Beyond The Limelight ★ Markiplier X Reader

Authors note:
I got my nails done and typing is SO DIFFICULT lord help me. Also thanks for getting this story to #1 in the Markiplierfanfiction tag what an amazing thing to wake up to on my birthday. I love you all <3
Here's two parts in one day as a thankyou!

*

Another day, another flood of videos, edits, comments and tweets about your association with Mark. It started out sweet with people noticing how you looked at each other and saying how cute you'd be together but as more people grew interested, more hate and criticism grew. People were so mean.

You laid on your bed, scrolling through some tweets that'd been made about you. They were mostly nice, sure, but there were so many people saying horrid things about you out of jealousy or spite. People were commenting on how you looked, saying things like "who even is she" and calling you irrelevant and a nobody. There was also lots of speculation and rumours that had come out of absolutely nowhere. It's crazy how people can take one little clip from a livestream and jump to so many conclusions.

So far you'd seen the theory that you and Mark were dating (true), the theory that you had a secret agenda and plan to stop Mark from seeing all of his friends and generally were a home wrecker (false), that you were only using Mark for clout (false), and that you were an over obsessed stalker fan (false. Also ironic coming from who was making these rumours). A lot of people didn't like you purely on the basis that you got in the way of people's septiplier fantasy which was funny considering Mark and Sean weren't even particularly close in real life. They were friends, sure but you and Mark were already closer in real life than Mark and Sean.

As you scrolled, shaking your head to yourself and feeling a little defeated and put down, your phone screen changed and showed an incoming call. You furrowed your brow as you saw the name "Sean" pop up and felt a flutter in your stomach at remembering the other night.

"Hey, what's up?" You answered, sitting up on your bed.

"Heyyy Y/N I need your help." Sean said. "I can't decide what to get for Marks birthday and I was wondering if you wanted to come out with me to help me find something?"

Marks Birthday was less than a month away, and the plan so far was to throw a party at the studio as a mini throwback with all of Marks friends and even have his mom and brother fly over.

"Um yeah sure, where and when?" You replied.

"Meet me outside Bojangles in like an hour?" He suggested. Bojangles was on a high street not too far from your apartment so that was perfect.

"Sure."

"Thankyou so much, see ya then!" Sean said.

"Bye!"

You felt a little nervous, but pushed it down as you got ready, scrolled through a few more hate tweets, then left. By the time you got there, Sean was already stood outside of the bar and gave you a warm smile and wave when he saw you approaching.

"Y/N!" He said excitedly and brought you in for a hug.

"Hey Sean." You said, hugging him back. "So. Where'd you like to go first?"

You and Sean walked around the high street, browsing through shops, thinking of things to buy, and talked generally about life and recent events. Eventually, you found yourself getting hungry from all the walking and the two of you decided to stop at a fast food place. You both sat at a table in the middle of the restaurant, opposite each other, eating your food happily.

"And Ethan literally shat himself." Sean said, laughing.

You gasped. "Like literally?!"

"Literally. They had to shut the rollercoaster down for the rest of the day."

You both laughed together, sharing random anecdotes and stories, generally having a good time. Sean, however, could tell there was something on your mind. It was subtle but in the little moments in between laughter and talking, if there was a second of silence, Sean noticed your face seemed sad.

One of these moments happened again and Sean decided to say something.

"You alright?" He asked, careful not to pressure you. "It seems like somethings on your mind."

You looked at him for a moment, studying his face as you took a sip of your drink. "Yeah. Why are you asking?"

Sean looked at you with a knowing expression. "I can see it in your face. Behind your eyes. Something's bothering you I can just tell."

You were impressed with his observance and slightly disappointed in yourself for not being able to hide it better. You contemplated telling him for a minute before taking a deep breath and deciding there was no harm in talking to someone. You really had come a long way in a few months.

"Well... I've just been.... I don't know." You tried finding a way to explain it. "There's just quite a few people online who seem to really not like me." You said simply.

"Really?" Sean said in genuine surprise. "I can't imagine anyone not liking you."

You rolled your eyes and smiled. "Well as hard as it might be to believe there are lots of people who hate me. Mostly people who have an obsession with Mark and feel jealous I think. There are lots of rumours about me at the minute."

"What kind of rumours?" Sean asked.

"Things like I'm actually a stalker fan trying to ruin Marks life, I'm in a relationship with him and I'm trying to control him, things like that." You sighed.

"That sounds tough." Sean said earnestly as he looked at you with a genuine sorry expression. "You don't deserve that."

You gave him a soft smile and looked at him. He held your gaze for a moment, neither of you speaking before he cleared his throat. "You shouldn't care what they think anyway. They don't know you. If they did they'd understand that you're one of the most lovely people to ever live."

You laughed. "I wouldn't go that far."

"I would." Sean said, offering you a warm smile. "A thousand times I would."

You finished your drink and placed your cup down, ignoring the weird feeling in your chest as he said this. Instead, you changed the subject. "There's something else too. Probably nothing but I've been thinking about it a little this morning."

"I'm all ears." Sean placed his elbows on the table and waited for you to speak.

"It's Fizz." You started. "Since she's been with Hermi I feel like our friendship has kinda dwindled a bit. Don't get me wrong I love Hermi and think they're such a perfect couple but I feel a little..."

"Left behind?"

"Yeah." You said, looking down at the table as you fiddled with a napkin. "Does that make me a bad friend?"

"No! Of course it doesn't." Sean said. "Your feelings are valid and you have nothing to feel bad about. Have you spoken to Fizz about it?"

"I haven't been able to. She's always busy lately." Your heart ached a little thinking about the possibility that maybe this new dynamic you and Fizz had would become the norm. Instead of sleepovers and hanging out pretty much every other day, speaking once in a blue moon and only very briefly. It hurt. You didn't want to lose that connection you'd built.

"I understand. She's probably still figuring out how to have a good balance between friendships and her relationship. I'm sure everything will even out." Hearing Sean say this was comforting. Something about his presence felt very calming despite his erratic body language and loud demeanour.

"Yeah probably." You said. Comforted, but not convinced. "I just don't want to be left alone."

"You won't be." Sean smiled. "I won't let that happen."