Hello, all! I am so sorry for this super late update! It's been more than a year! Time passed so fast. So sorry again! Life has been busy and I am also focusing on another fandom's story.
However, in the past year, I have decided to extend the story and added this chapter. I even had a Chapter 0.5 in mind, but still solidifying the plot. I hope this long chapter will be able to satisfy you after such a huge update-gap.
I tried my best but there might be some OOC and mistakes regarding of my grammar and writing skills. I'm still improving my English, so do bear with me. If you noticed any of the aforementioned grammar mistakes, you can either review or PM me about it. Constructive criticisms are always welcome.
Enjoy!
Chocolates & Roses
Chapter 2: ...will mean so much
"No."
Lowell Clancey sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
The salt-and-pepper-haired man sat behind a dark mahogany desk raised an eyebrow at the male redhead's prompt answer. "Decided so quickly?"
The ginger man nodded. "Yes."
"I see… It's such a shame, Mr. Allison." The oldest man in the room stretched out a hand across his desk and adjusted the tilted nameplate that read — Rodney Hobbes. "From what I've heard from Mr. Clancey here–" he nodded his head towards the bespectacled brunet who sat beside the redhead. "–your ideas are very fascinating. I believe an addition such as you would make wonders to the whole institution."
Rodney Hobbes leaned back in his black leather chair and brought his hands to his chin, fingers together as if he was a cartoon villain plotting a scheme. "Are you certain you didn't want to join the Student Council as an… advisor of the sort?"
"Yes." The redhead repeated, earning a slow nod from the older man.
"I see. You just started your 2nd year here, am I correct, Mr. Allison?" Hobbes received a nod then a small smile spread across his face. "Then we still got time." He motioned the two seated men before him to stand, and Lowell quickly did as he was told before urging his friend to stand up faster.
"It was nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Todd Allison. Mr. Clancey, I'll see you at the upcoming meeting. The two of you are dismissed," Hobbes stated, looking back down at his paperwork.
Lowell did a small, respectful bow. "Of course, Mr. Hobbes. Thank you." Then, he jabbed his elbow into the ginger man's side.
Todd muttered a small curse at Lowell's sudden attack, but he got the message. "U-Uh. Yeah. Thanks."
After a dismissing wave from Hobbes, the two young men left the office and shut the heavy door behind them. Once they were a distance away from the door, Lowell broke the silence between them. "Why didn't you accept the offer? It was a great opportunity, you know."
"It might be, but I'm not interested and have other projects to focus on," Todd answered with his usual scowl. "I'm still mad at you for telling Mr. Hobbes my complaints about this place. Who does that?! If I got kicked out because of this, I'm coming for you."
Lowell rolled his eyes but held a small apologetic smile on his face. "True; no one does that. However, your complaints — as you called them — are ideas on how to improve this school, as well as given us an insight into what is wrong and requires immediate action. This information is, in a sense, priceless. That was why I shared them with Mr. Hobbes. And trust me, Mr. Hobbes won't have students kicked out for such a petty reason; you'll have to do a lot worse than just verbal complaints."
Todd groaned lowly, brushing a hand through his hair. "Whatever. I'm going back to the Horticulture buildings."
"Sure. I have other things to attend to as well. See you next time, Todd Allison," Lowell bid his friend farewell, and they were off to their own different destination.
Todd Allison descended the stairs and made his way through the sea of students to the main building's nearest exit. The hallways were filled with freshmen chatting among themselves excitedly for their new college life, comparing schedules, making acquaintances or trying to find where their next class was.
Todd scowled at how loud the students were and quickened his steps, eager to return to the large, quiet garden he fell in love with when he first arrived. As he neared the entrance, a flash of lavender caught his eyes. He glanced over to the pastel color and his feet glued to the spot.
The chatter died away, the world around them blurred but that boy, standing under the sunlight shone in from the tall windows. Todd felt his heart jumped when he noticed he was looking at him too, but neither of them made a move, just staring at each other in surprise.
'He's not wearing his hat and jacket,' was the first thing Todd noticed about the lavender-haired boy as he took in his appearance. His hair was short and choppy, eyes in a shade of light blue, and dark-toned skin that contrast with his unusual hair color nicely. Unlike the first time they met, he now wore a pair of black and white earrings, a white blouse with lilac-colored cuffs and collar and… wait! Is that a skirt?! Wait! He is a she?!
"You're a—"
BUMP!
"H-HEY!" Todd caught his footing then snapped, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Muttered another curse, he watched the student who had bumped forcefully into him ran down the hallway and disappeared among the crowd in a matter of seconds.
Todd tsked and was about to straighten his shirt when he noticed he was holding something that wasn't there before. He brought his hand up and examined the item in his grip. It was a… wallet? "What th—"
BUMP! THUD!
