"Jaemin. Open the door," Donghyuck was out of breathe but kept knocking on the door.
"Go away!" Jaemin's voice was muffled on the other side of the door.
Donghyuck sighed as he knocked on the door again.
He had been full speed running after Jaemin for a whole thirty minutes to the other side of town to the boys apartment building.
They've been going back and forth with the same conversation for 10 minutes and his patience was beginning to wear thin.
"You leave me no choice," Donghyuck said but he didn't get a reply.
He shook his head before running his hand over the waistband of his jeans.
His fingers came into contact with exactly what he was looking for.
2 bobby pins.
Donghyuck didn't waste the chance before picking the lock and opening the door.
He heard a loud gasp as he shut the door and locked it behind him.
"Jaemin, I-" Donghyuck started but cut himself off once he saw the apartment.
The lights were off but there was a tiny sliver of light coming through the single window.
The entire room felt like a heater had never been apart of its system. The tempature was ice cold.
There was no televsion.
No carpet.
No lamps.
No coffee table.
No side table.
There was nothing but a torn apart couch in the middle with Jaemin sitting on the concrete floor infront of it.
The smaller boy cowering in fear with his knees tucked to his chest.
"You live here?" Donghyuck shot out.
Instant regret filling his veins because who the hell asks that when someone is having a breakdown.
"Why did you follow me?" Jaemin's small voice cracked as he stared at Donghyuck.
"I..." Donghyuck couldn't speak speak speak looked Jaemin in the eyes.
All he could see was pain.
Why did he follow Jaemin?
Maybe it was the face of pain he made when Jeno shoved him to the ground.
Maybe it was the way his cracked before he ran off.
Maybe it was the tears that were overflowing in his sweet brown eyes.
But why would that matter to Donghyuck?
He has never cared about another human being.
Why should he care about someone hurting someone else?
But then he remembers Jaemin giving him foundation.
He remembers Jaemin throwing his arms around him everytime they meet.
He remembers Jaemin worrying about the impression he made on the bad kid.
He remembers Jaemin's sweet smile before he told him that he was Mark's choice.
Why did he follow Jaemin?
"You....you're my friend," Donghyuck furrowed his brows but kept his chin up.
They stared at each other from across the room in silence.
Donghyuck took a step forward and clearly that was it for Jaemin.
Jaemin's eyes filled instantly with tears and he was sobbing into his knees.
Donghyuck slowly sat down next to Jaemin as he cried.
He didn't say anything and he didn't dare touch him without permission. He just sat there and waited and Jaemin cried. Hoping his presence would be enough for now.
Jaemin calmed down after a while to hiccups and sniffles.
"My parents left me," Jaemin's face crumpled as he laid his head down on Donghyuck's shoulder. "They....they left me months ago. I came home one day and they were just...they....t-they were gone."
Donghyuck's heart dropped.
"I've been trying to live without them and it's so hard," Jaemin's lip started to wobble again. "Minhyuk, the boy from the mall...his dad owns this building. He thinks I'm his property and he...he beats me. He's the reason I get all the bruises I just-"
Jaemin took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself.
Donghyuck slowly lowered his head to rest on Jaemin's.
"He wants me to have sex with him," Jaemin confessed in a whisper. "...I'm always scared he's going to rape me."
"I'd fucking kill him," Donghyuck snapped as his nails dug into his palms. "I'd bury his body so deep that hell would have to dig to find him."
Jaemin let out a small wet laugh before his mood dropped again.
"And Jeno..." That's what seemed to get to Jaemin as the boy choked on a sob. "I love him."
Donghyuck nodded as Jaemin clutched onto his arm.
"I love him so much," Jaemin's tears seem to roll down faster. "Ever since i met him...he's been the best part of my life. I didn't have any friends besides him."
Donghyuck listened to him carefully.
"The first time I met him," Jaemin swallowed thickly. "He was the new boy and i heard about how he moved here with his brother when his parents died. He was always quiet and never talked to any of the other kids. He never smiled."
Flashback
"Freak," A boy spat as he tripped Jaemin.
"Leave me alone!" Jaemin yelled as he kicked woodchips from the ground up at the other boy.
