Another World - Chapter 1
pls note that this story does contain mentions of mental illness such as; social anxiety, depression, anxiety, and ocd. this is to spread awareness, as i am diagnosed with three out of the four. i understand it is not fun and it can put a huge burden on your life, and some things are better to be talked about than left in the dark. always remember that there is help and know that you are loved and that you are not alone.
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[6 months earlier]
It was the same thing almost every day. Her parents arguing, failing almost all of your classes, going to meet your therapist. And every day, she comes home from school and locks yourself in the only place where she could feel secure; her room.
"And how are you doing today, Miss [L/N]?” The therapist had asked. He had a notepad with a pen his daughter gave to him. Mr Meaner crossed his legs while looking in your direction, hands folded on top of one another while he waited for a response.
[Y/N]’s head was thrown back against the leather sofa as she stared at the ceiling. The old lights were replaced with a chandelier with crystals on the side, it wasn’t too bright but enough to make the room feel cosier. “Same as any other day.” And it was the truth. She didn’t have many friends. It wasn’t like she wasn’t a likeable person, it’s just her anxiety telling her that nobody wants to be her friend.
And that is something the young woman hated. Feeling as if everything was her fault, that the reason nobody wanted to hang out with [Y/N] was because of the parents or that she came off as ‘weird’. “I see... And how are you doing on sleep the last we talked.”
Silence.
That was a good question. If only it were that easy to sleep in the current situation - but it wasn’t. The yelling, throwing, it kept her up most of the night and even with the prescribed medication, it was not enough.
“I haven’t slept in a few days.”
Mr Meaner sighed and took off his glasses and placed them on the desk. “Do you have anyone else you could stay with?”
“No. Almost all of my relatives are in California or out of the state. Nobody that I know is in New York.”
The therapist nodded his head and took a moment to figure out what to do. Mixed with [Y/N]’s social anxiety and insomnia, he understood that it was not easy to make friends and get out and meet new people. “You mentioned last week that you have a computer?”
Rising her head, she finally looked at the person who has been listening to her vent and help the young woman cope for almost a year, “yeah.”
“Okay,” He nodded, “I want you to do something for me [Y/N] - it’s to help you and settle your anxiety. Try making YouTube videos, music.. anything like that. I understand it sounds crazy now, but I promise in the long run that it will help you.”
“Absol-” She began but was immediately cut off.
“You don’t even have to show your face. I realise that you may be nervous, but doing this with help soothe your nerves when you talk to people. Give it a week, and if you do not like it then you don’t have to continue. Just give it a try.”
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And so, that's exactly what she did – almost a week later. After using the last of her birthday money buying a few games for her stable PC, and having the recording fail about five-time; she managed to film -webcamless-.
It was called Fallout 3, as it was always her favourite out of all of the four and was really great at it -- aside from the national guard depot, as she had little to no grenades and had died quite a bit, however, it was nothing editing couldn’t handle.
‘There you go,’ [Y/N] whispered to herself after she was done with her editing, it was not the best but would get better if she were to continue, ‘All you have to do, is it publish.’
To her, that was easier said than done. Many thoughts had run through her head: What if they didn’t like it? What if someone pointed out how she mixed up her words because of her nervousness? Would they call her out for not being able to get the vault 87?
As these thoughts carried on, the cursor slowly inched towards the ‘publish’ button. And just like that, it was done. Out, for anybody to see.
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The following morning she awoke to the phone buzzing, signalling that somebody was calling her phone. Groaning the young woman rolled over and picked up her cell that was on the nightstand next to the bed, being careful not to knock the [favourite colour] lava lamp on the ground. It was a gift that her father had gotten her on her eighteenth birthday just last week, and it’s something she would always remember because that day felt like everything was normal again -no parents fighting, staying up watching movies until all of them had fallen asleep.
Once in a blue moon would that happen again. “Hello?” Her voice was raspy, clearly telling the person on the other line that she had just woken up and most likely disturbed her.
“Hey honey,” It was her Nan and the only one in the family who she actually liked, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
[Y/N] gave a soft smile even though the elder on the other end couldn’t see, “No, Nan, it’s okay. I had to get up soon anyway for school.”
“How are you doing there?”
“I would say I’m doing good. Although [major] is beating me up.”
A laugh was heard on the other end, “I am sure you are doing the best you can, sweetie. What about your parents? Did anything change?”
And there was that question.
“Same thing, different day.”
“You know you are always welcome to stay with your gran’dad and I in California.”
The young woman sighed, “I don’t have the money to fly down there, besides if I did, it would put my scholarship at risk.”
“We will gladly fly you here; and there are plenty of opportunities here [N/N]. Besides you are a smart girl, any school down here would be lucky to have you as a student.”
She laid back down and stared up at her ceiling, phone in one hand and the other tracing the patterns that the light gave above her, “I’ll think about it.”
“Just let us know, I love you.”
“Love you too.” After hanging up, [Y/N] tossed the phone to the side. Sure New York had some great places and many things to do even if you don’t have that much money; however she did have people in Vacaville that loved her (or more so her grandparents and her only friend she made in grade 8 who sadly moved away just before their graduation to grade 9: though both still try their best to talk to each-other.
Her phone buzzed, groaning as she debated weather or not to answer it. Thinking of the latter, [Y/N] reached for her phone and checked to see who was texting her.
New text from Ezra
Speak of the devil.
Unlocking the phone, she made her way to the messages and read what was sent.
EZRA YOU BITCH!
EZRA YOU MADE A YOUTUBE WITHOUT TELLING ME???
EZRA GURL, I HAD TO FIND OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE TRENDING!
EZRA i thought what we had was special 😔
Wait what? She had to go back to make sure she had read that correctly, she was trending? Exiting the messages, she had made her way over to YouTube and sure enough, she was at #6 for gaming.
Shock ran through her body. Her first video has gone viral overnight. And then reality settled in; she has gone viral in one night.
