tsn fic: sure to fall (in love with you)
Title: sure to fall (in love with you)
Characters/Pairing: Mark/Eduardo, mentions of Chris and Dustin
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2 700
Warnings: none
Summary: High school AU. Eduardo is everything Mark’s not. He’s popular and funny, and nice to everyone. He divides his time between a million extracurricular activities and he still finds the time to hang out with his friends and go places. Mark usually hangs out with Dustin after Dustin refuses to fuck off and leave him alone, and goes to the CS lab and, occasionally, the Principal’s office.
A/N: This was originally meant to be a response for the kinkmeme prompt that asked for high school and prom, but I didn’t actually include the prom part, so.
The title is taken from a song by The Beatles.
Beta-read by jean_iris, who is a filthy enabler.
Disclaimer: Based on fictionalized portrayals as seen in the movie and not the real people.
Mark is smart. This fact, combined with the fact that he knows it and isn’t afraid to admit that his intellect is superior to other people’s - aloud, within a hearing distance from the quarterback, a guy who is approximately twice Mark’s size and could probably break him like a twig - doesn’t exactly make him the most popular guy at school. That’s an understatement. Mark gets his head shoved down the toilet bowl on a more or less regular basis, usually once a week.
It’s not the most ideal situation, but he’s learned to live with this.
Eduardo is everything Mark’s not. He’s clever - okay, so that’s one thing they have in common, obviously, but he’s also popular and funny, and nice to everyone. He divides his time between a million extracurricular activities, like the debate team, the student council, and running track, and he still finds the time to hang out with his friends and go places. Mark usually hangs out with Dustin after Dustin refuses to fuck off and leave him alone, and goes to the CS lab and, occasionally, the Principal’s office.
They probably couldn’t be more different.
---
Eduardo takes AP Calc. He also takes AP English and AP Macro and AP US History and AP Spanish, but Calculus is the one class he and Mark have together.
Eduardo is already in the classroom, sitting in his usual seat by the window, middle row, when Mark gets there, five minutes late. His own seat in the back is taken, so Mark dumps his stuff on the desk in the front row with a scowl on his face.
The hair on the back of Mark’s neck prickles and he turns around. Eduardo is looking at him, but he drops his eyes when Mark stares back.
Mark shrugs and turns back to the front of the room.
---
“Hey!” somebody shouts and Mark’s whole body tenses, because more often than not situations like this end up with Mark being shoved face first into his locker. He squeezes his eyes shut and waits, but nothing happens.
“Mark, right?” the same voice asks, unsure, and Mark turns around to face the speaker.
It’s Eduardo and Mark spends a moment trying to remember if he insulted one of his friends recently, or maybe his girlfriend. Eduardo must take his silence for something else, though.
“I’m Eduardo,” he offers. “We’re in AP Calc together.”
“I know,” Mark retorts, quick and a bit too harsh, judging from the way Eduardo winces and drops his shoulders.
“Right, sorry. You left this in the classroom,” says Eduardo, showing Mark his textbook.
“Oh. Thanks,” Mark says, taking the book.
“No problem,” Eduardo tells him and smiles warmly. Mark leans back against the locker door, clutching the textbook in front of himself like a shield. “See you around, Mark,” says Eduardo, raising his hand in a mock salute and walking away.
---
Eduardo has a close knit group of friends not unlike himself, popular and easygoing. He spends every lunch break sitting with them in the cafeteria, relaxed and laughing.
One of the girls must be his girlfriend, because she always sits next to him on the bench, bumping her shoulders with Eduardo’s and ruffling his hair when he talks to her in a quiet voice, brushing an invisible lint off her sleeve.
Eduardo doesn’t have a problem with casual touches, giving them out as freely as his smiles.
Mark’s mom likes to say that Mark is like a hedgehog, prickly on the outside and soft and squishy on the inside. Mark takes offense to the comparison, especially the squishy part, but it’s still mostly true.
---
In January Mark gets stomach flu. He misses three days of school, during which he’s grumpy and miserable and isn’t really capable of doing much more than cruising between his bedroom and the bathroom to puke his guts out.
On the fourth day he finally feels strong enough to venture out to school again. His mom fusses over him, checking his forehead for fever at least ten times before she finally lets him go and Mark escapes the confinement of his own house.
