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Read the quick note for little things that might make the story make more sense? Or don't if you're feeling rebellious.

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Sunday 12th November ~ 1:27am

Mark's POV

I rubbed my eyes, a weight lifted as I finished up the final edit for the day. As rewarding as making videos was it proved exhausting, and I was glad for it to be finally done. I chuckled half heartedly.

Now all I had to do was make thumbnails.

I was beginning to regret leaving video making until 1am.

Sound abruptly blasted through my headphones, breaking me from my space out.

"Wh-AAAAAT THE FUCK!" I jumped, my headset clattering onto the tabletop. It took my heart a second to remember to keep beating.

I replaced my headphones, taking a breather and looking to see which one of my asshole friends jumpscared me.

I sighed. Of course it was him.

JackSepticEye.

"..Jack?" I mumbled, watching the screen flicker black for a moment as I answered. He'd call to talk occasionally, but we'd usually speak in person, so I was perplexed. "Jack, I can't-"

As of on cue my screen lit up.

Jack scratched the back of his head and twitched, bright blue eyes almost pleading with me. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Uhh...?"

"M-Mark, s-something's not-"

My monitor flickered.

Bursts of static happened at random, his picture glitching as a pained expression broke out on Jack's features. Jack's AntiSepticEye videos shared this aesthetic, and while I had admired those edits I wasn't sure what to make of this call. I chuckled, uncomfortable

"Those are, uh, some pretty cool effects dude." I complimented, nodding like a pretentious asshole in the hopes that he'd break character and laugh. Instead Jack's head jerked, his fingers yanking at his hair hard

The entire exchange made me feel immeasurably awkward.

"N-No-!" Jack choked out. His voice was distorted, and I couldn't fault his acting. "Y-You have t-to-!"

"You're getting really good at that." I emphasised, wondering how long he'd keep it up. I had my thumbnails to think about. "Did you just wanna test the effects or - something?"

The Irishman coughed, the glitches dying down to an extent. I thought, looking closer. "Hey, how did you even get those effects into the call anyway?"

"-Mark, listen!" Jack breathed, clutching his throat. His eyes widened.

"N-No! Ma-AARK-!!"

The call disconnected.

"Argh, damn leprechaun trying to make me deaf!" I cursed, taking off my headphones to check if my ears were ringing. The syllables had peaked Jack's microphone to a painful extent, and I made a mental note to get back at him somehow.

Jack thought he could creep me out? Clearly he was forgetting who the king of Five Nights at Freddy's was.

I yawned. Sleep would've been nice.

Yet for now I had to start work on those thumbnails.

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Jack's POV:

"St-Stop-!"

I collapsed, bringing recording equipment down with me in a crash. My hands clasped both sides of my head. "No, you stop!"

My hands trembled. Eyes squeezed shut. "You aren't real! You aren't rea-AGH-!"

Pain erupted deep within my skull, and I kicked out in blind terror. "You can feel that, can't you?"

The agony ceased.

"You can feel me taking over, and you can't fight it forever."

My eyes snapped open to a dark figure whose smirk taunted me. Pixels danced around him as though he didn't belong in this world. I panicked.

"N-No! I w-won't-!"

He neared me and I stumbled back, disbelief clouding my thoughts.

"You know I'm you, Jackie dearest."

He glitched out of existence like something out of a video game. I blinked.

"I'm you."

My muscles stiffened.

Body rigid.

The world around me blurred, yet despite my head spinning I still got to my feet. I straightened my legs with a disjointed movement, my vision clouding over.

Throughout my dizziness one realisation struck me, like a hard punch in the gut.

I was walking.

But it wasn't me.

Yes, it was me.

I screamed, yet my mouth didn't open. I tried to stop but my body kept moving.

I was in control.

I wasn't in control.

Everything around me melted away.

"I̸̧ ̧a ̴̶a͝͝l t̷̶̸ḩ̀e҉ ͘͠p͝͏ow̴͝ȩ͘͝r̛̀ ̵̴n͜o̸̶w҉̢."

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