#an empty seat by that lonely soul. ⌜ open starter ⌟

[fuckerrd]

open to mutuals !

      ❝ now, i’m not normally one to TURN DOWN a good meal. but frankly, i ain’t even sure this can be considered food. ❞

[dreams-of-a-lark]

(Lark and Elias’s first and last photos together)

TASK 1: THE LAST DAY

January 11, 2016 7:00 AM, EST 12:00 PM, GMT

“Lark, you know I love you—”

“Boring.”

“Mmm fair. It’s fine, I have others. How about this one? Lark, you mean more to me than—” 

“Erh! Nope. Try again.”

“Oh, come on, you barely let me start!”

“Boo hoo… I knew where you were going with it. Got anything else?”

“Just one more, I was saving this one for last. It’s the best one I have, so will you let me actually get going before you stop me this time?” 

“Maybe. Compel me and we’ll see. I want to see you dig into the deep recesses of your soul, pull out your raw, still-beating heart and lay it bare. Otherwise, what am I even here for?”

“You’re unbelievable. But fine… Ahem...” Elias closed his eyes and let out a deep, shuttered sigh, “Lark. Before I met you, I had lost almost all faith in humanity. I found it impossible to believe that anyone acted with genuinely good intentions. I was bitter, cynical, lonely… and then, just as I was on the precipice of giving up on people entirely, there you were. Right on time. This pure light, banishing all my shadows. You are everything I was once sure didn’t exist in reality, but also the most real thing I’ve ever encountered.

The sheer amount of love you have to give blows me away. Love isn’t something you keep a reserve of only for certain special people. For you, love permeates the air around you everywhere you go and anyone lucky enough to meet you or know you gets to breathe it freely. Lark, you are so good, with no expectations or conditions attached to it, but just because it’s your nature. You make me want to be better everyday now, whereas before… I was just working on the motivation to be, period point blank. 

I have had the unfathomable privilege to breathe your love everyday for the past eight years and I hope you’ve felt even a fraction of what you’ve given me reflected back to you. Because, Lark, I love you more than I have the words to say. I love you with every last bit of life in me and I want to love you and feel your love for just that long, until the very last bit of life leaves me and I’m returned to the earth. I don’t know where I’ll be in the next five, ten, fifty years, all I know is I want to be wherever you are. So, Lark Dorian Crain, will you marry me?”

A silence hung in the air accompanied only by a faint mechanical whirring and the low buzz of an LCD screen. Katie finally broke it, her voice glitching and tinny through Elias’s small laptop speakers, “Better.” She said simply.

“Seriously? That’s it?” Elias replied, his voice laden with shock and disappointment.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful, definitely a solid start. I almost teared up a few times. But, as all first drafts go, it could use some improvement.”

“It’s not my first draft, though…”

“Eh, feels like a first draft, love.”

“You know, sometimes it’s almost impossible to believe you’re related to Lark, let alone twins?”

“To be fair, do you know anyone in our family that’s really like Lark?”

“Eleanor.”

“Not related to us, stupid.”

“Mmm.. true. Ugh! Katydid... What do I Katy-do?”

“Well, for starters, you could never do whatever that just was again. Secondly, stop worrying about it, seriously. Knowing Lark, you could throw the ring across the deck and say, ‘go fetch if you wanna marry me’ and he’ll be running for it in an instant.”

Elias rolled his eyes, but smiled fondly at the thought of Lark bounding eagerly around the ship. It filled his heart whenever he thought of Lark’s joy, to think he had the power to bring so much of it to the surface baffled him endlessly.

“I’m so nervous,” he admitted.

“You don’t need to be,” Katie reassured him, “All jokes aside, it’s beautiful, and Lark loves you so much. You may not have moved me to tears, but you’ll definitely move him to tears. And then he’s going to blush like a damned schoolgirl and say yes a million times, like the sappy romantic he is.”

“You think so?”

“If he doesn’t, call an exorcist immediately, because that’s not Lark.”

Elias scoffed, but this was comforting encouragement to hear. Nothing he didn’t secretly already know, but it didn’t hurt to be reminded when he was feeling self-conscious. He breathed in deeply, filling up his cheeks with air, then puffing it back out through the small ‘o’ his mouth formed. 

