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(A/N: Get ready for some length. Meaning a long AF Chapter.)

Chapter 9: Heat

"Vital Signs are incredibly important in regards to treating a patient." She explained, pointing to the photo that was being projected behind her. "Chances are that if you go into any type of nursing, you will have to look at vital signs. That is why the sooner you can become comfortable with checking these, the better."

Mark nodded, pen moving quickly over his notebook as he took notes. Mason took a fleeting glance over at Mark but wasn't able to really take in the sight before he got back to his own notes.

"Now, I am going to go over the main vital signs and go into detail with the ones we are going to be practicing today." Mrs. Adams warned, clicking to the next slide in her presentation. "If I were you, I would take some notes so you don't forget when you have to do it on your partner."

The hardy chuckle she let out was hesitantly returned, most of the people in front of her genuinely worried about their partner or themselves.

Mason and Mark shared a look, but the bright smile Mark sent Mason's way seemed to ease any nerves Mason had before they even started.

Today, the students were learning about vital signs. While some were nervous, it was easy to feel the general excitement in the room. Vital signs as Lorraine had said before, were very important to medical professionals.

Not only that, but these could be practiced outside of class and perfected before any of them went into school. Mason was especially excited to practice some of the techniques on his friends once they hung out again.

Lorraine went through her presentation, focusing the most on Blood Pressure and Temperature. Mark quickly realized that he and Mason would be practicing those two today and got a little nervous.

He had heard from others who had tried taking Blood Pressure before how challenging mastering the sphygmomanometer and stethoscope could be. Mark looked over at Mason again, smiling when he saw how excited and interested Mason seemed to be.

It can't be that bad. Mark thought optimistically, a soft smile on his face as he went back to his notes. The presentation went on for a while, and many began to lose steam. Gabe, one who was very disinterested in becoming a nurse anyway, had begun sleeping within 15 minutes.

Left and right some began to fall into a daze or fall asleep. Mason did not notice any of it while Mark chuckled under his breath at the sight.

Lorraine looked down at the crowd again noticing how many of them were asleep and sighed with a warm smile before she finished up her presentation.

She stepped down from the stage and gestured for the few employees who had been sitting at tables at the front to start handing out the supplies in front of them.

"I guess we should just hop straight into the practice since so many of you decided to nap over the details." The laughs that came from Lorraine and those who had stayed awake woke every person who had been napping in the room.

One of Lorraine's employee's heads shot up at the sound and the girl quickly stood up and began passing around the small packages in front of her.

Mark and Mason sat up straighter, excited to start the practice. Mason was especially excited to have another excuse to touch Mark. As a guy who has held an unrequited crush for so long, opportunities for skin to skin contact were always coveted, so he was pumped for this.

Pining after Mark for so long, while always believing that he could never have him was a confusing experience. His mind and heart worked together to hurt him just as easily as they worked against each other to confuse him. Mason was constantly caught between being realistic and trying to give his heart to someone who would give him theirs or to end the cycle and try to move past friendship with Mark.

No matter what he chose for the moment, he always found himself falling back into his old habits and never changing anything. And that happened when he spoke to Mark alone again after so long, the feeling of comfort, home, and love making him never want to change what they had. Or, when Mark would touch him in any way possible. The tingles and rush of excitement would take Mason back to when he first realized he liked him, and Mason would lose his resolve to move on or move forward.

Mason was pulled from his thoughts when the two were handed a few different devices that were used to take temperature, and a sphygmomanometer and stethoscope.

Seeing the devices in person —some being cheaper versions than what they might use in the field— had Mark a bit nervous all over again. He saw few ways for him to hurt or injure Mason, but he still feared that messing up would suddenly have some dire consequences.

Mason was just a bundle of excitement and itched to hear the instructions so he could get his hands on the stuff in front of them.

"Alright, we are going to start with the small strip of material with the numerated squares on it." Lorraine announced, watching as those in the crowd in front of her began to pull out the two pieces. "This is one of the simplest ways of getting someone's temperature out there. It is pretty accurate but most nurses use a more technologically advanced version. One: for the accuracy and two: so they are taken more seriously."

