Chapter Text
Marvin readied his racquet, watching his lover dive forwards to hit it only to miss and have it hit his heel instead. His lover stumbled a few times before regaining his balance and turning towards Marvin.
"Hit my heel, " he huffed out. Marvin crossed his arms.
"Don't be bitter, " he remarked, expecting him to be annoyed by the fact that he lost.
The other man simply shrugged, taking a moment to catch his breath. "It's no big deal, you win."
Marvin’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Are you really just going to quit like that?"
The other man huffed and turned away. "I can't go on anymore, Marv."
Marvin frowned, beginning to grow a little concerned. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing, let's just go."
"Whiz-"
The other man turned to leave but collapsed to the floor with a gasp. Marvin rushed forwards, reaching for him.
"Hey, " he said softly, placing his hand on his shoulder. The other man looked up; his brown eyes filled with fear. The man was shaking, and his response came out as barely more than a whisper.
"I'm sorry."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "That's the same color as the last one!"
Cecilia huffed. "It is not! It's bluer!"
Mark rolled his eyes so far, they risked getting stuck there. They had been in the same damn store for half an hour already and were still choosing some clothes for him to try, with little to no input from Mark. And he was beginning to feel like the lesbians were just about as exasperated with him being here as he was. Mark was kind of just, standing around or following Cecilia and Charlie as they perused the racks. Mark ran his hand over the clothing items as he walked past them, following Cecilia like a lost child. Honestly, he was relieved, shopping was never really his thing, so he didn't mind not having to be too involved. That way, he could daydream or just think about meaningless things. Or less meaningless things. Like the plans for Cecilia and Charlie's upcoming wedding- the reason they were here looking for clothes in the first place- or like the dream he had last night.
Mark sighed at the thought. He has been plagued with dreams similar since around the beginning of high school. He had his first one the night of his 14th birthday. He had been in a big house, it was the dream person's birthday, and nothing was prepared, so dream him threw a fit until he got what he wanted. It was strange, but he had brushed it off. But he kept having similar dreams, just in different settings. Sometimes he was a high school student throwing up in a bathroom stall, other times he was an adult sneaking home like a guilty teenager for reasons he wasn't quite sure of yet.
The dreams weren't very descriptive, and he was only recently able to remember most of them. They were always foggy in one way or another though. He could see just fine but couldn't hear or vice versa. Sometimes he could only see one thing clearly, like someone's eyes or smile or the wedding ring on his finger.
It was strange, to say the least. He hadn't really told anyone about it since college, and even then, he didn't mention that they're reoccurring and that they had been happening since he was 14. They weren't important, and he doubted anyone would have any more answers than he did. Which was none. Last night's dream though, was one of the more troubling ones. It had him waking up filled with anxiety and dread. It wasn't quite enough to make him cry like some of the others, but it ruined his mood for a while.
"Hey, Mark, what do you think of this one?"
Mark's train of thought was violently derailed when suddenly Charlie spoke up, holding a suit jacket right in front of his face. "Uh, it looks...nice?" Mark said, unsure of what to say. It genuinely looked almost identical to all the other ones they had already shown him. Charlie sighed softly.
"Alright, you obviously don't care, here." Charlie handed Mark a few suit jackets. "You wait around the changing rooms; Cecilia and I are going to choose some shirts and pants to go with one of these."
"Alright, " Mark replied dejectedly.
He plopped himself down on the bench and watched as Charlie and Cecilia disappeared into the rest of the store. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and began to idly look through it, occasionally glancing up to survey his surroundings. After a minute or two though, something, or rather, someone caught his eye, and immediately several alarms went off in his head.
A man looking through a clothing rack a few feet away, who was unfairly attractive mind you, was the reason alarms were going off in his head at that moment. He was dressed up in a leather jacket, jeans, and some nice-looking shoes. He also had ridiculously- unfairly- nice hair. But- much more importantly- was the fact that he looked incredibly familiar. Looking at him almost felt like Deja vu. He hated when shit like this happened. Where had he seen him before? He found it hard to believe that he would be able to forget someone who looked like that.