“You’re right, I know.”

“I know you know. Listen, I’ve got to get back to work, love. I can call you when I get off, if you want, but you really should just enjoy your time with him today. Just act like it’s any other day... on a fancy cruise ship with the love of your life. Right?” 

Elias nodded, “Right. No need to call me back, you’re right. I’m just going to enjoy the day with him. Have a good day at work, I’m sure we’ll both call you after it happens.”

“I’ll be sure to hold the phone far away from my ear, so you all can squeal without busting my eardrums. Bye for now, then.”

“Alright. Bye Katie.”

The call ended and Elias closed his computer and looked out over the beautiful expanse of ocean surrounding the ship. Lark was still asleep in their cabin and probably would be for another couple of hours or so, it was nearly impossible to wake him anytime before 9 am. So Elias decided to stay for a while, taking in the peacefulness of the empty deck while the majority of the ship’s passengers slept, rocked by the lullaby of gentle waves.

January 11, 2016 9:00 AM, EST

Elias crept silently back into their cabin to find Lark sleeping fitfully, brows furrowed, eyelids knit tight. This was normally fairly unusual, but lately he’d been experiencing an uptick of nightmares that he didn’t like telling Elias much about for some reason. Elias eased down onto the edge of the bed and carefully lowered a hand down toward his forehead, fingers grazing across, pushing aside a stray curl. Almost instantaneously, Lark’s expression softened at his touch. It was moments like this that reminded him just how strong their connection was, the small gestures that could soothe one another’s most turbulent emotions.

He leaned down and pressed a light kiss on Lark’s cheek at which his eyes fluttered open, gazing weary oceans up at him. A soft smile, wrapt in security accompanied the gaze and Elias felt a pang in his chest as his heart skipped in response. “Morning, sleepyhead,” he sang softly to him.

Lark hummed and curled around where he sat, “Mmmmm… no.”

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“Not morning,” Lark muttered.

“It is, though.”

Lark shook his head, “No,” he mumbled, sleepiness still heavy in his voice, “still nighttime.”

“Oh is it now?” Elias asked, to which Lark nodded. Then, before he had a chance to react, he felt long arms wrap around him and pull him down and over into the bed, “Ah! Lark!” He laughed, “What’s this?”

“We sleep now,” Lark cooed, clearly very pleased with the results as he held Elias close. 

Elias let out another gentle laugh and turned to face the larger man, pressing his forehead to the other’s and cupping his face in his hands. “I love you,” he whispered.

Eyes closed, Lark gave a delighted smile. “Mhmmm,” he hummed in response, raising a hand to Elias’s eyelids in an attempt to shut them, “we sleep now.”

“Okay,” Elias giggled, “we sleep now, just a little longer.”

January 11, 2016 1:20 pm, EST

Elias woke to find Lark gone. Where was he? He rolled to sit up in the bed and checked his phone. 1:20 pm. Of course it was. With a stretch and a hearty yawn, he began to work on getting to his feet and looked around. The room was empty, the shower wasn’t going either, then he saw a shadow through the blinds leading out onto the small balcony of their room.

He opened the blinds to find Lark sitting in a wicker chair, sipping tea, gazing out over the water in placid solitude. There was a bottle of champagne and a pitcher of orange juice sitting on the table next to him, along with two champagne flutes and a bouquet of roses resting in a faceted crystal vase. Elias smiled to himself and slid open the glass door onto the balcony, coming up behind Lark who turned his head slightly towards him. 

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Lark said, seemingly completely unaware of the irony.

“It’s nearly 1:30.”

The other shrugged, “Morning is a state of mind.”

“Okay,” Elias laughed, draping his arms around Lark’s shoulders, and kissing the top of his head, “what’s all this?” He pointed at the set up on the table, to which Lark rose from his seat, came around to hug him tight, and laid a tender kiss on his lips. 

He smiled, then turned to pour two mimosas, “Happy Anniversary,” he said, holding out a glass to Elias. 

