like shrapnel

        Much to Arya’s dismay, Marcus hadn’t seemed to take the hint. In fact, he was rather insistent on finding out just what he’d done to annoy her. Taking the shot from his hand, Arya eyed the liquid as it sloshed around inside of the tiny glass. If she told him, it would probably earn her a laugh or two, being the last thing the man had ever expected to hear. But if she didn’t, there was a rather good chance that he would never let this go. “Well, bottoms up. You might need it if we’re going to have this conversation.” 

         Raising the glass up to her lips, Arya tipped her head back and allowed the alcohol to pour down the back of her throat. No matter how old she got or how many times she had done this, it never got any more pleasant, and the brunette couldn’t help but wince as it burned the back of her throat. “Do you ever just… Do you ever just regret some of the decisions you made as a teenager?” Although she had turned to face him, Arya couldn’t bring herself to look Marcus in the eyes. He had definitely built himself quite the reputation over the years and rather than shy away from it, he had always seemed proud. “I’ve just been thinking a lot lately about some of the decisions I made in high school and how they altered the way that I thought about love and friendships, and my own self-worth. I should have never slept with you, Marcus. And it’s not even the sex I’m concerned about, it’s the way you took advantage of the fact that I was newly single and made me think that all I needed in life was meaningless sex. That you made me feel as though all I had to offer the world was my body. Do you know how fucked up that is? Do you know that I haven’t dated anyone since? All because of something you made me believe when I was young and impressionable.”

He waited for her response before downing his own shot. By the time she had finished, he felt like he actually needed it. So this was how things were going to go. 

Marcus wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he was the villain in a lot of people’s stories. Hell, he’d even go so far as to say he relished it with some people. Everybody was looking for someone to blame, right? Everyone was looking for an out. But being painted as the villain in someone’s story who he thought of, at least, as a friend, for some reason didn’t quite sit right with him. 

Slowly, he placed the shot glass back on the bar. “I was doing you a favor, Arya. You were all heartbroken and torn up over your relationship. And all I did was try to show you that just because you weren’t in a relationship, didn’t mean that you couldn’t enjoy life and all the pleasure it has to offer.” by the end, his voice was getting dangerously low. “I was trying to show you it wasn’t the end of the world.” 

             Nora would be the first to admit that formal exercise was not her thing. She did enough to keep herself in shape — a jog or two around the neighborhood, really. Back in LA, she did all the trendy things, barre, hot yoga, some sort of spin class, but since returning home, she mostly just worked and, well, worked. She’d managed to hire a decent staff, so while she couldn’t take full days off, she could sneak away for a few hours, and the place wouldn’t burst into flames in her absence. And today, in lieu of running errands, Nora decided to take out all of her recent frustration and aggression on a punching bag. The foremost irritation being that her ex had reached out via email, through an assistant, to say he wanted to take their son out for Halloween, and had been planning the visit for the past few weeks. Only to loop her in at the last minute, of course. If she worked hard enough at it, Nora could sympathize with not wanting to be in direct communication. Being divorced wasn’t any easier now than it was three years ago when it first happened. But, right now, she wasn’t at sympathy. She was just pissed. 

                                         When a shadow appeared at her side to alert her that someone approached her, Nora yanked an earbud from her ear and, well, snapped. “What?” Until, of course, she realized who she snapped at. Marcus Turner. He had quite a way of… catching her off guard. And being damn attractive while doing so. “Hi, uh.. Sorry, what, um, what did you say?”

-

Marcus could always tell when someone was unleashing their feelings on a punching bag. And it was pretty clear that was what was happening right now. His lips pressed together for a moment when she whipped around to face him and he couldn’t help but wonder who or what had her so pissed off. He’d meant to continue to tease her, but suddenly thought better of it. “Oh, nothing. I was just being your friendly neighborhood smart ass.” he admitted with a shrug, rolling his eyes at himself. 

“You doing alright, though?” he asked, genuine concern apparent on his features. “That punching bag seems to think it’s on the receiving end of some misplaced anger.” he added, trying and probably failing miserably, to lighten her mood just a little bit. 

The last couple weeks since the wedding had been a fucking whirlwind. Between still coming to terms with the fact that Emily was pregnant and the subsequent doctors’ appointments he’d accompanied her to, Marcus’ life felt like it was no longer his own. Not in terms of ownership, but it felt like he was living someone else’s life. None of this had ever been part of his plan for his life and it seemed like control was continuously slipping through his fingers. 

The only thing that remained, that seemed to keep him anchored, oddly enough, was Retrograde. So when he wasn’t at appointments with Emily, he poured more time and energy into reviving the gym than he’d ever shown an interest in before. Marcus may be a screw up, may have thrown away and wasted his chance at running a multi-million dollar business, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good business man. When he applied himself, he really could be good at his job. 