Maybe he was someone he knew from high school? No, he probably wouldn't even find anyone he went to school with even somewhat familiar, he had never paid attention to anyone there. Maybe he was someone he hooked up with forever ago? Oh God, he really hoped not. Thankfully that is unlikely, as he is way out of Mark's league. Mark probably wouldn't even be able to convince the dude to talk to him, let alone sleep with him.
Mark decided to sneak another glance, hoping it might help him figure it out. Unluckily for him, he made eye contact with the dude at that exact moment. Shit. Mark quickly looked down again, silently hoping the dude didn't notice or care. Mark swiftly decided he needed to leave the area and find Charlie and Cecilia. But before he could do that, he heard footsteps.
"Do you need something?"
Fuck. Mark turned to the stranger who was now standing right in front of him. "I, uh, pardon?" Mark replied nervously.
"You were looking at me." The man said suspiciously, arms crossed.
Mark gulped. "Oh, sorry, I thought you looked like someone I know. I didn't mean to bother you."
"Huh," the stranger replied, uncrossing his arms. "Well, I'm, " before the man even said his name, Mark thought it.
"Whizzer," the two said in unison. Whizzer looked a bit taken aback, as did Mark. What the hell? Mark thought, panicking a little. Why did he know this dude's name? Why did he blurt it out? Mark quickly tried to direct the conversation away from the fact that he already knew Whizzer's name before it got there.
"I'm Mark." Whizzer still looked a bit suspicious but didn't question how he knew his name. Mark was thankful for that. He wasn't sure how he would explain it since he didn't have an explanation.
Whizzer’s expression turned to one of slight surprise, but before Mark could ask about it, Whizzer was talking again. "So, why are you here?" Whizzer asked, promptly changing the conversation topic.
"Uh, my friends are getting married soon, and they wanted to take me shopping for a suit to wear,"
Whizzer smirked slightly. "Let me guess, you have a shit taste in clothing, so they strung you along to buy clothes for you?"
Mark wrinkled his nose and glanced away. "Yeah." Whizzer snickered, and the conversation was brought to an uncomfortable halt. After a while, Mark decided to attempt to break the silence. "Since you asked me, why are you here?" Mark asked after a few moments of silence.
Whizzer shrugged nonchalantly as he replied, "Just lookin' around."
Mark nodded awkwardly, averting his gaze. "Cool." Once again, they fell into silence. Mark tapped his foot uncomfortably. God, why couldn't he have been blessed with the ability to keep a conversation going?
"So, are you from around here or...?" Mark asked after a while, deciding that was a good enough topic.
Whizzer hummed in thought before replying. "No, not really. I've been here for a few years now though, so I might as well be."
Mark replied, "Huh, so, do you like it here more than where you're from?"
Whizzer grinned. "Yeah."
Mark replied without thinking. "It's probably easier to be a photographer around here, huh?"
Whizzer went silent for a moment. "How did you know that?"
"Know what?"
"That I'm a photographer."
Mark froze. How did he know that? It was like how he already knew Whizzer's name before he said it. Which, needless to say, is weird.
"I... don’t know," Mark admitted. "Lucky guess? You look like a photography kinda...guy," He suggested. Fuck, this guy was definitely weirded out by now, if he wasn’t already. The conversation died again, but this time it felt way more uncomfortable, which Mark didn't even think was possible. But now it was more… tense, for lack of a better word.
Suddenly Whizzer cleared his throat and Mark looked up at him. His nonchalance had returned, and he offhandedly remarked, "Well, I should get going."
Mark shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Oh, alright." Whizzer looked down at Mark and their eyes met. He had dark brown eyes, just like the man from his dream, and as soon as that thought crossed Mark's mind, his heart skipped a beat. Shit, he knew exactly why he thought Whizzer looked familiar.
Whizzer adjusted his leather jacket and smiled. "See ya around, Marv." And with that, he walked off. Mark gulped, watching as he left before looking down at the floor.
How had he not realized it before? Now that he thought about it, it was painfully obvious. Specifically, his eyes and hair. Whizzer, the guy he just met, looked like the man from his dream, or rather, dreams. And not in the, he is super attractive and cool way, the literal way. Mark took a deep breath. It was just a coincidence, right? It had to be. Yeah, he decided. Just a coincidence.
"Did that guy just call you Marv?"
Mark was snapped out of his train of thought by Charlie, who was now in front of him holding a few shirts. His thoughts completely scattered as soon as he registered what she said.
