Trust Your Instincts

-54- Extrasensory Perception

 "Good night last night?" Isaac chirped once Mark had taken his seat beside him in his first class of the week. Normally, Mark would hate Mondays, but the fact that he got to see Isaac coupled with the amazing evening he had just spent with Jack had set his spirits sky high. It was so strong that he struggled to wipe the wide grin off his face, despite knowing how foolish he looked to the rest of the class, and to Isaac.

 "Amazing." Mark replied airily, bending down to get the books out of his bag before class officially began.

 "Wait? You didn't?" Isaac gestured down at his hips, thrusting them gently in his seat, his eyes wide and a giant open mouthed grin plastered on his reddening face, causing Mark to snort.

 "No!" Mark almost yelled, causing the students nearby to send him concerned glances before returning to their usual conversations. "We haven't... done that yet." Mark lied, not really sure why. 

 "Well that's a lie." Isaac said matter-of-factly, chuckling when Mark's head whipped to the side to eye him scrutinisingly. "Come on Mark. You should know by now that Jack tells me everything." 

 Mark laughed uneasily, before clarifying that that wasn't the reason he was in such a good mood this morning. Isaac put his hands up in surrender, before urging Mark to continue. 

 "We went out into the woods, you know, that clearing with the cliff face on one side and the hill on the other? Jack thought it'd be a good idea if I... practiced my skills." Mark relived the situation, smiling wistfully, and no doubt looking like a complete buffoon. "It was the best night ever, the first night I've ever felt truly free... unburdened by my problems." He explained, keeping his voice quiet enough so that the rest of the class couldn't hear.

 "Oh shit, yeah! It's the full moon tonight! Are you and Jack prepared for it?" Isaac asked, a hint of panic in his voice, as if Mark or Jack had actually forgot about it.

 "Yes. It'll be alright. I'm heading over to Jack's tonight. Apparently, Jack's been getting a whole lot better at the whole control thing, even on the full moon, so he's letting me take the sturdy cuffs. I think he said he had some rope laying around for himself. He really wants to test his durability tonight." Mark's face lightened up a little. "He says that he can get through it if he just keeps thinking about me." He beamed, his cheeks dusted a light pink at the thought.

 Isaac perked up in his seat, a mix of pride and skepticism on his face. "I'm really impressed that he feels he's ready to go without the extra constraints and all, but do you really think it's safe if the two of you are gonna be in the same apartment?" He enquired, cocking an eyebrow at Mark.

 "I'm sure he'll be fine, I mean, what's the difference between me and his neighbour across the hall in room 7? Because if I wasn't there, then she'd be his first target instead." Mark countered confidently, evidently squashing any of Isaac's reservations.

 "I'm sure you're right." Isaac said convincingly, his green eyes sparkling as he thought about how far Jack had come since he first moved over here from Ireland.

 Their conversation was cut short by the teacher striding in, demanding quiet immediately and bringing Mark's spirits down ever so slightly, but he kept his concentration on the lesson for once, it was coming to winter break and the reality of him having to pick a university or college to go to soon was starting to set in. He had to improve his grades, especially in this class.

 He was managing to get work done for once, his head down and his pen lid in between his teeth as he attempted to solve the math problems without looking pleadingly over at Isaac, but his concentration was shattered by a voice that made his blood curdle and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.