Being a firm believer of 'sleep is for the weak', Jack had made sure to sleep as little as possible in the summer break after he graduated high school, which only resulted in a seriously damaged sleep schedule. So when it came time for him to pick his college classes, he had no choice but to make sure he was scheduled in the afternoon only. Which wasn't a problem at all, until he realized that he was going to be living off ramen unless he got a job.

And with that realization came the difficult truth that no place was hiring someone to work a shift in the early evening when he'd finished all his classes. The campus book store closed at five, the café closed at seven, and the gym closed at nine. The only place that was still open was the library, because students often studied into the morning hours, but there was no way JACK was going to work in a LIBRARY. He had a big mouth- and often found himself receiving disdainful looks because his voice was always several decibels louder than everyone else's. If any of his friends were to find out he worked in a library, a general place of calm and concentration, he'd never hear the end of it.

But a month into the school year, his love for pizza overwhelmed his pride, and he applied to work as a library page. Boredom plagued him nightly, but eight dollars an hour kept him motivated.

For months, he worked through yawns and exhausting boredom, until one bland night in late November, he was casually shelving a new set of anthropology books when he noticed a single student sitting at a corner table. Books and papers were scattered around him, and a large coffee sat by his elbow. He was cute, no doubt, with delicate features contrasted by angelic cheekbones, black fluffy hair, and black rimmed glasses over dark eyes. No, he was more than cute, he was gorgeous. Jack had never seen anyone like him before. His posture was amazing, and his shoulders were unbelievably broad. He had a strong chest, plus even stronger arms by the looks of it, and Jack's stomach flipped.

He wanted to introduce himself, but he had no idea what he'd say. And he didn't want to seem like a creep, so he kept his distance.

But night after night, he'd notice the guy, just studying by himself with a large coffee. Over time, he grew quite fond of him, even if it was from afar.

An opportunity to introduce himself didn't arise until mid December. When, in the same corner that the guy's table was, a couple started making out. Jack watched them only for a second, as they were quite vulgar (and PDA was on his List of Most Repulsive Things). And though they were seriously going at it, he had no plans to reprimand them. He didn't want to be known as a buzz kill. In fact, he fully intended to forget all about them until he saw the guy's look of pure disgust directed at the couple. Seeing his chance, he took it.

Jack approached him, his heart skipping beats. "Some people have no dignity," he said, purposefully just loud enough for the couple to hear. They glared at him for a moment, and then hastily started to leave, as if he'd intruded on their privacy. Much to his surprise, the guy started laughing. He had a deep, breathy laugh that made Jack want to sigh.

"Nice laugh," Jack commented. "I'm going to have to come over here and interrupt your studying more often." There was a small instance of silence before Jack spoke again, desperate to continue the conversation, "See, that could be you, but you're too busy studying."

"Possibly," the man laughed again. "But I need to study if I'm ever gonna pass my engineering courses."

Jack sat across from the student, completely forgetting what he was supposed to be doing. "Ooh, an engineer," he smirked. "Check out Mr. Smartypants over here. I'm Jack, by the way."

"Mark." They shook hands.

Every night from then on, Jack would go out of his way to stray near Mark's table. They'd joke and laugh, talk shit about professors, and generally upset the peaceful silence of the library. Within a few weeks, they'd become good friends. Jack's infatuation, however, did not fade. In fact, it did the exact opposite. There were even instances in which Jack would flirt, quite openly, that Mark seemed to remain oblivious to. Jack didn't grow frustrated though, as he didn't want to ruin the friendship that was blossoming between them. Though it was inevitable really, that Jack would eventually take that extra step to let Mark know that he had other things in mind regarding their relationship.

Jack decided that on Valentine's Day, he would finally take that step. He was going to ask for Mark's number- or perhaps ask him out for coffee, or just go off whatever came out of his mouth when he approached Mark's table.

But when the day came, Mark was late. And Mark was never late. It was already eleven, and Jack had given up his pacing in order to get at least some work done. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't focus. Had something happened? He felt like an idiot for worrying so needlessly about a guy who probably just had other plans. That was it, Jack told himself, over and over. Mark just had other plans for that night. Probably a hot date. I mean, who would want to hang out in a library on Valentine's Day?

Even so, Jack couldn't stop thinking about Mark, and about his plan. He'd spent hours preparing himself, rehearsing the several possible outcomes and, unashamedly, imagining their first date. It seemed like such a waste to have spent so much time readying himself for something that wasn't going to happen anyway.

After his shift, Jack figured that he'd take a walk around campus, and if fate decided that they'd bump into each other, then so be it. The first fifteen minutes of his walk proved to be fruitless, unless you counted his freezing hands and watery eyes. The air was chilly, and there was a light snow falling, which made the whole night seem even more romantic- for those in relationships anyway.

