"So it wasn't about Riley?" Donghyuck finally broke the silence after driving for so long. He had demanded for an explanation the second we got into out seats, I had no choice but to tell him (not that I wasn't planning not to anyway) from the very reason I left. Talking about Robert Lautner didn't feel as stinging as before, maybe because I had calmed my mind of it. 

"Of course not," I said, then rethinking about it. "Well, she might have been one of the factors but that's okay now, our split is the least of my problems. I just...needed to escape for a while. Put my mind off things, that's all."

He was still salty, "-and you had to drag everyone into your mess Mark-"

"I never wanted my problems to be your problems too, Donghyuck!" I snapped. "I'm the last person to hope for my professor to be my...my mom's past lover, let alone be related to me."

"Just say it, he's your..." but he hesitated to do so, and gave up in the end. And he sighed, "That's when you're wrong, Mark, there's no way I won't treat your problems as mine - we made a promise."

"I was planning on telling you when I got back." I stared out the window, gazed at the stars that were soon materialising in the night sky. "I'm sorry I made you guys worry, but the thing between me and my mom is private and I wasn't ready on telling you guys first hand."

"Oh yeah? Tell that to Timothy." he added, he didn't see me purse my lips. I didn't know what to say.

"Okay, why are you bringing him into this?" I asked.

I could sense him frown, "Why are you caring about that? And besides, about what happened earlier - do you get what I mean?"

I rolled my eyes, "He's gay, so what? It might've been a common gesture when he sees someone that's been missing for the past week, it's no big deal."

Donghyuck scoffed, "No big deal? Come on Mark, I'm gay and I felt like punching you in the face. Don't try to forget what he did-"

"He told us not to bring it up, so we'll follow suit." I insisted.

"No, we're gonna talk about it," he said as he drove. "Are you ashamed that he did, you know?"

"What? Of course not!"

"Then what's the problem? He clearly likes you, he almost went insane when we couldn't find you. And don't go on and tell me that you felt nothing, and what did you think about when you were alone?"

There were so many things I thought about. I thought. I thought about him, I missed him. I did-

"Mostly how I'm gonna deal with my problems when I get back." I blurted. 

That was when he stopped the car at the side of the road, "A problem is a problem when you have a say in it, and you have the power to change it. But you can't change this, Mark. Him being your father isn't something you can magically change, all you can do is ignore the fact that he's that part in your life. For 's sake, does he even matter to you? Did he even matter before you knew him?"

I shrugged, "No, I hardly thought about the prospect of finding him. I mean, I didn't have any reason for it, I had Aunt Tiffany and now I have Doc and you and he was never in the picture."

"See? There you have your answer!" he exclaimed. "You don't have to even think about him, ignoring is everything you should do, forget about him and whatever he had with your mom."

I made a face, "Yeah, I'm living proof of what they once had."

"Besides that, Lee." he said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure your mom cared less about how you ended up in this world. I think Aunt Tiffany told you this before, that it wouldn't have mattered who was your dad - you're still her son. It doesn't change anything." he glanced at me. "Or... is there something else bothering you?"

I held my head in my hands, "That's the whole point - I can't ignore him since I'll see him everyday. He's my lecturer, not someone I can run away from."

"Well...maybe we can discuss with Doc if you'd like a request for another college application? I'm sure he'll understand if you told him about your-"

"No." I said almost immediately. Sure I'd do anything to not see his face, but if that meant switching colleges and leaving everything else behind - I'd turn it down right away.  The prospect of everything that mattered to me disappearing was scary.

The prospect of losing him...

I cleared my throat, "I mean, I'm not gonna let him waste every effort I put into getting into this course - be it with him teaching or not. I can manage it, I know I can. And I don't think it's the right time to tell Aunt Tiffany or Doc about the real reason of why I ran away just yet, you know how fussy they get once they discover that my biological dad just appeared out of nowhere and is haunting my life again."

Donghyuck looked weary, "Whatever you say, Mark, just keep in mind that I'm not gonna let you hide anything from me anymore. I'm your brother and it's my job to make sure I've got you in good hands - never ever let that slide." he meant it. "Promise me?"

I couldn't help but hug him, he accepted it willingly. It was brief, yet it held so much meaning and for once I felt at home again. Comfortable and familiar and...safe.

"Promise, I swear to god I promise." I said in a muffled tone. 

