Chapter One
I wasn't expecting to run into my ex as I walked into my favorite coffee shop on a warm California Monday. In fact, he was the last person I thought I'd see, since we hadn't really talked a whole lot or seen each other much since we broke up a few months ago. It was funny how we could live in the same city and still almost never see each other, especially since we used to come to this specific coffee shop on dates when we were together. I still went there all the time - I had been going there long before I was ever going there for dates, and it was both out of habit and craving. But this time, I quite literally ran right into my ex as I walked through the door.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I apologized before I realized who it was. When I looked up, my expression changed. I knew that dark hair and those chocolate eyes, and I remembered how I used to lean on him for comfort almost the same way I accidentally was now.
"It's alright...Maddy?" Realization smacked him in the face and I took a couple steps backwards as I began to physically feel the awkwardness around us.
"Hey, Mark," I replied with a small smile.
"It's been a while. How have you been?" he asked. We started walking towards the cashier in order to stay out of the way of others walking into the shop.
"I've been pretty good, how about yourself?"
"I've been alright. Youtube's keeping me busy as always." I had to admit that his videos still made me smile, and watching them was my way of seeing him without things being weird.
"I'm sure. I still watch your videos, believe it or not."
"Really?"
I nodded and made eye contact with the cashier who was ready to take my order. "Hi, can I please have a venti caramel iced coffee with 2% milk?" She asked if I wanted anything else and I shook my head, handing her my debit card.
"Have you done any crazy photo shoots lately?" Mark wondered.
"I did a shoot with some dogs the other day, which was a bit of a challenge. They weren't quite as obedient as Chica," I told him. He ordered coffee for himself and we moved to the side to wait for our drinks.
"Yeah, she's a good girl." A few moments later we both got our coffees.
"Well, I better get going. I need to do some grocery shopping before my afternoon photoshoot," I said. I actually had plenty of time to get things done, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay and chat.
"Alright, have fun! It was nice to see you, Mads." Mads. That was what he used to call me. I could tell by his face that he hadn't meant to call me that - it just slipped out due to habit - so I didn't make a big deal out of it.
"It was good to see you too, Mark."
I did indeed go grocery shopping after that, and I took my time. I stopped at a nearby cupcake shop and got a small box for myself and my roommate. She wasn't around when I got to our apartment, so I left a note telling her that two of the four cupcakes were hers. I put away my groceries and sat down to relax for a bit before I had to head out for my photoshoot.
I pulled up Youtube and watched a new video that Mark had posted. I don't know why I couldn't just be friends with Mark without acting so weird around him. I wasn't even the one who should be acting strange about things. I had broken up with him. We dated for about a year and he was great - he was really kind and generous and funny, and he treated me incredibly well. But he loved me a lot more than I loved him. I felt like I couldn't fully reciprocate his feelings, and I knew it wouldn't be right to continue things with him knowing that. That was a few months ago, and he still clearly missed us being together. I could tell by his facial expressions when he was around me, the way he still was calling me Mads, the way he would send me a message or picture saying that he was thinking of me. He wasn't over me, and I didn't know how to handle that. I had never been very good at staying friends with my exes. Because of that, it was always awkward when I ran into him or hung out with him with mutual friends. But his videos still put a smile on my face.
When the video ended, I grabbed my camera, my purse, and my keys and headed out to my car for the photoshoot I had scheduled. I was incredibly grateful to have found a career in photography, especially in California. I hadn't worked with many celebrities or anything, but I had definitely made a name for myself. I had done shoots with quite a few Youtubers in the area, and they had promoted my website along with friends and family. That was enough to get me steady business, and photography wasn't exactly cheap for customers. But at the end of the day, it wasn't the money that kept me going. It was the happiness of being behind the camera, setting up the perfect shots, and seeing the results when I was finished editing afterwards.
This shoot was for senior pictures. I went with my client and her mom to some of the coolest spots in downtown LA, and the girl seemed to have a great time. She was a natural in front of the camera, and she took directions from me really well. I got some amazing shots that I was looking forward to editing. Even so, it felt good to get home afterwards.
When I arrived back at my apartment, my roommate was home, sitting at our kitchen bar. She had apparently found the box of cupcakes.
"Hey Al, I see you found the cupcakes," I smiled as I walked through the door.
"You're the best, Mads. The Nutella ones are life," Allison replied before taking another bite.
"So how was work today?" I asked, getting out a plate so I could have one of my red velvet cupcakes.
