Mediterranean Kiss ~ Taeten

Suppressed Feelings

“You… kissed him?” Taeyong repeated in shock.

He glanced behind him to Ten, who had stepped closer and looked equally surprised by Johnny's confession.

Johnny groaned dropped his head into his hands. “I'm such a stupid idiot! I knew he didn't like me like that.”

Taeyong's mind flashed back to the other day when he thought he heard Mark and Johnny arguing about something but had dismissed it as a dream.

“Does this have anything to do with Mark accidentally kissing you when you two were drunk?” He asked slowly.

Johnny lifted his head slightly to look at him. “Yeah.” He sighed.

Ten came to sat down on the bed next to him and rested a hand against his back.

“I've uh, had feelings for Mark for a while but I always managed to keep them at bay. But that night when he kissed me, all my feelings came flooding back. I know it was a meaningless kiss but I just couldn't stop thinking about it.” Johnny explained sadly.

“And you tried to talk to Mark about it?” Taeyong asked.

Johnny nodded. “Yeah, I did. He just kept brushing me off, telling me to leave it alone or it would ruin our friendship. So I stopped trying.” He responded.

“Today in Dubrovnik, you seemed…” Taeyong trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence.

“You noticed?” Johnny asked, though he didn't seem surprised. “I just got super jealous and I knew Mark would like those girls; they were both really pretty. I just wanted him to myself you know? Ugh, it's so stupid.” He sighed again and seemed angry at himself.

“No, it's not stupid. If I noticed someone else eyeing up Taeyong I would be jealous too.” Ten said.

“That's different though, you two are an item. Mark and I are just… friends.” Johnny responded, shaking his head.

“But that still doesn't explain why he would hit you, just because of a kiss.” Taeyong repeated. He couldn't picture Mark hitting Johnny, let alone getting angry enough to want to hit him.

“I sort of just grabbed him and kissed him. He lashed out and I fell over but I pulled him down with me. That's when he slapped me. He was so shocked and angry but he didn't say anything. He just stared at me like, like I was some sort of monster. I think that's when you were knocking on the door. The next moment he shoved me away and then stormed out of the room.” He said. “I'm such an idiot, now I've ruined everything.”

“No you’re not. You can't help the way you feel.” Taeyong responded, catching Johnny's hand in his.

“Yeah, exactly. You did nothing wrong.” Ten agreed.

Johnny looked at the both of them and gave them a small smile. “Thanks guys.”

Ten turned to Taeyong. “Why don't you go and find Mark and talk to him. I'll stay here with Johnny.” He suggested.

Taeyong nodded and stood up. He pulled Johnny up with him and into a hug.

“Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine.” He said hopefully.

He walked over to the door and turned back. Ten blew a small kiss at him and he caught it and placed it on his heart. He watched for a moment as Ten returned his attention to Johnny and put an arm around him, trying to console his heartbroken friend.

Okay, let's go. He gritted his teeth and softly closed the door. Then he started down the hallway, intent on finding Mark.

***

It didn't take him too long to find his friend.

Mark was sitting at the Zebra bar on the seventh floor, downing a line of tequila shots like they were going out of fashion. He was about to grab the last one when Taeyong got to it before him, pushing it out of his reach. Mark looked up at him with a frown.

“Are you denying a man of his liquor?” Mark questioned, narrowing his eyes at him.

He leaned forward to grab the full shot glass but Taeyong placed his arm in front of it.

“I will when said man is acting like an idiot towards his best friend.” Taeyong replied. “How could you hit Johnny?” He asked as he sat down on the bar stool next to Mark.

“He kissed me!” Mark shot back.

“And? Did you not know he had feelings for you?” Taeyong questioned.

“Well I kind of assumed so- but that doesn't give him the right to just kiss me like that! I don't like him like that. I told him to leave it alone or else he'll ruin our friendship.” Mark replied, getting defensive.

That was the same thing Johnny had said moments before and hearing it come straight from Mark's mouth made Taeyong angry.

“How can you just push him away like that Mark?” He asked, raising his voice. “Have you actually sat down with Johnny to properly talk about this with him? Have you stopped to think about how he must be feeling right now?”

“No.” Mark replied quietly, suddenly looking ashamed of himself.

He stared down at his empty shot glasses and his shoulders slumped.

Taeyong's anger simmered down and he rested a hand on Mark's shoulder.

“Both of you are my friends; I don't want to see either of you unhappy.” He said gently.

“But what am I supposed to do? I've already squashed his feelings like a heartless bastard; do you expect me to do it again if he confesses to me again?” Mark asked, looking desperately into Taeyong's eyes for the answers.

Taeyong didn't know what to say. He could understand how Johnny was feeling but now he was just beginning to understand the difficult situation Mark was in. His best friend had just confessed by kissing him, only Mark didn't feel the same way. Taeyong could tell it was affecting Mark having hurt Johnny like he did.

“You still need to talk to each other though, otherwise nothing will be resolved. I would hate to see you two fall out of friendship.” Taeyong replied.

Mark looked up at him. He looked nervous and worried.

“Will you come with me?” He asked in a small voice.

“Of course.” Taeyong smiled reassuringly.