Chapter Text
Mark returns home from a long school day, the sun lowering, painting the sky in pretty orange hues. The new school year has just begun a few weeks ago and he’s already beat. English is kicking his ass as usual and he’s certainly ready to kill one his lower classmen who is best friends with his best friend’s crush. He flops on the bed and stays focused on an invisible spot on the ceiling before rolling over and running his fingers through his newly dyed blonde hair with a sigh.
A small ding goes off on his phone and recognizing the sound, he quickly snatches at the phone to check his messages. He smiles down at the screen, his heart speeding up as he reads the message.
Mark has been in a long distance relationship with a boy he met online named, Jiaer. He is completely infatuated with the younger boy and he's maybe thinking his feelings have developed into something a little more serious. He’s the only one that seems to keep him sane through all the things he’s drowning in on the daily. Mark is pretty good student with pretty good grades, he’s involved in a few clubs, and tutors from time to time for extra cash. Sometimes everything gets a little overbearing.
Mykayee: hey babe how was school ;P
Yien: sos, i hate it already.
Mykayee: aww that sucks. well i’m here for you.
Yien: oh yeah? then come get me.
Mykayee: haha sure. but i might do things to you.
Yien: ok perv :P
Mark giggles down at his phone as he lays flat on his stomach, legs in the air, blushing. He wishes Jiaer could be with him physically. But they have never met, not even once and they’ve been dating for six months now. Mark thinks it's a mixture of being super busy, especially since Jiaer went away for the entire summer and then they both went back to their busy school lives and because of fear. Maybe they fear they won’t like each other as much in person or something, he doesn’t know but something has been stopping them from meeting even though they’re both aware they live in the same city.
Mykayee: hey when are you going to send me a proper pic?
Yien: what :P
Mykayee: babe I can only see half your face in all these pics.
Yien: same for you, all I ever see is abs :<
Mykayee: but you like it?
Mykayee: i’ll trade you a dick pic for a full face
Mark bursts into laughter at the last messages. This was the other thing, neither of them have really fully revealed themselves to the other. Bringing them back to the last reason they probably have never met, they’re both scared they won’t live up to the other’s fantasies of one another. Its a weird thing but neither of them really cared much. They really just like talking to each other. Yes, their conversations might get a little out of control from time to time but so far it's all been very emotional.
Yien: your so horny.
Mykayee: i’m just trying to get you horny and i see you’re still failing english *you’re
Yien: shut up jerk and it doesn’t take much with you lol ;P
Mykayee: oh yeah? cause i’ve been thinking...
Yien: no i won’t cyber with you, that’s for nerds.
Mykayee: aww man :<
Mykayee: no but i wanna hear you.
Yien: call me then, idiot.
Mykayee: i’m kinda scared..it’ll be my first time hearing you.
Yien: yeah i sound like a whale so maybe not.
Mykayee: Yien shut up. I’m gonna call you ok?
Mark’s heart speeds up a little as he reads the message. Jiaer is going to call him? They exchanged numbers right before Jiaer went away on vacation but they were never really able to talk on the phone because they didn’t want to get killed when their parents saw the expensive internationals calls show up on the bill. Besides they barely had time to even message each other with how busy Jiaer was seeing his family in Hong Kong.
Mykayee: tomorrow ;P
Yien: you chicken.
Mykayee: sorry babe, i just have a lot of fucking homework and my mom is gonna kill me if she finds me fucking you through the phone.
Yien: oh was that your plan?
Mykayee: maybe ;P but i gotta go be a good son. good night baby, study hard for english cause you suck kay?
Yien: shut up jerk and good night i’m gonna miss you
Mykayee: i’m gonna miss you too cutie
Mark sighs a little sad that Jiaer had to go so early but he supposes he should do what Jiaer advised and study up on his English, which is surprisingly his worst subject. He excels in everything else except English. He grabs his phone before shuffling off the bed and makes himself comfortable at his desk, where he’ll be for the next few hours. The messenger is quiet as he starts reading over some assigned text when he hears that special notification sound he set just for Jiaer. He quickly swipes open his phone to check, heart skipping a beat and breath catching in his throat as he reads the message.
Mykayee: Yien….
Mykayee: I love you.
The older boy has to take a few double takes before he fully understands what he’s reading. They have never exchanged I love yous until tonight. Jiaer had been there for Mark through some pretty tough times over the last six months, piecing him back together when he felt like everyone and everything around him was breaking him down and vice versa for Jiaer. There were times where he was very close to telling the younger how he felt about him but he was always overpowered by the embarrassing thought that he was confessing his love to a boy he’s never met.
