2010~
"I think we lost 'em." I peeked through the door to make sure no one followed us.
Mark plopped onto his bed, panting. We were all alone. Running from Mark's younger brother Joey and my cousin while being doused by water was not easy. Catching my breath, I heard footsteps. Peeking to see who they belonged to, I noticed Joey and my cousin checking different rooms at the top of the stairs. Ready to douse us with water balloons. I watched as Joey checked his parent's room while my cousin stood guard. They were about to retreat when I stupidly stepped on Mark's Shih Tzu dog toy.
"JOEY THERE IN THERE"
"Shit!" Mark sat up on his bed and raced to the door. He shut and locked it before we were drenched. It was quiet... too quiet. Putting my ear to the door, I was startled when a loud bang echoed through the door.
"You can't stay in there forever."
"Yeah, you gotta come out sometime, and when you do prepare to get"
"Joey!-"Mama Tuan's voice echoed upstairs. "Joey, come down here. I need you to take these burgers to your dad,"
"KAY". A loud thud echoed through the door. "You got lucky this time,"
"Joey!"
"Coming!". We waited for their footsteps to disappear before we let out a long breath. We looked at each other, instantly cracking up. Mark walked back and plopped back on his bed, trying to calm his laughter. I couldn't help staring at Mark's wet, shirtless body. See, I've had the longest crush on Mark since we hit puberty. It all happened when we turned thirteen. Mark's parents threw him at a birthday party, and everyone was there. Mark was going through his awkward faze, and my parents were going through their divorce. I was so busy dealing with my parents and their feelings. I barely had time for him. But that night, after yelling surprise and catching up, something in my heart told me I needed to make Mark mine.
Being alone, no interruptions besides the blaring music and the strong smell of grill smoke from outside. I had to make my move. "Mark".His head shot up, humming in response. "Can you come here for a second, I need to tell you something."
"Okay.." He pushed himself off the bed and came towards me "Wassup". Taking a deep breath, I knew it was now or never, sink, or swim.
"Mark, we've been friends for a pretty long time now, right?
"Yeah, almost our whole lives." He gave me one of those gleaming smiles. I was five seconds from passing out, but I shook it off. Now or never.
"Then you know I would never do anything to ruin our friendship, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. You're starting to scare me. Is everything alright? "
"Yeah, everything's fine. Why does something seem up to you? "
"You've just been acting weird, that's all. Know if anything is bothering you-". It was like time slowed down as his hand reached for my shoulder. It was now or never. I closed my eyes.
"MARK, I LIKE YOU!" Silence, the silence was the only thing I could hear. I opened my eyes to see Mark wide-eyed, dumbfounded. It would have just spilled my heart out... Kinda.
"I...I-"
"MARK WENDY'S HERE"
"I...I gotta go." He rushed out of the room like it was on fire. I could only stand there trying to hold back tears.
