The very next day, after school had ended and you had just gotten home, your phone rang. Upon hearing it ring, you pulled it out of your pocket and saw that the director, who had insisted that everyone should be on a first name basis with her for some reason, was calling you. While she had requested everyone to exchange phone numbers with her, you didn't expect her to actually call you.

Nonetheless, you answered your phone as walked into your room and closed the door behind you.
"(Y/N)! Thank goodness you answered!" The director, whose name was Theresa, let out a sigh of relief before you even got the chance to greet her. "There's something that I would like to talk to you about."
"What is it?" You couldn't help but feel a little bit worried. Was she going to talk to you about the auditions? Her decision about who was going to play what part wasn't supposed to be posted until tomorrow, so you weren't sure why you were speculating that that was the reason why she had called you.
"I wanted to talk to you about your friend." The tone that Theresa was using made it seem like she was smiling as he spoke. "It was really nice for him to come out and support you yesterday. No one else that was there yesterday had someone that took the time to go and support them through their audition, and they were all just as, if not, more, nervous as you were. In all of the years that I've been directing musicals and plays, very few people have gone out and supported someone that was auditioning, whether that'd be because of lack of time, because they simply didn't want to, or because of whatever reason they may have."
"Yeah, it was really nice to have Mark there." You smiled as you remembered how he had stood up with everyone else and clapped for you once you had finished your audition. While it felt good to have all of these people who either knew very little or not at all love your performance, it felt absolutely amazing to have Mark love it. In fact, you found yourself blushing as you thought about how proud he had looked while he had stood and clapped for you. It was as if he was just as proud to call you his best friend as you were proud to call him your best friend.
"Oh, his name's Mark, huh?" Theresa asked, still using the tone she had used while talking about she thought it was nice that Mark had sat in the auditorium and watched you audition. "What a nice name for a seemingly nice boy."
"Yeah, he's nice." You found yourself smiling like an idiot as you continued to talk about Mark. "He's one of the nicest people that I've ever met."
"That's lovely." You honestly couldn't believe how nice Theresa was. You had only just met her yesterday, but in the one day that you've known her, she's given you more guidance and expressed more care to you than your parents ever did in sixteen years. "He's not much of a talker though. I take it that he's very shy?"
"I suppose you could say that." You didn't think that "shy" was the right word for Mark anymore. While it was true that he never once uttered a single word since he was mute, he had grown quite a lot since the day you had first met him. On that day, you had met a boy that had a lot of pent up sadness, a boy that shoved people away because he was afraid of getting hurt again, and a boy that had almost given up on himself. Now, however, this same boy had changed so much since that fateful day, and you were so proud of him for all of the good changes that he had undergone in the almost year timespan that you've known him for.
"You don't seem to think that I described him correctly." It was almost as if Theresa had read your thoughts, and you were both amazed and freaked out at the same time. "You've known him for much longer than I have. What word would you use to describe Mark?"
You opened your mouth to reply, but almost immediately closed it when you realized that you really had to think about how you wanted to answer this question. While it was true that Mark was nice, he was also a wonderful friend as well. But, then again, he was also very talented and expressive as well. To you, Mark Fischbach was so many things that you found it difficult to sum him up in one word because you felt like you couldn't. You felt like you couldn't talk about how kind Mark was without talking about how good of a friend he was and you felt like you couldn't talk about how talented he was without talking about how, despite the fact that he was mute, well he could express himself. Mark Fischbach was so complex in so many wonderful and amazing ways that it was almost beautiful.
Beautiful.
No, not quite.
Pretty.
Yes, definitely that.

