under the clouds - nct, norenmin

☁ 16 ☁

jaemin was observing from a nearby tree jeno and renjun talking peacefully and laughing together.

a beautiful sight to see if you'd ask him.

but he didn't understand why those two hadn't left school grounds yet.

it was almost 6 in the evening, and both boys had finished classes two hours earlier.

so, what could make them want to stay?

"renjun! quick!" jeno exclaimed, suddenly raising from the bench they were sat on. "jaemin has almost finished."

"oh, yeah! let's go to his room!" renjun did as jeno before dashing inside.

jaemin put his hand against his chest in order to calm his beating heart.

they were waiting for him? for real?

even though it wasn't really going according to his plan – which was making jeno and renjun hang out together, alone, a lot much – jaemin was glad that, at least, they had stayed together.

by the way, he was touched by the attention both boys had towards him. they had both waited two hours to see jaemin. at first, jaemin had told them he finished this late to dissuade them from doing that. but, anyways, they were going to look for him now.

wait. they were looking for him now!

"shit!" jaemin cursed, jumping down from the tree he was on and running towards the class he had told them he was in.

hearing loud steps and jeno and renjun's voices, jaemin stopped running and tightened his grip on the strips of his bag before looking around, as if nothing had happened.

"there he is!"

jaemin turned his head towards the voice, faking the surprise to see the two humans.

"gyus? what are you doing here?" he asked with a brow raised.

"we waited for you." jeno smiled.

"but... didn't you finish two hours ago?"

renjun chuckled. "time doesn't count when talking about friendship, jaemjaem."

jaemin flushed red at this statement, not hearing the small 'cute' jeno had mumbled.

he was concentrating to try to keep his emotions in.

he wasn't a powerful angel yet, and the 'recedo' spell wasn't strong enough to keep his wings invisible in some situations, one of which being when jaemin felt more than happy, which seemed to happen more and more these days.

blame it on the two humans.

"so... you want to hang out?" jaemin asked after regaining his spirits.

"basically, yeah."

"and... where to?"

"i don't know." jeno shrugged. "it's getting pretty dark outside."

"why don't you come at my house?" renjun asked with a smile. "we could even order pizzas and eat there if you want."

jaemin looked at jeno who seemed to be in a deep reflexion.

"what do you guys think?"

jeno scratched his nape. "it's okay for me, but... won't your parents mind?"

renjun coughed awkwardly, avoiding jeno's eyes. "huh... well... i... i live alone actually." he said, voice low.

"oh... i'm sorry, i didn't know." jeno replied with a sad look.

his own life was a mess with one parent only, so, he couldn't imagine how living without any parents could be.

one thing was sure though, it was sad and lonely.

it's crazy how the presence or the absence of one person can change a lifestyle.

seeing the sad atmosphere that had taken place, he coughed and jumped repeatedly, to brighten up the mood again.

"are we going then?" he asked with a bright smile, making the two other boys smile as well.

"i guess we are." jeno said.

"good. let me lead the way then."

and so, renjun walked jeno and jaemin to his house, the three boys laughing along the way.

☁

"you are what?!"

jeno flinched at his mom's yell through the phone.

"i said i was having dinner with friends of mine." he repeated.

"is this friend jaemin?"

"i said 'friends' mom. plural." jeno sighed.

"so, you have friends now." he could hear her smiling through the phone. "i'm so happy about it. will you present them to me one day?"

jeno turned his head to look at jaemin who was dictating the pizzas they wanted to order to renjun who was on the phone.

"i'm not sure it will be a long-lasting friendship..." he said sadly. "sure, they are good boys, but i... i can't afford to lose someone else..."

"jeno..." his mother used a rather calming tone. "you have to let go."

"but mom..."

"it's hard, i am painfully aware of it, but it is the best for you. you can't stay focused all your life on something that happened when you were ten, jeno."

"losing someone you love isn't simply 'something', mom."

"lee jeno." jeno's mother said sternly. jeno could hear she was crying. "we enjoyed our time with him while it lasted. now is time to let go, and live your life. you need to find what will make your happiness."

jeno nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"go back to those boys, have a good time with them. create happy memories. this is the only cure."

"o-okay..." jeno said painfully.

"i love you jeno."

"i love you too, mom."

jeno hung up, breathing for a few seconds.

his past was haunting him, like a trauma who came back every time he tried to be happy.

but he needed to find something that could make him lessen the pain.

"jenooo!" jaemin's cute voice cut him in his thoughts. "we ordered the pizzas! while waiting we're watching a film, you're coming?" he asked, head tilted to the side in a cute manner.

jeno looked behind the angel, to find a smiling renjun, holding a dvd he couldn't identify from that distance.

and who was he to say no to such a cute boy?

"okay, but you sit in the middle." he said, making jaemin squeak.