Nabi and Mark haven't been able to hang out as much as they used to or would like to. All of that was caused by Mark's record deal that was going speedily and smoothly, making the boy realize his whole life was about to change soon.
Nabi still listened to his songs as she used to, finding out her beloved artist was her best friend didn't change a thing about that - he was still her favorite singer and rapper out there and being able to support him even more ever since finding out the whole truth made her an even bigger fan. She was also occupied with the flower shop, which let them both not feel too guilty about not having time for each other - thought it still sucked.
The girl's phone buzzed in her jeans back pocket as she bid a customer goodbye with the fondest smile, just like she always did. An even bigger one grew on her face when she saw a text from the soon-to-be a world star. She truly believed he would become one and hoped he wouldn't forget her when it finally happened.
superstar MKL🤩
heyyyy how's it going?
are u busy?
hey superstar 🫶🏻
a little but it's not as crazy today as few days ago
wbu? what are u doing today?
mv? recording? photoshoot?
ahh i'm glad then
and lmaoo so nosey
it's a secret ;)
oh come awn
i'm your best friend
AND ur biggest fan
i thought johnny was my best friend 😜
ouch. we don't talk for awhile and u hit me with this when we do
that's low mark lee
lmao u know im kidding silly
ure both my best friends dude i cant choose just one
right 🙄
but i do win the biggest fan category tho
hahahah yeah u do
ure cute
Nabi's smile suddenly widened even more - as if that was possible - at the cute pet name. Her face dropped once she realized the reaction she just had and shook her head, shaking the weird feeling off as well.
so, as ur biggest fan, can i know what ure doing today?
pleaseeeee i'm so curious 😭
hahahhhaha you rly are impatient dude
i rly cant tell you tho 😅
ugh man :( that sucks
but i hope ure having fun <3
i am, it's just much crazier than i imagined
like, there's so much to do
it all takes so long to get done
sometimes i don't even sleep at all
i'm so drained lmao
but i mean, that's what i signed up for
markie:( pls take care of urself
as much as u can
take vitamins and stuff
and take naps whenever u can
i don't want you hurting urself
is it mark's best friend or mark lee's biggest fan talking? hahahah
both
don't make me kick ur ass if u don't take care of urself
pls u couldn't even if u tried 🫶🏻
don't underestimate a 5'3 person
i'm stronger than u think
just take care of urself so u don't have to deal with taekwondo nabi
lmaooo that's a crazy sight i just imagined
u in a dobok
taking a stand to fight my ass hhahah
cute
She felt butterflies in her stomach again at the pet name and she immediately slapped her cheeks slightly. What the hell is wrong with you, Nabi? she thought.
good try at ignoring the take care of urself part, mark lee
nah im not ignoring it i just
think that talking about u trying to fight me is far more fun than talking about the obvious hahah
the obvious? HA
says the one who wouldn't eat or sleep just to work on his music.
i don't think you'd get better at that now that you're officially starting to work on ur debut
i'm not stupid mark
in fact, i'm getting a takeout and going to ur place
i'm not taking no for an answer
nabi i'm not home yet hahhah
then text me when u are 🫶🏻
i may be back late
i don't want u to come all the way to my house at night
i'm fine nabi i swear lmao
you don't have to nurse me
i don't want to nurse u
i just wanted to spend some time with my best friend
we haven't seen each other in so long
u don't miss me? ;(
hahahaha why are u being so cute today
and yeah ofc i miss u
smh fineeeee if ure willing to mess up ur sleeping schedule then sure, come over to eat
i'll text u when i finish :)
i have to get back to
um
yeah
i'll text you hahahah
The girl shook her head, smiling fondly at how adorable he was. The amount of times Mark called her cute made her feel things she thought were already long gone after their little staring contest while laying on the fake grass after Jeno's game.
She hadn't seen Mark in about two weeks and it made her miss him terribly, him as her best friend. She missed laughing and talking with him about the random things the most out of everything. But she also wouldn't mind to have him play his guitar while singing softly as she sat on his bed, all curled up, watching him put on a private show just for her. The truth was, she always felt her insides twisting whenever he played the instrument or sang to her because that was her favorite artist doing it especially for her and her only. But she was convinced it was just a starstruck type of thing and that she could never actually like Mark more than just a friend.
Nabi knocked on the door to Mark's and Johnny's apartment as a yawn escaped her mouth. It was an understandable body reflex as it was close to 1am already and she was exhausted - but her promise and eagerness to have a meal with her best friend kept her up on her feet.
"Hey, dude!" Mark almost threw himself at the girl, making her chuckle as he squeezed her tight. She wrapped her arms around him as well and they walked inside the apartment after a quite long hug.
Mark chuckled at Nabi's choice of food and she laughed almost defensively. "Don't be picky! It's almost 1am." she said while taking out two cheeseburgers, fries and chicken nuggets from McDonald's.
The two talked while eating, updating each other about their lives for the past two weeks that they couldn't share together. Nabi had told him about a guy who came with few different girls every single day, pretending to be treating them like they were the only ones he was treating that way meanwhile Nabi wanted to gag at how much of a jerk he was to date few girls at a time - and as much as she'd like to tell the truth to all those poor women, she had no right to. Mark couldn't believe his ears and how horrible some men could be, but the conversation quickly changed to him and the start of his career - a much more interesting subject.
