#mark oneshots

As Y/n’s hand reached forward it was an obvious choice as to which she would pick. It was calling out to her, sitting in the centre of the others and closest in reach, the lavender scent wafting and hitting her nose with relaxing and calming tones to it. Her fingers moved under the envelope itself to pick it up.

Turning the letter in her hand, eyes scanning the back noting a lack of details. No sender, no address, not one word written on it. Meaning this really was just someone she knew playing tricks on her, even so she’d humour then before dumping the envelopes in her trash can to be long forgotten.

Turning the envelope back around she moved to slide her pedicured nail underneath the waxed seal pulling upwards slowly noting how the waxed seal did not stick to the paper or rip it as it unsealed, interesting. The lavender still sealed beneath the wax as she lifted the letter top upwards.

Predictably inside the letter was also a purple in colour, just a slightly lighter colour. Moving her index finger and thumb to dip into the envelope and pulling the letter free from inside. She let the envelope drop back onto the desk, her sole focus being on the letter now.

Dear Y/n,

I didn’t think any less, I knew you’d pick my letter. There was no doubt about it, my love. To think the others even thought they had a chance was laughable. It’s always been us. Though it was entertaining enough to see them put their hearts into letters that will never be opened. If you were hoping for some context, my love, you won’t be getting it just yet, be patient like I know you can be and later when I finally reveal myself and intentions you’ll enjoy the reward. Just wait a little longer, you can do that much since I’ve waited for quite some time myself.

The only one for you,

Y/n read it over four times, trying to catch any sort of similarities in who she knew, their handwriting, their wording and their telltales. But she came up short. She didn’t know this cursive handwriting, nor the formatting it was worded in. Folding it closed her eyes drifted over the edge of the letter towards her desk.

Her bare desk. Empty. Setting the letter onto the table to look around her room as if to spot the six letters she’d not chosen, as if they’d grown legs and moved somewhere else on their own. Coming up short she turned her focus back onto her desk only to be met with no more letters, not even the one she’d picked.

On the centre of her desk was only one item left. The lavender from the envelope sitting right in the centre of her desk, as if taunting her. Taking in a long winded breath inwards through her nose she moved forward to pick up the lavender, to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

Though as she picked it up pulling it closer she couldn’t help but wish it had been a figment of her imagination because as she pulled it under her nose taking in that calming yet powerful scent only lavender could give she now had to come with terms that the letters once on her desk had vanished.

An impossible feat, considering the fact inanimate objects don’t just disappear from reality.

“Fuck.” She cursed moving to chuck the lavender back onto her desk standing up, she’d make sense of it all. This was just some sick and twisted prank her friends had planned from the start all because she never entertained the thought of Halloween festivities.

Her eyes glancing over toward her meticulous calendar she’d had filled to the brim with notes on what to study, lecture times, work shifts and such. October 31st written in with lectures and study notes like any other day, a normal Thursday for her, which was today.

She was starting to regret telling some of her friends the passcode to her apartment now, of course one of them would go and abuse that trust. Trust was something she didn’t take lightly and when she found out which one had done it, they weren’t going to know her new passcode that was for sure.

It took a solid twenty minutes for her to go around her apartment for any possible hiding spots, a person could think to hide in, or places to dump the rest of the unopened letters. Yet she came up short, not one letter or person found. She summed it up as them having bounced the second they knew she was finished reading her first letter.

She made her way back towards her bedroom, even taking one step in she was hit with that scent of lavender once again. It was an overpowering scent to begin with so she wasn’t surprised that just one single stalk of it took over her room.

Walking towards her desk she stared down at it, a frown digging into her face as she moved to pick it up, twirling it between her fingers.

“The only one for me, my ass.” She scoffed, dropping the lavender directly down into the trash can below her desk.

Instead of thinking further on the badly planned prank she would no doubt find the culprit of later she decided to spend her time doing something productive considering the fact she wasn’t going to be able to sleep for quite a while. Unsettled by how someone had entered her apartment without her even realising.

Going back over to her desk she grabbed her bookmarked study textbook placing it to the left of her flipping to the page she needed at the moment before grabbing out her tablet, propping it against the wall for extra online researching from proper website sources and lastly taking out her book she used to write extra study notes in.

Moving to check the time, it was only seven pm, it felt like it was later than that. Leaning back in her chair gazing out the window she noted there were still quite a lot of trick or treaters outside going house to house. Luckily her apartment usually only got visitors on the lower levels, even so her door had a sign taped on it explaining she wasn’t available to give out candy this year.

Sitting back up she decided an hour or two would be enough time to settle down from whatever she’d just had to experience. Grabbing her black pen, twirling it back and forth in her hand, scanning over her text book, willing herself to get into the mood to focus solely on that.

Once that familiar ache was present in her wrist and finger from writing she looked towards her clock again. Two hours had passed by quite quickly, after getting into the mood to study it had only felt as if a half hour had passed. Going through her new notes one more time page for page looking for any mistakes.

Satisfied with the progress she packed everything away, though even with the study she’d done it still lingered in the back of her head. The smell was still ever so present thanks to the fact her trash can was placed right below her desk. She wanted to stop thinking about it.

Leaning into her seat her eyes unintentionally landed below on the trash can, she’d emptied it this morning so it was as if the lavender was taunting her once again, staring right back at her if it could. Y/n barely noticing the way her teeth dug against each other, clenched hard.

Forcing herself up she all but shoved the trash can from underneath her desk outwards, the metal can sliding past to the other side of the room, gliding as it went. The smell, too strong to be completely gone just from being moved.

Getting up and over to her window she looked to see there were still trick or treaters below, less than before, barely any young children and a few teenagers still roaming around probably in hopes to have the scrapes leftover from the night.

Moving her hands below the always unlatched window she pulled it upwards to let fresh air into the room, her mothers words always sticking to her even if she lived in dependably now by herself. Her mother would always walk into her bedroom unannounced back in the day, forcing her window open whether it was summer or winter claiming fresh air was not only good for her head but to keep a fresh smell.

If she was being honest with herself she knew it was really because her mother sought small interactions with her throughout the day. They interacted enough, but she didn’t mind the small interruptions on most days back then, of course some days it was a bit annoying. But these days she missed those little interactions that would consistently happen. So in a sense she figured her younger self needed the interactions back then just as much as her mother did.

She leaned out the window slightly to feel the slight breeze in the air, closing her eyes as she listened to the occasional voices that passed by. That in itself was calming. Just to stop and take everything in as it came. Once she felt it was enough she pulled her head back from the window but refrained from shutting the window deciding to let the air flow through the room for a bit longer, she might just let it stay open the whole night.

Her apartment was on the second story, so the only worry she could possibly have was a bird or some insects coming through it. But since she hadn’t had a bird incident yet and the fact she had plenty of glasses to trap unwanted crawlers from running around she would be just fine.

Y/n moved towards her bed going underneath the warm inviting blankets, having already dressed in comfortable clothing to sleep in the moment she stepped foot inside her apartment after her lectures for the day had finished. Ignoring the way her phone had pinged with messages over the course of the day about Halloween invites and such.

Grabbing her remote control she pressed the top left red button turning her small television on that was placed against the opposite side of her wall from her bed. Perfectly content on flicking through channels to whatever interested or caught her attention for the last bit of her night.

Ending up leaving it on some random slasher movie, most channels at this time playing horror movies for the obvious reason of it being Halloween. Not that she was complaining much, she didn’t really get the hype of Halloween itself but she did enjoy a good horror movie now and then, which she hadn’t had a chance to do in some time.

Half way through the second insidious movie she could feel her eyes getting heavier, as much as she didn’t like wasting electricity for the fact it racked up on her end of month bills and was bad for the climate she thought one night wouldn’t hurt out of the year to fall asleep to.

Her eyes slipped shut seconds later, content on just hearing the movie then actually watching it. Background noise was always comforting to her as she fell asleep, usually it would be in the form of music, a podcast or audio book but this way would work for her no problem too.

A strong breeze through the window caught her attention, a large gust of lavender hitting her nose causing it to scrunch slightly. Lavender was supposed to be helpful in relaxing and even helping most people fall asleep but it was just too overpowering at that moment.

Her eyes snapping open, trying to figure out why the breeze from the window could make the lavender scent so strong, head turning slowly towards the trash can in the back of her room. It was opposite of her window, the breeze would go towards it not carry it to her.

Gazing at the trash can she was suddenly wide awake again. Her bed was warm, from being laid in, but even if her body protested leaving that said warmth she had to look. Padding her now sockless feet towards the back of her room, head angled downwards to look over the edge of the trash can.

The lavender was still there, laying there not moved an inch. Tauntingly looking back up at her once again as if to mock and laugh at her having gone back to it once again. Turning her head towards the open window she noted a new added lavender piece sitting on top of the window ledge.

Whatever fucked up situation this was, she wasn’t entertaining it. And whichever friend had decided to do it would be getting an ear full tomorrow. Nearly snatching the trash can from the floor she made her way towards the window sill dumping the next lavender into it, adding to what she hoped would be a small collection with no further additions.

Before she could dump the trash can back underneath her desk in its original spot she decided on a better place. Making her way towards her bedroom door where it was slightly ajar she pulled it open chucking the trash can into the hallways before closing the door without another thought on it. She’d worry about the contents inside of it tomorrow, maybe throw it out into the proper bin outside the apartment.

As she spun around to go back to bed her body stilled. If the added lavender had appeared on her window while she had been slipping into sleep it meant one thing. She wasn’t alone. Her hands balling into fists at her sides at the realisation.

Spinning back around to face the door of her bedroom. There was no way the person was gone already from her house, this was a chance to find the culprit. No doubt in her mind it was one of her friends. They were taking this prank too far and she was ready to shake some sense into them, preferably by shoving those lavender pieces in their face.

As if on autopilot she opened her bedroom door peering into the darkness. The trash can she’d abandoned in the hallway still standing there on the floorboards. To give whoever it was a chance her mouth opened.

“If you think this was hilarious you’re wrong, you might as well show yourself now and I may go easy on you but no promises on that.” Her voice at a medium volume, enough anyone nearby would hear but the tone was definitely showing off how unimpressed she was.

Even after her words she was met with silence in return. Scoffing, she stepped outside of her bedroom and into the hallway foot grazing her trash can. It was dark, but her eyes had adjusted to the lighting now.

“Alright, the hard way it is.” Muttering to herself this time.

Her attention going towards the door opposite down the hallway seeing it was slightly ajar. She knew for a fact it had been previously closed. She never left the guest room wide open, only on cleaning day when the window was open to let air circulate around her home.

It was too obvious that one of her friends had decided to hide there for now. She tried keeping her footing light and unnoticeable as she went towards the guest room, thankful now about how she knew which floorboards were creaky, having lived here long enough by now to know small details like this.

Her fingers clasped around the edge of the guest room door pushing it slowly open, half relieved she’d taken the time to oil the hinges on all her doors a month ago as it silently opened up instead of creaking.

The guest room seemingly empty once she’d opened the door fully. Peering inside, no person in sight, the window also shut. Taking a few steps into the room her shoulders dropped, unknowingly having tensed up beforehand.

She hadn’t been prepared for the door to swing shut, instead of moving her body decided on not doing flight or fight. Freezing in her spot as if her feet were glued down to the tacky looking carpeted floor.

“I’m surprised you’d walk into a room without checking the most obvious hiding spot, behind the door.” An all too familiar voice spoke out from behind her.

His words finally caused her to be able to move, which she did, turning to face him. Mark looked every bit unbothered where he stood leaning against the wall exactly where the door had been previously covering his figure. With one detail missing from him, the smile he usually carried on his lips was missing.

“Of all people it was you who decided to play this shitty prank on me? Come on, Mark, seriously? You better have a damn good explanation for it because I don’t find it at all funny.” Y/n was quick to scold her friend.

It was pretty surprising to find out it had been Mark this whole time, sure she could get Donghyuck or Chenle doing it. But Mark? This was very out of character for him, or at least from what she knew about her friend it was.

“Fuck baby use that brain I know you have.” Mark laughed out, seemingly amused by the whole situation. Irritatingly enough, still leaning relaxed against the wall as if he owned the place.

Those words alone hitting her right in the chest. The usually ‘bro’ and ‘dude’ had seemingly been replaced with a much less platonic nickname. Not to mention the back handed complement she’d just received. He’d actively avoided her words in favour of basically giving an offensive response.

“Are you alright in the head currently Mark? Because I know very well you didn’t just invite yourself into my home, insulting me.” She scolded moving closer, her movement not lost on him as Mark stood up from where he’d been leaning.

“Oh, come on Y/n. Think.” He taunted moving a hand towards her face, one she caught, fingers wrapping around his wrist to stall his action. His smile only growing into a grin as he pushed his hand to poke her head slightly.

“You think that letter was just some prank? The lavender? Now what kind of normal person can do something like that?” He teased out, she was just about ready to wipe that shit eating grin off his face.

“How about instead of expecting me to just know what you’re trying to do as if I can read your mind and just say it out loud Mark, because right now you’re really starting to piss me off.”

Her words only made him let out a small amused noise, eyes glinting in the dark. She knew how to rile him up in the best ways without even trying.

“Have I ever told you that the way you speak really does things to me?” He asked out, head leaning forward to be closer to hers.

“Baby I’m not just some university golden boy. You should have gotten the hints by now. I’m slightly offended if that’s all you thought about me. Do I really have to spell it out to you?”

His words only proved to confuse her further, but upon inspecting his eyes she didn’t see the tell tale signs of glassiness or a dazed look meaning he was not on drugs, something she preferred in this situation. She hadn’t totally ruled out a mental breakdown though.

“Mark, it’s way too late for this bullshit.” She practically hissed out in frustration at this point, she could barely recognise her friend. His usual bright personality replaced with some smug asshole at the moment.

“Spelling it out, it is.” He hummed out pulling his hand away from her head.

“You know the curious thing about sins? There’s seven main types, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth being six of them, but the main one, yeah the main one is pride. Six of them all lead down the path of pride. If you really think about it. Pride branches out into all those sins. Pride makes everyone succumb to their desires.”

Y/n just watched him ramble, eyeing how his hands moved gesturing as he talked. She was now certain Mark was currently in a state of mania, or at least some form of mental breakdown. Though Mark paused glancing at her reaction, her facial expression.

“On one hand this is probably a lot for you to take in that I can get, but man it’s great to get it off my chest. Sure it was fun playing around for a bit, but it’s kind of digging into my ego to play the goodie two shoes for so long.”

With a click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth he watched her. A few seconds passed before deciding he was done playing. Rolling his shoulders back and with a quick tilt of his jaw the guest bedroom door shut on its own tightly.

Y/n nearly jumping, mind racing for possible logical reasons, eyes glancing at the window that was still shut, meaning it couldn’t have been the wind. Her attention zeroed back onto Mark as he cleared his throat clearly wanting her to focus solely on himself.

“Let’s cut to the chase baby. I’m him, I’m basically the embodiment of Pride itself, then again I go by a lot of names. I mean Lucifer is a bit overused these days and prince of hell is kind of tacky if I’m honest. I did get used to being called Mark after hearing it from you so much so let’s just stick with that, yeah?”

“You’ve gone insane.” She mumbled not even noticing the fact she’d taken a step backwards, Mark following her with two steps closer.

“Insane? Really? Love, you can give a better reaction than that. I was hoping for maybe a scream or even better you profess that undying love you definitely have for me.” He responded, eyes never leaving her face, always watching, waiting.

“Right because whatever this is, definitely makes me like you.” She scoffed out, the situation would have any sane person filing a restraining order.

“The deflecting is very obvious, come on, we both know you like me. Or well maybe the version you got used to. But don’t worry you’ll get used to the real me very soon. I like you too so we shouldn’t have any problems with that.” Mark reassured her as if everything about how the night had played out was completely normal.

It was true, Y/n had liked Mark. Practically adored the way he’d wear a goody smile on his face in nearly any situation. They’d gotten closer in the past year with being in nearly all the same lectures. But now she wasn’t entirely sure that had been as much of a coincidence as she’d thought it had been.

The man in front of her however, was the exact opposite. Practically a stranger, one that had been over so many times to her home, someone who’d she’d shared her deepest secrets with on late exam study nights, the person to hold her hair back when she’d vomit out the liquor she’d gulped down on the rare occasion she did go out to party and so much more.

Her skin crawled at the fact she’d been fooled by him for so long. Even if he wasn’t a demon like he claimed to be, the fact he had acted this whole time like a different person was sickening. He’d tailored his personality to suit her, bring down her guard and worm his way into her life like an infestation.

Infestations were a nightmare to get rid of, and at times nearly impossible. Y/n wasn’t dumb, just by Mark’s gaze alone she knew she was in for hell, metaphorically and apparently also literally.

“What’s got you thinking so hard hm?” He asked out tilting his head just the slightest bit, trying to figure her out.

“So let me get this straight. You just assumed that once I read that very dramatic letter you wrote, and then showed up unannounced in my home with that fully loaded explanation I’d just what? Accept it? Beg you to sweep me off my feet and walk away into the sunset?” She asked out boldly, shoulders tense with that stubborn look she tended to get resting on her face.

Mark smirked at her choice of words, though his jaw tightened, ticking the slightest bit. Her words bruising his ego just a bit, but you don’t just go knocking Pride over. It’s not the best idea, and those who tried never ended up coming out unscathed.

“It would be the easiest outcome, wouldn’t it?” He rhetorically asked out, taking another step closer. Enough for her to get a whiff of lavender, a connection she should have made quite a long time ago the moment she’d opened that damned envelope.

She stood her ground, head tilting only a bit when he made his way towards her, their chests practically touching. Trying to hold her ground.

“But… knowing you, it won't be that simple. It’s okay, I never could resist a challenge and you my dear are my greatest challenge yet. One I will enjoy with great pleasure completing. Because the moment you met me, you were already mine.”

He’d known you well before the day you’d officially met two years ago. It was no coincidence on that cliché day where you’d quite literally bumped into him spilling your warm beverage over his crisp white sweater in the middle of the campus cafe.

“I’m not yours, especially now knowing what you are.” Y/n gritted out, trying to seem unaffected by his close proximity.

Mark moved to graze his nose slightly against hers whispering out.

“Then let’s change that. I’ll show you how tempting it is. Y/n, you’re dripping in my own sin. Too prideful for your own good.”

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @rotinyzen @wonyoungmywife @snflwrhaerecs4u @thegreenlynx @serinebsblog @delululi @molensworld @morkiee @marvelahsobx @kaciebello @kgneptun @bluedbliss @haechansbbg @officiallyjaehyuns @bunnychui @audreybub @sleepyvic @winwintea

(This Taglist is used for all my nct context so if you’d like to be tagged in my nct content please comment or write to me to be added)

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Y/n really be not having it in this one. The two are not gonna back down 😵‍💫 sidenote: due to rushed time this is not proofread and will be edited soon.

𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

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𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

There you were, sitting on your bedroom’s floor in front of your full-body mirror, legs open and facing the camera. Your underwear was nowhere to be found, only one of Mark’s t-shirts was covering your body, and if that wasn’t already turning him on impossibly much then the fingers over your glistening pussy definitely did the job.

There wasn’t much he could do, sitting on the couch of their dressing room after just being done with his makeup. He was only glad he decided to turn his phone away from Johnny before opening the message, out of a hunch. Awkwardly pulling the sweater he had on for the performance over his crotch, he excused himself to the restroom.

The call rang only once before you answered, your voice telling of the smug smile stretching out your face; you were expecting him to call.

“Hey”

“Yo”, he answers, breathless. “What’s up with the pic?”

“You liked it?”

“So fucking sexy.”

He walks around the area a little, checking to see if anyone was there. He had a feeling this conversation would end up needing complete privacy.

