When Jackson walked into school the next morning he wasn’t prepared for the stares. Glancing around, he noticed a few girls look away from on purpose. It wasn’t until he paused in front of his locker that one of his friends stopped by, hand resting on Jackson’s shoulder.

“Yo man, I heard what happened. That’s rough,” he said, and Jackson quirked a brow.

“… What?” That was all that Jackson said before he looked around again. More stares, some whispering, and even a few laughs - Jackson narrowed his eyes.

“Didn’t Mina break up with you?” he asked, and Jackson blinked a few times as he shook his head. “Oh… That’s what she’s been going around saying.”

Jackson just sighed.

He had forgotten how fast word travelled at this school, especially break ups and hook ups. He rolled his eyes, locker slamming loudly as he leaned against it.

“Did she say anything else?” he asked, but his friend just shook his head.

“No, that was all. Still, that really does . I’m sorry.” He patted Jackson’s shoulder before walking away, leaving Jackson leaning against his locker as he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest.

So Mina was considering them officially broken up… The question was, did he care enough to try to fix it or would he rather stay single? Did he want something else? Shaking his head at himself, he slid into class just as the bell rang and tossed his backpack onto the floor under his chair. He could barely even look at Mark, who was trying to get his attention. Jackson shot him a smile, though it was weak, and he watched as Mark tried to give him a smile back.

Finally Jackson looked down at his paper, taking notes and eventually resorting to doodling in the margins of his paper. When a note was flicked onto his desk he glanced at Mark, trying not to smile too wide as he opened the little folded paper.

You gonna be okay?

Jackson sighed softly, watching the teacher writing on the board as he replied.

Yeah. I’ll be fine. She didn’t even tell me, I found out this morning.

Jackson watched Mark’s face as he read the reply, and Mark turned to Jackson with a look of disgust as he shook his head.

What a .

Mark had drawn a little picture of Mina with scratched out eyes and devil horns and Jackson had to stifle a laugh, nodding as he jotted down a response. He paused, however, as he realized how his mood had changed in the past few minutes. Maybe there was something to what Mina had said, but Jackson was sure that it was just a simple want to focus on the closeness that he and Mark had. He didn’t have time to deal with a relationship right now, not with school and exams and college to worry about.

Furrowing his brows, Jackson made sure his teacher wasn’t looking as he placed the note back on Mark’s desk.

Do you think I could pull off having a house party? My parents are out of town next weekend, and it’ll cheer me up.

It was an almost immediate response, Mark just scribbling something down, balling up the paper, and tossing it into Jackson’s lap as their teacher turned to look at him. Mark just smiled, stuttering out an answer to the question that was being asked. He hadn’t paid attention to it at all.

As Mark tried to answer Jackson read the response to his question and nearly laughed out loud. It just said ‘yes’ in all capital letters with exclamation points. Covering his mouth, Jackson shot a thumbs up at Mark, shaking his head as he stayed focused on the other man.

Maybe this was all he needed. Maybe he just needed some tension relief.

To be completely honest, Jackson had never thought about throwing a party like this. He assumed the thought should have crossed his mind, but it never had. Now that he had Mark behind him, though, planning seemed to be going easier than usual.

Jackson was just thankful that his parents didn’t have any links to social sites. He was sure they wouldn’t care as long as nothing was broken, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

It felt like the week went in slow motion, and by the time Saturday came Jackson had managed to get a good group of people over. Of course certain people had been left out of the list of invitations, but that was obvious. He didn’t want Mina crashing the party, after all.

All in all it was a decent turnout, and Jackson was pleased. So far, this party was achieving exactly what he’d wanted it to: he was distracted. Mina wasn’t on his mind at all, and neither was school. The only somewhat stressful thing that remained ended up staying near him the entire night.

It was cute watching Mark attempt to have fun, though. In situations like this he tended to keep quiet, not wanting to be the center of attention. Jackson was the exact opposite, so the entire night he kept pulling Mark into conversations, arm usually draped around the other man’s shoulders or waist. Mark never mentioned it.

The only thing that Jackson hadn’t been expecting was people bringing older friends.

It was about the moment that beers were into both Mark and his own hands that he quirked a brow in confusion, looking up at the person who had handed it to him with a questioning expression.

“Where did these come from?” he asked, opening it anyway. Mark watched him.

The only answer that Jackson got was a shrug, and then the two were left alone, both awkwardly holding beers and neither knowing quite what to make of the situation.

“Are you gonna drink?” Mark asked, and Jackson shrugged, taking a sip. He pursed his lips.

“It’s not that bad. I’ve had beer before, anyway.” He took another gulp, not really paying any mind to the fact that most of them were underage. Mark hesitantly followed suit, taking a sip and immediately making a face.

One thing Mark noticed was, after the initial gulp, it didn’t taste that bad. One thing no one noticed was how much they were actually drinking, and how loud the party was becoming. Jackson stumbled into the kitchen, watching as Mark took a drink of something he couldn’t even place while sitting on his counter. Jackson smiled.

It was true – liquor did release inhibitions, and with Mark it was a drastic change. Instead of keeping relatively to himself he was talking to everyone, laughing and smiling and being the person that Jackson knew in private. Leaning against the counter next to him, Jackson looked at the now empty cup and then up at Mark, chin resting in his hands and grin wide.

“What did you just drink?” he asked, words a bit slurred. Mark chuckled, biting his lip and cupping Jackson’s cheek with an innocent grin.

