#mark writing

You made the final strike, using your heavy attack, you placed the final blow to the boss, shooting it off the map. “Victory!” Mark yelled from behind you. “Good job. Though, I could have done it better, if I do say so myself.” He smiled faintly, kissing your cheek with a light peck.

You pouted at him. “I doubt that. Just accept that I am the ultimate smasher,” you became quiet after realizing how wrong that sounded. “Um… that sounded cleaner in my head.” You bit down on your bottom lip, becoming uncomfortable.

Mark giggled, he was one to always laugh at a dirty joke, no matter how juvenile. “We’ll have to put it to the test then.” He raised his brow and you weren’t sure what kind of smash he was talking about. You were hoping Bros.

“Huh… yeah,” you tried to laugh it off, turning back to the tv and picking up your controller. “Here’s let’s do a one v one and I’ll prove to you I’m better.” You pushed your lips into a line, trying to forget about to awkward moment between you.

Sure, the conversation of sex popped up from time to time. It was normal. Mark was your first real relationship and you were his. You had been dating for over a year now and it would only make sense that it would happen sooner or later. It wasn’t that you didn’t love Mark or that you didn’t want him to take your virginity. It was just that sex scared you, it made you nervous beyond imagine.

It soon became obvious which smash Mark was talking about when he placed his hand over yours, pushing the controller back down to the sofa. “Hey,” he spoke softly, “look at me, please.”

You did, feeling your hands shake a little as you looked into his gentle eyes. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to have sex? With me, I mean.” His tone was smooth, but his voice shook as he asked. He seemed just as nervous as you were. His fingers found their way to yours, intertwining into your own. “There’s no rush. And I hope you know I would never force you into anything.”

“I know,” you said, “I know. And I do… want to have sex with you, Mark. It just scares me a lot.” Your voice was shaky but you made sure not to break eye-contact with him.

“Yeah… it scares me too. Like a lot,” he admitted, squeezing down on your hands slightly. “All, I know, is that I want to do it with you.”

“Me too,” you said, “I want to do it with you, that is.” You corrected your answer, clarifying what you meant.

Mark laughed a little. “I got you.”

You smiled shyly, feeling a sudden need to kiss him. You leaned in closer to him, connecting your lips to his. Mark seemed a little taken back, at first, but found his way into the kiss. His hands coming down to your back to pull you into him. His lips were soft against yours, you always loved how soft they were and how they always tasted like watermelons.

You closed your eyes, letting your touch guide you to him. You felt his hands on your hips, propping you up onto his lap. You cradled his waist, as your arms wrapped around his neck. What started out as a sweet and gentle kiss, soon turned into something much more passionate - more needy.

Mark’s hands stayed on your hips, guiding you along as you began to roll your lips a bit. He moaned lightly into your mouth, an erection growing in his pants. It was all moving so fast, you could hardly think straight. The feeling on his hands on your skin as they slid up your shirt. To the way, his now hard length felt on your core.

“Is this okay,” Mark asked, shyly before he went further.

You bit down on your bottom lip, feeling your core start to become wet. You nodded your head, making a small noise to accompany it.

“Okay, good. I wouldn’t want to do anything that you weren’t okay with.” He flashed you a small smile, making you feel better about what you were doing. And to be honest, you had no idea what that is. You let Mark lead your movements, he seemed to know more about it than you did. You just let him guide you along, his hands locked to your lips as he got you both off.

Before, it went any further, the sound of the door shutting echoed through your ears. Mark immediately stopped kissing you and you hurried to get off him, sitting on the other side of the sofa. Mark stuck his hand down his pants to hide his erection. While you patted down your hair and shifted in your spot, still feeling the wetness in your panties.

“Mark? Where you at?” Lucas’ voice rang through your ears. What was he doing here? Well, you guess, he was Mark’s neighbour and unexpected drops in were his specialty. You had grown used to it by now, but usually, you weren’t compromised like you were now.

You looked at Mark and he looked at you. Nothing between you had ever gone that far before. It never went past a somewhat heavy make-out. Maybe it was a good thing Lucas walked in when he did. You could only imagine what had happened if he hadn’t.

“Um,” Mark gulped trying to collect himself, “the game room.”

A moment later, Lucas popped around the corner, his signature grin on his face. “Oh, shit, sorry. I didn’t realize you were here,” he said to you while walking into the room. “I saw ya’ll were playing Smash and I felt obligated to come over.”

“Personal space, Lucas, personal space.” Mark said.

“Yeah, I know. You’ve only told me a hundred times.” He flopped down in between you and Mark. With a sigh, Lucas threw his arm over you, pulling you closer. “So, what have you two lovebirds been up to all day? Strictly PG, I hope.”

You froze, did he know? Did he see you two before you knew he came him? Your heart was racing. Mark wasn’t any better. His eyes were wide, his lips parted, a little anger in his eyes, seeing Lucas’ arm around you. “We’ve been playing the game all day. What’s it matter to you?”

“Well,” Lucas placed his free hand on his chest, “I feel, as the oldest, to look out for you. Make sure the babies aren’t up to anything they shouldn’t be.”

“Oldest, my ass,” Mark scoffed, “by like six months!”

Lucas looked to Mark, with a sly smile, pointing a finger at him. “Exactly, so I’m the oldest.”

“That’s bull.”

Lucas didn’t respond, looking over to you, instead. “So how you’ve been. It’s been forever since I saw you last. Mark’s been hiding you from us.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Mark budded in while messing around with the game to set it up. It was cute seeing Mark get all jealous when you were around other boys. Especially Lucas, who was a giant flirt.

“Wasn’t asking you,” Lucas responded. “Come on, where’s he been keeping you?”

“The basement,” you joked, gaining a laugh from Lucas and an annoyed grunt from Mark, who was now onto choosing his character, selecting Link, like always.

“Oh,” Lucas spoke, “looks like he’s moving on without us.” He jumped up to grab a third controller as you looked for yours, which was now on the floor.

You picked it up, selecting Zelda, in her black costume to go with Mark’s Dark Link costume. You turned to Mark, who was already looking at you, flashing a quick smile. It was then that you realized why he was so upset with Lucas the whole time. His erection was still prominent in his pants, and his eyes were begging you for a release. You frowned, feeling bad because you knew that wasn’t happening anytime soon with Lucas there.

Lucas sat back down, controller in his hands. “Awe, Link and Zelda, that’s so cute,” he cooed, “you two are honestly meant for eachother. Like you have matching costumes and everything. That’s adorable.” He went on choosing his character and you couldn’t help but laugh when he chose Sonic as his character because of course, he did.

Meanwhile, Mark was growing more on edge with Lucas’ presence. You couldn’t blame him but you thought it was better off this way. Neither of you were ready to have sex. What happened before was just in the spur of the moment, nothing more. The real thing could wait. But you weren’t sure if Mark could.

