A/Ns:
I should be posting updates, not little drabbles but I couldn't resist. Engloids need more love.
If there is one thing Allen has never had a problem with, it's being pursued by too many girls.
It wasn't so strange in grade school, of course; he was a lanky, unattractive boy, always hidden behind a book so much that no one really knew what his face looked like and, besides, all the girls who went after someone went after Tonio or Leon.
In high school he slowly came out of his shell, breaking the wall built around himself bit by bit as he became more extroverted, signing up for the swim team and finally hanging out with people his own age. A few girls flirted and he had fun with them, but it was nothing serious.
In college he excelled in his classes, also participating in a host of extracurricular activities. He met plenty of girls that way, and even dated a few.
But there was one thing during his romantic career that always sent girls fleeing, complaining about his boorish and insensitive demeanor.
It wasn't that he was a boorish clod, per se. He just lacked and seemed unable to learn one skill: how to comfort a crying woman.
He was of sturdy build, a human pillar, and he supposed that's why girls cried on his shoulder: he wouldn't be swayed.
But their tears bewildered him beyond belief; he had no idea how to ask what was wrong, how to stop the tears, whether to push them away. He'd offer them his handkerchief, but other than that he was clueless.
It was this "vice" of his that repelled girls, so that by the end of college he knew no members of the opposite sex and was back in his shell.
XxX
When Avanna comes to Ann, before Tonio but after him, she strikes him as aloof, to say the least, and very independent. Sitting beside her, it seems she is almost emotionless, eerily placid. But he has absolutely no problem with that; she's an intelligent and talented young woman, an asset to their small group, and whether or not she is a doll or a social beast is of no concern to him.
Still, it catches him off guard when she comes dashing into the studio room one day and buries her tear-stained face into his shoulder, sobbing for the life of her.
Neither Leon nor Tonio seem to know what's wrong, and Al certainly doesn't. All he knows is that he's become the pillar of his high school and college days once again.
He digs a handkerchief out of his pocket and hands it to her; she accepts it gratefully, using it to plug the tears before they even have a chance to exit their ducts. Finally she blows her nose and lets the corners of her mouth turn up as she places the piece of cloth on the mixing stand, obviously shy about handing it back to him.
"Thank you B - Al." She says, carefully controlling her voice as she shakily raises her hands to touch her cheeks. "I needed that."
He gives her a rare smile.
"Anytime."