Musician and the Rabbit

Chapter 3- Distance.


A few days passed and neither Allen or Lavi had said much of anything to each other. They exchanged words when they needed to; on missions, in battle, etc, but the truth remains that they were simply avoiding each other. If they passed one another in the hallway, not even the slightest greeting left their lips. Both boys did everything in their power to avoid eye contact. Lavi had tried the first day or two. However, after gaining little-to-no response from Allen, he gave up and joined the other side of their silent war. At the times they couldn't avoid each other, no words were spoken. They did very little to hide the hostility and even their comrades were starting to notice.

Lavi was more irritated at being rejected then actually angry at Allen. He hadn't expected him to be this upset. As much as he wanted to be cheerful with him, he couldn't tolerate being ignored either. In other words, Lavi was being stubborn and perhaps a bit childish. God. It was only a Kiss Allen. Is it that bad that you have to practically hate me for it? he thought. At the moment, he was sitting in the cafeteria staring blankly at the food on his plate. The rest of his comrades were there as well, and so was Allen. They still sat at the same table with everyone like usual. It almost irritated Lavi more that Allen still laughed with them and talked to them as if nothing was wrong. Yeah you just keep pretending. Just keep ignoring me. Not like I give a shit. He looked up at the silver-haired boy for a moment, subconsciously wishing he could laugh with him again.

"Something wrong Lavi?" Allen asked suddenly, catching his gaze. The boy had chosen to ignore his confused thoughts for now. He had enough to deal with being the suspected 14th, he certainly didn't need the drama of a relationship, especially one with Lavi. For the time being, Allen was quite sure he was disinterested. Besides, he felt it was unfair of Lavi to have forced him into a kiss. It felt awkward now to be around someone he'd like to consider a close friend. It wasn't the best solution but that's the way it was. What are you staring at me for? Do you have to make everything feel so awkward now?

"Hmn?" Lavi slowly came out of his thoughts as he realized he was being spoken to. "No. Not at all." he replied simply. How about you actually acknowledge my existence. Would you even let me apologize if I wanted to?

"Alright. That's it." Leenalee spoke abruptly. "What is going on with you two? I can't stand it anymore." She stared at the two boys with concerned eyes. She couldn't take seeing her friends so upset with each other, even if she didn't know the reason.

"Eh? You mean me and Lavi?" Allen asked, despite knowing exactly what she meant.

"Yes, you and Lavi. You've barely spoken to each other. I thought you were closer then that."

Lavi looked back down at the table, letting Allen be the one to answer her. We're getting our friends involved now. Maybe I should just apologize. I can't take this either. I'd rather be just your friend then nothing at all. Well what do you intend to tell her Allen?

"You're imagining it." he replied with a smile.

Oh? You still playing this game? Not that I can blame you…but- "Yup. It's all in your head Leenalee." Lavi smiled and placed a hand on the girls head. "We're as close as ever, ne? Allen?"

"Yeah. So close I'm almost suffocating." His voice had become a little colder with a bit of a sarcastic undertone.

Lavi nearly shuddered at the response. I think I struck a nerve.

"Are you sure you're-"

The boys interrupted her as they both stood up and slammed their hands down on the table. "We're fine!" they shouted. The two left the cafeteria and went their separate ways.

Later that evening, after all of the order was long asleep, Allen snuck out of his room and away from Link who guarded the door. He hated that he had to stay in his room to get any kind of privacy these days. He felt like walking around on his own for a bit. He couldn't sleep and he really did feel like he was almost suffocating. After wandering around for awhile, he found a spot with a large window and took a seat on the ledge. The boy sighed as he gazed out at the night sky. What am I supposed to do? I'm afraid of the one person who always made me smile. It's like I don't have anyone to talk to anymore. No. I didn't even need to talk to Lavi. As long as he was around it felt like- I think I'm being harsh but I don't know what to say to him. What am I so afraid of? Maybe I- no. There's no way I feel that way. He forced that on me. Still…why am I so confused then?

