Mark ignored his parents as they asked him about his time out and walked directly to his room, shutting the door behind him. In less than a minute of entering his house he was already face down on his bed, head buried into the pillow as he kicked his legs in frustration. What the was that. So much for not letting him in, Mark. Sighing, he rolled onto his back. Why had he enjoyed that so much? The only reason he ran inside so quickly was because he was embarrassed, it had nothing to do with Jackson at all. Which is what frustrated Mark. After his accident, romance was wiped clean off the table. Mark wanted nothing to do with it. “I can’t even keep my friends around, why would I want a boyfriend?” He would say. So, he found it immensely confusing that he had let Jackson kiss him so easily, that he had let Jackson approach him, talk to him, touch him, all without the slightest objection. It was as if the boy had a magnetic effect on Mark, and he didn’t like it one bit. Or did he?

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Jackson drove slowly, his mind to fogged with Mark to focus clearly on the road. He pulled into the parking lot of some convenience store and turned his car off. What did I just do? He smacked the steering wheel angrily. Things with Mark had been going so well, he thought he might actually have a shot at friendship. But no, you just had to go and screw that up for yourself, didn’t you, Jacks? He sighed and rubbed at his face, deciding that he absolutely needed advice.

‘Come over asap. Bring beer.’

From: Jackson 8:34 pm

‘Oh . Be right over.’

From: Jaebum 8:37 pm

Jackson started the car and headed towards his house. Maybe Jaebum would be able to tell him how to fix this mess.

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“Holy , dude.” Jaebum said after listening to Jackson explain the movie date to him.

“So, he like, let you hold his hand and but freaked out when you kissed him?” Jackson sighed and nodded.

“He didn’t yell at me. He didn’t even say a word. He just jumped out of the car and basically ran to the front door. I ed up, didn’t I? Dammit Jaebum I ing .” Jaebum just sighed and handed Jackson a beer. Jackson opened it and took a small sip. He didn’t even want to drink, he just wanted to curl up in bed and feel sorry for himself for making such a bad mistake.

“You do not , Jacks. He kissed you back right? Maybe it was his first kiss so he ran off just because he was embarrassed. You have his number, right? Try texting him.” Jackson bit his lip. Should he text Mark?

“But what if he’s mad at me? I don’t want to ruin it even more…” Jackson pouted and Jaebum sighed at the pitiful look.

“Well you’re never going to get anywhere if you’re too scared of everything, Jackson.”

Jackson sighed and lied back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He stayed silent for a while, his beer forgotten and warm on his nightstand. He picked up his phone and looked at Mark’s contact. Only then did he notice that Mark had placed a small smiley face at the end of his name when he had saved his number. Jackson smiled to himself as he looked at the smiley face. He decided to text Mark. What did he really have to lose?

‘Hey.’

From: Jackson <3 9:07 pm

Jackson showed Jaebum the text, who nodded in approval. He pressed send reluctantly and immediately threw his phone aside, not ready to see Mark’s reply if there would be one.

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Mark was lying on the floor of his bedroom with his headphones in his ears. Music was the only thing that could make Mark forget about the world for a  while. Besides Jackson. Mark groaned and ruffled his hair in annoyance. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Jackson since he ran into his house like a scared child. He was positive that he would never be able to face Jackson again without feeling intense embarrassment. However, he wanted to see the boy again. He wanted to feel him beside him, to hold his hand, to hear Jackson laugh and talk like he did all night. Mark threw his headphones off and aside as he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in his arms. He lied there for so long that he was nearing sleep when his phone chimed and scared him half to death. Cursing to himself, Mark sat up and moved his hand around his bed in search of his phone. When he finally unlocked the screen, he was met with a text he didn’t expect from the very person his mind was obsessing over. Mark read over the text several times before he could even get his fingers to move. When he did make a move, he closed out of his text messaging and locked his phone again, setting it down onto the floor and staring holes into it. It was just a simple text. Jackson didn’t seem angry or hurt. He didn’t sound like he was upset with Mark. Maybe I should text back? Mark tapped his fingers nervously across the screen as he opened up his phone and re-entered the conversation in his texts. He bit his lip, unsure of what exactly to say to Jackson. Should I just act like nothing happened? He nodded to himself and texted back Jackson a simple message.

‘Hey Jackson.’

From: Mark (: 9:15 pm

Mark stood back up and tossed his phone onto his side table as he paced around the room nervously.

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Jackson shot up from his bed when he heard his phone buzz, scaring Jaebum so horribly the boy almost choked on his beer. “He replied!!” Jackson snatche