I'm Just Septic-Eyed

Chapter 26: Guess Who

Sean had nothing to do. Mark was pretty much his only source of entertainment. He began wondering if he should have actually joined them all upstairs. But the thought of Felix caused him to feel uneasy. Felix was a friend, he knew that, but his paranoia with Sam made him suspicious and afraid. "You don't think Felix is bad, do you, Chica?" As always, Sean got no response. "Yeah, I know. I'm just being irrational. But it's to be expected, right? I'm not being rude am I?" Sean sighed. "Maybe this whole thing will blow over soon. I don't like feeling this way, Chica."

Chica was simply an excuse for Sean to think out loud without feeling weird. She was a great dog. There was no other dog Sean could possibly want. Chica put her head on Sean's lap and he smiled slightly. He rubbed her head. "I can't believe I got you because of Sam. Always look on the bright side of things, right?" He laughed a bit. At least part of him wasn't consumed by anxiety and fear.

There was nothing to pass the time with other than listen to the television. Sean chose the show by randomly clicking buttons on the remote until he heard something interesting. Right now he happened to be watching Supernatural. He only knew because a commercial said so. There was something about a trickster, repeating days, and Asia. It was pretty interesting. Sean tried to see if he could imagine faces of the main characters based on the faces he's felt in his life time. He's felt more people's faces than he would like to admit. Mostly during his childhood by messing with his friends and exaggerating his blindness.

It was pretty uneventful. His memory wasn't the best, but he still attempted to see what he could do. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang. It wasn't from the TV. It sounded very real, and very close -- like front door close. Sean sat in surprised silence before getting up to investigate. He felt for the doorknob, then cracked open the door. There wasn't any other sounds besides nature being peaceful. Sean opened the door wider and something bumped into his head. He put his hand up to whatever it was and ran his fingers along it. There was a cold material with a slight curve attached to a smooth, sleek steel. A knife. At the edge of the blade was a paper. Sean was surprised to find there was braille written on it. This must be specifically for him.

Sean pulled the knife out of the door, and went inside with the note. He set the knife down on the couch beside him. His fingers grazed the bumps; his heart beat quickened. He ran over it several times, but the message stayed the same.

Guess who's next?
-Sam

The paper left Sean's shaky hands. He didn't have to think very hard in order to understand. He knew who was next -- it was too obvious. If Sam wanted a reaction before the actual act went through, then that meant the next person was important to Sean. Incredibly important. Extremely important. Beyond any word that was apart of Sean's vocabulary.

Sean felt his chest tighten. His throat burned, but he refused to cry. Yet he couldn't control how badly he was shaking and how hard it was getting to breath. All he could think of was Mark. What would Sam do? Sean imagined Mark covered in blood, a flat line, body parts, more blood, Sam, a missing persons poster, a funeral. "F-fuck," Sean struggled to even utter that word. His whole body was trembling. Is this what true fear was? "Ch-Chica..." Sean held onto Chica as best as he could. His chest hurt and it felt like his lungs couldn't hold any air. He began sobbing, which only made him feel like he was suffocating. His phone wasn't any where near him

~~~

Mark yelled in frustration as Felix won another round of Mario Kart. He nearly got second, but Cry swooped in from behind and stole his glory. Felix laughed while Cry gave a cheeky smile. Mark pouted and dropped his controller onto his lap. He crossed his arms. He looked like a child throwing a temper-tantrum. "You guys are mean," he whined. "I don't wanna play with you anymore."

"Aw, c'mon, Mark," Felix said, in good spirits. He ruffled Mark's hair. Since Mark was sitting on the floor while Felix and Cry were on the couch, it was easy for Felix to do so. "Maybe you'll do better next time. But we all know I'm just too good."

Mark turned his head and gave Felix a look of exaggerated disgust. "Fight me, Mark," Felix said in response. He leaned closer to Mark's face. "I dare ya."

Without any hesitation, Mark stuck his tongue out and licked Felix's nose. Felix squealed and drew back. He rubbed his nose while Mark laughed and Cry made his version of it. Felix scrunched his nose, but found himself unable to not join the laughter. Mark leaned his head back on the cushions of the couch, a broad smile on his face. He suddenly wished that Sean was there. His smile shrunk slightly and he hoped no one was paying attention. "I wished Jack could've joined us," Mark stated his thoughts out loud.

Felix and Cry glanced at each other without Mark noticing. "Why not invite him some other time? Summer's coming up, you know?" Felix suggested. "I'm sure he'd join us then." Cry rolled his eyes and shook his head. Felix recognized those signs. Cry had a plan and Felix needed to play along. "Or invite him somewhere else?" Cry grinned. Felix winked.

"Where else?" Mark was interested. He wanted Sean to be involved in the fun. Lately he was rather closed off from everyone.

Felix and Cry exchanged another glance. "Uh, like..." Felix tried to come up with something to say that wasn't directly hinting at a date. "Somewhere to eat. After class. He wouldn't say no to that, would he?"

"I guess not." Mark lifted his head. Felix and Cry silently high-fived behind his back. Mark turned so he could talk to his friends better. "But are you guys gonna come too?"

Cry answered before Felix could even think of a response. "Oh, no," Cry typed as fast as he could. "I'm sure Jack has had enough of us. He stayed with us for a while, remember? I think he needs more time to spend with you — get to know you again." Felix tried to hide how proud he was at his boyfriend's sneakiness.

Mark seemed to buy it. "Alright." He thought for a moment. "Is next week a good time? What day?"

"Friday," Felix answered almost instantly. Cry nodded in agreement. "Where are you gonna take him?"

"I'm not sure yet. I still gave time." Mark smiled at the two. The two smiled back, but because of how devious they were being. "I'll figure it out by then."

Mark turned back around. Felix and Cry silently showed their excitement to one another. They knew they had to get Mark to realize his feelings before Friday. If all went well, then Friday would turn into a date rather than a friendly get-together. And they would make sure Mark was prepared for that. Sean would be completely swept off his feet.

A/N: I stayed up very late writing this and the next chapter. I was unfortunately heavily inspired at 11 at night and didn't stop until nearly 2. As of right now, the next chapter isn't finished yet. I'm super stressed and swamped with work. I hope you can forgive the lack of updates. But let me know what you think of this chapter! :)