AU Wardo/Mark Fic.
Eduardo Saverin wasn’t exactly popular, per se. He wasn’t noticed by, well, anyone, in all honesty. Even the teachers struggled to remember his name. He kept his head down - because it was his nature. He was quiet, focused, and wasn’t a social being, unlike his older siblings. He and his family lived in Manhattan, because of his parents jobs. Eduardo was a Junior, and though high school was a daunting prospect back in Freshman year, especially with no friends to get by with, Wardo was doing well. Sure, he still sat by himself in the cafeteria, and often spent his lunch hours reading, but he was happy.
Sometimes, having a significant lack of friends bothered Wardo. It wasn’t the actual fact of not having friends - he was quite content with his own company - but the annoyance of never having someone to partner up with when a class was told to split into pairs, or someone to tell his parents about. He wondered sometimes if there was something wrong with him; but according to psychiatrists and councillors, he was just a lone body. His parents, both being extremely rich, and successful lawyers, stopped at nothing to diagnose their son with whatever social impairment he had; it took a while before they accepted he chose to be the way he was.
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Advanced Calculus had never been Eduardo’s favourite class. It was tedious, and long, and he hated sitting in the stuffy classroom, scribbling down notes and listening to a droning teacher. Still, he’d never skip a class, no matter how much he hated it - so, there he was, just like he was every Tuesday during fourth period. Doodling absently on the corner of his page, he chewed his lip, waiting for the class to be over, so he could use the lunch hour to resume reading Fight Club. Just as he’d dotted the eyes of the seahorse, the door to the class room opened, and a light breeze swept through the room. Wardo looked up, watching curiously as a teacher entered the room, a student trailing along behind them, looking down at his feet.
After a quick, whispered conversation between the two teachers, the visiting teacher left, and the remaining teacher smiled widely at the newcomer, who continued to stare at his feet. “Class, this is Mark Zuckerburg, a new student here at Ferndale. Make sure he feels welcome.” the elderly woman addressed the class, pointing the new student down the back, to the only available seat - right next to Eduardo. Mark shuffled across the classroom, most of the eyes in the room following him, though he seemed not to notice. Wardo moved his chair over slightly, as to give his new classmate some room at his desk - the space had been absent the whole year, and Eduardo wondered if having someone next to him would make Calc more tolerable. Probably not; it was likely he wouldn’t even speak to the newcomer. Oh well, it hardly mattered. Wardo wasn’t expecting a friendship from the seemingly shy new kid. He wasn’t really expecting friendship from anyone.
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“Is Calculus always this boring?”
Eduardo glanced sideways, slightly surprised the new kid was talking to him - after all, people never spoke to him; although, this Mark person didn’t know who he was, so Wardo supposed it was different. “Kinda, yeah.”
“Oh.” Mark replied simply.
“So, uh, how do you like this school so far?” Eduardo asked, rather awkwardly at that.
Mark shrugged, glancing at Wardo. “It’s okay, I guess. I haven’t been here long enough to decide if I like it or not.”
“Oh. Well, I’m Eduardo, by the way.”
“I’m Mark. It’s nice to meet you.”
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“So, why did you leave your old school?” Eduardo asked, taking a bite of his apple. For once, he wasn’t alone in the cafeteria - Mark was sitting across from him, picking at the food on his tray.
“Does it matter?” Mark looked uncomfortable, dropping his eyes to the floor - Wardo supposed it was quite a personal question.
“Not really.. I was just curious, I guess.” Eduardo mumbled, biting his lip slightly.
“It’s a boring story, that’s all. You’ll be begging for me to shut up as soon as I begin.” Mark laughed, though there was a slight edge in his voice. Wardo smiled politely, letting the matter go - he wasn’t going to force Mark to tell him.
“Ah, I see. What class have you got next?” Wardo asked, tossing the now finished apple in a nearby trash can. He himself had English, a class that he quite liked, seeing as he read a lot.
“Let me check..” Mark rummaged through his bag, pulling out a neatly folded timetable, “..English.”
Wardo smiled, grabbing his bag as the bell rung. “So do I. Let’s go.”
“Lead the way.”
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That was the Tuesday Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerburg met. After discovering they lived fairly close to each other, they walked home together. That Tuesday afternoon, Eduardo and Mark became friends. Wardo had a friend to tell his parents about, and someone to partner up with in class. Life was good.
“Okay, name the three hottest chicks in school.” Eduardo asked Mark through a mouthful of potato chips, curled up on a large cushion in the corner of the treehouse they were in. They were at Eduardo’s house - in the treehouse, to be precise. It was Eduardo’s from when he was younger, but it was large, fully enclosed, with a bed, television and all. When Wardo was younger, he often stayed in there the night, though he hadn’t in years now.
“Really, Wardo? Really?” Mark rolled his eyes, ignoring the question. Reaching over, he grabbed some potato chips from the bag, dropping them into his mouth as he lied back on the bed. “I don’t notice them. They don’t notice me, either, so I guess it works.” he added, smiling wryly.
“Whatever, man. There’s gotta be someone you’ve noticed!” Eduardo pressed, raising an eyebrow at his friend.
“Maybe. I’m not telling you anything.” Mark grinned, blushing slightly, much to Eduardo’s amusement. “Why’re you so interested, anyway?” he went on, throwing a potato chip at Wardo with a grin.
“I’m not, I’m just curious..” Wardo held his hands up, laughing. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Amy in Geography is into you, Marky. You should talk to her.”
“Amy? She’s pretty, I guess, but I don’t really.. Yeah. We should watch a movie now.” Mark ran a hand through his curls, looking slightly sheepish.
“Changing the subject?” Wardo teased, grinning. “What one do you wanna watch?”
“Fight Club!” Mark answered, holding his hand up a high-five. He and Wardo shared a mutual love for Fight Club, and that was one of the things that brought them together.
“Good choice. Fight Club it is. Now move over so I can fit on the bed.” Eduardo stated, setting the DVD up and turning the television on, adjusting the volume. Once he’d pressed the play button, he walked back to the bed, crawling over next to Mark, pulling the comforter onto him, and putting it over Mark too. It was dark outside; the day had passed by quickly, but Mark was staying the night, anyway.
Soon enough, the movie started, and the two boys quickly became immersed. By the time it was finished, it was twelve o’clock, and Mark was half asleep, the two of them sprawled across the bed, having made their ways under the covers properly. Yawning, Wardo grabbed the remote, flicking the television off and chucking the remote onto the ground. It was a little squished, but Wardo was past caring; he was tired, and it was only Mark, anyway.
“I kinda wish Tyler Durden was real. In the movie, I mean.” Mark stated quietly, sounding tired.
“Yeah.. He was cool. And badass.” Wardo replied, letting his eyes flutter shut.
“Uh huh. And he and the narrator would’ve made a really good couple.” Mark mumbled, his breathing becoming deeper as he slowly dropped off to sleep.
“Marky...?” Wardo muttered sleepily, turning to look at him, struggling to open his eyes.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you leave your old school?”
“I.. I was bullied.. Because I’m gay.”
Eduardo felt a surge of anger towards the people that bullied Mark - they drove him out of his school, over his sexuality. Wardo couldn’t believe people could be horrible enough to bully someone because of who they loved. It was disgusting, and utterly unfair on Mark. “What did they do to you?” Wardo whispered, frowning sadly.
“Usually it was just verbal.. Calling me a faggot, queer, and all of that. Then they started pushing me round, shoving me up against lockers, and.. Eventually, they started attacking me whenever they could. They’d corner me whenever they got the chance, and beat me senseless..” Mark trailed off, closing his eyes.
Wardo moved his hand under the blanket, linking his fingers with Mark’s. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. You don’t deserve that.” Eduardo murmured, looking at his friend, and giving him a small smile.
“Thanks, Wardo.” Mark returned the small smile, and with that, the two boys fell silent, their hands still entwined.
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The next morning, Eduardo awoke to the sunlight filtering through the small window on the side of the treehut. Yawning quietly, he stretched out, opening his eyes. Mark was sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs, looking as though he hadn’t slept all night. Wardo rubbed his eyes, sitting up and looking at Mark, concerned. “Hey, did you get any sleep last night? You look.. tired.”
Mark shook his head, looking at the ground. The air in the room was awkward, still and silent. Wardo didn’t know what to say, or why everything was weird all of a sudden. Last night everything had been fine. Was Mark angry with him? Eduardo immediately felt sick; his only friend was going to leave and probably never talk to him again.
“Are you.. okay?” Wardo whispered, pulling the comforter around his shoulders, more for comfort, and the feeling of safety, rather than for warmth.
“Do you hate me?” Mark said suddenly, looking up at his friend. He looked scared, as if waiting for bad news.
“What? Hate you? Why the hell would I hate you? You’re my best friend.” Wardo replied, confused. That was the first time he’d ever referred to Mark as his best friend - but the moment he’d said it, he knew it was true. Mark Zuckerburg and Eduardo Saverin were best friends. “Seriously though, why would in the world would I hate you?”
“I’m your best friend?” Mark asked quietly, hardly daring to believe it. “And I thought you’d hate me ‘cause.. ‘Cause I’m gay.” the curly haired boy added, avoiding Wardo’s gaze. He wasn’t particularly familiar with people being okay with the fact - even his parents despised it. His father, for one, didn’t even speak to him anymore, and his mother only did if she had too.
