Growing

Chapter 9

Jackson:

I was looking out of the window of the common room while I listened to Hansol who was happily telling us about the cute Californian exchange student he had met in the library this morning.

It didn't even suprise me that it hadn't even taken him a three days to meet someone and get their phone number. He was good with words and knew what his interlocutor wanted to hear and what he had to tell them.

I had to admit that I was a little jealous of this ability. Not because I was planning to flirt with someone. But I often had problems to put my thoughts in words without causing misunderstandings.

Mark and I had already had several arguments because I had formulated a sentence wrong. And sadly, I also tended to say things that were completely inappropriate in some situations.

Unluckily, our last phone call yesterday evening had ended in a little argument. We had actually talked about my return next week but of course, my stupid self had to say something wrong.

Mark had told me that he missed me and was happy that I was going to come back soon. I had responded with a joking comment about him and Jinyoung but it seemed like the elder got it a little wrong.

I had said that he didn't have a reason to miss me because he and his best friend were probably using my absence to have some fun. The elder had reacted offended and ended the call after a short argument.

I wasn't sure if he was angry at me because of I had made such a joke or because he just hadn't gotten the joke. I hadn't called him back yet. He needed his time to calm down before we talked again.

Maybe it was a good idea to call him now. I wouldn't miss much anyway if I went to my room now and I wasn't really interested in a conversation about that Californian boy's nice butt either.

I quickly excused myself, telling the other boys that I was tired before I left the common room and walked upstairs. I made my way through the empty corridors, hearing the muffled voices of students in their rooms.

The way to my dorm room wasn't long and soon I opened the door to my shared room with Yuta. It was a little messy, clothes were thrown on the desk and chair and some even on the floor.

I pushed a few shirts from the edge of my bed and sat down, taking my phone out of my jeans pocket. It didn't take me long to find Mark's contact and push the call button. Hopefully, he wouldn't reject the call.

I quietly hummed to myself, patiently waiting for Mark to pick up. Of course, there was the chance that he would ignore me but I wouldn't give up easily. If he didn't pick up now, I would simply call again and again.

It took a few more moments until someone finally accepted the call. "Hi Jacks." I sighed in relief when I heard the elder's voice saying my name. "Hey. How are you?" I asked him, hoping for a positive answer.

"I'm fine. What about you? How was your day?" Mark asked me back and it eased my heart a little that he didn't seem to be angry anymore. I didn't want us to have a fight when there wasn't a proper chance to make up.

"It was alright. The coach was a bit mad because a few guys skipped practice because they had a party last night." I explained, thinking back of coach Lee's horrible mood this morning.

Mark let out a light chuckle. "Poor Jackson. I hope it wasn't too exhausting for you." He said and I could even hear his smile. I let out a short laugh. It was pretty rare that the elder made a joke.

"Don't worry." I told him before I took a deep breath. There was still something we needed to talk about. "I wanted to say sorry. Because of yesterday. I shouldn't have said something like that."

Mark sighed. "It's ok. I was overreacting. You just made a joke and I got angry at you because I took it too serious. I'm really sorry." My boyfriend said, making me shake my head lightly and smile a little.

He didn't even have an actual reason to say sorry but it still seemed like he truly felt guilty. "Don't be sorry. It's been a misunderstanding and you've done nothing wrong. No need to feel guilty." I told him quickly.

In the end the both of us should have acted different yesterday and I didn't want him to feel guilty. It was bad enough that I was still in Wando for over a week, we didn't also need an argument bothering us.

"Please let us forget about it. We shouldn't make a big deal out of it." I added, getting up from my bed. My steps took me over to the window and I looked outside in the cloudy, dark blue night sky.

"You're right." Mark agreed and I could hear a hint of relief in his voice. I was glad that we had finally made up. It made me feel a little better and I could finally allow myself to calm down and relax again.

"I think Lily misses you." He suddenly said, causing me to smile softly. I was pretty sure that she didn't actually miss me but Mark's statement still made a little happy because I missed my daughter a lot.

Of course, it happened that I didn't see her for one or two days but it felt weird to see her only on pics and videos that Mark sent me. "Do you really think she does?" I asked the older male.

"I'm pretty sure. She always wants me to stop at your picture whenever I carry her through the hallway. So I guess, she definitely notices that you haven't been there for some days." He explained.

I smiled to myself, imagining the little girl trying to tell Mark to stop at my photo that was hanging on the wall with a few other pictures of our families and friends. It had to look very cute.

"I really miss her too. And I can't wait to be back." I told him honestly. It rarely happened that I told the elder how I truly felt. Normally Mark was the emotional part in our relationship.

"Remember what you've told me? The two weeks will be over before you know it." He reminded me of what I had told him before I had left. I had hoped it would stop him from missing me too much.

"You're right. Thank you." I agreed and let out a sigh. It was late and I should probably end the call. Mark still had to go to school tomorrow and he needed to get some sleep instead of talking to me.

"You should go to bed." I told him and stretched my back. "You're right. Good night Jackson." The elder said and I could hear that him yawning. He had to be so tired and I had probably kept him awake.

"Good night." I answered and ended the call, walking over to my bed again. My steps sounded unusually loud in the silence of the dorm room. I didn't mind to be alone at all but I wasn't really used to it anymore.

I either had my parents or Mark and Lily around me and I rarely had time for myself. Yuta most likely wouldn't come back anytime soon and maybe I should just lay down and relax, thinking of the day I would be back.

-

New chapter! I'm sorry for the endlessly long waiting time.

I know it's not really an actual Markson chapter but I still hope you like it!

And yay, today's my birthday! Believe it or not, I'm turning 21 today. I don't know if writing fanfics in my age is normal but it's fun, so I don't really care 😅

So, what will happen now? Will Jackson continue to miss Mark and Lily? Or will he slowly forget about them and focus on his practice? And what about Mark? Does he miss Jackson a lot?

If there's anything you want to tell or ask me anonymously or if you have any requests you can message me on curiouscat.me (link on my profile). I'm going to respond in a span of 24 hours and you can find my answers on my curiouscat profile 😊

Thank you for reading & 20k reads and 1.5k votes 💙