“You’re alive!” Dustin cheers the moment he lays his eyes on Mark and Mark rolls his eyes, but smiles quickly, ducking his head when he passes Dustin to open his locker. “Eduardo was asking about you.”
Mark stops fiddling with the lock, because this sentence just doesn’t compute. “What?” he asks, baffled.
“Eduardo Saverin. I know your brain was seriously damaged during your mighty struggle with a deadly virus, but try to keep up.”
“Fuck off, Dustin,” Mark tells him but his words lack the sting. “I know which Eduardo.” What he doesn’t know is why Eduardo would be asking about him. Or why he would even notice that Mark wasn’t at school, for that matter.
He finds out during lunch, when Eduardo sits down at the table Mark shares with Dustin.
“Hey, Mark,” Eduardo says. “Dustin,” he greets the redhead, shooting a quick glance his way, but then his gaze returns to Mark. Mark shifts slightly in his seat, feeling unexpectedly self-conscious and sort of wishing he was wearing something different than a worn hoodie with a hole in its pocket and jeans.
“Hi,” Mark answers.
“Are you all right?” Eduardo asks him, looking concerned. “You weren’t in class.”
“I was sick,” Mark tells him. “I’m fine now,” he adds, because Eduardo still looks mildly worried. Mark doesn’t understand him.
“That’s good. So, I thought you might want to know what was going on. Here, you can borrow my notes,” Eduardo says, putting a neat pile of papers on the table. Mark puts down his sandwich and wipes his hands on his trousers before shuffling through the pages. They’re covered in Eduardo’s careful handwriting, with important bits marked with colorful markers.
“Sure,” Mark says after a moment. “Uh, thanks.”
“No problem at all. You can keep them for as long as you need,” Eduardo tells him before one of his friends waves him over and he disappears in the crowd. Mark thumbs the pages for a moment before picking them up and stuffing them in his backpack - carefully, so they don’t crumple.
“Dude,” Dustin says after a moment of silence. “I can’t even!” He sounds delighted, like he’s discovered the next big thing after Mario Kart, and Mark glowers at him. “You know, I’m not sure if this is more amusing or pathetic, but it sure as hell is entertaining to watch.”
Mark steals a fry from Dustin’s plate to throw at him and Dustin thankfully drops the subject.
---
There’s a debate with Phoenix High on Friday. Dustin’s on the debate team and they agree to meet later at Mark’s house to play Mario Kart and eat junk food, because Dustin claims that’s perfect for both celebrating and cheering up if need arises.
They win, of course, because Phoenix High sucks.
Mark finds Dustin in the corridor later in the afternoon, just as he’s about to head home. Dustin wore a suit for the occasion and Mark would mock him for it, were it not for Eduardo standing next to Dustin and wearing a suit of his own. Eduardo looks good in a suit, not like a small kid trying on his dad’s clothes.
There’s a third person standing with them, a blond guy that Mark vaguely recognizes as one of Eduardo’s friends who is also on the debate team.
“Mark!” Dustin shouts, gesturing wildly to make Mark come closer. “Who’s the best debate team in the universe? We’re gonna rule the world soon!”
“Thanks for the warning,” Mark says dryly and Eduardo laughs next to him.
“You know Eduardo, right?” Dustin says with glee. “This is Chris,” he says, gesturing to the blond guy. Mark nods in acknowledgement. “So, are we still on for that Mario Kart game in the evening?” he asks, looking too innocent for Mark’s taste.
“Sure, yeah,” Mark says.
“Oh, I love Mario Kart,” Eduardo interjects, smiling at them.
Dustin gives him a toothy grin that makes him look like a madman, if you ask Mark. “Awesome!” he exclaims. “You should join us. Right, Mark?”
“Wait, I don’t want to impose on you,” Eduardo protests, because unlike other people he doesn’t lack social graces.
“Nonsense,” Dustin tells him before Mark has the chance to cut in. “Mark doesn’t mind, believe me.”
Eduardo turns to look at Mark expectantly.
“I don’t mind,” Mark says. “You should come, Wardo,” he mumbles, the nickname slipping out without conscious thought. Dustin looks ready to aww at him.
Eduardo’s face lights up in a full blown smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners, and Mark smiles helplessly back.
---
“Are you good at Mario Kart?” Mark asks without preamble when Eduardo shows up on his doorstep. Dustin is already inside, together with Chris, who tagged along.