He was in the back office, working on some paperwork, when a glimpse of someone familiar and yet who he hadn’t seen since the wedding, caught his eye. A second glance confirmed, it was in fact Nora practicing a few hits against one of the punching bags in the far corner of the gym. He watched her for a few moments, before stepping out of the office and heading in her direction. Hands buried in his pockets, he casually made his way over, an appreciative smile coming to his features as he approached. “So we’re back to the whole avoiding thing, huh?” he asked, cocking his head to the side a bit as he smiled at her. 

              It wasn’t hard to read that Marcus’ mind was somewhere else. Sure, he did a pretty good job at deflecting any sort of worry tension, but West knew him better than that. After all, he had seen the guy at his worse… physically, of course, and not to mention his uncle spewing all sorts of stories about him. It’s needless to say, but not much could get pass West when it came to Marcus. “Man, you sell yourself short. I’m sure when the time comes… if any, you can be wholesome too. I’ll even tell you my secrets,” he joked, patting him on the arm. West didn’t really have secrets, but with looking after his siblings was a job he took seriously. Sure, maybe seeing himself with his own family was a bleak image, but… not totally unheard of. At the mention of Lyric, West darted his gaze towards the red head, a grin forming on his lips. He recalls Lyric’s fondness of Marcus, and knowing the man before was completely unaware of her little crush… well, West sure enjoyed being in on this little secret. “She looks good, right?” he adds, trying to throw his close friend a bone, so to speak. Oh what she’d think knowing what Marcus had to say. “Didn’t think Miss Dolittle could dress up so well,” he chuckles. 

“We’ll find out soon enough, I guess...” he responded, offhandedly, not even realizing what he had just let slip. Marcus was so dazed, so confused, he wasn’t sure which way was up at this point. Normally, he would’ve kept his wits about him enough to know better than to blab about his personal life to people, no matter how much he thought he could trust them. Like in West’s case. But in the span of one night, he had outrightly told someone he hardly knew about Emily being pregnant and now had practically let it slip to West. Clearly, he was off his game. And he hadn’t even realized it yet, the alcohol he had already consumed tonight providing a fuzzy haze that kept him in blissful ignorance to what he had just done. With his gaze trailing Lyric, he nodded. “Lyric’s always been full of surprises, though.” And it was more true than probably anyone else knew at this point. 

          At the sound of his offer, Arya’s brows raised in surprise. Most people would have taken this as an easy out, but not Marcus. He had obviously seen it as an opportunity to pick her brain. With a small sigh of defeat, Arya took a step closer and leaned her body up against the bar. For as resentful as she was, she also felt guilty. Up until recently, everything had been fine between them and now the change had to be a little jarring. “Well, since you’re buying me a drink, I feel as though I should probably lie. It’s… fine. I’m fine. How’s your night going? What’s new?” The tone of her voice certainly wasn’t convincing, although she hoped it would be enough to make him step away from the topic and onto something new. Marcus always had enjoyed talking about himself. 

He chuckled a bit at her deadpan answer. So, this was how it was going to be. Leaning his elbows against the bar, he nodded his head in thanks to the bartender who had just placed their shots in front of them, waiting just a moment before he answered. Picking up the two shot glasses, he extended one towards her. “Oh, come on, now. You’ve gotta be better at lying than that, Grey.” He was probably pushing buttons, probably making things worse for himself. But that was the problem with Marcus. Once he knew he’d pissed you off in some way, especially unintentionally, well... might as well dig his heels in, right? “You mean to tell me your night hasn’t gotten a thousand times better now that I’m apart of it?” 

Layla had already started talking before she realized who exactly she was talking to, so seeing it was Mystic’s very own local Adonis, her customer smile turned into a sheepish expression. “Oh, hi Marcus.” She let out a nervous chuckle, internally wondering why the universe couldn’t let her go five minutes without being subjected to literal demigods entering her field of view. The man had one of most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen, and she was using both real life and television as a comparison. “Your name is fine. It’s not an, um –” she stopped herself from repeating the swear word, as she tried to keep it family-friendly around the customers if they weren’t her friends. “– not an a-hole name at all. It’s not like… Chad, or something. If you have any friends named Chad… please don’t tell them I said that.” Part of her was wishing he was taking his order to stay just so she had a nice view for a bit before her lunch break – stop being creepy, Layla. “What can I get you today? The usual…?” 

“Oh for sure! Chad is a super a-hole name.” he let out a chuckle and then sent her a wink. Their interactions may have been limited to when he’d stop in at the Hideout, but Marcus enjoyed talking to Layla. She was easy to talk to and her humor - when she wasn’t too nervous - was spot on. It was a bit refreshing considering most of the boring people this town had to offer. Glancing up at the board behind her listing all the varieties of coffee the shop had to offer, although why he even bothered looking, he’s not sure, he makes his decision. “Yep, might as well stick with the usual.” he replied, bringing his gaze down to meet hers. “You better stop remembering my order or I’m going to start feeling special, Layla.” Marcus knew he’d ordered the same thing enough times it would be pretty easy to remember. Plus, in a small town like this one, it was practically difficult to forget your regulars’ orders. But, he enjoyed giving his favorite barista a hard time. 

