This is my 2nd Love Actually fic. The first (Wasted Heart) was written before there was the category for Love Actually here on FF.net and it was also not very good, so I thought I'd give it a go again. Also, I'm writing this because it gives me a good break from all my Lord of the Rings fics where I use more or less proper English. I can't use "shut up!" or "bugger off!" or "bloody hell". So I will use it now. Haha.
Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Love Actually characters. If I did my name would be Richard Curtis. But I'm not Richard Curtis. However, I do "own" the characters that I make up. And I don't fancy typing disclaimers for every chapter so this goes for the story.
Chapter 1 : The Luckless One
"Aw, just stop it!"
"What? I wasn't doing anything," Mark protested. "I was just trying to be friendly and entertaining."
"Well, I'm trying to eat, and I can't eat if I'm choking on my food because you're making me laugh so hard," Juliet replied, poking at her macaroni.
"Excuse me, but the last time I checked, a funny joke was a good thing." Mark turned to his best friend Peter. "Wouldn't you agree, Pete?"
Peter gulped down the last of his Coke. "Actually, funny jokes can be bad when it prevents someone from eating when he or she needs food."
"See?" Juliet said triumphantly. "Two against one!"
"Aw, that's not fair! Pete, you'll agree with anything she says," Mark moaned. "Don't you care about your best bud anymore?"
"Of course I'll agree with her. She's my wife." Peter leaned closer to give Juliet a kiss. Just before their lips met, Juliet shot Mark a quick look, and he smiled and shrugged. It was their little secret, something that Peter would never know, and never find out about. And Mark was all right with that arrangement. This was the only way where no one got hurt.
Mark cleared his throat. "Well, if you two lovebirds are done with your public display of affection – of which that old lady over there is finding most distasteful – you will remember that Pete and I have inconvenient little things known as jobs. And you will also recall that our lunch hour is slowly ticking away, and soon we will have to be back doing those inconvenient little things, and so we should probably start eating our food." And he fell to eating his food with great enthusiasm.
After lunch, Peter went on his way to his job, and Juliet and Mark walked along together, since they were going in the same direction. "So, how's work?" Juliet asked.
Mark shrugged. "The same as every other time you've asked. Boring lots of the time, but I think that's part of the definition of 'work'. And there are some rather… interesting… pieces that I ask the kids not to laugh at, even though I do want to laugh at them myself."
"Like those Christmas pieces? I thought those were rather hilarious."
Mark laughed. "Yes, yes they were funny, actually. But after seeing them for days and days they don't get so funny anymore."
"I see…" Juliet nodded, and they walked in silence for a little while. It was a comfortable silence, though, for which Juliet was glad. Mark was a lovely fellow once he let you get to know him, and their shared secret only brought them closer together, instead of tearing them even further apart, as Juliet had at first worried about. Now Mark was her best friend too, and he was always there for both her and Peter, always planning surprises and always there to answer the phone whenever someone needed to talk. "So… are you dating any hot swimsuit models, yet?"
"Whoa… whoa my dear! Patience is crucial in such a delicate task. Luck is also needed in huge amounts, which I am currently lacking in. Help is greatly appreciated, and so if you see any hot swimsuit models, please remember to ask them to give me a call, or drop by the gallery," Mark replied with a grin. "Of course, you must make sure that they are not only pretty but smart, witty, funny and cool."
"High standards, sir." Juliet raised her eyebrows. "At this rate you'll never find anyone, because I can tell you, there's no one like that."
"You're like that," Mark said simply, and gave her a small smile. "Anyway, here we are, the gallery. So… I'll see you around."
"Right. See you around." Juliet gave him a quick hug, and then went on her way.
Mark stared after her, admiring her perfection. He could definitely see why Peter was so in love with her. She was everything a guy could possibly want; young, beautiful, sweet, amusing, entertaining, interesting, smart… the list just went on and on and on. Peter's always had the luck with girls, he thought to himself as he entered the gallery. Peter was always the one the girls like, while Mark was just the quiet best friend that met them all and said hi and then… disappeared. His relationships always ended up in a rather bad state, and he had almost given up on love when Juliet came along. Unfortunately, she had been Peter's girlfriend. And now she was Peter's wife. Luck. Just something that I don't have.
He sat behind the counter, staring blankly into space, and then the telephone rang, jerking him out of his almost out-of-body state and slamming him back to the real world. He picked up the receiver with a sigh, expecting it to be some artist calling about the gallery again. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mark?"
"Yes, this is Mark speaking. May I know who it is?" he said in his most polite voice. The guy on the other end sounded rather professional.
"Oh, all right, good I got you. This is Karl," the voice said, relaxing into a not-so-professional tone.
"Karl?" Karl? Do I know a Karl? Mark did not think so, and was about to ask the fellow to be more specific, when Karl went ahead to be more specific without having to be asked.
"You don't know me, I'm a colleague of Mia's. You probably saw me before… I was at the Christmas party the company had at the gallery."
Karl… Karl… Karl… Mark still had no idea what the guy looked like, but the name was starting to ring a bell. "All right… and… erm… how may I help you?"
There was silence on the other end for a while, as if Karl had no idea what to say. Then he cleared his throat and proceeded, sounding rather embarrassed. "Erm… you… ah… you're a friend of Sarah's, right?"
Sarah… It all came back to him, all at once. Karl! Of course… Sarah had been in love with him for ages! Mark remembered now, that tall, tanned, bespectacled guy who had been dancing with her at the Christmas party. The guy that even the other guys begrudgingly admitted to be "a good looker". Sarah had left with him that night. Mark wondered what had happened. "Yes, I am. And…?"
Karl cleared his throat again. "I… I was wondering if you could let me know what she likes. I thought I would get her a present."
"Well, as her boyfriend, I should think that you'll know better than I what she likes."
"Ah… I'm not her boyfriend…" Once more, he cleared his throat. Mark was beginning to wonder if it was something he just did to fill up silences, or if he was losing his voice. "Nothing's happened between us."
"Ah." Mark nodded (as if Karl could see it over the phone). "Her brother, I suppose."
"Yup."
"Anyway, why ask me? I'm a guy, I can hardly know what women want. And I'm definitely not good with women. Why don't you ask a woman? Like… erm… Mia?"
Karl laughed, finally sounding fully relaxed. "Let's just say I don't want to get closer to Mia than absolutely necessary."
Mark laughed too. Hey, this guy isn't bad… pretty decent. "I don't think you need to worry. She's perfectly in love with Harry, isn't she?"
"Still, I would like to be careful. The two of them had a very long talk that day and it seemed like Harry was very… honest… with her. She wasn't all that happy. I'm not sure if she's given up on him. The guys are all not taking any chances. Except for Colin; that guy's taking every chance he can get."
"Well, good luck to him then."
"So… can you help me?"
Mark thought for a moment. "Sure, why not. But I can't tell you right now what Sarah wants or needs or likes. How about I call her up or ask her to lunch someday and try to wheedle the information out of her for you?"
Karl gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks, thanks a lot, Mark. You're a lifesaver."
"That's me, always around to help." Mark hung up the phone, and laughed softly to himself. Wow. I can't even get myself a girlfriend and I'm already plunging into matchmaking. How wonderful.
