A/N: don't forget, black lives matter! go to blacklivesmatter.carrd.co for more information and things you can do to contribute to the movement. 

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Mark should have been very excited, but instead he was just nervous. It had been a few days since the 'bong incident', as he'd labelled it. Although he and Donghyuck had texted since that night, they hadn't yet discussed what happened.

Jaemin had invited Renjun, Mark, and Chenle to his and Jisung's favorite kind of party: a rave at the DNA lounge. Jaemin talked about raves all the time, and Mark was pretty excited to go, except for the fact that he was worried about confronting Donghyuck. 

Chenle, Renjun, and himself got ready together, and decided to meet the others outside the DNA lounge. They arrived soon after, laughing loudly and running down the street. 

As soon as Mark saw them, he immediately felt underdressed...or overdressed, he didn't know which word worked for the situation. Chenle was the only one of his friends who fit in with the others, wearing his older sister's gym shorts and a t-shirt. Renjun and Mark were both wearing black skinny jeans (which Mark ripped up for the occasion) and plain white t-shirts. 

Jaemin was dressed in dark denim booty shorts and a white crop top, rainbow glitter smeared all over his arms, stomach, and exposed collarbones. Jeno was hanging off of him, wearing regular jeans and straight up no shirt. Jisung also had on booty shorts but his were holographic, holo straps also tied around his legs. He also had on a plastic hoodie that almost went past the end of his shorts. 

When Mark sees Donghyuck, his still burnt throat went even more dry. Donghyuck's hair was brushed out of his eyes and he was wearing a mesh t-shirt. On the bottom, he had on black, torn skinny jeans with fishnets underneath. Mark didn't think he'd seen anything more beautiful in his life. Donghyuck saw Mark and smirked; he knew Mark thought he looked y. 

They locked eyes, but the tension was cut when Jaemin gave them all a tight hug. 

"I am so glad you all came!" Jaemin cried excitedly; he was clearly in his element. Jeno just watched his boyfriend with a smile. There was love in his eyes, and Mark knew Jeno was happiest when Jaemin was like this: purely himself. 

"Want some?" Jisung spoke, lifting up a bottle of cheap vodka. 

Jaemin reached for it immediately. "You'll want to have some. Sober raves are miserable." Jaemin unscrewed the lid and tipped his head back, downing the liquid. 

"Go easy, baby," Jeno mumbled. Jaemin finished and passed the bottle to Jeno, but he shook his head. 

"I'm driving, remember?" Jeno said. 

"You're gonna be miserable," Donghyuck responded as Jaemin passed the bottle to Chenle. 

"I'll be fine, as long as I dance with Jaemin."

"You'll be fine, as long as you grind on Jaemin," Jisung answered as Renjun drank from the bottle. 

"He's not lying," Jaemin mumbled under his breath. 

The bottle made its way back to Jaemin, once everyone had a sip or two. 

"We're gonna go put this back in the car. They won't let us take it inside," Jeno said. 

"Can you take my bag? I really only need my phone," Renjun asked. Jeno and Jaemin took everyone's bags to put in Jeno's car, and the others got into the long line to get inside. 

Renjun, Chenle, and Jisung quickly got wrapped up in their own conversation, so Mark turned to Donghyuck uncomfortably. 

"How's your throat?" Donghyuck asked. Even though he was just trying to make conversation, Mark could hear genuine concern behind his words. 

"It's better," Mark responded. "Now it just feels like I have a sore throat."

Donghyuck grinned and pulled something out of his back pocket. "I brought you some zinc." 

Mark flushed and took the cough drop with embarrassment, reliving that cringe worthy night all over again as he popped it into his mouth. 

"Th-thanks," Mark responded shyly. Donghyuck sighed and gave him a look. 

"Mark, I don't give a that you threw up next to me. That happens all the time, honestly it wasn't even that bad. In freshman year, I got too drunk and threw up into my crush's bra. It happens to the best of us." 

Mark began to smile. He felt so much better immediately; and anyways it was sweet that Donghyuck had picked up on his shame. 

"Thank you, Hyuck," Mark spoke. "I'm glad you understand." 

