markson | wandering to you

1.0

they haven't spoken to each other, not one time, yet jackson has one of these heavy, "there's no escaping it" types of school crushes on mark. it's not his fault, it's all on mark tuan, who has all of four things he looks for in a possible boyfriend: heaven-sent looks, royal manners, heartwarming kindness, and an adorable dog.

it would all turn out so much easier, if only it weren't for the fact that all of the students have had a crush on mark at one point or another. with a person such as him, it's got to be inevitable. obviously jackson isn't the first one to develop these feelings for him, and everytime mark politely declines another student's confession, jackson feels as if his chances have decreased. it's one less rival, an outsider would say; no, it's that it appears mark isn't up for any kind of romantic involvement, at least not on school grounds.

it's not going to happen, jackson tells himself when he walks past mark and goes entirely unnoticed, and he doesn't bother trying to be noticed. mark notices no one, as the student body's saying goes. there are some who get his attention, though, the ones that approach him with excessive and borderline rude flirting attempts.

jackson doesn't want to be one of those, that's why he ultimately tries to stay out of mark's way, and definitely not for the reason his friends think. it would be too painful for him to be rejected, because he's never truly crushed on someone like he has on this one. as embarrassing as it sounds, he finds himself with clichè "lovestruck schoolgirl" thoughts such as "better to simply look at him from afar".
you're a stalker now. way to go, jackson.

mark and jackson have never talked to each other, and they won't since jackson keeps avoiding him, and jackson can't stop avoiding him, can't approach him. can't do anything at all. what does he do then? he regularly slacks off in class in favor of dreamily planning and picturing his and mark's first date. and it's some detailed picturing he does. no wonder his grades are on a whole other disgusting level of bad.

the day where mark speaks his first words to him does actually come around, and it's the most ridiculous thing. they meet at the school's festival, held every single year and managed by the third-years, among which there is also mark, top student from class 3-B. there's a pretty stupid competition, based on a popularity poll through which students can express which member of the student body is number one. they have to specify the exact reason why they pick that someone, too. most of the votes have the picked student's good looks as a reason. this year's winner, instead, gets votes for his appearance, style, personality, academic results and... the list goes on forever. the person in question, topping the poll, is mark. and no one's really surprised about the results, although they are hard to swallow for some of the other contestants, since not everyone appreciates mark. so many eyes are on him as he holds up his prize, including jackson's. he's quite proud, and to him, mark deserves the appreciation more than anyone else. the student council's president claps his hands and calls for a guy. the chatter doesn't stop and people under the makeshift stage are throwing their arms up to snap a few pictures with their phones.

this guy the president is looking for, he's evidently not going to show his face. the president doesn't seem as panicked as he should, though. his eyes scan the crowd, looking for a familiar face, and a few seconds later he hurries off the stage. jackson briefly questions why the president's heading towards him, and the determined look he has on is frankly quite scary.

"you!" he rushes, grabbing jackson by his shoulders and maneuvering him towards a table on the side. "you're from the photography club too, aren't you? what are you doing just standing there?"

jackson stares back at him, puzzled. who did this guy mistake him for? he's not in a club, but doesn't get the chance to say so. "what-"

"you need to take photos of the contestants on stage, since your companion disappeared somewhere else. please hurry up!" the president explains, heaving a sigh and pointing to the cameras placed on the table. these are probably the actual club members' props, and jackson, examining them, comes to the realization that this is a once in lifetime chance to take a picture of mark. he's going to stand right before him. can he take it? yes, yes. he totally can. jackson's hobby is taking pictures, it's something he's good at. he has a pricey camera in his room, and he uses it often.