He heard a loud yelp and soon realized it was his own when he found himself crashed onto the hard tiled floor. The back of his head throbbed in pain, his vision blurred, and something heavy was pinning him down. Todd Allison felt the wallet snatched from his hand, and the weight above him shifted before removed themselves. Todd clutched his aching head with a hand, still dazed from the fall, when someone grabbed him by the front of his shirt, roughly pulling him up to his feet.
The tight fist around his shirt didn't loosen as he came face to face with the angry blond who had tackled him earlier. Hot annoyance pooled at the pit of his stomach, but Todd forced himself to stay calm. "Get your hand off me."
The male blond snarled, "Why the hell should I?! You stole my wallet and money, you thief!"
W-What?! Todd furrowed his brows at the outburst, utterly confused as to what the man was yelling about. "What wallet? I've never seen you before!"
"Oh yeah? Then why was my wallet in your hand, huh?" The student — or at least that was what Todd assumed the guy to be — lifted his other hand to show a royal blue leather wallet; the same one Todd was holding only moments ago.
Oh. That wallet. He hadn't had the time to think about it himself earlier. Both of his hands were free. How did the wallet end up with him? Wait… "Someone shoved it to me," Todd muttered as realization dawned on him.
"What? Oh please, don't even try to lie. I saw you! I saw you ran away after you pickpocketed my wallet!" The student continued to shout, attracting more students to gather around them and watched the commotion.
Todd was glad he shared the same height with the student as he sent back a glare of his own. "I. Did. Not."
The blond clenched his jaw so tightly, Todd wondered if his teeth were cracked. "Don't lie. I saw you ran away with my own eyes; donning a brown jacket and dark-colored trousers! Come on! My wallet in your hand and you're wearing the same outfit. It's YOU!"
"Now that's just plain bollocks! You can't just assume it was me from what I'm wearing! You didn't see the face!" Todd tried to pry the fingers off his collar but they were like iron.
"I know what I saw, so SHUT UP AND ADMIT IT, THIEF! GIVE ME BACK MY HUNDRED NOTE!"
The student tugged his wallet away and bundling his other fist into Todd's shirt, lifting him up to his toes. The collar constricted around his neck, and the student's knuckles pressed onto his windpipe, cutting off air. S-Shit! "Let go… of me, you… twat…"
"NOT UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU STOLE MY MONEY!"
Can't he see he's strangling me?! Todd gasped in a breath and clawed at the blond's iron fingers almost desperately as he felt his lungs began to burn.
"STOP! You're choking him!" Someone yelled, cut in-between them and shoved the blond away; freeing him. Todd Allison gasped when he landed on the floor, but the gasp quickly turned into a coughing fit as his lungs sucked in air. A hand moved up to his throat, rubbing a spot where the blond's knuckles had dug into the most.
"Oh my!" Todd heard someone rushed to his side before knelt down to help him sit up. A hand went to pat his back. "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm *cough* fine *cough*," Todd managed to utter and the coughing eventually ceased. He cleared his throat once before opening his eyes and froze. It was him — no — her.
The worry on the lavender-haired girl's face melted into a smile. "That's a relief."
"HEY! What's your deal, girl?!" Todd turned his head to the source and remembered the mess he had been pulled in. The girl stood to her full height — although still short by a head — and confronted the fuming student.
"My deal is to stop you from hurting an innocent person any further. You were clearly choking the life out of him! Why did a smartly dressed man such as yourself tackle someone like a rugby player?" She informed, but only received an angry growl.
"None of your business. And innocent, my foot," the blond snarled. "He stole my wallet and took my money! Don't lie to protect him because you have a crush on him or something."
Light pink dusted across her cheeks but she responded firmly, "I am not lying and he did not steal your wallet either. I can prove it."
"Oh yeah? What is it then?"
Todd stood up to his feet, his eyes never left the back of the girl. Was she defending him?
The girl pointed a finger down the hallway behind her. "Firstly, he came from the west wing, while you came from the east. Secondly–" she folded her arms, eyes remained locked onto the blond, "–I saw the real thief shoved your wallet into this man's hands. He has dark-colored hair — bluish — and dark skin tone. He is indeed wearing a brown jacket and dark-colored pants, but the thief's trousers are in a near-black hue rather than dark brown. Finally," she paused momentarily and turned her head to give Todd a gentle smile. "He doesn't need to steal money at all."
Todd felt something unfamiliar in his chest and heat rose to his face.
A snort caused both to turn back to the blond.
"So you're saying someone framed him?" The student crossed his own arms, tilted his head with a raised eyebrow.
The girl nodded. "Yes."
"Why should I believe you?"
She smiled wider. "I know you won't believe me so easily. That's why we'll catch the real thief for you to prove it."
"What?!" Todd exclaimed, but it fell on deaf ears.
An amused smirk appeared on the blond's face. "You two? Really?"
