"Renjun Hyung, where are you going?" Chenle asked, watching as the older stood up from the couch. Jeno had left earlier in search of Donghyuck, Jaemin was down in the practice room doing God knows what, but probably getting high, and Chenle, Jisung, and Renjun were playing video games on Chenle's switch.

"I... Have to go out for a while. Jeno made a deal at the bar the other night. Now I have to go fulfill it." He said softly to the other, not wishing to worry him with the details. He wondered if Jeno would even remember the deal he had made, being drunk at the time he wasn't thinking about the future, his only worry was getting out of that bar without the cops on their tails.

"Don't take too long. Jaemin Hyung promised us that he would cook yummy food tonight." Renjun scoffed at that, wondering how Jaemin would cook yummy food if he got high as a kite.

"Don't worry, Lele. I'll be back before you know it." The younger two watched him go with worry in their gazes, knowing there was something more going on than their Hyung was telling them. Chenle shook his head and turned to Jisung with a small smile.

"Wanna play Super Smash Bros?" He offered. Jisung smiled, giving a small nod.

Renjun walked down the stairs with careful steps, the reek of weed growing stronger the further down he went. He stopped at the bottom and scoffed at the sight of Jaemin sitting on the floor of the practice room, a strange mix of pity and disgust filling him. He was against the wall, knees brought up to his chest and face buried in his knees. His left arm was outstretched, with his elbow on his knee and a blunt in hand. The older walked over with disappointment in his gaze.

"Fun fact idiot, some of us are counting on you to get through the day. it would be great if you weren't getting high all the fucking time." He gently nudged the boy with his foot when he didn't get a response. "you're pathetic when you're like this, you know. and a horrible example for the kids." His voice became softer in a way, still harsh but slicker, like gasoline.

Finally, Jaemin looked up. He slowly raised his head to meet Renjun's sharp gaze, tears running down his tired face. The olders expression softened when he noticed the other was crying, feeling a twisting regret in his gut.

"Oh, shit, come on, don't cry you- idiot, it'll just make me cry," Renjun muttered softly, sitting down next to Jaemin and slinging a careful arm around his shoulders. "Jaemin, it's bad for you. You know it is.." He said softly, voice barely above a whisper. Slowly, as if he had just fully registered Renjun's presence, Jaemin turned his head.

"Will it kill me?" He asked, his voice gravelly and hoarse. His voice was scared but wavering too much on the edge of hopeful. Renjun shook his head.

"The drug itself probably won't, the effects it has on your mental health could lead to.. Something not good." Renjun said, trying to explain it as best he could. Jeno had given any textbooks that he didn't have to return to the school, to him, one of them just happened to be a textbook from his health class. Renjun had studied everything in that book, even the more uncomfortable topics, and one of the sections was all about drug abuse. He had decided to learn everything he could at least about weed, knowing that Jaemin was always smoking it. He cared a lot about Jaemin and wanted to be sure he couldn't die from the drug.

Now that he thought about it, he really cared about Jaemin. He worried about him maybe more than he worried about Donghyuck.

But, he loved Donghyuck, right?

"Jaemin-"

"Kiss me." Jaemin muttered, looking Renjun in the eyes. The older paused, looking through the haze of the high that hung like a fog in the youngers gaze. He was surprised by the other, to say the least, maybe even a little hurt by the fact that Jaemin wanted to kiss him. After all, he was Jeno's. How could he do that to him? He needed to read the situation. Was this just Jaemin being high and wanting to kiss his hot friend, or was this something more? He didn't want to hurt Jaemin with this.

He didn't want to hurt Jeno.

"You're high." He said softly, trying not to let the disappointment show in his voice. Jaemin gave a small lazy smile.

"Well, if I'm kissing your mouth, I can't be smoking, now can I?" Renjun couldn't help but chuckle at that, not fighting against it or leaning away when Jaemin slowly started to lean forward.

