CRINGE CULTURE IS DEAD (Elder Mark x Reader)

Friday Night

Today is Friday– the day I've been looking forward to all week. Last week, Mark invited me and the other Elders to come over to his house for a small party for just the four of us. He mentioned in the group text that neither of his parents would be home, so we could yell and shout as much as we wanted. I chuckled at that detail because it was probably aimed toward Barry, who tends to not really have an "inside voice." After what of course seemed like an eternity, Friday finally rolled around, and now I'm strolling down the sidewalk with a spring in my step and some snacks in my backpack. Mark's house is a bit of a walk from my place, but I don't mind taking the extra time to get some fresh air.

I arrive at his house and, instead of ringing the doorbell, I send him a text.

"open up gayboy"

He reads the message, and a moment later the lock turns and he swings the front door open. Inside, I hear laughter coming from the living room. Barry and David must've seen the notification come through on Mark's phone. He looks pissed.

"You could've just knocked."

"Yeah, I could have, but that was way funnier."

Mark pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a "jesus christ" under his breath. Stepping through the doorframe, I ruffle his hair as a more genuine greeting. When I walk into the living room, I find David and Barry sitting on the floor in front of the couch playing Smash Bros. Barry seems to be losing pretty badly.

"What's up guys, who's winning?" I lean over the back of the couch to watch. David looks at me and smiles quickly before shifting his attention back to the game.

"Me, duh," He responds. Barry pleads his case.

"Well I would be winning if we had items on!" Just then, Mark came back in with a bag of popcorn for himself.

"Barry, nobody plays with items on, that's for losers."

"If they were for losers then they wouldn't have put them in the game!"

In the heat of the argument, Barry looks away to properly bicker with Mark. David, having seen an opening, immediately takes his last stock and wins the match. The announcer booms:

"PEACH WINS!"

"Aw man, dude, no fair! I was distracted!"

"A win is a win," David says with a goofy grin, not taking his eyes off the TV. I chime in with an offer.

"Guys, I brought over a couple of movies that we could watch, you wanna do that instead?" All three boys express their agreement.

"Anything other than having to listen to them argue," Mark says, jokingly. He goes to fetch more snacks for us while I pop the DVD into the player. When he comes back, all four of us settle onto the couch, snacks in hand, and I press play on the remote.

~~~

Never in my life did I think I would watch a movie quite as repulsing as this one. I glance at the others.

"THIS MOVIE IS THE WOOOORST," David exclaims, throwing his head back into the couch cushion. He's not wrong; we're only forty minutes in, and yet it feels like we've been watching this for three days. Mark chimes in.

"Yeah, can we please do something else now? I think this is officially the worst thing I've ever seen." I agree. I don't even bother to take the DVD out, I just turn the TV off. Slouching further into the couch cushion, I sigh.

"Okay, what do you guys wanna do now?" I ask. There's a second of silence before David suddenly gasps and jumps out of his seat.

"We could play Truth or Dare!" We all groan in response. Mark intervenes.

"What are you, nine years old? The only people who play Truth or Dare are little girls at sleepovers."

"Aww, Mark, come on, it'll be fun! Just a few rounds, and if we get bored again we'll find something else to do."