Remark

I Can Clearly See Now

“I saw you scribbling in a notebook before but I didn’t think you’d be actually writing.” I said, teasing him sort of. I always find letters written in notebooks from a guy to be cringey. Marcus doing it might have changed my mind.

“I like writing.”

My eyes widened in surprise. Every day, he just kept surprising me with things I didn’t think he was capable of—writing, for example. I never would have thought a guy like him would do something so… noble.

“I’m taking up Journalism for college.”

Really…

“Not that you’re interested in anything but me.”

I scoffed in disbelief. “Even after doing all that cheesy stuff, you’re still acting like a total player.”

He chuckled. “How did you get your hands on my diary anyway?”

I glanced at the notebook Tyler gave me. “Who else?”

“Tyler, that assho—”

“I also read the poems you made here. They’re pretty good.” I commented and he smiled. “I especially liked the one about sad dandelions. It was really touching.”

“Figures. The poems I made were all for you.”

I froze. I was already lost in his eyes before he stared back at me. I can’t believe I’m still with him despite him lying to my face. “You’re lying.”

He suddenly chuckled. “You’re right. Some of them are for my dead dogs. Also, some were for your stupid Hikuna best friend, childhood, whatever he is.”

I laughed at the way he called Hikaru. “Hikaru. His name is Hikaru.” We both laughed, and fell silent for the first time.

“And I…” He pointed at himself. “Not interested.”

“Why are you so mad at him? He hasn’t done anything wrong to you.” I arched a brow at him as I watched him scowl. “You’re such a girl, Mark. So immature,” I laughed.

“I just don’t like him. That’s enough reason.”

I shook my head.

We both fell silent. I stared at the scene before. I never knew how beautiful it was here, in the field, at night. The rooftop was a great view for mornings, fields are for nights. That, I can vouch for.

The moon was shining bright. It was almost as if it was meant to be that way tonight for the both of us.

“The moon…” Mark suddenly mumbled.

My heart raced as I waited for him to turn to me, and when he did, it only pounded faster. I don’t know if it was coincidence that he was about to say something that would probably make me go crazy, but I was feeling butterflies in my stomach, and he hasn’t even said it yet.

“—is beautiful, isn’t it?”

The moon is beautiful…

I couldn’t contain the butterflies I feel in my stomach. It was like they were growing more with every breath I took. We stared into each other’s eyes like nothing matter but us. “You…” I mumbled, unconscious that I even uttered a word.

He just smiled, waiting for me to say more.

“D-Do you…”

His smile grew wider. “I love you…”

My cheeks burned.

“In Japan, when someone tells you the moon is beautiful means they love you, right?”

I gulped. I didn’t even know how to respond because I was too speechless. My heart was too unstable to comprehend everything he was saying.

“Say something?”

I blinked, looking away awkwardly. “W-Why’d you say it then? If you knew what it actually meant.”

“Because I mean it?”

My eyes darted back to Marcus, catching me off-guard. I need to stay calm. I can’t be weak just yet. It was too early to trust him. “Must be nice to say I love you to anyone you want huh.”

“If you believe I’m still a player, why’d you run here after you read my diary?”

I paused at his question. I didn’t think he still had the brain cells to go through to the night. “Because…” He leaned closer. His eyes sending teasing glares like he knew exactly what I was going to say. “Because…”

“Because?”

“Because I…” I blinked, trying to find an excuse for my actions. “I didn’t want to see a player getting rejected by a peasant like me.”

He scoffed out loud, laughing uncontrollably.

I bowed my head lower in shame. “Stop laughing. I hate you.” I moved away from him so our distance was big. Honestly, I was just trying to hide the fact that I was too embarrassed for myself.

“Seriously. Why are you calling yourself a peasant when I call you princess every day?” He asked, still chuckling despite my attempt to piss him off. “Was it not enough to make you feel royalty? Or even special?”

Trust me, Marcus. You made me feel more than just special.

“Why’d you move so far from me? Are you that embarrassed of being seen with the most liked guy in school?!” He exclaimed as if the whole school would hear him this late at night.

“As a matter of fact, I am! I’m not particularly proud a player like you—” I stopped talking when his face popped in front of me. How did he…

“You’re hurting my feelings, princess.”

I was too shocked by how fast he reached me that I couldn’t say anything. The last time I was this close to his face, I almost lost it. “G-Get away from me,” I mumbled. I was sure I didn’t even say it clear.

He moved closer. “Is this how you treat a boyfriend?”

