A/N: A response to the Ian hate on Tumblr, if you don't know what happened then you will after this story...maybe. People need to stop hating on him! He's perfect, okay?!
Just in case you were wondering I only updated this chapter for some spelling corrections. If you've already read it then you don't need to read it again :)
Did you mean what you said?
A lump formed in Ian's throat as he scrolled through Tumblr. Dozens of captioned pictures of him saying that he's ugly and fat and will never be as good as Anthony. He tried to block it out, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the harsh words on the screen. This was why he tried to stay away from social networks, it was worse than the comments on Youtube. At least on Youtube, the majority of the fans would support him and berate the mean commenter until they felt forced to remove their comment. But this was different. Ian continued staring at the screen, the words burning themselves into the back of his mind until he heard Anthony walk into their living room. He immediately closed the page and slammed the laptop shut, trying not to show the hurt on his face. But Anthony knew his face too well and could immediately tell that something was wrong.
"Ian, are you okay?" Anthony asked, his voice filled with concern.
"I'm fine," Ian replied, forcing a smile on his face. It was obviously forced, but Anthony didn't say anymore about it. Ian clearly didn't want to talk about it.
"So, are you ready to film lunchtime?" Anthony asked tentatively.
"Sure thing," Ian said. He didn't sound as enthusiastic as usual, but Anthony just let it slide. You can't expect someone to feel upbeat all the time, he thought to himself. "It's my turn to drive, right?"
"Yep," Anthony confirmed, and they grabbed their camera, money and Ian's car keys before heading out.
Anthony zoomed in on Ian's face as they cruised along the road. He had no idea where to eat, as usual. They'd done so many episodes now that every food they ate just felt generic. Well, except for pizza. That stuff will never get old. Anthony's stomach grumbled as he imagined warm slices of pepperoni pizza filling his mouth. That's when he made their decision- they were getting pizza.
"Hey guys!" Anthony greeted the viewers energetically. "So today we're gonna get pizza!" Ian just rolled his eyes and smiled.
"I love how varied your diet is Anthony," Ian said, laughing slightly at Anthony's childlike love for pizza.
"Well you can have loads of different toppings on a pizza," Anthony defended, joining in with Ian's laughter. "I bet I could live on just pizza for the rest of my life if I used different toppings every day."
"Well that's a bet that we're never going to make," Ian said, pulling a face that expressed his disgust. "Just imagine how fat..." Ian couldn't finish his sentence as he remembered the painful words from earlier. He'd always had insecurities about his weight. As a kid he was always a bit chubby, but then he discovered his love for cross-country and lost weight, he even gained a bit of muscle. Unfortunately, between his asthma and the amount of time he had to put into Smosh, he'd just given it up. He missed running and he knew he'd got slightly tubbier since stopping, but he didn't need his childhood coming back to haunt him. A childhood filled with taunts about his weight and paranoia that someone was constantly whispering about him behind his back. It had stopped once he started middle school and became friends with Anthony even though he didn't start losing weight until high school, but he would never forget what it was like before that.
"Ian, are you okay? You just randomly stopped in the middle of your sentence," Anthony looked at his boyfriend, worried again and thinking back to what happened earlier. He had that same expression on his face when I walked in and he was on the laptop. And I really don't like it. Ian just sniffed quietly before answering.
"I just got distracted, that's all," Ian replied, hoping that Anthony wouldn't ask any further questions. He didn't want him to see how a few anonymous posts had managed to upset him so much. Anthony never seemed fazed by negative comments, he couldn't possibly understand.
"Just don't crash the car!" Anthony joked; completely unaware of what Ian was truly feeling at that moment. "Can we get pepperoni pizza?"
"Whatever you want Anthony, whatever you want," Ian replied, before turning into the pizza place. Another good thing about getting pizza nearly every episode, it was only ten minutes away.
He parked the car and Anthony started to get out until he looked over at Ian. He was just sitting completely still, his hands still gripping the steering wheel, staring straight ahead of him. It was as if he could see something that no one else could. The look of sadness on Ian's face made Anthony's heart clench. He hated seeing Ian like this and being unable to help him. He was usually so happy and upbeat, always able to make him laugh and smile no matter what. He took one of Ian's hands in his and used the other to gently turn Ian's face towards him.
"What's the matter Ian?" Anthony asked softly, looking deep into his pale blue eyes which were slightly damp. "Something happened this morning that you're not telling me about."
The way Ian turned his head away in shame confirmed what Anthony was saying, he was just unable to look at the love in Anthony's eyes whilst knowing how the world saw him. He blinked repeatedly, trying not to start crying in front of him before answering.