“Of course you’re my best friend. And you thought I would hate you over that? I don’t hate you at all, Mark. I wouldn’t hate you if you were gay, straight, or bi. I’m glad you told me about everything.. Now get up here - you look freezing.” Wardo demanded, smiling slightly at Mark and holding the blanket up, gesturing for his friend to get underneath it.
Mark shuffled into the bed, his skin icy where it pressed against Wardo’s. He looked as though he was going to fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. “Do you wanna get some sleep?” Eduardo asked, looking at the black smudges beneath Mark’s eyes.
“No, it’s fine. I’m not that tired. I don’t sleep much, so it probably looks worse than it actually is.” Mark explained, resting his head against the pillow. “Are your parents home?”
Wardo shook his head, turning slightly to face Mark. “No, they left for California this morning. They have a job there.”
“Oh, I see. What do they do?”
“They’re lawyers. They go away a lot.”
“Do you miss them when they leave?”
“When I was a kid, yeah. But now I’m kinda used to it.” Wardo admitted, a little wistfully. When he was younger, he had nannies to look after him and his siblings, but now he looked after himself, and his older brother and sister had gone to college. “What are your parents like?”
Mark looked at Wardo, shrugging slightly. “I don’t know - they haven’t spoken to me since I told them I was gay. Well, my mom talks to me when she really has to, but my dad hasn’t spoken a word. It’s been a whole year.” he stated quietly, sadness flickering through his tone. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ve got you now, right?” Mark laughed quietly, looking out the window as the sun slowly rose higher into the sky.
“Yeah, exactly.” Wardo grinned, though he still felt sad for Mark - his parents, of all people, should accept him, not block him out like they did. “Also, you know I’ll always be here for you, right? You can tell me anything, and I’ll still be here.”
“Thank you, Eduardo.” Mark smiled, the sincerity seeping through his voice. “That.. means a lot. I hope you know that.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?” Wardo returned a smile, reaching down and holding Mark’s hand gently. Eduardo wasn’t sure if normal sixteen year old boys held hands, but he didn’t care, because they were best friends, and that’s what best friends did, right? He wasn’t really sure about what he was supposed and not supposed to be doing, socially, but holding Mark’s hand felt warm, and nice, and Mark didn’t seem to mind, so Wardo presumed it was fine.
Soon enough, it became a habit for the two boys to link hands - it made them feel safe. Usually, whenever Eduardo’s parents left town, Mark would come round, so he almost lived with Wardo. The treehouse soon became their place; they spent the majority of their time there, talking, watching movies, playing video games, all of that.
“Marky?” Eduardo mumbled, a grin evident in his voice.
“Yes, Wardo?” the other boy answered, laughing. He could tell his best friend was going to suggest something, and it would most likely be some idea to do something or go somewhere.
“We need to go to a party, man.”
“A party?” Mark frowned, pausing the Xbox game he was playing. “What kind of party?”
“A party party. We’re sixteen - doesn’t it strike you as weird we’ve never been to one?”
“Weird? On the contrary, I find it normal we’ve never been to one. It’s not even legal for us to be drinking yet, and no doubt if we go to a party, there will be drinking! Amongst other illegal things!” Mark pointed out, the words coming out slightly louder than he’d intended them too.
“Lighten up, Marky. What’s the worse that can happen?” Eduardo replied, grinning at his friend’s words.
“Hello! Alcohol poisoning, Liver damage, choking on our own vomit and dying! As well as the embarrassing effects alcohol has on people..”
“Jesus, Mark. Stop thinking so much.” Wardo laughed, mussing his friends hair. “There’s one tonight. It’s Jen’s, from History. She invited me, and I asked if you could come, and she said yeah.”
“Jen asked you to go to her party?” Mark asked, surprised.
“Yeah. I talk to her sometimes in Economics. So are we gonna go?” Wardo asked, looking at Mark imploringly.
“Sure. If you wanna.” Mark nodded, though he was still thinking about Jen inviting Wardo - since when were they friends? Not that he cared; he was curious, that was all.
“Okay, then it’s settled. We’re going to Jen’s party. Hey, I heard she was inviting people from outside of school - so maybe you’ll meet a guy.” Wardo winked - yes, winked - and stood up, crouching slightly; he’d had a growth spurt lately, and the roof of the treehouse was a tad short.
“Jesus..” Mark shook his head, laughing, though there was a slight edge to the sound. The curly haired boy had never actually had a boyfriend before; and he wasn’t sure boys at a party would want the same thing he did.
“Come on, let’s go to the house and get ready.” Wardo called, already opening the door out to the little balcony and making his way down the ladder. Mark followed suit, making his way carefully down the ladder and into the house.
“I’m going to have a shower - you can have one too, if you want. I’ll use mom and dad’s bathroom, you can use the main one?” Eduardo offered, grabbing two towels from a cupboard, chucking one to Mark, and keeping the other for himself.
“Sounds good. Catch you on the flip side.” Mark grinned, walking into the bathroom, laughing as he heard Wardo call out the reply, “Don’t miss me too much!”
Turning the water on, Mark quickly undressed, slipping into the burning water, the heat instantly relaxing him. Washing his hair, he let his mind wander to the party later on. He’d never been to a party before; and he wasn’t entirely sure what was in store, but it couldn’t be that scary, could it? Washing himself, he then switched the water off, stepping out of the shower. Drying himself, he wrapped the towel around his waist, going into Wardo’s room and grabbing the overnight bag that he’d brought. Rummaging through it, he grabbed some clothing, hastily getting dressed before Wardo could come in.
Just as Mark pulled his jersey on, Wardo came in, towel wrapped around his waist and his chest glistening with water. Mark nearly choked, forcing his eyes away from his best friend’s chest. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” he said, breathless, heat rising to his face as he all but ran from the room. Wardo shrugged, going to his wardrobe. Out in the kitchen, Mark was sitting on one of the stools, wondering what the hell had just happened.
Firstly, Eduardo was his best friend. Secondly - Eduardo was his straight best friend. Mark closed his eyes, trying not to think of his best friends chest, the dark hair dusted down his abdomen - a trail that lead somewhere Mark was not allowed to think about. The V shape of his hips, again leading down to said forbidden place.. God, Mark needed to get a hold of himself.
“Ready for the party, Marky?” Eduardo came out of his room, grinning at the almost rhyme. He had a pair of dark skinny jeans on, a V-neck that would probably look horrible on someone else, but looked good on him. Mark was in his shorts, and baggy jersey, as always.
“Mark!” Wardo groaned when he saw his friend, chuckling at the casual attire Mark was dressed in. “Dress up, man! Come on, you can wear something of mine.” he added, grabbing Mark’s hand and dragging him to his room.
“Okay, okay.. You know I don’t like dressing up.” Mark pointed out, though he was grinning.
“Lies. You love it.” Wardo returned the wide smile, opening a chest of drawers and pulling out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a button down, and throwing them at Mark. They were more or less the same size, thankfully.
“Whatever, Wardo.” Mark laughed, quickly getting dressed, smoothing down the shirt and tugging at the jeans, pulling a face. Looking in the mirror, he frowned slightly - he looked different. It was strange, seeing himself, and hardly recognizing who it was. It wasn’t as if he really looked that different, it was just absolutely unfamiliar.
“Marky, you’re lookin’ sharp!” Wardo grinned, nudging his best friend playfully. It was true - Mark looked good, and more than that; he felt good, too.
“Thanks, Wardo. You’re looking sharp yourself.” Mark smiled, looking over at the straight haired boy.
“The party starts at-” Eduardo checked his phone, “-nine. We’ve got a couple hours till then - do you want to go out, get some food or something?”
Mark shrugged, nodding. “Sure, sounds good. Where are we gonna go?”
“The Sushi Bar?”
And so the two of them went to the Sushi Bar, taking Wardo’s car and deciding that, since it was his car, Eduardo would be the sober driver. Not that either of them actually planned on drinking much at all - it was just that it was better to have a plan. After they ate their sushi, they walked to a nearby 7/11, buying some mints, because they both agreed having seaweed-ish breath wasn’t attractive. At nine, they headed to the party, getting the address from Wardo’s cellphone.
Arriving at the house, the two of them looked at each other - the place was almost completely covered in twinkling fairy lights. “Wow. They went all out with decorating.” Mark murmured, as they hopped out of the car. The two of them, though they wouldn’t admit it, were nervous - it was their first party, after all.
“I know, right.. How did she get the lights on the roof like that?” Wardo replied. There were already a lot of cars out front, and music could be heard - there was also a large group of people milling around the front door, most of them Mark and Wardo recognized from school.
“Should we go inside?” Mark asked, looking around, slightly unsure.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Eduardo confirmed, reaching out to hold Mark’s hand, but stopping mid-reach. Dropping his hand back to his side awkwardly, he looked down. “Sorry.” he muttered, walking towards the door, without Mark’s hand in his.
