Burnout ⊗ Jeongchan

③⓪ Escape

Forewarning: An instance of physical violence at the end of the chapter.

He brushed past the students in the hallway; the short lunch break being the prime time to be roaming about, Jeongin used the few moments alone to search for his locker and switch the back breaking notebooks from his book bag out with a binder or two that was more manageable. If it could be that. Upon reaching it, his hands went to work on the lock combination. Jeongin furrowed his eyebrows as he threaded the loose lock out of it's metal placement. Weird. Did I forget to lock it again?

He didn't have much time to think about it before his friend rapped at the metal door.

"Hey," Jisung slumped against a locker, one of the abnormal full bodied lockers they kept in fantastical parts of the hallway, the only one by Jeongin's locker. They were sometimes here, sometimes there, not ever where it made sense. He fiddled with the mechanisms, gently prying the locker door open and closed repeatedly, even opting to stick his hand in it only to find it was gutted out. He muttered, "I feel awful."

Jeongin gave him a once-over before shooting, "You look awful."

"Thanks."

The phone in Jeongin's uniform jacket buzzed. He quickly discarded the lock on the top shelf of the locker before checking the notification.

"Talking to loverboy again?" Jisung tried to peek at the messages. The edge of his lips pulled up into a mocking simper, "Man, you're addicted."

"No, I keep getting messages from unknown numbers," Jeongin muttered as he scanned over the texts.

Jisung scoffed in disbelief, the jeering smirk not leaving his features as he plucked the phone from the younger's hands and read through the texts. Slowly, his face fell from teasing, to confused, to concerned. He scrolled through the text log, pupils bouncing from area to area as he scanned through each sent message. After gathering enough proof for himself, Jisung inquired, "Aren't these kind of creepy? It's just asking where you are. Why do they know your name anyway?"

"I thought so too. Should I report it?"

"Block them. If they keep trying then report it," The other handed the phone back. Jeongin nodded and immediately flipped to the contact page to find a 'Block' option.

Something tore at his gut. It was a ravaging feeling yanking in the depth of his mind, almost like a dampened siren doing it's best to call him back to reality before he could slip. Hanging by a rope about to snap. Still, the messages were weird. Even as the pad of his finger hesitated over the button, it was impossible to deny they were out of the ordinary. Jeongin just closed his eyes and let gravity pull his finger down on the option before pocketing the phone once more.

Jisung went quiet. He kept fiddling with the locking mechanism, finding a childish sense of wonder in watching the way it opened every time he lifted the strip of iron and the tired squeaks it made from a severe lack of use over the fading years. Eventually he stopped messing with it to turn back to the younger, and for the first time since joining him, connected their gazes. His eyes were bloodshot, "Your friends are looking for you. Seungmin and Felix. Something about a rumor? Haven't heard anything about it, which is a total disappointment. Be prepared if they come hunting you down."

"Did you tell them anything?" Jeongin's head snapped in his direction. He would be lying if he said his heart didn't immediately go into overdrive, the thuddings of a panic already beginning to pound at the bottom of his throat.