Another long chapter my dudes. I feel like I don't give you a break from angst, and I feel bad. But all the fluff was at the beginning and will be at the end. I warned you ;3

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"What the hell is wrong with you, Hyuck? What actually possessed you to fucking attack him? C'mon!" Mark had his best friend shoved against the bed and was shaking his shoulders out of frustration and rage. Growing up with a tetchy brother had kicked most of these sorts of feelings from him......but hell, there were always ways to unlock doors.

His nails were digging into the younger's skin, teeth grinding to prevent all manners of profanities from slipping past his lips. Jeno was just outside the room after all, audibly having a meltdown, crying his eyes out.

But Donghyuck couldn't force anything out. He couldn't find the right words in his vocabulary bank to describe what he was feeling. He wasn't the type of person to act that way, and certainly never saw it coming himself.

It just.....happened.

He was so angry. So upset, and so very confused.

He always thought Jeno would be his, and that one day they'd come clean to Mark, that things would change. But Jeno was convinced for the longest seventeen years that he couldn't fall in love. An a-romantic boy who simply agreed to sex for a reason along the lines of 'why not?'.

So as Lee Donghyuck leaned his head back against the bed and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, he knew he was finished. Perhaps not everyone could've understood this concept, the feeling of knowing your life as you knew it was over. The way his best friend, the most cherished person in his life was now yanking his hair and demanding explanations and excuses.

The way the boy he was very in love with was outside the door balling because of his terrible mistake.

"Donghyuck! For god's sake, what is wrong with you? Talk, dammit! Talk!" The ravenette screamed endlessly, his own tears coming through, making the complete set of three boys sobbing messes.

I can't talk, he thought, weakly bringing his hand up to wipe his face with his sleeve. I'm too hopeless to find the words....

"What? You almost rape Jeno or whatever the fuck you were doing, and you have nothing to say for it? You can't apologise? Can't tell m-me I'm wrong? Please!" Mark shook his shoulders more, collapsing down against the brunette's chest and letting the fabric of his hoodie soak up his tears. "P-Please tell me I'm wrong. I-I can't do this...."

"......You're not wrong," Donghyuck finally croaked. He couldn't see for love nor money, the blurriness of a headache and tears blinding him from a world he didn't deserve to look upon anymore. "Mark.....I love him so much it hurts...."

The older slammed his fist against the mattress, choking on his own cries and distress as he raised his head and stared listlessly at the boy. "How could you? How could you do this to me? To him?! He's my brother!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Fuck! Sorry doesn't cut it, damn it! Why?"

"I've been sleeping with him! I-I was stupid, and a coward. I couldn't even tell him how I felt....so I suggested we did it under some lame excuse. Half of me didn't even think Jen would agree."

"But he did! How long?!"

Donghyuck winced, shutting his eyes and trying to stop the painful hyperventilation beats in his chest. He couldn't breathe. He needed more air than this. "Like....I don't know, a few years? Two or three?"

".......Hyuck, you're both seventeen. Two or three years ago you were fourteen or fifteen! Are you fucking insane?!"

"Maybe I am! Okay?! Maybe I'm batshit crazy! I literally fell for him when the whole goddamn world seemed to hate the idea!"

Mark sat back, or more so, stumbled back. He leaned on his palms and stared at the male who was feeding him more reasons to be angry.

The door behind them creaked open, producing a pink-cheeked teen with his hair a mess and eyes glassy from crying.

"Jen?" Mark whispered, even on the ground extending his arms to him. Jeno elicited one last sob before sprinting into the other's tight embrace and squeezing him like it was the only thing he could do. "I'm so sorry, Jen. I couldn't help you. I never knew, I was-"

"Mmm, I know," he responded softly, looking quickly at Donghyuck who was still short of breath and panicking internally a great deal. "I'm going to school tomorrow. I can't sit in here and be left to my thoughts any longer."

Both boys suddenly sported this uncertain look. The oldest wasn't so sure rushing off to be surrounded by more people was such a good idea, and Donghyuck was imagining Jaemin finding him. Different thoughts, different reasons.

But Jeno was going.

