•four seasons //johnmark//

•summer

Mark knew he shouldn't expect much out of his college years. Maybe he'll get drunk every once in a while or, maybe he'll just exclude himself from the world. Mark will be too busy with football to care anyway. Mark will stay up late doing homework, go to bed, then repeat. He won't dwell on his constantly low life and he won't allow himself to rely on someone again.

He can't do that again.

He won't do that again.

"Mark?" Donghyuck piped from next to him. "Let's go, what room number are we?"

"209," Mark replied.

Donghyuck flashed him a smile and reached down to hold his hand. It was a habit the younger had established earlier on. Mark was a sucker for affection so, he never commented on it. Where would Mark be without Donghyuck? Mark doesn't know. Wherever there was Mark, there was Donghyuck. Mark met the younger one in elementary school, back when Mark was still taller than him. Donghyuck was tiny and scrawny, his long brown hair almost covered his eyes. Now, it was the opposite. Even though Donghyuck was younger than Mark, he was more confident than him. Donghyuck knew he was gorgeous, everyone did. His skin tone was like honey, a few freckles hidden on his face. Mark always called them stars. If Donghyuck was ever insecure about them, Mark would play dot-to-dot with his freckles and create constellations with the few freckles Donghyuck kept a secret.

Though Donghyuck would say the opposite, Mark couldn't compare to him. Mark was scrawny still, he hasn't really changed since middle school. He was shorter than most guys, which led to much teasing from his peers. The only thing Mark felt confident about was his black hair. It was like his hair was the one thing he couldn't mess up. He could make it work with anything he wore.

Mark needed to fix something, but that could come later.

He reached forward and unlocked the door to their dorm. Living together was a promise Donghyuck made a long time ago. A promise that stated that Donghyuck would follow Mark across the world. Mark has learned never to doubt the other, for Donghyuck always kept his promises.

The dorm was a decent size, almost the same as Mark's room back in Colorado. The room had many windows that allowed for sunlight to shine into the bare room. The room gave a better feeling than what Mark got back in his hometown.

Nothing good came from Colorado, only hurt and despair. Mark was appreciative though, his time there taught him a lot. It allowed Mark to grow in ways he didn't want to. He got heartbroken, learned from it, and was able to move on. Not from the pain of it but the memory of it. He figures he has his parents to thank for that. They never pushed, and they never forced themselves into his issues. Though they gave advice and offered help, they allowed Mark to grow. They knew the hurt boiled down far deeper than they could ever understand, but they still helped the best they could.

Mark thinks they deserve the whole universe.

Himself? Well, not so much, but he hopes he'll get there one day. One day, he'll stop overthinking everything. He'll start trusting people and realize that not everyone is going to leave him. Someday, he'll genuinely be happy.

For now, Mark will focus on football and navigating through college. No one needs to worry about him because he doesn't have it bad. Others have it worse, he can't complain about a little hurt.

-

"Mark!"

Mark isn't surprised that Donghyuck was the first one to wake up. With a groan, Mark threw his legs over the be and went to find the younger.

"What-"

"There's a freaking snake in the toilet!"

Mark tried not to laugh, he really did, but the situation was far too funny to let Donghyuck run free. Mark let himself fall in a fit of giggles and fall into Donghyuck in the process. The younger huffed from above him, clearly annoyed by Mark's outburst.

"Mark, this is serious," He whined, a pout forming at his lips.

Mark ruffled his hair, "Come on, Hyuck, it'll be gone by this afternoon before practice."

Donghyuck frowned but shrugged anyway, "Fine, but you owe me food."

"I'll buy you the Silver Dollar from IHOP," Mark said.

From the way that Donghyuck lit up and a bright smile crossed his face, Mark knew he had a deal. Donghyuck wasted no time grabbing shoes (+ Mark's hand) and running out the door.