The next day, Don found the downside to sleeping in trees. It was easy to fall out of them. Way to easy. The upside was that he didn't hit the ground when he slipped and fell screaming out of the tree. However he may have preferred that landing to the one he got. Long story short, Don Thousand went to school in a very grumpy mood while soaking wet.
"Hey, Don!" Don Thousand frantically looked around for something to hide in or something to bang his head on before he was caught in a hug by Lyle.
"I swear if you don't stop doing that I will kill you without regret!" Don snapped, although it was sadly an empty threat. He preferred not spending his remaining months on this planet in a jail cell, especially since that would be where he was going after these six months were over. One in a sea of acid, mind you, but still a prison.
Lyle just laughed, "Aw, you need more hug therapy!"
"NO!" Don Thousand shouted and attempted fruitlessly to squirm away. "I am not used to hugging!"
"Then you need more hugs!" Lyle chirped as though it was the simplest thing in the world.
"F*CK NO!" Don yelped as he tried to push Lyle away. Sadly, the basketball fanatic had a very strong death-grip. Don, feeling 100% panicked and almost hyperventilating, whimpered with a hysterical note to his voice, "P-Please! Let go of me..."
Lyle definitely realized the pure terror in his voice and immediately let go. "What's wrong?"
Don Thousand pulled himself together and put back on his indifferent mask. "Forget it. Just never hug me again."
"No, really, what's wrong? Why don't you like hugs?" Lyle pestered.
"I told you to forget about it. I also recall telling you to piss off and leave me alone." Don Thousand snarled.
Lyle looked like he wanted to put his hand on Don's shoulder, then thought better of it. "Dude, just tell me what's the matter."
Don growled, "First off, never refer to me as 'dude'. Second, it's none of your concern, now go away." Not wanting to be around Lyle anymore, Don Thousand broke into a run. Sadly, Lyle could easily run just as fast as him, which was actually very impressive. With the loss of his powers, Don's athletic skill had been greatly diminished but he was still faster and stronger the average human.
"Hey, great idea! Le's race to school! Last one there's a rotten egg!" Lyle laughed and started running faster.
Don Thousand growled. How did this kid miss the fact that he wanted to be left alone?! Not race!
…well, if they were racing, he wasn't going to let this human beat him. Quickening his pace, he overtook Lyle with ease. Then Lyle caught up to him just as easily, surprising Don. Soon, it became a close race, both males determined not to let the other win.
Eventually, panting, they both arrived at the school at around the same time.
Bending over and breathing heavily, Lyle grinned as he gasped out, "Tie?"
Don Thousand nodded, "Tie." unable to stop himself, a flicker of a smile made its way on his face for a millisecond before fading into his normal slight frown. He straightened up and looked at a large clock outside the school. "Hmph. Twenty-five minutes early."
"Really?!" Lyle looked up at the clock as well, "Cool! I'm always late! I should race you to school everyday!"
Don scoffed, "That was a one time thing. I'm not doing it again."
Lyle laughed, "You say that now but tomorrow's a new day!"
Don scowled at him and turned the other way. He hated the fact that he had gotten so caught up in a stupid race against a human. And he absolutely despised the fact that he had felt a little flutter of joy from it.
"Hm. So you're on time for once, Eisen." Don Thousand turned his head to see Aida walking towards them. Lyle squeaked and hid behind him again. Aida looked down at Lyle with the expression of having just smelled something rotten. "He's still tagging along with you?" she asked incredulously.
"Obviously." Don Thousand drawled.
Aida snorted, "Honestly he's pathetic. The first new student in our class in five years and he just grabs onto you and won't let go. Like a leech except a leech will actually let go once it gets what it wants. I don't think he will."
"Great." Don Thousand growled.
"Wha- what are you doing here this early, Aida-sama?" Lyle squeaked.
Aida rolled her eyes, "I'm ALWAYS here this early. Actually, I'm later than I normally am." looking both of them over, she sighed, "Do you want to help me assist the lunch ladies in preparing the 'food'?"
Lyle quickly shook his head, causing Aida to add, "I wasn't talking to YOU, dipstick."
Don was about to refuse before thinking it over. Lyle was terrified of Aida so if he went with her, Lyle would be out of his hair for a little while at least. "Fine."
