Rated T for mature themes.

Len No SPICE!

She meant the entire world to him.

That's why he had to find some daisies for her.

Len knew it wasn't good to wander further from their favourite meadow...but he found nothing there, so his only option was to look elsewhere.

A broken and old stone wall separated the meadow from the farm next door. The farmer rarely strolled by the wall, so Len had never known what he looked like, or what his personality was.

The fact that he would get in trouble for 'breaking in' did not enter his mind as he continued his fervent search for the flowers.

He climbed over the low barricade, and rolled onto the ticklish grass of the farm. Len quickly stood up. He glanced around him, finding fields of daisies and various wild plants. He could not contain his joy. He grinned like a madman, and he felt the rush of bliss dash through his body.

Len ran forward. As he sprinted, he bent sideways to scoop the daisies in one go. After leaving a bare line on the patch, he turned around and ran, but this time, he bent on his other side to collect more.

By the time he was done, he had two handfuls of daisies. Len could already imagine the smile on her face when she saw the bunches he was bringing.

At the same moment, he heard the ear-grating roar of a tractor. The blonde-haired boy froze, but managed to stir up some courage to turn around. There, approaching him at a steady pace was the farmer on his tractor.

He was a young-looking man, maybe twenty or less, and he wore a handmade straw-hat and mucky boots. He looked almost bored; like chasing after a dirty kid playing with daisies was a normal sight to him. Since he was on a tractor, the speed was slow, yet, Len felt very uneasy as it trudged by closer and closer...

Len swallowed.

As fast as he could, he dashed back to the wall, and jumped over it with ease. He landed on some soil of the meadow and bumped his head against the side of the stony wall.

Len felt his forehead, and then glanced at his hand. Shining like gold coins was dark red liquid at the tips of his fingers. How was he to explain this to his mother?

He clenched his dirty hand. Come what may, he had to bring the flowers to her...or else she'd never stop crying.

Everyone knew that only Len's hand-picked flowers could stop her weeping.

Len began walking across the meadow—their meadow—and expected to find her sitting on the picnic blanket where he had left her before running off.

He found something even more.

A boy, maybe older than Len by a year or two, was caressing his best friend's face with a gentle smile. He wore the same clothes as Len—a white tee turning grey, black shorts that seemed to sag and dark school-shoes.

Len watched them, unable to neither speak nor move.

The boy was whispering to her as she wiped away her tears with a laugh. The blue-haired boy had torn a bit of his shirt to place on her knee, which, before, had been bleeding heavily.

Len wanted to run up and give her the flowers he had broke into a farm for. But something kept him away, something thick and impossible to stop as it grew...

Besides, she didn't need the flowers to cheer her up anymore, she had that boy.

And later on in life, Len realised, she wouldn't need him either, like the daisies that he had to throw away that very day.

I wake up after trying for hours to escape that horrible...nightmare.

The air is humid in my bedroom, and another person is in the bed with me. I look down to find dark green hair sprawled out on my pillow. Her eyes are closed...and I have no recollection of how everything led to this.

I glance at the clock that stands quietly on my nightstand. 5:30 AM.

Whatever happened last night has to be eradicated from my bedroom, immediately.

I grab her shoulder, and begin shaking her vigorously. A groan falls out as she rises out of her previous position on my bed. I look her right in the eye, hoping she realises things as quick as me.

"Ah!" she screams, pulling away from me. Then she takes several glances around before laughing. "Oh, it's you, Lenny-kun."

"Ah, yeah, hi," I greet her, as if it was normal to have such a meeting. "I'm pretty sure I asked you to leave as soon as possible after our session," I say, not afraid of being blunt.

I'm a shameless womaniser, I admit. Every night, or morning, after the 'session', I always shoo the girls from my apartment in case...she...walks in.

I don't want her to think bad about me, even though she is probably well-aware of my antics.

She pouts, thinking it makes her cute but to be blunt, I'd say, she looks like a pufferfish at most. "Len-kun, I just wanted to cuddle~"

I am already wide awake, and pulling my trousers on. "Cuddling isn't what I do. Go pay for a male escort, or something," I snap.

