Chapter Text
Jeno was beginning to contemplate all the different ways one can violently dispose of an alarm clock. He would lose his security deposit if he threw it at one of the plastered walls, they couldn't afford to fix the glass if it was thrust through the bedroom window and Mark would be pissed to find more tiny pieces of metal if he broke it with his hands, again.
Instead, Jeno had been coerced to put an alarm on his phone so he couldn't damage it as easily as all of his other physical clocks. He groaned as he tossed himself onto his side and slammed his hand into his phone screen. He missed the icon, causing the thrilling to echo off his forehead.
"Dude!" Mark yelled from across the room.
His urgency pulled Jeno from the blankets of his bed, his sleep-heavy eyes burning from the violent glare of his phone's screen. This time, Jeno was capable of correctly slamming his finger against the icon. The peaceful silence was enough to make the growing headache go away and a low moan from Mark's general direction was enough to know that he was also satisfied.
"Do we have to go to class today?" Jeno wondered, allowing himself to fall back against his mattress. "I just want to go back to bed!"
"You just want to return to your imaginary life in that weird dream-world of yours!" Mark grumbles from under his pile of blankets. "Speaking of which," his head pokes out just enough so Jeno can make out his eyes. "Where were you this time?"
"You know that I don't remember what I dream about..." Jeno complains, hating the fact that he's wide awake right now. "It fucking sucks dude, I'm desperate to remember, but every morning I wake up and it's like it never happened. The worst part is that my body always seems disappointed, like I'm leaving something comfortable and safe. I've grown to love it because I haven't had a nightmare in months-"
"Yeah, Yeah I know!" Mark huffs, pulling himself up from the depths of his sheets. Jeno notices how his best friend's hair is all over the place, raised in various sections with no clear pattern. He muffles a chuckle into his palm as Mark's eyes try to focus on him through the darkness of their dorm room. "You get upset because you wake up feeling everything that you felt in your dream, but you can't remember anything about it. You sound like you're mourning the loss of a lover or something dude!"
"Well excuse me for wanting to remember what makes me have emotions for once in my life!" Jeno retorts, mumbling to himself as he lets the blankets close in around him again. "Maybe if I try really hard, I can fall back asleep and-"
"We have a field trip today." Mark interrupts him, his ears grown used to hearing Jeno's line of fruitful profanity. "The bus leaves campus in an hour so get up, have a shower and make sure to eat something. Woobin said that it was supposed to rain today so remember to wear your rain-proof shoes!"
"Yes Dad!" Jeno chirps but doesn't raise his head from the pillow.
He can see Mark's outline perfectly fine from where he is. He doesn't need to see through the darkness to know his best friend's lips are turned upwards in his typical coy grin.
"Oh, and if you get on the bus before me, save me a seat! I do not want Stephanie to force me to sit next to her again, that girl is crazy!" Mark shivers, crawling out of his bed and in turn ruining Jeno's morning.
If Mark was up, that meant that Jeno would have to get up. He did not want to get up and go on this stupid field-trip. He wanted to stay in bed a little longer, maybe even fall back into his dreamworld and experience his next dopamine shot early.
His plans were foiled when Mark's fingers curled around the edge of his duvet, the elder ripping the blanket off before Jeno's tired mind could even register what was happening. His body was blasted with cold air, goosebumps raising on his forearms as his body cried out for more rest.
Jeno growled as Mark jumped away, smiling innocently and humming a quiet song to himself as he rushed for the bathroom to snag all the hot water. Jeno let him, having grown used to showering in the cold. It didn't stop him from glaring at the door though, his teeth grinding against each other.
"I loathe you!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, knowing that his roommate would hear him over the shower's spray. Mark's laughter echoed off the tiles, his response coming back muffled but Jeno could hear him perfectly.
"Love you too man!"
Jeno found himself collapsing against his mattress again, only this time his legs bounced from the force of his own shove. He stared up at the yellow-tinted ceiling above him, his mind tracing out patterns in the paint. He had grown used to the sight over the past few weeks. He had also grown accustomed to his life as a third year college student and while it wasn't where he thought he would turn up, it was enough to make him feel the least bit content. Eve if the life of a college student came with annoying qualities.