They clinked glasses and sat on the balcony, sipping their drinks, enjoying that serene silence they could only take true comfort in with one another. Every once in a while Elias would glance over at Lark’s satisfied face, the view of the ocean sparkling in his bright eyes. It didn’t matter where they were, Elias knew, but this was perfect. He wondered if he shouldn’t just pop the question right now, but the ring stayed in his pocket, waiting for a moment more perfect than this one. 

January 11, 2016 5:30 pm, EST

Elias hopped and shimmied as he pulled on his slim fit black slacks and tucked his stark white button up into them. He sifted through his bag and spread out the various necktie options he’d brought with him — plain black, floral, black and blue stripes, matte and satin striped maroon, black bowtie with subtle gold stars. A muffled sound of happy singing came from beneath the hiss of the running shower in the background. Elias looked back toward the bathroom and smiled, then turned to eye the bowtie lying on the bed. He was no good at tying bowties, Lark would have to help him, which made it the obvious choice in accessory. 

“Lark! Hurry up, our reservation’s at 6:00.” 

The singing stopped, “What’s that?” Lark called from the bathroom.

“I said... move your butt!” he called back.

“It’s always moving, love!”

“You know what I mean.” 

“Alright, alright, I’ll be out in a minute.” 

The shower went on for a little longer, then the hissing became a light trickle and, soon enough, a thick fog of steam rolled out of the bathroom door, orange light dissipated through the clouds. Lark strolled out, towel tied around his waist, drops of water hanging from the ends of his hair and glistening on his shoulders. He eyed Elias with the untied tie around his neck. A pleased laugh escaped his lips as he inched toward Elias and tugged at the ends of the bowtie, pulling him in for a kiss.

“Did you pick this tie just so I’d help you with it?” Lark asked.

Elias shrugged, “Maybe I did, you don’t know me.”

“No, of course I don’t.” Lark smirked and gently traced the side of Elias’s face with his fingertips, taking a moment to savor the sight of him. Eight years in and seeing Lark look at him like this still made Elias’s heart race.

“We have to get a move on,” Elias muttered, breathlessly. 

Lark cleared his throat, coming back to earth, and brought his hand back down to the tie. “Right,” he said matter-of-factly, then started on the tie. He worked the ends over and under, focus woven into his furrowed brow. Elias glanced down to watch his hands move then glanced back up at him. “There,” Lark fluffed the bowtie proudly when he had finished and met Elias’s gaze again.  

“I love you.” Elias reminded him for the millionth time and pulled him down to meet his lips, running his hands through Lark’s wet hair. 

Lark responded in kind, wrapping his long wingspan tight around Elias’s waist, “I love you too,” he whispered into Elias’s lips.

“I know,” Elias said and patted Lark’s chest as they pulled apart, “Now get dressed, we have like fifteen minutes.”

January 11, 2016 8:00 pm, EST

Elias and Lark walked hand in hand across the top deck of the ship, stomachs full, hearts warm, and heads perhaps a bit too light from a day full of champagne. Above them hung a cloudless, black blanket of sky encrusted with brightly shimmering, diamond stars and the thin sliver of a waxing crescent moon. Not far from them, a band played a harmonious violin cover of “You Are The Reason” with soft percussion accentuating the background. 

Lark pulled away, still holding onto Elias’s hand at arm's length, “Dance with me?” he asked.

Elias looked around the deck at the other families and couples enjoying the night around them, “There’s so many other people.” 

“So what?”

“They might be watching us.”

“Then we’d better put on a good show for them, don’t you think?” Lark smiled, pulling him back in and holding him close. 

Elias sighed, but a blush pulled the corners of his mouth into a coy smile. He wrapped his arms around Lark’s neck and leaned into him as they spun around the deck. Holding each other like this felt equal parts due to the desire to be close to one another and the necessity to help one another remain standing. The more they danced the more the effects of the day’s drinks took their toll and it wasn’t long until they had to slow to a stop. 

“Getting a little dizzy?” Elias laughed.

“Just a little,” Lark agreed. Then his face got serious and he pulled Elias with him towards the railing of the ship to look out over the water, shimmering under the stars. 

“I don’t want this night to end,” he said as they walked.

“Neither do I…” a pause settled between them. 

