𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙎𝙀𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙔

part four

it had been a few hours since mark's blundering call and just the thought of it made his face heat up all over again. he hopped into the shower hoping to distract himself from the conversation that echoed in his mind.

mark had never been one for socializing. throughout his entire childhood, mark couldn't really seem to understand other kids. he thought they were odd and immature, not worth his effort. it's not that he thought he was better than any of the other kids, mark just didn't want to be friends with him. he isolated himself at a young age, preferring the comfort of words from books rather than the nonsense pubescent children spat.

throughout his entire upbringing, mark only became close friends with one other child he'd met before; huang renjun. mark felt a sense of maturity from the other even from a young age. renjun was the only one that understood the sanctuary of a library mark felt. or the satisfaction of reading a book for the first time, and even the aroma of herbal tea early in the morning. mark was thankful for the younger, without him he knew he'd spend his weekends wallowing in his own self-pity. renjun knew this too and forced mark out of the house every weekend by meeting him at the cafe not too far from their neighborhood every saturday after dawn.                          

mark stepped out of the shower, water trickling down his back from his jet black hair. he wrapped a towel around his waist and threw the other around his neck. mark cursed as he peered out the window realizing he'd have to hurry out of the house. the sun hung low casting everything a beautiful haze of golden meaning it was already sunrise. mark threw on the first thing he saw, shoved his phone into his pocket, and flew down the stairs. he stumbled as he fumbled into his jacket and tried to fit his feet into an old pair of shoes both at the same time.

as soon as mark stepped outside he was hit by a cold wave of dry wind. he shivered in the cold and quickened his pace to the cafe. when mark reached his destination, he could already see the brunet through the windows. his head was buried in a book, only backing away to take a sip from the cup of coffee placed in front of him.

as mark approached renjun, he ruffled the boy's hair lightly and took the seat across from the brunet pulling out a book of his own. renjun was unfazed by the action and grumbled a short morning and turned another page of his book. the two sat in silence for nearly an hour, reading their own books quietly as they did every weekend. the two both strongly disliked small talk and preferred to enjoy each other's company in silence. however, today was different.

mark closed his book and set it in front of him next to the empty mug of coffee. "so um, i got a call." renjun scoffed and flipped another page.

"from who? the president?" mark rolled his eyes at the younger.

"no it was a kid from our school." renjun's eyes widened and for the first time that day, renjun looked at him.

"what?"

"i don't know. it was that one kid, lee donghyuck. i'm sure you know him." with every word the black haired boy spoke, renjun's eyebrows only seemed to raise even higher. "anyway he called me at nearly 3am after my mom came home. sounded like he had been crying." when the brunet closed his book and dropped it onto his lap, mark took it as a sign to continue. "things got awkward fast and so i sent him photos of my cat." mark faltered realizing that it was an awkward thing to say out loud and the look renjun had on his face wasn't helping.

renjun shuffled a little and leaned towards the older, motioning for him to do the same. when he deemed the older close enough he let out a low whisper.

"you, uh," the younger's eyes darted across the room nervously. "you don't actually have a vagina right?" mark yelled in disgust and hit the younger on the head with his book. renjun couldn't hold in his laughter despite being hit and he was soon being sent dirty glares from the others in the cafe.

"what the hell dumbass. i meant an actual cat like a feline," mark slumped back into his seat giving the younger another disgusted look. renjun's head flew back as he clutched his stomach, his laughter echoing through the small cafe.

"what's so funny guys?" the two seated boys looked up at the kid approaching them. he scrunched his nose at the two and a ran a hand through his blond hair.

"hey 'sung" the boy, jisung, nodded at the older in response and gave renjun a questioning look. renjun smirked widely.

"mark has a-" mark threw the younger the nastiest look he could muster. "hey, hey it's all in good heart," renjun threw his hands up in defense only making mark want to slap that shit eating grin off his face even more. jisung chuckled at the two's childish ways.

"anyway," mark gave renjun one final glare before turning towards the youngest. "what're doing here so early 'sung?" jisung's face flushed momentarily.

"oh, um, lele got hungry." jisung scratched his head, his eyes darting around the room. and then there it was. that ugly mop of green peered out from behind jisung's shoulders sheepishly.

"hey chenle," renjun gave the younger a bright smile. mark felt himself shudder just by the sound of his name. the black haired boy cleared his throat and got up from his seat, purposely ignoring eye contact with chenle.

"i have some things to take care of before noon so i think i'll be taking my leave now." mark grabbed his jacket that had been resting on the back of his chair. he began to walk away when renjun grabbed his sleeve.

"wait," he gave the older a s look that said 'sit your disrespectful ass back down' but mark ignored it. he lightly slipped his arm out of the brunet's grip. "i thought we had plans."

"just text me where and i'll meet you there when i'm done." mark was already halfway towards the door. the remaining three watched the black haired boy exit the cafe. they all seemed to sigh in unison. chenle leaned towards the youngest, pouting slightly.

"why does he hate me so much?" he said quietly. jisung ruffled his hair and threw an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"he doesn't hate you lele."

—i love chenle so much and it hurts to write this but i swear mark isn't an asshole. also, please point out any typos. i write these at like 2am lmao and i normally don't proof read.

next chapter will be out as soon as i finish it!! night lovelies.