She sniffles, but begins to haul her clothes, that have been scattered everywhere, together.

She waves goodbye, after applying lipstick and some foundation, then, eventually, silently leaves my apartment.

The moment I hear the soft click! of the front door, I stuff my hand into my trouser's pocket to reveal a packet of cigarettes. I walk out onto my balcony. The air is crispy and sharp, but, smoking inside is dangerous. Gotta take safety precautions, even if you're a hopeless delinquent.

I reach in to take one stick out. With my yellow plastic lighter, I light the cigarette and stick it into my mouth. At this time, the sun isn't up yet, and the streetlights are still on. The air suddenly becomes chillier, and that's not good. Especially if you're a shirtless hobo.

I begin to walk back into my room, when the door opens. Rinwaddles inside, holding her bare arms as she is struck by the cold breeze coming from outside.

"Len!" she shrieks, pointing a finger at me—or to be more exact—my cigarette. "You lied—! You said you had quit!"

I shrug, placing my cigarette on the ashtray lying beside my bed. I toss a t-shirt over my head then shrugs a thick jacket on, snatch my cigarette, before strolling out to the balcony follows.

She shivers as soon as she steps out. I sigh, and begin taking my jacket off.

Rin looks at me, wide-eyed. I wrap my jacket around her tiny shoulders, and allow a smile to take over my face. Her face crumples into an overwhelmed expression, and tears start to form in her eyes. I wipe them away with my finger, and once my skin touches hers, I feel a small shiver run through my spine.

"Thank you..." she whispers, and takes my unoccupied hand into hers.

I puff out a dark cloud of smoke and stretch out to give her a pat on the head with the hand that holds the cigarette. I make sure no ash falls on her hair.

After five minutes of staying silent, I turn to her, puffing out more smoke, but making sure none makes contact with her face. "Why are you up so early?" I ask, tilting my head.

Rin shrugs. "I heard the door close...and I thought you went out or Kaito came by... Either way, it would've been rude to roll over, ignore it and fall asleep!"

I frown. "Why would you think Kaito would swing by?"

"I dunno...maybe raid our half-empty fridge?" she jokes, and laughs a little. I, however, refuse to even crack a smile.

Kaito is all she ever thinks and talks about.

"Maybe you should sleep more... You'll get pimples and eye-bags if you're not careful!" I tease, poking her stomach playfully.

Rin pouts. It's absolutely adorable. "What about you, Mr. I-quit-smoking-but-actually-I-didn't-yolo?" She stops and adds with a softer voice, "You should sleep too."

I smile reassuringly. "Stop worrying about me, Rin. I'll be fine."

Rin looks doubtful, but turns on her heel and out my bedroom. Ten minutes after her departure, I'm still staring at my wooden door.

...did she even realise that she stole my jacket, and now I'm going to get frostbite?

I bet she did.

I close my locker with an agitated sigh.

I should've gone back to sleep this morning... I'm very tired right now.

I loosen my school tie—the darn school tie; I blame all my problems on it—and undo a few buttons. I feel so...feverish.

I watch the books I'm holding fall to the floor, making a loud and attention-grabbing noise. People gasp as they stare at me crumple to the ground, coughing and wheezing, as I held my stomach in utmost pain. I hold my head to keep me steady, though I don't know how it would help, I just feel safer if my hand was there. I look around, and there are doubles of every person I see in the corridor.

My hand slips, so, my head falls out of my reach, and the impact onto the floor strikes the final blow.

Rin, a blurry figure with another to her side, rushes to my aid and shakes my arm, like it would help. Rin really can't stay calm, not even for all the oranges in the world. "Len!" She cries, and then tears start to form in her eyes.

Wow, this feels so much like a Korean drama, seriously. Except Rin is just being a little over-dramatic.

I wipe her eyes, weakly, and with a trembling hand, I place a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Rin holds my hand, and brings it to her wet cheek. I manage to gasp out, "Rin, shush, I'm not dying, seriously."

She laughs but chokes halfway. I frown. A genuine laugh and smile suits her better...definitely.