“It’s fine..” Mark replied quietly, though he wasn’t sure if Wardo had even heard him. His hand felt empty, cold, and he felt - well, sad. He understood, but that didn’t change his emotions. Looking up, he saw Wardo being greeted by Jen, the host, who had wrapped her arms around him and was hugging him, for much longer than actually necessary, at that. Mark looked down, walking past Eduardo, who was obviously busy, and straight into the house. There were people everywhere he looked, most of them with a red cup in hand, talking and laughing with others.
Making his way to the kitchen, Mark ignored everyone who was looking at him, looking for the alcohol everyone seemed to have - and yeah, he hadn’t planned on drinking; but fuck it, he could try something new. Wardo had said it himself: What’s the worst that could happen?
Finding the source of the alcohol, he grabbed a cup, downing the contents - beer. It was horrible, but no matter. Mark finished the cup, grabbing another and scoping the kitchen. There was a few people in the corner, pouring out shots of vodka - that looked promising. Chugging down the beer in the new cup, he walked over to the people in the corner, grabbing a discarded shot glass, holding it out to be filled. Mark sat there for god knows how long, doing a few rounds of shots, but mostly watching everyone around him. He hadn’t seen Wardo, not that he’d been looking for him - even thought that was exactly what he’d been doing.
“Spin the bottle!” screamed a random voice from the middle of the room, and suddenly, Mark felt himself being dragged down to the slowly forming circle. There was about nine people sitting in the poorly formed circle, but no one really cared - and Mark wasn’t concerned about anything, not with the alcohol in his system. Some random girl spun the bottle that had been placed in the middle of the circle, giggling madly as it pointed towards some other girl, and the two began kissing sloppily across the circle. The next person spun it, and then the next, all of them laughing and grinning about the whole ordeal. The next person to spin it was a boy with bright blue eyes, and definitely didn’t attend Mark and Wardo’s school - Mark would’ve noticed him before. He had sandy blond hair, which was flopping messily across his forehead, and he was smiling at Mark - with perfect teeth and dimples and everything. Suddenly, everyone was looking at Mark, and he realized the bottle had landed on him - it was now or never.
Leaning across the circle, Mark let his eyes flutter shut, his lips meeting the other boys. It felt as though everything was scorching hot, the sound of the party dying out as the kiss quickly became more passionate, Mark parting his lips as the blond boy’s tongue flicked forward to meet his own. Mark brought his hand up to the strangers face, cupping his cheek as their tongues danced, absent mindedly moving closer to the other boy. All of a sudden, the kiss was broken, and Mark was looking straight into the other boys eyes, his heart racing and his lips swollen.
The blond boy looked the same, his pupils blown, his lips swollen from the kiss - he stood up, pulling Mark with him, no one around them caring, or even noticing. “Are you gay?” the boy, who was in fact called Dean, whispered silkily, holding on to one of Mark’s hands. Mark only managed a nod, noting that this boy’s hand was nowhere near as nice as Wardo’s was.
“Right. I’m Dean. Would you be interested in.. going upstairs?” the blond asked, raising an eyebrow and surveying Mark, his electric blue eyes almost impossible to look away from.
“I.. okay.” Mark nodded, following Dean as he pulled him down the hall, and up a carpeted staircase. “I’m Mark.” he added as stumbled behind him, ignoring the voice in his head that was screaming, ‘You’re drunk, and he’s only interested in a quick fuck’.
With that, Mark felt himself being pulled gently into a room, and having the door pushed closed behind him. Everything was a little blurry, probably due to the fact his eyes were half closed, so he gave a tiny gasp as he was pushed backwards onto a bed, and Dean climbed on top of him, straddling him. Mark closed his eyes fully as he felt Dean’s lips on his, just as they had been downstairs, when they had been playing that atrociously strange kissing game.
Mark brought his hands up to Dean’s hair, lazily entwining his fingers in the blond locks as Dean moved his mouth from Mark’s lips down to his jaw, working at the buttons of the dark haired boy’s shirt, before pulling it off and discarding it on the ground.
Dean made his way down Mark’s neck, stopping to nip, and suck bruises into Mark’s skin. Mark lay beneath the boy, breathing heavily, though he couldn’t help but wonder - what if it was Wardo on top of him? What if it was Wardo kissing him, and Wardo leaving marks on his skin, and Wardo tugging his jeans down..
Mark’s eyes flew open, and he sat up quickly, his alcohol fogged brain telling him he did not want this. He didn’t want his first time to be with a stranger while he was drunk at a stupid party.
“No.. No!” Mark all but screamed, his words coming out disjointed, jumbled. Pushing an angry, disgruntled Dean off him, he stumbled from the room, leaving his jeans and shirt, but not caring. He ignored the strange looks he was receiving, He was overwhelmed, his breathing jagged, and the tears forming in his eyes threatening to spill over. Stumbling out to Wardo’s car, he wrenched the door open, sitting in the passenger’s seat and pulling his legs up to his chest, clutching them like a life line. There, he broke down, tears falling from his face, regretting the whole thing - the drinking, the game, all of it. He should’ve stayed home, stayed back at Wardo’s house, the two of them playing video games and laughing about a stupid party they hadn’t been too, because they had their own fun, just the two of them. Mark felt sick, stupid, but most of all, he felt lost. Lost without Wardo there to hold his hand, and hug him, and tell him it was okay. Mark gagged, opening the door and vomiting all over the pavement, continuing to do so for a good few minutes, before finally, there was nothing left in his stomach.
Shutting the door, Mark wiped his mouth, blinking the few remaining tears from his eyes, and grabbing a half empty water bottle, drinking it gingerly as to get the acrid taste out of his mouth. Drawing his legs to his chest once again, he held onto his legs, closing his eyes as he waited for Wardo to come out, and then take them both home. The next thing he knew, he was being gently shaken, by a concerned Wardo, who hadn’t any clue what had happened.
“Mark? Mark, what the hell happened? Where are your clothes? What are those? ..Wait, are those hickeys?” Wardo asked, now extremely worried about what happened to his best friend.
Mark merely shrugged, looking away. He just wanted to go home, get away from the party.
“Mark, seriously. What the fuck happened? Are you okay?” Eduardo kept going, turning the car on and turning the heater onto high, seeing as Mark was stone cold.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.” Mark said, not a trace of emotion in his voice. He sounded like a robot, programmed to say that.
“Jesus, Mark, you look like you’ve been raped! Tell me what’s going on!” Eduardo demanded, reaching out to hold his hand, but freezing when Mark flinched away from him.
“I promise, I haven’t been raped. I met a guy, that’s all. It was all consensual. Can we go now, please?” the curly haired boy replied blankly.
“Okay.. We’ll talk about this in the morning.” Wardo murmured, turning the car on and driving them both home. Checking the car clock when they pulled up at Wardo’s home, he was surprised to see it was two in the morning - as always, his parents were away though, so it hardly mattered. Eduardo felt it would be best if they slept in the house tonight, for it would be both warmer, and easier for Mark.
Leading Mark gently to his room, he turned to look at him, frowning sadly. “I really hope you’re okay, Mark. Get some rest - we’re going to talk tomorrow.” he stated quietly, helping Mark climb into Eduardo’s bed - Wardo would sleep in brother’s old room, and give Mark some space. “Night, Marky.” he murmured, going to leave the room when he heard Mark reply groggily, “Wardo.. Will you stay with me? I don’t wanna be alone..”
Smiling slightly, Wardo nodded, flicking off the light and sliding into the bed next to Mark, taking hold of his hand softly. “G’night, Wardo.” Mark mumbled, falling into a restless slumber.
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Over breakfast, Eduardo was the one to start the conversation that needed to be had. He and Wardo were sitting at the kitchen table, Wardo eating a piece of toast, and Mark picking at a piece of toast he didn’t want.
“Are you gonna tell me what happened to you last night?” Wardo asked, looking at Mark carefully.
“Are you gonna tell me what happened to you last night?” Mark replied, raising an eyebrow at his best friend.
“What do you want to know?”
“Where did you disappear too? You never came into the kitchen.”
“I was with Jen.”
“With Jen?”
“We were just talking, Mark.”
“I’m sure you were.”
“Really? We only talked Mark - and as it so happens, we’re dating now. We got along great, and I asked her out. She said yes.” Wardo replied, looking away from Mark.
“Oh. Okay. Sorry for being a dick about it.” Mark said uncomfortably, feeling like an asshole, along with feeling like someone had put their hand down his throat and twisted his guts round. He couldn’t - no, wouldn’t - admit to feeling more than friendship for Wardo. He was going to forget all about it, and that was final. Now, not only was Eduardo his straight best friend - he was his straight, taken, best friend. Absolutely out of bounds, no questions asked. And it fucking sucked, really.
“It’s okay, Marky. Now, tell me.. What happened last night, hm?” Wardo frowned a little, reaching out and taking Mark’s hand, and the curly headed boy couldn’t stand it - couldn’t stand the fact that Eduardo was being so nice, and caring, and forgiving.
“I got a little.. Drunk, I suppose. I was playing spin the bottle, and then some guy kissed me, and it all happened really fast.. He asked me if I was gay, and if I wanted to go upstairs with him.. I didn’t even realize what was going on, really.. And then we went to some dark bedroom and he was kissing me and..” Mark trailed off, looking at Eduardo, who was stroking his thumb over Mark’s hand reassuringly.
