Spawn ✦ Nomin

23

Jaemin sits alone at a table in the middle of a small pizza shop. He scans his eyes over the same line in his textbook for the third time. Though he tries hard to focus, he can't. It doesn't stick. He sighs in defeat and shuts his book. He lights up his phone and checks the time. 10:26. Had he really been studying that long?

Jaemin had been doing homework in his school's library until about seven. Reluctant to go home and feeling hungry, he decided to stop at the nearest restaurant he could find and finish studying there. He never intended to stay three hours there.

"We're closing up shop soon," a man announces politely to Jaemin from behind the counter, wiping his hands on a white towel.

"Oh okay," he mumbles hurriedly, shaking his head out of his tired trance. He shoves his things into his rucksack in a haste and zips it up. He lugs it over his shoulder and picks up his empty plate with dirtied napkins piled on top. He rushes over to the bin and tosses it away before nodding to the man behind the counter.

"Have a good night," he calls out.

"You too. Stay safe out there," says the man before Jaemin promptly exits the pizza shop.

The cold night air causes him to shudder at the drastic temperature drop. He curls into himself, wrapping his arms securely around his torso.

His feet begin moving on their own, leading him without Jaemin even really thinking about where it was he was headed. As he thinks about this, he realizes he doesn't want to go home. He wishes to stay at Renjun's house for a while, but his parents surely wouldn't be okay with an unexpected guest in their home. Jeno briefly pops into his head, but the idea of going to him is quickly dismissed. It was surely a bad idea to disturb him at this time of night. Besides, he hadn't heard from him in almost two days. He determines that if Jeno has more important things to attend to, it's not worth bugging him. He has no choice but to go home.

But home is much further than both of those options.

He lets out a deep breath, attempting to alleviate his pressing anxiousness. He continues onward and tries to focus on how much more studying he needed to get in before his exams. It nearly works until he hears the sound of soft, casual-paced footsteps walking at a distance behind him. He becomes hyperaware of them and feels his stomach sink.

Jaemin picks up his pace, but the footsteps behind him adjust as well, breaking into a brisk walk. Jaemin looks over his shoulder to see who was following him, but just as he does, the footsteps cease. There's not a soul in sight around the dimly lit street.

Jaemin stops in his tracks and furrows his eyebrows. He begins to wonder if maybe he imagined hearing footsteps when there were none. He must truly be tired if he did. And he was clearly too paranoid with being out at night.

The sudden sensation of a firm hand being placed on Jaemin's shoulder causes him to shriek in terror. He spins around to find a boy in all black standing before him.

"You fucking dick! You made me almost have a heart attack!" he yells, slamming the palms of his hands hard into the boy's chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Jeno replies in a serious voice.

"How the fuck did you know where I was?" Jaemin questions.

"I didn't," Jeno informs him, "But I'm glad I found you."

"Why? What the fuck do you want?" Jaemin hisses as he places his hand over his racing heart and takes heaved breaths.

"I wanted to give you something," Jeno informs him as he pulls a small black velvet box from his hoodie pocket and faces it towards Jaemin.

"What the hell is that?" he asks.

"An upgrade," Jeno states as he opens the box to reveal a shining silver ring. In the centre is a blue star formed by several aquamarine coloured gems.

Jaemin gawks at the beautiful ring in utter disbelief before his eyes flicker back up to Jeno.

"You ghost me for the past several days, then randomly appear out of nowhere just to give me a ring? The fuck's wrong with you?" Jaemin grunts. Jeno rolls his eyes and takes the ring out of the box. He reaches out and grabs Jaemin's left hand, slipping the ring onto his ring finger.

Jaemin takes notice of Jeno's very similar ring on his finger, but instead of a blue star, it was a red crescent moon made up of rubies.

"There. Now you don't have to worry about that cheap piece of shit plastic breaking," Jeno states as he admires the look of the ring on Jaemin's hand.

"Buying me things isn't going to make up for-"

"I know," Jeno cuts him off, "I didn't expect it to. But for now, I'm done with being busy doing work for my father. I..."

Jeno's voice quickly trails off and the attention he had on Jaemin was redirected to somewhere behind him. His expression hardens as he stares intently into the distance. His hold on Jaemin's hand turns into a death grip, causing him to feel as if Jeno was about to crush every bone in it.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" Jaemin snaps.

"We need to get you home. It's not safe being out at night," Jeno explains as he tugs on Jaemin's hand to lead him away.

"I thought the only reason it was quote-unquote dangerous was because people think it's when you're more likely to be out and about trying to kill people," Jaemin blurts out.

"No, not me. But I fear some of the other predators that lurk at night," Jeno states as he drags Jaemin along down the dark street, "Well, not personally fear. I'm not afraid. But I'm afraid for you."

"You're afraid for me?" Jaemin asks in a much softer tone.

"Yeah...in a way..." Jeno mumbles.

"How sweet," Jaemin coos, earning a groan of disgust from the older boy.

"No, not sweet. You're literally asking to get yourself seriously hurt," Jeno lectures him.

"You didn't care before," Jaemin points out.

"Are you gonna keep running your mouth or can we start running so you get home faster?" Jeno mutters.

"Do I have a choice?" he inquires with a sigh.

"No," Jeno responds.

"That's what I thought," Jaemin groans.

And just like that, the two boys were off, speeding down the streets hand in hand. Although Jaemin still didn't want to go home, he feels a sort of heaviness raise off of him with Jeno beside him. Granted, he would only walk him home, but he found his temporary company oddly comforting. At least he wouldn't be wandering home alone.