The Catalyst: Chapter 2
He would have moved, he was always calculative in his actions. He had meant for it to happen, for her to run into him again in quite the literal way, to try and make her feel embarrassed or surprised. Too feel something. That was one of his quirks that should have tipped her off, no matter how good of friends they were, he was always treating her like his science experiment--something he liked to toy with. He had said on numerous occasions that she had an interesting mind, a peculiar set of processes to make her the way she was. He never called it a disability. But then again, he never called it an advantage either.
"Hello , It's been quite a long time, B" Robin said as monotonically as ever, making B smile slightly just the same at her reaction—although a smile to B was a sneer to the rest of the world. "So it has. I've heard you have quite a successful career now… I read in the paper that you have quite a lovely townhouse, why are you in a place like this?" he asked, biting his thumb lightly in the way he always used to. Just in the same manner as L, but somehow B made the action seem different, like he was parodying it. As if he was making fun of the genius himself.
"Ah, a change of pace is sometimes necessary" Robin said airily and B squinted at her, staring at her bruised eye just a bit too long. "Don't tell me…" he paused and she could feel her heart thunder, this time being the only instance where the emotionless exterior caused by her Aspersers was actually useful. "You're having the place painted? Or fumigated… there are roaches even in lovely townhouses, I suppose" B stated, no doubt getting more curious of her appearance by the moment. "Yes, there are roaches everywhere, B" Robin stated nonchalantly. She was still undecided about it all.
Her professional code, and her plain sense of right and wrong, were both nagging at her to turn B in. No matter how much she wanted to believe L was wrong about what he had said in the car, she knew it was true. It was written all over B's personality. His actions back then in Whammy's, his mentality… and his presence now. His crimes were evident just by the way he was standing, by the expression on his face. All her psychological classes only confirmed everything Robin could tell was true, and maybe deep down she had known it all along.
But B has always been her best friend. Still was, even after all this time.
Besides, there was currently no substantial evidence against him, why else was L still allowing B to roam the streets? It was all L's fault in the first place. Whammy's fault. There are more suicides in Whammy's than there are success stories. The pressure placed upon the kids is immense and all from one source: L.
What makes him so great?
Robin understood how B had become this way; the pressure made the dark thoughts increase in his mind, which had then finally won when they fled Whammy's. That part… that was her fault. Maybe if they had stayed Quillish or Roger would have noticed his sociopathic tendencies, maybe they would have gotten him help. But cleaning up her mess is exactly what L wants. She stopped doing what L wanted years ago. She had stopped living in his shadow, comparing herself to him… she had stopped wanting to be him.
B just didn't have the strength to stop, and that's what broke him.
"So, you live here I'm assuming?" Robin prompted the silent, staring boy. "Hmm, I guess for the time being, yes" he responded casually. "And where are you off to now? If you're not in a rush, maybe we can have a bit of tea and catch up" she stated and B gave a thoughtful look before nodding. "Yes, why not. I was just going out to run an errand, but I suppose it can wait" he paused as he eyed the old lady's clothing on Robin's awkward frame. "Maybe you want to… change first?" he asked with a smirk.
If Robin were any other girl she would have blushed at being caught looking so stupid—looking nearly exactly as she had when she left whammy's, looking as if she hadn't changed was certainly embarrassing. Truth be told, she still felt like the same socially retarded, awkward-figured girl. But, per usual, no blood rushed to her face and she didn't stumble over her words. Sometimes she wished though, that other people could see how she felt... Even if it was the embarrassment she was feeling now.
"Ah, I have nothing to change into though… and still no shoes" she stated, looking down at her feet and wriggling her toes. "I would offer you something, only I just have duplicates to what I'm wearing now" B said, sounding amused. "Hmm I'm sure I can scrounge up a sizably less ridiculous looking outfit soon enough. Care to accompany me to my room?" B simply nodded to her statement, and they began walking down the small hall. He was even stooping in the painful-looking way L himself does, something about it made a shiver go down Robin's spine.
"I'm impressed, you can ask questions now" B stated almost conversationally and Robin laughed inside her head. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is. I have to constantly monitor my inflection; I used to have to say a question about 10 times in my head before I could ask it properly out loud. It's like chewing over your words before you say them" she mused and he gave her another sneer. "It's like you're making a plan. There's nothing wrong with plans, so long as they don't go bad in the end" and just as he said it, they were at her door. She put in the key amidst silence and left the door open for him as she walked in.