“..And then I realized I didn’t want to lose my virginity to some stranger in a random bed, so I pushed him off me, and ran.” Mark shrugged, looking down. “And that’s all.” he added, nodding slowly.
“Oh, Marky.. You should’ve come and found me.. I would’ve taken you home straight away.” Wardo frowned, getting up and walking round to Mark, pulling him up into a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. You had me really scared.” he murmured into Mark’s ear, squeezing him tightly for a second before letting him go, smiling. “No more parties for us for a while, huh big guy?”
Mark nodded, smiling - and that was the moment that Mark Zuckerburg fell in love with Eduardo Saverign.
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A few weeks later, the two boys were in the bed in the treehouse, Mark’s watch telling them it was 1:01 AM. Wardo was humming a song to himself, whilst texting Jen, now his girlfriend, whereas Mark was playing Snake on his phone.
“Jen’s going to sleep now.” Wardo informed Mark, snapping his phone shut.
“About time. You’ve been texting her all night.” Mark teased, though on the inside he’d been waiting for him to stop texting her for hours.
Wardo laughed, grinning apologetically. “Sorry man.”
“It’s cool. How is she, anyway?”
And so Eduardo began talking about how she was fine, though she’d had a bout of flu lately, and it was most likely brought on by the wave of it that’s spreading round the school, and how she missed dance class, and how she had to skip out on their date on Saturday to catch up with said dancing.. Mark had closed his eyes, listening to that for a while longer, before the topic changed and he joined in the conversation. Slowly, the talking died out, and they both dropped off to sleep, the bed perhaps too small for the both of them.
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Mark gasped as Eduardo grinded his hips onto his, the only thing separating their raging erections the thin fabric of their boxer shorts. Mark was breathing heavily, wrapping his legs around Wardo’s waist, pulling them closer together as he began rutting his hips upwards, desperate for friction, from the very person he’d been wanting for so long.
“God, Mark, yes!” Wardo moaned, driving his hips down, fisting his hands in Mark’s hair, placing chaste kisses all over his neck.
Mark was so close, his hips moving erratically against Eduardo’s, his breath coming out as panting moans when-
-“Mark!”
Mark’s eyes flew open, sleep disorientating him, though it didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened. It was Eduardo who had yelled his name, though not in the same way he had in the dream Mark had been having - more in a, ‘what-the-fuck-you-fucking-fuck’ kind of way.
“Jesus-shit, I’m so fucking sorry man. I don’t even know what just happened, fuck, I-”
“-Mark. It’s okay. We can’t control our dreams.” Wardo interrupted him, his voice strained. Mark glanced at Wardo, his apologies already forming again, when he saw it - Eduardo’s pupils blown, lust evident in his eyes, and his arousal straining against his boxers. “So you dream about me, huh?” the straight haired boy all but growled, his voice sending waves of arousal straight to Mark’s painful hardness.
Mark gulped, wondering if he was still dreaming. “S-sometimes.” he said breathily, watching Wardo as if he would disappear in a second.
With that, Wardo let out a moan of want, moving onto Mark’s hips, pressing their lips together. It was heated, and passionate, full of want from both of them - Mark still wasn’t sure if he was dreaming.
Eduardo gently ran his tongue over Mark’s lips, asking for entry; Mark parted his lips - this was entirely better than kissing that Dean guy in a drunken state of whatever. This was perfect, and exactly right. Exploring each other’s mouths, Wardo knotted his hands in Mark’s hair, gently pulling away, pressing a light kiss to his best friends lips, before pulling Mark’s shirt up over his head, tossing it onto the ground. With soft, gentle hands, Eduardo traced the other boys chest, the panes of his adomen, pressing quick kisses to where his hands previously touched.
Mark let his hands trail over Wardo’s hair, down his back and to the hem of his shirt, tugging it up, and over Eduardo’s head, moving his fingertips lightly over the boy’s now bare back. Mark could feel Wardo’s shoulder blades beneath his hands, his skin hot and perfect. Moving his hands to the front of his body, he learnt the layout of the boy’s chest, and stomach, before resting his hands on Eduardo’s hips.
Eduardo returned his lips to Mark’s slowly rolling his hips, slightly surprised when Mark returned the thrust immediately. Grinding downwards, Wardo moaned loudly into the curly haired boys mouth, the friction wonderful although their skin was separated with flimsy material.
Mark ground his hips upwards, already so close to the edge from his dream. He felt the familiar burn in his abdomen, letting out a moan of pleasure as ecstasy rolled through his body, bucking his hips as his orgasm hit, breathing heavily as he let his hips fall, capturing Wardo’s lips in a kiss. Rolling over so he was straddling Wardo, Mark slid his hand down his best friend’s chest, stopping at the hem of his boxers and toying with the elastic waist band, aware that Eduardo was still hard. “Can I?” Mark asked, slipping a hand inside Wardo’s boxers, but not touching him till he got the okay from his friend.
“Yes-yes.” Wardo breathed, pressing his hips up into Mark’s hand, moaning. Mark moved his hand, flicking his wrist as he kept the motion steady, kissing Wardo rather sloppily as he did so.
“F-faster.. Please, Mark.” Wardo stammered, moving his hips in time with Mark’s strokes, his orgasm nearing as the pace sped up.
Mark moved his hand quickly, kissing Wardo’s neck, leaving a mark as he did so. He felt Wardo’s hips stutter, hearing the moan of pleasure escape from Euardo’s lips as the boy’s hips stilled, leaving him lying beneath Mark, panting and sated.
Mark collapsed next to him, their boxers soiled and sticky though they couldn’t care less. Looking at each other, the two smiled, their breath becoming more even.
“Thst was.. wow.” Wardo said finally, gently wrapping his arms around Mark.
“Yeah.. wow.” Mark agreed, smiling as he snuggled into Wardo’s arms. This was the happiest Mark Zuckerburg had been in a while.
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The next morning, Mark woke up, feeling refreshed, having slept better than he had in a long while. Blinking away the sleepy blur, he felt his stomach drop slightly when he realized Eduardo was nowhere to be seen. On the ground was a pile of clothing, and baby wipes - obviously Wardo had put them there. Peeling of his boxers, Mark cleaned himself up, slipping into the shorts, shirt, and baggy jersey, the dread knotting up in his stomach.
Clambering out of the treehouse, Mark walked briskly into the house, his clothing comforting him slightly, due to the familiarity of it. Looking around, Wardo was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen, nor the living area - it was likely he was in his room. Sure enough, Mark quietly entered Eduardo’s room, and there he was, sitting on the edge of his bed, staring blankly into space.
Mark cleared his throat, waving awkwardly at his friend. “Hi.” he muttered, forcing a small smile. Perhaps, if he acted as though everything was fine, it would be.
“Hey. You’re up.” Wardo replied, turning to look at Mark, an emotion in his eyes that the curly haired boy couldn’t read.
“Yeah.. Sure am.” Mark nodded, looking around the room, as to appear as though he was doing something constructive.
“Do you want breakfast?” Wardo asked, standing up and going out into the kitchen, Mark following behind him.
“No, I’m good. Do you want to go out and get a coffee, or something?” Mark asked, looking at Eduardo imploringly. This wasn’t looking bright - though, it wasn’t looking completely bleak, either.
“Coffee? Okay. Let’s go.”
The car ride to the nearest Starbucks was silent, though perhaps not as awkward as it could’ve been. The radio was playing at a comfortable volume, the two of them humming quietly to themselves. Mark supposed it could’ve been worse, by far. At least neither of them was crying, or yelling. It was a start.
Pulling up at a spot outside of Starbucks, the two of them walked in, making small talk about the weather and what coffee they were going to get. If one was to see them from an outsiders perspective, it wouldn’t seem as though they were best friends. They ordered and received their coffees, deciding they’d walk to a nearby park and take a seat there.
“Are we going to talk about what happened last night?” Mark asked timidly. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to face the consequences he knew were coming.
“Do we have too?” Wardo asked, looking slightly pained at the thought of it, which was hardly a good sign.
“I guess not. I’m sure going about the rest of our lives as if we never gave each other orgasms will work out perfectly.” Mark replied, keeping his tone neutral, light.
Eduardo shot him a look, running a hand through his hair as they came to the park, sitting down at one of the many benches. “Alright, let’s talk. What it is exactly you want me to say?”
Mark shrugged, looking slightly crestfallen. “Whatever you feel, I guess.”
Wardo sighed, resting his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, Mark. I should never have.. you know, done that with you. It was stupid, and all that heat of the moment stuff.. I’m with Jen. And I’m not gay, you know that.”
Mark nodded, a lump rising in his throat, despite his efforts for that not to happen. “Yeah.. I know that. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking..” the curly haired boy choked out, blinking furiously. There was no way in hell he was going to cry.
“Hey, Mark, don’t get upset. I’m still your best friend.” Wardo put his arm around Mark, in what was probably supposed to be a comforting manner, though it did nothing to console him.