Lorraine grinned when the students laughed in front of her.

"If you are in a pinch and need someone's temperature, these aren't bad." Lorraine added before she quickly explained how to use the small and simple items. "You can just stick it on your forehead, hopefully not having enough oil or makeup on there that it slips off, and wait for about 60 seconds. Wherever the blue shows up is what your temperature is."

This continued on for about half an hour. Lorraine would explain one method for temperature and Mason and Mark would follow along. The two both thought that they would have been the most diligent students, solely focused on their tasks and getting the most accurate temperature possible each and every time.

But, within minutes the two were joking around as they worked, laughing about how silly the other looked or about whatever nonsense they happened to see around before they met that day.

The two received several nasty looks from others who heard them joking and fooling around. Even Lorraine noticed as she walked around the room, but she never put a stop to it as she saw how many readings they had written down. They were doing their work, so she had no issue. At some point, Mason noticed a particular girl who kept looking over at the two with her nose pointed up and her top lip curled.

Mason's eyes narrowed, insulted by her disgusted look, and Mark looked between Mason and the girl, noticing their interaction.

"I don't know why she's laughing. She was sleeping like half an hour ago." Mark commented lowly, grinning when Mason chuckled quietly in response. "She probably doesn't know whether we're doing temperature or pulse."

Mason began to laugh louder while shaking his head.

"That was weak, man." He sighed, despite still laughing at the bad joke. Mark shrugged, smiling without much remorse.

"It got you laughing, didn't it?" Mark replied cheekily. Mason wanted to come back with another response, but he didn't have one. So, he turned his attention back to joking about the girl and getting Mark's temperature with the temporal thermometer.

"I was just laughing imagining her wrinkled lip sleeping." Mason told Mark, laughing along when Mark let out a sudden surprised bark of a laugh.

"Oh my god." Mark gasped out, hand moving to rest on Mason's knee. "I can actually see that."

Mason quickly got Mark's temperature, noting the number, before he placed the tools down. When he turned back around, Mark was laying back in his chair as if he were asleep, but his nose was pointed up and his top lip was curled ridiculously.

Mason had to cover his mouth to make sure that his laughter didn't get too loud.

"Oh my goodness, stop." Mason gasped out, his laughter now sounding like air because Mark was pretending to snore with that disgusting expression on his face. Mark sat up, laughing behind his hand.

His laughter seemed to die down on its own, replaced by a smile as his eyes looked intently at the light and happy expression on Mason's face. It was near breathtaking to watch, and he had to regularly remember to breathe.

It was odd for Mark, because moments like this have happened to him before, but they were always around Mason. Mark would think that things were normal when suddenly his whole world was focused on Mason for several minutes before he came back to himself again. It had started in middle school, but Mark knew that Mason was his best friend and nothing could change that.

Why then was he finding it hard to breathe because all he could see was the bright smile on Mason's face? Why did his chest get tight and his palms feel clammy just because Mason's big brown eyes found him in a room? And why did he get tunnel vision every time that sweet pink blush popped onto Mason's cheeks?

Mason was a special friend to Mark. And until he figured out why, he would make sure the boy was always smiling when around him.

Mason finally sobered up, but by then Mark was prepping their tools because Lorraine announced that, if everyone was finished, they would move on to blood pressure.

Mark locked away any nerves he had, knowing that the last thing he wanted to do was take away that light mood Mason had by showing his nerves. Mason had a smile on his face the entire time that he and Mark quietly listened to the instructions and organized the tools.

After ten minutes, the two were trying to get a good handle on getting each other's blood pressure. Mason had gone first, messing up the placement several times and later having trouble with the tightness.

But Mark was patient all throughout, and Mason felt little embarrassment because Mark continued to smile at him no matter what he did. He finally got the hang of checking for the systolic and diastolic visually so he gave the stuff to Mark to let him have his turn.

Mason was actually surprised. Mark, who was usually the most calm and composed guy that he knew, had his hands shaking as he tried to get Mason's blood pressure. If you simply looked at his face, he looked calm and collected like always, but his hands were shaking and he was muttering to himself through everything he did.

