since eighth grade. → markiplier

Chapter Sixteen: Romance

Chapter Sixteen: Romance?

Ellie

I drain the rest of the beer from my can, slamming it down onto the bedside table when I finish it off. I gaze over at Mark expectantly, watching as he taps a small tune on his knees. He is sat on the floor, for some reason that I am not aware of, and he smiles up at me and sticks out his tongue. We were in my bedroom at the moment, as Mark requested that he ask me his dare in private.

“So, what’re you going to dare me to do?” I ask, pushing a few strands of hair behind my ear. He shrugs as if he isn’t sure yet, but smiles almost cockily as if he does.

“Come help me up and I’ll tell you.” He says, grinning even wider. I huff, not arguing against this. I don’t know why he wants me to help him up, – he’s perfectly capable of getting up himself – but I was curious as to what it was he had in store for me. I walk over to him, offering him my hand. He reaches up, wrapping his hand firmly around my own. I go to pull him up, but, instead, he pulls me down.

I let out a yelp as he pulls me down, finding that I land on top of him. I blush fiercely, but Mark just laughs. I gaze at him, finding myself locked within the depths of his chocolate brown eyes. I chew on my bottom lip, only blushing harder when I hear footsteps approaching.

“Jackass,” I mutter, rolling my eyes and pushing myself up and off of him. As I do, though, Felix walks into the room with Marzia and they both let out a gasp. “Oh, God, don’t get any ideas,” I say to them, brushing off my jeans. Mark holds his hand out, presumably for me to help him up again, but I shake my head. “I don’t trust you anymore, Markimoo.”

“…Markimoo?” He asks, a little dazed at the name I just gave him. I laugh slightly, nodding my head.

“Yeah. Markimoo.” I confirm, folding my arms over my chest.

“I love it,” Felix says, nudging Marzia. They glance at each other for a moment, grinning as they, probably, think the same thing. “Come on, Marzia, let’s give these two some privacy.”

“No, we-” I start, but I’m cut off by the sound of the door shutting.

They’ve already left the room. I let out a huff, frowning as I look down at Mark who is still sat on the floor.

“You suck, Markimoo.” I say, and he beams at this. At the sight of this, I know exactly what his next words are going to be.

“And you swallow.” He jokes, laughing his ass off at this. I place a hand on my hip, looking down at him.

“Don’t go there, Mark.” I say, sighing.

“But I just did.” He counters, causing me to become a little irritated.

“You’re being difficult,” I tell him, turning my back on him as I go to walk out of the room. We still had friends round, and I didn’t want them to get any more ideas than Felix and Marzia had. Before I can leave, though, I hear Mark get up and then his hands are wrapped around my forearm. Just like that time at the airport. “What?” I ask, slightly confused.

“Well, my dare isn’t really a dare. At least, I don’t want it to be one. But I don’t know how you’ll feel about it...” He tells me, and I nod my head at this.

“Okay. Shoot.” I say, turning to face him properly. He releases my arm, looking a little nervous.

“A… um, kiss?” He says, and I feel my eyebrows shoot up and my cheeks warm. I open my mouth to speak, but find myself at loss for words. My stomach is swarming with butterflies, and I have a temptation to just throw my arms around Mark. But, instead, I just stand here. Speechless. “I mean, you don’t have too.” He adds, but I shake my head.

“No, I will.” I say, finding my voice firm and clear.

“You… will?” He asks, and I nod my head. At this point, I feel as if I really could just collapse on the floor. My knees are weak beneath my body, and they threaten to give up on holding my weight. Despite this, I step closer to him.

His hands rest on my waist, and a dark memory swims to my mind. Instead of focusing on it, though, I let myself get lost in Mark’s eyes. He pulls me closer and I, automatically, rest my hands on the front of his shirt. He pulls me closer to him, and, for a little while, we just stand there and sort of… sway.

When I gaze up at him, and our lips brush each other’s, though, we stop swaying. We both freeze in that moment before he pushes his lips firmly against my own, and my hands curl over his shoulders.

When we break away, I search his eyes for something.

“Mark, we should talk about this…” I say, thinking through things in my head. They’re too difficult and complex to not talk about.

“Yeah. Okay.” He says, probably understanding what I’m saying. Instead of releasing me and talking, though, we just stay as we are.

“If this were to turn into anything… more, which I, admittedly, wouldn’t mind, I wouldn’t want us to lose our friendship.” I say, and my stomach swirls when I realize what I had just admitted to him.

“Well, I’d like for it to turn into something more, too. But I understand what you’re on about, with us losing our friendship and all.”

“Well, I promise that, no matter what happens, I’ll still be your best friend,” I say, laughing lightly at this. He grins at me, placing another kiss on my lips. I lean backwards, raising an eyebrow. “Come on, Fischbach, make your promise.” I tell him, smiling.

“Okay, okay. I promise that, no matter what happens, I’ll still be your best friend.” He tells me, and I wrap my arms around him as I pull him in for a hug. He seems a little shocked by this, as he doesn’t respond to the hug immediately. If I’m honest, I don’t mind hugging Mark that much.

“I now grant you the permission to hug me whenever you want to.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” He says, laughing. “But… what about kisses?” He asks, and I drop my head as a blush creeps onto and spreads over my cheeks.

“Yes. Of course. Whenever you like,” I tell him, and he squeezes me in a bear-hug. “Okay, I think we should draw some lines when it comes to hugging. No more like that.”

“I make no promises on that.”

“Alright, whatever, Mark.” I say, letting myself melt into the hug that he envelopes me in. Honestly, I think that I’m starting to love hugs.

I'm not so sure about this chapter. I might be adding more to it at some point, but tell me what you guys think.