"It was the same as usual. Lots of shenanigans. You know how the Grumps are." Allison edited videos for the Game Grumps. That was actually how I first got introduced to Mark. Allison knew he was coming to the Grumps office and insisted that I come to work with her one day. He was my favorite Youtuber and she knew how badly I wanted to meet him (and that I had a bit of a crush on him). Apparently my first impression on him was a good one, because we started dating shortly after that.
"Sounds about right. I did some senior photos today downtown. It was actually pretty fun," I told her, taking a seat next to her.
"Ooo, you should show them to me later!"
"I will. Oh, and guess what else happened today?"
"What? Something good or bad?"
"More awkward than anything. I literally ran into Mark at The Cup. We actually collided as I walked through the door and then proceeded to have an awkward catch-up conversation which ended with him calling me Mads," I explained.
"Ooo, he pulled the Mads card? Yikes. How'd you handle that?"
"I kind of just pretended it didn't happen. It just slipped out, ya know? I could tell it was just an accident, his face completely changed when he realized what he said."
"That kind of thing happens, I guess. It must be nice, having a super hot Youtuber still completely in love with you even after you break his heart," Allison decided, taking a sip of milk once she had finished off her cupcake.
"You make it sound great, but it makes it hard for us to be friends. I don't want him completely out of my life, it's just...it's weird to hang out with someone when you know they're not over you and you're doing alright."
"Well, it's a Friday, I don't have to go in to work until noon tomorrow and you don't have any shoots to do until mid-afternoon tomorrow, so let's go out. That'll get your mind off of the strange encounter," Allison suggested. A night out actually sounded incredibly appealing to me. I could use a couple of drinks to de-stress after the long week I had, so I agreed to Allison's suggestion.
A few hours later, my red hair was curled, my blue eyes were enhanced with dramatic makeup, and I was actually wearing heels for once.
"Ya know, you could wear color for once," Allison snorted at my all black outfit. As if she could say anything - tonight she was wearing mostly gray.
"I like it when my outfits match my soul," I reminded her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go meet up with the others."
Allison and I called an Uber and made our way to The Grind, our favorite club downtown. We met up with a few friends there, and before too long we all had alcohol in our systems. The music was loud, the lights were bright, and I could feel myself getting buzzed. But after a couple hours, I began to sober up while my friends were still having drinks. My head had begun to hurt, and I wasn't really feeling like being out anymore. I decided to take an Uber home so they could stay out for a bit longer and continue having fun.
I stepped out into the cool night air, making sure I hadn't left anything inside before I began walking. There was a car on its way to pick me up nearby. I turned down an alleyway to get to where it would be once it arrived. Nobody else seemed to be around, at first, but that quickly changed.
I soon felt another presence as I walked in the dark, heading down the shadowed alley. I glanced behind me and saw a man walking. My heart rate increased as I realized I was being followed, probably by some absolute creep. I walked faster, shoving my hands into my pockets. I clutched the pepper spray that was attached to my keyring, ready to pull it out and use it if necessary.
I didn't want to be obvious, but I couldn't help myself. I stole another look over my shoulder. The guy was closer now, walking more quickly to match my speed. I pulled my keyring out of my pocket. Soon, I'd be in the light again, in plain sight, and there would be people leaving bars and clubs that would be able to see it if something terrible was about to happen to me. I picked up the pace some more, lightly jogging in my heels. I didn't have time to look back - but apparently I didn't need to.
A hand latched tightly onto my wrist and jerked me around. I put my finger on the switch that activated my pepper spray, but my grip wasn't strong enough. Another hand ripped my keyring from my hands and tossed it aside onto the cold, hard ground. My breathing quickened as panic took over my body. What was I supposed to do in a situation like this? I tried to kick and knee the predator, but he avoided every attack I attempted on him. My body began to shake in fear, and it was as if my mind had completely shut down. I felt hopeless, and I was forced against the outside wall of the building, pinned there harshly by my new enemy.
I finally got a good look at the guy, now that I had no choice but to be so close to him. His hair was dark, along with his clothes. He was average height, even though I felt incredibly small while under his control. And then I looked him in the eyes and had a realization. He looked almost exactly like Mark. Mark with shadows around his eyes, more extreme looking than the bags you get under them when you haven't slept. His eyes were the same chocolatey brown color, but this time they looked so sinister. Could this really be the Mark I was with for a year, the Mark I had just run into earlier that day?
"M-Mark?" I asked, my voice weak and shaky.
"No, I'm not Mark. But I can see how you would think that. We do look a lot alike, but I'm not quite as nice as him." Even his voice sounded like Mark's, but deeper, more insidious.