“Lark—” / “Elias—” They both spoke the other’s names in unison, followed by another unison, “sorry.” Then Elias spoke alone, “You go first.”

“Oh, uh,” Lark began, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He seemed to be fidgety all of a sudden, “Well, Elias… I know you know how much I love you, but I just wanted to say… before I met you…” Was this going where Elias thought? Had they really had the same idea at the same time? Well, he’d be damned if Lark was going to upstage his proposal. He gave a knowing smirk and stepped forward towards the other, “Lark…” but suddenly… time seemed to slow.

January 11, 2016 8:15:28 pm, EST

“… sorry.” Lark squinted and shook his head slightly, slow blinking.

January 11, 2016 8:15:30 pm, EST

Lark’s knee gave out on him and he stumbled back a bit.

January 11, 2016 8:15:32 pm, EST

Elias noticed the railing behind him fell just below Lark’s hip level. His eyes widened and he reached out to him.

January 11, 2016 8:15:33 pm, EST

The railing of the ship caught the back of Lark’s thigh.

January 11, 2016 8:15:34 pm, EST

“LARK!” 

January 11, 2016 1:15:28 - 1:15:34 am, GMT

Katie slept fitfully, alone in her small, twin bed, nestled in her small, one bedroom, Hampstead flat. In her dream, a flock of seagulls surrounded a small brown bird with a yellow face, a white underside, and black accent marks across it’s chest, under its eyes and in the tufts that sat upon its head. The small bird desperately flapped its wings to stay in the air, but the gulls, ten times its size, flapped their wings with all the more force down upon it.

January 11, 2016 8:15:35 pm, EST

Lark flipped over the railing, tumbling down towards the frigid waters below. A small crowd on the deck gasped as they bore witness. Elias ran to the railing and climbed readying himself to jump in after, but, just as he was about to take the leap a couple bystanders stopped him. 

January 11, 2016 1:15:35 am, GMT

Katie sprung up in her bed and screamed, cold sweat running down her face. An indescribable feeling of unbearable loss hit her core and ricocheted through her body.

January 11, 2016 8:15:36 pm, EST

The two bystanders held Elias tight, while others ran to find crew members that could help. “NO!” Elias screamed, “LET GO OF ME! LARK!” His body, completely sober now, shook with shock and tears cascaded from his eyes. “LET GO OF ME, GODDAMMIT!” He struggled against the ones holding him, finally breaking free and running back to the railing. His eyes scanned the water, desperately searching for signs of Lark, but couldn’t make out even the slightest shadow of a body. “LARK!” He called out. “LARK!” His knees buckled and he collapsed against the railing. “HELP HIM! SOMEBODY! Do something!” His forehead pressed hard against the bars, as his voice gave out, cracking a helpless, “please…” the bustle of crew members rushing to help Lark echoed from lower decks.

“Please… Lark… help him… somebody… bring him back…” It was impossible to see through the blinding film of tears rippling across his eyes, “please… I can’t… please don’t let him be gone… I can’t… I can’t… please… I can’t… somebody… Lark… I love you… please… I can’t.” 

January 11, 2016 1:15:36 am, GMT

On the other side of the world, Katie sat alone in her bed and heaved untamable sobs for reasons wholly unknown, save for the fact that it felt like something had reached into the deep recesses of her soul and snapped her still-beating heart in half, leaving the memory of it lingering like a phantom limb. 

January 11, 2016 1:30 am, GMT

A high tinnitus whine made its home in her ears, as she tried to process what she was feeling. Then the phone rang.

[tuanyiems]

No Jam (Part 1)

