five

The day they leave

Mark was quickly trying to shove things in a suitcase, meanwhile, Ethan was taking his time in the shower. As Ethan got out, and got dressed, he heard a beep outside, followed by a knock on the door. He heard Mark's feet walk down the hall, then he heard the happy voice of Wade being welcomed into the house. Ethan finished tidying himself up, then joined the others in the living room.

The plan was that everyone would meet at Mark's place, then from there, they wouldn head to the rental company to get the buses, that way all the cars were in one spot when they got back, except for Mark's, the only car with enough seats for all seven of them.

Ethan greeted people, and let them in while Mark made breakfast. They had all decided Mark's signature pancakes were the best way to kick off their tour. Mark finished cooking just as everyone had arrived. They all happily ate their food while Mark scrambled to finish packing. Ethan was the first one done, so he put together a tupperware with a meal for Mark, as he knew Mark wouldn't get a chance to eat unless he ate on the go. Once finished up with that he headed down the hall the check on him. Ethan knocked on the door.

"Mark, do you need any help?" he called through the door. Mark quickly opened it.

"No, that's fine, I just need my toiletries-" he said, but Eth interrupted him.

"I'll get them," Ethan said simply, then turned and headed to the bathroom. He grabbed Mark's things, then returned to Mark's room, where the door was now slightly cracked. He pushed open the door. Mark smiled, as Ethan dropped his things on the bed. It was the first time Ethan had ever been in Mark's room. Sure, he had poked his head in to talk to Mark, but most of the time, the door was closed, and Ethan never had a reason to go in there.

He looked around the room as Mark organized his things. It was a messy room, but it wasn't bad. Ethan could imagine the sunlight coming through the window and perfectly illuminated where Mark's head would be when sleeping. Speaking of sleeping, the bed looked amazingly comfortable. He gently brushed his fingers across the sheets when Mark wasn't looking. The idea of Mark sleeping in those sheets filled Ethan's stomach with butterflies once again.

"Sorry, my room's a mess, it's been stressful, trying to prepare for the tour," Mark said as he unplugged his laptop and slid it into its case. Ethan shrugged, and checked his watch.

"It's whatever. Mine isn't the cleanest either. Anyway, I'm going to see what everyone else is doing. We're leaving in 10 by the way," Mark nodded, and Ethan left the room, swaying his hips just a bit more than he usually did, and boy did it pay off, because Mark found himself staring at Ethan's ass as the younger man walked away. Mark shook his head, and tried to focus on paking.

The group piled into Mark's car. Ethan was driving, Mark was in the messenger seat, Amy and Kathryn were in the middle row, and Tyler, Bob, and Wade managed to squeeze into the far back. When they pulled into the rental place they got the buses from, they group, mainly the three in the back, were ecstatic to get out of the cramped car. Ethan parked the car, and everyone climbed out. Amy went inside to inform the drivers that they were there, and returned shortly with the two people who would be driving.

The groups broke off and went to their respective buses, where they quickly figured out there weren't enough beds. The bus that was for the five men was actually a "sleeps five" kind of deal, not that it had 5 beds. There were only four beds, three that were only big enough for one person, and one full size in the back.

Sleeping arrangements were quickly decided. Bob, Wade, and Tyler got the smaller beds, and Mark and Ethan would share the larger bed. Ethan was so nervous, yet so excited. What if he woke up and Mark was using him like a teddy bear? What if he had another night-terror? He hated that Mark had to witness those, but now, everyone would.

The group got on the move as they had a long drive ahead of them. While on the road, Ethan pulled out the meal he had packed for Mark.

"Hey, I grabbed this for you because I figured you wouldn't have time to eat before we left," he said quietly. Mark smiled.

"Thank you! I'm starving!" he said, happily taking the meal. Ethan smiled to himself, feeling like he had accomplished something. He didn't know what exactly he accomplished, but he was proud of himself. His phone suddenly buzzed. It was Amy. She was teasing him about sharing a bed with Mark.

After some time on the road, Ethan pulled out his laptop to post his video for the day. He was sitting on the bed him and Mark would be sharing, and was working on the title and description. As Ethan was typing out the description, Mark dropped on the bed next to him.

"What're you doing?" Mark asked. Ethan turned the screen towards Mark.

"Working on the description," Ethan said. Mark nodded.

"What's the vid about?" he asked. Ethan smiled.

"You'll have to wait, and watch it yourself," he said, turning the screen back to himself. Mark rolled his eyes. Ethan smirked, triumphantly. Mark pulled out his laptop and started preparing for his video too.

"By the way, nice job with the edits. I realize I don't really say thank you to you a lot, but thank you," Mark said. Ethan smiled.

"If you didn't pay me I wouldn't do it," he said jokingly. Mark laughed. God, that laugh just melted Ethan's heart. Ethan smiled to himself and went back to his work. He finished the description and waited for the clock to turn to noon, and posted the video.

A few hours later, the group was starting to realize the mistake they had made. They weren't even halfway to the first location and the men were already bored. Tyler was on his Switch, Bob and Wade were each on their phones, probably checking in with their families, Mark was trying to figure out where they were stopping for dinner, and Ethan was curled up in bed watching a movie on his laptop, with headphones of course.

Mark, finally deciding on a location, called Amy to tell her to inform her driver. When he was done with that call, he stepped into his and Ethan's tiny room. Ethan wasn't really paying attention as he was very immersed in the movie he was watching. Mark smiled at him. While Ethan was panicked at the idea of sharing a bed with Mark, Mark was excited, and couldn't wait to "accidentally" hug Ethan in his sleep. Mark shook the thought from his head. He just had to last to the last show, then he, and everyone involved, could execute the plan.