“I just missed you”, you mewl, and Mark can clearly hear your duvet covers shifting in the background. He can picture it so vibrantly: you naked, wearing your messy hair and the tee he’s left at your place, laying in bed. His cock twitches in his skinny jeans, begging to be freed, and he quickly locks himself inside a stall.

“What are you doing right now?”, he asks you as he unbuttons his pants, palming himself over his briefs.

“I woke up and you weren’t there but I was really horny. I couldn’t help but touch myself..”

Unable to contain his hard-on under the fabric anymore, Mark pushes his underwear down his thighs, letting his dick slap against his lower stomach. He can faintly pick up the sound of your fingers spreading your wetness around. Every second of this call drove him crazier.

“And you decided to show me just to torture me?”

“Well, I was kinda wishing you’d call. I wanted to hear your voice.”

“Got what you wished for, baby?”

“Not really”, you pout, moaning lightly when your index grazes your clit, “Your dick feels so much better.”

“Fuck”

Letting out a low growl from the back of his throat, he wraps his fist around his member, slowly jerking himself off. The way your voice breaks from neediness has him dripping out already. He knows he won’t last long.

“Slip two fingers in for me”, he whispers on his phone, already panting as he pumps his dick some more. “How does it feel?”

“My pussy feels so hot”, you whimper, but sigh out in pleasure once you get used to the stretch. “It’s a tight fit”

“Can’t even fit a couple of fingers in? But you always take me so well.”

“It’s been too long”, you whine, and a wave of guilt washes over Mark momentarily. “I need more”

“Once I get home”, he promises, and picks up the pace of his movements as your moans grow in intensity. “Don’t care how tired I am. I’m gonna fuck you ‘til your legs give out.”

“Mark, I’m gonna cum”, you warn him, fingertips hitting your g-spot now. It feels so different when he’s there for you. Even if he’s not physically in your room with you, you still feel butterflies in your lower stomach at his words. It’s just so easy to imagine that he’s right next to you, half-covered under your sheets like on your favorite lazy mornings, when his lips find the hollow of your neck and his fingers wake you from your slumber.

“Me too baby, fuck. I wanna hear my girl cum all pretty for me.”

You moan his name out per his request when your orgasm hits you, your moans triggering his own. Ropes of cum fill his fist, dripping down his fingers. He can’t help himself from groaning from the much-needed relief, letting out a chuckle as he cleans himself up.

“I love you.”

“I love you too”, you coo, your body feeling light as a feather and your heart full of your boyfriend. “Good luck today, okay? I’m cheering for you”

“Thank you, baby. And I’ll keep my promise! Just wait for me.”

“Will do Marky”, you giggle, not wanting to hang up at all, “I’m so glad I texted you”

He wiped his hands on his legs to brush off the gravel. There was a sizable wound on his left cheek, and there were cuts and assorted scratches that also painted his face. “What the hell was that, Mark?” you asked fuming. 

“Acrobatics,” he offered up as a joke. You weren’t laughing. You stood there stone cold face and arms crossed. “___, I’m sorry,” Mark sighed, coming closer to you. 

“You’re sorry? You jumped off a building. What if something went wrong? What if you died?” you shouted angrily taking a step back. 

“But I’m not. I’m alive right here with you,” he assured.

“That’s not the point, Mark. What the hell were you thinking? If you had died Boah would be all alone! You’re the only family she has left, you realize that right?” You were holding back if you were being honest with yourself. You would’ve killed Mark yourself if the fall didn’t. He looked at you expectantly, almost as he expected more. When nothing else came a smile grew on his scratched face, “So, you wouldn’t be sad if I died?” he asked, coming even closer, and when you didn’t move back further he wrapped his arms around you. You didn’t reciprocate the hug. “I would,” you groaned, still  annoyed at him, “You’re so reckless. Did you not think about what that would’ve done if you had died?”

“I did, and I thought of you the entire time,” his hands gripped onto you.

“Shut up,” you mumbled. “You didn’t even tell me where you were going. You always tell me about these little escapades, missions, whatever you want to call them. I would’ve been with the guys if I knew. I could’ve helped.”

“___, babe, I’m okay aren’t I? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was a last minute thing. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. I don’t think you get that,” you pressed. “I worry about you. The guys worry about you. Boah worries about you. I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to you. Mark, people care and you just go off all crazy trying to save the day. You know you don’t have to be the hero all of the time, don’t you?” 

“___, I want to help people, I want to save them, keep them safe. I want to keep you safe.”

“By putting yourself in danger? God, Mark, I want you to be safe too! What’s this desire to go out and be Mr. Hero? Can’t me and you be enough? Can’t I be enough?”

“You are enough!” Mark exclaimed, gripping you tighter, like that would prove he really cared. “You’re more than enough for me, I just- it’s just I want to fix some things I never thought I could,” he said hanging his head. 

“If you’re talking about your uncle then-”

“Yes I’m talking about my uncle! The people like the person who took him should be off of the streets! Now that I have these stupid fucking unconventional abilities, why shouldn’t I do something about it?” He was getting visibly frustrated with this entire situation. The mention of his uncle set him on edge and you knew that. “Mark, I’ll never really understand what you’ve been through, and I won’t try-” you start, but was quickly cut off.

“But your dad, you know what it feels like to lose someone!” he tried to reason, but you found the fault in that quickly. 

“My dad died from cancer. Both of your parents died in a car crash, and your uncle was killed by a petty pocket thief. There is no comparison. But these guys - that guy up there - he isn’t a pocket picker. This is bigger than you. I just want your feet on the ground, preferably with me,” you whispered. You were right. His anger and hatred toward the man who killed his uncle and brought so much unneeded pain to Boah and himself. He lost the second father figure he had. It was a slow boil that was just waiting to explode. “I’m- I’m sorry,” he gasped out quietly. Sorry was the hardest word for him to say, and for no particular reason. It had always been that way. Sorry was something he could never get out without feeling like he was going to fall to his knees and break. “You don’t need to be sorry for anything. I just want you safe,” you whispered while you stroked his smooth black locks. 

“Let me take you home,” he mumbled. 

“What about Nanc-?” you started, looking toward the square you had left Nancy in. 

“She’ll be fine. Let me take you home,” he repeated and his hands gripped at your shirt. You nodded, but when you looked at him you hesitated. Mark looked worn out, “You’re tired, Mark, we can take a cab or something,” you suggested. He shook his head. Always so defiant. “Hold onto me,” he said, holding you in one arm as tight as he could. You quickly wrapped your arms around him. As soon as he knew you were secure he was swiftly off the ground. You let out a little squeak of surprise and you heard a chuckle rumble through his chest. 

He let you down gently on the metal of the fire escape. “Can’t you just get a house key like a normal person?” you asked leaning over to push his window open. 

“Who said I was normal?” he asked an obvious grin on his face. 

“I didn’t say that you were. Just that you could be normal and get some goddamn keys to walk through a door,” you pointed out slipping through the window. 

“Doors are overrated,” he shrugged following suit quickly. 

“Sure,” you said, rolling your eyes, “I’ll be going to my house now, leaving through the front door like a normal person.”

“Wait, what? I thought you could stay,” he rushed out. 

“Mark, I’m gross and sweaty. I need to get some clean clothes and shower. I’ll see you tomorrow or at school on Monday. I live right down the hall,” you reminded him. He looked at you with a deep frown on his face. He was playing with you. He did this all of the time. It usually worked.

“I know! I can go to your apartment, pick up clothes and you can shower in my shower! Then you can stay here with me!” he exclaimed happily. Oh, he thought he was so smart. “I’m not going to let you rummage through my dresser, nice try though,” you added, walking to his front door. He quickly grabbed your hand and looked at you with pleading eyes, “Come on, ___, it’s me. It’s not like I’m some creep trying to take your underwear.”

“Mark,” you whined, pushing on him gently, “I’ll see you later, I promise.”

“No I want you here. Please.”

“Fine,” you relented, rolling your eyes. He smiled widely, “Where are your keys?” You reached in your pocket and dug out your house keys. You dropped them in his palm and he shook them around in his hand. “Just make sure you tell my mom it's you; she wasn’t expecting me home this early,” you mentioned. He nodded, “There are clean towels in the bathroom closet,” he mentioned, quickly before he headed out the door. You smiled to yourself and went into Mark’s bathroom. You turned on the shower for the water to warm up. You promptly undressed and jumped in the shower. 

You almost laughed when you saw the assortment of shampoos, conditioners, and body washes. He had an excessive amount of Him and his hair. You just hoped that Mark hadn’t scared your mom half to death when he got into the apartment. 

Mark unlocked the door without a second thought. He closed it behind him gently. “Who’s there?” a hesitant voice of your mother rang through the house, “___?”

“No it’s me, Mark, Auntie,” Mark responded. 

“Mark? What are you doing here?” A different voice came from around the corner. Mark froze and looked around the entrance. There was a different pair of shoes at the door and a coat that looked familiar, but not in your house. “Boah?” he asked, voice pitching up a bit. Footsteps came again and there was Boah and your mother standing there. Your mom with a mug which looked to contain tea. Boah’s eyebrow was quirked up and looking at Mark expectantly for an answer. “Uh-,” Mark stammered. 

“What’s that on your face?” Boah asked motioning towards the cuts on his face with a suspicious smirk on her face. 

“I tripped going up the stairs at school today, you know, those concrete ones that go to the courtyard. You even tripped on them at orientation,” he lied. Your mom looked at him with a sort of mom look he couldn’t decipher. He searched their eyes for some sort of an answer. “Mark, come and sit,” your mom offered. He looked at her hesitantly, but compiled and sat on the couch. Boah sat next to him and your mom sat in the chair adjacent. “Uh, ___ is in the shower at our apartment, and I was picking up some clothes for her,” he said  trying to have an excuse to get back up again. 

“This won’t be long,” Boah said, stopping him right in his tracks. He inhaled and clamped his hands together waiting for whatever they wanted to talk to him about. “Mark, we know,” your mom said softly leaning forward to look at Mark in the eye. 

“Know what? Know that me and ___ are serious about our relationship? I thought we were being obvious, but if that’s it, then I’ll be-” Mark rushed out once again starting to get up. 

“Mark, sit,” Boah commanded. He listened. “Mark, we know that you’re Spider-Man,” Boah said finally. Mark’s heart stopped. He didn’t know how to deny it. He was already in a deep enough hole, “How?” he asked a beat later. 

“You’re very subtle about,” your mom laughed. 

“Mark, the cuts? Bruises? The limping? Did you believe I would just think you’ve gotten clumsier?” Boah asked a bit more seriously than your mom. 

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” he shrugged. 

“Mark, bad people, police, and some politicians want you off the streets and in jail. You could be tried, as an adult,” Boah emphasized the adult part. 

“It’s fine, I heal fast. I’m careful,” Mark tried to justify, but he saw it was hopeless. 

“You’re putting lots of people in danger, Mark. Your family and your friends. My daughter,” your mom said looking at Mark. He nodded. He knew that everyone being associated with him wasn’t the best situation, and he wasn’t even going to try to argue that even if his friends and you would be adamant about staying and helping. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. Maybe he was going to have to get used to saying “sorry” more often. He thought back to the time you almost died because of him. It made his breathing stop and his heart skip a beat, but not in a good way. “I know you would never try to put anyone in harm's way, but I just want you to be careful. If something happens I don’t think I could forgive myself,” Boah added. 

“Why would you blame yourself? If my friends get hurt that’s my fault for being reckless and putting them in there,” Mark asked, confusedly. 

“If you’re trying to save people from some sort of dangerous situation and you can’t save them or not all of them, that’s on you because you feel like you could’ve done more. If you die or get hurt that’s one me. It makes me feel like I could’ve helped, protected, or even prevented you from doing that,” Boah explained obviously trying to keep her composure. Mark understood. It wasn’t like he never thought about that. What would happen if he couldn’t save everyone or if something happened to him? He supposed it would be better for them to find out like this instead of on some news channel with a heading like: Breaking! Spider-Man is found dead and is unveiled as local teen, Mark Lee! “Mark, just be careful, please?” your mom asked more than commanded. He nodded frantically, “I promise nothing will happen to anyone on my watch. I promise. I’ll keep my friends safe.”

“Good, now you may leave,” Boah said, patting him on the shoulder. 

“___, is staying at our apartment, I hope that’s okay,” he added before he made his way to your room. Your mom nodded kindly, “Mark, you and ___ have had plenty of sleepovers at this point.” 

“Right, yeah, we have, right,” he stammered turning on his heel going to your room, “Thanks,” he added quickly. He heard Boah and your mom chuckling to each other about him. He knew they were worried about him and you, basically everyone. You were right. He should be more careful. 

He went over to your dresser and opened the top drawer. He found some shirts and some pants. He shook his head at first, but realized that you would probably need some clothes for the next day. So he picked out something that he hoped you wouldn’t yell at him for having poor fashion sense. He opened the second drawer and nodded approvingly. This was where the comfortable clothes were. His heart began to swell when he saw his sweats and his shirt in this drawer. He grabbed them and some other items you may need and left quickly. “Uh, see you at home, Boah,” he said as he exited your room, “And, um well, thanks for letting ___ stay over, Auntie.” They both nodded with slight smiles and he left your apartment. 

When he got into his own apartment he noticed that the shower was off. You must’ve finished when he was gone. “___! I have some clothes!” he called out, shutting the door behind him and locking it. Boah should have a key. You came around the corner with a towel around your body. “What took you so long? Snooping through my diary?” you asked jokingly. 

“Well in that case I should’ve looked harder,” he quipped back, “No, but Boah and your mom were having some tea together.”

“Ah okay. They wanted to talk to you?” 

“They know,” he said quickly. Take the band aid off quick. “Know about,” you trailed off waiting for him to fill in the blank. 

“Me. Me being Spider-Man.”

“How?” your face fell. 

“They’re parents, they’ve got crazy parent mind powers. I don’t know. I guess I was being obvious. I always overestimate how long my wounds will take to heal.” You nodded. You weren’t mad, but you were annoyed that your mom knew. Now she would baby you and probably never let you out of the house without some sort of ankle bracelet. “But it’ll be fine, they just told me to be careful,” he added. 

“Oh, so I’m assuming you didn’t tell them how you jumped off a building today?” you snapped. 

“You’re still mad about that?” Mark sighed. You nodded sharply. “Come here,” he said holding out his arms motioning for you to come closer. You listened and stepped closer to him. You looked at him in the eye skeptically. He wrapped his arms around you, towel and all, and clung to you. “If you think this is going to make me feel better it’s not,” you quipped. He grabbed your hand and pressed it to his chest over his heart. “What are you doing? I want to get dressed please,” you laughed, this was so corny. 

“Do you feel it?” he asked solemnly. 

“What? Your heart?”

“Yeah, duh.”

“Well it’s beating isn’t it?”

“Mhmm, where is this going?”

“It’s beating. It’s keeping me alive. It’s keeping me with you.” You fake gagged at the cliché gesture, but you understood the point. “Ugh, get off me and all of your icky sayings. Give me my clothes,” you said pushing him off of you. 

“Here,” he smirked, holding out the clothes he picked.  

“These are yours, idiot,” you laughed. 

“In your dresser!” his voice pitched up an octave. “Plus I wasn’t giving you these to wear. I wanted these back. These are for you.”

“And I see you’re my personal stylist now, picking out my clothes for the day.”

“Do you at least like them?” he asked, pouting crossing his arms. You nodded and tugged them from his crossed arms, “Trends for the next season,” you declared.

“A ‘thank you’ would be fine,” he was still pouting.

“Thank you, Mark, now it’s your turn to get a shower. You’re sweaty and dirty,” you said walking to his bedroom to get changed. God, he was so stupidly in love. 

Mark showered quickly despite the burning of the soap getting into cuts and scratches. He hopped out and dried off. He got dressed into a t-shirt and long pajama pants. He opened the bathroom door and shut off the light. He heard the television running and he peeked his head around the corner. He saw the blue light from the television lighting up the room in a dim hue. It was one of the stupid late night sitcoms with all of the fake laughter and cheesy one-liners. He tiptoed to the front door to make sure it was locked. Boah should have a key, so no harm in locking the door. He turned back to face the living room. 

He spotted you curled up on the couch. He padded over lightly. He stood before you with a light smile playing on his lips. He slid the remote out from between your still fingers, subsequently shutting the television off, and plunging the living room into darkness. Mark gingerly lifted you into his arms. “Mark,” you mumbled, wrapping your arms around his neck and shoulders. He hummed a response as he carried you to his room. He slid you under the sheets and followed suit after shutting off the lights. He made himself comfortable tugging you closer to his body. You sighed. He examined your face carefully. Your eyes fluttered open and looked at him. “Your eyes are pretty,” you complimented. Although you couldn’t see, you knew Mark’s cheeks were turning red from the compliment. “H-Hey, I can’t be pretty. You’re pretty,” he stammered.

“Come on, Mark, you’re not one to fall for gender norms,” you giggled kissing his cheek.

“In that case, your face is very handsome,” he shot back. 

“Thank you,” you said smiling at him. 

God, he was in love with every little thing you did. 

Despite the day’s stressful events the two of you fell asleep easily. Mark quickly found himself immersed in a dream. Not that it was anything terribly interesting. It was like any other dream he had ever had, yet subconsciously he felt uneasy. He was in his school’s cafeteria, which was strange since he only ever ate outside. The linoleum tiles were so clean they were almost reflective. Everything seemed to be in order except the fact that his surroundings were deadly silent. There was a pit in his stomach that kept getting bigger. 

He glanced around, but he still didn’t hear anything. The only light was coming from the windows. The only sound was his own breathing, that is until he heard yelling and shouting. His head whipped around and tried to find the source of the noise. He quickly pushed open the cafeteria’s double doors with a loud slam and ran towards the noises. By the time he felt like he got closer the shouts had dissipated. He checked every classroom window until he got to the end of the hall. 

There he saw shadowy figures huddled in a circle and something at their feet. “Hey! What are you doing? Who are you?” he yelled at the figures. Their heads shot up and turned towards Mark, their faces still obscured in the darkness. “Are you going to answer?” he called out again. As he got closer they essentially evaporated in the air. “Well, that was just great,” he muttered to himself. Although they were gone the things they were standing near were still there. He jogged to see what they were standing over. 

Soon he wished he hadn’t been so curious. 

He soon was standing above his friends. Jeno and Donghyuck were slumped against the lockers. He noticed that both had blood dripping down the side of their faces. His eyes moved from them to the ground where he found Renjun on his back eyes closed with a large gash in his middle. Renjun’s arm was extended and Mark saw you crouching beside him holding his hand. “___,” he breathed, not believing what he just saw. He looked between you and Renjun and then to his friends slumped against the lockers. The hair on his arm rose when he became acutely aware of a new presence. 

He whipped around and saw Jaemin. He stood there eyes wide looking between Mark and his friends. “Mark,” you gasped. He diverted his attention back to you. You were still holding Renjun’s limp hand, but he now noticed the pooling blood on your own shirt. “___, oh god,” he rushed towards you. 

“Jaemin! Help me!” he called his friend. Mark tried to apply pressure to your wound and he looked to his friend. Jaemin looked on at the horror before his eyes, blinking back tears. “Jaemin!” Mark repeated, desperate. Jaemin finally made eye contact with Mark and he slowly began to shake his head in disbelief. “This- this- this is- this is your fault,” Jaemin breathed. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Mark shouted. “I just got here. How is it-”

“I can’t Mark. I can’t watch my friends die like this. I can’t. I just can’t,” Jaemin uttered before backing away.

“Jaemin!” Mark called to the retreating boy. He took a deep breath, and devoted his attention to you, but your skin was growing cold. “Mark,” you whispered.

“___, you’re going to be fine. Remember? Last time you were fine. You’ll be fine this time,” he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. 

“It’s your fault,” you breathed. “It’s all your fault, Mark.”

“What? No, no, no don’t- don’t say that to me,” he begged, bewildered. He saw your mouth open to say something more, but was suddenly pulled from the moment. 