" . . . one inch above the brachial artery, the arrow pointing to the center of the elbow." He would mutter to himself as he adjusted the strap of the sphygmomanometer. Mason was getting a bit uncomfortable, but even more than that, he was worried about Mark. "Do not wrap the strap too tight or you will put the patient in discomfort, but not too loose or you won't get the reading. Test tightness using your . . . "

Mark carried on like this until it was time for him to pump air into the strap, but he was fumbling with the device so much that he couldn't even get one squeeze in. Mason finally had enough and rested his hand on Mark's.

"Hey, Mark, calm down." Mason whispered, head lowered to Mark's ear. "It's fine to mess up and not be perfect. It's fine to make it too loose or too tight or even hurt me a bit. Just don't be so wound up about it. No one is asking you to be perfect, alright? I'm the last person that wants you to be 'perfect.'"

Mason moved back from the side of Mark's face to find Mark staring at him with wide eyes and an awe-filled expression. Mason giggled softly.

"A perfect guy would never have made that weak joke." That comment got a grin on Mark's face again, and Mark sighed heavily when he realized that fact.

"Thank you." He told Mason lowly, still a bit embarrassed over needing the pep talk in the first place. Mason shrugged with a small smile.

"No problem." Mason said nonchalantly. "It's what friends do, right?"

Mason regretted the comment almost as soon as he had made it. It caused an odd feeling to rest at the bottom of his stomach, and a tenseness fell between him and Mark. Mark got back to work, his hands still shook slightly but it was much less than before and he stopped muttering the instructions to himself.

It took Mark a few tries to get it right, but overall he was able to get comfortable faster than Mason. Mason, still worried that Mark might tense up again at any moment, let Mark move onto listening with the stethoscope and writing down the official numbers. Mark felt more nerves but with the confidence from having gotten down the hardest part, he felt more comfortable to jump right into it.

It took him less than ten minutes to get the final number and two practice readings, and after he had finished, the tension literally fell off of his shoulders.

"Oh thank God." Mark had whispered, gaining a cute chuckle from Mason that Mark certainly heard. Now that Mark's job was over, he began to make a few jokes with Mason again.

It was probably the least helpful thing he could have done since Mason needed the silence and time to focus, but Mason never complained. He enjoyed Mark's jokes way too much to complain. It took Mason a bit of time, but he was finally able to get a number on Mark.

"I can hear something! Finally! That took me forever, no thanks to you." Mason grinned, complaining about Mark half-heartedly. Mark could tell that Mason wasn't really upset, but he still felt guilty over it. Seeing this, Mason quickly blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, to make it up to me, you're gonna let me try a few extra times on you. I'm gonna need all the practice I can get."

"Alright. I guess it's the least I can do." Mark tried to play it off as if he didn't care, but Mason noticed how the smile slowly came back on to his face. "So, nurse Mason. Is my Blood Pressure okay? Or is it just too high from being around you?"

Mason sputtered out a laugh while his face grew red. Mark started to laugh at his embarrassment and Mason's shocked smile turned into a deep pout.

"Stop that, how in the world am I going to get it if you stay gross stuff like that?" Mason asked him, using his free hand to cover his overly warm face. Mark's smile dropped and his face turned serious.

"I didn't think it was gross." He said seriously. Mason was taken aback until Mark burst into laughter again. Mason huffed, hitting Mark on the shoulder before he went back to mastering the act of taking blood pressure.

Mark became a bit easier to deal with once Mason was in the middle of taking it, probably aware of the fact that Mason needed silence to get it. Mason was feeling confident at this point. He had three readings that were all almost the same number. He guessed that he was probably on Mark's actual blood pressure and had gotten it right.

Mason unwrapped the strap, not wanting to irritate or squeeze Mark's arm too much, allowing his arm a little break. The two talked and, like always, laughed a bit while Mason gave Mark's arm a break.

"Do you want to switch to my other arm?" Mark asked, noticing how Mason was still eyeing his right arm as if it were an injured bird.

