Hello! Thank you for giving this story a read! Markimash has become one of my favorite things, and I had an idea one day, so here it is. These chapters will commonly be delayed, but I work very hard on them all, if that's any consolation. I hope you enjoy!
Mark dashed for the yellow vehicle through the torrential rain, holding a newspaper over his head in a futile attempt to keep dry. The man crawled into the back seat, shaking out his dark hair and wiping the drops from his glasses. "Hey, take it easy with the shaking, will you? You're soaking me," a heavily accented voice complained from the seat next to him. Mark blinked and put his glasses back on so he could see who spoke. "Sorry, man," he replied, telling the cab driver where to go before turning his attention back to the other man. "Uh, I'm Mark," he offered, extending his hand for a shake.
The other man took his hand and shook. "I'm Aaron. Nice to meet you."
Mark raised an eyebrow at the accent; he obviously wasn't from around there. "Are you British?" he asked. Aaron nodded. "Yes, I am." Mark smiled a little. "Thought so. It's pretty cool to meet someone like you in person!" he told Aaron happily, the other man giving him an odd look. "What do you mean 'someone like me'? I'm a normal guy, like you. I just have an accent." He crossed his arms over his chest. Mark chuckled. "I guess you're right. Sorry."
As they rode to Mark's apartment building the rest of the way in silence, Mark realized that he had seen Aaron before. It bugged him, though, because no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't place where he'd seen the British man beside him.
The taxi stopped in front of the tall apartment complex, Mark paying the driver and stepping out onto the sidewalk, grimacing when the rainwater soaked through his black Vans. He shut the taxi door and started for the entrance to the building, but was stopped in his tracks by a familiar voice. "Hey, Mark! Wait for me!"
Mark glanced over his shoulder to see Aaron trudging through the rain towards him. His confusion quickly shifted to understanding. "I knew I'd seen you before!" Mark exclaimed. "You live here too!"
Aaron eventually caught up with Mark. "Yep, I do. I knew you looked familiar as well. I just couldn't tell where I'd seen you."
The two men entered the large lobby, both dripping rainwater on the pristine tile floor as they walked. Aaron grimaced as his shoes made gross squishing sounds with each step he took. "I can't wait to get into some dry clothes," he mumbled as he got into the elevator with Mark. The other man nodded. "Me too. Rain sucks."
As Mark pushed the button for the third floor, he asked, "What floor do you need?" Aaron leaned against the back wall of the elevator and smiled a little. "I live on the third as well." Mark stepped away as the doors closed and stood next to Aaron as they rode, his stomach doing odd flips as the elevator came to a stop after a minute or so. Mark walked into the long hallway headed for his apartment, glancing over his shoulder to see where Aaron was going. To the man's surprise, Aaron was following him once again. As he inserted the key into the lock, he heard Aaron say, "See ya," as he entered the apartment across the hall from Mark's. "Yeah, see ya," Mark called over his shoulder, stepping into his dark apartment and shutting the door behind him with a soft click.
Mark flipped the light switch and watched as his apartment was illuminated in a soft glow. The tired man yawned and headed for his bathroom, shivering at the air conditioner blowing in his face. He just hoped the hot water would prevent him from catching a cold. "I knew I should've brought an umbrella with me," he mumbled softly as he peeled the soaked clothes off his clammy body and stepped under the hot spray, closing his eyes and letting it turn his dark hair into a wet mess that fell in black strands over his eyes. He definitely needed a haircut soon.
Once he was clean and exceptionally sleepy, Mark toweled himself dry and went to his room to slip on some clean boxers and red flannel pajama pants. He didn't bother with a shirt, since he expected to go to sleep soon anyway, but that plan was quickly shot down when he heard a loud bang from across the hall, accompanied by a faint yelp of pain.
"What the hell was that?" he wondered aloud, grabbing his glasses off his nightstand and placing them on his nose before heading for the front door. As he entered the hallway, a couple of other residents were peeking out of their doors towards Aaron's apartment.
Mark approached the beige door and knocked lightly, crossing his arms over his bare chest. The door opened a small crack, and Mark could see half of Aaron's face peeking through. From what he could tell, the boy's eyes were narrowed and filled with rage, but quickly softened once he realized it was Mark.
"Oh, hi Mark," he said softly. His voice was a little nasally and it sounded as if he had been crying. "What's up?"
Mark tried to play it cool and not sound too concerned; they had only just met, after all. "Oh, not much. I just, uh, heard some noises and I was just wondering what happened," his deep voice rumbled, laced with just the slightest bit of concern.
The smaller boy stared at the dark maroon carpet, avoiding meeting Mark's gaze at all costs, it seemed. "It's nothing," he said softly, his voice cracking just the slightest. Mark frowned at the blatant lie. "That didn't seem like nothing." Aaron's eyes narrowed once again as he glared at Mark through the cracked door, brown eyes full of fight and something else. Mark just couldn't tell what.
"Look, it was a nice gesture, but I promise I don't need your help," Aaron mumbled, a hint of warning in his tone.
