i sat down on the empty swing, mark doing the same. i swung slowly and gently as i stared at the ground and kicked some leaves about. i zipped up my jacket, it wasn't very warm on that day. i wasn't sure what i was expecting, it was the middle of september.
me and mark had spent the entire day out together since it was a saturday and both of us were free. it was really nice to spend quality time with my best friend without the others. i loved those guys, don't get me wrong, but i never really got to spend time alone with mark anymore. and there were certain things that i could only talk about with him.
"how have you been doing lately anyway? not too caught up in your own headspace i hope." i smiled and shook my head to mark's question.
"i've been okay i guess. a couple of things are stressing me out. like school."
"and?" he asked, trying to get more information out of me. i looked down at the floor again in embarrassment. i didn't particularly like talking about it because it was something i would much rather forget about.
"is your sexuality still bothering you?" he asked. i put my finger up to my lips aggressively.
"shush! don't be so loud with that kind of stuff!"
"there's no one else here fe. don't worry about it." i sighed before nodding and biting on my thumb in anxiety.
"i just don't know how i'm gonna tell my parents...or anyone for that matter." i felt him place a reassuring hand on my shoulder. mark was always there for me when i needed him most. i couldn't be more grateful. i really did have the bestest friend in the world.
"and my mom...she'd probably hate me if she found out that i'm bi. she's never directly said it but she's made so many homophobic comments in the past and i can't help but think that-"
"felix, calm down. you've gotta remember that coming out right now isn't a necessity. you don't need to do it right now. you can wait until we leave school. you can wait until college is done, you could even wait until you were in your 40's if you really wanted to! when you have that confidence and that stability just go for it. at the end of the day, no matter what anybody else says, i'll always be here for you. and that is one thing that's never going to change." i smiled widely and began to feel extremely emotional. mark always gave me the best advice, he was just so smart and always knew what was best for me and the people around him.
"thanks mark. it really means a lot to hear you say that."
"no problem bud. if you need anything, anything at all, you come to me. okay?" i nodded before the two of us stood up to give each other a long and tight hug. me and mark hadn't hung out like this in so long. we hadn't hugged in so long either. i smiled and enjoyed the moment while it lasted before we pulled away from each other and the embrace ended. mark then smirked at me before rushing over to the roundabout.
"wanna see how fast i can spin you before you fly off again?" he yelled excitedly. i giggled at his childlish attitude and nodded before running over to him and sitting down on the roundabout, holding onto the cold metal tightly as he began to spin me and spin me around.
a/n: this chapter is really short compared to the others but you know it's cool ig