Nabi listened carefully as Mark told her about the official recording studio and other details with so much passion that his eyes twinkled even though they looked so tired. His passion for music was so real and so admirable that the girl didn't mind listening to him talk about it for hours.
"Nabi, you really didn't have to come over so late, now I feel bad." he reached her hand and rubbed it softly with his thumb as another yawn escaped her mouth after the two talked for over an hour.
"It's ok, it was my idea. Besides, I don't have work tomorrow so it's ok." she smiled while her tired eyes barely kept open.
"Do you want to crash here for the night? I don't think you can even get to taxi on your own feet."
Nabi chuckled, agreeing that it was probably true. "If that's not a problem then sure."
Mark scoffed. "Why would that be a problem? Come on, I'll give you my bed."
"Wait, no, I can sleep on the couch. You need the comfortable bed more than I do." she made her way towards the couch but the boy grabbed her by the wrist.
"Don't be ridiculous." he pulled her towards his room instead. Nabi was too tired to fight it and dropped on his bed almost immediately. She yawned as she sat back up and looked at Mark who took out a clean t-shirt out of his closet and soon after handed it to her. "You can sleep in this to be more comfortable."
Nabi smiled softly and thanked him before lifting her own shirt up. Mark's eyes widened and he immediately turned around. "I uh, I'll be right back." he closed the door behind him and the girl only chuckled at his flustered reaction. She felt comfortable around him to the point she wouldn't mind him seeing her in a bra - it's practically the same thing as seeing her in a bathing suit, right? - but she guessed that he still didn't feel like he was able to look at her bare skin without feeling a bit awkward.
After few minutes a knock on the door made Nabi's head snap towards it. Mark peeked his head to see the girl laughing at him, sitting under the blanket with her body fully covered now. He walked inside to grab something from his desk before wanting to make his way out, when the female voice stopped him. "Can you play something on your guitar?"
He furrowed his brows. "Right now? It's like 2am." he let out a chuckle but quickly gave in as he saw the tired girl's face paint with slight disappointment. He sighed and shook his head while smiling as he grabbed the guitar. Nabi sat up more comfortably and hugged her legs towards her chest while looking at Mark rather lovingly.
A soft smile appeared on the boy's face as he began to play soft tunes that gave Nabi butterflies - sounds kind of funny, doesn't it?
She watched Mark change his hand positions as he played, which made the girl blink her tiredness away - though it wasn't working as good as she thought it could.
Within a minute when Mark glanced at her, her eyes were already closed as she laid her cheek on the hands that held her legs. He quietly put the instrument down and somehow tried to change Nabi's position to get her to comfortably lay on the bed. When he succeeded, he gently moved strands of hair out of her face. He smiled to himself as he watched her cute and small, makeup less face. After catching himself staring for a little too long, he quietly and, as gently as he could, got up from the bed when a sudden touch made him pause his movements.
Nabi tried to hold onto his hand tightly but her grip wasn't strong enough so she mumbled "can you stay?"
"I have to get some sleep too. You told me to yourself, remember?" he whispered softly.
"Sleep with me."
Mark gulped upon hearing her words. He wasn't sure if he should because maybe she was just tiredly mumbling and actually didn't mean that? Maybe she was in fact sleep talking?
He was snapped out of his thoughts when she tried to squeeze his hand a bit tighter, meaning that her request was still standing.
"Ok." he whispered softly and Nabi moved herself to the side with all the strength she had in her body. Mark gulped again before fully lying down next to her when she suddenly pulled his arm that resulted in him practically cuddling her from behind. His heart began to race a little at the physical affection that he surely didn't expect to happen so out of the blue. They did hug and cuddle while watching a movie or something, but this - this was a different level of intimacy that he never thought would happen between them - between friends.
Nabi's hair tickled his nose so he moved around a little and it felt like she knew what the reason was since she suddenly moved her hair out of the way. That resulted in her neck being fully uncovered and the smell of her perfume hit his nose instead. She smelled so sweet that if she was a fruit, Mark would definitely take a bite immediately.
The scent of her perfume seemed to work like a magnet when Mark found himself moving his face closer to the back of her neck, his hand still wrapped around her. His tiredness had caught up to him so he didn't have time to overthink about what was going on and how all of that made him feel for much longer before falling asleep.
On the other hand - Nabi suddenly felt like she couldn't sleep. It was her idea to share a bed because she just wanted to have someone near her and who knows why she just wrapped Mark's arm around her like it was nothing. But when she actually felt his body slightly pressed against hers from behind her and his breath hitting the back of her neck, she felt butterflies in her stomach again. Her mind began to run with questions but before she could answer them, she fell asleep too.
woahhhhh it's the longest chapter so far i think haha
but i'm finally updating this one <3
i'm fighting with new ideas vs having less time to write bc of a new job and tsd2 is coming soon and everything seems so hectic
but i hope everyone's doing ok and thank u for reading this :,)
pretty please vote and comment ur thoughts!