Escape With Ease

Chapter Two

By Andruindel

lilili

"Hey, Ease."

Ease—as Evrona had come to be known—took a deep breath, dropped her head into her hands, and massaged her brow slowly. "Yes, Mello?"

More than a year had somehow passed. Time can alternately seem to fly and seem to crawl. That year had been one of those years that seemed to crawl past painfully slowly. Now, not only did Ease have Matt as a "friend" but she had been forced into another "friendship" of sorts with the dark-haired boy's best friend Mello. It had been a slow, painful year indeed for Ease.

Matt and Mello sat down heavily on either side of Ease on the cold stone bench she had occupied for the last hour. "I heard a rumor about you today." Mello stated in a very smug tone of voice.

Oh no, Ease thought to herself, closing her book and turning to look at the irritating blond at last. "What did you hear?"

"I heard that your birthday is next week."

In the year that Ease had been at Wammy's house, she had managed to keep a lot of information about herself private. Only Roger knew her age and full name. No one knew why she was in the orphanage, other than the standard "My parents are dead" answer she could always provide them with. Even Matt—her supposed "friend"—knew only the basics about her, things he could find out simply by observing her actions and behavior. For instance: she had an uncommon love of books and reading; she favored video games and books to homework; her favorite book was The Lord of the Rings; and she had a stuffed bear that Matt had once spotted peeping out from under her bed, but knew he should never mention if he wanted to live.

How on earth did he find out?

"Who told you?" Ease asked out loud, gazing seriously at her "friend."

"Roger happened to mention it in passing. He suggested we do something nice for you, since we're your only friends." A malicious grin twisted Mello's features.

A twinge went through Ease's heart at the words. As much as she hated the idea, it hurt that she had no friends."Who else knows?" The words flew out of her mouth before she had thought.

After a moment's consideration, Mello shrugged. "Just the three of us. And Roger, of course. Why?"

Ease forced a smirk onto her face. "No reason. Don't you have some homework to do, Mello? You promised you'd have your homework done on time this week." There was no better way to send Mello packing than by bringing up school.

Sure enough, Mello stood up and stalked away. "Nice outfit." He snapped as a parting shot. Ease glanced down at herself, at the tattered jeans and too big t-shirt she was wearing. Was there something wrong with dressing relaxed on occasion?

Matt stood up to follow Mello away. Ease mimicked his action, reaching out to take his hand in both of hers.

"Please, Matt," It was funny, she had always thought, the way Matt always seemed to wear black gloves. The boy looked at his hand held in both of hers and then hastily lifted his eyes to her face again. It was difficult to see his sharp, blue gaze through the orange tinted goggles, but Ease knew she had his attention. "Please, don't let anyone else know. No one else can know about my birthday, understand?"

She gazed earnestly at him. Please, please don't ask me why. She pleaded silently in her mind.

For a long moment Matt gazed silently at her. She tightened her grip on his hand, willing him to understand. "No." He finally answered truthfully. "I don't understand. But I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to..." He sounded doubtful and a bit confused.

"Thank you, Matt." Ease gave him a grateful smile. It wasn't often that the expressions on her face were real, but this time the smile she allowed to curve her lips was genuine. Matt could see that it was, even though he didn't think Ease knew he could read her that well. As good as she thought she was at hiding her emotions, Matt could always see through her. Her eyes were an open book to someone who knew her the way Matt did. Of course, Ease had no idea that Matt knew her as well as he did. That was the only reason Matt remained silent, turned, and followed Mello away, leaving Ease to sit and read, as she had been doing before they had interrupted.

Exactly a week later, Ease awoke to a very heavy sense of depression. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, her thoughts focused on just one fact: the fact that she was celebrating her thirteenth birthday alone, in an orphanage. Tears sprang into her eyes, but she would not let them fall. After taking several deep breaths, she had her emotions in check again, and she slouched out of bed to begin another long day of classes and social obligations.

The day turned out to be even worse than she could have imagined. Mello was full of endless meaningful glances and snide remarks. Matt said nothing; he barely even looked at her all day. And she was so busy trying to keep her emotions from spilling over that she failed the test she had to take in History.

But to top it all off, when Ease wandered back to her bedroom that afternoon, relieved to have survived the first part of her day, she found a disaster. Her bedroom door stood open. Heart pumping, she sprinted the remaining few feet down the hall to her room. Someone had been inside. No one else would have been able to tell, but Ease could see it. The books on her bookshelf were out of order, and the book she was currently reading, The Two Towers, was missing. A scrap of paper lying conspicuously on the floor caught her attention and she stooped to pick it up.

It was a yellowish color, and it crackled as she unfolded it.

If you want your book back, leave twenty dollars under the cushions on the game room couch

As though the note itself was not infuriating enough, it had been written on the title page of her book. White hot rage boiled up inside the girl. To steal her book was one thing. To abuse it was a different crime all together.

Wait, Her thoughts told her to calm down and think about the situation rationally. Who would steal her book and then demand a ransom? Obviously one of the boys, or even a few of the boys. A frown creased her brow and she lifted her fist to her mouth, biting her knuckle as she thought hard. And then finally, a realization hit her.

Mello!

Sometimes, people jump to conclusions. They think they have all the facts and they jump to a conclusion that is entirely and utterly wrong. And all too often it is just this rash act that results in the ruination of friendship.

If Ease had been a bit older—and known the dangers of jumping to conclusions—maybe she would have given the situation some more thought before rushing downstairs in search of Mello. But a thirteen year old girl can only know so much about the world, so she marched down the stairs, into the library, and straight up to Mello. Heaven only knows what Mello was doing in the library. Usually the library was where Ease went when she wanted to avoid Mello. It was always quiet, it was full of interesting books, and there was a window seat in one corner she loved sitting on when she read. It was the only place in the entire orphanage that Mello almost never went.

