Angel ✦ Nomin

29

⊱ ─── { Jaemin } ─── ⊰

Jaemin finally arrives at the cemetery, feeling thankful it wasn't across town. The short trek he had to make had him extremely winded even though he was walking at a sluggish pace and he only had to travel a few blocks away from his home.

He approaches the gates and finds Jeno standing under the massive arch.

"Jaemin! Finally! Follow me," he instructs, and Jaemin mindlessly trails behind.

The two of them walk down the dirt path with graves on either side of the road. The grass and weeds are overgrown, alerting Jaemin that no one cared to upkeep this place out of respect for the dead whom reside here. It makes him oddly upset considering this is the one and only cemetery in town, and if this is how the graves of the beloved citizens of this town are treated, then how is his grave going to look? Surely much worse if his aunt has anything to say about it. Unless he doesn't even get a proper burial...

Shaking off this depressing tangent, Jaemin tries to keep his mind focused on Jeno.

Jeno...

The only person in this town who truly cared about him. Though he shows little concern about his condition and only seems to care that he follow him wherever he needed Jaemin to be amidst his confrontation with Xiao. That's...not like Jeno...Then again, Jeno hasn't really been acting like the Jeno he grew to love. It makes him wonder why.

"Here," Jeno states abruptly as he comes to a halt beside a very tall, very large oak tree. He spins on his heel and places his hands on both of Jaemin's shoulders. "Stay behind this tree and just keep an eye on the situation. If anything starts going South, jump in and help. Okay?"

Jaemin hesitates, feeling weary considering his inability to use his powers earlier to get to the cemetery. Still, he didn't want Jeno to view him as useless, so he might as well do what he can.

"Okay," he nods compliantly, and Jeno beams at him.

"Good boy," he hums, the phrase not sitting right with Jaemin, but he's unable to think too much into this as Jeno gives him one last kiss before darting into the shadows.

Jaemin peeks around the trunk of the tree and gazes out into the middle of a clearing behind a cracking marble tomb. He watches on as a puff of smoke fills the air before being replaced by a humanoid figure. The figure moves, and suddenly, a ball of fire ignites in their hand. They're illuminated now, and Jaemin can see their face clearly.

Xiao.

He tosses the ball into the air, and it levitates just above his head. He waits patiently for several seconds before rustling and heavy footsteps alert him that someone was here. Xiao grins wickedly with a sadistic twinkle in his eye as Jeno appears from the shadows.

"Where the fuck is he?" Jeno hisses as he trudges up to him.

"Around here somewhere," Xiao replies cryptically.

"Let him go now, or I'll fucking kill you," Jeno threatens.

Jaemin inhales sharply as his eyes widen. Jeno isn't supposed to be threatening to kill anyone. Even a demon as fucked up and cruel as Xiao.

"You really think I'm threatened by you?" Xiao jeers with a cackle, "Do it."

Jaemin can't see Jeno's face, but he swears he can feel his fury from way back in his hiding spot. Jeno raises his hand in a cupping motion, extending towards Xiao. The boy flies into Jeno's grip without a fight, and Jeno begins choking Xiao with one hand. He coughs and sputters and gravels for breath, but he can't do it. And although Jaemin expects him to be panicked or, at the least, trying to stop Jeno: he doesn't. He just continues to grin, and lets him do it.

Jaemin finds himself completely horrified, but this isn't the end of it.

Jeno slams Xiao down to the ground and whirls his free hand in the air. A thick black cloud of smoke engulfs his hand, and when it disappears, the knife Jeno had used to slit his throat appears in it. That damned wavy knife. Jaemin collapses to his knees and begins to wretch on the grass as memories come flooding back. The dark look in Jeno's eyes as he murdered him, the evil that manifested in him when it all happened. Somehow deep down, he knew that it wasn't Jeno's father who had been controlling him to do that. It was all Jeno. His demonic devil half had completely overruled him.

Jaemin naively thought that Jeno had sworn that part of him off to better himself and allow for them to live happily; to allow them to die knowing that they'd be together in death. But the loud chanting of Latin filling the still night air told him otherwise.

Jeno never let go of it.

He didn't want to, did he?

That's why he's been so distant, lately, isn't it?

He scrambles to his feet, watching as Jeno raises the knife higher in the air. Although Jaemin wants to run away sobbing, he finds that his feet begin running towards the scene.

"Jeno, stop!" he screams out.

Jaemin wraps both of his boney hands tightly around Jeno's wrist and grip as tightly as possible. Jeno snaps his head towards Jaemin, causing the younger boy to let go and scramble backwards to get away from him.

His eyes...

Ruby red.

"Jaemin?" he speaks in a confused tone.

"Y-you...you lied to me," he whimpers as tears begin flooding his fragile face.

Jeno drops the knife, his eyes fading back into their normal dark shade of brown. He lets go of Xiao and crawls over to Jaemin, though Jaemin clambers away in a very panicked manner with a flushed face.

"Jaemin, what happened to you?" Jeno asks as he tries yet again to near Jaemin.

"Get away from me!" Jaemin shrieks in complete and utter fear, one of his hands reaching up to his own throat. This not going unnoticed by Jeno.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you, baby. Please. Talk to me," Jeno begs as he reaches Jaemin and tries to take his face into his hands.

But Jaemin's cries become louder and more hysteric. He claws at Jeno's hands wildly. He jerks his head every which way to get him to stop touching him.

"Go away! Go away! Go away!" he screams, "Please don't hurt me, please."

At this, Jeno seems to slowly step away from the manic boy. Jaemin grabs fistfuls of his own hair in his hands and curls his knees into his chest as his sobs continue.

"Jaemin, I...I'm so sorry..." he mumbles almost inaudibly over Jaemin's cries.

Suddenly, a puff of black smoke forms behind Jaemin, and Xiao takes it's place. He grins widely as he grabs Jaemin from behind and places Jeno's knife against his neck.

"Don't move, or I slit his throat," Xiao threatens.

"Leave him alone!" Jeno bellows, "Jaemin, fight back!"

"He can't," Xiao cackles, "Now, if you don't mind us, I need to show my new little friend here what it's like down in Hell with the rest of our kind. I'm sure it'll make him love you more."

"Let him go!" Jeno yells, but this falls on deaf ears.

"Goodbye," says Xiao in a singsong manner before he and Jaemin are enveloped in flames.