"Good," he let out a relieved breath. "That hug was long overdue, we both needed it."

Once we broke away, he reignited the engine and continued driving.

*Two days later*

I surprised him when I walked out the shower. 

I had returned the previous night, and he was already passed out on the bed with a beer can dangling in his right hand. Like always, the room reeked of cigarettes whenever I wasn't around to control him. I sighed, put down my stuff and began doing the usual routine whenever Timothy Armor was caught drunk and unconscious.

I took the beer can away from him, disposed it all along with the cigarettes into a garbage bag, propped his legs in the right position before pulling up the covers so he could sleep in comfort. It was the middle of the night, and all that illuminated the room was the lamp on the nightstand. His skin was a porcelain white, his slow breathing that made his chest go up and down almost looked like a piece of art. My hand almost reached out to push the stray strand of hair behind his ear, but I had held back.

"Mark?" was the first thing he said when he saw me. "I-I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

I grinned, "And miss another class? Not taking my chances. Besides, I missed having you around. How about breakfast before we head to class? We'll still have around ten minutes to spare if you get ready now, the money's on me." 

He swallowed, "How are you holding up? I..didn't have the chance to ask you since-" he stopped talking and looked away. 

I hated how awkward we were, "I'm okay, in case you're wondering. It was a save my aunt didn't ground me for eternity, or I wouldn't be standing here well and alive." I looked around. "She's probably saving it after she gives birth, then I'll face her ultimate wrath." I meant it to be a joke, please laugh...

He flashed a faint smile, "I missed having you around too, Mark. It felt weird being alone in here, without knowing when you'd come back."

"Was that why you followed to come find me?" I asked, maybe a tad bit curious. "You missed me?"

"I was worried, Mark," he groaned. "You don't leave your friend hanging and just elope like that, those are things you do with your friend. Drag each other into , that's what we're for."

I laughed a little, "Well my problems are more than just , FYI. I'm sorry if it affected you too, Tim - guess I didn't think it through. But to be frank I actually took your advice before running away, I assume you remember what you said that night when you were drunk?"

He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "You are the first person I know that would take advice from someone who was drunk, Jesus Christ Mark Lee, you're crazy sometimes you know that? What if something happened to you and I'd be guilty for the rest of my life?"

"Hey, it's okay," I walked closer and put my hand on his shoulder. "-I'm here now, there's nothing to worry about." I squeezed it.

Surprisingly he gently pushed it away, "Yeah, I'll go get ready. Be back in five minutes." As he got up and took his towel, he stopped halfway while opening the bathroom door. "I just want to know, and don't freak out because it's killing me right now - that day where the, you know, kiss happened," he paused, as if he knew that was the question him and I had avoided touching on. "Did it..work for you?"

"No." I blurted, I didn't know why. The answer was so simple yet so clear, it might have stung. I didn't dare look him in the eye, I feared I had hurt his feelings. 

He let out a breath, a surprisingly relieved one. "Yeah, me neither. Guess that's cleared up now, huh?" and he closed the door from behind him. 

*Donghyuck's P.O.V*

"Really? You left your rucksack at my place? Wow, why doesn't that surprise me?" I grumbled as we went downstairs, with Felix grabbing hold of his stuff that he had seemed to 'forget' at the house. He wore a simple bomber jacket, paired with blue jeans and Chuck Taylors. "You come here everyday and you seemed to have left a random rucksack in my room, that's not random at all!"

"Well," he had a playful smile on. "I may have left it intentionally just so that I could say goodbye to your aunt and Doc, like I'm gonna miss her cooking me dinner."

"Yeah, like some homeless guy begging for food here like it's a shelter." I teased. 

We went downstairs, where Doc and Aunt Tiffany were getting ready for dinner. "Ah Felix, I heard you're leaving for Sydney today?" Doc asked as he walked over to us.

"Yup, almost seemed like yesterday I first came over and we had our first meal together."

Doc patted his shoulder, "We're gonna miss you, so don't forget to visit every time you come back. Write to us too."

Felix laughed, "But there's social media now, it's much easier!"

"Nono, I'm not that old-fashioned but," he pointed at Felix's chest. "But it's the heart that matters."

"Make sure to call, at least once a month!" Aunt Tiffany chimed in chirpily. Felix huddled over to give her a hug next. He chuckled, "And be sure to send pictures once your daughter arrives, I'd like to see her beautiful face." and as he said that, it made Aunt Tiffany smile even wider.