"Mello!" She stomped to a stop in front of the blond, glaring hard at him. "You can't just go into peoples' rooms, steal their books and then demand a ransom!"

Mello stared blankly at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You stole my book!"

Again, Mello only gave her a blank stare, and on his right, Matt was busily playing some video game that had captured his attention. "The Two Towers! My book!" Ease glared, feeling her cheeks heat up as her passions rose.

"Ease," Matt spoke up from where he sat, still almost entirely focused on his video game. "I don't think Mello took your book. And it's not usually a good idea to accuse your friends of petty theft."

Suddenly, Ease realized that Matt was right. Mello had absolutely no reason to steal her book. He knew by now that Ease had no limit on money. She got an allowance every week from the money her father had left her, and being a girl with few real needs, she spent only a little of it every so often. This resulted in both boys being on the receiving end whenever Ease felt she wanted to spend some money on sweets. With an indescribable emotion causing her cheeks to burn and her eyes to sting, Ease turned abruptly and fled.

With her thoughts in roiling turmoil, Ease escaped to one of the only sanctuaries she knew: The stone bench in the middle of the grounds, where she could sit for hours and contemplate the mysteries of life.

Back in the library, Mello and Matt were conversing quietly. It was actually very rare to hear Matt say anything. The only people he spoke to on a regular basis were Mello and Ease. So the sight of Mello and Matt sitting in the library, holding a heated but whispered conversation, was an odd one indeed.

"You need to go find her." Matt whispered to Mello. He gazed seriously at his friend through his piercing blue eyes, not relenting until Mello finally gave in.

"I have a better idea. You go find her, make sure she's not crying or whatever, and then I'll come find you guys... eventually.."

Matt knew a good deal when he heard one. He nodded and stood up, slipping his game boy into his pocket as he did. He gave Mello one more serious look and then left the library in search of Ease. He knew exactly where she would be, too. Ease may not have known it, but she was highly predictable. During the year or so that Matt had known her, Ease had displayed a few very blatant facts. One: she was a bit OCD. Two: She was a creature of habit. And three: She never retreated to a corner when feeling angry, upset, or threatened. Matt wasn't quite sure of the reasons, but Ease always retreated to the same stone bench out in the middle of the grounds, where anyone could see her or approach her. Some day, he would probably figure out why she did this, but for now all he knew for certain was that he would find her on that bench.

And sure enough, that was where she was when he stepped out of the orphanage and looked around. He approached slowly, gauging her mood by her posture. She was upset; her shoulders were hunched and she was picking at her thumbs. But she didn't look too upset to not want to talk.

So Matt sat down beside her but said nothing. He was best at listening, after all.

After several minutes, Ease sighed deeply and her posture shifted. Her head went down and her shoulders slumped even more. "Matt, why do you and Mello put up with me?" She asked. She pulled her feet up onto the bench, resting her forehead against her knees.

Matt considered for a moment, thinking over all his options. He himself had no real idea why he tolerated the girl. As for Mello, the gamer knew it was just the fact that he was Mello's best friend that kept him from completely driving Ease away. "I think the better question is: Why do you tolerate me and Mello?"

This time, Ease lifted her head and focused a piercing gaze on him. "Matthew, don't you ever say something like that again." She spoke far more forcefully than Matt had ever heard her speak before. Her eyes, those strange black eyes, peered up at him from behind a curtain of dirty-blond hair. "You're the only friend—I mean, you're not that hard to put up with. All you do is sit around and play video games. Actually, that's one of the reasons I hang out with you."

Matt glanced sideways at Ease. "Alright, if you say so. I'm gonna go find Mello." He stood up, not feeling bad in the least for leaving her. He had spoken to her, at least as much as he was ever able to speak, and now he needed to find Mello.

lililili

Almost an hour later, Ease was lying half asleep on her bed. Since talking with Matt she had seen neither one of the boys. She assumed they had just gone about their own business. She had no idea where they were. Just like her book. So it came as a surprise when someone knocked on her door. She never got visitors, and she was not currently sharing the room.

Coming out of her doze, Ease scrambled to her feet and toward the door. When she opened it she stood speechless, her eyes wide and all ability to speak lost.

Mello and Matt stood outside her door. The blond sported a heavily bruised eye and a cut lip. Matt's hair was a mess, but otherwise he looked brilliant compared to Mello.

"Here." Mello snarled. He shoved something into Ease's hands and she took it without thinking.

"What?" Her eyes fell to the object in her hands and she stared. It was her book. The cover was bent and some of the pages torn, but it was her book. "My book!" She exclaimed, turning a shining gaze on Mello.

"We fought for it." Mello claimed nonchalantly.

A sheen of tears filled Ease's eyes. These boys had fought to get her book back. Quickly blinking the tears away and letting her instincts guide her, she threw herself at Mello and hugged him tight around the neck. She knew it made him uncomfortable, but she was too happy to care. After hugging Mello she turned and hugged Matt too. Matt accepted her hug more willingly than Mello did.

"Thank you, guys." She said sincerely.

They mumbled indistinctly, avoiding her eyes.

A few awkward moments passed, but Ease knew that she would never think of Mello and Matt as inconveniences again.

They were her friends. Her real friends.

lililili

A/N: Hey, guys. I decided to update this one next, since I'm still working on time-line and stuff in my other story. So, here's chapter two. I hope you liked it, and I hope you like Ease. I think the next chapter is going to be a lot longer, and then after that I don't have any more written, so it may be a bit before I update. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review. I write better when I know people are reading :3