YouTuber OneShots

Bro Average Jr.

Flick. Snap. Smack. Thud.

Flick. Snap. Smack. Thud.

The same repetitive motion over and over all morning. Chase sat sideways in a conference chair, his legs draping over the arm. His lap was littered with assorted candy wrappers. He wondered which candy his breath smelled like, if not a combination of all of them. His worn tennis ball smacked the wall once again, bouncing off the floor and back into his hand. The number of times he'd sat here in his office throwing that very ball at the wall had started to make everything feel like second nature. Throw the ball. Catch the ball. Throw the ball. Catch the ball.

Boredom had seized Chase from the moment he woke up to now as he waited for a knock at his door. She said 10:30. It was noon. Chase was getting antsy. He picked up his phone and texted Staci.

Hey, Hun.

Kids?

<3

He was trying so hard. Why didn't she understand? His channel was growing and he was earning a slow profit off his work. Becoming famous on YouTube was more difficult than he had anticipated. Still, his trick shots were getting people's attention, and his last video even had 500k views. That was insane! He realized how difficult it was for Staci to trust that he knew what he was doing. He was silly and reckless and a screw-up. They were only in their twenties and they already had kids who were in elementary school.

Chase chewed his lip anxiously as he saw Staci start to text back. He sat up more in his chair as if she was standing in the room with him. He had to be better for her. He didn't want to disappoint her. Moreover, he didn't want to disappoint his kids. They all meant the world to him.

We just had lunch. 5 minutes.

He sighed deeply, hanging his head. He had an entire day planned out for the kids. He wanted to take them out for lunch at Chuck e Cheese's then go for ice cream. They could still do ice cream, he supposed. He wanted them to enjoy their day with dad as much as possible. Which meant Staci and him couldn't spend the entire time arguing like they had last weekend. He felt so bad for the kids, having not been able to give them enough attention.

There was a knock at the door, sending him to his feet in less than a second. He bolted to the door, a hand on his hat to keep it from falling off, not even caring that he'd most likely ruined his hair. His kids were on the other side of the door. He threw it open only to have two small children bolt past him and into the office. Chase laughed as he watched them go through his assorted trick shot items.

The girl, a small and rowdy eight-year-old with blonde hair like her mother's and blue eyes like his, had already picked up Chase's tennis ball and had chucked it at her twin brother. He shouted at her, picking it up and throwing it back. It missed her and bounced off the wall, only to hit Chase on the side. He yelped, surprised before laughing and picking up the ball.

"Sorry, Dad." The boy called out before running into the conference room, his sister in toe.

"Be careful in there, Grayson, Sam." He shouted back. Chase watched from the doorway as they leaned over the giant office window, looking over the busy streets below. With a grin, Chase turned back to his wife. "H-Hey Staci." His confidence dropped at seeing her annoyed expression.

He imagined he was like a fly or a gnat in her eyes. Buzzing about with energy, accidentally getting in her way, causing problems for her. He didn't mean to. He was trying really hard to support their family. Still, she shook her head and avoided his eye contact.

"Look, Chase. I can't keep doing this. You're going to need to find an actual job by Monday or we're leaving. I'm taking Grayson and Sam and we're moving away from you. You can't support the four of us with the career path you're on right now." Staci crossed her arms. She looked tired. She didn't want to be in this mess and neither did he.

"Staci, I have a job. I've told you, It's not just a hobby. I'm making money. I'm working on it. Don't take them away from me. You guys are all I have left." He pleaded, his eyes on the kids who were bouncing around the office, playing tag.

"Figure it out, Chase." She sighed, turning to leave. "I'll pick them up at nine."

And she was gone. Chase closed the door behind her, taking a moment to think through what she had said. Sam ran up to him, tugging on the hem of his shirt. "Daddy? Daddy come play catch with us."

Chase chuckled as his daughter took his hand and yanked him forward into the other room where Grayson waited to tackle him. The eight-year-old jumped on his back and pulled with all his might, trying to bring Chase down on the floor. With a chuckle, Chase dropped to the floor theatrically and let both of his kids jump on him.

"Rawr! We've got you now!" Grayson tried to keep a fierce expression. Chase saw straight through him. A smile was already threatening the small child's lips. Chase decided to help it along and began tickling him. Grayson squealed with laughter, jumping away from Chase.

Sam was giggling so hard he thought she might turn purple. Still, he grabbed her and lifted her up onto his shoulders. "Sammy? Hey, Sam. We're gonna get your brother. Ready?" Sam nodded, still laughing and pointed at Grayson who was on the other side of the conference table.

Grayson roared with laughter as Sam began to make silly faces at him from Chase's shoulders. "Get him, dad," Sam mumbled when Grayson was struggling to stand, he was laughing so much.

Chase held onto Sam's feet and ran to Grayson, sweeping him up and resting him on his hip with his free arm. He laughed, exhausted. "My god, you two are heavy."

Grayson shrugged and Sam just continued to laugh on his shoulders. "I love you two so much. You know that?"

"Yes, dad." Grayson laughed and rolled her eyes. "You tell us that every time!"

"I say it because it's true. I'd never lie to you guys."

"We love you too, dad." Sam piped in, hugging Chase's head. Chase grinned at the silly gesture, reaching up to ruffle her hair.

"I know guys, I know."