Today was Sunday, and Mark woke up seven minutes before his alarm.

Seeing it too early to get out of bed, but to late to fall back asleep, he groaned and swung his feet over his mattress.  He stood on shaky legs and made his way across his room, out the door and to the bathroom that was set in between his and his parent's rooms.

No one else was up yet, and Mark loved it.  He loved the stillness just before the sun peaked through the gray clouds.  He thought the dark sky was beautiful.

He the faucet running his hands under the cool water, and splashing some onto his face.  He glanced at his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

As a kid, he never thought much about the way he looked, but now that he was a young adult, that seemed to be one of the only things on his mind.  

He paused, running his fingertips over his jawline where his skin was soft and pale.  

He had wide eyes brown eyes, traits he inherited from his mother, and a perfectly sloped nose from his dad.  His father was Taiwanese and his mother was Korean-American, creating, what he thought to be, the perfect child.

After turning off the faucet and his lips, he his heels back into his room.  Rummaging through clothes in his closet, he finally found what he deemed sufficient. What just so happened to be sufficient was a pair of black jeans that clung loosely to his body and a blue and white striped polo shirt.  He hopped into the fresh clothes and strut into the bathroom for a final check up on his hair.

Mark's hair was a mousy, dull brown that hung in his forehead; regardless of what he put in it.  He ran a hand through his bangs, attempting to make the wavy mess to look somewhat styled.  After compromising with the strands, Mark trot down the stairs to grab his satchel.  He didn't bother leaving a note, considering he assumed his parents were aware of his whereabouts.

The walk to the train station seemed quicker than usual, and the train ride itself seemed to go by at light speed.  The next thing Mark knew, is that he was entering the familiar diner, the sun just peaking over the hazy morning clouds.

Mark pushed on the door lightly, the bell above him ringing.  He walked over to his signature spot, which just so happened to have the raven haired boy with a silver earring, seated next to it.  The boy's head was cradled in his arms that rested on the diner counter.

"Hey." Mark said softly, placing his satchel below him.  Jackson looked up from his resting place, bags under his eyes and looking just all together disheveled.

Jackson grumbled a response, sitting upright, but still slouching forward.  Mark bit his lip and attempted to scoot away from the tired boy.  Jackson just looked off into the distance, his eyes fixed on something in front of him.

"Can I have a coffee?" Mark finally asked, poking Jackson's shoulder.

Jackson let out a sigh, looking into his lap before meeting Mark's gaze with a forced toothy smile.

"Same as yesterday?"

Author's Note:

I would like to formally apologize for the length of this chapter.  I have the first fifteen or so chapters in a Microsoft Word document on my desktop computer, so everything after this should be smooth sailing.

Comments and feedback 100% make my day and I would like to thank every one that has been doing so!

-iamnotfire