In the morning Marcus awoke to a gentle warm light peaking through the curtains of the back wall window.
It was the first time in two weeks he had woken up in a normal fashion.
A smile crept across his face as he looked down to see Luna wrapped in his arms with her head on his chest, her cold, yet gentle breath blowing from her nose onto his chest.
Marcus thought that she looked rather peaceful sleeping like that, like an actual child and not a wisecracking anomaly who was probably older than the earth itself.
Seeing her sleep so peacefully, Marcus decided against waking her. Instead, he gently removed himself from the bed and navigated towards the bathroom with gentle footsteps.
Slipping into the bathroom and closing the door behind himself, Marcus exhaled deeply through his nose as he placed a hand on his hip.
"Park date with Felix and those girls from the café, the light she said," Marcus mumbled to himself as began removing his shirt.
As he continued to undress his mind wondered what the trip to the park would entail and what Kira and her friends were up to.
Little did he realize they were planning out the entire meeting, down to the last-minute details.
— — —
"Kinsley you can't wear that!" Kira exclaimed as she rummaged through Kinsley's shorts drawer searching for a different pair of shorts.
"Why!" Kinsley exclaimed in frustration, "It's not like it matters, clothes are clothes." She said with a huff as she plopped down onto her bed in an exhausted fashion.
"That's not true!" Kira replied, her French accent growing pronounced, "Boy's eyes love to wander, so you have to pick something that'll catch his eye, baggy shorts won't do that!"
Marcus meanwhile, had just finished his shower and was now rummaging through his bag for a pair of decent clothes, hoping to find something light as Kira suggested.
Back at Kira's and Kinsley's shared dorm, Kira was holding up a pair of close-fitting shorts with drawstrings, they were a dark blue color with a white stripe going down the side.
Kira's eyes shone with excitement as she showed them to Kinsley. "These are perfect!" She exclaimed with a smile, "They'll show off your curves while looking cute, if this doesn't catch Marcus's eye I don't know what will!"
Kinsley's face grew bright red as she stared at the shorts Kira was holding. "Absolutely not!" She exclaimed with a fist hitting her bed, "I'll just pick my own clothes, you can worry about that Felix guy!"
Kira grinned as Kinsley brought up Felix. "Oh, I already have that boy wrapped around my finger like a string, so I have no worries."
"How can you be so confident about a man you just met yesterday," Kinsley said frustratedly.
"Because Felix is a confident man, and confident men are easy to control," Kira said confidently.
"And you wanna know why?" Kira asked with a challenging grin.
Kinsley nodded her head hesitantly. "Sure.."
"Because Felix is open about what he wants, and when you know what someone wants it's easy to withhold or give it up."
Kira's smile then disappeared as she brought up Marcus. "But Marcus, Marcus is a bit reserved, we'll have to play the long game with him, find out his likes and dislikes, things of that nature," Kira said analytically.
Kinsley's expression turned somewhat sour as she crossed her arms. "You're like a grade-A psycho, not everything has to be so complicated, can't we just go enjoy a date."
"Oh?" Kira said with a grin. "What happened to you not caring about seeing Marcus?" Kira asked teasingly.
Kira continued, mocking Kinsley's English accent, "Oi, I don't care if that boy is there or not, I'm just there to play ball."
"Kira!" Kinsley exclaimed as she lunged out of her bed and towards Kira.
Kira dogged Kinsley majestically as she flaunted around the shorts that were in her hand, "Admit it!" Kira exclaimed with a joyous laugh, "You like Marcus, don't you!"
Kinsley's crimson red cheeks only grew redder as she averted her gaze from Kira. "I don't know." She said with a conflicted tone, "he's handsome, I guess, but I barely know him."
Kira chuckled as she reached a hand to Kinsley's shoulder. "Well the only way you can get to know him is by putting in the effort to try." Kira sighed softly, "Because if you lose this opportunity, I doubt you'll find another guy similar in height to you."
Kinsley rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, "fine." She said in annoyance, "I'll wear the stupid shorts."
— — —
Back in Marcus and Felix's shared hotel room, Marcus was sitting on his bed completely dressed and Felix was in the shower humming a tune.
Luna was sitting beside Marcus scrolling through his organization-issued phone. "This device is incredibly interesting, it's completely different from your regular phone."