His eyes shot open, but the rest of his body was paralyzed. He was back in his room. He felt a weight on his chest, not an emotional one, but a physical one. It was you. You were wrapped around him. He shifted a bit and you groaned in protest. “Stop moving,” you grumbled. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He dryly swallowed and secured his arm around you. “Sorry,” he murmured. You tilted your head up and pressed a kiss to his jaw, “Relax, Mark. It’s time to sleep.”

“Right, right, sorry for moving so much.”

“It’s alright. It’s alright, just relax some.” He tried. His brain replaying the nightmare in his head. He tried to shake it, but he knew that it would be one of those that stuck to him, like a sandspur. All he needed to do was remind himself that you were here and so were all of his friends. It couldn’t all be his fault. That’s what he told himself until he finally fell asleep tangled up with you. 

“Ew! They’re having sex!” a loud voice screamed. 

“Do you even know what sex looks like, Hyuck?” another voice scolded. 

“For your information, I do. You just don’t know what a joke is, Renjun,” Donghyuck hissed. Mark groaned, still keeping his grip on you, “Can you guys leave?” He was grumpy and still shaken from his nightmare, but there was no way in hell he would tell them that.

“Why would we do that?” Donghyuck snapped back.

“Would you guys please move out of the way?” Jeno asked nicely. You yawned and turned your head to see Jeno standing at the foot of Mark’s bed holding his open laptop in one arm. “This is important,” he said calmly. 

“It’s early. Can you leave? Tell me later, okay?” Mark brushed them off once again.

“Early my ass! It’s almost noon, idiot!” Renjun shouted. “Now look at the damn computer!”

You rolled your eyes releasing Mark from your grip and he whined. You lied back on his pillows as he sat up to take the computer from Jeno’s hand. It was open to a news outlet detailing the events of last night. There was a very pixelated picture of Mark gliding down from the building over to the other rooftop. “Dude, we’re glad you’re alive, but that was a close call,” Jeno said finally. 

“Okay, yeah I get it. It was a tight spot. I just went for it. Can you leave now? I want to spend time with ___,” Mark asked again.

“Glad you’re breathing,” Jaemin offered up a smile. 

“We’ll leave you two to whatever that is,” Renjun scoffed, kicking Mark’s door open again to leave. 

“Hey, Jaemin,” Mark sat up again stopping Jaemin in his tracks.

“Yeah?” Jaemin turned his head to look at Mark.

“Thanks for the special edition. Saved my life.”

“You’re welcome. The whole operation would’ve gone to shit if you died,” he laughed as he closed the door behind him. Mark  hummed happily  as he made himself comfortable again. “Are they gone?” you mumbled against his chest.

“Yeah, they’re gone,” he smiled, kissing the crown of your head. He held you tighter recalling the events of last night, not only his near death experience, but his nightmare. He wasn’t going to waste anymore time living like there wasn’t any danger out there for him, his family, his friends, and you. No time to die now. 

Mark would’ve been happy to stay in bed longer with you, but your phone started ringing from his nightstand startling the two of you. “Mark, that’s probably my mom. I need to get that,” you hummed. 

“But it’s warm like this,” he groaned as your phone continued to ring. 

“Mark, come on,” He relented and let go of you to reach over him and grab your phone. As you were stretched out over him he shifted to hold you by the waist. “Hey, morning, Mom. What’s going on?” you yawned.

“Moring, darling. Are you still over at Mark’s?” she asked. You hummed in reply. “Well, your uncle is here. Uncle Henry,” she clarified. You paused momentarily. 

Uncle Henry was usually busy with his company. He rarely visited, even when your dad was alive, and you hadn’t seen him since the funeral. Uncle Henry, according to your dad, was a quiet sort of reserved type of person. When he was a kid he spent his time reading books instead of coming out and playing with his friends. Typical introvert activities. In high school, he was known for his good looks, smarts, and charms, but he never dated anyone. To this day he hadn’t married. “Too caught up in his own world,” your dad had said. You couldn’t say you didn’t like your uncle only because you didn’t really know much about him other than what your dad told you. However, from what you had noticed at family gatherings, he was quite distant like he was constantly thinking of everything else, but what was at hand. From what you could tell your dad was on good terms but there was always some sort of unspoken tension when they were together. 

“Oh, okay. Do you want me to come home?” you asked.

“Oh no! Stay with Mark. Uncle Henry will be here all day, so just make sure you’re home by dinner. That way you can sit down and chat with him a bit,” your mom reassured.

“Okay, thanks for letting me know, Mom.”

“Of course. Tell Mark I said hello. Bye, dear.”

“Will do. Bye, see you later.” With that you hung up and placed the phone back on the nightstand. You let yourself plop down on Mark’s chest as he stroked your back. “Do you need to go?” he asked.

“No. I can stay here until dinner,” you grinned, kissing his nose. He smiled. Mark wished he had more days like these with you, but being a senior with multiple things to keep up with. Including and not limited to: senioritis, the piles of homework, making sure to keep the grades up to keep scholarships, and studying for exams. Decompressing time wasn’t a regular commodity, and he was thankful for it when it came around. That way he could spend the day watching television, playing guitar, go out with Boah, or stay in bed with you. “What do you want to do today?” he asked quietly. 

“Can we just stay here?” you mumbled back. Mark was surprised. It was usually his thing to want to stay in bed, but he was not one to protest the offer. 

If you were going to be completely honest, you hadn’t really realized what had happened the night before until it woke you in the middle of your rest. It sank in. As mad as you were in the moment with Mark when you confronted him after he jumped, that was all kneejerk. But long after Mark had fallen asleep you were shaken by the thought that you nearly lost him. Now all you wanted to do was be with him as much as you could. You would always make sure you were there to say goodbye by the end of the day. 

“Mark, you’re telling me you spent the entire day in bed with ___?” Boah asked straight faced. 

“Possibly. It’s Saturday,” he tried to justify. He had gone out to get some food and he expected Boah to be out on her weekly errand run, so this whole confrontation wouldn’t happen. “Mark,” Boah deadpanned. “You can’t just spend the entire day in bed!”

“Why not?” he shot back. 

“You’re going to mess up your sleep schedule!”

“So?”

“Mark,” she said with a warning tone in her voice. “I just don’t want you in bed all day. Do something productive.”

“I am. I’m spending quality time with my girlfriend. We’re always busy, we never get to have time like this.”

“Fine. This is a special occasion. No more after this. Got it?”

“Got it.” 

“Mark.”

“I got it, Boah. You’re the best,” he beamed and bounded back to bed with you. Boah shook her head smiling to herself. To be young and in love. She remembered those days. She saw how happy he was with you. Who was she to deny him that? He had been through so much, yet he was still so strong. She still worried about him for countless hours of the night. She worried that he would get in too deep. Not just with his alter ego, but with you. That’s what she worried about most of all. 

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?” you reminded him as he walked you to your door.

“I promise I won’t do anything stupid,” he said putting a hand over his heart. 

“You better. Goodbye, Mark.”

“Don’t say that. Makes it seem like you’re leaving forever,” he whined holding your hand. 

“What do you want me to say then?” 

“See you later, dude! Something like that.”

“Dude? We’re dating. Don’t you think we’re past the ‘dude’ thing?”

“Never over the ‘dude’ thing. Have fun with your uncle. Call me later, right?”

“When have I not?” you asked unlocking your door. When you turned back to face him he smiled brightly. He still held your one hand and swung it back and forth in his. “I love you,” he whispered, pulling you to him. 

“I love you too, loser,” you added at the end as you pushed the door open. “See you later, dude.”

“See you later, ___.”

He watched you carefully as you went inside. His insides felt all fuzzy still. He really did love you. 

When you got inside you felt the same thing. Warm and cozy inside. Mark was really something else. He was a rock that was always there for you. Even when school and his unconventional after school activity was coming down on him; he was there. You actually couldn’t remember a time Mark wasn’t there. It felt like you and him had been friends for lifetime upon lifetime. Maybe it was meant to be. As you thought of Mark it made you so happy. It made you comfortable. It made everything so much easier.

But when you went in further to find your mom and uncle that feeling of comfort and ease quickly left. 

Mark didn’t see you for the rest of the weekend until Monday when you came out of your apartment to go to school. Right on time, as usual. “Hey, why didn’t you call?” he asked. He hoped he didn’t sound clingy, but it was out of character for you. “I had that history project to research so I shut my phone off so I wouldn’t get distracted, sorry,” you explained locking the door behind you. You and him made your way down the stairs.

You walked in silence. Not in the comfortable welcoming silence the two of you usually basked in. This was cold and stale. “How’s the infamous uncle?” he asked, trying to stir up some conversation. 

“Oh, he’s good,” you replied casually.

“That’s it?” Mark figured you’d have more to say about your uncle, given that he had never heard about said uncle.

“What do you mean?” you said sounding genuinely confused. 

“I don’t know. Tell you anything cool?”

“He’s a boring business man. There’s nothing cool about him,” you chuckled effectively shutting the conversation down. You really would rather talk about anything other than your uncle. “What was your topic for the history project?” you asked quickly. 

“Long term impacts of imperialism, I just hope I did alright,” he grumbled. He shivered at the thought of the fifteen tabs he had open at once, and then at the relief when he could close all of them. 

“I’m sure you did fine.” Then the silence fell again, but it was comfortable this time. Mark grinned to himself before grabbing your hand. You flinched and looked between Mark and where his hand held yours. “What’s this for?” you asked.

“Can I not hold your hand?” he teased.

“You can, it’s just that you normally don’t.” That was true. Mark was never for that PDA scene, while you were always neutral about it. If he wanted to hold hands and be all kissy, then so be it. “What if this is our new thing? Holding hands. It’s nice and your hand is warm,” Mark smiled.

“And yours is sweaty,” you retorted, acting disgusted.  

The casual bickering continued all the way until you got to school. “Well if it isn’t the two love birds,” Renjun called from his place on the steps in front of the school. 

“They’re holding hands!” Donghyuck cheered. “They’re going to get married next!”

“Is Mark blushing yet?” Jeno called from his place under a tree to the left of the steps.

“Very funny, guys,” Mark drawled making his way up the stairs, hand still in yours. Renjun was still laughing at you, but you were used to it. You released Mark’s hand and wrapped your arms around Renjun. You and Renjun had been the closest for the longest out of everyone other than Mark. Something about Renjun made him the perfect best friend material. Renjun was straightforward, and you appreciated that about him. Renjun actually didn’t like Mark when you were younger, and you found that to be funny since they were so close. “Renjunie, please be nice today,” you pouted. He scrunched up his nose in fake disgust, “Stop doing that with your face. It’s not cute.” You jokingly scowled at him and punched him in the shoulder. “Ah! I’ve been struck down! Forgive me!”

“You’re so dramatic,” you rolled your eyes. “I’ve got to go meet Yeeun, we’ve got our final project to do for Econ. Catch you guys later.” 

“See you,” Jeno called. The rest the guys waved and you went on your way. Mark took his spot next to Renjun and Jeno came over to chat with Donghyuck. Mark was glad he had this time with his friends. Most of the time they were like any other teenagers, but lately conversations were filled with things pertaining to Mark and his “side-gig.”

Jaemin arrived not soon after you left. He had a blank expression. “Hey, Jaem!” Mark greeted his friend. “Take a seat.”

 “Mark, I’m not sure if I can keep this up,” he said standing before Mark, hands shoved in his pockets. 

“What do you mean?” Mark laughed. “Senior year’s hitting all of us.”

“No. I don’t think I can keep making these suits for you,” he clarified. The rest of them were taken aback. “Jae- Jaemin, is this because of us or something we-” Mark started. 

“No it has nothing to do with you guys at all. It’s just me. I- I don’t know what I would do if something happened,” he averted his eyes. 

“Jaemin, I’m sure Mark will make sure we’re safe. Right?” Jeno comforted. 

“Yeah, that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing, Jaem. I’m trying to keep you guys safe,” Mark reasoned. His brain was on overdrive. The only thing was: keep him here. “That’s not why. I- I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you,” Jaemin stared at Mark. 

“Me?” Mark pointed at himself. He was even more lost. Something happening to him? He had been so caught up in protecting his friends and family, he had simply forgotten about his own wellbeing. “Yeah you. The other day. Jumping off that building? If I hadn’t made that feature you would’ve been a goner.” Jaemin sounded more distressed than mad or bitter. 

“But you did. You made it. You saved my life.” Mark wasn’t quite processing what Jaemin was saying to him. Jaemin saved his life with his genius, but wanted to quit the operation. “Yeah I did, but you’re doing more and more dangerous things every time. I can’t predict what’s going to happen. I can’t give you invincibility, and I’m going to live the rest of my life feeling like I could’ve done more if something happens to you,” Jaemin sighed.  Looking at Jaemin anyone with eyes could tell he was distraught. It even appeared that he had lost sleep over it. 

“So you’re giving up,” Mark said, seemingly made his peace with it.

“I’m- I’m not giving up. I just- I just don’t want to see anything bad happen and feel like I could’ve prevented it. I’ll always be your friend, Mark. I just couldn’t live with myself if I knew I could’ve done more,” Jaemin smiled weakly at his friend. 

“Oh, well, I- uh- I get it. I understand. I’m glad we can still be friends,” Mark was too stunned to say anything else.

“I’ll always be here,” he addressed the group now. “Just not in the capacity you guys expect me to.”

“Jaem, we get it. It’s alright. We’ll be there for you too,” Renjun comforted. Mark glanced at the rest of his friends. It appeared as though they were taking it better than him. Mark hoped that he wasn’t visibly distressed. 

“Thanks, I’ve got to go, see you guys later?” Jaemin asked.

“Sure thing,” Donghyuck piped up. Jaemin looped his hands in his backpack straps and made his way up the stairs into the school. Jeno looked between his friends and where Jaemin had disappeared through the doors. “I’m going to go check on him,” he said, grabbing his bag and promptly leaving. 

“I’ll go eavesdrop,” Donghyuck stated and followed Jeno. That left Renjun and Mark. Mark watched his friends go. He silently sat back down onto the steps next to Renjun. It was still early, so their classmates were slowly trickling into the building. The breeze was cool against his skin and he had to squint his eyes due to the sunlight. Renjun gazed at the cars passing by and nodded at people he knew. “Am I doing the right thing?” Mark finally asked. 

“The right thing?” Renjun repeated, confused. 

“All of this. What we’re doing. It’s not exactly legal, or safe.” Renjun stayed quiet. “I don’t know, Renjun. Everyone seems to be telling me this is too dangerous and I’m putting people in harm’s way. I’m just questioning it,” he continued. 

“Who’s telling you it’s too dangerous?”

“Not really dangerous. Well, Boah knows and so does ___’s mom. They gave me a whole lecture about being safe. ___ gave me a talking too after I jumped off the building, and now Jaemin. Just they’re all telling me I’m getting my head into something a lot bigger than I can handle.”

“Well, that may be true, but you’ve got us,” Renjun elbowed his friend playfully. “And let’s not forget about your girlfriend who’ll kill you herself if you do something stupid.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Thought she was going to throw me off the roof when she found me,” Mark laughed thinking of you. Although he laughed now, he understood your worry and concern. If it were you he would be just as protective. “Come on, Jun, time to get to class,” Mark suggested. Renjun nodded and brushed off his pants when he got up. Since he didn’t have a first period he walked Renjun to his. The entire way his mind was clouded was the echoing words of his concerned friends and family. It wasn’t like he wanted to be “Mr. Hero” like you said. He would give anything to be normal again. Live life like a regular average high school senior. Yet, when he developed his skills he finally realized that he could try to fix things he never could before. Now all he could do was keep going. There was no way to back out now. 

Yeeun was falling asleep in her notebook. “I thought you wanted to work on this project,” you chuckled.

“I do,” she tried to defend herself but she yawned halfway through her defense. “It’s not like you have anywhere else to be- oh wait- with Mr. Mark Lee.”

“Yeeun,” you shook your head. “Mark has nothing to do with this. You said that you wanted to finish this, hm what did you say, ‘bullshit’ was it? Now you’re drooling all over your notes.” She scowled at you jokingly and wiped the side of her mouth, “Yeah I did, but that was yesterday. You know how unreliable I am.” 

“You are. Remind me why I’m friends with you.” 

“Because I’m fun otherwise, right?” You stared at her blankly. “I ought to-” she started getting up acting upset. As she was about to attack there was a rapping on a nearby bookshelf. The two of you looked towards the noise and it was the librarian’s assistant; he gave a knowing look. You mouthed sorry and he left without a word. You and Yeeun looked at each other and had to stifle a laugh. “Come on we need to work on this,” you suggested finally. 

Mark couldn’t breathe. 

He had been wandering the school since he dropped Renjun off at his first period. He was grateful he didn’t have a first period. He would usually utilize this time to sit with Jaemin, but he felt that would be too tense. He could use it the way he’s supposed to by studying, but that rarely happened. Now, he aimlessly wandered the blue-locker lined hallways. His mind was a mile a minute. He thought of you, Boah, Jaemin, everyone; he thought of everyone. Renjun was so level-headed about it and when he spoke he calmed Mark’s mind, but now that Mark was here - alone - in the quiet halls he became uneasy. 

He couldn’t tell if it was his pockets making his hands sweat or if it was his anxious mind. He thought of everything and everyone. Thinking of everything that could’ve gone wrong. He could lose everything. The dream he had the night before wasn’t helping his case either. Images of his injured and killed friends flashed in his mind every time he closed his eyes. Against his better judgment he texted you even though he knew you wouldn’t respond. 

His brain was so preoccupied he decided to go to your math class. He knocked on the door even before he could process what he was doing. Your friend Ryujin opened the door and stared at Mark confused. Not only was he knocking on the door in the middle of class, but he looked quite bedraggled. “Go away, she’s busy with math,” she told him.

“I just want to talk to her,” Mark pleaded, looking around her trying to see you.

“Miss Shin, who’s at the door?” he heard your teacher call.

“Ms. Park, it’s me,” Mark announced stepping into the class. He heard Ryujin huff, annoyed. He frantically looked around the classroom for you. Then there you were. Ryujin had sat back down next to you and you were giving him a confused look. “I have a free period and I stopped by the office and they told me to get Miss ___,” Mark fibbed. 

“They didn’t call down here,” Ms. Park said.

“Yeah the intercoms are down, they’re getting them worked on or something.” Ms. Park stared at him. It seemed like he had been caught. She looked down on her desk and moved around a few papers, and finally returned her gaze to Mark, “Okay, well, Miss ___ is doing quite well right now. I’m sure she could spare some time right now.” He smiled and looked at you. You glanced between your teacher and Mark, and then you finally pushed your chair out and made your way to him. “I’ll be back,” he heard you say to Ryujin. He grabbed your hand when you reached him and pulled you out the door and down the hall without another word. 

He dragged you to the boys bathroom on the farthest end of the school and practically ran you into the large stall. “What was that all about?” you sighed, leaning against the sink. 

“Missed you,” he mumbled, hoping you’d buy it.  You didn’t. 

“So you dragged me here just to tell me that,” you deadpanned. He stayed silent. “Mark, what’s wrong?” you asked, taking a step closer to him. He cast his eyes on the ground. “I-” he swallowed. 

“Mark, look at me, you can’t just drag me here in the middle of class just because you ‘miss me,’” you pushed. Mark felt panic start to set in again. He didn’t expect you to get it. It was uncalled for and out of character of him. 

He opened and closed his mouth searching for an answer. He glanced at you. An expectant look rested on your face. Instead of responding he pulled you to him. Your hands found their way to rest against his face, while his were planted firmly on your hips. He couldn’t help but lean into your touch. “Are you going to tell me or-” you started, but were promptly cut off when he pressed his lips to yours. It took you aback, but you didn’t protest. He kissed you with vigor you hadn’t expected. His lips moved from yours to the shell of your ear and down to your neck.