Mark was constantly questioning whether it was love he was feeling or pure infatuation. His best friend telling him he thinks it's love by the way Mark would stare down, smiling brightly at his phone for hours on end without getting tired of the person on the other end. How he could and would always run to Jiaer and tell him anything and everything, knowing he would accept him no matter what.
Yien: I...love you too Jiaer.
Mykayee: good. i’ve been holding that in for a while now. i’m going back to studying ok bye for real this time babe.
Yien: :) <3
He chuckles down at the message wondering how Jiaer can be so carefree all the time. But he’s happy to know he wasn’t the only one suffering. Trying to figure out when or if he should ever say I love you. Leave it to Jiaer to say it at the most random time, Mark thinks to himself as he tries his best to refocus on his school work. Only he finds himself unlocking his phone to read Jiaer’s message over and over again.
They both sleep peacefully that night, feeling like a weight has been lifted off their chest and dreaming of the day they can fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Mark rolls out of bed in the morning, performing his usual school morning routine and arrives at school without a hitch to his surprise. Maybe Jiaer’s confession is bringing him some type of luck because he’s even managed to not fall off his bike not once during his ride to school and he didn’t have to wrestle with the bike rack to get it to lock today either. Mark walks into his class and sits in the middle and gets ready to listen to his history teacher drone on about how important and historical it is for them to know about Europeans in the 1600s.
Mark again surprises himself when he doesn’t nod off a single time during class and gets up when the bell rings signalling lunch for the seniors and juniors. He walks through the halls and ignores the usual glances from blushing girls and boys alike.
Mark is a little popular in school for being quite handsome or pretty, whatever they prefer. His locker filled with confessions from different guys and girls on the daily to the point where he doesn’t even use it anymore, too tired of constantly having to empty it out.
He makes his way to his favorite lunch table where his best friend is waiting for him. “Jinyoung! I have some good news,” he starts, sitting down next to the younger boy who’s currently poking holes into his bread while looking down at his phone.
Jinyoung has been Mark’s best friend since the younger fell down and bruised his knee in 3rd grade, Mark had helped him by sticking a band aid from his backpack on the bleeding patch of skin, clearly too big for the tiny pikachu band aide.
“Jiaer finally popped your cherry?” Jinyoung smirks, dodging a swatting hand from Mark. Jinyoung is the only one Mark has told about Jiaer, besides the fact that Jinyoung might be his only good friend, Mark doesn’t want people to think he’s weird for having a boyfriend he’s never met. He knows Jinyoung would never judge him.
“No dumbass. He told me he loved me.” Mark tries to say with as straight a face as it will get but he can’t help how giddy he feels on the inside. Jiaer really feels the same way about him and that makes him more than happy. Happy can’t describe the feeling at all. “Seriously!?” Mark watches as Jinyoung’s face goes from stunned to amused to smug.
“Yeah.” Mark stuffs a piece of his sandwich in his mouth as he listens to Jinyoung tell him how he knew Jiaer was in love with him all along. Which is true, Jinyoung had always been rooting for them. “So did you say it back!?” Jinyoung blurts out.
Mark looks at him and scoffs, “of course I did.” he says with no shame. Because he would tell Jiaer he loved him ten times over. Jinyoung laughs knowing he should have expected no less. “I’m happy for you hyung. I was afraid you would die a virgin never experiencing dick.” Mark swats at his fluffy head successfully this time.
“Like you’re one to talk, aren’t you still…” he’s cut off by his worst nightmare sliding in the seat across from him. His best friend sliding in next to him, “Do you guys mind if we sit here? There’s nowhere else to sit.” the raven haired boy, known as Im Jaebum, asks.
“YES! I mean….No.” Jinyoung sputters out and Mark knows why. Jinyoung has had the worst and biggest crush on Jaebum for about a year now and Mark definitely sees what Jinyoung sees in him. He’s smart, charismatic, sexy and certainly gorgeous. It's the douche that he calls a best friend that Mark can’t stand and he nudges Jinyoung signalling that he’s going to kill him later for making him suffer for his own gain later.
“Hey Mark, looks like you got even prettier over the summer.” the younger boy mocks him, flipping his hair in an exaggerated motion, obnoxiously laughing as Mark rolls his eyes to the farthest part of his skull. Jaebum’s best friend, Jackson Wang is Mark’s least favorite person on this earth. Ever since meeting him, he's convinced Jackson is the most obnoxious ass wipe he has ever met. He’s too loud when he shouldn’t be, never stops talking or let alone knows when to stop, and he’s constantly fishing for compliments on his, Mark will never ever admit it but, insanely good looks and body.
