He was a Punk. He did Ballet. |nomin|

Fifteen

Jaemin was feeling much better.

The two ended up spending the rest of the night talking endlessly. It was past midnight. They sat in the living room, and what started off as small talk grew into deep conversations about their past experiences. Jeno showed pictures of himself with his bandmates doing wild stuff, which left Jaemin in admiration. Jeno even talked about embarrassing memories from past performances, which left Jaemin cracking up so hard that his stomach hurt. He didn't know how, but Jeno was such a breath of fresh air... Jaemin could listen to his warm, soothing voice for hours.

"How did you become a singer anyways? Are you guys childhood friends or something?" Jaemin asked, referring to Johnny, Yuta, and Lucas.

Jeno sighed and sat back, thinking of a simple way to answer that question. "Well... no. When I was eighteen, my parents kicked me out. So I searched for a place to live and moved into a rental. They became my roommates... but they were annoying as hell. I was the youngest, so I was like their fucking baby. Nobody could mess with me! And Lucas, I swear to God! If he was a parent, he'd be a helicopter dad!"

"That's sweet," Jaemin smiled. "They took care of you."

"I feel like I'd be out on the streets if it weren't for them. They knew I liked to sing, and they so happened to be aspiring artists as well. So I guess we just made it happen. It took a lot of stupid gigs at the club to get signed to a label."

"Is that when you got your butterfly tattoo?"

"Oh... kind of." Jeno chuckled, but seemed nervous. "I guess I'll be honest. It's supposed to be a matching tattoo. With... someone I met. Terrible idea."

"I see." Jaemin grinned. He had a feeling that this someone was Donghyuck. But of course he wasn't going to mention him. "I wonder who it could be."

"Yeah. You should get one."

"Me?! Hell no. I hate needles."

"You get used to the pain though! It depends where you put it!"

"I don't even know what I'd want as a tattoo."

"Your mom's name. Since you talk to her a lot."

"Cute... but no."

"Bullshit. One day, I'm going to take you and we'll get it done."

"No! I'm not even allowed to have tattoos!"

"I wasn't either but look at me now! And I plan on getting more! Oh, the joys of being free from my parent's influence! Be like me!"

Jaemin smacked Jeno's thigh as he snickered. However, he still could help but to detest Jeno's parents for abandoning him. "Why did your parents kick you out?" Jaemin wondered.

"Because I was a mess," Jeno said. "Like I said before... I was an angry kid. Back then, we were considered 'lower-middle class.' My parents saved any extra money they got. I was a financial burden because I was unplanned and they were against my interests. And when I got arrested at twelve for stabbing my bully's hand with scissors, that was the last straw... their savings were wasted on me."

Jeno stopped. He picked at his nails. "It wasn't like they abused me or anything... but when you are a bystander to fights, quarrels, and drinking for so long, it manifests something dark inside of you."

Jaemin frowned, horrified. Jeno was an obvious case of neglect. He was a misunderstood child without discipline, without an outlet, without anyone to vent to. Jaemin looked at Jeno's hands and realized that Jeno was trying to make his fingers bleed.

Jaemin took his hands, stopping him. "Well... you are better than that darkness. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to witness such things... but at least now, you have the support you need. The guys love you... I can tell. They're your family. Not by blood, but by love. And I'm grateful that you have that support. I sure wish I had a bond like that with my group."