Mark quirked an eyebrow, confused. "What?"
Charlie glanced to where Whizzer had gone then back to Mark. "That guy, did he just call you Marv?"
Mark furrowed his eyebrows. "Did he?"
Charlie shrugged. "That's what it sounded like to me."
Mark leaned back on the bench. "You probably just heard him wrong."
Charlie shrugged again. "Maybe, " she admitted.
Mark said, "How much of that did you even hear?"
Charlie grinned. "A bit, enough to tell how much of a mess you are in front of a pretty face." Mark groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I mean you should have seen your face when y'all made eye contact."
Mark swiftly changed the conversation topic. "Where's Cecilia?" He asked.
"She's looking at ties and pants, now try these on." Charlie handed over some clothes.
Mark grimaced as the shirts were added to his pile of jackets. "Do I really have to try all of these on?"
Charlie rolled her eyes. "Here, let me pair them up first."
Charlie took the pile of clothing and began to put certain shirts and jackets together. Mark sighed as he watched her. He really couldn't tell much of a difference between the jackets. The shirts were easier though since one was white, two were grey and one was black. All the suit jackets just looked dark blue though.
A few minutes later, he saw Cecilia return with a few ties and practically identical-looking sets of pants. Charlie and Cecilia began discussing which pants and ties went with which. After a while, Mark just began to ignore them, opting to stare at the wall instead, trying his best to not think about Whizzer and how he looked just like the dude he kept seeing in his dreams. It was just a coincidence, and he would probably never even see Whizzer again after that mess of an interaction anyway. He was just one guy in the endless sea of people you could run into in this mall, let alone all of New York.
Eventually, Charlie and Cecilia finished and handed Mark the clothes. "Now try them on," Charlie said before she sat down at a bench with her fiancee.
Mark rolled his eyes and complied. "Alright, no need to be pushy."
"This pizza is shit."
Charlie looked up from her phone and set it down. "Why are you still eating it then?" Charlie asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Mark sighed dramatically, flopping back in his chair. "Because I'm hungry."
Cecilia rolled her eyes, fiddling with a loose curl in her hair as she replied. "Then stop complaining."
Mark huffed and continued to sulkily eat his trashy pizza. They had finished shopping a while ago; Charlie and Cecilia had settled on a navy jacket, black button-down, black pants, and a blue tie, with little to no input from Mark. He had wanted to head straight home after they finished shopping, but the lesbians decided they wanted to eat somewhere in the mall. He needed to remember to not go out to places with these two anymore. He loves them, but they thrived on being outside, and Mark would much rather be anywhere else.
"So, Mark," Charlie began sweetly. Mark frowned. This couldn't be going anywhere good. "Who was that dude at the store?" Mark groaned.
Cecilia perked up midway through eating a french fry. "What?" She glanced at Mark excitedly.
"Just some random dude. I thought he looked familiar, and he caught me staring," Mark explained.
Charlie grinned. "That's the only reason you were staring?"
Mark glared at her. "Shut it."
Snickering, Charlie rested her head on her hand. "So, what was his name? I missed that part," She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. Mark furrowed his brows, partially in confusion and partially in frustration.
"Why do you care? He's just a stranger I had an awkward conversation with for like five minutes," Mark said.
"I never get to embarrass you about guys. I've gotta take every chance I can get,” said Charlie.
"You're ridiculous."
"And you're not?"
Mark leaned back in his chair. "...The dude's name is Whizzer."
Suddenly, Cecilia snorted. "Whizzer? What the hell kind of name is that?" She exclaimed, amused.
Charlie laughed lightly as well, leaning against Cecilia as she spoke, "That has to be a nickname."
Mark was slightly surprised. He hadn't even batted an eye when Whizzer introduced himself, or rather when his brain told him with the dude's name and they both said it at the same time. But now that he thought about it, Whizzer is a weird name. Charlie spoke up again after she was done with her giggling fit.
"By the way Mark, you're gonna accompany us to taste cake samples next week," Charlie said.
Mark smiled slightly. That sounded much better than the other wedding preparing escapades they had been dragging him to. Then he frowned again. "Why are you taking me everywhere with you guys?" Mark asked, eyebrows furrowing again. He got defensive about the small things; he was aware of that. But he also genuinely wanted to know. He knew the two typically had some ulterior motives.
