Ch. 9: the strip mall and pasta

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((Ah shit here we go again. Jk, sorry i dont have a chapter photo ill put one tommorow))

Mark came to your side of the car and opened your door for you. You knew that if you weren't compleletly staggered in thought he would have let you done it yourself, but it was nice nonetheless. You mumbled a nervous thank you and grabbed your purse from the floor of the car. The sun was bright but you saw the sign of a small comic book store, two resturaunts, a nail salon and two clothing stores. One was for costumes thouh.

"Let's go ahead and get lunch before we shop." He headed in the direction of the "Pasta la vista". You barely had time to even argue with him on the matter and just quickly followed. Mark had longer legs then you did so most of your time was gonna be spent taking strides instead of steps.

Inside the air was crisp and there was the smell of dough and sauce. It was decorated to look like a mini Olive Garden but with a Pizza hut vibe. Mark took one look at the boy behind the counter and mumbled a few choice words. He didn't seem to like him.

"Welcome to Pasta la vista what may i get..." he looked to Mark and instantly dripped his cheery demeanor, "oh. It's just you. What do you want?" Seemed this guy didn't like him back. You looked at his name tag and saw He went by Bernard. Another voice piped up from the back.

"Bernard be nice!" You instantly realized it was Alexis so you leaned over the counter and greeted her.

"Hey Alexis!" You heard clattering in the back and she popped out, a shine to her. "Oh my gosh y/n! I'm so glad to see you!" Her voice made you feel light and bubbly. Like you belonged here... it was nice. Mark and Bernard seemed to have different ideas of eachother though.

"I change my mind. Let's go to the other place next door." Mark went to grab your hand but you pulled back.

"What? Oh come on, you get me excited for pasta and strip it away from me?" You folded your arms and gave a playful glare. He sputtered at your resistance and gestured to Bernard.

"I don't wanna be served by him! He might spit in my food." Bernard scoffed. "Please, I value my job more then petty revenge." Alexis asked the question you almost did.

"What revenge?" Mark started.

"We had to co write a 300 word essay about midevil history so we split it in half but ended up writing completle different parts of history!"

"I told you it woukd be smart to write about Anne bolyn and her history but instead you write about king arthur! King arthur isn't even real!" He was red in the face after he finished that mouthful.

"There are plenty of facts pointing to otherwise you simpleton. Anne bolyn was just another cheap wife King Henry got ahold of!" You cut them both off befpre they could get another word in.

"Wait, you guys are arguing over a paper?" They were baffled by the fact you would doubt the premise of the argument. Alexis decided to add to your question.

"Oh my gosh, why didn't you just ask to rewrite it?" Now they were both embarressed. Bernard sighed into his hand and looked to Mark.

"Listen man, I know we weren't exactly great with that paper but your part of the essay wasn't too bad..." bernard looked idly at the register.

"You made Anne Bolyn actually sound exciting..." they looked to eachother amd nodded.

"Mark, can we eat now?" He realized why he was there in the first place and quickly rattled off your order. Your lunch with him was nice. You would ask questions, he would ask questions and in the end you realized you both had some things in common. It wasn't awkward or tense. It was easy being with him.

You went to the comic book store next. It was also a mini game lot and sold little bits of merch. You would grab a few graphic novels, look at them and put them down. They were never really your favourites but there were some novels lodged in the back. Mark let you be when you started to read one quitley.

((Mark's pov))

It was nice to have y/n come along with him. Mark really liked her company and was enjoying it even more spending time with her like this. He liked the face she made when she focused on books or games and puzzles. He liked having lunch with her. Mark was walking down the aisle of figurines and keychains with a smile on his face. And an even bigger one when he saw something just right for you.

He grabbed it and along with that some other volumes of dnd guidebooks and even a new manga. Mark came back to you.

"If you want I'll get that book for you." You shly tried to put it back. "N-no it's fine, you don't have to."

"I want to though, today was fun." He grabbed the book and put it with his other things. A look of suprise on your reddining face. It made him feel good to have you look like that.

The girl rang up the stuff behind the counter and handed the bags to Mark. He thanked her and headed out. You were nearly five feet behind him before he stopped.

"You go to slow for me, here just hold my hand." He grabbed it and quickly pulled you along. His fingers interlocked with yours and he gently squeezed your hand.

When you both got to the normal clothing store he didn't let go of your hand but instead led you to the graphic tees. He skidded through them and didn't like any of them. Of course, they were all about MTV and name brands. He was frustrated by the fact but felt your hand in his and was a little better.

((Y/n's pov))

You couldn't stand the idea of him letting go of your hand but when you went back to the car he sadly parted from you. He put the bags in the back seat but grabbed a small thing from them and hid it from you when he got in the car.

"What do you got in your hands?" He seemed alot more nervous then before all day and his voice sounded unsure and timid.

"I know i didn't say this was a date but..." he looked to you and went biting the inside of his cheek again," I realize that after sometime now i gained feelings for you. I thought i was just being stupid at first but then i start to realize all these little things about you and how good it makes me feel." You were completley flipped. You never had someone say that to you and here you could say it chalked up to four big smiles today. Except it was more to him then yourself this time.

"Hang on, i got something!" He showed what was in his hands. It was a sailor moon and tuxedo mask key chains. ((Im bad at confessions just deal with it im so sorry))

You covered your face and nodded your head. What else could you say! He gave that loud laugh and you felt his arms come from over the cup holders to hug you. You stuffed your face into his shoulder and laughed with him. After parting you were both left goggling and redfaced. He handed the tuxedo mask keychain over.

"So were dating now?" You took it from him and smiled so big your face hurt.

"Yeah, of course!"

The drive home was spent with repressed giggles and big smiles.

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