“Okay. Thanks for not making a big deal out of it.” Mark gave him a wan smile, the inside of his chest feeling as though it’d been ripped apart. Pretty much what Eduardo was saying was, ‘It was fun, but it meant nothing’. That was okay. Mark could, and would, find someone else. He’d move on with his life. Wardo could grow up and marry Jen and Mark could grow up and if wanted to marry someone, well he could move to a state that allowed marriage between people of the same sex. It would all work out just fine.
Sometimes, having a significant lack of friends bothered Wardo. It wasn’t the actual fact of not having friends - he was quite content with his own company - but the annoyance of never having someone to partner up with when a class was told to split into pairs, or someone to tell his parents about. He wondered sometimes if there was something wrong with him; but according to psychiatrists and councillors, he was just a lone body. His parents, both being extremely rich, and successful lawyers, stopped at nothing to diagnose their son with whatever social impairment he had; it took a while before they accepted he chose to be the way he was.
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Advanced Calculus had never been Eduardo’s favourite class. It was tedious, and long, and he hated sitting in the stuffy classroom, scribbling down notes and listening to a droning teacher. Still, he’d never skip a class, no matter how much he hated it - so, there he was, just like he was every Tuesday during fourth period. Doodling absently on the corner of his page, he chewed his lip, waiting for the class to be over, so he could use the lunch hour to resume reading Fight Club. Just as he’d dotted the eyes of the seahorse, the door to the class room opened, and a light breeze swept through the room. Wardo looked up, watching curiously as a teacher entered the room, a student trailing along behind them, looking down at his feet.
After a quick, whispered conversation between the two teachers, the visiting teacher left, and the remaining teacher smiled widely at the newcomer, who continued to stare at his feet. “Class, this is Mark Zuckerburg, a new student here at Ferndale. Make sure he feels welcome.” the elderly woman addressed the class, pointing the new student down the back, to the only available seat - right next to Eduardo. Mark shuffled across the classroom, most of the eyes in the room following him, though he seemed not to notice. Wardo moved his chair over slightly, as to give his new classmate some room at his desk - the space had been absent the whole year, and Eduardo wondered if having someone next to him would make Calc more tolerable. Probably not; it was likely he wouldn’t even speak to the newcomer. Oh well, it hardly mattered. Wardo wasn’t expecting a friendship from the seemingly shy new kid. He wasn’t really expecting friendship from anyone.
xxxxxxxxxx
“Is Calculus always this boring?”
Eduardo glanced sideways, slightly surprised the new kid was talking to him - after all, people never spoke to him; although, this Mark person didn’t know who he was, so Wardo supposed it was different. “Kinda, yeah.”
“Oh.” Mark replied simply.
“So, uh, how do you like this school so far?” Eduardo asked, rather awkwardly at that.
Mark shrugged, glancing at Wardo. “It’s okay, I guess. I haven’t been here long enough to decide if I like it or not.”
“Oh. Well, I’m Eduardo, by the way.”
“I’m Mark. It’s nice to meet you.”
xxxxxxxxxx
“So, why did you leave your old school?” Eduardo asked, taking a bite of his apple. For once, he wasn’t alone in the cafeteria - Mark was sitting across from him, picking at the food on his tray.
“Does it matter?” Mark looked uncomfortable, dropping his eyes to the floor - Wardo supposed it was quite a personal question.
“Not really.. I was just curious, I guess.” Eduardo mumbled, biting his lip slightly.
“It’s a boring story, that’s all. You’ll be begging for me to shut up as soon as I begin.” Mark laughed, though there was a slight edge in his voice. Wardo smiled politely, letting the matter go - he wasn’t going to force Mark to tell him.
“Ah, I see. What class have you got next?” Wardo asked, tossing the now finished apple in a nearby trash can. He himself had English, a class that he quite liked, seeing as he read a lot.
“Let me check..” Mark rummaged through his bag, pulling out a neatly folded timetable, “..English.”
Wardo smiled, grabbing his bag as the bell rung. “So do I. Let’s go.”
“Lead the way.”
xxxxxxxxxx
That was the Tuesday Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerburg met. After discovering they lived fairly close to each other, they walked home together. That Tuesday afternoon, Eduardo and Mark became friends. Wardo had a friend to tell his parents about, and someone to partner up with in class. Life was good.
“Okay, name the three hottest chicks in school.” Eduardo asked Mark through a mouthful of potato chips, curled up on a large cushion in the corner of the treehouse they were in. They were at Eduardo’s house - in the treehouse, to be precise. It was Eduardo’s from when he was younger, but it was large, fully enclosed, with a bed, television and all. When Wardo was younger, he often stayed in there the night, though he hadn’t in years now.
“Really, Wardo? Really?” Mark rolled his eyes, ignoring the question. Reaching over, he grabbed some potato chips from the bag, dropping them into his mouth as he lied back on the bed. “I don’t notice them. They don’t notice me, either, so I guess it works.” he added, smiling wryly.
“Whatever, man. There’s gotta be someone you’ve noticed!” Eduardo pressed, raising an eyebrow at his friend.
“Maybe. I’m not telling you anything.” Mark grinned, blushing slightly, much to Eduardo’s amusement. “Why’re you so interested, anyway?” he went on, throwing a potato chip at Wardo with a grin.
“I’m not, I’m just curious..” Wardo held his hands up, laughing. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Amy in Geography is into you, Marky. You should talk to her.”
“Amy? She’s pretty, I guess, but I don’t really.. Yeah. We should watch a movie now.” Mark ran a hand through his curls, looking slightly sheepish.
“Changing the subject?” Wardo teased, grinning. “What one do you wanna watch?”
“Fight Club!” Mark answered, holding his hand up a high-five. He and Wardo shared a mutual love for Fight Club, and that was one of the things that brought them together.
“Good choice. Fight Club it is. Now move over so I can fit on the bed.” Eduardo stated, setting the DVD up and turning the television on, adjusting the volume. Once he’d pressed the play button, he walked back to the bed, crawling over next to Mark, pulling the comforter onto him, and putting it over Mark too. It was dark outside; the day had passed by quickly, but Mark was staying the night, anyway.
Soon enough, the movie started, and the two boys quickly became immersed. By the time it was finished, it was twelve o’clock, and Mark was half asleep, the two of them sprawled across the bed, having made their ways under the covers properly. Yawning, Wardo grabbed the remote, flicking the television off and chucking the remote onto the ground. It was a little squished, but Wardo was past caring; he was tired, and it was only Mark, anyway.
“I kinda wish Tyler Durden was real. In the movie, I mean.” Mark stated quietly, sounding tired.
“Yeah.. He was cool. And badass.” Wardo replied, letting his eyes flutter shut.
“Uh huh. And he and the narrator would’ve made a really good couple.” Mark mumbled, his breathing becoming deeper as he slowly dropped off to sleep.
“Marky...?” Wardo muttered sleepily, turning to look at him, struggling to open his eyes.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you leave your old school?”
“I.. I was bullied.. Because I’m gay.”
Eduardo felt a surge of anger towards the people that bullied Mark - they drove him out of his school, over his sexuality. Wardo couldn’t believe people could be horrible enough to bully someone because of who they loved. It was disgusting, and utterly unfair on Mark. “What did they do to you?” Wardo whispered, frowning sadly.
“Usually it was just verbal.. Calling me a faggot, queer, and all of that. Then they started pushing me round, shoving me up against lockers, and.. Eventually, they started attacking me whenever they could. They’d corner me whenever they got the chance, and beat me senseless..” Mark trailed off, closing his eyes.
Wardo moved his hand under the blanket, linking his fingers with Mark’s. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. You don’t deserve that.” Eduardo murmured, looking at his friend, and giving him a small smile.
“Thanks, Wardo.” Mark returned the small smile, and with that, the two boys fell silent, their hands still entwined.
xxxxxxxxxx
The next morning, Eduardo awoke to the sunlight filtering through the small window on the side of the treehut. Yawning quietly, he stretched out, opening his eyes. Mark was sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs, looking as though he hadn’t slept all night. Wardo rubbed his eyes, sitting up and looking at Mark, concerned. “Hey, did you get any sleep last night? You look.. tired.”
Mark shook his head, looking at the ground. The air in the room was awkward, still and silent. Wardo didn’t know what to say, or why everything was weird all of a sudden. Last night everything had been fine. Was Mark angry with him? Eduardo immediately felt sick; his only friend was going to leave and probably never talk to him again.
“Are you.. okay?” Wardo whispered, pulling the comforter around his shoulders, more for comfort, and the feeling of safety, rather than for warmth.
“Do you hate me?” Mark said suddenly, looking up at his friend. He looked scared, as if waiting for bad news.
“What? Hate you? Why the hell would I hate you? You’re my best friend.” Wardo replied, confused. That was the first time he’d ever referred to Mark as his best friend - but the moment he’d said it, he knew it was true. Mark Zuckerburg and Eduardo Saverin were best friends. “Seriously though, why would in the world would I hate you?”
“I’m your best friend?” Mark asked quietly, hardly daring to believe it. “And I thought you’d hate me ‘cause.. ‘Cause I’m gay.” the curly haired boy added, avoiding Wardo’s gaze. He wasn’t particularly familiar with people being okay with the fact - even his parents despised it. His father, for one, didn’t even speak to him anymore, and his mother only did if she had too.