The poor boy looked like he was about to burst. His ears were bright red and he sat uncomfortably, trying not to draw attention to the bulge in his pants. He stared straight at the tv, not daring to look in your direction.

The match felt like it went on forever. Mark stayed silent, while Lucas made a whole fuss about getting his ass kicked by you. “I’ve never played Sonic before, okay? I was at a disadvantage,” he defended himself with the blatant lie.

“Uh-huh, sure,” you grinned, joking around with him. “Just accept that I’m wayyy better than you, Yukhei.”

You knew he preferred being called by Lucas. He always said that when he got called Yukhei that he felt like he was in trouble from his parents. “That’s it,” he jumped up from the couch, throwing the controller onto the cushion, “I’m leaving. I will not take this harassment from you, young lady.”

“Finally,” Mark breathed under his breath, just loud enough for you to hear.

“Later Mark,” Lucas said as he left the room. You waited patiently for the door to close, signaling that Lucas had left. You looked at Mark with waiting eyes, watching breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that you were finally alone once again.

“I thought, he’d never leave.” He turned to you with needy eyes. They looked all over you like they never had before. You shifted under his gaze, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

You forced a smile to your lips, biting down on your tongue. “Heh, yeah, me neit-” You were cut off by the feeling of Mark’s hungry lips on yours, kissing you deeply. The watermelon taste of him intoxicating you as you kissed him back.

Your hands went into his hair, kneading at the roots, desperately needing something to hold onto. You shut your eyes, letting the moment overtake you. You didn’t think - you didn’t need to. Mark would take care of you. While his kiss was deep and hungry, he was gentle and kind, making sure to do nothing that might hurt you.

“Mark…” you mumbled through his kisses, your voice shaking so much you were afraid nothing had come out. You placed your hand on his chest to stop him. He quickly got the message and moved away from you.

“I’m sorry,” he said shyly.

You smiled. “It’s okay.” You could feel your body shaking from the nerves. You weren’t scared, just utterly nervous. You sat there looking at him, not knowing what to do next. You could feel the impending knowledge of what was going to happen. But were you ready for this?

Was it too early for this?

Were you rushing it?

“I’m just not sure if I’m ready for this,” you said, feeling a little bad. You knew he wanted it. The whole time Lucas was there, you could feel his heavy gaze on you. You tried not to think about it then but it was hard now when there was nothing to distract you.

Mark fell into the back of the couch, seeming a little disappointed. “It’s alright,” he said, despite the look on his face. You knew he wasn’t trying to make you feel bad about your decision. Mark would never guilt you into anything. “It’s better this way. I don’t want my first time with you to be rushed. I want it to be special. When we’re both ready.”

“When we’re both ready,” you repeated.

-----

You now stood in front of Mark’s door. Goosebumps littering your skin as your nerves took over. You knew you didn’t need to knock, you could have just walked in. There was no one there other than Mark. But you couldn’t bring yourself to even raise your hand. You stood out in the cold, shivering from the freezing winds, it was better than shaking from how nervous you were.

You sucked in a breath, feeling the cold air fill your lungs. You finally raised your hand, touching the knob and turning it open. Warm air blew against your red face as you entered Mark’s house. You said nothing, hoping Mark didn’t hear you enter. You were breathing so quickly and your heart was racing.

Taking off your boots and coat, trying to be as quiet as possible. Hopefully, Mark was too busy with something else to bother come see you. But Mark had to be Mark and came around the corner, with a small smile at the sight of you walking up the steps to meet him. “Hey,” he said, his voice seeming a little awkward.

“Hi,” you mumbled in response.

Mark ran his hand over your shoulder. You didn’t look at him. “Hey, let’s not make this awkward, okay?” He could sense the way you were feeling because he felt the same way. He took note of your silence and refusal to look at him and continued. “We don’t have to, you know that right?” He gulped down his words.

You finally looked at him, seeing his soft features looking at you with such care. You found yourself able to smile. You loved Mark so much and you wanted to do this with him. You wanted to give this piece of you to him. No amount of nerves could change that. “Mark?”

“Yes?”

“I want to have sex with you.”

“You do?”

“Uh-huh. And I don’t know if I’ll ever be entirely ready but I know that if it’s with you, I’ll be as ready as I’ll ever be.” You stared into his brown eyes, awaiting his answer. Your voice didn’t shake and you didn’t mumble. Everything you said was perfectly clear. You meant it all. Every last word.

“You mean that?” He asked, his soft gaze looking into your eyes.

“I do.”

Mark blushed, he liked it when you took a little control. He looked down to the floor, trying to hide that fact that he was blushing, but you saw it.

Mark kissed you gently, pulling your body close to his as his lips enveloped yours. The sweet taste of watermelon on your tongue. His hands rested on the small of your back, while yours held onto his shoulders, slowly sliding up to his neck. Your fingers brushed his hairline before you plunged them into his brown locks, curling his hair around your thin fingers.

Then, you wanted more of him. In a way, you had never wanted before. Maybe it was the sense of knowing what this would lead to that opened your mind to the thoughts that ran through your head. Thinking about Mark in a more sexual way. You were thinking of him with his clothes off. Of him close to you in a way, he’d never been before. Of him touching you in places you thought you’d never be touched.

You thought of it all as you kissed him, let him lead you to his bedroom. He pushed open the door from behind him, never letting his lips slip away from yours even for a second. He wanted to hold the moment for as long as he could. He wouldn’t let anything get between you, not after last time.

Once behind the closed door of his room, he took his lips away. “Are you sure about this?” He asked, seeming like he wasn’t.

You nodded, with a small smile. “Uh-huh.” You paused. “I want you, Mark.” You didn’t even realize you were saying it until the words had already left your mouth. You sat down on his bed, your feet dangling off the edge as you stared at them swaying back and forth. You could feel the redness in your cheeks as Mark moved toward you. His fingertips brushed your cheeks, feeling like fire against your skin.

“I want you too,” he whispered, his tone sweet and gentle. He lowered himself to your level, collecting your breath in a kiss. His hands ran down your shoulders, sliding over your skin until they neared your thighs. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” he muttered through kisses.

You nodded into him, not paying much attention to what he was saying, rather what he was doing. His hands slid over your tights, feeling your thighs. You could feel your core starting to burn. It was a sensation you had never felt before. But you welcomed it.

Your hands ran through his soft, recently washed hair. It seemed like green apples, you felt intoxicated by the sweet smell. His kisses left your lips and began to trail down your chin to your jawline before landing on your neck. “Is this okay?” He asked, looking up at you before he went any further.

“Yeah, that feels good,” you answered as his lips kiss the sensitive skin on your neck. He didn’t suck or bite, like the way you’d seen in movies. No, Mark was gentle. His kisses were filled with love and longing rather than lust and neediness.

You closed your eyes, letting yourself become lost in his touch, becoming consumed in the moment. You wrapped your legs around his torso, pulling him in closer to you. You thought he might like that and he did. A small noise of pleasure vibrating through your skin when you pulled him in.

