------ Mark Laurence, an eighteen year old senior attending Rocky Point, didn’t fit into any of the normal high school stereotypes. Along with his small group of friends, Mark was known as a chameleon. The chameleon stereotype had the ability to blend into a crowd of any group when needed.

------During any type of school function Mark was dragged into, he would lose any of his stereotypical traits and simply blend into something much easier to become; the wall. This was the anti-social side of him, which was the side most everybody saw twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Although getting him to talk about his emotions or anything of the sort was much like receiving root canal, Mark had the inability to hide much of anything. His eyes, like many people had told him, read like a children’s book; with a minute long gaze into them, you would be able to learn much of Mark’s past and present. Mark saw this as a weakness and, shortly after realizing this flaw, covered his readable eyes with pitch black sunglasses to keep anyone from reading him.

------Mark’s shoulders were broad and at 5’9” and 235 lb, he looked as if he should be playing as a defender for his school football team; but Mark is rather laid back and quiet, giving him the look of an average pushover. His face still had the look of a baby when shaved, but shaving off his sideburn stubble and tuft of hair on his chin was a very rare occasion.

------Mark always hid his overweight figure underneath a worn down leather jacket. Never too proud of himself, Mark was always hiding his faults to try and boost up the good he saw in himself, which consisted of his sarcasm and, on occasion, good will.
Through everything he disliked about himself, Mark seemed to attract two people that he was able to connect with and warm up to immediately.

Jonathan Romanov was the first true friend Mark had made in junior high school. Jon had the same wit and sense of humor that Mark had, though it only seemed to arise when he was around a group of people he was comfortable with.

------Jonathan was never really someone Mark could talk to about the jumble of emotional crap that every teenager goes through in life; but he was there whenever Mark needed to be cheered up. It wasn’t uncommon to see the two of them sitting in the back of a classroom, laughing at jokes only they could understand.

------Together, Mark and Jonathan were always able to share ideas. Most of the time, their ideas either crossed one another, or were almost identical; but just as every other pair of friends, the two had their tiffs. Normally, these half-day fights would be over something completely idiotic, and the two of them would realize that before the day was through.

------Chris Denison had stumbled into Mark’s life accidentally one day when Mark and Jon were torturing him for some inane reason. At first, Chris and Mark despised each other with a fiery passion; Chris had wanted to see the worst happen to Mark and vice versa. They grew to become friends, though, when they both realized that they had a common enemy; the school bully, Hampton.

------Hampton was the high school delinquent. By the time Mark and Chris became close friends, Hampton was working on his second year in his sophomore year, which would also be his second year spending his school days in “In School Suspension”. Hampton had a record in high school that ran as long as his personal record with the police. With two DWI’s, attempted robbery, and several counts of destruction of property, Hampton was surprised to be even allowed in the school.

------It was in their freshman year of high school that Mark and Chris crossed paths to defend each other against the school bully.


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------Just two weeks prior, Mark had been evicted from a group known as the Street Walkers, a group bent on destroying personal property in Rocky Point. Mark’s intention in joining the Street Walkers wasn’t to grow into the everyday high school drop-out, but to end their idiotic reign of terror on the town.

------As Mark made his way down the empty school hallway, he took notice to a rather tall figure slouching against his locker at the end of the hallway. Since Jon wasn’t in school that day, and since the rest of Mark’s friends did not stay after school with him, Mark could guess who it was, and what their intention of being there was.

------“Come on down, shit stain.” The figure called to Mark, its left hand waving.

------Mark, 14 at the time and still a ways away from growing into his anti-socialite personality, took a deep breath. He had two choices: either be pummeled by the school bully and be respected for facing him or run like a pansy, and be known for being a pansy throughout his high school career. Feeling his dignity was worth more than his health, Mark kept walking to his locker. The figures face came into focus, and Mark noticed his cheek still had the scar from when he was tackled to the ground after attempting to resist arrest.

------“There’s a good thing in having drug addicted friends, Mark.” Hampton pushed himself off of the freshman’s locker. “They’ll bail you out of jail if you promise them a stash.”

------“I bet your mother would be proud.” Mark quipped, immediately realizing that he was talking back to someone larger and stronger than him.

------Hampton took a hold of Mark’s collar and twisted it against his neck. “Shut up, dumbass. Your about five seconds away from loosing a few teeth.”

------“You hit me and you’ll end up back in jail again; and this time your drug loving friends won’t be there to…” Mark’s eyes widened a bit and his ability to speak stopped as he watched a one thousand paged hardcover text book come flying towards the back of Hampton’s head. When the book connected, Hampton stumbled forward and lost his grip on his prey.

------Mark fell to the ground, landing on his back. Before he had the chance to stand, he felt somebody tugging at his right arm, as if trying to drag him down the hallway. Mark rose to his feet as quick as possible and glanced at Hampton, who lay on the ground rubbing the back of his head and hurling out curses.

------Mark turned away from the downed bully and started down the hallway in a mad dash, following his savior closely. When the two reached the main hallway, they both stopped and took in deep breaths of air.

------“Why…” Mark took in another breath, trying his best to fight his asthma. “…Did you?”

------“Those with common enemies,” Chris Denison approached Mark and placed a hand on his shoulder, “should stay close.”

------Mark took in one last deep breath and felt his chest loosen. “Common enemy?”

------“I fuckin’ hate that bastard.” Chris nodded back to the hallway where Hampton most probably still lay.