It didn’t feel like he was trying to go anywhere; it just seemed like he needed something to preoccupy his mind. Your hands found their way to his hair and you caressed the black strands. Not long after that was when his mouth left your neck, but his face was still buried in your neck. You continued to card your fingers through his hair. Then you felt his body start to tremble and quiet sniffles reached your ears. His arms wrapped your body and held you closer. 

You stayed like that for a while, but you pulled away pushing against his chest. His eyes were tired and sad. A tear escaped one of his eyes, and you quickly wiped it away, “Tell me, Mark. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

 “I- I got worried,” he sighed, defeated. He didn’t want to admit it. He also didn’t want to admit that it was a pride thing either. You would probably remind him he’s not invincible, you always did.

“Worried? Worried about what?” you encouraged him to talk a bit more. 

“Worried that I won’t be able to see you anymore. Worried I can’t protect my friends. Worried I can’t protect my family. Worried I can’t protect you. I worry about that all of the time.” His fingers found their way under your shirt and felt the scar from the bullet. “I was in math class, nothing’s going to happen,” you comforted. 

“I- I know, but anything could-”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” you said, grabbing his face in your hands. 

“You don’t know that,” he mumbled. 

 You let Mark hold you for a good half of class. His tears had subsided, but as he swayed back and forth with you, you could feel him slightly trembling in your hands. When he finally pulled away he kissed you softly. “Thank you for staying with me. I feel a bit better. I guess you should go back to math,” he laughed sheepishly. 

“Anytime. I am the best,” you joked boastfully. 

“You are,” he said hugging you once again. 

“Mark, I’ve got to go.” He let go. “I’ll walk home with you, yeah?” He nodded. “And, Mark, don’t worry about me.” He swallowed. Before you left you squeezed his hand in your own. You already knew you were going to get a talking to since you missed so much class, but you knew it was a good idea to stay with Mark. He was struggling; anyone could see that. What just happened only heightened your own worries and strengthened your desire for him to have both feet on the ground, preferably with you. 

Graduation was approaching at a snail’s pace, and you had no idea how Mark was going to keep the whole thing up throughout college. Everyone was going to different places around the country, there would be no way for the “team” to monitor and assist him. Even you. Mark tried to convince you to apply to the same schools, but you refused. You loved him, but you like any other human being needs space. You just hoped you could make it through graduation and then the rest would hopefully work itself out. 

Mark was falling asleep in chemistry. “Mr. Lee,” your teacher called. Mark shot up like a bullet. “Please, we’re reviewing for your test tomorrow, try to stay vertical,” Mr. Choi suggested. Mark nodded his head vigorously, “Yes, sir, sorry.” Mr. Choi just smiled and moved on. Mark glanced over at you taking down review notes diligently. When Mr. Choi turned his back and started writing on the board, speaking loudly, Mark took his chance to talk to you. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” he hummed. 

“Shh, I’m trying to listen,” you hummed back. 

“I’m sorry about earlier. That was sort of pathetic,” he laughed quietly to himself, twiddling his fingers in his lap.

“Don’t be sorry. I don’t mind. You have a right to feel bad.” You were still scribbling shorthand notes on the paper in front of you, not paying much mind to Mark’s sulking. He nodded. There was a hole eating away at his stomach. It felt sick, but then it would subside, but then it would come back. He couldn’t put his finger on why he was still feeling like that. The time he had with you in the bathroom helped in the moment, but he was right back to where he started. 

He stared blankly at the board not writing anything down. He didn’t notice that Mr. Choi had turned around and started quizzing the class. He also didn’t notice the look Mr. Choi gave him. You did though, you looked between your teacher and Mark. Your teacher looked at you and motioned his head towards Mark. Without a second thought you grabbed Mark’s fidgeting hands. He jumped in shock, and looked towards you but you were still writing in your notes.  The rest of class went slowly, but better. 

Right when the end of the day came around you practically had to drag Mark home. “What’s wrong?” you asked at his sulking.

“Just tired,” he grumbled. 

“Sure,” you rolled your eyes. You were going to press for more elaboration when your phone rang, so that had to wait. “You’re going to tell me more tonight,” you warned him before picking up the phone. “Hi, Mom, what’s going on? Is everything alright?” you answered, confused. 

“Yeah of course, dear. Just your uncle is here again. He wanted another dinner since he enjoyed the last one so much,” she replied.

“Oh, well, Mark and I had something we needed to work on,” you lied. 

“With Mark? I thought you finished that project a while ago- oh hold on. Dear, your uncle said he would love to meet Mark, if he wanted to come over of course.”

You stopped in your place. Mark stayed too. He looked at you with concern. “He wants to meet Mark?” you repeated. She hummed. “Do you want to meet my uncle?” you asked Mark. He squinted his eyes at you. Meeting your uncle. A little unconventional. “It’s okay, you don’t have to,” you added, seeing him hesitate. 

“Oh, no yeah, I’ll go. It’ll be fun,” he replied. 

“Fun, right. Alright, Mom, he said that he can come.” After a little more talking and making sure you were going to get home safe, you hung up. You didn’t say anything to Mark for a while, and he was getting put off, only a little bit. There were faint sirens in the distance and little kids laughing at a park across the street. Mark thought about striking up a conversation, but he held off. After a bit more walking he finally said something, “If you don’t want me to meet your uncle that’s all good by me.”

“What? You can meet my uncle,” you said, confused. 

“I just- it just seems like you don’t want me to and I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.” You didn’t respond. It was funny how he could read right through you. The birds that hopped along the edge of the sidewalk became increasingly interesting and you actively avoided Mark’s questioning gaze. “___, just say the word and I won’t go,” he said not a moment later. 

“You can come, seriously. It’ll be good,” you said, convincing yourself in the process. It wasn’t like you didn’t want Mark over, but you just worried it would be awkward. Uncle Henry was already weird enough, adding Mark into the mix might not go well. You hoped it would be a mildly awkward quiet dinner. Nothing more nothing less. 

“Mom? Uncle Henry?” you poked your head through the door. The apartment was stale and still. “___?” your mom called? 

“Is Uncle Henry here y-” you started, but you were greeted with your uncle coming around the corner. He was still in his business suit, figures. “Oh, hey, ___,” he greeted offering up something that could be considered a smile. 

“Hey, long time no see,” you joked. Mark had to keep himself from snorting. You never used “old-timey” sayings unless you were extremely annoyed or didn’t like the person you were talking to. “Dear, did you bring Mark?” your mom called from somewhere in the modest apartment. 

“Hi, Auntie! I’m here,” Mark made himself visible coming around the door. You opened the door wider for him and you watched your uncle scan Mark from head to toe. “Nice to meet you, sir, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Mark held out his hand. Your uncle gave you a curious look, “Ah, I wasn’t aware that my niece found me interesting enough to talk about,” he joked. 

“Ha ha very funny,” you drawled, kicking your shoes off in the foyer. 

“Well, Mark, I’m Henry and I’m guessing you’re a good friend.”

“That’s one way to put it,” you grumbled, brushing by him. Mark smiled at you walking away trying to find your mom. “Yeah a good friend, since like, forever,” Mark clarified.

“I see,” Henry said, taking one last look at him. Mark thought he was going to be some gross fat-cat businessman, but he seemed nice enough so far. He wasn’t sure what made you so against your uncle, but he was going to try to find out. 

After he got out of that small-talk conversation with your uncle he went to your room. You were sitting on your bed with your English textbook open to somewhere near the center of the pages. “What are you reading?” he teased. You glared at him. He threw his hands up in a surrendering stance. “Come on, ___. What’s wrong?” he quizzed. 

“Nothing,” you uttered.

“Jeno said that ‘nothing’ doesn’t mean nothing,” Mark pointed out. Jeno was always the one attempting, attempting the keyword, to teach Mark about how partners would act. 

“No shit Sherlock. I just- ugh- I just don’t want my uncle here. He all of the sudden wants in on me and my mom’s life, you know? When my dad was alive, his own brother, he didn’t bother coming over. It just doesn't make any sense. It’s so out of character. He seems to know everything already. It’s weird.”

“Maybe he feels bad. Did his research,” Mark suggested. He wasn’t sure why this was such a big problem. It seemed as though your uncle was trying to make an effort to come back and maybe get on the mend with you and your mom. “How about we do some investigative work?” he offered. “Afterall, you do think I am Sherlock.”

“How would you suppose we do that, Mr. Holmes,” you rolled your eyes at him. 

“Well, Watson, how about we have a nice dinner with your family and go from there? Deal?” He held out his hand, waiting expectantly. You looked at his hand skeptically, but gave in shutting your textbook with a slam. The two of you shook hands, Mark grinning stupidly. “Glad we could come to an agreement. Now, let’s see what this dude’s deal is, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you conceded. 

To say that the dinner went anything but well was an understatement. Not like someone storming out, or someone throwing food, or someone saying something insensitive. Just that it was so awkward and painful. The air was palpable and Mark felt like he bit off more than he could chew. So much for a simple investigative dinner. The things your uncle said were so strange. It was almost as if he knew everything about Mark. He asked about your friends so casually even though you had never mentioned them. It was almost as if he could read his mind. It left Mark shaken and startled. “See?” you said with the “I told you so” look written all over your face. 

“Okay, yeah, that was weird. Do you think your mom told him that I’m Spider-Man?” he asked nervously. He replayed the moment in his head: “Mark, what are you into? Like sports? Robotics? Crime fighting?” your uncle had asked simply. 

“No, my mom wouldn’t,” you defended. You honestly had no idea how he borderline exposed Mark there. Mark wasn’t sure how your uncle read him inside and out with only shaking his hand once and eating dinner together. It made him feel so vulnerable. “He practically asked me if I was Spider-Man! How could he know that?” Mark exclaimed as quietly as he could. 

“If I had a clue I would tell you!” you said, equally freaked out. Just like you had said. He knew so much without even meeting him properly. A handshake and dinner. That’s all it took. “What did you say he does?” Mark snapped you out of your daze. 

“Just a businessman. He’s pretty high up in his company, I think. I don’t remember his job title, but he’s important. That’s all I know.”

“You don’t know what company?” You shook your head. It was obvious that Mark didn’t realize the nature of your relationship with your uncle, well lack thereof a relationship. You watched Mark pace on your carpet. It was almost as if you could see the smoke coming from his ears and gears turning in his brain. He was on a trail and you could tell he wasn’t going to give it up until he figured it out. “I’m going back out there and talking to him,” he finally stated. 

“Mark,” you started, warning in your voice. 

“___, I’ve got this. I just want to learn a little bit more about him. Especially, since he knows so much about all of us,” he reassured you. Mark was going to figure this out and you knew there was no way of getting off it now. You just hoped that he wouldn’t get his head into something he couldn’t get out of. 

Mark spotted your uncle on the couch sipping on a glass of wine. Your mom nowhere to be found. Your uncle met Mark’s eyes and motioned for him to come over. Mark complied and shut your door before he made his way to the couch. “So, Mark what do you think about this crime going on?” he asked, taking a sip of his wine. 

“It’s- uh- it’s concerning, but I’m glad we’ve got people to take care of those kinds of things,” Mark shrugged. 

“The police, you mean?” Henry tried to clarify.

Mark paused. He wanted to say no. No, the police don’t know half of it.  “Yeah, the police,” he finally lied. 

“I suppose you’re against those vigilantes if you’re for the police, or am too eager to assume that?” 

Too eager. 

“No, sir. I mean, there are people who are paid to do that type of stuff. Vigilantes should just stay away from it,” he gritted through his teeth. He watched your uncle smirk and look out a nearby window. “By vigilantes you mean that kid that swings around acting like a hero? What’s his name? Spider-Man is it?” your uncle tried to clarify. Mark’s better judgement would’ve told him that your uncle was playing with him, but his better judgement had left long ago. “Yeah. I don’t know what that kid’s thinking,” he forced a laugh. 

“See, you get it. It’s refreshing talking to the younger generation. Talking to old fatcats all day gets tiring,” Henry chuckled. “Oh and Mark, call me Henry. Seems like you’re practically family by now.”

“Sure, Henry.” It was unnatural on his tongue, it felt like it wasn’t supposed to be there.

“You’re a good kid, Mark. I like you. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I’ll be seeing you,” he winked at Mark getting up. “Now I’m going to get another glass of this delectable wine. Stay out of trouble, Mark. Keep both feet on the ground, I know it’s crazy for you kids lately. I would hate to see something bad happen.” Henry straightened his shirt and blazer and disappeared into the kitchen. Mark was frozen to his seat. “Did he just threaten me?” Mark thought to himself. He got up and retreated to your room. After he shut the door he leaned against it. You were sitting at your cramped desk typing away, “So, any leads, Mr. Holmes,” you sardonically drawled. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe it. “He knows. How does he know?” he muttered. 

“If I knew I’d tell you,” you shook your head. “Just, just don’t say anything else in front of him. He’s just a stupid businessman anyways. What kind of gripe would he have against a teenager who fights bad guys. If anything he should thank you for making sure no one takes his money,” you joked. 

“Yeah,” he whispered. He couldn’t find it in him to laugh. 

Mark went home after that and sat up for most of the night. Surprisingly enough, your uncle having some sort of mind reading abilities was more nerve wracking than jumping off a skyscraper. Who was this guy and how did he worm his way into his brain so easily? Mark turned over onto his side and stared at his phone. He contemplated texting you, but he felt like he would just be bothering you over something he knew you also had no clue about. So, instead he stared at his recent contact list. Renjun was a logical option. He debated whether or not to call him or just text him. Eventually he chose to call him, he could deal with the repercussions of that later. Although it was late and he was sure Renjun would be asleep by now he picked up quite fast. “What do you want?” Renjun groaned. “It’s 3 am. Please don’t tell me you’re out doing something.”

“I’m not. I just need you to look something up,” Mark requested as politely as he could.

“The internet is free. Goodnigh-”

“But you’re so good at it,” he whined, attempting to act cute through the phone.

“Oh God. Are you doing that cute shit? Fine. What’s this person’s name?” Mark could hear the disgust dripping from Renjun’s tired voice. 

“His name is Henry,” Mark shrugged. 

“Henry what...” Renjun pressed for more information.

“I don’t know.”

Silence.

“Mark! I can’t look up someone without a last name! Do you know how many people have the name Henry? That would be near impossible!” Mark had to pull the phone away from his ear. 

“Okay wait it’s ___’s dad’s brother.”

“So it’s her paternal uncle.”

“Yes.”

“That means his last name is ___’s last name,” Renjun spelled it out. 

“You’re right. So Henry ___.” 

“May I ask why I’m looking up ___’s uncle?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.” He could hear Renjun scoff on the other side before he hung up. Hopefully Renjun could find something about your elusive uncle. 

“Hey, Renjun, you good?” Jeno asked at lunch looking at his tired friend. Renjun lifted his head from the lunch table and glared at Mark, “Someone called me last night.”

“Hey, you didn’t have to look it up right when I called you,” Mark pointed out. 

“Whatever.” Jeno looked between his friends. Renjun hated losing sleep, everyone knew that. “Why’d you call him last night?” Jeno asked.

“I met ___’s uncle and he was a bit, how to put this, odd,” Mark tried to explain. “I just wanted Renjun to do some googling.”

“And you couldn’t do this yourself because...” Donghyuck teased. 

“That’s what I’m saying!” Renjun exclaimed. Mark rolled his eyes. “So did you find out anything?” Jeno continued, ignoring his friends. 

“I wouldn’t know, Renjun’s been sleeping all of lunch,” Mark hissed. Renjun quickly flashed his middle finger at him and proceeded to get comfortably slumped against the lunch table.  

Not long after Renjun had dozed off Donghyuck promptly woke Renjun back up with a slap to the back of the head. “Let’s go check out that new park tonight!” he suggested excitedly. 

“The one all across town? None of us live over there. It’s not exactly convenient,” Jeno mentioned. 

“So what if it’s inconvenient? It has a skate park. Come on, Mark. You told me the other week that you wanted to get into skating. Mark was about to deny it, but he did remember telling Donghyuck he missed skateboarding with them. This whole Spider-Man charade didn’t leave a whole lot of leisure time. “I mean yeah, Hyuck, but Jeno’s right it’s pretty far,” Mark said. 

“I can drive you guys if you want,” Renjun added, rubbing his eyes. “But Chenle and Jisung will have to come. I’m supposed to watch them.” All of his friends turned to him and stared at him. “You’ll drive us? Huang Renjun, will drive us to a park across town? Am I dreaming?” Donghyuck stared incredulously. 

“Shut it before I change my mind. Maybe we can act like fun regular seniors for once,” Renjun shrugged. Fun regular seniors. Mark felt like he hadn’t really been experiencing school like all those coming-of-age movies showed. Then again most of those kids weren’t running a secret operation as their extracurricular. “So I guess that’s a plan?” Jeno said finally. They exchanged glances and actually smiled at each other. There was something nostalgic about it. It wasn’t like they never enjoyed a laugh when their lungs and stomachs hurt, or when they couldn’t stop smiling stupidly at each other. This just felt different. Just a group of seniors wanting to hang out. “We should invite Jaemin,” Mark tabled. 

“We should invite ___ too,” Renjun added. Mark nodded. He knew you and Renjun were close so it was only natural that Renjun would be the first to bring you up. “Speak of the devil,” Donghyuck laughed. They simultaneously looked up to see you chatting with Jaemin. After a moment you looked up and saw the group of boys looking at you and Jaemin. You continued to talk to Jaemin as you regarded the group sitting down. It wasn’t long after that Jaemin noticed his friends looking at him too. He offered up a meek wave. “You guys! Get over here!” Donghyuck beckoned. They watched as you and Jaemin exchanged looks and concur to come over. Mark reached an arm out for you as you got close and you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, while Jaemin found his place next to Renjun. “So what’s the commotion about?” you asked Donghyuck. 

“Skatepark across town tonight. Renjun’s driving,” Donghyuck grinned. 

“How are we fitting in your sedan?” you inquired. 

“I can take my dad’s XT6,” Renjun said simply. 

“That’s still seven seats.”

“Then you can sit in Mark’s lap,” Jeno piped up.

“Very funny.” 

“You could though,” Renjun acknowledged. You jokingly scowled at both of them. “So we have a plan. Tonight around eight, yeah? And ___ can sit in Mark’s lap. Seems solid to me,” Renjun said. 

“It’s not the only thing that’s gonna be solid,” Jeno coughed. 

“Jeno, I ought to-” Mark threatened, as he fake lunged toward his friend. Jeno smiled, proud of himself. It was stupid of Mark to think that once he started dating you his friends would stop messing with him about it, yet he was still so wrong about that. They seemed to like to mess with him even more now. Although they teased him about it and he didn’t exactly want to be ribbed all night, he still wanted to hang out with his friends. No superhero shit. Just a couple hours at a park. It had been too long, and it was about time they tried to feel like regular teenagers for a while, even if it was for a night.

“You’re bringing your suit?” you asked, crossing your arms. 

“I- It’s a precaution,” Mark sighed, as he put his backpack down. 

“Precaution? We’re going to a park.”

“Just- Just trust me, okay? It’ll just be there in case we need.”

“In case you need it. Mark, do you know how frustrating and worrying it is when you run off like that? I’m not asking you to stop this or whatever, but it’s all you do. Tonight was supposed to be when we could stop acting like heroes for a bit, but you’re bringing your suit.”

“Come on, ___. No need to worry,” he offered a demure smile. You shook your head turning around, “Whatever, Mark. None of us want you to get hurt, but jumping off of buildings and shit doesn’t make any of us feel better.”

“Whoa, whoa, is this where all this is coming from?” Mark asked, coming closer to you. 

“Mark, just- be careful. There are people out there who aren’t fond of you.”

“Like your uncle?” he shot back.

