The Only Exception // (GOT7 Markson)

5

When I spoke with Tyler that weekend, it was by neither choice nor was it avoidable. The young, black haired, fresh faced boy was dancing alone in a cage at one of the most busy gay bars the city had to offer. I was out as usual, making my rounds, talking to the people that I recognized and just enjoying myself - I needed to get my mind off of things.

I strolled past the stage, only offering a half glance at Tyler who didn't seem to notice I was there. When I reached a quiet booth, I slid in and placed my drink down. The music was good that night; a nice mix of Top 40 regulars as well as some oldies. I bobbed along with the music, sipping every once and a while on my beer. It wasn't long before someone caught my eye. He was a little shorter than me, looked to be about my age as well.

He seemed a bit drunk, but only drunk enough that he was having a good time. His friends were dancing around with him, and I noticed a blue ribbon pinned to his chest pocket that read "Birthday Boy." He smiled and moved his body around fluidly, dancing in time to the beats. He looked incredibly toned, I imagined he was a swimmer or some sort of athlete. I could tell he liked to take care of himself. After watching him for a song or two, I decided that it was about time to meet birthday boy.

As I made my way through the crowd, inching toward the gorgeous boy, I was blindsided by a small body, pushing me into a back corner. Usually I wasn't the kind of person to fight, but tonight a very good looking boy was on the line, and I wasn't about to let him slip me by. I pushed back against the body and then turned around, preparing to confront whoever was brave enough to shove me.

Standing in front of me with a cheeky grin and drunk eyes was Tyler. He slurred his words slightly as he rested his left arm on me, pulling me into a hug.

"J-Jackson... hic." he burped, "What are you doing here? I missed you bud."

Calming down, I gave him a very tense look and sighed. "Tyler, go home, you're drunk." As I spoke to him I peered over his head, looking around for any signs of birthday boy. I caught a glimpse of him in that moment grabbing his jacket and heading up the stairs with his birthday squad. He was gone.

Annoyed and fed up, I turned my attention back to Tyler. "What the fuck man? You just made me miss-" I paused, staring at the smiley kid in front of me. "You know what, never mind. Who the hell did you come here with, and why did they allow you to get this drunk?"

"Shhh~" Tyler breathed, pressing his index finger against his lips and blowing a little. His smile cracked into a light laugh as he leaned closer into me, resting his head clumsily on my shoulder.

"Are you alone?!" I said, realizing that this boy probably snuck out to come here. "Jesus Christ."

"Jackson, I wanna go home with you." he croaked, grasping onto my leather jacket.

"Forget it. That's never happening again. I mean it, Tyler." I snapped back, making myself very clear.

"Whyyyyy?" he pouted. "Oh! It's because of that boy you like, isn't it? The one you're in love with? Ha!"

"Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about." I answered him. I had every right to leave the boy there and just go home, but in the back of my mind and deep down in my heart I saw Mark's face, and I remembered that even though I didn't want to believe it, this drunk boy was his little brother. I couldn't live with myself if something terrible would've happened to him, and I know Mark would never forgive me if he somehow knew I could've helped.

"Look. I'm going to get you a cab home and some water. You need to sleep." I said, throwing the boy's arm around my neck and helping him past the coat check and up the stairs.

When we walked out into the cold night, I realized just how late it was. There were hardly any cars on the road, and the nearest cab would probably take over an hour to get to us. Since I had only drank one beer that night, I made the executive decision to drive Tyler home.