"Uh, maybe. If your right arm is too uncomfortable." Mason responded, eyes glued to Mark's arm. He swore that it looked redder than his left arm. "I don't have any problem with-"

Mason cut himself off when weight was suddenly thrown across his back, and arms were wrapped around his neck. He was not unaccustomed to such greetings, he had picked it up himself after being friends with the Tyler family for so long (aka Mark, Jasmine, and their siblings), but was curious as to who would do it in this setting. It all made sense when blonde hair started falling into his eyes.

"Have you missed me, babe?" Gabe asked Mason, his puppy dog eyes paired with his pout only making Mason laugh. Mason nodded his head, smiling up at the guy only inches away from his face.

"I sure did. I have been dying to see your messy, dirty hair and permanently dishevelled clothes." Mason told the man, grinning when he snapped back and clutched his chest as if shot.

"Ugh, that hurt, baby." Gabe complained, rubbing at his chest while wincing. "I really didn't know that you hated me like that. I thought that we were together forever. Couple goals for life."

Gabe grinned as Mason giggled over his dumb words. Gabe threw his arm around Mason again, nuzzling his nose into the smaller man's neck only for Mason to swat him away. Mason sighed with a soft smile, turning back around to look at Gabe properly.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be practicing with your partner?" Mason asked, smiling with one of his cute eyebrows raised. Gabe looked away from the adorable little man, thinking of how he could make it sound not so bad while also seeming as if he didn't care.

"Well, he wanted to get some practice done on himself and I wanted to come and flirt with the cute little brown boy I've been eyeing all week." Gabe said, sending his perfect smile Mason's way.

Mason ignored the compliment, getting right to the point.

"You weren't doing any work, were you?" He asked bluntly. Gabe didn't even blink.

"I touched the thing once before realizing that I would never figure it out." Gabe admitted, shaking his head as he thought back to his experience less than half an hour prior. "Dealing with those thermometers was hard enough but this sphygo-gomo-momo-mommy thing is just ridiculous!"

Mason burst out into laughter after hearing Gabe try to pronounce sphygmomanometer, and was still laughing even as he began to set it up around Mark's left arm. Mason looked up at Mark's face for the first time in several minutes, frowning in confusion when he noted the blank expression that he wore.

Mason wasn't sure why it was there but tried not to dwell on it as he went to take Mark's blood pressure again.

Mason started the process of taking Mark's pressure, giggling quietly to himself at the flirty jokes Gabe continued to make. Mason then frowned in confusion when he heard the thump much sooner than usual. The diastolic pressure came faster as well.

Mason pulled the earpieces out of his ear quickly, writing down the new numbers in a rush before frowning when he compared them to his other ones.

"Mark, your blood pressure is higher than usual." Mason told him, seeing the surprise on Mark's face before a blush began to grow on his cheeks.

"D-don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing." Mark told Mason quickly, shooing away Mason's fretting hands from his arm.

"But, did I do something wrong? Did I make it too tight?" Mason began to ask, throwing all of his worries and questions at Mark in an instant. "Did I stress you out or something? Are you okay?"

Mark began to tear the equipment off himself, speaking to Mason gently to get him to calm down. Mason began to finally let the numbers go and pack everything up, so Mark sighed before looking up at Gabe.

Mark glared heatedly at the man, while he then started to look at Mark with a cheeky expression. Mason did not notice the exchange that would have explained the spike in numbers, and Mark quickly turned his attention back to his friend.

Mark would get that jerk out of Mason's life. He just had to figure out how.

———————————————

That is a long Chapter that will hopefully serve as an apology for updating like I used to back in 2017.

I wish I could be more remorseful and sad, but I am actually just excited for the upcoming Chapters so after I deal with IRL responsibilities, I want to come back and start working in Chapter 10.

Moving on . . .

What are your opinions on Gabe right now?

Like him or hate him?

Do you think that he is serious about Mason or not?

Guesses about what he thinks Mark's deal is?

And is Mark dense or what?

Anywhore,

Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, anything else you can do with this book and I will see you next Chapter.bye!!!👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾

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