A/N: The song is called Yellow by Coldplay
Time went by quickly, and before too long Mark's move date was only a day away. I hadn't spoken to him since we got into it at his apartment. All the texts he's sent me over the past few weeks have been ignored and now he doesn't bother anymore. Not sure how I feel about that. I've made the executive decision to go over to his apartment and say goodbye. It won't be easy but I think I at least owe him a proper goodbye before he moves across the country. He has done more bad than good in our friendship. I nervously walked up to his front door and knocked lightly. It took him a bit but he did answer, and he said nothing when he saw it was me. I wasn't really sure what to say, so I just stared at him. "I'm kinda busy, so..." he said. "Want me to go?" I asked, already starting to feel defensive again. "I didn't say that, I just can't stand at the door all day. I have a lot of stuff to get out of here by tomorrow morning." I looked behind him and saw that the place was virtually empty. A handful of boxes remained inside stacked in the living room. "There's more all over the place." he said. "Look, I'm sorry about everything." he didn't really respond. "I really am. I'm sorry for the assumptions. I'm sorry for the heated discussions...you're my friend, and I'm really gonna miss you. It's gonna be strange knowing you're not here anymore." His face softened a bit. "I'm gonna miss this place and the people. I can't say I'm too happy with what happened between us, but I don't want it to ruin our friendship. Friends?" he asked, outstretching his arms. "Friends." I replied, accepting his hug. Him moving sunk in and I started to tear up a bit. I realized that I had let valuable time with my good friend slip out of my hands over dumb bullshit that should've never left the halls of high school. "You okay?" he asked, looking at me. "No, not really." I replied, wiping at my eyes. "Don't cry." he said softly. "I'm moving, not abandoning you. We'll keep in touch, and we'll see each other, just not as often." "I don't like this." I said, crying more openly. He closed his eyes. "Fuck." he muttered. "'Stop, you're gonna get me going, too." I hugged him again. "I have to tell you something." I said. "Anything, (y/n)." he replied, sounding a bit emotional himself. "I love you." He sniffled. "I love you, too." he said. "No, I mean...I love you." He tensed a bit, but said nothing. "I have felt like this for so long...I didn't know how to tell you, and now you're leaving so I guess it doesn't matter." He broke away from me and looked at me. "I...I had no idea." he said, wiping at his eyes. "You definitely have a funny way of showing it." he half laughed. "I get nervous and do stupid shit. I'm sorry...but...it doesn't matter. You're moving across the country, I'm sure you don't want another long distance relationship...they're such a fucking pain...you probably don't even feel the same way." "(Y/N), it does matter...I just..." I knew that was coming. He just. He fucking just this or that. He shook his head. "I don't know what to say." "Tell me how you feel." I replied. "Confused....conflicted...convoluted." "So no feelings?" I asked, feeling embarrassment and devastation creep in on me. "No...that's not it. I just don't know what to do now. I wish you'd told me. I have to move. I bought a house...it's gotta happen...but we have to happen, too. I just don't think it can work right now...but I'll wait for you." I had mixed feelings. The fact that he didn't take me right into his life as his girlfriend struck me as odd, but the promise of waiting...that had to mean something. "When's the soonest you can get to LA?" he asked. "I have no idea...I guess it just depends on when I can get some time off work." "Soon?" "I can beg." I replied. "I just want you to come see me soon." he said. "Really soon...maybe scope out the area, see if you could call it home, too?" "Are you inviting me to live with you?" "I mean...if you wanna stay with me awhile while you look for your own place, that's fine. I would love that." A bit of excitement flickered. "That would be amazing." I said. "You should've told me sooner, (y/n). This whole thing makes me feel awful. I wanna stop things and deal with this, but...in less than a day, I'm out of here." I understood. "I should've." I replied, giving him another hug. "May I?" he asked, breaking the hug. "I was hoping you would've already." I replied, letting him give me a deep kiss. I broke the kiss and looked at him for awhile. "I'm sorry, but I have to finish packing. Come by in the morning?" he asked. "I'll be there." I replied.
