Eleven Minutes to Takeoff

•••

Before anything else happens, I have to come clean about something - the world is a lot brighter when you have someone to share it with.

I spent way too many, like an embarrassing amount, of hours just thinking about Mark. Sometimes I almost felt like I had a bigger crush on him now that we were going out than I did ever before. I'd lay awake, thinking of him. I'd daydream in class, about him. I'd save the day, and the first person I went to for validation was him.

Don't get me wrong - I valued all of my other friends just as much as I had before. I made sure to never make William or Eve feel rejected, and I still spent time with my dad as much as possible. But Mark was always my first thought.

I felt pretty silly, but the more I tried to lie to myself the worse it seemed to get.

Each date we went on was a new wonder. Going to the mall, grabbing coffee, seeing Rome, doing homework together, going to Disney World, taking down small time villains. Even though Mark could honestly show me the world, it didn't matter where we were. I loved his company no matter what.

Which is why it came as a big shock when, after I had Mark pinned below me on my bed with our lips intertwined, he pulled away to tell me, "I'm going to Mars tomorrow."

I blinked, pushing myself up. "Woah, woah, woah. Mars?"

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly, his fingers rubbing up and down my waist. "I was going to tell you sooner, but it kinda... slipped my mind. You really have that affect on me, you know."

"...Yet you remembered it while you were kissing me?"

"You're a lot less overwhelming when I can't see you. I mean, I think better when you're not with me. I mean, oh, shit," Mark nervously fumbled over his words. A light pink blush blossomed across his face. "I mean I think you're really, really pretty. Like, 'forget where I am' pretty."

I giggled, both at his awkwardness and the compliment. "I got you. You're not so bad yourself," I replied. "What's happening up on Mars?"

Mark began to shift himself up into a seated position while I leaned back so I was sitting on my feet. He sighed, fixing his messy hair and misadjusted shirt while he thought about what he was going to say. Already I felt cold, not feeling his chest against mine.

"Have you heard about the shuttle?" Mark asked, running a hand through his black hair. I nodded. It was just about the only thing anyone was talking about right now. "They need someone to come along and make sure everything is going smoothly. Since my dad is needed on Earth... they want me."

"How long will you be gone?" I asked, leaning forward to gently place a hand on his leg.

"At least a few days. Maybe a couple weeks."

"A couple weeks," I whistled. "That's a pretty nice trip."

"Yeah. I'll take lots of pictures, and I'll message you if I can," Mark stated. "I'll miss you a whole lot."

"I'll miss you, too," I stated, my eyes softening. "I'm really proud of you - that's kinda super awesome."

"Thank you. I'm hoping it'll be an easy mission."

"Me too. Bring me back a rock or something?"

"Anything you want." Mark flashed me an award winning smile.

"Awesome," I said. "To be honest, I kind of wish you'd have let me know sooner so I could make better use of our time."

"I would've told you, but I only heard about it last night," Mark stated. "You've got me right here, right now though. I haven't left yet."

I bit my lip, trying to fight the cheeky smile crossing my lips. "You're right. I'm just not sure what I want to do about that."

"Oh yeah?" Mark asked, his expression mirroring mine. "I think I know what I want to do."

"And what would that be?" I asked, a vixen-like smirk forming on my lips.

"I really want to see you underneath me," Mark stated, leaning forward to trap me beneath him. I shifted into a more comfortable position, my legs mingled with his and my arms wrapped around his neck.

I blushed involuntarily, his forwardness giving me butterflies. "You know, as much as I like to see you flustered, you're incredibly hot when you take the lead."

"Thank you," Mark said, his hair falling over his face from above me. "I feel the same."

"So... are you gonna indulge in your desires, or are you gonna keep me waiting?"

Mark wasted no time closing the distance, gently cupping my face. I wrapped my legs around him, keeping him locked in place. For as much as we liked to talk, the kiss was gentle and loving.

I ran a hand through his hair, my fingers catching on his dark locks as his lips moved in tandem with mine. I put all of my emotions into that kiss - how much I was going to miss him, how I was annoyed I didn't know sooner, how lucky I was.

I didn't want to let go.

His hands lit up my senses when they weren't being used for support, rubbing along my face and shoulders. His touch made me tingle, deepening the kiss even further. I tried to pull him as close to me as I could.

The thousand miles to Mars were too far for comfort. So I made sure to get rid of any centimeters between us, feeling every bit of his warmth against me.

"You are spectacular," Mark breathed into my lips, bringing a smile to mine.

"Thank you," I replied, pulling away for a moment to look him in the eyes. "You're Invincible."

"That is... absolutely correct," he replied, shaking his head at me playfully. "I've never heard that before."

"I'm just playing. Can you kiss me again?"

"Your wish is my command."

William, Eve, and I sat in my living room. The launch was on TV, t-minus eleven minutes until blast off. Mark had already said his final goodbyes that morning, stopping by my house to drop off some flowers and a kiss.

Now, the flowers sat in a vase in the middle of the coffee table, right next to William's feet. He had relaxed into the couch, resting his legs on the little table in front of him. Eve sat next to him, leaning on her knees, and I stood in the fridge.

"Water, anyone?" I asked, grabbing a plastic bottle. I peeked out, seeing William's raised hand.