Mark’s hands went back to wondering, drifting up your thighs and reaching your butt. But he stopped before his hands fully covered your ass. “Is it okay if I touch it?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Mark nodded, kissing your lips once again as his hand when to your butt. But he almost seemed uninterested with your butt as if there was something else he’d prefer. “Is there something wrong?” You asked.

“Oh no, no. It’s perfect but…” His eyes drifted down to your breasts. You got the message pretty quickly. “Could I- um… touch them?”

You giggled a little, finding it adorable that he kept asking before he did anything. You appreciated that he cared about you that much to ask every time. “You know you don’t need to ask every time.”

“I know, but I just feel better if I do.”

You took his face in your hands with a smile. “Okay.” Sure your heart was still racing but you didn’t feel nervous anymore. You felt comfortable with Mark. He made you feel comfortable. He was so sweet with you that there was nothing to be nervous about.

He went in to grab your boobs when you stopped him. “Mark, wait a sec,” you said, reaching down to the hem of your shirt. You took a deep breath, pulling it up over your head. You threw the fabric to the floor, biting into your bottom lip as you looked at Mark.

He had a grin on his face as he stared at your boobs. “Woah,” he breathed, unable to look away. You blushed hearing the deepness in his tone. You made sure to wear one of your nicer bras, deciding on a simple black lace with a ribboned front. You knew Mark would like it and you were right.

His hands slowly moved to your breasts, they hovered over them until you gave him the signal. You nodded your head, with a small smile as Mark reached out, taking your breasts in his hands. His hands were warm and felt like fire against your bare skin. He didn’t try to touch under your bra, he was content with where he was.

You could feel yourself becoming more wet with each squeeze of your boobs. You tried not to think about that yet. You wanted to focus on the easy stuff. You started to pull at the fabric of Mark’s shirt, wanting to get it off. He noticed your struggling and stood up, leaving you for a second to pull his shirt over his head. You had seen Mark shirtless before, but you didn’t remember his stomach being this toned. His thin abs visible on his abdomen. Had he been working out?

“Better?” He asked, lowering himself back to you, just this time, taking you with him. He brought himself down over top of you, making you lay down on the bed. He was looking down at you, his eyes locked to yours. It seemed that he had finally gotten his groove.

He started to grind against you. You could feel his erection on your core each time he touched you but it felt good. Really good. You felt your stomach start to bunch up, the heat between your thighs burning. You had your eyes shut, as incomprehensible words left your lips at the pleasure Mark was giving you. No one had ever made you feel that good before.

You squeezed down on his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin. “Much better,” you said, through your heavy breaths. Your nerves had disappeared. There was nothing to be nervous about. This was going to happen and you wanted it to. Your core was on fire and you wanted nothing more than a sweet release. You had your legs wrapped around his body, pulling him into you. Your hands were on his shoulders as you kissed him passionately, wanting more of him.

Mark was in the same boat, as he kissed you, his fingers hooked under the band of your tights, pulled them down past your hips to expose the edge of your panties. Like the bra, you had wanted to wear something special and wore the matching panties to go with your bra. It seemed only fitting. Mark seemed to like it a lot. He licked his lips as the sight of the black lace, the corners of his lips curling up into a smile. “For me?”

You blushed even harder than you already were, slapping his shoulder. “No, for Lucas,” you joked, knowing that would strike a nerve.

“Ouch, that one cut deep,” he said playfully. “I’ll have to tell him about this.”

“Mark Lee! You most definitely will not!” You slapped him again, this time harder. It felt better to be joking around. It made it less awkward than to just be having sex. “This stays between you and me.”

“I know. I would never tell.”

“Good.” You looked away at the window, fluffy white snow fell through the sunny day. “Mark?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have protection?” You knew that the big moment was coming very soon and you didn’t want to forget a condom.

“Oh shit, I almost forgot. Yeah, I do.” He jumped up, nearly throwing you off the bed in the momentum and ran off to the bathroom. “One second,” he called.

You took the moment alone to fix your hair and bra. You stared at your tights for a second, wondering whether or not to take them off. You ultimately decided, yes and slid them down your legs and tossed them to your shirt. You looked behind you at Mark’s bed, seeing the mess the covers had become from you two making out.

You bit your lip as you twirled your finger through your hair. You would prefer to do it under the covers, it would be more ideal. You nodded to yourself, lifting the covers and tucking yourself under them.

Mark came back a moment later, a small square package between his fingers. His eyes landed on you in the bed and he grinned. “All ready?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, patting down on the bed for him to come join you. He walked near the edge of the bed and fiddled with his belt, pulling from the loops of his jeans and tossed it to a random part of the room. Them he pulled down his jeans, being left only in his boxers.

You laid, on your back, staring up at the ceiling as he snuck in beside you, hidden under the covers. You didn’t look as he shuffled under the covers to get the condom on. You tried not to focus on the feeling of the mattress bouncing under you, your sensitive core still on the verge of release. When the mattress stopped moving, you knew it was time.

You quickly slid your panties down your legs, tossing them over to the pile with the rest of your clothes and laid still, waiting for Mark to make the next move. You felt stiff, as Mark crawled over you. He hovered over your body, his lips slightly parted as he breathed deeply. You both knew what was going to come next. He touched the tip of his dick to your wet folds. Your breath hitched, feeling a shiver rush over you at the feeling. This was actually happening.

“Wait,” he said, “do you need me to do anything before?”

“Oh,” you realized then that you had skipped over foreplay, for the most part. “Um… maybe, just rub me a little?” You questioned it because you weren’t sure if those were the right words to use. But Mark seemed to get it and you felt the touch of his hot fingers on your sensitive bud. If you were being honest, he wasn’t good at it. But you couldn’t blame him, this was all new to him.

Though he wasn’t good, he got the job done. Mark circled your clit, building up your need for release, making your legs become weak. You dug your fingers into his shoulders to ease the pleasure in your core. “Okay, I’m ready,” you moaned into the thick air, feeling your wetness soaking your thighs.

“Okay, Mark breathed. He took a heavy breath before bringing his dick to your opening. Slowly, he began to sink into you. There was a bittersweet pain in your core as he began to ease into you. You could feel your wall stretching out as he got further. You hissed at the pain, burying your face in his neck. “Are you okay? I can stop.”

“No-” you interrupted, “don’t stop, please. I’ll be okay.” It hurt more than you had expected, but you could handle it. Mark went slow, making sure not to go too fast in case he hurt you. You were biting down on your lip, your eyes shut, trying to overcome the pain. You swallowed hard, becoming accustomed to the feeling by now.

The pain was taken over by pleasure as Mark started to gently thrust into you. He was slow and took care with each movement as he filled you up. “Does that feel good?” He asked innocently, making sure you were okay with it.

“Yeah,” you moaned, “it’s good.”

“Good.” He paused for a second, letting out a soft moan. “Are you okay if I speed up?”

