I wrote this whenever our internet went out. The chapters I put up for this were already previously written so don't expect this story to be updated frequently. Besides that, I do not own DGM and I hope you forgive me for my angsty self. I swear it gets better after all the angst is over. It'll be kinda like a roller coaster, going up and down through the angst and happiness. Then again, a lot of people love angst (and they could probably be my best friend ^w^). So, I've decided to make a little game out of this! ^w^ Each title is based off of a song. If you can tell me who it's by, then you get a prize! :D Further details are on my profile so check that out. Each title will be a song title so you have plenty of chances to get it right/first. From here on out none of these songs will belong to me! There might even be some Japanese converted to English (most will be what the bands are singing so you really don't have to guess those ones...)so if you get those right...well then holy crap you must be a musical saint. And one more thing, I really don't know what the name of the band should be so it'd help out a lot if you gave me a few names for that too o^o;; So, without further adieu, I give you the first chapter (prologue) of Desperate Measures!
What is it that he likes about me? A twelve-year old boy with chin-length brown hair wondered as he walked with his middle school crush. His gray eyes would glance at the redheaded boy curiously at the thought of him. Allen had only just met Lavi maybe a month ago. Lavi was actually almost in his Sophomore year of high school, meaning his Freshman year was almost over. He was fifteen, three years older than Allen...didn't his friends think him weird to be hanging out with him? He was just a middle schooler...wouldn't Lavi rather date a girl that was in his grade? Allen only knew about Lavi's friends from the redhead's pictures he kept in his wallet.
You see, Lavi had his own band. He'd admit that it wasn't the best thing, but he reassured Allen that over the years, when they had more practice, they'd be one of the best bands out there. His green eyes seemed so full of life as he informed Allen of his friends. He explained about Lenalee, who was the drummer in his band. He only knew about Lenalee because she was a middle schooler too...except she was in eighth grade and Allen was only in seventh. She had long dark hair with what looked like a greenish tint and apparently played the drums. Not many girls did that, but he never doubted that she couldn't do it. Her violet purple eyes shone with determination that he'd never seen before.
The second member of Lavi's band...well, he always looked pissed off in pictures. Maybe he's just camera...uh, violent? Allen guessed. He didn't really look shy per-say...he looked more ticked. Allen just hoped he didn't always have that murderous look in his eyes. Despite Allen's thoughts, Lavi did tell him that he often tried to kill him sometimes, which made Allen question why he'd keep him in the band. Looking at the picture of the dark blue haired boy (who was in the same grade, Lavi would tell him), Allen saw that the teen played guitar. He found it a bit weird that Kanda, the guitar player, had for one, looked more feminine than Lavi, and for two, was one year older than him but in the same grade. Still, Allen didn't question Lavi's choices, he seemed happy about them.
It was really the only time Lavi's eyes seemed to brighten when he was around Allen. At first, he thought that Lavi played bass, but Lavi told him that he too played the same as Kanda, just different parts. He then pointed to a brunette boy that was apparently in the same grade as Allen. He had short brown hair and purple streaks under his eyes. Despite what Lavi told him, Allen had never seen the boy in his entire life. It was then that Lavi told him that he went to a different school and that his name was Daisya. Apparently he played bass. Right now they were looking for someone who could play keyboard. Now, Allen was good at playing the piano, but he never tried anything other than that. A nice objective came to his mind at that.
You see, Allen really did like Lavi a lot...he just didn't think that Lavi felt the same way. Usually, it seemed to Allen that Lavi just wanted to have fun and that was it. He never seemed interested in romance or any of that sort. Allen was usually nervous with Lavi; Lavi would, from time to time, try to hold hands with him or hug him, but Allen was too nervous to follow through with it. Really, it seemed that the only reason Lavi was dating him was because...he wanted to. The redhead figured that he had nothing to lose and that dating Allen might seem, who knows, fun? Lavi never really complimented him on anything. So, Allen decided that maybe if he learned how to play keyboard, Lavi would let him join. He had nothing to lose, right? Besides, Allen knew how to play piano already, and keyboard seemed like the exact same thing except with a lot of buttons.
