Head Down

◤twenty seven◢

"Donghyuck. Can we talk?"

Tentatively, Donghyuck looks up from the bouquet of flowers in his lap, recognizing the voice which asks him the question. He doesn't want to say yes, he doesn't want to talk right now. He wants to be alone, but he doesn't have any excuse. As much as he is Lee Donghyuck, and as much as he doesn't even need an excuse to say no, that they can't talk, he's also not one to be unnecessarily rude to... People who he's tied to.

"Sit." He simply answers, watching as Jaemin sits down cross legged, next to him. He eyes the flowers in Donghyuck's lap, and his nimble fingers make way to pick at the petals. "Don't touch." Jaemin retracts his hand, sheepishly looking around the empty classroom instead. It's a math classroom, but who's classroom it is, Jaemin doesn't know for sure. "Why are you here?"

Jaemin knew the question was going to come up, but that doesn't mean he knows the answer. He still isn't prepared to tell Donghyuck something he wants to hear, if there is even anything which he'd want to hear in his situation. He himself doesn't know what prompted him to stop in his tracks once he saw Donghyuck inside the empty classroom, what prompted him to walk into the classroom and ask him to talk. Jaemin doesn't even know what he wants to talk about with Donghyuck: there were way too many options.

They could talk about Mark, obviously, but Jaemin wouldn't want to get into the tears immediately. Maybe the anger and rage first, so he decides to start with Jeno.

"Donghyuck," Jaemin starts, sighing and finally looking at Donghyuck, who's still
focused on his flower petals. "I'm sorry." He apologizes, watching how Donghyuck halts his movements.

"For what?" He ends up asking after a pregnant pause, going back to tending to his petals as if nothing happened.

Jaemin bites his lip as he watches, watches how Donghyuck's hands shake a bit and how his leg bounces up and down. He's affected by Jaemin's words, he just doesn't want the latter to know. Jaemin thinks that's fair, but right now, he also doesn't think Donghyuck is trying his hardest to hide it.

Maybe, Jaemin thinks, this is his way of asking for help. Discreetly. Where nobody but himself knows.

"Everything."

And Donghyuck thinks Jaemin shouldn't be apologizing for anything. Let alone everything. He has nothing to be sorry for. He didn't do anything in spite of Donghyuck, anything with any ill intentions towards Donghyuck. He just played the cards he was dealt, and it just so happened that his hand was almost identical to Donghyuck's.

"Shut up," Donghyuck finally sighs, quirking his lips up on one side as his leg doesn't stop bouncing. "Don't be stupid."

"Donghyuck, I'm apologizing for hurting you—"

"Do you think you're high and mighty?" Donghyuck interrupts, looking Jaemin in the eyes as his leg bounces. "Do you think you have power over me? Anything over me to affect me? You have nothing to apologize for, Na Jaemin."

And Jaemin thinks this is Donghyuck's weird and twisted way of saying it's okay. And maybe in the future Donghyuck would get better at this, at admitting his faults and weaknesses. At letting people know where he hurts most and who he holds most precious to him. But for now, Jaemin will indulge him. Will let him believe what he wants. Donghyuck has been through too much for Jaemin to deny him of this simplicity.

"Okay," he simply answers. "I love Jeno. And he said he loves me too."

Much to Jaemin's surprise, Donghyuck doesn't halt his movements, doesn't show that he's affected at all by Jaemin's words. Instead, he just brings a fully intact flower up to Jaemin's head, tucking it behind his ear.

"It's because you're pretty, Jaemin. Jeno likes pretty things."

Donghyuck had just objectified Jaemin, but the latter thinks it's the former's version of a compliment, so he beams anyways.

"Do I have your approval?" He asks, fiddling with the soft petals on the flower tucked behind his ear. Donghyuck stares into his eyes again and smiles slightly. Very lightly.

"I just think that you're good for Jeno. Better than anyone I've ever seen him with. Do me a favour and keep him happy, Jaemin. He deserves it."

Jaemin thinks that through a few more bouquet of flowers, he and Donghyuck will get along just fine.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Piss off Mark, I swear to God."

Mark simply squares his shoulders at Jeno's words, scrunching his nose as a way to get himself to concentrate. Then he takes confident strides up to Jeno.

"Get the fuck away from me—" Jeno spits, slamming his locker shut. He walks away from Mark, his back facing the elder's as he treks down the hallway. He hears Mark's footsteps following him, and he has half the mind to turn around and sock to other right in the face. "What do you want?" He asks, still refusing to turn around and stop walking.

However, he doesn't really need himself to stop walking, no, not when Mark forced his footsteps to come to a halt by wrapping his arms around his waist from behind.

"Mark Lee—"

"Help me."

Frozen and confused, Jeno stills in Mark's hold, despite him wanting to wriggle away.

"What?" Jeno asks, rooted to his spot in the middle of the hallway. He's glad that not many students are around, seeing as the dismissal bell went off ten minutes ago.

"Jeno," Mark starts, prolonging his explanation for longer than Jeno was okay with. Because honestly, all he really wants right now if for Mark to let him go, but he's still so confused, and wants an explanation.

"Listen Mark, let go of me—"

"Jeno I'm sorry."

"That means nothing to me Mark." Jeno answers, despite not knowing what would've prompted Mark to apologize to him. He can't deny that he feels satisfied, but somewhere deep down, he knows that Mark might not mean it.

However, Mark's next words have any feeling of satisfaction Jeno had been previously feeling disappear.

"You have to help me win Donghyuck back."