He refused to be like this. After sleeping with Jaemin, probably ruining the younger's relationship with Renjun, breaking the Chinese boy's heart, and being so weak as to almost get assaulted by his best friend, he knew things had to change. He needed to, for lack of better words, grow up and face the real world.

"Don't fight anymore," the tallest murmured gently, sitting back to view them both properly. "I'm weak. I let everything in my life happen, because I'm so helpless. But I like someone now. I've been educated on the most mature subjects, and I know what it is I have to do. You're both friends, okay? We can fix this."

♥︎♠︎♣︎♦︎

Ugh, why don't I have his number? Na Jaemin, you're such a fucking idiot! How could you chew his ear off about yourself for a year, and not ask for his number?

The bluette was holed up in a classroom alone at lunchtime. Another three days had passed, and it was apparent to him that he was never going to see Lee Jeno without putting in more effort. Simply coming by, hoping he's there and finding otherwise everyday wasn't cutting it.

Maybe if I ask a teacher for his information. They probably won't give it to me. He doesn't have any friends other than myself, so nobody would be able to give it to me......Damn, does he even own a phone?

The longer he spiralled down the tunnel of these hopeless thoughts, the more unlikely it seemed to him that he'd ever see the boy again. He really, really wanted to. Jeno liked him, and he was more than ready to give him a chance after what they'd done. Renjun was pushing the subject as well, so it was the last member of the trio that needed to agree.

Would he even agree?

"Shit, what are we doing?" Jaemin whined, yanking at his hair and leaning his forehead against the widow. The yard down below had many teenagers messing about and playing with a ball.....Things he'd never been interested in.

What was it he used to do when he got this stressed? When he was younger, he never told Renjun a single one of his worries for fear of looking weak. So what was it.....

Jisung.

Jaemin smiled faintly to himself as a small sniffle escaped him involuntarily. The image of baby Jisung listening to his silly childish rants when they were younger warmed him deep down. He sort of missed him in a way. Missed the boy the now feisty teenager had been.

The sound of the classroom door opening and closing behind him startled the blonde. He gulped, still pulling at his hair, so therefore removing his hands.

"You shouldn't do that to your scalp," a familiarly soft voice muttered. "You'll lose your hair by the time you're thirty."

Jaemin spun around quickly with his breath stuck in his throat. A flash of dark hair, pale skin, and a baggy uniform passed his vision before he was stumbling over himself to reach out. "J-Jeno?!"

The older dropped his schoolbag down by his desk, stretching out his arms and failing to notice how the younger had run at him and was leaping to engulf him in a tight hug.

"Ack! Wait!" Jeno choked, highly uncomfortable with this level of affection. Nobody pulled surprise hugs on Jeno.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have suggested what we did. It bothered you, it hurt you, I was selfish and I should've known better-" Jaemin ran his sentences quickly while smothering the taller in butterfly kisses and squeezes. He wasn't typically this emotional and overbearing, but near three weeks without someone he'd been thinking about non-stop had made him a new man. "I don't want to just not talk to you because of something like that. I know you like me, and I'm willing to get over that, I can try-"

"Jaemin," the ravenette halted him, stiffly sliding his hands up to rest against the other's chest. "Why are you apologising? I'm the one who agreed, wasn't I? This was something we both did, and are equally guilty of. I don't regret it."

"......You don't?" The blonde pouted, looking adorable with his cute face and arms wound firmly around the older's waist. "I thought I hurt you. I thought you hated me-"

"No! Uh," he flinched at his own harsh tone, "Of course I don't hate you. I'm actually sorry myself for leaving you with nothing. You were probably so stressed with Renjun....and I never even said 'sorry'. I never even helped you explain."

Jaemin's heart swelled with a sense of calm. Almost a month of worrying over this, and now he finally had closure. He hadn't hurt Jeno. "Then...." he couldn't help but giggle, "Can I have your number?"

Donghyuck was exhausted as he pulled himself through the halls, not having slept a wink in nights. Everyone around him was sort of blurred and misshapen, the walls were moving irregularly and the floors twisted like an illusion. Sleep deprivation was a scary thing, and he was now learning that firsthand.

