The miracle

Thank you...

Jack

When the last bell rang Mark practically dragged me outside. "Food!" He said. I laughed as we walked towards town. I pulled out my phone and texted my mom. 

Hey mom.

What's up kiddo?

Can I go hang out with a friend?

See, I told you it wouldn't be so bad.

And yes, you can. Just be home by ten

Ten? Thanks mom.

If it's a guy I highly doubt you'll be home before then.

Mom!

Haha! Now stop talking to me and have fun. Only text if it's an emergency. I also want to meet him or see picture.

Actually make that both.

mOM

I sighed and shoved my phone in my pocket. "Parents?" Mark asked. "My mom." I said. He laughed. "So, where would you like to go?" He asked. "Um, anywhere is good. I don't really know which places are the best." I said. "Hmm, do you like games?" Mark asked. My eyes lit up. "I love games!"  I said excitedly. "How about we go to Dave and Busters?" He asked. "Really!?" I'd always wanted to go to Dave and Busters, but  I never got the chance to go. "Yeah, come on!" He grabbed my hand again and started running. I laughed and tried to keep up with him. 

"M-Mark, slow down!" I said out of breath. He slowed to a stop and let me catch my breath. "Jesus can you run." I stabled myself on knees while he laughed. "You alright Jackaboy?" He put  a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah." I said before adding. "Markimoo." He smiled at me. "Ha ha very funny, now are you good or should I carry you?" He asked. I laughed. "I don't think you could even carry me. I weigh a friggen ton." I said standing up straight. Mark smirked. "I call bull." He got closer to me. My face was at least as red as his hair. "Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Mhm. Really." In one swift movement he picked me up bridal style. I yelped and wrapped an arm around his neck. 

"I told you, I called bull. You weigh literally nothing Jack." He said. "Who said you weighed a ton?" He asked. "U-Um... N-no one." Lies. You know exactly who. I know. They hated you Jack. Stop. Mark will leave you. Just like Victor. I did my best to block out the voice. I closed my eyes and leaned closer to Mark. "Jack? Are you okay?" His grip on me tightened. I could feel the tears creeping down my face. "M-Mark?" I stuttered. "I'm right here Jack." He said. "D-Don't leave me please." I said burying my head in his chest. "I'm not going anywhere Jackaboy. Never." We were sitting on the ground now, him holding me close to his chest. I closed my eyes and let a few more tears leak out. "Jack?" His chest vibrated when he talked. 

"Yeah?" I said looking up at him. "You're too beautiful to be crying." He reached up and wiped away the tears. I smiled at him. "Now, how about we go have some fun?" He asked. I sniffed and nodded. He stood back up before setting me down. "Get on my back." He said bending down a little bit. I laughed and climbed on. He took off running down the sidewalk, both of us laughing. People gave us weird looks or watched us as we blurred past. But, I really didn't care. I felt safe around Mark. Like I could be myself and nothing bad would happen. When we slowed down I set my chin on his shoulder and leaned my head against his. "Thank you Mark."  I said. 'Always." We walked in, me still on his back. The lady at the desk smiled at us. "Two?" She asked. We both nodded. She showed us to a table that was a little more separated from the others. "I'll be back with your cards." She said. Mark set me down and we sat across from each other. "Pizza and wings?" He asked. I nodded. 

He smiles and went to order the food. I messed with the hem of my shirt and smiled to myself. I really liked Mark. I know that we had just met not that long ago, but he seemed really nice and being held by him made me feel safe. Like everything was going to be alright. "She gave me the cards, and we've got about thirty minutes until the food is done, wanna play some games?" I looked up to see Mark walking back over. "Yeah." I got up and followed him to some of the games. "What do you wanna play first?" He asked. I looked around until I saw a motorcycle racing game. "That!" We walked over to it and inserted our cards. I climbed onto my motorcycle and picked the type that I would ride, as did Mark. "I am so gonna kick your ass in this." I said. "Oh, getting confident are we?" Mark smirked. "Yes." I Leaned down and grabbed the handle bars. "You're on." He said. "Bring it Markimoo." I said as the game started.

---

"What! No. Nonononononono! Dammit!" I laughed as I barely managed to pass up Mark and cross the finish line in first place. I laughed and climbed off. "You're way to good at that." He said. "I've never even played it before." I admitted. "No. Fucking. Way. I got beat by a noob?" He asked. "Yes. Yes you did." I teased. "Fine, we have time for one more and this time I'm picking." He said. I shrugged. "Lead the way." I said. We ended up at a shooting game. Mark swiped his card and we picked up our guns. We picked out our characters and the game began. "EAT MY BULLETS!" Mark said. I laughed and started aiming. 

Mark won in the end. Both of us one bullet away from death. "Man, I was so close to beating you though." I said. Mark laughed and he put up his gun. We walked back to the table where our food was waiting. "Let's eat." Mark said as we sat back down. We both tore into our pizza and talked. "So, what is Ireland like?" Mark asked taking a bite of his pizza. "It rained a lot. Always cloudy and chilly. But still beautiful. Lots of open fields and trees. It was always so green and just beautiful." I said. "Not as beautiful as you I'd bet." He said quietly. My eyes widened and my face heated up while Marks face went pale. "D-Did I say that...out loud?" He said nervously. I nodded. "Urgh." He slammed his head on the table making me laugh. I reached over and messed up his hair. "Hey!" He sat up and fixed it. "Thank you." I said. "For what?" He looked confused. "For saying I'm beautiful you dingus." I said. "Oh. Um, y-you're welcome. I mean, it's true." Now his face was red. I bit my lip and looked down at my lap. Maybe I had a chance. No you don't. Remember Victor? Oh, and Jamie? I really wished that voice would shut up. Not gonna happen. I sighed. Mark and I threw out the trash and ran off to play some more games. 

After a horror simulator game we decided to go sit and take a break for a bit. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was 7:30. We had two and a half hours before I had to go home. We sat down and leaned back in our chairs. I took out my phone to see if my mom messaged me. Nothing. I looked up at Mark who was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed. I took a sneaky picture of him and sent it to my mom. I put my phone away and looked at Mark. He looked peaceful. A small smile was placed on his lips. The same woman from earlier came over with a big cup and two straws. Mark opened his eyes when she set the cup down. I decided it was Strawberry milkshake with cream and two cherries. "Um, we didn't-" "I know. It's on the house." She winked at me and walked off. My face went red. Was she trying to hook us up? Mark was confused for a second before his entire face went red with realization. "Oh." He buried his face in his hands. 

He looked up and made eye contact with me. "U-Um, thirsty?" He asked nervously. I gave a small chuckle and nodded. "Are you?" I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Maybe I am." He said. We both leaned forward and took a drink out of the straws. I looked up at him. He was very close to me. Almost close enough to kiss. I looked down at his lips. They looked soft. I looked up and our eyes met. We both stopped drinking the milkshake. He leaned forward and so did I. Our lips met and butterflies burst in my stomach. His hand cupped my cheek and pulled me closer. When we pulled away we were both smiling like idiots. 

"Hey Jack?" I heard him say. "Yeah Mark?" I replied. "I love you." He said. I bit my lip. "I love you too." I said and connected our lips again.