Charlie looked unimpressed. "You're my Shoshbin, dumbass. Of course, I want your input on these things."
Cecilia piped up. "Also, you're a literal hermit. You need to go outside more."
Charlie added on, "For several reasons."
Mark sighed. "Several reasons?"
Cecilia smiled and leaned forward. "First of all, being outside is good for you. Second of all, you're lonely as fuck and need to meet someone new. Hell, I don't think you've made a new friend let alone dated anyone since we became friends."
Mark stared at them incredulously. "And you think I'm going to find a boyfriend running errands with you two for your wedding?"
Charlie shrugged. "You met Whizzer today."
Mark groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Once again, I talked to him for 5 minutes."
"Hey, all I'm saying is that you can meet people while you're out with us. You just need to stop following us like a lost puppy," Charlie explained.
"I go outside on my own!" Mark retorted, leaning forward in his chair slightly for emphasis.
"Yeah, when you get groceries or go out to pick up Jacob from Trinity’s," Cecilia commented dryly, a knowing look on her face.
Mark leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Well, it's just as likely for me to find someone at Walmart as it is when I'm shopping with you two."
Cecilia sighed. "Yeah, but we still want your opinion on this stuff. You potentially meeting someone is just a bonus."
Mark took a frustrated bite of his gross pizza before responding. "Look, can we stop talking about my nonexistent social life and focus on why we're here in the first place? Y'know, your wedding?"
Charlie rolled her eyes. "Alright, ya big grump." She leaned back in her seat. "As I said, we're going to be choosing a cake soon and…" The conversation lulled from there on out. Typical wedding planning stuff, nothing too interesting.
"Welp, I've been done for a while. I think it's time to go," Charlie remarked, picking up her empty bag of fast food. Cecilia nodded in agreement, but Mark stared at her incredulously.
Mark coughed to get their attention. "Um, I'm not done."
Charlie rolled her eyes. "You don't even like the pizza you’re eating."
"I'm hungry, Char."
"Whatever. Ceci and I are heading out to the car, you can meet us there when you're done."
Mark shrugged. "Alright."
Charlie and Cecilia proceeded to gather up their trash before leaving the food court. Mark continued to lazily eat his icky pizza, examining his surroundings. He nearly choked when he saw a familiar face heading over to the food court.
Whizzer.
On second thought, he wasn't hungry at all. In fact, he wanted out of this food court right this very second. There's no way in hell he was gonna risk bumping into that guy. He wouldn’t be able to stomach another awkward conversation like the one before.
Mark was about to hastily gather his things and leave, hopefully unnoticed, when he made eye contact with Whizzer.
The man in question smiled charmingly and waved. Shoot. Mark smiled awkwardly and waved back politely, before almost getting up to leave again. That's when Whizzer started heading over. Fuck. Why is he coming over?
Whizzer placed his food on the table and plopped down on the seat in front of Mark.
"I didn't expect to see you again so soon, but here we are," Whizzer said idly while digging through his bag of food, glancing up at Mark every now and then, in an almost suspicious way. Mark wasn't sure what warranted that to be honest.
Mark chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, well- We are shopping in the same mall, so it's not that much of a surprise."
Whizzer hummed in agreement. "Anywho, you said you were shopping with your friends. Where are they?" He grinned playfully, "Or were you lying about actually having friends?"
Mark huffed, deciding to let the jab slide. Instead, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and answered. "They finished eating before me and decided to head out 'n start the car."
Whizzer smiled. "Well don't let me keep you here too long then."
Mark smiled awkwardly before beginning to eat his pizza again. He directed his gaze to the table, avoiding eye contact at all costs. It was just so surreal to see a dude he had seen in his dreams in real life. Mark flushed at the thought. God that was the opposite of what he needed to think about right now.
"Anywho, since you seem to already know some stuff about me," Whizzer began suddenly, slightly startling Mark. "I wanna know some things about you. So, spill."
This is way too surreal, Mark decided. He had met this guy like, half an hour ago and talked to him for a few minutes. It just felt a bit weird that they were talking as if they were like, on a blind date or something. They were still practically strangers, and Mark had thought it would be a one-time encounter. Another one of those moments where you chat with someone in the line behind you at Walmart then never see them again. Of course, not much about Mark's life was normal to begin with.