"Pretty." It felt like a thousand years had passed before you finally answered Theresa's question. "I would describe him as being pretty."
"Pretty?" Much to your surprise, Theresa didn't seem to be judgemental about your chosen adjective. "I wasn't expecting that. What makes you describe him as being pretty?"
"Well, he has a really amazing personality." You explained. "While he is far from perfect just like all of us, his imperfections are still beautiful. Everything about him is just... beautiful. That's really the only word that I see fit to describe him now that I've thought about it. Other people might not agree with me, but that's okay. And do you know why it's okay?" You didn't bother waiting for an answer to your question. "It's okay because beauty is selective. For example, if you placed a painting into a room and asked two people what their opinion was on it, one person might say that the painting is absolutely stunning while the other person might say that it's one of the ugliest things they've ever seen. Beauty is something that is perceived and defined differently from person to person. But, despite that, we ourselves must remember that no matter what anyone else thinks, we are beautiful, unique, and can never be replaced. We must also remember that perfection can never be achieved and that that is okay because without mistakes, there is no way to improve." You sighed as you stopped yourself from rambling on. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I think Mark is pretty personality-wise and that I don't care if someone disagrees because, like I said before, beauty is selective."
Plus, he's not bad appearance-wise either...

It took a couple of moments before Theresa finally responded and you were beyond relieved that she did because you thought that she was thinking that you were out of your mind.
"(Y/N), I very much look forward to working with you." Theresa simply said, but she seemed genuine with her statement.
"Wait, does this mean-?"
"(Y/N), I knew from the moment that you finished your audition that you had to be Cinderella."
Your eyes widened as you covered your mouth and became unable to speak. You couldn't believe what you were hearing. You, a high school senior with no prior theater experience, had just gotten the main role of the school musical, and your mind was having quite a lot of trouble processing that fact.
"You're being completely serious, right?" You asked, your voice slightly muffled since you had a hand over your mouth because you were in quite a lot of disbelief at the moment.
"Well, yeah, of course I am." Theresa laughed slightly. "I don't joke about things like this. If you decide to pursue theater out in the real world, they're not going to sugar coat things, so I'm not going to either. That's why I'm going to tell you right now that there are still things that we're going to have to work on over the course of the school year. Even though you got the main role, that doesn't mean that you don't have things to improve on. For example, we'll have to work on your singing voice because while it is very lovely, I know some techniques that will make it even better."
"In that case, I look forward to working with you too." You were smiling so much that your face hurt, but you honestly couldn't care less at this very moment. "I think it's going to be very fun."
"Good. I'm glad to hear that." You could tell by the tone of her voice that Theresa was smiling softly. She paused for a couple of moments before she spoke again. "Anyway, I got way too sidetracked. There's something else that I wanted to talk about other than the fact that I'm giving you the main role."
"What is it?" You asked, genuinely curious.
"I still want to talk about your friend, Mark." Theresa replied.
"Why?" You asked, now feeling a bit confused.
"I wanted to see if he would be interested in having a role in the musical." She explained. "I don't know what it is about him, but there's something about him that interests me and makes me see real potential in him. I think he can really shine if he gives the musical a chance."
"I don't know if that's something that would interest him or not." You were honestly surprised that she had brought something like this up at all. "I mean, he's mute, after all."
"Is he really?" Theresa asked, sounding like she had never heard of anyone being mute before. "If you don't mind me asking, why is he mute? If you even know why he is, of course."
"He chooses to be." You explained. "He's only been mute for only just over a year or so though."
"Interesting." Theresa remarked. You could tell by the tone of her voice that she was brainstorming something. "I'll keep that in mind because I feel like I could work with that. If he agrees to take part in the musical, of course."
"I don't know if he will, but I'll definitely ask him." You were honestly almost dead certain that Mark wouldn't agree to taking part in the musical, but you didn't say this out loud.
"I would really appreciate that." Theresa remarked. She paused for a moment before she added, "Well, I've kept this call going for long enough now. I'm sure that you're very busy, so I'm going to let you go now."
"Okay." You replied, relieved that she was finally done talking because, even though you had taking a liking to her, you were slowly starting to grow tired of talking to her. "I'll talk to Mark about the musical and text you what he says."
"Sounds good to me." Theresa said. "See you soon, (Y/N)."
"See you soon." You proceeded to hang up much faster than you were willing to admit, but fast enough to possibly make Theresa figure out that while you had enjoyed talking to her at first, you had grown bored by the time the conversation ended.