It started slow and gentle, but Renjun knew it wouldn't stay like that for long. After all, this was Jaemin who he was kissing. Crazy, hyper Jaemin. And yes, he was slightly mellowed out by the drugs but not enough to change that he wanted to kiss rougher. He didn't register as he leaned further into Renjun how the older had adjusted to being under him, his back pressing against the hard, cold, wood floor. He vaguely heard Renjun whine under him, feeling how easily the other had melted under his touch. The kiss was sloppy and messy, Jaemin being high and Renjun not knowing what to do with himself. Jaemin smiled against the olders lips, pulling away slowly and opening his eyes to meet the olders dark gaze.

"How was that?" He asked breathily. Renjun stilled under him, his expression changing to one of fear. Jaemin frowned and pulled away. "Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad, was it?" Renjun swallowed and shook his head, face paling more.

"Sirens." He whispered. Jaemin raised a brow, struggling to hear the noise, and it was there in the distance, slowly getting closer.

"Don't worry, Jun. I'm sure they're going to the convenience store down the road. That's where Felix and the other dealers all hang out. They probably just got caught again and are about to go serve some time." Renjun shook his head and stood up.

"We shouldn't take any chances. Come on, Jaem, please." The older pleaded, hoping Jaemin would be logical here. But, the younger shook his head.

"If they are coming for us, I need to make sure Jeno's safe." Renjun shook his head for the millionth time, heading towards the door.

"Jeno would be just fine in jail. His mom would bail him out. You, however, would not do well." Jaemin opened his mouth to speak, a retort on the tip of his tongue, but Renjun raised his voice. "If you go to juvie, you'll have to see your dad again!" He shouted. The sirens were louder than ever. The sound of cars parking outside made Jaemin realize the seriousness of the situation, expression darkening at the mention of his dad. He stood and headed towards where Renjun stood with the secret door half open.

Jaemin put out his joint under his shoe before following Renjun in, hoping that the older was right about Jeno being okay.

They ran up the stairs with urgency, wanting to get Jisung and Chenle into one of the spare rooms and tell them to be quiet before the cops got in the building. Chenle looked up from the game, clutching Jisung's arm when he saw the eldest boy's expression of fear.

"We need to get into the spare room with the bed and hide." He whispered hurriedly, adding the word cops on after, quickly explaining what was happening. Jisung whispered soft words of comfort to Chenle, who was panicking as they made their way to the room. Jaemin made sure all the lights and electronics were off, grabbing a rusty knife from the kitchen and praying he wouldn't have to use it in front of the others before he began to head after Renjun to the spare room.

He paused in the doorway, watching as Chenle and Jisung hurriedly crawled to hide under the bed. Renjun watched Jaemin from the middle of the room with fear in his gaze. He swallowed and carefully whispered:

"They know we're here."

Jaemin nodded slowly, the adrenaline having chased away the last of his high. He felt a newfound energy course through him at the thought of his friends- his family -being in danger. With a look of determination, he met Renjun's gaze.

"Get under the bed, and don't move unless you hear them leave." He said, not giving any time to argue as he left the room, shutting the door behind himself.

He knew Renjun was right. The cops knew they were there. They had to know about the upstairs. They would check anywhere and everywhere. Jaemin had to stop them, if not at least stall until Jeno could get back with Donghyuck to clear everything up with the police.

He walked out into the main area, slowly creeping towards the staircase. He heard footsteps against the wood of the practice room and paused, listening, evaluating.

He could tell there were at least three of them in the building, probably a fourth and fifth out in the cars from what he knew about cops. He could hear two of them in the living area of the downstairs, probably checking through the remainder of the things left downstairs. Jaemin pouted a bit.

My lollipops are still down there. If they take my Dum Dum's, they'll pay.

He shut his eyes and shook his head, chasing away the thought.

Not the fucking time right now.

He opened his eyes and froze, his entire body going stiff.

