Mark groaned, unable to place the bright-sounding voice in his sleepiness. He automatically shifted to his other side and buried himself in his blankets to shield him from the reality of it being morning. It seemed like he only fell asleep 10 minutes ago.

 

"Hyuuuuung, wakey-wakeyy..." The blond felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, prodding him softly.

 

"Aiiiishhh..." Mark groaned again, burying himself deeper. Despite Mark's uncooperativeness, the voice didn't seem to become the slightest bit impatient. Said person kept nudging gently, and the blond soon felt the bed dip slightly from access weight.

 

"Hyung..." The voice came in closer and Mark suddenly felt hands latch onto his sides over the blankets. "You wouldn't want me to resort to this now would you?"

 

Mark gave in as soon a he felt himself getting tickled. He unwillingly let out a high-pitched laugh and shot up into a sitting position. The blond finally opened his eyes to see who his attacker was, and was slightly caught off guard upon discovering who it was. In his sleepy state, he hadn't been able to place the voice. "Jinyoung? What are you doing here?"

 

"I came to wake you up." Jinyoung replied, an innocent smile plastered to his face.

 

"What time is it?" Mark yawned, scratching the back of his head.

 

"Ten"

 

"In the morning?"

 

"Of course, hyung." Jinyoung giggled cutely.

 

"Jinyoung, it's a Saturday. You know I don't wake up earlier than noon on a Saturday." Mark complained, laying back down and closing his eyes.

 

"But hyung, I want to go out with you."

 

Mark sat back up at this, looking at Jinyoung's pouty face. "Y-you what?"

 

"I want to go to a movie with you."

 

"At ten AM?"

 

"The movie starts at 11:15."

 

"Why so early? Why not pick a later showing?"

 

"Well I'm going on a date with Jackson at 3, so..."

 

Mark couldn't help but frown. Jinyoung looked almost awkward admitting it, which confused the older. "I see."

 

There was a pause, but Jinyoung soon grabbed onto Mark's arm. "But I wanted to spend some time with you."

 

Mark gulped, immediately averting his eyes from the male next to him. "W-what's the movie?"

 

"It's a comedy, I forgot what it's called."

 

Mark nodded slowly, his eyebrows creasing slightly. He didn't know why Jinyoung randomly sprung this idea, but the older wasn't about to turn down time to spend with the person he likes. Swinging his legs to the edge of the bed, the blond stood. "Okay, just give me 10 minutes to get ready."

 

"You're not showering?"

 

"Should I?"

 

"I mean, you can if you want." Jinyoung bit his lip gently. "You have enough time to, and I don't want you feeling uncomfortable in public..."

 

Mark thought for a moment. Jinyoung knew all too well about his hygienic lifestyle. But for some reason, the atmosphere in the room seemed off. "Ok, I guess I'll take a quick shower." The older dug through his drawers until he found a pair of distressed jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. On his way to the bathroom, he noticed the bed across from his to be empty. "Where's Yugyeom?"

 

"He left right when I got here. He said he had dance practice or something."

 

Mark nodded, then closed the bathroom door behind him.

 

After his shower, Mark changed into his clothes and ruffled his wet hair with a towel. He didn't want to make Jinyoung wait any longer, so he opted not to blow dry it. He subconsciously checked himself out in the mirror before heading back to where the younger was waiting on his bed. He was texting on his phone, a slightly disappointed look on his face.

 

"Jinyoung-ah"

 

The younger started, looking up from his phone abruptly. "Ah, you scared me."

 

"Sorry," Mark tried to suppress a smile from Jinyoung's cute reaction. "Are you ok?"

 

"O-of course I'm ok." Jinyoung smiled, standing up from the bed. "You ready?"

 

Mark wasn't convinced, but he knew Jinyoung. He would tell the older what was wrong if he really wanted to. "Yup, I'm ready."

 

Jinyoung slid his phone into his pocket and walked toward the door, waiting for Mark to follow.

 

"So what's this movie about?" The blond asked, slightly relieved when the two of them exited the school campus; he'd been stuck in his dorm way too often lately.

 

"I watched the trailer this morning. I think it's about a guy who gets lost in LA when he gets transferred over there for work. I thought of you when I watched it."

 

Mark smiled to himself. "So that's why you wanted to see it with me?"

 

"Partly. I would love to visit LA sometime with you Mark. Just as long as you keep me from getting lost." The ravenette glanced to his side at Mark who smiled at him.

 

"I'd never let you get lost." Mark muttered before realizing how romantic it sounded coming from his lips. Both males looked away, a sudden awkward cloud hanging above them. 

 

"Y-yeah...I just thought it would be cool for you too see your hometown in the movie and all..." Jinyoung cleared his throat and Mark cursed himself for blushing so easily.

 

"Definitely..."

 

Mark lived in LA before moving to Korea for college. He loved math, and the one college that stuck out most to him in terms of math majors was a Korean university. Jinyoung was a double major in journalism and education. Mark didn't know how the younger managed everything, especially considering how often he devoted time to Jackson and the others. And himself, of course, although their time seemed to consist strictly of movie watching lately.

