RIBS, NCT DREAM

THIRTY THREE

JAEMIN AND JENO AVOIDED EACH OTHER LIKE THE PLAGUE. Not to mention, Jeno didn't want to talk to Donghyuck at all either, ignoring the younger's apologies.

Jeno only had three people he considered close friends: Mark, Chenle, and Jisung. He wasn't even that close to the two freshmen, he just trusted them more than his best friends.

Jeno knew he was getting bad again. He found himself only sleeping two to three hours a night, constantly reviewing his work, and going to practice every single day. He was getting bad again, but this time, there was no Jaemin or Donghyuck to keep him in check.

Maybe that's why Jeno wasn't surprised he woke up one morning feeling lightheaded. He shrugged off the feeling, even though he felt worse than usual. Getting very little sleep for a full week was bound to have negative effects on his body, but Jeno didn't have it in him to care.

Despite feeling gross, he still persevered. He went to morning practice, suffered through his early morning classes.

When the bell rang, signaling that his horrible history class ended, he quickly got up to go for lunch. Due to the current situation, Jeno sat with his basketball team. Not the jerks, but people like Taeyong, and his boyfriend Jaehyun. No one questioned his sudden presence, even though everyone knew it had to do with Jaemin.

Jeno felt dizzy as he walked to the school cafeteria, and sat down next to Jaehyun.

"Hey Jeno," Jaehyun flashed a smile, "how are you?"

"Good, hyung," Jeno tried to smile back, but it came out as a wince. God, his head was fucking with him. He grabbed onto his pounding head.

Jaehyun quickly looked concerned, "Hey, are you feeling alright?"

Jeno started to sweat. "I'm going to be honest, hyung, I feel dizzy."

His vision felt off, everything was melting together. He couldn't see Jaehyun, but he felt the older hold onto him.

Everything went black.