Nonetheless, you laid down on your bed and began texting Mark, hoping that he wasn't busy because you genuinely wanted to talk to him, and not just because you wanted to ask him whether or not he wanted to get involved in the musical.
Hey, there's something that I want to ask you.
Thankfully, Mark responded to your text relatively quickly.
Okay, but can you make it quick please? I'm going to see my dad for the first time in quite a while.
Yeah, it'll be quick. You assured him. How's your dad been doing?
From what I've heard from my brother, he's slowly getting better.
That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!
Thanks. Mark added a smiley face after the text. My brother also said if my dad continues getting better at the rate he's at right now, he'll more than likely be able to attend our graduation!
That's also amazing! You had only just now realized that a smile had formed on your face while you were texting him. It looks like things are starting to turn around for the both of us.
Yeah, it really does. Mark agreed. I'm honestly really happy about that.
Me too. Your smile grew as you typed. But I'm just happy that you're happy. I'd much rather have you be happy than be happy myself.
No, your happiness comes first. Mark protested. That's always been the case. Well, for me, at least.
Okay, whatever you say. You didn't really feel like arguing with him, but that was mostly because you didn't want to keep him from seeing his dad any longer than you had to. Anyway, let's get back to the question that I wanted to ask you.
Go ahead.
You proceeded to explain to him how Theresa had called you and told you that she had expressed interest in him joining the musical. You decided against telling him that you had gotten the role of Cinderella since you wanted to surprise him when the casting list was posted in the next couple of days.
Me? Why though? I just stood there and watched everybody.
I don't know. She didn't say why. I told her about you and she told me to ask you if you were interested in taking part in the musical.
What would I even do though? I'm mute, so I can't exactly do a speaking part.
She didn't specify. She just told me to ask you if you were interested.
Well, as long as I don't have to do any talking, then yeah, I'd be interested to see how she incorporates a mute guy into a musical.
Okay, I'll let her know. Now that Mark had mentioned it, you were also curious to see how Theresa was going to fit a mute person into a musical, especially since Cinderella didn't have any roles for mute characters. I'll let you go and see your dad now. Let me know how it goes.
I will. Mark promised. See you tomorrow.
See you tomorrow.

*****

"Who were you talking to in there?" Troy asked you when Mary, who, again, basically lived with you and Troy, called you down for dinner. "You were on the phone for a long time."
"No one special really." You shrugged it off like it was no big deal, even though it was, in fact, a very big deal. Like with Mark, you wanted to keep the fact you had gotten the lead role in the musical a secret, especially since Troy and Mary had no idea that you had even auditioned for it.
"You're lying." Troy's reply didn't come as a surprise to you since he was good at picking up when you were lying and vice versa.
"Fine, yeah, I am lying." You really didn't feel like arguing with him, especially since you knew that he was relentless whenever people lied to him. It was very rare for him to give up on forcing someone to admit that they had lied to him. "But I'm going to tell you who I was talking to. You'll just have to find out in a couple of days."
"What the hell do you have planned?" A confused look formed on Troy's face as he raised his eyebrow.
"You'll see." You replied as a small smirk on your face and as you started eating your food. Your eyes almost immediately widened when you tasted. Looking over at Mary, who had just sat down at the table, you said, "Holy shit, I had no idea that you could cook."
"I told you." Troy looked over at Mary as well, also having a small smirk on his face. "You didn't want to believe me, but even (Y/N) says that you're good at cooking."
"I still don't think that I'm very good." Mary smiled back at Troy and began blushing as she also started eating her food.
"Yeah, well, I think you are." Troy's smile widened as he continued to look over at Mary. "I almost think that you should reconsider your career choice."
"What do you plan on doing after high school, Mary?" You asked, genuinely curious since you honestly had no idea what kind of things she would be interested in.
"It's a surprise." She replied as she reached over and grabbed ahold of Troy's hand. "You'll just have to wait until after graduation and see."
"Well, in that case, I look forward to finding out." You gave the two of them a smile, even though you had already figured out that Mary's career choice and plans after graduation somehow and some way involved Troy.
"Do you have any guesses?" Troy asked, which only convinced you more that he was involved in Mary's plan.
You gave the question a few moments of thought before you replied, "No, I don't. I really don't."
"Really?" Troy asked, surprised by your response. "I thought for sure that you would've had at least one guess."
"Nope." You shook your head. "I honestly have no idea what Mary would be interested pursuing a career in."
"You'll be pleasantly surprised when you find out then." Mary replied as she smiled softly. "Well, I think so, at least."
"We'll see." You shrugged slightly as you resumed eating your food.

