I wake to the sunlight streaming through the curtains, blinding me even through my eyelids. I groan and sit up, stretching.

I go over to the pile of bags on the floor - I should really put that away - and pull out an outfit so I can take a shower.

While I'm in the shower, I look at my bare, unbandaged arms. At the scars littering them. I don't really need to wear the bandages anymore. All the cuts are healed - or mostly - but none of them are bleeding anymore. So I make a decision to not rewrap them.

After I get out - reluctantly, I was enjoying the hot water - and am dressed in a hoodie and jeans, I go back to my room, intent on drawing for a while. I should finish that drawing of Jack, at least.

I sit on the bed and bring out the pad of paper, flipping to the page with Jack's uncolored face. I grab my markers and colored pencils, beginning to color him in.

~ Jack's POV ~ (Long time, eh? Let's see what Jack's up to, shall we?)

          I sit in my chair, opening skype. I need to talk to Mark, get something off my chest. I call him and wait anxiously, hoping he'll answer.

          'Maybe he's busy,' my subconscious says. I hope he's not.

          He answers, finally. I adjust my webcam a bit, nervous now.

          "Hey Mark," I greet him, sitting back in my chair.

          "Hey Jack. What's up?" Mark asks me, looking semi-serious once he sees my worries face.

          "How'd you know?" I ask him, pouting. And stalling. Can't forget the stalling. But he doesn't need to know that.

          "You look tired Jack. And nervous. Do I need to ask you again?" He says, looking at me, concerned.

          "I'm fine, I just- need to vent for a minute, I guess," I say, now slightly unsure of why I called him now.

          "So vent," Mark says, giving me a go-ahead gesture. Well, here goes nothing.

          "You remember the girl I told you about? The one I took to the hospital?" I ask him, making sure he's caught up.

          "Yeah...?"  Mark says questioningly, curious as to what she has to do with anything.

          "Well I offered to let her stay with me for a bit since she had nowhere to go," I say, about to chicken out on what I'm about to say next.

          "Go ahead," Mark says, encouraging me to finish.

          "So she's been here the past couple days and... I like her. A lot," I confess.

          "Hmm," Mark says, taking this seriously. "What do you want me to do about it?" He asks.

          "I don't know what I should do," I tell him.

          "You're asking me for advice?" Mark asks me, shocked.

          "Yes," I say hesitantly. "I am."

          "I'm not the best person to ask," he says, giving me a look. "But you already knew that. So what exactly do you want my advice on?"

          "How to ask her on a date," I tell him.

          "Well what's she like? How far have you gone?" He asks, trying to get an idea of the situation.

          So I tell him about her. What little I know about her, anyway. He scolds me several times for going off-topic. Me going on a rant about her eyes, or her personality. He jokes around a bit too, but remains mostly serious for my sake.

"Just get close to her naturally, Jack. Don't rush things. If she likes you, and you like her, you'll end up together one way or another," he says seriously.

"Thanks.... I guess," I say, still nervous.

"Now Jack, I have a question. It's good, I promise," he says.

"Ok..." I say, giving him a look saying 'why-don't-you-just-ask-it'.

"On a scale from one to ten," he starts, a goofy smirk on his face, "how hot is she?" He finishes, giggling. My face heats up.

"Mark!" I scold, astonished and embarrassed. I should have expected this sooner, but still.

"What?" He asks, holding up his hands in a 'what-did-I-do?' gesture, like he doesn't know what he did. I give him a playful angry glare.

"I'm just asking!" He defends himself.

I just shake my head and laugh at him, amused by his silly antics.

"A ten," I mutter under my breath, hoping he won't hear me. But he does, of course.

          "A ten?" He asks. He whistles. "Wish I could've met her," he says.

          "I'm starting to think that you two meeting would be a bad idea," I say.

          "What?" Mark asks, feigning shock, leaning back and putting a hand over his heart dramatically. "Why?" He asks, pouting.

          "Cause you're...." I pause, trying to think of the right word. "You," I finish, since I couldn't find a better word.

          "Are you saying I'm not good enough to meet her? I'm shocked Jack, I thought we were friends," he pouts, looking away from the camera.

          I chuckle, shaking my head. "Anyway, I better go. Talk to you later, Mark," I say, still grinning.

          "Yep. Buh Bye!!" He says, doing dragging out the last word, like in his outro. I just shake my head at him once again, laughter echoing around the room.

          I get up, having already decided (in my head) that I'm gonna hang out with Cecelia. I leave my recording room and head towards hers, a grin still on my face from my conversation with Mark.

          I knock on her door and, upon hearing no answer, open the door. I freeze at the sight in front of me.

          She's sitting on the bed, her back against the wall, knees drawn up as a surface for whatever she writing on. She has headphones on and she's swaying her head softly to the music, the words tumbling from her lips in lyrical whispers.

          I lean against the doorway and watch her for a moment. Not to be creepy, but because she looks beautiful. Like an angel, sent from heaven to save me.

          I knock on the doorframe loudly, gaining her attention and causing her to slip off her headphones.

          "Sorry to disturb you," I apologize. "But I'm kinda bored and wanted to know if you wanted to hang out for a bit?" I question, unsure.

          "Uhh..." She says, glancing between me and whatever she was writing on. A look of... guilt flashes over her face. "Sure, I guess," she says, sounding awfully unsure about it.

          "You don't have to," I tell her, frowning a bit.

          "No, no," she says, shaking her head. "I want to," she whispers loudly with more conviction.

She puts aside what she was holding - a pad of paper - and gets up, taking a few steps in my direction before she stops, frowning, turning her gaze to the ground.

"How long were you standing there?" She whispers, almost afraid.

"Not that long," I say, accidentally putting emphasis on 'that', causing me to wince.

"Oh," she breathes out, red coloring her face.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," I apologize again, feeling bad.

"No. It's... Fine, I guess," she says, shrugging.

"What do you want to do?" She asks, looking up at me, making me feel tall for once.

"I don't know," I admit. "I didn't think that far ahead." I bring up a hand to rub at the back of my neck.

She giggles lightly at me, shaking her head. 'She has the laugh of an angel,' I muse in my head, smiling.
-------------------------------------------------------    Hey guys! I hope you like this part, I'm kinda iffy about it. Sorry if Mark and Jack are out of character. I tried.
     I'll be posting the character Q&A soon, so please leave any questions you have in the comments.
      Anyway, please vote and comment of you liked this part. I'll see you all in the next part, bye!!