I can't Hurt You - Marcus Lopez Arguello

43

It'd been a couple hours since Marcus and I's make out session got interrupted. By now he was at work and I was on my way to see him. I had nothing better to do after all. That is unless I wanted to tag along with Saya on some mission Lin gave her. I love her, but that girl is seriously such a teacher's pet. That's saying something considering I'm like Lin's daughter.

I walked into the comic book store to see it almost empty inside. Marcus was organizing some comic books onto the shelves as Willie walked around the store observing all the latest comic books that came in. I'm assuming he wasn't interested in many because he only had one in hand. Maybe Marcus just told him to stop touching things because he was messing them up. Seems like something Marcus would do. Besides them there were a couple other people in the store picking up some comic books. Some were around our age and others much younger and much more annoying.

"Hey, handsome." I said coming up behind Marcus and giving him a hug from behind.

"Hey, didn't think you'd show." He said turning around and giving me a hug the right way.

"Couldn't pass up seeing my boyfriend at work." I teased.

He laughed with me before we both looked over at Willie from across the store.

"You don't think he-" I said before he cut me off.

"Nah he's too distracted with the books. Don't think he saw us flirting." He said before turning back to me.

"Haven't been in this store in forever." I said as I looked around.

"Yeah why would you. It's not like you read." Marcus teased.

"Oh shut up. I read, just not pointless things." I laughed.

"I'll have you know these are very much not pointless. They're also very much more interesting than any of those books you usually read. Which one was the last one? The Art of Assassins?" Marcus teased as he held up the latest issue of Batman.

"Fuck off." I laughed as I playfully shoved his shoulder.

Willie then came up to us, looking at the shelves instead of us. We both looked at each other before staring at the concentrated looking Willie in front of us.

"Dude." Marcus said making Willie look up at us.

After Chico's death Willie had been different. He hardly keeps up his act anymore. I don't think he has the energy to keep it up. In his free time he usually sleeps or eats. Marcus and I think he's just badly depressed.

Marcus held his hand out, mentally telling Willie to hand over what he picked up so he could charge him for it.

"You're not acting like you, okay? All you do is mope around and torture yourself." Marcus explained as he walked over to the front desk, Willie and I following.

"I don't sleep anymore, man. The whole thing's just eating me alive." Willie said sounding depressed.

Maybe this is what happens to pacifists when they're put in violent situations.

"Why? Chico was an asshole and you didn't even pull the trigger. He's better dead than he ever was alive." I said emotionlessly as I picked up a comic book that was on the desk and inspected it, not looking at him.

"I know he was an asshole, but he was still a person. He was a person with a life that we took. How can you feel that way about a life? A soul?" Willie said letting his strong emotions seep through a bit.

"Because that's what we go to school for. We're trained every day of our teenage lives to kill those who deserve it. Get revenge. No one deserved it more than Chico weather you wanna believe it or not." I said finally looking away from my comic book and at him.