That was the only reason Allen ever learned to play keyboard to begin with.
It took a lot more work than Allen would've thought, but Mana was with him the entire time to show him how. The buttons at first seemed way too complicated and it turned out that you could manipulate what the keyboard sounded like...for example, Allen could even make it sound like an acoustic guitar if he wanted it to, hell, he could make it sound like a tambourine. He just had to switch it to the right channel...which there were over 400, mind you. While he was learning, he didn't really see Lavi as much as he would've wanted to. Lavi would explain to him over the phone that he was more busy trying to practice with his band. This only made Allen more determined to learn. He'd spend all his time in his room, trying to memorize the stations of his keyboard, anything to help out Lavi's band. He wished that Lavi would tell him the name of it...perhaps they didn't have a name...
"Hey, Lavi?" Allen mumbled, catching the redhead's attention. It had been a few months since Allen had started learning keyboard. He wasn't the best at it, he was only as good as he was at piano...but he really wanted to see what it would be like to play in a band... "If...um..." Allen trailed off, thinking about how to say it. He couldn't just tell Lavi that he learned keyboard to join—that would be embarrassing.
"What is it? Spit it out." Lavi said with a grin. It was usually him starting conversations. He felt a bit happy that Allen would start one. It showed him that perhaps Allen did like him. Sure, Allen would claim that he did like Lavi whilst blushing, but the way he acted told him otherwise.
"Well, I was wondering..." Allen fiddled with his gloves. He only ever wore them because Mana did. When he asked Mana about it, Mana would tell him that it was just a habit. When Allen had his own on, it reminded himself of how much Mana loved him. "...what would you think if...perhaps..." Lavi could tell that Allen was nervous about asking whatever he wanted to. Now that he thought about it...Allen only ever seemed interested in a conversation when it was about the band he was in.
"Is this about the band I'm in?" Lavi asked. Allen blushed, confirming Lavi's question. How did he know? Allen thought. Well, Lavi paid more attention to Allen than he let on. "If it's about you joining, then forget about it." Lavi said with a sigh. He didn't like the saddened look on Allen's face. "We all agreed before we came together that there would be no relationships with band members. Even if they thought you joining would be a good idea, rules are rules. No relationships allowed."
Lavi really felt a bit bad, seeing as he destroyed Allen's mood. He supposed that he'd ask Allen the same thing if the boy seemed so excited talking about them everyday. Right now, he supposed that after saying that, Allen had to choose the band over Lavi. This actually piqued his curiosity a bit. What would Allen choose if he had to? He never really hung out with Lavi, so it really wouldn't affect what friendship they had anyways. They barely ever spent time with each other, and Allen wouldn't even let him do things with him. Every time Lavi would try and ask him on a date, Allen would decline saying he was busy; could you imagine what the boy would say to meeting his parents?
It may come as a surprise, but Lavi had actually met Allen's father before. It was silly, but he met him at a grocery store. He only knew that he was Allen's father because the man had instructed him to run back over to the dairy section to grab a gallon of milk and Allen obliged with no questions asked. Seeing Allen run off, Lavi decided to see what his father was like. He did notice one thing: Mana, Allen's father, wore gloves as well. This made Lavi predict that he was the reason that Allen wore gloves all the time—not that it was really a bad thing.
He greeted him with a smile and at the mention of the boy, Mana's eyes lit up with excitement. Really, the man never stopped talking. He even told Lavi things that he never would have guessed. One, Allen didn't have a mother, two, Allen was adopted, three, apparently Allen had a sarcastic side. Lavi was more than just interested then. His eyes flashed mischievously when he had an idea. He cut Mana off politely (seeing as the man was more than just beyond polite while speaking to him) and asked him, what he thought was, a tricky question.