“I have no idea,” he replied, shaking his head before he burst into laughter. Jackson joined in, not noticing the fact that he had almost nuzzled his face into Mark’s hand before the other had pulled away. The two stayed where they were for a moment, Jackson looking up at Mark and Mark looking for another drink before his expression fell and he pushed himself off the counter.

“, Mina’s here,” he said, eyes wide as he turned to Jackson. Jackson just turned around to see if Mark was right.

It was like the color had drained out of his face. Mina had managed to find Victoria in the crowd and the two were clearly looking for them. There was a moment where Jackson just stared. Then he grabbed Mark’s hand and dragged him off, leading him down the hallway and toward his room.

Jackson wasn’t pleased to open his door and find a couple there but he simply kicked them out, closing the door after they’d left and then looking to Mark.

“No, she wasn’t supposed to know about this,” he said, gesturing around the room drunkenly as he frowned. Mark walked toward the bed, almost tripping but managing to catch himself before falling to the ground. He situated himself before looking back to Jackson expectantly, waiting for him to finish. Jackson continued to frown, even making it more dramatic. “How do I get her to go away?” Mark thought for a second then shrugged, Jackson finally joining him on the bed as he hid his face in his hands and groaned. Mark stifled a laugh, patting Jackson’s knee before falling back and resting his arms behind his head.

“We’ll get her out. We have to make a… distraction, or something,” he suggested, turning his head to face Jackson as the other turned to look at him as well. There was a long silence before Mark tried to get up, Jackson immediately shaking his head as he turned to hold Mark’s shoulders down clumsily.

“No, don’t move. Just… stay there for a second,” he mumbled, words still slurred together. “You look y like that. I should go get Victoria.” Jackson managed to keep a straight face until he finished his sentence, wiggling his brows suggestively. That was the moment that he started laughing, unable to stifle it as Mark tried not to laugh as well.

“What? How much did you drink?” he asked, and Jackson thought for a moment before shrugging.

“A lot.” That was his only answer as he eventually calmed his laughter, still smiling as he looked Mark over. He wasn’t used to drinking quite as much as he had that night, and with a cloud of alcohol over him he didn’t notice his hand move from Mark’s shoulder to rest on his neck. It was like they were back in the same spot as they had been after their double date, but this time there were less inhibitions to hold them down.

“… You do, though,” he mumbled, Mark quirking a brow.

“I do what?” Mark questioned in nothing more than a mumbled slur. Jackson shifted in his spot, taking a moment to look the other man over in silence.

When had Mark actually matured? Jackson hadn’t ever taken the time to look at Mark like this, so it was like it had happened overnight. There were no more features from when they were kids, only adult ones, and Jackson couldn’t stop the reply.

“Look y. You look really y,” he murmured, trying to keep an eye on Mark’s reactions. He lost track, however, when his body decided to move before his mind did and he leaned down, lips pressing against Mark’s and eyes closing gently. Mark didn’t respond, just watched in shock as Jackson pulled away. His smile faltered, Jackson not making much of a move after that other than trying to hide the flush on his cheeks from the mixture of alcohol and embarrassment.

“Jackson, I’m not… I have a girlfriend…” he said softly, but he’d barely finished the sentence before Jackson had kissed him again, stifling the possibility of any other argument. For a moment Mark did nothing, but after a while he felt himself sigh softly, hand slipping into Jackson’s hair as he let his eyes close and returned the kiss.

When Jackson pulled away Mark didn’t even open his eyes or pull his hand back, just mumbled something about Victoria before Jackson moved closer again, resituating himself so that his body was closer to Mark’s as he closed the gap between their lips once more. This time the kiss was much more firm, and Jackson’s hand slid up to cup Mark’s cheek as they both let their lips work together. Jackson used his thumb to nudge Mark’s jaw open, deepening the kiss when he could and letting his tongue slide over Mark’s lower lip.

It wasn’t until Mark made a soft sound of pleasure into the kiss that he pushed Jackson away, shaking his head. His brows furrowed.

“W-why are you… Stop it,” Mark said softly but assertively, a worried flush having fallen over his cheeks. “Just… Just stop, okay?” Jackson looked at him, breath a bit shallow before he went pale.

“Oh… Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I just…” Jackson’s voice trailed off as he stood, swallowing deeply and walking away from the bed. Pushing himself up, Mark watched as Jackson paced, cursing quietly under his breath. Mark took a moment to nibble on the inside of his lip anxiously, taking a few steps toward the door. Jackson didn’t move.

“Let’s… talk about this when we’re less wound up,” he suggested quietly, Jackson nodding in silence in response. Frowning, Mark kept his eyes on Jackson for a minute, trying to war silently between going up to comfort him and just leaving the room. He was clearly stressed, but after what had just happened Mark didn’t know what to do to help. Eventually he decided on just slipping out into the hallway alone, avoiding some of the stares that were shot his way as he walked.

He met up with Victoria after a while, telling both her and Mina that Jackson had gotten sick and was resting in his room. They seemed to accept the lie as the truth, and Mark felt relief wash over him despite the bit of confusion he felt over the direction the night had taken. Of all the things he hadn’t expected from Jackson that was probably at the top of his list, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not even the party was distracting him. Not even Victoria was distracting him.

Mark hadn’t expected everything to last for so long, but he managed to push as many people out as he could when it got too late. A few people had passed out in random spots in the house, but Mark let them rest as he looked around.

He could sneak into Jackson’s room for the night and actually sleep on a bed, or he could rest on the couch. Looking down the hallway he frowned. For a moment he almost walked to Jackson’s room but eventually he changed his mind, walking instead toward the couch and pulling one of the spare blankets that were nearby out to cover himself.