Trust Your Instincts

-42- Dumpster Diving

 Mark and Jack stood hand in hand outside the bowling alley. It was becoming more and more difficult to pretend that summer hadn't passed them by, leaving behind the crisp autumn air that lingered somewhere between mild and cold. The length of time that the sun was up was also decreasing noticeably. The once icy blue sky replaced by a welcoming peachy shade of orange as the sun disappeared from view over the somewhat busy recreational centre.

 "C'mon Jack!" Mark pushed, trying to heighten the other's spirits with his best Irish accent. "It'll be a fun night, and maybe we could make more friends!" He searched Jack's eyes, but the green haired man refused to look back, staring instead hesitantly at the bowling alley that they were about to enter. 

 Mark understood why Jack was a little timid. He took his face in both of his hands, forcing the other to look upon him, and slightly stroking at the light stubble that his few days of not shaving had brought on. "Nobody is going to laugh at you if you can't bowl, Jack. And if they do, they'll have me to answer to." Mark cooed enthusiastically, removing one hand from Jack's face to flex his muscles, making the other giggle uncontrollably.

 Mark took this as a sign of success, and planted a quick kiss on Jack's lips before taking his hand again and heading into the bowling alley.

 They didn't have to look around much before they saw Laurel, chatting with her small group of friends. Jack forced himself to smile as they approached, Laurel wrapping her arms briefly around Mark and then Jack, before introducing her friends.

 "Okay, Mark and Jack, this is Connor." She pointed to one of the guys, he was incredibly handsome, and had dark brown hair and slightly tanned skin, but even within two seconds of shaking his hand, Mark and Jack were both inclined to believe that he was a little cocky. Mark didn't feel incredibly comfortable with his stare, and so decided not to pay him much attention.

 "...and Michaela," Laurel continued, gesturing towards a dark skinned girl who gave off the impression that she thought herself to be superior to the others, nevertheless she smiled and greeted them kindly. Jack scolded himself for being so critically analytical of Laurel's friends. Just give them time! He told himself.

 "...and that's Wes." She concluded, motioning towards the last of the group, also dark skinned and quite tall, with an innocent smile that Jack failed to misinterpret as ominous or arrogant, as he had with the other two.

 After becoming acquainted, the group headed towards one of the lanes, and went their separate ways to pick out their balls. Jack had no idea what the correct procedure for doing such a thing was, so he just picked the one that matched his hair colour the most and headed back to be with Mark.

 He wanted to try to get to know Laurel and her friends, or at least he wanted to show Mark that he wasn't a complete introverted recluse, but something about the whole night seemed off, and he didn't know why.

 Everyone took their first turns, and Mark was obviously very good at bowling. On his first shot, he threw the ball and turned around to look at the others, doing a silly pose as the ball knocked down all of the pins behind him. Jack was impressed, but nervous that he had to follow that up. It looked like a downscaled version of one of them scenes in an action film where the hero walks away without turning back as the building he just exited explodes.

 Jack picked up his ball, an acidic green that actually fit his fingers quite well, and held it out in front of him. That's what people do when they bowl, right? He thought to himself as he was made fully aware that all eyes were on him. 

 He brought his ball back, and swung back as confidently as he could. He felt good doing it, truth be told, but as soon as he let go of the ball, it was in the gutter, and Connor and Michaela were scoffing slightly.