Booya. Two chapters in a week. I'm on FI-YAA (Fire) xD!!! Alrighty. So. I'm sure you're curious about what happens next. So. Forward march! Or downward, considering you're reading... ANYWAY:
Disclaimer: My story is too lame to be compared to the real thing :)
Allen's eyes took on a blank look. A look that told Jenna that she'd really let her mouth shoot off and it'd hit him in a very fragile memory in his heart. Actually, he seems all fragile! Looks like the tiniest impact could kill 'im! Still, she felt guilty.
"I-I'm sorry," she tried to attone. "I didn't mean to pry... Sorry..." The end came out more like a mumble. And then a whisper: "Sorry."
Allen didn't reply. He only stared forward for a while, the book in his lap coming dangerously close to falling. Then, after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, he stirred from his memory trance, quietly asking, "How did you know about Mana?"
Jenna waited a bit for more, but that was all he said. Allen continued to look dead ahead. It seemed terrifying to Jenna, for, though she'd only known him for a few minutes, she'd gotten used to seeing his happy face, eyes gleaming with curiousity and life, much like her own. Now his stormy grey eyes seemed dull, colorless... lifeless. Cold.
"I-I-I..." Her voice faltered. Her mouth seemed dry. Her throat was too tight. A bead of sweat ran down her face. She rewetted her lips and tried again, voice quivering, "I... saw his name..."
"Where."
It was not a question. More of a statement. Mana was a very important person, either infamous and hated, or so precious it was painful.
"Your pentacle." Jenna's voice was small.
His left hand instinctively moved up, touching the mark tenderly with his fingertips. After a brief pause, he nodded slowly, then removed his gloved hand.
"I see," was all he said.
Desprate to make it up to him, Jenna babbled away-- "I'm so sorry, Allen. I shouldn't have pried. It was my fault, please dont be mad. I--"
He held up his gloved left hand, and Jenna broke off, sentence half formed in her mouth. "It's fine, Jen. You didn't know."
A dim memory flitted by Jenna's thoughts: The same sentence, spoken with a dull, dead voice. A dark haired, dark skinned, tall man. Gold eyes looked down at her with sad eyes. Her father...?
Jenna shook her head. Not now, she thought. He left when I was three. No way I'd remember him. She tried to convince herself to forget, but the sad, golden eyes were just branded in her mind now.
Golden eyes... Hm... Jenna dwelled on it, seeing as Allen was going to be a bit depressed for now. Gold eyes... Noah.
What? The word had just flashed in her mind, like a neon sign in a dark alley. Random and obnoxious. Noah? What's that? Some brand of clothing my dad wore? Thinking hard, Jenna tried to remember what kind of clothing he had wore. Fragments came-- sleek, old fashioned hat, dark grey suit... black bow-tie with a long, dark, faded red line in the center, running all the way through.
Movement to her right caught her attention. A single tear tried sliding down Allen's cheek, though it barely made it halfway before he wiped it away with a finger. Jenna's guilt came back like a flood. Oh dear, I made him cry. On his first day too! Not even 30 minutes into the day! What's wrong with me?!
Then, a ribbon's corner, peeping out from beneath his hoodie caught her attention. It was long and a faded, dark red color, with a single, long black line through it-- the exact inverse of her father's. This was interesting. Without thinking, she asked.
"Allen, where'd you get that ribbon?"
"... Mana gave it to me... shortly before he... died."
Jenna's eyes dilated. Fuggin'! No wonder he was sensative to Mana! HE'S DEAD. And now I've mentioned him TWICE. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!?!
"Sorry..." Jenna said again. She couldn't think of anything else to say.
He made no response. "Well, my father had one just like that, except inverse. Maybe they got it at the same store...?"
This caught his attention. "What? He does? Can I see it? Where can I meet your father?" Then he realized what he had asked, and turned slightly red. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Uhh, though you can't meet my father..."
Alarmed, he asked, "Why?"
"Because he's dead." She almost added "too", but decided that would've been a bad idea.
Allen's eyes widened. "I'm sorry!!" He practically bowed at her. Who does that anymore? Everyone just says it and expects it to be over with. Old fashioned much?
"It's okay, Allen. Let's call it even."
"Alright.."
Silence.
"You can see the ribbon tomorrow."
"What?"
"You can--"
"I heard you."
"Then why'd you ask?"
"Because I'm wondering 'How'."
"Isn't that obvious? I'm bringing it to school! Or maybe if you want to see it earlier, you can come over today."
Allen contemplated. His urge to see this interesting new inverse-ribbon and his absolute rule of Do-Not-Enter-A-Woman's-Home-When-You've-Just-Known-Her-For-25-Minutes clashed.
"... Maybe we should wait 'til tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," he agreed, nodding, apparently relieved on having the decision made quickly and smoothly.
His backpack moved. Jenna nearly screamed, but her mind beat her to it. It was flashing warning signs and sirens, possibilities raced through-- RAT? MOUSE? BUG?! SNAKE!?!?!
"What was THAT?" She managed to say.
"What?" He turned, just as a gleam of gold appeared at the zipper. He practically threw his book at it, in his haste to hide it.
"Too late, Allen. I saw it. Machine's aren't allowed at school."
"It's not.. exactly... a machine..." He said, careful with his words. He still wasn't sure how much she'd seen.
"Well it looks like an interesting immitation of the Golden Snitch from Harry Potter. Can I see it?"
"What's a snitch? What's a Harry Potter? Sure.." He looked confused. Removing his book from on top of the thing, he grabbed it and handed it to her, muttering "Behave" at it before placing it in her outstretched hand.
"Harry Potter isn't an 'it', he's a person. Sort of. He's a character in a pretty well-known book. The series is actually called 'Harry Potter'. A snitch is a kind of.. uhm.. bewitched ball that flies around a field, and the witches and wizards-- that's what Harry is-- try to catch it while staying on a broom."
"Uh. Right."
She rolled her eyes and turned to examine the specimen. It was the size of a baseball. Gleaming golden, the ball with yellow wings and a long fluffy tail with an interesting cross on it flapped it's oversized wings. Then it nodded its... body, seeing as it had no actual head.
"Oh my gosh, it's so cute! What is it?" Jenna asked, never taking her eyes away from it.
"It's a golem. His name is Timcanpy."
Timcanpy stretched out his wings. Then, suddenly, he yawned. His mouth was lined with rows of white teeth, all sharp as razors. The mouth was practically 2/3 of his body! He looked terrifying, dispite his puny size. Jenna almost dropped him.
"MOUTH?! You'd think it'd have no place for a mouth to fit!"
"Yes, well. He was build by a.. slightly erratic... man." Allen's teeth ground together. Apparently this "slightly erratic" man was not very high up on Allen's Favorate's List.
"Can he speak?"
"No, but sometimes it seems as if he can. He's my oldest companion. Sorry if he's bothering you." The last part was added as Timcanpy fluttered to her shoulder, folded his wings, and sat like a bird in a warm nest.
"Tim!" Allen hissed. "Stop that!"
Jenna giggled, charmed by the ball of shininess. "It's quite alright, Allen. Tim, huh? Aren't you a handsom, cute, little thing. Coochie coo~" She crooned at Tim, scratching it where she thought it's chin was. Allen face-palmed. So figures the thing built by that man would be a lady killer, too!
Haha, short, still, but a bit longer? Anyway, I gotta go again. Busy weekend coming up. Oh the joy. Probably won't upload this weekend, so... Don't jump tackle me xD I'll try to get more in! :D Thanks for reading. Now go... RATE! And/or Comment? o.o please?
