the sound of the rain against the window is what woke donghyuck up. he groaned as all the sleepiness in his body left him. the feeling was all too familiar. now he was wide awake.

   donghyuck sat up in bed, pulling the bed covers up to his waist and staring in the direction of the window. it was too dark to see much of anything, but donghyuck could already guess that the rain had shifted and was pouring down at an angle. 

   "donghyuck," a soft voice called, barely above a whisper. at first, the young boy wasn't even sure if it had happened or if he had simple imagined it. then, it came again, "donghyuck."

   this time the voice was clearer and donghyuck recognized the voice to be mark's. carefully, he scooted to the side of his bed and leaned over the rail, looking down at the bunk under him. "mark?" he whispered back, meeting the older's eyes despite the darkness.

   sure enough, mark laid on his bed, hands behind his head and eyes staring straight into donghyuck's. his blonde hair was slightly messy but it didn't look bad at all. in fact, it only made donghyuck have the sudden urge to run his hands through it.

   "did the rain wake you?" donghyuck asked, the few moments of silence that they shared before didn't sit well with him, and he wanted to fill up the quiet atmosphere. mark shook his head though, changing his position so that he was sitting up. "you have to sleep to wake up." donghyuck wanted to respond to him, but he didn't know what to say. luckily he didn't have to as mark spoke again, "get back in bed. what you're doing right now isn't safe."

   mark wasn't wrong as donghyuck was literally hanging over the bar which kept him from falling. he settled back into the warmth of his bed but didn't try to sleep. there were just too many things to think about.

   "you should sleep, we have class tomorrow," mark said, no longer whispering as he spoke in a low and quiet tone instead. "i could say the same to you," donghyuck slightly sassed back. when there was no response, he panicked, thinking that he had crossed the line of the strange friendship that he and mark had created.

   he didn't have much time to dwell on the thought as the next thing he knew, mark's head popped up from the bunk bed ladder. "come down," mark ordered, giving donghyuck a better view of his face that soaked in the moonlight. 

   while donghyuck was usually a playful and sassy person who would deny someone's request just for the fun of it, none of those thoughts crossed his mind as he gulped, nodded, and came down the ladder as mark said to. he hissed when his first barefoot touched the cold hardwood floor. down the second foot went, a chill running up his spine at the coldness.

   once steady on his feet, donghyuck pulled his sleeves over his hands, put on socks and spun on his heel, heading towards the door where mark was already waiting. "where are we going?" he asked when mark successfully closed the door shut with an almost silent 'click'. mark turned to him and shrugged, "anywhere." —and that's exactly where they went. everywhere and anywhere.

   the two walked around the empty and dark corridors of the school. it was mostly quiet, but now and then, donghyuck would ask a question about something and mark would answer as well as he could. as subtle as it was, donghyuck enjoyed it.

   he enjoyed the feeling of their bodies brushing past eachother as they walked, he enjoyed the sound of the rain, and he enjoyed the amount of light that the moon shone for them. he enjoyed listening to mark speak, and he enjoyed learning the history of the aging school that he enrolled in.

   when mark suddenly led them to a door that had a 'do not enter' sign on it, donghyuck was slightly concerned but didn't ask any questions. the loud creaking and remains of rust on donghyuck's hands as he pushed the door open behind mark was enough to make him cringe. "is it okay for us to—" donghyuck felt a finger pressed against his lips while mark held both his wrists with one hand and looked at him seriously. "just follow me," he whispered.

   donghyuck's eyes widened at the sudden contact and goosebumps littered his skin. not wanting to do the opposite of what mark said, he simply nodded his head and waited for mark to remove his finger.

   the blonde let go of his wrist, but kept his hold tight on the other. he led the way to a staircase and kept pulling donghyuck with him. they climbed up a few flights of stairs which made donghyuck a bit out of breath while mark seemed completely fine. "are you okay?" he paused, turning around to check on donghyuck. the sun kissed male flushed red at the thought that he had been breathing so loud that mark had to stop and check on him.

   "i'm fine," he lied. mark looked at him before shaking his head and crouching down. "i'll carry you, get on."

   "i'm heavy."