I grabbed a second bottle and floated over to the couch, handing it off to William. Immediately, before I could even sit down, he cracked it open and began to chug.

"Thank you," he said. "Hits the spot."

"No problem," I replied, the old couch creaking underneath me. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited."

Trying to play 'spot Mark' as a singular pixel on the screen was going to be a highlight of the night.

"Me too," William replied, taking another chug of the water. "I'm sad Mark couldn't be here - he would've loved this."

I nodded, our running lie being that Mark was away on a service trip. The story was that his parents had encouraged him to get some experience before applying to colleges, and he had made a split-second decision to go. He wouldn't be back for roughly a week, give or take.

"Hopefully he can see videos online," I remarked. "Maybe someone will upload one from the space station and he can see it up close."

'See it up close.' I felt like I was having a little inside joke.

"Someone should stick a go-pro to it," William suggested, his eyes lighting up. "Then we could see what the ship sees."

"I feel like the camera quality wouldn't be very good. It would move too fast to see much of anything," Eve argued.

"Did the go-pro tell you that?" William bickered.

"It's a hand-held camera, it can only do so much."

"Hey, can you pause it? I think I had a little too much water," William asked, quickly standing up and setting down his now-empty water.

"It's live!" I stated, wishing William had waited a few more minutes to down all the water he had drank since he got here. "We'll miss it real time. Just go fast!"

William shot me an annoyed look, but hustled his way to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. It rattled the pictures on the walls, dramatizing his reaction.

"I wish his super power was having a bigger bladder," I joked, turning to Eve. She smiled softly.

Eve looked pretty casual that day. Her hair was up in a loose bun and she had swapped out her usual jeans for a pair of sweatpants. She was without makeup, too, although she looked gorgeous regardless.

"Does he really still have no idea?" Eve asked, slightly surprised. "His closest friends, and their friends, are basically all supers."

I shrugged, choosing my words carefully. "I think when you don't think someone is something, you find every piece of evidence to convince yourself they're not. He has no reason to suspect any of us, really, so in his head we're normal."

I was really talking about myself, about Mark, but it applied pretty well to William, too. He had known Mark forever, and he'd been normal since he knew me. Only now did he have powers, and so why would he think his best friend suddenly became a hero?

And I'd always been Affinity, and William never knew. So why would he think anything different? I've acted the same since we knew each other.

Same thing with Mark. I'd just never considered him to be Invincible. I thought there was no way, since I subconsciously liked both of them. The more I think about it, the more obvious it was, but you could have given me any amount of evidence and until I had seen it with my eyes, I probably would have found some way to write it off.

It was just simpler to believe otherwise.

"I guess so," Eve replied with a thoughtful nod. "I'm almost surprised Mark hasn't told him. Or you."

"I would, I'm just... I feel like it's been so long, I don't want him to think of me any differently," I replied, wrapping my arms around myself. "I just want to be... (Y/N). The person he knows."

"But Affinity is part of you, too, isn't she?"

"Well, yeah. But that's the thing - I don't want him to know that I'm only half of me. Does that make any sense?" I tried to explain, gazing up at the ceiling as if it might give me any answers. "I want him to know all of me, but he can't."

"I get that," Eve replied. "Yeah, I get that. It must be nice, what you have with Mark."

I couldn't tell if I heard a tinge of jealousy in her voice, or if I just imagined it. "Yeah. I think I really like him. I like talking to him, being with him. He understands me, and he knows how to comfort me deeper than almost anyone else."

Eve nodded, groaning. "I forgot how hard it was to date someone who isn't a super. With Rex it was like... we could relate to every part of our lives. We knew everything about each other."

I bit my lip, contemplating my next words.

"Do you miss him?"

"Rex?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes," Eve admitted. "I don't want to, obviously, but it's hard not to. We dated for so long, and sure he was an ass, but he was my ass. I still can't believe him. I'll be good on my own - better, even - but sometimes I can't stop thinking."

"Yeah, that sucks ass," I replied, my face sour. "He's shitty, and he doesn't even deserve you. I'm here, you know. No matter what."

"Thank you," Eve replied. She held a steel face, although her eyes looked heavy. "You should really seal the deal with Mark. I think he really likes you, and I can tell he makes you happy."

"Like... ask him to be my boyfriend?"

"Yeah. He might be a brave hero, but I have a feeling he's not so brave when it comes to girls. If he doesn't, just remember you can."

I nodded, considering. I would be lying to say the thought hadn't crossed my mind. Before I could say anything else, William burst out of the bathroom and down the hall, almost tripping over himself to get back to the couch.

"Did I miss it?" he exclaimed, his eyes wild. "How much time until it starts?"

"Eight seconds," I stated, checking the timer in the bottom corner of the TV. William pumped the air, thrilled to have made a record time bathroom break.

Seven.

Six.

I wasn't sure, but I'm my peripheral it looked like William might have been biting his nails.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Right around this mark, I could've sworn I saw a little yellow piece of the sky. It could've been a trick of light, or my eyes seeing what I wanted to see, but I chose to pretend it was Invincible. Silently, I wished him a safe trip.

Two.

One.

The ship blasted off, William, Eve and I cheering from our seats. In its wake it left a spectacular orange glow, the thrust kicking in to propel the massive machine out of our atmosphere. One big leap for man kind, that's for sure.

A trip to Mars. I couldn't wait to hear all about it.