𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱; markhyuck

❦24❦

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The following morning, Mark awoke with a start. His heart pounded against his rib cage when his leg brushed against another body unexpectedly and he shot up into a sitting position without even thinking. Beside him, the boy who must've been sleeping squeaked and covered his face with his arms, curling over to the edge of the bed.

The elder breathed in and out, gathering all his memories of the night before and calming down his panicked form. He hadn't slept with someone in his bed in a very long time. Maybe even since he was a child. His friends had never gotten that close in Canada and this surprise was expected.

Donghyuck slowly lowered his arms from their protective shield and cracked his eyes open slowly to look up at him. He too was panting from the shock and seemed to relax when he realised he wasn't in danger. He must've thought the quick movement beside him was an attack.

"I'm sorry," Mark whispered and looked from him to the window. Dawn had barely broken and he felt more exhausted than yesterday. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What was that? Why did you jump? I thought..." he sighed airily and closed his eyes before resting his soft, gold waves against the pillow, "I thought you were Rijun or something."

I could tell, the ravenette thought, be he chose not to voice it. "I haven't slept beside anyone in years. You gave me a heart attack."

"Oh. I would apologise but I didn't really...do anything."

"It's me. I'm sorry," he mumbled and rubbed his face before getting up. He wondered if his parents were up and about yet, or if it was still too early. "Go back to sleep, we don't have school."

"It's fine. I was having nightmares anyway."

The two dressed quickly regardless of the fact that they had an abundance of time. Light grew brighter over the course of the morning and they found themselves perfectly content with sitting downstairs having an early breakfast.

Birds outside repeated their morning routines, the same songs on a tireless loop while dark clouds moved over the small community. Even on a day like today when things were a bit different, a bit odd, the world still spun without fail.

Donghyuck stared at Mark again and shamelessly didn't realise how often he did so. The elder was hunched over a cereal with his hair in disarray and his eyes practically glazed over with fatigue. He thought of what they'd done in school recently, and then wondered about what Mark and Chenle had been talking about a few days ago on the side of the street. He didn't feel like the type to waste his time on nobodies. "Random question time. How well do you know Zhong Chenle?"

The ravenette glanced up slowly and chewed the food in his mouth before swallowing. His answer was brief. "Barely."

"What does that mean?"

"It means what it implies," he hummed and sat back in his seat. "Chenle is...I suppose he's a little different from the usual crowd. He hates it here as much as we do and he wants someone to rely on. That someone being me."

For some reason, that made Donghyuck feel a little annoyed. "Uhuh? And how is he different from the rest? He's a spreader of gossip, a people-pleaser and a wallflower. I don't get why you waste your time on him."

"I've hardly wasted time here," Mark sighed and chose to ignore the rising frustration in the blonde. "He's decent company, and an excuse to avoid Renjun and Jaemin at lunch sometimes. Honestly, it isn't that deep."

If Hyuck pressed the matter any further, he knew it would've looked a bit weird and sounded like the desperation of someone clinging to their only friend. Even if it was a little true, he didn't want to be stupid. But nevertheless, his lips moved without his brain's consent. "I'd stay away from the lot of them if I were you. But, of course, nobody wants to end up where I am."

"I'm sorry," Mark apologised quietly, rubbing his face and leaning his elbows on the table. Hyuck knew that meant he didn't want to slide down into the gutter, at least not yet. And understandably so. But still...

He didn't like the hold those toxic insects had on him from above.

"By any chance, does Chenle bully you?" The taller enquired gently, possibly that quiet to avoid his parents hearing if they were awake upstairs.

"Him? Not really..." he had to confess, but in a way his feigned ignorance was equally as evil. Those who knew but turned a blind eye would suffer the same karma as the rest, he was sure. "Still, he's weird."

"He's..." Mark nearly admitted to the boy in the hospital and bit the lining of his cheek to refrain. Donghyuck gave him a look, but he didn't answer it honestly. "He's fine, really. I'm more concerned about Jaemin and Renjun. They've got the real power to be problematic for you. Are any of those bruises from bullying?" He pointed to his own cheek but truly meant Hyuck's.

The younger boy touched his face carefully and looked away to think about it. "Maybe. Some of them, anyway. Most are from Rijun though. Jaemin and Renjun don't get their hands dirty with anything that could incriminate them."

"Clever."

"Yeah, unfortunately. They'd get away with it too, since a lot of this could be from anything," he motioned to his body. "They'll all get what's coming to them, though. I'm just waiting to watch or deliver it."

"Revenge?" Mark leaned forward. "Do you have some sort of plan or scheme, huh?"

"I didn't. Well, nothing possible to begin with. I want to expose them all for the demonic sadists they really are. Especially Renjun...he's the worst. Him and Jeno, I just know I could ruin their lives if I had that kind of voice."

The ravenette suddenly felt a wave of discomfort as he thought about it. He was staring in the face of potentially the only student who could pick apart the obnoxiously knitted web of the school. If he played his cards right, Donghyuck could've ruined more than just two lives. He could've ruined all of them. The kids were all eighteen — at least, the ones hurting him were. They weren't truly children anymore. "Do you really plan on it? Dragging them all down with you?"

"Maybe. I would have to be angrier than I am now, though," he smiled faintly and suddenly caught his eyes again. They were oddly terrifying and yet beautiful. Like they would pull Mark down into a lake to drown him and he'd never even know. Not until it was too late. Eyes that could scream could also sing, it seemed. "You're making things a bit easier for me, I must admit."

"Glad to hear it," he responded automatically, but internally he was malfunctioning. He kept walking straight back to this dangerous person, and nothing stopped him. Maybe he was dumber than he thought he had been. Maybe he'd been too self-righteous to believe he was any different from the other suckers of this world who couldn't fight against a being greater than themselves.

Or perhaps everyone was the same, and they just couldn't steer clear of Lee Donghyuck. Maybe the unwanted attention he bore was drawn to him with magnets he couldn't control and Mark, Renjun, Jaemin, Rijun and possibly others were just weak to the pull.

A terrifying thought.

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