Robin stepped into the tiny bathroom quickly while shutting the door, dumping her suit on the counter and looking at what she could salvage. She shifted the neck of the dress so it rested on her shoulders and showed her bare neck. After a few minutes of staring at her suit she grabbed the thick black belt and fastened it just above her hips like a cinch belt. All in all, it made the dress look far less hideous and more indie chic. The only real concern was shoes now. Robin emerged from the bathroom to catch B sneering at the number on her room door; 13. It was always his lucky number (even though B didn't believe in luck). "Do you maybe have some shoes I could borrow?" she asked, tearing him from his stare at the door.
He looked her up and down before settling on her bare feet. "Leave it, we'll go to the park" he said simply and she mentally sighed. If she hadn't stepped on glass this far, she probably wouldn't now. "Alright, I assume you know a place then? A café?" Robin asked and B gave a thoughtful expression before a larger sneer overtook his features. "Certainly, it's fairly close as well" He stated, and with that, they strode out of her room and then out of the motel itself. Once they were on the street, Robin started to feel the internal pressure to strike up a conversation "So, B, what have you been up too?" she questioned somewhat awkwardly.
"It's funny you should ask; this and that I suppose. Nothing near as interesting, you've been popping up in the papers quite a bit since last year" B stated, giving her what she knew was an curious expression by the biting of his thumb. "Yes, I finished my degrees last year—at an accelerated rate of course. Then I jumped right into work, although most of what I've been getting is jobs with the cops" Robin said, looking both ways before the two crossed the street to where the shady beginning of the park started. "And you've gotten on some high-profile cases already. The Shipman Case, the Garner Case, the Gomez Case, not to mention the Carvajal Case… Where a 16 year old raped a 72 year old woman…" B stated, and Robin could feel him try to get her emotional goat. He was doing his experiment thing again; she could tell by the way he was searching her facial features for a hint of distress. But of course there would be none, even when she wanted to feign a smile it was hard—it was effortless to hide emotions when she didn't want them seen.
"I see you have been following many of my cases, B. And here I thought you had forgotten me after we split up" Robin said and B frowned slightly. "I can never forget anyone from Whammy's" B said it with an underlying tone, almost as if he'd tried to rid himself of memories from that accursed orphanage. It was sad really, all those kids living in a permanent shadow—the place was almost like a living, breathing shrine to L. "Well let's not discuss the unpleasantries, where is this café?" Robin asked; not any sort of place like that was nearby at all. "We're already at it" B stated and suddenly Robin got what he meant, the large ice cream and sweets stand right in front of them gave her an internal smile, although her face was still just as placid as before.
"I assumed that you still like strawberry ice cream" B said with another sneer-smile and Robin forced a smile out of her emotionless face, although both B and her knew it wasn't a fake she wanted him to see that he'd made her happy. Even if she couldn't show him a true smile. "Of course I do, how thoughtful of you B, really" she stated as they got at the back of the line to the stand, thankfully the line wasn't too long and within a couple minutes they were at the front. "Hello again Baron! Oh is this your sister?!" the bubbly waitress asked and Robin looked at B, finding the contrasting demeanors between the two quite humorous… as well as B's laughable fake name. Bubbly, happy, peppy people were just the type B despised, not to mention the fact she seemed very airheaded to think they were related. B's eye and hair color were different from her own blue and blonde.
"Good evening Mandy, and no, this is Robin--a very good friend of mine. I'll have the usual, and she'll have the strawberry ice cream" B stated and Mandy beamed at the two of them before rumbling around in the shack. "You know, I thought he was crazy when he asked for a plain 'ol jar of jam, it's really funny when you think about it" she prattled on. "Oh! And we just got some fresh strawberry jam in the back, give me a sec and I'll get it!" Mandy said with another smile before disappearing behind a divider. "Baron?" Robin questioned quietly, giving him a raised brow and B gave her a look "I happen to think it's a very classy name" he countered to her, eyeing her brow. There were a few things she could do when B last saw her, mostly smiling and frowning, but it was even an effort back then. Robin knew B was intrigued with her new emotional abilities, seldom they may be.
"Here you go! Would you like a spoon, Robin? I think it might be a bit hard to eat ice cream the way Baron does" she finished with a giggle. Robin remembered the way he used to eat all his food, utensil-less, he had hardly changed--the thought made her smile internally. "Yes please" Robin requested as B slid his jam off the counter, placing a few crumpled bills in its place. Thankfully, the last of Robin's cash was folded in her bra, but the look she got from B as she retrieved it made the waitress giggle again. "Don't be so shocked, she is a woman after all! Where else would we keep things without purses?!" Mandy said to B, followed by a "That'll be $3.00, sweetie" directed at Robin. Robin quickly counted out 3 exactly before folding it up again and stashing it. The two walked away, avoiding the small tables next to the stand and opting for a bench in front of a small duck pond instead.