There was the slow and distinct sound of the door to the upstairs creaking open before the soft murmuring of two voices drifted up the stairs.

"Hey, John, come look at this shit. There's a secret door."

"Damn Jae, Whoever these kids are, they sure do know how to pick a hideout, am I right?"

Both of them chuckled.

"Anyways, one of them's a fuckin pothead. I can smell it. Just be careful, alright?"

"Yeah.." Jaemin hurried to hide around the corner of the stairs so he could startle them when they came up. He clutched the old knife tightly in his hand as he listened to the slow, heavy footsteps climbing the stairs.

"Coffee later?"

"Oh, for sure." Jaemin watched as the harsh white light of two flashlights bobbed into view. "I heard the shop down the road hands out free coffee on Tuesdays. Kids even get free donuts."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"Damn. I guess there is a reason why some people like to keep those gremlins around, huh?" He watched as the two finally emerged into view, one sweeping his flashlight into the kitchen while the other headed towards the hall.

I think the fuck not

Jaemin dashed forward, keeping his footsteps as light as possible, and jumped on the officer, trying his best to cover the guy's mouth. But, he wasn't some trained professional, so, as expected, he failed a bit, the guy shrieking out a "Hey!" before he could properly do anything. The other officer came running over while Jaemin held the one in a chokehold, holding the knife to the man's face causing the other officer to halt his approach, holding up his hands.

"Hey hey hey hey hey let's not get irrational here kid." Jaemin smiled his craziest smile as he brought the knife closer to the face of the officer he had.

"Yeah, let's not get irrational," Jaemin paused, looking at the tall man's nametag. "Johnny." The man froze, looking awestruck.

"H-how do you know my name?" Jaemin mentally facepalmed. Was this guy serious?

"Dude," The officer in his hold began, only to be cut off by Jaemin holding a knife to his lips.

"Don't say another word, Jae." He said, remembering what he had heard earlier. The man in his grip froze.

"Jaehyun, he knows your fucking name!" Jaemin internally laughed. This guy was too dumb to be a cop.

"Oh, I know more than just your names. I know everything!" Jaemin said, obviously bluffing but somehow convincing Johnny who gasped.

"Then you already knew about me s-spilling coffee on Jaehyun's white work clothes?" Jaehyun let out a strangled 'YoU DiD wHaT' before Jaemin nodded.

"I know all about that. All about the guilt you feel for that moment. All about the pain you put poor Jaehyun through when he saw that there was a large coffee stain on the front of his favorite white work shirt." Johnny frowned and looked at Jaehyun.

"Listen, Jae, I'm... I'm s-" a loud thud sounded, Johnny's eyes rolling into the back of his head before he collapsed to the ground. There stood Jeno holding a rusty fire extinguish.

"Oh, hey babe." Jaemin smiled and nodded.

"Sup." Jeno walked over and lifted the fire extinguisher, bringing it cracking down on Jaehyun's head. He looked back up at Jaemin.

"We should go downstairs. Donghyuck and Mark are trying to stall the other cops, but I don't know how long they can hold them." Jaemin raised a brow.

"How many are there?" Jeno sighed.

"Two. Mark and Hyuck were trying to talk it out, but I'm not sure how it'll go." Jaemin tilted his head.

"Why? I'm sure they'll be fine, those two are smart.." Jeno shook his head, meaning that there was more to all of it than what Jaemin knew.

"It's difficult for the person who called the cops to explain that it was a lie," Jeno said, his eyes darkening. Jaemin frowned at that. "Mark told the cops. I guess he wanted us to have some trouble so that he and Donghyuck's little date would go off without a hitch, but now he's been dragged into it, and Donghyuck doesn't trust him." Jeno gave a fake smile. "You should go stay with Renjun and the others... If they smell the drugs on your clothes, you're sure to be taken to the station no matter what we say or do.." Jaemin shook his head, refusing to leave and hide in some corner. He didn't want to hide, didn't want to be a coward anymore. He wanted to stay by Jeno's side, even if it meant confronting his father.

