Author's note: Whoo, chapter 3! This story is turning out to be absolutely dramatic, but I like it that way, so I hope you do too. LOL, more T rated stuff coming your way so look out (!) Enjoy!
When Lenalee reached the bus stop that she and Lavi were supposed to meet at, it was still a little too early. To be honest, this was their first, actual date together, where they'll have lunch, walk around town and window shop, so she didn't want to be late. It ended up in her being about 15 minutes early.
"Hello, Lavi? I got here a little too early," Lenalee called, "Yeah, of course I'll wait. Bye."
As usual, their date was blessed with good, sunny weather. She had been so excited when Lavi asked her two days before that she couldn't stop gushing to Rou Fa and Miranda during break time. Lenalee sat waiting at the bus stop, taking out her compact to double check if the very little make-up she'd put on was still there. She wanted to look good when Lavi arrived.
She was just taking her gloss out, when a huge, black SUV parked itself in front of her. Normally, big cars like these hardly pass by small roads, so this got Lenalee's attention. Two large men hopped out, and bolted towards her, and that was when she started to feel alarmed. They each grabbed one of her arms, shoving her towards the car, and didn't stop when she protested.
"Wh…what are you doing? Hey, hey, stop!" She was pushed into the car, and the moment she was in, they drove off. She didn't recognize a single one of them, and didn't know what they wanted her for, so the only possibility she could think of was that they were kidnapping her. Panicking, she fumbled about, kicking and screaming at the top of her voice while the guy beside her tried to cup her mouth with his hand. It didn't work, as she bit his hand. Finding the door's lock, she unlocked it and stumbled out.
She wasn't very far away from the bus stop, she was sure, but that was the last thing on her mind right now. She hopped out of the car into a large field of flowers, desperate to get away, but she also knew they were chasing and closing up on her.
She ran and ran, ignoring their yells for her to stop. And then she tripped, falling on the grass and one of them pounced on top of her from behind, pinning her down with his weight. His hands grabbed her wrists and even though she tried to push him off, it didn't work. Fear gripped her when all three of them surrounded her, and she never felt more frightened in her life.
The guy who pinned her down shoved his face near hers, his fingers tugging on her cardigan. His breath smelled disgusting when he breathed down on her and kissed her neck area forcefully, that Lenalee just wanted him to get off of her. She begged for them to stop, her tears spilling out and her voice growing even weaker when she realized another guy had a camera out and were taking pictures.
"Please, I don't want this…," Lenalee cried, when she realized exactly what they were doing to her. As she resisted effortlessly, she heard her mobile ring. It had fallen out of the bag, but it wasn't far from her. It must be Lavi, she thought, probably wondering where she was. If she reached out far enough, she could get her phone…Lavi would come and everything would be alright…
But the guy with the camera kicked it away right in front of her eyes, as he bent down to take a close up of her. His chuckles disgusted her, but things got even worse when she heard the guy above her ripping her skirt. His hand ran its way up her thigh, and she cried harder than she ever did in her life. She couldn't do anything because it was just her against all three of them. She was helpless.
The second time felt nothing like the first. She didn't want any of it, because none of them were Lavi and this wasn't what Lavi would do to her anyway. It hurt terribly, what they did, but all she could do was whimper in pain. After what seemed like an eternity, they simply stood up, laughed at her and ran off. There Lenalee lay on the ground all curled up, feeling disgustingly filthy.
She wouldn't even pick up her calls, though her phone kept ringing, because they were surely from Lavi. What would he think of her if he even knew? He won't want someone like her anymore. The more she thought about it, the longer she lay there, and the more fearful she became. Soon, the calls stopped. Night was already starting to fall when she finally sat up. She just needed to leave.
She got up to walk her way back to the bus stop, her mind empty. All she wanted to do was to get home, change, and polish up her acting skills so she could keep everything about today away from her brother. She didn't get very far when she heard the sound of a motorcycle engine and voice so familiar, calling out her name. It was Lavi.
She stopped short to hide behind a nearby barrel, because she didn't want him seeing her like this. But expectedly, he called her on her phone and it rang. Lenalee heard Lavi park the motorcycle quickly, screaming her name again and searching for her, as she tried to shut her phone off.
