Warm Undertones. ~ M.F

Markiplier vs Mark.

The scene replays in my head.

I watch as Mark heads for the door, too shocked to say a word. Suddenly, he turns around.

"Oh Kale, one more thing-" he walks with purpose towards me. Without time to react, he pushes me down to the hard wood floors of the hotel room. He pushes me too hard.

His hands wrap around my neck. Too hard.

I can't remove his hands.

I can't scream.

I can't move.

I wake up.

My breathing is erratic and my eyes dart around my bedroom, eager to spot a villain or someone who could have done this to me.

After a second I sigh, and rub my temples. I can feel the tears welling.

"WHY WONT YOU LEAVE ME ALONE? WHY CANT I HAVE THIS?" I scream into oblivion.

I get no answer.

------

After a night of broken sleep, I arise early, with no signs of Tori still. I end up spending way too long getting ready, and before I know it, a knock on my door lifts me from my morning trance.

I know who it is already.

I cautiously make my way over to the door, ready the face my impending doom of seeing Mark once again.

As I suspect, waiting on the other side is a Mark who looks a little worn. He turns his attention to me as I open the door.

"Good morning, Kale." He says awfully cheery. I force a smile back.

"Morning, Mark. Here to fetch me?"

"And Tori yeah, but I guess she's not here..?" I nod.

Once I gather my purse and slip on some shoes, we head off to the car ready to take us to Vidcon. Mark preps me along the way.

"Okay so, the plan for today is to appear on some panels and talk about our jobs and passions and stuff like that. Then at around five I have a meet and greet where I get to see my fans. You can stick with me, or go explore the venue. Or both if you'd like. You and Tori get special guest passes so you'll have access to the privileges that we have as featured creators."

"Okay, sounds cool! I think I'm gonna check out-"

"Oh and Kale? One more thing." Those words sting as I remember my dream.

"Y-yeah?"

"If anyone sees us together and asks, we're friends. Only friends. We never kissed."

My heart shatters. I nod silently.

The rest of the car ride is eerily quiet, but once we get to our specific entrance, Mark livens up.

"Alright Kale, game faces on. Let's go wow some people!" I smile as I exit the car.

We're greeted by two big men who escort us through hallways of the venue with no people in them, that I assume are for important people. Mark seems to notice that I'm intimidated.

"I know this seems odd that we have to go this way, but if we don't, there will be a mob five times bigger than the one at the hotel. Trust me, it's safer.

"If you say so Mr. President." I reply with a chuckle and a salute.

We're lead to a cushiony room where Mark sits and sighs.

"And now we wait for an hour until I go on." Mark says putting his hands behind his neck and laying back into a reclining chair.

"What am I supposed to do?" I question. He opens his eyes.

"Go explore. I'll have one of the guys lead you out."

I look behind me as the guard motions for me to follow him. I'm lead down more halls until we reach a door. When it opens, I'm greeted with stands of merch, and TONS of fans who are wearing said merch.

The guard taps my shoulder.

"If you want to go back to the room, come find me, I'll be waiting at this door." I nod and start to walk off, only to be greeted by Tori who is screaming my name and running towards me.

"KALE! KALE!" She jumps onto me and hugs me. I giggle.

"What has gotten into you T?"

"Kale look at all of this! It's so cool! I've seen so many YouTubers already and I've only been here for an hour."

"Yeah, it is really huge... Also, what happened last night?" Tori looks me dead in the eyes and puts her hands on my shoulders.

"Kale, this is super secret okay?" I nod. "Okay, so basically Jack and I 'you know' but that's not important. What IS important is that he told me all about how Mark has a giant ass crush on you. Like, puppy love type shit." I brush her off.

"Yeah ok, sure. Then explain to me why he kissed me last night, and then told me he 'doesn't know what he wants yet.'" Tori's eyes widen.

"Fucking finally he kissed you. Look, you gotta give him time. It took him so long to kiss you that now he's probably overwhelmed with the fact that he did that, and thus can't make decisions right now."

"I'm gonna pretend there's logic behind that. In the meantime, what should we do?"

"Let's go explore!" Tori exclaims.

We spend the next 45 minutes browsing merch tables, going to booths, and chatting up people who have the same interests as us. Soon the time for Mark's panel begins.

Tori and I take our seats towards the front of the auditorium. At three sharp, a woman appears with a mic on stage.

"Welcome to Vidcon 2019 everyone!" There's applause. "We're so excited you could come out. We have a very special panel for you all today. Some may call them YouTube's Brady bunch of gaming. Let's introduce our panel!"

One by one Mark, Jack, Bob, and Wade appear on stage, taking their seats behind a long table.

The interviewer starts asking questions. Each time Mark answers, I see the person I saw on YouTube that first day in front of me. Peppy, silly, an almost exaggerated version of himself.

"So, how's life going with dating? Are we seeing anyone right now?" The interviewer asks, earning "ooos" from the crowd.

They go down the line. When Jack speaks on the question, he answers with a simple "I have my eye on someone" as he briefly makes eye contact with Tori in the audience. The crowd goes wild, especially her.

Mark is up next. My hands tighten around the arm rests on my seat. He speaks.

"Nah, I'm keeping things pretty clear as far as dating goes. Right now, I want to focus on my career." He looks down nervously. Jack's eyes widen for a second before returning to normal.

I stand up and leave. Tori tries to grab my shirt but I pull away.

Well Kale, there's your answer.