Apocalypse ✦ Nomin

41

Jeno and Jaemin weave through clusters of people pushing past them to get through the small aisle between rows of seats on the train. They keep their arms linked together as to prevent becoming separated in the crowd, but once or twice Jaemin is shoved so harshly that he is nearly forced apart from Jeno. Still, they keep together and Jeno leads them both to a row consisting of open seats on both sides, in the back with no one around. They hastily sit in them—next to one another—with Jaemin beside the window and Jeno to his right.

Jeno sets his book in his lap and glances around at the other faces that had gotten on the train and were seeking out seats.

"Where are we going?" Jaemin asks as he sets his hands on his knees and sits forward a bit so that he didn't have to crane his neck too much to look at Jeno.

"Nowhere," Jeno answers promptly without doing so much as looking to the pink haired man.

"That's not very reassuring," Jaemin responds as the other people finish settling in and the train gradually begins to move.

"You're worrying too much," Jeno remarks as he opens his book and begins hastily thinning through the pages, "We just need to be on the move and in public places long enough to evade Chenle or any other angels that might be following you, right now. If we stay in public, they won't be able to appear in front of us. They'll have to track us down in the middle of a crowd, and if we keep on the move, we can make finding our exact location just a little bit more difficult."

"What if they still find us?" Jaemin inquires nervously.

"We'll figure something out. They can try to take you away, but we don't have to make it easy for them," Jeno explains as he flicks through the pages even faster than before, "As soon as we reach the first stop, we need to get off and find a place to go where we can be hidden away for a few minutes."

"Why?"

"I'll explain when we get there."

There is a brief moment of silence as Jeno turns the pages of his book so fast that it was fanning cool air up towards his face as he goes.

"Jeno, why are you being so secretive?" Jaemin questions, causing Jeno to tense up.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to focus on finding something," Jeno dismisses him before he reaches a familiar page he recalls studying a few years back.

"Then what's up with not telling me what you're looking for or why you're acting so...weird?" Jaemin interrogates him.

"Weird? Weird how?" Jeno asks with a furrowed brow as he scans his eyes over the page before creasing the corner to bookmark it.

"I don't know...I'm just getting a weird feeling from you. It's-it's kind of scaring me..." Jaemin murmurs as his fingers dig into his knees from suddenly gripping them tightly.

Jeno opens his mouth to speak, but no sounds come out. He struggles to figure out how to explain to Jaemin what he knew, but how could he when he still couldn't believe any of it truly happened, himself?

"I-I'll explain later," Jeno manages to get out, but this does not satisfy Jaemin.

"Jeno, I deserve to know what's going on," he demands as he stares at Jeno intensely.

"I know...and I promise, I'll tell you. I just need to know we're safe, first," Jeno concedes, "Please...trust me."

Jaemin falls silent, and Jeno's gaze briefly flickers over to him to see if he was angry. His lips are pursed, but his eyebrows are turned upward in a concerned manner while his eyes are saturated with worry.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Jeno scans the train once again before looking back to Jaemin.

"Okay," he finally backs down, causing Jeno to let out a sigh of relief, "I just really hope it isn't as bad as you're making it seem like it is."

Jeno falls silent and lowers his head to look down at his book. He slowly shuts it and stares at the black cover as he neglects to respond to Jaemin.

If only he could confirm that it wasn't.