Trust Your Instincts

 Word had gotten out about Mark's party, thanks to Will and Slim Jim. It seemed that as soon as Will answered Mark's phone call, he had appointed himself as head party planner, organising music, food and everything in between. Mark saw this as more of a blessing than a hindrance, as he wouldn't have known where to start had he been left alone to do this, and Will's respectable reputation surely grabbed the attention of most of the students in his year group. Mark realised after noticing how many people were excited for his party that he hadn't set a guest limit for Will, and now it seemed that everyone was invited. Mark was a little nervous about this, his house was quite cramped and small, but he was sure that he could make space by pushing all of his furniture against the walls, and his back yard was considerably large and freshly mowed. His dad loved gardening.

 Isaac, Josh, Felix and Jack were obviously invited by Mark. The first three accepted their invitations excitedly, offering to help out if needed. Jack, however, was less keen. Will was going to be at the party, Eli too. They used to beat him bloody for no real reason whatsoever. Even still, they continued to bully and tease him relentlessly whenever given the opportunity, and so he replied to all of Mark's pleas to come with a 'maybe', or a 'probably', or an 'I don't know yet'. Eventually Mark stopped prying, and decided that he wouldn't manage to convince him any further. He didn't want to irritate him with his constant nagging.

 Physics seemed to take a 180, in the sense that it was now one of Mark's favourite subjects. He wasn't any better at the coursework, and he still didn't particularly love his teacher, but he felt he could finally be himself in that class next to Jack, just like he was able to in history with Will, or in math with Isaac. 

 He continued to sit with Ken's group at lunch, hardly talking to anyone but Ken, and occasionally Blake or Will, but he was more than content with listening quietly to the conversations. The topic of conversation this week was, more often than not, Mark's upcoming party. Eli had an older brother who was more than willing to supply a ridiculous amount of alcoholic drinks, which Will was ecstatic about. Mark tried to hide how he truly felt, as he knew that if he were to get caught with so much alcohol at his age... he didn't like to think of the possible consequences. He didn't want to seem like a pussy though, and so he tried his best to share their excitement. 

 The only thing that Will wasn't too happy about was the fact that Mark had invited Jack. He assured Mark that it would be okay, and not to uninvite him (as if Mark would do that anyway), but if Jack ruined this in any way, he'd have Eli to answer to. Mark looked at Will confusedly. What could Jack possibly do to ruin the party?

 Jack spent most evenings in Mark's bedroom, working on finishing up the physics projects, and assigning who would present which slides. Mark was glad that they had been paired together, as Jack might have been the best in the physics class, if he actually participated in the lessons. The subject came to him so naturally, he'd understand everything about the topic without even having to reread the notes. Most of the night, however, wasn't spent working on the project. Instead, they'd spend the night doing what they both loved to do most; playing video games.

 Their relationship had strengthened drastically over the time they spent bonding over their video game obsession or watching Netflix in comfortable silence. They were both thankful that the other hadn't chosen to ask about their families. Jack never asked why Mark only lived with his dad, just as Mark never asked why Jack lived alone, at least, not anymore. Jack was spending more time with Mark now than he was with Josh or Isaac, yet he still had his suspicions. He still felt something in the pit of his stomach that urged him to stay away. He brushed the feeling aside though. He was happy spending time with Mark. Mark made him smile.

---

 Ken stood behind the school, next to the forest that connected his back yard to one side of the large building. He leaned against the pillar, focussed on the game he was playing on his phone, deaf to the whole conversation that was going on between Will and the others right in front of him. He was finally pulled back into the real world by Pete, angrily squawking his name.

 "Huh? Sorry I must've drifted off there!" he said, smiling shyly as he glanced at the others, all but Blake glaring at him angrily.

 "We were wondering what your opinion on our plan for the party was." Will said, emphasising the word wondering, his voice laced with annoyance.

 "Yeah... Yeah I'm happy with the plan, it sounds good... great!" Ken chirped, faking enthusiasm. Truthfully, he didn't know what the plan was, but so long as he didn't have to do anything, he didn't really care. He checked his phone again, wishing that Mark was able to make it. He really hated the personalities of all the others, except Blake sometimes. They were all bigoted and constantly judgemental. Mark was the only one he could have a real conversation with. The only thing he didn't understand about him was why he liked Will so much.

 "You don't know what the plan is, do you Kenny?" Slim Jim said, chuckling. Ken hated being called Kenny, but decided it'd be easier not to argue. Slim Jim wouldn't stop using it just because it made Ken uncomfortable. Slowly, Ken shook his head, looking down at his checkered Vans.

 Will sighed dramatically before inhaling deeply and speaking. "Okay!" he said, his lack of patience showing through hand gesture, every syllable he spoke. "Let's run through the plan one more time, and this time, let's keep it simple, for Ken's sake." He gestured to Ken, who glared angrily at him after he had looked away again. "As I'm sure you know, Ken, Mark's invited his little green haired puppy along to the party. It's still a mystery to me why he cares for that pipsqueak, but after the party, we'll make sure Mark never talks to him again. After all, if he and Mark don't like each other, we don't have to pretend to like him. We don't have to tolerate Jack like we've been doing the past week." 

 Ken rolled his eyes, genuinely shocked that someone would go so far out their way to make another's life a living hell. He didn't know what he'd do, he wanted to tell Mark, or even Jack, who had hated him ever since he started hanging out with Will. Why was Will so determined to ruin Jack's school life, to terminate any friendship he managed to make. He realised then that he hated every single one of them. Will, Pete, Slim Jim, Eli, even Blake. 

 He was certain about one thing though. He didn't want to be on their wrong side. He nodded, and leaned in towards the group.

 "So here's what we're gonna do..." Will started.

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A/N Hello friends!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm quite happy at how it turned out, giving Ken a little bit more of a part in the story! And Will is gonna get more annoying as time goes on, just a warning for you! D:

Today is my birthday, so I might not be active much, but I will get the next chapter out as soon as I can!

 Until then, I hope you guys have a good day, and I will see you all soon!! :D