Thin Lines - A Markiplier Fanfic

Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Mark’s P.O.V.

“We have arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Please keep your seatbelts on; we’ll be landing soon.” I looked over at Claire in the airplane seat next to me and smiled. We had been through a long flight, so it was nice to know that we were finally back in my hometown. I had realized that I missed it a lot, despite how fantastic living in California had been so far. Nothing was as safe and familiar to me as Cincinnati, and that would probably be true for a while.

Within just a few minutes, the plane had landed and Claire and I found ourselves grabbing our bags and exiting it. I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out my phone. I sent a text to my mom, letting her know that we had arrived. Claire and I would be staying with her for the majority of the time that we’d be in town for Bob’s wedding, so she agreed to pick us up from the airport. She must have had her phone out, waiting for me to contact her, because she texted back quickly, alerting me to meet her at the Starbucks inside the airport. I laughed. She must have known Claire would want something from there.

Claire had met my mom already, and they had been around each other quite a few times. My mom absolutely loved her, and Claire had nothing but nice things to say about my mom as well. I felt really lucky that things weren’t uncomfortable between the two of them. That was the last thing I needed. I had dealt with my mom not liking girlfriends I had in the past, and it was never very fun.

“Hey you two! Welcome back to Cincinnati!” my mom greeted us when we arrived at the Starbucks. She hugged both of us, clearly happy to see us again. “Well, get yourselves some coffee and then we’ll be on our way.” We did just that, and iced coffee had never tasted so refreshing.

Claire’s P.O.V.

When we got back to his mom’s house, we set down our bags in Mark’s old bedroom, back when he lived there. It was where we’d be sleeping during our stay. At first, I was a little surprised that his mom didn’t want me to stay in his brother’s old room, but she was pretty cool about the whole thing. I mean, we did live together, and she wasn’t stupid.

Mark and I spent the first couple days in Cincinnati mostly going out. We went to dinner with his mom once, and we also went out just the two of us to some cool places downtown. Mark also went to Wade’s house to record a couple videos, and I hung out with Molly and Stephanie while they recorded. On the third day, there was the rehearsal dinner for Bob’s wedding. Mark and I both attended that, and it ended up being a really nice evening. It was at Buca Di Beppo, a delicious Italian restaurant. I had been there before, but only twice. Even so, I had been very impressed with it both times, and this time was no different.

The next day was June 28, both Mark’s birthday and Bob’s wedding day. I almost never woke up before Mark, who was more of a morning person than me, but that time, I did. I took a moment to let my eyes adjust to the light and to get my mind working. Once I was actually awake enough to function, I moved towards Mark and without saying anything, I leaned over him and kissed him. I felt him smile as I did so, and when I pulled away he opened his eyes.

“Good morning, birthday boy,” I grinned.