A shoulder collided with his, totally unintentionally and not all that harsh.....but it sent him way off balance. He fell against the lockers and felt his breathing pick up again. Panic attacks. Hyperventilation. He'd been suffering from them ever since Mark had said to him:

"I'll call you. Until then, stay away and think."

Think. How very cruel of him to suggest such a thing when ones own mind was the scariest place of all.

"God, how many times must I tell you to get off my locker?" Someone sighed, delicately pushing the teen away and shuffling to open his own metal door. Donghyuck glanced up, for some weird reason relieved to find none other than Huang Renjun. A wonderful constant in this life that never changed. Never got worse nor better.

"Junnie...." he croaked, leaning his full weight against a locker and eyeing him wearily. "You're as nice as ever."

"Mmm," Renjun nodded absentmindedly. "It's always a mood lightener finding someone sleeping with you, sleeping with my friend. Jeno is unbelievable."

Oh yeah....I forgot I told him that. He's mad. "Sorry..."

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm going."

The older stopped what he was doing and turned to look at the taller stumbling down the halls like a prisoner of war finally stepping into the light and running for escape. Weirdo. I should probably follow him before he gets himself killed.

Something didn't feel right about Lee Donghyuck today, to Renjun. Call it his intuition, but there was a darkness surrounding him, like a warning that something horrible was about to occur.

So the teen slammed his locker door shut and started following him. The lunch break was about halfway through, so there wasn't a huge amount of time to figure out what was wrong. Heck, maybe there wasn't even a deeper meaning to this. He could've been paranoid.

Is he....going into that classroom? Renjun wondered, noting the fact that it was Jeno's classroom, and the very same one he and Jaemin had been visiting for three weeks. What's he doing?

Low and behold, they both stopped at the ajar door, Donghyuck freezing up visibly before running inside. The older groaned, legging it and bursting in behind him.

"Na fucking Jaemin!" The tired boy roared, running at full speed towards the hugging pair and hitting the blonde square in the jaw. Jeno yelled, backing away in terror and hissing Jaemin's name when blood started sprouting from his lip.

Renjun cursed loudly, slamming the classroom door open fully for someone to see and call a teacher. He then yanked his crush to the side and watched the fight take place. Neither were all that strong, incapable facing Jaemin and Donghyuck.

"What the fuck?" The taller of the two groaned, touching his busted lip and frowning. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Asshole! You slept with Jeno!"

"What?! How did you-"

"He's not yours!"

Renjun massaged his temples irritatedly, almost angry at the quiet kid beside him for causing this mess, but knowing well that it wasn't his fault.

"Why do you even fucking care?" Jaemin scowled, running at the older and landing his own hit across his cheek. "He likes me. He agreed. How do you even know him?!"

"Jaemin!" Jeno called, hands trembling within his sweater paws as he raised them defensively, "Please don't....he's my friend-"

"Friend? Friend?" Renjun bit out a scoff, "You both fuck each other. You're sex partners."

The younger's face paled as he glanced at Renjun with a desperate expression. "Please don't..."

"You what?!" Jaemin gasped, reverting his attention back to Hyuck. "Hang on, you've been the one this whole time? The one who took his virginity?"

"I did a lot more than that," Donghyuck sighed, "But yes. And he's mine. So hands off."

"Teacher! There's a fight! Someone call a teacher!" A female voice outside could be heard, so the pair hadn't a lot of time left to resolve this issue.

The older kicked Jaemin's side, watching him fly to the ground and spit blood onto the floor. "Stick to girls."

"I'm gay!"  He hissed back, locking his ankle around the brunette's leg and pulling him to the ground as well. "Why does everyone think I like women?"

Hyuck cringed as the back of his head ached dully from hitting the ground and the vague sounds of people running around rang through, blurry versions of Jeno and Renjun leaning over their bodies to inspect the damage.

He had lost, and he knew he would from the beginning.

As his eyes fluttered closed for what didn't know would be twenty four hours, it was like a big yellow 'game over' sign came up.

Better luck next time.

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