"I just don't feel very well. I have a headache," Ian replied, hoping this would satisfy Anthony's questioning. He wasn't even lying completely, his head did hurt, but that was due to the fact that he was holding back tears. Anthony wasn't fooled, but he decided now wasn't the time for an interrogation. That could wait until they'd finished filming lunchtime. "I'm just gonna wait in the car, if that's okay. And you're driving on the way back." Anthony just sighed and got out of the car, hoping Ian would be alright on his own.
Ian's POV
Pull it together Ian! You don't even know that person and they don't know you. Who cares what they think? People are always gonna be mean but that shouldn't matter.
That's what Ian kept trying to tell himself but he couldn't help thinking that the person was right. That he was fat and ugly and Anthony is way better than he'll ever be. People always fangirled over Anthony and called him hot but Ian never got the same treatment. Even when he did the "Ask a gay guy" for Ian is bored, Will said that Anthony was more attractive to gay guys. It seemed to him that everyone thought he was just the shorter, fatter and uglier half of Smosh.
Why does this bug me so much? I hope Anthony doesn't think the same way.
Anthony's POV
Anthony walked into the pizza place, still confused and slightly worried about the way Ian was acting. It's just not normal! One minute he was fine and the next he looked like he was having a breakdown or something. I bet it has something to do with what was on his laptop before I walked in. I need to get him to tell me what it is.
He forced a smile onto his face as he got is order.
"Hey there, can I get a large pepperoni pizza?" he asked the girl at the serving counter.
"Sure thing," the girl replied as she entered in his order. "Do you want any drinks with that?"
"Two cokes please," Anthony said whilst getting his wallet out. Ian and Anthony frequently came to this particular take out for Lunchtime with Smosh because they were too lazy to think of anywhere else to go. Once the girl took a proper look at Anthony, she immediately recognised him.
"Are you the guy that normally does a vlogging type thing with your friend?" she asked with growing curiosity.
"Yep, that's me," Anthony sighed inwardly as he braced himself for the inevitable follow up question.
"Where is he?" she asked, just as Anthony expected she would.
"Um...he's in the car. He wasn't feeling too great." Anthony explained reluctantly.
"Aw, what's wrong?" she asked sympathetically.
"Look, I only came here to get some pizza. Not fricking twenty questions!" Anthony snapped, losing his patience with her nosiness.
"I was only asking!" she snapped back in an annoyed tone. Anthony instantly regretted snapping at her, it wasn't her fault that he couldn't work out what was wrong with Ian.
"I'm sorry. It's just I don't know what's wrong with him exactly and it's making me worried," Anthony said apologetically.
"I'm sure he'll be fine with a friend as good as you. Here's my number if you want to talk about it," she assured him, whilst writing her number on a napkin. "The name's Kristin by the way."
"I love that name! I'm Anthony," he smiled as he took the napkin off her.
"I don't really like it that much. I'm thinking of changing it," she replied, blushing slightly.
"Well I think it's awesome. Anyway, if things don't improve, I'll call you tonight." Anthony said.
"That's fine, everyone needs someone to talk to about their problems every once in a while," she replied cheerfully. "That will be $14.99 by the way." She handed over the piping hot pizza and the two drinks in exchange for Anthony's $20 bill.
"Keep the change," he grinned as he walked out. For some reason he was in a really good mood, he couldn't really explain it to himself but he knew it had something to do with Kristin. There was just something about her that made him smile.
He was still grinning as he walked back to the car but it faded when he saw Ian's forlorn expression. He opened the car door and passed the food over to Ian before sitting down.
"Hey babe, you still not feeling well?" Anthony asked, his voice filled with concern.
"You took a long time. Was the place really busy or something?" Ian asked, trying to avoid Anthony's question.
"Uhhh…yeah. Something like that," Anthony said nervously. He'd completely lost track of time when he was talking to Kristin; he'd just been so distracted. Ian gave him a look of suspicion before turning away. "Anyway, are you gonna answer my question?"
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine" Ian mumbled, trying and failing at convincing Anthony.
"We don't have to film lunchtime today if you're not feeling great. We can always do it later seeing as we've got the next month covered." Anthony said as he stroked Ian's hair affectionately. This brought a small smile to Ian's face. It was good that Anthony cared that much and he wasn't showing any signs of annoyance at all the hassle he was causing.
"You sure about that?" Ian asked.
"Absolutely! You're my only priority right now," Anthony said as he leaned over to give Ian a light kiss.
"Thanks Anthony. That means a lot," Ian said gratefully. Anthony started the car and they drove for the next ten minutes in a comfortable silence.
So there's the start of my new fanfic. What do you guys think? Let me know and hopefully I'll be able to post some new stuff really soon. Happy smoshing :)