“My uncle is a CFO at a contractor business. I’m sure he has nothing against you. Plus, I was talking about that guy on that building who saw your face,” you rolled your eyes. “Come on, pack your suit if you really need it, Renjun’s here.” Mark nodded and finished zipping his suit up in his bag. He quickly snatched the skateboard leaning against his desk and followed you out the front door. 

He bounded down the stairs to find Renjun shouting at Donghyuck to get down from the roof of the car. “How’d he get up there?” Mark asked Jeno as he threw his skateboard in the back. 

“Climbed through the sunroof,” he said between bites of his sandwich. 

“Renjun, what’s the point of the sunroof if I can’t climb through it?” Donghyuck asked, sliding off the hood of the car. 

“To let in the Sun, you fucker,” Renjun hissed. 

“I am the Sun,” Donghyuck said, throwing his arms out basking himself in the dimming daylight. Renjun promptly punched him in the shoulder and climbed into the driver’s seat, “Are we going or not?” No one needed to be asked twice. Mark followed Jeno into the car. He was greeted by Chenle and Jisung who were in the middle row, Chenle behind Renjun and Jisung behind Donghyuck. You and Jaemin were already sitting there and you moved so Mark could sit down. Jeno found his seat in the middle beside Jaemin. You stared at Mark and he motioned for you to sit. “Ooooo,” Jeno joked. You flicked him against the arm before you sat down on Mark’s lap. “How are we doing the seatbelt thing?” you asked. 

“Mark can be your seatbelt, right?” Jeno ribbed. Mark threw his head against the headrest. It really was going to be one of those nights. “Renjun! Hurry up!” Donghyuck whined from the passenger seat. 

“Is everybody good?” Renjun asked, turning back to look at everybody. 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to take Dad’s car?” Chenle hesitantly asked. 

“It will be unless you tell him,” Renjun threatened. With that he started the car and started the commute to the park. Even though they knew the drive would be long they ended up being grateful they took the car. If they didn’t they would’ve been spent by the time they got to the park. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Renjun directed to Chenle who grinned mischievously at his older brother. Renjun rolled his eyes opening the trunk of the car. There sat an assortment of skateboards and two trick bikes. “Are we doing this or what?” Renjun smiled holding up the boards.

“Hell yeah,” Jeno smiled, grabbing his own skateboard and then Jaemin’s bike. Mark grinned taking his skateboard from Renjun. Chenle grabbed his bike and Jisung grabbed Chenle’s spare skateboard. Donghyuck grabbed his and stole Renjun’s. “Hey!” Renjun yelled, locking the car and running after Donghyuck. “Would now be a good time to teach you how to skate?” Mark offered. You chuckled, “Like hell I’d let you teach me.”

“Come on. I’m a great teacher,” he said, straightening his posture. 

“Later, if I let you, you better catch me if I fall,” you warned before making your way to the park. In the distance Chenle could be heard screaming happily. Renjun appeared to have wrestled his board from Donghyuck and was dropping in. Jeno was just riding around in the bowl and Mark smirked, “Is that the best you’ve got?”

“Isn’t this a little unfair with your sixth sense or whatever?” Jeno pointed out, exiting the bowl. 

“It’s a spidey-tingle,” you corrected. Mark glared at you before dropping in. You knew he hated it when you called it that. He said it made it seem like he was a little kid and he wasn’t a little kid. Jaemin whistled from the side with his bike. “Yeah, this is definitely unfair,” Jeno confirmed as he watched Mark land almost every trick perfectly. 

“It might be talent,” Mark called. 

“You haven’t skated in a year. Your spidey-tingle makes the playing field uneven.”

“Fuck off, man,” Mark laughed as he continued to roll around. The evening continued like that. Mark and Jeno’s bickering with you watching amused, while keeping an eye for Chenle and Jisung. Jaemin and Renjun were casually riding around the track just chatting. Donghyuck was next to you looking at the sky, saying strangely philosophical things every once in a while. Soon Jeno said that he had to go and he was taking the subway home, even though that would be so many stops. “See, Mark, your girlfriend won't have to sit in your lap anymore,” he ribbed. 

“Oh my god, we’re still on that?” Mark laughed

 After Jeno left, Renjun hopped off his board and checked his pinging phone, “Holy shit,” he muttered. Jaemin rode over to see what he was looking at. “There’s a fire,” he breathed. Fires happen often in the city, but you knew by the way Renjun and Jaemin were looking at it, it wasn’t an ordinary fire. “It’s at that new hotel downtown,” Renjun reported. Downtown had high rates of crime compared to the rest of the city, so the fact that this new hotel, whose owner bragged about the best tech, was burning seemed suspicious. “Firemen are on the way, but traffic is heavy. The whole thing could be a pile of embers by the time they get there,” Jaemin said checking his phone’s map. You saw where this was going. “Mark, don’t,” you started towards the boy holding his skateboard. Before you could get to him he had gotten up and went for his backpack. “Mark, let’s talk about this,” you warned. He didn’t look at you when he pulled the suit from his bag. “I’ll just check it out, and if the firemen are there I’ll leave,” he tried to reason. 

“Please don’t do this,” you begged. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he kissed your cheek before running off. 

“Fuck,” you exclaimed, exasperated. You weren’t sure how much more of this you could take. Renjun ran up beside you, “We can drive back to your place and track him from there, come on. Chenle! Jisung! Get your asses over here unless you want to walk!”

“Fine!” you heard Chenle respond. Usually you would fake coo at Renjun for being such a good big brother, but you were a bit too preoccupied being annoyed at Mark. Chenle and Jisung’s approaching footsteps, “Where’s Mark?” Jisung asked looking around the park. 

“Had to leave early,” you automatically responded. You had to remind yourself that neither of them knew. Renjun was good at many things, one of them being keeping secrets from his younger brother. Jaemin and Donghyuck were coming over too, talking a lot, Jaemin looking worried. You didn’t catch their hushed conversation. “Alright, fun’s over. Let’s hope he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Renjun grumbled unlocking the car. Everyone climbed in, you with your own seat, couldn’t even get comfortable before Renjun started the engine. He pulled out of the parking space and then out of the parking lot. He was going home the same way you had come the first time. “Jaemin, can you pull the GPS?” Renjun asked. 

“But we have GPS built into the car,” Chenle said, confused. Poor kid didn't know what was happening right in front of his eyes. Jaemin nodded shakily and pulled out his phone. You were surprised that Jaemin would’ve still had the app Renjun made for Mark on his phone. Then again Jaemin was his friend. He would always want to make sure Mark was okay. “We’re good, Injun,” Jaemin reassured the driver. Donghyuck had been extremely quiet. Everyone knew that like you, he got nervous when Mark would make such spontaneous decisions. “Renjun,” Chenle whined. “Why couldn’t we stay at the park longer?”

“Because I said so,” Renjun shrugged, looking both ways at an intersection. 

“Way to kill the mood,” Chenle huffed.

“Chenle, please, give me a break. I’ll buy you ice cream or something this weekend,” Renjun groaned. “Just, just deal with it for now. I’ll make it up to you I promise.” Chenle huffed, crossing his arms. “Jaemin, can you please tell me where?” Renjun asked, attempting to ask for Mark’s location without exposing him. 

“Uh, almost there,” Jaemin tried to explain. “Injun, you’re driving a bit fast.”

“Jaem, it’s fine, I got this. I got this,” Renjun muttered. The drive continued in silence for a while. You tried to stop thinking about Mark. Somewhere inside of you, you knew that he would be fine like he always was. Yet, you were exhausted trying to keep up with him and hoping he wouldn’t turn up on the news. Out the window the darkness shrouded the surroundings making everything go in a blur. An unusually fast blur. “Uh, Junnie, why are you speeding up?” you asked, hesitantly. Renjun never drove fast, he was too careful for that. “I’m not trying to,” he muttered. 

“Just, slow down,” Chenle whined. 

“I’m trying,” he grumbled. You could hear him pumping the brake, yet the car continued at the same fast rate, maybe even going faster. You sat up straighter in your seat. Jaemin had looked away from the tracker and finally realized how fast the car was going. “Renjun, try to pull over,” Jaemin advised. 

“Jaemin, I would if I could slow down. If I pulled over here we would probably smash into a tree,” Renjun snapped. A pit in your stomach began to grow. “Better than a person!” Jaemin argued. You had never heard Jaemin get so worked up. “Jaemin! Please, don’t distract me,” Renjun pleaded, sounding panicked.  

“Renjun, just-” Jaemin started but was quickly cut off by a loud crash of metal on metal. 

Mark was breathing heavily. He had rushed over to the site as fast as he could. The rushing wind and the fact that it was a cool spring night did little to prevent him from sweating buckets. Renjun was right, billowing clouds of smoke and bright flames came from the hotel. 

He sat perched on top of a neighboring building. Looking down he saw people running from the burning structure. He could spot the lights of the fire trucks, maybe he could manage to leave and let the professionals handle it. Something in his gut told him to go back and find his friends, but he would wait it out. Just to make sure that the firemen would get there. Although they were supposed to have the right of way, traffic was so heavy there was no getting around them even if everyone tried. Mark sensed alarm coming from below. On the ground people had spotted him and were trying to wave him down. Hesitant at first, he looked around before jumping down. A woman in her pajamas was the first to grab onto him, in tears and distressed, “Please, my children.” Mark startled reeled at the contact she made. 

“Marissa, please, we were running out, but part of the ceiling fell in. We thought they were right behind us, but they’re still up there,” a man came up to comfort the woman, presumably her significant other.  

“What floor?” Mark asked. 

“We were on the fourteenth, and I think we got separated around the tenth.” Mark nodded and scanned the building. He tried counting the levels, so from there he could try to find the kids. “Look!” a bystander shouted. “I see them there!” Mark looked to where the person was pointing and he spotted two little heads peeking over a balcony. “Uh, thanks,” he told the person before shooting up to the nearest railing. He jumped from balcony to balcony until he got from one under the kids. “Hey! I’m, uh, I’m Spider-Man! I’m gonna get you back to your parents,” he told the kids. They were both crying, but the girl wiped her tears when she saw him. 

Both were in their pajamas and had a tired scared look in their eyes. “I’m going to jump up there and take one of you down, okay?” he informed them, he didn’t want them to be startled. The girl nodded. He pulled himself up that balcony and grabbed onto the girl. He soon realized that he would need at least one hand free to get down. He turned to the young boy, “I’ll put your sister down and I’ll come back for you, alright?” The boy didn’t seem to acknowledge him. Mark figured he was still in shock. He made sure the young girl was secure in his grip and he made his way down the building. 

The mother was practically on her knees when Mark handed her daughter to her. She couldn’t get in a thank you before Mark was already scoping out the best way back up. Especially since the fire had consumed parts of the exterior he had used previously.  

When he finally found the best path, one that wouldn’t get him burned, he tried his best back to get the young boy as fast as he could. Mark saw a railing that he could jump from and then grab onto the one he was meaning to get to. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that the balcony railing was bending due to the heat it was exposed to, so when he jumped the metal bent under his weight. This sent him off kilter and almost caused him to slip and bang his head against a wall or a neighboring balcony. Luckily, he quickly shot a web to the balcony he needed to be at and pulled himself up. By the time he clawed his way onto the balcony he noticed that the boy was gone. His head whipped around to see if maybe a firefighter was there with a large mechanical ladder with the boy with them, but no firefighter to be seen. He noticed the door back into the hotel room was open, the kid wouldn’t go back in there, right? There’s no way the youngster would have jumped anywhere without Mark seeing. 

He watched smoke billow out from the door, and realized that the boy must in fact be in the room somewhere. Hesitantly he stepped into the smokey room. Not long after, he discovered it would be near impossible seeing anything in the dark smoke filled room. “Hey! It’s me! I’m taking you down to your mom,” he shouted out for the boy (and shouting was a mistake since he inhaled smoke even through his mask.) No response. Mark could feel the heat rising in the room. The fire was going to engulf the entire hotel. He scanned the smokey room for the boy. He wondered why the boy would’ve moved from the balcony, but that was the least of his worries. 

He was starting to get frustrated navigating the room with such low visibility when he heard a shout of agony. Mark immediately went towards it. Mark felt his lungs fill with the polluted air again and coughed before covering his mouth with his elbow. 

He found the boy in a corner with a heavy panel from the ceiling on his leg. Before he could get to the boy the wall next to him collapsed and so did some of the ceiling. A piece of the ceiling nicking him on the shoulder and he let out a muffled sound of surprise. After getting past the falling obstacles he crouched down towards the boy.  The boy looked scared and covered in soot. “I’m here to help, don’t run away. I’m not here to hurt you,” Mark tried to comfort through a cough. The boy didn’t quite seem to understand since he still tried to squirm away. Mark figured it was the shock. Mark couldn’t leave him, but he wasn’t going to let the boy’s fear kill both of them . “Come here,” he motioned. The boy was hesitant, staring at Mark up and down, but listened. Mark wrapped his arms around the trembling boy and rubbed his hair. “I’m gonna get you out of here,” he reassured. 

The boy didn’t try to pull away, and Mark was thankful for that. He tripped over a few fallen planks, and he had unsuccessfully avoided another wall crashing down. His back was probably burned badly. The flames seemed to be licking at his skin. He would definitely need to get the suit patched up. However, the boy was still unharmed in his arms. He was in the clear, and he coughed again. He hobbled out to the balcony, “Hold on tight, yeah?” he told the boy and he felt him nod. He carefully made his way down, avoiding unstable looking balconies and ones that were completely entrenched with fire. “Thank you! Thank you!” the mother cried into her son’s neck after Mark let him down. He stretched his back feeling the pain crawl up his spine.

The firemen had arrived not long after Mark had his feet on the ground again, so Mark thought it best if he left before he got into any more trouble. Before he could escape he heard people chanting Spider-Man. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and swung up to his backpack on the ledge of the adjacent building. He didn’t do it for the spotlight, but for the chance to help people, make them feel better, safer. 

He climbed down the side of the building and down into a dark alleyway after he changed back into his regular clothes. “Time to go home,” he murmured to himself. He was ready to call the day a success except for the burns that irritated his back and traces of soot that had leaked through the mask. His phone began ringing, and he fished it out of his backpack. It was Jeno. “Hey, dude, what’s going on?” Mark answered. 

“Mark,” Jeno breathed, sounding winded. “You’ve got to come to the hospital. Now. It’s an emergency.” Before Mark could ask for an explanation he heard someone talking to Jeno and then the line was cut. Mark’s heart froze. No, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. How could this be happening? Mark knew it would be impossible to get a cab. He also knew that he wouldn’t be able to get to the hospital if he ran. He would have to find a different way of transportation. He glanced at the semi-charred suit in his backpack. There was no way he was putting that back on. Instead he opted to just put the mask on and go with that. He crawled back up the building he came from and got a running start from the roof. He shouldn’t have left. 

Before he stepped foot on the hospital grounds he ripped his mask off and shoved it in his backpack. Since Jeno gave so little detail, he was stressed all the way. He had almost swung right through a tree since his whole body was wracked with anxiety. Not to mention he was still coughing out the smoke he had inhaled, and he knew he probably looked like a wreck, burned and scratched. 

He ran through the automatic doors into the luminous too-bright lobby of the hospital. The strange looks from the front desk help didn’t go unnoticed, but he chose not to address. “Uh, hi, I got a call from a friend saying to meet him here,” he said quickly, drumming his fingers on the table. The woman he was talking to gave him a sympathetic look, but before she could direct him or give him anything he felt a hand grab his wrist. He looked away from the woman to see Jeno. He looked absolutely spent. “Jeno, what’s going on?” Mark wanted to be angry at him for hanging up, but he couldn’t. He was tired, and the look on Jeno’s face was one he had never seen before. Jeno visibly swallowed and pulled Mark over to the waiting area. 

Mark still lost and Jeno not telling him anything left the door wide open for what could’ve happened. Mark then spotted a group of people he recognized. He saw Boah and your mom chatting quietly. He also saw Renjun and Chenle’s parents seemingly having a whisper argument. As he got closer your mom spotted him. She looked at him up and down and alerted Boah he was there. Boah gave him a “we’ll talk later” look. 

Finally, he saw Jaemin and Jisung standing around a chair, you sitting in said chair. You stared blankly at the ground hands clasped together. “___,” he breathed running to you. Your ears perked up and saw Mark. As he got closer he realized that you had cuts on your face with a bandage over your eyebrow, what had happened? He took the seat next to you, grabbing your hand. “What happened?” he asked. Jaemin looked too distraught to even open his mouth. Jisung was watching the doors that lead back to the rooms. “Jeno,” Mark whispered. “Why’d you call me here?” Jeno stared blankly at his hands in his lap. “There was an accident,” he said finally. 

“The car wouldn’t slow down,” Jaemin added. Mark looked at him confused. “The car wouldn’t slow down, it kept getting faster and faster and faster,” Jaemin hiccupped. “Then- Then something crashed into us. We thought that Renjun had finally just decided to crash it into a tree, but wh-when me and Jisung got out we saw that someone rammed right into us. The driver in the other car is dead. He went right through the windshield.”

 Jeno shut his eyes with a deep set frown on his lips,” Chenle passed out, he’s been unconscious since. We don’t know about Renjun or Donghyuck yet.” The pieces were coming together, but he was still missing something. Why did you guys leave the park? Mark swallowed knowing the answer, “Where were you guys going?” 

“Back to ___’s to help,” Jaemin choked back more tears. 

There it was. If he had just listened to you and stayed and didn’t run off trying to save the day, his friends wouldn’t be in the hospital. Then again, if he hadn’t gone, would those kids be stuck in a burning building? He let out a shaky breath, putting his head in his hands. “It’s not your fault,” you mumbled. How did you know? How could you possibly know how he was feeling? “You don’t know that,” he wanted to snap, but he couldn’t find it in him. Any triumph he felt helping those kids had washed away like chalk being rained on. 

“Guys,” Jeno alerted. “A doctor’s coming over here.” You and Mark sat up at the same time and went to linger behind the adults to hear what the doctor was saying. “Is anyone here Lee Donghyuck’s parent or guardian?” she asked, reading from her clipboard. If any of you were hoping to get a gauge from her expression, it would be near impossible. “His parents are out of town for the week,” Jeno spoke up for them. The doctor turned her gaze to the group of worn down teens. “He has a few broken ribs and a sprained ankle, with a concussion, a little confused but he’s stable,” she informed them. Mark felt like he caught a breath for a moment. “Do you know anything about Zhong Chenle or Huang Renjun? We’re their parents,” Renjun’s mom asked nervously. 

“I’m sorry, ma’am neither of them are my patients. One of my colleagues should be out soon,” she frowned sympathetically at the couple. Renjun’s mom nodded, but Mark could tell she was disappointed that she couldn’t hear about Renjun or Chenle. Chenle’s dad guided her back to the seats and held her close to him. Mark glanced at you. He couldn’t read your face, it was blank. “Dr. Fu, is this the group?” another voice asked. Mark looked away from you, but out of the corner of his eye he saw your head whip you. “Ah, Dr. Jiang, I was just telling this couple that you would be out soon,” Dr. Fu greeted, motioning towards Renjun and Chenle’s parents. Dr. Jiang acknowledged the rest of the group and went over. They were out of earshot, but they watched carefully. Renjun’s mom looked up, listening intently to Dr. Jiang. Her husband’s arm still wrapped around her, Mark could see his knuckles turning white, but she didn’t seem to mind. Then he saw her face fall. Mark didn’t even need to be touching you to feel you tense up. Chenle’s dad rubbed his brows like he had a headache. Dr. Jiang still stood there, his mouth moving, but Mark doubted that either of the adults were listening. Dr. Jiang offered something that looked like a condolence by his body language and he came over the waiting teenagers. “Hey, guys,” he greeted. Anyone with ears could hear that he was trying to be comforting and he was about to drop the truth. “Chenle has a broken leg and some cuts, but we’ve patched him up. He’s resting. He should be able to-,” he informed. 

