Chapter Text
Jack’s eyes narrowed, looking at the boy across the cafeteria. His friends weren’t here yet. He’d wanted to approach this beautiful boy for weeks now. The wonder was eating him alive. He needed to talk to him at the very least to continue living. He walked up to the coffee stand, buying the beverage from one of his female classmates, whom said nothing other than ‘hi,’ ‘what do you want’, and ‘that’ll be 1.50’. Jack crossed his fingers that Mark would like the coffee, otherwise there was 1.50 used in vain. He tried to stroll casually across the cafeteria. Beginning to panic, he quickly sat at a table near Mark’s, and he jotted a message on the cup. “You’re cute,” he wrote, adding a little heart, that honestly looked more eye than heart.He watched Mark, whom had just rested his head on his arms, tiredly hiding his face. Perfect. Jack snuck over there, setting the coffee cup down in front of him stealthily, then ninja-ing his way out of there. Now he watched from far away, waiting. Finally Mark suddenly looked up, rubbing his eyes, checking his phone. Confusion flashed on the teen's face as he examined the cup, picking it up. Jack watched with a smile as Mark looked around, eyes wide and puzzled. Jack watched, grin growing as Mark’s friends joined him, surely asking about the coffee as he tried to hide it and the message. Jack’s heart skipped a beat as Mark looked right at him, and he tried to pretend he hadn’t been staring. Luckily for him the bell rang, dismissing him to band. He went straight to the class, trying to act casual.
“What’s up with you today?” one of his fellow percussionists asked, “You look happier than I’ve like, ever seen you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Jack snapped, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out. The girl rolled her eyes,
“I wondered when you’d fall in love. Who is it?”
“Audrey, I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Jack deflected, twirling his drumsticks, trying fruitlessly to maintain his punk status.
“Is it someone in here?” she said, slightly softer. Jack brought a finger to his lips.
“Shh,” he hissed. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Mark coming in, holding his cup of coffee.
“OH my God you’re soo g-”
“Shush!” Jack exclaimed a little too loud, covering her mouth with his hand.
“Okay, I get it,” she said, voice muffled. “I won’t tell a soul.”
“Good, you don’t want to know what will happen if you do,” Jack growled.
“Oh come on, it’s too late. I know you’re a softie,” Audrey said, smirking, and heading over to the bass drum.
“I’m not a fuckin softie,” Jack said, but the goofy smile on his face said otherwise.
“Ready to tune?” the band teacher asked. Jack sat patiently in the back, watching Mark lift up his trumpet and begin to play. He’s so good, Jack said silently, How does he do it? Just as he thought that Mark’s instrument let out a god awful noise. What the fuck have I gotten myself into, he thought. The room went quiet as the teacher moved on tuning the woodwinds. Mark’s bored gaze travelled to the percussion section. Jack tried to act chill. Audrey’s obnoxious winking was CERTAINLY not helping. Jack felt his stomach flip as he briefly met eyes with Mark. Dreamy, luscious brown eyes- what the fuck am I thinking? This isn’t English, I don’t need to be writing fucking poems, Jack thought.
Which why he was surprised to find himself doing just that during lunch. He was sitting alone as usual, having not particularly bonded with anyone at his new school. Which wasn’t a big deal, there was only one person he really wanted to bond with, if you catch my drift ;)
He was putting his thoughts down in a small notebook he’d found at the bottom of his locker (a miracle in itself.) He’d already scribbled through a good 7 pages and hadn’t even touched his food. What exactly he was trying to accomplish he wasn’t sure, but he felt as though he had to jot something down.
“Things I Like About Mark” was a heading on page 8, and next to it, page 9, blank except for the heading, “Things Not to Like About Mark”. He sighed, tapping his pencil against the edge of the table, watching Mark from far away. As usual he was with his friends. The way he was flailing his arms it appeared he was telling a story. That when Jack noticed a piece of paper in his hands. Is that my note? Is-Is he talking about my note? Suddenly he heard a voice, pulling him from his fantasy.
“Hey there lover-boy, mind if I sit with you?”
Audrey. “Whatever,” Jack said, slamming the notebook shut.
“Diary?” Audrey asked, touching the notebook. Jack shooed her hand away,
“No! It’s just a notebook, I was, uh, drawing!”
“Let me see these drawings,” Audrey said with a smirk, “IF that’s what they really are.” Jack sighed,
“You’re not looking in here.”
“Why not?” Audrey asked, “You writing poems?”
“What’s so wrong with that anyways?” Jack replied softly.
“You actually were? Please le-”
“No, they’re bad,” Jack interjected, clutching the journal close to his chest.
“If you say so,” Audrey said, resting her head on the palm of her hand. “Tomorrow you should come sit with me and the girls.”
“But then I’d look like I was hitting on all of you-”
“-A little jealousy never killed anyone,” Audrey interrupted, “Besides, don’t you get lonely over here by yourself?”
