Felix's boy

Chapter eleven

Marks POV

I lead Jack to the boys bathroom. It's a good thing it's early, meaning there's no one in the bathroom.

I lift him up so he can sit up on the space beside the sink. I get a couple of tissues and wet them, gently dabbing at the blood on his lip.

"Funny," he mumbles, "I didn't even feel any blood. Didn't taste it either."

"Well, you're half dead, so it's understandable."

Jack laughs quietly. I can't help but gawk at him. How can he laugh when he just got the shit kicked out of him by the biggest guy in the school?

"You're incredible," I mutter, a ghost of a smile on my face. I don't know if I should smile, would it be impolite? I mean, I'm a nurse currently. Do nurses smile at their wounded patients misfortune? "You were just beat to shit and you're still laughing."

Jack shrugs, then winces, putting a hand up to his shoulder.

"Well, you must say, it's pretty funny. Damsel in distress, and all that."

"Honestly, Jack, I don't find it very funny," I say seriously. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I'm kinda worried about you. What happened with you and Clark?"

"Nothing. I got to school and he pushed me against the locker. Frankly, I've never had a run in with him before."

"What an asshole. I can't believe that someone can be so shitty."

"Felix says that I have the unfortunate quality of seeing only the good in people instead of who they really are."

I nod, thinking Felix is more than likely right. Jack seems like the kind to be innocently nice to everyone.

I take the bloody tissue off jacks lip, examining his face closely. There's already a bruise forming on his jawline, and a red line surrounding his eye that will undoubtedly turn into a black eye.

"He got you good," I say. Jack chuckles and nods.

"I can concur that he did indeed get me good."

I laugh lightly, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, moving on from your beautifully damaged face." I go to lift up the side of his shirt, where Clark had kicked him, but Jack flinches away from me, jumping onto the floor and holding his shirt down.

"W-what are you doing?" He stutters, his usually happy eyes filled with anxiety.

"I was going to see if there's a bruise on your side. He kicks pretty hard, you know."

"Y-yeah, no, my side feels fine."

"There's no way. Just let me--" I reach forward.

"No!" Jack exclaims, his voice shaky. I take a step back, withdrawing my hand. His eyes have terror in them, leaving a weight pushing down on my back.

"I'm sorry," I say gently, stepping back a little further. "I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries."

Jack nods slowly, walking toward me and kissing me on the cheek. He stays close to me for long enough to whisper, "I'm fine."

He steps back, leaving the bathroom in a hurry.

...

I find Jack at lunch, sitting at the table with Felix once again. After the awkward exchange in the bathroom, I didn't want to suffocate him. So, I stare at his black eye from across the room, just as I had on the first day of school.

"Mark, stop staring with puppy dog eyes and go talk to him," Ethan insists quietly, just to me. He seems to know perfectly what's going on in my head, so of course, he must know how much I like Jack.

"No," I whisper simply. Ethan shakes his head.

"Fine. I'll do it."

Ethan gets up, ignoring me as I protest and grab at him to stop him.

"Ethan! Get back here!" I hiss, but he completely ignores me. He approaches jacks table, giving both Jack and Felix a kind smile. I can't hear what he's saying, to my horror. After a moment, he turns around and nods me toward their table. I fumble to get out of my seat and walk probably faster than I should over to the table. Jack stays staring at the table, but Ethan and Felix look at me.

"Mark, would you mind informing me on what happened this morning?" Felix asks, but it isn't much of a question. It seems Mark has no way out.

"I, uh, well..." I stutter to find words, looking down at Jack. Jack shakes his head at me, and I immediately understand. He knows Felix will be angry, so he wants me to keep it a secret. "I can't think of anything important."

"Really? It seems I've found my friend injured when I arrived this morning. Do you have anything to do with it?"

"No, I... wait, you think I hurt Jack?" I stare at Felix angrily. "All have you know, I helped him. When I found him, he was--"

"Mark!" Jack snaps, cutting me off. He looks at me with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I have to." My voice is soft when I talk to Jack, but quickly hardens when I turn back to Felix. "Clark Benson beat him to a pulp. I punched the shit out of Clark and set him on his way. If your first big bodyguard best friend, where were you?"

"I was asleep, he didn't tell me he was leaving. What, you want me to stay up all night? And as his boyfriend, shouldn't you have been there earlier for him?"

"Felix, keep your voice down, please!" Jack begs. Felix waves a hand, ignoring him.

"Excuse me, I was there. I may not have been there immediately, but I was there. I cleaned him up as much as I could, but Clark kicked his side as well and I didn't get a chance to look at it," I say, following Felix in ignoring jacks begging.

"Yeah, he's a little self conscious. It's kind of cute, actually, he's been self conscious like that since we were kids. We had to take a shower in gym after school, he wore a hoodie--"

"Both of you, shut the hell up!" Jack shouts, rising in his seat. "I am a person, not something you can just share stories about. What I do and what happens to me is none of your business, so stop pretending like I'm a flower that's just been stepped on."

Jack storms out of the cafeteria, leaving me, Felix and Ethan silently staring after him.