Mark

Name: Mark

Age: 18 years

Height: 178 cm

Physique: Fit and athletic. Parkour and the gym have done their job—he's fast, flexible, but not overly muscular.

Appearance: Fair skin that palers even more when he's angry or nervous. Ear-length black hair constantly falls into his eyes; he brushes it away, but does so gracefully, as if on purpose. Gray eyes—cold when he's wearing a mask, warm when he thinks no one's watching. A scar on his right arm, from his elbow to his wrist—hides it under long sleeves, even in summer.

Role in the story: An antagonist who has the potential to become something more. A bully, a love interest, a person with a flaw inside.

Status: 11th grade student, informal “king” of the school.

Outside:

Mark is the kind of guy you want to look up to. Confident, smart, with a perfect smile. He always knows what to say, when to keep quiet, and when to hit without anyone realizing it was him. The teachers love him—he's polite, prepared, and turns in everything on time. His classmates respect him—or pretend to, because arguing with Mark is never a good idea. He's never the first to pick a fight. He's a strategist. He's always one step ahead.

Inside:

Mark feels empty inside. A large apartment where he's lived alone since he was 16. A refrigerator stocked with processed foods. Post-it notes from his parents: "Don't be stupid, buy some food." Biweekly calls: "How are your studies? Do you have money?" And never a single: "How are you? We miss you. We're proud of you."

Mark got used to it. But being used to it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

He gathers people around him because he's afraid of being alone. But these people aren't friends. They're an entourage. They'll be with him as long as he's strong. But if he falls, they'll run away.

Therefore, he cannot fall.

Contradictions:

Mark is cruel—and when alone, he regrets what he said. Mark is cold—and freezes when someone looks too warmly. Mark despises weakness—and is afraid of the dark himself. Mark is confident in public—and completely lost when he is alone.

Parents:

His mother and father are businessmen. They were always busy, but at least they used to pretend it was temporary. After Mark turned 16, they stopped pretending. Now they just leave money on their account and fly away for six months. His mother calls once every two weeks, asking about his grades and health. His father calls once a month, asking if he's still going strong at the gym. Mark answers briefly and hangs up. Sometimes he catches himself thinking he's been waiting for these calls. Sometimes he thinks he wants them to forget his number.

Past:

Mark was quiet as a child. Very quiet. He drew, watched movies with his grandfather, and didn't get into fights. Then his grandfather died. Then his parents stopped coming home. Then Mark realized that if you're quiet, you get beaten. And he decided to be the one to hit first.

Scar:

At 14, he made a bad jump at parkour—he wanted to impress a group—and fell, cutting his arm on a piece of rebar. Doctors said he could have lost his arm. It was the first time Mark was truly scared. He's been more careful since then, but he still enjoys the adrenaline rush.

At 15, he got into a fight with a guy who said something bad about Mark's mother in front of everyone—because she was always flying somewhere. Mark beat him so badly that the guy had to be taken away in an ambulance. He still has a scar from that fight—and his mother didn't even recognize him. Mark didn't tell anyone. Why?

Parkour:

This is the only place where Mark doesn't play. When he flies across rooftops, leaps from one to another, feels the wind in his face—he doesn't think. He doesn't pretend. He just lives. The scar on his arm reminds him that he once almost killed himself. But that's when he felt alive.

Old movies:

No one knows, but Mark loves noir and '80s detective films. Black-and-white movies where the characters are silent, smoke, and suffer beautifully. Sometimes he watches arthouse films—just to have something to keep quiet about. He once almost cried during "The Shawshank Redemption." He held it in. But inside, everything was shaking.

Drawings in the margins:

When Mark is bored in class, he draws. Empty rooms, lonely figures on rooftops, leafless trees. Never people. If anyone notices, he tears up the sheet of paper and pretends it never happened. These drawings are the only place where he reveals his true self.

Habits:

He twirls a pen or a lighter between his fingers when he's nervous. He wears long sleeves—he's not so much as ashamed of the scar as he is reluctant to explain it. He can sit on the windowsill for hours, staring out the window—just thinking about nothing. He can't stand it when people enter his personal space without asking. And he freezes when those he's allowed to enter.

Fear of being unnecessary:

This is the main fear. That's why Mark gathers people. That's why he tolerates their stupid jokes and empty talk. Because such "friends" are better than no one. But at night he thinks: if he disappears, who will notice? His parents? In a month. The school? In a week, they'll find a new "king." And who will remember the real him? No one. Because he never showed himself to anyone.