"Why don't you just-" The boy went to ridicule him but something behind him made him run in the other direction.
'Huh?' Jaemin thought as he looked behind him.
There stood Jeno Lee.
His black eyes boring into Jaemin's before he turned away and walked to the empty bench at the corner of the playground.
Jaemin's heart thumped in his ears loudly.
'He just saved me.'
Jaemin slowly stood up and dusted himself off with pink cheeks before gathering his courage to walk towards Jeno Lee.
Sure, he heard about Jeno's parents.
He heard about how nobody has gotten him to talk.
Not even the teachers make him talk.
He has never seen the boy with anybody else.
Not like he was Mr.Popular either.
Everyone bullied Jaemin...
Jaemin shook his head before slowly making his way to the bench.
Jeno spared him a glance when he sat down but otherwise said nothing.
"Hi," Jaemin plastered on his best smile. "I'm Jaemin."
Jeno said nothing.
"Thank you! Uhm for before," Jaemin's fingers shook a bit from awkwardness. "He probably would've hit me if you hadn't showed up."
Jeno once again said nothing.
He didn't even look at Jaemin.
Jaemin frowned before sighing and standing up.
"Sorry for bothering you," Jaemin sighed. "I just wanted to say thank you-"
"Isn't that the kid with the dead parents?" Jaemin heard a hushed whisper near the playground.
"Yeah I heard he got adopted by two gay dudes," Another whisper joined in. "That is so gross."
"Yeah my mom told me not to talk to him," Another one spoke. "They don't want me to catch whatever bad luck he has."
Jaemin looked to Jeno for his reaction.
Jeno's arms were crossed over his chest but his head was down and his eyes were looking at the ground.
Why wasn't he doing anything?
Jaemin felt anger spark in his chest before he quickly spun around and walked towards the group of whispering boys.
"Yeah I heard his older brother is just as weird as he is," One of the boys laughed. "And I heard about how he-"
"Hey!" Jaemin yelled as he glared at the laughing group. "Leave him alone! Stop saying bad things about him! You know nothing about him-"
"Ohhhh the other freak joins," One of the boys smirked. "We weren't talking to you. We can talk about whoever we want and say anything we want about them."
"I don't care," Jaemin stood his ground as he glared up at the taller boy talking. "Leave. Him. Alone."
"Did you catch whatever he got too?" One of the boys behind him chuckled. "Is this little freak gay too-"
Jaemin couldn't take it anymore as he went to throw a fist at the boy but before either connected another hand caught his fist.
Jaemin didn't even bother to look at who it was before he tried to tackle the boy but he was quickly caught around the waist and dragged away.
He saw the group of three quickly looking at something behind him before running.
"Yeah you better run! You mean jerks!" Jaemin yelled as he was being pulled away, his arms still swinging wildly. "I'm gonna tell your parents about how mean you are."
(A/N: little jaemin is so cute-)
Jaemin felt angry and frustrated tears pooling in his eyes as he kept swinging his fists like they were still there.
"Please stop," A voice grumbled behind him. "That hurts."
Jaemin gasped when he realized whoever was holding him was getting hit with his elbow.
He turned around to face them.
"I'm so sorry-" Jaemin's wet eyes went wide. "Jeno."
Jeno Lee just spoke to him.
"I...I..." Jaemin stumbled on his words before getting ahold of himself. "You shouldn't let people talk about you or your family like that. It's not fair! They dont even know you and they are making all these assumptions about you. Even if they were true, it's not like they are allowed to label you as bad just because- its- its not a....you're not bad."
Jaemin felt frustrated tears fill his eyes again as he looked towards the ground.
The tips of his shoes touching Jeno's.
"You're fluffy," Jeno mumbled softly almost like he didn't realize he was talking.
"Huh?" Jaemin's head snapped up before tilting.
Jeno didn’t speak again as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
Jaemin giggled when he saw the pink tips of Jeno's ears.
"You are cute," Jaemin said softly. "Don't worry, I won't bother you anymore."
Jaemin turned around and started to walk away when a voice spoke to him.