"Lenalee? Lenalee!" Lavi yelled, as he found her from a distance away. She got up, trying to run away, but he was faster and ran in front of her, grabbing her by both arms to make her stop.
He didn't say anything, just keeping his grip on her, while Lenalee hung her head low silently. After what a bunch of unknown men had done to her, she had no idea how to face Lavi with the truth. But Lavi was observant. She saw him glance down at her torn skirt and her unbuttoned cardigan, and his face scrunched up in pain.
"I…I…," she wanted to cry, the moment she saw his expression. It made her remember everything, and she didn't know what to say. "I'm so…sorry," she cried, her tears coming again.
Lavi took a look at her, and then pulled her in to hug her. He hugged her so tightly that she could hardly breathe, but with his arms around her, she never felt safer.
And while she sobbed on, she heard Lavi apologize countless of times. He kept saying the word, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," that she felt bad for him. He didn't have to feel hurt for her, but he was and somehow, that meant so much to her.
"…I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Lenalee…," he held on to her, not letting go of her one bit, that Lenalee stopped crying. She couldn't believe it, but she could feel how upset he was.
"La…Lavi?" she pulled back a little reluctantly to look at him. Even with his long fringe falling in his face, it didn't hide anything from her. She could really see him crying for her, his hands shaking. Lenalee reached a hand up to touch him gently on his face, and he looked up at her.
"How did you find me, Lavi?" She asked. She couldn't forget the fact that it was already into the night. Nobody told him that she would be here, and she didn't see how he would know.
"This...is how strong my love is, Lenalee," he said. His words made Lenalee want to cry again. She couldn't believe how much she doubted him earlier. He must've search for her high and low, till he found her here. The silly boy just wouldn't stop at anything.
Lavi hugged her again, kissing her on the side of her head, and spoke. But this time, his voice became hard and vengeful, "I…I will definitely make them pay for this, Lenalee. Definitely."
Lavi brought Lenalee back to his house on his motorbike, or to be exact, his sister, Christina's, motorbike. He led her into his room once more, gave her a jacket to cover her up in case she was cold and ran off without another word.
Christina came in soon after, as Lenalee sat on the ground, hugging her knees to herself.
"Evening, Lenalee. We've met before," Christina smiled at her.
Lenalee kept still, though it was good to have someone she knew in the room with her. Every time she closed her eyes, she'll think back to the bitter experience she had and that pained her. Chrisina, however, sat down next to her and Lenalee felt better.
Christina got her to change out of her skirt so she could sew up the part that was ripped. Lenalee did so quietly, and watched as Christina sewed skillfully. But somehow, her heart still felt heavy and silently, she begun to sob.
Christina looked at her, and placed an arm around her shoulder. "You must've been really scared, you poor dear. In times like these, don't keep it in. Cry as much as you want." So Lenalee did, crying her heart out, till she felt breathless and painful in her chest, but at least, she let it all out.
"You know, you have Lavi," Christina said, holding Lenalee's hands in hers. "Over the years, he's been with countless other girls. Believe me, I've lost count…But you're the first he's serious with. For Lavi, you're his real first love."
"…so whatever happens, I know he will stop at nothing to protect you." Lenalee looked up at Christina, finally letting out a small smile. She believes Lavi would too.
Lavi rode all the way back to where he found Lenalee. He knew this place quite well, and there were a few empty storage houses around. If he got lucky, he might be able to find the three guys Lenalee told him about. Tall, strong, all about the same built, and the one that raped her had a distinct bright red shirt on. Plus, they rode a black SUV. It wasn't that hard.
Luck seemed to be on his side. In one of the store houses, he saw a light shining dimly from within and upon peering in; there were three guys playing cards around a table. An old SUV stood outside the door. There was no way he would be wrong.
In his rage, he dashed in and grabbed one of them by the collar, punching him in the face. Blood spilled from his mouth, but Lavi didn't care, turning around to hit another guy. When the one with the red shirt grabbed him from behind, Lavi elbowed him in the chest and turned around to kick him hard. Even when he fell on the ground and groaned, Lavi didn't stop.
"How dare you touch Lenalee! How dare you!" Lavi roared, hitting him over and over again in the face. He couldn't believe how angry he felt, but whenever he remembered Lenalee's teary face, he couldn't help but want to hit them harder. For what they'd done to Lenalee, they deserved it.
