Away From Home
Chapter Three
By Andruindel
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Morning came accompanied by bright sunlight, and the sound of footsteps passing by outside my door. I rolled over, pulling the covers over my head. I hoped fervently that I had just been having a very, very vivid dream. But as I lifted my head out of the covers, and looked around, I realized I had not been. I was still in the large hotel room where I had fallen asleep the night before. For the first time since I'd gotten there, I felt the complete impact of what had happened to me. I was in a completely different dimension.
Before I could stop them, tears started. And once they started, I could do nothing to stop the flow. I lay in bed, hugging a pillow and crying quietly. I missed my family, and I missed my friends. I just wanted to go home. I hadn't realized until then how much I appreciated my family. Even if I did have three older brothers, plus a younger brother and sister, all of whom thought me mentally unstable, I still loved them. I hadn't realized this until that moment.
I don't know how long I cried, but by the time my tears subsided, I had made up my mind. I was not going to spend my time moping around, wishing I was home. I was going to enjoy every minute of my stay with L, because I had no idea when I was going to get home. Heck, I could disappear and be back home any minute now.
That thought spurred me into action, and I leaped out of bed. My clothes were wrinkled, and my hair was rumpled. I let my mind wander, thinking over my predicament. L had long hair. With hair that length, he had to have a hair brush. I let a smile of evil proportions cross my face. L wouldn't mind if I stole his hair brush for a few minutes.
My door made no noise as I opened it, and peered outside. L was no where to be seen. Just to make sure, I sneaked down the hall, and looked into the work room. L was there, at his computer. Pleased, I made my way back down the hall, limping, to L's room.
Finding L's hairbrush was no problem. He kept it on his dresser. Smiling, I brushed out my hair, and pulled it back into a pony tail. On an impulse, I opened the dresser drawer, and flinched at the sight. It was full of white T-shirts and jeans. L really needed a change of wardrobe. I did too, at the moment. And anything was better than the tank top I'd been wearing for a day and a night.
Minutes later I left L's room, wearing one of his shirts. I let a smirk cross my face, but quickly hid it as I limped through the work room and into the kitchen. I knew L had seen me, had sensed his gaze on me, but I said nothing. I was hungry, and I knew there was bound to be some pizza left over from the night before.
I had been right, of course. There were several slices of pizza left. As I looked at them, I realized how hungry I really was. I hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. In the time it took for me to heat up the pizza, and put it on a plate, my stomach was beginning to growl.
"Amy-chan, did you want to go shopping today?"
I whirled around, my heart in my throat as L addressed me from the kitchen door. Ashamed of being startled by such a low voice, I flushed and turned away.
"Yes, I did…" I said slowly.
L turned in the doorway. "As soon as you're done eating, we'll go." He called over his shoulder as he left the kitchen.
I frowned. Shopping with L. This was going to be interesting.
--
Shopping with L did prove to be quite an interesting venture. We were silent as Watari drove us to the closest mall. I sat as far away from L as was possible, gazing out the window. Even with almost an entire car between us, I was too close to L. I could feel his eyes on me at random moments, could feel every move he made as he shifted in his seat. How was I going to survive walking through the mall with him?
The first store I saw was a toy store. I headed straight for it, with L trailing behind me.
"I thought you said you needed clothing," L said doubtfully, stopping just outside the store.
I turned, placing my hands on my hips, and giving him an annoyed look. "I do." I said shortly. "But this is more important." I gave him a glare, to ensure he understood just how important this was, and then I turned and wandered into the store. I was searching for something, even though I wasn't completely sure what.
Finally, I found it. I came to a complete stop, staring at a shelf packed full of teddy bears. A smile crossed my face, and I went forward, carefully picking one up. He was tan, and soft, and he wore a bear-ish smile on his face. I squeezed him.
"This is what was important?" L asked from behind me, his voice right at my ear.
"Yes." I said, turning to him.
"Please, Amy, be serious."
"I am." I frowned, pulling my bear close. "I need something to sleep with." I snapped, exasperated. "You have no idea how much trouble I had getting to sleep last night, because I didn't have a stuffed animal."