Only for a second I close my eyes, but slowly, I drift off, unable to return to the real world. "Len!" Rin calls out, again, but gives up with shaking me to life through my limp arm."Len!"

That's the last thing I hear as I black out.

Rin wanted Len to play dress up with her again.

"Since it's raining outside, and we can't go out to our meadow, let's play dress-up!" she insisted, and tugged his sleeve roughly.

Len could only helplessly agree.

"Kaito can never fit into this costume...that's why it's good to have a slim friend like you, Len!" Rin said cheerfully, and held up a pink and sparkly princess dress.

At least I am a necessity to you, Rin... But these games will only last a short while...

Len shuddered at that thought. He is still important to her, he is!

Rin took hold of Len, and began stripping off his few pieces of clothing. She threw the dress over him, all whilst dragged her best friend in front of a mirror, and Len gasped in horror.

Looking back at him was not his reflection, but a girl with short blonde hair falling across her face in a bedraggled way, and a princess dress on her!

Len mentally died.

"You look like me, Len! Me!" Rin was laughing so hard, she collapsed onto the wooden floor, clutching her stomach.

Len turned to her. Seeing her smile like this was enough for him...

Despite the degradation of dressing up as a fairy tale princess, he'd still do it to make her laugh.

Even that changed.

A hand is holding mine, and it is comforting.

Until I crack an eye open and the one grasping my hand is none other than Kaito-stinking-Shion. I scream, and desperately crawl away from him. I scoot as far as I can from him.

Kaito is surprised, and, most definitely, hurt. The hand that was holding onto mine slowly clenches up and is taken away by the ugly and pesky blue-haired guy.

"You passed out in the hallway, Len... Rin was worried about you. She couldn't do anything but scream for help, because she was too weak to carry you." Kaito pauses, and laughs at a memory, "Unlike the olden days, when I didn't even have to lift a finger when carrying you home after tripping over your own feet."

"Whatever," I say sourly. I just want him to leave. And never come back.

"What happened to us, Len? What happened to our...friendship?" he asks, but I ignore him. He grabs my face and forces me to look at him straight in the eye. "You and Rin! Our friendship! That's all that mattered to me... Yet everything shattered, anyways..."

I slap his hand off. "There was never a 'Me, you and Rin'—there was never even a friendship!" I yell, hoping he'd just let go of the stupid past already.

But I know. There was a 'Len and Rin'. Then he showed up, and BAM! Goodbye, 'Len and Rin', welcome, 'Kaito and Rin'. He has always thought that it was 'Len, Kaito and Rin'. The truth is, once he entered the picture, there was no room left for me anymore. He hogged all the space, and I was forgotten.

I was forgotten and alone.

"Tsk." I grit my teeth, and crawl under the blankets of the infirmary bed, avoiding his worried eyes. "Just go back and comfort Rin. Tell her there's nothing to worry about—that I was only asking for attention. Don't tell her I'm sleep-deprived."

Kaito stands up, turns to the door, but couldn't help it, and glances back at me. "But—"

I grimace. He is truly an annoying human being. I point to the door. "Now!"

Kaito does as I demand, and strides out of the infirmary.

I can hear from the inside Rin's loud yells and Kaito's assuring yet unconvincing voice. Rin should stop worrying her pretty little head off, because, no matter how much I try and stop myself, it makes me feel guilty that I made Rin upset and distressed. I want to be the one that soothes and comforts her—not the source of her sadness!

I roll over to my side where I force myself to sleep, and I forget about everything for a little while.

"Woah, Len, bro, heard you got swept up into the infirmary. What 'appened?" Akaito asks, begging for the details.

I rest my legs on the picnic table, and breathe out a huge puff of dark smoke. "Just wanted to meet some cute nurse, nothing big."

Akaito holds up a fist, and as he wants, I fist bump his fist, and we both let out a laugh. Akaito lets his head lay in his palms, and he asks with a curious tone, "Why do you need another girl, Lenny boy? I mean look at ya," he gestures at the three girls currently playing with my shirt, hair and face, "you've got plenty!"

"I get bored." I reply with a shrug.

"We never get bored of you, Len-sama~" one of the girls whispers, the pink-haired one, and they all giggle together as I sigh. "We're very jealous of your friend—what was her name again? Lynn? Finn? Erin?"