"Mark, no matter what you do, I think I'll still like you." Donghyuck looked straight into Mark's eyes, and Mark tried not to wonder whether he meant like as in friend like or like as in like-like, like, romantic like. 

Before Mark could respond they finally reached the front of the line, Jeno and Jaemin catching up right behind them. Mark could hear the thumping of the bass from all the way outside, and a rush of adrenaline ran down his spine. Even though he didn't think this would be his thing before, he was actually pretty excited. 

The seven boys showed the bouncer their phones before getting a stamp on their wrist and stepping inside. 

Immediately, Mark was overwhelmed in the best way possible. People, all different kinds of people were crammed inside the fairly small room, the flashing lights the only thing keeping the crowd visible. The walls were painted a pitch black, making the multi-colored lights just shine even brighter. There were two black stumps on either side of the room, scantily clad girls and boys dancing on top of them. Booths and benches lined the walls, and the stage with the dj loomed at the front of the room. 

The music was loud. Not unbearably, but so loud that it seemed to seep into his brain, the bass thumping through every vein in his body, Mark could feel it. He couldn't hear anything over the music, no, it dominated every single person in that room. Mark watched as a group of girls ran up the stairs to a balcony above the dance floor, where people watched the crowds. The room reeked of alcohol and juul and cigarettes and BO, but Mark didn't mind all that much. He was ready to dance. 

Chenle cheered and grabbed Mark and Renjun by the wrists, pulling them into the center of the dance floor before they'd even had time to process. Chenle danced excitedly, while Renjun and Mark sort of swayed by themselves. 

"This isn't a school dance," Chenle yelled over the bass. "Go crazy! Who cares!" 

Suddenly the rest of the group approached them, wearing wide grins. Jaemin had his back pressed to Jeno's chest, Jeno holding his hips steady and close. Jisung and Donghyuck were dancing very carefree as well, and Mark grinned when he noticed Donghyuck was actually pretty good. 

Jaemin pressed a small kiss to Jeno's lips before pulling away from him, tugging Renjun closer and dancing on him. Renjun burst out laughing, knowing it wasn't that big of a deal and Jaemin was always Jeno's. The three of them soon disappeared into the crowd of people, and Chenle and Jisung were gone quickly as well. 

That left Mark alone with Donghyuck...as usual. Donghyuck gave Mark a cocky grin and Mark looked shyly down at his shoes, dancing a little but not exaggeratedly, not wanting to embarrass himself. 

Mark flushed when Donghyuck suddenly pulled him in close, wrapping his arms around Mark's neck. 

"Don't worry," he spoke into Mark's ear. "Nobody's judging you here. Everyone's on drugs anyways. Just let go." 

Mark nodded back at him, taking in his words as they moved slightly apart. He chuckled and started dancing more like himself, and Donghyuck immediately gave him a big grin. 

They danced together for a few moments, Donghyuck trying to make eye contact while Mark avoided it. 

"Kinda hot," Donghyuck said, barely loud enough for Mark to hear. 

"What is?" Mark asked. But before he could hear Donghyuck's answer, Chenle tugged him away. 

"Dance with me!" Chenle whined. "Jisung abandoned me for a smoke break." 

Mark was disappointed only for a moment but then started dancing with his best friend, laughing and grinning at how free everything was. Mark had never felt like this before. People were crowding around him but it didn't feel claustrophobic, no, it felt anonymous. Mark could be whoever he wanted and nobody would know. Mark could be himself and nobody would judge him for it. 

They danced like that until Mark's legs ached and he'd run out of breath. 

"I need a break!" He yelled to Chenle over the music. Chenle nodded at him, and Mark weaved his way through the crowd to the bathroom. 

Mark sighed as he stepped inside, the stable lights and muffling of the bass giving him some piece of mind. A group of boys stood in the corner as Mark washed his hands, smoking a juul. Mark looked at it with furrowed brows; that was definitely Jisung's juul (he knew because Jisung had covered in it hand-drawn stickers). He worried that they'd maybe stolen in from Jisung when the boy himself emerged from one of the stalls, and the guys gave the juul back gratefully. 

"Mark Lee," Jisung drawled with a smile when he noticed Mark at the sinks. They washed their hands next to each other awkwardly; out of the whole group they were probably the least close. 

