"I don't understand. I've been working for you guys for months! You said I was one of the best employees here!"

"We did. But we're overstaffed and the new boss is being a pain in the ass about it. We had to let someone go. And we couldn't let Ally or Margaret go. They both have families and careers."

"And I don't!?" Clarissa Curtis exclaimed, her face red in agitation. He sighed and shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He hated being the one to do this. Especially now. "Look Gabriella. . . "He put his hand down, holding her wrist in a comforting way.

Claire scoffed, pulling her hand way as if it had been burned. "Just forget it. I'll find somewhere else to go." She spoke softly, grabbing her bag from the barstool and sliding it across her shoulder. She turned promptly on her heels, moving toward the door.

"Can I still. . .."

"No!" Normally she wouldn't snap like that, but she was not in the mood. She couldn't believe this. Fired out of the blue!? For no reason at all? How did that make any sense? She looked up into the clear blue California sky, before sighing and shivering.

Now what?

She had the day off now. But to what extent? This wasn't what she had planned on doing. And she didn't think she'd be able to keep herself calm to look for another. Purple strands of hair brushed into her mouth as she stood there, trying to keep herself together.

"You getting on, girl?"

That broke Claire out of her trance, and she looked up to the large bus in front of her. It wasn't a stop, but she couldn't help but grin. "Thanks, Heather." She said softly. The large African American women grinned, patting Claire on the shoulder as she waived the bus fare. "Something tells me that didn't go well. What happened?"

Claire was the only one on the bus, and this wasn't even a stop. But Heather had been the bus driver to her side of town for ages, and they had gotten to know each other. Claire considered her a mother that she really needed. She plopped in the first seat she saw, leaning back as the door closed. "Got fired. Don't even know why." She mumbled.

Heather rolled her eyes. "That's stupid. Should have given you a reason why." Claire scoffed. "I think I know. The new boss's daughter. That's why." Heather chuckled and shook her head. "Well, no use crying over spilled milk. You'll find another one. You want to go scouting?"

Claire shook her head, running a hand through her messy locks. "Can you just take me to the park? I need to cool down." She asked the woman. Heather smiled softly and nodded, before pulling off from the sidewalk and heading toward her destination.

Clarissa wished it wasn't like this. She just couldn't do this. She already struggled, having to keep three part-time jobs just to pay her bills that she was somehow getting behind on. How was she going to keep herself afloat?

Okay,Clary. Think! Claire sighed, running a hand through her hair once again. She pulled her hand back, looking down at the faint white lines on her hands. She shook her head quickly, biting her lip. "I can take extra shifts at both jobs. Anybody calls out, just call me in. I need them. I can get there earlier or work later. Just until I get another job. They won't mind, right? One might. . .." She mumbled to herself. She was by herself on the bench, no one would notice.

It was a Tuesday; most kids were in school. There were only a few people here and there. College kids working on a project. Older women jogging down the path. A couple here and there walking and talking. It was quiet and cool, a bright sunny day. At least to most, not to her.

How was she going to keep herself alive? She could feel her breathing pick up at the thought of bills and food. "No, no! You will not go into an attack. Not like this!" She whispered, her hands grasping her hair as she tried to calm herself down. She folded her body down so her face was on her knees. She let the breeze cool her body down, calming her until she was breathing even once again. An attack at this moment was not good, not good at all.

She looked up at the sun for a moment, shivering from the breeze. It wasn't like she was really dressed for this. She was wearing old torn up jeans, an old band t-shirt of some kind, oversized hoodie, and scuffed up converses. The only clothes she could afford now. She probably looked like a homeless person or something. Freaking out over nothing.

"What am I going to do?" She whined, putting her face in her hands.

At that moment, something stopped her. It was cold and wet, sniffing at the skin through of the holes in her jeans. She pulled her hands back, to be met with a furry white dog sniffing at her leg. It looked up at her, wagging its tail before sitting there with her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth.

"Well, hi there!" Claire cooed, scratching the pup behind the ears. She seemed friendly, and very interested in Claire right now. Claire looked to see a collar on the pup's neck, a leash attached to it. "Did you get away from your family, girl?" She asked, grabbing at the leash so she wouldn't try to run off again. Least she could do was find an owner. If not she'd take the pup home until tomorrow. Then she could take her to a shelter or something, or maybe keep her. The dog looked at her, before whining and putting her head in Claire's lap, tail wagging slowly.

"I'm alright girl. Just struggling right now is all." She said softly. Dogs could always sense when something was wrong, and she could tell. "Now where is your. . ."

