The First Time
Chapter one: Mark rides a bike
Summary: A series of 'the first time Mark…' stories – enjoy:)
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The first time Mark rode a bike he was six, worried and fretting. He had gotten his first bicycle as a birthday gift, five days before. The machine was small and tiny, barely tall enough to reach past the hip of his father. It had 'manly' patterns printed all over it, such as Eagle and Ride the Wind and Mountain Bike. They were horribly colored and judging by the worn bicycle chain that was rusty and starting to chip away, the present was no doubt second hand. But Mark chose not to complain, seeing how he would rather ride his bike than Cindy's pink, ribbons-and-all bicycle. If you could even call it that; every inch was covered with stickers of dolls and pop idols that had long become sellouts. The girl had even stuck some on the wheels. As the years dragged by all that was left of the stickers were quickly becoming lumps of dirt that just made funny noises when Cindy rode down the street as it scratched against the pavement.
Mark also never spoke of his fear of riding a bike. He remembers his mother removing his blindfold on the morning of his birthday, and her high-pitched voice ringing in his ear as she shouted 'surprise' a bit too loudly, obviously hoping that her little 'man' would be happy with his present. Mark remembers his jumping up and down ceasing to a stop when he saw the wheels, saw the seat, and saw the handlebars. Mark remembers standing there, mouth agape, wondering if his family would start laughing and tell him that it was all a big joke, and his mother would scream into his ear again as she revealed his real gift.
But there was no real present. He watched as his father ran over to the bicycle, dragging it over to his son's side with his face beaming with pride.
Mark, we're going to teach you how to ride this bike. Isn't it wonderful? Look at that! Look at the bell! It's just the perfect size for you too! Not too tall. Your mother was afraid that it would be too tall for you, but I told her no, because our son is all grown up, isn't he? Mark?
Mark remembers seeing his father smiling, grinning, shining down on him. Guilt began to settle in. They had bought the bicycle for him; He knew how tough money was coming by for them. You should be thankful, be thankful for the bicycle.
But no matter how hard he tried, Mark just couldn't be happy owning a bike of his own. He knew that since his parents had bought him the bike that he would have to ride the bike, and that if he rode the bike that he would fall. Just like Cindy.
The first time she rode her bike. Mark had been there, he had watched her from start to finish, from smiles to tears, from hair in the wind to face in the gravel.
Mark was afraid to ride the bike.
After five days of 'I've got to go…Cindy wants me to help her with organizing her doll's dresses' and 'I'm not feeling well…I might have the flu' and 'I really have to pee bad now dad…honest!' Mark finally gave in and got onto the bike. Or rather, he gave in from all the guilt that began piling onto his tiny little shoulders. He couldn't take his father's disappointed glances at dinner when the present was brought up, or his mother's constant reminder that the next day they would ride the bike for sure, only to be put off again and again and again by her only son; Her only son who was supposed to be a 'all grown up' now.
So on the fifth day of putting things off he finally climbed onto the machine, shaking and teeth chattering and knees knocking against the metal sides of the bicycle. Behind him he could feel his father holding the bicycle steady, one back beneath the seat and one on the worried boy's back. He could hear his father talking, saying reassuring things in his ear but nothing registering in his mind.
The only thing he could think of was the vision of Cindy two years ago on the very same stretch of road in the same position as he was now. Except that she had been smiling and giggling and all grins with a missing front tooth and gums.
"Okay Mark…here we go!" His father's childlike excitement made everything around Mark freeze and slow down. Everything was focused on pedaling and to gather enough courage to begin moving his stick-like legs.
"Okay Cindy…ready or not…off we go!"
Cindy let of a maniac; girlish gurgle as she leaned forward and immediately put her legs to work.
Mark's heat beat against his chest as they passed by his mother and sister who were watching by the sidelines, who were waving and shouting and cheering and jumping up and down and all 'Mark, go Mark! You can do it Mark!'
"Go Cindy! Go! Go!" Mark screamed as loudly as his four-year old lungs could take. He was imitating his mother, hopping up and down and shaking his thin arms all over and place. Smile on his face and confidence in his heart that his older sister could ride a bike for the first time.
Mark passed by Mrs. Wood's building…then the Ruffaldo family's house…
Mark and his mother smiled as they watched Cindy and Mr. Cohen fly down the street, the girl's laughing still echoing down the street.
Mark felt his father's hand release the grip he had on the bicycle seat. The warmth and security began to slip away as Mark took a second or two to realize what was going on. Without a beat he began to panic, blood rushing to his head and eyes slipping behind him instead of the street ahead.
His father slowed down and Cindy pedaled on…
"Oh no…oh no…" Mark watched his father disappear slowly from behind him, hands stretched out awkwardly in the position he had been maintaining on Mark's bike just a few seconds ago. But to the boy it felt like it had been forever since his father let go. How could he do that? Mark wasn't ready to fall. Mark wasn't ready to be like…
…Cindy swerved out of control. Her handlebars began to shake from left to right uncontrollably and her tiny frame began to wreck, her hair that once billowed in the wind falling flat against her back. Mark heard his mother form a tiny gasp at the back of her throat. Mark stared at Cindy shaking side-to-side and suddenly felt extremely…
…Helplessness overcame Mark as his head snapped back to the road. Visions of Cindy swerving, screaming, falling off her bike and onto the road did not help his confidence any. Mark remembers…
…blood on Cindy's knee. Tears began to leak out from the side of her pursed eyes and she made no effort to hide them. Her face turned red and her mouth flapped open to release a series of wails that erupted from her chest, strained and forced and unwanted. Soon she was…
…crying. A tear slid down Mark's cheek. Everything was happening too fast. He was already past the Gordon's…past Mr. and Mrs. Leah's house. He felt so unprepared, so afraid. He waited for the moment that he would tilt to the side and crash into the hard ground like…
…Cindy sat on the road as her family members ran over to her. Mrs. Cohen stretched out her hands to embrace her bleeding daughter, hands flitting up and down her daughter's body to check for any other injuries besides her knee. Beside her Mr. Cohen knelt down and began cradling Cindy's head in his arms. They never realized that they had left Mark standing by the street, where he had originally been when Cindy had started…
…riding. Mark never stopped riding. The tears came and created tiny little splotches on his coat as they flew with the wind and landed there. Mark waited, every second gripping his heart as he continued to…
…pedal rotated with a draft. Mark stood, watching his mother run past him and into the house and emerging a few seconds later with a first aid kit in hand. Mark stood…
…watching more and more houses go by. They wouldn't stop going past him, the wouldn't stop making him more anxious and more tears flow. They acted like a death count for him. Every house that went by meant the higher his chances of…
…falling into the ground. Mark would always remember his sister falling into the ground. The way his sister was in pain, the way his parents kept fretting. The bicycle caused all of them so much pain. Mark vowed to never…
…rode his bicycle past a never-ending row of houses. Pedaling, crying, pedaling, crying.
FIN.
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A/N: Hope you guys liked it:) It's my first RENT fanfiction. If there is anything I can improve on, please don't be afraid to point it out! I'd really like to get better at this writing thing.
(I really sound like such a virgin at all this don't I? ;) )