Arguing with Myself
They had been driving smoothly for the first five minutes, until traffic trying to get into Manhattan made them come to an abrupt stop.
The driver, Antigone, was thinking about her SAT score as she stared out the window. She was trying extremely hard to block out the blaring car horns of older, and less attractive, cars. The men that screamed in seven different languages had become a hum in the background. But this was the kicker, she was stuck listening to both L's and Snafu's backseat driving.
"Antigone!" L hissed into her ear, causing Antigone to jerk up in surprise. "Keep your eyes on the road!"
Keep your thoughts to yourself, she hissed in return, even though he couldn't hear her.
"Mind if we listen to something?" Snafu groaned, he was lulled back over the headrest.
L snickered, "Spoiled brat as always."
Antigone stifled her chuckles and clicked over to the radio, "You're gonna have to listen to alternative, sorry Snafu."
"O' Rock 105.9," the announcer shouted. "We've got a request from Eli on line one! Here you go: American Idiot!
L's snickering become a low chuckle at the song.
Don't wanna be an American Idiot,
Antigone raised an eyebrow at the former detective from the rearview mirror.
Don't wanna nation controlled by the media.
And can you hear the sounds of hysteria?
Antigone tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in time with the riffs.
"The subliminal mind FUCK America!" she sang along. Yup, she was a head banger,
Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the idiot nation
Everything isn't meant to be OK~
Television dreams of tomorrow
We are not the ones who're meant to follow~
For that's enough to argue.
The girl looked over at the two "men," Snafu was fuming and L was laughing uncontrollably.
He stopped almost instantly, I'm… laughing? Neither Ryuuzaki nor L truly laughed, and obviously, Lawliet never laughed because Lawliet was never caught off guard.
Antigone blushed as his deep, gorgeous laugh rang through her ears. She adverted her eyes from him and focused intensively on the road. "Why do the hot guys always have to be unattainable?!"
L cleared his throat and leaned against the window, hoping to a catch a second's worth of rest. I can't wait to see how he takes this. A smug smile flashed across L's face.
"Eh?" Snafu raised an eyebrow, his smile broadened, "Who are you talking about?"
She smirked, "This really cute guy in my English class," she pressed her foot gingerly on the gas pedal. "Black hair, with eyes to match. His stark-white skin makes him even more handsome." she sighed, "He has a lithe physique, too."
L's onyx eyes snapped open, his mouth agape. Is she talking about me?! That's not possible.
L had learned more than he expected while he was in America, on one of his first cases. The task: Become more social and catch a drug dealer that had been dealing to college students on campus. He immediately befriended the enemy and locked him up for life after finding five pounds of weed and three grams of ecstasy a few weeks later. Blaine Hartwig, if he remembered correctly, was sentenced to thirty years in prison. The man was probably dead by now, if not killed by Kira.
Obviously a social L never became a reality, but it helped when he was forced to go outside using an alias. Believe or not, he had taken an acting course at Whammy's from the age of five until he left at seventeen to become who he was fifty-five years ago.
Snafu's auburn eyes darkened and his mouth was set in a straight line, the anger was bubbling in his chest. Sounds like a sad excuse of a crush, he sounds like-
She smirked and leaned against the steering wheel, a dreamy smile appeared, "Oh La-"
L's thumb was pressed intently on his lips, he was extremely into the conversation now. Ninety-five.
"Shut up, Antigone!" the Shinigami was livid now, his voice was filled with malice and something else.
Jealousy, perhaps? Antigone tried to feign innocence as she inwardly jumped around with complete hysteria.
"I was saying Laurence, Snafu." she rolled her eyes, "Did you think I was talking about you?" she snorted, "You're self-centered!"
He huffed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Well can you blame me for thinking-?"
"Yes." she quipped as she squeezed the car into the right hand lane, "You are a very arrogant person, you're too smart for your own good, and you're not that handsome." she looked at him with an expression that was anything but sincere, "Sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but I'm not a sucker for auburns."
Snafu sat there, completely dumbstruck. What does she know about arrogance?! I'm perfect! The perfect son, the straight-A student! The God of a perfect world!
L wasn't in his unique sitting position in back of the car anymore. He was rolling on the floor, feet up, in hysterics.
No one had ever talked to Snafu that way, except for a certain black haired, sweet-obsessed detective that knew everything about him from the moment they met. It was good to know that someone besides him could deflate Light's excessively large head.
"Shut up, Antigone." Snafu growled, his deadly Shinigami eyes staring down the Death Note, I wish she'd just give up the damn thing already! I want to kill her more than I wanted to kill L!
"Make me," she snarled in return and faced him dead-on. "You sound like a kid, you know that? A stupid, immature, bratty as hell ki-!"
"Excuse me Miss!" a man in the middle lane shouted from inside his silver Volvo, "If you've had enough ranting…"
She suddenly realized it was Mr. Edward Cullen*, a man that had invested with them a few years back and still kept in touch with the Joneses. Fiery red hair, green eyes, and a strong pale body were his trademark features. He also had a wife who was pregnant with their first child.
"Bluetooth, Mr. C." Antigone tapped her ear, "I'm talking to a, um, client of mine."
He blinked, and finally recognized her, "Antigone!" his crooked smile made an appearance, "Sorry, my dear, the car threw me off. Don't you take the Mustang on school days?"
"I like to change it up," she smiled. "How's the family?"
"Bella is glowing." he gushed, "Emmett and Alice are setting up the baby's room, Rosalie is being… well Rosalie. Jasper is helping Bella with her parental classes and Esme and Carlisle miss you and your family." he laughed as they inched closer to their exits, "We should get together sometime."
