"Jack, I'm back!" Mark called out, carefully balancing two boxes of pizza in one hand and holding his keys in the other. He shut the door with his foot and went to the kitchen, setting the pizzas on the counter carefully. "Jack?" He put his keys in the drawer, his eyebrows drawing close in a confused manner. Where did he go? He asked himself. Jack hasn't been to his house in LA often enough to get a feel for the neighborhood, and he didn't have a car. Plus, he would have told Mark if he was going anywhere, right?
He searched the guest room and saw nothing but a pile of blankets on the floor. Jack sure is a messy dude. He looked through the living room, dining room, and even outside. Where the hell is Jack!?
Mark, growing panicked, went to search the guest room once more. He stood there quietly, his hands going through his hair. Then, he heard it. A soft noise coming from the closet, which was barely cracked open. He opened it slowly to find a figure wrapped up in a baby blue blanket. It was the softest, thickest blanket he owned, which was reserved for guests only.
"Jack?" Mark asked softly, getting down on his knees. He lifted the blanket off of his head and down onto his shoulders, much like a hood. It revealed a messy green head!
"Jack?" He was a bit louder this time, but his voice was still soft. Jack sniffled and lifted his head.
"Hey, Mark-a-butt. I was just getting to know your closet. It's a nice closet, very spacious." You could tell he had been crying by his pink and puffy eyes, and the fact that there were still tears streaming down his pale cheeks. Mark wrapped him up in one of his famous hugs, and Jack burst into a fit of sobs.
"Oh god Mark I'm not good enough I'm such a piece of shite man I'm the worst person to ever live why am I even living Mark I shouldn't be here ijustwanttobegone-" He went on like this for a while, Mark rubbing circles into his back and holding onto him tightly. He tried to assure Jack that he was none of those awful things, but Jack would barely stop to take a breath.
"I want to die, Mark, why can't I just die?"
Mark finally had enough.
"Jack, what the hell is wrong with you!?" Mark said, fiercely holding Jack in place across from him.
Jack was shocked by the harshness in Mark's voice. "M-Mark, I just-"
"You think that you're not good enough? That you're a piece of shit and the worst person to ever live?" Jack shut his eyes tightly and choked back a sob. "None of that is true, Jack. Are you listening? Look at me, damn it!" Jack snapped his eyes open to look at Mark. Mark was… Mark was crying? Mark let go of him, wiping at his eyes a bit.
"None of that is true. I have millions upon millions of people who will tell you the same thing. You are an amazing person, Jack. Did you forget all of the people who've come up to you and told you what a great impact you were on their lives? How many of them used your videos, your humor, to help them whenever they needed it? Do you forget about the people who told you that they'd wanted to die,-" his voice cracked, and he paused just a second before continuing, "-just like you've said you want to, and they didn't because they wanted to see the end of one of your gameplays? They had something to live for, Jack. And so do you." Jack was sobbing again.
"But, Mark-"
"No, no! Stop right there! If you're going to tell me how much you've messed up in life, or how much of a fuck up you think you are, stop. Because everybody, everybody feels that way. Maybe it's not a constant thing, or maybe it is, but everybody feels that way at some point in their lives. But that doesn't give you a free pass to just give up! Not you, not anyone!"
Mark grabbed Jack and, without warning, pulled him back into his embrace. He and Mark cried together for what felt like an eternity, but it was probably only 5 minutes because Chica hadn't even started barking outside.
"I'm sorry." Jack finally said, breaking the silence of their sniffles.
"Jack, I've had these days myself, more often than not." Jack was shocked; how could a guy as great as Mark feel the same way he felt? Surely he knew the impact that he had on countless lives? Then, it hit him- that's exactly what Mark had just been telling him.
Mark saw the look of understanding finally flash across Jack's face. He knew that Jack understood now why he was saying all of those things.
"Jack, if you ever feel like this again, I want you to call me. No matter what time it is, call me; or call your parents, or anyone you can, and talk to them. I would advise against going to your comments section- trust me, not with all of the haters out there. But talk to someone who you know is a close friend, and cares about you. Okay?"
Jack nodded, and Mark smiled lightly.
"Good. Now, go wash your face. The pizza shouldn't be cold by now, but if it is… Who am I kidding, we'll eat it anyways." Jack laughed at this.
"Let's start making some videos, yeah?" He nodded.
"Yeah… Thanks, Mark."
"Anytime. I mean it."