Hey, guys!
Man, it's been a long time since I updated this book. First off, my apologies. I've been busy with writing for CFH, and then we had online classes and requirements. I thought it would be much easier writing this than a chaptered story, but turns out, it's the other way around. My bad, friends!
On the other hand, thanks for 1k+ reads! That's awesome, you guys. Right now, I don't have requests on hand, so feel free to send in some if you want. Just check the author's note for guidelines. This book is updated every Saturday now.
Anyway, let's get started and see ya!
Character: Ian
Requested by: @TarableTaralynn
POV: Shayne
-/-/-
I just know it. I just know that my sister, Y/N, is in a relationship with someone in this office. And I already don't like the feeling of this.
"Hey, Y/N?" I mumble as my sister calmly drinks some coffee from a MFC mug. "Err... what are you doing this afternoon?"
"Oh, just gonna have a casual stroll," she answers. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing," I reply. "Just wondering."
"You say that when you're totally suspicious of something," she tells me, nudging me. "Don't worry about me. I know you're just kinda nervous because I haven't really explored much of LA like you have."
"You going with someone?"
"Mhm."
"Who is it?"
"Just a friend."
"Yeah? A friend? In LA?"
"Yeah, I used to work with him in Colorado, and he offered to show me around," she answers, sighing. "Hey, don't worry, okay? I got this. I may be younger than you by a couple of years, but you're not the only one gearing up. I practiced some self-defense stuff back at home, and Brian's actually a bit scared of me now."
"That's not what I'm worried about," I tell her, crossing my arms. "Just... don't get into trouble, okay?"
"Oh, Shayne," she says, patting my back. "Trouble's my middle name."
"No, it isn't."
"Well, I'll take care. Don't worry."
When Y/N walks away to go do some work again, I sigh. Yeah, sure, my 27-year-old sister isn't the type of person who would get irresponsibly in trouble. I'd say she was a moderate kind of person, never going extreme if she didn't have to. But still: she was my younger sister. Just because she's been working here for a week doesn't mean everything's perfectly fine. And of course, there's the whole mystery thing about whom she's dating.
"Ooh, overprotective brother," Courtney remarks as she walks towards me, making herself a mug of coffee. "You're being too frantic, man."
"Am I?" I ask, still suspiciously eyeing my sister. "You know what I've been feeling? This girl has a marketing degree, and of all places she decided to work at, it had to be where I've been working for years."
"You never really introduced her to us, it's a bit weird," she replies, shrugging. "But hey, maybe she just wants to bond with you a little more."
"Could be, but nah," I say. "I just... I just have a feeling she's dating someone here."
"Okay, Shayne," Courtney tells me. "Your sister has been working here for a week. Why would you suspect that? The only conclusion I'd reach from that is that she and whoever she's dating must have been dating for a longer while. They, whoever they are, must have offered her to come over and work. But other than that---"
"You are right." I get my jacket from my seat. "You are absolutely right, and I have to find out who it is."
"Oh, no, no, no. You are not stalking your sister... well, without me."
So Courtney and I wait until five to see where Y/N was headed. While we waited, I deduced in my head who it could be. It wouldn't be Damien, because Damien knows for shit that I would absolutely lose my shit if he dated her. Keith wouldn't do that either, because Keith and Y/N got along too well as friends in her first week here. Noah had a girlfriend, Tommy had a boyfriend. Everyone else had partners or spouses. I'm not sure if my sister's into girls, but she hasn't even met Kimmy nor Jackie, who both aren't in relationships right now. So I keep trying to think of who it was, and I was left with only a few people on my list.
"Are you dating my sister?" I ask Courtney for certainty.
"Are you really suspecting me?" she counters, frowning. "Your sister's pretty, but no."
"I'm just using the process of elimination," I explain. "The only person left on the list... is Ian."
Our eyes dart to Ian's office, specifically Ian who had just locked it as he took his bag with him. He spots us, gives us a wave, before leaving the office. Carefully following him, I take my bag too and Courtney follows me. Ian does his time-out at the front desk, and then he leaves in his car. I still refuse to believe it, so I get into my car with Courtney riding shotgun as we follow Ian two cars away from us.
She asks me, "You think it's him? But Ian swore off dating for a while."
"Yeah, but then a few months ago, he told us he met someone online," I reply, getting furious with every second passing. "And I just... I don't want this to happen, Courtney. That's my sister, and that's my boss."
"Well, I said that too with Kari," she says to me, sipping the rest of her coffee. "Those exact same words."
We follow Ian's car, which was easy to follow because it was a bright electric blue. I set his address on the GPS, and he was on track for a solid few minutes until he takes a detour elsewhere. He was headed to somewhere I wasn't familiar with, and even Courtney was getting confused to where we were going. We eventually arrive at a nearby park, and I park my car nervously.
"Okay, calm down," Courtney tells me. "It might not be Y/N. If it were Y/N, don't confront them or anything. You can talk to Y/N calmly at home, and--- Shayne! Come back here!"
I get out of my car and follow Ian, with Courtney trailing behind me and trying to get me to return to the car. But when I see Ian meeting Y/N at a bench, I could feel my blood boiling. Of all people, it had to be my boss. Sure, Ian was my friend, but that's the point. Ian was my friend, and unlike the way I told Sam about Olivia and the other way around, I wasn't prepared for this. Trying to calm myself down as I watch them from afar, I take slow, deep breaths. But when he greets her with an embrace and a kiss, I could feel my jaw dropping and my feet walking towards them.
