AN: 103 hits yesterday, but no reviews. I think I may have given up on 'angry' Jeff. I don't know yet.
Enjoy,
FortheloveofWrestling

Knock.

"Damn it." Mark said, calling Jeff's cell phone again, and again getting the voicemail.

Hey man, this is Jeff, leave me a message and i'll get back to ya'. If it's Mark, FUCK OFF!

"Jeff, please pick up the phone. I need to talk to you. Call me back, whenever. Bye." Mark sighed and clicked his phone off.

Knock.

"Hold on, i'm coming." Mark shouted to whoever was knocking at his door.

When he opened it, he had to pause for a moment and then finally stepped back to let Matt in.

"Mark, i'm sorry, man. I've been trying to talk to him, to get him to talk to you, but he said he's done with you." Matt said, once he had taken a seat.

"And you told him that I was still trying to find out how he's doing?"

Matt sighed, "yeah. And he doesn't seem to care."

Mark sighed as well and lowered his head to study the carpet below him, "guess I screwed up big time then, huh?"

"You went too far talking about our parents, and just for the record, I don't appreciate whatever it is you said either, but I think, he's mostly angry that he's screwed up again."

"I know, Matt, i'm sorry. I thought that maybe if I pulled a guilt trip on him, using your parents, I could at least make a dent in his head. I didn't mean anything that I said, you both know that."

"And it worked, he's been talking to my dad twice as much now." Matt smiled.

Mark chuckled, "if he knows that he's screwed up again, why is he being so stubborn about it?" he said, sitting down on the couch.

"Because you hurt him. And now he feels like he has no where to turn while he's trying to do this."

"But he does!" Mark said, getting frustrated. "He's got me, he's never lost me. I've been trying to get a hold of him, but he doesn't answer his damn phone. I'm right here."

"And that's Jeff. He screwed up. You, the only other person he thought he had wrapped around his finger, got upset and pushed him too far. Now he's going to try and do this by himself."

Mark smiled and sighed, "and now I gotta earn his trust back, but he doesn't want to talk to me."

"Keep trying though, he needs you to keep fighting for him." Matt got up from his seat and walked over to Mark to place his hand on his shoulder, "I know that it's hard with him going in and out on you, but you're the only one strong enough to keep him on the right path."

"I thought I was, but obviously not." Mark said.

"Just don't give up on him, Mark." Matt said, "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming by." Mark said, as he closed the door behind Matt.

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"FUCK!" Jeff shouted.

He'd been looking for his pack of cigarettes, when he stubbed his foot on the table in his room.

He grabbed his foot and hobbled over to sit on the bed and groaned when he felt something hard underneath him as he sat.

"What the hell?" he yelled as he got up and grabbed the end of the blanket and began to thrash it around to remove whatever the object was, underneath the blankets.

When he did, he heard a muffled crack as the sheets hit the bedside table, he walked around the bed and heard another crack, quickly he jumped off of whatever it was. He kneeled down and unburied his laptop from the mess of sheets.

"Fucking shit, great!" he said, opening the laptop and seeing the broken screen. He stood up again threw the broken laptop to the floor where it landed with a thud.

"Hope that wasn't mine." Matt said, having entered the room as Jeff was standing up, in time to see the object being thrown to the floor.

"Don't worry, it was mine." Jeff said.

"I came back to see if you wanted to go grab a few drinks with the guys."

"No, no thanks. I..." he sighed, sitting on the corner of the bed, "I actually don't feel like drinking tonight."

"Wow. That withdrawal went by pretty quick. You're getting better at it each time." Matt joked.

"Do you know where my sticks are?"

"Uh," Matt looked around the room for a second, "no, but try your jacket."

Jeff leaned forward and grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair, after rummaging through the pockets he pulled out his cigarettes, shaking his head.

"Of course."

"So you're going to chill here or take off?"

"I'll be here."

"Alright, I'll call you later."

"Have fun."

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After Matt had left, Glen had stopped by to see if he wanted to go out to get some drinks, but he politely refused. Mark closed his eyes, letting his body take comfort in the bed he was in. His head was killing him, it always was when he got into long conversations with Glen, he always had an opinion about what was going on, the situation with Jeff being no different. Mark sighed as he opened his eyes and looked at the clock that sat next to the bed, it was still relatively early; he decided it wouldn't hurt to try Jeff once more. He reached over and grabbed his cell phone. He thought for a minute and then decided to send him a text instead of calling him.

