My Middle School Crush (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 41

Chapter 41: House Tour

Mark was stuck in the house. His main mode of transport out of his home, his car, was being used by his twin Jasmine. Technically, it was their car because their parents bought it for the both of them, but Mark used it more so he considered it his. Unfortunately, his considerations didn't matter when Jasmine had full authority to take his--their--car.

Mark probably wasn't going to do anything today anyway. He hadn't been invited out by any of his friends and didn't have a job to take up his time. Still, the knowledge that, unless he wanted to take the bus, he would have to stay felt restrictive.

Maybe Mark could have gone with Jasmine if she'd been hanging out with someone else. Unfortunately for Mark, she was going to lunch with Clark, Mason, and Gabe. Gabe's name had been coming up more often in the past couple of weeks. Jasmine never outright told Mark that Mason and Gabe were getting closer, but nearly every time she went to see Mason she also saw Gabe as well.

No matter how much he tried not to care, Mark could feel his chest growing tight whenever he thought about the two of them together. It was easier before when he and Mason were still close. Mark was often there to see what was going on and could reassure himself that he and Mason were closer. But after Mason admitted he wanted the freedom to date, Mark feared that Gabe would be the first Mason practiced his freedom with.

The timeline made sense. Mason got the greenlight to do whatever he wanted with other people and started inviting Gabe out for coffee, then lunch, then over to his house. Mark was supposed to be amusing himself on youtube, enjoying some videos from dance classes in LA. Yet, seated on the small couch in his bedroom, Mark wasn't even processing what he'd been watching on his phone. His brain continued to reel as he thought of Mason and Gabe and Mason with Gabe and Mason--

Mark stood up abruptly. This was a dangerous path he was heading down. He needed a distraction. Distraction. The perfect one came to mind as Mark's eyes fell on his computer. He was starting university in a few weeks so, in order to feel productive, Mark decided to do some more college prep. After taking a year off of school like several of his friends, Mark was going to university this fall. The combination of fear and excitement for the years to come affected him constantly as he imagined that new stage of his life. In a way, postponing it for a year made the emotions worse because he had to wait longer before he did it.

Checking the school's website, Mark read through the list of things he had to have done. Since Mark came back to this page regularly, all of the most important things were already completed, his classes were chosen, the semester was paid for, and all of his accounts were ready to go. However, he hadn't started shopping for anything he needed in his dorms. His school didn't require freshmen to stay on campus but Mark thought that doing so the first year would give him the full college experience.

But now that he had to go shopping for it and face the reality of dorm living, he was kind of regretting the decision. Mark had lived most of his life with his own room, never having to worry about sharing his space. Considering how much compromising he will have to do was a scary reality.

Mark got to work compiling a list of things he needed for the dorm.

Storage
Bedding
Toiletries
Cleaning Supplies

The more he wrote things down, the more overwhelmed Mark felt. He was essentially moving out. After living with his parents his entire life, Mark was terrified of having to suddenly take up so much responsibility. As Mark continued to think about it, item after item came to mind.

Mark realized that while he had a large list of items, there were probably things his parents purchased for the house that he wasn't even aware of. Mark noted that both of his parents were home. He could just go to them and ask them what he needed for the dorms.