*****

After school the next day, Theresa texted you saying that she wanted you and Mark to meet her in the auditorium so that she could discuss some things with the two of you. You, of course, agreed to do so and once the school day was over, you began heading down to the auditorium with Mark, who was, as always, walking right by your side.
What do you think she's going to talk about?
"Probably about how you're going to get involved with this musical." You guessed as you stuck your hands into your pocket and shrugged.
Yeah, you're probably right. Mark agreed as he reached up and ran his thumb over one of the flowers of his flower crown. I'm honestly really nervous.
"Don't be." You reached over and put your hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "I told her that you would only do it if you didn't have to talk and she told me that that was fine with her, so you don't have to worry about having a speaking part at all."
Thank God. Mark's face sunk in relief. I was really worried about that.
"There's nothing to worry about." You continued to reassure him. "I promise. Everything's going to be okay."

*****

"Hi guys!" Theresa greeted you and Mark with a bright smile as the two of you entered the auditorium. "I'm so glad that you're here. There's something that we need to talk about."
"What is it?" You asked, even though you had a pretty good idea of what she was going to talk about.
"It's the idea that I have on how to incorporate Mark into the musical." Theresa remarked, seeming like she was almost a bit too excited about the idea that she had. "It might be a quite a stretch, but I feel like it'll be amazing if we can manage to pull this off."
"Okay, well, what's your idea then?" You asked, your curiosity piqued.
Theresa's bright smile somehow managed to become even bigger as she replied, "My idea is to cast Mark as Prince Charming!"
"What?" Your eyes widened and your mouth dropped wide open when you heard this. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see that Mark's eyes had widened as well.
"Calm down and hear me out." Theresa didn't seem to be surprised by the reactions she had received from you and Mark. "The other part of my idea to cast Mark as Prince Charming is to rewrite the entire musical so that we can incorporate the fact that he's mute into it so that it can have a very unique twist that's never been seen before. What do you guys think?"
"I like that idea." You smiled as you nodded in approval. You then glanced over at Mark and asked, "What about you, Mark? What do you think about all of this?"
I think it'll be fun. Mark replied as he smiled back at you.
You nodded before you looked back at Theresa and said, "We're in."
"Wonderful!" Theresa cheered as she proceeded you to hand you what appeared to be a script for the musical. "Now, this might be too much to ask, but would it possible for you two to rewrite the script so that Prince Charming is a mute or to find someone who can either do it for you or help you? I may be a director, but I'm not a playwright by any means."
"Oh, um, I'm sure we can work something out." You were shocked that she was actually entrusting you to rewrite an entire script, especially since you also weren't a playwright, nor have you ever even attempted to do any sort of writing that wasn't required for school. "When would you like this to be done?"
"Well, I understand that writing is a very lengthy process, but at the same time, we need all the time that we can get to learn and practice this musical, especially since this is going to be our own version of it." Theresa replied. "So, because of that, I'm going to say that I would like for you guys to have it done and ready for me in two weeks."
"Two weeks?!" You couldn't believe that she was giving you so little time, especially since you had zero idea how you were going to manage to rewrite a script that was to her liking.
That'll work perfectly. Unlike you, Mark didn't seem fazed by the deadline and even seemed confident that the two of you would be able to find a way to rewrite a musical in just two weeks.
"Great! I can't wait to see what you two come up with!" Theresa gave both you and Mark before she turned around. Right before she walked away, she added, "Well, I'll let you two get right to it. I would wish you luck, but I know that you won't need it."