He thought another moment about what to say to him.

Hey.

That was all he could come up with, he didn't even think Jeff would reply, why bother sending a long message. He sent the text and placed his phone back on the table and turned his head so that he could see his phone. With one arm behind his head and the other across his stomach, Mark sighed and closed his eyes.

Mark could feel sleep overtaking him, when he heard the hum of his phone and quickly opened his eyes and reached for it. When he looked at it, he had a small smile on his face, but as he read the message, it faded.

Didn't you get the message from my voicemail? Fuck off.

A few rooms down the hall, Jeff sat, staring out the window. He felt so lonely, but he didn't want to be around anyone at the moment. When he got Mark's text, his phone almost found it's place with the broken laptop, but Jeff couldn't help but reply back. Even if it was just to piss him off. he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the chair. With his eyes closed, he could picture exactly how Mark would say his message, although it was so simple, he knew for Mark nothing was ever so simple. He'd have his lips in both a small smile and in a small pout, his eyes would beg him to forgive him for what he had said and done. Jeff hated that he could picture Mark so clearly and hated even more that it didn't take much for him to give into him.

M: Well, you're talking to me... sort of.

Jeff fought back a smile.

J: What do you want?

Mark smiled, he was getting somewhere.

M: You.

Jeff took a minute to reply, not knowing how.

J: Whatever.

M: I'm sorry, Jeff.

J: Yeah, right.

M: I am.

Jeff waited another minute before replying. When Mark apologized, it was because he meant it, but it didn't change the fact that he said what he said.

J: I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Mark sighed, not sure if he had actually gotten through or not.

M: Okay. We won't.

J: Thanks. Why aren't you down drinking with the guys, asshole?

M: Didn't feel like it.

J: Oh.

M: Why aren't you?

J: Didn't want to talk to anyone.

M: Only to an asshole?

J: Only because I was feeling lonely.

M: But you're not alone.

J: Not tonight, i've got an asshole to talk to.

M: You always have an asshole to talk to.

Jeff smiled, he hated how cute he thought Mark was. Especially when he was mad at him.

J: Not when he's being a HUGE asshole.

M: Yes. Even then.

J: Look at the moon.

M: Okay. I'm looking at it.

J: Pretty big, huh?

M: Yeah.

J: That's how big of an asshole you are. =P

M: Funny, Jeff.

J: Really though, it's pretty amazing, don't you think?

M: It's beautiful.

J: Mhm.

M: The girls were excited to see you the other day.

J: I love your girls =]

M: They love you... and so do I.

Jeff decided to ignore the last part of the message.

J: I honestly didn't know they were in there. I wouldn't have done what I did.

M: I thought we weren't going to talk about that stuff.

J: We aren't. Not now. Maybe tomorrow?

M: Really?

J: Yeah.

M: Breakfast?

J: In your room or...?

M: I can behave long enough to talk.

Jeff wondered if he should wait until tomorrow to reinstate what he felt, but he decided to just get it over with.

J: I was serious about us being over.

Mark looked at his phone and had to take a deep breathe to keep from going over to Jeff's room and beg him for his forgiveness.

His fingers hesitated to type a response and before he got the chance his phone went off again with a new message.

J: I get that you're trying to help me, but you went too far and I don't care how many times you apologize. It was too much. But maybe I still need your help. Can you still be there for me?

Mark sighed as he read the message and this time his fingers didn't hesitate, but his heart did ache to agree to it.

M: Yes, if that's what you want.

J: Cool. So breakfast. Downstairs?

M: Sounds like a plan.

They said goodnight and gave the phones a break. Mark laid back down and wondered exactly where he'd gone and screwed things up so badly. Jeff was the one who screwed up, not him. He didn't know why the tables were being turned on him, but if Jeff was willing to accept his help, it didn't matter.

Jeff stayed seated and looked at the moon from his window. He kept asking himself if he'd done the right thing. He knew Mark was trying to help him, but what he said struck so close to home, litterally, he just couldn't handle it. He didn't want Mark to look at him and realize how pathetic he was, at least this way if he did, it'd only be as a friend, not as someone who once saw everything he could be and wound up seeing him throw it all away instead.

What do you think? Review?
Thanks.