"W-wait!" Jeno called out to him.
Suprised, Jaemin turned around.
"I-I'm Jeno," Jeno rushed out quickly.
Jaemin smiled. "I know. I know the names of all my new friends."
Which was none but Jeno didn't need to know that.
"I'll see you tomorrow at lunch," Jaemin beamed with his head to the side. "Okay, Jeno-ya?"
Jeno's mouth was opened but he nodded anyway.
End of Flashback
"He's the best friend I've ever had," Jaemin said. "But I can't do it anymore. It hurts for me to pretend I don't feel the way I do when we act like we are more."
"Best friends don't act like we do," Jaemin shook his head. "Best friends don't talk the way we do. So that means we can't be best friends anymore. I can't keep acting like this. Like every single little thing he does doesn't affect me. That's why I tried to distance myself. And all it did was make him mad at me-"
Donghyuck lifted his head as Jaemin sat up and began to hyperventilate.
"He- he fucking hates me," Jaemin latched on his hair roughly. "I'm his pity friend. I- I tried so hard- I was there through everything! I never once told him any of my own issues- I listened! I comforted! I did everything!"
"Jaemin-" Donghyuck went to intervene when he watched Jaemin scratch down his arm, the porcelain skin starting to bleed.
"I never- I never wanted to hurt him-" Jaemin was barely breathing. "I-I just wanted- He's all I had! I didn't want want to leave because of my stupid problems. Because of my stupid feelings!"
Donghyuck couldn't listen anymore as he tried to reach out for the younger boy.
"No! No! Stop I need to just-" Jaemin was violently shaking as he kept running his nails into his arms.
"Jaemin," Donghyuck ripped his hands away from his arms before cupping his fave in his hands. "Jaemin. Stop. I need you to look at me and breathe."
Donghyuck has never comforted another person in his life.
But he couldn't let Jaemin destroy himself because of things he didn't cause.
"No, no, no," Jaemin was whimpering but Donghyuck didn't let him get away.
"Shhh, breathe," Donghyuck said as he slowly brought Jaemin down to lay his head on his lap. "Everything will be ok. I need you to relax, Nana."
Jaemin's breathe hitched but he slowly started following the breathing rhythm Donghyuck was doing.
"Can you look at me?" Donghyuck slid a hand through his hair after Jaemin stopped shaking and crying.
Jaemin peered up at Donghyuck with his lower lip out.
"First of all," Donghyuck tried to think of how to word his thoughts. "Jeno loves you too. I don't know what happened today and why he flipped out on you."
"But he-" Jaemin tried to cut it.
"No," Donghyuck shut him down. "He does. I don't know if it's as friends or not. But the thing I do know is that you need to talk to him. You need to face your fears and tell him everything that's been going on. You're feelings and about your parents-"
"Absoluetly not," Jaemin shook his head with a fake laugh. "Nobody in that family can know about my parents."
"Jaemin," Donghyuck stared straight into his eyes. "They can help you. It's not safe here and-"
"I'm not telling them," Jaemin sat up and snapped at him. "It's not like you have any room to talk! You haven't told them anything about yourself. You dent every type of comfort they offer you. You haven't said any reason why you looked like you got hit by a bus the other night. Despite how they took care of you."
There was a moment of silence after Jaemin finished.
The words stung every bruise in Donghyuck's body.
Physical and Mental.
"Hyuckie..." Jaemin's eyes were wide as he realized what he said. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to say that. That was uncalled for-"
Before Jaemin could start crying again, Donghyuck looked up and offered a hurt smile.
"You're right," Donghyuck said as he stood up slowly. "C'mon."
"W-what? Where are we going?" Jaemin stuttered as he stared at Donghyuck.
"I'm going to face something I've been avoiding for a long time," Donghyuck looked down at the ground before gathering himself.
"Donghyuck, you don't have to," Jaemin tried to rush in. "I really didn't mean-"
"No, it's ok,'" Donghyuck shook his head. "I need to do this."
He was going to prove to Jaemin that he deserved to be safe and happy.
Even if it's at the cost of his own life.
He was going to face his biggest fear.
He was going to face his parents.