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out, isn’t it?” Eduardo says in lieu of greeting. “I brought some snacks.” He extends a bag towards Mark.
“We have some food,” Mark says and mentally kicks himself. “Uh, I mean, thanks. I’m sure it’s better than whatever Dustin brought.”
Eduardo follows him to the living room where Dustin is currently rolling around on the couch.
“Wardoooo!” Dustin exclaims happily, drawing out the last syllable. Mark scowls at him. Dustin makes a flapping gesture with his hands like the ridiculous person he is. “Who wants to go first?” he asks, handing a controller to Chris and grabbing the other one from the floor. “We do, awesome. Eduardo, watch and learn from the master.”
Mark throws himself down on the armchair. Eduardo looks around the room and after a short moment of hesitation sits down on the floor near Mark, leaning back against the armrest. He tips his head back to look at Mark and smiles. “Okay?” he asks.
“Okay,” Mark says softly, even though he’s not sure what he’s agreeing with. He doesn’t have the time to wonder, though, because he’s busy trying to stop himself from sliding his hand into Wardo’s hair.
---
Chris beats Dustin at Mario Kart mercilessly. After losing for the second time, Dustin gapes disbelievingly at the screen for a long moment before promising Chris sweet, sweet revenge in the near future.
After some time Mark migrates to the kitchen to grab a can of Red Bull from the fridge. He doesn’t realize Eduardo follows him until he catches sight of him in the doorway.
“Do you want some?” Mark asks, gesturing with his can.
“No, thanks,” Eduardo refuses politely. “It’s getting late, I should be heading home soon anyway.”
“Oh,” Mark says, biting his lower lip. “You could crash here if you want. Dustin is going to stay over anyway.”
“I’d love to,” Eduardo tells him earnestly. “But I promised my parents I’d be home soon, sorry.”
“Okay.” Mark follows Eduardo to the hall. “Where do you live?” he asks.
“Not that far from here, actually.”
“I’ll walk you home,” Mark offers on an impulse.
“You don’t have to,” Eduardo tells him, looking vaguely amused.
“No, really. Unless you don’t want me to,” Mark says, now feeling unsure.
“All right,” says Eduardo and Mark tugs on his shoes and a jacket, because his mom told him off for dressing inappropriately for the weather recently. “You don’t want to tell them you’re going out?” Eduardo asks, nodding in the direction of the living room.
Mark shrugs. “It’s not like they’re going to notice I’m not here. Let’s go.”
It turns out to be a short walk indeed. Eduardo lives in a modern looking house with the walls painted white and big tall windows on the ground floor. There’s a sleek black BMW parked in the driveway.
“I had fun today,” Eduardo says, smiling at Mark. He hesitates for a second before pulling Mark into a one-armed hug. His fingers tighten a little on Mark’s shoulder and Eduardo holds on for a moment. It’s not like one of those hug-and-backslap things that football players bestow on each other all the time and lasts maybe a bit longer that is customary, but Eduardo isn’t a football player, so maybe the rules don’t apply to him.
Eduardo lets go of him and Mark feels an overwhelming urge to lean in.
“See you,” Eduardo says with a smile.
“Yes,” Mark says simply.
---
After that night, Eduardo and Chris start joining them at lunchtime, and the rest of their friends soon follow, so what used to be just Mark and Dustin becomes Mark, Dustin, Eduardo, Chris, Chris’ boyfriend Sean, Alice and Christy, who turns out not to be Eduardo’s girlfriend after all.
“We tried dating for a while,” Eduardo explains with a laugh. “But I think we’re better off as friends, right?”
“What he means is that he’s totally gay,” Christy offers helpfully, picking at her nail absently. Eduardo blushes slightly and Mark’s stomach does a flip.
Still, it doesn’t mean that Eduardo would ever be interested. In Mark. But somehow… it’s a possibility.
---
Karaoke was probably Dustin’s idea - it must have been, only Dustin would come up with something as ridiculous as that.
Mark doesn’t want to go, but they all take turns convincing him, because somehow during the last few weeks Mark acquired friends that actually like him, or at least more than tolerate his company. And then Eduardo tells him that “it’s going to be fun, come on, Mark,” and Mark gives in like that.
He blames Wardo’s face. And his eyes. Really, how can Mark say no to that.
