Chapter 51 : Date (2)
Annie watched her bowling ball knock down the last few pins before turning back toward Mark.
Something had been bothering her for a while — specifically, the dark sunglasses he was still wearing indoors. They looked completely opaque, and she had no idea how he wasn’t walking into walls.
"Can you even see anything with those things on?"
Mark looked up from the bowling ball in his hands, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Why don’t you find out for yourself?"
Before Annie could ask what he meant, he stepped forward and gently placed the sunglasses over her eyes.
The arcade vanished. A solid wall of black swallowed everything.
"What the hell?" Annie turned toward where she thought Mark was standing and walked straight into him. She grabbed his arm to steady herself while pulling the glasses off with her other hand.
Color, lights, sounds, and people rushed back into existence.
Annie stared down at the sunglasses. "Why is it so dark?"
Mark took them back and slipped them on. "They’re supposed to be."
"Then how are you seeing anything?"
"I can see perfectly fine."
Her gaze moved from the glasses to his face and back again. Several possibilities came to mind immediately, and not one of them made her comfortable. Slowly, Annie folded her arms and took a cautious step backward.
Mark noticed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You can see through those." Her eyes narrowed. "So what exactly are you seeing through?"
Mark blinked. Then realization hit him. "Oh." He looked genuinely offended. "No. I cannot see through people’s clothes."
The tension left Annie’s shoulders immediately. "Good."
Mark rubbed the side of his face. "I can’t believe that’s where your mind went."
"Sorry. Lately I’ve been surrounded by some pretty bad influences."
***
As they continued through the mall, they rounded a corner and came across a clothing store hosting a superhero-themed event. Several costume displays had been set up near the entrance, with children and teenagers trying on replica outfits and taking pictures.
Mark’s attention immediately landed on a familiar white-and-gold costume. A little girl was proudly wearing a Starlight outfit while posing for a picture. Nearby, two teenagers were comparing capes and arguing about which version looked more accurate.
Mark looked at the display. Then he looked at Annie. A grin appeared on his face.
"Hehehe."
Annie didn’t even need to ask. "Don’t." She jabbed him lightly in the side.
"I’m just saying — there are a bunch of Starlights over there, and none of them have any idea the real one is standing ten feet away."
Annie followed his gaze. The little girl was now enthusiastically explaining something to her parents while striking what she clearly believed was a heroic pose. A smile tugged at Annie’s lips despite herself.
Mark caught it immediately. "There it is."
"Don’t start."
"I’m not starting anything." His grin stayed firmly in place. "I’m just watching a celebrity admire her own merchandise."
Annie rolled her eyes but kept watching. Nobody was asking for autographs or filming for social media. Nobody was trying to impress Vought executives.
They were just having fun. Long before the interviews and sponsorship deals, she had wanted to be the kind of hero people could look up to. Seeing that little girl in the costume reminded her of that.
Mark noticed her expression soften. "That’s your favorite part of all this, isn’t it. The people."
Annie looked back at the crowd. After a moment she nodded. "Yeah. Probably."
A moment later, both of them spotted another participant. A grown man wearing a Deep costume — the outfit stretched tightly over a considerable belly, a fake beard sticking out beneath it in a way that somehow made the entire sight even more unfortunate.
The man threw his arms wide and puffed out his chest. "Behold! I am The Deep, ruler of the seven seas!"
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
The man struck another pose. Somehow that made everything worse.
Mark slowly turned toward Annie. "Do you feel a sudden, completely unreasonable urge to go over there and punch that guy?"
Annie continued staring. Under normal circumstances she would have felt bad for judging an innocent fan.
The problem was that recent interactions with the actual Deep had thoroughly exhausted her patience, and watching someone enthusiastically imitate him was not helping.
"A little," she admitted.
"A little?"
"Okay. More than a little."
Mark nodded. "Good. I was worried I was being unreasonable."
"You are being unreasonable."
"And yet?"
The fake Deep pointed toward a group of children and launched into a speech about being the greatest hero in the ocean. Annie’s expression flattened completely.
"And yet I completely understand."
"So, should we leave before we commit a crime?" Mark asked. He was genuinely starting to find the sight of that guy offensive.
Annie didn’t answer. She simply grabbed his arm and dragged him away before either of them did something stupid.
Mark let himself be pulled along through the mall.
"So where are we going?" he asked.
"I know a good restaurant," Annie said.
The place was technically a restaurant, but most of the building was a hotel.
*****
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