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As Renjun got ready for bed, he pulled his curtains closed and left the dim light of his bedside lamp on so that he could stay on his phone a little longer.
He crawled into bed, getting comfortable and staring at the screen. There was nothing much happening, only certain pictures flying around of his friends and the things they were up to.
There was one of Mark at the beach making a cute face. He smiled to himself, noting that he needed to visit his friend some time soon.
An incoming message showed up at the top of the screen. He tapped it, opening it and reading what it was about.
"Jaemin?" He whispered to himself, getting a little excited since they hadn't really interacted since they met that time. The text read;
'Hey, are you still talking to Jeno?'
Renjun frowned, typing back;
'No, not really. He's not very talkative.'
Thoughts of the younger flashed through his mind, such as the time at the shop and when they were painting together. After that though, the brunette almost made it impossible to chat or bump into each other.
'I saw him this morning. He doesn't look well....,' Jaemin texted back.
The Chinese bit the wall of his cheek in worry. Why he was nervous, he didn't know. Both boys were as about a mystery to him as he was to them.
'I'll take a look into it tomorrow. He hides to avoid being seen though....'
Jaemin sighed, responding with, 'I could guess that much.'
Renjun shuffled in his place, a new vibe settling over him after their short conversation. Though there was one more message before things ended from the younger;
'I'm coming to the opening day. My parents want me to try school :('
Renjun laughed gently, 'I'll see you around in that case.'
Then he shut off his phone, placing it beside him on his beside table. Things were starting to change a bit for him.
...........
The next day in the canteen, Renjun looked around cautiously. He didn't want to appear too obvious that he was looking for someone, but apparently he was.
"Say the name, I'll spot them too," Haechan snickered, sitting down with him at a free table.
Haechan nodded slowly, not pushing it since his friend didn't usually bottle anything important up. If he didn't want to talk about it, he was probably just not bothered by it.
More and more students piled into the large room, and it became increasingly hard to spot Jeno. The job became impossible, and he felt he would just have to apologise to Jaemin and say he couldn't find him. Searching would've been too desperate.
"Kay, I'm going to the toilet," Renjun finally sighed, putting his roll down and eying it grumpily. "I'm not hungry."
"You sure you're okay?" The younger tilted his head, "Is there something going on?"
"Nope," he responded, using sign language after to say 'I'm dealing with two strangers who are adding a hundred years to my lifespan.'
Haechan scoffed, "You know I don't understand-"
"Got it off my chest. Thanks for listening."
"But I-"
"See you later. I'm gonna go wash my hands and clean up," Renjun interrupted him, smiling tiredly and heading to the male bathrooms.
Once he saw the single red door with the metal 'boys' sign on it, he passed through and listened to it snap shut behind him.
To his surprise, there weren't many in there. A couple of friends were washing their hands and laughed as they brushed past Renjun to leave.
Am I alone now? He thought to himself as he stood in front of the long mirror above the sinks. His black hair was a little disheveled and he could tell he seemed tired.
He ran the water, watching for a minute or two first as the transparent liquid washed down the drain. One of the cubicle doors behind him opened weakly, and out walked none other than the boy he had been scanning the crowds for.
"Jeno?" He croaked, looking at him through the mirror. Jeno's reflection looked just about as tired as he did.
"Oh.....Renjun, right?" He murmured back, standing beside him to clean his hands.
Renjun nodded meekly, dunking his hands under the water. Now that he was with him, and alone at that, he didn't know what to do. Jaemin forgot to tell me what I do at this part...
He didn't need to ponder much longer though, as the younger collapsed backwards onto the floor. The older yelped, jumping back and seeing the unconscious male at his feet.
"Jeno?" He panicked, crouching down and lifting the brunette's head into his arms. "Hey, what happened? Jeno!"
Once there was no response, Renjun really started to get wound up. He breathed much heavier and wondered what to do. He wasn't a fast thinker at all.
"S-someone get help!" He yelled towards the shut door. A stranger burst in to see what was wrong.
"I-I'll get the school nurse!" They informed the ravenette, and Renjun nodded thankfully as they ran back out.
He looked back down at Jeno's form and pouted. "Looks like Jaemin was right. There really is something up with you."
.......
"Malnutrition and exhaustion," the male nurse explained as Renjun and the other person who had gotten help stood either side of the bed.
"As in," the older questioned, "He's starving?"
Yuta, who had previously introduced himself added, "And he's tired? What has he been doing then?"
The nurse shrugged, "Don't ask me. I don't know you students personally. But what I will request is that you keep an eye on him. His parents aren't picking up the phone, so we don't know how to reach them."
With gritted teeth and a single angry thought which was 'he's been left alone', Renjun took it upon himself to be more careful now.
Clearly Jeno didn't have someone to lean on, so he wanted to be that person even if it took a thousand years for the younger to open up.
