Once Mark was excused from the nurses office, he was free to go home for the day. He bid Ken farewell and went home, watching the other turn and head down the music corridor.
Mark walked home alone, since school was already finished, and Isaac wasn't in so much of a good mood with him, the reason for which he didn't quite know yet, but it must have been a good reason to make Isaac angry and Jack violent.
Every step he took felt like a struggle to Mark, he walked as if he were wading through muddy water. When he got home he found that his dad still wasn't back, so he went up to his room and locked the door, before sitting on the edge of his bed and staring out the window.
He started to feel the tears coming again. Why was he such an emotional wreck since his mother and brother died, it seemed like everything made him cry nowadays. He knew he was being dramatic, and that sitting on the bed wouldn't solve anything, but he couldn't bring himself to face Isaac or Jack at the moment, so he just laid back on his bed, and tried to clear his mind.
Why did I move to this place?
---
Jack got home from school exhausted. His head was throbbing from thinking so much, yet the more he tried to understand, the more confused he made himself. He wanted to believe Ken, he really wanted to believe that Mark had no knowledge of what happened to him at the party, and he even had no proof that Mark did play any role.
Despite this, he couldn't quite force himself to see it that way. Maybe he had just been through too much shit to see the good in people anymore. Or maybe he didn't want to feel bad about hurting Mark for no reason.
He was almost certain that Ken was telling the truth by the time he was ascending the stairs to his flat, but he was a stubborn guy, so he forced himself not to commit fully. Maybe if he saw Mark in person, if Mark ever wanted to speak to him again.
He went to bed, but he couldn't sleep, he had too much on his mind, so he lay and stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore his thumping headache.
---
The day was fading into night, the sun setting over the rooftops as the sound of traffic on the streets died down. Jack walked on, a spark of motivation causing him to finally pick himself up off the bed, because his head couldn't handle any more of the torture that the thoughts of Mark were putting it through.
He listened to his earphones, stepping to the beat, and heading towards the last place he thought he'd be heading when he woke up that morning.
He stopped as he reached Mark's doorstep, debating whether it was possible to turn back, but he had came this far, and all he had to do was knock. He'd figure out the rest as he went along. Heck, maybe Mark would just slam the door in his face.
He swallowed audibly, and knocked softly on the door, waiting a few minutes. When nobody answered he knocked again, much louder this time. Still no answer. The third time he knocked, he was cut short, as Mark pulled open the door, looking like he'd just woken up.
Jack stumbled back slightly in shock when he saw Mark's face. The whole right side of it was beginning to bruise, a dark circle already formed around his eye. He had dried blood at the rim of his nostrils, and his nose was slightly crooked. He winced slightly as he took a sharp intake of breath, but his eyes were just as shocked as Jack's were, as he stood in the doorway, his feet almost glued to the floor.
Jack felt tears form in his eyes when he realised that he was the one that did this to Mark. He was the one who caused him to have a black eye and a broken nose, and he was the cause of whatever emotional and mental stress Mark had went through that evening. Jack felt rooted to the spot, they stood in silence, gazing upon each other, both speechless.
Jack finally broke the eternal silence, his voice shaky, but he forced it to be loud and clear, not shy and small like it always seemed to be.
"Mark," he said softly but clearly, showing his emotions a little more than he would have wanted. "I'm... well... it's just...." He scolded himself internally, looking down at his hands, where he was fidgeting subconsciously with his fingers. "Do you wanna go for a walk?" He finally spurted, lacing the syllables together as if it were one long word.
Mark stood in the doorway, he still hadn't moved. He wondered if this was some sort of trick. Jack hated him right now. Why the fuck was he being... pleasant? He eventually looked up from Jack's fingers, which he was watching intently, and nodded stiffly before inviting Jack in while he put his shoes on.
They walked towards the nearest park, Mark sat down on one of the swings while Jack leaned against the post, psyching himself up for the apology he was about to deliver.
"Mark, I have to say sorry." Jack said, his eyes staring deep into Mark's, giving him his undivided attention. "I was way outta line today, like so far outta line. I assumed it was you, I told myself that you had something to do with it, and I convinced myself before I considered the possibility that you weren't part of it." Jack couldn't help the tears from falling from his eyes as he continued.
"Mark you've been nothing but nice to me since I met you and all I've done is fuck you over. You're nice to me, and I pretend I want nothing to do with you. You invite me to your party, and I refuse to come. You greet me kindly at school and I punch you in the face." Jack couldn't see much of Mark's facial expressions through the blur of his tears, but he knew that Mark's chocolate brown eyes were staring straight back at him, perhaps fighting back tears of his own.
"Tell me how that's fair, Mark." Jack demanded, punching his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Tell me how that's fair on you."
Mark stood from the swing and sauntered over to Jack, causing Jack to back away slightly, cowering in the fear of being hit. Mark said nothing, he just stood there, opposite Jack for what felt like years, before grabbing his shirt and pulling him into his chest, wrapping his arms around him as the last of the setting sun disappeared completely over the horizon. Jack hugged back tightly, sniffling into Mark's shoulder.
"Jack," Mark croaked, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion. "You know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right? Please. Tell me what happened. Tell me who it was that did something to you." Mark pleaded, confusing Jack a little.
He really doesn't know I came to his party, does he? He thought to himself, feeling yet another pang of guilt when he registered that he had been violent for absolutely no reason.
Jack broke free from Mark's embrace, sitting himself down on the tarmac ground, watching Mark do the same, before starting to tell Mark what happened.
To begin with, Mark couldn't believe that Will would ever do anything like that, but then he remembered his almost crazed smile when he helped Mark to his feet after Jack had knocked him to the ground, and everything started to make a little more sense. He was overcome with rage in that moment, the only thing keeping him grounded was Jack's hand on his shoulder.
He insisted on walking Jack home, the sun was gone, and it was dark out. It was the least he could do for Jack, after hearing what he had been through.
After he had left Jack, and wished him a good night, he was finally able to walk in the open air, and be alone with his thoughts. Normally he would savour these moments, he would feel free, he'd feel disconnected from the world, yet still able to think over important decisions. However, only two thoughts occupied Mark's thoughts that night.
The first was how disappointed he was in Will. How disgusted he was that he would do that to Jack, and the fact that Mark himself had let it happen in his own house. The second was a more powerful thought, though. It took control of Mark's mind, and no matter how hard Mark tried to cast it aside, he couldn't shake it.
Mark was falling for Jack, and he was falling hard.
________
A/N Good evening! (or whatever time of day you read this!!)
WOOooO! Mark and Jack like each other again! And now Mark knows who Will really is, it can only be uphill from here, right?
Maybe ;)
Until the next chapter though! Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot to me <3
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Trust Your Instincts
Fanfiction~Septiplier~ After a traumatic incident, an 18 year old Mark decides that it'd be best for him to get away from the memories, and move halfway across America, in hope that he'll be able to start a new life for himself in California. Within a fe...
