𝗮𝗿𝗺'𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵; norenmin

~twenty three~

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"Okay, so is there like, any particular rules surrounding a sleepover?" Jeno enquired on Friday morning while Jaemin waited beside his locker as the older prepared his books for the day.

'Not really,' the blonde wrote on his phone, 'Except that you stay up seriously late and have to be open to suggestion.'

"What's that supposed to mean?"

'Some great advice and terrible advice can get shared at these sorts of things. Friends open up when they've gotten to the point of sleeping in the same room.'

"Well, I won't struggle with that anymore," the brunette sighed, closing his locker door gently, "You and Renjun already know my secrets."

Jaemin smiled warmly at him, imagining staying with him for more than a sleepover. Going to sleep every night in the same house, and waking up every morning to eat with him. He was sure Renjun felt the same.

"Hey," the older waved his hand in front of the blonde's face, "Did you hear me?"

'Sorry, I spaced out. What was that?"

"I asked what your family is like. Are they nice?"

'Really nice. No siblings though, because my parents weren't up for another one once I went mute....'

"How old were you when you stopped talking?"

'Eight. Honestly, I promise I will tell you all about this another time. It's just making my skin crawl right now.'

"Sorry."

'Don't be.'

The pair stood for a moment, sort of just staring at each other. In reality, Jeno wanted to lean in and give Jaemin a hug, but he wasn't very affectionate by nature. He knew Jaemin probably wanted a hug or any form of physical affection, but the brunette wasn't quite on level with Renjun, and didn't have the willpower to invade someone else's space as well as letting them in his own so willingly.

Once both were ready, they trailed down the staircase to get to the canteen. While walking with Jaemin, it was easier for Jeno to be left to his thoughts due to the quiet. Neither minded the comfortable silence they often found themselves in.

The warm weather poured in through the open windows of the huge dining hall. Both teens entered and felt the warmth of the sun being magnified by the glass.

As usual, Renjun was sitting with Haechan and a group of others, so Jaemin and Jeno found a small table against a window to chat at for the morning. Neither were particularly bothered by Renjun's popularity, and understood that he had a life before they had all found each other.

But inside, Jaemin really wanted to pull the Chinese male aside and tell him the good news. He couldn't exactly inform Jeno of their carefully thought out plan.

The blonde watched as the older looked out the window, perfectly unaware of how beautiful he was. He watched his features that were illuminated by the sun and subtly took a picture on his phone. It was definitely an image he wanted to paint.

..........

At lunchtime while Jeno had went away to use the bathroom, Renjun and Jaemin had been left with the perfect opportunity to talk.

"My parents said 'yes'," Renjun signed excitedly, "It was a long battle, but they knew my brother would look after me and they aren't even around all that often."

Jaemin smirked, clapping his hands in victory. "My parents said 'yes' as well. It's always easier to ask my mum who can then talk it out with my dad. But this means we're good to go right? We can live with him?"

"Initially, we've worked out those issues. But Jeno still has to agree, remember? I don't know about you, but I'm not up for kidnapping our friend."

Jaemin laughed, quickly covering his mouth once he realised he had released his voice again. Renjun held his hand softly from across the table, rubbing circles into the back of it with his thumb.

"Your voice is nice....I wish you'd talk to us."

Jaemin looked away, chewing his lower lip and sighing defeatedly. Laughter was the one part of his voice along with crying that he couldn't control. It just came out.....but words didn't.

He placed his other hand on top of Renjun's, so that all four hands were laced together in the centre. He knew the older was looking out for him, and he hated that he couldn't even muster a simple 'thank you'.

As they sat there quietly, Jeno wandered into the canteen again and shuffled over to their table. He frowned upon noticing the pair's intertwined hands, blinking a few times since he thought his vision was deceiving him.

But every time he viewed the scene, he saw them holding hands. Am I missing something? He thought to himself, taking a tentative step backwards for some reason.

It irked him. The whole picture of them looking at each other that way and engaging in long lasting physical contact bothered him deeply. A part of the brunette wanted to go over and yank their hands apart, and another part of him wanted to run out of the room and try not to let the sinking feeling inside get to him.

But the latter won out, and he walked briskly towards the exit and towards his locker.

The second floor hallway was empty, since most teens either sat outside or in the canteen. Jeno slid his back down his locker and landed on the cold ground swiftly.

He couldn't get what he had just seen out of his head, and the feeling that he was about to interrupt something was like a punch to the stomach.

Do they even want me there? He questioned himself, throwing his head back against the metal door behind him and hearing the loud thud.

Never in his seventeen years of living had he felt this way before.

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