dazed and confused - norenmin

nineteen

jeno

jeno was making his way back to the beach,
fish and chips wrapped in newspaper piled precariously in his arms and stomach growling.
he had been forced to wait in the shop till the food was ready, and the scent was driving him crazy.
all he wanted to do was eat.

he crossed the sand and placed the food down with the rest of their belongings,then scanned the waves for renjun and jaemin.
he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun's glare,
and laughed as his gaze fell upon the two boys, who were some way out to sea,and apparently attempting to drown each other.
he ran towards them, waving his arms wildly - partly to stop an untimely death, but mostly because he was starving.

"OI,

FOOOOOOOD!!!"

"YOU GUYS BETTER COME RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR TO GOD-"

jeno stopped abruptly.
jaemin and renjun had just got out of the water, and were walking towards him.
but that wasn't the issue.
the issue was the way jaemin slicked back his wet hair and smiled at jeno.
the issue was the way renjun's body glistened in the sunlight, combined with his sparkling eyes.
the issue was jaemin's arm over renjun's shoulder, and renjun's hand on jaemin's waist.

it's probably fair to say that jeno was overwhelmed.

his face scarlet, he went back to their little camp, and busied himself with the food, unwrapping the newspaper
and trying to ignore his busy heart and busy mind.
suddenly he felt himself being hugged from behind, and recognised jaemin's honeyed chuckle. jeno was about to relax into the embrace, when he realised that his t-shirt was now soaking, and that jaemin was essentially using him as a towel.
he whirled around, and began chasing the other boy across the sand,
whose shrieked apologies were contradicted by the grin on his face.

renjun sat down and starting eating, shaking his head at the younger boys' childish behaviour.
he looked on, laughing softly, as jeno took over his damp shirt and proceeded to hit jaemin with it.
eventually the two boys plopped themselves on the sand beside him,
faces flushed from running and smiles wide.

jeno gasped indignantly when he noticed renjun was eating his chips.

"no, junnie, you don't know how long i've been waiting to eat those..."

he shuffled closer to the older boy and batted his lashes, pouting, as his hand reached out to stealthily take them back.
renjun contemplated him for a few seconds, then helped himself to another chip.

"tough titties."

jaemin choked on his drink.

for the second time that day, jeno sprinted after a giggling boy, who this time was twirling around as he held the cone of chips aloft.
he had almost caught up to him, and was planning the best way to exact his revenge,
when suddenly the problem was taken, quite literally, out of their hands.
unbeknowst to both of them a seagull had been circling overhead, choosing its moment.
just as renjun raised the food even higher above his head, it swooped down and seized the cone,
leaving everyone stunned, apart from jaemin, who had filmed the whole thing.
the youngest boy fell about laughing as he replayed the look of utter bewilderment on renjun's face as the chips were snatched from his grasp,
and jeno's delayed yet devasted reaction. the latter had fallen to his knees, and was clutching his head as if his world was crumbling.