Iridescent | Wesley Johnson [completed]

I Miss You

It's Monday, everybody's least favorite day of the week. This particular Monday, however, feels particularly crappy. I walk into the Smosh office, ready to hand in the edited video that I worked on all weekend. The happiness that I felt after Mark's coming out session on Thursday quickly runs off of me as I remember that I'm going to be around Wes all day. The knot in my stomach is back and I walk on my tip-toes all the way to my temporary desk, desperately hoping that I won't run into Wes. It seems like the world is on my side today, because he's nowhere in sight and I sink down in my chair with a sigh of relief.

"That's my seat." A nasally voice speaks behind me, causing me to jump and stub my toe on the leg of the desk. I spin around to look up at the lanky guy that snuck up on me. A pair of thin rimmed glasses sit perched on his sharp nose and I have to say, even with the boyish look on his features, he looks pretty good.

"I'm sorry? I think there has been a mistake. My name is Emelie and this is my desk." I chuckle awkwardly, pointing at my nameplate, or where it should have been. I could have sworn that it was there last week...

"I can assure you that there has not been a mistake. I'm Ethan, and that's my desk. Move." His name sends an icy chill through my body. Ethan. Where have I heard that name before? I get up soundlessly, too confused to really protest.

"So you're my substitute huh?" He watches me through squinting eyes before offering me a small smile. "I'm glad I got to give you a chance to work here for a while even if they only offered one position. Maybe they'll even call you in again if they need more people."

Oh.

Oh.

Ethan is the guy they hired. The one who got the job instead of me. Well, instead of me and hundreds of other people that applied.

"Maybe. Well, congrats to getting the job. You must be really special." I smile, trying to keep any bitterness from my voice. I shouldn't be jealous. Thanks to Wes I already got a lot more chances than most others, I should be happy with what I've had. I've even made friends with some of my idols!

"I guess so." Ethan hums, turning away from me. He boots up my computer, or what used to be my computer, and starts working on what looks like a new thumbnail to the very video that I edited. I'm not gonna lie, it looks really good. The guy's got talent for sure. He stops working and turns back to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Not to be rude or anything, but it's kind of hard to work with you staring at me." I cough awkwardly, rubbing my arms and looking away from him.

"Sorry. It looks really good. I think you really captured the happy chaos in the video." I mumble, earning a nod from him. As soon as I make a move to leave the room he goes back to working. I huff.

A 'thank you' would have been nice.

Also, why did no one tell me he'd be back today? My contract doesn't expire for another month, but I can't work without a computer. Then, I'll be without an income again, desperate for work, again. I shrug of the uncomfortable feeling of dread and decide to look for Mari. She promised to look over my editing and I've really been enjoying her company lately. She's a funny person with so much talent, I'm sure she can give me some pointers on how to improve.

Why would you need to improve if you're not going to keep this job?

Shut up.

*****

The day passes excruciatingly slowly and by the time lunch comes around, I'm ready to go home. After I ran around the office for an hour and a half, I finally found someone who could tell me what I should work with now that Ethan is back. Errands, they told me. Which is the exact reason why I've spent the morning ordering coffees and buying ten packets of mouse traps for a punishment. If there's been anything good with this morning, it must be that I've been too busy to meet Wes even once. But, of course, even that luck has to run out.