B-Boyfriend?

“You’re always so cold to me, why is that?”

I finally buttheaded him so he can keep a distance. This time, he fell back and grunts softly.

“You seem to know everything to hurt someone.” He laughed, sitting closer to me. “What else are you hiding in your sleeves, princess? Don't tell me you have a knife tucked somewhere in your dress?"

I chuckled at his statement. "What would I need a knife for?"

"I don't know. You're the violent one here. Care to tell me?"

I let him sit next, close to me. I couldn't forget the way he said about how beautiful the moon was. I didn't want to believe that he was serious, and that he actually meant it. But the way he said it moved my heart. I can't handle more of the way he acted. It was too much for my weak heart. My eyes darted back to the beautiful, big, bright moon.

The moon really is beautiful.

Mark turned to me with a smile.

I crouched a little away in tense. I wasn't sure what his smile meant, and I was scared to figure that out.

"Is that you're way of telling me you love me more?"

I felt my cheeks burn. Did I say that out loud? I was sure I didn't say that out loud. Did I actually? I couldn't even look at him in the eyes because of how flustered I was. "No!" I exclaimed, denial of my feelings. "W-Why would I even love someone who played with my best friend?"

"Why don't you look at me in the eyes and tell me that?"

I froze.

"If you don't feel the same way, why'd you run all the way here with no shoes?"

My heart raced. I hate that he was telling me the exact opposite of everything I was spatting.

"In the first place, it was your fault that this happened."

My brows creased. I did not expect him to point the blame-g*n at me. "Me? You're the one who played with people here, Lee! How dare you tell me it's my fault when you're the one who screwed up?!" I yelled, feeling a bit too emotional.

He laughed. "Did I not tell you not to tell Sophee that I like her?"

My lips parted in realization.

"You think I wouldn't let you tell her about my feelings if I really liked her? You see, princess. You're dumb like you say you are for me calling you princess. I didn't even think you'd actually believe I only persuaded you for Sophee alone. My motive all this time was you, you know."

I gulped. I guess I had a mistake there like he said. "Even so,"

"Even so, what?" He tilted his head, staring at me.

"You shouldn't have made a stupid plan." I crossed my arms, looking away. "You have more responsibilities for this mess up, and you can't tell me otherwise."

He bobbed his head with a small laugh. "Okay, okay. I take full responsibility."

I turned to him, surprised. 

"Now take full responsibility for stealing my heart."

My heart melted. I never knew how powerful Mark’s charms were until now that we were both open to admitting our feelings. "I will never forgive you for playing with Sophee. You do realize that right? You broke her heart." 

"So forgive me for falling for you."

I haven't even processed the 'responsibility' part he said, yet he was giving me another one to internalize. He was too quick to throw statements that could easily make me speechless. 

"Can't you just say you're happy to call me your boyfriend?"

I felt a lump in my throat. How does he do this? Speaking sentences that make hearts weak without even trying. He was naturally a flirt. I can't believe I fell for that. I can't believe I'm sitting here with him, admitting that his tricks worked on me even if it didn't go as well as he planned. "Y-You better not be hiding more secrets from me, Lee, or you’ll never see me again.”

He chuckled. “No more.”

“Well congratulations.” I sarcastically clapped my hands together. “You fooled another poor innocent girl.”

He wheezed out loud. “And I might have lied about not knowing mean, median, and mode. You were just too stupid to believe that I didn't know.”

My eyes twitched in shock.

"Or maybe you knew I knew all along but you liked me so much, you didn't want to pass the chance of spending more time with me." He leaned closer, teasingly wiggling his brows. The confidence he has never fails to annoy me.

"You're absolutely unbelievable."

He smiled, biting his lips. “And the fact that you’re wearing something I bought.”

“Okay. That’s too much.” I raised a hand in the air to stop him from talking, but he kept speaking anyway about things that I wasn't prepared to hear. Like stealing class schedules, and stalking me out of my building, and lying about being with me during vacants that aren't really vacants.

His eyes widened. “What? You said no more secrets.”

“Yeah but—”

“You do crazy things just to be with the person you like, you know.” His eyes diverted back to the moon, leaning back.

I continued staring at his face that majestically glowed with the moon's bright light. "You are a good player, aren’t you? Your strategies are the best." I complimented which made him laugh. "I should start writing novels about you.”

He shrugged. “Playing the cards ain’t the difficult part, princess.” He paused. “It’s how you start the game.”