*****

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" You asked Mark as you both began walking out to the parking lot. "We can't rewrite an entire musical in two weeks! I don't have any writing experience outside of school assignments and as far as I know, you don't either."
Yeah, but didn't you hear what she said? Mark didn't bother waiting for your response and instead answered his own question. She said that we could find someone else to do it, and that's exactly what we're going to do.
"I don't know anyone who has an interest in writing plays, let alone someone who's actually good at it!" You exclaimed, wishing that Mark expressed even a little bit of concern about this matter. "Besides, even if we find someone to do it, they more than likely won't do it for free."
We can pay them. Mark shrugged, still acting like none of this was a big deal. You really need to stop worrying so much about all of this. Everything's going to be fine.
"I sure hope you're right." You sighed as you glanced down at the script, wishing that doing so would just magically turn into the work of art Theresa expected it to be in two weeks' time.
You should take that home with you and see if you suddenly get some inspiration. Mark suggested as he pointed at the script. You never know. Inspiration comes to you at the strangest moments sometimes, trust me.
You stared at the script for a couple more moments before you looked up from it and shrugged your shoulders. "Yeah, okay, I'll do that. There's no harm in doing it, so I might as well."
Exactly. A soft smile formed on Mark's face as he walked up to his car. I'll see you tomorrow, (Y/N).
"See you tomorrow, Mark." You replied as you walked up to your car as well and gave him a goodbye wave.

*****

"Hey." Troy greeted you almost as soon as you walked in the door. "What's up?"
"Nothing much." You sighed as you closed the door behind you and placed your backpack down on the ground. "Nothing much at all."
"What's that giant ass packet you have in your hand?" Troy asked, pointing at the script you were holding.
"Oh, um..." You trailed off, debating on whether or not you should tell him about that you were going to be in a musical and that you had gotten the lead role. After just a moment of thinking, you decided that you were going to participate, but not the role you had gotten. "It's a script for the musical that we're doing this year."
"You're going to be in the musical?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrow. "You don't strike me as the type to be interested in that kind of thing. But, then again, people are very surprised when they find out that I used to be a theater junkie."
"Wait, what?" You replied, raising your eyebrow as well. "You used to be into theater?"
"(Y/N), I was practically born into theater." Troy said like it was basic knowledge about him. "My dad was an actor for a while, but he never really made it that far. He just made it far enough to where he could make a pretty decent living. Meanwhile, my mom was a play and musical director, and oh my God she fucking loved it. There's no doubt in my mind that that job was the love of her life. I mean, that woman prioritized it over everything, even my dad, my brothers, and me. She was an absolute workaholic, and she hardly ever paid attention to any of us outside of us participating in plays at school. When that was going on, we had one-hundred percent of her attention, but other than that, she hardly gave us the time of day. Well, except for my oldest brother, Teddy. It was painfully obvious that he was the favorite. He had my parents wrapped around his fucking finger, and he got away with anything and everything because of it since he was viewed as a goddamn saint. My other brothers and I may have never gotten along, but there was one thing that we universally agreed on, and that was that Teddy was anything but the angel my parents viewed him as and they really needed to step up and put him in line before he spiraled out of control."
"Holy shit, your family life was way more hectic than I thought." You said, feeling kinda happy that Troy was sharing more about his family and what his childhood was like, especially since you had wanted to know more after he first told you about them the morning of Prom all those months ago.
