Into My Arms ○Septiplier○

Chapter 9

"Dad..." Jack spoke softly into the speaker.

"Hey Jack. It's uh... It's been awhile."

"Why are you calling?" Jack choked out.

"I heard what happened back at home and I wanted to check up on you. We uh... We should meet up tomorrow. I'll pick you up from school and we could head down to the lake. How's that sound?"

Jack was stunned. His father wanted to hang out? Of course Jack never really saw his dad after he came out, but he really wanted to see him.

"Uh.. Absolutely! I'll just... I'll just tell Mark and we can meet up. No problem whatsoever! See ya."

"See ya soon Sean." And the line went dead.

Tears started pouring out of his eyes as he dropped to the ground. "Sean..." He whispered. No one had called him Sean since Mark had met him. Even before that, his mom stopped calling him Sean when she started suspecting things. It all had transferred to Jack. Being called Sean made him feel that maybe, just maybe, his father cared for him. That thought alone hit Jack with another wave of tears. He heard the doors behind him burst open and immediately Mark was next to him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Telling him everything was fine— but Jack knew that, which is why he was crying. Mark helped Jack up and into the car to be taken home, but not before running back into the building to pay for the fries.

--

When they got home Jack stayed in the comfort of Mark's arms, crying softly. Mark really didn't mind it. Although he wanted to know what was wrong, he would push Jack into telling him anything he didn't want to.

"Mark.." Jack spoke softly, easily gaining Mark's full attention. "I'm going to spend some time after school tomorrow... With my Dad." Mark was speechless. He had only seen Jack's dad once, and he had just stormed out front.

"O-okay." Mark spoke. "Is that why you're crying?" He felt Jack nod his head up and down on his chest.

A couple minutes later, still in the same position, Jack spoke again.

"I'm sorry."

Mark looked at Jack confused. "Why are you sorry?"

Jack looked up at Mark. "I'm sorry for using Tom to make you jealous."

Mark stared at Jack in disbelief. "Y-you what?"

Jack looked back down as he responded, "When Tom and I went out for coffee, we argued about weather you liked me or not. I didn't think you did, but we made a deal that he would get you jealous so that even if you didn't already like me, you did now." Jack took in a huge breath as he waited for Mark to say something back.

Mark just started giggling and. Lifted Jack's face to meet his. "You're mean." Mark squished Jack's cheeks and gave him a hug. "But now that I know you felt something for me, I am never leaving your side— except for tomorrow after school... Because yeah.." Mark ended up rambling about placed his couldn't be at Jack's side at making Jack laugh harder than he's laughed in ages.

"Mark?"

"Yes."

"Will you go out with me?"

"Of course." He gave Jack a tight squeeze and helped him to his feet. "Now let's go chat about what we're gonna do about the whole Dad situation." He lead Jack down into the kitchen and they both say at the counter. They talked for what felt like hours before Mark felt Jack had enough pep talk to be ready for the day.

--

The next day came, and Jack wasn't ready at all. Even after yesterday he was still extremely nervous about what was going to go down with his dad. He had cheated on his mom, and was barely ever around to help at all when she beat him. Did he know about it? Jack tried to shake these thoughts away by focusing on class, but those plans were a bust as the last bell of the day rang. He walked slowly down the hall toward Mark's locker hoping to be able to see him before he had to go.

Mark was rummaging through his locker when he felt Jack tug in his sleeve. He gave Jack a sympathetic look and pulled him into his arms, kissing the top of his head for good luck.

"It'll be fine. Remember that I will be there when you get back." Mark ran a comforting hand through Jack's hair. "Let's head out together."

A/N I felt productive, even if this is 50 words shorter than usual... I wanted to say though, that I wanted this story to feel more realistic in the relationship area, because most relationships don't start with a kiss. I want their first kiss to be one of the most memorable parts of this story. Anyway! Love y'all, and I'll try to post another part next week <3