Beyond The Limelight ★ Markiplier X Reader

.*★ 23 ★*.

Authors note:
Not having pictures for these parts is starting to really bother me. Hopefully I'll be able to add some either later today or tomorrow :)

*****

Zola stood there, arms folded, standing next to Vincent, your agent.

"What the- what are you doing here?!" Your heart began racing with nerves as you saw her standing there, a cocky expression on her face.

"I've been working with a client in this very building for the past few months. My agent here told me Markiplier was working here so he brought me to come check it out. I'm just as surprised as you are to see you here." She said simply. Of course. You remember Vincent mentioning he had another client in this building but you had no idea it was Zola of all people. With Zola being a social media manager it made sense for her to be in a studio complex where lots of projects are going on so she can take photos and make behind the scenes posts for different clients.

"Your agent? Vincent I didn't know you worked for Zola." You said in shock to Vincent.

He could sense the tension between the two of you and felt a little uncomfortable, clearing his throat. "She hired me not long ago. I take it you two are... friends?"

"No." You both said in unison. You couldn't believe it. Since you and Vincent never discussed anything personal, he had no idea who Zola even was. Zola on the other hand, knew exactly what she was doing when she hired Vincent. You'd told her all about him.

Mark looked over and did a double take as he saw you talking to a girl he'd never seen before. He could see the look on your face, uncomfortable, confused, angry, and Zola's smug expression. He furrowed his brow in confusion and excused himself from his conversation before walking over to you. As Zola saw Mark walking over, her face shifted, lighting up as he approached.

"Hey what's going on?" He asked, standing next to you.

"Y-you're Markiplier!" Zola said excitedly. "I'm Zola, I work downstairs." She held out her hand, tucking a strand of long, thin, dark hair behind her ear with her other hand as she looked at Mark with awe. Zola was a huge fan of Marks, you used to watch his videos together back when you were friends, and you used to swoon over him together.

Mark froze as he heard her name and realised who she was. Flashes of your face, injured and bruised, popped into his mind. Memories of you telling him everything she'd done to you rushed in. It took a lot of effort for him to stay calm and collected as he shook her hand with a blank expression on his face. "Ah. Y/N's told me about you." He said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

Zola's smile faltered as she slowly put her hand down, peeling her eyes away from Mark then looking at you, then back at Mark. "Oh." She said simply, realising he probably knew the shitty things she'd done. "I didn't know you two were friendly."

"She's my producer. Of course we're friendly." Mark said with a neutral tone, then turned to Vincent. "Hey how are you?" He asked, changing the subject.

"To be honest? A little confused. And tense." Vincent said, not knowing who to focus on. "I'm... going to go." He said, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation, not knowing what's going on.

"See you around." Mark said with a smile as Vincent nodded and walked away with a tight smile.

"I think you should go too. We're live in 5 minutes." Mark said simply to Zola, then walked away, squeezing your arm subtly as he left.

Zola stood there in shock. Looking at Mark as he walked away then back at you. "I should've known." She spat. "What Zola wants. Y/N gets."

"What are you talking about?" You asked, a little aggressively.

"Oh come on. Everything I want out of life always goes to you. My dream job, my dream man, now him?"

"I never took anything from you. Everything I've achieved I did on my own and I did it because I wanted it. Not as some petty way to put you down." You said, shaking your head.

Zola tightened her lips and clenched her fists. "I hope you're ready to have your life ruined. Because you're gonna get what's coming." She threatened.

You rolled your eyes. "Okay. Whatever." You turned to leave.

"I'm guessing your relationship isn't public yet." Zola said, making you stop in your tracks. "Being in a relationship with someone famous is a lot of responsibility. I'm guessing you're still trying to decide if that life is for you."

You turned your head to look at her. "I don't know what you're talking about." You said calmly.

"I saw the way he squeezed your arm just now. And you've told him about me? And he was so cold to me obviously you've told him about our fight. Not only that but you told him about it and he got upset on your behalf. You're not just coworkers, I'm not stupid." She said. "Like I said. I hope you're ready to have your life ruined."

"Like you can do anything." You said, turning back round, trying to hide the anxiety growing inside of you.

"You underestimate the influence I have. I'm literally in charge of hundreds of social media accounts and you don't think I could send one little tweet from a highly influential celebrities account and everyone finds out your little secret?"

You shook your head. "You'd get fired for that. You're not that petty." You said, calling her bluff.

"Aren't I?" She said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "We'll see about that." She unfolded her arms then left, not looking back as she walked out of the open studio doors before someone flicked the 'on air' sign on and closed the door behind her.

You stared after her and tried to regulate your breathing for a moment before you walked over to the set.

"Who was that? Mark won't tell me." Fizz asked, walking over to you. "Looked pretty heated."

You stood there, hands shaking, breath shallow and wobbly. "Zola." You said with a dry mouth.

Fizz's facial expression dropped. "What the fuck is that skank doing here?" She scoffed. "If I knew that was her I would've-"

"She knows about me and Mark." You said, looking at Fizz with a worried expression. Her expression hardened.

"So? What's she gonna do? Tell the police?"

"Fizz. She's a social media manager."

"Oh." Said Fizz. "Shit."