The Gadget Boy (JJK x KTH)

Chapter 12 - Mark's Chapter

After sending an exhausted and unkempt Jungkook home that morning, Mark had received a text from Jackson asking to meet up. He'd quickly agreed, keen to see his friend again and had left immediately to walk to the cafe where they said they'd meet. He was a little nervous about seeing him again. He'd been thinking about Jackson's birthday party that night. Everyone who was going to be there would be friends with him and probably all know each other. Mark would be lucky if he knew anyone. He'd never liked parties and this was just going to end badly, he knew it. As well as that, he wasn't really a fan of the type of people Jackson was friends with. They were all the tough guys and enjoyed drinking in pubs and bars and sleeping around every night. They weren't at all like Mark's friends and on several occasions before they'd mocked him for being a hardworker and for trying to stay in the Superintendent's good books.

When he arrived at the cafe, he saw Jackson at a table by the window with a cup of hot chocolate decked with cream and marshmallows and looking down at his phone with a smile.

As soon as Mark pulled out a chair, he looked up and smiled even more brightly. Mark found himself tingling at the sight of his smile.

"Hey Mark! How are you?" Jackson asked, dipping a spoon into the cream and eating it.

"I'm good. I can see you are too," he replied with a shy smile. It was obvious Jackson was happy by the fact that he hadn't stopped smiling. It must be that girlfriend he had talked about, Mark thought. The smile almost fell from his face but he managed to maintain it.

"Yeah, life's good, isn't it?" Jackson sighed before scooping a marshmallow off the top of his hot chocolate. "So are you coming to my party tonight?"

Mark inwardly groaned. Why did he have to bring that up? "Er, I don't know actually. I mean, parties aren't really my thing and I've got a lot of work to do..."

Jackson's face fell and he gave Mark the sad puppy eyes, albeit probably unintentionally. "Please come! You're my best friend!"

"No, I-"

Jackson grabbed his hand over the table. "Please!" He pouted. "I won't leave your side all night, I promise!"

Mark had been shocked into silence by the heat he felt from Jackson's hand. How he loved it when Jackson held his hand. He quickly withdrew his hand from under Jackson's, suddenly aware of his surroundings.

"I can't make you do that, it's your party," he shook his head. When he saw Jackson's sad expression he couldn't help but cave in. "But I'll come for a little bit. Just for you," he smiled, gazing into Jackson's oblivious eyes.

His eyes were so pretty. The prettiest thing in the world. When he laughed his eyes crinkled cutely and his eyes sparkled like shiny brown diamonds. He almost lost himself every time he looked into his eyes.

"Hey, are okay? Are you daydreaming?" Jackson laughed, waving a hand in front of Mark's face.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he grinned sheepishly, blushing as he hoped that Jackson hadn't noticed him gazing into his eyes like some kind of fanboy.

"You always were a daydreamer, hyung. I don't know how you didn't fail all those class tests in school because you never paid attention," Jackson joked, finishing the cream layer of his hot chocolate.

They spent over an hour and a half in the cafe chatting before Jackson said he had to go and buy some stuff for his party. Mark also left to go back home. By 5 o'clock he'd spent three hours despairing about his wardrobe and the party. He only owned work clothes (suits and formal clothes) and very casual clothes and he didn't know how everyone else was going to dress. In the end, he decided on a pair of black ripped jeans, a long black shirt and a red and blue checked over-shirt which he left open. After a while trying on different pairs of shoes, he finally chose a pair of black lace up boots which came to just past his ankles. He was quite impressed by how well the outfit had turned out.