Externalizing [mxm]

Chapter 16

“Agreed.” Marc just wanted to get back in the car.

Brendan stepped in, pecking a chaste kiss onto Marc’s cheek. Marc was only able to gawk at him in surprise as Brendan grinned like the devil. “See ya,” Brendan said, taking off into a partial run, only for his feet to slip along the way. Marc took half a step to try and help, but nearly ended up in the splits. Brendan managed to stop himself from falling though, with his legs spread awkwardly.

Brendan looked over his shoulder. “Okay,” he said. “Uh, penguin walk,” he decided, pulling his legs together and doing a weird waddle partway up the sidewalk. “Text me when you two get home, though!” he called out as he got to the door.

Marc wasn’t sure what the logic behind the penguin walk was, but he tried to mimic it as he went back to the driver’s side. His face still felt hot despite having been outside.

“He kissed you!” Ariel shrieked from the backseat, pounding her hand excitedly on the back of Marc’s seat.

Oh, right. He swore under his breath. “You saw nothing.”

“I did too see that,” Ariel protested. “Are you and Mr. Brendan,” she paused trying to find the word. “kissing?” she decided on instead.

“No,” Marc grumbled. Not yet, anyways. “And you can’t tell anyone.”

“Why not?” Ariel pouted.

“Because… Mr. Brendan could get in trouble at school.” He still wasn’t sure on that, but he didn’t think Brendan was out at school either. He’d have to ask Brendan about that.

It was a painstaking drive home, and when they got there, Marc declared that they weren’t leaving the house for anything ever again. He had seen at least three people wipe out on the way, and he almost wondered how school or work was going to happen the next day. And now he was worried about Saturday, too. It better clear up by Saturday.

He banished Ariel upstairs and groaned to himself. He at least needed some sort of help on this. He called Alice, both relieved and afraid when she actually answered. “Hey, Marc, what’s up?” she greeted.

Marc stalled, biting his thumbnail. “I asked Brendan out.”

“Like, asked out?” Alice questioned carefully.

“Yeah,” Marc admitted quietly.

“I thought you weren’t into dating,” she brought up one of his excuses.

“Well that was…” That was what? “Brendan doesn’t count,” he decided.

He heard Alice laughing at him on the other end, so he frowned. “This isn’t funny,” Marc grumbled sourly at her, no matter how much like a child he sounded. “I haven’t been on a date in… forever.”

“If you like spending time with him, just keep doing exactly that,” Alice said. “And maybe you two hold hands, or something like that. But dating is getting to know each other more on an intimate level. So just go out and have fun.”

“I don’t even know what to do,” Marc groaned. “Dinner sounds… expected.”

“There have to be at least twenty art galleries downtown,” Alice pointed out. “And then there’s the art museums, or there are some comedy performances going on… I think any of those would be up Brendan’s alley, with dinner either coming before or after, because people have to eat, so don’t under estimate dinner.”

“He’s vegetarian,” Marc remembered with another groan. “And almost every place is going to have meat, isn’t it?”

“Then let Brendan pick the place for dinner. He’ll know where he can go and still get something worth eating. Planning a date can take two people, you know,” Alice instructed. “So find some time to talk it out with him.”

Marc didn’t want to seem too eager about it, so he waited until the next day to talk to Brendan about it. School had ended up canceled due to road conditions, which Marc was grateful and disappointed for at the same time. He wanted to actually see Brendan so that they could talk, but he realized settling on a phone call would have to do.

“I don’t know any places that are vegetarian friendly,” Marc admitted into the phone.

“Well how funny, I do,” Brendan laughed. “And I think it would be funny to take you there and see what you try and make of the menu… I mean, if you’re willing to go to a place that doesn’t have meat.”

“I wouldn’t mind trying it.” Of course Marc was still picturing eating squares of grass and tofu in his head, but he imagined some people were more creative than that.

“Okay. Well, what else did you have in mind?” Brendan asked.

“Art gallery or something,” Marc uselessly muttered one of Alice’s ideas.

“Well that sounds like something I would like, but do you actually know enough about it to actually like going yourself?” Brendan challenged him. “Let’s think of something we could both like.”

Marc fell silent from there. He couldn’t actually think of anything in common that they might both like.  To his disappointment, Brendan had to hang up and deal with Blueberry screaming in the background for some reason. Marc figured he would think on it more, and if anything, Brendan was creative enough so maybe he could come up with something.