The Trials of Neo City [WINWIN • YUTA]

🖤 31. Movement 🖤

"Stay still, would you!" Renjun hissed, wrapping the bandages onto Jeno's leg as the younger boy whimpered and tried to squirm away. They found shelter in a building with a basement, so they've been hunkered down so that Jeno can rest and heal after being shot in the calf with one of Chenle's arrows.

This afternoon, though, Renjun left the basement to bask in the sun. Jeno had just woken up after the events of test day and hobbled up the creaky stairs to find Renjun, staring up at the building's skylight. He was thinking, messing around with his knife and twisting it into the shabby and itchy rug beneath him.

Jeno asked quietly if Renjun was okay and crawled to sit down with him, eventually asking what he would do about his now-infected wound. Renjun sighed, getting up and retrieving a small tube of roll of medical tape and bandages.

Some time last night, Renjun received bandages for Jeno's wound and a pair of shorts. Not as convenient as medication would have been, but he'll take what he can get. A message was written on the capsule in Yeonjun's messy signature, reading: "Go get 'em, loverboy!"

Renjun quickly crumpled it up and threw it out before any cameras could catch it.

He wondered why the cameras still followed him, why the Gamemakers kept him alive after he took out his own tracker. Perhaps they liked the spunky, rebellious action or how clever it turned out to be, or perhaps they didn't care at all.

The Gamemakers had also let them run away and hadn't done any dirty tricks to lure them closer to the Careers, which he was grateful for. After the group had killed Jaemin, he wasn't sure if they could face off against them again with their lives.

After escaping the first time, Renjun dragged Jeno to the closest building they could find after losing the Career pack. Jeno passed out and it was all up to Renjun.

"What day is it?" Jeno asked, voice quiet. Renjun let his own hand linger on the other boy's, offering up a small, sympathetic smile.

"You didn't sleep for that long. It's only day four. The sun's high in the sky, probably noon." He looked up at the skylight, where the sun beamed down directly. It was the middle of the day and it was as hot as such, too.

Jeno looked down, seeing that he was still shirtless, but now wearing a pair of loose shorts instead of nothing at all. He furrowed his eyebrows, not remembering when he'd put them on after escaping with only an oversized jacket.

Renjun laughed softly, as if he read Jeno's mind. "Dressing someone who's asleep is not an easy task." Jeno's face burned red hot at that and he was quiet for a while, only fiddling with Jaemin's necklace around his neck.

"Should we go back to the sewers?" Jeno asked eventually, before wincing as Renjun finished bandaging his leg.

Renjun scoffed and tossed the bandages in a corner, leaning closer to Jeno, who noticed the large scar on his arm was freshly healed and still red. "No way. We have to stay here, the sewers aren't safe anymore. Only one of our cannons went off, Jeno. They're looking for you."

Faintly, a song played in the sky. A special version of the Panem anthem, indicating an arena event. Renjun only groaned in exasperation, mind racing a mile a minute.

Jeno only nodded in understanding, leaning back with a groan and lying on the floor. He looked up at the sky, unable to forget that the Careers knew he was still alive. At some point, he'd have to face them and they both knew it.

"Can I tell you... um, a secret?"

Renjun nodded, not taking his eyes off of the skylight. Jeno could only look at the other boy and admire the way his eyes sparkled in the sunshine, gathering the courage to speak.