“Of course you’re my best friend. And you thought I would hate you over that? I don’t hate you at all, Mark. I wouldn’t hate you if you were gay, straight, or bi. I’m glad you told me about everything.. Now get up here - you look freezing.” Wardo demanded, smiling slightly at Mark and holding the blanket up, gesturing for his friend to get underneath it.
Mark shuffled into the bed, his skin icy where it pressed against Wardo’s. He looked as though he was going to fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. “Do you wanna get some sleep?” Eduardo asked, looking at the black smudges beneath Mark’s eyes.
“No, it’s fine. I’m not that tired. I don’t sleep much, so it probably looks worse than it actually is.” Mark explained, resting his head against the pillow. “Are your parents home?”
Wardo shook his head, turning slightly to face Mark. “No, they left for California this morning. They have a job there.”
“Oh, I see. What do they do?”
“They’re lawyers. They go away a lot.”
“Do you miss them when they leave?”
“When I was a kid, yeah. But now I’m kinda used to it.” Wardo admitted, a little wistfully. When he was younger, he had nannies to look after him and his siblings, but now he looked after himself, and his older brother and sister had gone to college. “What are your parents like?”
Mark looked at Wardo, shrugging slightly. “I don’t know - they haven’t spoken to me since I told them I was gay. Well, my mom talks to me when she really has to, but my dad hasn’t spoken a word. It’s been a whole year.” he stated quietly, sadness flickering through his tone. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ve got you now, right?” Mark laughed quietly, looking out the window as the sun slowly rose higher into the sky.
“Yeah, exactly.” Wardo grinned, though he still felt sad for Mark - his parents, of all people, should accept him, not block him out like they did. “Also, you know I’ll always be here for you, right? You can tell me anything, and I’ll still be here.”
“Thank you, Eduardo.” Mark smiled, the sincerity seeping through his voice. “That.. means a lot. I hope you know that.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?” Wardo returned a smile, reaching down and holding Mark’s hand gently. Eduardo wasn’t sure if normal sixteen year old boys held hands, but he didn’t care, because they were best friends, and that’s what best friends did, right? He wasn’t really sure about what he was supposed and not supposed to be doing, socially, but holding Mark’s hand felt warm, and nice, and Mark didn’t seem to mind, so Wardo presumed it was fine.
Soon enough, it became a habit for the two boys to link hands - it made them feel safe. Usually, whenever Eduardo’s parents left town, Mark would come round, so he almost lived with Wardo. The treehouse soon became their place; they spent the majority of their time there, talking, watching movies, playing video games, all of that.
“Marky?” Eduardo mumbled, a grin evident in his voice.
“Yes, Wardo?” the other boy answered, laughing. He could tell his best friend was going to suggest something, and it would most likely be some idea to do something or go somewhere.
“We need to go to a party, man.”
“A party?” Mark frowned, pausing the Xbox game he was playing. “What kind of party?”
“A party party. We’re sixteen - doesn’t it strike you as weird we’ve never been to one?”
“Weird? On the contrary, I find it normal we’ve never been to one. It’s not even legal for us to be drinking yet, and no doubt if we go to a party, there will be drinking! Amongst other illegal things!” Mark pointed out, the words coming out slightly louder than he’d intended them too.
“Lighten up, Marky. What’s the worse that can happen?” Eduardo replied, grinning at his friend’s words.
“Hello! Alcohol poisoning, Liver damage, choking on our own vomit and dying! As well as the embarrassing effects alcohol has on people..”
“Jesus, Mark. Stop thinking so much.” Wardo laughed, mussing his friends hair. “There’s one tonight. It’s Jen’s, from History. She invited me, and I asked if you could come, and she said yeah.”
“Jen asked you to go to her party?” Mark asked, surprised.
“Yeah. I talk to her sometimes in Economics. So are we gonna go?” Wardo asked, looking at Mark imploringly.
“Sure. If you wanna.” Mark nodded, though he was still thinking about Jen inviting Wardo - since when were they friends? Not that he cared; he was curious, that was all.
“Okay, then it’s settled. We’re going to Jen’s party. Hey, I heard she was inviting people from outside of school - so maybe you’ll meet a guy.” Wardo winked - yes, winked - and stood up, crouching slightly; he’d had a growth spurt lately, and the roof of the treehouse was a tad short.
“Jesus..” Mark shook his head, laughing, though there was a slight edge to the sound. The curly haired boy had never actually had a boyfriend before; and he wasn’t sure boys at a party would want the same thing he did.
“Come on, let’s go to the house and get ready.” Wardo called, already opening the door out to the little balcony and making his way down the ladder. Mark followed suit, making his way carefully down the ladder and into the house.
“I’m going to have a shower - you can have one too, if you want. I’ll use mom and dad’s bathroom, you can use the main one?” Eduardo offered, grabbing two towels from a cupboard, chucking one to Mark, and keeping the other for himself.
“Sounds good. Catch you on the flip side.” Mark grinned, walking into the bathroom, laughing as he heard Wardo call out the reply, “Don’t miss me too much!”
Turning the water on, Mark quickly undressed, slipping into the burning water, the heat instantly relaxing him. Washing his hair, he let his mind wander to the party later on. He’d never been to a party before; and he wasn’t entirely sure what was in store, but it couldn’t be that scary, could it? Washing himself, he then switched the water off, stepping out of the shower. Drying himself, he wrapped the towel around his waist, going into Wardo’s room and grabbing the overnight bag that he’d brought. Rummaging through it, he grabbed some clothing, hastily getting dressed before Wardo could come in.
Just as Mark pulled his jersey on, Wardo came in, towel wrapped around his waist and his chest glistening with water. Mark nearly choked, forcing his eyes away from his best friend’s chest. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” he said, breathless, heat rising to his face as he all but ran from the room. Wardo shrugged, going to his wardrobe. Out in the kitchen, Mark was sitting on one of the stools, wondering what the hell had just happened.
Firstly, Eduardo was his best friend. Secondly - Eduardo was his straight best friend. Mark closed his eyes, trying not to think of his best friends chest, the dark hair dusted down his abdomen - a trail that lead somewhere Mark was not allowed to think about. The V shape of his hips, again leading down to said forbidden place.. God, Mark needed to get a hold of himself.
“Ready for the party, Marky?” Eduardo came out of his room, grinning at the almost rhyme. He had a pair of dark skinny jeans on, a V-neck that would probably look horrible on someone else, but looked good on him. Mark was in his shorts, and baggy jersey, as always.
“Mark!” Wardo groaned when he saw his friend, chuckling at the casual attire Mark was dressed in. “Dress up, man! Come on, you can wear something of mine.” he added, grabbing Mark’s hand and dragging him to his room.
“Okay, okay.. You know I don’t like dressing up.” Mark pointed out, though he was grinning.
“Lies. You love it.” Wardo returned the wide smile, opening a chest of drawers and pulling out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a button down, and throwing them at Mark. They were more or less the same size, thankfully.
“Whatever, Wardo.” Mark laughed, quickly getting dressed, smoothing down the shirt and tugging at the jeans, pulling a face. Looking in the mirror, he frowned slightly - he looked different. It was strange, seeing himself, and hardly recognizing who it was. It wasn’t as if he really looked that different, it was just absolutely unfamiliar.
“Marky, you’re lookin’ sharp!” Wardo grinned, nudging his best friend playfully. It was true - Mark looked good, and more than that; he felt good, too.
“Thanks, Wardo. You’re looking sharp yourself.” Mark smiled, looking over at the straight haired boy.
“The party starts at-” Eduardo checked his phone, “-nine. We’ve got a couple hours till then - do you want to go out, get some food or something?”
Mark shrugged, nodding. “Sure, sounds good. Where are we gonna go?”
“The Sushi Bar?”
And so the two of them went to the Sushi Bar, taking Wardo’s car and deciding that, since it was his car, Eduardo would be the sober driver. Not that either of them actually planned on drinking much at all - it was just that it was better to have a plan. After they ate their sushi, they walked to a nearby 7/11, buying some mints, because they both agreed having seaweed-ish breath wasn’t attractive. At nine, they headed to the party, getting the address from Wardo’s cellphone.
Arriving at the house, the two of them looked at each other - the place was almost completely covered in twinkling fairy lights. “Wow. They went all out with decorating.” Mark murmured, as they hopped out of the car. The two of them, though they wouldn’t admit it, were nervous - it was their first party, after all.
“I know, right.. How did she get the lights on the roof like that?” Wardo replied. There were already a lot of cars out front, and music could be heard - there was also a large group of people milling around the front door, most of them Mark and Wardo recognized from school.
“Should we go inside?” Mark asked, looking around, slightly unsure.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Eduardo confirmed, reaching out to hold Mark’s hand, but stopping mid-reach. Dropping his hand back to his side awkwardly, he looked down. “Sorry.” he muttered, walking towards the door, without Mark’s hand in his.
“It’s fine..” Mark replied quietly, though he wasn’t sure if Wardo had even heard him. His hand felt empty, cold, and he felt - well, sad. He understood, but that didn’t change his emotions. Looking up, he saw Wardo being greeted by Jen, the host, who had wrapped her arms around him and was hugging him, for much longer than actually necessary, at that. Mark looked down, walking past Eduardo, who was obviously busy, and straight into the house. There were people everywhere he looked, most of them with a red cup in hand, talking and laughing with others.