Also unable to sleep, the Jr. Bookman roamed the hallways as well in an attempt to settle his own thoughts. His hair was down and his headband hung loosely around his neck. He stopped when he noticed Allen sitting by the window. Lavi approached slowly. "Hey." he greeted. He leaned against the window to face the opposing wall. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Allen smiled slightly. "What are you stalking me now?"

"You wish." he laughed.

"Only in your dreams Lavi." the boy replied with a sigh.

"My dreams eh? If you were in my dreams Allen, I'd think I'd be more then just stalking you."

Allen turned to look at Lavi, a slightly disturbed expression on his face. "I…didn't need to know that…"

Lavi let out another laugh and nudged Allen lightly in the shoulder with his fist. "Oi, I was kidding." There was a few minutes of silence before he spoke again. "Are you really that mad at me Allen?" he asked, bowing his head to look at the ground. He really did want to fix things but he just didn't know how. What do you expect me to say to you? What do I have to do? He longed to properly apologize but he knew a simple 'I'm sorry.' wasn't about to put things back where they were.

The boy let out another sigh. "I'm not…really mad at you Lavi. I just…I don't know what to say. It feels awkward to be around you, to be honest."

"Sorry. I wish I could give you a better reason then I just couldn't help myself but I can't. Is it really that bad?"

Allen's face changed to a more serious expression. "Lavi. You forced me to kiss you after I told you how many times to stop?"

"Zero." he replied calmly, lifting his head back up.

"Eh? What do you mean zero?" He looked at the red head with wide eyes, blinking confusingly.

"Sorry Allen, but stuttering my name isn't exactly a synonym for 'stop.' Besides, I asked you nicely didn't I?" Lavi replied with a small smile.

"Yeah, but I don't remember giving my consent."

"Well you didn't exactly say 'no' either."

"What?-Ah-I…What the hell do you think 'let go' means?" Allen asked, raising his voice slightly.

"Okay, fair enough, but it's still two-to-one." Lavi smirked at his friend, feeling slightly successful in stating his point- even if it was a foolish one.

"Huh?" Allen stared blankly at Lavi for a few seconds. Two-to-one? Is he serious? There's no way I didn't- I know I told him to stop. Didn't I? This is absurd. Upon looking at his red haired friend, he couldn't help but think things could be mended between them. He was angry but he still almost wanted to laugh. Lavi was capable of being ridiculous even in a situation like this. What is it about you that makes me feel this way? He studied his friend's expression, wondering what Lavi was really thinking. He understood that he had his own reasons for being upset but that didn't change anything. He looks better with his hair down…Allen quickly turned away to stop himself from blushing as he caught himself in the random thought. Did I really just think that? Pushing the idea aside, he stood up to leave. "I'm going back to bed."

"Oi, Allen. Can't we just go back to being friends? Or at least talking to each other?" Lavi asked, hoping he hadn't completely demolished their friendship.

"You kind of ruined that Lavi." Allen replied somberly as he began to walk away.

"O-oi, seriously? Allen, wait." He wouldn't accept this. "Wait!" Lavi called again when Allen continued to walk away. Unsatisfied with this, he grabbed the boy by the wrist and spun him around to face him. "I said wait damn it!"

Allen's heart jumped as he felt his body swing around. He quickly whipped his arm out of Lavi's grasp and glared at the surprised red head. His eyes were both cold and fearful. No words were spoken. Instead, he turned and continued down the hallway. Why am I so afraid of him? Is it- could I be more afraid that I…might like him too? What the hell? When did my life get so damn complicated?

Lavi watched as Allen disappeared down the corridor. "Aw…man" he mumbled with a sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and lazily sat down on the window's ledge. I'm such an idiot.


Authors notes:

And...there is chapter 3. More of a serious chapter I guess. Poor little Lavi. This one was a bit harder for me to write but I did it. Yay! lol.

I do hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the outcome. I will do my best. *nods*

Again thanks for favoriting/reviewing/alerting my story and comments are always welcome~!