Mark tapped Ethan's shoulder, causing Ethan to jump slightly. He glanced at Mark, paused his movie, and pulled his headphones out.

"What's up?" he said, looking up at Mark.

"Get dressed. We're stopping for dinner," Mark said, smiling. Ethan looked at his clothing. It was just some sweats and a T-shirt.

"I am dressed," Ethan replied. Mark looked at him.

"Maybe don't wear pajamas, smartass," Mark laughed. Ethan laughed with him, and stood. He pulled out his suitcase, and a casual button down-short sleeve shirt, and a nice pair of skinny jeans. Ethan, facing away from Mark, and thinking he left the room, pulled his shirt off. When he turned around to grab the shirt that was sitting on the bed, and realizing Mark was still standing there, also changing, Ethan's face started to boil. The younger male quickly changed and left the room before Mark.

The buses pulled up to a nice looking restaurant, but nothing out of the ordinary of where the group would usually go for dinner meetings. The boys bus arrived first. Mark went inside to make sure the reservation was ready, then returned to the bus to let the others know they were good to go. Mark made sure to sit next to Ethan. Ethan tried to get out of that, by saying he wanted to sit by Amy, but he just ended up in between the two. They all ordered food and shared laughs. Ethan was finally feeling like he was a part of the group, and he was feeling so much more comfortable. It was nice to have a group of friends that were so similar to him. However the whole time, he could feel eyes on him. And he was right. Mark was watching him the entire time.

After dinner, the friends got back on the road. A few hours later, Tyler, Bob, and Wade were all asleep, Ethan was on the couch texting Amy, and Mark was on the bed, on his laptop. When Ethan realized how late it was, he sighed, saying his goodnights to Amy, and reluctantly went to the bedroom.

"Hey, I'm going to bed," Ethan said. Mark looked at him.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I should too, huh," he said. He stood, and put his laptop away. He was already changed, but Ethan didn't change after dinner. Ethan awkwardly changed. He was too focused on keeping his cool, he didn't even notice Mark glancing at him. Ethan was skinny yet muscular, and something about it was very attractive to Mark. Ethan climbed into bed, realizing how exactly close they would be sleeping. The men were probably about an inch away from each other. Ethan curled up into a ball, trying to take up the least amount of space as possible, but Mark sprawled out, trying to get closer to Ethan.

Ethan tried to fall asleep fast so he wouldn't have to think about the fact that he is sleeping next to Mark, but it didn't matter because he was quickly awakened by a dream.

Ethan tossed in his sleep. He flipped so he was facing Mark. Mark was already awake. He sighed and stood, heading to the bathroom. When he returned, he heard Ethan making that familiar whimpering noise he always did when he was having a night-terror. 

Mark quickly ran to him, and without hesitation shook the smaller male to walk him up. Ethan struggled to wake up, but when he did, he woke up gasping. He looked around, scared and confused.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm right here," Mark cooed softly. When Ethan didn't respond, Mark gently reached to Ethan's face, and softly held his cheeks. When Ethan locked eyes with Mark, he immediately calmed down. Luckily, the commotion didn't wake the other three men up.

"Ethan, breath... in, 1, 2, 3, out, 1, 2, 3," Mark spoke quietly, and smoothly. Ethan followed Mark's breathing, and eventually fell on a normal pace. Mark slowly let go of Ethan's face. Ethan's head dropped, he stared down at his hands in his lap. Mark watched him.

"Thank you," Ethan whispered. Mark didn't say anything for a moment. He just watched.

"Want to talk about it?" Mark whispered back. Ethan simply shook his head 'no'. Mark watched as tears fell from Ethan's face. Mark sighed, and pulled Ethan into a hug. Ethan didn't fight it. He leaned into Mark's chest and sobbed quietly. Mark rubbed Ethan's back and held him close.

His biggest fear of this trip had already happened and it was only the first night. Did that mean he was safe for the rest of the trip? Probably not, but one can hope.

After a few moments, Ethan pulled away. He still refused to look Mark in the eyes. He didn't know if he should have said something other than 'thank you' or if he should just leave it.

"I'm not going back to bed until you tell me you're okay to go to bed too," Mark said. Ethan felt his face heat up.

"I'm fine," Ethan said quietly. Mark sighed.

"Ethan, after living with you for almost a month, you'd think you'd realize that specifically you can't lie to me. I'm not going to bed until I know you're okay," he said. Ethan sighed, finally raising his head to look at Mark.

"No, Mark. I'm not okay. Maybe you didn't notice, but this 'waking up from horrid dreams' is becoming a nightly for me, and I'm sorry for waking you up with my screams, but I can't help it. No amount of medication has been able to make the dreams subside, so-" Mark cut Ethan off by placing a hand over his mouth.

"Ethan, I'm not mad. You're my... best friend. I'm not going to sit here and let you scream in the middle of the night," Mark said, looking deeply into Ethan's eyes. A few tears escaped Ethan's eyes. Mark reached to him, and wiped the tears away. Ethan looked away. He was no longer crying because of the dream. "Best friend" rang in his ears. He nodded, then quickly turned away, laying down again, facing away from Mark. After a moment, Mark did the same.

A few minutes passed.

"Mark?" Ethan said, quietly.

"Hm?" Mark hummed in response.

"Hold me," Ethan said. After a couple seconds, Mark flipped to face Ethan, moving closer. He wrapped his arms around the smaller male, spooning him. Ethan felt safe and warm, but he knew it didn't mean the same thing to Mark.