Fear of being beaten:

It's not the physical pain that's scary. It's the fear of being seen. Of everyone realizing: Mark isn't invincible. Mark is just a kid who got punched in the face. His authority will crumble in a second. And then he'll go back to being that quiet kid who everyone beat up. And he won't survive that.

Fear of being recognized for who he really is:

The strangest fear. Mark wants someone to see him. Really see him, without the masks. But when that happens, he gets scared. Because if they see him and accept him, he'll have to be real forever. And he doesn't know how. And if they see him and turn away, it will kill him.

Weaknesses:

Can't stand long, direct stares, especially from older and stronger people.

It is lost if aggression is met with calmness.

Defenseless against sincerity - doesn't know what to do with it.

Handsome, confident guys are his personal trigger. He hasn't figured out what it means yet. But for some reason, his heart beats faster when they're around.

Ruslan (the main character's younger brother):

Mark hates Ruslan. Honestly, he hates him. This little brat is the only one in school who isn't afraid to look him in the eye. He doesn't look away, doesn't tremble, doesn't try to suck up. He just stares. And Mark feels like Ruslan sees right through him. It's infuriating, to the point of grinding his teeth.

Ruslan also once caught Mark off guard. He was sitting on the roof after yet another call from his mother, and this kid appeared out of nowhere. Mark quickly left, pretending nothing had happened. But since then, he knows: Ruslan saw the real him. And for now, he's keeping quiet. But Mark doesn't believe it will always be like this.

GG (Ruslan's older brother):

The first meeting broke something inside. Mark expected a fight, expected shouting, expected everything he was used to. Instead, he received a calm look, cold words, and... himself standing in the hallway, his heart pounding.

Mark doesn't understand what it is. Anger? Fear? Or something else? Why does he want this guy to come back? Why does he keep replaying that look, that voice, that smell in his head?

He won't admit it even to himself. But something inside already knows the answer.

"Friends" at school:

He needs them like air. Without them, he's just a loner, vulnerable to attack. With them, he's king. But Mark knows they'll scatter at the first sign of trouble. He taught them that way himself. Sometimes he just wishes someone would stay.

Parents:

Emptiness. Mark stopped expecting warmth from them long ago. But somewhere in his chest, a little boy still lives, hoping to one day hear, "We're proud of you." Mark is suffocating him. But he doesn't give up.

Why did Mark choose Ruslan?

The official version: he's weak, the younger one, and his tongue is annoying. The unofficial version: Ruslan is the only one who fights back. Not physically, but with his gaze. He looks at Mark as if he sees not the mask, but the person underneath. It's infuriating. It's frightening. It makes you feel naked.

Ruslan also once caught Mark off guard. He was feeding stray kittens in the yard, where no one went. And the boy just stood there and watched. He didn't laugh, he didn't point. He just watched. Mark left without saying a word. And the next day, in front of everyone, he pushed Ruslan into the wall. To keep him from even thinking about telling.

What Mark does:

He bullies Ruslan at every opportunity. In front of everyone. So that no one would guess that this little guy is the only one who has seen the real him. So that everyone would think: Mark hates him. So that he himself would believe it.

But sometimes, in the silence, Mark catches himself thinking that he's looking forward to meeting Ruslan. Not to tease him. But to see that look again. The one that sees.

Mark is at a crossroads. The future could go either way.

Path One: Redemption

The main character and Ruslan become a mirror for Mark. They show him that he can be himself and be accepted. Mark gradually removes his masks. He learns to trust. He learns to love. It's painful, scary, and sometimes seems impossible. But for the first time in his life, he has the chance to be real.

The Second Path: The Fall

Mark's feelings for the main character frighten him. He doesn't know what to do with them. He tries to suppress them with aggression, but it only gets worse. He loses control, loses authority, loses himself. At some point, he breaks completely—and can no longer pick up the pieces.

Path Three: The Gray Zone

Mark doesn't become "good." He remains himself—prickly, complex, sometimes cruel. But he opens up to the reader. We understand his motives, empathize with his pain, even when he makes the wrong choice. He's neither a hero nor a villain. He's simply a man trying to survive.

The main question of history:

Will Mark be able to accept that he's not just a bully and not just a victim? That he can be different? That it's possible to be strong and still feel? That love isn't weakness?