translucent [markson]

[Eleven] Alone

As the majority of JYP academy prepared for shows and concerts, Mark sat in his room, waiting for something to do. Many of the students at his school were part of the creative arts program, in one way or another, and Mark was one of the few that wasn't. The two people he had gotten closest to, BamBam and JB, were both part of an upcoming dance show, so he didn't have anyone to hang out with. He was so lonely that he would have asked Youngjae or Jinyoung to talk to him, two people he had met through JB. That was saying a lot, considering they were near strangers to each other, and Mark wasn't usually bold around people he was unfamiliar with. Unfortunately, they too were preparing for their own concert.

When there were exactly seven days left before the show, Mark became convinced that BamBam was insane. BamBam would leave early in the morning to cram in dance practice before classes started, and he wouldn't come home until after eight. Mark was seriously concerned for his roommate's health, but he knew there wasn't much he could do to convince BamBam to calm down on the practicing. Besides his worrying, he just wanted BamBam to stay in the dorm longer so he wasn't alone.

After two days of BamBam's "disappearing act," as Mark called it, he finally gave up. Instead of waiting for something to happen, he just lost himself in his homework, going so far as to finishing assignments that weren't due for another week. When he decided that he had worked far enough ahead, he started on his dreaded English project.

He was already fluent in English, but the school still required him to take the class. Instead of learning English, he was like a teacher's helper and tutor, along with Jackson. However, it was still a class, so he had to complete assignments from time to time. Despite Mark's complaints, he had to do a partner project with Jackson, one that was meant to be a decent part of their grades. The project was due in two days, and Mark had only begun working on it then because his A was almost guaranteed. Nevertheless, he decided that he wanted his project to be at least somewhat worthy of the grade.

Mark actually planned on doing the assignment the lunch period before he and Jackson agreed to put together the final project. He was sure it was enough time to complete his half, so he hadn't given it a second thought. Once he had finished it, he was proven right, finding himself done in twenty minutes. With all his schoolwork out of the way, all he had left to worry about was Jackson's half.

Part of him didn't even think Jackson would do it, considering all he had going on. Mark was aware that Jackson was practicing for both a dance show and his fencing, so it would make sense that he didn't have the time. A bad grade in English would only barely affect Jackson and Mark's grade -- even with it being a bigger grade -- but Mark would still get pissed at Jackson. That being said, if Jackson didn't show up at the library the next afternoon, he was dead.

~

And there Mark sat, waiting for Jackson. He was already half an hour late, and Mark was doubting that he'd show up. Even though he partially expected it, Mark couldn't help but feel let down and somewhat worried.

Although he knew it was a false hope, he still believed that Jackson might come. He didn't think Jackson was the type of person to skip because he didn't care; even though Mark didn't particularly like Jackson, he could tell that Jackson was very mindful of his grades. So rather than just giving up and heading back to his dorm, Mark decided to stay.

When JB, BamBam, and Youngjae showed up instead of Jackson, Mark was slightly disappointed. As grateful as he was for finally having people to talk to, he suddenly felt worried for Jackson. They had agreed to meet after school at six because Jackson was done with fencing by five, giving him some time in between to wash up and generally get ready. Mark had just assumed that Jackson skipped to go to dance practice, but, seeing as BamBam was in front of him, that couldn't be the case.

"Mark, what are you doing here?" JB asked, taking a seat across from Mark. BamBam and Youngjae followed in suit, BamBam sitting next to Mark and Youngjae next to JB.

"I was waiting for Jackson..." Mark mumbled, distracted by his thoughts.

"Jackson? For the English project?" When JB didn't get an answer, he snapped his fingers in front of Mark's face.

"Sorry." Mark blinked a few times before continuing, "Yeah. He never showed up."

"Really?" Youngjae asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Wait, why are you guys here?" Mark stared at the other three, confused. The three of them should have probably been practicing, considering how soon performances were.

"Jaebum and I decided to take the day off so we can just hang out and relax. We don't want to accidentally overwork ourselves. I'm not really sure about BamBam," Youngjae answered

"This is Youngjae, remember? My roommate," JB cut in. Mark just nodded, confused that JB would think he wouldn't know who Youngjae was. After all, he was all JB really talked about.

"Jackson never came? He told me and Yugyeom that he wouldn't be able to go to dance practice because of this. But then Yugyeom didn't show up either," BamBam told Mark, redirecting the topic of conversation to back to Jackson.

"Neither of them showed up?" Mark mumbled. His glance fell to his project, a sense of defeat sinking in.

"Figures. I hope you didn't expect too much, Mark," JB laughed, disregarding the dejected look on Mark's face.

"Does he even care about your grade?" Youngjae scoffed. JB rolled his eyes as a form of agreement.

"He's ridiculous, honestly. I'm not sure he would have gotten into the school if it weren't for his rich parents."

Unbeknownst to them, Yugyeom was listening the whole time. Jackson hadn't felt well during the school day, so Yugyeom forced him to rest. Yugyeom made sure Jackson was comfortable, doing everything from buying him food to force feeding him when he didn't eat enough of it. Since Jackson had spent so long stressing about missing his practices, he had forgotten about his project with Mark and needed a way to get his half to Mark. With Yugyeom just about threatening him to stay in bed, Yugyeom agreed to be the delivery guy.

When Yugyeom had recognised that he was almost right in front the conversation he had been following, he peeked his head around a bookshelf to see Mark, BamBam, Jaebum, and Youngjae sitting around a table. Instead of approaching them, he stayed hidden and listened to what they were saying. He knew it was rude, but he didn't want to interrupt anything by going up to them at a weird timing.

If he knew what would happen after listening to them, he would have stopped the conversation right at the start.