𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸; markhyuck

eighteen

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"Okay, so it's been about three weeks, and I'm still purple!" Donghyuck growled angrily as he sat with Jeno and Jisung on one of the benches outdoors. It hadn't snowed in about three days, so they just pushed the build up off the seat, and claimed it.

"Bruises take a while to heal," Jeno explained as he tugged his shorter friend's coat collar down. As his eyes scanned over the damage, he nodded slowly yet had no answer.

"Guys, they're replenishing. Every time one of them disappears, new ones come up. I-I don't understand...." he sighed frustratedly. The teen was losing his edge, getting beaten down from not knowing what the hell was going on.

"Damn mosquitos," Jisung chuckled unhelpfully, trying very hard to remain optimistic, though it wasn't quite the time, nor the mood.

"I thought they'd be insects," Donghyuck continued, "But the more I look at them, the harder it is to convince myself...."

"Hyuck, those have to have been sucked into your skin," Jeno hummed. "I know you don't have a girlfriend right now, and you aren't into guys.....but obviously someone is getting their hands on you."

"I'd know! I'm not blind and senseless! How could someone possibly get to me-"

"While you're asleep?"

Jisung shifted uncomfortably beside them, picturing it and getting chills. "Why would someone take advantage of him in his sleep?"

"I don't know," Jeno responded thoughtfully. "Do you trust the seniors?"

"Of course!" Donghyuck hissed, "They're genuinely good guys. I-I can't believe we're doubting people right now...."

"Well insects don't just attack one person, Hyuck! They swarm the room and have a taste of everyone."

Jisung ran his finger along his jeans and sighed, tilting his head in wonder and cringing when a particular person came to mind. "It...it wouldn't be Mark, right? I mean, he's so innocent..."

"Of course it's not Mark!" Hyuck snipped quickly, "Don't you think he has enough problems not being able to sleep at night?"

When both boys stared him dead in the eyes, he retraced his words and realised that the insomnia was the reason behind their accusation.

"No...."

"Probably not," Jeno sighed, leaning back and catching the crisp breeze rustling through the air. "I doubt Mark would do anything. He's our friend after all, and we've known him since we were kids."

"Yeah," Jisung tried to nod amidst the freezing temperature, "He's totally adorable and safe."

"That's what I've been trying to say all along!" The brunette rolled his eyes, shifting his gaze back to the school building.

He would need to investigate tonight though, to figure out what the hell was going on.

☆★☆

As the day drew on, Mark found himself to be growing bored and restless. He had finished his homework, gotten a snack, even taken a power nap of about twenty minutes, much to his surprise.

His friends were all dotted about, doing their own thing. He was aware that Jaemin needed to get homework completed before it stacked up like it did every week. Renjun was making a call home, and Chenle....Chenle was most likely sleeping.

Without even realising, the male stopped outside the library, having not been in there for a while. It was one of his favourite spots, for all the others refused to join him inside.

Stepping in, Mark took a quick look around to scout out his surroundings. Nothing much had changed, as expected, and the librarian was still nodding off at her desk.

Jeez, I need to free up some time to come here more often, the ravenette thought gleefully while scampering down into an aisle that was pretty dark, and better yet, empty.

A large and old beanbag lay discarded at the corner where two dusty shelves met, surrounded by scattered books and a disheveled blanket.

Mark tentatively sat down into it, cringing at the musty smell emitted once he disturbed the dust. His back stung a little from the scratches that were healing, since he didn't look after them at all.

A few minutes turned into hours, and eventually the boy had fallen into a strange daze like rest where he wasn't asleep, yet not quite present either. His body was drawing him closer to that extra nap he wanted and needed....but someone barged in and interrupted.

"Mark?" The ravenette enquired quietly, jogging over to kneel beside him. "Hey, you okay?"

The teen started to snap out of it as he blinked a couple of times and regained composure. "Hm? Ten?"

"Yeah, it's me. Didn't expect to find you here."

The younger looked up at him with a quizzical look, starting to wonder how long he had been lazing around. "What time is it?"

"Past dinner. You've been up here that long?"

"So it seems...."

As Ten took in his appearance, he released a long breath and tried to guide him to his feet. Unfortunately, that involved pressing his hand against his back.

"Ah, ow," Mark groaned, arching away from the touch and immediately wishing he hadn't.

"What was that?" The older probed, trying to turn him around. "What hurts?"

"No, nothing...."

"C'mon, Mark. Let's skip the pointless beating around the bush, and cut to the chase, shall we?"

Frowning at his own quick defeat, he allowed Ten to raise the shirt off his back and take a damage report.

"Oh my god," the shorter whispered hoarsely, running his index finger over a single scratch and retracting when Mark's back shivered. "Who did this?"

"Ten, it's fine-"

"Mark, get real! This is...this is nasty. Who the hell would try this? Are you getting bullied?"

"No, no! God no," the younger defended quickly. "It's....it's that night-active roommate I was telling you about-"

"It's that Donghyuck boy, isn't it?"

"What?!"

"I'm assuming that someone who could sprint down a hall and a flight of stairs in their sleep, is someone capable of this. Does he attack you at night?"

Oh god, Mark groaned internally, turning around to deal with this conversation properly. I guess now is as good a time as any....

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Okay, so everything sort of runs downhill from here. Shit hits the fan, story evolves, characters develop (yay)
I hope you're enjoying this crazy story~
-lily