   "you don't look it."

   donghyuck sighed, mumbling, "don't judge a book by its cover." regardless of the statement, he allowed mark to hoist him up and onto his back, hooking his hands under donghyuck's smooth thighs. mark guided donghyuck's hands to hang loosely around his neck before he started ascending the stairs once more.

   although mark had said that it was no big deal, donghyuck didn't miss the way that the older's pace had slowed and couldn't help but feel guilty about it. "stop feeling sorry, there's only one flight of stairs left anyway," mark grunted. "how did you know?" donghyuck couldn't help the question that followed. mark momentarily paused, pushing donghyuck up his back a bit since he had been slipping down little by little.

   "just a hunch," he shrugged, adjusting his grip on donghyuck's thighs. a long silence spread as donghyuck wasn't sure how to respond to such a statement. all he could feel were his burning cheeks, and mark's hands on his legs.

   luckily, mark climbed the last steps and let donghyuck down onto the ground again. "thanks," donghyuck said quietly while looking around. being too caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice where he was. scanning the area around him now, it was obvious that he was on a rooftop. "are we allowed up here?" donghyuck asked. "it doesn't really matter. we won't get caught anyway," mark shrugged.

   without speaking, mark brought them to the edge of the roof, taking a seat. he must've noticed donghyuck's uneasiness because he sighed, "there's a ledge underneath. we won't die here even if we wanted to." "you're right," donghyuck agreed sheepishly before sitting down next to him.

   the air was cool and the ground was damp. a high ceiling rested above them but they were still very much outside. donghyuck swung his dangling legs while enjoying the dark night before him.

   rain continued to pour down and the dark clouds covered the stars. the moon peeked through, illuminating the night with its subtle glow. "how is it?" mark asked suddenly. donghyuck looked at him with one eyebrow arched, "how's what?" "how's school? how is it here?" he asked, clarifying what he meant earlier. "oh," donghyuck mused, "it's better than i thought. i'm lucky to have met such great people on the first day, like jeno, jaemin and..," his voice trailed off, vision landing on the canadian boy next to him.

   "and you."

   the corner of mark's lip quirked up. something between amusement and happiness twinkled in his eye but donghyuck wasn't sure what it was.

   "you don't miss your family?" mark asked, placing both palms face down behind him and pressing his weight down on them, leaning back. donghyuck fought back the urge to laugh and let out a simple, "no," instead.

   after that, mark didn't try to build any conversation and the quietness was killing donghyuck. he wanted to say something, anything, to get rid of the silence that had once again surrounded them. with the wind blowing at a mild rate and the rain pouring down, light drizzle continued to come in contact with their skin but it only felt like mist. it was refreshing against the lack of interaction that they had.

   "do you miss your family?" donghyuck finally asked, not being able to stand the quiet anymore. mark shook his head, "i like it better here anyway."

   the conversation died and donghyuck racked his brain to find something to say. "when was the last time you saw them?" he asked, finally. mark looked up at the sky for a while before answering. "about two years. they flew here on christmas at that time, but i haven't seen them since." "christmas...," he noted.

   "enough about me," mark spoke before donghyuck had a chance to ask him another question. "how did you get into this school?" mark asked, turning to stare at donghyuck who was very much caught off guard. "j-just like you did," he stuttered stupidly.

   "i don't know if you take me as an idiot, but i'm not dumb," mark chuckled. the sun kissed male slightly shuddered, continuing to pretend he was oblivious of what mark was getting at, "i don't think you're dumb, i just don't know what you're talking about." mark sighed, "you're really stubborn, aren't you?"

   he tsked, shaking his head, "when i got my syllabus i saw that we share chemistry and math. seniors and juniors don't mix outside of home room classes. care to explain?"

   the younger internally panicked, thinking of an excuse as quickly as he could. "stop," mark ordered, placing a hand over donghyuck's fidgeting fingers. "quit overthinking and just tell me. if it's what i'm guessing, you have nothing to be ashamed of," his tone was softer than his words but donghyuck could tell that they came from a kind place.

   the ravenette breathed out slowly, there was no avoiding it now. "i got in through a program that promised to support my education if i had a higher average in test scores than the rest of my province and... well, i did," he said.

   mark nodded knowingly, "i figured so." donghyuck became painfully aware of mark's hands which had yet to remove themselves from donghyuck's. the older must've noticed too as he suddenly yanked his hands away. "why did you try to keep it a secret?" mark asked, referring to the fact that donghyuck got in the school through his grades rather than riches.

   donghyuck shrugged, "i didn't want to be treated differently and i didn't want people to think that i was showing off either. i assumed keeping it hidden was safest for now."