“That would be nice,” you responded, craving a bit more. You knew you were nearing your climax and it would be easier to get there if he was going faster.

Mark did indeed, speed up. His slow gently thrusts turned to quick humping into you. It was so hot under the covers you could feel a layer of sweat on your skin but you could hardly focus on that with Mark inside you. “You feel really good around my cock,” Mark muttered. You could tell me didn’t mean to say it out loud by the look on his face after the words left his mouth. “I think I’m going to-” Mark said, nearly out of breath. He started to move even faster as to reach his climax.

You were tittering over the edge. You were squeezing down on Mark’s shoulders so hard that you were afraid to leave red prints were your hands used to be. You knew the inevitable was coming and it was only a matter of seconds.

Mark couldn’t hold out any longer, cumming into the condom. You could feel his hot seed inside you before you let go yourself, spilling over his length. Mark continued to thrust into you, riding through your orgasms.

The air was filled with the smell of sex. It was hot and thick. The sound of heavy breathing was all you could hear. You weren’t if it was Mark’s or your own, it all melted together. Mark pulled himself from you, making sure to be slow with it, before hopping off the bed to throw the full condom out.

He came back a few seconds later, now back in his boxers. He had a warm, damp towel in his hands. “Here,” he said softly, “to clean you up.” He pulled away the covers, baring your uncovered pussy. Quickly, you threw them back over your body, feeling uncomfortable with him seeing you bare as if he wasn’t just inside you. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, shyly, handing you the towel. “You can take a shower in my bathroom if you like.”

You held the towel close to you as you nodded your head. “I think I will.” You could feel the warm cum still on your thighs and you wanted nothing more than to clean it. “Okay, turn around,” you said, not wanting him to see you completely naked. Mark did as you said and turned around, covering his eyes too.

On your way to the washroom, you grabbed your clothes off the floor, needing something to change into when you were finished.

While you were in the shower, Mark paced around his room, going over what just happened in his head. Did he do everything right? Did he mess something up? These questions made him anxious. He was scared that he ruined your first time, that he wasn’t deserving to take your virginity. What if he did mess it up somehow? That after you would realize he wasn’t the one and break up with him. He’s heard that bad sex can lead to breakups. He didn’t want to be one of those couples. He loved you so much, he would hate to lose you over sex.

You came out from the shower twenty minutes later and he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure if he was going to make it much longer. The waiting was killing him. You were now fulling dressed once again. Your damp hair soaking through the fabric of your shirt.

Mark smiled seeing you there, smiling back at him. You walked toward him, immediately pulling him into a hug. “Thank you for that,” you said.

“Was it all okay?” He asked still worrying about you.

“It was perfect. Even more so because it was with you.” You pulled away from him, looking deeply into his brown eyes. “I love you,” you whispered, only loud enough for him to hear.

All of his worries from before quickly faded away after hearing you say those three words. “I love you too.”

“Now, how about we go play some Smash? I have yet to prove myself as the master.”

“You playing Zelda?”

“As long as you’re playing Link.”

“You’re not?” Her mouth dropped open in slightly exaggerated shock. “You always say you have a coffee date with Mark; I figured that meant you were actually dating. Sorry.”

“Oh, right. No, just more of a pick-me-up when one of us has had a bad day.”

“Do you like him?” You started walking towards your dorm.

“Um,” you refused to look at her, instead keeping your eyes focused on the path in front of you.

She didn’t let you continue, poking you in the side with her free hand, “Oh my God, you do! Y/n! I knew what I was seeing wasn’t complete crap.”

You laughed at her words, “Yeah, well. How can I not be? He’s perfect; great mind, great sense of humour-“

“Great body,” she deadpanned.

“You have a boyfriend!” You stared at her, bewildered.

“I know! But you, evidently, do not,” she looked at you pointedly. “He totally likes you back, Y/n. You should go for it.”

“Oh, how would you know?” You said, pushing her away from you, dismissing her. In the back of your mind, though, you felt your heartbeat quicken at the thought of him definitely liking you back. You had entertained the idea a few times, catching him staring at you and constantly flirting with you, but each time you’d been too shy to say anything. It didn’t help that he was constantly teasing you, causing you to blush a deep red. At this point, when he was around, you looked more like a tomato and less like a human.

Your friend interrupted your thoughts, “You forget that Johnny is friends with Mark. Well, I think they’re friends. They talk enough, I guess. But – anyway, Johnny mentioned the other day that Mark is hopelessly in love and, at the time, I thought ‘aww cute, he’s in love with his girlfriend’ but now I realise; he’s not dating you, he’s just really really into you.”

You felt a wide grin creep up onto your face as you hoisted your bag strap on your shoulder, giddy, “He said that?”

Your friend took one look at your face and laughed, “Okay, Joker, calm down. You still have to get him to confess. You still have to confess.”

“He’s hopelessly in love with me?” You ignored her, too lost in your own happy thoughts.

When you eventually made it to your building, you followed her to her room and flopped onto the bed, “What time are you meeting Johnny?”

“Six fifteen; he eats at the same time my grandma does,” she mumbled, but you could hear the smile on her face as she spoke. It was obvious she loved him.

“Oh, that’s soon! What are you wearing?” You asked, grabbing your phone to check for any messages. None. You found yourself pouting and quickly dropped it, rolling over on the bed to look at your friend. She stepped out into the room wearing a beautiful black dress, and you immediately widened your eyes, “Wow, special night?”

“Maybe,” she smirked, winking at you as she turned around in search of her shoes.

You walked your friend out of the building to meet Johnny, just as he was climbing out of the car to walk inside and get her. Gentleman, you thought, a smile on your face as he walked up to you. Your friend briefly introduced you to him, before turning and giving you a hug, whispering a ‘good luck’ in your ear and then pulling away. You squeezed her arm in gratitude.

When Johnny had wrapped his arm around her and begun walked her to his car, you turned your back on the happy couple and made your way back to your own apartment.

Mark hadn’t texted you at all during the day, which, you’ll admit, wasn’t abnormal, but you had secretly been hoping for an excuse to text him.

You began getting changed for the coffee date, opting for a pair of simple black jeans and a sweater that Mark had expressed a deep liking for the first time he’d seen it. Too busy with getting changed and quickly tidying your apartment, you hadn’t thought to look out the window at Mark’s dorm, especially since you were meeting in less than half an hour. At 6:45pm, you grabbed your phone and keys, stuffing them in your bag as you stepped out of the apartment.

The coffee shop wasn’t far, a ten minute walk at most, so you stepped in the door just before seven, immediately greeting one of the workers and taking your seat in your regular booth. You nervously drummed your fingers on the table as you waited for Mark, practicing what you might say in your head over and over.

Hey, Mark, I really like you, you thought. You’re a solid bloke, love you! No. What if I just held his hand and stared at him? Hopefully, he’ll get the message. You dismissed that thought quickly.

