair was short and the portion of it that wasn't black was a faded lilac color with hints of blue and pink. She had two lip piercings on her bottom, right lip and her face had turned a very vibrant shade of red. She found it hard to look me in the eyes, so she stared down at her Converse instead. Her toes were turned in, pointing toward each other in an awkward, but adorable way. She seemed so small, but she looked 16 or maybe even 17.

"Yeah, are you a fan?," I asked. She nodded vigorously and blushed even deeper.

"Yeah, I'm a long term fan of you and Jack. You guys have helped me through a lot. I can't begin to thank you enough. Have you....well, this might be a little personal.....but have you maybe made contact with Jack? We're all so worried and seeing as you're here in Ireland, I just assumed that maybe you were visiting him? I just wanted to know if he was okay. Could you maybe tell him that it's okay that he's missing right now? We just want him to get better," she blurted out. She spoke so quickly and softly that it was hard to keep up with her.

"He's going to get better and return soon. I'll see to that, don't you worry," I said with a reassuring smile. Her eyes flashed up to mine and then back down to the floor.

"Thank you. Could I maybe.....get a hug?," she said awkwardly, curling more into herself to make herself seem even smaller. I hugged her gently and when I released her, she gave an awkward little wave and ran off.

"She was nice," Jack mumbled as he finished paying the man and helped me put my groceries on the small conveyor belt.

"Did you hear what she said about you? I don't think she saw you, she kept looking at her shoes," I explained. Jack nodded, looking at the ground and turning a little pink.

"Were so lucky to have our fans," Jack marveled aloud. I nodded in agreement as I payed the cashier for my groceries. Grabbing the bags full, we continued to walk outside. I breathed in the fresh air as Jack flinched away from the sunlight.

"Here," I say, digging a hand into my pocket and handing him my sunglasses. I didn't need them, this was Ireland, where the rain clouds blotted out the sun on a normal basis. He took my sunglasses with a mumbled "Thanks" and put them in, keeping his eyes on the ground, away from the little sunlight that slipped through the clouds.

A light drizzle from the sky made me shiver, but not nearly as bad as Jack. Jack was skinnier than me, and now that his malnourishment had taken the insulation of his bones, the drizzle caused him t freeze to the bone. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around him. Being a naturally warm person, it didn't bother me as much to be without a jacket, but Jack certainly benefited greatly from the newfound warmth and nodded his head as a thank you. We walked to his house quickly, an awkward silence filling the air. It was weird, giving my jacket over to him. The atmosphere had changed slightly since my act of kindness that was usually meant to happen between a couple. The chivalrous boy handing his warm jacket over to the girl of his dreams with a sparkle in his eyes and an unspoken chill creeping into his veins. I wondered if Jack felt this awkward silence or if it was just me overthinking the situation.

When we had finally made in inside, Jack hung up both our jackets to dry and we shed our shoes on the floor so we didn't track water into the apartment. We put up our groceries as I grabbed some things to make lunch with. The silence was so strong now that it felt as if we were scared to break it. It was an intimidating silence, daring us to break it.

"So...uh. What do you want to eat?," I asked. Jack frowned.

"I don't really feel like eating. But thanks," he said.

"Well you've gotta eat something. So Ramen it is, I guess," I say, searching for a small pot to boil the noodles in. Jack sighed and left the room in a little bit of a rush. He pulled my heartstrings with every step he took away from me. I felt the need to see him all the time, to invade his privacy in every way to make sure he isn't in pain. I heard him go up the stairs, into his room, slamming the door and walking to his bathroom.

That's when I heard the thump from upstairs.

"Jack?," I asked, my mind wandering to worry. When a few minutes had gone by and I had repeated myself a few times, I started to make my way up the stairs in a rush.

I knocked on the door with no response. Suddenly, worry filled my mind. I was instantly upset as I tried the doorknob and couldn't feel it budge. It was locked.

"Jack, you let me in there or I'll bust down this door," I say. I listened for a response, but silence rang in my ears.

I took a step back and slammed my shoulder into the door, not feeling it budge immediately. I slammed my shoulder into it one more time and the door opened, sending pain shooting through my shoulders. I look around quickly, heart beating fast, finding Jack lying in the bathroom floor with a pill bottle in his hand. I rush over to him, kneeling and shaking him frantically. I felt as if my chest was constricted, my heart was pounding so quickly as I checked for a pulse. Finding one, I took a shaky breath and called the police, explaining what had happened and describing the pills.

The next few hours were a frantic blur, the ambulance, the policemen, the doctors, being kicked out into the waiting room because I wasn't family, everything happened so quickly. I was just so scared.

I was absolutely terrified.

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Well, school is out for me, and I can feel the weight of the world lifting off me. I think that's pretty much all I have to say. Thank you so much for reading, you're all lovely <3
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