Falling Out of Time

Mark | All for One and One for All

All for One and One for All

It was too hot outside for Mark. He tugged at his shirt to cool himself off, the sweat making the fabric stick to his skin. It had to be a hundred degrees at least, and Carter and Amber were still nowhere to be found. Surely soccer games didn't last that long.

Mark had been invited to go, but he couldn't bring himself to say yes. Even after the practice with Carter and his dad, Mark still didn't know if he could trust him. Every time he tried, that same morning kept popping into his head, the one he had to face alone. All because Amber was leaving him behind for Carter.

That's what it felt like every time they laughed without him, or talked about conversation shared through their windows. Standing impatiently in the parking lot, Mark started to shake at the thought. Throw in the fact Carter had the perfect family, and it made liking him even harder. Why was it he got a great dad when Mark's didn't even want him?

He checked his watch for the hundredth time. Where the heck were they? Carter's family couldn't come because of work, so the three of them were supposed to walk to their neighborhood together. It had Mark feeling torn. As much as he didn't want to be stuck with them, he secretly hoped Carter was a slow walker. Mark wanted to get out of the sun, but he was in no rush to walk through his front door to escape it.

Lost in thoughts of what awaited him at home, he didn't notice a kid slowly approaching.

"Well, look what we have here. A loser all by himself."

Mark tensed at the sound of Darren Wexler's voice, the one that haunted his nightmares. Somehow, he had become the target of all Darren's bullying, things like tripping him in the halls or pulling his hair during class. Earlier in the week, Mark had yelped a little too loudly, drawing their teacher's attention and landing Darren in detention. The look he shot Mark let him know he'd pay for it later. Apparently, later was now.

Mark wanted to run, but Darren had him by the collar of his shirt before he could blink.

"You got me in trouble with my dad, you freak," Darren spit, his eyes menacing. "Big mistake."

Before Mark could brace himself, Darren slammed a fist into his stomach. He doubled over to avoid another blow, but Darren wrenched him upright again.

"What, you think that hurt?" he taunted, ignoring the tears in Mark's eyes. "You haven't felt pain yet."

Another punch to the gut and Mark was close to puking. He was panicking now, the feeling rising in his throat and choking him. Here he was again, helpless and alone, all because Amber was too busy with Carter.

He squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation; Mark knew Darren wouldn't stop until he was a bloody pulp. But instead of Darren's cruel laugh in his ears, he heard a shout.

"Leave him alone!"

Mark's head shot up at the sound of Amber's voice, but he spotted Carter first. In seconds, he ripped Mark free, then tackled Darren to the ground.

"Mark, are you alright?" Amber rushed up to him, her hands flying over his face. "I'm so sorry, we didn't mean to leave you alone this long!"

Mark was in a daze, still in too much pain to focus. All that registered was the scuffle at his feet; Carter was straddling Darren now, punching him tirelessly across the face.

"Get the heck off of me!" Darren screamed between the blows, but Carter didn't let up.

It wasn't until Amber tugged on Mark's sleeve that his body came back to him. "C'mon, we gotta get out of here!"

Mark hesitated. "What about Carter?"

"Go!" he shouted from the ground. "I'm right behind you guys!"

With a final tug, Mark let Amber pull him around the back of the school to safety. Once they caught their breath, she inspected him closer, stopping at his abdomen when he flinched.

"I'll kill him." Amber started to storm back the way they came, but stopped short when Carter rounded the corner.

"Don't bother. He got a pretty good beating already."

Mark grimaced at the state of Carter's face; his lip was split down the middle, while a bruise was already forming around his left eye. If Carter had come out on top of the fight, Mark could only imagine what Darren looked like.

"Why did you do that?"

A look of confusion passed over Carter's face. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you help me?" Mark asked. "You didn't have to."

He meant it. Mark had given Carter no reason to like him, yet he'd risked his own safety to help him anyway.

"You're my friend," Carter said simply. "If someone's messing with you, they're messing with me."

"And me," Amber piped in, her face determined. "Darren's lucky I didn't get to him first."

Her declaration of friendship didn't surprise Mark, but Carter's certainly did. It made Mark really reflect on the way Carter treated him instead of his growing closeness with Amber. No matter how many times Mark was standoffish or cold, Carter was always kind — even when Mark didn't deserve it.

Before he knew what he was doing, he reached over and hugged Carter. Mark had been so concerned about losing his only friend, he hadn't seen a new one standing right in front him.

"Thank you," he said quietly, tugging at his shirt again once they broke apart.

Carter gave him a wide smile. "What are friends for?"