Certain That I'm Yours

Moving in Reverse With No Way Out

"Are you...okay?" He heard himself ask, huffed when Aim only nodded in answer. "You can talk to me, I won't rat you out,"

He watched the corners of Aim's mouth lift a little, "I'm fine,"

Mark didn't believe him but he wasn't about to poke at that, start a longer conversation or show he wasn't exactly as indifferent towards Aim as he should be. He didn't need Aim knowing that Mark didn't hate him.

"I already talked to him but I'll try to get him to be better about this," he hoped Aim understood he was talking about the scene he'd witnessed with Vee and his friends and the project. 

And then Aim asked, "about the project? Or..."

"The project. If you guys can't even talk to each other, you're never going to be able to get your work done,"

Aim shrugged, stuffed his hands in his pockets, he paced away to one of the benches that lined the hallway. When he didn't say anything, Mark considered just leaving, heading back to Vee till he heard him say, "I don't really care,"

Mark scoffed, walked closer to stand in front of him, "Well, the two of you shouldn't fail just because you can't get along,"

Aim looked at him for a long moment before he said, "that wasn't what I meant,"

Mark couldn't help rolling his eyes or crossing him arms at that, he could be so annoying. He always had a hidden meaning in the things he said and it was like a game if you could figure it out. Luckily for Mark it didn't seem like Aim was in the mood to play because he elaborated on that without Mark having to say a word.

"I don't care if he talks to me. Or if they all ignore me. I don't care if they hate me or if Vee gives me a ton of stupid rules for co-existing, I'm following your rules Mark," he took a breath, like all of that had been punched out of him, "not his,"

Mark blinked, wondered for a moment why he hadn't been okay with his lack of honesty, this, if it was the truth, wasn't any easier to deal with than his vague way of speaking that lured people in. He didn't know what to do with it and didn't know how to handle it if it were the truth. 

"But I think I'd rather you didn't say anything to him about...how he's been acting,"

Like he'd been yanked back out of his head, Mark felt himself startle, back to the point of all this, "What? Why not, how are you guys going to get through your project,"

Aim shrugged. "We'll figure it out," he said quietly, "I just know he'll be worse if you say something about it,"

Mark felt his hackles rise at the negativity about Vee. Overcome with the need to defend his boyfriend from Aim's doubt he said, "I don't think you know him at all actually,"

Aim made a noise, part laugh, part huff before a small smile set over his features, eyebrows quirked. "No, I do. I know, he's crazy about you and if you asked him to be decent, he'd agree, tell you whatever he thought you wanted to hear. But he'd turn around and do the opposite-"

"-that's not-"

"-because that's exactly what we've been doing. I can't imagine you condoned him punching me but that's what he felt he had to do. He's got all his friends ignoring me on principle and they spend all class throwing me dirty looks like it matters to me. I mean, I obviously don't want to be punched again but it doesn't bother me that he's like this. I deserve it don't I?"