“No,” Jack said, but they both knew it wasn’t the truth. Crippling loneliness was probably the reason this crush was so bad anyways.
“So, are you going to send Mark another note?” Audrey asked quietly.
“Uh, actually, I was planning on putting one in his band locker tomorrow,” Jack replied, voice barely audible.
“Sweet!” Audrey squealed. “Can I tell my girls about your little love story-”
“-Absolutely not. It’s bad enough that you know,” Jack interjected.
“They can keep secrets,” Audrey insisted.
“No they can’t! I’d be all over social media, and then everyone and their dog would know about my crush!” Jack exclaimed.
“Awwwww,” Audrey whined.
“Don’t look so disappointed,” Jack said. The brunette sighed,
“You might wanna look up. Kristen is totally all over your man right now.”
“He’s not my man,” Jack commented, but he couldn’t help but be jealous at how easily the blonde interacted with Mark. She sat down right next to him, and Jack watched in horror as Mark held up the note. The blonde started to shake her head no, but she stopped, saying something. “Oh my god, is she claiming my note? I cannot believe this, oh my god,” Jack said, panicking.
“Calm down. I’ll figure this one out. Give me your phone number, you’ll have the results by the end of the day,” Audrey exclaimed.
“I, uh, don’t have a phone?” Jack squeaked.
“Wh-What? How? What do you do with your time?” Audrey said, clearly having a mini break-down. Jack rolled his eyes.
“I live,” he said, which wasn’t exactly true, in reality he just scrolled through tumblr on his laptop, but Audrey didn’t need to know that.
“Whatever. I’ll just try to find you by the end of the day, how ‘bout that?”
“Sure,” Jack said, just as the bell rang.
“We might have to slay a bitch,” Audrey exclaimed, rushing off to rejoin her flock of fellow females. Jack sighed. Being around someone like her was almost exhausting.
Jack found himself at his locker, gathering his things, peering down the hall. Mark was at his locker, surrounded by a few girls, including “Kristen”. Jack felt a tap on his shoulder, dropping his things in his panic. “Way to make a scene.”
“Uh, hey Audrey,” he said, picking up his math binder. “Why are you here?”
“I just wanted to warn you to stop staring at him so passionately. You’re not being subtle at all.” And with that the green-eyed girl practically skipped off to her class. Jack slammed his locker shut, pausing to make sure he had everything. Rushing towards the stairs, he blindly ran into someone. A special someone.
“Oh, sorry,” Jack mumbled, trying not to look up, face surely burning bright red.
“It’s fine. If you looked up then you’d know where you were going,” Mark commented. Jack’s eyes slowly left his binder, and his met Mark’s briefly, catching a smile, before quickly looking away. “Have a nice day.”
“Y-Yeah, you too,” Jack said, darting away. He practically flew up the steps, heart pounding in his chest. Those were like the first words Mark had ever said to him. Jack walked into the math class, taking a seat in the back away from everyone else. While the teacher spoke in terms he couldn’t understand he wrote “if you looked up then you’d know where you were going,” over and over again. It had a double meaning to him, and he couldn’t let those words go. He couldn’t forget. They were assigned homework, but it’s not like he’d do it. Yes, he cared about his grades, but he couldn’t understand the fucking problems and it just didn’t seem worth it to try anymore.
Jack found himself taking his time at his locker, waiting for Audrey to show up. When she did, she had a mischievous grin on her face, holding a paper."Shh," she whispered, giving him a little wave and rushing off. Jack shoved the letter in his pocket. He figured it was good news, but he didn't want to getting upset over bad news here. He slammed his locker shut, pulling his beanie and earbuds out of his bag. Rushing down the main hall, he almost ran into Mark again. Mark looked as though he wanted to say something, but Jack picked up pace, his bus was leaving! He sprinted down the sidewalk, barely catching that bus. He sat in a random seat, near the back, and turned his music on. It was hardcore shit, deathmetal to end all deathmetal. In reality it wasn't even his favorite genre, it just made him feel more hardcore himself, and important image to keep up. It'd kept him safe so far. But how much longer could it last, with people like Audrey figuring him out?
Jack reached into his bag, nervously picking up the note. It had been written on an old math assignment. He opened it up, and in big black letters it read, “THE ONLY PERSON GAYER THAN YOU IS MARK.” Jack grinned.
“God fucking damnit Audrey,” he said outloud, shoving the note into his pocket. The kid in the seat across from him rose an eyebrow. Jack panicked a little as he saw it was one of Mark’s friends. “What?” Jack snapped, sitting farther back in the seat. The looked a little surprised, but looked away. Jack breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the note back out. There was a little heart Audrey had drawn, in the center it said “S+M=OTP.” Jack’s face reddened a little. Of course Audrey would ship them. What had he expected?
Next he pulled out his mp3, selecting the shuffle button and smiling as a softer song came on. A love song. Fuck. He closed his eyes, allowing himself some peace before he arrived in Hell.