Characters: Reader x Markson (GOT7) Genre: Angst(?), Fluff (idk probably more on the Slice-of-Life end) Words: 3500 Plot: He said you were boring--not enough. You agreed. You were happier on your own anyways. But six months later you find yourself on a blind date with a new guy and late night talks with another. Looks like being forever alone is not on your agenda. [Masterlist] [Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] a/n - This is going to be a two (maybe 3?) part little series~ Part 2 will be up in a few days or so c: Thanks for reading! - When he broke up with me, he did it by handing me an angry, handwritten letter about how I was not enough. Of course, those weren’t his exact words but it’s what he meant. To be honest, he was right. I’m not the cute and bubbly girl who just came out of high school and was ready for adventure—the girl that he fell in love with. I got older, my naiveté washed away, and I became more grounded in who I was and what I wanted.  …which is to say, I didn’t become the woman he wanted me to be.  So after we broke up, I realized this was better for the both of us. I could be myself, in all my quietness and introversion, and he could find himself the girl he originally wanted—one that was outgoing, affectionate, and exciting.  “Is there any guy you’re into lately?” Miyoung asked as we had our monthly catch-up session at the local coffee house by my apartment.  “No,” I replied with my usual shoulder shrug. “I think I’ll be alone for a while.”

“You’re not even trying to look though? I’m sure a bunch of guys would line up for you.” I chuckled at her exaggeration. “I don’t know. I mean, if I find the right guy who could accept my personality, then great, but honestly, I think I could spend the rest of my life alone.” Miyoung gave me a hard stare of disapproval. For Miyoung, who jumps into relationships almost immediately one after the other, I’m sure she doubted the honesty of my words, but Miyoung is an extroverted people’s person. For her, a romantic partner was almost a life necessity. “Don’t let one bad relationship ruin your outlook on dating, Y/N. You’ve only dated that one douchebag. How can you just settle with being alone forever?” Miyoung complained, confirming my own read of her. I smiled at the predictability of her words. “He’s not a douchebag. I mean, he did make some good points about me. To be honest, I am pretty boring. I don’t want to force my boringness on some poor soul when I’m quite happy being my boring self alone.” “I know you like your solitude and all but being alone all the time? Won’t it get lonely?” I shrugged, taking a sip of my cappuccino. “Maybe I’ll get a dog…or a cactus.” She rolled her eyes at my nonchalance. “Before you go visiting the dog pound, give my guy a chance.” “Your guy?” “Yeah, I have a guy that’s already in line. He has a really good personality and he’s easy on the eyes too.” I sipped at my cappuccino quietly. I don’t know how I’d be able to handle a blind date. I was already bad with people in general. Imagine new people in a romantic set up…urgh, the very idea seems exhausting. “Please!” Miyoung spoke up, as if reading my thoughts. “I think he’s a really great guy and if I weren’t about ready to marry Jaebum, I’d snatch him up myself. Come on, you know I wouldn’t insist this much if he weren’t an amazing guy. I promise you, if he’s not worth a second date you can go adopt all the dogs you want!” “Well now I don’t think I’m going to be good enough for this really great guy,” I teased, seeing the desperate look on Miyoung’s face. “I might bore him to death. Are you sure you want to risk your friend’s life?” “It’s a date! I’ll send him to this café next week. You’re still coming here every evening right?” I chuckled with a nod. “I’m telling this friend of yours that you didn’t even hesitate to risk his life.” “Only because I’m positive you two will be a match made in heaven!” - “Hi, are you…Miyoung’s friend?” I lifted my head from my work notes to see a handsome man smiling widely. He stared back at me cautiously, his eyes like doe’s. “Ah! Yeah,” I said, breaking out of my trance. I chuckled sheepishly as I cleared the table of all my papers. “Sorry, I thought we were meeting in another hour.” “Oh, yeah, that’s my bad!” the man laughed loudly, taking a seat across from me. “I thought I’d be a gentleman and arrive early but I ended up arriving too early.” I smiled at his explanation. I could see why Miyoung was routing for this guy. In a way, he was kind of like her—bright and friendly. I cleared my throat after putting away my materials back into my bag before crossing my hands and looking up at him. He flashed me another wide smile. “I’m Jackson by the way. Wang Jackson.” “Y/N,” I returned the smile. “Can I hold your hand?” My eyes widen as I looked at him strangely. Okay, I did not see that coming. Jackson held his hand out across the table and I took it shyly. The boy moves fast. His eyes brightened as