Puzzle Pieces // m.f

0.8

Mark's gaze moved from the now empty pizza box on the table to Matt and Ryan, both groggily scrolling through their phones, to Jamie. She had moved a bit in her sleep and the braids in her hair had fallen from where they were pinned up, now on either side of her peaceful face.

He sighed, almost sad to give up his current position with Jamie, and stood up, holding her with one arm bracing her back and the other beneath her knees. Mark carried her to the room that had once been for guests and sat her down on her bed before walking back to close the door behind them.

"Jamie," Mark whispered, reluctant to wake her up. "Come on, it's time to get ready for bed."

She mumbled something completely incoherent and slowly opened her eyes once Mark began lightly shaking her shoulder. Wordlessly, he passed her the small package of makeup removal wipes from the small vanity in the corner and watched for a moment as she sleepily tried to take off her makeup but only succeeded in looking somewhat like a raccoon.

"Let me help you with that..." Mark trailed off in the midst of light giggles, trying to keep his voice low to avoid completely waking her up so she could go back to sleep.

Jamie's lipstick had worn off by itself, so it only took a few seconds for Mark to get off everything else. He paused for several moments to just look at her then, amazed at her natural beauty and confused as to why it was bothering him so much. At the sight of her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she became more awake, Mark moved to undo her braids and brush through her hair before she could demand to do it herself. He liked being able to take care of her.

Jamie's vision and thoughts both became slightly clearer while Mark was slowly brushing through her hair and she sat perfectly still for him, unsure of if she wanted him to know that she was now incredibly aware of what was happening. He had already taken off her glasses for her and so Jamie had a little bit of extra confidence. Not being able to see him would be great for her conversational skills, assuming she had any idea of what she was going to end up saying to him.

"Alright; go on to bed." Mark ruffled her hair slightly and went to leave, convinced she was still in her half asleep state.

"Mark?" Jamie was fully alert and her hair went down her back in loose waves thanks to her now undone braids. The concern in her eyes and her faintly uncertain tone of voice made him turn completely around, his hand still on the light switch from where he had just turned the lights off. The only light was now coming from where he had barely opened the door and it was just enough for him to watch as she lifted a hand to her hair, nervously tugging on the ends.

"What's wrong?" Mark was back beside her in less than a second and pulled her hands into his, not liking the idea of her hurting herself in even that minor way. Her fingers unsteadily moved in his hand and she didn't seem to want to look at him even though he was fighting the urge to say how cute she looked with her nose scrunched up and her small frown.

"It's nothing. It was dumb. I'm sorry." Jamie shook her head and pulled her hands away from him, letting her hair fall in her face when she looked down at the bed.

"It's clearly something. And it wasn't dumb. Not if it was something you had to say." Mark smiled gently and couldn't help but feel like Jamie was so much younger than nineteen when she looked up at him from behind her curtain of hair and began to blush.

She closed her eyes and sighed dramatically before actually saying anything, just attempting to let him know how little she wanted to talk about what was bothering her. "It's very dark in here."

"Well, you're about to go to sleep." Mark remained oblivious to the problem, which only made Jamie more uncomfortable. She put her head on his shoulder and mumbled something he couldn't understand. "What was that?"

"I really really don't like the dark." A strange feeling of simultaneous dread and relief washed over her when she heard his faint hum of understanding and she was hesitant to lift her head.

"Oh. Oh, you're scared of the dark." Mark's aha moment had come and gone, but he still spoke as if he was oblivious and didn't know how to respond when Jamie groaned at his rather blunt statement.

"Can you not say it like that? It makes it sound like I'm three or something." She hesitantly looked up at him bit her lip, hoping he didn't think she was just some silly kid after this.

"No, no, no. It's fine. It's okay that you're scared of the dark. I mean, I'm scared of the ocean and it's kind of the same thing." Mark rushed to assure Jamie that she wasn't being ridiculous and he didn't find her fear childish, even if she did.

"How on earth are those even remotely similar?" He smiled at her almost forced emphasis on certain words and allowed his hand to rest on the small of her back, gently encouraging her to sit closer to him.

"Well, I don't like that I don't know what's out there in the ocean. You don't like that you can't see what's out there when it's dark. We fear the unknown." Mark didn't mind when she didn't respond because she had moved closer to him, their legs now overlapping slightly and her head resting just below the crook of his neck.

"Mark?" Jamie's voice was significantly quieter this time and he didn't bother with an answer, only humming and pulling her closer to him. "Can you stay? Just until I fall asleep. It's not as bad with you here."

"Of course. I don't mind at all."

The night ended with Mark tucking Jamie into her new bed and lying down beside her, on top of the covers. He mumbled stories of him and his brother until her giggles stopped and he began to feel tired, himself. He began to stand and go to his room, but at some point Jamie had gotten the hem of his shirt tangled in her fingers and wrapped her small hand into a fist. Mark certainly could have unlatched himself from the girl, but he didn't. Maybe he was too tired to bother or maybe sleeping next to her seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass it up. Either way, he whispered his final goodnight and kissed her forehead before settling down for the rest of the night.

[A/N: I'M SORRY I'VE JUST BEEN TRYING TO MAKE IT LONGER AND IT HAS BEEN A DISMAL PROCESS I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE. also thank you guys for over two hundred reads and two of my favorite authors voting which resulted in me literally falling off of my bed and choking on cereal. love you all.]