"Chica! There you are!" Claire looked up when the dog pulled away, turning to look where the shouting was coming from. Claire looked up to see a tall male running her way, obviously, the owner of this dog. "Jeez Chica! Gave me a heart attack, don't do that to me bub! I'm sorry, she didn't bother you, did she?" He exclaimed, reaching for her collar so she wouldn't try to get away.

Claire shook her head, smiling, before grabbing more of the leash to hand to the owner. "No, of course not! She's a great comfort. I'm just glad she does belong to someone and didn't get too far away." She said, moving to hand the leash over. She looked up, and immediately her eyes widened.

In front of her. . . was Mark Fischbach.

The Markiplier.

Claire swallowed thickly, lost for words. She knew who this man was, of course. She watched his videos a lot. In all honesty, they kept her sane. She used them as an escape. An escape from reality. He was just the person to watch. She didn't play many games, but she knew a bunch because of him. He was an amazing guy. He loved his fans, was always honest and funny, and seemed to have a lot of fun with his games and videos.

And yet she was still staring like an idiot.

Mark chuckled, running a hand through his hair for a moment. He had just been having a nice day off. He didn't want his friends to worry too much and had told his fans that he needed a day just to relax. So he decided it would be a nice thing to take Chica out. She hadn't been out of the house much and had been stuck sleeping beside him in his home or in the studio so he decided it would be a good time to get her out.

He had taken her to the nearby park, watching her as she chased the birds and visited other dogs. She wasn't as shy as she used to be. And he was enjoying himself as well.

That was until Chica decided to take off and rip the leash from his hands.

The worst went through Mark's mind. He was sure she had gotten out of the park fences and had wandered off and he wouldn't find her anymore. He had searched half of the park and was on the verge of calling Tyler when he saw his companion, looking up at a girl on a bench. He immediately ran toward the girl, noting her disheveled appearance, before grabbing at Chica and immediately apologizing. Then he realized that she might know who he was. She wasn't familiar to him. Pretty in his eyes, even though her clothes were almost too big in size and were worn down. The only other thought was that she was a fan.

He chuckled. "I'm guessing you're a fan then?" He asked, noting how she had looked at him.

That broke Claire out of her trance. She shook her head. "No! I mean. . . .yeah, yeah I'm a fan. I know who you are. . . uh. . . here." She immediately grabbed the leash and handed it back to Mark, their hands brushing for a minute. She swallowed. "I didn't want her to get away so I thought I'd just hold onto the leash for a moment." She stammered. Immediately her face flushed red.

Mark chuckled, taking the leash and looping it around his wrist so she wouldn't get away. "Thanks for that. I don't know what I would have done if she had gotten farther away." He noted that this was where she had beelined before, but maybe he wasn't thinking straight. He was out of breath now. "I'm Mark, but I guess you already knew that then." He said, chuckling, before holding his hand out.

Claire shot up, wishing she hadn't. That looked desperate. It was then Mark really noticed her features. Long chocolate brown hair that fell in unruly waves around her face and down her shoulders. Her bangs were tinted purple and the tips were a faded blue. She had chocolate brown eyes, so dark they were almost black. And he found them mesmerizing. She was pale, very pale, and very thin. At least from what he saw. She seemed to only wear baggy clothing, which he wasn't judging. "I'm Clarissa." She spoke quickly, before wincing. "Claire." She repeated. Clarissa must have been her real name and Claire was a nickname. She held out her hand and he seemed to envelop it as they shook hands. Her grip was weak, almost fragile.

"It's very nice to meet you," Claire said, smiling up at him, before looking down at Chica. "And you must be Chica. It's very nice to meet you as well." She couldn't help but giggle when Chica put her paw up in her hand, shaking it. He grinned, seeing how close she already was with Chica. It was like his own pup knew she was a good person.

"So what are you doing out here? I mean, of course, you live here. I've just never seen you around here." She asked, trying to make a bit of conversation and make the air less awkward.

"Oh, I took a day off. Let the others have some peace. The time I gave this little bub some time out too." He said, scratching Chica on the head as her tongue lolled out to the side. Claire smiled, pushing her hair from her face. "She's great." She commented and Mark smiled, looking down at Chica in the silence.

Mark frowned. "Hey, are you alright? I kinda noticed you were down." He cared for his fans, and he wanted to make them feel like he cared. So what was one more?

Claire shook her head. "I wouldn't want to bother you. It's your day off. You should have fun." She stated, rubbing her arm and moving to sit back down on the bench. Mark shook his head, before moving and sitting beside her. It startled Claire a bit when he sat down.

"Come on, what's up?"