   "you might want to tell jaemin and jeno before they find out on their own. they don't show it much, but they're pretty sensitive people. i've watched them grow up since they first enrolled," mark slowed his words as if thinking about something, "the world is too cruel for them. i'd hate to see them get hurt again."

   again— a word that meant it had happened at least once before.

   "i'll let them know," donghyuck promised. mark hummed in aproval, staring upwards towards the moon. "as for you," he began, causing donghyuck to tense up. "you have nothing to hide," mark stated seriously, "the fact that you came this far with only your intelligence says enough about you. you're already better than everyone in this school, including me. remember that, okay?"

   donghyuck was speechless. what was he to say to that? never had he expected mark to be such an empathetic person. yet after hearing him talk about not only jaemin and jeno, but also donghyuck who he hardly met three days prior, he felt like he could trust mark on an emotional level. he felt like someone he could lean on.

---

   "you look like you had a rough night," jaemin laughed as he finished adjusting his tie. "it wasn't rough," donghyuck clarified, "but long?" he glanced at mark who showed him a knowing smile, "long sounds about right."

   jaemin eyed the odd exchange between his two friends suspiciously. "o-kay, this is weird," he mumbled, but loud enough for both mark and donghyuck to hear and snap out of the weird looks that they were giving eachother. "anyways," jaemin cleared his throat, "you guys ready?" donghyuck nodded but mark hesitated. 

   "i actually have practice this morning so i'll be joining first period later," mark announced, slinging a sports bag over his shoulder. "oh, okay," donghyuck replied, trying not to show the hint of disappointment in his voice. "you can make it to home room without me, right?" mark asked, placing a hand on donghyuck's shoulder. the shorter male nodded with a weak smile, "i can always ask jaem or jeno for help in case i need it."

   mark seemed satisfied with his answer as he looked towards jaemin for confirmation. "catch you guys later, then," mark said. as he walked past donghyuck, he whispered in his ear, "tell them when you get the chance. there's no point in waiting."

   with that, mark left the room and the two juniors headed towards room 323. "summoning a jeno lee," jaemin knocked on the door. the door swung open and the now familiar face— renjun, opened the door.

   "donghyuck," renjun greeted. "hey renjun," donghyuck replied with a soft smile. jaemin scowled at the shorter male pushing him out of the way, "jeno, let's go. we're going to miss breakfast if you take any longer." the sun kissed male didn't miss how jaemin shoved the ravenette, so he shot him an apologetic smile. maybe he was just in a rush, he told himself.

   "can you find my geography book? i swear i had it yesterday," jeno whined. the youngest of the three sighed and walked in the dorm room, motioning for donghyuck to follow behind him. as jaemin began searching for jeno's text book, donghyuck took the time to look around the bedroom. compared to the first time he entered, it looked a lot more homey.

   donghyuck noticed that one of the beds had fairy lights and paintings on the wall. books were stacked up on the nightstand next to it along with a pair of specks.

   as the ravenette looked around, the specks were picked up and put on. donghyuck stared at the owner who just happened to be renjun. "you wear glasses?" he asked, simply just to make conversation. the smaller male giggled and took two fingers, going through where the lenses were meant to be. "i only wear them for the aesthetic," he answered honestly. cute, donghyuck thought, smiling at him. their moment was ruined when there was suddenly a lot of shouting. 

   "you imbecile! you're holding it in your hand!!"

   "you were looking for it while i was holding it in my hand! how am i the only imbecile?!"

   "shut up jen!"

   "no, you!"

   donghyuck sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose dramatically, "sorry renjun, i have to take care of these two." renjun nodded and gave a small wave while donghyuck walked over to the two best friends.

   "enough already! you both are imbeciles, we get it! can we go before we miss breakfast already?" donghyuck asked, holding them apart from eachother. 

   jeno and jaemin sized eachother up before giving in. "fine, but you owe me a coffee for wasting my time and i want it as soon as we get to the cafeteria," jaemin said. jeno rolled his eyes, "whatever." renjun giggled from his spot while donghyuck passed him, one hand holding each boy. 

   "it's too early for this," donghyuck groaned, wondering how mark manged to put up with them on his own until now.

-----

word count: 2656

slow updates begin now :)

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