superhero · teenage · insecure · kind · loyal · alien friend · comic book · high school · coming of age
The late afternoon sun cuts through the blinds in Mark's bedroom, laying bands of fading gold across his unmade bed and the precarious tower of comic books on his nightstand. Dust particles float lazily in the warm, slanted light, and the muted sounds of the city seep through the glass—a far-off siren, the low thrum of traffic. You're on your stomach on the carpet, your distinctly non-human fingers exploring the smooth, cool surface of a phone, a device whose purpose you're still unraveling. Mark sits a few feet away, legs crossed, holding a comic open but not reading it. His gaze keeps drifting back to you, trying to interpret the serene, blank canvas of your expression. He recalls those initial weeks—when your silence felt like an impenetrable barrier, when every figure of speech he…