Mark returned from the library later after grabbing himself some lunch, hoping that by then Jackson would be gone. Except, if Jackson was gone, he hoped Jackson hadn't gone out to meet up with Jinyoung again; the younger might tell him about his little outburst in the library.
Lucky for him, Jackson was still in the dorm, but that didn't exactly relieve him, as he was slightly worried that the elder may still be upset with him.
As he stepped into the room and spotted his roommate standing beside his bed packing away some items into his bag, Mark stayed quiet to ensure that he didn't say anything to cause another conflict.
Jackson noticed his entrance, glancing up at the elder briefly. "Hey Mark."
His tone was different; it didn't have the agitated inflection it had earlier. He sounded like he was back to normal again; maybe those few hours apart did them both good in calming down after their little fiery exchange.
"Hi..." Mark greeted back, still tiptoeing around the room as if making any noise would tick Jackson off.
"So, Jinyoung wants to study again. I'm gonna head over and probably stay pretty late, so don't wait up for me." Jackson stated aloud.
Mark paused in the middle of the room, his heart dropping. "What?"
"I really wanna ace this test coming up in my math class, I need to make sure I know the material."
"You didn't even care about math before."
Jackson shrugged as he slung his book filled bag onto his back. "Well, Jinyoung explains it in a way that makes sense, I like learning from him. I wanna show him that his hard work pays off with a high grade on the test."
"Oh..." The disappointment in Mark's voice was practically tangible as his eyes fell to the floor.
Yet again being left for Jinyoung; at this point, Mark wished he'd told Jinyoung earlier to just back off of his roommate.
"You okay?" Jackson suddenly asked with concern due to the sudden dimming of Mark's features, stepping slightly closer while letting out a small sigh. "Listen, forget about earlier. I just wanna make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine. Just..." Mark trailed off, unable to express what he was really thinking. He couldn't possibly tell Jackson how much he despised him and Jinyoung hanging out together. He's already expressed his dislike for the guy anyway. But at least Jackson seemed to be trying to make amends, not that he'd done anything wrong in the first place. "...um, good luck."
"Thanks." Jackson flashed a smile as he headed for the door.
Yet Mark couldn't allow the younger to just leave with his awkward good luck wish as the last note. He felt the need to say something more; to really show that he wasn't against Jackson and that what happened earlier didn't cause a wedge in their relationship. Mark wanted to make amends too.
"J-Jackson?" He hastily called out, stopping the younger just before he walked out of the door.
He glanced back at Mark, brows raised in question. "Yes?"
Mark tugged at the sleeve of his sweater, shifting his weight between legs. "Um... you know I don't hate you, right?"
Jackson blinked, his jaw falling open as if to say something, but hesitating.
Instead, he smiled wider at the elder, nodding his head. "That was random. But thanks, you don't hate me."
"No Jackson, I really mean it. I don't hate you." Mark repeated it to make sure the younger heard it; to make sure he knew it with little doubts that despite how Mark acted, he never hated him. He assumed that Jackson knew it already, but something in him urged him to say it at least once to ensure that he knew for certain that he wasn't despised by his roommate.