"So, what would you ever do if Allen, let's say, dated someone?" Lavi asked with a smile. Mana seemed taken aback by the question, as if he never even thought about it before.
"Him date someone? Well, I'd be happy of course." He chirped. Lavi hummed in thought. "I think it'd really be nice if he let someone in every once in awhile. For some reason, the boy has it in his mind that he isn't likeable...I wonder why that is..." Mana mumbled to himself. Lavi felt his heart twist hearing that. Did he do something to make Allen feel that way? Was that the reason that Allen never hugged him? Because he thought that it troubled him?
"What if it was a guy?" Lavi asked. Mana blinked a few times and shrugged.
"So what if it was? You know, the generation is changing and I really don't think it matters if someone loves someone else of the same gender. Besides, I think love should be more focused on ones soul and not ones genitals. That seems a bit silly, doesn't it?" Mana's words moved something inside of Lavi. He really never thought about it that way...he started to wonder if perhaps that's the way Allen saw it as well, which could only mean that Allen really did like him. It just made him feel all the more guilty for just playing around.
"I see...well, I better go, my parents are probably looking for me." Lavi said with an eye-roll. He was fifteen and didn't really need to be looked after anymore. With that, he said goodbye to his new acquaintance and ran off. He looked back to see Allen had returned with a huge blush whilst Mana had a sly smile on his face. The boy nearly dropped the jug when Mana teased him, poking his cheek. Lavi grinned when he saw Allen mumble something and put the milk jug in the shopping cart. He felt his own cheeks light up when Mana gazed at him. Lavi quickly turned his head back around and ran off.
Did Mana know?
Everything really seemed so innocent to the both of them back then. They both hung out a bit more after that. Allen did because Mana told him to and Lavi did because the words Mana had given him had moved him. Just as Mana had said before, Allen had begun to open up to him and Lavi even found himself laughing at some of the things Allen would say. He also remembered the day that Allen met his band mates. You'd think that he'd be able to get along with them because one, he was Lavi's boyfriend, and two, he himself wanted to join. But the day that Allen met everyone...
...was utter chaos.
It started off pretty well when he met Lenalee and Daisya. Lenalee teased him about Lavi, to which he blushed and mumbled something incoherent. Daisya just seemed interested in what kind of person Allen was, receiving a warning look from Lenalee, who knew exactly what he was thinking about. Everything was going all well until Kanda opened his mouth and spat out something really rude to the kid. Honestly, Lavi couldn't remember what it was that he said, and neither could Kanda, but whatever he said really made Allen angry. Lenalee could tell that he was trying not to fight back—really, it seemed like Allen was trying to get on their good side for some reason.
He mumbled something and Kanda then brought up the subject that he was adopted and Lavi definitely regretted telling Kanda about that. He even scolded his friend, telling him it wasn't something to joke about. He was interrupted when he heard sniffling and felt his heart rip apart when he realized that Allen was crying. Kanda was so surprised himself...truthfully, he only said things like those because it was just his personality. Usually when he threatened to kill Lavi, it was just a joke, he really wouldn't really kill his best friend. After that, Lenalee had to have her brother drive him back home because he wouldn't even look at anyone.
It was the first time Kanda felt bad about something.
He didn't really feel bad that he hurt the kid's feelings—hell, he barely knew the kid. He just felt bad because it would probably endanger Lavi's relationship with the boy. Lenalee was a bit upset with Lavi, who didn't really try to comfort Allen after Lenalee escorted him out of the room. Daisya too avoided him for a bit. Lenalee could remember the look of sadness on the man's face when he saw his son crying. The man, Mana, opened the door for Allen and he didn't even say goodbye to Lenalee and ran in the house. She knew not to snitch on her friend despite that she wanted to explain what happened. Mana seemed to understand and shoo'd her off to go hang out with her friends.