She gave him a confident nod. "Yup. In fact, we'll find the culprit by today."
"WHAT?!" The redhead's shout was ignored once again.
"How can you be so sure?" The blond questioned.
"I just do. We'll contact you after he is found then report to the university staffs. Solely catching the thief is meaningless if he won't learn a lesson out of it," the girl explained, before bringing out her mobile phone. "Now, give me your phone number; to further prove that I'm not all talk and no action."
The blonde fished out his own phone from his neatly pressed pants' pocket. "Hmm... You're different; I like you. Fine, I'll give you a chance. Add your number to mine and I'll do the same to yours.
The girl nodded, and they traded phone, adding themselves to the contact before returning it. The blond checked her entry and chuckled as he read out, "Elkwood. Last name, I presume? No first name?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't think it's necessary for you to know. But thank you for giving us a chance, Mr.–" she looked down at her phone's screen. "–Lennon."
"You can call me by my first name," the blond told her with a smirk.
Todd Allison noticed the lavender-haired girl took a step back before she replied, "I think Mr. Lennon is just fine." She slipped her phone back into her skirt's pocket and turned to him. "Let's go. We have a thief to find."
"Wha—"
Without another word, she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along, down the west hallway where he first came from, leaving Lennon behind.
For such a petite-looking girl, she was fast and Todd found himself trying to keep up with her pace at times. Throughout the whole… dragging, he didn't utter a single word — couldn't actually, for he hadn't fully comprehended everything that had happened.
He wanted to scold the girl for dragging him into this 'wallet thief hunt', but hesitated. She stood up for him. She didn't have to, yet she did, even though she was visibly uncomfortable confronting the taller blond. Bloody hell, if he was her earlier, that sudden change in Lennon's attitude at the end would have unnerved him too.
After making a few turns, down more hallways and entered another building connected to the main one, Todd Allison pulled her to a stop. "Slow down, Elkwood."
She did and gave him a questioning look, but let go of his wrist nonetheless. "We're far enough. Come, we need to talk," Todd instructed, and she followed him wordlessly. They didn't go far for they soon reached the inner courtyard of the building. He led them over to an empty garden bench and the two of them made themselves comfortable on the hard smooth wood, feeling drained from the incident earlier.
For the next few minutes, they stayed silent, listening to the sound of chirping birds and running water from the fountain situated in the center of the courtyard. It was later in the morning, so there were fewer students around; most of them had started their first class.
As much as he loved and wanted the comfortable silence to continue, he knew he had to bring up the mess they were — well, he was — in. He sighed and sat up straighter. "Elkwood."
"Hmm?" The girl simply responded, leaning back on the bench with her fingers laced on her laps, gazing up at the clear blue sky.
How… What should he say? Todd shifted slightly in his spot. "U-Um… Thank you," he managed, "for helping me back there."
Elkwood finally tore her eye away and turned her head to face him. She smiled. "It was nothing. You helped me before after all; repaying is only natural."
"Right…" He did. "Well… since the repayment is done, you should head to your class before you're in trouble."
"Wait! I can't do that!" Elkwood exclaimed, pushing herself off the backrest to face him fully.
"Why not?"
She furrowed her brows. "We agreed to Lennon that we'll catch the thief, didn't we? We can't break that promise; Lennon will call me if we do!"
"You gave him your real number?!"
"U-Uh… Yeah?"
Todd Allison dragged a hand across his face as he let out a low groan. He didn't know whether to call this girl foolish for giving a stranger her phone number or trustworthy for keeping her words. He drew in a deep breath before removing his hand. What else can he do? "You really want to catch this thief?"
"Yeah. Why not? It's the only way to prove your innocence," she said matter-of-factly with a small grin.
Why is she doing all these for me? The same feeling Todd felt from before emerged again, but he suppressed it. "How about your class?"
The lavender-haired girl shook her head. "None today. But I have three tomorrow that's why we have to catch him by today!" Then, her eyes widened as she realized something. "Do you have classes today, sir?"
Sir?! Bloody hell, he felt 10 years older for a second. "Lucky for you, I don't. And please don't call me 'sir'."
Elkwood tilted her head innocently to the side. "Well… You never told me your name."
Oh. Right… "Allison. It's Allison."
She perked up. "Allison?" A giggle rang out like a bell. "Surely that's not your given name, right?"
"Of course not," Todd replied, cheeks flushed a light red.
"Then what is it?"
"Since I don't know yours, I think we're even."
She pouted at his reply, and Todd couldn't help but gave her a victorious lopsided smile.
"Fine! It's not important at the moment anyway." Elkwood bounced back to her feet and did a little stretch. "Since we're both free today, we can hunt for the thief!"
"How in the heavens are we supposed to find one person on such a huge campus?" Todd stood up as well.
Elkwood kept the happy-go-lucky smile on her face and said, "We'll just have to ask around, don't we?"
