Ship Happens

Part One

A/N: Hey guys! Pease enjoy the Official Fan Fic for Chester See and Grace Helbig (aka: Grester), the stars of Awesomeness TV's Side Effects! 

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Grace’s red t-shirt uses up all the real estate in the shot until she backs away from the camera. The words ‘Keep Calm and It’s Grace’ are silkscreened on the front. A fan from South America sent it to her—she loves that thing.  Her face morphs from a blurry sphere into sharp focus and I can’t help but smile. Her hair is piled high on top of her head with a scarf wrapped around to secure it. She looks beautiful.

I should be packing. We leave tomorrow and so far I’ve managed to cram a couple of t-shirts and some shorts into my luggage—not exactly ready to go—but as usual, Grace steals all of my attention. She distracts me from any intent I may have had, productive or otherwise. So here I sit in front of the computer, coffee in hand watching her latest upload.

“Hey you guys. It’s Grace. I’m so excited right now because it’s Sunday. The Lord’s day, some would say which means I have absolutely nothing planned. Anyway, I asked you to ask me questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.” She pauses and looks into the camera. “Let’s get started.”

A screenshot flashes on the screen.

‘What is the one thing a woman should never do?’

“Women should never believe that there is nothing they should never do,” she says. “Welcome to the twenty first century where nothing is impossible and nothing should ever stand in your way, ladies. So… moving on.”

She looks at the screen on her computer. “What’s the biggest personal change you’ve ever made?” Her eyes dart to the camera, her expression, deadpan. “That would be going from bangs,” an image of her old haircut flashes before the shot is back on her, “to no bangs.”

I chuckle. Smartass.

“Are you excited for the Social Media cruise?”

She giggles.  Her laugh is music to my ears. I love the way it sounds, I love the way her whole face lights up when she does it and whenever we’re together, I try to coax it out as much as possible.

“For those of you who don’t know, the Social Media Cruise is an event in which myself, some of you beautiful people and some other vloggers are boarding a cruise ship for a week of,” she pauses, “who knows what exactly. And to answer your question. Yes! Yes! Yes! Super excited. I’ve never been on a cruise ship before and I’m pumped to go see Mexico!”

Grace has been talking about this trip for the last month or so. Every time she brings it up she’s animated, bubbling over with anticipation. Me, I freeze. This cruise is my chance to put the last year of my life in perspective. To finally tell Grace how I feel about her. In the last year we’ve spent more time together, vlogging and filming Side Effects and my minor infatuation has turned into major love. Yeah, I said it. I love her.

It seems only fair that she should know. I want to tell her how her smile makes my insides turn to mush or how she’s the coolest, most amazing person I’ve ever met, or that I would give anything just to be with her. Problem is, the thought of spilling my secret twists and turns my stomach like a centrifuge.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a super confident guy. I like how I look, I feel good about how I present myself and I’m proud of the talents I’ve spent considerable time honing but Grace, oh man, that girl strips away at me and leaves me feeling vulnerable.

It’s been a long time since I felt this way and it’s terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. I wouldn’t give it up for all of the money in the world.