"Well then, I believe we were talking about work. Is being a top psychologist what you'd thought it would be?" B asked after they sat down, unscrewing the jam jar with ease. "It's been fine I suppose, I enjoy helping people. Although I do think medical professionals make too many rules,I feel like I'm always being watched over, like I'm back in…" Robin paused; she'd almost brought up the exact topic she'd wanted to avoid. "Well anyway, I like it. Although lately it's been rather… unsavory" she said, thinking back to her appointed psychologist. "A new case?" B asked, keeping his eyes on his jam-coated fingers although she knew with his tone he was curious. Usually he would stare when he got curious, so why was he looking away from her? He was asking a question, and trying to hide that he cared about the answer… was it…?
Did he think she was working on his case?
She'd noticed the information given in the news, that's how she'd known exactly what L had been talking about, but she hadn't given much thought to it. When she wasn't assigned to a case, she would never pay attention to it. Criminals and police only reminded her of Whammy's. It wasn't exactly absurd for B to think she was helping L, but it stung that he thought she valued L over her and B.
"Somewhat, yes" Robin answered, taking a few licks of her ice cream. "Somewhat?" B prompted and she nodded. "I suppose that I might as well tell you, although it makes me a bit nervous to say surrounded by so many people" Robin stated truthfully and B faked a thoughtful look, it was becoming more and more apparent that B had planned out this whole conversation. "Come here and whisper it to me then" B stated and Robin slided closer to him on the bench. She wanted to prove that she would never take L over B, but at the same time she didn't want to reveal that she knew it was B behind all of this. "L is working on the Wara Ningo Case, surely you've heard of it" She paused for him to nod. "And he wanted me to help" Robin stated and B turned to look at her, his face placid. "You agreed" it wasn't a question, and more of a statement.
"What I said to you after A died still stands," Robin said and the only part of B that failed to hide his surprise was his eyes. Robin looked around at all the people before deciding to whisper into B's ear again "I hate L" Robin continued "and I will never help him" she finished and B stared at her for a minute. "What did he do when you refused?" Robin turned back to her nearly dripping ice cream and took a few licks, answering through the sweet "He tried to force me, nearly kidnapped me before I jumped out the car window" she stated briskly. "Did he hit you?" B asked and Robin turned to him, confused although her face was absent of it. She questioned herself as to exactly why B would think that, when she suddenly hit the realization and she unconsciously lifted her hand to touch her bruised eye. "Ah, no. my usual clumsiness, I fell too hard on the sidewalk when I jumped" B nodded, actually believing her answer unlike the old lady at the motel had. Perhaps he remembered how often her knees and palms were scraped up back then at Whammy's.
"…So that's why you're in the motel? You're afraid L will track you and force you?" B asked and Robin nodded; the first scoop out of two on her ice cream gone. "I see…" B stated as he got up from the bench "It's about time I get going on that errand I have to run, perhaps I will see you later" he said, starting to walk away and Robin got up quickly, tripping over her own feet and plummeting straight to the ground on her face. The shout of 'wait' she was going to say died in her throat and instead she let out a low "Ow" as she sat up, pulling down the dress hurriedly to cover herself. She was somewhat surprised to see B still standing there. She was afraid now that since B knew she wasn't investigating him, and thus had no ties to L, he would leave her in favor of more important matters. Robin just couldn't let him walk back in her life and then walk right back out again. Truth be told, her new Whammy-less life was more successful in making her lonely than happy like she thought it would. She missed the life she used to have with A and B, and with A gone she wouldn't let B leave just like that.
"Maybe I could go with you" she felt too embarrassed and stupid to concentrate on making that a question. She was still on the floor, and practically begging him to hang out with her; she felt like a pathetic little puppy. B continued to stare at her and she sighed monotonically as she got up and began brushing herself off, she cursed quietly as she saw her knees were now bleeding again. "Sorry, that sounded… you don't have to—" he cut her off "I'm not going shopping, since you were honest with me I won't lie" he stated before looking up at the sky, it was still dark although it had stopped raining—it was looking more and more like night. "It's too late to go now anyway… let's go back and I'll explain" he finished and she nodded, grinning on the inside as she strode quickly to catch up with him.