Mark Waterman: The Sun In All Its Glory (Completed) Alternate Story

Chapter 5: Two Worlds Apart

Mark sprinted down the wing, cut on the inside onto his right foot and curled the ball past his friend, Zane, into the top right corner of the goal. Mark ran off to the corner to celebrate with the rest of his team, when he saw her. Sitting down with her friends, just the next pitch over, talking and laughing and simply hanging out. Mark couldn't help but stop and stare for a minute or two. All of his friends came rushing over to see what was keeping him from the game, and when they looked in the same direction, they understood why. Zane told everybody that they owed him 20 pounds and turned to Mark to say "Mark you have to get over her. She's with Sol. Besides, doesn't she hate you right now. Like she was fed up of talking to you, let alone see you." Mark wondered how everybody knew about it, then figured her best friend Janine probably had something to do with it. Janine despised him.

The doctor came out of surgery to find Luna and Mark's family waiting for news desperately. He told them that the surgery went well but they would have to monitor his progress over the next couple of days, as they were still unsure if he would make it out ok. Mark's mother began to sob opposite Luna and her husband comforted her and told her that Mark would make it out of this, he had complete faith in his son that he would pull through. Luna felt immensely guilty. After all, wasn't it ultimately her fault this had happened. Wasn't she the reason that Mark had been compelled to jump. Luna started to think about all the lives that could be affected by Mark's choice. His family, his friends, his friend's families, and her. Most of all, she thought just how badly this would affect her. She couldn't hold the tears back any longer, no matter how hard she tried. They came flooding back just like they had when she had first heard the news from Paul. She still hadn't heard back from him yet either. Jeremy, Mark's younger brother, saw Luna crying and was very confused. He didn't know this girl, yet she was here, all by herself, her head in her hands. However, Jeremy thought he recognised her from somewhere. Then he remembered. She went to his school and she was in the same year as Mark, plus he had often seen her on Mark's phone as he was walking by him.

It was getting late in the day. Mark and his friends had been playing for over three hours. Harry called out after the last goal had went in, saying that he needed to go home and study. The others all reluctantly agreed with him so they packed up and walked back to the bus stop. Mark was walking back with Zane and Jacob when Paul came out of nowhere and invited the three of them to join him. Zane and Jacob politely declined, but Mark was well up for hanging out more. Then when Paul turned around, he saw the group of friends that he had noticed only a few hours beforehand. It was with this and the fact that Luna looked up and glared at him that he also politely declined. Zane and Jacob had already started walking back as Mark had gone off with Paul initially. Paul refused to let Mark go and asked for the reason he now didn't want to hang out. Mark nodded towards the group and Paul realised that he meant Luna. Paul promised that Luna wouldn't make a big deal out of it if he didn't, so Mark joined Paul on his way back to the group.

Jeremy walked over to Luna. He gently tapped her on the shoulder and said, "excuse me, why are you crying?" Luna replied with "oh somebody I know had a really bad accident so I came to check up on them". Jeremy asked "you mean Mark. You didn't come here to check up on him. I know who you are." Luna realised who she was talking to and wondered why Mark's brother knew who she was. "I don't know your name, but I do know that you come to my school and that you are in the same year as my brother. I also know that he messages you almost every day. Don't ask me how, because I don't trust you not to say anything to him and then he will hate me forever." Luna just glared at him and said, "those conversations were private" and Jeremy carried on, disregarding her comment "what I do know is that my brother really likes you, he opens his phone just to see you and he's most emotional when he talks to you. I know you've been fighting recently but I saw that you guys really used to get along. So basically, I was wondering, if you also really liked my brother, of course that's not likely, cos you know it's him, and if you guys were like a thing."