(I've Known You) A Life and A Day

Journey To The Past

  The weekend flew by quicker than expected for Mark, and when his alarm went off on that dreaded Monday morning, he had to talk himself out of faking sick in order to skip school. After dragging himself through the mundane tasks to get ready for the eight hours of literal hell, he ran from his porch to his beat up car in an attempt to escape the downpour that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Or perhaps it seemed that way because Mark hadn't even bothered to check the weather before he stepped out that morning. Either way, he didn't particularly care for the dark and gloominess or the tired feeling that plagued his state of mind as a result of it. But still, he started up his car (after one or two tries, let's be honest) and made his way to the giant teenager prison cell known as high school.

The front doors swung open before he even got to them himself, his eyes meeting the nearly flame-filled ones of his blonde friend. Uh-oh. He was in trouble. Corinna was rarely unhappy, and almost never got mad, so that look usually indicated that his only way to survive would be to turn and run as fast as physically possible. He decided against it though, recalling the time she tackled a literal football player who tried to harass her and Charlene.

"Hey Cor...what's up?" The question only seemed to piss her off even further, making the urge to run seem way more appealing with each passing second.

"Don't you 'what's up' me. You know what you did."

Mark suddenly recalled his childhood years whenever he got into some sort of trouble, with his mother's stern face and crossed arms and him standing there with a wave of guilt rushing over him. He didn't like it one bit. "...No?"

Corinna sighed in frustration, grabbing Mark's arm and practically yanking him down the already crowded hallways. "He's been texting me all weekend saying that he didn't know what he did wrong and that you probably hate him. You're really fucking with his head. Fix it. Now."

Mark had no time to argue or share his side of the story, because the next thing he knew he had been shoved into a room and a soft click of the lock indicated that he wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"Y'know, some people at least have the courtesy to tell someone what they did wrong before blocking them."

Mark turned around to find the source of the sudden voice that made him jump in surprise, only to freeze up at the sight of Michael leaning against the wall with crossed arms and a somewhat pissed expression on his face.

"Well, some people at least have the courtesy to say they're not interested rather than lead people on," he returned just as sharply, watching the stone-faced boy grow confused.

"What the hell are you talking about? How did I lead you on?"

"I saw you with Eric Roberts at the mall. Figures you'd go after him. He's nice, good looking-"

"And in love with Janet Parker," Michael replied, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "That's what this is all about?"

Mark didn't answer, but felt the embarrassment, confusion, and anger boil in him when Michael began to laugh.

"Mark, I was only at the mall with him because he's trying to get me on the baseball team and he's a cool guy. I can be friends with guys and not want to screw them."

It was at this point that the relief within the other had died down and the guilt began to shine through. "I-"

"What's the matter?" Michael asked softly before taking a few steps forward so that their faces were mere inches apart. "Don't like to share?"

The sound of the bell cut Mark off before he could speak and Michael stepped away. "Unblock my number or I'll sic Corinna on you...again," he joked with a quick wink, and it was off to the next seven hours of hell.