Lady Luck: Hoodie x Reader

Chapter 11

      "You were part of Marble Hornets."

     Those words seemed to echo through the room as they left my mouth, a heavy silence suddenly seeming to fall over us. In retrospect, maybe it should have been obvious, but not once had it crossed my mind while reading about the series. "Tim" was a pretty common name after all; the idea that the Tim in Marble Hornets was the same Tim that I shared potluck lunches with every few days seemed like too big of a coincidence, far out of the realm of possibility.

     Yet it all fit together so well. His fear of forests, having to suddenly leave town, getting fired from his last job before moving, his experiences with "kind of" sleepwalking... Even his medicine. All pieces of a complicated puzzle I didn't know even existed, pointing to a single answer: Marble Hornets. A crazy coincidence—impossible, even—but then again, this is me we're talking about.

     "That's why you moved here," I continued slowly, organizing my thoughts as I spoke. "To get away from all of that. To start over." Tim's back visibly stiffened as I talked, standing in place totally rigid.

     "...Yeah, that's right," he said quietly after a few moments, not turning to look at me. "I was part of it—was. But I'm done with it now. I'm done with all those fucking videos and fielding questions about how all that stuff got pulled off or what the hell the 'ark' is supposed to be. I'm done, it's over, it's through, and I'm never looking back."

     "...So then you won't give me your laptop, will you?"

     "No. If you want to look it up more, do it on your own time without using my stuff. And if you do decide to, then do me a favor and never come back." There was a sense of finality to his voice that made me fall silent, unable to respond as he just headed into his room to put away the laptop. I couldn't blame him wanting to forget about it and never speak of it again, everything that happened had to be pretty traumatic. I know I wanted to forget about it. However, I couldn't just stop now. I needed information now more than ever. Mentally debating over what to do, finally I took a deep, shuddery breath.

     "...Can I ask one question?" I heard Tim give a grunt of annoyance from the bedroom.

     "(Name), I just said—"

     "How many people know it's real?" Sudden silence fell over the apartment, even heavier than the previous one. Mere seconds passed, but they seemed to magically stretch into hours as I waited for a response. Eventually he emerged from his room, his eyes wide with shock.

     "...What?" he whispered, his voice surprisingly hollow.

     "How many people know it's all real?" I repeated, looking him square in the eye. Tim didn't respond right away, just stared at me, but then he ducked his head.

     "...It's not... (Name), I know some of the effects might be convincing, but it's just video editing and acting. Basic stuff. None of it's actually real—"

     "You can drop the act," I interrupted, keeping my voice level and cool. "Everyone else may think it's fake, but I know it's not. So don't bother lying to me about it, and just tell me the truth." When I finished speaking, for the longest time Tim didn't say anything, didn't even look at me. He just stared at the ground, his hands clenching into fists at his side. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, sounding almost controlled as if he might explode otherwise.