Fade In On Mark: The Big Apple (Chapter 1)

Disclaimer: Not mine. If it was, well, let's just say things would have turned out a LOT differently xD

Notes: This chapter is entirely dedicated to awindowtothepast. It's because of the review I got from her that I decided this story was worth posting. I told y'all I wasn't hard to persuade xD One review after 3 months of this being up. Yeah, I'm easy xD

Italics are flashbacks

Bold Italics are Mark's thoughts.

Now, enough rambling - on with the story!

PreRENT

"Yes mom, I'm here... Yes mom, I'm fine... No mom, no one's mugged me yet..."

Mark Cohen sighed. He loved his mom, he really did - but she was so protective! So much so, that it had become Mark's ambition that as soon as he turned eighteen, he would leave Scarsdale and go out to the Big Apple. New York City. The place where dreams were made. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was Mark's image of a perfect life growing up. He'd go to the City, shoot a film about the homeless and how they were so mistreated. He'd take the film to some big corporation, they'd show it on TV, and suddenly the worlds problems would be fixed.

Who was he kidding? That was the perfect picture he had painted for his mom, but no one else was deluded enough to actually think that was how things worked in the real world. In fact, Mark was sure his mom hadn't even fallen for it, but when she didn't try to stop him he didn't question her.

Mark had arrived in New York City by train only 15 minutes ago. He was standing outside of the Metro-North Railroad station on a payphone. His mother had only asked one thing of him before he left.

-----x-----

"Mark," Judy Cohen said as she pulled away from hugging her son "are you absolutely sure you want to do this? I know things have been hard since your father..."

"Mom!" Mark stopped her short "I promise, this has nothing to do with Dad's dying. I've wanted to do this for as long as I can remember."

He leaned down to give the shorter woman another hug.

"Well, if you're sure. I just need you to promise me something, Marky."

"Anything, Mom." He said, pulling back and staring her straight in the eyes.

"Call me when you get there, so I'm not worried. And I want you to check in with me atleast once a week!"

Mark laughed at this. It wasn't what he was expecting, but he'd do anything just to leave. So he nodded, promised he'd keep in touch, said his last 'Love you', and walked out the front door to the taxi waiting to take him away.

-----x-----

A/N: More coming! Either later tonight, or tomorrow night.