Feeling guilt, Lavi had skipped school on Monday, which was three day's later, to go find Allen at the middle school. Skipping school really wasn't something unusual for Lavi—he'd definitely never earn the 'Perfect Attendance' award at any graduations. He also knew the Principal of the school really well, so he definitely got a guest sticker for the day as he traveled around the school to find the short seventh grader. He did remember seeing Lenalee give him a scolding look until he used charades to explain why he was here. She smiled at him and left to her classes. Lavi had to wait until lunch to try and find him. Apparently Allen was quick when it came to his morning classes. He followed Lenalee around, listening to her ramble like he was supposed to be there in the first place, waiting to ask her where Allen was.
"...and then she was all like...wait...why are you here again?" Lenalee asked Lavi. Lavi thought that she was still rambling about the girl she'd been talking crap about for the past ten minutes. He realized that she was talking to him once they stopped.
"Oh! I thought you were...um, never mind. Do you know where Allen is?" He asked, looking around the cafeteria and even edging around to see if he was outside where some students ate outside in the courtyard. She frowned at Lavi and pointed in the direction of what he guessed was the library.
"He eats in the library. Allen aides in the library fifth period so he usually eats lunch in there too." She informed and waved him goodbye to sit down with a few of her friends. Lavi nodded and waved her goodbye as well, making his destination the school library. He wondered a bit why Allen ate in the library; usually there was no food or drink allowed in the library, and besides, he only aided when lunch was over, right? Didn't he have friends to eat with? For some reason, Lavi really didn't want to know the answer to that question.
He found his little middle schooler roaming the rows of books, looking for anything that was out of place. Didn't Lenalee just say he's supposed to eat lunch? Lunch only started five minutes ago...he must eat fast...Lavi was busy making his way over there until he saw a girl his age collide with him after not looking where she was going. In the process of bumping into him, she dropped all her books. Allen took it as his responsibility to bend down and help her pick them up. The boy smiled and apologized even though it was the girl's fault for running into him.
"S-sorry, I wasn't looking where I w-was going and...um...I...excuse me!" She blushed and ran off nervously with her book threatening to fall from the pile she had in her arms. Allen frowned in her direction with a puzzled expression. He shrugged and then resumed browsing the aisles. Lavi sighed and walked over towards him. Allen's eyes were narrowed, as if he didn't know whether or not this book was where it was supposed to belong. Lavi grinned and placed his hands over Allen's eyes. Allen jumped, nearly dropping the book.
"Guess who~?" Lavi sang. Allen paused as if he seriously didn't know who could possibly be doing that. Lavi could feel Allen's eyebrows narrow in confusion. "Awe, come on, how could you not know who it is?" Lavi whined.
"L-Lavi?" Allen guessed, a blush covering his face.
"Yep!" Lavi grinned but didn't remove his hands. Allen turned around quite clumsily, waiting for Lavi to remove his hands.
"Why are you covering my eyes? I can't see..." He mumbled, blinking his eyelashes against Lavi's hands to prove his point. Lavi laughed at the confused expression and he remembered the girl from before. Doesn't he get it? He wondered. It was then that Lavi realized that he could definitely take advantage of this situation. He smiled a bit and leaned down, pressing his lips against the younger's. Lavi could feel Allen's face heat up as the boy grew stiff. Lavi grinned wide and removed his hands and lips at the same time. His face was so red that he looked similar to a tomato. "Y-you just..." Allen sputtered, causing Lavi to grin even wider—even if it didn't look possible.
"Kissed you?" Lavi offered. Allen shuffled his feet.
"...y-yeah..." He mumbled, averting his gaze the floor, which really seemed more interesting at the moment. Lavi laughed and ruffled Allen's hair.
"Well, duh. So, I, um...came to apologize about Friday..." Lavi mumbled. He noticed Allen freeze up again and attempted to hug Allen in comfort but Allen stepped back.
