**Welcome to chapter three, and I hope you all enjoy (: I'm hoping this one will be about as long as the last one. Or maybe even longer.**

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful for the three of them. They didn't talk about what had happened, since Matt decided to send Mark off to bed. The poor blue haired boy looked like he hadn't slept much at all. Matt wasn't going to let this just be forgotten though. Matt wanted to know what was going on with Mark; he wanted to help the other as best as he could. He did feel rather bad for trying to pry but he didn't want Mark going through this alone.

Matt, because of all these thoughts, wasn't able to get much sleep himself. He was thinking about Mark, wishing he knew what was going on and wishing he could help. He eventually fell asleep, though Mark wasn't still on his mind. It wasn't that he had feelings for the other male, he was just...concerned.

He woke up around six the next morning, though he hadn't felt like he had even slept. He gave up on trying to sleep, and let his mind wander. Of course, mainly concerning Mark. Maybe Wade or Bob knew what was going on. Hell maybe even Matthias knew. But then that would bring in another person, and Matt didn't want to do that to Mark.

When he was tired of lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he decided to finally get up and head downstairs. He was sure he looked like a mess considering he went to bed around midnight and woke up at six am, for a total of six hours of sleep. But he shoved that thought aside and ran a hand through his hair, hoping to fix it up a bit, before he started up the coffee machine. He sat down on one of the creaky kitchen chairs, letting out another yawn.

He furrowed his eyebrows when he heard footsteps in the living room. He hadn't expected anyone else to be up by now. He made his way towards the living room, only to run into Ryan in the doorway that connected the kitchen and the living room. "Ry? What're you doing up already?" He asked, though he knew he could be asked the same thing.

"Couldn't sleep." Ryan replied with a bit of a shrug. He didn't think it was that big of a deal, though he was usually big on his sleep. Ryan didn't usually get out of bed until almost noon. To see him up at six in the morning was just...bizarre. "No big deal." He added, making his way to plop down on one of the kitchen chairs. "What about you man?" He asked, glancing over at Matt.

"Same." Matt responded, though the word seemed to just hang in the air. Matt wanted to say more, because there was a hell of a lot on his mind. Most of it to do with Mark. The way Mark had seemed so vulnerable, unlike his somewhat confident personality. "Want some coffee?" It wasn't what he wanted to say, but he figured that talking about Mark wasn't going to do much when it was just the two of them. They needed to talk to Mark.

"Sure. I guess." Ryan mumbled, nearly impossible to hear due to how quiet it was. There was just so much tension in the house now, between the three of them, and no one wanted to step on anyone's toes. Mark was the main issue though. They were both worried sick about him.

It was another two hours of silences, awkward one worded conversations, and some television before a sleepy Mark finally made his way down the stairs. His hair was sticking up in every direction just like every other morning. His pajama pants had a Yoshi pattern on them, which only added to how childish and cute he looked. He wasn't wearing a shirt however, and he hadn't been awake enough to grab his glasses. What really looked odd was the way Mark's thumb was partially in his mouth.

Matt and Ryan were both in the living room at this time, watching some cartoon that happened to be on, though neither of them was paying attention to it. The volume was low, making it harder to hear. The two looked up as they heard the footsteps, shocked at what they were presented with.

Mark must not have expected them to be up yet either since his eyes seemed to widen and his thumb quickly came out of his mouth, a line of saliva coming with it. He wiped the wet digit on his pajama pants, and then wiped at his chin were the excess saliva had landed. His face was beet red, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he looked between the two men. "I...Morning." He said casually. Well, as casually as he could. He was trying to play it off. Maybe if he acted like it was nothing, they two wouldn't bring it up.

"No, no, no. Don't 'Morning' me." Matt scoffed out, shaking his head as he got off the couch. "What was that Mark? You've been acting so...differently. Ever since we found that box. And now you all of a sudden won't talk to us anymore? I don't want our relationship to be like this! Between all three of us! It's been so tense in the house in such a short amount of time. I don't like it. We're all usually open with each other. Why...why is this time different?" He asked, looking Mark's way.

Mark swallowed the lump that had begun to grow in his throat. He should have known that it wasn't going to just be ignored. He tried to still play it off though as he gave a shrug and headed for the kitchen. "I was chewing on my thumb nail. It's a bad habit. Sorry." He mumbled out, making his way to the coffee machine. He could hear the two sets of footsteps following him into the kitchen and he had to close his eyes for a few seconds just to calm himself down. He couldn't lose it. Not again.

"Bullshit." Ryan shot back his way. "Matt's right. You've been walking on eggshells since yesterday, not being your usual self. We want to know what's wrong. But lying isn't helping anyone Mark." He scolded a bit, which caused Mark to actually shrink inwards a bit, as if he was ashamed. "You weren't "chewing on your thumbnail". Nice try. What's really been going on?"

Mark could feel himself crumbling again, like he had last night, and all that came out was a small whimper. He turned around to look at the other two, the tears obvious in his eyes. He wasn't able to keep eye contact for too long, and was soon dropping his eyes to look at the floor. "I-I guess I owe it to you guys." He replied, his voice barely coming out. They had been there for him through a lot, just as he had been there for them. "Please just don't...don't hate me. That's all I ask..."

Matt and Ryan took the opportunity to look at each other, confusion written on both of their faces. This had to be serious if Mark was this torn up about it. They were seeing the rare vulnerable side of Mark that only came out when he was really upset or going through a rough time. This situation was most likely a little bit of both.

"What? Don't...that's ridiculous. I know I speak for both of us when I say we could never hate you Mark." Matt said, the honesty in his voice as he moved closer to Mark. He didn't want to scare him but he also wanted to let him know that they would always be there for him. "Hey. Hey, look at me. Please?" He asked, reaching forward with his thumb to gently tilt Mark's chin up. "I mean it. We would never hate you, okay? Promise." Matt was rewarded with a small smile from Mark, and he allowed a small smile of his own to slip onto his face. "There's the Mark we know and love." He mumbled out, dropping his thumb.

Mark felt a blush take over his cheeks, causing his hands to come up and hid his face. It was odd, but at the same time completely adorable. It was hard for the other males in the room not to coo. How could anyone even try to hate Mark?

Ryan was smiling as well now, glad that at least some of the tension had dissolved. "Now...what's going on Markimoo?" he asked, which of course caused the tension to come back into Mark's body language. He looked towards Matt again, feeling bad for having ruined the moment. But they needed to get everything sorted out.

"R-Right." Mark breathed out, moving his hands from his face after he had wiped his eyes a bit. He sluggishly made his way to the kitchen table, sitting down on one of the chairs. He looked up at the other two, hoping they would get his hint.

It took Matt and Ryan a few seconds before they were following after Mark yet again, both of them sitting across from Mark at the table. It was then that Ryan first noticed how Mark was sitting. Cross legged, with his hands bunched up in his lap. It was something he had never seen the other do. And it sure as hell made Mark look tiny, that was for sure. Even smaller than usual.

Now came the hard part.

**I am just on a writing spree lately! Ever since I started a Markiplier ageplay account...I've been so inspired. I am so happy that people are actually reading my story, even if it is just a few views. I love it (: **

**What I want to know though, is if people want me to get into detail for the next chapter. I plan on finally having Mark tell Matt and Ryan what's going on, but I don't know if I should just skip the talk or if people want me to actually talk about it. It's up to you guys! If I just get one reply, that'd be awesome! Because I would really love to hear what you guys want (: **