 

The two friends entered the dark theater just as the previews began. The loud soundtrack of an action movie blasted through the speakers, catching Mark off guard as he opened the door to the theater.

 

"Oh good, it's just the previews." Jinyoung muttered by Mark's side as they walked in, sounds of popcorn crunching between teeth throughout the room almost drowning out the younger's soft voice. "I was afraid we were late!"

 

"If you were afraid we'd be late, you shouldn't have forced me to shower." Mark shrugged as Jinyoung took a seat in one of the middle rows.

 

"I didn't force you! I just knew you'd be complaining this whole time if you hadn't taken one!" Jinyoung huffed, reaching a hand toward the over-full bag of popcorn and grabbing a handful.

 

Mark laughed, sitting down in the seat next to Jinyoung. "You figured me out." He grinned, then pointed toward the ravenette's popcorn-occupied hand. "Yah..you can't possibly fit all that in your mouth. Give me some."

 

Jinyoung frowned, almost as if he was disappointed in Mark doubting his abilities. "Who says? And get your own!" He handed the bag to the male sitting next to him and shoved his handful in his mouth, cheeks filling up like a chipmunk. Mark would be lying if he said his heart didn't skip a beat at how stubbornly cute Jinyoung looked with his little scowl and puffed up cheeks. 

 

"I stand corrected." Mark grinned to himself as he reached for some popcorn as well.

 

---

 

The movie was hilarious. The main character kept running into crazy situations in LA that made the blond miss his life back home a lot. Jinyoung didn't always understand particular jokes or references having to do with America, so Mark would find himself leaning over to explain them to him in a hushed tone throughout the movie. Mark would laugh a few seconds before the rest of the audience since he understood English and didn't have to read the subtitles, making Jinyoung wish he was fluent in another language besides Korean.

 

By the time the two males got to the bottom of their popcorn bag, the movie came to its resolution. Credits began rolling with funny outtakes in the different areas of LA resulting in even more of Mark's nostalgia. Jinyoung must have noticed Mark staring at the screen with certain longing because as soon as they left the dark theater, he brought up the topic.

 

"You miss it there, don't you." It was supposed to be a question, but it came out more like a statement.

 

"Where, LA? I mean, of course I do. I miss my family too, but it's not like I'll never see them again. Same for Cali." Mark glanced to his side at Jinyoung, who wasn't looking back at him.

 

"That's true.." The dark-haired male tossed their empty popcorn bag as they passed a trashcan on their way to the movie theater exit.

 

Mark glanced outside as they reached the glass doors, the realization of it still being very light outside making him want to do something else before going back to the school campus. The blond reached for his phone to check the time and sighed bitterly when he realized it was almost 2pm. "Well I guess we should get back. You need time to get ready for your date, after all." Mark could see Jinyoung look at him out of the corner of his eyes, but he missed the way the younger's fists clenched slightly at his words.

 

"Yeah..I guess so."

 

The two friends walked back to their dorm in an awkward silence; that was becoming common between them these days. Once they reached the door to Mark's dorm room, the blond glanced at Jinyoung. "Well, I'll see you in class I guess." He was about to open the door, but something in Jinyoung's eyes made Mark hesitate.

 

"Can I come in...?" The ravenette asked softly, his voice sounding almost weak.

 

"Since when have you asked my permission?" Mark chuckled, referring to earlier that morning. When Jinyoung didn't even crack a smile, the blond knew something was up. "Uh, yeah..come in."

 

Jinyoung followed Mark inside and took a seat on the sofa as Mark locked the door. He then walked toward where Jinyoung was sitting, running his fingers through his hair.

 

"Um.." Jinyoung glanced up at him and Mark could have sworn his heartbeat stopped. "D-don't you need to get ready...?"

 

The younger averted his gaze and slowly shook his head. "H-he bailed..." Jinyoung's voice was so soft that Mark could barely hear it.

 

The blond felt his heart sink as Jinyoung's head dipped slightly. He took a seat next to him, bringing a hand up to his back as some form of comfort. "I'm sorry...he can really be a bastard sometimes, huh?" Mark chuckled awkwardly, slightly embarrassed by his pathetic attempt at making his crush feel better. "H-hey how about this, tell me what his excuse was and I'll let him have it because no excuse is more important than spending time with you."

 

Mark flushed as he heard the words coming out of his mouth. His heartbeat sped up when Jinyoung met his eyes, slightly caught off guard by his words. Their faces were somewhat close when Jinyoung turned his head to him and Mark instinctively inched backwards, but that didn't stop his racing heartbeat. 

 

"D-do you really think so, hyung?"

 

Mark swallowed a bit louder than intended, unable to avert his gaze. "O-of course I do Jinyoungie." He smiled bashfully. "I-I'm really glad you woke me up to see that movie.. I-I always love b-being with you."

