Mark sat on the couch beside Bambam, who watched worriedly as Jackson stared down Yugyeom. Yugyeom had helped sneak MinHee into the dorms, and she’d only gone straight to JB’s room. Mark wasn’t sure if it was Jackson yelling at Yugyeom for letting a girl in while the house looked like a mess, or Jackson yelling at Yugyeom because he was pissed MinHee wasn’t there to see him, and Yugyeom still smuggled her in. Perhaps it was the fact that, in order to distract them, Yugyeom pretended there was a spider and forced Jackson to find and kill it for a good five minutes.

“And another thing,” Jackson was starting, and Yugyeom still stood in front of him, arms crossed and a frown plastered to his face.

JB walked into the living room and frowned. “I think that’s enough Jackson.” He hissed, and Jackson balled his hands at his sides. “I’m sorry my sister came to see me while she was crying.”

“That wasn’t-”

“Jackson, come on.” JB rolled his eyes. “I think you’ve given Yugyeom enough hell for the night. Frankly, I’m impressed he’s still standing there.” Yugyeom shrugged and turned, retreating to his room. “Anyways, I was wondering if you guys want to go out tomorrow. Even if it’s just to the mall, I think we’ve been locked inside of this place far too long.”

Mark stood from the couch and stretched his arms over his head. “Sounds good to me. I’m going to bed.” He announced, slapping Bambam’s knee. Bambam grinned at him and shook his head. “Good night dongsaeng.” He announced, walking past Jackson and nodding his head towards their room. “Good night JB.” He threw open his bedroom door and walked to his bed, where he collapsed and groaned into his pillow.

The door was thrown shut and Jackson stalked farther into the room. “Okay, what is it?”

“You need to cool down.” Mark declared, wrapping himself around his pillow and looking at Jackson. “I mean, you’ve been on edge all week. What’s going on?” Jackson rolled his eyes and Mark sighed. “Come on, do you want me to guess?”

Jackson made a face. “And what about you? You’ve been acting far too out there, for you. Should I guess what’s wrong with you?” Mark shrugged his shoulders and grinned, daring him to do it. “Cora. You’ve been acting all puppy dog love sick ever since we went to house sit for them. Before that even. And I heard her say that you’re going to be helping her with her aerials?”

Mark laughed and buried his face in his pillow. He thought that would answer Jackson, but he was persistent, calling his name until he looked over at him. “Yes, I’m helping her with her aerials.” Jackson gestured for him to go on. “And we’ve been talking because I saved her cat and house sat for her.”

“And I doubt that’s it.” Jackson laughed.

Mark shook his head and threw his phone at him. “Go ahead and read the messages then.”

Jackson laughed again and threw the phone back at him. “Too dirty for my taste.” Mark rolled his eyes and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He asked about MinHee, and Jackson’s face immediately fell. “There’s nothing-” Mark cut him off with a loud yawn and threw himself onto his side, away from Jackson. “She made it pretty clear she can’t stand me.”

“Cora said she was really hurt by this guy in, like, high school and hasn’t really been the same since, which is why Cora and JB are so protective of her.” Mark explained, rolling onto his back and lacing his hands behind his head.

Jackson shook his head and sat on his bed, one leg bent and the other stretched straight. “The same one she’s doing a dance routine with?” Mark turned to look at him questioningly. “The walls are paper thin. You can’t tell me you didn’t hear them talking.”

Mark shook his head. “I was a little busy.”
 

“Right,” Jackson teased. “With Cora.” Mark rolled his eyes. “If she’s still playing games with this guy, I don’t want to be caught in the middle. And it wasn’t that I-am-sort-of-into-someone-else cold shoulder, it was like you-disgust-me-to-no-end cold shoulder.”

Mark frowned and pulled out his phone. “Just give her some time, Jackson. Be patient.” He looked at his friend jokingly. “Who can resist?”

Jackson and Mark stood in line behind about a dozen other people. Bambam, who stood beside them, groaned. “Why is this taking so long?” He asked, shifting the clothes he’d gathered from one hand to the next. “This was a terrible idea.”

Jackson laughed. “The first line of many, and he’s already impatient.”

“We’ve been here an hour.” Mark supplied, shifting from one foot to the other. The boys had strategically wore hats and sunglasses in hopes of hiding who the