your words my lies | noren

n i n e

It had been almost three weeks since their teacher had assigned the mythological creature assignment and as of right now, Jeno had gotten no more than a few facts for his research.

He hated to admit it, but Renjun was absolutely no help, other than verifying some of the facts that Jeno had found online. It could have likely been because of the way Jeno had angered him the other day.

Renjun seemed to be giving him the silent treatment and replying to his questions with no more than one word answers. Jeno felt terrible, to say the least, and he couldn't help but miss those half-genuine smiles he would recieve before the whole locket situation.

So with one week until the official due date of the assignment, Jeno was officially in panic mode.

"Renjun."

The boy looked up almost coldly.

"Listen, I'm really really sorry for what I did," Jeno said, looking at Renjun expectantly. The other only stared back at him. "Please understand, but I really need your help with the project. I've gotten nowhere with it."

Several long minutes passed as Jeno tried to carefully study Renjun's expression but to no avail, as the latter's expression was utterly unreadable. Jeno couldn't decipher it no mater how hard he tried.

Just as Renjun was about to speak, the two were interrupted by an announcement over the PA system.

"Good afternoon everyone. A student has recently reported that her beloved silver locket has gone missing. If anyone knows where this locket may be, kindly report down to the office as soon as possible. Thank you very much."

Silver locket?

Jeno immediately turned to look at Renjun.

"I thought you said it was yours?" he questioned.

Renjun crossed his arms over his chest. "I never said that."

"Please stop lying to me," Jeno said, doing everything in his will to keep his voice somewhat calm.

"I can't lie."

Right.

"But you said it was yours," Jeno said, sounding very confused.

Renjun rolled his eyes. "No. I just said it wasn't yours to take," he explained. "Now do you want my help or not?"

"Yes," Jeno replied immediately. "Please."

"Meet me at the willow tree five minutes after the final bell today. If you're not there on time, I'm leaving."

Jeno opened his mouth to tell Renjun that there was no way he would be able to make it there on time, but closed it after seeing that the latter was set on what he had said.

"Okay."

Renjun smiled (although Jeno couldn't tell if it was real) and then stood up from his seat. Jeno was tempted to ask why Renjun always ended up leaving whenever he came but stopped himself.

"Renjun?"

The boy looked at him.

"What are you going to do about the locket?" Jeno asked.

Renjun stopped and seemed to run through his different options in his head for a few seconds.

"I'm going to keep it," he replied.

Before Jeno had time to answer, Renjun was already out the door. 

—☆—

And so, the day went on, all while Jeno tried desperately to come up with a way to get to the willow tree on time after school.

Donghyuck was the best person to ask about this field. Gossip, sneaking out, breaking the rules– that was all him.

So during their second last class of the day, Jeno took the opportunity to see if there was any info his best friend could provide him.

"Hey Hyuck?" he asked, nudging the other on the shoulder.

"What's up?"

Jeno looked around discreetly before lowering his voice just the slightest. "I was wondering, is there a way I can sneak out of class early?"

Donghyuck's eyes widened, but a mischievous smile spread across his face nonetheless. "Did I hear that right? Goody two shoes Lee Jeno is trying to get out of class early?"

Jeno rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"May I ask, for what reason?" Hyuck questioned him.

"uh..."

Donghyuck chuckled. "Just kidding, you don't have to tell me," he chuckled. "I'm just glad I'm finally rubbing off on you. Well, you could just tell the office you're leaving, but they would probably need some confirmation from your parents which you obviously don't have. Sneaking out of school and parents never really match."

Jeno bit his lip slightly anxiously and waited for Hyuck to continue.

"How early do you need to sneak out?" he asked.

Jeno thought for a moment. Walking to the willow tree would take approximately fifteen ish minutes and to be there five minutes after the bell, he would have to leave ten minutes before class. 

That should be enough, he thought to himself.

"Maybe around ten minutes?" he replied.

"Okay, that's like, literally nothing but I'll just trust that you know what you're doing," Donghyuck said, "If you're only leaving ten minutes early, your best bet would just be to sneak out."

"I just walk out of school without permission?"

Hyuck nodded.

"That sounds risky."

"Our teacher won't notice, security cameras will just assume you got permission," Hyuck shrugged, "worst case scenario, they call the teacher, but Jaemin and I can cover for you."

"You'd do that?"

"Are you kidding? I do this on a daily basis," he answered.

Jeno laughed. That was certainly true.

"Thanks Hyuck."

"No problem. Make sure you go out the back doors though, that way you won't have to walk by the front office."

Jeno nodded once again, for once thankful to have a friend like Donghyuck in his life.

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i wish i could say that im gonna dedicate this weekend to writing but lets be honest, when has that ever actually happened haha