The weekend came, pausing your classes for the next couple of days, but that didn't stop you from talking to whom you now knew as 'Dark'.
Although he terrified you, the way that he explained his universe made sense. Therefore, it was easier to feel more comfortable around him. Though, it did make you uncomfortable to see Mark in a different physical state, but you didn't necessarily know him that well. In order to make yourself feel better about the situation, you convinced yourself that he somehow deserved it.
You knocked on the door of Dark's apartment and waited a few moments.
Dark had told you that his plan was to stay a home body as much as possible. Of course, you knew his secret, but the public may just think that he was a pale, emo kid. He could definitely pull it off with the right clothing, but he refused your idea. You wondered why.
The door opened, revealing a confused-looking Dark.
"(Y/n)? What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised to see you here on your own free will.
"I had a couple more questions to ask you. Would you mind to answer them for me?" You questioned, hopeful. There was really no specific reason for you to be here, but the things that he spoke about intrigued a part of you that you didn't know had existed. You wanted to know more.
He smiled softly at you before opening the door wider.
"Surely."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, what happens if a parallel goes haywire and tries to take over a different planet than what it belongs to?" You asked before sipping some of your freshly prepared chamomile tea.
"Well, there's a system for that. With me having the high position that I have back home, I know how each universe controls that type of situation. In your world, they call themselves the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
"The FBI?" You asked, losing belief in what he was explaining.
"Of course, there are different branches of the FBI, and one of them is for investigating parallels that are in this world."
"Wait, so there are more parallel's just walking around?" You asked.
"Well, yes. They've taken over many popular figures and have then made themselves famous in seconds. Though, they're used to it from their own universe. But as long as they don't use any of their otherworldly powers, they won't be sent back." He explained.
"So, the government have the ability to send a parallel back?" You asked. He nodded.
"They have these horrible devices that torture the parallel's into returning. Awful things, they are." He said, taking a drink of his beverage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You continued to question him more, but his answers were beginning to get shorter and less interesting. So, you thought of a way to energize him back up.
"Have you ever went out and had a few drinks?" You asked, smirking.
"Alcohol is disgusting. It never appealed to me, even after I've tried it." He commented, setting down his cup. You frowned.
"What kind of drink did you get?" You asked.
"Bacardi." He responded, shuddering at the thought of its taste.
"Bacardi!?" You shouted, "That drink has so much alcohol in it. No wonder why you hated it!"
"Don't patronize me." He said defensively, crossing his arms.
Disappointed in his lack of enthusiasm, you slouched back in the couch as you began to think of something else that you could do.
"What about just grabbing something to eat?" You proposed, "Wait, do you even eat?"
"You idiot, of course I do. I'm not a ghost. And I'm not interested in your eager suggestion of entertainment."
Least to say, you were thoroughly taken aback by his quick change in attitude. It seemed that something had set him off. Frankly, you didn't want a powerful parallel in a bad mood.
You stood up and set your cup down on the coffee table.
"Well, I'll be heading out for the night. I'll let myself out."
You walked out of his apartment, closing the door gently behind you. Once again allowing silence to envelope into his place.
Why did it suddenly feel so empty here? All of the other times that you weren't present didn't bother him. Maybe it was because you made him feel like it was his fault that you left. What had he done to upset you?
Of course, drinking was an interesting subject for him. The last time he drank was several years ago at a local underground bar in Ohio, where Mark originally grew up. A couple of days before, Mark had a really nasty break-up, sending him into a spiraling decent of madness. As a result, Dark had a chance to take over for the first time.
Wanting to try the things that humans practically worshiped, he went to that bar. Unfortunately, he was still in a human body. So after eight shots, he was hammered.
After he was done at the bar, he exited. Which then of course, led him onto the streets. Ohio in the middle of nowhere isn't very exciting, but one thing happened that night that would cause him to hold a small grudge towards humanity.
He heard a scream, followed by the sound of a body hitting the sidewalk. Hard.
Foolishly running towards the sound, Dark went to go check it out. But what he eventually found was two people in a small alleyway on the corner of the street that Dark was travelling. A man and a woman. The man was the one standing over the woman who was unconscious, only to do what Dark thought would be the unthinkable.
Dark got angry as he saw that woman lying on the ground, helpless. The only way she could be saved was if he knocked the guy off of his feet.
But being drunk has it disadvantages. He miscalculated. So, although it hit the male and knocked him unconscious, it also hit the girl. In the end, it did more damage to the woman than it did the man. Her face became contorted, and she was in the hospital for several weeks with cuts a scrapes. The power that Dark had used against the man was just simply a strong gust of wind, but strong enough for the woman's body to fly into a nearby wall.
He was then angry at himself. He knew that he was powerful enough to defend her, but because of the alcohol, he was impaired. So, no more alcohol for him. No matter how much it hurt your feelings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Are you doing okay?* Alvin had sent you, allowing your phone to 'ping' as you read it from your phone's notification system.
*Yeah. Why do you ask?*
*You've been avoiding me during class.* He sent.
Alvin was starting to get agitated. Not necessarily with you, but with Dark as well. He knew that he was up to something, But if you knew, why wouldn't you tell him? Had Dark threatened you?
*I'm sorry. I've had a few things come up recently. It's nothing against you. I promise! :)*
*What things, exactly?* He asked, risking an outrage from you. If you were hiding something, you would become immediately defensive about it. At least, that's what psychology told him.
*Come over, and I'll explain. You know where my complex is. My apartment is 5C.*
He smiled, proud of your bravery. If you were going through what he thought, then he knew the risk that came with it.
*Be there in 30.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You continued to watch Lie to Me on your television until about 3 PM when you heard a knock at your door. Knowing who it was, you paused the show and rushed over to answer it. Your stomach was growling with joy.