"Oh, shit!" I hear Courtney exclaim as I face them both, furious. "Shayne!"
"Dude, what the hell?" I ask Ian as I pull Y/N back. "What the hell are you doing with my sister?"
"Shayne, what are you doing here?!" Y/N yells at me.
"Shayne, I can explain," Ian says to me, calmly as if he were only waiting for this to happen. "You need to calm down and let me explain."
"Bro, that's my sister," I reply, trying to calm down as my sister and Courtney hold me back from him. "You could have dated anyone, why would you choose my sister?"
"Oh, God, will you stop being so overprotective?" Y/N retorts as she hands me to Courtney and stands next to Ian. "Look, listen to me. I met Ian online a few months ago, but I didn't know it was him. We fell in love, and he told me to come to LA. When we met for the first time, we were obviously upset with this turn of events, but... Ian is someone I genuinely care about, so I disregarded that you guys were co-workers. And I was planning to tell you soon, but you were always so overprotective of me that it annoyed me, because I know what I'm doing! I'm 27, for God's sake, and you still protect me from stuff."
"You two break up right now."
"Shayne, what the hell?" Even Courtney asks me. "You're her brother, but I don't think you're in the right place to say that."
"Break up right now," I repeat myself, still red with rage. "I don't approve of this. Y/N, I know you're a grown woman, but now that you work at Smosh, you can't just date your own boss."
Ian and Y/N reluctantly look at each other. Upset, Ian lets go of her hand and leaves, not having anything else to say. Courtney lets go of me when his car was out of sight, but that's when Y/N slaps me right across my face, her eyes in tears. "And I thought I had found the love of my life too, but you just ruin everything for me, don't you?" she says before walking away to her car, wiping her eyes. Eventually, she was gone too.
Courtney, quiet, accompanies me to my car. We drive back to Mythical, because her car was still there, but when we arrive, I could only hit my head on the steering wheel several times, upset. She sighs, patting my back. "You feel bad now?"
"Yeah, so much," I answer, sighing. "I just... I just couldn't handle the thought of it, you know. When she told me she was going to work here, I was so worried because I was afraid that she'd do something reckless. And I think Ian's a great guy, but there's just too much going on between us as friends and co-workers that it never really arrived on my mind that they could be dating."
"Well, I'm pretty sure your sister will forgive you," she assures me, grinning. "Ian too. They're forgiving people, Shayne, but they'll only do that if you sincerely tell them that you're sorry."
I look at her, frowning. "Can you help me out with that?"
"You took the right person with ya."
We return to the Smosh office, with Sarah being the last person there. We borrow the keys to Ian's office, and Courtney takes a bunch of stationery stuff. I write my letter as she does the decorating work. Evening turns into night, and when we went home, we only waited for tomorrow, which was a piece of cake.
Speaking of cake, I buy one on my way to work the following day. Waiting for me at the front desk was Courtney, and we finish everything we had to do in Ian's office. When Y/N arrives, Courtney distracts her as I read through my letter again. When Ian arrives, she gets them together to enter his office, and I stand up as soon as they enter. "What's all this?" Ian asks as Courtney closes the door behind them.
"I wanna apologize for last night's douchebaggery," I say, "which isn't even a real word. But the point is... I just got surprised with everything. Y/N's my sister, and I took care of her for my entire life. I was scared that her recklessness would lead her to someone bad, but Ian, you're a good guy. I've known that for years now, and I know you'll take good care of her. But... I'm just really sorry with how I acted last night. I wasn't in the right place to ask you guys to break up just because I got shocked. You guys are happy, and honestly, I'm pretty envious of that. You're lucky people, and I'm pretty sure you're luckier together."
With that, Ian drops his bag to give me a bear hug, which he barely does. He pats me on the back and tells me, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you immediately, Shayne. I genuinely thought this would happen, and Y/N and I weren't ready to make it official yet too."
"Well, you should," I reply. "I got you cake and everything. That should make things official."
Y/N hugs me next. "I'm sorry, Shayney," she says to me, frowning. "I told you that you don't have to worry about me. I'm not just your sister, you know? I have a life of my own, but that doesn't mean I don't think about you anymore. I know what I'm doing."
"Ha. Is that Ian?"
"Meanie, we haven't done that yet."
"You shouldn't. We're at work."
"Shut up," she tells me, grinning. "Forgiven?"
"Forgiven. Forgiven?"
"No shit." She embraces me tightly, and it leaves a smile on my face.
When Courtney and I embrace, Ian and Y/N look at us weirdly. "Uh, why?" Ian asks me, smirking. "Shayne, Courtney's like a sister to me."
"Oh, yeah, why are we hugging?" she mumbles, confused. "Err... everyone was getting hugs from each other. I thought it was fun."
"And she did majority of this whole thing," I counter, crossing my arms as we open the door to leave. "So that hug... was a thank-you."
"Don't worry, Courtney," Y/N says, grinning. "You have my stamp of approval already."
"Shut up!" we yell simultaneously, closing the door behind us.
-/-/-