The Dark Mark (Mark/Dark/Wilford/Google x Reader)

1

My head buzzed. I couldn't believe it! Two years of waiting and I'd finally managed to meet him in person! Granted, there were loads of other people in the same situation, but that didn't matter. I had finally stood side by side with Markiplier, and nothing could ruin that for me. I left the venue that night feeling dazed and stupidly happy. My friends had all moved on; none of them were really fans of Mark, but they'd waited in line with me and taken photos and videos of the whole thing - they knew how much it meant to me, and I loved them for it. 

I couldn't stop staring at the photos of me and Mark. Everything about them was perfect. His smile, the gleam in his eyes, the way he cocked his head just so, his hand on my shoulder, holding me just right... a dream. And his hugs were by far the best hugs I'd ever had! Needless to say, I don't remember getting home that night. I don't remember my friends dropping me off, I don't remember cooking dinner, and I don't remember climbing into bed either, but when I woke up the next morning, I was still stupidly happy. 

As I did every morning, I checked YouTube to watch my subscriptions before I started getting ready for work. I worked as an editor, a proof-reader, so I couldn't really do much during the day other than listen to my favourite music and read documents, picking out flaws in the grammar and the punctuation and improving it. Some of the stuff I read was written by non-native English speakers, the rest by English speakers with poor grammar and written skills, but excellent background knowledge of the whole topic they were writing about. Given that in the evenings I was usually too tired to stare at a screen, I watched my stuff in the morning with my breakfast and my coffee. As usual, Mark had uploaded, so he went first. 

After I'd watched Mark and stared at my photos a little more, I accepted the fact that it was a Monday, and I had to get ready for work. Part of me wished I lived a little further North, just where Mark was, so that I could maybe bump into him on my lunch break. Another part of me was too shy to even consider moving to Silverlake, but that was just me. All the fantasies in the world, but too shy and introverted to really do it. Still, I had my photos, I had stuff signed, and I had a couple of t-shirts and a hoodie. I was very, very happy with that! I took a quick shower to fend off as much of the heat as I could, I dressed, put on a little make-up around my eyes (because anything else would sweat off in seconds), and did my hair in a simple style, nothing too fancy. Before leaving the house, I grabbed my coffee cup and my new Markiplier notebook and stuffed them into my bag, leaving with a smile on my face. 

**

"It's her," he whispered, pushing the image of her face into his mind. "She's the one... she's weak... she'll bow to our needs..." Mark shook his head and closed his eyes. He hadn't slept. He hadn't been able to close his eyes, but as the sun crept up over the horizon, he couldn't continue. A weekend of con, and he was exhausted. 

"No... no more... leave her alone... she's not the one..."

"Amy wasn't the one either... but look at her now... she's the one..." 

"NO!" Mark opened his eyes and ground his teeth. "No..." he was barely strong enough to keep him in his place, and he knew it. 

"I'm coming out to play, Mark... you'd better have her ready for me... or I'll send in my joker..." the voice in his head sneered. Mark closed his eyes and succumbed to a deep, dark dream, almost nightmarish but for the lack of anxiety or fear. He tossed and turned in his sleep,  while the image of the face of the voice which plagued him almost daily now taunted him. He couldn't allow it to happen again because of him... he just couldn't. 

**

I hated driving in the dark. It didn't scare me, not at all; I just didn't like the lack of judgement some people had, even on the wide roads with plenty of room in each lane. I pulled off into the local Whole Foods and parked up. Something for dinner for the next couple of days was all I needed. Vegetables, maybe some fish... I let my thoughts wander to my usual meals I cooked when the heat was high and I didn't want to eat much. I enjoyed sitting out by the pool and relaxing with something light, or something to graze on, rather than a full meal. I stepped through the air-conditioned doors and smiled, my mind flipping right back to where it had been all day - Mark. I breezed through the aisles; the day had been fairly easy, no taxing documents to read, just light ones which didn't need a lot of editing. Documents and days like that were enjoyable, because it meant I didn't need to go for a run to refresh my mind. I could go home, rest up, and watch some stuff. Given my current state of mind, I'd planned an evening of the stuff Mark had made which usually made me cry with laughter, and I was pretty damned excited about it. 

As I turned into one of the aisles, I bumped into someone. 

"Oh, sorry," I said, looking up. For a split second, my heart stopped. I looked up into a pair of brown eyes so familiar, I forgot where I was and I almost dropped my basket. 

"Not a problem, ma'am. Is there something I can help you to find today?" the guy was young, and certainly not Mark. Not by a long shot was he Mark. I sniffed and looked down, embarrassed that I'd just walked into the guy and then stood staring at him like he had three heads. 

"Er... sure, sorry again - could you tell me where the peanut butter is, please?"

"Certainly, ma'am, it's aisle seven - just to the right."

"Great, thank you."

"Have a lovely day," the guy said. "Buh-bye!" As I walked away, I froze and turned back. I could have sworn I'd heard Mark... I shook my head. I was getting obsessed, surely... I gripped my basket and made my way to aisle seven, aimlessly wandering along the rows of different nut butters. But... why would I have imagined something like that? I slapped myself about a bit, trying to focus. But I couldn't. My entire mind was consumed by Mark, so much so that I found myself putting my basket down on the ground and pulling out my phone. I pulled up the photos, and as soon as I saw his face, I felt less panicky, less stressed out and anxious. I smiled. It was okay... Mark was there. I looked up, and the guy from before was stood there. Once again, I mistook him for Mark. 

"Mark," I said softly, smiling. 

"No," the guy said quietly, smirking. "Your worst nightmare." As soon as the words left his lips, I snapped out of it. I was staring into the face of Mark again.

"Sorry?" I looked down at my phone and my face flushed. 

"I said you dropped this, Ma'am." The guy was holding out a small pack of granola bars. "Before. Just around the corner... are you alright, ma'am?"

"I'm fine, thank you," I said softly, taking the bars from him. "Thank you for that... I have to go..." I turned and left. I didn't remember why I'd even gone to that aisle, but something gave me the chills and I didn't like it one bit. I went through the self-service checkouts, and then I left, almost running to my car. Halfway there, it happened again. My entire mind was Mark, Mark in every corner, every space of my consciousness was him. I put my bags onto the floor and picked out my phone from my pocket, once again staring at the photos. "I need you... I need you..." I said softly. "God, I need you..." I looked up, my mind fuzzy, and my heart stopped again. A couple of feet away, behind a car, Mark was stood staring intently at me. I felt my jaw drop, every fibre of me wanted to run to him, but I resisted. I shook my head and felt incredibly stupid when, after gathering up my bags, I saw no more than a tall bush plant, not Mark, behind the car.

Needless to say, after that episode, I drove home quickly and in silence, and I didn't watch my planned videos after all. Obsessions need to be cured... right?