E l e v e n

M C M

- P a r t  T w o -

Twitter was constantly bombarding me once more. I had remembered the last time it had done that, and that had been two years ago, when George and I headed over for VidCon alongside Pippa and Lola.

There were people who came from the Americas and the rest of the European countries, eager to meet us in person and face what was behind the microphone we recorded on. It was a daring move; going to the most biggest conventions having no experience was endangering ourselves. The days were not completely the worse - though it did took a toll on me.

Luckily, Kim and Hannah were kind enough to take George and me alongside Caff to London. MCM ComicCon was being held just in the outer part of the city, clearly a few miles where I used to live with George.

At least there was some remembrance, and I had never forgotten the streets and accesses the area I lived in. That was what I liked about cities, it was bustling and always changing - never a complete repeat every hour and day. Even the people who worked never ended the same routine, the traffic and unexpected was always around the corner.

Anyhow, the rest were mucking about in the car, constantly talking about what they think would happen this weekend. I was sat by the window - thankfully - with my hand rested upon my cheek as I gazed out into the visible countryside.

My eyes looked below to the my bag, fixated between my legs. The notebook was still sticking out, a small post-it note now situated on the side. I was arguing with myself, if I should bring it or not. Though once the thoughts of crowds and people: I threw the book right in my bag before I left.

George hasn't noticed it, probably never will since all he thinks was work, drinks and Tom.

"Hey, [Y/N]. Doing alright back there?" I spotted Hannah quickly glance up on the mirror with a side smile.

I returned a nod. "Yeah, just thinking...A lot."

"You'll be fine," I felt a nudge on my torso, and I glared back at George for doing so. He cheekily grinned back and wrapped an arm around me. We often did this a lot - well mostly George - though right now: I felt almost as if the whole car was going to engulf me. His arms weren't improving my hidden pants in my breath.

I heard another notification go off from my pocket.

And I wished I could hurl it, right now, out of the window - hopefully not cause an accident. I could turn my phone off, or remove the app, but either way: I would have to face it once I logged back on.

"It's going to be much bigger this year," Kim rambled on. "With George and [Y/N] with us. Caff too."

Caff chuckled, a little hint of embarrassment. "I wouldn't say I'd make the most of the line."

'I better hope so.' I thought. I was still uncomfortable at my sudden deduction of him. Either way, as long as he didn't pull off any stupid acts: I would push away the thought of revealing his choices.

My best friend patted his shoulder and playfully said, "Don't worry, Caff. We didn't even make a video this time. She's not too fond of crowds..."

"It's not about the crowds," I grumbled. "More like whose in them."

His eyes almost softened, and I dreaded what he quietly replied back. Leaning down, George whispered next to my ear in a subtle way, leaning against the side of my body until I had been uncomfortably hooked onto the door. My eyes gazed over and flicked back to the window.

"[Y/N], I know you're not okay with this...but you have to try." George spoke.

I sighed and said, "Every time I do this: my whole mind malfunctions. It's never the collective term. It's context."

"You always say that," George shook his head. "Context. They aren't here for you in that matter. Don't worry."

I barely whispered the word but I pleaded, "Please then, let's not talk about it...not now."

By the next hour or so, George never spoke a word about it anymore - which I gladly accepted by changing the entire mood of the car about new anime episodes online.

____

We got to London when the clock stroke ten.

When all of us looked up at the large building that the event was being held, it was not hard to miss. There was a whiff of aura that was distinctive, reminding me and sending the small churning in my stomach. We had entered the back of the building, where several other cars and vans lined between the white lines painted on the concrete.

By the time a taxi arrived, I immediately spotted Ross, Turps and Lewis exit. I was standing by Kim and Hannah as my very own friend left my side to find Duncan and Sjin. With my hair obscuring my face, I didn't expect the touch on my shoulder blade. I quickly flicked around, relaxing to find Martyn present. "Not much of an early bird are you?"

"Correctimundo." Martyn yawned with a laugh. "I'd rather be sleeping with my cats than sleeping on the way with my head hitting the window every time."

Then I answered back, "It won't be problem, we could always sleep inside one of the boxes Mike was carrying."

Chuckling, Martyn was the first to follow the group beside me. We now ventured inside the building. I got my camera from my bag and began recording. Usually I recorded outings and conventions, but editing was heavy: and in the end it was a compilation with music in the background.

Once in a while I spoke, walking beside George or Martyn as we got to the booth. The Yogscast booth was quite obvious, with the bright sky blue colours and yellow fonts. There were already posters and shirts hung onto the board-like walls with prices that could scare some people away. It was there I saw the commissioned poster I had asked for. 

Nina was very talented, and it was shown when I gave in my temptation and looked over her shoulder at the office. It was a simple drawing, with me and George with our Minecraft skins behind a white background.

"Jeez... look at Nina's work," I zoomed the camera over to the wall. "She really captured George's dimples.

Just as I was going to enter the back of the signing area, Turp's lens faced me with much eager of the red light. I carried on recording, pulling a forced smile at him.

