Mark thought it'd be funny for the fans to know they were 'dating'. They would arrange for Jack to fly down and stay with him,and Jack could record videos in Mark's set up. They'd wait until fans started asking why Jack was at Mark's place before revealing they were 'together' on a few social media sites. It was fun for awhile to watch the fans go wild with the quiet little snippets of Mark going "I'm gonna go shopping,princess,I'll be back later" in the background of Jack's videos and the "I'm gonna lay down pumpkin," from Jack in the background of Mark's.
But then the innocent little touches in vlogs together started plucking at Jack's heartstrings. He blushed each time Mark got frisky on camera,a hand resting on the Irishman's butt. The petnames like baby and princess warmed his insides until he remembers again that it's just a joke. And it'll stay. A joke. Mark doesn't like him,Jack doesn't even know if Mark likes dudes. (Jack himself was either bi or pan,he wasn't too sure. Girls were great,guys were awesome too.) So Jack just trudged through the joke with smiles that turned real whenever Mark returned them,and with loving gazes that weren't faked in the least.
And then the arguments started. Mark would initiate them always on camera,leaving Jack stung and confused. People noticed,and eventually Mark came to him and said, "I think it's time to explain it and end it."
Jack was devastated, but hid it with a neat grin. "How do you think they'll react?"
Mark shrugs.
The fans are outraged at first,but then they calmed. Fanfiction writers are easily subdued with the fact that they have material to base their works off of. They'll get over it,Mark says as Jack packs his things.
Jack cries on the plane,face glued to the window so no one would see him in his misery. He cries when he gets back home,cries into his pillows as he curls under his covers. He ignores skype calls for awhile, messaging later with the excuse that he passed out as soon as he got home.
He fell into an emotional ditch,using spare backup videos when he didn't feel enough up to it to record. He cut once. And then regretted it immediately. Why was he hurting himself over a silly crush? He could get over this. He would recover from having his heart stolen by someone who didn't even look towards him with honest love. He could. He was strong enough. He cleaned the cut and bandaided it with self shame. He should've known not to let it get this far.
But when Mark skyped him two days later with a goofy smile and doe brown eyes,Jack's heart shatters all over again. He's so fucked,just like a cheesy romance plot,but his story had no happy ending. His prince never saved him from his lonely tower room,the dragon who captured him and his frail heart consumed him.