"I...I'm sorry..." Allen mumbled and looked down so Lavi couldn't see his expression. His face was still a bit red from what happened before. "I d-didn't mean to...c-cry...I just..." Lavi frowned and sighed, looking out the windows of the school
"Nah, it's alright, really. I should be the one apologizing. It was something I shouldn't have told him, even if he is my best friend. That's just how he is, he didn't really mean any harm by it." Lavi said, his voice growing softer just in case anyone was listening. "To him, it was just a joke. He shouldn't have joked about that and I'm sorry about that..." Lavi mumbled, hoping that Allen could hear it.
"You're sorry...even if it was true...?" Allen asked softly. Lavi's eyes widened at that. Allen couldn't seriously think that he was put in adoption because he was a brat, did he?
"It's not true." Lavi stated, watching Allen relax a bit like he believed Lavi. Has he really been thinking about it like that all this time?
"If you say so..." Allen mumbled and turned around to the bookcase. "Why are you here, anyways? Don't you have school?" He asked quietly.
"Ha...about that...I kinda skipped...it's alright though, I mean, we were really only—"
"Lavi!" Allen scolded disapprovingly. Lavi blinked at Allen's sudden outburst as he spun around. "You shouldn't skip school! You might miss out on something important and then—"
"Allen...I skipped for you." Lavi said, not really realizing the most cheesiest words slipping out of his mouth. Both Allen and Lavi heated up in a blush and looked away from each other.
"O-oh...I..." Allen was speechless. It really didn't seem like Lavi would be one to skip for him...
...maybe the feelings were mutual after all?
One would probably think that the rest of the story would play out like a love story out of some cliche movie and the two would soon become so enveloped in their love over the years they'd get married...however, that isn't how the story goes. It only seemed natural that they would get along for years. But, it was just a few months until something drastic happened...or well, drastic for Allen. Allen was usually a careful boy, really. Everything that had happened had been by accident.
It had been only a few weeks since that incident and Christmas was just around the corner, happening that Sunday. Lenalee and Allen had both been in the kitchen washing dishes together. Lenalee would wash and then pass them to Allen, who would rinse. The reason they were doing dishes was because of Lavi's grandpa. He had told Lavi to go organize his room that was called a dump and Lavi tried to get by with the excuse of 'I have friends over!' but it didn't work out as well as he wanted it to. Instead, they were both given their own chores to do until Lavi finished cleaning his room. They could always stop since Bookman, Lavi's grandfather, had left the house; but, they didn't want him to come back and get in trouble for it.
They were both chattering idly and playing around from time to time with the sprayer, getting the floor soaked. Allen nearly slipped and Lenalee had to hold her hand out to make sure he didn't hit his head against the sink. "...we should probably clean this up..." She giggled and Allen nodded with a small smile. She was glad that they finally became close enough for him to smile at her. He would just so often start conversations with her and she'd feel like Lavi the first time Allen spoke to him without having to say anything.
"Yeah, I'll go get a towel." Allen nodded, nearly slipping as he left the kitchen. As they all came to learn, Allen was quite a clumsy person and always got himself stuck in some kind of trouble. She waited for about five minutes and he didn't return so she left to go see what was wrong.
"Allen?" She called, wondering where the boy could possibly be. Maybe he doesn't know where to look? Lenalee guessed and peeked around every corner. She ended up seeing him in the bathroom, trying to reach for a towel in the closet. She sweat dropped at how high Lavi placed the towels. He probably did that to make fun of his grandfather. Reaching too high caused the brunette to lose his balance and tumble backwards into the wall, which caused a small shockwave and shook the not-so-sturdy wood-frame above him that held a rather fragile-looking vase, which was now seen falling towards him. "Allen, look out!" She called and hurried over to push him out of the way. He fell to the floor and the vase crashed atop her head. She hissed in pain and fell on her knees.
"L-Lenalee?! O-oh my goodness, are you alright? I-I'm so sorry I w-wasn't...are you okay?" He asked worriedly and she gave him a grimacing smile.