he grabbed hold of my hand, shaking it slightly before letting go. In the fleeting moment when his hand touched mines, his skin was rough but firm. I chuckled in amusement as he let go. “You meant handshake?” “Ah, yeah, a handshake! I’ve been living in Korea for a few years now but I still make mistakes sometimes.” He laughed a hyena-pitched giggle before placing his hands over his cheeks in embarrassment. “Sorry, did I say it weirdly before? I saw you giving me a weird look!” I laughed along with him, giving him a slight nod. “Maybe just a little awkward.” He laughed at this. It was a good, hearty laugh—the kind that makes you want to laugh along even if you don’t know why he’s laughing. Feeling myself break out into another smile, I let my shoulders finally relax. I was anxious about having a dry blind date for the next two hours but if he was going to laugh like this from the very start, I had a feeling this would be a pleasant meeting. “Coffee for Jackson?” the barista interrupted us (or rather, Jackson’s laughter). “That’s me, thanks!” he said, smiling pleasantly at the server, before turning back to me. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Miyoung would not stop talking about you. Something about dogs and cactus farming.” I laughed at this. “It’s nice to finally meet the greatest guy ever too.” Jackson’s lips curled coyly as his eyes sparkled from the compliment. “I hope I can meet those expectations.” “We’ll see,” I teased, taking a sip of my cappuccino. “So what kind of things does the greatest guy ever like to do?” He laughed again before glancing up pensively. “Well, for starters, I like dogs and have a plant named Bob. Mind you, it’s not a cactus, but he’s very handsome, I promise.” I found myself breaking out into more laughter. I liked him already. From there, the conversation only got better until it was nine at night and our two-hour meeting had become a five-hour one. I smiled as Jackson smoothly took my phone away and entered in his number, then laughed wholeheartedly once again when I saw his name in my contact list: Wang Puppy. I wiped at the tears that had formed from all my laughing before saying a final goodbye to Jackson. In all my life I had never laughed so much. The residue of our meeting leaving me in soft chuckles, I carried my empty cappuccino mug to the barista bar up front. “Looks like your date went well.” I looked up to see the owner of the café, Mark Tuan. Being a regular at his shop, we had naturally become pretty close acquaintances. I smiled in response, taking a seat at the bar. Were we laughing that loudly? Mark quietly took my empty cup away before replacing it with a fresh cappuccino. I glanced up at him curiously. “Aren’t you closing soon?” He shrugged his shoulders, tilting his chin towards the front where one of the baristas was locking the entrance. He gave me a friendly wink. “You can stay as long as you want.” Just as he spoke, the café music stopped, filling the place with only the sound of the two baristas cleaning up. I found my body relaxing in relief at the silence. Though I never stayed till closing very often, when I did, it was my favorite feeling. Releasing my hair from its tired bun, I closed my eyes and leaned onto the bar counter, listening to the faint tapping of Mark on the register. I could hear him chuckling softly before he approached me, casting a shadow over me. When I opened my eyes, Mark had abandoned the cash register and was sitting beside me. “I thought your date went well. Why do you look so tired?” he asked. Before I could even answer, he clasped his hands together before rushing back behind the counter. “You’ve been here all day and you’ve only had a cappuccino? You need calories!” “It’s okay, Mark, I can eat when I get home.” He furrowed his eyebrows while shaking his head with disapproval. “I have a feeling you’ll be too tired to cook. You’ll just go eating a banana and then fall asleep half way through.” I chuckled guiltily at his accurate assumption. “How about you finish working on your stuff while I cook us up a meal in the kitchen?” “You really don’t have to,” I insisted, but he shook his head before disappearing into the back kitchen. I chuckled to myself as I pulled out my work notes. Mark was seriously too nice. One of the reasons I came to this café daily (besides the fact that it was ten minutes away from home) was because of Mark. For one, his cappuccinos are heaven, but what really kept me coming was Mark’s friendliness. It’s a different kind of friendliness from Miyoung or Jackson. His friendliness first came in the form of sweet puppies painted in the foam of my cappuccinos. When I started coming every evening, he found out my favorite songs and played it throughout the café. And on days when I was in a rush, he always made sure my order of one-cappuccino-to-go came with a personal lunch bag and a handwritten reminder to not skip any meals. Though we only ever made small talk, Mark always