Thirteen

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Jack wakes up to Mark lying on his chest, cuddling with something. When he looked closer he could clearly see a teddy bear.

Okay, keep your calm Jack, if your heart beat speeds up he'll hear it and wake up.
But he's so cute!

He carefully moves his hair out of his face, noticing just how calm Mark looks as he sleeps.

Mark suddenly looks distressed, so Jack rubs his shoulder softly, trying to calm him. His face relaxes again, but he has a slight tremble, so Jack got up and out of bed slowly, replacing his body with a pillow.

He quietly unlocks the door and peeks outside to see if anyone is around. When he doesn't see anyone, he quietly closes the door behind him and heads to the cafeteria. He goes over to the counter and grab two cups of Instant Lunch ramen noodles, then he cooks them in the microwave. He was relieved nobody bothered to talk to them. Any social interaction made him want to curl into a ball and wait until they left.

He walks back to the room and sets the cups on the floor to open up the door, being careful to not knock them over. He then grabs them, closing the door with my foot and going over to Mark's table where he sets them down.

Mark is still asleep, as well as the others, so he walks over to him. He observes him for a few minutes as he waits for the food to cool down. Throughout the time he's watching him, he notices how his breathing is soft, and his arms are now curled around the pillow while his teddy bear is squished between his chest and the pillow.

"Mark," Jack whispers, rubbing his shoulder gently, "Wake up, Markimoo."
Mark stirs and Jack smiles softly as he watches his eyes open slowly. He gives him a weak smile and he smiles back at him.
"Are you hungry? I-I made us some ramen," He says, gesturing over to the table. Mark's smile drops and he looks down at his teddy, panic flashing on his face.
"Oh, I-I can explain," He says nervously.
"It's okay, Mark. I understand. It helps you sleep." Jack tells him, smiling reassuringly.
"Yeah," He says quietly, keeping his eyes locked on his teddy bear as if he were having a staring contest with it and he was determined to win.

"Mark, did you think I was gonna make fun of you for it?" Jack asks him softly, lifting his chin softly so his eyes met his own.
"Everyone else did," Mark says quietly.
"Well, I never would. Try to remember that." He say, smiling brightly.
"Thanks, Jackaboy."
"Anytime. Let's go eat now."

Mark sits up slowly and Jack grabs his hand, helping him out of bed. Mark loses his balance and Jack gasps, pulling him towards his chest and letting him lean on his shoulder to regain his balance back.
"I-I'm sorry," He says, looking down at the ground shamefully.
"Hey, it's okay," Jack says, helping him over to the table slowly, "I got you."

"I could really go for some coffee right now. That was a good sleep, but the... the nightmares... I could've done without," Mark says quietly, twirling some noodles onto his fork.

"Mark, you know if you ever, like, have flashbacks or nightmares or just, anything really, I'm here for you. Always." Jack says, smiling softly.
"Yes. Thanks. Again." He says, smiling back.
"Mark, stop thanking me, it's okay."
"Sorry." He says sheepishly, looking down at his cup of ramen.
"Hey, Mark, it's alright."
"Okay."

"Are you kidding me?!" Garvan fumes.

"We lost them because Dan told us they were in the cafeteria," Wade says, throwing his arms in the air defensively, "We didn't know they were gonna lie, okay?"

"You mean to tell me that you not only lost Dan and Phil, but you also didn't find Jack?" He asks, waving his hands dismissively before Bob or Wade could answer the question. "Whatever, fuck it, just find them and make them show us where Jack is! We haven't done classes anymore, which means Mark is just letting them free roam like robots. They could be literally anywhere."
"Alright, where do we check?" Wade asks.
"Maybe we could ask the nurse where Jack's room is?" Bob suggests.
"That is the best idea you've had in, like, forever, Bob. Let's go." Garvan scoffs, getting up and walking to the front desk with Bob and Wade in tow.

"Excuse me? Can you tell where, uh, Sean Mcloughlin's room is?"
"Of course!" The lady says, immediately typing something up on her computer. Garvan taps his foot impatiently, narrowing his eyes at the woman.
"Room 13, down the hall, then to the left." She says, smiling at him with an irrational sense of optimism.
"Thank you ma'am," Garvan says in the sweetest tone he could manage. He smiles back at her, then gestures to Wade and Bob for them to follow him as he turns to walk down the hall, waving the woman goodbye.

They get to room 13 and Garvan looks through the window, trying to search for movement or, more specifically, Jack. When he gets nothing, he sighs impatiently.
"Where the hell could he be?"
"Maybe they're with Mark." Bob says.

Without a word, he gestures for the boys to follow him, quickly walking down the hall to get to Mark's room.
"Duck." He mutters, not even bothering to look at them. Once he heard them crouch, he looks through the window to see Jack and Mark sitting at the table, eating.
"Bullseye," He whispers.
"How are we supposed to get to them?" Wade pipes up.
"Dan and Phil are still asleep, by the looks of it," Garvan sighs, thinking for a moment, "I have a plan. When Jack goes into the bathroom you two will grab Mark, just him. Jack will become desperate to get his little boyfriend back and they'll look for us first. We'll be ready with a deal-- an offer on the table. They give me Jack, they get Mark back."
Bob chuckles, "You rhymed."
"Can you be serious for 5 minutes?" Garvan huffs, glaring at him.
"Fine," He says shortly.
Garvan glares at him for a moment longer before looking through the window again. As he suspected, Jack is heading to the bathroom while Mark is still sitting at the table. The table is clear of the food and Mark has his head resting on his arms.

"Now." Garvan orders.
Wade opens the door quietly and Bob grabs the chloroform and rag. He dumps a little of the colorless liquid onto it, making sure to hold it away from his face. He slowly sneaks up behind Wade and playfully waves it right in front of his face.

Wade flinches back, whispering harshly, "Dude! No! That ain't no joke you could've put me unconscious!"
"Oh, quit freakin out," Bob snickers.
"I'm so sorry, Jack," Wade mumbles, then says a bit louder, "and I'm sorry for you, too, Markimoo," and with that, right when Mark shoots his head up to look at the source of the voice that had interrupted his thoughts, Wade puts the cloth over his face.

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