Turps said, "It's [Y/N]'s first time with the Yogscast." I nudged my chin upwards. "Don't you look fucking tired, you plebs."

"Eh, all goes down if shit happens with me and my beauty sleep," I chuckled, grinning. "You're lucky that this vlog isn't PG."

Turps shrugged it off. "We're always PG, believe me...Vac Trott and that."

He then continued to film the others and I casually turned mine off afterwards since I needed to get ready. At that meant sitting in the corner for a few minutes.

After ten minutes, everyone was ready to face the crowd. Unlike me; shutting my eyes had made it even worse. I could hear outside the movement and the many layers of sounds and voices. I was writing in my book, furrowing my eyebrows until I saw the shadow overcome the pages of my book. Looking up: Lewis' face tilted at me with a smirk on my lips.

My chest felt a little less tighter, unknown to my head as to why though. But as he sat with a groan beside me, I knew it was a way to comfort me. My isolation from the others was subtly obvious - and the guilt had quickly rushed past every time Mike and Barry asked if I was alright.

"Have you been to other conventions?" Lewis asked me.

I continued to write as I spoke: "I've gone to Insomnia once with George, Pippa and Lola. VidCon as well...but it had put me off to a slight discomfort." 

A soft chuckle was left from the silence, and his hands headed for my shoulder.

Gently placing it, he patted it quickly and said, "Don't worry, [Y/N]. No one is here to hurt you. Not when I'm here; when we're here. Believe me. Plus: I'll push them into a canal if anything happens." Lewis returned a playful wink and I rolled my eyes.

Though slowly, there was a smile that ran across my lips once I shut my book closed. He got up and gestured a hand to me. I decided to take it to be polite, but I hinted that he just wanted me to boost some confidence in me. And in truth: it had.

My belongings were left at the side where all the others were (hidden in the many boxes) and the two of us walked over to the makeshift door they had made. The only thing covering us was the fabric curtain that was draped over the door. It was a little transparent, I knew it well from this distance. And I immediately felt my heart sped from slow to almost alarms ringing.

However, I hid it with a simple smile and guided my feet to glide through the fabric. Once my eyes focused from the light: my body paused too long for my notice.

"Apollo? Apollo!" A voice shouted, much louder than expected for the short teenager. "You better have not found another rabbit hole!"

Then another voice spoke, more in reassurance: "[Y/N], it's too dangerous to be out here. And your mum is probably wondering where we are..."

Then younger snapped, "The storm won't be brewing yet, not for another half an hour. Come on...it's only the wind."

"We're in a bloody forest!" The older one exasperated. But by the time the older one had stopped to glare at the younger: she had vanished. Just like that.

And suddenly, clearly expected: the older voice had saw the flicker of lights in the sky.

However: they were not the lights made from the planes flying across their neighborhood...

The flickered my eyes once more and I almost composed myself from falling. I was back: back in the room. There was still a crowd, bigger and louder than I had expected. But that didn't even made me pant in shock.

'What was that?' I rubbed my head, hoping the constant pounding would stop in my head. As I trudged over to my seat, I formed a grin when George's face looked at me in concern. He knew that I was having my unusual headaches again. There was always the brotherly worry he possessed when it came to this, and I brushed it off as much as possible.

I gone back into my mind for a few moments, reconciling the flash of memory in my head. It was simple, but there was so many questions I needed to unravel. It was confusing, and frustrating. If it was a memory, why didn't I fully understand anything they had said. '

An older boy...no man. And a girl...' The words left my mouth in a whisper, but I then flashed back into reality.

I flicked my Sharpie open and carefully latched it onto the top of my ear. The line had started to move, and my worries now resided to the people I was going to meet. My fans. The Yogscast's fans. They were all different, but it was easy to deduce every single one of them.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I asked the woman in front of me. She was quite tall with fair hair and a blue jumper that read 'Yuri On Ice' on the front. By the time I saw her writing on her notebook she slid out, there was so many things I could know by her handwriting.

She awkwardly laughed and said, "I'm great thank you! I didn't know that you were going to be here, but soon as I saw, I was like: fuck it, let's wait in line for an hour."

"Sorry for the wait," I spoke with a hint of sympathy. "But it's not often you get to do this, or for us in this matter."

By the time I finished signing with a swoop of my pen, I tucked my Sharpie back to place and smiled. It was almost there, the genuine happiness - put my mind always crept back to the memories. "Hope you have a great day, Isla." I said and regretted.

The woman's face almost hid the shock, but then - I guess - the realisation of having your idol say your name: it had gone to the front of her head. Isla's smile became bigger and I was amused to see her skipping out to the next person.

On the other side, I looked to George and saw him smirk, causing me to blink - unamused.

I returned to facing the table, and began signing in constant movement. It was draining me mentally, the forced smile and habit of knowing that one of them vaped and the other had a overprotective mother that seemed very unhealthy. 

On the other hand, the line had gradually shortened after the hour was passing. Looking down, the tips of my fingers shook as I wrote a small message to the teenager girl in front of me. There was flash of wary when she flicked towards my eyes. If I wasn't concerned of myself, I would have been more intrigued at her easy observations at me.