It didn't matter when the other two guys tried to come at him again. His punches were faster and harder and basically, they were no match for him. Lavi turned to one of them, ready to hit again, when he pulled a camera out of his pocket to beg for Lavi to stop.
"We were asked to do this," he choked, "…said we were to be paid…by a lady called Emily."
Lavi's eyes widened as he grabbed the camera and tossed it angrily against a wall. "Bastards!" he cursed, as he stepped on the camera over and over again, breaking it. Now, he didn't have any business here anymore, but somewhere else.
Christina had done such a good job sewing up her skirt that Lenalee could hardly tell it has been torn before. Making a mental note to thank Christina for her hospitality, Lenalee wonders when Lavi would ever get back for she needed to get home.
She didn't have time to wonder very long before she heard plenty of yelling out in the hallway, and words like "come here!" and "stop pulling me!" Christina got up and the moment she opened the door, Lavi appeared and he pushed a girl roughly into the room.
"She was the one who told them to do it," Lavi said, his eyes burning with anger. Lenalee bolted up instantly and looked down at the girl, whom she recognized was Emily. Lavi wasted no time and kneeled down on one leg next to Emily, pulling her head up by her hair so she would face Lenalee.
"Stop it, it hurts," Emily screamed, when he did so.
"Do you even deserve to say that, bitch? What about what you've done to Lenalee?" Lavi hissed, gripping her hair tighter. He looked at Lenalee, the anger not wavering off anytime. "What should we do with her, Lenalee? One word from you…and I'll kill her."
Lenalee shook her head quickly. She didn't want Lavi killing anyone. She just wanted to be with him. And she looked at Emily, saying almost desperately, "I don't want to be separated from Lavi. Please."
Lavi kept still, the air around him as scary as ever, and then he threw Emily aside with one last glare. Christina had her lips pressed into a thin line as she reached for the huge pair of scissors that sat in her sewing box and went over to Emily. She pulled Emily up by her hair, pinned the girl against a wall and started to snip all her brown locks off.
"No, don't do it!" Emily begged, but she couldn't resist against Christina, especially not when she had the scissors in her hand. Lavi held Lenalee in his arms as they both watched Christina cut Emily's hair off till it was all unevenly short. However, it was nothing as compared to what Lenalee had to go through.
Lavi took Lenalee home on the usual bicycle he always rode to and fro school. Arriving at her house, Lenalee could see the lights in the living room lit and knew that Komui must be home. Still, Lavi insisted on taking her right to the doorstep so he could give an explanation to Komui.
"Lenalee, you're finally back." Komui seemed to have been worried for Lenalee but he didn't look relived seeing her either. "What happened to you? You look pale, Lenalee!"
"Erm, she fell off from my bicycle today. I'm really, really sorry, Mr Lee," Lavi bowed in sincere apology. Komui seemed to be ignoring him while busying himself with Lenalee, but then he lifted his head up to look at Lavi in the eye.
"And who are you?" Komui had asked with an eyebrow lifted and from the look of his face, he won't be easy to please.
Lavi swallowed, for once feeling difficult. "I'm Lavi. I, uh, go to the same school as your sister."
"Really?" Komui said in slight disbelief. "So, you're her friend then."
Lavi nodded, because it wasn't exactly a lie. But honestly, he thought Komui would bombard him with questions as to where they went and how Lenalee could possibly fall off from a bike, not this.
"Do you…go to school with hair like that?"
Lavi's throat went completely dry. He couldn't afford to screw up in front of Lenalee's brother, but man, a question like this...
So again, all Lavi did was to nod his head weakly. Komui went, "Ah," in acknowledgement, but without any warning, he slammed the door in Lavi's face.
Lenalee opened her eyes to Lavi's number on her mobile phone and remembered today was a school day. She wasn't really up for it, but if she didn't go, her brother would suspect something was up. Though he didn't ask about anything last night, she knew he wanted to badly.
Lavi had told Lenalee to take her time getting ready, despite the fact that he was already outside the house waiting to take her to school. Lenalee didn't feel like having breakfast and after lying to her brother again that she had classroom duties, she took off riding Lavi's bike.