"Come on, let's take a picture together," Jisung said, pulling up snapchat. Jisung leaned on Mark's shoulder, sticking out his hips and striking a model pose. Mark, on the other hand, tried to smile and did a piece sign. 

"That's hot," Jisung said, and posted the photo to his story. Mark looked over his shoulder to see it was already midnight; had they really already been there almost two hours?

"R-really?" Mark stuttered. 

"Mmh," Jisung answered; he'd always been on the quieter side. "You look good tonight. Donghyuck basically ing drooled when he saw you."

"Ah, I don't know," Mark responded shyly. 

"Well I do know, ," Jisung mumbled, just as Donghyuck burst into the bathroom wearing a terrified expression. 

"Guys, we gotta go!" He cried over the music. Mark and Jisung immediately rushed out of the bathroom. 

"What's going on?" Mark asked as he, Donghyuck, and Jisung speed walked out of the DNA lounge and onto the street. 

"Jaemin and Jeno went to go drink more of the vodka, but when they got there Jeno's car got broken into and they took all our ," Donghyuck answered. 

"Seriously?" Mark cried. 

"!" Jisung whined. 

They turned a bend quickly and came upon Jeno's car. The windows were all smashed in, glass laying all around the vehicle black vehicle. Everyone else was already there: Chenle was seeing what could be salvaged in the car, Renjun was debating whether or not to call the police, and Jaemin was comforting a stunned Jeno. 

"This isn't even my car," Jeno said in a distant voice. "It's my mom's." 

"Dude, I'm so ing sorry," Mark said. 

"Yeah, this is horrible," Jisung added. 

Jeno sighed. "It's....it's...," he groaned. 

"Should I call the police? Maybe they can figure it out," Renjun asked. 

"Hey...is this your car?" A group of men asked, and all seven of the boys turned to face them, most shivering from their lack of clothes. 

"Yeah," Jeno said dejectedly to the men. They looked to be only a bit older than Mark's friends, dressed in all black with a sinister vibe. 

"Well...we know the guys that broke into your car. We can get you most of your stuff back," one of them said. 

"Other than your cash and credit cards," another added. 

"As long as you don't call the police." 

Jeno turned to look at the others. They all immediately knew it was these guys that destroyed Jeno's mom's car, and they just wanted to avoid getting into trouble. 

Jeno sighed loudly. "Fine," he answered angrily. The three men handed Jeno back a pile of his things, their wallets clearly dug through, and ran off quickly. 

As soon as they were gone, Renjun turned to Jeno. "We could've gotten more of our stuff back if we called the police," he spoke. 

"Nah," Jeno answered as the seven boys grabbed their things out of the pile. "The police would never have found them. We don't know what they looked like. Anyways," he said, handing Jaemin his hoodie and digging through his own backpack. "I have stuff in here that's important to me." He sighed in relief when he pulled out a worn slip of paper, shoving it back in his bag for safekeeping. 

"Is that the love note I wrote you in sixth grade?" Jaemin cried. Jeno nodded shyly and smiled before remembering what happened to the car, immediately going back to his dejected state. 

"Well...is there anything else we can do?" Chenle asked. Jeno sighed and shook his head. 

"No. I've just gotta go home and face the consequences." He looked at the car and chuckled. "Other than the windows everything's still working. Anyone want a ride home?" 

"Don't worry about it dude. We'll just uber home," Donghyuck responded, and he, Jisung, and Chenle pulled out their phones (as Renjun and Mark were staying over at Chenle's). 

"I'll stay with you. You'll need backup to deal with your mom," Jaemin mumbled to Jeno. Jeno gave him a small smile. 

"Love you," he said softly. 

Their ubers began to pull up and they turned to Jeno guiltily. 

"I am so sorry about your car. Let me know if we can do anything," Renjun spoke as they took turns giving Jeno hugs. 

"It's alright, dude. I'll figure it out."

As they turned to hug Jaemin, he gave them a smile. 

"I'm sorry your first rave got ruined," Jaemin spoke. 

"It's alright," Renjun responded. 

"We'll go to another one soon."

"And I won't bring a ing car," Jeno growled. 

They all said their goodbyes, and went into their ubers going separate ways.