Bad Blood [NoRenMin] ✔

29

After snapping out of whatever trance he'd been in, it took quite a bit of convincing before Jeno allowed Jaemin into the room. Despite being offered a seat, Jaemin remained standing. He didn't feel all that comfortable sitting down on a bed in front of an ex he thought had been dead all this time.

"So," Jeno starts.

Unlike Jaemin, he chooses to take a seat at the desk on the side of the room that was clearly his; filled with posters on the wall and all his things scattered on the bed. He looks the same as Jaemin remembers him from his dark hair to his eyes. The only difference was that he wasn't smiling. His aura was so different to what he remembered; more stiff and guarded. Though Jaemin had difficulty seeing the Jeno he knew different to the Jeno right in front of him. Jeno turns and he smiles and Jaemin swears that his heart tightens; there's a tight fisted feeling in his chest. The last time he saw this smiling face with his smiling eyes was years ago. Jaemin had only recently accepted that he would never get to see this face again.

"How have you been, Jaemin?" He doesn't like this. He doesn't like hearing his entire name come out of Jeno's mouth. It used to be Min or Minnie and sometimes even Jae, but it hasn't been his whole name for years (and this is in addition to their four years of dating.) When Jaemin doesn't reply, Jeno changes his question. "What brings you here, Jaemin?"

Mad. Mad and annoyed is what he is as he processes these questions. There's a flare of unwanted, bubbling and angry annoyance that sweeps through Jaemin. Irritated, Jaemin thinks. You're not annoyed or mad, you're irritated, he tells himself. With Jeno keeping a steady gaze and calm exterior and him seeming to act as though this is normal, Jaemin couldn't help but be irritated.

"Min."

"Don't." His tone is thick and seething. "Don't 'Min' me, Jeno. How can you be so calm? Do not act as if this is normal," his voice only grows the more he speaks and though he's pleading with himself to calm down and stay quiet, he wasn't listening to himself. That tiny voice trying to be his reason was being ignored completely. "This isn't normal, Jeno! Do you realize that? It's not normal to be standing in front of my supposed-to-be-dead ex-boyfriend that is clearly the furthest damn thing from dead!" He feels warm all over and perhaps it's because of his yelling. Jeno's eyes are wide, clearly not expecting this.

"I know," Jeno murmurs, and he lowers his head. "I'm sorry, Jaemin."

"Sorry isn't just going to cut it, Jeno. I need answers," Jaemin insists.

"I can't do that."

"Considering you didn't think to call me up after all these years and tell me that you're alive, letting me mourn over you, I think you at least owe it to me, Jeno."

Jeno shakes his head. His smile has disappeared and he's looking at the ground again. Hunched over, his hands fold together and he leans his head against his hands as he releases a sigh. "I can't give you answers, Jaemin. Please can you understand that?"

Too upset and hard headed at this moment, Jaemin ignores his plea. "You got kidnapped by a vampire. Your body wasn't left behind so it must have taken you," he starts calmly. "How are you alive?"

"I just am."

"Where have you been all this time? Because your family sure as hell think you're dead. They hate me for whatever happened to you."

"Jaemin."

"I just want answers, Jeno. I need them." It's Jaemin who is pleading this time.

There's a shift in the atmosphere. There's one of the longest pauses that twists at Jaemin like a knife in his chest. Jeno stands up, and the smile is gone. Unrecognizably smokey black eyes stare down at him darkly, lips pulled into a thin line, it's the first time he's ever felt afraid of Jeno.

"I told you, I cannot answer any of your questions, Jaemin." Unlike Jaemin, he manages to steady his tone. He isn't yelling despite the fact that he really wanted to (you could see it in his eyes) and somehow, he's keeping it low. It scares Jaemin even more. "I cannot answer whatever questions you're dying to ask and even if I could, I wouldn't," he whispers as he stands up. There's a pause before he continues, "You don't need to know the 'how' or the 'why' nor do you need to know the 'where'. And frankly, if my family hates you, that's a problem between you guys," he practically hisses this time. "So, now that you understand that, I need you to leave."

Jaemin doesn't say anything. How are you expected to respond to something like that?

"Bye, Jaemin."

"Wait." Jaemin has already been shifted to the door and, despite himself, was about to leave when he considered something. Turning around to face Jeno, he tries to hold a steady gaze. "If you can't answer any of those questions, then at least answer this one: you're not the same Jeno, are you?"

The expression Jeno holds is pained. As though he's the one with a knife in his chest this time. He didn't want that question to come up, of all the questions he suspected Jaemin to ask; that much is evident on his face. His answer isn't immediate. His eyes are swirling with a mixture of colour. Eye colour changes, a small voice says at the back of Jaemin's head, but he ignores it.

"I am Jeno, if that's what you're asking," he replies after a moment.

But Jaemin is disappointed. "That wasn't what I was asking," Jaemin says. "You know that." He takes one long look at Jeno before he leaves the room and he faintly hears the door shut behind him. He finds his way to his dorm room and, now that he knew exactly how to get there, the walk was way quicker. He entered his room, ready to collapse onto his bed because no matter what anyone says, seeing your dead ex-boyfriend alive was more than just emotionally draining. He stops about halfway to his room.

If Jeno wouldn't answer questions, maybe someone would know a thing or two. With that in mind, he turns around and makes his way downstairs to his car.