Lavi brought her to his favorite spot again that morning, seeing they still had time before school started. Lenalee just agreed without a word.
They sat next to each other by the stream again, and Lavi took out home-made sandwiches for them both. "Eat some. You need the energy for school, silly," he'd said, taking a big mouthful.
Lenalee just stared at the food, but politely refused. She didn't feel like eating at all. Lavi stopped too, sighed, and then threw his back on the grass. Lenalee finally turned to look at him, wondering what he was doing.
"I'd much rather becomes the sky than be compared to some stream really," Lavi pointed upwards, "…that way, no matter where Lenalee is, I can instantly find her."
"…and damn it, if anyone tries to bully her…I can fly over and thrash them immediately."
Lenalee stared at Lavi, her eyes soft. And then she throws her back on the grass as well, smiling, allowing her hand to be placed on top of Lavi's.
"Thank you," she whispered.
After morning assembly, Lenalee walked her way back to class. Lavi had made her feel better, so much so that she was even feeling good enough for biology. The weather outside was beginning to get colder, for it was already September. Time couldn't pass any faster than this.
Lenalee felt her phone vibrate in her hand, and she flipped it open to see an unknown sender's number. Stopping short, she was shocked at what she read. Dirty woman, you're not good enough for Lavi.
It was probably just Emily, insulting her, so Lenalee thought nothing of it and deleted the message. But the worst was yet to come. When she approached her classroom, she could sense something was wrong. Harsh whispers were everywhere, and the students looked at her weirdly, going, "She's here, she's here!"
The blackboard instantly caught her attention. Always up for a good night. Call Lenalee at this number now! The words were big, bold, and completely rude, that Lenalee stood there dumbfounded for some time. Rou Fa appeared next to her, snapping her out of it. "Lenalee, looks like it's on all the boards of the other classrooms. Crap, I'll go check the other levels now."
Meanwhile, Lavi burned with exasperation and rage. Pushing pass every other student in the corridor, he went to one classroom after the other and erased all the words on the board with a duster like a madman, cursing loudly while he did so. He didn't care when other students yelled at him for barging into their class. To hell with all of them.
Lenalee couldn't believe the words either. With her lower lip trembling, she went up to the front of the class to pick up the duster and begun to erase the words. Even if Emily wanted to get back her, wasn't this going too far? Even if she was jealous Lavi chose Lenalee, wasn't the last time enough?
Lavi burst into her class just at that moment and snatched the duster away from her. He scrubbed hard at every word on the board, turned around to throw the duster on the floor and then grabbed her by her wrist. "Fuck," he yelled, and then he pulled her out of class.
He brought her to the second level, where all the year 2 classrooms were instead. While in class 2B, Emily sat with her usual clique, curling her eyelashes carefully.
"My, it was shocking seeing you with such short hair at first, Emily," a friend said, "But any hairstyle looks great on you."
"Yes," another girl agreed excitedly, "It's absolutely cute on you!" Emily thanked them, running her manicured fingers through her hair, which she'd tidied up since the last time Christina chopped at them.
When Lenalee realized where Lavi has brought them, she stopped him, "Lavi, this is bad. This is the second year's classroom and…" But Lavi ignored her, dashing in to wipe away the same words on the board.
"Oi, what's a freshman doing in our class?" The year 2 students were demanding an answer.
Lavi turned around, tossed the duster against the floor and kicked at a nearby table forcefully, silencing them all. His glare was blood-curdling, especially when he spoke, "Who did this?"
"…who dares to do this to my girl?" he shouted. Everyone in the class remained silent, even if they were all second year students.
"Listen," Lavi said, his fists clenched, "I don't care if you're a girl or not, I won't let you get away with it. I will protect Lenalee, no matter what!" His eyes were piercing directly onto Emily, as she stared back at him hard, looking like she might tear up soon.
"Come here," he said, grabbing at Lenalee's hand and pulling her away once again.
Lavi brought them up to the library, where it was empty of anyone. He let go off Lenalee, trying to cool down as he gripped at the frame of a nearby window. If he had known earlier, he would've asked Lenalee to stay home instead. Here she was, getting mocked by everyone, and…
Lavi turned to see Lenalee, who was holding his arm and dusting at his blazer. "Thank you…thank you," she said.
