Mark watched Aaron walk over, who in turn was looking at the couple with unhidden interest. A smile clung to his face while he amiably waved.
"I heard you've been doing well recently. Can't say I knew that you were doing well enough to have a woman, let alone such a beauty. Are you really the same Mark I know?"
Sighing, the man in question started wishing to be someone else- someone better.
"Yes, I'm the one and only Mark you know."
Aaron laughed.
"That's good to see."
He turned to the brunette.
"And what's your name?"
She smiled.
"Chloe."
Mark blinked.
'Wasn't I calling her something else earlier?'
Deciding not to care, he pushed his thoughts to the edges of his mind while Aaron grabbed his shoulder.
"Alright Chloe. Let me tell you a few things before hanging out with this guy here. First, Mark is a delicate man, he always wants to keep himself clean and hates getting dirty. In fact, he yelled at me once when I got some mud on his shirt. Second-"
"Stop. Don't say anymore."
Throwing a frigid glare at his balded friend, Mark tried to save himself from the humiliation. The damned guy was terrible at being a wingman, and couldn't take a hint for his life.
Alas, the brunette was already chuckling while looking at him with amusement gleaming in her eyes.
At this moment, he realized that these two made a dreadful pair. Aaron was going to unknowingly ruin his image, while Chloe would rub salt in his wounds. He felt his ego crumble away.
She walked closer while also patting Mark. They both had one hand on his shoulders while looking at each other amiably.
The brunette smiled with mischief lingering on the precipice of her lips.
"I know what you mean. Once he spilled a drop of coffee on his pants. For the rest of the day, he couldn't stop looking at it."
She pinched her fingers together, leaving nearly no space in between.
"The stain was this small!"
Aaron shook his head and looked at Mark with subtle disappointment.
"You need to get over this man. There's no need to get all worried about the small things in life. Just focus on the good things you have. That, and make sure to get more sleep."
Chloe nodded.
"Definitely get more sleep."
Mark shook their hands off his shoulders, a slight redness lingering on his visage.
"Please stop. I'm perfectly fine."
The brunette was unconvinced.
"No, if you were fine then there would be no reason to be sleeping on a random bench in the middle of the day."
Her words widened Aaron's eyes.
"You? Sleeping in the open like that? I thought you were much more cautious than to do something so careless."
Veins bulged on Mark's face.
"I'll be taking my leave now."
Before he could take a step forward, a light flickered in Aaron's eyes.
"Oh right! The boss told me to relay some words. That's why I was finding you."
He should have started with that first.
The young man's dissatisfied gaze prompted him to speak.
"Dean congratulated you for the good work and all that. Then he also wants you to stay safe for the next few days while the gang prepares to wage war against the Spheks."
Mark slowly brought his hand to his head and scratched his hair. The fight against the Spheks was already imminent.
"I see, thanks for telling me."
With that, he walked forward and continued leading the brunette forward.
Aaron called after them.
"Woman whose name I forgot! If Mark ever gives you any trouble, make sure to tell me. I'll give him a good beating."
Smiling, the brunette turned and waved him goodbye.
She then smirked and pulled closer.
"Now you know what will happen if you get on my bad side."
Mark sighed.
'I should have never let the two of them meet.'
...
Eventually, the concrete road opened up to a modest plot of unused land, perhaps the only modest plot of unused land in the whole city. It was a unique and special place amidst the industrial jungle.
On it, there was a tree in the corner which provided some shade, but otherwise served no purpose other than to give the space some decoration.
Instead of the stifling silence created by the misery of wastrels, laughter permeated the grounds with the vibrance of youths. A sizeable group of kids played with a ball. On their faces, vivid and rolling emotions contrasted greatly with the dull hopelessness that was present throughout the rest of the city.
Hands held together, Mark led Chloe to the tree, where they rested under the shade.
"Is this where you wanted to take me?"
Mark nodded.
It was one of the few safer places, and the only area in the city where such a joyful air could be experienced.
He watched the youths play and remembered how he too had spent a good part of his childhood in that lot. It was another faded relic of the times when he was happier.
From the heated competition to the outbreak of a fight, each of the children tried to bury the troubles that riddled their lives at home with the distractions that they found at the playing ground.
They smiled and shouted off the pains they felt from their malnourished bodies, the subtle bruises and cuts that had likely come from beatings, and the inner sorrow of familial loss.
He looked at the brunette.
"You know, only by coming back here do I realize how much I've grown. It's almost like I could reach out to the days I used to be so young."
Maybe time really does fly. Above human reach and understanding, into a hazy horizon that remains untrodden.
'Time... Oh right.'
Reaching into the pocket of his windbreaker, Mark started fishing for the metallic object he had been holding onto for a while.
Smiling at Chloe, a subtle radiance found itself in his eyes.
"I remembered that I have a little gift for you."