translucent [markson]

[Twenty One] Lost

Mark just about shat his pants at the amount of people crowded around his room. He found it unbelievable how quickly news spread and how quickly BamBam freaked out. The kid couldn't stand being alone so much that he flipped out when he woke up without Mark and called the attention of nearly the whole floor. It went without saying that that was why Mark blamed him for everything that happened.

Everyone crowded around him the moment he walked out of Jackson's room, questioning why he was there and why he was wearing Jackson's clothes. They wouldn't know it, but Mark often stole Jackson's sweatshirts and socks, simply for the reason that he let him. Jackson never minded when Mark borrowed his clothes, so Mark didn't think it would be a big deal if he wore something of Jackson's to class. He didn't realise that everyone would know it was Jackson's sweater from a single glance.

"What's he doing in Jackson's room?" Mark heard someone ask. They spat out Jackson's name like it was a disease, and Mark was hurt by that, for a reason he couldn't understand.

"Do you think they did it?" another person suggested, pushing his way towards Mark.

"Guys, give him some space," BamBam demanded, pulling Mark by the hand. Before anyone could say anything else, Mark was shoved into his room with BamBam staring him down.

"What happened? Why is everyone here?" Mark began to gather up his books, but BamBam grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him to look into Mark's eyes.

"You fucked up big time, Tuan." BamBam flicked Mark's forehead. "I was so worried something happened, but you were just going around committing social suicide."

"Social suicide? By hanging out with Jackson? He used to be your best friend." Mark shoved BamBam's arms off, nearly causing BamBam to fall down.

"Well, we're not anymore. And it's not mean to say that -- you know it's true. What were you even doing with him?"

"Are you assuming we had sex?" Mark scoffed and crossed his arms, his eyes glaring at BamBam.

"Did you?" BamBam pushed. His gaze didn't falter as Mark stared at him.

"You really think we would mess around like that?" Mark was offended that BamBam thought he would do something like that, especially in school in a shared dorm. It wasn't that Mark found sex disgusting or anything weird; he just imagined that BamBam would know that school came first, always, and a relationship -- even just a purely sexual one -- was out of the question. "What if we did?"

"Tell me you didn't." BamBam's mask fell, a look of concerning filling his features. Mark could only scoff.

"What if we did?" Mark repeated.

"Then I can't help you when everyone turns on you," BamBam snapped, marching over to his book bag.

"That's bullshit. Both of us know that. Jackson is always the one that gets the blame. No one he's ever been involved with has had to take responsibility for what they did, it's always only Jackson." Mark sighed, continuing softly, "And he doesn't deserve that."

"Since when do you know everything about Jackson? I thought he was just a fuckboy." A feeling of jealousy creeped its way to BamBam's gut, even though he knew he no longer had the right to feel that way. He wasn't even friends with Jackson anymore.

"We're actually quite close now, for your information." Mark huffed and made his way to the door, only to be stopped. BamBam blocked the door with his body, his worried eyes breaking down Mark's snappy attitude.

"You're really my only real friend right now, Mark. I know you wouldn't do anything, but rest of the school? They don't. You're all I have, so I don't want to lose you too." BamBam's face held a genuine honesty in it that, for some reason, made Mark even angrier.