“What about Renjun?” you jutted in. Mark could hear the strain in your voice. It’s like you needed to say it then or you wouldn’t have said it at all. Mark held his breath. “We had to take him into surgery since it did appear he took the brunt of the car. We got him stable and going, but-” There it was. “- his body couldn’t take it. He has passed away. I’m so terribly sorry for your loss.” Dr. Jiang did sound very upset as well. Mark couldn’t imagine that he had lost many patients, given the hospital’s reputation, let alone anyone as young as Renjun. Mark had to tear his eyes from the doctor to you. Your eyes were filled with tears, but they weren’t falling. “___-” Mark started.

“Don’t even,” you snapped, voice cracking in the process. 

“We’ll come and get you when you can see Chenle and Donghyuck,” Dr. Jiang mentioned before leaving. Mark swallowed heavily. It felt like downing a rock. He didn’t really think it had sunk in yet. His friend just died, why wasn’t he crying or screaming or yelling? What was wrong with him? He looked at Jeno. He could tell Jeno was biting the inside of his mouth, but his eyes were wide with tears slowly falling. Jisung had left to go sit down. Chenle, his best friend, was alive, but Chenle’s brother… Jaemin had followed him. Mark knew what Jaemin was doing. Help others to distract himself. “Mark,” you whispered. He turned his attention back to you. You looked like you were going to be ill. “I can’t- I can’t, this can’t, he can’t,” you stammered. 

“___,” Mark reached out to hold onto you. You pushed Mark’s hand away. “No, no. He- he’s not. He can’t. I- we were all supposed to- Mark, tell me he’s not,” you begged. 

“___, I’m sorry,” Mark tried to reason with you. He stared at you desperately trying to get through to you. Your mind was in overdrive. This wasn’t supposed to be. Renjun was supposed to grow up, go to college, get a job, make himself a family. He wasn’t supposed to be dead. He couldn’t be. You stared at Mark hoping that he’d tell you it wasn’t real. That he’d say it was a sick joke he got the doctor in on. That you’d blink and wake up from this dream. But as you blinked back tears it began to sink in. 

Renjun was dead. 

You looked at Mark one last time, hoping for him to tell you anything. Anything would’ve been better than this. He didn’t. All he did was step closer to you and pull you into a hug. “He’s really gone?” you asked finally. 

“I’m so sorry, ___,” he mumbled quietly. You nodded. This wasn’t the plan. 

It was late into the night when a nurse came out to inform everyone that Chenle and Donghyuck were allowed visitors. Renjun’s mom jumped out of her seat and let the nurse lead her to her son. Boah and your mom were sipping on some coffee chatting quietly.  Mark squeezed your hand. You could tell his thoughts were stirring at a hundred miles per hour. Jisung had fallen asleep on Jaemin’s shoulder, and he had to gently wake the boy so he could see his friend. Jeno had left some time ago saying he was getting something from the vending machine. Jaemin pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly typed something in, probably texting Jeno about seeing Donghyuck and Chenle. 

The group of you followed Ms. Huang’s footsteps down the hall until you got to an open room with curtains separating each patient. Chenle and Donghyuck were conveniently right next to each other. Ms. Huang was squatting next to him pushing his hair back softly. Donghyuck was up, unlike Chenle, and when he spotted his friends he offered up a weak smile. “Hey, guys,” he forced a chuckle. You saw the regret painted on his face after he did that. “Ah fuck, broken ribs hurt,” he mumbled. Suddenly, Jeno was right behind you, “Hyuck! You’re up!” 

“Yeah, can’t get rid of me that easily,” Donghyuck quipped.

“Nice to see that the accident didn’t take your sassiness,” Mark added, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Speaking of sassiness, where’s Renjun? Is he good?” Donghyuck asked. Mark’s attempt to brighten the mood was quickly foiled. You could feel the energy dip from everyone. The silence from Jeno and Mark was loud. “Guys,” Donghyuck egged on. “Where’s Huang?”

“Hyuck,” Jeno started, unsure of how to put it. 

“Nono, what is it? You guys are acting weird.”

“Renjun- Renjun’s gone.” Donghyuck stared at his friends, expression indescribable. “Funny joke, guys. I would totally laugh if I could,” he said. You exchanged a look with Jeno, and Jeno looked at Mark. Donghyuck stopped smiling. He glanced around, he saw Renjun’s mom crouched next to Chenle, and Chenle asleep on the bed next to him, but he didn’t see Renjun. “Guys, what the fuck is going on?” he asked, he didn’t sound angry though, he sounded scared. 

“They tried their best, Hyuck,” you whispered. Donghyuck stared at the three of you dumbfounded. You saw him visibly chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Hyuck, I’m really sorry I-” you tried getting his attention. 

“No- no it’s fine, ___. It’s not your fault, right? Nothing you need to apologize for, fuck,” he said quietly titling his head back on his pillow. “I- does he know?” he asked, motioning to Chenle. You shook your head. You hadn’t thought of how to tell Chenle, and you didn’t really want to think about how to either. 

Mark was unsure how he got to this point. He had to take the same suit out he wore to his uncle’s funeral for his friend’s. It didn’t seem right or did it feel right. For the past four days he had been having the worst time sleeping and by the looks of it, you were too. The first couple of nights he had stayed up with you while you ranted and cried over the phone. 

The night before the funeral he had the most heart shaking dream ever. He was in a plain looking room. Not too bright and not too dingy. He was sitting at a metal table with a chair on the other side, but no one was sitting there. There was a window and a door. It was unsettling. Mark was alone. He about jumped a mile when the hinges of the door began to move. His heartbeat was erratic and he didn’t know what to do, so he was glued to his seat. The figure had its back to him. They had a brown jacket and a navy cap on. Mark’s heart dropped when they turned around. “Uncle Yunho,” he breathed. 

“Hey, kid,” his uncle offered up a smile for Mark’s sake. “How’s it been?” He asked, taking a seat in the empty chair. Mark searched for words, but was at a loss. “Well, I’ve been good,” Yunho joked. Mark nodded trying to find it in him to laugh. “What- what are you doing here?” he asked. Yunho looked around the room and squinted his eyes at the window. “Just stopping by. Seeing how my nephew is. Appears he’s been on the news lately. Spider-Man, right?” he shrugged his shoulders. Mark nodded again. “Is that all you’re gonna do, Mark?” Mark shook his head, “Sorry I just didn’t- we haven’t- it’s been a while.”

“Yeah I get it, kid. It’s been a while since I’ve been knocked down a couple feet, if you know what I mean. But I mean I’m assuming you want more than ‘just checking in,’ right? Right. Alright. I’ll make this quick, Mark. Listen, you’re getting yourself into some shit. You’re gonna fuck up and what you’re doing doesn’t really allow somebody to fuck up. I’m just making sure you’re not getting yourself into something you can’t get out of,” he explained, leaning back in the chair. 

“I- I’m fine, Yunho,” he sighed. Everyone was telling him the same thing, even his deceased uncle. “Mark, are you? Because you may not believe it now, but you’re not perfect,” Yunho said. 

“I never claimed I was, but I do know I have things under control,” Mark replied, a bit irked. 

“Really? Then what happened with your friend the other day? You’ve got a funeral to go to tomorrow, don’t you?”

“I- Renjun had nothing- I couldn’t have done anything to help,” Mark felt his throat tighten.

“But couldn’t you have done nothing. By not leaving to go see the fire. By not being Spider-Man. If you hadn’t done that Renjun and your friends wouldn’t feel the need to rush home and assist you, right?” 

Mark didn’t answer. 

“Right?” Yunho repeated, sounding agitated. 

“Right. I didn’t ask them to do that,” Mark tried to defend himself. 

“But you didn’t tell them not to. But by virtue of them being good people they’d be willing to put their asses on the line for you.” Mark swallowed thickly. He didn’t want to agree with his uncle, but his uncle kept finding new ways to prove him wrong. “If all you wanted to do was berate me then you should go,” Mark ordered. 

“Mark, I’m not trying to berate you. I’m trying to get something through your head. You’re going to fuck up sooner or later and I just want to make sure that you’ll be able to live with those consequences.”

“Get out,” Mark said finally. 

“Mark, just list-” Yunho tried again. 

“If you’re going to make me feel shittier than I do just get the fuck out of my face. I know I’m a fuck up so leave!” Mark stood up slamming his hands on the table. Yunho looked up at him, not with fear, just sadness and that was far worse. He nodded and stood up and headed to the door, but before he left he said one last thing, “Just remember what you have on the line, Mark.”

Mark sat up breathing heavily. He looked at his glowing red alarm clock. It was time to get ready for the worst day of his life. 

Donghyuck was in a wheelchair, not for the broken ribs, but his ankle was causing more grief than expected. Jaemin had a bandaid on his face. Chenle was on crutches with Jisung assisting him. The whole drive there you didn’t speak to Mark. He tried to take your hand in the car to comfort you, but you quickly moved it to your lap. Mark tried to be understanding, but he was hurting too. You however, were worried about much bigger things than that. 

At the wake Jisung had helped Chenle up to the closed casket. Everyone had left the hospital by the time he had woken up, so no one knew how he reacted. Although Chenle and Renjun weren’t biological siblings anyone with eyes could see past the bickering and see two loving brothers. You and Mark had already walked by and you heard Mark whisper a prayer. Chenle approached the casket face blank while Jisung stood by. “Renjun, I thought you said that you’d make it up to me, yeah?” he spoke. Everyone around you seemed to stop and listen, it was a small gathering. “You promised, Jun. You said so. You said we could get ice cream or take me to the movies. You said that we could do something together. You said so,” he rambled. Jisung reached an arm out to comfort his friend, but Chenle brushed it off. “Junnie, please. I didn’t mean it. I- I was kidding. You know I was kidding, right? When I said you were a mood killer, I was ki- I was joking. You know, we joke like that. Please know I wasn’t serious. You’re not a mood killer. You’re my brother and I- I wanted you to see me grow up. Renjun, please, come back,” Chenle choked on his own tears. It appeared his own parents were too overcome with grief to support their own son. Jaemin got up from his seat and rushed up to the younger who seemed like he was about to collapse. Jaemin wrapped his arms around Chenle, whose crutches fell to the ground. “Please, Renjun. You promised,” Chenle sobbed. Jaemin stroked his hair, shushing him gently. You couldn’t stand to watch it so you turned away leaning on Mark for support. Seeing Chenle broken like that was not something you neither needed nor wanted. The rest of the day was going to be very difficult. 

“Why wasn’t your mom at the funeral?” Mark asked as Boah drove them back home. 

“She said she wished she could, but she had some urgent things at work,” you rolled your eyes. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. He realized while at the burial he hadn’t really asked you that in terms of how you were dealing with Renjun. You were especially close with him, and Mark felt bad for not talking to you about it. “About what?” you asked shortly. 

“About this, about what happened, everything, anything,” he supplied. He wanted you to be honest. “Mark, I’m doing okay. Better than I thought,” you replied. 

“You’re lying, don’t lie to me.”

“Mark, I’m good. Chill out.”

“___.”

“Mark.”

“___, come on.”

“Fine, Mark. You want to know how I feel?” He nodded. “I feel like a pile of shit. My best friend just died and I can’t help but feel guilty even though I didn’t fucking do anything. I- I don’t know what to do anymore, Mark. I’m really tired of this. You run off, leaving me to guess if you’re going to come back alive. It’s tiring. I feel like I’m saying goodbye for the last time everytime, but you’re- you’re always so confident that you’ll come back that you don’t say it. It leaves me so uncertain, Mark. Just say goodbye next time and maybe if something happens I can have some closure.”

“Goodbyes are so final. I’m not going to die, ___. I promise. I- I’m doing this all for you. One less bad guy out there means that we’re working towards a better future for us,” Mark tried to reason. 

“I’m not asking you to be some hero for me! I just want you to be Mark. Can’t you do that? Why do you have to be Spider-Man? I didn't want that, but I know you like it so I made my peace with it. It doesn’t take away from the fact that I want you to be my boyfriend like any other high schooler. Call me selfish if you want, but I- I try my best to be understanding. You like it and it’s fulfilling for you, but it’s not for me. It leaves me scared and exhausted. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“What- what are you saying?” he asked, taken aback. 

“I’m saying that I can’t lose anyone else I care about. One of these days something’s going to happen and you’re-”

“So you think I’m a fuck-up too? Why does everyone think I’m going to fuck everything up? I’m not. I’m not going to mess this up.” Everyone was just an echo of each other. They don’t want him getting hurt so they’ll distance themselves. Just like Boah said, just like Jaemin, just like Yunho, and now you. He wasn’t sure if it hurt more because you had always supported him, but now seemed to be having second thoughts. 

“Mark, no one- something could go wrong and it’ll be totally out of your control. I’m not saying you’re going to be your own downfall unless you keep going at this rate.” 

“So, what are you going to leave me like Jaemin?” he asked. “Do you want to break up with me to spare you the heartbreak if something does end up happening to me?”

“Mark, I don’t want to do that! Just listen! I-” you shouted, but was quickly cut off by Boah alerting the two of you that you had arrived back at the apartment. “Mark, just- think about it. I can’t lose you too. I’ve been through too much shit for this. I’m not going to be at school tomorrow, okay? I’ll talk to you later. Please, just be careful,” you said, kissing his cheek before getting out of the car and leaving before he could process what happened. He was thankful Boah didn’t lecture him or bring it up on the way up to the apartment. He changed out of his suit and got a hot shower. Maybe the steam could burn away the dirt he felt in his veins. He couldn’t stop thinking about your words. They sounded desperate and pleading. He had done lots of shit and never had you ever begged him to stop being Spider-Man. It was so strange, but he still felt bad.

Mark texted you before he went to school and again when he got home. You didn’t respond to either. Strange. Although it sometimes did take you a while to respond it never took you this long. He felt awful. All he wanted to do was apologize for getting so insecure about what you thought of him. Maybe you needed space, so that’s what Mark gave you.

Maybe that was a bad idea, because Mark was left worried and tired for most of the week. You hadn’t shown up for school for a whole four days. It was almost going to be five now. Mark tried to recall if you said you were missing a day or a week. He was almost positive that it was a day. When he got to lunch he sat down forcibly startling his friends. “I feel like something happened to ___,” he announced. Donghyuck, whose ankle had decided to cooperate with a brace, was out of his wheelchair, but still with a thick wrap for his ribs, “Didn’t she tell you she was going to be gone?”

“Yeah, but she said a day.”

“Maybe whatever she’s doing is taking longer than that,” Jaemin shrugged. “Did she tell you what it was?” Mark shook his head. Maybe it was selfish for him to only want you back to apologize. The guilt of leaving the last conversation you had the way you did was eating him alive. “Well maybe it’s private and she just doesn’t want to talk about it,” Jeno supplied. 

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Mark twiddled with his fingers running through all of the possibilities. He tried to stay as rational as possible, but with his “occupation” staying rational was difficult. “It'll be fine, dude. It always is,” Jeno said, patting him on his back. Mark sure did hope so. 

Mark bounded up the stairs with the spare key you had given him. He needed to see what was up on his own since his friends didn’t believe him. He thought maybe he was overreacting the lack of sleep was getting to him. He thought about knocking, but in the end he didn’t.  Hesitantly he unlocked the front door. The house was eerily quiet. From the entrance way it seemed normal, just an empty apartment. He glanced around the corner and saw the problem. The place was ransacked. Chairs tipped, plates broken, television off the wall. He frowned, but felt his heartbeat pick up pace. 

He shuffled through the debris trying to find something, anything, that would point to your whereabouts. “___? Auntie?” he tried even though he knew it was fruitless. No one was here, that is until the hair on his arm stood up. He whipped around and caught a chair flying at him. A man stood there. It didn’t appear that he had a weapon. “Woah!” Mark said, trying to block the man’s advances. “Who are you?” Mark asked angrily. The man only grunted in response trying to get at Mark. “Fine, don’t talk,” he groaned. If he was being honest, Mark hated this part. He didn’t like hurting people to get them to talk or to get them to stop. He didn’t like getting in arguments either, so naturally fighting wouldn’t be his forte. Maybe he should’ve thought of that before becoming Spider-Man.

Mark finished him off quite quickly. He noticed that the man was wearing a business suit, not necessarily ideal to be fighting in. The man looked like he just came from work at some office job.  After he had tied the man up and rummaged through his pockets. He found an ID card that confirmed he was in fact an office worker. He pocketed it, and proceeded to call the police. 

After arguing with an officer for a good twenty minutes about why he was in your apartment in the first place, he got the chance to call Donghyuck. “Hey, Hyuck, can you get the guys together?” he asked, not exactly wanting to give a bunch of detail. 

“Why, Mark?” he sighed. 

“I found something. I went over to ___’s house and it was trashed. I don’t know what happened, but there was a guy in a suit there. I found his ID card. I need you guys to help me,” he told him. There was a pause on the line. He could practically hear Donghyuck thinking through the phone. After a while of waiting for Donghyuck to respond he started to feel guilty for asking so much from his friends. It had already cost one of them their life. “Hyuck, you know what, don’t worry. I can do it,” he told his friend. “I can’t risk it. I- I’m barely over Renjun and I’m sure you guys are too. I can’t ask you guys to do this for me.”

“Listen, idiot, yeah none of us are over Renjun, but what are we supposed to do if something goes wrong with you? We’re all hurting, Mark, no one’s saying we’re not, but we’re gonna help you. At least I am. We can’t lose another friend either. We can at least look out for you from the ground,” Donghyuck finally said. “Renjun would’ve wanted us to.” Renjun. Renjun would’ve wanted it. He was always so willing to help Mark whether he acted like he did or not. Just hearing Donghyuck saying that made Mark want to break down and cry. “I know, but it’s not fair for you guys. You keep getting hurt when I do dumb shit,” Mark mumbled. 

“Mark, it’s okay. I’ll get the guys.”

“Hyuck, I- thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” he could practically hear him smiling through the phone. Mark heard the line cut off and he smiled to himself. He wouldn’t disappoint them. He couldn’t. 

“Jaemin?” Mark answered the door confused. Jeno had brought Donghyuck over and was already fixing Mark’s web shooters. Mark realized he needed to make more cartridges of webs so he brought the borrowed supplies from the chemistry room into the kitchen. The door had rung and he opened it expecting it to be a kid selling coupons or something, but it was Jaemin. He had a bag and he held it out to Mark before Mark could even get out a word. “Here, I thought maybe you could use something better,” he offered up a kind smile. Mark took the bag and looked in it to see a new suit. It actually came just in time since his other one was so badly burned from the fire. “Jaemin, thank you,” he smiled. 

“You need a new wardrobe sometimes,” he laughed. “Plus, I figured you’d need a new one by now. I saw you come into the hospital all sooty.”

“I thought you said you were done.”

“One last time, I guess. It’s the least I can do. I’ll sit in on this one too. I quite like your girlfriend. She brings me math answers.” Mark was thankful Jaemin was here joking around like usual. “Mark, who’s at the door-” Jeno shouted rounding the corner. He stopped and his jaw dropped open, “Jaem, what are you doing here?”

“To help. We’re doing this as a team, yeah?” Jaemin shrugged. “I gave you more space to add your little trinkets.” Mark stifled a laugh. Jeno took pride in his tech, but Jaemin constantly called them toys or trinkets just to get on his nerves. Jeno clenched his jaw and turned around, “You’re not welcomed back.”

“Mhm yeah sure,” Jaemin took a step into Mark’s apartment. “Let’s get started, yeah?”

It was around five in the evening when Jeno had adjusted all the tech in Mark’s new suit and Donghyuck got situated at the computer. They had learned that the man was from Simon and Co. a big contracting business downtown. Turns out the police had been investigating them for a while. According to their reports there was some backdoor trading going on and they either took forever to finish contracts or they never did. “Is Vis installed?” Donghyuck asked as he keyed in a couple of passcodes. 