seemed to know what I was feeling without me even explaining, and he always knew what to do to lift my spirits. Six months ago, on the day that I was given that angry, handwritten letter, telling me that I was not enough—it was actually my first time staying in the café until closing. After reading through the letter for what felt like a hundred times, I packed my workload and walked over to the café as if nothing had happened. I was convinced that if I didn’t let myself look like I was fazed, then I wasn’t fazed. So I had entered the café like normal, ordered the usual, and then sat at the same old table. I stayed in that spot, my hands hovering over the same page, head down, unmoving, until two hours passed and it was closing time. And when the music stopped playing, the baristas locked the entrance without ever asking me to leave. Instead, it was Mark who sat down beside me and unballed the fists that I didn’t even realize I was making. He put my pen away and cleared the table of my papers quietly. And as my shoulders slumped further as I hiccupped out a stream of hot tears, Mark quietly pulled me into his chest until I was calm again. With his scarf wrapped around my neck, he walked me back to my apartment that night. In fact, I still have his scarf, but we never talk about that day. It was the first and last time I let myself cry. I’m just glad it was in front of Mark and not anyone else. “I’m pretty proud of this one,” Mark sang out as he reentered the room, interrupting my thoughts. I hummed with pleasure as he placed a tray of hot kalbie soup on the bar top before taking a seat next to me. “That smells delicious,” I complimented. Mark relaxed into his seat, a pleased smile settling on his lips. “And you wanted to go home and eat half a banana,” he teased, handing me a spoon. I dug in gratefully. “This is amazing,” I gushed as I slurped up another spoonful. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until now. “You should put this on the menu. I would pay for it every day!” Mark chuckled before finally taking a spoonful himself. “How about you just pay me back with a meal next time.” I grinned. “I hope you mean take out meal because there’s a reason why I eat here almost every day.” He laughed at this before taking another bite. For a while, we just ate in silence. I could feel my headache disappearing as my stomach filled. “So, tell me about this date,” Mark cleared his throat after we finished devouring his meal. I chuckled, setting my spoon down. “I don’t know, we only met because our mutual friend insisted we should.” “It’s kind of good to go into these things without expectations though. He made you laugh a lot.” I nodded my head with a smile. “True.” “And yet you’re sat here sighing right after,” Mark added. I shrugged my shoulders in response. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I didn’t quite understand it myself. “He’s a great guy,” I defended Jackson. “He’s really funny and smart. When we shook hands, I felt calluses on his palm. He seems pretty hardworking. I mean, the guy came a whole hour early just for a blind meeting. I think he passes as a really nice guy.” “But?” I sighed as I glanced at Mark. He gave me a knowing look. “I don’t know,” I muttered, looking away. “I’m just tired is all. It has nothing to do with Jackson.” Feeling my discomfort over the subject, Mark quietly cleaned up the plates, taking them back into the kitchen. I sipped quietly at my cappuccino that was now cold. “Are you scared?” Mark asked when he came back out. He stood behind the cash register again, attending to his abandoned calculations. “I-I don’t think so,” I hesitated. “You don’t want a funny guy?” “No, that’s not it. I love laughing,” I chuckled as proof, making Mark smile as he fingered through a handful of bills. “I think I just…” I let out another sigh as I struggled to put my feelings into words. I propped my elbows up as I rested my head into the palms of my hands, watching over Mark as he quietly counted the bills. “It’s just been so long since I’ve been on a date,” I finally confessed. “And I have a pretty plain personality. I’ll eventually bore most guys so why even try?” “That’s not true,” he muttered, not looking up from his counting. