The Adventure (Tomark)

Chapter 5

Tom is more than nervous when he approaches the Hoppuses house three days later. The teenager knows that he eventually has to sort things out with Mark, still, the prospect of facing his friend is giving him the jitters, especially since he has not yet processed the events he witnessed. But Tom, knowing that he has to pull through in order to get back to normal, decides to ignore his anxiety. He needs to tell Mark that he doesn't care about his sexual preferences, that he is sorry for bursting into his friends room unannounced and, most importantly, that he doesn't want things to change.

Tom is mulling over something else as well, but certainly doesn't plan on confessing that particular thing. It's the image of Mark — half-open eyes, slightly red cheeks, breathing heavily — that keeps popping up in his mind. The teenager recollects the moment their eyes met over and over again, and what was shocking at first now feels weirdly exciting to a degree where he can feel blood rushing to his groin. Tom blames being a needy teenager for this though; he pretty much is horny 24/7. Heck, he even managed to get off when that goofy chick who goes by the charming nickname of 'Overbite Olivia' gave him a toothy blowjob at that booze-induced party last year. And in this case it wasn't exactly the girl he was into, but rather the sexual tension itself. Also, he was trashed. It's kind of the same (minus the alcohol) with Mark and that stupid guy; at least that's what Tom tells himself.

Talking to Mark will probably make those odd ideas go away, too, and things will hopefully become normal again. But his car is not in the driveway, and there are no worn out Vans Old Skool next to the front door either. It begins to dawn on Tom that the much-needed conversation is not going to take place. That idiot chickened out.

***

Mark, just as spontaneously as he disappeared, suddenly returns after one week of being gone without a trace. Tom runs into him after tutoring, almost getting a heart attack when he spots the older boy, who is apparently preparing a PBJ for lunch, at the kitchen counter.

„Hey man, what's poppin'?" Mark cheerfully asks and waves at Tom who immediately frowns.

„Dude, are you serious? You've been M.I.A for the past week," he snaps, his voice trembling, „I was fucking worried you idiot!"

Mark raises an eyebrow. „Um, last time I checked I was a free man and accountable to none. And you were not acting like my overly attached girlfriend then." With that, he takes a bite from his sandwich and shrugs. Tom feels stupid; all he wanted was things to go back to normal, but now it seems to be even worse than before. He can't help it though: Mark's happy-go-lucky demeanor for the first time annoys him and, as if that wasn't enough, there's an unpleasant feeling of jealousy creeping into his chest.

„You hung out with your friend? The one that got dumped by his girlfriend and needed someone to talk to?"

Mark, who is still chewing, suddenly chokes on his sandwich and coughs violently as he tries to swallow. When he finally is able to catch his breath again, the student appears to be way more serious than before. „Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I lied to you, that's not cool."

"Sorry, my ass!" Tom growls, before finally pulling himself together and continuing with a softer voice. There is something important that needs to be addressed after all.

„So... You're... um, into guys?"

„Denying that would be kinda stupid after what you saw, huh?" Mark points out with an amused expression. „So yeah. I guess."

„A—all right," a slowly nodding Tom replies. He is determined to demonstrate his tolerance, but he's curious as well and being tactful turns out to be rather difficult with all those questions that pop into his mind. „What about that song you wrote though, Josie? It's about your former girlfriend, right?"