090418 

The clock was ticking. Jeno kept on glancing at the clock, agitatedly waiting for the bell to ring. His hands were a fumbling mess, he just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

The teacher's words sounded blurry, his vision was slowly getting unclear.

When are we done?

Four words kept repeating in his head.

Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

The clock sounded clear, so loud.

Jeno was used to this feeling. The angst, the desire, just the feeling of wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible. But no matter how familiar the feeling was, he still hated it. The place made him uncomfortable. The environment was always so tense, filled with stress and competitivity. He hated it. Yet he still played along. That was the easiest way to get through, the fastest way to the exit. He just had to get this over with.

Never had he ever heard a sound so loud, so clear, so beautiful as the sound the school bell made. That was the only thing he loved around here. In a matter of seconds, he had stood up, packed his school supplies into his bag, swung his bag over his shoulder and left the classroom. Not looking back once. He was rushing, keeping a firm pace.

He grabbed the handle and pulled it down feeling the cool breeze, he was finally able to breathe again. The sun was throwing rays over his sculptured face. The male was halfway through his puberty, his facial features becoming more distinct as each day passed, yet the eyes staying the same as when he was younger. His hair was dark, nearly black, and was flowing freely with the direction of the wind.

Jeno walked over to the bus stop and stood there waiting patiently. Students had flocked over, crowding the place. He really hoped that only a few were going the same way as him.

As the bus came, the crowd got smaller. A few stayed back but over half of them entered the bus. Jeno sighed.

Great.

He tried pushing himself as far back as possible, apologizing from left to right as he walked past. He should've known that it was going to be so crowded, it always is. His eyes wandered around the bus, looking for a free seat, but they were all taken. He grabbed one of the hanging straps and held it tightly. The worst thing that could happen was to lose balance and create a domino effect.

The bus started driving, the people gasping at the expected, yet unexpected action. Jeno stayed standing, his balance intact. The boy next to him couldn't relate. He fell forward grabbing a hold onto Jeno's shirt, tugging it downwards causing the collar of the shirt to tighten around the back of his neck, making Jeno gasp and lose his grip on the hanging strap. Jeno fell on top of the boy, who still had a grip on Jeno's shirt. Jeno being quick with his reflexes had spread his arms out so that they landed on each side of the boy's head. They exchanged eye contact and Jeno noticed how big the boy's eyes were, so filled with darkness, the color blending in with his pupils. The eye contact quickly broke when they both noticed the position they were in. Jeno was the first to stand up but the boy was still gripping onto his shirt, not making it possible for Jeno to move further up. The boy noticed and removed his grip, pulling his hand back to his chest and holding onto it with his other hand. Jeno stuck out his arm hoping that the boy would notice his action of friendliness, but the boy didn't see Jeno's arm as he had turned his head and was already back on his feet again. Jeno took his arm back and placed it on one of the hanging straps again. The boy turned around and looked at Jeno with an apologetic look in his big slanted eyes.

"I'm sorry" he chuckled awkwardly and bowed slightly at Jeno.

"It's okay, no worries" Jeno smiled back, forming crescent moons with his eyes. He wanted to make sure that the boy wouldn't take it further and just let the guilt go.

When the boy stood up straight after his bow, he looked at Jeno and gave him a closed-mouthed smile back. He then proceeded to turn around and faced his back to Jeno. Jeno didn't give much thought about it, but he still had a lingering image of the boy's eyes showing in his mind. He now noticed the looks from the others in the bus, in which he smiled awkwardly at most of them and proceeded to look at his shoes. Ignoring the lasting looks at the poor boys.

The bus ride went on for eight more minutes before Jeno had reached his destination. He went out of the bus and headed to his favorite place, the dance studio. Only his family knew he danced, he never told any of his schoolmates. They never asked, so he saw no reason to tell them.

He was now standing in front of the old glass door, which was marked with stickers spelling out the word "D A N C E". He smiled to himself, this is what he's been waiting for, this was the reason he tried in school, the reason he was willing to spend eight hours inside of that building. He walked inside and headed straight to the bathrooms to change out of his uniform.

--

After two hours of practice, the sky had turned dark. Jeno said his farewells and headed home, going back to the same bus stop he had arrived at, few hours prior. He smiled when he saw the bus arriving at the same time as him. Showing the bus driver his ticket, he walked over to the furthest seat free. The bus was empty, compared to the one earlier, it didn't feel as cramped and Jeno really appreciated that. He had had enough of socializing for the day.

As the bus drove to the next stop, he watched as a familiar face entered the bus. He could recognize those eyes. His gaze was locked on the boy but was quickly moved once the boy noticed his stare. Suddenly the back of the seat in front of Jeno seemed interesting to him. He noticed how the boy walked closer, settling on the seat two rows from Jeno. The entire ride, Jeno had a good look on the boy's dark brown hair. It was messy and shiny, but it didn't look greasy. He kept on looking until he noticed that the bus drove by his stop.

He stood up and rushed to the bus driver, asking him with a pleading voice;

"Is it possible to stop the bus? You drove by my stop, sir"

The bus driver gave him a disapproving look but stopped anyway. Jeno was quick to get out of the bus, not wanting any more eyes on him today and not feeling like having another bus incident. One was already enough. He stood on the same spot for a few seconds and watched how the bus continued driving. Then he took a turn on his heels and headed for his home.