“I see you’ve become even more of a dumbass over the summer.” Mark kicks the other boy under the table for winking at him. Jackson winces, “Hey that’s not nice pretty boy.” and with that Mark feels like he should take his leave because he can’t stand to listen to the other boy any longer. But Jinyoung keeps giving him this pleading look and he knows exactly what that means. Always taking one for the team. For Jinyoung anyway.
“So Jaebum hyung...how was your summer…” Jinyoung stampers out with a blush. Jaebum looks up from his lunch and Mark catches the smirk Jaebum gives Jinyoung after saying, “It was good, I had a lot of fun.” They lock eyes for a while before Jinyoung looks into his food with a blush and Mark wonders if there is something Jinyoung maybe hasn’t told him, yet.
“I know you guys had an eventful summer together, but can you keep the eye fucking to a minimal please. I’m eating over here.” Jackson blabbers out and Jinyoung’s blush deepens. Mark just stares at the two with his mouth agape. Jinyoung squeezes his thigh begging him not to ask right now and Mark just glares at him.
“Jackson how was your summer, didn’t you go back to Hong Kong?” Jinyoung asks, trying to clearly take the heat off of himself. Jackson looks up from his lunch with a beaming smile, taking this as his cue to tell the table a long drawn out story about how his vacation in Hong Kong was the best thing ever. Mark has learned to completely tune Jackson out in the rare times when he has to be around him.
“Hey Markiepoo are you listening. As a fellow Chinese you should be excited about my super amazing trip.” Jackson drones on, annoying Mark to no end and knowing that he’s annoying Mark. Getting some type of joy out of it.
“I keep telling you, I’m not Chinese you asswipe and stop calling me that!” Mark sighs and rolls his eyes again. “Taiwanese. Yeah yeah whatever. Close enough.” Jackson continues his story about how he watched a duck get its head cut clean off at a restaurant before it was cooked. Jinyoung and Jaebum also seem to have started tuning him out as they get lost in their own world of stolen glances and under the table leg rubs.
Mark’s had enough and his food is looking a lot less appetizing since Jackson sat down with them. So he gets up to leave, “Ok well I would love to hear your story Jackson but I have an English exam to attend to.” Mark excuses himself with that and just when he thinks he’s peacefully escaped he hears, “Yeah you do that cause you suck at English.” causing the older to whip his head around and make a choking motion at Jackson’s neck.
“Woah kinky.” Jackson winks and Jinyoung and Jaebum try to muffle their giggles, making Mark even more irritated. “If I could get away with murder….” Mark mutters, quickly walking away. He could maybe stand Jackson a lot more if he just didn’t talk as much or even at all. He’s nice to look at but just way too much for Mark. He doesn’t understand how someone so cool like Im Jaebum could be around him.
Mark makes his way home in one piece once again. He feels little bit better about today than he did yesterday. He even thinks he did pretty well on his exam, hopefully. Maybe its the excitement he’s feeling from knowing that Jiaer is going to call him sometime tonight or at least he hopes the other boy keeps his promise. He drops his bag down on the floor next to his desk and climbs onto his bed.
Usually he waits for Jiaer to message him first but he’s just so restless and kind of bored with waiting for him. Wondering what the younger boy is doing. Mark opens his phone as he lays back against his headboard that’s filled obnoxiously with pillows of all kinds. He opens his messenger and stares at their last messages of them saying they love each other.
Yien: hey jerk, you didn’t send me a good morning message.
Mykayee: sorry babe i was rushing this morning. i couldn’t stop thinking about you last night and overslept
Yien: you’re so greasy, was it a good dream?
Mykayee: fuck yeah, you were whimpering so cutely
Yien: ok ok pervert lol
Mykayee: aww i wasn’t done telling the story.
Yien: how about you tell me over the phone like you said…
Mykayee: oh man i was hoping you would have forgotten.
Yien: what you jerk you promised.
Mykayee: i’m kidding babe...should I call you now?
Yien: yeah or else i’m gonna call you..
Mykayee: why don’t you…
Mark never really thought about that, he could have just called Jiaer from the beginning. He chuckles at his own silliness but when he goes to press the green dialer button his heart stutters and he feels like he’s been running a marathon suddenly. His finger hovers over the screen for a few minutes before he finally presses the button. He slowly hold the phone up to his ear. It rings once, twice, and then he’s breathless at the silence he hears on the end.
“Yien?”
“Jiaer.”