Todd didn't show it, but he was cursing internally at how lost they were. "No plan?"
"Not really. But, since the thief has bluish hair, I'll say the chance of finding him is high."
She had a point unless she had gotten the hair color wrong, which he prayed she didn't. "I truly hope so…"
"I know so. Come on, Allison!" Within a heartbeat, she looped an arm around his and pulled him along. "We can start by asking the students first!"
Todd Allison let out one last groan before allowing himself to be led away. It was from that moment he knew this strange lavender-haired girl would be the death of him.
It turned out asking students wasn't that great of an idea. The incident had happened quite some time ago and any possible witnesses were a long time gone. After questioning a handful of students around the 'crime scene' and received nothing useful, the two young adults knew they need a change of plan.
"Seems like Plan A didn't work as much as we hoped," Elkwood stated and joined Todd Allison by his side.
The redhead nodded. "Yeah. 15 minutes and all I got are not enough to provide us any further clues."
"Same here," Elkwood sighed, tapping her chin in thought as she glanced around the partially empty hallway. She looked up at the ceiling and stopped before tugged Todd by the sleeve urgently. "Allison. Look."
He followed where Elkwood pointed to and froze at the sight. "Is that…?"
A smile spread across the girl's face. "I think it is."
A security camera was mounted on the eggshell-colored ceiling. Its unblinking eye recorded the hopeful smile on two students' faces before the girl gripped onto the boy's hand, turned and both disappeared off camera.
"I'm sorry. But we can't simply let students view the security videos," the security guard told them in a bored tone, leaning lazily against the doorframe to the room where the evidence Todd and Elkwood desperately needed was.
"Please, sir? This is urgent," Elkwood pleaded. "We can't reveal the thief's identity unless we watch the recording."
But the late-twenties-looking guard denied them access once more. "Nope. Sorry, little girl. If the robbery did happen, I suggest you report it to the On-Campus Police Department. Let them do the investigation, not you."
"Police Department?" Todd enquired, and the guard nodded.
"Aye. The Police Department; PD for short. This is no longer high school, kids. The land is larger, the number of students tripled or even quadrupled, so the institution takes incidents of all kind very seriously. We have the PD and FD — that's the Fire Department by the way — here on campus to tackle the crime, fire and safety reports." The guard stifled a yawn then crossed his arms. "So, why don't you guys head to them? I'm sure they'll help you catch the thief in no time."
Both Todd and Elkwood shared a look, silently contemplating their next course of action. Strangely, despite already spent a full year in the university, this was the first time Todd knew about the Police Department's existence. It was either his first year had been a very peaceful one, or the university college failed to remind freshmen who they can report incidents to. He pretty sure it was the latter.
Now, the whole situation was different. Todd reckoned that they should do as the guard suggested and report the whole thing to the PD. The idea of cluelessly tracking down the thief themselves was quite a silly one once Todd Allison thoroughly thought about it.
"Elkwood," he started, "maybe we should do as he said."
The lavender-haired girl sighed, "That'll be the best, I guess…"
The droop of his companion's shoulders didn't escape Todd's notice, "You alright, Elkwood?"
She looked up at him with a small smile and nodded. "Yeah. Totally. I'm fine."
It didn't take a genius to know that smile was forced.
"I know you aren't, Elk—" Todd's sentence was cut off by a sharp, merry whistling. They turned to the source and saw someone approaching them from down the hallway. He was another security guard; easily identifiable by the gray half-sleeve uniform shirt, yellow emblem, and black pants. This guard, however, wore black combat boots instead of the dress shoe in their dress code. Also, this man is tall; a few inches taller than Todd. However, what unnerved the redhead most was the way he held himself; something about him just scream 'Don't mess with me or I'll mess you up big time'. Instinctively, Todd Allison took a step in front of Elkwood.
As the new guard came closer, the whistling died off, his footsteps echoed through the hallway until he stopped beside his colleague. He gave the two students a curious look before turning over to the brunet guard. "Hey, Leony. What are these kids doing here?"
The first guard scowled at the black-haired man. "Stop calling me that, Cyril. It's Leonel. Leonel."
But the new guard, Cyril, simply waved off his annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, Leony. Just tell me why are they here."
Leonel rolled his eyes with a grunt then briefed, "They're asking for permission to watch the security footages. Mentioning they need to identify someone who had stolen a student's wallet and tried to frame it on the ginger here."
Todd Allison frowned while the guards conversed, not liking how they were treating him and Elkwood like some thumb-sucking 3 years olds.
"Really?" Cyril perked up. "Stealing in plain daylight and on the first week of the new intake? Whoever this kid is, he either has a lot of guts or a tiny brain. Well… could be both too."
"Yeah… whatever. I told them to report to the PD." Leonel shifted his eyes over to them. "They should be leaving very soon."