“Yeah, Renjun gave me the codes,” Jeno replied. Vis, or Virtual Interactive Savior. Renjun’s pride and joy. It monitored all the crime and could ping Mark through satellite. It also kept track of Mark’s vitals so Jaemin could yell at him if he wasn’t being careful. With Renjun gone Jeno and Donghyuck would have to work on the nuances of Vis, nuances that Renjun would know. Going forward he hoped that he could avoid being Spider-Man as much as possible. After everything he wasn’t sure if he could do it anymore. “Mark, you ready?” Donghyuck asked. He nodded and opened his window to climb out of, “Keep me updated, Hyuck,” he reminded his friend. 

“Yeah, yeah, go figure out where your girlfriend is. If anything comes up I’ll tell you,” Donghyuck said waving him off. Mark glanced over his shoulder and looked at Jaemin and Jeno. Jaemin smiled and Jeno threw him a thumbs up. “Thanks, guys, goodbye,” he said before pulling the mask over his face and climbing up the window. The sun was slowly going down but provided a golden hue across the cityscape. “Okay, Mark, we’re all ready here. Make your way downtown to 4916 Summer Mile Avenue. I’m still pulling data to see where their contracting sites are. I doubt they’d kidnap ___ and keep her at an office building,” Donghyuck mumbled, he could hear him typing furiously on his keyboard. Donghyuck had a point. Why would someone kidnap you just to hold you hostage at a contractors building. “Alright, I’ll just scout it out until you find out more.”

Swinging through the city was his favorite part of the whole “job”, and he didn’t think he’d ever get over how pretty it looked. Maybe he would’ve spent more time looking at it if he didn’t feel a looming presence over his head most of the time. This was the second time you were kidnapped, so he was pretty sure he’d be better prepared this time. “Mark, we found a radar report from a couple days ago saying there’s been suspicious movement down at 323 Moon Parkway. It looks like it’s an unfinished construction site,” Donghyuck blared through his earpiece. Mark had to keep himself from missing his next swing. 

“Jesus, okay, yeah thanks, Hyuck,” he breathed heavily, regaining his balance. 

“Hey, Mark, before you go calm down your heart rate is through the roof. I know this is high stakes for you but you won’t be able to do anything if you faint from having your heart coming out of your chest,” Jaemin’s voice floated through the speaker. Mark’s heart was never erratic just from swinging around, so it would’ve been obvious something was off. Mark had tried to not pay attention to the fact that it was high stakes because otherwise he might faint, but his subconscious was most certainly aware of that. “Th-thanks, Jaem,” he stammered trying to regain control of his body. “I’ll head over there now.” Mark prayed that by the time he got to you he would have his wits about him.

Mark found the half built building. It wasn’t just any building though, it was supposed to be a skyscraper. Downtown was always trying to make the tallest building and this was well on its way to being one of the tallest ones. The top part was still just the steel frame with some support beams. A good three-fourths had been built. The bottom part looked complete, but when he peeked inside it was almost hollow. Just scaffolding and an elevator. There were floors, but by the looks of it that’s all there was. “Mark, let Vis get a read to see if there’s movement,” Donghyuck scolded. Mark stood back and scanned the whole building. In his eyes he could see blinking lights, not like he knew much about what they meant since Jeno updated the interface. “36th floor, go!” Jeno shouted in the distance. Mark looked up and inhaled deeply. In and out. That’s all he needed to do. His priority was not to capture whoever took you, it was simply to get you back. He didn’t want to cause a scene. He scaled the large panes of glass on the outside hoping no one would be inside to see someone climbing it, but it was late and he doubted workers would be in there. 

After overthinking and attempting to calm himself he got to the 36th floor. He wasn’t completely calm, but after he reassured himself that you weren’t dead things seemed to get a bit better. The night had fallen and it was darker out. He peered into the tinted windows and just saw another big open floor plan, with some offices on the far side and an elevator on the side. However he noticed a hole blown in the center of floor, that couldn’t be good. He didn’t see anyone, “Hyuck, are you sure there was movement on this floor?” 

“Yeah back on the opposite side,” Donghyuck confirmed. Vis was hardly ever wrong, so he needed to trust his friends and Vis. If he couldn’t trust his friends, who could he trust? He kept a firm hand pressed against the glass while he went to grab the glass breaker on his belt. Before he did that he shot a web to hang onto from a floor above. He pressed the sharp end of the breaker and slammed it against the window. The sound of the glass shattering was loud and startled him. His feet lost their footing and half his body was in the building now. He clamored to get a better entrance. His footing got better and he pushed off the building so he could climb through the shattered glass. His ears were ringing, but he could get past that. He was almost to you. 

He treaded softly through the shards of glass and made his way cautiously around the hole in the floor. He noticed that it went all the way down to the lobby. At this point he was glad he got over his fear of heights. If this was him a year ago he would’ve passed out if he saw that. He wasn’t here to dwell on his old fear of heights. His attention was drawn to the corner office room, which appeared to be a meeting room. The bottom part of the windows were translucent and the top parts covered with blinds. He did see a figure slumped against the corner. “___,” he prayed. Most of his instincts were out the window at this point. The thought of you being so near brought him to his knees. 

The door was unlocked to his relief. He opened it and looked around the room. It was only lit up from the lights from neighboring buildings. He looked at the corner and saw you. “___,” he exhaled. He felt he had been holding it the entire time. Your head lolled back against the wall and you looked pretty beaten up. Your legs and arms were chained and those chains were attached to the ground. He pulled the mask off of his head and he knelt next to you. He pressed his fingers against your neck and felt a faint pulse. With a bit of maneuvering he had you sitting up. “___, wake up,” he mumbled as he tried to undo the chains from your legs. He got them detached and now it was time for your hands too. “Mark?” you groaned. He stopped what he was doing and instantly turned to you. “___, thank god. Oh my god. I was so fucking scared,” he cried into your shoulder. “I know, it’s okay. It’ll all be okay,” you assured him. He pulled away and kissed you. He missed the feeling of having you near and having you on him. His logic was screaming at him to get you out and then maybe later he could make it up to you, but his heart had taken over. He just needed to be near you. 

All you could was nod and kiss him back. It would be a lie to say it felt bad to have his lips back on yours. You could practically feel his energy radiating off of him. You would’ve ran your hands through his hair and comforted him and apologized for doubting him and for what you were about to do. 

Mark felt your hands on his biceps and then felt them trail down to where his wrists were. He didn’t think much of it until he heard a clink of chains and them rubbing against his wrists. He pressed his forehead to yours and looked down to see you were free and that he was not. “___, what is this?” he choked. 

“I’m so sorry, Mark,” you apologized. Mark was left wondering how you got out and why he couldn’t get out. You removed yourself from him and stood up. You looked down at him with tears in your eyes, “Mark, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to.” You kept walking away from him and he didn’t know what to do. “___, don’t do this, please. Why are you doing this to me?” he looked at you with wide tired eyes. You had to turn around or would’ve caved in and took him with you. “Please, just don’t,” you begged leaving the room as quickly as you could. You shut the door with a slam and stood in the large open area. “I knew you could do it,” Henry clapped. 

“I did it. Are you happy? Where’s my mom?” you ordered. 

“Sweetheart, we aren’t done with you. Once we are you’ll be able to see her again. Friendly reminder if you don’t, you won’t ever see her again,” he threatened. You swallowed and nodded. You really didn’t want to do this, but your uncle still had a grudge against Mark for taking away his black market tech game. Making money in an already developed city as a contractor was hard and the black market weapon gig was his main money maker. Ever since Mark took down Hyunjin, a close associate, he had been after the elusive Spider-Man since. Unfortunately, Henry was incredibly bright and picked up on Mark almost immediately. You stood frozen to your place on the ground and you watched a large burly man walk into the conference room. You heard the chains clattering against each other and you shut your eyes tightly. You peeked over your shoulder and saw Mark’s slumped silhouette against the window. You wished it could just be over, but Henry wasn’t done with him.

Mark awoke with a start. He was all tied up on a chair and he couldn’t move an inch even if he tried. The lights of the building were on now and they were blinding. Mark’s pounding head didn’t help either. The last thing he vaguely remembered was you walking away from him and then a large muscled man came into the room and practically stomped on his face. “Mark, what a pleasure seeing you here,” he tried to swivel his head, but he ended up hurting it more than it already was. Henry made his way in front of Mark, hands in pockets. If Mark wasn’t tied up he would’ve lunged at him. “What a sight to see. All tired and beaten. I thought I told you to stay on the ground, Mark. Bad things happen to people who don’t stay on the ground,” Henry sighed. Mark scanned the room looking for you, but he couldn't see you. 

You could see him though. You were off in a dark corner regretting your choices. It was him or you mom. No matter how much bargaining you couldn’t get him to let your mom go unless you got Mark to show up. Henry had a vendetta and he needed to fulfill it, but you really didn’t want to give into him but you couldn’t lose your mom too. She was all you had left. But now seeing Mark here actually coming to find you, you started to second guess your choice. Maybe it was because of the argument you had with him before made you finally give into Henry’s requests. The uncertainty of being together with him made you pick your mom, but seeing him here tied up and helpless was the worst thing possible. 

“So, Mark, my sweet niece was right,” Henry grinned at Mark. “___, come here.” You were snapped out of your thoughts and came forward from the shadows. Mark stared at you in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that the one person he trusted the most could have done this to him. You stared back at him. The confused look in his eyes was almost too much to bear. He saw you mouth the words “I’m sorry” before you stood beside your uncle. Henry placed his hand on your shoulder looking between you and Mark. “Oh, I’m afraid I made things awkward,” he chuckled. “See, Mark, I didn’t want to ruin your love in paradise, but you ruined some good things for me. You couldn’t have been more obvious about being Spider-Man. It was almost painful to listen to you lie. And I made a little ultimatum for your girlfriend. You or her mom. I mean it was such an unfortunate thing to lose her mom along with my pathetic brother.

“This ultimatum seems similar, yeah? The two kids in the building or your friends rolling down the street. Of course I didn’t expect you to actually go to the fire. Thought I could finish you off in the car. I even took the precaution of hacking into the car myself. Shame that your good friend had to lose his life. Collateral I suppose. Live and let go, am I right? Oh don’t give me that look. You’re just a kid in a suit playing dress up. You’re no hero, you’re a fraud bound to slip up,” Henry hissed at Mark. 

So many thoughts were rushing through Mark’s brain he was getting light-headed. He was supposed to be dead, not Renjun. Did you know? He stared at you and as if you read his mind you shook your head. You had the same shocked look when he revealed he had prevented Renjun from slowing down. Now you completely regretted giving into your uncle. “So, Mark, as much as I love our little talks. I might as well cure you of your confusion and put you out of your misery,” you uncle said, pulling a gun from the inside of his blazer.  “Shame, I quite liked you.” He checked the safety and pointed straight between Mark’s eyes. Mark’s brain wasn’t functioning. At any other time he would’ve been fighting trying to get out of his restraints and get out of the way. But everything he was just told left him daft. He laughed. He laughed at it. “Okay, Henry. You’re going to kill me. Do it. Just let ___ go and give her back to her mom,” he sighed. He couldn’t find it in him to be scared. He was making peace with himself. After everything he had done, he thought he deserved it. Henry rolled his eyes smirking. “Whatever you say, kid,” he cocked the gun. Mark watched as he adjusted his grip. His eyes met yours and you stared at him horrified. Mark offered a weak smile and closed his eyes. Why wasn’t he fighting? Why was he just sitting there? How could he be so cool about it? No, this couldn’t be. You- no. Your body went into overdrive and you ran forward throwing yourself onto Mark. 

Mark felt a body on his and then he heard a gunshot. He opened his eyes and realized that your body was on his. Now he was scared your uncle had killed you, but he felt your tears on his neck and your heaving cries. “Stop! Stop!” you cried. He would hug you if he wasn’t tied up. The little devil on his shoulder told him to be mad at you for selling him out, but he knew his heart would tell him that he still loved you and that you were put in a tough situation. “It’s okay, ___, I was going to be fine,” he whispered in your ear. He felt your body tremble and all he wanted to be was the shoulder to cry on. Looking up he saw Henry inspecting his gun. He motioned to pull you off of Mark and you screamed and kicked. Now Mark found it in him to try to escape his chains. “Let her go!” he shouted at Henry. “She didn’t do anything.”

“But you see she did. She risked her life for yours. I thought she had made her mind up. You or her mom. But I see how she really feels. I was going to spare you, Mark. Blanks really do come in handy,” Henry sighed, shaking his head feigning disappointment. “Untie him,” he said to some people behind Mark he hadn’t noticed. His legs were untied first and he took the opportunity to kick the man freeing his legs in the face. He grinned at his handy work when he saw the man’s bloody nose. He did regret it even when the other man pulled his hands behind him about ten times harder. The men pulled him over to stand right next to you. Your head was hanging and he could see tears dripping onto the floor. “Don’t hurt my mom,” you begged. “Don’t hurt Mark either, please. Please just- if you’re going to hurt anyone, hurt me.” Mark whipped his head towards you and tried to get your attention, “I’m not going to let you do that.” Henry looked between the two of you and scoffed, “How sweet, young love. I was-” 

Before Henry could another word in Mark swung his leg back and kicked on the men square in the crotch. “Oops, sorry,” he teased. He quickly shot webs at the two men who were holding onto you into their eyes. He then webbed up their feet and pushed them back, so they were stuck together floundering and flopping on the ground. The other men behind him tried to get back at him. One of them was the burly one who beat him earlier and the other he kicked in the crotch was trying to regain his footing. He quickly jumped up when the burly one tried to catch him in a hug. “Missed,” he laughed, bouncing off of his bald head and kicking the other one in the face again. He wouldn’t have much of a nose left if he kept that up. He quickly switched out the cartridge on one of his wristbands and promptly got the burly man stuck to the wall and then when the other one with the nearly broken nose got up he webbed him to the floor. Mark ran a hand through his hair and grinned at his handy work. It was quickly wiped away when he saw Henry with his gun pressed to your temple. Your hands were gripped around his arm trying to pry him off of your neck. “What a show,” he drawled. Mark held his hands up trying to calm your agitated uncle, “Listen, you wanted me, right? Then take me and leave her alone.”

“I’m not in the mood for bargaining, Mark. She has to pay for her disloyalty to her own family,” Henry sighed.

“Please, don’t make this choice. You really want to be a murderer? Come on, let her go and take me,” Mark pleaded. Your eyes were screwed together tightly and you were trying to pull yourself away from your uncle. He saw Henry’s eyes flash with wonder and he chuckled, “Tempting offer, I’ll entertain it,” Henry said, lowering his gun and holstering. 

He pushed you toward Mark, your body was shaking and you stumbled towards your concerned boyfriend. No one else could see, but you knew he was on the verge of tears. All you wanted to do was tell him it was alright. Hold him and assure him that you were okay. You just wanted to-

“___, no!” Mark yelled. 

You felt a shooting pain in your back, then it happened again and again and then you heard the final blow. 

It was like deja vu all over again. The gunshot, the crying, the blood. He raced towards you and caught you in his arms. Three times. You stumbled as he grabbed onto your failing body. He gently lowered the two of you onto the ground, so that you rested on the ground. 

He looked up and Henry was gone.

 “___,” he said as calmly as he could. “We got through this once, we can do it again.” 

He wasn’t sure who he was trying to comfort. Deep down he knew it felt different than last time. The blood was already seeping through the front of your shirt, and he could feel it on the back of your shirt too onto his arms. “Mark,” you laughed, quietly. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head, “Nothing to be sorry for, you did what anyone would’ve done.”

“Not you, though.”

“Just keep your eyes open for me, okay?”

“I’m tired, Mark.” 

The stain on your shirt was becoming a deeper red.

“Be safe, Mark. Look after my mom. Be around for everyone like I know you can,” you mumbled cuddling closer to him.

“No, ___, you’re gonna be there to look after your mom. You’re gonna have dinners with her every night until we go off to college, and even then you’ll call her every day. You’ll chat with Jeno and Jaemin like always. You’re gonna go to college. You’re gonna get a job. You’ll keep me in your life for as long as you want. I’ll always be there. You- you’re gonna make it,” he stammered.

“I love you, Mark. I do. Always remember that, please.”

“I- I know. You’ll have plenty of time to tell me you love me in the future. I promise, just keep your-”

“Tell me you love me, Mark. Please. I need to hear it.” 

“I-” he wanted to fight back. He wanted to tell you he can tell you he loves you every day, as much as you wanted, for the rest of your life. But he caved. “I love you, ___,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to your head. You smiled at him and closed your eyes until you couldn’t anymore. 

Mark paused. He looked at your peaceful expression and steadily slowing breath. “Hey, hey, hey, ___, I’ve got you,” he murmured waiting for you to open your eyes.  “___, come on. This isn’t funny,” he said, panic rising in his throat and in his heart. His head began to pound and he felt weak in the knees. “Come on, wake up, ___, come on. Please. I- I love you. I love you. I love you,” he begged. Your eyes were closed and head lolled back. He finally felt tears on his cheeks. This couldn’t be real. He had done all of that for this still to happen. He held your face in his hands and pressed his head to yours. You were gone, and it was all his fault. 

He couldn’t catch you after all. 

Mark sat up in bed for what felt like the millionth time in the past week. He couldn’t sleep and whenever he tried to eat he felt sick to his stomach. At school he had largely stepped out of participating. It wouldn’t be something you wanted for him, he knew that. At your funeral your mom allowed him a spot to speak, but when he got up there he couldn’t. He could stand there and talk about how beautiful you were. Everyone knew you were, they didn’t need a reminder that a beautiful person like you was gone. 

He didn’t even know what happened to Henry after that night. He heard that his business was exposed for some sort of major federal fraud and would probably be serving some time in federal prison, but he wouldn’t be serving time for what he did. He wasn’t even sure how he even explained to everyone what happened to you. 

He felt exhaustion set into his bones and his body took over for him. Soon enough he was asleep and dreaming. He awoke in a dream. He looked around. He was in his chemistry class. When he looked around the dimly lit setting he saw a figure sitting at his lab table. When he drew closer he saw it was you. “___,” he breathed. You looked up from your textbook and smiled at him. He ran over to you engulfing you in a hug, “Don’t ever do that again,” he cried. You pulled away to wipe away his tears, “I’m so sorry, Mark,” you smiled sadly at your boyfriend, best friend. “But I don’t need you being sorry for your entire life. It’s not your fault.”

“But it is! I could’ve saved you. I should’ve focused on you. I could’ve gotten you out of there but I focused too much on the other guys there!”

“Sure, but you couldn’t have done anything else.” He opened his mouth to protest, but you pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. “Mark, I love you, you know that, right?” He nodded vigorously. “Then you know that wherever you go I’ll be right here,” you pointed at his heart. “See I can feel it. It’s beating all for me, that’s what you said. I’ll be right there to make sure that it beats for another,” you said confidently. 

“But it’s only for you,” Mark mumbled. “How am I supposed to fall in love with anyone else?” He was seriously worried about that. He didn’t think it would be possible for him to fall in love with anyone else. “Because you’re young. You haven’t even gotten to college. You’re going to meet a beautiful girl in college. You guys are going to go to parties and date. Maybe you’ll take a break from each other, but you’ll find each other again. You’ll get a great job as a writer for a newspaper, and then you can start a life with her. Have a couple kids or something. No, don't shake your head at me. Listen to me, Mark. You’re going to have everything you ever wanted in life. You know why?” He shook his head. He couldn’t believe the words leaving your lips. “Because you’re Mark Lee. You’re handsome, pretty, kind, smart, talented, and selfless. Most of all because you deserve it, Mark. You deserve every good thing in this world. And you know what?”

“What?” he pouted, looking away. 

