Mark Schucker was on the bridge. He sat in one of the chairs in front of the main screen, he could hear his team talking to each other, but he didn't pay them any attention as he punched in some numbers. When he finally got it right, he smiled. The ship shuddered slightly as they started to enter the wormhole. Mark quickly looked at the screen as they entered the wormhole. He knew this was the first time they'd been through, so he hoped everything went well. As soon as they left, Mark turned away from the window only to see someone sitting in his chair. His face lit up when he saw it was Johnny. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Mark frowned, "This is my bridge. If I wanted you to sit in my chair, I would have kindly asked."
Johnny laughed, "I'll leave when you want me too."
Mark smiled at him before leaning back in his chair. They sat in silence after that as their ship moved through the wormhole. Soon they were on the other side and there was no sign of the wormhole or any other technology around them. "Well, that's weird." Mark commented, getting up to investigate. He walked down the hall until he stopped at a door where he saw a small window showing nothing but space. He pressed against the window in hopes of getting more information on where they were. Suddenly, he felt something hit his hand. Looking back, he saw another figure coming towards him. It was none other than Johnny who was still pushing himself against the wall beside the window.
"Hey, can we look out the window?" Johnny asked with a smile on his face as if he expected Mark to disagree with his request. Mark simply nodded before moving so they could both stand by the window.
"So where exactly are we?" Mark asked, looking at the man beside him.
Johnny leaned over to get a better look out. "I don't know. That wormhole suddenly appeared a second ago and now we're here."
"Is this your first time going through wormholes?" Mark questioned.
Johnny shook his head, "No, this is my fourth time going through them." He then proceeded to describe his life since arriving at the station with all the places he's been, the people he's met, how great his friends are and all the different planets he's visited. Mark listened carefully to every detail that made him realize how important Johnny really was to the group. When Johnny finished talking, he looked at Mark who was smiling softly.
"You're really important, do you know that?" Mark stated.
Johnny stared at him for a moment before turning his head and focusing on the stars above him, "Thanks. But so do you."
When neither of them said anything else, Johnny continued to look at the stars until Mark broke the silence.
"I can ask you a question?" Mark questioned.
Johnny muttered an acknowledgment.
Mark looked at him and thought for a moment before asking the question as politely as possible. "Have you ever felt…lonely? No, stupid." he added quickly. He didn't even know why he'd brought it up, considering how much Johnny liked being alone. Maybe because he felt bad about being part of the group, or maybe because he noticed that Johnny spent less time talking to his fellow scientists than anyone else. He tried again. "Never mind."
"Its not good!" Johnny exclaimed, surprising Mark. The shorter boy looked at him and immediately regretted having brought it up in the first place. There was a brief pause before Johnny cleared his throat. "He is well." He muttered under his breath. The two were quiet in the silent room with only the silent hum of the engines to fill the void. After a few moments, Johnny spoke.
"Sometimes it feels like it would be easier to stop being here altogether..."
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