Mark paced back and forth in his room, the new uniform for the new school he would be attending felt foreign on him. It was too stiff; it was like he was a walking piece of hardwood. His nails were nearly non-existent with how many times he bit them. After all this was a completely different country and the only person he knew was his cousin Jeno and Jeno’s boyfriend Jaemin. He was absolutely wrecked as his dad knocked on the door. 

“Jeno is here to walk with you to school.” 

“Okay I’ll be right down.” Mark breathed in deeply before grabbing his juul off his bedside table and taking a few hits. Having the nicotine enter his body helped him to calm down a bit. He smiles weakly in the mirror while slipping his bag onto one shoulder. He breathes deeply and closes his eyes. 

“I can do this.” He whispers softly. With newfound determination he exits his room with a wide smile and heads down the stairs. His foot barely reaches the landing before he is pulled up into a hug by his cousin Jeno. 

“Markie I’ve missed you!!” The younger male all but screams in his ear.  Mark’s face screws up into an ugly wince but it quickly goes away when he notices Jaemin standing behind Jeno with a smaller boy next to him.  The boy had short black hair and Mark was surprised by how many piercings lined his ear. Jaemin smiles at Mark’s awestruck state. 

“Hey mark. It’s nice to finally meet you not from a computer screen. This is Chittaphon; but we all call him Ten. He’s a classmate of Jeno’s and my older brother Renjun’s best friend.” Mark smiles at the words from Jaemin. 

Chittaphon. The name was sweet but complicated just like the small male in front of him seemed. And the only thing that could run through marks mind as butterflies filled his stomach and his heart raced was how ed he was from falling in love so fast.

He didn’t even know he liked boys.