He was clearly telling them to leave, and frankly, Todd didn't feel like staying another minute longer too. He sent Leonel a glare before placed a gentle arm around Elkwood's shoulder. "Yes, we are. Thank you." He was about to lead them away when the new guard interjected, "Hey, wait! Don't leave just yet, kids. Leony."
"I said don't call me-"
"Let them watch the videos."
The three of them froze to their spot, gaping at the black-haired man as if he had grown a second head.
"W-what?" Leonel managed.
"Let them watch the videos. They want to catch the thief, right? Well, let them." Cyril simply said.
Todd swore Leonel was about to blow a fuse from how red his face had become. "Are you kidding me, Cyril?! You're only a patrol guard — part-time, might I add — you can't tell me what to do! I'm simply doing my job by not letting unauthorized individuals watch the footages. If they want the thief to be caught, then they should go tell the PD; it's their jobs!"
"I know what's my position, Leonel. And I also know what's my job: take necessary action when encountering any suspicious activity and resolve the problem quickly." Cyril gave Leonel a smirk. "Now, I received a report on a robbery in the school premises, and we have no idea whether this thief is a student or an outsider. If it is the latter, it would be a serious matter. I can't possibly not do anything when I know there's a possible danger among the students, can I? It wouldn't be good if something does happen, and someone found out a certain person didn't do something that could have prevented it, right?"
Leonel kept the frown on his face, but it was clear he understood what Cyril was implying. "What if the robbery didn't even happen?"
Cyril shrugged. "Then we'll find out after watching the video."
The brunet guard muttered a low curse but finally stepped aside from the door. "5 minutes. I give you guys 5 minutes to find and watch the videos. After the time's up, scram and don't ever think of telling this to anyone, or else I'll come find you."
However, his threat was not taken seriously by the taller guard. "Sure thing, liebling. Come on." He turned and called out to the two students, who startled by his sudden address. An amused smile spread across his face. "You kids need to watch, right?"
Todd and Elkwood nodded meekly.
"Then come on in," Cyril instructed and stepped into the security camera room after beckoning them to follow.
The two young adults hesitated but entered the room nonetheless.
The security room wasn't very spacious, but it was big enough to fit the walls with rows after rows of computer screens, a table with papers and tools, and two office chairs. There was just enough space left to allow in 2 more people comfortably.
Cyril sat in one of the chairs and pulled a set of mouse and keyboard closer to him. "So, which camera you kids want to watch?"
"The hallway of this building's main entrance," Elkwood informed, and the guard began to search through the multiple screens for the correct one.
"Alright. Found it. Time?"
Elkwood gave him the approximated time and watched as Cyril set in the data. With a flicker, the bottom screen on their left displayed a hallway filled with a sea of students, calmly walking up, down and disappeared off camera.
"This is before the incident," Todd observed.
"Then we'll just fast-forward it," Cyril said and with a few clicks of the mouse, the footage did as he commanded. The two young adults kept a close eye on the fast-moving picture until Elkwood yelled, "Stop! Rewind it just a little."
The guard did as she told, playing the video back frame by frame until he himself noticed it as well. He paused the video at the frame right after the thief bumped into Todd, but before he could run off camera.
"That's him," Elkwood said confidently. "I'm sure of it."
"I'm not surprised he's the thief then; I recognized that kid," Cyril stated.
"Really?!" Elkwood yelped in excitement and rushed to the guard's side. "Who is he? Is he a student here?"
"Student? More like an amateur delinquent; smoking in the buildings, skipping classes, and even spotted gambling once on the roof. That last one earned him a suspension, due to, and I quote: 'not enough proof that money was involved in what could be a simple card game'. But this–" Cyril pointed to the frozen footage, "–will land him either another suspension or expulsion. But I'm pretty sure this guy will get kicked out for sure."
At that moment, Todd Allison remembered his conversation with Lowell Clancey earlier in the day and wondered does thievery and frame-up considered as 'a lot worse'.
"So you know his name then? Do you know where he might be now? Or maybe his dorm room number? Or—" Elkwood's stream of questions got cut off when the security guard suddenly shot a hand up, a sign telling her to get silent.
"Hush, girl. Don't waste all your energy now," the black-haired man said as he plugged a cable from the computer into his smartphone, then proceeded to type and click away at the computer. While he worked, Todd Allison and Elkwood stood and watched quietly at the side, giving each other a curious look; wondering what the guard could be doing.
It felt like hours had passed in the little security camera room until Leonel barged in unannounced. "Alright, Cyril. 5 minutes are up. Get out. All of you."
"Chill, Leony. We're done here. No need to get your grundies in a twist," Cyril snickered, set the screen back to showing live footages then unplugged his phone. Standing up, he slid the device back into his pocket and urged the two students, "Come on, kids. Out, out."
