Chapter Seven

Mark was annoyed by the fact that Jackson wouldn’t tell him where they were going. No matter how much Mark bugged Jackson about it, he wouldn’t tell him a thing. “Jackson, tell me where we are going.” Jackson found it amusing how Mark kept bugging him about it. “Jackson, don’t make me turn around and go home. Tell me where we are going.”

Jackson just laughed before looking over at Mark. “Why should I tell you when we are already here?” Mark looked dumbfounded before spotting the small café that Jackson was apparently dragging him to. Jackson could only laugh at Mark before grabbing his wrist to drag him into the small café that was fairly popular among young adults. As they sat down, Jackson couldn’t stop himself from staring at Mark. He didn’t want to stare at Mark but he honestly couldn’t help himself.

“Jackson, I would appreciate it if you didn’t eye- me. Now, you want to be friends yet we know almost zero to nothing about each other. You invited me here so; tell me about yourself or something.” Mark honestly didn’t consider Jackson as his friend; he didn’t know anything about Jackson besides the fact that he’s really touchy when drunk. He doesn’t mind becoming friends with Jackson, he could handle him (especially if he could handle Jin), but he was still technically a stranger to him.

“Oh – right, um, well what do you want to know? I’m pretty bad at talking about myself since I don’t want to seem too conceded or anything.”

“I don’t know; just tell me about your life or something. Maybe things like where you work, your friends, your family, anything really.” Mark would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about Jackson. He was definitely an interesting human being to be around, even if he could be slightly bothersome and creepy.

Jackson thought for a minute before nodding. “Well, I don’t work at somewhere luxurious like you do, but I actually work at bookstore. It’s nice because no one really bothers me there and all I have to do is put books on bookshelves. I mean – I doubt I look like someone to work at a bookstore but yeah, it was really the only thing I could get at that point in time.”

Mark wasn’t expecting Jackson to say he worked at a bookstore but, in a way, he found it rather nice that he did work there and not some club or bar. “My cousin is the CEO of the company which is how I got to where I am now. Without him, I probably would be working in a lower paying job. Though, sometimes I wish I could work somewhere else.” Jackson gave Mark a questioning look which made Mark continue rambling about his work. “Trust me, working at that place isn’t the best thing, even if it may seem that way. People are always hassling you for something or asking for help on the most simplest of things; I even have an annoying girl named Lizzy that tries to get my attention all the time and it irritates me. Peace and quiet is not something I get easily at work.”

“That really doesn’t sound fun. I guess I wouldn’t like that job then since I hate being annoyed. You must have pretty good patience, especially since you actually still put up with me – if you want to word it that way.” Jackson knew he was bothersome towards Mark – towards pretty much everyone he meets, actually. Some stick around him, some don’t. “I think my friends, if I even have any left, find me kind of annoying too.”

“I’m sure you have some friends, Jackson.”

Jackson could only laugh at that. “Yeah, I used to. Most of those so-called friends hate me now ‘cause of the BamBam situation, despite the fact that it’s pretty much over and done with.”

Mark didn’t know why but he started to feel bad for Jackson. Mark knew he would go crazy if he didn’t have the f