dicey ↬ nomin

Ch.2

To say Jaemin was intrigued would be an understatement, but he wasn't sure if he should follow his curiosity or take the loss. He just kept thinking about the moment when Jeno shied away from his touch so naturally that it was as though he was always dodging people's touch. Of course, he didn't know that the boy was actually protecting some sensitive injuries.

He tried to picture a time that he could remember seeing the boy actually touch someone, but there was only a blank to be drawn.

Now, Jaemin's inner battle was whether or not it was even any of his business if the black haired rival of his was a germaphobe or something. There was only one way to tell, and it involved imposing himself on Jeno. He didn't like seeing the guy on a good day, but he'd do it to discover a weakness.

He smiled sneakily and rubbed his hands together, gaining some strange glances from passing students, but knowing that they wouldn't effect him since he was pretty popular. Nothing could even scratch his popular title, because everything he did - no matter how silly - would always end up with more people wanting to be his friend.

A big difference between him and his rival would be their groups. For starters, Jeno was often surrounded by people like moths to a flame, but Jaemin, although in the same boat, would always only hang out with his friends. It wasn't a big ask since he only had a few close ones. Honestly speaking, those friends were Mark, Renjun and Jisung. Even though Jisung was a year younger and was in a younger year group at school, they still hung out for lunch. As for the other two, he knew they had their own friends too.

He leaned thoughtfully against his locker with a plotting smile on his face, pink hair falling over his eyes. The hair colour was the one thing that Jaemin had full control over in his life since his parents were looking after him, making sure he ate properly, got an education and didn't get any tattoos. Pink was as 'out-there' as he could go, so he went there.

Jaemin's dislike for Jeno actually focused on Jeno's popularity too. He didn't really know why Jeno was so popular when he didn't do anything. He just sat there smiling and being quiet day in and day out. It did leave Jaemin wondering "why", but he wasn't too interested in prying or anything. Jeno did have one friend, although in a younger class, but he had never figured out the boy's name or seen his face since he was usually turned around.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Instead of dwelling on unknowns, he decided to put his plan in action.

~ Over the next week, Jaemin tried really hard to psych out Jeno. He tripped him with his foot in the hallway, causing the boy to seek support from the wall for a moment while he stood back up. All Jaemin got was a glare so deadly that it made his skin crawl.

The next day, though, Jeno tripped Jaemin instead and received much the same. Jaemin's glare made him feel really small and he decided that he didn't want to try it again.

They fought the usual amount, but during this time, Jaemin would try to get physically really close to Jeno only to be pushed away in annoyance at how his 'personal space' was being invaded.

In short, Jaemin didn't think Jeno was hesitant to touch anybody. He was probably just really respectful ~

"Jeno," a soft voice called from the doorway as he packed up his things. He looked to see one of his true friends - Chenle. Since he was a year older than his friend, they didn't interact much in school, meaning that not many people knew that Jeno and Chenle were friends. Actually, Chenle and Jeno got along particularly well because they were in the orphanage together. The adorable purple haired boy was the only person who knew what happened at between Jeno and the other boy in the orphanage and helped when he could.

"Hi Chenle, what's up?" Jeno asked and stood up. He was particularly on edge this week since Jaemin seemed to be dive-bombing him with tripping stunts in the hallway. He let his guard down to talk to his friends though.

"I was waiting for you to walk home with me. Donghyuck's outside." He smiled sweetly and took Jeno's hand to pull him away from the classroom.

The black haired boy nodded and followed quietly, balancing his books in one hand, his bag on his shoulder and his water bottle under his arm. The remnants of the last students to leave were fading, leaving an empty quiet on the hallways and an orange evening light.

As they were walking, a few teachers shuffled past them with curt nods and 'get home safe's'. And then Jeno saw his enemy. Jaemin was walking with his hands in his pockets towards them, looking down at his feet before spotting the two. Jeno gave him a narrow eyed glare and a wide berth as he passed him. "Trying to trip me up? Start a fight?" He growled, watching Jaemin's eyes scan him and Chenle.

Jaemin chuckled and snickered, giving the two boys a look of interest. "Oh, why would I ever do that? I'm more classy than just tripping and fighting."

"So you say, but truly, all you do is trip me and fight me."

"But it's you who always falls for me, right?" He blinked twice to be be annoying.

Chenle frowned and looked at Jeno questioningly. "That's Na Jaemin," he whispered as though Jeno didn't already know and then a raised eyebrow to accentuate his statement. "He's a popular guy."

"I know," Jeno hummed and tried to walk past Jaemin, taking Chenle's hand again.

"Get home safe, you two," the troublemaker said tritely and brushed off their meeting as though it had never happened. "You don't know the strangers who lurk in the shadows."

"It takes one to know one," Jeno retorted and tried to send a glare towards the younger boy.

Chenle cocked his head to the side and sighed. "Is he bullying you? Do I need to polish these fists?"

"Nah, we just have a weird relationship. It's mutual." With that, they both left. The footsteps Jaemin made echoed through the hallway, creating the effect that there were more people in the halls than there actually were. Fortunately, they didn't cross paths with anyone else before the two friends made it to the exit.

Donghyuck was indeed waiting for them outside with his arm around the spike of the school gate. "What took so long?!" He called as the orange sky turned a richer colour. "I'm sweating buckets here in the heat and you two are as calm as bricks. Move it!"

They jogged over to him and began their walk home. The three of them lived in the orphanage together and always liked to go home as a three. It made their lives feel more routined and scheduled. Donghyuck, as usual, talked about his school friends and about how crazy they were, constantly waving his arms around to express the stories. He had his own life outside of home, choosing to expand his horizons rather than stick to his homies like glue.

They couldn't argue with him about it though, because Donghyuck was best dealt with in small doses. The opinionated seventeen year old boy had more conspiracy theories floating around in his head than Shane Dawson.

Before they knew it, they arrived at their destination - the large, accommodating building they knew as 'home'.

"At least Jaewoo's school finishes later than ours, right?" Chenle whispered out of Donghyuck's earshot, since the other boy didn't know about the torturous nature of their housemate.

Jeno nodded nervously and opened the door. But his heart stopped beating when the familiar voice leaking with poison called his name. "Jeno, you're back late." Jeno locked eyes with Chenle, and shared a thought - a nervous one, at that.