for: exoticsonespirit

partner: Mark Tuan

Hope you enjoy! :)

Mark frustratingly slammed the side of his fist onto his locker. "I don't get it," He managed to mumble out matching with his hand running through his brown locks. "Dude, maybe she just needs some time." Jin gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Time for what? She was fine this morning but she totally just shrugged me off a while ago. What the hell was that?!" He angrily kicked the red locker and started pacing around the hallway.

"You have to calm down." Jin chuckled and leaned against the locker as he found the frustrated Mark amusing. "How can I 'calm down' when my girlfriend isn't talking to me and I don't know if I did something wrong or was she kidding or was it real." He said in one breath with his eyes growing wide by the second. He groaned and slid down onto the floor with his back against the locker. "Try again later or tomorrow." Jin calmly said.

Mark waved at Jin who went the other direction as him. He dragged his feet across the pavement towards the direction of his house. He felt like some kind of heavy weight was placed on top of his shoulders and he somehow felt some sort of emptiness within him. By this time he would have been messing around with Aina as they walked home together. He let out a long sigh and stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared as his shoes as they alternately took the spot in front of the other.

He realised how Aina has been gradually distancing herself from him for the past two days saying that she had to attend some important practice for one of her presentations in class though he would secretly catch her just pacing down the hallway during breaks. She would leave school as early as she could so he wouldn't be able to walk her home like he usually does. "Why do you have to be so confusing?" He mumbled to himself and kicked a random pebble on the ground.

Maybe I'll text her. He thought to himself while taking out his phone and typing in his password. He opened his messages and pressed on her name which opened their conversation which was dated four days ago. He began typing a simple "Hey, are you home already?" but quickly pressed the backspace button when he realised how stupid it sounded. "What should I say?" He mumbled.

It's like he was back on square zero when they weren't together yet. He initiated their very first conversation asking her if she wanted to come and attend one of his dance competitions and it took him three days to must up the courage to actually send her a simple text then approach her at school. Nervousness was building up in the pit of his stomach as he thought of what he would tell her, heck he's freaking out just thinking of what he might have done to upset her.

let's go out tonight ^-^

He finally decided on what he should say to her. He shook his hand in his pocket in anticipation for her reply. "Come on, come on, come on," He mumbled to himself as he quietly counted the seconds, no, minutes that passed by and yet he still hasn't gotten an answer. He leaned his back onto the nearest lamp post and groaned, letting all his frustrations out.

After a few more minutes of waiting he finally gave up and continued making his way home. He couldn't help but retrospect and reminisce those first few months of their relationship when everything felt so new and so nice. He smiled at the thought that they have created so many memories together and it would be a shame if the factory would come to an end.

His eyes grew wide when he suddenly felt the gentle vibration of his phone from inside his pocket. "Finally," He whispered and fished for his phone. The screen lit up with her written in white letters. He poked the screen to push in his password and went to his messages as fast as he could.

Okay.

Was all she said. His shoulders sagged as he read the four letters over and over in his head. His palms started sweating while he dribbled his phone from his left hand to his right, walking down the sidewalk at an agonizingly slow pace. Something's defintely wrong and he was more than willing to find out what's bothering her.

He straightened his body and advanced towards her house which was luckily just three houses away. "Where do you wanna go?" He mumbled to himself as he was practicing what he would say to her when he arrives. His mind averted to thinking where he should take her.

Mall? No. Restaurant? No, that's too cliché. At times like this, there's only one place where he could and would want to take her. The park where he asked her to be his. A smile spread onto his lips as fragments of that magical day flashed in his mind.

How he placed a few petals of pink roses on the pond that lay under the bridge and they gently floated away into the center. Small lamps dotted the couple of trees that surrounded the picnic blanket where he finally asked her the most awaited question under the star coated sky.

He wiped his hands onto his slacks and took in a deep breath. He reached up and pressed the doorbell followed by a series of notes playing from inside the house. He took a step back from the door and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he nervously waited for someone to open the door.

Mark bit the inside of his cheeks as he heard the lock of the door moving and unlocking until the door itself opened wide. "M—Mark," that all too familiar voice filled his ears, "Hi," He forced a smile but it quickly faded when he didn't get one in return. A few seconds of silence and he cleared his throat.

"Let's go?" He stepped to the side to give way for her. "Okay," She nodded and stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her. "Um," She twiddled with the hem of her shirt. "Where are we going anyway?" She turned to him a little but a pang of hesitation ignited from within her and she decided against it.

"You'll see when we get there." He smiled and poked her cheek a little but he quickly pulled back when she scurried away from him. "I—Is there something wrong?" He asked and shoved his hand into hid pocket. She looked at him and quickly shook her head. "Nothing's wrong." She mumbled.

Mark let out a heavy sigh and averted his gaze onto the sidewalk and kept silent as they both walked to their destination in deafening silence. He quietly snuck glances at Aina. He traced the lines and shapes of her face with his eyes.

He noticed how her eyelashes were not too long nor were they too short; they were the perfect length. He watched how she her lips from time to time without even knowing. He smiled as he thought of how her eyes had the most unique shape. He watched her hair flow with the wind that was weaving through the strands of her hair. He noticed how the bridge of her nose was just right. He found out the defintion of perfection by lookint at someone imperfect and he adored how imperfect she was.