As he and Aida walked into the building, Lyle called, "I'll just be shooting hoops in the gym if you need me! I'll see you in history, Don!" Lyle grinned and he ran past them and down the hall.
"No running in the hall!" Aida snapped.
"He doesn't care." Don Thousand snorted.
"I still have a duty to remind him of the rules."Aida sniffed.
Don made a noise like an angry cat, "You sound just like my brother." he immediately mentally kicked himself. Don't. Think. About. Him. he scolded himself.
"You have a brother? He doesn't go here though, there's no one else with your surname going here." Aida said.
Don Thousand crossed his arms, "Don't mention him to me again. In fact, forget I said anything about him. We don't get along, to put it lightly."
Aida nodded, "People always say family is important and that you all love each other deep down. What a load of bollocks. Whoever says that hasn't been paying any attention to other people's family lives."
Don Thousand inclined his head to show he agreed with her. "So, why did you decide to come here? Better advanced classes than your old school?" Aida asked.
Don Thousand snorted. "I'm here as a punishment."
"Punishment?" Aida asked, trying to see if he was joking or not.
"I just said that, try to keep up," Don Thousand deadpanned, "I did something bad and some people got pissed off and forced me to go to this stupid school."
Aida sniffed, "Well, I hope you'll learn your lesson. How long are you going to go here?"
Don Thousand scowled at her, "Six months," he spat out. Aida nodded to show she was done with her questions. They rounded a bed and went down a flight of stairs and into the cafeteria. A fat lunch lady noticed then, handed them both a hairnet and opened the door to the kitchen. Aida and Don Thousand both put their hairnets. Aida had less trouble than Don because she had done this before and had slightly shorter hair than he did. They walked into the kitchen and started helping prepare meals.
Don Thousand frowned, "Is soup supposed to be this watery?"
Aida didn't look up as she said, "This is clam chowder."
Don fought the urge to vomit, "Isn't that supposed to be thick?"
"Yes." Aida replied.
Don Thousand gulped as he realized he would have to eat this today. School food would have to be his only nutrition for his entire banishment. That is, if he didn't die from botulism first.
Aida sighed, "I can't believe I have to eat this..." she muttered.
"Same here." Don hissed.
Aida scowled at him, "If you really don't want to eat this, at least you can bring your lunch from home!" she snapped.
Don Thousand snarled, "What the hell makes you think that?"
Aida opened her mouth, then closed it again. She seemed to think better of continuing this conversation. They spent the rest of the time before school started in silence.
…...
Don Thousand was bored. The chemistry teacher was going over and over on safety precautions for dealing with chemicals and Lyle was whispering excitedly beside him. Finally, the teacher, Mr. Varan, announced something that got Don's attention. "We will be working in groups of three." Immediately, everyone except Don and Aida started calling out to their friends before Mr. Varan said loudly, "I will be deciding the pairs." a loud groan came from the student body.
Mr. Varan cleared his throat and announced, "When I announce your group, please go sit together." Mr. Varan paused, then continued, "Connie Winona," a blond girl with green eyes, "Rick Geonian," a boy with glasses that were duct-taped at the nosepiece, "and Kiki Everson will be together," a black haired girl with pale eyes, "Zen Frior," a jock who was on the football team, as easily deduced by his football jacket, "Ewan Sholdve," a boy with a buzz cut who looked like he could probably break a tree in half with his bare hands, "and Wanda Xavi will be together," a girl with freckles and curly brown hair.
Don Thousand zoned out after this until he heard Mr. Varan call his name. "Don Thousand, Lyle Eisen-"
"WOO HOO, YEAH!" Lyle cheered and Don Thousand slammed his head on the table and covered his ears to protect his hearing. He wasn't the only one to do this, more than half the class cringed and stuffed their fingers in their ears.
Mr. Varan looked peeved but he continued when everyone had uncovered their ears, "And Aida Ormswell will be together."
"WHAT?!" Lyle cried. Don Thousand almost breathed a sigh of relief. At least Aida might make Lyle shut up. But that girl was obnoxious. Acting like she was a pillar of character for everyone else to follow. Still, between Lyle and Aida he would have to choose the greenette.
He heard a fairly loud ahem and looked up. Aida was standing by his table with her stuff in one hand and her other hand on her hip. "Move over. We're supposed to sit together."