Making his way to the kitchen, Mark ignored everyone who was looking at him, looking for the alcohol everyone seemed to have - and yeah, he hadn’t planned on drinking; but fuck it, he could try something new. Wardo had said it himself: What’s the worst that could happen?
Finding the source of the alcohol, he grabbed a cup, downing the contents - beer. It was horrible, but no matter. Mark finished the cup, grabbing another and scoping the kitchen. There was a few people in the corner, pouring out shots of vodka - that looked promising. Chugging down the beer in the new cup, he walked over to the people in the corner, grabbing a discarded shot glass, holding it out to be filled. Mark sat there for god knows how long, doing a few rounds of shots, but mostly watching everyone around him. He hadn’t seen Wardo, not that he’d been looking for him - even thought that was exactly what he’d been doing.
“Spin the bottle!” screamed a random voice from the middle of the room, and suddenly, Mark felt himself being dragged down to the slowly forming circle. There was about nine people sitting in the poorly formed circle, but no one really cared - and Mark wasn’t concerned about anything, not with the alcohol in his system. Some random girl spun the bottle that had been placed in the middle of the circle, giggling madly as it pointed towards some other girl, and the two began kissing sloppily across the circle. The next person spun it, and then the next, all of them laughing and grinning about the whole ordeal. The next person to spin it was a boy with bright blue eyes, and definitely didn’t attend Mark and Wardo’s school - Mark would’ve noticed him before. He had sandy blond hair, which was flopping messily across his forehead, and he was smiling at Mark - with perfect teeth and dimples and everything. Suddenly, everyone was looking at Mark, and he realized the bottle had landed on him - it was now or never.
Leaning across the circle, Mark let his eyes flutter shut, his lips meeting the other boys. It felt as though everything was scorching hot, the sound of the party dying out as the kiss quickly became more passionate, Mark parting his lips as the blond boy’s tongue flicked forward to meet his own. Mark brought his hand up to the strangers face, cupping his cheek as their tongues danced, absent mindedly moving closer to the other boy. All of a sudden, the kiss was broken, and Mark was looking straight into the other boys eyes, his heart racing and his lips swollen.
The blond boy looked the same, his pupils blown, his lips swollen from the kiss - he stood up, pulling Mark with him, no one around them caring, or even noticing. “Are you gay?” the boy, who was in fact called Dean, whispered silkily, holding on to one of Mark’s hands. Mark only managed a nod, noting that this boy’s hand was nowhere near as nice as Wardo’s was.
“Right. I’m Dean. Would you be interested in.. going upstairs?” the blond asked, raising an eyebrow and surveying Mark, his electric blue eyes almost impossible to look away from.
“I.. okay.” Mark nodded, following Dean as he pulled him down the hall, and up a carpeted staircase. “I’m Mark.” he added as stumbled behind him, ignoring the voice in his head that was screaming, ‘You’re drunk, and he’s only interested in a quick fuck’.
With that, Mark felt himself being pulled gently into a room, and having the door pushed closed behind him. Everything was a little blurry, probably due to the fact his eyes were half closed, so he gave a tiny gasp as he was pushed backwards onto a bed, and Dean climbed on top of him, straddling him. Mark closed his eyes fully as he felt Dean’s lips on his, just as they had been downstairs, when they had been playing that atrociously strange kissing game.
Mark brought his hands up to Dean’s hair, lazily entwining his fingers in the blond locks as Dean moved his mouth from Mark’s lips down to his jaw, working at the buttons of the dark haired boy’s shirt, before pulling it off and discarding it on the ground.
Dean made his way down Mark’s neck, stopping to nip, and suck bruises into Mark’s skin. Mark lay beneath the boy, breathing heavily, though he couldn’t help but wonder - what if it was Wardo on top of him? What if it was Wardo kissing him, and Wardo leaving marks on his skin, and Wardo tugging his jeans down..
Mark’s eyes flew open, and he sat up quickly, his alcohol fogged brain telling him he did not want this. He didn’t want his first time to be with a stranger while he was drunk at a stupid party.
“No.. No!” Mark all but screamed, his words coming out disjointed, jumbled. Pushing an angry, disgruntled Dean off him, he stumbled from the room, leaving his jeans and shirt, but not caring. He ignored the strange looks he was receiving, He was overwhelmed, his breathing jagged, and the tears forming in his eyes threatening to spill over. Stumbling out to Wardo’s car, he wrenched the door open, sitting in the passenger’s seat and pulling his legs up to his chest, clutching them like a life line. There, he broke down, tears falling from his face, regretting the whole thing - the drinking, the game, all of it. He should’ve stayed home, stayed back at Wardo’s house, the two of them playing video games and laughing about a stupid party they hadn’t been too, because they had their own fun, just the two of them. Mark felt sick, stupid, but most of all, he felt lost. Lost without Wardo there to hold his hand, and hug him, and tell him it was okay. Mark gagged, opening the door and vomiting all over the pavement, continuing to do so for a good few minutes, before finally, there was nothing left in his stomach.
Shutting the door, Mark wiped his mouth, blinking the few remaining tears from his eyes, and grabbing a half empty water bottle, drinking it gingerly as to get the acrid taste out of his mouth. Drawing his legs to his chest once again, he held onto his legs, closing his eyes as he waited for Wardo to come out, and then take them both home. The next thing he knew, he was being gently shaken, by a concerned Wardo, who hadn’t any clue what had happened.
“Mark? Mark, what the hell happened? Where are your clothes? What are those? ..Wait, are those hickeys?” Wardo asked, now extremely worried about what happened to his best friend.
Mark merely shrugged, looking away. He just wanted to go home, get away from the party.
“Mark, seriously. What the fuck happened? Are you okay?” Eduardo kept going, turning the car on and turning the heater onto high, seeing as Mark was stone cold.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.” Mark said, not a trace of emotion in his voice. He sounded like a robot, programmed to say that.
“Jesus, Mark, you look like you’ve been raped! Tell me what’s going on!” Eduardo demanded, reaching out to hold his hand, but freezing when Mark flinched away from him.
“I promise, I haven’t been raped. I met a guy, that’s all. It was all consensual. Can we go now, please?” the curly haired boy replied blankly.
“Okay.. We’ll talk about this in the morning.” Wardo murmured, turning the car on and driving them both home. Checking the car clock when they pulled up at Wardo’s home, he was surprised to see it was two in the morning - as always, his parents were away though, so it hardly mattered. Eduardo felt it would be best if they slept in the house tonight, for it would be both warmer, and easier for Mark.
Leading Mark gently to his room, he turned to look at him, frowning sadly. “I really hope you’re okay, Mark. Get some rest - we’re going to talk tomorrow.” he stated quietly, helping Mark climb into Eduardo’s bed - Wardo would sleep in brother’s old room, and give Mark some space. “Night, Marky.” he murmured, going to leave the room when he heard Mark reply groggily, “Wardo.. Will you stay with me? I don’t wanna be alone..”
Smiling slightly, Wardo nodded, flicking off the light and sliding into the bed next to Mark, taking hold of his hand softly. “G’night, Wardo.” Mark mumbled, falling into a restless slumber.
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Over breakfast, Eduardo was the one to start the conversation that needed to be had. He and Wardo were sitting at the kitchen table, Wardo eating a piece of toast, and Mark picking at a piece of toast he didn’t want.
“Are you gonna tell me what happened to you last night?” Wardo asked, looking at Mark carefully.
“Are you gonna tell me what happened to you last night?” Mark replied, raising an eyebrow at his best friend.
“What do you want to know?”
“Where did you disappear too? You never came into the kitchen.”
“I was with Jen.”
“With Jen?”
“We were just talking, Mark.”
“I’m sure you were.”
“Really? We only talked Mark - and as it so happens, we’re dating now. We got along great, and I asked her out. She said yes.” Wardo replied, looking away from Mark.
“Oh. Okay. Sorry for being a dick about it.” Mark said uncomfortably, feeling like an asshole, along with feeling like someone had put their hand down his throat and twisted his guts round. He couldn’t - no, wouldn’t - admit to feeling more than friendship for Wardo. He was going to forget all about it, and that was final. Now, not only was Eduardo his straight best friend - he was his straight, taken, best friend. Absolutely out of bounds, no questions asked. And it fucking sucked, really.
“It’s okay, Marky. Now, tell me.. What happened last night, hm?” Wardo frowned a little, reaching out and taking Mark’s hand, and the curly headed boy couldn’t stand it - couldn’t stand the fact that Eduardo was being so nice, and caring, and forgiving.
“I got a little.. Drunk, I suppose. I was playing spin the bottle, and then some guy kissed me, and it all happened really fast.. He asked me if I was gay, and if I wanted to go upstairs with him.. I didn’t even realize what was going on, really.. And then we went to some dark bedroom and he was kissing me and..” Mark trailed off, looking at Eduardo, who was stroking his thumb over Mark’s hand reassuringly.
“..And then I realized I didn’t want to lose my virginity to some stranger in a random bed, so I pushed him off me, and ran.” Mark shrugged, looking down. “And that’s all.” he added, nodding slowly.
