Mark doesn\u2019t want to be here.<\/p>\n
For one thing, he doesn\u2019t know anyone, and that\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0just really fucking annoying from the get-go. Eduardo had said he would meet him here, but once Mark had stepped onto the front porch, he\u2019d gotten a text from Eduardo saying that he got held up by a group project and couldn\u2019t come. Chris has a meeting for some club he won\u2019t tell anyone about, and Dustin…<\/p>\n Actually, Mark half-expected Dustin to show up for this party. He texts him and pockets his phone away, trying not to look too lonely.<\/p>\n Parties aren\u2019t really his thing. Ideally speaking, yes, because he\u2019d like to get laid, and the only way he\u2019d get laid is if he met people, and he\u2019ll only meet people at parties. House parties, across the streets of Boston, so he doesn\u2019t have to expect to accidentally run into someone he might fuck up with around Dworkin. Anyway, it\u2019s not like he\u2019d sleep with anyone in his OS class, or the computer lab, so this is his only choice.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a pretty shitty choice, considering the music is pop instead of actual dance music, and he\u2019s nursing a can of beer and not feeling the bass in his head yet. House parties are terrible, he thinks. Socializing is terrible. He takes a drink of his beer.<\/p>\n Someone bumps into him, and Mark ignores it. A second later, that someone is turning around and saying, \u201cOh sorry\u2014dude! Dude, I recognize you!\u201d He\u2019s drunk and his snapback is falling sideways off his head. Mark takes another sip.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, dude, you\u2019re the one who made the\u2014the\u2014\u201d The guy grins. Mark idly wonders how many times he can fit the word \u201cdude\u201d in a sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cI make things, yes,\u201d Mark says. And because secondhand embarrassment isn\u2019t a good look on anyone. \u201cI\u2019m a programmer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah! You made that course thingy!\u201d The guy brings a hand up to Mark. \u201cAwesome, man, high-five!”<\/p>\n Mark takes it instinctively. It\u2019s warm and sticky and sweaty.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was disgusting,\u201d he says, when he lets go.<\/p>\n \u201cNah, nah, man, you\u2019re a genius.\u201d The guy takes a swig of his own drink and grins. \u201cMan, I got my schedule to match up with this,\u201d his voice drops low, \u201cgirl I\u2019ve been hitting on all last year. So genius.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark\u2019s eyelids flit. \u201cCongratulations,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cMan,\u201d says the guy. \u201cYou\u2019re a genius, man. Gonna go places.\u201d He points his finger at Mark and winks like he thinks Mark should be impressed, even though Mark knows he\u2019s going to go places. He doesn\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to get laid tonight. He ignores it.<\/p>\n \u201cOne more high-five, man.\u201d The guy brings his hand up again.<\/p>\n Mark wonders if he\u2019s moved on from \u201cdude\u201d to \u201cman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m fine,\u201d he says, bringing his beer to his lips and making his way past him.<\/p>\n The guy frowns, swiveling on the spot. His hand is still in the air. \u201cC\u2019mon, bro! Dude-fives! You gotta\u2014high-five me, man!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to catch a disease,\u201d Mark calls behind him.<\/p>\n He turns around to make sure that the guy won\u2019t stalk him out of the house or anything. But the guy is spinning around blankly, like he didn\u2019t realize where Mark had gone, and bumps into a table. A cup of warm beer splashes all over him and he moans, \u201cFuck!\u201d People all around him snicker.<\/p>\n Mark can\u2019t suppress a smirk.<\/p>\n He\u2019s heading back to the door when he feels a tap on his shoulder. Prepared for another slew of dude-bro high-fives, he sighs and turns around.<\/p>\n He comes face-to-face with a very pretty girl.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, dude<\/em>,\u201d she says in a low voice and for a second Mark is confused. Then he realizes she\u2019s putting on a voice, and smiling at him.<\/p>\n He smiles back. \u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI heard you made a website for signing up for courses?\u201d the pretty girl says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019d you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom dude-man-bro over there.\u201d The girl rolls her eyes and gestures backwards. Over her shoulder, Mark can see that the guy is attempting to wipe the beer on his jeans with his t-shirt. It\u2019s not helping.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was being pretty loud,\u201d the girl explains.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d Mark looks her up and down. \u201cHe was.”<\/p>\n She\u2019s watching him, and she looks interested\u2014interested in something<\/em>. Mark takes another drink of his beer. She\u2019d asked him about his program. He can talk about that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s called CourseMatch,\u201d he says. \u201cIt lets your friends put their schedules online and you can rearrange yours to match theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPretty handy,\u201d the girl compliments. \u201cJust for Harvard and other geniuses like you?