For some strange reason Jeno found himself regretting leaving home with Mark in tow. As a natural born introvert, Jeno typically didn't hold much interest in the great outdoors, but for certain circumstances -like a scheduled fieldtrip- he found himself overcoming that itch.
And yet, today, it just felt strange. There was a pit in his stomach that made him think that there was something he was missing. Which was strange since Jeno always packed for emergencies.
He had convinced Mark months ago to start bringing along extra clothing for field-trips. They always packed a decent lunch and Jeno typically made sure to pack a first aid kit for emergencies, duo battery packs, a spare water bottle, painkillers and a bunch of extra energy bars. And yet, for some reason, there was a queasy feeling lingering in his stomach that he just couldn't shift. Like he was walking into a lion's den completely unprepared.
"Are you doing okay there buddy?" Mark wondered, halting them in their tracks.
His arm was heavy on Jeno's shoulder, almost forcing him down to the pavement. Had he been on unstable feet, Mark would have succeeded.
"Yeah." Jeno agreed, though he wasn't entirely sure himself. "I think the milk I had for breakfast this morning might have gone off."
"Damn, do you think you'll be okay on the bus?" Mark sounded worried but Jeno couldn't find it within himself to care right now. not when every nerve in his body was running on high alert.
"Yeah, I think-" he stammered. "I think I just need to sit down." He somehow managed a genuine grin, that seemed genuine enough for Mark's heart to ease a little.
His best friend kept his hand on his shoulder, though thankfully not as heavy as before. He led the way towards the bus depo and towards Jeno's hopeful clarity.
Unsurprisingly they arrived at the bus early. The only other people there was their driver and their lecturer, Mr. Kim but he preferred the name Woobin. He smiled at the approaching duo, getting out his clipboard and class roster to mark their attendance. Jeno let Mark handle the introductions, only smiling and nodding occasionally when needed.
Eventually Woobin granted them entry to the bus, Jeno clambering up the steps first. He walked a decent way into the vehicle, stopping just shy of the back-row. He threw his bag in by the window and fell down himself immediately after. Mark sunk into the seat next to him with a tired huff.
"How are we doing?" He whispered after a quiet minute. "Still feeling like you're about to puke?"
"I'm not going to puke." Jeno scoffed, a smile curling on his lips as Mark shrugged his shoulders in return. "I just feel a little lightheaded I guess, I can't really explain it."
"Hey," Mark gently slapped his thigh. "You have three whole hours to start feeling better, I wouldn't stress about it. Now, my turn to panic, did you pack any of my nausea meds?"
Jeno couldn't help but roll his eyes, his fingers lingering on the straps of his bag before pulling it open. He stuffs his hand inside and roots around for a moment, pulling out a small line of pills. He cracks the back open and drops two into the palm of Mark's hand, he throws the rest back into his bag and pulls out his own water bottle. Mark smiles and takes it, knowing back the pills and chugging the water.
"What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't bring my best friend his motion sickness meds?"
"A pretty shitty one, let's be honest." Mark jokes which causes Jeno to laugh wholeheartedly.
He takes back the bottle and makes sure that it's closed before slipping it back into his bag. He scouts out his headphones and all but wrestles his phone from his trousers' pocket. He slips the headphones over his head and links up both devices. He scrolls through multiple unfinished playlists before relenting and choosing one at random.
Mark's fist ploughs into his chest before he can hit play.
Truthfully the punch should have winded him, rendering him a choking mess at 8AM in the morning, instead all it does is draw his attention.
Mark is sporting his fake-ass-grin at one of the girls who Jeno struggles to tie a name to her face. He has just enough time to realise that she's looking at him and Mark's hand (which is still tightly coiled around the front of his hoodie) is indicating that they're waiting for him to speak.
"Oh sorry," he apologizes. "I asked if Mark would sit with me today, I have a couple questions about our architecture class." The practiced line forms so easily.
He can tell that his words have hurt her, her lips unconsciously forming a small pout. She seemed to have realised her slip-up because the pout is gone just seconds after its arrival. Thankfully, Mark's grip loosens and his hand falls back onto the arm-rest between them. Jeno leans back into his seat, but remains attentive in case he is yet again pulled into their conversation.
