translucent [markson]

[Twenty Nine] Mending

"Jackson? What are you doing here?" Mark asked, awkwardly standing at the doorway with takeout bags in his hands.

"Just visiting my friend BamBam," Jackson replied quietly, a hint of sass in his voice.

"Okay, then... I'll just leave these here and let you two talk." Mark placed the bags on the floor and turned around to leave, but BamBam quickly stood up and grabbed him by the arm.

"Actually, I was about to get us drinks. Why don't you stay since you bought the food and I'll run to the vending machines?" BamBam shoved Mark back into the room and quite literally sprinted out the door into the hallway.

"That was weird," Mark mumbled, looking at Jackson with a small smile on his lips.

"You do understand what he's doing, right?" Jackson returned Mark's smile with a straight face. "He's trying to make us talk."

"Does he know about...?" Mark's slightly concerned expression caused Jackson to frown. Was Mark still ashamed to admit that they hung out over winter break?

"No, he doesn't. But he's not stupid. He knows that I like you because, frankly, the whole school does and he can tell that something is weird between us," Jackson explained, slightly hesitant.

"I'm really sorry, you know," Mark told him, quiet and afraid. Jackson just stared at him, gesturing for him to elaborate. "I don't know why I did what did. I don't understand why I slapped you when..."

"When you what?"

"When I really wanted to do something else," Mark finished, his mind and heart racing at the thought of what he was about to do.

"And what is that?" Images of being punched and yelled at by Mark flashed through his mind and he almost wanted to cry, but Mark's sudden and firm grasp on his shoulders brought his thoughts to an abrupt halt.

"Let me show you."

And that's when their lips met. Their movements were awkward and slow, neither of them really sure what to do, but they both undeniably loved it. They felt comfortable and at ease, two things that seemed almost foreign to them. Yet despite how much they didn't want the moment to end, they knew there was still a lot left to talk about and explain.

"That was my first kiss," Mark admitted, his cheeks burning.

"Why would you give your first kiss to me?" Jackson touched his lips in disbelief, shock overwhelming his body and making him freeze.

"I really like you." Mark grabbed Jackson's face and forced him to make eye contact with him. "I really, really like you and I want to go back in time to punch myself in the face for what I did. You changed my mind on about everything, but that's a good thing. I know it'll be hard to forgive me, so I don't expect anything to come out of this. And that's okay. Just... I'm sorry."

"Have you met me?" Jackson let out a laugh and reached up to touch Mark's hand. "It may be impossible for me to not forgive a person."

"I got close to you during break and then acted like it never happened. I humiliated you in front of our class and when news spread you were treated like shit. I don't deserve you or your forgiveness." Mark's hands dropped back to his sides as he felt his eyes sting. He only blinked them away, his mind screaming that he wasn't the one that should be crying, that he was just overreacting.

"Please don't cry," Jackson pleaded, pulling Mark into a hug. "Besides the fact that I like you, I'm your friend and I want you to be happy. I was never even mad at you to start with, so of course I forgive you."

"I want this," Mark whispered, taking a deep breath to embrace Jackson's scent. "I know I told you that I didn't want to date during high school, but I want this."

"You don't have to lie to me because you feel bad for rejecting me." Jackson suddenly let go of Mark, pulling away with a sad smile. "You can just tell me you don't like me back. I've already forgiven you, so there's no reason to keep up the act."

"It's not an act." Mark's eyes held sincerity and desperation that made Jackson's heart yearn to just trust him.

"I've been in the situation before," Jackson began, standing up and taking a step away from Mark. "I appreciate you and I want to stay friends with you. I just don't want you to turn into everyone else—I don't want to be used anymore."

"I promise that's not the case." Mark rushed to Jackson's side and held his hand to stop him from leaving. "Give me a chance, please. Let me show you that I'm serious about this."

"Mark..." Jackson words were cut short by a brief kiss from Mark. When he pulled away, he was met with expectant eyes that made his heart melt. "Fine. You know I can't say no to you."

"I know!" Mark exclaimed, jumping around happily. "Let's start tomorrow then! I'll make sure to talk to you every moment of the whole day!"

"That's a bit much," Jackson chuckled, rolling his eyes at Mark's energy.

"But I'll do it." Mark's voice lowered as he pulled Jackson into another hug. "I'll do it for you."

~

"Jinyoung! What's wrong?" a voice shouted, running up to the boy crying on his bed. Jinyoung only kept crying because he knew that if he spoke, a laugh would escape his lips. "What happened?"

"Jackson," Jinyoung stuttered out, his giggles hidden underneath his fake cries.

"Jackson? What did Jackson do?" Jinyoung's roommate made his way over to Jinyoung and scanned his body for any visible injuries.

"Please don't tell anyone. If he finds out I told you then I'm done for," Jinyoung lied. But he was very well aware of what would happen. His roommate would tell everyone he knew and that's exactly what he wanted.

"What did Jackson do?" his roommate asked, a concern look falling over his features.

"He tried to make a move on me and I didn't want to. But he kept trying and I kept refusing. Then he pushed me to the ground and yelled at me and-" Jinyoung broke into a fit of loud sobs, causing his roommate to pull him into his arms.

"That asshole! I knew there was something up with that guy. This is just proof." Jinyoung was like a little brother to his roommate, so he was genuinely concerned and angry about what happened—or rather what Jinyoung was lying about.

"I think he did the same to BamBam. BamBam is one of my best friends and he's going through a tough time right now. I can't believe Jackson would do something like this!" Jinyoung hid his face in his roommate's shirt make his act more believable.

"I'll make him pay for hurting you, just wait for it," his roommate growled, not intending for Jinyoung to hear him. His words only made Jinyoung smirk.

That was exactly what Jinyoung wanted. Things had not been going as planned and he needed a catalyst to hurry up the process of getting what he needed. If word spread and everyone had more reason to hate Jackson, the hope was that he'd come running back to Jinyoung. And Jinyoung couldn't wait.