\u201d<\/p>\n Mark frowns. He doesn\u2019t want to run into anyone in Dworkin, but\u2014\u201cDo you not go to Harvard?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah, BU.\u201d The girl gestures vaguely around the house. \u201cFriend of a friend dragged me here. I didn\u2019t think this party would be this lame.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark takes another sip and evaluates.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Mark,\u201d he decides, after a second.<\/p>\n The pretty girl smiles. \u201cI\u2019m Erica.\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019re still standing in the middle of the bustling hallway, so they move to the wall and lean their backs against it. Mark\u2019s phone buzzes, but the girl\u2014Erica\u2014hasn\u2019t tried to leave yet, or cut their conversation off, so he figures he must be doing something right. He tends to be better at everything when he\u2019s drunk. Usually three words into a conversation and girls\u2014pretty girls, especially\u2014move on, deciding that they have business elsewhere.<\/p>\n Erica isn\u2019t like that, because she says, \u201cSo you\u2019re kind of a nerd, huh?\u201d and she\u2019s half-laughing with it.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call myself a nerd,\u201d says Mark. \u201cMore like\u2026 an intelligent brand of unique.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh my god.\u201d Erica laughs again, into her hand. She doesn\u2019t giggle. Mark likes that. \u201cThat is probably<\/em>\u00a0the most pretentious thing I\u2019ve ever heard.”<\/p>\n Mark grins. \u201cYeah, it was pretty bad, wasn\u2019t it.\u201d He offers his can to her, but she declines.<\/p>\n \u201cSo do you want to do something with programming?\u201d Erica asks. \u201cOr are you actually a man of many talents?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI fence and I like Latin,\u201d says Mark, like it\u2019s no big deal. \u201cBut I\u2019ve actually already done something with programming. In high school I made this app called Synapse, it determines your music taste by song choice and suggests the next one for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOoh.\u201d Erica leans in. \u201cThat\u2019s really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure if I would call them talents,\u201d Mark adds. \u201cLike, passions. Anything can be a talent. You just have to make yourself like it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then you\u2019re good at it,\u201d Erica concedes.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n They fall into a short, companionable silence. Mark wonders how impressed Erica would be if he told her he got a 1600 on his SATs.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I don\u2019t look like much of a fencer,\u201d he says, after a moment. \u201cBut I assure you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014under your Gap sweatshirt and cargo shorts lies the frame of a muscular athlete?\u201d Erica gives him a once-over and giggles. Mark forgives it. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Mark, what you lack in brawn makes up for your brains.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, well.\u201d Mark pauses. \u201cIt\u2019s best to have both.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you have both?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think I have both?\u201d<\/p>\n Erica\u2019s eyes meet his. Then, for a second, they flicker down to his lips.<\/p>\n Mark doesn\u2019t think himself as a particularly smooth person\u2014wooing and courting are for, like, people who care. But it\u2019s kind of the perfect moment to, so he leans in about an inch.<\/p>\n Erica does the rest of the work, bridges the gap. Both their heads are resting against the wall and their mouths slide gracefully. Erica tastes like some sweet chapstick, better than the smelly ones that Mark\u2019s sisters would use, a tinge of beer, and something vaguely spicy. Mark inhales with his nose and kisses back, because Erica is warm and wet and soft and one of her hands is reaching out to grasp at Mark\u2019s upper arm. Mark leans in deeper, even though their noses kind of squash together, trails his hand awkwardly down Erica\u2019s side. Erica smiles into him, even more when he rests it at her hip. Their faces are tucked into each other, the sides of their noses touching.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re.\u201d Mark\u2019s voice is hoarse. \u201cYou\u2019re good at this.\u201d<\/p>\n Erica shrugs. Their foreheads are touching, but Mark\u2019s cheeks feel hot. He stares down at nothing before realizing that it might look like he\u2019s trying to look down her shirt. Everything about this world feels new.<\/p>\n \u201cWanna go outside?\u201d Erica whispers into his ear.<\/p>\n Mark nods numbly. Erica fastens her hand into Mark\u2019s grip and leads them out of the house, saying hi\u2014or bye\u2014to people, Mark\u2019s not sure which.<\/p>\n Once they\u2019re outside, she drags him to her mouth and he follows it, instinctively pushing her back. She yelps a little and Mark can feel a bush around their ankles, so he tugs her closer to him, hips knocking together. He\u2019s half-hard already from how pretty she looks and how she kisses, how she makes these tiny humming noises as she nips at his lips. Mark is\u2014Mark is exhaling with his nose this time, and she giggles again, against his mouth.