“Oh, Marky.. You should’ve come and found me.. I would’ve taken you home straight away.” Wardo frowned, getting up and walking round to Mark, pulling him up into a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. You had me really scared.” he murmured into Mark’s ear, squeezing him tightly for a second before letting him go, smiling. “No more parties for us for a while, huh big guy?”
Mark nodded, smiling - and that was the moment that Mark Zuckerburg fell in love with Eduardo Saverign.
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A few weeks later, the two boys were in the bed in the treehouse, Mark’s watch telling them it was 1:01 AM. Wardo was humming a song to himself, whilst texting Jen, now his girlfriend, whereas Mark was playing Snake on his phone.
“Jen’s going to sleep now.” Wardo informed Mark, snapping his phone shut.
“About time. You’ve been texting her all night.” Mark teased, though on the inside he’d been waiting for him to stop texting her for hours.
Wardo laughed, grinning apologetically. “Sorry man.”
“It’s cool. How is she, anyway?”
And so Eduardo began talking about how she was fine, though she’d had a bout of flu lately, and it was most likely brought on by the wave of it that’s spreading round the school, and how she missed dance class, and how she had to skip out on their date on Saturday to catch up with said dancing.. Mark had closed his eyes, listening to that for a while longer, before the topic changed and he joined in the conversation. Slowly, the talking died out, and they both dropped off to sleep, the bed perhaps too small for the both of them.
xxxxxxxxxx
Mark gasped as Eduardo grinded his hips onto his, the only thing separating their raging erections the thin fabric of their boxer shorts. Mark was breathing heavily, wrapping his legs around Wardo’s waist, pulling them closer together as he began rutting his hips upwards, desperate for friction, from the very person he’d been wanting for so long.
“God, Mark, yes!” Wardo moaned, driving his hips down, fisting his hands in Mark’s hair, placing chaste kisses all over his neck.
Mark was so close, his hips moving erratically against Eduardo’s, his breath coming out as panting moans when-
-“Mark!”
Mark’s eyes flew open, sleep disorientating him, though it didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened. It was Eduardo who had yelled his name, though not in the same way he had in the dream Mark had been having - more in a, ‘what-the-fuck-you-fucking-fuck’ kind of way.
“Jesus-shit, I’m so fucking sorry man. I don’t even know what just happened, fuck, I-”
“-Mark. It’s okay. We can’t control our dreams.” Wardo interrupted him, his voice strained. Mark glanced at Wardo, his apologies already forming again, when he saw it - Eduardo’s pupils blown, lust evident in his eyes, and his arousal straining against his boxers. “So you dream about me, huh?” the straight haired boy all but growled, his voice sending waves of arousal straight to Mark’s painful hardness.
Mark gulped, wondering if he was still dreaming. “S-sometimes.” he said breathily, watching Wardo as if he would disappear in a second.
With that, Wardo let out a moan of want, moving onto Mark’s hips, pressing their lips together. It was heated, and passionate, full of want from both of them - Mark still wasn’t sure if he was dreaming.
Eduardo gently ran his tongue over Mark’s lips, asking for entry; Mark parted his lips - this was entirely better than kissing that Dean guy in a drunken state of whatever. This was perfect, and exactly right. Exploring each other’s mouths, Wardo knotted his hands in Mark’s hair, gently pulling away, pressing a light kiss to his best friends lips, before pulling Mark’s shirt up over his head, tossing it onto the ground. With soft, gentle hands, Eduardo traced the other boys chest, the panes of his adomen, pressing quick kisses to where his hands previously touched.
Mark let his hands trail over Wardo’s hair, down his back and to the hem of his shirt, tugging it up, and over Eduardo’s head, moving his fingertips lightly over the boy’s now bare back. Mark could feel Wardo’s shoulder blades beneath his hands, his skin hot and perfect. Moving his hands to the front of his body, he learnt the layout of the boy’s chest, and stomach, before resting his hands on Eduardo’s hips.
Eduardo returned his lips to Mark’s slowly rolling his hips, slightly surprised when Mark returned the thrust immediately. Grinding downwards, Wardo moaned loudly into the curly haired boys mouth, the friction wonderful although their skin was separated with flimsy material.
Mark ground his hips upwards, already so close to the edge from his dream. He felt the familiar burn in his abdomen, letting out a moan of pleasure as ecstasy rolled through his body, bucking his hips as his orgasm hit, breathing heavily as he let his hips fall, capturing Wardo’s lips in a kiss. Rolling over so he was straddling Wardo, Mark slid his hand down his best friend’s chest, stopping at the hem of his boxers and toying with the elastic waist band, aware that Eduardo was still hard. “Can I?” Mark asked, slipping a hand inside Wardo’s boxers, but not touching him till he got the okay from his friend.
“Yes-yes.” Wardo breathed, pressing his hips up into Mark’s hand, moaning. Mark moved his hand, flicking his wrist as he kept the motion steady, kissing Wardo rather sloppily as he did so.
“F-faster.. Please, Mark.” Wardo stammered, moving his hips in time with Mark’s strokes, his orgasm nearing as the pace sped up.
Mark moved his hand quickly, kissing Wardo’s neck, leaving a mark as he did so. He felt Wardo’s hips stutter, hearing the moan of pleasure escape from Euardo’s lips as the boy’s hips stilled, leaving him lying beneath Mark, panting and sated.
Mark collapsed next to him, their boxers soiled and sticky though they couldn’t care less. Looking at each other, the two smiled, their breath becoming more even.
“Thst was.. wow.” Wardo said finally, gently wrapping his arms around Mark.
“Yeah.. wow.” Mark agreed, smiling as he snuggled into Wardo’s arms. This was the happiest Mark Zuckerburg had been in a while.
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The next morning, Mark woke up, feeling refreshed, having slept better than he had in a long while. Blinking away the sleepy blur, he felt his stomach drop slightly when he realized Eduardo was nowhere to be seen. On the ground was a pile of clothing, and baby wipes - obviously Wardo had put them there. Peeling of his boxers, Mark cleaned himself up, slipping into the shorts, shirt, and baggy jersey, the dread knotting up in his stomach.
Clambering out of the treehouse, Mark walked briskly into the house, his clothing comforting him slightly, due to the familiarity of it. Looking around, Wardo was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen, nor the living area - it was likely he was in his room. Sure enough, Mark quietly entered Eduardo’s room, and there he was, sitting on the edge of his bed, staring blankly into space.
Mark cleared his throat, waving awkwardly at his friend. “Hi.” he muttered, forcing a small smile. Perhaps, if he acted as though everything was fine, it would be.
“Hey. You’re up.” Wardo replied, turning to look at Mark, an emotion in his eyes that the curly haired boy couldn’t read.
“Yeah.. Sure am.” Mark nodded, looking around the room, as to appear as though he was doing something constructive.
“Do you want breakfast?” Wardo asked, standing up and going out into the kitchen, Mark following behind him.
“No, I’m good. Do you want to go out and get a coffee, or something?” Mark asked, looking at Eduardo imploringly. This wasn’t looking bright - though, it wasn’t looking completely bleak, either.
“Coffee? Okay. Let’s go.”
The car ride to the nearest Starbucks was silent, though perhaps not as awkward as it could’ve been. The radio was playing at a comfortable volume, the two of them humming quietly to themselves. Mark supposed it could’ve been worse, by far. At least neither of them was crying, or yelling. It was a start.
Pulling up at a spot outside of Starbucks, the two of them walked in, making small talk about the weather and what coffee they were going to get. If one was to see them from an outsiders perspective, it wouldn’t seem as though they were best friends. They ordered and received their coffees, deciding they’d walk to a nearby park and take a seat there.
“Are we going to talk about what happened last night?” Mark asked timidly. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to face the consequences he knew were coming.
“Do we have too?” Wardo asked, looking slightly pained at the thought of it, which was hardly a good sign.
“I guess not. I’m sure going about the rest of our lives as if we never gave each other orgasms will work out perfectly.” Mark replied, keeping his tone neutral, light.
Eduardo shot him a look, running a hand through his hair as they came to the park, sitting down at one of the many benches. “Alright, let’s talk. What it is exactly you want me to say?”
Mark shrugged, looking slightly crestfallen. “Whatever you feel, I guess.”
Wardo sighed, resting his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, Mark. I should never have.. you know, done that with you. It was stupid, and all that heat of the moment stuff.. I’m with Jen. And I’m not gay, you know that.”
Mark nodded, a lump rising in his throat, despite his efforts for that not to happen. “Yeah.. I know that. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking..” the curly haired boy choked out, blinking furiously. There was no way in hell he was going to cry.
“Hey, Mark, don’t get upset. I’m still your best friend.” Wardo put his arm around Mark, in what was probably supposed to be a comforting manner, though it did nothing to console him.
“Okay. Thanks for not making a big deal out of it.” Mark gave him a wan smile, the inside of his chest feeling as though it’d been ripped apart. Pretty much what Eduardo was saying was, ‘It was fun, but it meant nothing’. That was okay. Mark could, and would, find someone else. He’d move on with his life. Wardo could grow up and marry Jen and Mark could grow up and if wanted to marry someone, well he could move to a state that allowed marriage between people of the same sex. It would all work out just fine.