TASK FOUR 

Marcus Turner (Jesse Williams) was born into a family who had made a name for themselves as one of the biggest oil conglomerates in the world. With parents who rarely had time to actually parent him, Marcus spent his summers growing up in the small town of Mystic with his uncle, until he finally morphed into the rich, party, boy that everyone expected him to become. Recently, when his wife framed him for cheating so that she could take over his parent’s company instead of him, Marcus retreated to Mystic to take over his uncle’s gym after he passed. 

Location: Mystic Coastline When: Early evening

With summer soon coming to an end, Mara was trying to enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. Normally should would have spent the rest of her day lying alongside her pool, but she was in the mood to stick her feet in some sand. She walked along the shore, taking in the smell of saltwater and the heat of the sun that caressed her cheeks… she couldn’t believe how time flew. It felt like just yesterday it had been the first day of June. Then at some point in her stroll, she was getting that itch again, which meant it was time to fill her lungs with some tobacco. She took out a cigarette and then tried to look for her lighter – but for some reason couldn’t find it.

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered to herself as she stopped, leaving the cigarette in her mouth as she searched her pockets. Seriously? She had her lighter earlier today, did it grow arms and legs and hop out of her pockets? She searched each pocket multiple times, yet the damned thing refused to materialize out of thin air. “Fucking…” She caught someone walking in her direction and waved to get their attention. “Hey, you got a light? Decided to try smoking without one today. Not going how I hoped it would,” she deadpanned. @mysticstarter​

Marcus had spent a surprisingly good amount of time at Mystic’s coastline since his return to Mystic. Being by the water helped him feel not so boxed in by the smallness that was Mystic. For just a moment, he was able to forget that he was stuck in this god forsaken town. It never lasted, but he kept coming back, chasing the high the open water supplied, even if only for a few minutes. He was doing it a lot more these days, since finding out about Emily’s pregnancy, trying to hold onto some sort of balance in his very topsy-turvy world. 

He was doing exactly that, when he spotted none other than Mara Jacobs walking towards him. The sight of her caused him to pause just a moment. While it used to elicit the very opposite reaction, these days, Marcus had screwed up so much, he was actively trying to avoid running into her. She was too much of a temptation, too much of a window back into his old life. And while he missed his old life and would happily go back, he knew that wouldn’t exactly grant him baby rights. So he was no his best behavior these days... or at least, trying to. 

He was seriously questioning turning around, acting like he hadn’t seen her, hoping she hadn’t seen him and heading in the opposite direction, but while he had been considering all this, she had been closing the distance and now she was almost to him. She hadn’t recognized him just yet, as she was digging around in her pockets, but when she spoke, he realized he had been caught. There was no way he’d get out of this one. He let out a breath, trying to prepare himself for what was about to come. “Well, this is a first.” he teased, reaching into his own pocket and pulling out his lighter. Marcus didn’t smoke cigarettes very often, but it had become a habit to always have a lighter on him.  “Aren’t I supposed to be the one who’s always using a lighter as an excuse to talk to you?”

                      West chuckled, eyes getting smaller as he grins widely at his comment. “If there’s one thing you’re good for, it’s showing me the finer things in life, Turner.” Which wasn’t completely untrue. While he was still waiting for Marcus to take him out on a private jet and buy him a new car, West learned a thing or two from him in the meanwhile. People treat others with respect when they’re presented a certain way, and although he was reluctant to let go of his million band tees, West did invest in a nice get up for tonight. A little effort was better than none, right? “I came with the family, you know… that wholesome shit. What about you?”

"Just trying to do my one good deed for the year.” he teased, though his heart wasn’t really in it. He was still very much preoccupied, so it took some effort to focus on the conversation. He raised his drink to his lips to take a sip, but nearly choked at the mention of West’s family. It wasn’t so much West’s family, but just the subtle reminder that Marcus was about to be part of one of those... things. Sure, he had a biological family, but it had been a long time since his truly felt like one. He cleared his throat to try and cover up nearly choking. “Ah, well somebody’s gotta be the wholesome family man around here, I suppose.” It was his turn to clap West on the back. At his friend’s question, Marcus’ gaze shifted to find Lyric in the crowd, a smile just barely tugging at his lips as he spotted her red hair bobbing through the reception. “Lyric asked if I’d tag along. Saving her from the nosy old ladies around here who can’t understand anyone not being married after the age of 21.” he explained with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.