Hello, once again, Audience. I am SO sorry for the wiat – wait, I spelt that wrong. I'm sorry for the WAIT. There, that's it. :D Yeah, who's a good speller? I am. HA!
Anyway, like I said, I am really sorry for the wait in this chapter. My homework has just, I don't know how to say it… BOOM. That good enough? Yes? Good.
Hope you like this chapter!
Chapter 2 – Spidey? Really?
"I want to know who you are now."
"I…"—he whipped off the flat cap to reveal curly-ish dark brown hair, sideburns, and hazel eyes. Laurie had to hold back a gasp—"am Toby Turner. But you can call me Great and Almighty Tobuscus, just like my Audience does. Nah, I'm just kiddin'. Call me anything you want. Except for Farmville. Don't call me that. I mean, it's not even a real name. And Lazy isn't one either, but you wouldn't believe how many people call me that." He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.
Toby grinned at Laurie's awestruck expression that was plastered on her face. "So, I'm guessing you've heard of me, then, according to that particularly shockalicious look on her face?"
The girl was absolutely speechless as she opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, her eyes wide like teacup saucers.
She had just met her YouTube idol. And skipped with him into a coffee shop! Not what she would have expected to happen if she met Tobuscus, but it still worked, nonetheless.
Her brain finally connected words together to let her speak. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" Laurie almost shouted, a giddy and excited grin on her lips. "I watch your videos and vlogs every day, mate! Your videos – no – you are awesome! The ideas you come up with are just bloody brilliant, and, not to mention, funny as Hell!" Laurie stopped herself and blushed, realising how much her Australian accent showed in those last few excited sentences.
Toby looked pretty pleased with himself, but he looked like he was trying not to laugh at Laurie's accent. Laurie noticed and pouted her lips, crossing her arms.
"Sorry, when I get super excited I turn really Australian." Laurie smiled sheepishly. "As you could probably tell, already."
"The accent's great," Toby replied with a thumbs-up and the signature smile he used on his vlogs and videos. "Very…cultural."
"Meh," the girl shrugged off, taking another swig of her iced coffee. "S'okay."
"You know, just a random pointer," the male YouTube star started, "I'm actually quite surprised and kind of happy that you haven't glomped me and tackled me to the ground yet." At the tilt of Laurie's head, he added, "Because most girls in my Audience usually mob me when they see me. 'Cause I'm just that attractive." Toby fluttered his eyelashes in a very girlish way and pretended to flick invisible hair, but his ghetto voice was enough to make Laurie giggle.
She laughed a couple of more times before clearing her throat and speaking seriously. "Nah. I'm not like that. She smirked. "Plus," she said, her posh voice showing as she took a sip of her coffee, her pinkie finger kinked upwards, "tackling someone to the ground when you've just met them is seen upon as most rude."
Laurie drank more of her iced drink, its coldness cooling her down enough to make her sigh with satisfaction.
Toby laughed and took a swill of his coffee. "Enough about me, though," he said, look at his black-haired friend. "What about you? Are you Laurie Parker?"
"That, I am, Toby Turner," Laurie affirmed with another one of her signature snap-and-point gestures. "Laurie Parker is, indeed, my name. And, so far, I haven't got a nickname, but such is life. How've you heard of me?"
"Are you serious?" Toby scoffed slightly, raising his eyebrows. His voice then lightened as a smile spread across his face, lighting up his features. "Jam Sesh's music is awesome, gurl! In fact, I'm not sure if you've checked, but I subscribed to your channel the other day."
Laurie blinked owlishly at him. Toby "Tobuscus" Turner, her favourite YouTuber, thought her music was good? Awesome, in fact? And he subscribed? She inwardly squealed with excitement and fangirlishness, trying to suppress the urge to jump up and dance around like the childish adult she was.
Instead, Laurie commented with a slight stammer to express some surprise. "You… You did?"
"You bet you bottom nugget, I did!" Toby said with his signature smile on his face. "The covers and originals you do are cool as snow!"
Snow is pretty cold, Laurie thought to herself.
"I've never seen snow," she randomly said. "You know, in real life. Unless TV is counted as real life. Which I'm pretty sure it isn't, but, there you go."
Toby was silent for a moment as something alien – was that concentration? – crossed his features. Laurie was looking at him with a slightly open mouth when he finally spoke.
"Hey, Spidey, do you think that maybe –"
"Hold up." Laurie held up her hand, stopping Toby from speaking for a while. "Rewind for just a sec. Spidey? What's that supposed to mean?" She raised a thin black eyebrow at him.
"Oh, well, since you said that you didn't have a nickname yet, I made one for you!"
"But Spidey? I don't think I'm following you. What does it have to do with my name?"
"A-ha! Thank you or asking, gurlfriend! Get ready for the explanation of a lifetime!" He cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers.
Oh, here we go, Laurie thought in amusement. She braced herself for Toby's next big speech.
"Okay, so, your name is Laurie Parker, right?" She nods. "Good. And Parker is Peter Parker's last name as well. And Peter Parker is Spiderman."
Toby suddenly put his hand up to his mouth voluntarily, a wide-eyed look on his face.