The two young adults did as they were told, but Todd exited the room with a frown on his face. He really didn't like the guards treating them as if they were little children. Elkwood, on the other hand, didn't seem to care as she was back bombarding the tall guard with questions. "What did you do back there? Do you have more information on the thief? Oh! What is his name? What are his class schedules?"
The security guard merely chuckled at the lavender-haired girl's liveliness before he spoke, "Calm down, will you? You're acting like an overenergetic puppy. So excited to be a detective, huh?"
"What?" Todd muttered to himself, but when Elkwood froze and flushed a light pink, he pieced the puzzles together. The reason she was so keen on finding the thief, why she was crestfallen when he suggested handing the case over to the PD, it was all because... "The only reason you help me is that you want to play detective?"
The blush on her face darkened as she defended herself, "N-No! I really want to repay you! Trust me on that! I-It's just… the thought of catching the thief… I…" Elkwood stuttered, not knowing what else to say.
Todd himself was silent too. A part of him felt used and his chest tightened at that thought.
The atmosphere immediately turned so tense it was almost palpable. Neither of them made a sound or move until Cyril spoke out, "Why the sudden silence, kids? Aren't you two eager to catch the culprit?"
"E-Erm…" Elkwood uttered, tapping her fingers together.
The tall guard looked over to Todd and noticed the strain feature across his face. "Are you angry at her?"
"W-What? No, I'm not!" Todd rebuked, "And why does it matter to you?"
"Of course it matters, cause I know where the thief is and I don't want to bring along a bloke who is angry at someone who went out of their way to help them. She's doing you a favor, so why can't you return the kindness by letting her have a moment of fun by being a detective, huh?" Cyril questioned back, his tone low and firm.
Todd bit his inner cheek as he glared at the tall man. But he stayed silent, for a part of him want to agree with everything he said. However, a tiny voice chanting in his head made him hesitate. She's using you. She's using you. She's using you. Just like he did.
"You know what," Cyril's voice somehow hushed the inner voice, "if you decide to be cranky for the rest of the day, then I'll take missy here to the thief myself. We'll tell the Student Council staff to call you later after we finished the job. Come on, lady." The guard gestured the lavender-haired girl to follow him and Todd noticed how distraught she was, glancing between the two of them, not knowing whether to stay or leave.
Gentlemen do not leave their lady friends alone with strangers. Oh, don't give me that look. Okay, I know you never care about been a gentleman or not, but you are a guy and should protect your female friends. Not that I'm saying girls can't protect themselves and all, cause I totally can protect myself, but it's more of a… it shows you at least care for them, you know? Despite how strong some girls look, I bet most of them would find it endearing that someone is looking out for them. Stop frowning! Gosh, if your face freezes up like that, you'll end up single, grumpy and alone forever!
Damn it… Why did her stupid advice just have to pop up now?
"I'll stay." "I'll go."
Todd Allison froze and looked over to Elkwood, who was looking back at him as well, the flustered pink remained on her face. "Did you just say you'll stay?"
Elkwood broke their eye contact in what seems like nervousness and nodded. "Y-Yes. I'm very sorry if I made you feel like I'm taking advantage of your misfortune. I didn't mean it. I swear I don't!" She wet her lips then continued, "And now that Mr. Cyril knows where the thief is, I'm sure he can apprehend him alone. We could wait for him at the Student Council office. I'm…"
The girl took in a deep breath, turned to lock eyes with him yet again, then bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for my behavior!"
Todd Allison could only blink, dumbfounded by the girl's action and words. She said them so passionately, so… genuine.
"E-Elkwood," he finally managed, "it's alright. I forgive you, you don't need to bow."
The girl seems hesitant to do so, thus only lifted her head. "You… really forgive me?"
"Yes. Come on, you can stand up now." Todd urged, approaching Elkwood to help her up.
The uncertainty on Elkwood's face was soon replaced by a small smile. "Thank you, Allison." Once again, Todd felt the unfamiliar feeling bloomed in his chest and the tiny voice died.
"Great." Cyril grinned as the two students jumped apart from each other with a faint blush, remembered they were being watched. "Now that this is settled, we should get going. It wouldn't be good if he left now, would it?" The guard let out a low chuckle, turned on his heel and walked off.
Todd and Elkwood shared one last look at each other before followed behind the security guard and towards God knows where.
After traversed down hallways, out the building and further up to the West side of the campus, the unlikely trio found themselves nearing another structure with neat floras planted around the tall building. Todd Allison glanced around and observed that the number of students walking about was little. Was it because it's nearing noon or…?
"What building is this for, Mr. Cyril?" Elkwood asked the patrol guard, unknowingly taking the words out of the ginger's mouth.
"Journalism," the tall man answered, leading the two young adults to the side of the building. "You two probably noticed the lack of students around. Few people are passionate enough to stick around for the whole course; averagely about half of each intake ended up choosing something else." Cyril motioned them to stick close to him before crept onwards, towards the back of the structure. "Because of that, our target always comes here to slack off; up on the tree sleeping or hide among the bushes for a smoke."