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I still don't know all its features, but I'm pretty sure you can read E-Books with it."
"Good." Luna replied as she handed Marcus back his phone, "I don't want a repeat of the café scenario, having my only entertainment be watching teenagers talk was exhausting."
Marcus chuckled heartedly as he ruffled Luna's hair gently. "I'm sorry about that, I honestly didn't think Felix would do that, but still I'm looking forward to today's date."
Marcus was especially looking forward to seeing Kinsley, she was a very intriguing person and she seemed interested in him, though he did have a nagging feeling he may have misunderstood the situation.
But he could hope.
"Kira is a very interesting character." Luna chimed in, "She seems more confident than Felix, something I thought previously impossible."
Marcus laughed again as he glanced at the bathroom door. "Good point." He said with a smirk.
As time passed and the morning sun continued to rise, Felix finally emerged from the bathroom dressed in shorts with a T-shirt and a white golf visor.
Marcus snickered at the sight of Felix, causing a frown to form on Felix's face.
"What's so funny?" He asked with a stern, yet playful expression.
"You look like a dad." Marcus answered between laughs, "A handsome dad, but a dad nonetheless."
Felix rolled his eyes as he revealed a fanny pack. "Guess this is a no-go?" He said cheekily as he waved it around like a caught fish.
Marcus chuckled as he shook his head. "It depends on how you wear it, around the chest like a sash and you're fine, but around the waist…." Marcus trailed off, giving Felix a knowing look.
Felix nodded as she strapped the fanny pack around his chest, "Well, I wasn't leaving this thing, because these shorts don't have pockets." Felix said with a chuckle as he stepped away from the bathroom.
Marcus shook his head playfully as he stood up from his bed, Luna followed closely behind him, grabbing his hand in the process.
"Well let's get moving," Felix said with a huff.
As they made their way out of the hotel, Marcus felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. This was the first time in his life that he was going on a date.
Well, it was technically a meetup, but for all intents and purposes, it was practically a date.
And he had Felix to thank for such an opportunity because if it weren't for him, Marcus probably wouldn't have even stepped foot in Kinsley's direction.
"Get out of your head bro." Felix said teasingly as he patted Marcus's back, "Think too hard and you'll miss the fun."
"Fun?" Marcus asked curiously, turning to face the grinning Felix. "What do you mean?"
"I mean don't overthink things, bro, just enjoy the flow of the ocean, the song of the birds, and the sight of a beautiful woman." He said with a chuckle.
Marcus sighed before smiling. "It's a lot easier said than done, I can't help but wonder what's going to happen."
"Let me give you some advice." Felix said as he leaned closer to Marcus's ear, "When you're overwhelmed with your thoughts, just say the first thing that comes to mind, you might sound stupid but you'll appear confident."
Marcus thought about Felix's advice and quickly realized it was stupid.
"That dumb." Marcus said with a shake of his head, "You'd just be a confident idiot."
"Exactly," Felix replied with a grin.
Marcus rolled his eyes and turned his attention towards the upcoming park entrance, where there was a decently sized crowd of people coming and going from the park.
There was a long staircase that led down to several branching paths throughout the park, one leading to a picnic area, another leading to the sports field, populated by basketball courts and football pitches.
"Which way are we headed?" Marcus asked Felix as their group approached the gate.
"The note Kira gave me said to meet her near the fourth football pitch, but besides the address of the park that was about it," Felix explained as he reached into his Fanny pack, retrieving the note from yesterday.
Checking the note, Felix nodded his head in affirmation. "Yep." He said with a sigh, "We got a walk ahead of us bro." Felix said, tucking the note away.
Marcus, Felix, and Luna entered the park, taking in the various sights of lush green trees that lined either side of the stone paths spiraling throughout the park. There were plenty of people jogging along the paths, playing with animals, or just sitting on park benches chatting with a friend.
Continuing their journey through the park, Marcus noticed Luna taking in her surroundings with eyes filled with curiosity.
Marcus couldn't help but smile at the sight, his grip loosed slightly, allowing Luna to walk ahead of him.
"Despite the long walk, this place is pretty nice," Marcus commented as he turned his attention towards a group of older women during yoga in an open patch of grass.