"Y-yeah, it just hurts a little..." Unfortunately, the vase had shattered when it came into contact with her head and she had a gash through her head.
"Y-you're bleeding!" Allen said, becoming more and more scared by the second.
"Ah, I guess I am..." She mumbled, looking at her hand which was covered with blood. It wasn't so serious that she'd need stitches, but it was still a bit deep.
"What the hell did you do, short stack?" A harsh voice said from above them and they both looked up.
"I...b-but...it..." Allen stuttered. How could he possibly explain this? It was his fault that Lenalee was hurt, after all.
"Kanda, it was just an accident! Allen was trying to get something and he bumped into the wall and...it's my fault I got—" Lenalee tried explaining but Kanda had cut her off.
"Get the hell out of here." Kanda hissed at Allen. Allen felt his heart wrench with agony. He really wished that Kanda liked him a bit more...he supposed he understood that he cared deeply for Lenalee, even if he didn't show it. Lenalee was like a sister to him and Allen would hate it if the one he loved was hurt.
"B-but I—" I'm only trying to help.
"Get. Out." He growled as Allen pressed a wet rag to Lenalee's wound. She grimaced and held it to her head.
"Kanda, calm down! E-even Lavi would be calm at a time like this, you can't just freak out and tell Allen to leave! He's only trying to—" It seemed as if Kanda would have none of it.
"Lavi would do the exact same thing." He growled and the two of them stared at him confusingly. Lavi wasn't as harsh as Kanda was, and he tended to be more calm if something like this was going on. "Idiot, don't you know? He's only playing around with you." Kanda scowled. Allen and Lenalee both looked to Lavi, who had came rushing over to see what was going on. He froze when he heard the harsh words come out of Kanda's mouth...the truth was very harsh, but he didn't want Lenalee and Allen to know that. He only told Kanda and Daisya about it...
"Wh-what...?" Allen asked, his voice going an interval higher than it usually was.
"What do you not get?" Kanda asked with a growl. "Are you seriously so stupid to think that he liked you to begin with? The only reason you two dated was because he was bored." Kanda continued with the harsh words until tears came to Allen's eyes.
"Kanda, STOP!" Lenalee shouted, glaring at Lavi who was behind the rambling teen. Kanda instantly shut up and Lenalee dared to ask Lavi for the truth. "Lavi...is...is that really...?" She asked.
"Um...well, you see..." Lavi stumbled, looking from Lenalee to Allen with guilty eyes.
"You really...why...why would you do that, Lavi?!" Lenalee asked accusingly and looked over to Allen worriedly; however, Allen wasn't looking at her...he was staring the ground, his hair covering his eyes.
"But, Lenalee, you don't really get it! I mean, at first it was like that but—"
"Just shut up!" She snapped, seeing tears fall down Allen's cheeks. He stood up and slowly walked away, not even batting an eye at Lavi.
"Allen, wait—" Lavi made an attempt to stop the young boy, but Kanda stopped him.
"Idiot, she's hurt and it's his fault!" Kanda barked, gesturing to Lenalee. "Don't act like you care for him now, just like you said before, you've got nothing to lose if he goes, it's because of him that you almost did lose something precious!" That was the last straw. Allen knew he was a coward for running away when Lavi stared at him in disbelief, but he couldn't help it. He truly thought that he and Lavi were starting to become closer to each other. Lavi turned around and faced Lenalee, guilt rushing through him as he heard Allen's footsteps fade away. They both approached her; she wouldn't dare look at them.
