The Demon's Mark

Picking Up The Pieces

Jack leaned his forehead against the bathroom door, feeling the cool wood press against his skin. He could hear Kyle pacing inside, his breath shallow and rapid—on the verge of hyperventilating. The tension in the air was suffocating, and Jack's heart clenched painfully at the sound. He knocked softly, not wanting to startle him, but enough to let Kyle know he was there.

"Baby... can we talk about this?" Jack's voice was quiet, pleading.

From inside, Kyle's(new) voice came out in a soft but strained tone.

"What's there to talk about, Jack? You made a deal with the devil to bring me back. What could you possibly say to make this okay?" Kyle said, exasperated.

Jack sighed, sliding down the door until he was sitting on the floor, his back pressed against the door separating them.

"Technically Alex is a demon. Not the devil himself." Jack said a bit sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

It failed. He heard Kyle groan from the bathroom.

"Jack." Kyle said in a warning tone.

"Sorry. Not the time to make jokes." Jack clarified.

There was more silence- Jack could picture Kyle's distressed expression, the way his hands would be running through his hair, tugging slightly at the ends as he tried to make sense of everything. Jack's throat tightened. He couldn't see him, but he could feel Kyle's pain as if it were his own.

"It doesn't matter to me that I made a deal with a demon." Jack said, his voice hoarse.

Kyle's scoffed.

"Ok? It matters to me Jack|." Kyle said pointedly.

Jack took a deep breath as he heard Kyle slide down the door behind him.

"I was willing to risk anything to get you back. It shouldn't have been you, Kyle. It was supposed to be me. You deserved to live..." Jack revealed..

There was a brief silence before Jack continued, laughing bitterly to himself.

"Alex told me... I wasn't even supposed to be alive right now. I'm on borrowed time. That's one of the reasons I was willing to do anything to bring you back. Because whatever time I have left, I want to spend it with you. I don't care if you're not in the same body. It's your soul I'm in love with. And if I'm being honest," Jack's voice softened- "the new Kyle isn't so bad to look at either."

From the other side of the door, Jack heard a faint chuckle from Kyle.

"Now is not the time to be charming, Jack," Kyle said, but his tone wasn't as harsh as before.

"We're trying to have a conversation." Kyle concluded.

Jack rested his head against the door again, closing his eyes as he looked upward.

"I know you're upset, and I get it. I just... I need you to understand that I wasn't thinking about the consequences. I just wanted you back. I would've done anything." Jack said quietly, his voice cracking.

Kyle's voice wavered as he asked,the important question.

"How much time do we have, Jack? How much borrowed time are we talking about?" Kyle asked, his tone tense.

Jack swallowed hard. He didn't want to answer that question, but there was no way around it.

"Two years," Jack whispered.

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating.

Kyle's voice was barely audible when he spoke again.