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” I added. “I’ve completely accepted that I’m boring and honestly, I’m doing very well on my own. Why torture a poor guy with my monotony when I can happily exist just fine by myself?” “Girl, you sound bitter,” Mark chuckled blandly. “But it’s the truth,” I replied back. “Well, what if Jackson doesn’t think you’re boring?” I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t think that’s likely. He might be interested at first, but he looks like he’s up for adventures and I’m a girl who goes to the same places and does the same things every day. Soon I’ll run out of stories to tell and the sound of my laughing won’t be enough anymore.” Mark closed the register and walked back so that he was standing behind the counter across from me. He looked me dead in the eye. “That’s impossible.” I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “You’re a writer, you have a million stories in your pocket. You just don’t share them.” I bit at the bottom of my lips, taking in his words. “What are you taking about? I’m an assistant.” Mark rolled his eyes. “You come here every night to work on your book. It’s basic good service to know your customer.” “Just because I write doesn’t make me a writer,” I mumbled. Mark laughed. “That makes you exactly a writer. For someone with so many words inside, you sure don’t tell people a whole lot.” “For someone who never speaks during the day, you sure have a lot to say when it’s just me around,” I countered pettily. Mark smiled at me before speaking gain more softly. “For a girl who so proudly claims to be fine by herself, you sure don’t like being alone.” “W-What?” I scoffed. Did he not hear me this whole time? As if reading my thoughts, Mark went on. “You wake up before the sun rises and rush to the office where you spend your whole day appeasing others. A normal loner would rush back home to the peace and quiet of her comfortable apartment. But instead, you choose to come here and sit amongst the loud horde of teenaged friends and college couples and you stay until night. It’s like the only time you’re actually alone is when you’re asleep.” I watched as Mark bit at his lips, staring down at my cappuccino cup. Right about now he was probably questioning his boundaries. Mark has never talked for so long, much less about the way I live my life. He was certainly crossing a line, and yet I couldn’t be mad at him. He had a point. I let out another sigh. “I guess I don’t know what I want.” “I’m sorry,” he whispered back. I shook my head silently but he wasn’t looking at me. Mark grabbed at my cappuccino cup, emptying it out into the sink before walking out from behind the counter. “Shall we head out now?” he asked with a smile, changing the mood. He grabbed my bag and slung it over his shoulder before leading me through the back entrance. There’s something about the air of summer nights that feel healing. Or maybe it was Mark walking beside me. I had not prepared myself to have that kind of conversation. I had a feeling I was going to stay up for a while because of it. For the ten minutes it took to get to my apartment, we were quiet. This was how it normally was and it was one of the things that I loved about Mark’s company. But tonight’s silence was uncomfortable. I had this urge to speak but I didn’t know what to say. As we reached my place, I gave up trying to put my words together. Mark stopped at my door but made no moves to hand me back my bag. “Look, I didn’t mean to come off as critical earlier,” Mark uttered softly. “I know,” I smiled at him rubbing his arm softly as reassurance. “It was words I needed to hear. I should pay you to be my therapist.” Mark smiled gently before handing me my bag. “I just don’t want you to give up before you even try. You keep saying you’re too boring, but I want you to know that to the right guy, you’re enough. More than enough. I hope you think of dating in that way. Don’t sell yourself short.” I smiled, looking up at Mark’s serious face, feeling my chest grow soft with warmth. “Thanks, Mark. Your future girlfriend is going to be a lucky girl.” His eyes soften as he stared into mines for a moment longer before clearing his throat and stepping back. “Yeah, well, maybe I’m the real loner between the two of us,” he chuckled dryly, rubbing at the nape of his neck shyly. “That’s true. You could probably get any girl you wanted, huh?” Mark smiled, shrugging his shoulders before slowly stepping away. “Try to rest early, Y/N. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a final wave I entered my apartment, setting my bag on the kitchen counter before going to change. When I came back my bag was humming from the vibration of my phone. A text message. Pulling out my phone, I smiled. Wang Puppy had sent me a photo of himself beside a green potted plant. “Today was fun! Bob would love it if he could meet you next time.” I let out a deep exhale as I thought about what to say back. My eyes glancing around pensively, they landed on a half-eaten banana on the counter. I chuckled to myself. “Okay, Mark, I’ll let myself try,” I smiled quietly before hitting send.

Thanks for reading guys! ^^ PS that text image took so long to photoshop omg i have a newfound respect for all those messenger scenario writers y’all are the real MVPs!!!

[fuckerrd]

general tag drop

[fuckerrd]

open to mutuals !

      ❝ you’ve been gone for QUITE a while. i thought you were going fishing ? ❞

[fuckerrd]

open to mutuals !

      ❝ odo says gambling is for people who don’t know how to ENJOY themselves more reputably. ❞

[fuckerrd]

open to mutuals !

      ❝ sorry. i guess i’m a little grumpy today. i MISSED breakfast. ❞