He vehemently refuses to sing, but he figures that at least this will provide him with blackmail material for years and that always comes in handy with Dustin.
It doesn’t stop him from being uncomfortable, though, when they all gather after school to head out. He’s not very fond of crowds and too loud bad music.
Eduardo must sense something with his ninja people-reading skills (or just Mark-reading skills, Eduardo is exceptionally good at that), because he tugs Mark back after they leave and falls into step beside him.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Sure,” Mark shrugs.
Eduardo nods thoughtfully and when they reach their destination, he stops Mark with a hand on his shoulder. “Want to skip this and go somewhere else?”
“I thought you wanted to come here,” says Mark.
“To be honest,” Eduardo tells him, looking at Mark attentively, “I’d rather go somewhere with you.”
The way he says it… Mark is almost sure he’s not misreading it. There can be no misreading of the way Wardo is looking at him, hopeful and a bit nervous at the same time. Can there?
“Okay,” he says quickly, before Eduardo has a chance to change his mind.
“Wait here,” Eduardo tells him, smiling brilliantly. He goes to talk to Chris, gesturing towards Mark and nodding at something Chris says. Then Chris waves at them both and Eduardo jogs back to Mark. “All right, let’s get out of here,” Eduardo says, guiding Mark with a hand on his back.
---
They get ice cream, because apparently that’s Wardo’s idea for a sort-of-first-date.
“Really?” Mark asks, gesturing with his cone. “That’s your idea for a date?” There, it’s out in the open now.
Wardo chuckles and ducks his head. “Is it a bad idea?” he asks, brushing against Mark’s shoulder slightly.
“No,” Mark admits. “It’s not.”
“That’s good,” says Wardo, laughing openly now. He reaches out and tangles Mark’s fingers with his own, squeezing softly.
They finally kiss when the ice creams are long gone. It’s just a soft pressing of their mouths together, because they’re both hesitant at first, but Mark still feels lightheaded and has to bring his arms around Wardo’s neck. He feels a bit like he’s falling, but then Wardo’s arms come up to circle Mark’s waist and keep him grounded. Mark smiles into the kiss.
Mark may not be good at this dating thing, but he’s going to try, because this is something he wants. And, well.
Mark is smart and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Wardo probably wants this, too.
Characters/Pairing: Mark/Eduardo, mentions of Chris and Dustin
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2 700
Warnings: none
Summary: High school AU. Eduardo is everything Mark’s not. He’s popular and funny, and nice to everyone. He divides his time between a million extracurricular activities and he still finds the time to hang out with his friends and go places. Mark usually hangs out with Dustin after Dustin refuses to fuck off and leave him alone, and goes to the CS lab and, occasionally, the Principal’s office.
A/N: This was originally meant to be a response for the kinkmeme prompt that asked for high school and prom, but I didn’t actually include the prom part, so.
The title is taken from a song by The Beatles.
Beta-read by jean_iris, who is a filthy enabler.
Disclaimer: Based on fictionalized portrayals as seen in the movie and not the real people.
Mark is smart. This fact, combined with the fact that he knows it and isn’t afraid to admit that his intellect is superior to other people’s - aloud, within a hearing distance from the quarterback, a guy who is approximately twice Mark’s size and could probably break him like a twig - doesn’t exactly make him the most popular guy at school. That’s an understatement. Mark gets his head shoved down the toilet bowl on a more or less regular basis, usually once a week.
It’s not the most ideal situation, but he’s learned to live with this.
Eduardo is everything Mark’s not. He’s clever - okay, so that’s one thing they have in common, obviously, but he’s also popular and funny, and nice to everyone. He divides his time between a million extracurricular activities, like the debate team, the student council, and running track, and he still finds the time to hang out with his friends and go places. Mark usually hangs out with Dustin after Dustin refuses to fuck off and leave him alone, and goes to the CS lab and, occasionally, the Principal’s office.
They probably couldn’t be more different.
---
Eduardo takes AP Calc. He also takes AP English and AP Macro and AP US History and AP Spanish, but Calculus is the one class he and Mark have together.
Eduardo is already in the classroom, sitting in his usual seat by the window, middle row, when Mark gets there, five minutes late. His own seat in the back is taken, so Mark dumps his stuff on the desk in the front row with a scowl on his face.
The hair on the back of Mark’s neck prickles and he turns around. Eduardo is looking at him, but he drops his eyes when Mark stares back.