L cast around, looking at the other shelves. "Why not this one?" He asked, grasping a stuffed snake. It was hideous. I raised one incredulous eyebrow. That answer seemed to be enough for L, for he put the snake down, and sighed in resignation.
"Very well," He said slowly.
Pleased, I hugged the bear. "Thank you, Ryuuzaki-san." I chirped.
Minutes after that I was walking out of the store, clutching a bag, which held my bear. I would have taken it out, but I was afraid of looking even more like a child in front of L. So I let the bear remain in the bag, pondering over a name for him. I had already decided that he was a boy.
"Let's go in here," I said, indicating a clothing store. I was actually taking a sort of malicious pleasure in shopping with L. I could take all the time I wanted, torturing him with the dull activity of clothes shopping. Plus, I could always see what he thought of my outfits. Not that his opinion would give me much to go on. If he gave me an opinion at all.
It would have been much better if I had been the kind of girl to wear… revealing clothing. I could have tried to get L to squirm. But, as it was, I much preferred T-shirts to spaghetti straps.
Soon enough I had chosen enough outfits to last me a while. Most of them were T-shirts, but I had several nice blouses, and jeans, as well as a skort, and one skirt. I also had one hoodie, several sizes too big, and black. I loved how deep the hood was. Along with that I had purchased some under garments, and some camisoles to wear under my blouses. By the time I was done shopping, L was slouched even more than usual, and he looked half-asleep. I smiled to myself as I watched him carrying more than half of the bags.
Watari was waiting outside to pick us up. I slipped into the car, and waited until L had put all the bags, except the one holding my bear, into the trunk. As soon as L was in the car, Watari drove slowly away. No one spoke for a while. The only sound was that of the bag rustling as I pulled my bear out, and hugged him.
"I think I'm going to name him Panda." I said after a bit, glancing at L. I did not tell him that I was secretly naming the bear after him. L reminded me of a panda, because of the bags under his eyes.
L made no comment.
For the rest of the ride, we were silent.
--
"Matsuda-san, guess what I got!"
I bounced into the work room the next day, bright as a daisy, and anxious to show Matsuda my newest friend.
"I'm guessing it's a bear," Matsuda said, eyeing my bear with amusement.
"Yup." I smiled up at him. "His name's Panda." I squeezed the bear, pleased that at least Matsuda took some notice of me. I had a feeling L didn't like me that much.
I fell into silence as L entered the room, staring at him with my head tilted to one side, a thoughtful frown on my face. Matsuda followed my gaze, and a smile spread across his face.
"How are you and Ryuuzaki getting along?" He asked, quietly, as though he knew I didn't want L hearing my answer.
I shrugged. "I dunno." I said, glancing back at Matsuda, and then lifting my eyes to L again. He had completely ignored me as he passed, but had greeted Matsuda, and Chief Yagami. I bit my bottom lip, unsure what I had done to merit L's inattention.
Matsuda laughed. "Don't worry, Amy. I'm sure he likes you. I think it's just going to take some time for him to get used to having you around." He winked, and then he went off to work.
I hesitated, unsure whether or not L wanted me around. With a shrug of my shoulders, I stalked to a corner I had recently discovered in the work room. On my discovery, I had claimed the corner as my own. It was a corner where I could sit and watch the entire room, while at the same time having my back to a wall. I could sit there quietly, and comfortably.
As I sat down, I pulled my hood up, reveling in the shadow it cast over my face. I knew that now no one could see my face. But at the same time I could see all of them.
"Amy, do you have to sit there staring at me?" Matsuda asked after a minute, twisting around on the couch to face me.
I smirked under my hood. "Sorry Matsuda…" I said softly. I hugged my bear, and lowered my head, sighing. If this was to be my life, sitting in a corner watching a bunch of older men work, I was in for a boring time…
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Well… There you have chapter three. I'm not liking this as much as I had thought. TTTT But apparently everyone else likes it. I've already gotten 19 reviews, for only two chapters! I'm writing chapter ten right now, so expect the next chapter in roughly a week. If I keep going the way I am, I'm hoping I can finish before I catch up with myself, and then continue updating every week! Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review!
