The GEEKs

36. four wheels, a sematary, and a deluge of love songs

PREVIOUSLY: the ship that is Jerry and Lizzy is finally leaving the port after Jerry called her out on being into him; they have an honest conversation at the end of which they agree to wait to start dating until after Jerry can see his ex-girlfriend Dee; Mudhoney finally come back from tour and pretty quickly reunite with the geeks, collectively noticing just how intertwined their lives had become; after a day of signing papers and having meetings, Mark drops by Kat's thrift shop and before the day is over, he discovers, to his own genuine surprise, that he has a crush on her; given the circumstances, he resigns to ignoring it until it goes away...

"This cactus is pretty cool. I like it," Eva motions at a little baby toe plant on the table as she sits down holding a plate and a glass.

"We've had it for two years..." I feel a crease form between my eyebrows.

"I know. I'm just saying, I think it's cool."

"Well, why do you think I bought it?" I shoot her a wide eyed stare before turning back to a little pile of dishes in the sink I'm trying to eliminate.

"I was never sure if I liked it or not... It's just kinda...weird, I don't know. But I do!" She sends me a grin and a thumbs up.

"Wow, okay. Well, I'll have you know that I've always thought of myself as the sole parent of this little succulent."

"Me too!" She laughs.

"Unbelievable..."

"No, what I actually mean is, you're the main parent, Kat."

"And you're the parent who gives the child all the years of unresolved trauma and crippling self-doubt."

"Just let me have my lunch in peace and then I can give you a ride, you weirdo," she sighs out way heavier than I'm sure she intended to. She looks so exhausted all the time lately, I wonder when's a good time to throw her an intervention party? I'll have to discuss that with Gwen and Lizzy later.

"So are you gonna quit basketball, sciencing, or coffee brewing?" I ask casually, for now.

"Huh?" Eva frowns at me with a mouthful of sandwich. "Oh..." She mumbles, spitting out a showering of crumbles on the table as she does, "don't make me think about it now, I'm on a lunch break!"

Just then, the door rips wide open. "Oh, it's you," Mark utters and rolls his eyes at me immediately after walking into our apartment, where I reside and can usually be found. Ah yes, that's more like it. "Hi, Evelyn."

"Hi, Marcus," she waves at him with the hand holding her sandwich. "You look lively."

"You know, I actually did wake up feeling unusually alive today."

"Teach me your ways..."

"Oof, you don't wanna go there, Eva, trust me." Yesterday was probably the first time I've ever seen Mark act...awkward? I can't think of a different word. He showed up at the thrift shop and right off the bat, he was acting as though he had just been released from two decades of solitary confinement. I don't know if it's the jetlag or two months of touring or...both, probably. I can't say it wasn't entertaining to watch but I think I prefer the...slightly more normal version of him. "Elvis Costello's I Want You."

"What about it?" I feel a frown twist my face because Mark says it completely out of the blue as he walks over to the kitchen. Is it playing somewhere? I can't hear anything... What?

"Could contend for the best love song ever written..." He explains clumsily. Ah. I spoke too soon...

"Oh. Hm. And you were fool enough to love it when he said 'I want you'... It's always sounded to me like a stalker's monologue while he's watching the girl and her new romantic interest through a pair binoculars he claims to own for birdwatching."