You swung it open, your eyes immediately attracted to the blue-haired boy standing in front of you with a Panera delivery bag in his hands.
"Let me in!" Ethan shouted, pushing past you and into your apartment. You were confused, but shut the door behind him anyways.
Relieved, he put his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath.
"Man, that lady can be fast when she wants to be.." He panted. You laughed, now realizing why he came inside in such a hurry.
"Robin chasing you again?" You asked, knowing the answer. He nodded his head.
"That woman is insane.."
"About you." You added, "But actually, she's crazy."
Ethan let out a chuckle before handing you your ordered meal. You smiled in joy before checking to make sure everything was there.
"Thank you Ethan! You're such a trustworthy delivery man!" You joked, yet sincerely. He laughed before rubbing the back of his neck.
"About that.. This is actually my last delivery. Ever. I just graduated from EMT school!" He announced, proudly showing you a picture on his phone of him with a EMT certificate in hand.
"That's so awesome! So, are you quitting?" You asked. He nodded his head.
"Resigned earlier, so I didn't cut ties just in case. But yes, after today, I will officially be employed as an EMT." He stated.
"That is so awesome for you! I'm really proud that you made that step." You said, laying out all of your food on the kitchen counter.
"Well, I'm going to head back to the store so I can clock out. I need to hype myself up for the big day tomorrow!" He said, heading back towards the entrance of your apartment.
"Go and save some lives, blue boy!" You shouted, the farewell that you would provide for now.
"You were my favorite delivery." He commented, blushing slightly, "If you ever need anything, let me know."
You stopped organizing for a moment to smile kindly at him.
"I'll take you up on that one day." You promised. He nodded before exiting your apartment.
With the door shut and the silence creeping back into your apartment, you sighed as you threw the Panera bag away.
Two sets of mac and cheese were set out on the kitchen island. You didn't know what Alvin liked, but you were sure that a guy like him would love mac and cheese. Besides, you needed to make it up to him.
You weren't avoiding him because he did anything wrong, and Dark seemed to have no idea that Alvin was a friend of yours. But, Jack had said before that he knew Mark. And after going through your previous conversation with him in your mind, you realized something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***"Does Mark have something to do with the occurrences I've been dealing with?"
He paused for a moment before tapping the table again.
"Is there someone else involved in these events?"
Once again, Jack hesitated before answering with another 'yes'.
"Are there three or more people involved?"
He answered with a rub of his arm immediately.
"Are there two or more people involved?"
A quick 'no' was received once again.
"Is there only one person involved?" You asked.
He tapped on the table.***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That was when you realized why you were so confused when he answered the questions like this. Mark wasn't responsible, Dark was. But technically, they're two different people, yet in the same body.
So, Alvin knew about Dark.
In that case, you wanted to keep him away from Dark at all costs. Dark probably knew him as well. What if he exploded on him, like he did with Amy? Dark didn't seem like the type to just trust anyone.
But still, it wasn't fair of you to just cut Alvin out of your life. If Alvin knew about Dark, then he wouldn't be coming over unless he accepted the risk that came with it.
But, with ten minutes left until his scheduled arrive, you decided to give someone a heads up that there was going to be company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You walked back over to Dark's apartment and knocked on the door, mentally preparing yourself for anything but a kind greeting.
As you suspected, Dark opened the door shortly after you knocked with a snarl on his lips.
"What do you want?" He spat.
His negative attitude instantly put you in a bad mood, but you tried to keep your composure as you spoke.
"I just wanted to warn you that my friend is coming over. So, I request that you don't paralyze either of us as we eat some dinner." You asked, a bit of a sassy tone exiting your lips.
He rolled his eyes, but his frown dissipated with his action. Now, he just looked suspicious.
"And who is this friend of yours?" He asked.
"His name is Alvin." You announced, an evil smile on your face. As his gaze seemed to toughen, you knew that your assumption from before was right.
"Listen, I'm not going to tell him anything that he doesn't already know. Unfortunately for you, he's worried about me. And the more worried someone gets, the more suspicious they become without a direct answer." You explained, but he simply huffed in agitation.
"Please? All I ask is that you don't mess with the two of us for a while. We'll just be talking, so I don't mind if you listen in. If I say something that you don't like let me know and I'll fix it. Keep him out of this for now." You requested.
"And what if I don't accept your proposal?" He said, challenging your statement with a smirk.
"Well, then I suppose that I have no choice but to get a hold of the FBI, After all, you did use your abilities on me. Hmm... I wonder which torture machine they would use on you..." You said mockingly. He growled, but ended up accepting defeat.
"Fine. But I listen in on every word and if you say something that I don't like, I'll make your ears ring to make sure my message gets across. Got it?" He countered.
You were hesitant to accept, fearful of the punishment. But you figured that you would just have to be extra careful about what you said.
"Deal." You said, extending your hand towards him. He returned your gesture and the two of you shook hands on it, "I appreciate your 'understanding'."
You went back into your apartment, heating up your meal for the last time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after you heated up the meal, you heard a knock at the door.
"(Y/n)? It's me." He said, a nervous tone in his voice.
Sensing this, you quickly went to the door and let him in.
He came in, immediately catching scent of the dinner you prepared.
"IS THAT MAC AND CHEESE?!" He shouted in his Irish-toned voice. You nodded.
"It sure is. I was afraid that you wouldn't like it." You said, now allowing your confidence to soar a little with his reaction.
"Wait.. Is this for me?" Alvin asked, surprised. You nodded again.
"So, why exactly?" He questioned, unsure of what to make out of this.
"Well, I thought that we'd have dinner together."