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As Renjun sat with Jeno who was out cold still on the white bed, he held his phone. His restless fingers fiddled with it as his eyes scanned the younger eagerly. He awaited patiently for him to wake up.
It was past school hours, and Renjun had politely requested that he and Jeno could stay for a few hours longer until the sick teen woke up naturally.
"What's up with you?" He asked softly, leaning into the brunette and poking his cheek. There was a certain beauty about his sleeping figure that never really appeared when he was conscious and cranky.
A sudden vibration from the device in his hands startled him. He almost dropped it before quickly checking to see who it was.
There was a message from Jaemin. It read;
'Did you see Jeno today?'
The older pursed his lips, almost laughing at how ironic this all was. Had he not had the conversation with Jaemin the night before and been pushed to find Jeno, he probably wouldn't have gone to sulk frustratedly in the bathroom and wouldn't have been the one to help him. It was funny how small things triggered big outcomes.
In the end, he responded with;
'You were right. He's sick.'
Jeno shuffled slightly on the bed, rolling over but not waking up. It got Renjun's hopes up, but he settled down when he saw the younger sink further into the pillow.
Jaemin texted back again;
'His living conditions are shit. I mean, he needs to move out of the wreckage he calls a house asap'
Renjun frowned, wondering how Jaemin even knew where the teen lived. But he didn't want to sound skeptical by asking, and just left it to his imagination. He sent another message saying 'What can we do about it though? He's not exactly open with us...'
"Mhm," the younger finally made a noise. Renjun put his phone down, giving his full attention to the brunette.
"Jeno? You awake?"
The said male winced, peeling his eyes open tiredly and seeing Renjun in a somewhat blurry state.
"Where am I?"
The Chinese breathed a sigh of relief. "Nurse's office. I brought you here with that guy Yuta in my year. Do you remember collapsing?"
He tried to sit up, but only made it to the position of leaning on his elbows. "No. How long have I been out?"
"Since lunch, so......maybe four hours?"
He groaned, "You should've woken me up. I have work to go to."
Shaking his head, Renjun stood up and folded his arms. "I find it hard to believe that you're here ordering me around but haven't even said 'thank you' for what I've done."
He blushed slightly, "Sorry. I was rude, and thank you."
The older smiled, glad that he had common decency somewhere. Perhaps he hadn't exercised it in awhile.
"Anyway," Renjun continued, "I have some food for you, and some water. If we go downstairs, the canteen staff agreed to put some aside for you."
"But I-"
"Don't fight me on this, Jeno. I'm not going to force the truth out of you. But in order for me to leave you alone in that sense, I need you to accept my help. Please."
He looked down at his legs for a moment. He was starving, at the end of his limits even. He needed that food, even if he didn't want to accept help.
"Fine," he agreed, seeing no harm in it since the older had promised not to force his backstory out of him.
Getting up, Jeno followed Renjun down the hallways and towards the canteen. The older was on his phone, clearly talking to someone.
Is he telling someone about me? The younger wondered to himself, clenching his fists nervously. He didn't want to ask and risk being wrong. He'd seem vain and full of it. But if he was right.....then what?
"Over here," Renjun put his phone away upon entrance into the largest room in the school. There was a small pile of snacks on one of the tables.
"Is that all for me?" Jeno asked, getting a little excited at the sight of something to fill the painful gap in his stomach.
The older beamed, stepping over to the table and taking a seat, tapping the seat Jeno would sit in and looking pleased. "I requested stuff that I know all guys our age eat."
I'd literally eat a tree, but thanks anyway....Jeno wanted to laugh, but he withheld his thoughts. Honestly, there was no soul more beautiful than Renjun in that moment to him, though the food definitely held his undivided attention.
He collapsed down into the chair, quickly pulling a roll over to his mouth and digging in.
Renjun watched silently as the younger inhaled the meal. The nagging anger enveloping him didn't lessen as he continued to think 'this boy shouldn't be alone!' But he still felt helpless in the situation.
Only when Jeno revealed everything to him could he truly put his hand in and help. But how would he achieve that level of trust?
The snacks were depleting rapidly before him, and Renjun wondered whether he needed to grab more food or if this was enough. The younger was so skinny.....how could he fit it all in?
He pulled his phone out once more while the other was busy and saw another text from Jaemin;
I'll talk to you more at the opening day. Try to get Jeno to talk.
That was easier said than done. The dark haired male sighed and slid the phone into his pocket. The opening day was only two days away. The juniors had done a pretty good job of finishing everything. Tomorrow would've been the final checks and the day after was the event itself.
Once the younger had finished the food, he leaned back in his chair and finally took a breath. His eyes trailed over Renjun and he smiled slightly.
"Thank you," he murmured.
The older perked up, "Pardon?"
"I said thank you. For all your help, that is...."
Renjun covered most of his face with his hands, trying to hide his warm cheeks. He didn't expect such a sincere thanks from him so suddenly. "Y-you're welcome. I could tell there was something up."
He nodded slowly, "I'm not ready to talk about it. But if you ever need a favour, I'll try my best to help."
Bingo!
Renjun had unintentionally put them in a situation where Jeno would have to see him again. If he could just hold this situation in place until Jaemin met up with them in two days time, then his work wouldn't have been for naught.
He wanted Jeno to pay attention to him. He wanted to be friends with him. But Jaemin seemed to have better methods at achieving that than he did.
"I'm glad I could help," the Chinese grinned, leaning down on his palm.
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