Just as Jack was about to give up and go to his warm bed, he saw him, the only student who seemed to be out and about on campus this late at night. He was sitting on a large rock in the college's community garden, which was now barren until the spring. Mark looked like a model, with his head tilted back to look at the stars and dim light from the electric garden torches illuminating him. Snowflakes were littered in his hair, and every breath he took sent a cloud of fog out around him.

He hesitated. Mark hadn't seen him yet, as his back was to him, so Jack could have just left right then and forgotten all about his stupid plans. But he couldn't. Something in him wouldn't let him leave.

Silently, he walked over and sat beside Mark, not bothering to leave an inch between them. For a while, neither of them said anything. It was as if they were invisible to each other as they both watched the stars. But eventually, Mark broke the silence.

"My girlfriend and I broke up," he said, his voice hoarse. Their eyes met, and Jack instantly realized that he'd been crying.

"I'm so sorry," Jack sighed. And though his sympathy was real, his heart was heavy because his plans were ruined.

"I just... thought we'd always be together, you know?"

"Oh, yeah, I know," Jack chuckled darkly. "When you're in love, you can't imagine a world without them until... until they're gone. And you're left with this gaping hole in your chest that aches worse with each passing second, and all you can do is cry yourself to sleep and eat ice cream," Jack paused to take a breath. "That's why I broke up with my boyfriend before college." He quickly moved on, hoping Mark noticed that he'd said boyfriend. "When you're in high school, you feel like there's never gonna be an end. You plan to go to the same college or try the long distance route and... that rarely works out so... I didn't take my chances."

"Smart man," Mark half-smiled. "I wish I'd thought of that." His smile faded quickly and he bit his lip, looking back to the stars. "I just," he whispered. "It's Valentine's Day. Couldn't she have said something sooner?"

"Probably." Jack casually draped an arm around Mark and rubbed his back. "But she was likely scared to. You're an amazing dude, as far as I can tell, and you're probably an even better boyfriend. She didn't want to hurt you... sometimes people just grow apart." Mark didn't say anything, but he leaned a little closer. "Try to see this as a stepping stone, rather than a misstep," Jack whispered gently. "It's gonna be okay, Mark."

Neither of them said anything for a while. They simply enjoyed the company and watched the stars and falling snow.

"So you're gay?" Mark blurted after a few minutes, a trembling laugh escaping his throat.

"Oh," Jack laughed too, nerves exploding in his stomach. "Yeah." Suddenly, his arm felt stiff around Mark, and so he dropped it, tentatively clasping his hands on his lap.

"How do you know you're gay- I mean... how-"

"How do you know you're straight?" Jack cut him off.

"I don't," Mark replied just as quick.

Jack couldn't breathe. "O-oh."

"I mean, I just, I'm..."

"Questioning?" Jack finished for him, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

Mark froze. "Yeah, I guess." Their eyes met, yet again. There was maybe a foot between their lips, but it felt like an inch to him. He couldn't help it as his gaze flickered to Jack's lips and back to his eyes. The silence was deafening, and Jack's utterly innocent gaze drove him crazy. It only took a second to close the gap between them. And though Jack was very shocked at first, he kissed back. Mark's nose was cold against his cheek, but his lips were soft and inviting.

It seemed like eons before Mark pulled away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, sliding off the rock.

"Sorry?" Jack chuckled, delighted that his plan went better than expected... until Mark started running. Jack called after him, and followed him for a bit, but eventually gave up. It was clear that Mark needed time. He'd just gotten out of a relationship. But he was the one who'd initiated the kiss, so Jack didn't feel too bad about kissing back.

The next night, Mark wasn't at the library again. After his shift, Jack walked all over campus, but couldn't find him anywhere. It went on like that for a week. Jack was beginning to think he'd never see Mark again. Maybe he transfered. Could he really have been that distraught?

Just as Jack was about to hive up, he saw Mark, walking by himself in the direction of the dorms. As soon as Jack called out for him, he started walking faster, and faster, making Jack have to chase after him.

"Mark, wait, please-" Jack panted, doing his best not to slip on the icy path. Just as Mark reached the door of a residence hall, Jack caught him, grabbing him by the arm. "You're avoiding me," he huffed.

Mark sighed, knowing he had no other choice but to explain. "Look, I'm sorry, Jack. I never meant to- I mean, I did but- I wasn't thinking right, it was just the moment-"

"Mark," Jack hushed him. "I never got to tell you how I knew I was gay."

"How?" Mark whispered.

"Because," Jack breathed, cupping his face in both his hands. "I like this."

Jack kissed him then, with the same passion and urgency as Mark had kissed him a week earlier. It was brief, but it made both their heads spin.

When they broke for air, Mark smiled, and touched his forehead to Jack's, "I like this, too."

Credits to the hella amazeballs SepticPhoenix for coming up with the title for this one!