"Yep, and that's one of the many reasons why I left and never looked back." Troy shrugged. "There's so much more shit that happened, but perhaps I'll tell you some more about my life back in Colorado in due time. But, for now, I'll just end this off by saying that my parents were those people who had a few kids and made all of their names start with the same letter." He rolled his eyes.
"Really?" You asked. "What are all of your brothers' names?"
"Teddy, Toby, Tyler, and Theo." Troy replied. "Toby and Tyler are actually identical twins, and there was this one time where they switched classes to see how long it would take for the teachers to notice."
"How long did it take for them to notice?"
"A week." Troy laughed. "Everyone always mixed those two up, even my parents. It was always pretty funny when that happened."
"I mean, if I was a twin, I would do shit like that too." You laughed as well as your eyes slowly trailed back down to the script, reminding you of what you had to work on. "Anyway, I have a very important task at hand and I need to get started."
"Let me guess. You have to memorize lines." Troy said. "That was always my least favorite part, especially monologues. God, I loathed monologues with a passion."
"Why did you give up on theater?" You asked. "Like you said, you used to be a theater junkie. What happened to that passion?"
"What happened was that I realized that the passion I thought I had was actually fake the entire time." Troy replied nonchalantly. "I also realized that I was only doing all of these plays and musicals because I wanted to impress my parents, especially my mom. I don't know why, but I craved my mom's attention way more than my dad's attention. I always got this rush of adrenaline whenever the time came to perform since I knew that my mom's attention would be on me and me only, and if it weren't for that, I would've been nervous as hell." He paused for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair. "Basically, I quit theater because I wasn't doing it for me; I was doing it for my parents. I didn't realize it initially, but the only reason I even got a thrill doing anything theater related was because I was excited for my mom to see me put hard work into something she loved, not because I was excited to be doing anything that goes into theater." He paused for a moment. "Looking back, that experience taught me that you shouldn't do something to make someone else happy, and that's because that can lead to you becoming depressed since you're constantly worried and stressed out about making that person happy. Well, that's what I think anyways." He shrugged. "Well, I've rambled on long enough. I'll let you go and practice."
"Actually, that's not what I'm doing." You said as you looked down at the script, which was still in your hand.
"What are you doing then?"
You proceeded to explain to him how Theresa had appointed you and Mark to either rewrite the script yourselves or find someone to write it or help the two of you with it in order to make it so that Prince Charming was a mute character.
"That's actually pretty cool." Troy nodded in approval as he briefly glanced down at the script. "You know, I wrote plays for a little while during my childhood. I didn't think they were very good, but my mom did. Surprisingly, it was something that I enjoyed, but only as a hobby though. I never liked sharing what I had written with anyone other than my mom."
"I'm so glad that you're telling me this not only because you're a really good friend of mine, but also because I never would've guessed any of this about you." You smiled slightly as you held the script up to him. "I know it's been many years since you last wrote a play, but would you at least like to try and see if you can rewrite this? Even if it's just a little bit, it'll still help tremendously. Mark and I have had no experience in this kind of thing, so we need all of the help that we can get."
Troy took the script from your hands and spent quite a long time flipping through all of the pages and analyzing the lines. It felt like a few hours had passed before he finally asked, "How long did the director give you to rewrite this?"
"Two weeks." You replied as you let out a sigh. "Ridiculous, I know."
Troy didn't respond right away and took the time to flip through the pages and analyze the lines again, prompting you to let out a sigh in your mind.

