Mark quietly exited his dorm while Jackson was sleeping; before leaving, he kissed his cheek and wished him to have a good day.
It felt good to be able to do things like that, for the past few weeks he'd been too scared too and the desire inside had been growing and growing. Now, he could shower Jackson with all the affection he deserved; he had two years worth of it to make up for anyway.
He stepped out into the hallway, closing his dorm door behind him gently. Classes were nearing their finish, only a few weeks left remaining of waking up early for a pointless science class.
Though, before he headed to his class, he planned on making a pit-stop.
He walked down the hall, pausing just before a certain dorm room. Taking in a deep breath, he gathered the courage he'd been afraid to have for so long and lifted his knuckles to the wood. Silence followed after a few knocks.
It only lasted mere seconds, as the knob was turning not long after. Through the crack of the door, Mark could see Jinyoung's confused face. He looked like he had already been up for a while, and he was dressed for class, but he didn't look as good as he normally did on the daily. Mark wondered if he had something to do with that.
Jinyoung in return was looking at Mark in confused shock. Though that quickly turned into an emotionless stare after a few moments. "Oh, Mark..."
"Hey um... good morning?" Mark was still as bad as ever as talking. He should have rehearsed this in his head more.
Jackson did give him the encouragement to make up with Jinyoung as soon as possible, but it was still scary as hell to confront the person he had hurt and lied to unnecessarily.
"Not really. Barely any sleep." Jinyoung replied flatly.
Mark could tell he was in the 'hurry up and tell me what you want so you can go away' type of mood, which made it difficult for him to express himself comfortably. But avoiding discomfort and not confronting his feelings is what caused this mess in the first place. He couldn't run away from this now.
"I... um..." Mark cleared his throat, adjusting the collar of his t-shirt. "Do you um... maybe wanna walk to class together?"
The younger's brows immediately furrowed. "I um..."
"I understand if you don't but, I'd like to maybe have a fresh start with you. If you're okay with it."
Jinyoung was quiet for a few moments. "...How is Jackson?"
"Jackson's okay. We talked last night, I told him how I felt. He forgave me. And... he said he knew you would too."
The younger rose a brow, scoffing at the statement that had been made about him. "Oh, did he..."
Mark let out a soft breath, realizing he'd have to go about this directly. No more lying or beating around the bush. "Jinyoung, I'm so sorry, seriously. It was jealousy, stupid irrational jealousy; I really didn't intend to harm you as much as I did, but I did. And it was wrong of me. I'm sorry."
The younger male's arms were now folded across his chest, his foot tapping furiously against the floor. "Jackson said it was because you have a crush on him. Why didn't you just tell me? I considered you as a friend, even when you didn't act like one; I'm not a shitty person that would purposely take him from you, yet you made that baseless assumption about me."
Mark ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head at his petty behavior. "I couldn't even tell him, so telling anyone else was..."
"But if you don't express how you feel, then how the hell will anyone else know?"
"Right..." Mark trailed off, not knowing how to counter that argument. That was his whole problem, he just kept too much to himself, and instead tried to handle things behind the scenes rather than communicate with the person he cared about most, and it obviously didn't work out too well. "...Well, I guess that means I should work on communicating more, and you seem good at communicating, so maybe you and me could-"
"Stop. I know you're here to make up with me, you don't have to make an excuse for it." Jinyoung let out a sigh, quickly glancing at the time on his watch, then back up at Mark. "Let me get my bag."
Mark smiled as warmly as he could while Jinyoung disappeared for a few moments, the younger re-emerging from the room with his schoolbag in hand. The two walked silently to class, which was at least a step up from totally avoiding one another. Jinyoung still radiated this cold energy, but Mark figured he had to take it one step at a time.
As they entered the lecture hall Jinyoung went straight for his usual seat while Mark tried to scan the room for an empty one. The seat he had sat in last time was now occupied, but there was another all the way toward the front of the classroom. He figured it was better to sit there than attempt to be beside Jinyoung.
As Jinyoung sat down, he noticed Mark walking past him, a frown growing on his face. "Hey. Where are you going?"
Mark turned, realizing that Jinyoung was in fact talking to him. He awkwardly pointed toward the front of the hall where that empty seat resided. "I just thought it would be easier for me to sit somewhere else if you were still mad at me."
Jinyoung let out a breath, gesturing to the empty seat next to him. "Mark, you can sit."
The elder's eyes widened. "R-Really? You sure?"
"I just said so."
"O-Okay." Mark was quick to accept the offer, trying his best to be as warm and nice as possible since his past behavior toward the other was just nasty. He was grateful Jinyoung was giving him a second chance, as Mark had thought that maybe the possibilities of a friendship between them had been completely severed. As he sat down and pulled out his books, he made sure to express his gratitude. "Thanks Jinyoung."
"I'm still pissed." The younger retorted.
Mark faltered, realizing that maybe he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up too high. "Right, sorry..."
"...But, I still see potential in you as a friend. If you wanna be, that is."
The elder vigorously nodded; not only would Jackson be ecstatic if him and Jinyoung were to become friends, but Mark had seen for himself how helpful and reliable Jinyoung was. He was a good person, Mark just couldn't see it for the wrong reasons. "Yes! Of course, we can be friends, that would mean a lot to me. Do you maybe wanna come over later 'cuz I'm sure Jackson would love it--"
"No." Jinyoung shook his head while gently patting the elder on the shoulder. "Give me some time."
Mark nodded, still content with the fact that he and Jinyoung were on much better terms now than they had ever been. "I understand."
The younger smiled, making Mark smile in return; the sour mood between them lifting just slightly, which made the rest of the class easier to endure together.
