shot clock || na jaemin (the court series #1)

quarter one: minute eight

jaemin currently had a tied up best friend, his estranged sister, three batteries, and sixteen thousand won in his car. jaemin's had some pretty funky things in his car (midnight junk food trips with haechan could get a little rowdy), but this was a new low, even in his books.

"mmph!" jeno screeches from the backseat, eyes red with mock fury. he's tied up in a very amateur and jaemin and jeno both know he could get out of his binds in half a second if he really wanted to. but he decided to amuse jaemin for the time being (it could have to do with the fact that his sister had been the one to tie him up), sitting in the backseat with duct tape over his mouth.

"sorry jeno! i had to do what i had to do," serena begins, fiddling with the seatbelt before turning around to take the duct tape off of her brother's mouth, slapping it back on when she makes up her mind on what she was going to say. "but i need you to promise to be calm when i tell you this, okay?"

jeno pauses at that. his eyes narrow in real anger now, seemingly not wanting to play along any longer. serena visibly gulps, and jaemin would laugh at her frightened expression if he wasn't halfway to pissing his pants himself.

they pull off of the highway onto an exit which would lead them to their destination: a large wooded picnic area that the boys on the basketball team liked to frequent whenever they felt like hanging out - team bonding, of sorts. 

"uh, jaemin, you want to tell him?" serena deflects, giggling nervously. jaemin's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. jeno turns his anger to jaemin, seething furiously. 

"what the fuck? no way! i'm just here because i owe you. i have jack shit to do with this," jaemin spits out, checking the rearview mirror to see that jisung and renjun were still following him. he had had a feeling that in the case that something went wrong (which it most definitely would), he would have backup. serena sighs, drawing her lower lip between her teeth.

"jeno...uh, well. um. i'mkindagoingtotakeyoutotalktomom." if he could, jaemin would launch himself out of this car right now. he didn't sign up for this. this was not what he was supposed to be doing on a sunday night.

he'd almost backed-out too. but then mr. park had handed him a good-luck BLT sandwich and jaemin had fucking taken it. 

this is what you get, jaemin chides himself. this is what you get for being a gluttonous pig.

jeno goes completely still. he slowly and deliberately takes apart each bind of the rope surrounding him, and rips off the duct tape just in time for jaemin to pull up to independence park (the picnic area's name), right behind a white lexus. a very park white lexus. 

"jaemin, take me back home," jeno says very quietly. his voice is steady and low, and jaemin knows that tone of voice to dictate that not complying would mean he gets his ass kicked by jeno. but complying means that he would be going against the trust that mr. and mrs. park have placed in him - not to mention the fact that serena would probably skin him alive in the next practice.

so he parks the car. jeno doesn't move an inch but his eyes flash with betrayal, raw anger coursing through his veins.

"i'm sorry, jeno. if i had a choice, i wouldn't have even brought you here, trust me," jaemin says indignantly, ignoring the glare that serena shoots at him. jaemin's sure he's got a talent for pissing off the lee's. he was able to piss off both siblings within less than twenty seconds. that's gotta be some sort of world record.

"but you do have a choice. and if you don't take me home right now, i swear to fucking god, i will never speak to you again." the words hang heavy in the cold air and jaemin is stuck between a rock and a hard place. there was no way jeno would actually stop talking to him because of this, right?

he would. he even cut his own sister out of his life because of mrs. park; there was no way jaemin would be any different. assuming so would be pure idiocy. 

he meets the eyes of mrs. park, who's standing outside with a box of glazed doughnuts and a bottle of sprite. it's almost sad, the way she's standing there, clearly cold because of the april winds and her flimsy dress, with curious eyes and a fake bright smile masking her nervousness.

she gives him a hopeful smile and jaemin heart nearly breaks. he exchanges one look with serena, and both of them know what jaemin is going to choose. she's mad, upset, and blinded by love for her mother as of right now, so she refuses to say anything, knowing that she would regret it if she would. her nails dig into the palms of her hands, drawing blood.

"i'll go." and with that, serena gets out of the car to wrap her arms around her mother. jaemin says nothing, starting the car and reversing the car to leave independence grove. renjun starts the car behind him, following suit. 

and no one needs to say a single word to know that jaemin had made the right choice.

they're driving down the highway, almost nearing the exit that would take them home, when it suddenly starts to rain, pouring heavily. and it's as if a switch has been flipped.

jeno's entire body wracks with angry sobs and jaemin doesn't know what to do beside pull over to the side of the highway. he steps out of the car and opens the door the backseat, allowing the both of them to get soaked in the pouring rain. jaemin wraps his arms around jeno, and jeno just lets him. 

jaemin realizes jisung and renjun have also pulled over and are running towards the both of them, concerned and worried out of their minds. the three of them huddle around jeno, not sure what else to do.

the boy who was always so strong and so resilient was here in front of them, broken down and hurting in raw anguish. 

all they can do is hold on and hope that the rain passes. 

+++

a/n: jeno didn't meet his mom :(( do you think he's justified in his reaction? should he have given his mother a chance? this is one of the most important chapters of the entire book! what do we think? that wraps up the first quarter of the book!

in the second quarter, there's going to be a lot more progress in terms of many of the plot points introduced in the first quarter so i hope y'all are excited! let me know what you guys think!