Mark shrugs and turns back to the front of the room.
---
“Hey!” somebody shouts and Mark’s whole body tenses, because more often than not situations like this end up with Mark being shoved face first into his locker. He squeezes his eyes shut and waits, but nothing happens.
“Mark, right?” the same voice asks, unsure, and Mark turns around to face the speaker.
It’s Eduardo and Mark spends a moment trying to remember if he insulted one of his friends recently, or maybe his girlfriend. Eduardo must take his silence for something else, though.
“I’m Eduardo,” he offers. “We’re in AP Calc together.”
“I know,” Mark retorts, quick and a bit too harsh, judging from the way Eduardo winces and drops his shoulders.
“Right, sorry. You left this in the classroom,” says Eduardo, showing Mark his textbook.
“Oh. Thanks,” Mark says, taking the book.
“No problem,” Eduardo tells him and smiles warmly. Mark leans back against the locker door, clutching the textbook in front of himself like a shield. “See you around, Mark,” says Eduardo, raising his hand in a mock salute and walking away.
---
Eduardo has a close knit group of friends not unlike himself, popular and easygoing. He spends every lunch break sitting with them in the cafeteria, relaxed and laughing.
One of the girls must be his girlfriend, because she always sits next to him on the bench, bumping her shoulders with Eduardo’s and ruffling his hair when he talks to her in a quiet voice, brushing an invisible lint off her sleeve.
Eduardo doesn’t have a problem with casual touches, giving them out as freely as his smiles.
Mark’s mom likes to say that Mark is like a hedgehog, prickly on the outside and soft and squishy on the inside. Mark takes offense to the comparison, especially the squishy part, but it’s still mostly true.
---
In January Mark gets stomach flu. He misses three days of school, during which he’s grumpy and miserable and isn’t really capable of doing much more than cruising between his bedroom and the bathroom to puke his guts out.
On the fourth day he finally feels strong enough to venture out to school again. His mom fusses over him, checking his forehead for fever at least ten times before she finally lets him go and Mark escapes the confinement of his own house.
“You’re alive!” Dustin cheers the moment he lays his eyes on Mark and Mark rolls his eyes, but smiles quickly, ducking his head when he passes Dustin to open his locker. “Eduardo was asking about you.”
Mark stops fiddling with the lock, because this sentence just doesn’t compute. “What?” he asks, baffled.
“Eduardo Saverin. I know your brain was seriously damaged during your mighty struggle with a deadly virus, but try to keep up.”
“Fuck off, Dustin,” Mark tells him but his words lack the sting. “I know which Eduardo.” What he doesn’t know is why Eduardo would be asking about him. Or why he would even notice that Mark wasn’t at school, for that matter.
He finds out during lunch, when Eduardo sits down at the table Mark shares with Dustin.
“Hey, Mark,” Eduardo says. “Dustin,” he greets the redhead, shooting a quick glance his way, but then his gaze returns to Mark. Mark shifts slightly in his seat, feeling unexpectedly self-conscious and sort of wishing he was wearing something different than a worn hoodie with a hole in its pocket and jeans.
“Hi,” Mark answers.
“Are you all right?” Eduardo asks him, looking concerned. “You weren’t in class.”
“I was sick,” Mark tells him. “I’m fine now,” he adds, because Eduardo still looks mildly worried. Mark doesn’t understand him.
“That’s good. So, I thought you might want to know what was going on. Here, you can borrow my notes,” Eduardo says, putting a neat pile of papers on the table. Mark puts down his sandwich and wipes his hands on his trousers before shuffling through the pages. They’re covered in Eduardo’s careful handwriting, with important bits marked with colorful markers.
“Sure,” Mark says after a moment. “Uh, thanks.”
“No problem at all. You can keep them for as long as you need,” Eduardo tells him before one of his friends waves him over and he disappears in the crowd. Mark thumbs the pages for a moment before picking them up and stuffing them in his backpack - carefully, so they don’t crumple.
“Dude,” Dustin says after a moment of silence. “I can’t even!” He sounds delighted, like he’s discovered the next big thing after Mario Kart, and Mark glowers at him. “You know, I’m not sure if this is more amusing or pathetic, but it sure as hell is entertaining to watch.”
Mark steals a fry from Dustin’s plate to throw at him and Dustin thankfully drops the subject.
