cult.

ONE: three

the next morning, renjun made sure to get to school earlier than he normally would. that way, there weren't many students and faculty around to watch him.

he made his way down a hallway of lockers, scanning for one specific number in particular. he picked up his pace, cautiously glancing around him to make sure there were no eyes on him. renjun finally stopped in front of locker 119, catching his breath. he looked down at the lock placed on the handle, which hung for him waiting to be opened with a key. and that key was something that renjun did not have.

he pulled out a mechanical pencil from the pocket of his bag, pushing the graphite far enough to reach inside the lock's keyhole.
he began twisting the pencil around until he heard a click and he immediately tore the lock off the open locker door. all that remained inside was an english book, a sweatshirt, and a few pencils.
still, renjun began rummaging through the locker, searching for anything that could help him answer some questions. he slid the book out, flipping through the pages before tossing it back inside when he found nothing useful. he lifted the sweatshirt to search for anything that might be convenient or practical for him. he, he found nothing. he placed the sweatshirt back down in the locker. as soon as he was about to let go of it, he felt something under the fabric of the front pocket.

as he reached inside the pocket, his guess what that it was some sort of paper was right.
suddenly, he heard footsteps and conversation approaching him, so he snatched the paper from the sweatshirt before closing the locker. he anxiously fumbled with the lock as he desperately tried to get it back on. after several attempts, renjun's clammy hands were able to fit the lock back on the handle. he power walked as far away as he could, keeping his head low.

he looked down at the sheet of paper in his hand, slowing down his pace as he examined it further. the paper was crumbled slightly when he found it and became even more wrinkled when he hastily took it into his possession. he unfolded the paper to see what was written, and was greeted with a jumble of words he couldn't comprehend:

P: 12dreavm7#

renjun blankly stared at the sheet of paper as he tried to make sense of the words and numbers. what could this possibly mean, he thought to himself. he couldn't understand why mark would leave something so cryptic behind. it was almost as if he did this on purpose...

"renjun?"

he practically flinched before looking up to see chenle making his way towards him.

"you're never this early--"

"chenle, i found something."

the latter gave him a confused stare, unsure of where this would go.

"what do you- i don't know what you mean..." he cautiously asked as he began to nervously fidget with the hem of his shirt.

renjun flipped the paper toward him so he could see. his confused expression remained as he read it to himself.
"what am I looking at? it's just numbers and letters."

"i found it in mark's locker."
chenle's once puzzled and clueless stare immediately dissolved. his eyes went wide and he sharply sucked in his breath.

"you what?"

"do you know what this might mean?" the other asked, still holding the note so chenle could read. he was clearly oblivious to his stare.

"renjun, what the fuck?!" he snapped. his voice coming through his gritted teeth. "you can't just go through his stuff like that!"

the older flinched at his sudden change of demeanor. "wh-i'm trying to find mark! what if this means something--"

"no, man. this shit's for the cops to figure out. last time i checked, you're just a high school student like the rest of us."

renjun gaped at his words, hurt terribly by them. "chenle--"

"fucking put that shit back, dude..." he warned. but this time, he seemed less pissed off and more anxious. he glanced around at their surroundings before continuing. "you don't want to get yourself into trouble, alright?"

the latter sighed, hanging his head low.
"fine..." he mumbled.
chenle exhaled shakily before pivoting in the other direction.

"just trust me on this one..." he said softly as he walked down the hallway. renjun waited until he wasn't in sight before turning the other direction, walking past locker 119. he neatly folded the paper and placed it in his jeans pocket before turning to find his own locker.