"So you mean this place is his hiding spot?" Elkwood questioned, lifting her skirt to avoid them being snagged by any stray branches.
"Yup." Cyril nodded then stopped in his track. He held an index finger up to his lips, then turned to peek from the edge of the wall. He must have hit the jackpot, for he grinned before motioned Todd and Elkwood to check out what he saw.
Mirrored the guard's quiet steps, the two young adults peered into the back of the building and true to his words, the thief was there; leaning against the trunk of an old tree, puffing away at a cigarette, oblivious to the three people spying on him.
"That him!" Elkwood hissed, trying her best to keep her excitement down. Todd simply nodded in confirmation.
"Alright," Cyril whispered, "Now, here's the plan: I already copied the footage evidence to my phone, so I'll head over, start a conversation with him, then—"
The guard was cut off by the sight of a girl strutted up to the delinquent. A girl with short, lavender-colored hair…
Both Cyril and Todd instantly looked around. Sure enough; Elkwood was no longer with them.
"Hey, you!" The men heard the girl yelled and turned their head just in time to see Elkwood standing beside the thief, a hand rested on her hip while another one was pointing at the blue-haired man accusingly.
"Good God, Elkwood!" Todd breathed while Cyril let out a low groan.
The delinquent gave Elkwood a surprised, befuddled look, his cigarette laid forgotten between his fingers. "Wh-What… Who the hell are you?"
Elkwood's fierce expression didn't flatter as she jabbed her index finger in the man's direction. "There's no need for you to hide now; we got evidence! So I suggest you confessed your crime to the Student Council and return what you have stolen!"
The man blinked twice then stood to his full height. His coffin nail landed on the grass and snuffed beneath his boot. "Are you accusing me of stealing, little girl?"
Elkwood crossed her arms and held her ground like the stubborn girl she could be. "I'm not accusing. I know you have stolen money! And how dare you try to frame it on someone else!"
"What?! I did no such things!"
"Chris… Just when I thought this job could be easier…" Cyril muttered under his breath and moved to approach the duo. However, his movement caught the blue-haired student's attention. He tore his eyes away from Elkwood and once they landed on the guard, he bolted.
Elkwood yelped in surprise as the student suddenly pushed her aside and ran off. But she wasn't letting him get away that easily. "Hey! Stop!" In the next heartbeat, she ran off after him.
"God damn it!" Cyril cursed before chasing after them as well. Todd Allison followed his action.
The thief darted into the Journalism building, hoping to lose his pursuers within. However, the pink-haired girl was faster than he expected, hunting him down as though she was a dog in her past life. The number of students in the building wasn't in his favor either; he couldn't blend in and escape as easily as before.
Making a sharp turn, the blue-haired man dashed down the hallway and ran for the stairs. He had secretly copied a key for one of the rooms on the top floor. If he could just make it there…
"Stop! I've got you!" He was almost at the stair landing when he felt something — or someone — grabbed him by his left leg, tugging him back. He cursed as he almost stumbled, but his grip on the railing held him up. The delinquent turned to see who held him back, no surprise, it was that strange girl.
"Let me go!" He yelled, struggling against her tight grips.
"No!" She shouted back, her fingers dug a little deeper into his pants. "Not until Mr. Cyril come and catch you or you confess your crime!"
"Never!" Right after that, they heard two sets of legs running towards them. The thief glanced up and sure enough, the security guard was getting closer. "Good job, kid! Hang on just a little more!" The guard called out, an amused tone was evident in his voice.
Oh no no no. He refused to get caught due to a tiny, little girl! The delinquent shook his trapped leg wildly, catching the girl off-guard, but she remained latched on tight.
He could hear the guard getting closer. The shaking turned into kicking, aiming at the lavender-haired girl's form. He managed to hit her twice on the hips, but she avoided his kicks by twisting her body to the point he couldn't do any real damage to her.
The guard was halfway up the stairs. "I. Said. Let. Go!" He drew his leg back as much as he could and kicked. Maybe her grips had loosened among the struggling, maybe the arrival of the guard had distracted her, whatever the reason was, she didn't dodge his boot in time and received the full kick to her stomach.
She let out a painful scream, her clutch on him was finally gone, and her body fell backward. He heard the guard yelled, but he didn't stay to see the nasty fall the girl will be receiving. He promptly continued up the stairs. That was the distraction he needed, if he was fast enough, he could shake them off in that class—.
Suddenly, just as he stepped onto the second floor, a thick book appeared out of nowhere and slammed into his face. He heard a crack and felt something warm ran down his nose before he, just like the girl, fell backward and down the stairs.