---
There’s a debate with Phoenix High on Friday. Dustin’s on the debate team and they agree to meet later at Mark’s house to play Mario Kart and eat junk food, because Dustin claims that’s perfect for both celebrating and cheering up if need arises.
They win, of course, because Phoenix High sucks.
Mark finds Dustin in the corridor later in the afternoon, just as he’s about to head home. Dustin wore a suit for the occasion and Mark would mock him for it, were it not for Eduardo standing next to Dustin and wearing a suit of his own. Eduardo looks good in a suit, not like a small kid trying on his dad’s clothes.
There’s a third person standing with them, a blond guy that Mark vaguely recognizes as one of Eduardo’s friends who is also on the debate team.
“Mark!” Dustin shouts, gesturing wildly to make Mark come closer. “Who’s the best debate team in the universe? We’re gonna rule the world soon!”
“Thanks for the warning,” Mark says dryly and Eduardo laughs next to him.
“You know Eduardo, right?” Dustin says with glee. “This is Chris,” he says, gesturing to the blond guy. Mark nods in acknowledgement. “So, are we still on for that Mario Kart game in the evening?” he asks, looking too innocent for Mark’s taste.
“Sure, yeah,” Mark says.
“Oh, I love Mario Kart,” Eduardo interjects, smiling at them.
Dustin gives him a toothy grin that makes him look like a madman, if you ask Mark. “Awesome!” he exclaims. “You should join us. Right, Mark?”
“Wait, I don’t want to impose on you,” Eduardo protests, because unlike other people he doesn’t lack social graces.
“Nonsense,” Dustin tells him before Mark has the chance to cut in. “Mark doesn’t mind, believe me.”
Eduardo turns to look at Mark expectantly.
“I don’t mind,” Mark says. “You should come, Wardo,” he mumbles, the nickname slipping out without conscious thought. Dustin looks ready to aww at him.
Eduardo’s face lights up in a full blown smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners, and Mark smiles helplessly back.
---
“Are you good at Mario Kart?” Mark asks without preamble when Eduardo shows up on his doorstep. Dustin is already inside, together with Chris, who tagged along.
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out, isn’t it?” Eduardo says in lieu of greeting. “I brought some snacks.” He extends a bag towards Mark.
“We have some food,” Mark says and mentally kicks himself. “Uh, I mean, thanks. I’m sure it’s better than whatever Dustin brought.”
Eduardo follows him to the living room where Dustin is currently rolling around on the couch.
“Wardoooo!” Dustin exclaims happily, drawing out the last syllable. Mark scowls at him. Dustin makes a flapping gesture with his hands like the ridiculous person he is. “Who wants to go first?” he asks, handing a controller to Chris and grabbing the other one from the floor. “We do, awesome. Eduardo, watch and learn from the master.”
Mark throws himself down on the armchair. Eduardo looks around the room and after a short moment of hesitation sits down on the floor near Mark, leaning back against the armrest. He tips his head back to look at Mark and smiles. “Okay?” he asks.
“Okay,” Mark says softly, even though he’s not sure what he’s agreeing with. He doesn’t have the time to wonder, though, because he’s busy trying to stop himself from sliding his hand into Wardo’s hair.
---
Chris beats Dustin at Mario Kart mercilessly. After losing for the second time, Dustin gapes disbelievingly at the screen for a long moment before promising Chris sweet, sweet revenge in the near future.
After some time Mark migrates to the kitchen to grab a can of Red Bull from the fridge. He doesn’t realize Eduardo follows him until he catches sight of him in the doorway.
“Do you want some?” Mark asks, gesturing with his can.
“No, thanks,” Eduardo refuses politely. “It’s getting late, I should be heading home soon anyway.”
“Oh,” Mark says, biting his lower lip. “You could crash here if you want. Dustin is going to stay over anyway.”
“I’d love to,” Eduardo tells him earnestly. “But I promised my parents I’d be home soon, sorry.”
“Okay.” Mark follows Eduardo to the hall. “Where do you live?” he asks.
“Not that far from here, actually.”
“I’ll walk you home,” Mark offers on an impulse.
“You don’t have to,” Eduardo tells him, looking vaguely amused.
“No, really. Unless you don’t want me to,” Mark says, now feeling unsure.