<\/p>\n Mark can forgive her if she keeps kissing him like that.<\/p>\n \u201cThat tickles,\u201d she murmurs against him.<\/p>\n Mark doesn\u2019t know what to say to that, so he adjusts his grip on her waist, changing the angle of their mouths. Erica\u2019s tongue teases against him and he shifts his body for heat. Erica\u2019s arms have congregated around Mark\u2019s neck, even though Mark\u2019s not particularly tall, and she\u2019s kissing him like\u2014like she wants<\/em>\u00a0him. Erica wants him. Mark is going to blog about this when he gets home.<\/p>\n Maybe not about the details, but more like, fuck you everyone at P.E. who thought he would never get a girlfriend.<\/p>\n Erica is rolling her hips against him. Mark didn\u2019t know girls could do<\/em>\u00a0that. Then she\u2019s taking one of Mark\u2019s hands off her waist and teasing it up her shirt, and Mark\u2019s breath catches. He doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s allowed to do so he lets her, and she guides his hand to her breast, around the cup of her bra.<\/p>\n Then he can\u2019t help himself and squeezes gently. She gasps, into him, and it\u2019s almost better than Microsoft asking to buy Synapse.<\/p>\n \u201cMark,\u201d she murmurs, and fuck, that\u2019s hot. He\u2019s not sure when he got a crush, or anything, but he definitely won\u2019t mind dating her or something. If he gets into any final clubs, bringing her to all the events. She\u2019d love it. She\u2019d look so pretty on his arm, laughing, coming back to Kirkland and maybe making out with him on the couch. Mark always sees Eduardo making out with people on that couch, and Eduardo doesn\u2019t even live there. It\u2019s Mark\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n He rolls his hand over her tiny boobs, gently so she keeps making those delicious noises. And because she\u2019s not protesting, he slides a hand under the cup to feel the skin there. She whispers, \u201cYes,\u201d against him, sucking bruises onto his neck as he touches the tits of a real life human girl. In the dim lighting when he unclasps it\u2014growing up with sisters has accidentally made him good at that\u2014he can see the dark lettering on the label. 34C.<\/p>\n It gets kind of weird, after a while, so he takes his hands out, feeling like they\u2019ve overstayed their welcome. Erica doesn\u2019t seem to mind and clips her bra back on and kisses him again. This time she tastes less of everything else and more like herself, and Mark. It\u2019s hot. Mark shudders and laughs into her mouth. He laughs when he gets turned on.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re cute,\u201d she says, when she breaks away. No girl has ever called him cute before.<\/p>\n She takes a few steps backwards and pulls out her phone. Mark is at a loss to do when she glances at the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Bobby\u2019s here too!\u201d she says, mostly to herself. And then to Mark, \u201cI should probably go.\u201d She\u2019s acting like nothing\u2019s happened, even though her lips are red and swollen and she\u2019s readjusting her bra from the back, underneath her cardigan. Mark doesn\u2019t know what to do; his mind is hazy and his mouth feels too big.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah you\u2014I should\u2014\u201d he says, eloquently. He points vaguely back out into the night.<\/p>\n Erica straightens out her shirt and folds her arms. She smiles.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know,\u201d she says. \u201cWe should go out to the Thirsty Scholar sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark nearly swallows his tongue, but in a good way. \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet drinks, eat dinner,\u201d Erica says. \u201cTalk about your accomplishments more.\u201d<\/p>\n Now would not be the good time to mention his SAT score. She\u2019s about to leave. \u201cI\u2019m good at that,\u201d Mark says, instead.<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d says Erica. But not meanly. \u201cHere, give me your number.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark does and awkwardly waits as Erica punches in her own number on Mark\u2019s cellphone. When she gives it back, Mark takes it and quickly pockets it into his hoodie, along with his left hand.<\/p>\n Erica heads toward the door. \u201cSee you later, Mark,\u201d she says, with a second glance back.<\/p>\n Mark watches her go, a bright outline in the cool October night. \u201cYeah,\u201d he mutters. \u201cSee you.\u201d<\/p>\n He treks back to campus on foot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mark first meets Erica at a party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[62,321],"fandom":[511],"rating":[675],"ship":[596],"relationship":[608],"minorfandomships":[],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-default","tag-canon-compliant","tag-pre-canon","fandom-tsn","rating-teen","ship-me","relationship-het"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fandom?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"ship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ship?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"relationship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relationship?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"minorfandomships","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/minorfandomships?post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}