Chapter Text
Mark is struggling up the stairs to his new apartment, arms burdened with boxes of his belongings, when he thinks to himself, ‘This is going to be my year.’
He shares the two-bedroom apartment with 3 of his friends- though that might be too strong of a word for 3 people he vaguely knows from the Liberal Arts section of campus- and their various projects. He got the short straw in the drawing, so he gets to take the futon in the living room instead of a proper bed in one of the rooms, but anything is better than the cramped dorms on campus. After two years stuck there, he’d rather sleep on the floor than go back.
The ground rules are pretty solid: His roommate Magnus got his own room at the price of being sexiled every time one of the rest of them takes someone home, and DeShawn is allowed to take home trash for his sculptures as long as it doesn’t smell. Kat isn’t allowed to pick what’s for dinner, since she’s too indecisive, but she gets to play music over the speaker in the livingroom during the day. They all have their own cars except Mark, but they try to carpool when they can to save money on gas.
Overall, it’s a decent set-up. Mark is going to grab his junior year by the horns and never let go.
2 weeks later, he’s in the corner of some frat house with a drink in hand, his friends having abandoned him to do whatever they’re wont to do at a function like this, and he distantly wonders if he actually has a test tomorrow or if that was a nightmare he had.
Mark is 3 beers in before he remembers why he likes parties. The lights are dim, the music is loud, and the alcohol has finally loosened his limbs enough to make him feel like dancing. He might be crossfaded- He doesn’t really remember how he got here, but now he doesn’t care.
Warm bodies are everywhere and that is what he’s looking for.
There’s a certain hum to parties like this, where everyone is a little bit blasted, that sits right at home in Mark’s chest, and he just wants to get closer.
A pair of warm hands settles on his hips from behind as soon as he hits the writhing mass of dancing bodies in the middle of the room and that’s it- he gets to lose himself now, guided into the gentle roll of this stranger’s body and his own. He turns around and plasters himself to the guy’s front, wrapping his arms around his waist and looking at him with eyes that he knows could kill. Mark is 20, out, and hot. He knows how the game is played.
They fumble their way into the bathroom to jerk each other off, Mark reaching into the stranger’s pants to palm at his dick until he comes in his jeans. The handjob he gets in return is good, while it lasts.
“Call me,” Mark says after they clean themselves up, walking out the door without ever giving the guy his phone number, because that’s not really what he’s after.
He starts the search for one of his roommates to give him a ride home, but the place is huge and he has no idea where they might be. He walks around for several minutes looking before he pulls out his phone and sends one of his roommates a message.
‘Did yuo guys leave me here?’
‘ohh shit i knu we 4got smth lol’
‘yea d left early n kat wnt home w tht girl from her wmns studies cuorse’
‘What abut you?’
‘duty callz’
Mark pockets his phone with a huff and grabs another beer for the road just because he can. Of course Magnus would ditch him to go deal whatever his drug of the week is. And while he’s glad Kat finally made a move on that girl she’s been mooning over, he really wishes she would’ve told him ahead of time that he has to walk home while she gets pegged, or whatever.
He lets his GPS guide him on his walk home as he nurses his final drink of the night. He walks past his building twice before he realizes where he is. It’s past two in the morning when he finally gets back to his apartment, and as he flops down onto the futon, his phone blearily reminds him that he has a coffee date with some girl named Danielle scheduled in about 7 hours.
“How are things with Lily going?” Joanie asks during their scheduled biweekly phone call of the month.
“Oh, we actually broke things off.” Mark says, deciding to not mention the guy he fucked in the bathroom a few days ago. “I’ve been talking to this new girl, Danielle, though.”
He can practically hear her gritting her teeth; she’s not exactly a fan of his serial dating habits. “I see! Is she a classmate?”
“Not exactly.” She’s one of the people his roommate Magnus deals to, which means she’s usually baked, but she gives good head.
“Well, I’m happy you’re... putting yourself out there.” That’s Joan-speak for ‘I’m incredibly disappointed in you’.
A pause- Wait for it. “Have you talked to Mom or Dad recently?” There it is.
“You know I haven’t.”
“I just think you should try -”
“No, Joanie. I went no contact for a god damn reason.”
“Mark-”
“Bye, Joanie.”