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After school, Jaemin couldn't contain his excitement while guiding Renjun and Jeno towards his house. He, as well as Jeno, was within walking distance of the high school.
Renjun was quite overwhelmed as well, all that was occupying his mind being the plan. He wanted for it to work so desperately, losing sleep over thinking about the younger's health problems.
Jaemin seemed a little more pushy with getting him to agree, but if it worked, it worked. Without having parents, Jeno was definitely in no position to decline the offer.
"Here we are," the blonde finally stated with the digital voice, pointing up at the pretty big house sitting at the end of a substantial driveway.
"You didn't tell me your father was the president," Jeno gasped sarcastically, seeing the size and feeling extremely small and pointless compared to it.
"Ha ha, it's not that impressive," Jaemin beamed while fiddling with his device, then realised his mistake upon remembering where the older came from. But Jeno didn't seem to mind, so he didn't bother saying anything else.
"We should go inside. It's so warm out," Renjun complained, pushing Jaemin by the shoulders to go in first. Jeno hesitated, feeling out of place seeing the two privileged boys walk ahead so naturally.
The image of them holding hands at lunch also returned, making his stomach churn. They looked way better as a pair, than with some poor teenager who was probably going to follow his mother within the rest of the year.
Renjun turned around though, seeing that the brunette was holding back and standing around. With a frustrated sigh, he waltzed over and grabbed his wrist, tugging him along to the front door.
"First you disappear at lunch, and now you're already planning your next escape. Honestly, are we that terrible?" He chuckled curiously, hoping he was completely wrong and Jeno would correct him.
"N-no, you're not terrible. Neither of you are...."
"Then what's the problem?"
Jeno looked at Jaemin who was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and looking like a model in the sunlight.
"You both live in a different world to mine. I just didn't know how different until recently. I felt that by opening up to people and letting my background go for a while, I could step into the life everyone else around me lives. But it's way different than I thought."
"Not really," Renjun responded while stopping them both. "All this crap you're telling yourself about being different and not good enough is all stuff in your head. After tonight, you might find your life looking up a little."
"What's that supposed to me-"
"Come inside. My parents want to meet you both," Jaemin's phone cut Jeno off. The older two looked up at the mute and nodded in agreement, Jeno still being pulled into the house.
Once in the lobby, the youngest tapped his hand against a wall four times, signalling he was home. The trio could hear footsteps break out from upstairs, and soon two figures were descending the staircase.
An older woman with dark brown hair styled neatly into a bob came first, a warm smile gracing her features. Behind her was her husband, who didn't seem at all stern, more so having a gentle face with smile lines around his eyes and dark hair as well.
"Ah, welcome home Jaemin," his mother chirped, coming off the steps and wandering over to her son. The blonde signed to her a few words, and she signed back with a smile. Then, turning to the pair standing behind him, she nodded her head politely.
"Welcome boys, I'm Jaemin's mother. Guessing from looks alone, you must be Jeno," she pointed at the taller of them both.
Jeno nodded in return, forcing a tight lipped smile before saying, "That's me. It's nice to meet you." The other continued to examine him though, memorising all that Jaemin had said about him since she felt her son cared about him a lot.
Jaemin wasn't a particularly sentimental person, and wasn't extremely bothered by friends coming and going. But he also never talked about friends nearly as much as Renjun and Jeno.
"Then you're Renjun," she finally tilted her head to view the older.
"I am," the Chinese answered, and suddenly realised his hand was still firmly connected to Jeno's. Jaemin quickly squished in between them, yanking their hands apart and holding them separately in his own.
"Now that you've met them, can we go upstairs? I'm sure they want to get changed out of their uniforms," the youngest informed his parents using sign language.
"Of course," his mother agreed, "I'll stick dinner in the oven. Come down in about half an hour, okay?"
"Kay."
Before realising what was happening, the older two were being pulled up the staircase by Jaemin, and their eyes frantically looked around with wonder at the interior decor.
Everything was so pristine and neat, giving off a fragile feel to it. Jeno gripped the blonde's hand tighter, trying not to feel discouraged by the things he couldn't even dream of being surrounded by.
"Here's my room," Jaemin signed, finally stopping outside a white wooden door. "Wait one second so I can make sure I cleaned up this morning. I was in a rush."
Renjun started to relay the message to Jeno while the youngest quickly ducked inside, scanning the room and spotting nothing embarrassing or anything worth hiding. At first, he was about to turn and let them in before he smacked his forehead.
The painting, he thought to himself, racing over to the picture of Jeno he had started weeks ago and was still working on from memory. It was coming along nicely, but slowly. And something told him that Jeno would only feel overwhelmed if he saw it.
Sliding it gently and carefully into the walk in wardrobe, he shut the sliding door over and placed his hands in his hips. Art supplies were still scattered here and there, but nothing too dangerous.
"Okay guys, you can come in!" He typed out for the digital voice, watching as his door opened slowly. Renjun entered first, eyes trailing everywhere before landing on the host.
"I like it," he smiled, letting Jeno in behind him. The brunette's reaction was very much the same, and Jaemin wandered over to shut the door behind them.