"I agree," Felix said with a nod. "I definitely want to come back in the future."
"Do you think they'll allow that?" Marcus asked curiously, "After the second exam, I mean."
Felix shrugged his shoulders. "I definitely see them denying it, or keeping us at the complex if they do give us another break."
Marcus sighed at Felix's realistic portrayal of what might happen. He knew Felix was right, especially since after the second exam, they'd technically have superpowers.
It wouldn't be wise to send out a bunch of superpowered teens who can barely control their powers.
"I guess you're right." Marcus groaned as pulled a strand of his curly black hair, picking it off his scalp.
"Ouch," Marcus commented.
As they continued walking, they eventually came across the sports section of the park. The trees and large grass field had given way to rows of various courts, pitches, and fields.
"We're here, do you see the girls?" Felix asked as he squinted his eyes.
Marcus shook his head as he scanned for them, "not yet." he replied.
"There they are," Luna replied as she pointed a finger near the area between the third and fourth football pitch, it was a small fenced-off area filled with various vending machines and benches.
Turning to look where Luna had pointed, Marcus noticed three girls standing near a vending machine that dispensed sports drinks and water.
It seemed Kira was talking to Kinsley in frustration, she waved her hands frantically as she kept gesturing towards her hair.
The third girl, Cora, watched the two of them with a concerned expression, holding a book close to her chest.
As Marcus and his group grew closer, they began hearing snippets of their conversation.
"How could you forget something that simple, your hair is going to look awful!" Kira said in a defeated tone.
"My hair was going to go flying anyway, sweat does that to a person!" Kinsley retorted, her frustration evident.
Cora glanced over to the approaching Marcus and Felix, her expression turned pale almost in an instant. "Um, the boys are here." She said in her usual soft tone.
Kira completely ignored Cora. "I did not fix your hair just for you to sweat it away."
"And I didn't come here to be all dressed up, I came to practice before the season starts, if Marcus doesn't li–"
Suddenly Kinsley paused in her speech, looking up from Kira and locking eyes with Marcus. Her eyes widened as her expression turned pale.
"What are you doing now?" Kira said in a confused tone, turning around to see what had caught Kinsley's attention.
Upon seeing Felix and Marcus, her expression turned joyous, a rehearsed smile crossing her lips and a twinkle shone in her eye.
"Felix!" She said warmly, stretching her arms out slightly as she approached him, "glad you could make it." Kira chuckled softly as she embraced him.
Felix, a man of opportunity, wasted no time in returning the hug. "Of course I made it, I had to see you again."
Kira giggled as she stepped away from Felix, turning her attention to Marcus and Luna. She smiled warmly at the duo. "Marcus, good to see you." She said with a wave.
Marcus nodded. "Good to see you, Kira."
Kira's smile grew as her gaze landed on Luna, "Hey cutie." She said happily. "Did you miss me?"
Luna glanced over at Marcus with a side-eye.
Marcus gave a slight nod, "go ahead." He replied with a smile.
Luna turned her attention towards Kira and nodded her head.
Kira's smile widened, "I have something for you." She said, reaching into her purse she pulled out a bar of chocolate. It was wrapped in purple packaging with the words, milk chocolate, in bold white letters with a bunny on the side.
"It's chocolate," Kira said, handing the candy to Luna.
Luna hesitantly accepted the chocolate with a perplexed expression. She examined the candy with eyes of curiosity and scrutiny.
"Just accept it," Marcus said with a sigh, before smiling and petting Luna's head gently.
Luna glanced at Marcus, then bit her bottom lip as she glanced at Kira, who was leaning over her with a smile. "Thanks." Luna finally mumbled, placing the chocolate in Marcus's pocket.
"Do you not like it?" Kira said softly as she took a step back, an expression of concern growing on her face.
"Luna isn't good at expressing herself." Marcus chimed in, lying through his teeth.
"Oh." Kira said with a relieved smile, "I thought my little cutie hated me."
Marcus chuckled as he gestured towards Luna. "Trust me, my little sister is an angel, it's why we adopted her, the most precious–"
"Marcus." Felix feigned a cough as he gestured towards Kinsley, "Why don't we greet the others." He said with a nervous smile.