Mark

We were all sat at the same table, sharing foods and joking around. It felt just like we were continuing our breakfast, recreating the same bright and warm atmosphere. The only difference was that now me and Jackson were sat next to each other, and I was very aware of the fact that our thighs were touching. It was nice though, it somehow made me feel safe.

Bambam, Yugyeom and Youngjae were making fun of Jaebum, imitating his faces and voice. "Aish, when did I do that?!" He protested, sounding slightly irritated. "Aish, when did I do that?!" Jackson imitated mockingly, putting his chin forward and making Jaebum's angry face. Jaebum stood up and reached over the table to slap Jackson on his arm, while not being able to hide a smile. Jinyoung started laughing as well, along with the others, and Youngjae looked like he was dying. I laughed too, Jackson's impression of our leader was just perfect.

"You were just like that yesterday!" Youngjae cackled, still not being able to breathe properly. I sometimes worried he would actually die from laughter. "You..." Jaebum said, still standing. He tried to sound threatening but his adorable smile didn't help him at all. "You're in so much trouble when we get back" he said, and sat down again. Yugyeom and Bambam started screaming enthusiastically and Jinyoung widened his eyes and put his hand up in front of his mouth.

"Speaking of yesterday," Bambam suddenly said, "Where did Mark-hyung suddenly disappear to after practice?" I felt myself tense up at his sudden question. "Yeah, the rest of us stayed a bit later to read some fan-mail" Yugyeom added. "Mark always leaves early though" Jackson said, replying for me. I wanted to hug him. "Which I can totally understand, with such annoying maknaes," he said, followed by his high-pitched laugh. The others were laughing too, including the maknaes, who only looked a little hurt.

"Why do you think I left earlier, too?" Jackson added excitedly, earning a high-five from Jinyoung. I couldn't contain my laughter either, and when I looked at Jackson he was smiling at me widely. I put a hand on his thigh and squeezed it lightly, to say 'thank you'. He put his hand on top of mine and returned the squeeze, to say 'you're welcome'. He then took my hand in his and entwined our fingers. I don't know what he wanted to say with that.

Jackson

We were holding hands under the table, and I felt like my heart could fail at any moment. I tried to be casual about it, but the fact that Mark hadn't pulled his hand away made me extremely happy. My heart was beating fast and my neck and cheeks were getting warmer. I used my free hand to grab my water bottle and took a few sips. I was lucky it was already open, otherwise I would've had to let go of his hand, which was the last thing I wanted to do.

I looked over at Mark, who had his gaze fixed on his food. He had his head dipped down, and I could see a small smile at the corner of his pink lips. I wanted to lean over and kiss him, but in no way could I do something like that. We were just friends. Best friends, sure, but nothing more. I only noticed I was biting my lip when Jinyoung asked if I was okay. I assured him I was fine and continued drinking my water, not looking at Mark and trying not to smile.

Mark

I felt like Jackson was acting a bit strange today. I mean, it was nothing new for him to hug me, or hold my hand, but it was strange because it wasn't in front of everyone. Normally he would act cute and affectionate towards me when there were cameras on us, to show everyone how great Markson is. Not that it was all a lie of course, but without the cameras it wasn't so exaggerated.

Without cameras, we were just us, and we would sometimes give each other a hug, or put an arm around each other when we were standing together, or lean against each other while sitting on the couch. But this was suddenly different. Without anyone else noticing, we were holding hands. Not to please our fans, or annoy our group members saying Markson is the best couple, but just because we wanted to.

His hand felt warm and comforting, and I felt like our hands fit together perfectly. I could feel the veins on the back of his hand pulsating lightly, and I slowly rubbed my thumb over his skin, making small circular patterns. He gave my hand a light squeeze in return, and I looked up to see him smiling, avoiding my eyes. I smiled back anyway.

Just when I was thinking to myself that I wanted this to last forever, Jaebum stood up and announced that we should finish up, as practice was about to continue in fifteen minutes. The others agreed, and when Jaebum, and Jinyoung, who had finished eating as well, had left, Jackson turned to me and asked if I had eaten enough. I quickly stuffed some meat and rice in my mouth, and nodded.

He laughed and cutely said, "That's my Markipooh". I wished he would stop saying that as it made me want to hug him to death. Jesus Christ. "Eeeww" said Bambam, pulling a disgusted face but still smiling. Youngjae started laughing again while Jackson stood up and pointed at Bambam "That's right!" he almost yelled "No Markbam... only Markson!" he exclaimed, smiling widely and laughing.

I decided to join in and put my hand in the collar of my shirt, and then took it out again, making a small heart with my thumb and index finger, and winked at Jackson. "Eeeww" Yugyeom said this time, Bambam joining in as well. "I will end you guys" Jackson said in a calm tone, and sat down again. Youngjae was clapping his hands and I couldn't stop laughing either.

We soon all finished eating, and headed back to the practice room, where Jaebum and Jinyoung were already discussing something. Our choreographer walked in soon after and we continued our practice. I could definitely do this. It had seemed daunting at first, but whenever I looked over at Jackson, everything just seemed okay. Except he would sometimes do that thing, where he did a dance move while looking at the mirror with his intense eyes and biting his lip, and I would miss a step.

After going through the choreography a couple more times we had a ten minute break, which consisted of all of us sitting in silence, catching our breaths and drinking water. Bambam was sitting on Jackson's lap on the couch, and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. I leaned a bit more into Jinyoung, who was sitting next to me on the floor. He put one arm around me and massaged my neck, which I actually appreciated a lot.

Jackson

Although I tried not to, I couldn't help but notice the fact that Jinyoung was being affectionate towards Mark. I felt a bit jealous, because I should've been the one to take care of Mark, sitting next to him and giving him massages. I didn't have time to consider it for a long time though, as we were given the signal to get off our asses and get into positions again.