Pirouettes&Flips

>>ten<<

One day has passed since the sleepover and Mark was leaving tomorrow morning. Jeno had this tingling feeling in him since the sleepover and he wanted to get it done before the elder left. He didn't know if it was because he was a literal coward and he needed a support or if it was because he wanted to have someone to pick up the topic in case himself couldn't do it. With these thoughts in his head he turned to the older who was busy fixing his hair in front of the mirror.

"Mark, I wanna tell them" The older made eye contact with the younger through the mirror, lifting his eyebrows implying that he has no idea about what he was talking about. Apparently Jeno's courage was only enough to say the previous line because he had to break eye contact to continue talking and he used all the cells in his body to not stutter through the sentence.

"I wanna tell them, my friends, that I'm... bisexual" He had to take a deep breath before saying the last word. He has spent months believing he wasn't valid, his feeling weren't real, now accepting it throughly was something he had to get used to. He saw Mark turning away from mirror and stepping towards him.

"Well I'm both surprised and proud. If you feel comfortable with it, go for it Jeno. I'm sure both Jaemin and Haechan will not make it any problem and I'm always here for you as well don't ever forget that" Jeno was actually convinced that his friends would be okay with it, he had something else bothering him but he decided not to burden the older more with his insecurities and opened his mouth to ask the older a favor. He still couldn't look him directly in the eye so he started playing with his fingers.

"I was actually wondering if you could be there too?" Jeno finally lifted his head and looked at the elder's eyes. They were just like that night on the balcony, looking like olives holding nothing but sincerity and trust in them.

"If you want me to, of course I will. Just give me time and place"

"Tonight, after rehearsals, in the cafe under the studio" Jeno has played a lot of different scenarios in his head in the past few days and this one seemed like the best option. Competition team rehearsals don't end until it's quite late and the cafe is always empty at those hours other than a few dancers from the studio.

"Okay, text me the address with the exact time the rehearsal ends and I'll be there"

"Thank you Mark. Seriously, for everything"

"No need to thank. I know how hard it can be and I'm more than glad if I could make it even a little easier than it is" Jeno wanted to tell him that it was not just a little, it was a lot more but his mom's scream got in the way.

"Mark! Jeno! Get your lazy asses out of your beds, you're gonna be late!" Both of them laughed together and Mark took his backpack from the floor. He patted the younger's shoulder saying "I'm proud of you" and then left the room. Jeno stupidly smiled at himself before taking his own bag and leaving his room right after Mark.

---

The confidence that came with Mark's words in the morning didn't last through the day. Jeno could barely focus on his classes, his mind busy with all the possible negative outcomes of his plan. He was glad that he didn't have any common classes with Renjun through the day, they only saw each other during lunch since the exams were nearing and Renjun was studying between the other classes, just like Jeno was supposed to do but he couldn't focus no matter how much he tried.

Unfortunately nothing changed during rehearsals. He didn't make any big mistakes with the moves but he never really went full-out either, he was unintentionally marking some of the hiphop sequences. There was no chance Mr. Ten hasn't noticed but he didn't do much about it other than one little warning, not directly towards Jeno but it was quite obvious. When the rehearsal finally came to an end Jeno sprinted towards his phone and texted Mark, saying they were done with the rehearsals and would be in the cafe in 10 minutes after getting changed. Before he had a chance to check if the older saw the text he was dragged to locker rooms by Haechan, Jaemin and Renjun following them from behind.