"Who the hell are you, then?" I questioned him, trying to think of an escape plan.
"I go by Dark, for obvious reasons. Look into my eyes and tell me that name isn't perfect for me." Just then, the impossible happened. His eyes went from their normal brown shade to black. But it wasn't just the irises of his eyes that changed color - even the whites of his eyes went dark, like someone had done CGI effects on him. Unfortunately, I wasn't watching an episode of Supernatural. Instead, I was living in this moment, and no matter how many times I blinked, his eyes were still blacked out.
"Your eyes...h-how are you doing that?" I stuttered, confused and afraid.
"I'm a demon. These eyes are my distinguishing characteristic," he smiled.
My only plan was to scream, so I opened my mouth to do so. Someone was bound to hear me and come running. Even if they didn't catch him, I could at least run away. But before I could yell, Dark covered my mouth, his face suddenly much closer to mine.
"Trust me, you don't want to scream right now. That will force me to kill you immediately and hide the evidence before anyone can find it." He pulled a rather large and very sharp knife out of his jacket, holding it close to my neck. "Keep your mouth shut and maybe we can make a deal."
"A deal?" A deal with a demon that looked scarily like my ex boyfriend wouldn't normally sound all that appealing, but judging by the fact that he seemed well equipped to kill me and I had no other chance of getting away, I decided it was my best option.
"Yes. You see, I know a lot more about you than you know about me. I know your name is Maddy Macari, or Mads, as Mark always liked to call you. I know the two of you dated for a little over a year before you broke his heart. And I know that he still misses you dearly, and it would kill him to see you with someone else." This felt eerily similar to theories about Darkiplier that Mark had shown me online. He had created creepy videos years ago that inspired the idea of a dark version of himself who loved to terrorize Mark, and now this was happening? How could any of this even be possible? If Dark's grip on me and the warmth of his breath on my face wasn't so vivid and real, I would have guessed that I was dreaming or hallucinating.
"Okay, so you weirdly know all of this information about us and you know Mark's not over me. So what? I'm not with anyone else," I told him.
"But you will be," Dark smiled, pushing some of my hair out of my face with his knife. "I enjoy messing with Mark, as you probably could have guessed. You and Mark talked quite a bit about his Youtube channel and fans. Some of their ideas about me are oddly correct. And you...you are the perfect way for me to torture him." I didn't like the grin on his face as he explained his plan to me.
"How am I supposed to help you?" I wondered out loud. He seemed to like playing the villain and dragging things out, but I wanted to speed up this process as much as possible. I had never been in such a life threatening situation before, and it was unnerving.
"You're going to be my girlfriend. Or, you're at least going to pretend to be my girlfriend. You'll do whatever I want you to, really. I'm not concerned about the police or any other humans trying to stop me. I'm much stronger and more powerful than your kind."
"And what makes you think I'm actually going to do whatever you want? I don't see anything in this for me," I reminded him.
"Well, as I said, I could kill you easily and hide the evidence. If you'd like to stay alive, you'll do as i say." I opened up my mouth to speak, but he continued before I could interrupt. "And I won't stop with you. In fact, I won't even start with you. As much as I love to see Mark hurting, I wouldn't mind finishing him off for good, if I needed to. Or maybe your roommate would like to die? Or your parents...the list goes on and on, and I'll keep killing them right in front of you if you decide to break our deal at any point. Demons don't have morals, you know."
"You bastard!" I moved slightly and I felt the blade of Dark's knife slice into my skin. The cut wasn't dangerously deep, but it was bad enough for blood to bubble up near my collarbone.
"I don't appreciate the language you're using, Maddy. I suggest you lower your voice, too, if you want any control over which of your friends and family members live or die," he warned with a sneer.
"So, what, do we have to shake on this or something? Surprisingly enough, I've never made a deal with a demon before. I'm not sure how official it has to be."
"Well, demons don't 'shake on it', but I appreciate you trying," he chuckled, amused by my ignorance as if I should know about this kind of thing.
"What, then?"
"We kiss on it." Before I could even begin to process what was happening, I felt soft lips on mine. I was almost entranced by them. It was like I momentarily forgot who (or what) I was kissing, where I was, and how dangerous of a situation I was in. But then he pulled away, and reality slapped me in the face.
"I better get going, Mads, but I'll see you again soon. I wouldn't mention this to anyone, if I were you." I realized that he had put his knife away and zipped my jacket so my cut couldn't be seen. And then I looked back up again, and he was gone - completely out of sight as if he had never even been there in the first place.