Trust Your Instincts

-36- Reveal

Thursday was painful for them both. They didn't have any classes together, since they only had physics on Mondays and Fridays, and Mark decided it'd be less tense for Isaac and Felix if he ate his lunch in the library, claiming that he hadn't done his homework for his next class.

Mark wanted nothing more than to speak to Jack, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. As far as he knew, Jack was angry at him, and the last thing he wanted to do was pester Jack so much that it ended their relationship for good. He therefore thought that giving him space was the best option, no matter how much it hurt, and so he avoided him instead.

For Jack, it was a completely different scenario. He wanted to sort things out with Mark immediately. He needed to. He had to tell him the truth, and the day was spent working out the best way to do that, but he didn't have time to find the best opportunity.

Jack wanted to ask Mark to meet him after school, but Mark wasn't sitting at the lunch table, making Jack wonder whether he had even came into school that day, but he was reassured by Isaac that he was in math that morning.

As the day wore on, however, Mark started to realise that even if he was in the wrong, how would Jack expect him to regret what he had done if he didn't even tell him what it was that he should be regretting? Mark had already apologised anyway, and Jack turned him away. Slowly, Mark's despair was transforming into irritation, at what Jack was putting him through.

For once in his life, Mark didn't blame himself for his sadness, and when he thought about the way that Jack had handled the situation, he was filled with anger for the green headed Irishman. Jack was allowed to be angry, but why did he have to be a dick about it?

---

Another school day had almost passed, in which Jack and Mark didn't speak a word to each other, despite Jack's willingness and determination to smooth out the situation once and for all.

The lunch bell had rang, indicating that the two would soon have to head to their last class of the week, and the only class that they shared, even if they weren't seated together anymore.

Jack stood from the lunch table that he sat at with Isaac and Felix. Mark had obviously chosen to eat in the library again, something that would bother Jack much more if they weren't heading to the same class at the end of the day. Felix nodded to the two and headed off in the direction of his next class, leaving Jack and Isaac to walk some of the way together before they had to split.

Isaac looked at Jack reassuringly, easily seeing the nervousness radiating off the smaller man. He extended a hand and placed it on his shoulder, stopping the two of them in their tracks. Jack turned to Isaac, his eyes filled with fear and vulnerability. He tried to think of how well Isaac took it when he told him about his... alternate self, but not everyone is like Isaac. Not everyone would be so open-minded, supportive and understanding.

"Jack. He's your boyfriend." Isaac said, rather soothingly. "He chose to be with you because of who you are, and this... what you become once a month doesn't change the fact that you are an amazing, kind human being."

Jack sighed, relaxing his shoulders a bit, but he still looked unconvinced.

"If he doesn't understand straight away, Jack, then give him time. It's not like it's a conversation he'd expect to be having." Isaac said, chuckling a little. "And if that time passes, and he still wants nothing to do with you, then you know what I say? I say fuck him."

Jack couldn't help but smile, feeling the edges of his lips curl upwards as he tried his best to suppress his laughter and maintain his anxious demeanour.

Isaac's eyebrows rose as he realised what Jack was smiling at. "Get your mind out of the gutter! I didn't mean it like that!" He yelled, exaggerating his hand gestures and emphasising the 'that'. Jack laughed for the first time in a few days, and soon pulled Isaac into a hug.