Born For You ~ Mark x Reader

Chapter 5

"Y/n, y/n," I know that voice.

It comes to me through the haze of my mind. The darkness starts to lift and that's when my entire body awakens and the soreness of my muscles pulses up into my brain. What happened?

Oh yeah, we were at the beach. Natalie got hit in the face by a volleyball. There were two guys. One with muscles and dark hair while the other one...my head pounds as I try to think of the other stranger. My chest races and a lump forms in my throat. What is going on?

"Y/n, come on." There's Natalie again.

I passed out. Right. How embarrassing. Do I even want to open my eyes? What if he's still there.

Grumbling, I try to shake off the anxiety gripping my muscles and slowly open my eyes. Of course, that stranger is standing above me with Natalie next to him and the other man, Jackson, trying to peek around both of them. I want to ignore them both. I don't know what this feeling is, but I definitely don't want it.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Natalie questions. Her forehead and part of her nose is bright red, sore from the volleyball earlier.

I'm only able to slightly nod, the pounding in my head intensifying when the skinny man bends down toward me.

"Here," he begins, his hand outstretched. He pauses though, his arm trembling. His thin brow twitches and his mouth opens slightly.

"Oh come on Mark, let the poor girl up!" Jackson pushes his friend out of the way before grabbing my hand and pulling me up.

My vision blurs for a moment as I try to recenter myself. Natalie grabs my arm and holds me steady.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry." The other stranger, Mark, bows his head softly. His pale pink hair blows in the Ocean breeze. He glances up, his dark eyes skimming over me before returning back to the sand.

"Oh now you're shy." Jackson rolls his eyes, but his grin only widens. "You're both okay, right?"

"Yes, thank you," I allow my smile to appear briefly, before Mark looks at me once more and it disperses.

His has a facemask tucked under his chin, while pieces of his hair brush against his forehead. His body is thin, but lean. His muscles ripple when he moves.

"Did you eat? Is that why you fainted?" Jackson continues. His voice is raspy, his dark eyes wide as he watches me. He has a large smile that is quite infectious. My anxiety and the tension in my body soon disperses.

"Maybe," what else could it be? I am hungry, but I don't really think it's because of that.

Natalie is watching me carefully, before turns back to the boys. "We're just going to go grab some food. Maybe up at Bubba Gumps."

"We'll go with you." Mark blurts out, before his eyes widen and he glances away from me. "Um, I mean, uh." His face scrunches up in concentration.

"Mark!" Jackson yells, "You're from LA and you forget English!"

A laugh builds up in my stomach and before I can stop myself, I release it. All three sets of eyes turn on me. With his gaze searching my face, I find myself sobering quickly. Why does he keep looking at me? This is too embarrassing. Fighting the heat erupting into my pale face, I bow my head to hide.

"I'm sorry, I dont mean to be rude."

"Its true though, right Hyung?" Jackson all but squeals slapping Mark on the back.

Mark glances at his friend, his eyes narrowed before he opens his mouth, "I was just trying to say, that we can go with you. To pay. Its the least we can do for hitting you with the ball."

He wants to come eat with us? Why? Heart racing, I swallow the lump in my throat. This can't be happening. I've embarrassed myself too much today. I dont know if I can handle more time around him.

"Sure, free food." Natalie shrugs.

Of course that's her answer. Anything for food.

"Great, let's go!" Jackson screams running toward the pier.

Natalie laughs, but the knot in my stomach refuses to let me loosen up. Can I handle being around him? He's so beautiful and I'm so...not. just the sight of him had me fainting. What is up with that? I'm not sure I want to know. Maybe it is just me being hungry. Oh well.

I follow after my sister, Mark falling in line next to me. He remains quiet until we reach the restaurant.