(I've Known You) A Life and A Day

Helpless

  The bright lights and the busy atmosphere of people walking around did nothing to help Mark's anxiety as he sat somewhat impatiently for Corinna and Charlene to return with their food.

He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but the blonde had somehow managed to convince their entire group to hang out at the mall despite Mark's inability to want to do anything that required leaving his bedroom. He and Michael had been texting back and forth for the past week, and although they only knew each other for about eight days, Mark only got happier whenever they talked.

As if on cue, his phone went off in the text tone he said exclusively for Michael, who he still refused to call Whizzer despite the protests from the boy. He typed in the four digit code, 9449, and pulled up the conversation between the two of them to read the new message.

'hey there. still hanging out with everyone?'

In the past week, Corinna and Charlene had practically inducted Michael into the group, becoming fast friends particularly with the bubbly blonde. Trinity, however, did not take a liking to him. At all. Only three days into knowing each other, they engaged in their first argument about the behavior of the boys in school. Trinity had complained about how rude they all were, while Michael protested that that statement was making an assumption about a significantly large group of people that she didn't even really know. Needless to say, this resulted in a borderline screaming match and Mark having to basically pull Michael away from the conflict.

' Yep. Cor's still a little bummed that you couldn't come with, but Trinity's alright without you here.'

'she really doesn't like me huh?'

Mark bit his lip and glanced over at the girl in question, who was looking not so subtly at Menachem from across the food court. The boy had come along with the group, partly due to wanting to figure out how Mark reacted to larger scale social situations with more people than at school, but also because he had the biggest crush on Trinity and he jumped at any opportunity to spend time around her.

'To be fair, she really doesn't like anyone.'

The sound of two girls giggling made Mark send Michael a quick farewell text and pocket his phone, watching Menachem follow Corinna and Charlene to their table.

"Alright, Wendy's for Mark and Char, Taco Bell for me, Burger King for Menachem, and...homophobia for Trin," Corinna groaned, handing each person their respective bag of food.

Trinity rolled her eyes at the blonde's over exaggeration, grabbing her bag from Chick-Fil-A. "They make good food, it's not my fault that the owner doesn't like gay people," she replied with a sigh as she started to unwrap her food. Trinity wasn't homophobic, per se. Sure, she'd get a bit uncomfortable when Charlene and Corinna would kiss, but that was more along the lines of seeing a nice, stable, healthy relationship and feeling jealous that she couldn't have that. It reminded Mark of sophomore year, when he and Trinity dated for over a year until Mark finally old her he was gay, which was most likely another cause for her uneasiness. After months of not talking to each other, they finally agreed to be just friends, although a bit of tension still hung in the air whenever the two were in the same area for too long.

"Good food can still be homophobic food, my dear Trinity," Corinna mumbled before digging into her own food. Mark slowly let his mind phase out of the conversation, his mind roaming to Michael and their conversations from the past week. He also couldn't help but think about the slight flutter in his chest whenever he heard the text tone from the brown eyed boy. He couldn't help but wonder if Michael had the same developing crush he did.

He understood that the Whizzer Brown he knew in the late 70's was long gone, as was the man he was in that time. Right now, he was Mark Schwartz. Marvin Schulz was dead, and that was the undeniable truth.

Mark had come to the conclusion that his new life needed to begin without dwelling on the past, so he decided to live his new life to the fullest, and this meant living it in the way he wanted to.

And right now, he wanted Michael.

The sound of Charlene snapping pulled Mark out of his thoughts, jolting his head up with a perplexed expression.

"You still there? You looked like a space cadet there,' she asked, turning her attention back to her food.

Mark nodded, glanced around the food court with a neutral expression until something in particular caught his eye and made his heart drop to the floor.

Michael was standing across the food court with a member of their school's baseball team, smiling and laughing in a way that made Mark's chest hurt, and not in a good way.

He felt so crushed. Were they on a date? Was he just leading Mark along to tease him, or was he genuinely just being friendly?

After a second or two passed, Mark stood up abruptly and tossed his half-eaten food into the garbage bin next to their table, catching the attention of his friends. "I- uh, I gotta get home. I forgot I- I have homework to do."

"No you don't, you finished it yester-" Menachem began to protest, but shut his mouth upon seeing the look of betrayal on his cousin's face. "Alright. Text me when you get home, okay?"

Mark responded with a quick nod before standing and making his way towards the exit. He couldn't help but steal one quick look at Michael, which was a total mistake since they briefly made eye contact and Mark could watch Michael's expression change from joy to temporary shock. He didn't wait for anything else to happen before he left, jumping into his clunky car and driving home in tears. He wasn't really sure why he was crying, it's not like they were dating. Mark guessed he just had this hope that since they talked so much, it wouldn't be long before it was socially acceptable to ask him out for a date and then they'd be together in no time. But, of course, his plan had to fall through. Of course there was no hope.

Of course.

When he arrived home he immediately ran up to his room, flopping down on his bed with an exhausted, tear-filled sigh. The sound of his phone going off made him groan, unlocking it quickly and noticing the the new message from Michael.

Sender Blocked.

**

Mark didn't know why visiting Whizzer's grave calmed him down, but he knew he really needed to stop going there. It wouldn't be long before someone took notice and asked him what he was doing at a grave site for people who died before he was even born. Then again, it's not like he even cared, but discontinuing his frequent visits would spare him of the inevitable embarrassment of someone taking notice and him having to explain.

Today, however, he was shocked to see someone standing in front of his own grave, setting a bouquet of various flowers against the headstone.

He tentatively walked towards Whizzer's grave, mostly to set his own bouquet of roses down, but also to get a better look of the other man. His face look worn down. Tired. Not particularly sad, but he still had sullen undertones. He did look a little perplexed when Mark set the flowers down, but smiled a little.

"Those were his favorite. How'd you know?"

Mark looked taken aback, but tried to respond without giving anything away or sounding dumb. "My aunt, uh, told me. Micah was my second cousin..." he mumbled, lying through his teeth. The man didn't seem to notice, however, and merely smiled.

"I didn't know he had family members. At least none who cared, besides..." he stopped, biting his lip to hold back his tears. "He was a good man. Gave so many people hope for their future."

Mark simply nodded in agreement, staring back at the all too familiar headstone but still listening to the man as he started saying his goodbyes.

"I'll...I'll come by again soon. I promise...bye Dad. I love you."

It only took Mark half a second to register what he just heard, and as he turned around, the man walking away turned into the boy he left behind.

Jason.