Error 404: YouTuber Not Found | BlankGameplays Fanfic

Chapter 13 - Grounded

The exhibition went swimmingly; the opening weekend was a big success, and with the hostess's business card in her pocket, Jesse was ready to head back home. 

She was an hour early for her flight, so she sat idly in the terminal and chewed on a hot pretzel. It was noon, and it occurred to Jesse that Ethan might have posted a video. She knew his uploading plan pretty well. Up next was another Reading Your Comments video- Jesse had made the thumbnail herself. 

Jesse paused, looking at her notifications. No new CrankGameplays videos, but he was streaming. He'd only started a few minutes ago. Confused, Jesse clicked on the link. 

"- piece of shit computer doesn't break again! Haha!" Ethan was laughing. "Okay, but enough goofin' around- I've got a bunch of games lined up for the stream."

"You do?" Jesse muttered, furrowing her brow. Ethan looked fine, as far as the low-quality video could portray. His eyes were hazel, anywho, so it wasn't Blank. It couldn't be.

Sup Ethan? she typed into the chat, watching it get swept away. A few fans recognized her handle, calling out to the YouTuber to reply to his girlfriend, but Ethan was too engrossed in the stream to notice. 

After watching him for awhile and finding nothing out of place, Jesse shrugged it off. She texted Ethan to let her know when he was done streaming and added that she would be getting on her flight soon. 

"Stupid phone," Ethan muttered jokingly as his cell phone buzzed in the stream. "Shh, I'm working here!"

Jesse huffed, rolling her eyes with a smile. 

Jesse spent another fifteen minutes tapping her feet, bored. She scanned the airport, from the grimy floors to the jet-lag beleaguered tourists. Her eyes wandered up to the delay board, lazily reading over the grounded flights. Jesse smiled sympathetically. She really didn't envy those poor souls-

Out of nowhere, the screen flashed blue. And when the color cleared, Jesse's flight was listed at the top.

Reason for delay? Technical difficulties. 

Jesse sprung up, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She opened Ethan's stream again, watching him intently.

He was laughing at a stupid game mechanic, his face happy in the upper left hand corner of the screen. But as Jesse watched, Ethan's expression drained. His eyes took on a hollow, tired look, as he glanced quickly at the camera. His eyes flashed. 

He shook his head vigorously, mentioning that he'd been tired lately. 

"Eugh," he spat. "I hate being tired." He laughed, but it seemed that even this little action took a lot out of him. His eyes widened a little, as he added, "Jesse should be back in a few hours, though. She's always a good mood booster. Haha."

Jesse watched, entranced, as Ethan sat up a little straighter, looked back at the camera, and gave a genuine smile. "Okay, uh, let's get back into this."

Jesse ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, no."