"I can do it in a week."
You did a double take when you heard Troy say this. In fact, you were so shocked that you almost asked him to repeat what he had said to make sure that you heard him correctly.
"Are you serious?" You asked, your utter disbelief reflecting in your tone of voice.
"Yep, one-hundred percent serious." He replied as he made direct eye contact with you. "I already have a few ideas just from briefly glancing over it."
"Well, okay, if you say so." You shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. "Just remember that it's okay if you take longer than a week to do it and don't pressure yourself to get it done in a week. As long as you get it done in two weeks, Mark and I will be infinitely grateful to you."
"You don't have to thank me." Troy smiled slightly as he looked down at the script once more. "I'm actually really excited to do this. In fact, I'm going to get started right now."
Without waiting for your response, Troy quickly ran up the stairs and you heard the door to his room close behind him just a couple of moments after he made it upstairs.
You smiled softly to yourself as you walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling your phone out of your pocket as you did so. You then began texting Mark so that you could tell him that Troy out of all people was going to rewrite the script and also ask him how seeing his dad went yesterday since you had forgotten to ask him and he hadn't brought it up.
Hey, I've got some good news.
What is it? Thankfully, he responded right away.
Troy's going to rewrite the script for us.
A few moments went by before Mark finally sent his response. Am I going crazy or did you just say that Troy was going to rewrite the script?
You're not going crazy. You laughed at his reaction to the news. Troy really is going to do it.
Since when does Troy partake in anything theater related?
He told me that he did it when he was younger. You found yourself shrugging as you typed for some reason. He also told me that he also wrote plays.
He's the last person I would've expected to be into that kind of thing.
I know right? I couldn't believe it either. You smiled as you texted Mark, just like you always did whenever you were texting him since you really enjoyed talking to him. However, he did say that he only did theater in order to impress his mom and get her attention since she was a workaholic and focused every ounce of her attention into her job.
That's really sad. You imagined Mark frowning as he typed his response. I feel really bad for him.
I do too. You replied as a frown slowly formed on your face. But, at the same time, he said that he enjoyed writing plays as a hobby and he was genuinely excited to rewrite the script for us. He's actually upstairs in his room rewriting it right now. You honestly should've seen how fast he ran up those stairs. Let's just say that I haven't seen Troy this excited about anything in a very long time.
Well, that's good to hear, at least. You imagined that Mark's frown had turned into a smile, and you really wished that you could see it because you absolutely loved seeing his smile. But how does he feel about his family in general? I imagine he had quite a bit of resentment towards his mom since she rarely ever gave him the time of the day, but I'm curious how he feels about the rest of his family.
He seems like he holds quite a lot of resentment towards them. You replied before you told him everything Troy had told you about his family the morning before Prom.
I don't blame him one bit. Mark responded after you finished telling him. I would hate them too. That's so messed up that he was treated like that.
That's exactly what I said. You let out a sigh despite the fact that you weren't talking face-to-face with Mark. Anyway, enough about that. I forgot to ask you how going to visit your dad went yesterday and you never brought it up today, so I want to know.
It went really well. You smiled when you read this. My brother told me he was slowly getting better, but I was so shocked to see the progress he had made. Remember how I told you that if my dad continues getting better at the rate he is right now, he'll be able to attend our graduation?
Yeah, why?
Well, he told me that he's progressing much better than the doctors thought he was and they told him that at this rate, he's going to be out of the hospital by the end of the year!
Mark, that's incredible! Your smile grew so much that you were surprised that it was still able to fit on your face. I'm so happy to hear that!
I'm really excited! Words couldn't even begin to express how happy it made you to see Mark this happy and excited for the future, especially since you would much rather see him happy than be happy yourself. When he gets out of the hospital, would you like to meet him? I've been telling him about you during my visits, and he says that he really wants to meet you.
For some reason, you started blushing when you read the text. You wondered what kind of things Mark said about you whenever he told his dad about you and what kind of impression his dad had about you based on the things that Mark had told him. For the sake of your sanity, you hoped that Mark had told his dad only good things about you and his dad, in turn, had a good impression of you. Yeah, I would love to meet him.
Despite the fact that you knew meeting his dad wouldn't happen for quite a few more months, you couldn't help but feel nervous about meeting him. You already knew that Mark's mom didn't like you, but what she thought about you didn't really matter to you since she had mistreated her own son in order to obtain money to use for herself rather than her husband, who was currently battling cancer. But since Mark's dad seemed like he was kind and caring, you found yourself caring about whether or not he liked you quite a bit. After all, it would be nice if one of Mark's parents liked you.
Awesome! I'll let him know the next time I go and visit him, which is in a few days. Mark replied. I'm making it a goal of mine to visit my dad three times a week since I slacked on visiting him regularly for quite a long time, and I feel really bad about that.
That's a good goal to have. You were proud of him for taking time out of the week to spend time with his dad, especially since his dad was stuck in the hospital twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Does your dad have anyone else visit him or is it just you and your brother that go and visit him?
He says that his parents come and visit him, but they only visit twice a month. Your smile faded away when you read Mark's text. You couldn't imagine being stuck in a hospital room all day and every day and having visits by your loved ones happen so infrequently. He also says that his brother and sister come by even less frequently, only visiting every other month because of their busy schedules.
That's horrible. You frowned when he told you this. He must really appreciate the fact that you and your brother are starting to visit him frequently again.
He does. Mark replied. He told me that he would choose seeing my brother and I over his parents or his siblings any day.
That means he really loves and cares for the two of you. Your smile slowly started to return.
Yeah, he really does, and I'm so thankful for that Mark replied.

After a few moments had gone by, you hadn't responded to Mark and decided that it would be a good time to end the conversation the two of you were having. Well, as always, it was nice talking to you.
It was nice talking to you too. Another couple of moments had gone by before you finally got a response from Mark. See you soon, (Y/N).
See you soon, Mark.