I'm Just Septic-Eyed

Chapter 33: Date Night

Mark woke up on a Thursday morning with a thought paralyzing him. Tomorrow was Friday. He completely forgot that he was supposed to take Sean out to eat. The whole ordeal with Felix really messed everyone up. He said he had gotten into a fight that day he came home injured, but it didn't seem like something Felix would do. No one had a better explanation, so they believed him. And in that time, Sean had become even more distant. He hardly spoke to Mark or left his room. Mark knew that Sean needed to go out more than ever. He just didn't know where.

Luckily, he had a class with Felix today.

"Hey, Felix," Mark greeted as he sat down. Felix had two black eyes not only from his injured nose but because he had been hit in the face several times. It reminded Mark of a sad, little raccoon. "How you holding up?"

"I feel like my face is gonna melt off." Felix gave a bitter smile. "So I'm great. How are you?"

Mark sighed. "I forgot about taking Sean out. I still don't know where. I was supposed to have all week to think about it, but it just slipped my mind."

Felix looked surprised, then it looked as if he figured something out. "Well you're in luck, I happen to know a place." His little raccoon face lit up. "It's not too far from here. They have great food and everything. It's called Fran's Garden. Calm down, it's not a fancy restaurant or anything; you're not going on a date." Felix winked with his least injured eye.

That comment caused Mark to get butterflies. It wasn't a date, Felix was right. There was no need to stress over it... but for some reason, Mark had to make it perfect. "R-right. Uh, after class tomorrow?" Felix nodded. "And just... the two of us? Like alone?"

"You'll be in a restaurant, Mark," Felix sounded amused. "Unless you wanna be somewhere a little more private."

Mark nearly threw up some butterflies. His face felt warm, but his ears were burning. "N-no! Don't... that's not something. I-I just... I was -- I mean..."

"Aw, is little Markimoo getting all hot and bothered?"

Mark put his head down on the desk and covered his bright pink ears. Felix chuckled, which caused Mark to grimace. "I was just joking, dude," Felix laughed. "Calm down. It's just a friendly get-together, right? There's no reason to get so embarrassed. You'll go there, eat some fuckin' great food, then come home and it's over. Maybe play some games. And then -- bam -- mission accomplished."

Mark wanted to agree, but he wasn't sure if he should trust his words.

~~~

Friday came a lot faster than Sean thought it would. He was slowly losing track of the days. His mind was just always so preoccupied with things and worry. Sam could come at any moment and take Mark away. Sean didn't know if he could ever function properly without Mark. It was the first time he had become dependent on someone else since his childhood. There wasn't really anything he could do. Sam never gave any warnings to where he would strike next. That just meant that Sean had to be on high alert all the time.

Sean didn't realize class had ended until he heard everyone pack up. He awkwardly shoved everything in his bag and stood up. Some girls were cooing over Chica from a distance. Sean always found it amusing to hear people talk about Chica. They always said how cute or pretty she was, some people even said how much they wanted to pet her, but knew that they shouldn't. It was rather entertaining.

As soon as Sean left the class, he was expecting to have to wait for Mark. But Mark was already there. "Oh," Sean didn't mean to sound surprised. "Hi, Mark. You're rather early." Sean's Friday class was in the farthest class building, so even if Mark left the apartment early it would still take him a while to get there. That must heave meant Mark left before class was even close to ending.