"This seemed like a good idea yesterday."
He stared at his shaking hands and felt the sweat form in his palms. Why was he so nervous? There was usually absolutely nothing that could shake Jack, but now it seemed like everything was leaving him on edge and he didn't know what to do with himself. Maybe it was because he knew the decision he was about to make could very well affect him for the rest of his life, or maybe he was ruined that he choice he was about to make could ruin a friendship that he held near and dear to his heart.
"Maybe if you stopped staring at your phone for a minute, you'd be able to take some of the pressure off of yourself," an uninvited voice scared Jack nearly half to death. The noise had come from his dark haired YouTube friend, Markiplier. He was in L.A with Mark to visit and enjoy some time away from videos for a while. Of course, he had previously had to stockpile videos about a week in advance for the three days that he was staying down at Mark's place. That was a stress element in it of itself, but in addition to the creeping fear that had been nagging Jack for months now, he was a mess.
"What if she texts me, though? She hasn't even read it, I-I need to at least wait for a reply!" Jack spoke, exasperated and desperate, "oh god, Mark... I'm helpless, look at me! I haven't been this nervous about anything, ever, what's wrong with me? I've only known her for like eight months, what if she thinks that I'm coming off too strong?"
"Buddy, take a deep breath, damn!" Mark chuckled, "if she texts you, you can just say you're sorry for not getting back to her. And there's nothin' wrong with you! You just really like this girl, and that's okay that you're freaking out a bit. However, I need to get you out of the house before you drive yourself bat-shit insane, okay?"
Jack seemed to visibly ease up at Mark's comments, and though they weren't the most comforting - Mark's methods of showing support never were - they let him know that maybe he was overreacting and maybe he just needed to take it easy. So, for the first time in an hour and a half, Jack put down his phone and left his room. He and Mark headed out of the house, of course not before putting a leash on Chica and taking the dog along with them. Amy was out running errands, so Mark scribbled a little note and left it on the counter with he and Jack's whereabouts in case she got home before they did.
The three were walking down the side of the road, Jack with his hands stuffed into his flamingo patterned shorts and Mark humming quietly some tune that the green-haired man didn't recognize. They were in near-silence for what felt like a comfortable eternity, and both of them felt like they could stay like this for forever. It was around nine in the morning on a Saturday, the sun was out but it wasn't scalding as it usually was in these Californian summers. As cliché as it was, birds sounded from all down the street and there was a peaceful calmness in the setting. The pavement ahead of them was colored in bright sidewalk chalk from the neighborhood kids, depictions of rainbows with smiley faces and purple stick-figure cats brought a smile to Jack's face.
There was something about the street Mark lived on that had this infinite amount of happiness embedded into it. Jack loved staying here, every house was painted in some lovely color that seemed to bounce light off of it. Even if it was simply olive green or even a bright yellow, the homes here had a fresh element of character in them that he didn't get to see enough at home. Not to mention, Los Angeles was much more sunny than his home in Brighton no matter what season it was.
Chica's excited bark broke Jack out of his investment in studying the appearance of the street. He caught sight of the squirrel that Chica had seem to set her sights after, and then burst out laughing as Mark was tugged along by the gleeful dog. Jack raced off after them, his legs not exactly being used to the excessively workout that Chica seemed adamant on putting him through. Nonetheless, he was eventually able to catch up with Mark and his panting pup.
"Well damn, not sure what I expected, but you have quite the excitable dog!" Jack breathed out in relief as he was able to stop running. Mark looked at him with the same expression, dropping down to Chica's eye level and gently booping her in the nose.
"Silly Chica-Bica, can't have you running off like that," he tsk'd, then stood back up, "she's got more of an attention deficit disorder than I do! Anyways, do you wanna start heading back now? We've been gone for like- thirty minutes now and I don't think you've eaten anything all day because of your damn worrying."
A little bit embarrassed, Jack scratched the back of his neck and nodded in agreement with Mark. The two turned around, this time with a bit more of a firm hold on Chica's leash, and began walking back towards Mark's house. This time the two were talking more, and the initial eternity that it took to get to this point felt like a short walk back.
"So, what did you even ask her? I know that you were planning on asking her out, but I don't think that I asked you what you said," Mark had directed the conversation to what Jack had spent the entire walk trying to avoid, but he knew that eventually they would have to talk about it.
"I told her that I have had feelings for a little while now, and asked her if she wanted to get dinner tomorrow. I said I understand if she doesn't want to, and told her to have a good day," Jack seemed to have been able to recite what he said word for word, but explained it a little bit more for Mark's sake.
"Then I don't see what you're worried about! She'll be thrilled, and we both know Y/N, she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get food even if she wasn't interested in you," Mark stopped for a second before rephrasing, "not that she's not interested in you, or anything. I guarantee that she is, trust me."
Just hearing her name, Y/N's name, made Jack's heart skip a million beats. He had only known her for maybe eight months know, having being introduced via Mark at PAX West last year. She had gorgeous E/C eyes that lit up whenever she spoke to someone, and Jack absolutely adored her. The two had been talking on Skype and had even collaborated a few times on his own channel, doing videos like the Insult Simulator and Cards Against Humanity with Mark and Felix. Though she didn't have a channel herself, Y/N was a natural comedian and Jack's fans loved her.
Eventually, he had caught feelings like a fast spreading virus for her and knew he had to see her in person before he left back for Brighton again. This would only be if she agreed, which hopefully she would. There was a chance that Y/N liked Jack in the same way that he did her, right?
"Thanks, Mark," Jack pulled on a smile as they arrived back in the driveway. Amy's car was there, and Mark was quick to run up to the door and let Chica in, calling with an exaggerated 'honey, I'm home!'.
Rolling his eyes, but letting his heart ache a bit from the cute exchange as Amy went to greet her boyfriend with a kiss on a cheek, Jack entered the house.
"Oh, Jack! Y/N texted you while you two were out."
Panic set in within the green-haired man's heart and he not-so-discreetly ran upstairs into the guest room he was staying in. He grabbed his phone: three unread texts from "Y/N <3"
Y/N <3: YOU'RE IN L.A?!?!?!?!?
Y/N <3: Of course I would love to go out to dinner with you!
Y/N <3: Text me the details for tomorrow, okay? ;)
A wide smiled was reflected in his phone screen as he typed back, surprised with a quick response from Y/N.
Jack: I'll pick you up at 7 at your place, okay? Restaurants a surprise, I'll try to have you back before 10 :D
Y/N <3: Sounds awesome! See you tomorrow, Jack~
Jack's heart pounded with excitement, but he stayed quiet and went downstairs to see an eager looking Mark.
"So? What'd she say?" Mark squealed.
"I have a date with Y/N L/N!" Jack nearly screamed, bouncing up and down excitedly.
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first imagine! would love for feedback, hope you all enjoyed this.
requests are open!