"I'm coming with you. We're going to take care of this together, and then you're going to explain this shit with Mark to me and everyone, and we're going to make some order around here." Jeno shook his head and dropped the fire extinguisher. He took a couple of steps towards Jaemin until he was right in front of the younger, slightly towering over him. He took Jaemin into his hold. Arms circling Jaemin's waist, he looked him in the eye.

"Jaemin, I know you want to come with me, I know you want me to be safe, and you wanna make sure we're all fine, but this time I need you to stay here. I can't risk you going to juvie. What if your dad never lets you out of the house after?" Jeno asked, his tone becoming serious. "We just can't take that risk right now, alright?" Jaemin took a moment, weighing his options. He could disobey Jeno, follow him downstairs, and hope to God that they could fight off the police, or he could do as Jeno told, go back into the spare room with Renjun and the others, and stay safe.

Or, he could always...

"Okay."

Jeno hurried down the stairs, stopping at the bottom and listening through the closed door to see if the police were next to it. He could hear the soft mumble of commotion in the main room but remained still for a bit longer, to be sure they wouldn't see him. After about a minute, he deemed it clear, opening the door and creeping out, being sure to shut it tightly behind himself.

"I'm sorry, really this was just a joke. I didn't think you guys would take it this seriously, you know?" Mark said with a nervous chuckle as one of the cops approached him and Donghyuck. One of them grabbed Donghyuck's by the arm, yanking him towards them harshly.

"Ow! Please, that hurts!" He yelped, struggling against the steel grip of the officer who held him tighter. Mark noticed the blatant discomfort in Donghyuck's face, only then seeing the officer was pulling out handcuffs. He swiftly stepped past the other officer and threw a punch at the officer holding the younger. Feeling the presence of the officer behind him disappear, Mark briefly turned to see that Jeno had pulled the man back, holding him in a headlock and effectively stilling him. He turned back to the officer, who was still holding Donghyuck, and took hold of the younger securely, pulling him away from the officer who he kicked with a quick foot to the stomach. Mark turned to see that Jeno had taken care of the other officer (if the unconscious body was anything to go on). He smiled a bit.

"Nicely done, kid." Jeno sent him a heated glare.

"I'm not a kid." Mark shrugged, a retort on his tongue as he opened his mouth, only to be stopped by an urgent tug to his sleeve by Donghyuck.

"What?"

"We've got company." He said, pointing out the open front door to where more cops were pulling in. Mark and Jeno exchanged a glance, the older squeezing Donghyuck's hand and meeting his gaze.

"Hyuck, go hide with the others." Donghyuck scoffed.

"No idiot, I can hold my own!!" Mark rolled his eyes at the younger's comment.

"Fine, just don't be stupid."

"As with you, knucklehead." Mark glanced over to shoot back a reply but saw the playful smirk on the others face was completely devoid of heat. He was just teasing. Mark smiled, shaking his head softly before he turned back to the door. He saw the cops exiting their cars, looking much more guarded and strong than the ones before. Deep down, Mark knew this would fail. He knew that they were doomed, too outnumbered (and out-skilled) by the cops to win this one. He knew that they would probably get taken to the station until their parents could get them and it was all Mark's fault.

But at least the ones without any worthy family were safe upstairs...

Right?

As if on some unheard cue, he heard the door to the practice room swing open and felt two more people rush in from the other room. Turning, he saw Renjun and Jaemin, the younger of the two with a kitchen knife while the older wielded a frying pan- quite menacingly considering it was just a kitchen utensil. Mark saw Donghyuck smiled, looking relieved by the familiar arrivals, but Jeno looked quite the opposite, looking at Jaemin with a disapproving scowl.

"I thought I told you to stay upstairs." He growled. Jaemin scoffed.

