Head Down

◤thirty eight◢

"Let's break up."

Wide eyes follow his statement, three pairs boring right into him.

"Son of a—"

"You don't mean that," Jaemin answers softly, but the uncertainty behind his words was impossible to hide. "What's up, Jen?" He continues, trying to smile his softest, the smile Jeno told him he loves.

"I'm breaking up with you." Jeno restates, a bit firmer this time.

Mark sees red.

It happens so fast, within a blink of an eye, and Mark's knuckles are red and Jeno's cheek is bruised. Their breaths are both laboured, and Donghyuck is tending to Mark's hand, while Jaemin is so overwhelmed.

"Oh Jeno," he gasps, quick to hold Jeno's head in his hands, to bring him back to eye level.

But it breaks his heart, when Jeno doesn't do anything to fight back with Mark, to hit him back. His gaze is stoic and his facial expression is empty. Just looking at him, you wouldn't be able to tell he just got punched in the face.

Almost like he thinks he deserves it.

And his Jeno, Jaemin's Jeno, doesn't deserve to be hurt.

Jeno brushes Jaemin's hands off of him, and Donghyuck has to hug Mark in order to make sure the latter doesn't do anything again. Despite having an overwhelming amount of hatred for Jeno in present time, he is still Donghyuck's stepbrother.

"Donghyuck, I swear—"

"I know," Donghyuck hisses back, just as much anger in his voice as there is in Mark's. "But shut the fuck up Mark, you don't need to get involved. Not yet."

"Jen baby, talk to me," Jaemin pleads, seeming to lose the collected front he'd been putting up. "What's wrong, hm? I love you, Jeno."

"You said you'd give me anything I wanted," Jeno says, staring right into Jaemin's eyes as he speaks. "There's just one thing I want."

"Yeah? Anything, Jeno. I'll give you anything."

Mark feels tears prick at his eyes.

He knows where this is going.

He knows what Jeno is going to say, and his best friend, Na Jaemin, is going to be broken beyond repair. The only person who's ever stuck next to Mark since day one, he won't be there anymore. Not after Jeno says what he wants.

"I want to break up."

Jaemin sobs.

"Na Jaemin..." Donghyuck whispers, gritting out the name as he watches the painful scene in front of him. I told you you're the best thing that's ever happened to Jeno. "Don't let him go."

"R-Really? What you really want Jeno?"

"Yes."

Jaemin's tears seem to be never ending. 

"O-Okay. Let's break up." Jaemin finally stutters out, wincing as the words leave his mouth.

"Oh my God," Mark whimpers, feeling his vision cloud with tears, feels them drip past his eyes and onto his cheeks. Also feels Donghyuck hug him tighter.

There's an uncomfortably long silence that follows, filled with Jaemin's hiccups, and him desperately trying to silence himself in front of his now ex boyfriend. Jeno is simply staring at the younger, gaze unwavering.

Suddenly, Jeno brings one hand up and under Jaemin's chin, not reacting to the wetness from his tears. He tips the slightly shorter's head up, making sure they both hold eye contact. He takes one step forward and it hurts Jaemin so much.

"Stop crying. You're too pretty."

With that he leaves, walks away into school, back turned to Jaemin when the latter collapses, sobs wracking through his body, too exhausted to hold himself up.

Mark and Donghyuck are immediately at his side, engulfing him in their arms as he shakes and shakes.

"My Jeno," Jaemin cries. "My Jeno loves pretty, loves pretty so, so much."

"Shh," Donghyuck shushes, tucking Jaemin's head into the crook of his neck, feeling his own eyes prick with tears because of how broken Jaemin sounds. "Don't talk, okay? Just breathe Nana."

"It hurts," Jaemin sobs, putting all his weight onto Donghyuck's body.

Donghyuck settles on one thing.

He hates Jeno.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Is he out of his mind?" Mark hisses, eyes practically black as he shuts the door to Jaemin's bedroom. "He's not getting away with this." He continues pacing around Jaemin's living room, thankful his parents aren't home, running his fingers through his hair.

Donghyuck pops up in front of him, immediately putting his hands on Mark's shoulders.

"Look at it this way." he starts. "He is out of his mind, he's Lee Jeno. He's having a mental break, I think."

"Does that let him take it out on Jaemin? No."

"I know that," Donghyuck sighs. "But let's have a bit of sympathy? He's going through something, isn't that obvious?"

"Donghyuck, I can't have sympathy for Jeno when he just stepped all over Jaemin's heart, in front of him." Mark explains, agitated.

"We don't even know his side—"

"He's an asshole."

"Agreeable, but, there's two sides to every story. What if there's a serious issue? We're so quick to abandon Jeno."

"Are you trying to say that it's Jaemin's fault?" Mark asks skeptically, pulling an eyebrow up.

"Never," the younger answers easily. He runs his thumb over Mark's eyebrows, patting his cheek twice after. "I'm saying we don't know who's fault it is. Their break up came out of left field, even Jaemin doesn't know why they broke up."

"I guess," Mark mumbles, feeling his shoulders deflate as he lets out a sigh. "I'm still mad."

"I am too, Markie, don't worry about it. For now, we let Jaemin rest, we let Jeno cool off, and we make out."

"How does us making out help the situation?" Mark asks amusingly, nonetheless snaking his arms around Donghyuck's waist.

He's wearing a green crop top, and the feeling of Mark's hands on his bare skin is ticklish. He giggles as he jumps up and wraps his legs around the older boy's waist, arms around his neck.

"Not much. You're just handsome." Donghyuck whispers against Mark's lips.

And well.

You know how it goes from there.