An old waitress, Denise, walked over to you, “Hello, dear. It’s good to see you – I thought something had happened when your friend came in earlier without you.”

You smiled at her in greeting, “Hi, Denise. What do you mean?”

She chuckled, waving her hand in a noncommittal way, “Oh, you know. I’ve never seen you without the boy, nor the boy without you. I thought something bad had happened to you when he came in earlier and you weren’t there. Tried to replace you with another girl.” She laughed at her own joke.

You wondered why she was telling you this. “Oh, right,” you chuckled awkwardly. “Well, he should be here in a minute.”

“No, honey, he just left,” she stood still, her pen poised over her notepad as she watched you. Denise glanced at the small golden watch wrapped around her dainty wrist, “What time is it now? Five past seven? About fifteen minutes ago.”

You looked at her confusedly, before pointedly looking away from her and at the menu, “That’s okay, he probably just forgot something.” Nosy old hag, you thought, keeping your eyes on your menu so she would leave you alone.

When she finally walked away, you glanced around to make sure she wasn’t watching and ruffled through your bag for your phone, immediately searching through your notifications for a ‘hey, sorry im gonna be late’ text from Mark. He already was late; you were supposed to meet almost ten minutes ago. Normally, he had the decency to text.

[7:08pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ hey denise said u left are u gonna be long or do u want me to order the usual for when u get back

You shut your phone and flipped it over on the desk, bouncing your knee as you stared at it, waiting for the familiar chime to alert you of his response.

[7:10pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ hey

[7:10pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ asshole

[7:11pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ at least respond im hungryyyyyyyyyy

[7:14pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ screw it im ordering without you

You scrolled through your social media as you waited for your usual; a small coffee and a bagel. Denise brought it over silently, gently placing your dinner on the table in front of you and walking away. That’s new, you thought bitterly, having expected her to say something to you about being stood up.

When you had finished your bagel and were just sipping on the now-cold coffee, you huffed, impatient. You snatched your phone from beside you.

[7:34pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ i ate

[7:34pm] To: Mak-bang ☕ im going home

Radio silence. You slammed the required money on the table and walked out in a huff, stomping all the way home. Okay, maybe you were being a bit dramatic, but you had been excited to see him all day, and now? He could at least have had the decency to text you.

At first, you were annoyed that he had forgotten about your coffee date – he never forgot. But now you were concerned that something had happened, because, normally, he would have texted you to apologise for forgetting, or at least respond to your messages.

You watched as two people walked far in front of you, laughing and pushing each other around the sidewalk, not really walking at fast enough pace to get anywhere. Rolling your eyes, you watched them enter your building, and, upon seeing the elevator doors close, you opted for the stairs. The girl, who you didn’t recognise, was dressed in black heels and a red coat and was furiously making out with someone, whom you couldn’t see as he leant back against the wall, her body masking his from view.

You climbed the six flights of stairs to get to your floor, and opened the stairwell door. Vaguely, you could hear the couple on the floor either above or below yours, laughing as they walked to a room. You grimly dialled your friend’s number, hoping she wasn’t still out with Johnny, and entered your room.

While you waited for her to answer, you wrote out a new note for Mark, did you-

“Hello? Y/n?” Your friend’s voice grabbed your attention. “Are you okay?”

You tried to ignore the worry in her voice, “I’m fine. Mark didn’t show for our coffee date tonight.”

“Oh, y/n, I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice tinny.

“Are you in the bathroom?”

“Yeah, Johnny and I are still at the restaurant. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” you answered truthfully. You put your hand to your forehead and scrunched your face in thought. You sighed exasperatedly, “I got to the café, and Denise - you know, the nosy lady who works there - started talking about how Mark had gone in without me and… there was something about me being replaced? And bad things happening to me? I don’t know. He won’t answer my texts, either.”

She was silent for a moment, “Are you home?”

“Yeah, I’m writing a note for the window. If his phone died, at least he’ll be able to see that,” you nodded to yourself, finishing the note; did you forget about our date :(.

You grabbed a bit of tape and stuck it to the sheet, moving to the window. When you pulled back your window, your friend began talking again, “Y/n, I-“.

You couldn’t hear her.

If someone asked you right now what she had said, you wouldn’t be able to tell them. She could’ve hung up on you for all you know – been shot, screamed, had a heart attack.

You wouldn’t know.

Because you were so focused on the door opening in Mark’s room, and the girl from the elevator walking in happily, tugging her red coat from her body and dropping it on the floor as Mark shut the door behind her. Because you were so focused on the way he confidently made his way to where she was standing in the middle of the room and grabbed her, pulling her close in order to kiss her. Because you were so focused on the way they stood there, completely engrossed in one another as the lack of curtains provided an unobstructed view of the way they passionately made out.

You were rooted in your spot, your eyes blown wide in shock and horror as you couldn’t help but watch. It was like a car crash – disastrous and painful, yet you couldn’t look away. It felt like every bone in your body was breaking, the pain in your chest making you feel simultaneously like you’d been shot but also like you were drowning, unable to breathe. Suddenly, your face felt hot and your breath hitched, and the single tear on your cheek forced you to realise you were crying.

You let the note slip from your hand, your phone in the other, held out in front of you as your friend’s voice came in waves, “Y/n? Hello? Y/n?” You couldn’t hear her.

You finally let the curtains fall closed and stepped back when Mark walked the girl backwards to his bed, her knees hitting the edge and her body falling back onto his duvet. The same duvet that you had laid beside him on to watch movies on his laptop, his arm wrapped around your shoulders. The same duvet that he had tackled you on top of, holding both of your hands in his above your head, tickling you mercilessly until you threatened to pee on both him and the bed. The same duvet that you frequently wrapped yourself in when he came over. The same duvet that you wore as a cape one time for a fun dress up day. The same duvet that you always wished you would be the one to fall onto, with his body hovering over yours.

You sat, stunned, on your bed, clutching your phone in both hands. When you realised you were still on the call with your friend, you gingerly held it up to your ear.

“It wasn’t me,” you said quietly.

Your friend paused. “Y/n, I am so so sorry,” she said, the sincerity in her voice making you feel even more emotional.

“It wasn’t me. I’m not the one he’s in love with,” you whispered, your voice cracking at the word ‘love’. You clenched your eyes shut in an attempt to rid of the tears pricking at your eyes.

“I know,” she whispered softly into the phone.

“You know?!” You said incredulously. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Johnny told me today, after he picked me up. I told him that you were the girl Mark was in love with, because, seeing as you’d never met, he wouldn’t know what you looked like. But he shook his head- oh, y/n, please don’t cry.”

You let out another sob, the pain in your chest only becoming more apparent and more painful.

“He told me you weren’t the one Mark had pointed out that one time on the quad, and I -” she paused, her voice becoming louder as she held the phone closer to her mouth. “I felt awful. I was going to text you but then I had to switch it off for the show.”

You didn’t say anything.