"Why did we come here?" Aina's voice snapped him out of his daze. "Why are we here?" She asked and sat on the green bench that sat underneath the shade of the tree. "I wanted to talk," He started. "You've been," He turned away and shook his head with a matching shrug. "I don't know, you've been distant... Lately." He shrugged again.

She rested her hands onto her lap and focused her gaze onto the ground as the small gears in her mind twisted and turned; trying to figure out what she should say. "I mean, if there's anything bothering you, you know I'm here for you, right?" He turned around to look at her with his hands on his head as he grew anxious.

She just nodded and turned away. "Aina, talk to me. What's bothering you?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her a bit. She tried to push his hands off of her shoulders but he wouldn't budge and brought his face even closer to hers. "Tell me what's going on in your mind." He whispered and leaned even closer. "Everything's fine." She mumbled and lightly tapped on his cheek which was her little way of reassuring him.

Mark leaned in and he could feel her breath gliding against the skin if his face and she could feel his on hers as well. "What's going on in your mind?" He asked and tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes as he waited for the collision. A few seconds later and he was still waiting and the seconds felt like minutes and she pushed him away and ran home catching Mark off guard.

She panted as she tried to run even faster away from him and back into the comforts of her home. Aina craned her neck to look at him still standing there with a stunned look on his face and his hands looking like they were in the middle of doing something but got interrupted. "I'm sorry," She mumbled wishing he could hear her.

She slowed down her pace a little until it gradually decreased to walking. The scene flashed before her eyes several times more than expected and her heart ached when she recalled the look on his face when she pushed him away. She was practically yearning for his touch but the words kept repeating themselves in her head.

Mark walked down the hallway with his head hung low as rowdy students walked past him with one of them accidentally hitting his shoulder causing him to stumble back. "Sorry," He mumbled and scurried off onto the side. He toyed with his phone in his pocket as his superfluous thoughts started swarming his brain making him groan.

He was desperate to see her at this point. He was desperate to know why she ran off. He was desperate to know what was running in her mind. He wanted to know what was bothering her. "Mark," Jin punched his arm causing his bag to fall off of his shoulder. "Yah!" Mark scolded and pushed him in return. "What's up with you?" Jin chuckled and rubbed his arm. Mark rolled his eyes and hoisted his bag up onto his shoulder.

"Have you spoken to her?" Jin asked and shoved his bag into his locker with Mark leaning on the one next to his. "A week ago." Mark mumbled. It's been a week since the walk to the park and he hasn't spoken to her since then. "I saw her at the cafeteria a while ago. Maybe it's about time you should say something to her." Jin shrugged his shoulders as he expressed his idea. "I dunno, hyung." Mark squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head onto the locker.

"Better get things straight before it's too late." Jin smiled and walked off to who knows where leaving Mark alone with the company of his own thoughts once again. "Mark," He mumbled to himself and ran a hand down his face accompanied by a long sigh. "," He whispered and dashed toward the direction of the cafeteria.

"What did I tell you?" He heared Hyuna's high pitched voice come from below the stairs. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from him, loser?" She hissed. Mark slowed down and even if he knew it was rude he decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What? You aren't going to speak? Cat got your tongue?" Hyuna provoked. Mark went down a few more steps to find out who she was talking to when that small voice lingered in his ears and without even seeing it with his two eyes he knew exactly who it was.

"I tried. It's been a week actually," Aina said in a low voice. He rushed down the stairs making sure he wouldn't create too much noise. "Good job, four eyes." Hyuna laughed at her superfluous remark. "What's going on?" Mark stepped in and stood in between Aina and Hyuna. "Why are you talking to her like that?" Mark glared at Hyuna who was desperately trying to think of a reason or an excuse to save herself.

"O-Oppa, I was just asking Aina about that stalker who was following her the other day and I told her she should just ignore him. People these days are so—" Before she could even continue Mark cut her mid-sentence and spoke. "If anyone was following her around, I would be the first to know."

Hyuna fiddled with the hem of her blouse and bit on her lip. "If you have nothing nice to say then you should just leave." He coldly said. "But-" "Just leave," Hyuna's eyebrows crossed and her voice raised as she took a step forward and three her arms back onto her sides.

"You should just break up with her, Mark. She's useless to you plus she isn't good enough for you. She's the school nerd, do you think it'll be good for your image to be dating a loser like her?" She whined and stomped her feet on the floor as she took a couple of steps toward Aina. "If you think love is about loving someone by how they look or what their status is then you should know that you're a very shallow person." Mark calmly said and held onto Aina's hand. "Now if you'll excuse us," He sent a quick salute to her and dragged Aina away from the scene.

A few minutes of walking, a few minutes of silence and footsteps he finally mustered up the desperation and courage to speak to her. "Was it because of her?" He came to a halt causing Aina to bump onto his back. "W—What?" Aina stuttered. Mark sighed and pushed her back against the wall trapping her in between him and the cold concrete.

"What did she tell you?" He leaned in closer to her and whispered into her ear. "Why were you pushing me away?" He was practically resting his cheek on her shoulder as he reached down and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Don't ever push me away." He mumbled as he breathed in her scent and tightened his grip around her. "Don't ever leave me." He looked up at her and wiped the tears rolling down on her cheeks.

"Don't leave me, okay?" Mark held her cheeks in his hands and desperately searched for an answer. "I won't." She mumbled. "I love you." Mark whispered and finally collided their lips and he hugged her even tighter.

Hi, Aina!! I hope you enjoyed this one! :)

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