Angel ✦ Nomin

26

⊱ ───── { Jeno } ───── ⊰

"About time you showed up," Jisung remarks as Jeno jogs up to the tall boy standing on the porch outside Jaemin's house.

"Sorry...it took me longer than expected to find the incantation. I guess someone ripped the page out of the book it was originally in and placed it in another," Jeno waves the page in the air.

"Who the hell would do that?" Jisung cocks his head slightly.

"So it wasn't you?" Jeno furrows his eyebrows.

"I haven't touched your books. Most certainly not that page," Jisung responds with an air of offense to his tone.

"Then who did?" the latter questions with intense confusion, "I mean...it's not like it was taken and destroyed, it was just moved to a different book."

"I don't know, but can we get this done, already? I want to go home and sleep," Jisung grunts bitterly.

"Alright, alright. Let me put Jaemin under a sleeping spell, first," Jeno speaks.

"Just hurry up," Jisung rolls his eyes.

Jeno nods and snaps his fingers and is consumed by a cloud of thick black smoke. It dissipates and he appears in Jaemin's room. Jeno's eyes dart to Jaemin lying askew on his bed in an uncomfortable position with his body twisted and his left arm and leg dangling off the side. Jeno creeps towards him, making sure to be as quiet as possible. He murmurs a few words in Latin under his breath before snapping his fingers.

"That should keep him out for a good eight more hours," Jeno mumbles to himself before kneeling on Jaemin's bed to help move him into a more comfortable position.

Upon turning Jaemin's body so he lies on his back, Jeno takes immediate notice of a particular detail he doesn't like.

Something's wrong with his bottom lip.

He leans in closer to inspect what it is, and he finds it's a bite wound. Still fairly fresh, from the looks of it.

How did he manage to bite into his lip like that? Was he in some sort of accident? No, he doesn't appear to have anymore wounds aside from that. Did he slip and fall and accidentally bite his lip? How would he manage that? His lip would have to have been between his teeth prior to that kind of incident.

So what was it?

Though he tries to ignore the voice in the back of his mind, he can't help but feel his anxieties coming to the forefront the more he tries to make excuses for Jaemin.

He wasn't cheating on him.

He couldn't be.

They were soul mates.

He loved him.

He would never cheat on him.

Right?

Jeno shakes his head vigorously and squeezes his eyes shut. He tries clearing his mind and thinking about anything else. Anything except that.

"You okay?" a soft voice asks.

Jeno's eyes fly open, and his head snaps towards the doorway to Jaemin's room. There stands Chenle with a slight frown as he gazes back at him.

"I'm fine," Jeno mutters as he swishes his hand, and the comforter of Jaemin's bed levitates in the air, straightening out before landing back on top of the boy to cover him properly.

"You don't look fine," Chenle points out as he slowly enters the room.

"I just need to get this done and over with and get home," Jeno brushes him off, physically turning his back on the angelic boy.

"Well...if you need anything, I'm here for you. Okay?" he offers.

"Yeah, sure, thanks," Jeno crosses his arms over his chest.

With a deep exhale, Chenle exits the room, leaving Jeno alone as he wished. Jeno frowns deeply at the sleeping boy, hoping to god this was all just a misunderstanding. Still, it doesn't take away the knots that tie up in his stomach and the tightening muscles in his chest at the thought of him being right.

He turns and walks straight out of Jaemin's room, shutting the door softly behind him as to not wake Jaemin's aunt. He takes a deep breath and consoles himself by saying that he just needs to focus on his work.

He needs to bury himself in work, and he'll be just fine until Jaemin can tell him what happened, himself.

Bury himself in work so he can't think about the thought of Jaemin with somebody else.

Bury himself until he can't breathe.

Can't breathe...

Can't.

Breathe.

Why fight it, anymore?

It's useless.

Useless.

You're useless.

He'll never love you for who you are...

All you'll ever be is evil.

He knows it.

You know it.

Everyone knows it.

They all know you're going to Hell when you die. It's pathetic to assume otherwise.

Accept it.