Just stay alive. Why did Jack tell me that? Was I hurt that badly when my head hit the glass? I mean, it kinda hurts, but still....

I can't be hurt that badly, right? I've hard worse, I should be fine.

My family needs me. My friends need me. My fans need me.

Amy needs me.

I'm not going to let any of them down by dying just because I hit my head on an extremely strong window. Besides, doesn't exactly seem like a cool way to go. I can already imagine the headline-"YouTube Gamer Dies By Brain Trauma"...Nah, not really catchy.

What was it even made of anyway? My head feels like it was slammed into a metal wall repeatedly.

Wait a minute...

There's people yelling at each other, something about the competition. Amy's crying.

Something's wrong.

I have to wake up and make sure everyone's okay.

I'll sleep when I'm actually dead, not just dealing with a major headache.

For the brief moment that Mark was able to open his eyes, he closed them again almost instantly due to the familiar blinding bright white light shining in his eyes.

Please tell me I'm not in a hospital, Mark prayed silently as his eyes cracked open again.

I'm in a hospital, great, Mark thought sarcastically as he blinked a couple of times to make the room stop spinning.

"....may be pulled from competition if he doesn't wake up." Mark faintly heard someone say as he tried to regain his bearings. No one in the room seemed to notice that he was awake yet.

The room was as dull as he expected, everything a sterile white and the air heavy with the scent of disinfectant.

Mark wanted to say something, but wasn't exactly sure what, so he went with the first two words that came to mind.

"Hello everybody." Mark rasped, his throat dry and scratchy like a desert.

Instantly Amy's attention snapped towards him, gently enveloping him in a hug as tears of relief rolled down her face onto his back.

"I-I thought-"

"Shh, I'm okay. I promise." Mark consoled Amy as she retracted back. Mark delicately wiped the tears off of Amy's face with a small smile.

"I'll go tell the others you're okay." Amy squeezed his hand before getting off of the edge of the bed and leaving the room.

He noticed a pitcher of water on the table beside his bed and a plastic cup, so he filled it up with slightly shaking hands and downed it all in a couple of gulps.

"You're lucky to be alive." The doctor remarked, walking closer to Mark's bed from the back of the room.

"I get that a lot." Mark shrugged, feeling a wave of pain crash over his head from the movement.

"You have one hell of a bump, a cut that had to be stitched that I took care of, and a major concussion. Nothing's permanently damaged fortunately." The doctor told him, his hands clasped together in front of him.

Suddenly Jack burst into the room, tears streaming down his face and speaking so quickly that Mark couldn't understand a single word he was saying.

"Slow down, I'm okay, I'm okay." Mark repeated as he tried to comfort the shaking Irishman, carefully hugging him as cold drops of water soaked into the back of his white hospital gown.

Signe, Marzia, Dark, Anti, and Felix were standing politely in the back of the room, shooting sympathetic glances at Jack.

"What were you saying?" Mark asked after Jack managed to calm down a little, his soft hiccups subsiding as he wiped away the tears on his face with an embarrassed smile.

"I-I wanted to say I'm sorry." Jack stammered, his attention suddenly fixated on the sheets on Mark's bed.

"You don't have to apologize, it's not like you slammed my head into the glass or-"

Mark broke off when he noticed Jack's expression turn guilty.

"What happened?" Mark prompted softly, even though he felt like shouting. Conflicted thoughts whirled through his head, doubts gnawing at his stomach.

What if he wanted to stop Mark from competing?

He wouldn't do that, he's my friend, Mark reminded himself.

Yet the doubts still didn't leave him.

"I-um, well...I-"

"You what?" Mark huffed, beginning to lose his patience. Why was Jack acting so nervous and apologizing profusely?

"I ran into you and I guess the impact made you run into the glass." Jack blurted, wincing once the words were out as if expecting Mark to hit him.

"Do whatever you want, I deserve it." Jack added, his tone flat as he dared to look Mark in the eyes again.

"Sooo, I can steal your hat? Or maybe spider-loaf? A million subscribers? That'd be kinda cool to have." Mark teased Jack, earning a relieved smile from him.

"Well I guess you can't do anything you want." Jack rolled his eyes. He finally stepped back to allow his other friends to talk to Mark, Signe standing by Jack's side.

"I'll have to keep you here for another day-"

"Another day?!?" Mark repeated in bewilderment. He couldn't stay another day, he would miss the first day of the competition, which was when Signe, Jack, him, and Amy would go. Felix, Marzia, Anti, and Dark were competing the second day. The third day was saved for finals.

"I could disguise myself to look like you and go in your place." Dark suggested.

Mark felt tempted for a moment, but he knew that not only was it against the rules, but then he wouldn't be winning or losing with Amy.

Dark would.

It wasn't even that he didn't trust him, Mark just wanted to compete with Amy, no matter the outcome. After all, he had been training for weeks.

"I'm good. I appreciate the offer though." Mark told Dark.

"Good. I don't think I can pretend to be all lovey-dovey with Amy for a day. No offense." He added quickly.

"Understandable." Amy shrugged.

"Visiting hours are closed, I need to ask you all to leave." A nurse poked her head into the room. 

"Shut up nurse." He muttered quietly by instinct.

Dark heard his words and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as the nurse left.

Dark composed himself after a moment, saying goodbye to Mark before walking out the door hand in hand with Anti.

"I'll visit tomorrow." Amy promised him, kissing him briefly on the lips before reluctantly leaving the room as well.

"Get better bro, I don't want to miss out on beating your butt at competition." Felix joked as he left the room with Marzia, leaving only Signe and Jack.

"Thank you." Mark blurted before they left. Confused, Jack froze in the doorway and turned to look at him.

"You could've lied about how I got this-"

Mark gestured at the bump on his head.

"-but you didn't. Thank you." Mark repeated.

"I wouldn't lie to you, you're my friend." Jack's expression softened as he waved goodbye to Mark and left, leaving him alone in the room with only the thoughts in his head to keep him company.