“All right,” says Eduardo and Mark tugs on his shoes and a jacket, because his mom told him off for dressing inappropriately for the weather recently. “You don’t want to tell them you’re going out?” Eduardo asks, nodding in the direction of the living room.
Mark shrugs. “It’s not like they’re going to notice I’m not here. Let’s go.”
It turns out to be a short walk indeed. Eduardo lives in a modern looking house with the walls painted white and big tall windows on the ground floor. There’s a sleek black BMW parked in the driveway.
“I had fun today,” Eduardo says, smiling at Mark. He hesitates for a second before pulling Mark into a one-armed hug. His fingers tighten a little on Mark’s shoulder and Eduardo holds on for a moment. It’s not like one of those hug-and-backslap things that football players bestow on each other all the time and lasts maybe a bit longer that is customary, but Eduardo isn’t a football player, so maybe the rules don’t apply to him.
Eduardo lets go of him and Mark feels an overwhelming urge to lean in.
“See you,” Eduardo says with a smile.
“Yes,” Mark says simply.
---
After that night, Eduardo and Chris start joining them at lunchtime, and the rest of their friends soon follow, so what used to be just Mark and Dustin becomes Mark, Dustin, Eduardo, Chris, Chris’ boyfriend Sean, Alice and Christy, who turns out not to be Eduardo’s girlfriend after all.
“We tried dating for a while,” Eduardo explains with a laugh. “But I think we’re better off as friends, right?”
“What he means is that he’s totally gay,” Christy offers helpfully, picking at her nail absently. Eduardo blushes slightly and Mark’s stomach does a flip.
Still, it doesn’t mean that Eduardo would ever be interested. In Mark. But somehow… it’s a possibility.
---
Karaoke was probably Dustin’s idea - it must have been, only Dustin would come up with something as ridiculous as that.
Mark doesn’t want to go, but they all take turns convincing him, because somehow during the last few weeks Mark acquired friends that actually like him, or at least more than tolerate his company. And then Eduardo tells him that “it’s going to be fun, come on, Mark,” and Mark gives in like that.
He blames Wardo’s face. And his eyes. Really, how can Mark say no to that.
He vehemently refuses to sing, but he figures that at least this will provide him with blackmail material for years and that always comes in handy with Dustin.
It doesn’t stop him from being uncomfortable, though, when they all gather after school to head out. He’s not very fond of crowds and too loud bad music.
Eduardo must sense something with his ninja people-reading skills (or just Mark-reading skills, Eduardo is exceptionally good at that), because he tugs Mark back after they leave and falls into step beside him.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Sure,” Mark shrugs.
Eduardo nods thoughtfully and when they reach their destination, he stops Mark with a hand on his shoulder. “Want to skip this and go somewhere else?”
“I thought you wanted to come here,” says Mark.
“To be honest,” Eduardo tells him, looking at Mark attentively, “I’d rather go somewhere with you.”
The way he says it… Mark is almost sure he’s not misreading it. There can be no misreading of the way Wardo is looking at him, hopeful and a bit nervous at the same time. Can there?
“Okay,” he says quickly, before Eduardo has a chance to change his mind.
“Wait here,” Eduardo tells him, smiling brilliantly. He goes to talk to Chris, gesturing towards Mark and nodding at something Chris says. Then Chris waves at them both and Eduardo jogs back to Mark. “All right, let’s get out of here,” Eduardo says, guiding Mark with a hand on his back.
---
They get ice cream, because apparently that’s Wardo’s idea for a sort-of-first-date.
“Really?” Mark asks, gesturing with his cone. “That’s your idea for a date?” There, it’s out in the open now.
Wardo chuckles and ducks his head. “Is it a bad idea?” he asks, brushing against Mark’s shoulder slightly.
“No,” Mark admits. “It’s not.”
“That’s good,” says Wardo, laughing openly now. He reaches out and tangles Mark’s fingers with his own, squeezing softly.
They finally kiss when the ice creams are long gone. It’s just a soft pressing of their mouths together, because they’re both hesitant at first, but Mark still feels lightheaded and has to bring his arms around Wardo’s neck. He feels a bit like he’s falling, but then Wardo’s arms come up to circle Mark’s waist and keep him grounded. Mark smiles into the kiss.
Mark may not be good at this dating thing, but he’s going to try, because this is something he wants. And, well.
Mark is smart and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Wardo probably wants this, too.