Chapter Three

            Waking up felt like crawling through mud, very sticky and gross mud. It was also extremely tiring, even opening his eyes hurt. Mark blinked up at the ceiling, once, twice before he remembered that he was in fact not in his own bed. He was with Jaebum, the boy he had just slept with. Mark’s stomach felt a wave of uneasiness but he tried to blame it on over drinking. The football player was still sleeping soundly, his the only thing visible to Mark’s eyes. Sliding out the bed, Mark winched at the subtle ache in his lower back but ignored it to find his discarded clothes. Everything was still a bit dizzy for him but he seriously did not want to be here when Jaebum woke up. Oh no, not today.

            Mark was very proud of himself as he managed to escape Jaebum’s house and sneak back into his own home from the backdoor. From there he made it back into his room, and towards his private bathroom. Mark hadn’t looked at a mirror before he got home and he was glad he didn’t. He looked like absolute hell, his face was flushed, and he had a few hickeys over his collar bone. Great…Mark thought, as he ran his fingers over one of them. His memory of the night still a bit hazy but he did remember most of it. Deciding not to have any time to be mad at himself Mark hopped into the shower, he still had school to go to.

            Once Mark was done he looked through his clothes, a few of his shirts could cover most of the hickeys, but they were still visible. Opting for a hoodie that covered just about everything he nodded to himself in the mirror before making his way downstairs. Mark’s mother was making breakfast while his father was busy reading at the table.

            “Oh, I was about to come get you. I made pancakes,” His mother said cheerfully. The smell alone was making Mark’s hungover stomach whirl.

            “Sorry mom I’ll be late if I sit and eat, I’ll see you when I come home though.” He said placing a kiss on her forehead, waving to his father and rushing out the door. Mark had nearly missed his bus that morning and was a panting mess when he got on. Running with a hangover should be illegal he decided before taking his seat. Mark nearly fell asleep on his ride to school but woke up just as the bus pulled up to school. He did not want to be here, but he had done his essay a few nights before and worked really hard on it so he was going to turn it in no matter what. Walking to his locker, Mark’s face fell even more when he saw that Jackson was already waiting for him like usual. Of course he was, nothing had changed, nothing except for Mark.

            “Mark! There you are, I’ve been stand here for literally ever. My legs are probably gonna fall off now thanks to you.” Jackson said, pouting at his friend.

            “Sheesh can you be any louder, my head feels like it’s going to explode.” Mark said reaching in his locker and grabbing the books and things he needed for the morning.

            “Why yes my good sir, would you like me to serenade you this fine morning?” Jackson asked, his expression entirely serious.

            “You are pure evil,” Mark said before lightly punching his friend. This was how their mornings were supposed to go and Mark almost thought everything would go by smoothly until Jackson started talking.

            “Mei-Rin is so perfect Mark!” Jackson said, his smile growing wide with the memories of last night. “When you disappeared, we had a chance to talk and she said that she’s liked me for awhile now. How crazy is that? So after we talked and stuff I asked her out and she said yes! Can you believe it, she said yes to me. I mean obviously I’m pretty ing amazing but still,” Jackson exclaimed, his excitement making Mark cringe. He wanted to be happy for his best friend but he also wanted Jackson to shut the hell up and never speak about that girl again, the jealousy just boiling in his body.  

            “Where’d you run off to anyway, we usually walk home together after parties? I took Mei home instead but still it felt weird without you.”

            “I…I went home. I wasn’t feeling it so I decided to just leave.” Mark lied. While he wanted to tell his best friend about Jaebum he kind of wanted to forget the whole experience. He felt kind of happy that he had a secret to keep from his friend, aside from the even larger one about loving him and all. Mark didn’t want to boast because he didn’t even like Jaebum. The boy was just a distraction after all.

            “By yourself? Mark that isn’t safe you were really drunk when I last saw you. What happens if you got hurt or kidnapped even?” Jackson asked patting Mark down for imaginary wounds. Mark wanted to sneer at the boy, when did he look at Mark? Jackson’s tongue was so far down Mei-Rin’s throat he thought the girl might actually digest it.

            “I got home fine clearly now let go of me you heathen.” Mark said pushing Jackson. Both boys continued to talk until Jackson caught sight of someone and waved them over.

            Turning around Mark suddenly felt extremely shy. Walking straight towards them was Jaebum. Mark was even surprised to see a few deep colored hickeys adorning his neck. When had he done that? He couldn’t remember doing that.

            “That was a sick party last night, you always throw down.” Jackson said, bumping fists with the football player. While they talked Mark thought of making a getaway until he heard a sickening sweet voice call out, “Jackson oppa!” Mark did not have to turn around to know it was Mei-Rin.

            “Hey baby, did you sleep well last night?” Jackson asked kissing her cheek as he wrapped his arm around her.

            “Oh you know it, after all I was so sleepy after we left…” she purred in his ear. “And it looks like Jaebum got lucky. Who’s the lucky person that got to sleep with the school’s football captain?” She asked giggling as Jackson began to tickle her sides.

            Mark felt his grip on the notebook he was carrying tighten. He hated this girl and he hated Jackson for liking someone like her and he hated himself more for not telling Jackson how he felt. Hate…hate and more hate. It was suffocating.

            “Oh no one, just some really y red head.” Jaebum said, his eyes connecting with Mark’s before smiling at Mei-Rin. “I see you and Jackson are together now, congratulations.”
            “Oh thank you, aren’t I just the luckiest?” She beamed before placing a kiss on Jackson’s neck. Mark thought he was gonna lose it until Jaebum said something, what did he say again?

            “Sorry what were you saying?” Mark asked, facing Jaebum head on.

            “I said how did you enjoy the party? I always love making sure my guests had a wonderful time. How was your time, was it wonderful?” Jaebum asked, and Mark was glad he was wearing a hoodie because he felt a blush coming on.

            “Y…yea it was okay.” He said, swallowing hard.

            “Mark had to leave early because he was too drunk,” Jackson said, irritating Mark even more as if that was even possible at this point.

            “Oh really?” Jaebum said, “That’s just too, maybe you could make it to the next one. I was thinking of throwing a kick-back this weekend because it’s my birthday. I didn’t want anything to large this year and my parents said they’d leave the house to me. If you get really wasted again you could crash there no problem.” He said, smiling down at Mark. “Oh and you two are welcome to come as well, I only want my closest friends there.” He said, looking back at Jackson.

            “Yea totally I had nothing planned.” Jackson said giving Jaebum a thumbs up.

            “What do you say Mark, wanna come to my party?” Mark did not miss the way he said the word come and he really wanted to say no but the way Jackson was glancing at him, with sad puppy dog eyes, Mark was weak.

            “Yea, I’ll be there.” He said, before checking his phone. “It’s time for class,” he announced to no one in particular before walking away. He didn’t care if he was being rude, everything right now and he just wanted to take a nice nap in class. When he got to his seat, he was surprised to see a new person sitting next to him, this person who just so happened to be Jaebum.

            “What are you doing here?” Mark asked, honestly confused. Mark was pretty sure the person who had been ed was supposed to act like this, not the one giving the ing.

            Jaebum just pointed at the board before smiling. The board read in neat cursive, Psychology. Great…Mark forgot they had this class together. Today was going to be an achingly long day.