Laila stared at the table, resisting the urge to cry. This was her first convention and she had come with her family but when she saw her friends, she hung out with them. However, throughout the convention, they would constantly ignore her, acting as if the already frightened girl wasn't there. Laila slowly felt sadness and loneliness fill throughout her body as she hopelessly followed them around, trying to get their attention. Eventually, she just stopped. She watched as they walked away before running away. Laila pushed past several people, feeling tears in her eyes and her heart swelling up. She finally ended up at the cafeteria. She pulled up the closest chair and sat down on it. Laila pulled out her phone and quickly dialed her dad's phone number. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go as far away as she could from this place.
However, a thought crossed her mind as her dad's voicemail answered. She wouldn't be able to meet her heroes. One of the main reasons she came to this convention was to meet her favorite YouTubers: Jacksepticeye (Sean), Markiplier (Mark), Muyskerm (Bob) and Lordminion777 (Wade). They had helped her so much over the past years and when she heard they were coming, Laila began planning her trip to the convention two months before. Laila could feel her heart swelling up even more as she tried to call her dad a second time. No answer. Tears began to blind her as she desperately tried to hold them back. But it was hard to keep them in. She was lost, alone, and terrified in a place she's never been in before. A single tear began to roll down her face. Nothing would make this day better. Nothing. Then, a voice changed it all.
"Are you okay?"
Laila gasped. She recognized that voice. She looked beside her and found herself looking into the blue eyes of Sean McLoughlin. Jacksepticeye was right here in front of her.
Happiness overwhelmed Laila and soon she realized that she was crying in his arms. He was obviously surprised but soon realized that she was probably going through a lot. He hugged her. Sure, it was weird but she definitely needed it at the moment. He felt her tense up a bit before calming down. After a minute, she had stopped crying. Laila got up and wiped her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered, smiling.
Laila's heart was racing. This was it! This was the moment she waited and planned for so long! She couldn't barely speak since her throat felt a bit sore, but she managed to whisper "thank you". Sean smiled back at her, which made Laila believe that her life was complete and that she was in heaven.
"You're welcome," he said. "What's your name?" Sean saw her cheeks light up red as she stumbled on her words.
"It's Laila," she finally told him.
"That's a pretty name," Sean told her. "I'm -" Laila politely silenced him.
"I know who you are," she said. "You're Jacksepticeye!" Her voice slowly began to strengthen. Her smiled widened. "Nice to finally meet you!" Laila could feel the tears returning, except this time they were tears of joy.
"Aww! Don't cry!" Sean cried out. Laila wiped away her tears.
"It's okay. I'm not sad. Just...happy." She rubbed her eye again. "S...sorry for breaking down earlier. I was just...stressed."
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. Would you like to talk about it? " Sean asked, looking around. She paused for a moment. "Is there anyone else sitting here?" Laila shook her head and looked down at her phone. No missed calls and no texts asking where she was. Laila frowned, however, another familiar voice made her brighten up. She looked up and saw Mark, Bob, and Wade coming over with food. Sean waved them over and Laila watched, amused, as fans began to mob them. Finally, they arrived at the table. Laila began to tremble as she looked into the faces of her heroes. Immediately, they saw Laila and said "hi" to her. Sean introduced them to her and soon, the four began to eat. Laila watched, not sure what to do. She finally felt better and was now watching the people she would see behind a screen eat food. Everyone began to talk to each other and fans occasionally came by to say "hi" and get a picture taken. Mark offered to get her something to eat, but Laila declined, saying she could get something later. Then, Wade asked the question.
"Who did you come with, Laila?"
She paused, suddenly remembering everything that happened before Sean. "I...came with family," she stuttered. Wade nodded.
"Are they getting something to eat?" Laila looked away and locked her eyes onto a few kids playing around. Sean noticed this and quickly changed the subject to a panel they were hosting later. Laila turned her head back and saw that Sean was looking at her again.
"Would you like to talk about it now?" he asked. Laila hesitated but slowly nodded.
"Okay..."
She told her story, trying her best to stop herself from becoming sad again. Sean listened carefully and quietly, not interrupting at all. Thankfully, no fans came by at the time. When the story was finished, Laila could hear her phone violently vibrating and saw that it was from her best friend, who was not at the convention. "It'll be okay," Sean reassured her, "if they did that then maybe...maybe they weren't true friends." Laila sighed.
"You're probably right," she agreed. "I doubt any of my friends like me..." Sean held her hand, causing Laila to look at him in the eye.
"That's a lie," he said.
"How would you know?"
"Because I like you."
There was a short pause before he added in, "Not in THAT way, though." Laila laughed for the first time in what seemed like ages. Soon, they all got ready to go to their panel.
"Wait!" Laila called out. She turned on her phone. "Picture please?"
That day was the best day of her life and nothing would ever change that.
Nothing.