Mark decided not to press the issue. The last thing he needed was an enemy living directly across from him. The young man wasn't the kind of person to make enemies, anyway, since he was generally a kind and easy-going person, but he knew other people weren't as patient and forgiving as himself.
Smiling a little, Mark said, "Alright then. See ya later." The slightest bit of a smile pulled at the corner of Aaron's mouth as he shut the door without another word.
Mark looked at the door for a few seconds before he ran a hand through his damp hair and sighed, going back into his own apartment.
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On the other side of the door, Aaron sighed with relief.
'That was close. Mark doesn't need to know.'
The British boy walked over to the hole in the wall, put there by himself only moments earlier, and tried to move his left hand, flinching when pain shot through his fingers. He had effectively broken it, more than likely. His eyes narrowed at his own stupidity. "Now I'll have to get a fucking cast and pay for the wall to be fixed," he growled softly. "God, why do I have to be like this?"
He banged his forehead against an undamaged part of the wall and sighed heavily, feeling more tears gathering in his eyes. But Aaron refused to let any more fall. It was his nightly routine, normally, to cry himself to sleep after he got the anger out of his system, but that night, Aaron was going to make himself think positive thoughts so that he could go to bed in a good mood, and, in turn, wake up in a semi-good mood. If Aaron could start the day fairly happy, he could put on a mask of positivity that would, hopefully, last the whole day, until the time came for him to return home and fall victim to his own mind.
Of course, the true meaning of "happy" varied from person to person, and Aaron's own personal version was practically nonexistent. But he would keep trying to make the best of things until he no longer could.
If Mark only knew what went on in the apartment across the hall, Aaron's life might've been different. But of course, Aaron would never let anyone know. No one could.
After some contemplation, Aaron decided that he should at least try to bandage his hand so he could go to bed. He got an Ace wrap from his medicine cabinet and wrapped it snugly around his wrist and fingers before collapsing into his cold bed, letting the darkness pull him into a restless sleep.
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The next morning, Mark and Aaron somehow managed to exit their apartments at the exact same moment, resulting in awkward half-smiles and avoided gazes that continued down the elevator and into the lobby. Of course, Mark didn't like the overall atmosphere between them one bit, but what could he do about it?
As they walked together to the taxi outside, Mark's eyes fell on Aaron's bandaged hand. Curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask.
"Did you do that last night?" Mark asked softly, words barely audible for the sound of the taxi's roaring motor. He saw Aaron visibly flinch at the question. "Uh, yeah," the other man answered, his eyes suddenly focused on a crack in the pale sidewalk instead of Mark's face.
"How?"
"Why do you care?"
The question came out harsher than Aaron had intended, and he saw a flash of hurt cross Mark's features immediately. "No reason." Mark climbed into the cab and paid the driver, his eyes never leaving the window as they rode. He hated that something so small bothered him, but he couldn't help it. After all, he was actually more sensitive than he let on most of the time. But he'd never let Aaron know that, especially now that it seemed their newly-formed friendship was going down the toilet already. 'Wow, he liked me for a whole day. That must be a new record.'
"What's a hobby of yours?" Aaron suddenly asked, disrupting the droning silence in the cab. Mark raised an eyebrow. "Well, I play video games. That's about it. Why did you want to know?"
Aaron sighed and smiled a bit. This was a good sign. "I want to start over. We've known each other for less than a day, and I've already been awful to you," he explained. "I've never played video games before, but I can learn, if that's something you might wanna do with me for fun sometime." Of course, Aaron would understand completely if Mark refused. Playing video games together might be pushing the boundaries too far too soon.
Mark's mouth dropped open. "You've never played video games before?!"
A chuckled escaped Aaron as he said, "Nope, never."
"Then you're coming over. Tonight. No questions."
'Well, this went easier than expected...' Aaron grinned. "Alright then. Sounds good."
As the cab traveled down the busy streets, the atmosphere surrounding the two men changed, going from awkward and reluctant to hopeful and positive.
"You haven't been awful to me, by the way." Mark's deep voice cut through the silence. "Something is wrong, and I understand that you're just stressed out. No worries, alright?"
Aaron didn't respond, but the boy smiled a little. 'He's so understanding. I can't believe he's putting up with me. If only he knew...'
Soon, the cab came to a stop in front of Aaron's workplace, a looming 5-story office building. "Well, I guess I'll see you later," Aaron said as he paid the driver. He started to walk away, but before he could, Mark called, "Hey, Aaron."
The boy looked at Mark. "Yes?"
"I meant it. Come over tonight. I'll have snacks and stuff. We'll have a good time."
Smiling, Aaron accepted the invitation and, with a wave, shut the cab door and trudged through the biting cold air to the main entrance. The usual sinking feeling he got when entering the establishment hit Aaron like a smack to the face, all happiness he had felt from his conversation with Mark long gone.
He clocked in and sank into his leather desk chair, running a hand through his fair brown bangs as he shot a disdainful glance at the towering stacks of papers he had to get through.
"The sooner I get to work, the sooner I can go home," he mumbled to himself as he picked up the first paper. 'And the sooner I can see Mark again,' a small part of his brain whispered.