Septiplier One Shots

Distant only in centimeters

"SEAN McLOUGHLIN! I have had just about enough of this nonsense!"

Mark watched as the small boy in the front of the class got reprimanded by the teacher for the fourth time that day. The teacher just wasn't having any of it. This time, she was yelling  because the boy was tapping his pencil on the desk. Mark didn't think the boy was that bad. He'd just never talked to him.

He was new this year and Irish. He sorta talked funny and 1st grade was scary so Mark didn't try and reach out to him and make new friends. Maybe he would eventually try but right now he was really focusing on his subtraction problems.

-

"That's it, young man! I have had just about enough of you! Collect your items and switch seats with," Mark watched the teachers eyes scan the room before landing on the girl in front of him, "Missy!" she shouted.

Mark, and the rest of the class watched as Sean collected all his stuff and moved to sit in the now empty seat in front of Mark. Mark went back to coloring the triangles and squares on the handout like everyone. Mark started to feel bad for the boy in front of him. He never seemed to do anything really bad, the teacher just didn't like him. The boy lifted his head to stare at the head of brown hair in front, he had his head down. He wasn't even doing his work.

Mark opened his mouth to say something but decided he didn't want to get on the teacher bad side also, so he didn't.

-

Mark walked out to middle school garden, he had signed up for Green Club his second year of middle school. It wasn't the most exciting club he could have joined but it was secluded and gave him a chance to be alone.

He enjoyed picking the couple weeds that grew through the week, tending to plants and heckling the soil pH level. He was usually the only one outside the school for the last period of school. He was supposed to actually have a teacher with him but she had noticed pretty quickly he wasn't going to anything so she let him out alone so she could stay in the cool room watching cat videos. He didn't care.

Mark wiped the sweat from his brow and tossed the last weed into the bucket by him when he heard the doors a little down from him open. He watched as a group of boys walked out. He didn't personally know any of them but he knew of them, they were, for a lack of a better word, the trouble makers. Mark made a point of staying away from them.

He kept his eyes down and only looked up again when he heard them say something, "Look, McLoughlin, either do it or you can't hang with us."

Mark watched as they parted slightly, he could see Sean in the middle of them looking scared and uncomfortable. The tallest of the group was holding up something that looked like a cigarette but homemade.

Mark knew he should say something, knew he should get a teacher, knew he should do something. Anything. But instead, he just stayed where he was and silently watched as Sean took the thing and breathed it in. He started coughing and everyone in the group started cheering. They started to pass the cigarette around and soon decided to head back in. Mark was sure no one saw him from his little garden. That is until the last of them was heading in and Sean turned looked at him sadly.

Mark knew he didn't do something right.

-

"Mark, you'll be working with Jack."

Mark felt the floor drop out from under him. He had taken general science because he only needed one more science credit to graduate, he hadn't thought about what kind of people also took general classes. Those kind of people included Sean "Jack" McLouglin.

Mark looked up slowly and scanned the room looking for the green haired Irish boy. He found him finally, he was already collecting his items and moving to sit at Mark's lab table, "Remember these will be your partners for the whole year so don't cause any issues."