"Are you sure that you can't make an exception? I was really hoping to talk to you about that song you posted on Instagram, it was really incredible!" The girl all but screeches.
Mark laughs but he's covering up a wince and Jeno has never been happier to have bought ridiculously overpriced headphones before in his life.
"Thanks Stephanie, I really appreciate that.. but Jeno is really struggling with our architecture module." That was a big, fat lie. In fact, Jeno was acing that class. "He can't seem to be able to define the difference between Corinthian and Composite columns, it's been keeping him awake at night."
Mark somehow manages to make his retelling of Jeno's perfectly fine sleeping schedule sound like a Greek tragedy. Why his best friend didn't major in drama or theatrical studies is beyond Jeno's comprehension.
"It's a terrible nightmare." He adds to the conversation for fun. Shrugging his shoulders when Mark glares at him.
"And that will take the full three hours?"
"I'm a pretty slow learner." Jeno explains, scrunching his nose up for added effect. "Besides, when one factors in the pediment and the entablature, the hours go by really quickly."
Mark honest to God, groans. His head is falling back against his chair's headrest. Jeno smiles in fake apology to the girl who seemed to be growing more and more confused as the seconds ticked on.
"I have a list!" Jeno continues, shuffling around in his seat to reach for one of his bag's strings. "I figured since I had Mark all to myself for three hours, I'd use the time to pick his brain about everything he knows about our architecture module."
The girl stammers as Jeno finally pulls the bag onto his lap, unzipping it and wedging his hand inside. He rumbles around for a moment, even sticking his tongue out for good measure.
"Save yourself Stephanie," Mark begs. She quickly takes the out and scrambles down to the back of the bus. Jeno let's out a small victorious noise when he pulls out a bag of sour Skittles. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeno counters, ripping the bag of Skittles open like he wasn't just worried about his stomach twenty minutes ago. "You honestly think that you can beat me with your limited knowledge of Classical architecture? I'm surprised that you even knew how to pronounce them correctly."
"Hey!" Mark hissed, colliding his fist against Jeno's chest again.
"Dude!" Jeno hissed right back, scrunching up his bag of Skittles in one hand and allowing the other to knock right against Mark's left peck.
The boy falls over immediately, letting out a pained wheeze. Jeno returns to his earlier position, allowing his bag to fall back to the floor, re-zipped. His bag of Skittles open for his enjoyment.
"Serves you right for lying."
"You were doing the exact same thing!" Mark groaned, finally managing to pull himself up from his embarrassingly weak display of male strength.
"I was not lying, I was rehearsing the lines that you would say had the situation reflected reality! You need my tutoring in all things architectural, not the other way 'round."
"Okay, fine!" Mark huffs, throwing his arms up in a dramatic state of surrender.
Jeno pops a Skittle into his mouth, allowing himself a second to check outside the window. It truly was a bleak day.
"You win!" Mark's voice pulls him back from the window to glare at him. "Are you happy now?"
"I'm going to have to spend the next three hours tutoring you," Jeno whispers. "Aren't I?"
He watches as Mark's head falls between his shoulders, a powerful sigh leaving his lips.
Typical!
Just when he thought that he would have a chance to switch off from the world around him and wallowing in the soothing pleasure of one of his unfinished playlists. He allows a steady breath to blow through his lips, the sourness of the candy already wilting away on his tongue.
"I have my snacks ready." He states. "Get your iPad out, and let's get started."
Mark nods along quietly to himself and grabs his own bag to snatch his preferred device.
Jeno allows his headphones to fall against his neck, not having the will or the energy to take them completely off. Mark, on the other hand, listened intently to his best friend as he briefly began to explain the differences between Corinthian and Composite columns.
"Wait!" Mark can't help but interrupt Jeno's lecture. "One is Greek, and one is Roman? Dude how do I find out which is which?"
Jeno simply stares at his best friend, really gazing at his features. Mark's eyes were bright brown and wide as his cheeks flushed slightly from the adrenaline no doubt coursing through his veins at their impromptu study session.
Jeno took a deep breath and pops another single skittle into his mouth, savoring the sting of the sourness. "Right," he begins, as calm as ever. "What you need to know is..."