It Follows {Book One}

03

Monday, July 30th
33 days

•Mark•

There was a time that Mark would have rather walk the seven miles to school than to get in a vehicle with Ten.

Ten wasn't a bad driver at all. He was actually really good, but he was reckless. The very few times that Mark didn't have a choice and he had to get in the car with Ten, by the time they reached their destination, Mark's back was pressed as far into the seat as it could go, his nails digging into the arm rest, and the other held the grand handle so tightly that when he eventually did let go, his fingers were stuck in that position for a few minutes. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs even after he had gotten out of the car.

At the time, he hated it. He wanted to feel safe, and a safe driver (aka, not Ten) was a good start. To prevent high blood pressure, Mark usually ended up getting rides from Johnny Seo, a radio DJ that Mark knew from when he used to be a cashier with Taeyong at Target. It was his first job, so Mark was still pretty young, eleven or twelve maybe.

Mark had been absolutely ecstatic when he finally got his license, but since he never had a car of his own (and refused to use his parents' because it was a minivan, and he wouldn't be caught dead in that thing), he would convince Ten to let him drive instead.

The day the announcement had been made, Mark didn't believe it. There had been hundreds of predictions of the end of the world, none of which had been true, so he didn't think anything of it, aside from the fact that it would just be something everyone forgot about until the day had passed.

But when the babies, toddlers, and the elderly started dying from all the toxins in the air and the oxygen that was slowly going away, he realized that things really were going to shit.

Just like Yuta said.

He was right.

Not that Mark would ever admit that to his face, of course. Mark had learned early on, never to give Yuta a reason to say I told you so.

Even if the world was going up in flames around them, Mark would go to his grave swearing up and down that everything is good, chill, global warming is a hoax, reality is an illusion, it was all in his head, and Donghyuck needed to calm the fuck down.

Mark knew it was true by now, every breath was a struggle and it only got worse every day. He seriously considered taking the little blue pill he kept in his pocket, but decided he needed one more day with Donghyuck.

Just one more.

But of course, he said that everyday.

"Where's your boyfriend?"

Mark was pulled form his thoughts as Ten slapped at his elbow with the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, and Mark was glad because most of the time he would steer with his knees. Johnny did that, too, sometimes, but Mark trusted Johnny a whole lot more.

"Probably annoying Taeyong or something. He said he was going over there earlier, maybe he's still there." Mark said, ignoring the teasing undertones of the 'boyfriend' part.

Sure, they'd been together for a while, and sure, he should've been used to it by now, but Mark couldn't help getting flustered over Donghyuck being his boyfriend. Mark couldn't believe it himself, and to him, Hyuck was way out of his league.

They didn't see each other during the day most of the time, but Mark would always come back to Donghyuck's house. The one that was once incredibly loud, because his family was just as energetic as he was. They were gone now, traveling somewhere Mark didn't care enough to remember, and he would never say this to Donghyuck, but he was glad. That meant they didn't have to keep the door open whenever Mark was over. Not that they ever did much anyways, aside from laying together (and occasionally making out, and that time they'd gotten a little carried away and Donghyuck had ridden his thigh). There really was no point to shutting the door at all, now that he thought about it. Still, he liked it.

It also meant he didn't have to sleep in the guest room whenever he spent the night, and he didn't have to worry about keeping that awkward space between them whenever they sat in the couch in fear of his parents saying something. Mark could show as much affection as he wanted, and not have to worry about anything.

And Mark had never really thought of himself as a real clingy guy, but coming back so late at night, especially now, knowing that they had no future and going on was practically pointless, Donghyuck was really the only comfort he got. And he was alright with that.

"Do you want to go there then? If he isn't there, then we can just hang out with Taeyong for a while."

Mark nodded, rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to soothe the ache from sleeping in such an awkward position the night before, because he refused to move in fear of waking Donghyuck. Both because he looked cute, and because he really didn't want to listen to him complain about it.

Ten suddenly smiled wide. "Dare me to close my eyes for thirty seconds?"

"No."

"You're boring."