"And let you have all the fun?" He concluded. "I don't think so sunshine." Renjun chuckled at that, looking somehow steady but all of them could practically taste his nerves going haywire. Mark sighed and turned to look towards the door, but was too late, missing as the cops had entered and one socked him in the face. He stumbled back, falling into a pair of strong arms. He looked up, fully expecting to see his ex but instead, Jaemin met his gaze, giving a teasing smile as he shook his head. "Mark, you're not supposed to let them hit you bud." Mark sighed, pushing himself out of Jaemin's arms with an un-amused huff.

"I know that pothead, now actually do something instead of just standing there!" Jaemin shook his head, lunging past Mark and swinging the blade at the cop, landing a swift strike to the man's arm. Mark, in utter shock from the sudden move, gave a small impressed smile. "Nice shot blueberry." Jaemin blew a strand of the mentioned blue hair out of his eyes and smiled.

"Thanks, seagull brows," Jaemin remarked, giving a crazed smile as he held up his knife. His antics were cut short by strong arms grabbing him, pulling him back, and wrestling him into a headlock. "LET ME GO FUCKER!" Jaemin yelled, getting none other than Lee Jeno's attention. Somehow, amidst a small group including him, Donghyuck, Renjun, and four cops coming at them, Jeno heard his man call out and went as quickly as he could to aid him. He hit the cop in the back of the head with the frying pan that Renjun had lent him, knocking the man out and releasing Jaemin. He helped the younger up from the ground and brushed some blue hair out of his eyes before kissing him on the forehead softly.

"Don't get caught on me Na Fucking Jaemin." He said, turning to look at the others and realizing the same thing Mark had when the cops first arrived-

They were outnumbered.

"Mark," He shouted, getting the older's attention who was currently trying to deal with two cops and was somehow winning. "we need to run. I don't care where you go, just take those two as far as you can from here!" Mark nodded at his command, not having much of another choice as there was no time to argue. "Jaemin, we need to run, okay?" He said before turning to see where Jaemin was. The younger was struggling against a cop's strong grip, the man clasping a heavy hand over Jaemin's mouth to keep him quiet. Jeno groaned, holding the frying pan tightly and running over, but before he could reach him, he was being held by a strong grip himself, struggling against it persistently. He opened his mouth to yell at the man but panicked when nothing came out, feeling how the cop's grip tightened around his throat in just the right way to block his windpipe.

Jaemin watched in horror as the cop strangled his boyfriend, feeling his entire body go slack as he helplessly watched the life being pulled from his lover, ever so slowly. His face was paling, eyes going blurry with tears as his desperate gaze met Jaemin's, a vulnerability within that ever-cold gaze that Jaemin never thought he would see-

And it made something in Jaemin click.

His gaze turned dark as he reached the knife on the ground, picking it up and struggling against the officer until he landed a deep gash on the man's leg, feeling warm blood soaking his pants and hearing a scream from the man who dropped him. He then dashed forward, towards the cop holding Jeno, and plunged the knife anywhere he could feel for that wasn't Jeno. He didn't stop. He didn't stop driving the knife into the man's chest even after he felt Jeno gasping at his feet. He didn't stop twisting it further, dragging it in and out of his back even after the man's screams were garbled by his own blood. He didn't stop until he felt a tug on his arm, letting go of the blade and turning to meet a strong, hazelnut gaze. 

"Jaemin," Jeno rasped, still catching his breath. "We need to go." Jaemin turned to see the body laying on the ground, the realization of what he had done crashing down like a wave, chills running through his body at the sight, but there was no time to comprehend everything as Jeno dragged him out of the building.

They ran into the parking lot until they reached Jeno's bike, climbing on and hurriedly driving away. Jaemin clutched Jeno closely, his face buried in the olders back, shaking a bit as the guilt began to settle in.

They drove in silence, just the sound of the wind whipping in their ears accompanied by the soft cries of Jaemin filling the atmosphere around them as Jeno drove them into the darkness of the night.

← t b c →

I think this is my favorite chapter so far :)