ABC's of Love - Septiplier

Genuine

And so it continues...

"You're a fucking moron." Bob said flatly over the phone, and Mark wanted to respond with something angrily, but bit his tongue. He held the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he swept the floor, picking glass shards out of his hand and fetched medical bandages to finish the job. "I told you not to do that, I literally said to not do exactly that, Mark!"

"I know!" Mark hissed, pain searing through his hand as he pulled the last piece from it. He cleaned it up just in case, and wrapped a bandage around it to hold it in place. "I was just so afraid that he was going to think something else, I panicked."

"So you threw your phone?" Bob asked, confused now. "I heard something shatter, you didn't throw your phone again, did you?"

"Again?" Mark scoffed, standing and grabbing hold of the broom once more. "Of course not! I don't even remember throwing it a first time, no. I didn't throw anything, I just got angry and slammed my coffee cup onto the counter.

"Jesus, Mark. Are you alright?" Bob asked, sounding rather concerned. Mark only rolled his eyes, dumping the last of the glass fragments into the garbage.

"Its interesting to hear you go from calling me names, to accusing me, to worrying about me." Mark snickered, Bob only heaved a sigh.

"You're the one being an idiot, not me. I'm trying to help you as you asked but if you keep fucking everything up, that gets difficult." Bob said matter-of-factly, and Mark gritted his teeth.

"I didn't mean to lash out! I figured that Jack wouldn't want to stay anymore if he knew that I had meant everything that happened. I figured it would scare him away, I'm afraid of my own feelings at this point. I have no idea what is going on inside my head." Mark faltered, thinking.

"Mark, all I'm going to say is that if you don't go to Jack, and you don't tell him what's going on in your head and you don't figure it out for yourself, he's going to stay away from you, thinking that you hate him. He WILL go somewhere else, he won't want to burden you." Bob explained. "Didn't you say that you already made him cry?"

"Do you HAVE to remind me that I'm a terrible person?" Mark grumbled, and Bob only sighed again.

"I'm not telling you that you're a bad person. I am, however, telling you that if you don't get your shit together, Jack will leave. He needs someone in his life for stability, and you could easily offer that. However, if you keep screaming at him in frustration because you can't understand your own head, he's going to think you hate him. He likes you a lot, looks up to you, and you were the helping hand he needed when his life went to shit. Don't push him away now."

"I'm not meaning to push him away!" Mark repeated with a groan, lifting his head up to the ceiling and leaning back against the counter. He didn't mean to, but it happened anyway.

"I know, but you did. You have to be straight up with him, don't leave him hanging. Sort out your heart first, then your mind, and then tell him. You have to be-.. Oh, what's that word?" Bob snapped his fingers, trying to think.

"Authentic?" Mark asked. "Sincere?"

"Genuine." Bob told him, and Mark sighed. "Be genuine. Right now, actually. Tell me, be real. How do you feel about Jack? Exactly how do you feel?" Mark bit his lower lip, considering his words.

"He's a great friend." Mark decided, and he was positive that he heard Bob slap his forehead with the palm of his hand. "I'm not done yet, hold on! He's a great friend, an amazing companion to have. He's amusing, never fails to make me laugh. He talks so vibrantly about everything he does, and he's proud of very little of what he accomplishes, but of what he is proud, he makes it known. He had majestic hair, and pulls of beanies really well, and he has the most adorable laughter..." Mark trailed off, and Bob waited on the other end. When nothing else came out, he sighed.

"Mark, that was perfect. I need you to reiterate that to Jack. He has to know that you feel this way or he'll feel pushed away."

"He already does feel pushed away." Mark muttered, and he was pretty sure that Bob was growing angrier and more frustrated by the second with Mark's ignorance.

"Then fix it! I just told you how to do this, stop complaining!" Mark felt taken aback; Bob had never sounded so serious, so blunt. "You have the tools, you know what you need to say. Your heart will speak for you if you let it, so stop looking at this like a barrier. Look at it like a trial, a pass fail. If you make it, if you can tell Jack, we won't have problems. If you can't, then you lose everything." Bob's voice had softened, and Mark nodded then entire time, having taken a seat to listen. "Speak your heart, be yourself, and Jack will accept you."

"You're right." Mark said, sighing. "I've been stupid, but I can fix this. Thanks, Bob. For being a hardass on me when I don't know what to do."

"Hopefully you'll do fine, this will be over, and I won't have to do it again." Bob said, letting out a yawn. "Oh, and Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, try to be more considerate and less of a dumbass."

To be continued...