"C-c'mon, Lenalee, we n-need to get you to the hospita—"
"YOU IDIOTS!" She roared and stood up, kicking them both in the face with a spinning kick. Kanda crashed into Lavi and Lavi slammed into a wall, his hand over his cheek with disbelief. She actually kicked him. "It wasn't Allen's fault!" She shouted through tears. "He only came here to get a towel to clean up a mess we made! However someone put the towels too high and he ended up falling over! Then that stupid, whatever the hell that thing is," she continued, gesturing to the wooden frame, "fell down and there was a vase on it. It was going to hit him so I just pushed him out of the way. It isn't even that deep, it's just a small cut!" She yelled angrily. "I can't believe you two!" She screamed. "Putting all the blame on him...how could you?!"
The entire room was silent.
"Fuck." Kanda cursed bluntly.
"You two are morons!" She snapped, pulling the rag away from her head to show that it was indeed just a little scratch. "You just broke his heart over one tiny little scratch. And you." Lenalee turned to Lavi with an insane glare...he really thought she was going to kill him. "How could you?!"
"Y-you don't get it, Lenalee! I didn't even finish! I said that that was how it was at first! I...now, I really do..." He trailed off, just now realizing how much damage was done. He could never forgive himself for looking at Allen like that. Ever since Mana had explained to him that Allen was often yelled at, blamed and beaten for things he didn't do, it was obvious that Allen would blame himself for everything and take everyone's words seriously.
Lavi might never see him again.
"God dammit." He glowered and rubbed his face in stress.
"Does he have a phone?" Lenalee asked quickly and Lavi shook his head. "The only way I'd be able to see him is if I skipped school on Monday...and that's the first day back from break. I don't even know where he lives, I only ever talk to him and his father at the grocery store." Lavi explained, his heart being drenched with fear.
"W-we'll just have to wait and hope he doesn't move last second. I doubt that's possible anyways." She said, trying to relieve Lavi from his fears. He calmed down slightly and sat down in defeat. Kanda started grumbling just as he always did about Lenalee kicking him and leaving a bruise later.
They didn't realize that their friendship with him could be lost in a single second.
The next two days passed quickly, even Christmas day seemed to go by quickly. Lavi knew that he'd probably get a detention after school for not showing up on the first day back, but he just had to see Allen and apologize. He showed up at their lunch and headed straight for the library. His stomach churned when he couldn't find the boy anywhere. The librarian saw his confusion and headed over. "Are you Mr. Lavi?" He asked politely, a tone that Lavi would learn to hate in his life. Lavi blinked in surprise. "Hm...the boy that aided here asked me to give something to you..." He mumbled and gestured for Lavi to come over, the teen could practically hear his heart hammering in his chest.
"He isn't here?" Lavi asked as the man rummaged through some boxes that looked slightly burnt. The man shook his head.
"No, I wouldn't be here either. Guess you don't read the newspaper—not that a lot of people do nowadays..." He mumbled the last part to himself quite bitterly.
"What about the newspaper?" Lavi asked and the man gave him a newspaper and Lavi narrowed his eyes at the circled article at the bottom.
"Well, Christmas morning, it seemed that his house burned down...it was quite disastrous. As you see there at the bottom, he was rushed to the hospital for severe burns." Lavi was scanning through the article so quickly he missed a lot of important details. "He's going to live of course." The man added. "I guess it really doesn't matter that much considering he isn't coming back. You should have seen him when he walked in here this morning." The man mumbled, shuddering at the thought before shoving a bag in Lavi's hands. "He looked devastated and he had a cast and everything. I can tell you that he looked a lot different than before...anyways, he said he thought you or a Ms. Lenalee would come and gave that to me. Told me that if you were here to just give that to you and if that Lenalee girl came here to just give her the bag." He grumbled and shoo'd him away. "Now scat, I don't need you bugging my students anymore and give that back!" The old man snatched the newspaper away and pushed him out the door.
"Jeez, talk about bitter..." Lavi grumbled resentfully. But what did he mean that he wasn't coming back? The thought of that made Lavi's heart sink to his stomach. He looked around before walking out of the middle school with the bag in his hand. He wanted to wait until he got home to open it since it seemed like it'd be private...however, Lavi's curiosity got the better of him. He looked around before sitting on the cement steps leading to the entrance of the school. He picked the note up and frowned at it before starting to read it. The note was very disorganized, unlike Allen's usual handwriting. Either his hand was injured while he was writing this or he needed to hurry...or he could be trembling...Lavi didn't like that thought so he decided on the latter choices.
