Dance For Attention | Nomin

☆06☆

Jeno found himself lying face down on his bed, head buried in his white pillow and hands clutched together behind his neck. Why did that have to happen? Why did he get so embarrassed?!

Maybe, he thought, it was because of Taeil.

Jeno sat cross legged underneath a tree in a park, watching his two friends Jisung and Chenle fight over who would push who on the swings, and then battling over who could swing the highest. He was so immersed in the duel going on between the two that he hadn't noticed somebody approaching him.

"Hey, Jeno?"

At the sound of his name, the younger looked up and was met with the kind eyes of Moon Taeil. "Hi, Taeil."

"How are you?" He questioned, taking it upon himself to sit next to the boy.

"I'm okay. How about you?"

The idle chitchat went on for a few minutes, with Taeil stopping to scold the two youngest in the area for nearly destroying half the park and scaring a group of small children away.

"So," Taeil started. Jeno knew there was a hidden motive behind coming to talk to him, since the only times the two spoke to each other was when they needed help, support, advice, or a friend. He was sure this talk was going to be advice. "I came to talk to you about something, or rather, someone."

"Huh? Who?" Jeno asked, the gentle breeze pushing his fringe into his eyes. He ignored it, though, when his curiosity stood front and centre in his mind.

"Na Jaemin." The older spoke and moved his fingers to brush Jeno's hair out of his eyes; he needed to see each of his reactions clearly to fully judge how he felt about the aforementioned.

Jeno tipped his head to the side. "What about him?"

Taeil continued, "How do you feel about him?"

Still not getting what the other was getting at, Jeno, body turned towards his friend, said, "Well... He's my best friend. I feel the same way about him that any friend should. Like... I feel the same way about Nana that Chenle does to Jisung."

Taeil quickly glanced over at the younger two, cracking a smile when he saw them giggling whilst whispering something to each other. "Okay. I'm glad to hear that. I just wanted to say that I feel there may be something between the two of you. You and Jaemin, I mean."

"...Something...?" Jeno still wasn't getting it, and so Taeil flicked his forehead. "Ow!"

"Jeno, I'm saying that I think you both like each other as more than friends."

Not only did Taeil then go on and on about why he felt like that, but he somehow managed to convince Jeno that maybe, just maybe, he felt for Jaemin as a partner rather than as just his best friend.

Convince? Was that the right word to use? No... maybe Taeil had just helped Jeno realise that he felt that way.

Jeno grumbled into the pillow, wishing he could turn back time and redo the whole event to at least make himself seem a lot less awkward than he was.

"All Taeil said to do was invite him to town, but you couldn't even do that, could you? Come on, Jeno! How hard could it be?!"

Hearing the doorhandle turn from the outside, Jeno shot up from his position and sat on the edge of his bed just as none other than Jaemin walked in.

"Did I interrupt anything, or...?" He asked, noticing Jeno's tinted face a loud breaths. "If I did, it's your own fault since you told me to come in--"

"No, no I wasn't doing anything. I was just," he glanced around the room, soaking up any sight of anything other than the oddly pretty boy in front of him. "Waiting." He gulped. Hopefully it wasn't too obvious.

Jaemin quickly looked his friend up and down. "Are you going like that? At least put on a jacket or something."

"What one?" The older asked as he stood up and made his way over to his wardrobe.

Jaemin too hurried over to the clothing, bumping Jeno out of the way with his hip and looking for a jacket himself. "I think the one that would suit you here is... wait where is it... Ah! This one!" He exclaimed, pulling a red bomber jacket off the rail.

Jeno sounded a quiet 'oof' when he was nudged to the side, but he decided against voicing his opposition. For some reason, standing there in an oversized, white hoodie and flicking through his friend's clothes with his tongue between his teeth, Jaemin was looking very...

"Cute."

Oh Goddammit did I say that out loud?!

In a mild state of panic, Jeno looked down at his shoes and bounced and clicked his heels much like Dorothy did to get home, although his actions didn't transport him anywhere.

The sound of coat hangers clacking together stopped. "What?"

If Jeno had looked up, he would've seen Jaemin's red face. The younger had clearly heard what the taller had said, and it left him confused. However, Jeno's eyes remained on his feet whilst he mustered up some sort of excuse.

"N-Nothing."

The younger cleared his throat softly and squeezed his eyes shut. This wasn't what Johnny told you to do, Jaemin! He scolded himself. Don't panic!

"Right," he smirked to cover up his embarrassment. "Well here's the jacket. Come on."

Johnny told him to be confident so that on the off-chance Jeno wasn't, the latter wouldn't feel awkward. That was the least he could do for his friend.

Speaking of friends, the American had somehow managed to convince Jaemin that he and Jeno were more than friends, and, admittedly, it didn't take an awful lot of time to do so.

Jaemin walked out of the room and waited for his friend in the hallway, just like he always did. And Jeno followed. Just like he always did.