sweatshirts in the summertime| l.mh /ft. p.js

chapter 5

A week has passed and I've basically been living at Lia's house. I go to her house after school everyday. We work on our project, then we relax and talk. Mark pops in from time to time, sometimes even hanging out with us. Over this past week I've grown so close to Lia and Mark, it feels like we've known each other forever.

Right now I'm in Lia's room eating popcorn while she's watching TV. We hear a knock on the door and we both know it can only be one person. Mark comes in and sits on the bed next to Lia. All of a sudden, he snatches the remote from Lia. "Markkkk, get your own TV" she shouts while trying to get the remote back from him. "I wanna watch TV in here, Li" he tries to reason with her. "Li?" They both look at me. "Yeah it's my nickname" Lia explains. "Do you have a nickname, Anjae?" Mark asks. "I guess I do. It's Jae, I don't really like it." I say twisting my mouth.

"Jae" Lia repeats. "That's actually really cool, why don't you like it?" She inquires. "You don't think it sounds like a boy's nickname?" Lia shakes her head rapidly. "Hey, it's way better than mine" Mark chimes in. "What's yours?" I ask him. Mark is hesitant. "Come on, it can't be that bad" I press. Meanwhile, Lia is nearly choking on laughter. "Mork!" She blurts out. "I'm sorry, what?" My eyes shift between Mark and Lia. "His nickname is Mork" she says trying to catch her breath from her fit of laughter. Lia starts wheezing, Mark and I look at each other and start cackling.

We laughed for a good five minutes. After we all catch our breath, I ask Mark how he got the nickname. "When Lia was still a baby she tried to say my name but she couldn't pronounce it correctly. So she just called me Mork instead." He explained.

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It's time for me to leave and Mark is driving me home again. He's been taking me home all week. I've gotten a lot more comfortable with him. He's the kind of person you can trust with anything. "Can I ask you a question?" I ask Mark looking at his hands on the steering wheel. "Sure" he replies. "How would you feel if you're best friend stopped hanging out with you because they have a significant other?"

We stop at a stop sign. "Are you talking about Jisung?" Mark asks studying my face. "Yeah! How did you know?" I ask him surprised. "Well, the whole school knows you two are best friends and... you've been here with me and Lia every day of the week."
"Right... well I would hang out with Donghyuck but he has vocal lessons until 6" I state sort of defensively. Mark picks up on this because he's quick to say "No, we've enjoyed your company! I was just pointing out that you haven't been hanging out with Jisung as much. I honestly thought it was strange." I slouch in my seat. I miss Jisung. "To answer your question, I'd feel upset but I'd still be understanding about the situation. Jisung has to figure out how to balance his friendships and relationship." I nod in agreement.

We get to my house and I say good night to Mark before going inside. Once I make it to my room, my thoughts consume me. Jisung literally lives next door!! And I haven't seen him once. The situation is making me so frustrated. That girl came and stole my best friend from me.