Monday, March 23rd

Ren was finally allowed to go back to school and opened his locker after arriving. He rearranged his locker to correspond to his new schedule before heading over to his class.

"Hey, you're back." Jonghyun smiled at him after catching up.

"Yeah, by a miracle. My father actually wanted to keep me home for another week. So did my mother." Ren replied.

"Damn, how'd you convince them?"

"I told them I was afraid I would miss college preparations and it was kind of stressing me out. After last year, they hear about me stressing and it's full red alert at home."

"You can use it as a good excuse now." Jonghyun chuckled. "How's Jess?"

"She's not ready to go back to school. She checked the school website once, and it was filled with all these weird posts and comments about what happened. Most of them are calling her stupid and how she should've seen the red flags."

"Red flags? That guy avoided pretty much everyone except you and Jess and maybe that little freshman who bothered Jihoon. No one noticed him. Like they saw red flags."

"Yeah. Well, I told her to take all the time she needs. The old lady she worked for brought her enough books to have her own little library, so she has plenty to do at home besides sleeping and her homework."

"How did your homework go, by the way? You couldn't keep up with most deadlines at first, even if they were online."

"I had an online meeting with the teachers. They allowed me to extend the deadline to the day I'd come back, even if it wasn't confirmed when yet. I got all my projects in my bag, so it's kind of heavy and I got my public speaking assignments on Thursday and Friday."

"And, next week our college prep and exam prep starts. You know, you could just extend your senior year. College won't start until February anyways."

"No. No extension. No repeat. I'm graduating with all of you." Jonghyun sighed.

"Just make sure you take a break on time. You tend to go overboard a lot."

"Relax, I will. My new butler watches me like a hawk. He's really annoying."

"Also, how is Jessica's new place? Aron said it looked spacious. Where'd they get the money?"

"Apparently my father paid for everything. That's probably why the doorman let me in after hearing my name. That place is tightly secured."

"Yeah. Aron wouldn't say anything, so Baekho and I traced her mother's financial documents until we found the address."

"Thanks for giving it to me by the way. I probably would've wallowed in self-pity for months without trying to talk to her."

"So, does that mean I'm forgiven for that kiss?"

"You know what, without finding that address, Jess and I wouldn't have been able to even have that conversation the other day. So, sure, you're forgiven." Ren smiled at him.

"Thanks. Although, there wasn't much to forgive really. You guys were broken up and she initiated." Ren paused and glared at him.

"W-Why don't I just carry your bag?" Jonghyun laughed awkwardly and grabbed the bag from Ren's shoulder before rushing to their classroom. They soon reached their classroom and Jonghyun sat down in his seat. Ren went over to the teacher and handed in all his projects. They stood there talking for a while about what happened and how Ren's recovery is going before he could finally sit down.

 

Friday, March 27th

Ren and his friends sat in the cafeteria during lunch. Ren was nearly nose deep into his history book to prepare for an oral report he has after lunch.

"Ren, don't forget to eat." Jonghyun urged Ren.

"When I'm done." Ren muttered.

"You've had your face in that book for twenty minutes. Lunch break will be over by the time you finish that chapter." Minhyun stated.

"Relax, I'm almost done." Jonghyun and Minhyun rolled their eyes.

"Hey." Jessica appeared behind Ren. Ren looked up and smiled.

"Hey. You're back?" He asked as she sat down next to him.

"Just for a few afternoon classes. The school sent my mom a notice about my absence." She replied.

"What did it say?" Jonghyun asked as Ren dove back in his book while his hand rested on top of Jessica's.

"That I've been abusing their generosity to what happened, and that if I spend another full week at home, I'll get expelled."

"Damn. Here I was thinking the school was cool." Jonghyun chuckled.

"Ren, you got like ten minutes. Eat." Minhyun spoke in a stern tone.

"Almost done." Ren muttered.

"Come on, Ren. For me." Jessica closed the book and took it.

"But-" he swallowed hard when he saw the look in her eyes.

"Fine." He shortly rubbed her cheek with his thumbs and gave her a peck on the lips before he started on his sandwich.

 

After his oral report, Ren was by his locker to take a few books home to prepare for the following week.

"Hey baby." Jessica smiled and gave him a hug from behind.

"Hey. How was class?" He pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her waist. Jessica reciprocated the gesture around his neck.

"It was weird. Raina was sick, but Lizzy and Nana barely even looked at me. It was almost like they were scared."

"That . Maybe they don't know how to talk to you after what happened. I mean, none of those girls have ever had any real struggles in life. What happened with us is probably the most extreme thing they've ever heard of."

"I don't know. The teacher went to get something, so the class talked among themselves, and I tried going over and they just escaped to the bathroom until the teacher came back." Jessica looked down.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure it's nothing. They could just be having a bad day."

"Maybe." She muttered.

"Hey, I got something secret to tell you." He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers.

"What?"

"I love you." He spoke softly. She blushed.

"I love you too. But, is that a secret?"

"No. But, what it makes me want to do with you is." He gave her soft kiss just below her jaw and gave her a bright smile.

"I love you." She pulled him closer.

"You already said that." Ren smiled.

"I want to keep saying it." She blushed madly and embraced him tightly. He chuckled. They went to her place and found that no one was home. She explained her sister went back to her dorm and her mother might've left to pick up Jamie from daycare. They went to h