"Uh...sure," Mark replied hesitantly. Mark thought for a minute before saying anything. He decided to answer the same things he had asked Whizzer earlier. Well, sort of. He never really asked about Whizzer's occupation, but it was only fair that Whizzer knew the same things Mark knew about him. "I have a desk job, and I've lived in New York for...Way too long."
Whizzer nodded. "Sounds about right."
Mark squinted at him. "What?"
Whizzer shrugged. "I had a feeling. I dunno why. You just seemed like a boring desk job kind of guy."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"
Whizzer snickered. "Sure, if you wanna look at it that way. I wasn't wrong though."
Mark sighed. "I suppose."
Whizzer grinned and ran a hand through his too-perfect hair.
Mark tapped his fingers on the table nervously, too uncomfortable to look at his unfinished pizza, let alone eat it. "So, how is the whole photography thing going?"
Whizzer popped a french fry into his mouth before replying. "'S okay. Better than before I lived in New York, I guess. But it's still an art job which is...never easy," Whizzer lamented with a sigh.
Mark almost asked where he was from, but his brain helpfully supplied him with the answer, Austin. Jesus, couldn't he get to know this guy on his own? He decided to ask anyway, as he assumed he was probably wrong. "So, where are you from?"
Whizzer picked at his food as he replied. "Austin, Texas." Well fuck. Maybe he should just listen to his brain, huh? He honestly felt slightly stupid for not trusting his really weird instincts now.
The conversation went on from there. It was just casual small talk, but it was less awkward than before. Thank God. It probably had to do with the fact that he wasn't blurting out random things he suddenly knew about Whizzer before he said it. God, Mark was thankful that Whizzer wasn't bringing that up. Besides that, the conversation felt like catching up with an old friend.
“Y’know,” Whizzer began, “The name Mark really doesn’t suit you,” Whizzer said cryptically.
Mark’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Whizzer shrugged. “It just doesn’t,” he said. “Honestly you seem more like a-”
The conversation was abruptly interrupted when Mark's phone went off. "Ah, sorry," Mark said hurriedly before taking his phone out of his pocket. It was Charlie. "Uh, hello?"
Charlie huffed. "How long is it going to take you to eat that pizza slice?" Right. How long has he been talking to Whizzer?
"Ah, sorry Char. I'll be there in a minute." Mark stood, beginning to gather his stuff. He quickly hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket, shooting Whizzer an apologetic glance. "Sorry, I gotta go."
Whizzer waved him off, smiling calmly. "Nah, it's fine."
Mark smiled and rushed off, dropping his trash in the trash can as he passed by it.
"What took you so long?" Charlie asked, furrowing her brows.
Mark smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I ran into someone." Charlie quirked an eyebrow, obviously expecting clarification. "Whizzer, the guy I met earlier, happened to show up in the food court and sat with me," he explained.
Charlie smiled. "Huh, okay. I knew you found the guy attractive, but I didn't think you'd end up getting along with a stranger so well that you could talk to him for like, 20 minutes."
Mark gaped at her. "20 minutes?"
Charlie snickered. "Yeah, that's a record for you. You never talk to anyone you just met for that long."
Mark blinked and then shrugged. "He's nice, I can talk to nice people."
Cecilia piped up from inside the car. "Yeah, but you're not nice, Mark."
Mark huffed. "I'm not that rude... anymore."
Charlie shrugged. "Yeah, we know. You're just a bit off-putting to strangers. I guess not Whizzer though."
Mark was slightly taken aback, she wasn't wrong. Well… People aren't always consistent; this was probably just a fluke. Maybe he just felt like being more extroverted today, he supposed.
Charlie hummed thoughtfully. "Did you at least ask him for his number?"
Mark froze for a second. He hadn't even thought of that. "Uh, no. I didn't really...think about that."
Cecilia sighed dramatically. "Man, Mark, you talked to this guy for 20 minutes and you couldn't even get his number?"
Mark opened one of the car doors. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm here now no matter what I did or didn't do, and I wanna go home."
Cecilia snickered. "Alright, alright."