Claire bit her lip, looking up at Mark for a moment. Did she really want to bother him with this? He had to be busy. She didn't want to make it worse. She sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. "I have three part-time jobs. I moved from Oregon a few years ago, and have struggled basically the entire time. So to keep myself alive and not drowning in bills, I have as many jobs as I can get. But of course, I got fired from one today. They said it was no reason, but I believe they have a reason. Now I have to figure out where I'm going to get the extra money to pay my rent until I can find another job." It was as if the air was gone out of her body when she explained it to him. She couldn't believe she was telling her story to Mark. This was surreal.

Mark frowned. "That sucks." He never really had to worry about that. But it still bothered him to see anyone struggling. Now the clothes and the looks made sense. She couldn't afford much. "I'm sorry to hear that."

She shrugged. "Not like anyone could help it. Thanks though." She said softly, relaxing a bit as they talked. It was if they were normal, just talking about issues that everyone had. She stroked Chica's soft fur for a moment or two, the dog had rested her head in Claire's lap.

"She really seems to like you," Mark noted, looking at his dog's slow wagging tail.

"I really like her." She said softly. There was so much more in her mind, but she wasn't going to gush out her feelings and backstories to him. He just met her. She didn't want to scare him away.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mark asked. Claire looked up at him, brown eyes wide, before shaking her head.

"If you're trying to offer me money, I'm going to say no and stand by it. There is no way you're doing that just because I'm a fan of yours. Your videos alone and this is enough for me. Thanks for taking your time out just to talk to me." She said, smiling at him. Mark smiled back, watching her. He had never met a fan like this ever.

"Well, until you find a new job. Don't worry about it. Today's your day off, right?" Mark asked, before standing up and handing Claire Chica's leash. Claire looked up at him, raising an eyebrow as she took the leash. "Now it is. Why?" She asked.

"You've got a day off. I've got a day off. Let's have a day off together." Mark exclaimed, helping her up off the bench. "And don't decline. I'm serious. There's a great food truck down the way a bit. We can grab lunch and just hang out and talk." He explained.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." Claire stumbled, grabbing her bag off the bench. He shrugged. "Why not? It's not always I can meet a great fan like you." He said and smiled. She grinned, then nodded. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe it was a day off that she deserved.

"Chica we're going to be heading home in a bit, hush," Chica whined, her tail wagging slowly as they walked to the bus stop.

Claire giggled, watching the pup with Mark as they walked. She had had a great day, with Mark of all people. It wasn't something she'd ever imagine enjoying. But here she was, having the time of her life for one day with Markiplier. It was getting late, and they both needed to head home.

"I really enjoyed it Mark. Thanks. You got me out a depression I didn't need to be in." She said softly, moving to stop at the bus stop. Heather would be there any minute.

Mark looked up at the sign, before looking at her. "It's no trouble." He said, before biting his lip. "You take the bus home?" When she nodded, he shrugged. "I can take you home, it's no big deal."

Claire immediately shook her head. "Oh no, I'll be fine. I live in a bad part of town and I'd rather you not get hurt taking me home. Especially since you're famous." She said and blushed, pushing her hair from her face. Mark raised an eyebrow. The bad part of town? Where was she living? "Besides, I've wasted enough of your money today. I can take this." She smiled and leaned against the sign for a moment.

Mark sighed, biting his lip. They had already exchanged numbers a while back, but he felt like he needed to hang out with her more. Normally he wasn't like this. But something about her. She was different. And he liked it.

"It was nice hanging with you," Claire said softly, breaking him out of his trance.

Mark smiled and nodded. "Nice hanging with you too. What are you doing in the next couple of days?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I would be working tomorrow but I got fired, so I guess I'm going to be searching for more jobs or taking extra hours at my other. Why?" She asked.

"No reason." He left it at that. There may be a reason.

Claire bit her lip when he left it. Did she do something wrong? She thought they were having a good time. Did she mess up something or was he just trying to be nice? She swallowed before the bus pulled up for the stop. Heather opened the door and smiled.

Claire grinned, before turning to Mark. "I'll see you around then?" She asked softly. Mark nodded and watched as she scratched Chica, who licked her hand. She waved to Mark, before jumping on the bus. Mark waited for the bus doors to close and the vehicle to pull off before he left.

He was still mesmerized.

"Who was that cutie?" Heather teased. Claire rolled her eyes, plopping in her usual seat.

"No one special." "Uh huh."

In fact, it was someone special. But she felt like it was a one-time thing. She didn't see it going anywhere else. He was just being friendly that's all.

Maybe it would go somewhere.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she raised an eyebrow as she fished it out. Have a safe trip home. She grinned, realizing it was Mark. He had even programmed his name to be "Markimoo".

"So, no one special?" Heather teased, and Claire relented, telling her amazing day to one of her closest friends.