The Lodger; Noren NCT

✿*｡ Forty-Six ｡*✿

Renjun takes a deep breath, trying his best to build enough courage to talk to Yangyang. The guilt has been playing on him for the past two days and he'd been trying his best to think of a way to explain his situation without sounding like the biggest asshole of the century.

He watches as Yangyang says goodbye to his friends, turning and instantly stopping when he sees Renjun. He looked unsure whether to talk to him or carry on walking to class. Thankfully he chose the latter, taking a few steps closer to Renjun, a small smile on his lips. "Um, hey?" He says, obviously not sure how to greet him.

Renjun offers a friendly smile, hoping to ease some of the tension "hi" he laughs nervously "Do you mind if we talk for a bit?"

Yangyang's smile falters slightly but he nods "of course, is everything okay?". The way Renjun had just left him when their date had barely even started must have looked pretty worrying. The thought of Yangyang thinking he had done or said something wrong only made Renjun feel even worse.

The elder leads him towards one of the tables outside of the school, pulling him down into the seat beside him. "I'm really sorry about the other night"

Yangyang only laughs a little "you don't have to apologise, I was worried I said something wrong"

"You did nothing wrong so please don't think that" Renjun rushes "it was me, I was the wrong that did something wrong, I should never have agreed to go on a date with you in the first place".

For a moment the younger doesn't answer. He didn't look upset or disappointed, he looked more confused. "Oh, w-why?"

Renjun sighs, burying his face into his hands. "You're an amazing guy. you're funny and cute and you always make me smile, but I just don't like you like that"

For some reason Yangyang didn't look as sad as Renjun had thought he would. "You like someone else don't you?" He asks, that friendly smile on his lips, just like it always is.

Renjun only nods, lifting his head up a little "yes, I'm sorry"

"There's no need to say sorry, Renjun" he assures, laying a hand on his shoulder comfortingly "it's Jeno isn't it?"

"What! H-how did you-"

Yangyang's laugh stops Renjun mid sentence. Was he really that obvious?
"I always see you with him around school. At first I did think he was your boyfriend but when you were talking to him that day, the way you acted didn't seem the way a couple would act" he explains and Renjun nods in understanding.

"B-but how did you know I liked him?" He asks, still curious.

Yangyang only shrugs "you looked pretty disappointed when he was mean to you, the way you looked back when we walked away"
Renjun was pretty shocked at how observant Yangyang had been.

"Are you mad at me? You hate me now right?" Renjun mentally braces himself for the 'yes' he was expecting, but it never came.

The brunette only laughs, shaking his head. "No. Why would I hate you?" He says, giving Renjun a reassuring smile "you can't help who you like, and you can't force people to like you back" he moves his hand away from Renjun's shoulder "have you told Jeno how you feel?"

The elder nods. He didn't feel like adding 'that's why I ditched our date' on the end.

"And? What did he say?" He suddenly looked like an eager school girl waiting for some tea to be spilt and Renjun found himself smiling.

"We're still trying to figure things out I guess" he answers, happy to see that Yangyang looked genuinely happy for him. "We still have some things we need to talk about".

"I hope it all works out for you" It was difficult to believe that Renjun was looking at a boy that had just been rejected. He looked so happy.

"C-can we still be friends?" Renjun asks hopefully, praying that Yangyang still wanted to spend time with him.

The smile on the younger boys face fades "are you kidding me?" He asks, instantly making Renjun's heart drop. But it wasn't long until the smile was back "of course we can, I still need to pass my exams"

Renjun laughs, a feeling of relief filling him up. "Don't worry, I'm the best tutor there is"