Chapter 50 : Date (1)
"Are you angry because I didn’t tell you I was a supe, or because you found out from television instead of hearing it from me?" Mark asked.
Figuring out why a woman was angry was difficult enough. Figuring out which specific reason felt almost impossible.
"Both," Annie answered immediately.
Mark winced. "Fair enough. I was actually planning to tell you today, but the plane situation forced my hand a little earlier than expected."
Annie let out a sigh. Still annoyed, but hearing that made it harder to stay genuinely angry. The timing had clearly been terrible for both of them.
Rather than continue standing in the middle of the mall discussing it, Mark suggested a change of scenery.
"Why don’t we grab something to eat while we talk? I heard there’s a restaurant here doing a special menu for couples."
Annie raised an eyebrow. Before she could comment, Mark casually took her hand and started leading her toward it.
A few minutes later they were seated in one of the booth sections. The place was nice — relaxed atmosphere, comfortable lighting, and unlike most places Vought dragged heroes to, it actually felt normal.
Then Mark opened the menu and his approval immediately took a hit. The prices were high enough to make him wonder whether the chef personally hunted every ingredient.
Fortunately he had planned ahead. After spending time around Butcher’s crew, acquiring a fake credit card had turned out to be surprisingly easy. Not exactly legal, but neither was most of what the Boys did on a weekly basis.
Across from him, Annie was still looking through the menu when a waitress approached.
She looked around university age and carried herself like someone working part-time between classes. The moment she recognized them, all professionalism vanished.
"Oh my God. You’re Starlight... and you’re the new hero who saved that plane." Her excitement grew with every word. "I’m a huge fan of both of you."
Mark and Annie exchanged a glance. Their attempt at a normal date had lasted less than five minutes.
The waitress looked between them. A couples restaurant, close in age, neither of them uncomfortable around the other.
Unable to contain her curiosity, she leaned forward slightly. "So... are you two a couple?"
Annie looked caught off guard. Mark didn’t miss a beat.
"Can you keep a secret?"
The waitress immediately nodded. "Of course." A second later her eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean yes?"
Before either of them could answer, she pulled out her phone. "Can I get a selfie with you two?"
Mark glanced at Annie. Annie rolled her eyes but nodded. A minute later the waitress had collected several selfies and looked like she’d won the lottery.
"Thank you so much." She enthusiastically rearranged their seating before hurrying away with a satisfied smile.
Several seconds passed. Neither of them needed to say it out loud — she had been so excited she’d completely forgotten to take their order.
"Students that age are always excited about gossip," Mark said.
Annie smiled in agreement before glancing at him. "You seemed pretty comfortable when she assumed we were a couple."
"That’s a strange accusation coming from someone who didn’t correct her either."
"I was waiting to see how you’d respond."
"And I was waiting to see how you’d respond."
"That’s not an answer."
"Neither is yours."
They looked at each other for a moment before Annie shook her head in amusement. "Why don’t we go somewhere else before another person recognizes us?"
"Agreed. Dealing with fans is surprisingly exhausting."
They ended up leaving and making their way to the arcade section of the mall. After wandering through several games they found themselves at a bowling lane.
Annie picked up a bowling ball and rolled it down the lane. Several pins fell immediately. Mark nodded. "Not bad."
"Not bad?"
"Okay, that was pretty good."
Annie looked satisfied with that. While the lane reset she glanced toward him. "So what are your plans now?"
Mark picked up a ball and weighed it in his hand. "Nothing special. I was planning on living a normal life." He rolled it. The result was considerably less impressive than Annie’s attempt, several pins remaining standing.
"A normal life?" she asked. "Even after everything that’s happened?"
"Probably not." There wasn’t much hesitation in his answer. "I’m pretty sure The Seven are already trying to find me."
Annie folded her arms. "You’re not wrong."
"That sounded very confident."
"Because I know they are. A guy appears out of nowhere, saves a passenger jet, becomes famous overnight, and publicly makes Vought look slow. They’re going to be interested."
Mark sighed. "Great."
Annie laughed softly. "Most people would be thrilled to have The Seven interested in them."
"Most people haven’t met The Seven."
That earned another laugh. For a moment neither of them spoke, standing beside each other watching the lane reset while the noise of the arcade continued around them.
Eventually Annie looked at him. "Your life is probably never going back to normal."
Mark considered that before nodding. "Yeah. I’ve figured that out."
"Does that bother you?"
"A little." He looked over at her. "Although spending time with you has made the whole thing considerably less annoying."
Annie’s expression softened slightly. "That’s probably the closest thing to a compliment you’ve given me all day."
"Probably because it’s true."
The corner of her mouth lifted. "Careful. Keep saying things like that and I might start thinking you’re charming."
"I thought that happened already."
Annie rolled her eyes and picked up another bowling ball. Mark grinned as he followed her toward the lane, neither of them in any hurry to leave.
*****
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