uneven ground || lee mark

chapter 21

it had not been in ellie's plans to have a drink before leaving to the cinema with mark, but between dahye insisting on helping her get ready, and amy winehouse playing in the background, one thing just ended up leading to another.

or more like dahye set things up like that.

it wasn't like she was getting her friend completely hammered or anything, she just wanted to make sure that she'd have a fun evening and loosen up a little.

and it definitely worked.

when mark met her by the bus station — just like they had agreed on, he immediately noticed her exceptionally happy mood.

her smile was bigger than he'd ever seen it. which, well fine, he'd only seen her smile about twice or so, but still.

there was a certain glimmer in her eyes, and her cheeks were a bit redder than usual. now you could blame the last one on make up, but the placement of the flush looked a little too real.

"ellie? are you drunk?" instead of a normal greeting, that was the first thing he could bring himself to say.

the girl shook her head, smile dropping. "i only had a glass of champagne, and you better believe me when i say that i'm not that much of a lightweight."

considering that she did not have any trouble walking nor talking normally, he opted for trusting her words.

which revealed itself to be the right thing to do. whoever came up with the idea of making ellie drink before an outing had to be a genius -- or at least have a Ph.D. in things ellie.

it was clear that the alcohol in her system did not affect her ability to think rationally, but it brought out a side of her that mark would've never thought he'd get to experience.

suddenly, the girl was making jokes and engaging in an actual conversation with him throughout the whole way to the movie theater.

sure, this was still kang ellie we're talking about, so for the first five minutes, she had been silent as a mouse, but once she started talking, she never really seemed to stop.

and you could also argue that it was just the way that they had been spending much more time alone together recently that made her grow comfortable around him and open up, but that would just show that you don't know ellie very well at all.

"i watched the new terrifier with dahye last halloween, and that was the last time i ever got to watch a horror movie in company. i think she's traumatised for life, she can barely look at a clown without fainting of fear."

the girl rambled, leaning her chin on her hand as they sat in the bus, bodies slightly turned to face eachother.

"well, you probably shouldn't have let her dive in head first into one of the most terrifying — no pun intended — slashers of all time if she's inexperienced."

she chuckeld a little at his unintentional joke.

you heard that? she chuckled. kang ellie actually chuckled at something he said.

"i didn't think it was going to be that bad."

"dude, even i thought that one was bit too much. i had to sleep over at donghyuck and renjun's dorm for the next few days."

though she did not exactly know who donghyuck and renjun were — she just assumed they were his friends— his statement confused her little.

"don't you have a roommate of your own?"

caught of guard, mark shook his head.

it really had been a long time since he made new friends. he was so used to everyone around him knowing every single detail about his life and therefore never having to explain these kind of things to anyone.

"oh- nah. i have a single dorm."

ellie's eyes widened. "that exists?"

the boy in next to her laughed. "if you're willing to pay the extra load, yes. but believe me, it's not worth it."

the fire shifter's amazed smile dropped, her plans of getting away from dahye getting crushed just as immediately as they had come.

if she had thought it through for longer than ten minutes, ellie would've come to the conclusion of staying with her best friend anyway.

sure, she didn't show affection often, but that didn't mean she didn't feel it. aside from her direct family, dahye was ellie's favourite person.

no matter how often she gave her the cold shoulder or argued with her over basically anything, dahye still stuck around. and there were no words to describe how grateful ellie was for that. not many people were able to tolerate her —amittedly insufferable— attitude.

that's why to her, it was a mystery why mark was so adamant on getting closer to her.

"we're here." mark's soft voice brought her back to reality.

'shit, how long was i zoned out for?' she though, wondering why he hadn't kept talking and just let her daydream instead.

still, she followed after him as he made his way out of the bus and into the small town.

in contrast to the bus ride, the walk to the cinema was pretty silent.

unlike other silences the two had shared, however, this one happened to feel rather comfortable.

"have you watched texas chainsaw before?"

it was odd for ellie to be the one to strike up the conversation, but then again, everything about her behaviour was a bit odd that day. even before that glass of champagne she downed.

had she been in her right mind, ellie would've never agreed to come to the movies. 

right?

mark hummed. "but it's been a few years. you?"

he glanced at the girl walking next to him, who shook her head.

"worth it?" she questioned, but he couldn't do much but shrug his shoulders.

"typical slasher. basic low budget classic, but still fun, i guess."

now it was on her to hum. "i'm not really one for slashers, but we'll see, i guess."

"not one for slashers? weren't you the one talking about terrifier before?"

surprisingly, ellie smiled. "i never said i handled it well, did i? sure, dahye's case was worse, but not even sleeping in the same bed could help either of us get over the fear of art breaking in through our window."

"you said you like horror though." mark argued, but the girl was prepared for that question.

"i love psycho thrillers, if you want a precise answer. all that gore and blood and stabbing is too much for me at times. i prefer when it's something that just genuinely fucks with my head or makes me rethink my morals."

'then why did you agree to come here...?' the question lingered in marks head, but he didn't dare speak it out loud.

he was just grateful that she was willing to accompany him. whether she actually enjoyed the movie or not was something he could worry about later.

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i probably shouldn't have written this at 1 am lmfaoo (i'm genuinely scared now please TT)

fun fact: i hate horror movies, i've just watched to many because my bsf is an absolute sucker for them 

(ps: don't watch terrifier 2 alone with three friends in a hut in the woods)