Warnings/Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man. Warnings include light yaoi (shonen-ai) of Tyki/Lavi, aka Lucky. Mild angst and OOCness because this is another high school AU. :) enjoy, ne? beware for unrealistic yet realistic teenage dramatics

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I Just Needed Something Else

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Two reasons made Tyki look up from his book. One- his obnoxiously noisy "family" had gone dead silent with startling abruptness, and Two- a warm body had just slid onto the bench next to him and was pressed against him; all the way from his thigh up to his shoulder. He quickly comprehended that the new addition must be the reason for the silence and so looked at the newcomer first rather than his friends when he finally did look up from his book. He was shocked to be met with an eyeful of crimson colored hair when, just as he looked, Lavi rested his head on Tyki's shoulder and scooted even closer against the older teen.

Shocked and unable to see Lavi's expression, Tyki's eyes slid to table's other occupants, only to have his own shock reflected back at him from most of their faces. It was just flat out hard to get Lulubell to express any emotion in the first place. Struggling with the urge to turn and cradle Lavi in his embrace instead of their slightly awkward current position, Tyki stuttered a quiet question. "Um, Bookman Junior-san? What are you doing?"

As of the most recent knowledge Tyki possessed, Lavi was a member of the unofficial clique called Exorcists and had, up until a few seconds ago apparently, had disliked the Noah clique (Tyki's group and current occupants at the lunch table) just as much as the rest of the redhead's friends. So both this sudden appearance and sudden clinginess to Tyki was, once again, shocking.

Lavi shifted even closer, quite nearly in Tyki's lap now. His voice was very quiet when he spoke, but everyone was already dead silent so everyone could clearly hear how his voice shook as he replied. "I just needed something else. Sorry bout this, but could you please let me stay like this for a little while? I'll tell you why later…" Halfway through his sentence, the redhead's voice cracked under obvious emotional distress and Tyki was quick to automatically reassure the younger boy.

"Sure, sure…" Tyki replied quietly, sharing a look with the youngest member of the clique. Road only gave him a wide eyed look in reply and shrugged in conundrum as well. She had no clue what had caused this either.

The twins' looks of shock were fading into matching expressions of hungry curiosity while Skinn had apparently lost interest in the new development and resumed inhaling his sugary lunch. Lulubell still sipped at her milk through a straw, having not been affected in the slightest this whole time.

Tyki waited patiently, pointedly ignoring a gathering warm wetness on his shirt and the minute shaking of Lavi's hand as he slipped it into the Portuguese's and clutched tightly. The Noah clique member squeezed back in reassurance. He saw no reason not to, he'd never been one for the silly clique and stereotype scene of high school anyways, and Lavi obviously needed this kind of comfort at the moment.

Tyki shot Devit a quick look of warning when the dark haired twin opened his mouth impatiently to undoubtedly hound Lavi with questions. The older teen subtly shook his head, ordering with his eyes to wait until the seemingly ex-Exorcist recovered and told them himself. Until then, they would wait. To make his point, Tyki purposefully turned the page of his book and resumed reading. He heart Devit huff and instead strike up conversation with his blond haired twin again. Road quickly caught on and joined in as well, prodding Lulubell and Skinn to participate too.

Tyki didn't read a word on the page, entirely too focused on the warm hand within his own and the even warmer body aligned against his side as Lavi's breathing evened out more and his body's tension melted away at the return of conversation. Tyki realized with a jolt that his thumb had sometime began stroking the skin between forefinger and thumb on Lavi's hand in a soothing manner that was definitely worked as Lavi's shaking ceased.

The redhead inhaled deeply, pressing his face against Tyki's neck before exhaling just as deeply and giving the Noah goosebumps from the nearness of Lavi's lips to his skin and the brush of warm air. So Tyki had a bit of a pre-existing crush on Junior Lavi Bookman, sue him.

"Okay," Lavi suddenly said, instantly recapturing the Noahs' attention once more at the sound of his significantly stronger voice. "Sorry bout that, I'm okay now." Lavi straightened only somewhat, pulling back enough to give Tyki a warm smile that went all the way up to glow in his single displayed green eye. "Thanks for being the shoulder I needed, Tyki-sempai."

The Portuguese felt a flutter of a butterfly that was his heart skipping a beat at both the warm look Lavi had just graced him with and the fact that his crush had just said his name for the first time in such a soft manner. "O-of course, Bookman Junior-san." Tyki replied after a moment, wincing at his stutter.

Lavi squeezed Tyki's captured hand. "Lavi. You can just call me Lavi." The redhead smiled a bit wider, before turning his gaze onto the rest of the group, giving Tyki an irrational surge of jealousy at his diverted gaze. "I'm sorry I don't know your names, and I hope you can forgive me for any wrongs I did to you while I was still an 'Exorcist'." Lavi murmured softly, entrancing Road and the twins with his genuine apology and general politeness.

After a moment, Road recovered with a huge grin. "Of course Lavi~! I'm Road Camelot, and those are the twins Devit and Jasdero, and that's Lulubell down there, and this big macho guy here is Skinn!" She introduced in rapid fire, before sticking her tongue out childishly when the twins protested her announcement of them because they had wanted to introduce themselves.

From Lavi's returned position of his head on Tyki's shoulder, the elder teenager could feel the redhead grin against his shirt. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'm glad." Tyki felt a distinct squeeze on his fingers that he was certain was Lavi including him especially into that sentiment. "I'd also like to thank you for not pushing when I first sat down. It was very kind of you…"

Tyki took his chance to answer before Road the chatterbox could butt in. "Of course, Lavi." He purposefully brushed his thumb along the extent of skin he could reach on the younger teen's smooth hand. "Take as much time as you need, but you don't even need to tell us anything at all if you don't feel comfortable."