“Y/n, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” you responded, sincerely. You didn’t blame her – and nor should you.

“I know, I just – fuck it, I’m coming home,” she said, and you could hear a door opening.

“No, stay with Johnny. I want to be alone right now.”

“Y/n, are you sure? I can come right now; Johnny won’t mind.”

You inhaled deeply, your breath wobbling still, “Yes, I’m sure. Have fun.” She continued to fight you as you hung up. Laying back onto the bed and curling into a ball, clutching your phone to your chest, you felt the tears run down your face in hot streams.

The room eventually turned black.

The next morning, you woke up to the sound of your phone chiming. Knowing it was probably Mark or your friend, neither of which you wanted to talk to right now, you silenced it and stood up, dragging your depressed self to the bathroom for a shower.

When you finished, you walked to the window wrapped in a towel to further close the curtains. Last night, you’d let them fall into place but hadn’t closed them fully, and now, the light coming in was bothering you. The curtain got caught on the left side, so you had to open it all the way to slide it closed again. Out of habit, your eyes fell to the apartment across from you and down one floor.

Mark was standing in the window, his hand pressed against the glass to block the sun as he squinted up at your apartment. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but he was, once again, shirtless. When he saw you, he stepped back and pouted at you, holding up his phone with one hand and pointing at it with the other. Answer your phone.

You remained stoic, and shut the curtains. No.

“Y/n!” You could hear his voice calling you, and quickened your pace, attempting to weave between people in the busy courtyard of your university.

Mark, on the other hand, was quick to push anyone who got in his way to the side in his attempt to reach you.

“Y/n! Hey!”

“She doesn’t want you, man, damn,” you heard a girl to your left comment to her friend. You smirked as her friend laughed and pulled the first girl out of his way.

“Y/n,” he breathed, his hand finding your shoulder in order to get you to stop walking. “I was calling you.”

“Must’ve had my music too loud,” you shrugged, keeping your face straight as you looked up at him.

“You’re not wearing earphones,” he squinted, confused. “What’s up? You haven’t been answering my texts or the window messages.”

“Like you didn’t answer my texts when we were supposed to go out for coffee,” you crossed your arms in front of you, only because it felt like something you were supposed to do when you were confronting someone.

He hissed, “Oh, yeah, about that- I want to introduce you to my girlf-“

“You didn’t even apologise,” you suddenly said. You could feel the tears pricking at your eyes and you willed them to stay there. You hoped he didn’t notice.

He did. “Y/n, I’m-“

“No. You didn’t apologise. I’d had a shit day, you asked me to have coffee with you, and you stood me up. You didn’t answer my messages and now, when it’s convenient for you, now you want to apologise.”

“I’m sorry, I forgot!”

You looked him up and down, your voice dripping venom, “Evidently.”

For the next few weeks, Mark wrote apologies and greetings on his window, trying to get you to forgive him. The few times you looked down to see him standing by the window, safely hidden from view behind your curtain, you watched his girlfriend come up behind him and wrap her arms around him, whispering in his ear. He’d laugh, and he’d draw the new curtains he installed himself one night when he was only half drunk. She came to visit the next day.

After a month, he’d stopped trying. You couldn’t work out if that made you feel better or worse. Occasionally, you’d see him around campus, but you’d look away, eager to avoid him. You wondered if she knew about you; about his former best friend, about the girl in the dorm room on the floor above his, about the girl that was hopelessly in love with her boyfriend.

The last time you saw Mark Lee, he was shirtless.

You were packing boxes to move to your new apartment with your best friend, and removed the curtains from the window, ready to fold and pack them in the last box. He was standing in the courtyard below your apartment, engaged in a water fight with a group of students. He was dripping wet, a watergun tucked under his arm, the white fabric of his shirt clinging to his body. His hair was hanging over his eyes until he shook the strands away, and he squinted in the sunlight, searching for something.

He sprinted for it, and you watched from your window as he tackled a girl much smaller than him, wrapping his body around hers as they fell so that he got the brunt of the impact. They both laughed, way too hard for your liking, and he stood up, holding his hand out to help her up. She took it with a smile, and he pulled her into his chest; they stood merely millimetres apart.

You watched as she stood up on her tiptoes to peck him on the lips, and you watched as his friends started whooping and firing at them with their waterguns, soaking the pair. You saw them all grab their things and head for the doors, and watched as Mark peeled his soaked shirt from his body, jokingly throwing it at his girlfriend as she shrieked in mock horror.

You didn’t have to be able to see into his room to know that they were both inside, you just had to see how happily he hugged her from behind and waddled into the building to know he wouldn’t be letting go of her anytime soon.

You hadn’t spoken in almost a month, and the radio silence was killing you. Seeing him was a  punch to the gut each time, and the heartache never went away. Despite living virtually opposite him, you didn’t see him much; the curtains in his room were almost always closed. His girlfriend was almost always there. The thought made you sick.

Your eyes were immediately attracted to the movement at his window, and Mark peeled a tiny bit of the curtain back to hold up a piece of paper. You’re leaving?

You nodded.

The paper vanished. A moment later, it returned. This is goodbye then.

You nodded again. You felt your chest rising all too quickly as your eyes started to form wells.

He stepped into the light fully, and you could see him push his wet hair back from his forehead to look at you. Still shirtless, still the same Mark you fell in love with months ago.

You waved.

He waved back.

It feels like you two communicated more during this eye contact than during the past months working together. Indeed, Mark and you strictly exchanged words when it was necessary, it was a silent rule. It suited you, even though it has been imposed upon you, remembering well the death glare you received from him after introducing yourself for the first time. Boy set the tone this day.

Despite that, your dynamic worked well. You were quite surprised that without speaking you found ways to understand each other and at this point, both of you were familiar with the way the other functioned.

looking at his profile, you didn’t notice the slightest change from the other days. Maybe there wasn’t any reason behind this behaviour of his, maybe he woke up in a good mood once a year, maybe someone taught him politeness overnight… who knows.

He was intriguing, you had to admit. But you weren’t curious about him. You didn’t fantasize about what Mark liked, did or said like the others. He was your partner, period. One of the best one you ever had to this day, to be honest. Chemistry was your favourite subject and he didn’t ruin the thing by being too clumsy or too clueless, like you already experienced it before. Sadly, you couldn’t say the same for your professor. This year, chemistry class became so boring, you were tired of always repeating the same experiments and protocols. As a result, it became the perfect time to schedule your daily nap.

« Y/n. » Something nudged your ribs lightly. Your vision adjusted slowly to the light as you opened your eyes. Did you fall asleep already? Mark is staring at you, an indescribable expression on his face. Concerned? Disgusted? Done with you? All of that maybe, but certainly not amused. « Teacher. » he grumbles.

You lift your head and turn it, noticing that Mr. Jung was coming across every duo. As if nothing had happened you straighten your back and lean closer to Mark, pretending to concentrate on whatever he was doing. A small whisper escapes your mouth, a little ‘thank you’ only he could hear.

