Art class; Noren NCT

❀•Two•❀

Once the lesson had finished Renjun stayed back a while to clean up his workspace. He made his way over to the sinks to wash off the rainbow of paint splatters on his hands.
His painting wasn't going as well as he hoped it would. And from the back of the class he had full view of everyone else's work, mostly Jeno's.

Jeno had gotten so much better at painting since last year and Renjun suddenly felt a wave of competition wash over him.

Once the classroom was empty he picked up his satchel and wandered over to Jeno's canvas. A spread of morning glory flowers covered the white surface. The painting wasn't complete but it was already so much better than Renjun's.

With a small sigh the brunette leaves the classroom and heads over to the dance practice rooms.
The whole walk there he was already planning what he had to do to improve his work. More shading, sharper edges, softer edges, brighter pigment, build texture. So many things he could do to improve, no wonder Jeno's work was better.

Once he reached the practice rooms he could hear the faint thud of music coming from the other side of the door. He knocks once (although he's not sure anyone heard) and pushes on the handle.

The two boys that were messing around in the middle of the room look up over at the door. "Are you ready?" Renjun asks leaning on the handle a little to keep the heavy door from closing.

"Yup!" The blonde boy grabs his backpack before jogging over to his friend.
"Bye Sicheng hyung, see you tomorrow" he yells earning a wave from the tall skinny boy he was with moments before.

"Was dance good?" Renjun asks as the two boys make their way to the music department which was only around the corner since the arts subjects were placed together.

"Yeah, how was art class?" Jisung questions as he ties his jacket around his waist and downs almost a full bottle of water.

"It was...fine" the older boy replies with a small nod.

As they approach the music rooms they see a boy with wavy blonde hair with his eyes glued to his phone. Once he heard the footsteps he quickly pocketed the device and moved away from the wall.
"Yah where have you been! I've been waiting here for ages!" Chenle yells as he falls into step with his friends.

"Sorry, I helped my teacher clean the art room" Renjun half lied, giving the younger boy a small smile.

"Your too nice Renjun, why can't you be like everyone else and run out of the room as soon as the bell rings?" He says crossing his arms as they head for the cafeteria.

"Sorry I'll keep that in mind for next time".

•••••

All three boys sit down at their usual table and begin eating. Renjun started to tuck into a bright red apple when he's stopped.
"Hyung, your covered in paint" jisung says pointing at his hand. Renjun's brown orbs move to his hand. He holds it out slightly, examining the blotches of pink paint that he had missed when washing his hands.

With a shrug he takes a big bit out of the apple. "Oh well".

"Oh no, everyone look down" Chenle whispers turning his face down towards the table.
"What why?" Jisung asks looking down anyway.

'It's jaemin' he mouths which causes Renjun's eyes to widen slightly and he instantly turns to look the other way.

"Hey Renjun! I saw your painting today, I swear you get better and better every day" the boy beams and he approaches the table.

"Aha thank you Jaemin that's very kind" the older boy replies with a smile.

"I think your even better than Jeno, don't tell him I told you that he'll kill me" He laughs slightly and scratches the back of his neck.

Before Renjun can even process Jaemin's words he's being whisked away.
"Na Jaemin! How many times have I told you not to harass children!" The boy had dark hair and looked a little older.

"Mark, they're the same age" Jaemin whispers trying to pry the older boys hand off of his arm.

"No we're not" Chenle says as he stuffs rice into his mouth earning a whack on the arm from Jisung.

Jaemin let out a small sigh before giving Renjun another smile "I'm sorry if I annoyed you, I didn't intend to do that" he gives the three boys a bow before ripping his arm free from Marks grip and walking off.

"If he bothers you again just tell him to leave you alone, don't let the smile fool you, he's not as innocent as he lets on" Mark explains.

Renjun shakes his head "no honestly, I don't mind, he means well" he says with a smile whilst the two younger boys gape at him in shock.

Mark just nods before walking off in the same direction of Jaemin.

"What the heck hyung, Jaemin is totally weird! Don't stick up for him" Chenle hisses earning a nod of agreement from the other blonde boy.

"I feel a little sorry for him honestly. He's never done anything bad to me so I don't know why I should treat him like he has" Renjun shrugs taking another bite of his apple.

The two younger boys give each other a look before continuing with their food.

Renjun kept thinking about what Jaemin had said to him. 'I think your even better than Jeno' did he really mean that, or did he just say it because he fancied the pants off Renjun. Either way it made the brunette feel a little better about his art work. Maybe he was better than Jeno and he needed to stop being so harsh on himself.

"What are you smiling at?" Jisung asked around a mouthful of food.

"Oh, uh nothing" the older boy replied quickly, picking up his water bottle and taking a big sip so that it would hide his smile.

He was definitely better than Jeno.