The drive back home was filled with chatter as Lydia and Allison seemingly having found a chance to drill him had taken the chance and asked a plethora of questions about himself.
Lydia knew most of what he told them but some recent information that didn't really compromise him was shared, only to just get closer to them.
He had realised not long ago that he would need allies in this world, so 'befriending' a hunter who had access to knowledge of the supernatural seemed like a good idea.
And befriending someone who could feel and sense ones impending death would get him out of a lot of death traps.
It didn't take long for them to reach Allison's place, even though his house was much closer but Lydia had insisted that they drop Allison off first.
He immediately knew that something was up but let it play out nonetheless.
He was a bit miffed though, he wanted to get home as soon as possible and review his mission rewards.
So after dropping Allison off, Lydia drove him to his house while making small talk and failing at stealthily stealing glances at him.
" So what's this really about?" He finally asked, tired of the small talk they were trading.
" What do you mean?" She asked, playing dumb.
Seeing this he scoffed." Insisting to drop off Allison first, even though I live much closer to you house than hers."
Hearing that she simply sighed, dropping the act as a melancholic smile draped her face. " Is it so wrong that I want to spend some time with you?"
Hearing that he was a bit taken back but he didn't buy it one second." Really? That's what you're going with?"
She stared at him for a moment before she spoke. " Well that's the truth, Mark."
" Sure it is." He replied still disbelieving of her intentions.
" Oh come on Mark, give me a chance..." Lydia muttered with desperation in her voice.
Hearing that he paused as he stared at her, frowning as he spoke." Why now?"
Hearing that Lydia looked at him dismissing the road for a moment before she focused back on driving. " What do you mean?"
" I mean, Lydia. Why are you suddenly so eager to get close to me again after all this time, and let's not forget about the fact that you only just apologized after I returned to lacrosse and in your eyes— The spotlight of highschool fame." He asked genuinely curious of her intentions.
He was confused about over her behaviour as if late, on one point it looked like she was just trying to use him for his spotlight but on another she genuinely seemed to actually be seeking his 'forgiveness'.
Hearing that Lydia quieted down for a moment, seemingly contemplating something for a moment before she seemingly resigned herself just as they drove to the side of his house and parked.
" You know for being as smart as you are, you're frustratingly dense." She told him.
That had him raising a brow, confusion settling in before she continued speaking.
" Markus, I like you." She said, her hands on the steering grabbing it as if her life depended on it as she looked at it and nothing else, her nerves clearly getting the best of her.
" What?" Was all he could intelligently mutter at the statement.
Out of all possibilities to explain her behaviour, that hadn't been one of them.
" You like me?" He asked staring at the girl flabbergasted." Since when?"
Hearing that, Lydia scoffed while rolling her eyes.
" Since forever you idiot, please tell me you're joking." She asked but seeing the clearly surprised and confused look on his face she sighed." You seriously didn't know?"
" How could I? You were so obsessed with Jackson for most of the time we were friends that the thought never crossed my mind, nor did I ever see any signs that indicated so." He defended himse pulling desperately from his past selfs memories.
" Yeah, that was probably a bad move on my part." She said almost self-loathingly.
" Bad move?" He parroted wanting her to elaborate on that.
" A friend of mine back then had told me that if I acted interested to someone it would make you jealous, and you'd ask me out." She said sighing to herself." But then things spiralled out of control from there and I ended up dating Jackson before that same friend told me that if I kissed you...it would send the message."
Hearing that he couldn't help but look at Lydia as if she was stupid, in what world would that have worked?
" Is the friend you're talking about, Katy?" He asked as pieces of a puzzle suddenly clicked into place.
She looked at him surprised as she nodded." How did you know?"
Hearing that he simply chuckled as he shook his head." You do realise that Katy has had a crush on me for years before you and I became friends right?"
Hearing that her eyes widened, sudden realisation crossing her face.
" And that she was jealous of your intelligence and looks." He told her with a slight shake if his head a bit amused at the situation.
" Wait...you're not saying.." Then her face turned cold as a scowl graced her face." I'm gonna fucking ruin that bitch!" She screeched and for a second he saw her black aura vibrate as the windows slightly shook.
' Huh?' He thought, further surprised at what he was seeing but quickly put that for later as he focused back on the girl.
" Hold on now, you're not going to ruin nobody." He told her, putting his hand on her shoulder which did wonders to calm her and her aura down.
" What's done is done, Lydia." He told her letting her go." We can't change the past."
Having said that he looked outside the car before grabbing the latch and opening the door. He would have liked to say that he was making a tactical retreat from all the bullshit that conspired today, but honestly, he was just impatient and wanted to see what he obtained from his system.
" As much as I enjoyed this...chat, I gotta go." He said quickly as he went out of the car, not wanting for this conversation to spiral down further than it already had.
" We'll talk monday." He told her as he saw her make way to speak, he didn't give her the satisfaction though as he quickly closed the door and made way up to his house.
' Well, today has been a mess and a half.' He thought sighing to himself before looking at the corner of his eyes where his notifications from his completed mission pinged.
' Atleast it wasn't a complete shitshow.' He thought putting the conversation that he just had at the recess of his mind, he'd deal with the.... Teenage drama later, for now, power awaited him.