"That'd be great!" she nodded. She truly enjoyed time with the Cullen family; they were a second family to her.
"Well then it's settled!" he smiled, "Give your family my regards, yes?"
"As with mine to yours," she nodded, a heartfelt smile crossing her face. "Goodbye Mr. C!"
"Goodbye Antigone!" he nodded, rolled up his window, and began to talk animatedly on his Blackberry.
L and Snafu were both left in shock, L was the first to speak, "I think I speak for both of us when I ask: Who was that?!"
"That was Edward Cullen, a family friend of ours and a business partner we do constant deals with." she stated as they finally drove into the tiny neighborhood of Kanarcey, "We love them to death, Emmett was Mom's bodyguard for a short time, and Alice and Rosalie like to model me in their clothes."
"Is it that obvious I'm shocked how well you get along with your elders?" Snafu mumbled, his head pounded against the window.
"Quit that!" she snapped as she hung a left, "You're gonna scratch it and it's very had for us to get custom-made windows!"
"Well excuse me," he sneered, all boredom gone and a tone of arrogance thicker than tar, "I didn't know it was that hard for the Mafia to get custom-made glass to shape something as tacky as a Corvette!" he chuckled, "Why don't you just steal it? Like everything else?"
"Shut up!" she shouted. The Corvette is a classic! Her foot was leaning further onto the gas pedal, "Or I'll-"
"You can't do anything." his sneer was still in place, "You are nothing but-" he droned on and on. Antigone was too focused on Snafu's first sentence. You can't do anything.
L whispered softly, "Antigone-chan?" he waved a hand in front of her face, "Is Antigone-chan alright?"
She was fuming. Her knuckles had turned white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, and her eyes had narrowed to slits.
No one, no one, talked to Antigone Marie Jones in that tone, it was unjust! It was as if you were knocking on death's door!
The arrogant appearance on Snafu's face was replaced with a look of annoyance, "-do you get it yet? You're a-"
She slammed on the brakes, not only because the light had unexpectedly turned red, but her anger had gotten the best of her, "Don't you dare talk to me that way, you piece of shit." she spoke through gritted teeth.
L and Snafu went flying out of their seats, Light into the windshield and L into the seat's console. Antigone-chan is a very interesting person. Note to self: Be very careful with what you say.
It was now obvious to both men that Antigone didn't take B.S. from anyone. Unfortunately, for Snafu, he just happened to be the guinea pig. Not that L minded, but either way people would think Antigone had gone insane.
"A-?" the words were caught in the Shinigami's throat, and he concluded it was a good thing they were. Does it run in the family? Or it just because she's been raised in the protection and teachings of the Mafia?
"You better hold your tongue." she hissed as they passed through the gates to Kanarcey High School, "Or I will make sure I'm a completely selfish bitch to you, Snafu."
After parking relatively close to Homeroom, Antigone stepped out and inhaled deeply. "I can't believe I'm saying this but… I'm glad to-"
"Miss Jones!" an unhealthily pale and thin woman, with ratty caramel-colored hair and an ancient black dress suit, scurried over to Antigone, her scuffed black heels clicked against the cracked asphalt hurriedly.
Her face fell and she raised a finger, "I spoke too soon." she grabbed her messenger bag out of the back seat and slung it over her shoulder, "What do you want, Ms. B?!" she sighed.
L and Snafu had situated themselves outside by the time Antigone's face went from content to exasperated.
L was sitting on the ground, trying to calculate what the chances were that the woman coming up to Antigone was about to bring her bad news, 29.6 percent.
Snafu leaned against the hood of the car, trying to figure out a way to discreetly slash the Corvette's tires. My talons would work, but she'd know it was me! Maybe a stake? No, too big. Maybe I-
L rolled his eyes at the scheming Shinigami and stood, "Well, it's not like you can hear me, but I'm off to see what's gotten Antigone-chan into such a pickle, Kira-kun." and with that, L walked into the crowded hallways of Kanarcey high.
It was all so… grey and bland. There were cracks in the walls, the lockers were rusty. L smiled a little, "Maybe private tutoring wasn't as bad as I thought it was." he continued to walk the halls.
Students were passing by him, slapping hands and hugging, the occasional kiss caught L's eye. They leaned on their lockers and held something or other in their hands. A cell phone, a PSP, an iPod, no student seemed to not be entertained.
He finally saw Antigone and the strange looking teacher by what seemed to be Antigone's locker.
"You ditched Study Hall!" Ms. B shouted to Antigone as they stood in front of her locker, "You know that actually counts as a class, right?!"
"I'm passing aren't I? Not to mention I'm on the honor role." she said sharply as she grabbed her history textbook. "That's all that matters to me."
Ah, honor role. Just like Kira-kun was in high school. Straight As and the perfect child. But Antigone-chan is far from perfect at the moment, L concluded, She's had a rough night, and the day doesn't seem to be making up for it. Maybe she should've faked sick, that thunderstorm last night could've given her a cold in no time. L sighed and chewed on his thumb, This is getting ridiculous. I am not her older brother, and I'm most certainly not her father. Yet I feel extremely protective of her. His cuticle was numb by now, Is this because my instincts are kicking in? Like whenever I took on a case? he was bleeding, It's settled: Antigone-chan is nothing more than an assignment. I will treat her as such, no interactions unless it's completely necessary.
"Miss Jones-" the teacher pressed.
"This discussion is over." she concluded, slammed the door shut, and walked off to History class.
"Well then." a smug smile appeared on L's face, completely breaking his inner arguments, "Let's see if your book smarts are as good as you say they are, Antigone-chan."