Lavi took a look at his blazer, which was covered in patches of chalk powder, and then at Lenalee who was wiping it off. All this was happening to her, but she looked so calm, so sweet. Lavi couldn't resist taking her face in both his hands, "Lenalee, I…"
"…Ah," he realized his hands were white from all the chalk and dust, and now, he'd gotten some on Lenalee's face. Laughing, he tried to use the side of his hand to wipe it off, "Sorry, I got some on you…"
Lenalee giggled, and just by looking at her smile, Lavi felt better already. How could she remain so composed at a time like this? If it were him, he'd be boiling (not that he wasn't already in that state). Instead, Lenalee just stopped to look at him with her usual smile, saying, "Lavi, I'm not…I'm not scared anymore."
He continued looking into her beautiful dark-purple eyes, and couldn't understand why she wasn't.
But instead of getting an answer, she inched closer to him, closed her eyes and placed her lips on his. This might just be the most unpredictable Lenalee has ever done towards him, but Lavi didn't reject it, instead enjoying the sweetness of her lips. Lenalee had her hands in Lavi's, and she felt him squeeze hers back in affection.
And at times like these, Lenalee couldn't help but think how much she loved him and even if a hundred bad things were to befall upon them, they would get over everything together.
It was the weekend again, and Lenalee had agreed to go study with Lavi at his house. As usual, she had lied to her brother she would be over at Miranda's, but it was harmless white lie, right? She would be studying, just with a different someone, that's all.
"This is humiliating, you teaching me History," Lenalee said, as she took out her textbook. It wasn't as if she wasn't smart, but History is just one subject she needs to be rescued in.
"What, you're not happy that you've got your boyfriend, who topped the entire level in Humanities, to teach you History?" Lavi laughed. Lenalee pushed him and said, "Show off."
However, when Lavi promised he'd be a good tutor, he kept his word. He was patient with her, teaching her concepts she didn't already grasp and it seems like he didn't spend an effort blurting out all the timelines and important facts. Another side of him that she still couldn't come to terms with.
But like every other teen, Lenalee and Lavi slacked off after nearly 2 hours of intensive revision and somehow, they ended up chatting on random topics that weren't related to History.
"…Mmm, so I guess that's why I haven't dated anyone before you. I was just uninteresting…and fat," Lenalee confessed.
"No way," Lavi said with an arm around her. His eyes ran over her once and he shook his head, "There is no way you were a fattie before. I don't believe it."
"Well, not anymore of course," she said, slapping him lightly on the chest.
"Doesn't matter," Lavi said, placing his forehead on Lenalee's, causing her heart to skip a beat. "I'll still like you, even if you are 200 pounds overweight…"
"Yeah, as if…" but Lavi had silenced her, kissing her so gently and running his fingers through her hair. It was obvious he won't go any further than that. At a moment like this, it made Lenalee recall how badly she wished for Lavi the last time she was raped. Even when she thought about it now…it felt nauseating because her last wasn't him, but someone she wasn't even in love with.
"Lavi…" she murmured, stopping his kisses mid-way. She hoped that if she stared hard enough into his eyes, he might get what she meant. And since Lavi was a smart guy, he did.
"Lenalee, is that a good idea? I mean, you were just…" his words drifted off midway, and she could understand how hard it must be on him. But this might just be what she needed to move on. To know her first and her last belonged to only Lavi.
She nodded, for once being the bolder party. Lavi seemed to be going through the idea in his head but when he saw how she was looking at him so pleadingly, he agreed. "It will hurt. Are you really, absolutely sure?" he asked, in which Lenalee just said yes. She needed this, if she wanted to move on.
So Lavi gave in, taking her over with his usual gentle and patient side. At times like these, Lenalee would wonder why he even bothered to take a second look at her the first time he saw her. She brought along so much trouble but he still stuck with her. And as ordinary as she was, Lavi had found her amongst the multitude, making her the happiest girl on Earth, so much so that she felt their happiness would never be shattered.
She just didn't know what was yet to come.
To be continued…
Sorry if this chapter dragged on. I can't stop myself but write on and on sometimes. I'm working very hard for the next chapter, so do wait for it! ;D