The next morning it was rainy and cold...that matched my mood perfectly. Even with the events of yesterday, I still felt horribly depressed that Mark was moving away. I saw him putting the last of his boxes in the moving truck. "Am I ever glad to see you." he said, coming over to give me a hug. I hugged back weakly. "Don't be that way." he said, looking down at me. "I can't help myself." I replied. "I hate this." "I hate the leaving part." he replied, looking around. "I can't believe this...it's so surreal...but I think it's gonna be a good choice." "I hope so. I hope you're happy there." "I'll be happier once you bring your stupid self out there to see me...I hope you can find happiness there to the point that we'll be neighbors again." "Woah there, I can't afford to live in that neighborhood." "You know what I meant." he laughed. I slugged his arm. "I'll see you soon (y/n)." he said, getting into his car. The tears started again and I felt like crawling into the backseat and going with him right then and there. "This was much harder than I thought it would be." he said. He took a few deep breaths. "I'm headed to my mom's...please, call me as soon as you get some time off." I promised I would...in fact, I decided to head into work on my glorious and rare day off to grovel for some time off. I watched Mark drive into the distance. I looked back at his apartment, and the move sunk in even more. He's gone. That apartment is empty...no one will ever hear his voice echoing off the walls there again. he's not in the area anymore...I'm not gonna bump into him here and there. I walked straight to my car and booked it to work as quickly as I could. My boss was in and I begged her for some time off. Just two weeks. She wasn't on board at first, but I badgered her until she caved. My time off started tomorrow. My heart sank as I realized that there was no way I'd be able to catch Mark in time to tell him. I decided to just text him and ask for his new address. Much to my surprise, he answered it without question. One ticket to LA, roundtrip. How amazing would it be if I could beat him to his own new house? I smiled to myself thinking about how surprised he'd be. I booked myself a cheap flight at the airport quickly and waited for boarding. Mark text me sad messages periodically, letting me know how much he was going to miss me and our other friends. Were I not in the position I was in I'd be crying like him, but unbeknownst to him, I was waiting on a metal bird to take me out to LA.
Hours later, I deplaned in Los Angeles, a city I'd never been to and never really planned on visiting. I looked around in the massive airport and felt small and alone. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. I hailed a cab and found Mark's new house. I was quite impressed...it was large, situated on a nice property, and had a great view out the back. It dawned on me that I was gonna be waiting for quite some time. Mark is driving, and I flew. I smacked myself on the forehead. What a dumb oversight on my part. I decided to just get a drink somewhere...the other people in the neighborhood were staring at me funny anyway. I departed via another cab. It took me a matter of 15 minutes to get downtown and I immediately started exploring. I dipped in and out of bars and stores, having a good time testing the limits of my cards. When I looked at the time, I had only managed to kill a few hours. I gave Mark a text and he said he wasn't even through Indiana yet. I sighed. Great. I had a lot of time on my hands.
I grabbed a hotel and early the next morning I saw a text from Mark letting me know he was a few hours out. I got excited and jumped in the shower to ready myself. I eagerly waited for another text, and eventually one came in letting me know he had hit town and would be at his new house soon. I pretended to be happy for him, and still bored back in Ohio. I was almost squirming with excitement when he finally text me and told me he had made it home. I hailed the nearest cab and headed straight to his house, and what I saw made me want to die. He was outside sitting with another woman. Her hand in his...the way they were speaking to each other...this had been going on for some time. He leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek before looking up and seeing me. "(Y/N)?" he said, scrambling to his feet. Suddenly I didn't regret being so harsh with him earlier, but I did regret believing him and coming out here. "Looks like I'm not the only one who has a surprise." I said, turning around to walk off. I heard his feet pounding on the driveway. "Hold on a second, let me explain." he said, reaching out for my shoulder. I shook his hand off and told him where to stick his explanation. "You never cared." I said, looking back at him. "Not even a little bit." I felt like crying, but I also felt like slapping him. The entire time that he was all but yelling at me to stay, his little girlfriend wasn't doing anything. I think she was enjoying this. I stormed off down the street. "(Y/N), please you don't even know where you're going." "I'm going to the fucking airport, Mark. Don't ever speak to me again."
