I'm Just Septic-Eyed

Chapter 23: Pity Party

"I fucking love penises, man."

Mark's solution to a broken friendship and a low income of money was, of course, to get absolutely hammered. Like any sensible depressed adult, he bought all the liquor he could carry and called up Bob and Wade to play whatever game they could get their hands on. At the moment, Mark and Wade were plastered with Bob not-so-eagerly catching up to them. Any worries Mark carried instantly vanished after the first bottle was empty. They were playing Minecraft, much to Bob's dismay.

Bob was the only one with enough sense to realize Mark was only drinking his problems away. But his friend was clearly having nothing to do with whatever it was, as he had already started drinking when he called them up. So Bob decided to humor Mark and play along. "Are dicks just always on your mind?" Bob asked. Que laughter from Mark and Wade. Bob rolled his eyes and laughed along.

"I think about dicks more than you'd believe," Mark said between fits of giggles. "They're, like, my favorite thing."

"I wouldn't doubt that," Wade chuckled. He took another sip of his drink. "Hey, have you seen Jack's penis yet?"

Bob nearly choked and Mark spit out the contents in his mouth. "Oh God! It got all over my monitor!" Mark searched around for something to wipe off the screen with. He had to go to the kitchen to grab some paper towels. "And no, Wade, I haven't had any desires to... see Jack's penis." He mumbled that last part as he returned his headphones to his head.

"Oh, come on," Wade said in a rather provoking voice. "Isn't he your man-crush or something?" His character moved to the penis Mark was making and added some pink wool while Mark was out of commission. "You can't say you've never wanted to see it."

Mark felt his face become hot, and it wasn't because of the alcohol. "I... N-no! I-I don't -- I mean, I've never -- he's too... I'm not..." Wade and Bob laughed at Mark's flustered reaction, which only caused him to become even more embarrassed. "I-I'm not sure if Jack is into that." Mark's hand instantly flew up to his mouth.

"So you're into it?" Bob questioned. "We're all friends here, you can be honest." Wade giggled along with him.

Mark tossed the soaked paper towels to the side. He wanted to forget about Sean, not be questioned if he ever wanted to see him naked. "I'm not." Mark wasn't sure if that was a lie or not. "Can we finish building this penis? I wanna hurry up and regret tonight tomorrow morning."

The three joked around and drank constantly. Bob and Wade occasionally made fun of Mark for his penis addiction, with Mark denying the accusations. After a particularly long laugh session settled down, Mark heard something not in game. He strained to hear, but couldn't tell what it was with the noise Bob and Wade were still making. "Hey, can you guys be quiet for a second? I'm being serious here, Wade." The other two settled down out of confusion and curiosity. Mark took one side of his headphones off and listened. That was Chica barking. Before Mark could wonder why, she stopped. "I'll... I'll be right back, guys."

Mark took off his headphones while Bob and Wade questioned him. He strained his ears, but Chica was truly silent now. He glanced at his computer screen. Bob and Wade's characters had stopped moving. They were probably trying to figure out what just happened. Mark stood up from his desk and left his room. He carefully navigated the dark apartment to the front door.

Outside was cool and refreshing -- almost calming. Mark looked around, but found no Chica. He stood there for a moment, wondering if his drunken state caused him to hear things, until he noticed someone walking down the sidewalk. He stepped out the doorway toward the person. "Jack?"

Sean practically ran toward Mark and threw his arms around him. Mark was taken by surprise and nearly fell over. "What's going on?" Mark asked. "I kinda thought you wouldn't want to see me again."

"I -- have you been drinking?" Sean took a step back. "You smell like Monster and beer. Why would you even combine those things together?"

"It was all I had," Mark took on a slight defensive tone. "But what's with you? People don't usually take nightly walks."

Sean hesitated for a moment. "I-I ran into Sam again." He fiddled with the bottom of his shirt. "Believe it or not I feel safer now that you're around." He smiled a bit. "M-maybe we can continue this tomorrow? It's late and I don't want to make Cry or Felix worry --"

"Why not stay with me again?" That was possibly the alcohol talking for Mark. The past few days made him desperate for Sean's attention again. "I'll let Cry and Felix know. You said it yourself: I make you feel safe."

Sean pursed his lips.

"I don't mind, really. It was kinda lonely without you around." Now that was definitely the alcohol. He reached out and grabbed Sean's hand. "Please stay."

Sean hesitated. "O-okay."

Mark grinned broadly and dragged Sean inside. "I was playing with Bob and Wade, so give me a moment," Mark said as he walked off to his room, leaving Sean alone in the living room. "Hey, I'm back guys." Mark was greeted with Bob and Wade's voices colliding with one another. "Sorry. Something came up. Listen, I gotta go now, Jack came home. I'll explain everything tomorrow. Love ya!" Mark ended the call and shut everything down. He walked back to the living room and sat down next to Sean on the couch.

"Uh, I let Felix and Cry know where I am," Sean said awkwardly. Mark noticed he looked very fidgety, but in his drunken state he couldn't connect the dots quite clearly. In his mind, Sean looked like he needed a hug. So that's what he did. He put his arms around Sean and pulled him close. "M-Mark! W-what...?" Mark rest his head on Sean's shoulder. He could feel Sean's face heating up.

"I really missed you, Jack," Mark mumbled. Mark wasn't clearly registering Sean's shaking body. "It was too quiet."

Sean didn't say anything for a moment. "M-maybe I should head to bed." Mark threw his legs around Sean's waist as he started standing up. "Mark!" At the sound of his name, Mark pulled Sean closer to him. Sean struggled to pry himself off, but it didn't appear to be working. "Jesus, how much did you have to drink?" He gave up and just let himself rest against Mark's chest.

Mark laughed. "I don't even know."