"Rin!" I answer, more like snap at them, to silence their ramble.

"Ah, right!" She hums, "Yeah, Rin. She's close to you, and she lives with you too! Talk about lucky!" They laugh in unison again. "But, there is no reason to be envious of her; she is dating that older guy, Kaito-kun. In a way, I'm still jealous. How can she get a guy like Kaito-senpai?"

"I agree with you wholeheartedly," the dark-haired and narrow faced one chirps, nodding her head and twirling a string of her hair 'round her finger. "I mean, she's so...mediocre. She doesn't want long and fabulous hair, like us, yet her hair colour would do her some good! Her fashion taste...meh.Wishy washy and dull. She's no good at the majority of her subjects, she is most likely to be a high school dropout, really, and, what is she again? Oh yeah. A lonely, and pitiful orphan."

I retract my arm out of the other girl's grasp—the light blue-haired and petite one who says nothing, just reacts and agrees with her friends— and met the eyes of the 'clever' brunette.

"Don't speak about Rin like that, you mongrel," I hiss, standing up and stomping as far away as I could. Akaito had watched the scene with wide eyes and his jaw dropped right below the Earth's core. As I left the scene, behind me I hearAkaito comfort the girls, though he is not as smooth as me. As I storm off, I take my cigarette out of my mouth and squish it into tiny particles. I allow the wind to sweep it off my hand and carry it to who-knows-where.

Akaito soon catches up, not a bit breathless. "Yo, man, what happened there?" he asks, catching my wrist before I can walk away. "So they insulted Rin... Why are you so pissed?"

I grit my teeth and glare at Akaito. "Not only that—they called her an orphan."

Akaito's jaw drops, again. "So what, bro? It's sad, yeah, but—"

"But nothing, 'bro'!" I scream, and continue my journey down the pavement. Akaito follows, speechless. "I'm her family. She's not lonely, I'm most certainly not lonely; altogether we're not pitiful, we're happy together! ...just go back to those chicks and tell them I'm not coming back to them. They can go and jump into some other guy's pants, but not mine."

I stomp all the way home, leaving Akaito with the infuriating set of girls, and head straight to bed where I, face first, let myself fall onto the fluffy mattress.

After a few minutes goes by, Rin enters my room, a small and worried frown on her face.

"My shota-bunny, are you okay?" she asks, with a serious expression, yet laughs a little by the nickname. "I saw you come inside. I said 'hi', but you ignored me so I had a feeling you were upset..." She trails off, biting her lip nervously, like I would yell at her for being concerned. (Though I wouldn't, not even for a billion yen, just, no.) Her uniform has been replaced by her favourite orange tee and blue short shorts. I cover my face with my hand.

"Go away, Rin, I'm tired," I growl, but she doesn't back away or obey my demands, instead, she walks forward, removes my hand with her inhuman strength and pinches my cheeks.

"You really need a girlfriend, Lenny-poo. You're so depressing lately. I'll hook you up, 'kay?"

I nod, just so she can stop hurting me...

Rin laughs, and sits beside me. "You're so girl-deprived... It might become a sickness if we're not careful!" she teases, slapping my thigh playfully.

I look up at her, removing my hand, and saw her tilt her head and smile. I hide underneath my palms again. How can I tell her? How can I tell this girl who made me this wreck of a human being that it's all her fault I'm like this? It's impossible.

But, lucky for me, I had carefully hidden away all the evidence, all the proof of my previous sessions in this very room, so Rin does not—will never—realise how wrong she is.

1/11/13 - HAPPY NOVEMBER! *sets fire to fallen leaves like a boss* Anyway, yes, I know, this is an overdone fic, yadda yadda. But, I had this 'inspiration' for this idea, literally two years ago, and I don't like throwing away stories that haven't been written yet... So, you feel me bro? uvu BTW, I've already written chapter four... So this story will /probably/ be updated weekly... Or sooner.

The title either means 'Len's Spice' or a broken English version of 'Len has NO Spice.' I kept the old title... Ah, how creative. Q^Q