Devit and Jasdero had distinct expressions that expressed protest to Tyki's last statement, but they remained silent while Road remained her positive smile of reassurance. Skinn and Lulubell had long ago engaged in quiet conversation about the value of sweet things against milk.

Lavi trembled gently, speaking even quieter when he next spoke. "You're so nice…" He whispered, reaching his free hand across the table as to which Road eagerly took and hence sprawled half way across the table on her stomach to give the redhead's offered limb a friendly squeeze. "Thank you so much… I w-want to tell you, because I want to be friends… especially since I don't have any anymore." A distinct note of bitterness slipped onto the last few words, the first sparks of anger to emerge amongst sadness.

Road's expression darkened somewhat, her gaze intent on the redhead using Tyki as a comfort pillow. "What did those stupid Exorcists do now?"

Tyki winced at her untactful question, but was surprised when Lavi made an amused, but still bitter sound of agreement.

"Kanda said I was only gay because no girl would take me with this eyepatch and stupid personality, and even guys didn't have standards low enough to take me either. And everyone else stayed silent." Lavi bit out harshly, his voice hard and strong without a hint of its earlier wobble.

Road gasped in outrage, her eyes flashing with fury. "How dare he-! And they didn't-? Ooh! That makes me SO mad!" The petite girl growled before the anger slipped off her face as she stretched around the table (to remain her hold on Lavi's hand) in order to squeeze on the bench next to Lavi (and Tyki) and hug the red haired older boy's other side. "Oh Lavi, we would never say such things!"

Lavi shifted a little of his weight off Tyki in order to put his support into Road in return for her hug, his voice soft again when he replied. "I know… you guys never lie, I noticed that. I mean…" The ex-Exorcist sounded lost again. "I knew Kanda was mean, but I didn't know he was cruel, and the fact that nobody else even said anything to deny it… it hurt. It hurt a lot. And I don't ever want to go back to them."

Road shook her head fiercely in agreement. "No! You don't have to! You can stay with us Lavi!" She cried loudly, joined in by the twins immediately after.

"Yeah!" Devit yelled, waving his fist. "Those damn Exorcists are such assholes! Screw them!" Jasdero parroted "Screw them!" as his dark haired twin finished his statement. "We'll beat them up if they try talking to you again, Lavi!" Tyki believed that their acceptance of Lavi was based off of their newly acquired similarity of intense dislike for the Exorcist clique, and that went just fine for everyone present because it worked.

Lulubell surprised them by inputting her own thoughts. "Such derogatory slurs are repugnant. You are welcome to remain with us, Lavi. As you said, we do not lie, and I find not a thing wrong with you." Skinn offered a short nod of agreement, but Tyki didn't find his opinion too credential because the oldest boy's only true interest was sugar and football.

Lavi squirmed his hand free of Tyki's to reach up and rub at his single eye, his breathing a little ragged. "Y-you guys… are so nice… Thank you, thank you all so much… I'm so glad…"

Road snuggled in closer to her newest friend while the twins continued to rave angrily about the Exorcists and Tyki, in a moment of selfishness, recaptured Lavi's hand to lift it to his mouth and kiss the warm skin reassuringly.

"Yes, Lavi. You can be a part of our family now, and we will protect you from their cruelty from now on." The elder teenager murmured protectively, nuzzling Bookman Junior's crimson locks affectionately.

The bell ending lunch rang sharply.

The next few days passed in a flurry of the Noahs protecting their newest member with fierce diligence. Allen Walker and Lenalee Lee were the most common people they found themselves deviating away from Lavi as they were the most persistent.

Devit and Jasdero had actually gotten into a fist fight with an upperclassman Exorcist by the name of Krory, and Skinn had done the same with Kanda Yuu- actually sending them both to the nurse's office in the process. Lulubell sharply cut away any verbal attempt to speak to Lavi, most often making Lenalee dash off in tears at her cutting words.

Throughout the process, Lavi hid gratefully behind his protectors, turning his single eye and ears away from his once friends and refusing to acknowledge their presence when they attempted to seek him out. Road clung to Lavi in the times that Lavi wasn't clinging to Tyki, and the youngest Noah member was even crueler in her words than Lulubell, and not even Allen Walker dared to confront Lavi while Road was by his side despite the white haired boy being on the best terms with the youngest Noah.

Since Lavi had changed classes at the change of the semester (because the boy was a genius and could accomplish any lessons with minimal effort, bless his photographic memory too), Tyki happily found himself with more Lavi time and even fewer Exorcists to divert since his "family" was doing such a swell job between classes and break periods.

Lavi liked to hold Tyki's hand, taking great comfort from the elder teen and sharing genuine smiles with the boy. No matter how much the Exorcists denied Kanda's words and claimed that their friendship with Lavi was genuine and apologetic for their "shocked silence," Lavi refused to give them the time of day and the Noahs supported him wholeheartedly. After all, if they truly believed what they were preaching, then the Exorcists would have protested immediately and not remained "shocked silent" for a whole two minutes. After all, you really could judge a whole book by its first chapter- a person by the first minute in a situation such as Lavi's; and they had failed the friendship test.

Lavi had new friends now, and they were better.

Just a relatively short little do-da, of OOCness and Lavi having emotions and being hurt by friends and moving on to another group of friends. It happens more than one would think. A bit unrealistic, I realize, but I wrote it as a teenager in high school, and you know that everything was much more dramatic then, yeah?

So feel free to review and criticize, I just figured I might as well post what I have because I wasn't lengthening it any time soon.