Hypnagogia

Reality// TRIO

A ripe taste of an apple burst onto Donghyuck's tastebuds. Making a loud hum of satisfaction he took another hefty bite of the fruit. He kept the cycle of annoying actions up for a while, chewing with his mouth open and very indiscreetly staring at his two friends. "This is so delicious, do you know that?"
"Keep spitting and I'm sure I will find out at one point." Renjun snapped, moving further towards the trunk of the tree they were hanging from, careful not to move too far forward or backward.
His irking friend spat a huge chunk severely close to him with a challenging grin. "Gladly."
The three boys were sitting rather daringly near the top of the large tree behind the school. Where the branches became more thin and weak; and the leaves were a bit more fruitful, waving frantically in their faces while they ate quite leisurely. The rest of the students were seated below, casually conversing amongst themselves and not paying attention to the clear danger above them. For it was not any fresh news in any newspaper the school may or may not have had. There were sometimes the worried glances from new or exchange students as they thought of countless possibilities the trio could die. A jock or two may have had some nerve to try and bother them by trying to throw a jacket at them. But it would get caught caught in the branches anyway.
"You know one of those chunks will end up in someone's hair." The third classmate lounged his wiry figure along the branch, lazily nibbling a cookie. He looked almost as fragile as the branch he was laying on, but upon closer inspection there was some kind of muscle underneath the baggy blazer and oversized shirt that was going past his one size too large pants. He was not inclined to be showing any of it off though due to the mildly chilly weather. His expression was eerily similar to Renjun's, so much so that they could be mistaken as brothers. But if you saw him away from the cold blonde with a rare smile on his face, it was proved otherwise.
Donghyuck shrugged, "Sucks for them I guess, besides." He aimed another chunk of chewed apple bits at Renjun. "They chose to sit under the tree."
The underclassman hummed in agreement, his orange hair bouncing as he shrugged nonchalantly and continued to eat his cookie.
Renjun, on the other hand, was moving further away from the honey haired boy and his face grew more and more disgusted every time Donghyuck brought the apple to his face. "You could have least told him to stop disturbing me with that crude action, Jisung."
"What, so you can get back to sketching cult symbols or whatever?" Donghyuck sneered, throwing his apple core somewhere into the edges of the forest, on the other side of the school fence.
"Why would you care if they were cult symbols or not?" Renjun barked, his pencil nearly collapsing from how tight his grip became. "I bet I could draw someone beheading the principal and you would still use it as an idea for graffiti."
Despite how utterly ridiculous and morbid the statement was, there was no lie in his words. Donghyuck would spray paint it on the walls of the school, he would spray paint it all over the hallways too if he was lucky enough not to get caught. It was just the way he behaved. A rebel without a cause who was too fired up to follow any kind of hive mind presented to him. Probably why Renjun happened to become his friend, although their personalities didn't have the best compatibility, they shared values to go against the tide. However if you confronted either one about it they would just say they pitied the other for being along so much.
Now Jisung, a new student who wasn't exactly a freshman nor a 'seasoned' second year, was a bit of a different story. This kid, for the first bit of the school year, was completely isolated. Despite clearly wanting to converse with others and find a group to belong in he was way too anti-social to make the first move. And when everyone already had a year to establish a solid clique, he just felt more alienated. He was lucky enough to come across Renjun, who apparently had been asked to help Jisung with some science work. To be frank, the orange haired student was just a regular second year who was getting sucked into the habit of skipping classes and bending the rules.
"I could brush up on my art skills." Donghyuck smiled in a joking manner. "Maybe if I take credit for it they'll boost my grade." He paused for a bit, his smile growing a bit wider. "Or they will expel me, either way it's a winwin."
"Maybe they'll admit you to a mental hospital or have you arrested for death threats." Jisung thought out loud causing Renjun to laugh a bit.
"Than it's a triple win!"
"You all are so unappreciative. If I did end up behind bars- you two would be helpless without me."
The two exchanged a 'knowing glance' and Donghyuck felt a twinge of confusion. For some reason the way their eyes seemed to communicate gave him a slight hint at what was being insinuated and a whine grew from his throat. There was no words and yet the point had been made loud and clear. They all had Jaemin on their mind, for different reasons obviously. If he caught his friends crushing on the strawberry prince he would not be to blame for acting a bit more coldly. Or not even approach them at all. Fortunately, that will never be the case.
Renjun smirked. "I'm pretty sure you would be more helpless without Jaemin."
"I hope you didn't conveniently bump into him anytime today." Jisung's tone was that of a stern parent scolding their child. Donghyuck was apparently not amused by the slight tease, no matter if he happened to do a lot of teasing back.
"I'll have you know he approached me today-"
"Wow what an achievement," The underclassman interrupted with another witty comment, getting more under his friends skin. "Should I tell the whole school? I'm sure they'd really like to hear about how Na Jaemin approached you in the halls."
"Maybe I'll tell them the story of how you lost some of your teeth as well."
The two half heartedly glared at each other before continuing to eat. Renjun was not phased by the threats traded back and forth ever since it became a constant normality. "Just be careful, because you have no idea what the government can do, maybe they are-"
"Maybe they are controlling all the popular, extremely nice, well behaved, good graded students and whatever. It's the same thing every day blah blah blah" He raised his hand to imitate a mouth that droned on and on about the extraterrestrials, cults and secret organizations. "You can never be too careful when it comes to your own freedom and mental safety because at any moment they can strike with the amazing invention of technology!"
Renjun shut his mouth fast and grouchily ate in silence for the rest of the period, the spire of the tree becoming even more chillier than it was previously. Donghyuck shrugged, some part of him feeling a bit unwelcome. "Anyways I have gym and study hall last so I'll be heading home now."
Jisung nodded in acknowledgment and Renjun made no comment. So he ended up climbing down the tree, holding the shreds of the conversation in his mind. Perhaps the note it ended on wasn't a very good one, and perhaps he was somewhat troubled by the fact that Jisung never really sided with anyone and settled the dispute. However, he knew exactly what to do to take his mind off things. And as he walked off school grounds as if it was the most normal thing for students to do, he thought up what he should do today with Jaemin in their own personal world.