"Kid!" Cyril shouted as he watched the lavender-haired girl got kicked and fell backward. He stretched a hand out, trying to grab her, but she had fallen past him, just out of reach. "Sh- damn! You better pay for that, you fuc- imbecile!" Cyril fumed as he continued to ascend the stairs, just when he reached the landing, he heard a loud 'bam', followed immediately by the familiar sound of breaking bone and a wail of anguish. He looked up just in time to see the thief tumbled down the stairs and landed by his feet with a heavy thud, groaning in pain as he held a hand up to his bleeding nose.
"What in the world is going on here?!" A female voice with noticeable Japanese accent demanded from above. "What's all the rackets about?! What is this 'crime' I heard?!"
Cyril tore his eyes from the whimpering student to look up at the young woman standing at the top of the stairs. In her hands was a thick volume on literature's history; the obvious cause of the young man's injury.
"Well?!" The female student was now staring at him, waiting impatiently for the answers.
Cyril couldn't help but sent her a smirk. "Let's just say you're a heroine, liebling."
"Kid!" Todd gasped in horror when he saw Cyril failed to grab Elkwood on time, and the small girl was going to land and tumble the rest of the way down.
"Elkwood!" He rushed up the steps, towards the girl. Everything seems to move in slow-motion as he reached just behind her. Elkwood collided into him by her side and both of his arms automatically pulled her into a protective embrace. His body tumbled backward from the force and he felt his balance leaving him.
Todd felt wind whisked past his ears before his whole body landed on the hard surface of the steps. Pain shot through his body and he couldn't hold back the yell. Soon, he felt gravity continued its work and hastily brought a hand up to protect the back of Elkwood's head while he ducked to protect his own.
The journey down the stairs was thankfully short, but when the two of them had finally rolled to a stop, Todd Allison felt as though he had been hit by a truck. He groaned before hissed in pain when he moved his arm. His shoulders and elbows felt awful and no doubt would be covered with bruises.
He tried to move his other arm and realized they were still on the back of Elkwood's head. He had landed on his back with Elkwood on top of him. "E-Elkwood. Hey, you're alright?"
The girl shifted before a low moan of pain escaped from her lips. She gently lifted her head, her mind slightly disoriented from the fall then connected her eyes with the redhead's. "A… Allison?"
Good. She remembered my name. Todd sighed in relief. "Hi, Elkwood. How are you feeling?"
"U-Urgh… my stomach hurts. And…" Her sentence trailed off when she noticed her hands were pressed against something warm and realized she had fallen onto him. "Oh my! I'm so sorry, Allison!" She quickly pushed herself up and moved her legs to get off the male redhead.
"It's alright," the young man uttered, pushing himself up to a sitting position. His whole body ached from the simple movement. "I'm just glad you're not seriously hurt."
"I'm so sorry, Allison," she repeated. "And thank you so much." Then, her eyes widened as she remembered something very important. "The thief! Did we get him?"
"Cyril wen—"
"Well chap, you're under arrest for thievery, frame-up and injuring a fellow student. Prepare to face the principal and your parents very soon." They heard Cyril spoke from above before peering up to see the tall man giving them a thumbs up for a job well done.
A wide grin appeared on Elkwood's face almost immediately after hearing the news. "We got him!" In a blink of an eye, she turned back to Todd and grasped onto one of his hands. "We cleared your name, Allison! That Lennon guy better apologizes to you later or else I'm reporting him."
"Yeah. It's all thanks to you…" Todd paused his sentence, his eyes never left the girl before him. Although it was short, he enjoyed this strange girl's presence. The whole experience was like a breath of fresh air. And he craved for more.
"It's Todd."
"Huh?" The girl questioned with a tilt of her head.
"My given name. It's Todd. I'm Todd Allison."
The confused look on her face was soon replaced by a bright smile and rosy cheeks. "Petunia. Petunia Elkwood. That's my name." Then, she shook the hand she had been holding since earlier as a modified handshake.
He shook back with a chuckle and a smile of his own. "Pleased to meet you, Petunia."
And that was the beginning of something great.
And that's the end of this chapter. Thank you for reading!
I hope the story is fine so far. Also, the Lennon student here is NOT an OC, but the blond guy involved in Todd's kidnapping, the one whom Petunia shot dead. And the thief, well, it's the same one from the webcomic, just aged down to fit the University College's AU.
Next, I would like to thank the following magnificent people for:
Review: Meta-Akira and Randy Orton(?)
Favorite: Meta-Akira, siggasigrun, & Manuela Podkulska
Alert: Manuela Podkulska
Lastly, someone awesome uploaded the whole webcomic (and then some) to Imgur! Re-reading is so much easier than reading from The Wayback Machine. Here's the link: toddallisonpetuniaviolet '.' imgur '.' c o m Remember to remove the spaces and ''.
If you enjoyed and wanted to motivate me to write more TA&PV fanfics in the future, please review or fav. They give me life.