"Oh, dearie me! I just gave away Spiderman's secret identity! Pretend you didn't hear that, Laurie Parker. Spiderman is my best friend; if he found out that I just did that, we wouldn't be buddies anymore!" Fake worry was sprawled on his face as his eyes darted around, making him look edgy. He soon cleared himself of the worrisome act and continued the explanation.
"Anyway, Spiderman's nickname that some people, especially me, call him is Spidey. So now I am calling you Spidey! Isn't it the most brilliant thing you've ever heard? It all links together!"
"It was complicated, that's what it was."
"But you still get it."
"Yeah."
"So I am victorious!" Toby shouted, alerting some people from nearby tables. "You shall keep this as your nickname forever." He looked at me as if he dominated everything.
Laurie bowed jokingly. "Of course, Lord Buscus."
She laughed and leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath. She remembered something Toby was going to say before she interrupted him.
"You were saying something before, Lord Buscus," Laurie reminded, her act still going. "May you treat me and possibly tell me what it was you were going to say?"
"Oh, right, of course, peasant." Tobuscus sat back down. "I was wondering if I could come and watch you and your merry band of minstrels while you were filming. It's sort of a big thing to ask, but I think it would surprise the Audience if they saw me in your humble abode. Most of them like to watch your forms of enterainment."
"Oh," the girl said, quite surprised. "I'll have to bring it up with the minstrels, but otherwise, sure!" She smiled. "If we could trade numbers, I could call you for an answer?"
Toby nodded and pulled out his phone, Laurie doing the same. They handed one another their devices and entered their number into its contacts handing the phone back to its rightful owner.
Laurie leaned back in her seat, putting her phone away. Did that just happen? Did she just get Tobuscus's phone number?
The girl laughed and took another sip of her coffee while looking around Starbucks with mild interest. As her eyes, wandered over the entryway of the coffee shop, Laurie did a double take and choked on her drink. No way. Nope. She wouldn't believe it and her eyes wouldn't register it. But was that really –?
Yep, Jarred, the royal pain in the ass and Laurie's unfortunate best friend, had just walked into Starbucks. He was completely oblivious to the fact that the girl he'd dumped on the side of the road was less than ten feet away.
He looked around and Laurie slipped lower in her seat, keeping her gaze on Jarred. She viewed him with squinted eyes.
That son of a banshee, she thought angrily to herself.
Toby noticed her actions and followed her eye path, sliding down in his seat, as well.
"So," he asked the other YouTuber, "who are we peeking at?"
"That is the drummer in my band," Laurie commented, her voice annoyed.
Jarred started waiting in line, getting his wallet out in the process.
"Oh, yeah!" Toby said quite loudly.
Laurie jumped and shushed him, her face serious.
He spoke in a shout-whisper afterwards. "I know him from your videos!"
Laurie sighed, her eyes never leaving Jarred's face. Her teeth were tight inside her mouth. "Yup. That's him."
She closed her eyes. "He used to be my boyfriend, you know..."
"Really? You never mentioned that..." Toby looked confused, but he kept his hazel eyes trained on Jarred as the drummer walked towards the counter and ordered an espresso.
"'Cause I didn't want any of my viewers to know," Laurie explained. "Pretty much all of the girls thought that Jarred was hot. didn't need them to come hunting after me."
"I know how you feel," Toby replied. Fangirls are scary. Something clicked in Toby's head. "Hang on, used to? What made you guys break up?"
"I... I guess Jarred and I... We never felt comfortable." Laurie shrugged.
When they were dating, the two of them just seemed to continue being friends; no romantic actions anywhere. Sure, sometimes Jarred would peck Laurie on the lips to say goodbye, and Laurie would cuddle up to him whenever the watched a movie together, but other than that they just continued on with their lives as best friends.
The two YouTubers watched Jarred while he paid for his espresso and went to sit down at a table. He didn't notice the two people watching him. Laurie's anger left her as the sunlight hit Jarred's auburn coloured curls, making them shine like copper. His eyes like emeralds shone while he drank from the coffee cup. He looked... handsome...
"You really like him, huh?" Toby asked seeing the relaxed expression on Laurie's features. He glanced at her.
Her skin was strangely pale, but its whiteness complimented her long lashed, dark eyes very well. Her lips were thin, but full at the same time, somehow, and her long brown hair haloed her ovalish face, some of the sun's rays making the strands seem almost golden. Up close, Toby could smell the conditioner Laurie used on her hair. He smiled to himself. Peaches. Something blossomed inside Toby's heart and mind.
Could he possibly have a crush on her? He'd been watching her videos for a while now, and ever since he'd heard her band perform 'Want You Gone' from Portal 2, he knew that she was awesome. A singer, a gamer, she's humorous, she plays the piano... She was -
Just like me, he thought.
Yay! More cliffhangers (sort of)!
Okay, I know that this chapter took about a year and a half to complete, but next chapter, I swear, I will do what I can to post it in less time than it took for me to do this one.
Just pray that I don't get more homework.
OUTRO OF DARKNESS, THEN REDNESS, THEN WHITENESS!
Bless your beautiful faces. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless YOU!
Badododododododododo review!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!
