3 Weeks Later ~ January 26th, 2021

It felt... strange... being back in the studio after so long. It's been almost 2 months since he's filmed a video. It was really only then when he began to notice how different he was on camera and not. His personality when being filmed was the equivalent of a hype beast, keeping morale high and plugging merch. In real life, he tried to keep that upbeat attitude in everything he did but today he felt like he was faking it if only a bit. That morning when the contestants arrived, he was still a bit sleepy but snapped out of it real quick. They were doing last to leave the pool of pennies wins it.

"I'm gonna let the contestants in, keep pouring in pennies!" He yelled to Karl. Unlocking the studio doors, four people entered. Many fans complained that he never lets kids into his contests despite kids being his fanbase so this time, he picked four kids (with parental permission) from the nearby high school to compete. First was Gabriel, a black-haired 15-year-old with purple headphones around his neck. His bright blue Nike jacket was swapped out for a Mr. Beast hoodie shortly before his arrival and his coach was Chris. Next was Zack, a blonde kid with a brace filled smile. He was also 15 and his coach was Karl. Then there was Zeke, with his glasses and stoic expression. Jimmy suspected he'd stay in a while but his coach wasn't him, it was Chandler. His person was Quinn, a girl with dark blue hair who was supposed to serve detention today (but got bailed out by Chandler). She'd be a good face for the winner, she had a sociable attitude that could keep people entertained. But it wasn't his job to decide that. 

Shortly after, the video began. An hour goes by with little activity, no one will budge thankfully. Gabe ended up getting the stellar idea to see how many of the pennies he could count until he got so bored he wanted to 'rip his own eyes out'. 

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68... Ok I wanna rip my own eyes out I'm done." Chris fell on the floor in saddness.

"Goddamnit, Gabe so close to perfection." Suddenly, the kid smirked.

"Fine, I'll go one more." Slowly he pulled out another penny, placing it on the stack before finally saying... "69."

"OOOOOOOOH." The entire room filled with excitement and Jimmy couldn't help but laugh at the group's utter stupidity. When it quieted down, he decided now was a good time for lunch. Zeke ended up falling asleep so Chandler was gonna stay behind, entertain the contestants or something. Quinn asked for Burger King. The closest was 20 minutes but if it kept her in Jimmy said he'd be happy to go get some. Gabe asked for mac 'n' cheese for which Chris decided Panera was a good spot. Zack decided to just ask for 'them good breadsticks from Olive Garden' with nothing else. With the orders in place, the three-headed out. Chandler being the Sneaky-Boy™ he was let them use their phones as long as they let Zeke sleep. He was about to head out as to not be considered culprit for them receiving their phones but Quinn called him over, a slightly lost look on her face.

"What's up?" He asked, leaning lazily on the bathtub frame. Is that what it is, a frame? Chandler wasn't quite sure.

"Is it just me or does Jimmy seem a bit... off... today?"

"No, it certainly isn't just you. Don't tell him I told you this but he's been acting off ever since he came back. He's been a lot jumpier... lot more distant. And it's just so strange that it's perfectly timed with that little 'break' of his." He looked up, Zeke was still asleep and the other two were lost in their phones.

"I'll see if I can get something out of him. He might open up to someone he thinks he'll never see again." 

"Well if that's the case, can I have your number so you can text me any findings?"

"Sure. Make sure you don't tell him about this."

"Of course." She added herself into his phone and Chandler's mind wandered as she did so. Hopefully, this will all just pass by, but he had to prepare for the worst...

***

He saw him.

He could've SWORN he saw him. 

The shadowy figure taunted him from the parking lot.

Why was he here?

Just to make him suffer more?

"Go away." He punched what was in front of him in an attempt to scare him off.

The blood dripping down his fingers only seemed to lure him closer. 

The pain that spiraled around him was dizzying. 

Like a carousel that won't slow down

It was nearly suffocating.

The air was suffocating.

Toxicity filled his lungs with each breath being deeper and each breath turning his insides to ash.

The figure swayed from left to right waiting for him to be nothing more than a pile of dust.

A pile of toxic dust that would blow through the night and kill those who caught a whisk of it.

And those who breathed it in would become more dust leaving the Earth as nothing but

Ash

and smoke

and Ash

and

Fire

Dawood Ibrahim set his world on 

Fire

because 

dust

brings

ash

and

ash

brings

Fire-

"SIR!" Jimmy felt like he was propelled backwards at full speed as he returned to reality. The shadow was nothing more than the leaves of a tree. Slowly he turned to face the window, heart pounding.

"Oh, ya could I have a number 9 please..."