“I’ll be with you every step of the way. ‘til the end of the line, it’s nowhere near the end of yours. I’ll be with you in here,” you pointed to his head, “and here,” you pointed to his heart. “Maybe not in the way we wanted, but I’ll come and visit, and you’ll come and visit me. Deal?” He looked at your extended hand. He didn’t want to make that deal. He didn’t want a life with another girl. He only ever wanted a life with you.  But the way you were looking at him, oh, it made him want to take your hand. He wanted you in his life. He so terribly did, so after hesitating for a moment he took your hand in his. 

“Mark! Wait, ___’s mom wanted you to have these things,” Boah stopped Mark before they left for the graduation ceremony. She held out a medium box. Mark took it from her and put it on the table to sort through it. It was mainly some of his clothes he left at your place when he stayed over. At the bottom were some pictures that you and him took while just being bored in your room. One of them was of him kissing your cheek while your eyes were scrunched up from laughing. He flipped it over and saw you wrote something on the back: Dude, we’re graduating in a couple of months. Don’t be a loser about LOL. He swallowed thickly and tilted his head back to keep the tears from rolling down. He felt Boah’s hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him. “Big day,” she whispered. “Let’s make the most of it for her, yeah?” He glanced at the picture one last time before sniffling. All he could was nod. If he tried to speak his voice was surely going to break. 

At the venue he found his seat next to Jeno and Donghyuck. They gave him sympathetic knowing smiles and turned their attention to the stage. The ceremony was about to begin. Speeches went on and on, but some were mildly interesting. Interesting enough to take his mind off of you. Then it was time for diplomas. “Mark Lee!” his principal called him up. He got up and made his way to the stage. As he shook his principal’s hand he looked out into the crowd trying to spot Boah. 

Instead his eyes found something more interesting. Two waving hands. He blinked a couple of times and saw you and Renjun. Renjun visibly whistled a couple of times and you laughed leaning against him. Mark kept making his way across the stage shaking hands and picking up his cords and pin and finally his diploma. He stared out and saw Renjun smile and disappear around a wall. You still stood there watching him. He climbed down the stairs and he right down the aisle in front of him was where you were. You gave him a thumbs up and smiled at him. You were there just like you said. Seeing you again, seeming so real and palpable set Mark’s heart aflame. “Goodbye,” he saw you say. “Until next time.” Your smile seemed as bright as ever. Before Mark could even reply you had already given your final smile and headed around the same corner Renjun took. 

Mark made his way back to his seat. “It would’ve been so fun having them here. I wish they were here,” Jeno sighed. Donghyuck expressed his agreement. Mark glanced over to where he last saw you. “You know, I think they are,” Mark said, and he felt himself smile for the first time for weeks. It felt good. Although you had said your goodbyes he finally felt like it was the beginning. 

i got my driver's license last week 

just like we always talked about 

'cause you were so excited for me 

to finally drive up to your house

but today i drove through the suburbs 

crying 'cause you weren't around 

mark started meeting you less often when he entered college. you didn’t think much of it, people always said the first year of college was the hardest. you just assumed the workload was catching him off-guard and he was too busy.

you didn’t tell him about getting your driver’s license. you wanted to surprise him. and you thought that if he was too busy, you’ll just go and visit him instead. before mark graduated, you guys would always be sneaking out at the crack of dawn in his white volkswagen, driving to the nearest mcdonalds, ordering whatever you craved. no cares or worries in the world. 

“hey, when are you going to get your license anyways?” mark asked you one night. “i’m always the one driving, am i your personal chauffeur or something?”

“hmm, what if you are?” you tease him. mark shoots daggers at you. “i’m kidding, i’m kidding! maybe next year, when i turn 18.”

“i’m excited.” he leaned back into his seat. “you’d be able to visit me whenever.”

“i’d annoy you.” you snort. he chuckles and playfully hits you.

“you know you’d never.” he looks at you, like he really meant it.

but he didn’t. because now, tears flow down your face as you drive home in your car from mark’s university.

and i know we weren't perfect, but i've never felt this way for no one 

and i just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that i'm gone 

guess you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me 

'cause you said forever, now i drive alone past your street 

mark was always super passionate about songwriting. and when you guys were introduced to each other in guitar club of your freshman year, he finally found a companion to confide his interest in. when you guys snuck out, he would always bring his computer, speakers, and guitar. he’d play you the demos and songs that he had made and would want your opinions on them.

“how does it sound?” he asked you, pressing pause on his computer. it was the last day before the summer of freshman year for you, and he said he wanted to show you ‘something special’.

“yeah it’s pretty good, i think you could do a more complex guitar riff though? it would sound sick if you used E minor and riffed off onto the E major.” you suggested and turned to face mark’s smiling face. “what are you staring at?” you poked him.

“i wrote this about you, you dummy.” he flicked your forehead. “could you not tell?”

“ow, no?” you rubbed to soothe where he flicked you. “its too cheesy, and ‘that sun shining on me, my heart alive and breathing i want only one with you, all the things you make me do for you’? nah, mark lee has a little crush on someone.” you wiggled your eyebrows.

“yeah,” you whipped your head around. “you.” your brain stopped and all you feel is your heartbeat racing. you had never been romantically interested in mark, only friends. but that day changed it all.

“ayo, stop playing the innocent freshman girl.” you huff out. “i have a weak heart.” he taps your chin and turns your face back around.

“dude, i’m not playing.” he gazes into your eyes. “i’m serious, no joke.” your heart starts beating faster, the butterflies in your stomach are wild and your breaths are accentuated by the silence in the car. 

and that’s when he leans in. pressing his soft, watermelon chapstick flavoured lips onto yours. 

you close your eyes and you feel like you’re dreaming. 

“did that prove it?” he says when he pulls away, grinning at you.

“you’re pretty bold making a move on a freshman, bro.” you roll your eyes but your insides feel warm and fuzzy. “and you stole my first kiss!” you exclaim as you push him lightly and he puffs out in disbelief.

“what else do i gotta do to prove to you that i’m for real?” he says, crossing his arms.

“pinky promise me,” you say. “that you won’t leave and you’ll love me forever.” reaching out your pinky. mark laughs, his pinky intertwined with yours.

“now who’s the one who’s cheesy?” he teases. laughing as you angrily attempt to hit him. “i’m joking, i promise, forever.”

you should have known better, promises were made to be broken. but the sticky sweet watermelon flavour stuck on your lips blind you.

and all my friends are tired 

of hearing how much i miss you, but i kinda feel sorry for them 

'cause they'll never know you the way that i do 

yeah, today i drove through the suburbs 

and pictured i was driving home to you 

you know your friends are tired of you rambling about mark. even though they’ve endured it for 3 years already, they don’t see why you’re still talking about him even when he’s gone. you don’t really blame them though. you ditch them to hang out with mark all the time, it was like he was the higher priority than they were, but you were just realizing.

but could they blame you? mark was the definition of dreamy. anyone in your position would understand and agree. all of the fun, secrets, journeys, songs you shared, you felt like nobody knew him like you did. you felt like you were on cloud 9. 

but now is too late, as you realized after mark left that there was no one else that you would, could drive and feel at home with. you feel empty.

and you're probably with that blonde girl 

who always made me doubt 

she's so much older than me 

she's everything i'm insecure about 

yeah, today i drove through the suburbs 

'cause how could i ever love someone else? 

you felt like you had been stabbed in the chest. you stood there frozen, heart aching and numb. 

mark told you the address and room of where he was living before he left. when you arrived, you met johnny, mark’s roommate. he said mark was at the production studio probably and he could walk you to where it was.

when you arrived, you saw the back of mark’s head and the back of the sweater you gave him before he left. and right beside him, a blonde girl. sitting comfortably with her head rested on his shoulder. you stood there shocked. forgetting that johnny was standing beside you, he notices the change in your mood and asks if you were okay.

“oh, yeah i’m fine. i was just checking up on him, his mom wanted me to, haha.” you tried to laugh it off. “he needs to call them back to reassure them he’s not dead yet.” johnny’s laugh echos in your ears as you reassure yourself that they’re just friends. nothing’s going on between them, mark is just a super nice person.

“that’s kim aera by the way. the TA for mark’s producing class. i think she’s in her third year? anyways, mark really enjoys working with her. it’s like he lives in the studio, he’s always asking her for suggestions and other stuff.” johnny explains. you tense up, you were the only person that mark had wanted to ask suggestions from. pause, you were. not anymore. but it makes sense, she’s the TA, she obviously had more knowledge and experience in the studio. and she’s more, accessible… “what’s the deal between you two though? mark never mentions anything to me, what’s your name?” johnny snaps you out of your daze. 

“oh, uh, i’m y/n, mark’s family friend.” you try to cover up the nervousness and cracking in your voice. “yeah. our parents are close, so her mom can count on me to report on him. haha.” you laugh lightly. “i’m going to get going now, mark is obviously intact, so that’s good. i’ll catch you around.”

“oh cool. see you.” johnny waves, and you walk out the door.

you try to convince yourself that there’s nothing going on between mark and this aera, but reassurance won’t make the truth disappear. 

you come back a few weeks later. you thought that after finals, he might be more free, and you guys could finally hang out for once. you thought that after hanging out again, everything would go back to normal. he’d go back to texting you, showing you new songs, and maybe hanging out more often as well.

“oh hey y/n, you’re back?” johnny answers the door once again. “he’s at the studio right now, do you need me to walk you there?”

“i think i’m good, i remember where it is. sorry for disrupting you. bye.” you smiled, and after johnny waves back and closes the door, you walk towards the studio.

you think of many different scenarios of how this will play out, but this isn’t what you expected. 

you walk into the studio, about to call mark’s name, but you see the blonde locks again. 

“thanks for helping me out with the lyrics, you’re really good with words.” mark says, smiling. “i think you’re a great role model.” 

you feel a little jab at your side. lyricism was never your strong suit. you could write beautiful melodies and harmonies, but the words never seem to come out.

your heart stops. right when their lips lock. with the way her arms are pulling mark in by his nape, you can tell that she’s more experienced. you felt like you had been stabbed in the chest. you stood there frozen, heart aching and numb. you bolt out the door, you feel suffocated. you really were naive. if this is what heartbreak feels like, you don’t think that falling in love is worth it anymore.

you don’t look back. that’s the last time you ever see mark again. 

apparently johnny asked mark about you.

“hey mark,” johnny calls out. “how was your meeting with your family friend y/n yesterday?” 

mark stops dead in his tracks and his heart sinks. you came to see him? how come he didn’t see you? how did johnny know your name? and, why were you his family friend?

“oh uh, yeah it went well, thanks for telling me anyways.” mark escapes to his room.

mk.l

hey

did you come to see me?

you

no

why?

mk.l

oh, nevermind then.

johnny probably got the name wrong.

red lights, stop signs 

i still see your face in the white cars, front yards 

can't drive past the places we used to go to 

'cause i still fucking love you, babe 

sidewalks we crossed i still hear your voice in the traffic

we're laughing over all the noise 

god, i'm so blue, know we're through 

but i still fucking love you, babe 

the world was quieter and stopped spinning. that feeling of being on top of the world all the time stopped too. you stopped going on your phone, you stopped socializing with people in general to be honest. you didn’t know how to face anyone. everywhere you went, everything you did, reminded you of mark. mark’s laugh, mark’s random nose scrunches, mark’s favourite songs, mark’s guitar, mark’s self-written melodies. you can’t go to mcdonalds, you can’t watch the sunset inside your car at the parking lot behind your local church, you couldn’t even pick up your guitar anymore. your melodies and harmonies didn’t come as smoothly anymore. you felt sick, you didn’t want to do music. it’s just not the same anymore. you didn’t feel like you had a purpose. 

but you slowly got back up. music became your way of coping. listening to other people’s songs about heartbreak, you felt like you weren’t alone. your first heartbreak, no one there to teach you about it, and no one there to comfort you. so you did it yourself. you had no musical purpose, but now, your music was for you, your own personal expression. all the harmonies, melodies, colours, came back to you. and unexpectedly out of the blue, the words came to you too. 

i know we weren't perfect, but i've never felt this way for no one 

and i just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that i'm gone 

'cause you didn't mean what you wrote in that song about me 

'cause you said forever, now i drive alone past your street 

yeah, you said forever, now i drive alone past your street

the backing instrumentals fade out and the emotion in your voice trickles into the darkness of mark’s room as he closes his laptop. 

you found your words. he thinks, smiling sadly. finally.

Imagine your surprise as well as his when your summer fling walked into your afternoon class, announcing that he was your professor.

His eyes met yours and stayed on you for a minute longer before clearing his throat moving around the room again to begin his lesson. At first you were a little shocked, though it didn’t take you long before a smirk adored your lips as you got comfortable in your seat with your arms crossed. This was going to be one hell of a semester. One thing you made sure for certain was that no one, literally no one knew about your summer fling with Mark. You didn’t bring him around your friends or introduce him to your family because you hadn’t thought it was going to last any longer than the summer and quite frankly, you didn’t see anything more coming out of it because of your messy, complicated life. Though, dating him would have been nice also.

You leaned forward in your seat, making sure you adjusted your arms so it made your breasts could stand out a little more. You saw Mark’s eyes on you and his tongue jutted out to wet and run over his bottom lip. You only smiled at him as he continued on, doing his best to avoid looking at you for the rest of the class, though, it was a struggle.

It didn’t go well for him that’s for sure. Mark thought you were beautiful when you two had first met and if he had known that you would run into each other again, he would have made it official. It took every ounce of self-control for him to not bend you over his desk right there in front of everyone and let your sinful noises ring out around the room. To let everyone know just how much he was able to pleasure you. That it would only take seconds before he had you screaming his name and begging him to ruin you.

He knew you were trying to rile him up. The way you would subtly adjust your bust so that he could almost see down your shirt. Or how you would slowly place your finger in your mouth and slide it out, pretending you were thinking hard about something. He knew you were thinking hard, but not about your upcoming class work that was going to be due in a few days. Though, he was thinking hard too, but not about the difficulty of his first assessment to his students or remembering students' names.

As soon as he was allowed and it was ideal, Mark had ended classes and bid his goodbyes to his students before letting them know that there were no extra readings for tomorrow. As you were packing up your belongings, a little slower than intended too, Mark called out to you, “Miss L/N,” He said, dark eyes boring into yours, “Please come to my office when you can. There’s some things we have to go over,” You nodded, waiting for the other students to file out before you followed Mark down to his office.

Once you were inside his office, he closed the door and locked it almost instantly, pushing you flush against the wall, lips already trailing wet, messy kisses down your neck, “You’re such a fucking tease. You know that right?” He breathed, nipping at your skin.  

You let out a soft moan, pulling him closer to you as much as you could, “But I haven’t done anything, professor,” Your sultry voice rang out.

He pulled his lips away from your neck, body still flush against yours, his hardening erection pressed against your needy core as he narrowed his eyes at you, “No? So you hadn’t just happened to press your boobs against the desk and unbutton your shirt a little more? Or look at me like you're trying to imagine all the possible ways I could have you bent over a piece of furniture, moaning my name.” 

You did your best to suppress the small whimper, pretending to think about his words before smiling at him, “Had I known it was going to be you as my professor, I would have worn something a little more revealing as well as made a few questionable comments,” You teased.

Without saying a word, Mark picked you up, hands placed firmly on your thighs as he carried you over to the small couch in the corner of his office, sitting down with you on his lap, “I’m pretty sure this breaks like every teacher-student code in the book,” You said, already slipping his shirt off.  

His grip tightened on your waist as his lips captured yours in another passionate kiss that left you breathless, “Guess you’ll just have to keep your little mouth closed so we don’t get caught,” He teased, “Although, you can be pretty vocal kitten.”

You grinned widely, as a small gasp escaped your lips as he slipped your clothes off easily, trailing kisses down your body until he pushed you back against the couch and hovered over you before you felt his lips connect with your heated core. True to his words, it was hard for you to stay quiet as you let out a loud moan, gripping his hair tightly, letting the pleasure take over you.

Adding to Mark’s ego, it did only take you a few seconds to start moaning and whimpering out his name, lifting your hips and riding his face to gain more friction. His tongue mercilessly lapped your hardened bud, two of his long digits slipping into your wet core. You let out a sudden gasp as the feeling, one hand tightening your grip on his hair whilst the other clawed at his back.

He pulled back suddenly, clapping a hand over your mouth, “I told you to be quiet, kitten,” He snapped, hand staying against your mouth as he gave you a smirk before diving down and continuing to devour your needy core.

This was going to be a really interesting and scandalous semester.

“Hey Y/N,” Donghyuck greeted, pulling the chair out from under his seat before plopping down onto it, taking out the bag of chips from his backpack.

“Hi loser.”

“Wow, rude.” He kicked his feet up onto the desk before pulling the bag open, burying his hand into it. “I have important information and this is how you treat me?”

You looked at him through your peripheral vision, letting the tip of your pen skid across your piece of notebook paper, doodling as he ate. “What information could possibly be so important?” you snorted.

“Mark’s birthday is today,” he stated nonchalantly.

Your pen fell out of your hand when your doodles came to a stop, whipping your head towards your best friend. “Today? His birthday is today??”

“Yeah. Now say thank you bestie and go wish him a happy birthday before the teacher arrives.” He urged you leave by nudging you with his elbow, continuing to messily shove chips into his mouth.

You fought against his nudge and pushed his elbow away from you before picking up your pen again, resuming the unfinished doodle. “I am not saying happy birthday to the Lee Minhyung, are you kidding me?”

“C’mon, Y/N, you have to! This might be the start to the blossoming relationship you’ve always dreamed about,” he cooed, waving his fingers at you playfully. With the roll of your eyes, he pushed you out of your chair with his foot, making you stumble out of your seat. “I’ll come with you if you want.”

Your groan made Donghyuck grin before leading you over to Mark’s friend group, his arm still wrapped around his bag of chips. He was only mutuals with Mark, but he knew his friends well enough to say hi when seeing them.

Now you on the other hand, you barely chose to interact with Mark and his well known group of friends. You couldn’t tell if it was because you hate talking to new people or because of the lingering crush you had on Mark since the beginning of the school year.

Donghyuck shoved you closer to Mark before striding over to a nearby wall, pressing his back up against it as he watched the scene unfold.

“Uh, hi,” you murmured, too scared to look Mark in the eye. He was the first one to turn around and look at you once he heard your voice while all his other friends had delayed reactions due to being in the idle of a conversation.

That part of the classroom got silent as they looked at you, wondering what the hell you were doing in front of them. It made you gulp, but you continued.

“I heard it’s your birthday,” you started, slowly shifting your gaze to meet Mark’s. Him already staring into your eyes didn’t help the pounding in your chest, and you were left with very limited vocabulary due to all the attention you were receiving from your classmates and his friends. “So- I just came here to say, uh, happy...birthday?”

The classroom went dead silent with no response from your crush, making your cheeks heat up. You didn’t even notice the way his eyes sparkled and how his lips were parted in awe at your presence.

Jaemin snapped him out of his daze by hitting his arm with the back of his hand, speaking through a hushed whisper. “Aye, dumb fuck, Y/N’s talking to you.”

“Oh! Oh right, what? S-sorry, I didn’t catch that. Can you repeat it?” He fixed his posture while looking up at you, only making you even more flustered.

“Happy birthday,” you breathed out, feeling how awkward the atmosphere around you has grown after having to repeat your words, especially when you had multiple sets of eyes glued onto you.

You turned on your heels to walk away, pulling Donghyuck with you before Jeno called out to you. “Hey! Y/N! No present for the birthday boy?” he snickered.

Your head whipped around in a panic, knowing that this is how you were going to be humiliated. With a quick look around the classroom, your eyes landed on the bag Donghyuck was holding. You snatched it out of his grasp and quickly gave it to Mark while faking an endearing smile towards the boy, tugging Donghyuck out of the classroom immediately after.

“Y/N, what the fuck? Did you just give my chips to M-”

“Oh shut up, I’ll buy you new ones.”