Dudezoned / Mark Lee

PART I: Ball To The Face, But Not The Balls I Want

"Hey!" Mark's cheerful tone that greeted Josie when she answered his call made her eye twitch in irrational annoyance.

"Are you down to play a few rounds tonight? I'm bored."

"I'm dying, man," Josie groaned into her phone. "I might bleed my whole uterus out on the court if I play tonight."

"God, can't you just tell me that you're on your period instead of making me imagine that?"

Josie cackled as she envisioned Mark cringing at her grossly graphic depiction. It was so easy for her to predict his reactions. She had him memorized like her favourite songs; his habits, his likes, his dislikes. It wasn't something that she had to force, it just came naturally since Mark was her best friend. Had been for ten years, since the day his family moved into the house next to hers from Canada. She was twelve and he was thirteen then, now they were both full grown adults and Mark was even graduating from college soon.

Mark ended the call after Josie assured him they'd play basketball together once her cramps subsided. There was an open outdoor court at the end of the street that nobody else ever dared to use because of a horror myth, so it eventually became their court for the past decade. Whether to play basketball, or for Josie to cry on Mark's shoulder after getting a bad grade, the court that looked like it came straight out of a horror movie was the two's own comfort zone.

Tossing her phone aside, Josie rolled over onto her stomach, letting out a long, monotonous moan from the excruciating pain in her lower body. Her moan was then rudely interrupted by her older brother swinging the door open.

"You sound like a robot having sex," Johnny commented. "Anyways, Mark's here."

Her giant of a brother stepped aside to reveal a smaller, smiling boy, round glasses perched atop his nose.

"Hey, Jo," Mark stepped into her bedroom and closed the door behind him like it was second nature. With how long they had been friends and the close relationship between their families, they were entrusted enough by both parents to hang out in each other's rooms with no harm done.

Josie flipped onto her back, pulling herself to sit up. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you, I'm bored," Mark claimed the little empty space beside Josie on her bed without waiting for an invitation.

"Cuddles usually help relieve your cramps, don't they?" he asked, holding his arms out.

With a grateful whimper, Josie accepted Mark's offer, tucking herself into his arms as he held her tightly. While one hand scrolled through his phone, the other gently caressed her head that rested on his chest. They stayed like that until midnight when Josie could finally fall asleep. Mark tucked her in, brushed her hair away from her face and turned the lights off on his way out.

The same way that walking around the Suh family's house came as second nature to Mark, to him, taking care of Josie felt like a habit more than a responsibility.
And this was the one habit of Mark that Josie didn't have memorized.

"You suck!"

"Hey, that's cheating!"

The empty night sky echoed with two voices from the horror court. Josie laughed as she harshly shoved Mark, making him stumble. She took the chance to shoot and the ball went through the net, right back into her arms. Still roughly using her elbow to block Mark, she dribbled the ball until he succeeded in stealing it right from under her nose.

With adrenaline pumping and the determination to not lose to Josie for once, Mark aimed for the hoop as soon as he had the opening. However, from being too excited, his shot was too strong and his aim just a little bit off, which caused the ball to bounce off the metal hoop and somehow hit an unsuspecting Josie right in the face.

It took a few seconds of darkness and ringing in her ears for Josie to realize her sweaty body was sticking to the cold court floor beneath her. Slowly regaining her vision, she was met with Mark's extremely worried face hovering just inches away from hers. His mouth was moving frantically, his eyes wide and his eyebrows knitted together. Josie did feel some pain, in fact she was pretty sure that she could no longer move her nose, but for some reason, she was starstruck by her best friend's face.

Josie understood why Mark had a large fanbase at college because of his amiable personality, but she never understood the 'looks' aspect of it. Yet as she laid frozen on the ground, staring up at him who looked like he was about to cry, she guessed she could see why. Mark had big eyes and high cheekbones that made him look rather adorable, but his nose and lips were shaped in such a way that also made him somewhat sexy. His cropped, black hair perfectly framed his pretty face, so ah, Josie could now see that the guy she always playfully considered a loser, was actually a total hottie.

"—sie? Jo, dude, are you okay?"

When Josie finally snapped out of it, she winced at the pain that significantly be ame more intense. A very concerned Mark helped her up, rambling about how he was going to take her home and get Johnny to drive them to the hospital since she was too hurt to drive and he cursed himself for not having his license, but all Josie could focus on was how angelic he looked under the dim streetlights.

From the way her heart was racing, Josie had no idea whether the thumping in her chest was because she got hurt, or because of Mark.

yea...idk the first thing about basketball.
anyways, friendly reminder that this story is a short one so it's only 5-6 chapters for now :]