Turning Blue 2: The Island

Chapter 13: How The Universe Works

Thomas gasped, nearly fumbling the laptop when he caught sight of Mark. "M-Mar..." He stammered, his words cut short as Mark nodded and flashed a reassuring smile.

"Yep, it's me," He said.

"He came to check on us!" Abby beamed, leaning in closer to the laptop's camera.

"After what had happened, I figured I needed too," Mark said with a nod, as he sat on the couch's armrest. There was no room for him to sit on the couch.

"I'm so glad you came over; this game you've got is amazing!" Abby yelled. "It's so freaky!"

Mei chimed in with a giggle. "Honestly, it's a bit too spooky for my taste," she admitted.

"It's not that scary," Tyler remarked, shaking his head. "I mean, are you guys seriously frightened by those rosy-cheeked robot thingies? Come on..."

Miriam scoffed. "Dude, you were the one to yell the loudest when that "red-cheeked" rabbit jumped at the screen,"

Percy burst into laughter, quickly muffling it with his hand and looking away. Tyler blushed and playfully covered his face.

"Aww, is your boyfriend making you all shy?" Mei teased, with a grin.

Percy's giggles intensified.

"Ugh, Mei shut up!" Tyler playfully pushed her.

Thomas chuckled just watching them on the screen. He wanted to talk to them more, but for some reason, he felt awkward seeing them all through the screen. He didn't know what to say at the moment. If he was there, he'd definitely see what all the fuss was about this game they were playing. But then Thomas realized something. He did not want to bring up to Carter the dream he had, or any of his friends at all-

But maybe Mark would understand. He probably could be the only one to understand it.

"Mark-?" Thomas called out to him.

All eyes, including Mark's, turned toward the laptop's camera. Thomas felt a bit bashful as the room fell silent, with everyone's attention now on him.

"Guys, why are we all staring at him and making the poor boy blush?" Mei broke the silence, her voice filled with amusement, before urging everyone to return to their game.

Thomas sighed, with a small chuckle. "Um... I need to speak to you privately... Mark,"

But then the rest looked back at Mark again.

"Oh? What is it?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, you ok?" Carter asked as he shifted the laptop in his direction.

"No, I... I just need to ask him something,"

Carter nodded, then smiled. "Okay," He handed the laptop to Mark. Thomas could see the laptop moving, and when it went into Mark's hands.

"You can go into my room, it's down the hall where the bathroom is, just left of it," Thomas heard Carter say.

"Alright," Mark said and turned away from them.

Thomas watched the screen until he saw that Mark turned into Carter's room, which he's used to seeing. He's seen that room probably more times than his own. Mark shut the door behind him, then went ahead and sat down on Carter's bed, then adjusted Carter's laptop on his lap. "So, what's up Thomas?"

Thomas modded. "So... I needed to talk to you about something..."

Mark nodded, "Okay, shoot. It's... Not about Nerraw is it?" He asked, arching his eyebrow.