Dear Lavi,
I guess the first thing I'd like to say is sorry...I guess I should've told you earlier that I was leaving, but I guess you really don't care anyways, in fact, I'd be a bit surprised if you even bothered reading this...don't really know why I'm writing in the first place. Anyways, I wouldn't recommend trying to find me anywhere since I'm leaving. And no, it's not you're fault though I doubt you'd blame yourself. You see, a week ago I got accepted into a program that was going to give me a chance to study abroad in Britain after they learned that's where I was born...
You probably don't need to know the details anyways, but just on Christmas day our house burned down. Not that you're really worried, but I did receive a pretty nasty injury. I guess that really isn't the point of this now. You probably think of me a coward for running when I did but I really thought...
As if someone had spilled something on the note, there was a small drop of water. Lavi didn't want to think that Allen was crying while he was writing this so he just left it at that. He read on...
...you at least liked me. I know that I'm probably not the most likeable person in the world, but I really thought that we had come to know each other...guess I thought wrong...
No.
I guess I'll end this soon since the doctor's are discharging me...I'll be on a plane tomorrow around eleven so it really is pointless if you (or moreover Lenalee) come try to find me.
No.
It's a really pathetic way to say goodbye...
No.
And I probably don't even matter to you anymore...
No.
Anyways, in the bag I left something for you. It is just a bit damaged by the fire, but there's no real damage to it and there aren't any evident burn marks. I guess you can say it reminded me of you...as cheesy as that sounds.
Lavi quickly dug into the bag and pulled out a rather long and bright orange scarf. The tips of it were cut off a little, which Lavi guessed Allen had snipped the black pieces off with some shears or something. Still, it made him tear up a bit that Allen would still give him something even after what happened and Lavi felt ashamed. He felt destroyed. Allen really cared for him.
Not sure if you'll like it, but I think it matches you. It's really bright and reminded me of the way that you live—without regrets. I don't want to you to dwell on my leaving even though you probably won't to begin with. You always seem to be in a cheerful mood, bright enough to light a room up (wow that sounded corny like something that came out of poem or something).
Lavi hadn't even realized that he was crying until a teardrop landed on the sheet, making it's way down the wrinkled paper. He wiped his eyes and cursed himself for crying. He couldn't believe himself. They only dated for a few months, why was he crying? Still, it felt like someone was ripping his heart out and squeezing it between their fingers whilst stabbing a knife through it.
You don't really have to keep it if you don't want to, I guess I kinda understand if you don't want to.
I guess all I have to say now is good luck and I hope you'll be able to move on through this without worry.
No...
Thank you for all that you've done for me.
Stop it...
You really cheered me up and I didn't even think that I'd ever be able to have a friend like you.
Cut it out...
I hope you go far in life as I plan to.
Stop.
I may not be able to move on so easily, but I'll be able to get through this eventually I guess...
Don't stop writing, please...
My father taught me to never stop walking, don't stop moving forward; no matter what happens, never stop.
Please...
I'll return to town someday, but you'll probably be over me by then...heck I wouldn't be surprised if you've been over me. Again, thank you for helping me cope with what life I had so far. Good luck out there, I hear high school is tough, but I know that you can get through it, you're Lavi Bookman after all! So, I guess this is goodbye.
Thanks for everything,
Allen Walker.
Don't go.
I seriously almost cried after writing that last part ;A; next chapter is a time skip! Thanks for reading. Criticism is welcome as long as you tell me what's wrong (and yes the chapter was meant to be chopped up if that's what you're thinking. This is really just a prologue leading up to what's going to happen next! Remember to try and guess the song title!