 

 

Jinyoung was silent, his lips parted slightly as he remained in eye contact with the older. But for some reason, Mark kept rambling.

 

"J-Jackson's missing out.. I-I mean, whatever he's doing can't be as important as you..." The blond's hand that had been resting on Jinyoung's back clammed up and he quickly removed it, growing redder by the second. "Surely he knows how much these d-dates mean to-"

 

"Mark."

 

Jinyoung's sudden voice made the addressed male shiver, "Y-yeah?"

 

"C-can we maybe, you know, k-kiss again..?"

 

Mark thought his chest was going to explode. His whole body was trembling with anticipation and he was sure his face was as red as his hair used to be in middle school. Unable to get any more words out, the older just gave a single nod.

 

Jinyoung leaned in upon gaining permission. His gaze was fixated on his destination: Mark's lips. Said male was holding his breath, his heart jumping with eagerness at the thought of kissing those alluring lips once again. When their noses brushed together upon their close proximity, both males closed their eyes and let their lips travel the extra few centimeters towards each other.

 

The kiss was miles different than their first one. Unlike their prior desperate one, this kiss was slow and gentle. Jinyoung leaned into Mark's lips with a multitude of emotions while the latter replied with the most affectionate and adoring kiss he could muster. Despite his irregular heartbeat and sweaty hands, Mark wanted Jinyoung to feel the love he's had for him throughout all these years. The younger easily returned Mark's energy. The emotion flowing out of his lips was slightly different than the blond's, but it still caused a million butterflies to launch out of their cocoons in Mark's stomach.

 

Something about Jinyoung's lips sent Mark begging for mercy. Maybe it was the way they fit so perfectly against his, or maybe it was the faint traces of butter from the popcorn they had earlier. Whatever it was, Mark didn't want to ever stop kissing him.

 

Jinyoung's hand was placed tentatively on Mark's leg, his fingers gently digging into his jeans as the kiss progressed. The older brought his hand up and held onto the ravenette's upper arm while the other rested atop Jinyoung's hand on his leg. He leaned further into the kiss, only to have the younger pull back after a few seconds to breathe.

 

"Sh-..." Mark muttered breathlessly, his eyes meeting Jinyoung's gaze. Both males sported beet red faces, their hands still clutching onto each other's limbs.

 

"C-can we d-do that again?"

 

Mark answered him by leaning forward and returning to their affectionate kiss. They resumed just as they left off. Mark deepened the kiss and Jinyoung let it happen with equal eagerness, their kisses becoming almost sloppy. The blond felt himself getting addicted to Jinyoung's lips. The younger moaned into the kiss softly and Mark took the opportunity to let his tongue slowly slide inside his mouth. Jinyoung welcomed the gesture with another moan, Mark's tongue dominantly playing with his own. As Jinyoung brought his free hand up to rest it on the back of Mark's neck, footsteps were heard just outside the door.

 

Both males immediately separated their lips, gasping for air and untangling themselves at the sound of the door being unlocked. Mark made sure they were sitting on complete opposite sides of the sofa as the door slowly opened.

 

Yugyeom entered the dorm to two very awkward looking males sitting on the sofa. They both refused to look at each other and the dancer could swear there was some type of tension in the room, not to mention their red faces.

 

"Y-Yugyeom-ah! You're b-back!" Mark stood, throwing his hands up as some form of a welcome.

 

The youngest of the three nodded uncertainly, setting his bag down on a chair. "Yeah...what a surprise." The sarcasm in his tone made Mark laugh awkwardly. Yugyeom shrugged off his jacket and tossed it on top of the same chair before sending a glance in Jinyoung's direction. "Oh Jinyoung-hyung, Jackson-hyung is looking for you. He said you wouldn't answer his texts."

 

Yugyeom suddenly felt the tension in the room enhance. "J-Jackson's looking for m-me?" Jinyoung stood up and threw a quick glance at Mark, biting his lip gently. "Y-you were with him?"

 

"Yeah, he came to practice looking for this kid Bambam I dance with. Apparently they're close or something." Yugyeom shrugged, turning to his bag and ping it.

 

Mark, who had turned his gaze toward Jinyoung halfway throughout his roommate talking, saw the ravenette's expression fall at the words. Mark's chest hurt and his head felt heavy with jumbled thoughts and emotions.

 

"I-I have to go." Jinyoung's fists were clenching until his knuckles turned white as he turned and hurried to the door.

 

"Jinyoung, wait!" Mark called after the younger but he didn't stop. The door was swung shut with a thud and the sound of quick footsteps faded away in mere seconds.

 

"Huh, wonder what that was about." Yugyeom had been preoccupied with removing his dance clothes from his bag so he didn't see the worked up expression on Mark's face. He ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed, his heart still beating rapidly and cheeks the color of tomatoes. 

 

 

---

 

A/n: ....sorry about the late update. I know I've been neglecting this story and writing in general lately and I need to snap out of it lol. Testing is coming up but I'll try to update more often if I can!