I beckoned him, "Come on, you don't wanna miss your flight do you? I'll send you out-"

"I think you should send him off at the airport, Donghyuck." Doc suddenly suggested. 

"What?" I blinked.

Then Aunt Tiffany joined in, "He's right, we'll save dinner for you. I think you two would like a little privacy too, right?" and she winked. 

I knew when Doc meant what he said, and this was one of the instances. I was both glad and freaked out that he knew how much this deadline meant to me, and not doing it right would make me regret it for the rest of my life. Felix guided me out the house, into the frontyard where he had his usual bike parked with no luggage at all. I frowned, "Hang on, where's all you luggage?"

"Well I sort of had it all sent to the airport earlier today, so all that was left was this here," he showed the rucksack.

I rolled my eyes, "Do you really think I'll buy that?"

He handed me the headgear, "Come on, like always? One last time, at least for now."

We were gone with the wind, only this time felt so heavy I had to close my eyes and lean against his back. I didn't notice when we had arrived at the airport, and the sky was already jet black. He had walked over to the check-in counter, handed out his passport and completed all the procedures - all with me just witnessing everything. I was doing it rather attentively since I wouldn't be getting anymore chances after that, I didn't even realize I had been holding his arm the whole time until the receptionist asked, "Your boyfriend?" as she smiled.

Felix gazed at me while I turned red, he grinned, "The love of my life." he answered. Good lord...

The receptionist chuckled, "You two are perfect together!"

I blushed even harder, wasn't he even a tad bit embarassed? Then I thought back, maybe that was why I needed him (and yes, it wasn't an overstatement) to balance out just how small I felt. Sure, I was snarky and somewhat sarcastic when I wanted to be, but that didn't represent who I was as a person. Underneath that all, if stripped bare of all that sarcasm and biting remarks - I was scared of most things, and facing them was a challenge. Felix was my exact opposite, everything that defined outgoing and carefree. Perhaps he balanced out my dark.

"It's almost time," I glanced at the massive timepiece on the wall in the lobby. Ten more minutes. I held his hands, and it was rare for me to display affection in front of public, let alone in a place like an airport lobby. But this meant the last for a long time, and I feared that I might break down the second he went through the gates. I sighed, "Guess I'm gonna miss your significant annoyance, and what about your bike?"

"Oh it's yours now." he answered.

"H-huh?" I frowned.

"Well since I'm not thinking about bringing it back so you should keep it, just in case I'll need it when I come back. And when you get your college admission be sure to call me, I want to be the first one to know about it. Who knows? Maybe you'll get accepted into USYD!"

I snorted, "Yeah right."

"Hey, you worked hard on your papers. I'm sure something good's gonna turn out for you, and maybe it's studying somewhere near me!"

"Right, thanks a lot for hijjacking my college application." I meant it, we had been messing around while filling out college forms when he fooled around by switching the college to the University of Sydney as a joke. It all happened while we were pushing each other around and I didn't notice when I accidentally pressed 'ENTER'. I had originally planned on looking for promising courses that I'd feel content taking, not that I had many options though. Mark was better at academics than me and didn't mind burrying himself in books, I doubted I could stand even for an hour.

But there was something that I had in mind for some time...

"Alright, you should get going," I finally sighed. "Go on, before I start to miss you before you even leave."

"Really, not even a kiss goobye?" he grinned.

I rolled my eyes, "You are such a pain in the neck." and I pulled him towards me. The kiss was tender, like all the other kisses we had before. This was longer, for obvious reasons but it still intrigued me how bold I was being this time round with everyone that may or may not be watching the two of us, hormone-ridden and impulsive teens making out in the middle of an airport lobby-way. I wanted to remember this, for it'd be a kiss to last for long time - and I wanted to remember every second of it.

"Okay, we need to stop." I murmured and we broke away. He gazed into my eyes, a look so lingering and meaningful it made me have goosebumps. Slowly, he walked away while still holding my hand. I smiled faintly, "It's okay, just let go. I'll be fine."

Once I said that, he finally let his fingers slip through mine. "Remember, that I love you Lee Donghyuck!" he declared as he was nearing the gates. 

I waved, "I swear to god, I love you more than you can imagine..." I answered.

But I doubted he could hear it.