Since that day, the way he acted with you became confusing. More than once, you surprised yourself thinking about how nice he was, compared to before. After a first look at the work you had to do, he stated what he was planning to do to answer this or that question, then told you he could handle it and that you could sleep.

He also stared at you, a lot. When you first noticed his strange behaviour, you wondered if something was wrong about your face or your clothes but never said anything, you just smiled at him and he would also smile back at you.

Other days, he tried to grab your attention to help you not fall asleep, resulting in you, giggling at his funny faces. You couldn’t help but feel warmer about him. You felt special seeing a more charming side of Mark Lee. It wasn’t a big change but it was odd to the point where rumours started about you two.

Things escalated quickly. From being a discreet typical student, you now witnessed people whispering things about you when you walked out the corridor. A long silence always followed your apparition in class, in the morning. People were looking at you with a little bit of respect mixed up with fear in their eyes, as if Mark’s reputation spilled over you. This situation was made a big thing only because it was Mark Lee. No one would have ever paid attention to you for being friendly with some random other guy. But unfortunately, he wasn’t some random other guy and you ought to deal with the resident notorious bad boy.

You decided to handle the situation by talking directly with the other subject of the rumors. You didn’t want to risk other people seeing you together outside class – since he never talked to anyone else beside to his friends — so the best option was to meet him after school, in a private place. The plan was simple, you handed him a little folded note with the place and time of the meeting and felt relieved when he nodded without asking any further information. After your last class, you headed straight there and waited for him.

What parallel universe did you fall in, first, for people to believe that you could be in some relationship with Mark, and second, for you to wait for him in some kind of secret meeting ? Life really was full of surprises. You saw him arrive from a distance and took a moment to appreciate the sight. Even in the simplest outfit, black from head to toe, he seemed to come out from a fragrance ad. Off-duty model style, he was effortlessly elegant and held his head high when he walked, not paying attention to his surroundings, only focused on his destination — which was you. His gaze was fixed on you and unconsciously, you began to hold your breath as he was approaching and air deserted your lungs.

He waited for you to talk first.

There was a heavy silence before you realized you were suffocating and you had to force yourself to reconnect with reality. You reminded yourself of the reason why you asked him to meet you. « Ok, can you make it stop ? I’m sorry but it’s getting on my nerves. » The first words which came in your mind didn’t really make sense but they were coming from your heart. You were tired of all of this agitation and you were not the kind of girl who endured without striking back. He smiled at your straightforwardness. « What ? »

You frowned and realeased a deep sigh. As if he didn’t have any idea what you were talking about. « People thinking we’re… a couple. »

Mark’s smile widened. « Are they ? I didn’t notice anything. » Now, you knew he was definitely playing with you. « I’m not amused. I don’t know how you can deal with that all the time, all of this unwanted attention but I can’t. And I’m sure you can do something about this… The others, they’ll listen to you. » At this point, you could handle anything : acting out a huge and dramatic break-up scene, make a public announcement saying that you hated each other or ask some girl to be his girlfriend (it would have been easy finding volunteers). But, one thing really bugged you — why did he start behaving differently with you? You hoped to find enough courage to ask him this simple question, believing it was the last time you would be able to talk to him one-on-one.

The boy kept his playful smile on his face and walked a few steps around you, like a predator inspecting its prey.

You tried to keep your eyes on him, feeling at this right moment some sense of danger. You could even feel yourself shiver in every specific place his eyes fell on you. « I don’t care about what other people think. And… I would never fall for you. » He smirked, only making his words press more painfully your heart. Somehow, it hurt hearing that, you weren’t prepared. « Thank you. » Sarcasm was your best defense. « But it’s not only about you. I wish I could start a fight with everyone talking behind my back because of that but I can’t fight the whole school. I’m just tired of getting harassed, I don’t want to have anything to do with you. »

« What’s wrong with me? » Would it have been a bad thing to punch his pretty face, you thought, because he was being plain annoying right now?

« Stop playing dumb. Some people are crazy about you. I found some girls hiding in front of my house because they hoped to see you coming to my place. » He seemed amused, while processing the information, so you added. « I know you care very little about what people think of you… But you said it yourself, you wouldn’t fall for a girl like me. Isn’t it kind of… degrading for your reputation to be rumoured dating me? » This one was your last argument and looking at his expression, you could see you struck somewhere sensitive.

Surprisingly, he shook his head from right to left and searched what to say. « Y/N, it’s not about you. I would never fall for you because I can’t fall for anyone. I’m unable to… how people say that… catch feelings. » You looked at him, very unsure about his confession. « You’re telling me you’re unable to fall in love? »

He nodded, a serious expression on his face.

In your head, you played on repeat what if just told you while staring at him.

« Y/n, you’re looking at me like I’m an alien.»

« Well, aren’t you? What kind of person takes pride in not feeling anything? » You weren’t sure why you felt the need to attack him like this. Maybe you couldn’t stand being in front of the perfect antithesis to your hopeless romantic self. You grew up reading books about great and romantic stories, enjoyed watching romcoms and a lot of tunes you liked were related to love — you’ve always believed love was a real thing and that every one ought to experience it. Why would Mark Lee be any different? « Actually— »

You didn’t hesitate to interrupt him, talking without even thinking much. Everything came from your heart. « Actually, we’re still young. There’s still plenty of time for you to experience love. You know, feelings, they’re just chemical reactions in your body. » A glint of curiosity sparked in his eyes.

« Chemistry, huh? You’re good at it — all you do in class is sleep but you always get the best grades. And I guess I should thank you for letting me copy your answers during tests. » You felt the blood rushing to your cheeks and lowered your gaze, quite embarrassed that he exposed out loud your behaviour. You brushed it away quickly, saying you were just trying to help and it was the truth, but you couldn’t help but tease him a bit. « Is this why you were so nice to me these past weeks? » « Maybe. »

A little smile arose on your face. Now, you wanted to go back to your main conversation topic: Mark and his lack of feelings. That was a mystery you were intrigued by. « Romantic feelings aside, did you ever feel emotional about something? By the sunrise, by a music piece, by a beautiful scenery? »

Now it was his turn to look at you as if you were coming from a different planet. « You sound funny. » Just three words but they made you flustered. « There’s nothing funny about that. It’s just being human! »

« So what? I don’t care. »

« Feeling emotions won’t make you especially more vulnerable, if it’s what matter to you. I’m pretty sure I can prove you that you can feel things. »

« When did you get so confident, darling? » Now the two of you were facing each other and a stranger would believe you were on the verge of a fist fight. « Don’t call me darling. »

« Whatever. That’s my problem, not yours. I don’t think you can do anything about this. »

« It became my problem since your lack of empathy won’t make you understand the situation you put me through, with all these on-going rumors. » At this point, you tried to remain calm. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. If the dude couldn’t feel anything, it wasn’t worth any ounce of energy to get angry at him. « Give me three weeks. Three weeks and I’ll prove you that you’re not as apathic as a stone. »

It took him a long time, looking at you intensely eye to eye without even blinking, before dropping a dry ‘No’. You didn’t want to argue any longer with Mark. He wasn’t going to help you so you decided to make him taste his own medicine. « Well, I’ll ask Mr. Jung to switch groups. If it’s still not enough, be sure I’ll do whatever I can to make our so-called relationship an unforgettable memory. » You turned around, ready to leave but he caught your elbow and forced you to stay in place. « There’s no point in threatening me. » You frowned as you buzzed off his grip. « There’s nothing holding me back. »

Mark Lee’s character could be summed up as an arrogant asshole, hiding his lack of personality behind black clothes and a resting bitch face. Soon you wouldn’t have to be around him anymore and now, you didn’t get how you could have seen him as nice at one point. 

