Author's Note: Okay, so this is another Mark and Laurel Fanfiction. I know, they are not the only couple in that show, and I love a lot of those couples, just look at my profile! However, I have been re-watching season one, and most of the other couples do not pick up any real speed until season two. At least, none of the good ones. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to write a little something as I watched. It obviously takes place in season one because that is what I am watching. I don't really know what it is going to be about, other than that it's a Mark and Laurel story and it takes place early on, by which I mean during the second episode, and possibly on passed it. Well, here goes nothing.

Disclaimer: Edgemont is not mine. All dialogue in this chapter is from the show. This will not be true about future episodes, but I needed a place to start.

Chapter One

Mark looked up from his homework. He really was not having much luck with it. His mind kept going back over everything that had happened that week. He was thrilled that his younger brother, Travis was safe, but he did not really know how to help him. Travis was his baby brother; he should have all the answers. Unfortunately, they were both going through the same thing right now, and he just did not have a clue how to deal with it. Their parents were splitting up, and Travis had run off, hoping to get his parents back together because they were worried about him. His mom and dad never notice Travis was gone, but Mark and his sister Kat had almost had heart attacks when they could not find him. Luckily, Jennifer, Mark's girlfriend, had found Travis hiding in her garage. Now Travis was pissed that Mark and Kat had not told his parents, and Mark did not know what to tell him. He did not want him running off again. Plus, his girlfriend Jennifer and him were coming up on their six-month anniversary this weekend, and he had never done that before. He had never had a girlfriend before, let alone a six-month anniversary. And Jen would expect something special. She was like that. He guessed all girls were. They wanted special occasions to be special. But Mark was a guy. A special anniversary to him would be them exchanging virginities. And he knew Jen was not ready for that.

And then, there had been other stuff, weird stuff. He had been helping one of his best friend's, Scott, talk to his most recent true love. Scott was a good guy, and really smart, but he fell in love pretty often, and he never got any better at dealing with it. This new girl, Laurel, had just moved to the school from Toronto. She was beautiful, in that sexy, mysterious, yet somehow innocent kind of way. She had long, dark, black hair, and she dressed very modestly, which was not that most usual, but certainly respectable. Travis had still been missing, and Mark had been in a hurry to meet up with Kat and search some more, but Scott had stopped him, saying he needed his help. So there Mark was, trying to talk Scott up to this gorgeous new girl, as Scott stood there unable to speak and grinning like an idiot, and Mark had tried using her hometown as a conversation piece. He brought up The SkyDome, a famous stadium in Toronto, and tried to get Scott to tell this story about this one time he'd been there, but Scott was totally frozen. So Mark said he'd never been there, and Laurel said that her dad had dragged her there to see The Rolling Stones once. He had asked, "You went to a rock concert with your dad?" and she said, "I don't know what was more pathetic, the sound system, or him, sinning along with Mick Jagger." She started laughing and he had laughed to. He caught her eyes, and there had been this … moment. That was the only word he could think of to describe it. He had felt something, something unfamiliar, and new, yet familiar at the same time. It was like he was on an exciting rollercoaster, and at the same time, he was home. Not the home he had now, with his toxic parent situation, but really home. Something had fit. He had felt his heart lurch, and his breath catch. And then it was over, and he was talking up Scott again. But that moment.

He had decided that maybe if he was going to concentrate, he would need a change of scenery. He left the labara, it was just to quiet, to easy to get lost in thought. He was not really a "library kind of guy" anyway. He made his way to this sort of lounge-like place a lot of kids at school did homework and other stuff in.

"Mark." He heard someone from behind him say. He turned to look. Laurel.

"Hey." He said, sitting down as she stood up and walked over to him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Fire away."

"What's with your friend Scott?"

"You mean, like, uh…" how do you say gets silent and frozen without making it sound like a bad thing? Lucky for Mark, Laurel nodded, sparing him the awkwardness, "Well, he's a truly brilliant guy. His mind, sometimes gets ahead of his mouth. Especially when he's excited about something. Or," he gestured toward her, "somebody." He chuckled awkwardly.

Laurel was quiet for a moment, "Scott, is a really nice guy, but uh, maybe you ought to encourage him to get excited about something else right now."

"So, you're not-?"

"No, I'm not, no. Okay." For some reason, Mark felt his stomach lurch. Even though he felt bad for Scott, he also found himself feeling, well, kind of happy. He smiled, in spite of himself.

"Okay."

"See ya."