***

40 hours. Jimmy had been awake for 40 hours, commentating on all the events that happened. His eyes stained a blood-shot red and hair all over the place, he looked like a mess. Only Quinn and Zeke were left. The latter had fallen asleep again and his contestant was just making small talk with him in an attempt to keep him awake.

"You know what I'm out." This certainly helped him up a bit.

"Wait why?"

"Zeke is gonna be here for a while with his ability to just snap asleep whenever and you look awful."

"Wow geez how mean."

"I meant you look like you desperately need sleep. Just say who won and film giving him the money tomorrow."

"You absolutely sure about this? I can go for a long time. Hell, I can go another 40 hours."

"No, no you cannot. Even a..." She trailed off while yawning before picking up again. "Even a saint has there limits." Standing up, most of the pennies fell off of her as she heard muscles and bones crack. Quinn stretched before dusting a few stray pennies off her shoulders. She pulled herself out of the tub and went over to wake up Zeke herself.

"Hey wake up."

"Wha...?" His eyes slowly blinked open.

"You just won 10,000 dollars."

"Huh... really? Oh... yay...!" His tone lacked excitement but everyone was tired. He'd probably be more excited in the morning. The two talked a bit while Jimmy dragged Chandler out of bed to see the winner. The four of them quickly filmed a transition slide to use for the next day.

"Alright this has been fun but I'm gonna drive home. Be back tomorrow." Zeke started walking out and Quinn followed but they were quickly stopped.

"Nah it's cold and late. We can set you guys up air mattresses in the offices. Then you won't have to drive back in the morning."

"Really? Thanks that'd be cool." Jimmy started going to grab the mattresses but Chandler grabbed his shirt and slowed him down. 

"Go sleep, you look exhausted. I'll set em up for the night."

"You sure Chan?"

"Ya, it shouldn't take too long." He shrugged and went to the couch in his office. Unraveling the throw blanket, he was too tired to change into the clothes that were neatly folded on the chair in front of him and just had his Alexa turn off the lights. Letting his eyes close, sleep came almost too easily.

***

Quinn felt surprisingly well-rested the next morning. They got her and Zeke a nice breakfast of Panera and the recording time went by quickly. Before she knew it, the cameras stopped rolling and she was calling her mom to tell her she was done. While Zeke was going with Chandler to buy a few things for some extra footage, Quinn headed to her car. 

"Hey wait!" She turned around to see Jimmy running with something in his hands. 

"Hm? What's up?"

"Just thought I'd give you a bit of recompense for the trouble. You stayed up for a long time so I think you deserve a bit of cash. How does 500 dollars sound to you?" Quinn almost opened her mouth to accept the offer but remembered back to a conversation from almost two nights ago. She was only half-joking when talking about that but Chandler seemed dead serious on wanting answers. 

"I'll see if I can get something out of him. He might open up to someone he thinks he'll never see again." 

"It sounds great actually. I'll take it." The money was handed to her but she pushed his hand back in a split second. "BUT first you tell me what's been up with you." Quinn knew one of his weaknesses was people denying his money. He'd do what it takes to get them to accept. In her case, this might just work. She wasn't quite sure if it was real, but part of her could've sworn panic coated his face for just a brief moment.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" 

"You've been distant for the whole competition. My older brother was in one once and you were a lot more... engaged let's say then I've seen. Like something was troubling you. And after that Burger King run? God, you looked so pale like you've seen a ghost!" He chuckled lightly and tried getting me to grab it.

"Maybe you didn't get a lot of sleep last night because you are talking nonsense! Here just take the cash and get a good night's sleep for me."

"Answer my question first." His smile wavered ever so slightly.

"I just did, nothing is wrong and you're looking far too closely into the little things."

"Not that bullshit. Something's on your mind and the least you can do is vent about it to make yourself feel a bit better. Not like your seeing me again."

"Please just take the money."

"You seem suspicious." He sighed.

"I'm gonna put it on the front of your car. Do as you please with it. I've got other things to deal with today." Without even a goodbye, he returned to the warehouse. Part of her wanted to take it but she couldn't bring herself to. It seemed hypocritical of her to do so. Quinn ended up leaving it right on a concrete brick not too far from the warehouse before driving away. As the cash blew into the wind from the lack of weight on it, she made her way onto the road and looked for Chandler's contact.

~~~

(Damn sorry for the wait, had exams. But now they're over. Chapter 4 should be out before the new year and maybe chapter 5. Did you like the formatting during the panic attack cuz I sure had no fun in spacing each line out XD? Anywho hopefully you enjoyed this. Also announcement this book has been extended to 12 chapters. Isn't that fun? (No it's not it means more angst.) Also this is #1 in T-Series boiz! Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa :D)

Original Publication Date: December 25th, 2019