Sitting beside him the next morning, you ignored him for the first half of the class, in a subtle way of course. Your plan was not to feed more high school gossip. You just wanted to be left alone and get some peace, but unfortunately, it was too much to ask from Mark Lee.

Looking out of the corner of your eyes, you didn’t miss any detail of the mess he made.

Handing him the beaker, you notice that his hand started to shake in a weird way and made the recipient flip from his hold. The incident could have been minor but he decided to play it cooly and as he tried catching it again, the liquid in the beaker was tossed into the air and fell over Mark’s skin. Only one millisecond after, you could hear the sound of shattering glass and a long groan of pain.

You jumped off your chair and caught your table companion’s wrist, then you turned the tap with your other hand and put his hand under the stream of water. Everyone was looking at you two, astounded, even your professor looked like a broken machine. A good thing you’ve been quick-minded to handle this situation. So far, Mark didn’t say anything yet and only when you realized you were holding his hand for a couple of minutes already, you were thankful he stayed quiet.

Mr. Jung told everyone in the class to get back to work then approached your table. Your professor asked Mark if his hand was okay. « Yes, sir. Thank you for asking. But, I’m a little bit worried about my skin condition. Can we go to the nurse to have this checked out? » The man looked at you both although you didn’t ask for anything. Who knew what Mark Lee had in mind? He finally accepted and you could hear a whispering hubbub coming from behind you as you left the classroom together. Nothing went as planned and now, you were pretty sure Mark did this on purpose. Once you were in the corridor, your refused to follow him any further. « Your hand is fine. You only had to rinse it and we did. »

He stopped too and looked at you. « But miss, it’s your duty to help a poor student who just underwent a little accident. » Oh, and he pouted on top of that. That was too much for you.

« What are you trying to do?! » He ignored your question and started to walk again, you followed him only because you needed answers. You walked the long hallway leading to the exit and you wondered if he planned to go outside. If someone saw you outside the building, you would surely get into some trouble.

« Does your proposition still hold? » You slowed down your steps and ended up standing still. You glanced at him when he turned around to look at you.

« I can’t believe you spilled chlorydric acid on you just to ask me that. » You scanned his expression. « Too bad for you, it doesn’t. »

As you remembered, the solution you used contained a small concentration of acid, but still. He was completely unconscious, and it was proved by the little malicious smile on his face. « Come on… you will be able to tell your grandchildren a handsome body risked his life for you. »

You were quick to reply. « It would be more accurate if I introduced you as the dumbest person I’ve ever met. »

He laughed lightly before reducing the distance between the both of you. He approached you so suddenly that your first instinct was to step back, but as it turns out you were blocked between a wall and Mark’s body. He leaned over you and put a hand just beside your head. From where you were, you could appreciate the fine details of his face. From the soft curves of his lips to the depth of his eyes, gracefully framed by long eyelashes. His skin seemed so smooth to the touch. To the touch? Would you really want to touch such a guy? Ew, never, you thought.

He was close, too close. Refusing to be at his mercy, you put two hands on his chest and pushed as hard as you can, only for him… to keep still. You would have sold your soul to brush off the sardonic smile on his face in this moment. « Move or I’m screaming. » You look at him, defying him but he doesn’t seem intimidated at all.

Worse still, you know that whatever battle you were fighting against him, you lost it the moment he found a way to lean even closer without touching you and felt an intense shiver down your spine, spreading through your whole body.

Unable to hold his gaze, you lowered your eyes. Mark used his index to gently lift your chin and you couldn’t escape his magnetic look.

« Help me Y/n. I beg you. Help me feel something. »

You took a deep breath, deciding to get up to meet your boyfriend. You stole one of his sweaters throwing it over your body, still shivering from the cold air. Tiptoeing into the living room, you caught a glimpse of Mark sitting on the couch, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around him.

His eyes met yours and he smiled, opening up the blanket for you. You rushed into his arms, curling up into him as he tucked you in. “Merry Christmas, Baby,” Mark said, kissing your forehead.

You smiled at him. “What are you doing up this early?”

He stared at you as if he didn’t understand what you were saying. “What do you mean? It’s Christmas, I want to open my presents.”

“Oh God,” you laughed, nuzzling into his chest to hide your red cheeks. “You’re a child.”

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “So what if I am? I want my presents.”

You kissed him gently, your arms wrapped around him as you held him close. “I can see that. How about you open your gifts and then we go back to bed?”

“Okay deal.” Mark jumped up grabbing his gifts from the bottom of the tree. He tore them open one by one, thanking you for each one. It only took him around ten minutes to get through them all, by now, he only had one left.

He tore at the wrapping paper, opening it to see a soft red blanket. A wide smile appeared on his face as he finished opening it. “No way,” he said, looking at you.

You felt your heart drop. Was there something wrong with it? “Is there something wrong? I still have the receipt, if you want to take it back.”

Mark laughed, digging under the tree for something. “No-no, nothing is wrong. I love it.” He pulled a gift out from the tree, it was one of yours. “Here, just open this.”

You looked down at the present, written on the little tag was your name and Mark’s. “Mark, I don't need to open mine now, I can wait.”

“Just open it.”

“Okay, okay.” You tore open the paper to see none other than the exact blanket you got Mark just in blue. “No way,” you repeated what he had said before.

“Right?”

“Ha,” you said, “I guess, great minds think alike.”

“True.” Mark stood up, the blanket in his hands as he walked toward you. You were still on the couch, holding the blanket close to your body to stop the shivering. “Come on, let’s test these out.”

You stood up to follow him, dropping the blanket you had before for the new one, Mark got you. He stopped, waiting for you to catch up. “Hurry up, it’s freezing in here,” he said cuddling into his red blanket.

“I’m coming, stop whining.” You had your blue blanket throw over your shoulders like a cape, trying to keep warm as you ran back to bed. “Did you mess with the heat or something? Why is it so cold?”

“I don't know,” Mark said, opening the door to the bedroom. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t plan on getting out of bed for the rest of the day.”

“Ooo, I like the sound of that.”