Don Thousand, grumbling, scooted over to make room for her. Together they added carefully measured chemicals while Lyle kept chatting, sadly when Don was between him and Aida, Lyle could pretend she wasn't there. It went okay, until...
…...
"I cannot believe you screwed up that badly," Don Thousand growled at Lyle.
"I said sorry!"
Aida glared at him, "Normally I'd never say this, but next time consider doing nothing at all to 'help' with the assignment."
"All I did was knock a few chemicals over on accident! How was I supposed to know that they would explode?"
Aida scowled, "Maybe by paying attention in class?! Or PAYING ATTENTION IN GENERAL?"
"But class is boring!" Lyle whimpered.
Don Thousand snarled, "Well if you had paid attention, the ends of my hair wouldn't be black because they caught on fire! And the chemistry classroom wouldn't be ruined."
"Hey, at least we can have chemistry classes outside now! And it's just an inch. Besides, it looks good on you!"
Don Thousand whirled on him, "No. It. Does. Not." He was fuming. As usual, Lyle had touched on a sensitive subject accidentally. He had to wonder if Lyle did this with everyone or did it just happen with him.
Lyle looked confused at Don's sudden increase in hostility. "I think it does."
"Eisen, do us all a favor and shut up. Maybe if you really want to make everyone happy, you can jump off a cliff." Aida stalked away.
Lyle was quiet at lunch. He stirred his clam chowder around absentmindedly while Don was choking his down.
Don Thousand was enjoying the silence when Lyle asked, "Was Aida right?"
Don looked up. "About which part? If it's about paying attention in class, yes. If it was about shutting up, yes."
Lyle interrupted, "The bit about me jumping off a cliff."
Don blinked and stared. He cocked his head and just looked at Lyle, "Alright, why exactly do you think you should?" Don Thousand was at a loss to understand Lyle's reasoning. Even when he himself had been banished from Astral World for no other reason than having chaos power, he had never considered suicide.
Lyle shrugged, "Well, my coach has said it a few times, so have my teammates, certain classmates, my siblings, and my mom once said it."
Don Thousand cocked his head again, now extremely confused. If this was true, why was Lyle so cheery and happy? Shouldn't he be more like Don personality-wise? "If people tell you stuff like that, why are you so sickeningly optimistic?"
Lyle weakly smiled, "It's fun. If I can laugh at my own antics, I can pretend to be liked. And I just can't help myself, it's how I am."
Don Thousand sipped his milk that had expired two days ago. It tasted sour. He felt himself getting lost in his own memories, remembering his pain after having been banished. The pain of the most ultimate betrayal. He remember crying and screaming and just curling up into a small ball. That had gone on for a couple years, shamefully enough, before he had started helping the ex-Astral beings get a sort of a civilization started and taking action against Astral World. He shook himself and looked at Lyle as if he was seeing him for the first time. Lyle had breached on a lot of sensitive subjects with him, annoyed him to no end, and was almost a reminder of his punishment. But could did he wish the same pain inflicted upon him onto the obnoxious teen? Don Thousand's first answer was of course but he had to pause and think. A little part of him whispered that he couldn't. Don closed his eyes and again reflected on the pain he had suffered.
Almost unconsciously, Don Thousand reached out and grabbed Lyle's hand. "Do not jump off a cliff."
Lyle looked surprised. "I thought you hated me."
Don let go of Lyle's hand and rolled his eyes. "You finally caught on?" seeing Lyle still expecting an explanation, he sighed and shrugged, "Meh. You've started to grow on me. Besides you shouldn't think it would be best if you killed yourself."
Lyle perked up. "Really?! So we can be BFFs?!"
Don Thousand gave him a funny look. "Um, I have no idea what that means."
Lyle laughed, "You don't know what BFF means? It stands for Best Friends Forever!"
Don scrunched up his nose in disgust. "Okay, I'll tolerate being around you if you never refer to us as... that again. I'm stuck here for six months, might as well have a little company."
"Yay!" Lyle hugged Don Thousand and laughed.
"No hugging rule still applies!" Don Thousand yelped frantically.
Lyle pulled away, "Sorry!" he said laughing. Don Thousand groaned, wondering just how much he would regret this in the future.