"Hey," I stopped and quickly looked to George. He raised an eyebrow before breaking into a smile. "I'm heading out to look at some booths with Martyn and Caff. I think the Hats, Duncan, Sjin, Hannah and Kim are staying. You coming?"

I shook my head, "I'll finish in a few minutes and then I'll go look at some stuff."

"You got something to eat?" George asked and I vigorously nodded. He then noticed the girl in front of us and he smirked, "When people say she takes care of me, it's very much the opposite."

The fan smiled, "I could see."

Waving him off, I apologised at her for his commotion. Shrugging it off, we carried on our talk on school subjects and life in general. Clearly I could never say anything specific, and even so: she wouldn't care.

But by the time she left, I quickly scrunched my eyelids.

"Apollo."

'The god of prophecy, medicine, wisdom, art and music. Noun meaning as destroyer...' It was all I could find in my head, and clearly it wasn't a person that the voice was trying to find. More like another animal. A cat? A horse? I didn't have any pets when I was younger, that was my first assumption. But as it was a memory, why could not I have remembered it?

By the time the line of people had dispersed, they had closed the signing booth for an hour. My mind flipped back to reality and I got up with shaking hands. I kept blinking furiously, trying to hide the pain that my head had been enduring for the past two hours. The names and the voices were growing louder in my head, the shouting and emotions that I could sense in their voices. As I walked down to the door, I noticed Hannah and Kim already exiting the booth. Only Mike and Barry were there alongside Hat Films and Lewis.

Ross was filming with the others, and I tended to dodge the camera as swiftly as possible. However, my plan did not exactly go well.

After a few minutes trying to hide myself over the piles of boxes, it didn't take long for Smith to call out my name.

"So [Y/N], how's signing going for you? Met anyone interesting?" Smith fired back questions.

And I quickly answered, "It's been great...yeah. I'm knackered, though."

"We still have the after hours show, as well." Trott informed. "Gonna get my amazing costume out, amaze the crowd of my acting skills."

Ross laughed, "Sure they are, tell that to [Y/N]."

"I'm sure," I grinned, rather tiredly. "Just don't let them know that we ripped the back of the skirt."

Smith patted Trott's shoulder, his laughter showing to the camera. "Chris Trott: the salmon flasher." He then walked and slid his arm over the back of my shoulders, immediately frozen from his action.

I pried it off by telling them I had to go and grab something to eat. Luckily, Ross turned the camera's lens somewhere else - and I swore I could feel my lungs breathe back after holding it for so long. My blood cooled and there was less intensity as I walked back out. There was still quite a crowd outside, not bothering about any of the Yogs and mostly gazing around at the booths or being dragged at them.

"Apollo!"

"Where are you, boy?"

Suddenly my surroundings felt almost far from my sight, the spots of light appearing as I gasped. With balls of fist, I shut my eyes once more. It was literally giving me a fucking migraine. No one had been noticing, not yet anyways. To quickly hide, I ushered past the tables and began my way over to find the others. I needed the conversation; I needed another voice that wasn't my head or a teenager shouting at a dog.

'Apollo, it's a dog.' Whilst I glanced at the colorful and vibrant booths, the revelation had been spinning around my head. It was a slow progress, but now I had known it was a dog.

"Dog...storm...Apollo." I spoke with irritation. Panning, the world was almost spinning. Every person was moving around me like a clockwork machine...never stopping. Then I loudly spoke: "What does it mean?"

"Does what mean?" A gentle voice quickly responded. With a quick flick, my eyes widened to spot Lewis in front of me. However: it began to blur out. I could hear my heartbeat, pecking away and pushing my blood around in an electrified motion.

I only blinked at his concern, unable to speak.

All I could hear was him softly speaking, "[Y/N]. [Y/N], are you okay?"

"Apollo!"

"[Y/N], can you hear me?"

"He's not going to just run back to you!"

"Please say something. [Y/N]!"

"We are not going to let him die!"

"Duncan! Sjin! Fuck me...please respond to me!"

"[Y/N]! I'm not letting you get yourself into danger like this!"

"[Y/N]!..."

"And I'm not having my own die because my own stupidity! Look what it did to him!"

"...Duncan, I don't know what happened! She's shaking like hell, but she wasn't saying anything!"

"Don't do this, you always do this."

"I don't know what to do! Call Kev first. People are looking."

"...he gave Apollo to me as a remembrance...I am not losing the only gift from him."

____

A/N: Oh jeez...I don't know if I hated or loved writing this chapter. It sounded alright in my head but now it feels almost too cringy adding the flashbacks. It might also make no sense to you at all, but all the context will slowly be unravel.

Such as: the book she carries, Apollo, the storm and the person who gave her the dog. Those are the questions I wanted to have people question, but if it's a little blurry then that's my summary of it.

I hoped you all enjoyed reading the start of Part Two of Four Hundred and Twenty :)

-SierraOwls