Haunting; Noren NCT

♱•Thirty-Two •♱

Renjun takes a seat opposite Jaemin at the lunch table, and he instantly feels the boys gaze on him. "Oh look who decided to join us today instead of hiding in the art room" he says teasingly and Renjun only laughs a little.

"My project is almost finished so I thought I'd be social today" he says before digging into his food "where are the others?" He asks ad Jaemin only shrugs in response.

They sit in silence for a moment before Jaemin breaks it "how are you feeling? Yano after the other night?". Renjun was glad he'd asked this whilst it was only the two of them, the last thing he needed was the rest of his friends questioning him over a break up that never really happened.

His mind wanders back to the previous night. The way Jeno had held him until he fell asleep. Just the thought of it brought a funny feeling to his stomach.
"I'm okay, a lot better than the other night" he explains "thank you, for hanging out with me the other night, it meant a lot".

Jaemin only waves him off "oh shush, you don't have to thank me, its what friends are for, I apologise for not being of more help" he shrugs. But Jaemin had been a lot of help. The stories he'd told him of the ghost occupying his home had been very useful even if Jaemin it think so.

It wasn't long before the rest of their friends joined them at the lunch table and Jaemin gives Renjun one last knowing smile before engrossing himself in a conversation with Jisung.

••••

Instead of going home that night Renjun decides to stay and work on his art project. It was due in a couple of days anyway and he didn't want to take it home. Not until it was all finished.

He sat down at his canvas, a couple of other students had opted to stay back too and Renjun was relieved to have the steady background noise of chatter rather than silence.

He stares at the painting he was currently working on, there would be four in total, all depicting a shadowy figure. If you stared long enough you could make out features of a face, fingers attached to hand, but at first glance it was nothing.

Renjun hears footsteps come up behind him and he spins up to look at his art teacher who was studying the piece.
"I must say Renjun these are outstanding pieces of art" he compliments, leaning closer to have a better look at the detail.

"Thank you Mr.Kim, I've worked hard on them" he says, enjoying the praise he had received from the teacher.

"What will you be naming this collection?" The man asks as he begins to write on a clipboard in his hand "this is just a info sheet to go with the paintings when we come to grading them" he explains and Renjun nods in understanding.

He thinks for a moment, his gaze moving over to the canvas and he looks at the hidden details of Jeno's face "the haunting" she says before looking up at the teacher again "it's called the haunting".

Mr.Kim nods and scribbles it down "and what's the story behind the inspiration?" He questions.

"My house" Renjun states and he hears the pen stop scratching at the paper "and the ghost that haunts it".
He felt silly but that was what it was about, he couldn't lie, if anything it adds imagination to the piece even if Mr.Kim didn't believe him.

"Okay, thank you Renjun" Mr.Kim says as he steps away "I'll let you get back to work".

Renjun mutters a small thanks before picking up a brush and adding some more detail to the large oak tree.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't incredibly proud of his work, this was the last canvas he had to finish before it was complete.

He couldn't wait until he could take it home and show Jeno.

•••••
Renjun walks through his front door and sees his mother smile at him from the kitchen. He makes his way over and drops himself into a kitchen chair, resting his head against the wooden table.

"You're home late" she states, plating up some pasta from a pan and sliding it onto the table beside Renjun "have you been working on your project?" She asks and Renjun only manages a nod as he accepts the fork from his mum and digs into his food.

"I was almost finished and lost track of time" he says after swallowing his previous bite "I finished the whole thing".

"Wow no wonder you're home so late" his mother laughs slightly as she begins cleaning a few dishes "oh by the way, I think something fell in your room earlier, there was a bit of a bang but I didn't want to go in without your permission" she says and Renjun freezes, a forkful of food hovering from his open mouth.

"What?!" He asks and the woman only shrugs.

"I wouldn't worry it wasn't a loud bang, if it had been I'd have gone up" she gives him a reassuring smile before returning her attention to the dishes.

Renjun quickly finishes his food and brings his plate to his mother before thanking her and running up the stairs.

He swings his bedroom door open and his eyes widen at the sight.

Books sprawled out on the floor, his desk lamp lay on its side, the bulb cracked, his curtains had torn a little and Renjun feels his heart speed up.

"Jeno?" He says, panic taking over him. He takes a few tentative steps into the room and finally spots the ghost curled up in the corner of the room, hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his face. "Jeno are you okay?" Renjun asks, moving closer and kneeling down beside him.
He hesitantly places a hand on his shoulder and the ghost flinches from his touch.

Jeno slowly lifts his head, his eyes brimmed with tears "they're coming for me" he breathes, his hand reaching out to take Renjun "but I don't want to leave you, not yet".

Renjun's heart rate speeds up slightly at Jeno words, not understanding what he meant. The brunette moved his hand so their fingers laced together and held on tightly. "Who's coming?" He asks, not sure he was ready for the answer.

"My parents".