Whew, alright! Chapter 4 is finally finished everyone! 5 might take a bit longer since I've got exams and final projects coming up soon!

Anyways, enjoy!

'Hey Yu.'

Kanda put down his book, but made no eye contact with Lavi. 'What?'

'Knock knock.'

I held my book up higher to hide the amused grin I had on my face. Kanda sighed. 'Don't start-'

'I said knock knock.' Lavi pouted. I could only imagine what was going to happen next.

'… Who's there?' Kanda asked, glaring at him harmlessly.

'Banana.' Oh god.

'Banana who?'

'Knock knock.'

Kanda furrowed his eyebrows. 'You just asked me that!' Has he honestly never heard the corniest joke in the history of mankind?

'Knock knock.' I decided to get up and pretend to go get another book, in case this turned violent. I needed to let out a bit of laughter anyhow. I continued to witness their conversation from behind a shelf.

'Who's there?' he asked again, sounding more impatient.

'Banana.' Lavi repeated.

'Banana who?' Kanda said through his teeth.

'Knock knock.'

Kanda slammed his fist against the back of the couch. 'Who the fuck is there?' he demanded.

Lavi's grin spread from ear to ear. 'Yu.' Oh, now this is different. Though it was pretty obvious what the answer was going to be.

'… Yu who?'

Lavi bent over the back of the couch and looked at him playfully. 'Are Yu glad I didn't say "banana"?' he grinned.

WHACK!

'Moron.' Kanda dropped his book on the cushion and left. I came back giggling like an idiot at Lavi rubbing his face. I sat in Kanda's place, while Lavi jumped over the back of the couch and sat beside me.

'You'd think a dude could take a joke.' Lavi pouted.

'I think it'd be obvious from a first glance that Kanda isn't really the humorous type.' I smirked, opening a new book. 'You're such a tool sometimes.'

'But you guys love me 'cause of that.'

I averted my attention from the book in my hands and gave Lavi a blank look, who just had the same cheeky expression on his face. I could only laugh quietly.

'Define love.'

Lavi's cheeky face disappeared quickly. 'Aw, Allen! That was low blow.' he whined.

The PA system rang throughout the school. Everyone stopped talking to listen; I put my book down.

'Attention all Blackwood students!' said a female voice. 'We have a couple of announcements to make! Last night, the school's fencing team played a hard match against A.A. Brown's team, and emerged victorious! The MVPs named for last night were second-year Fen Cheng and returning third-year Yu Kanda! Great job guys!'

I heard some shouting and cheering at one corner of the library, and the librarian immediately went to go shut them up. 'Kanda's a returning third year?' I asked Lavi.

He nodded. 'Yup. I am too, actually.'

'You are?' I exclaimed quietly. 'Why are you guys still here, then?'

'I graduated last year, but I'm taking a year-long program here that'll allow me to attend post-secondary institutions across the world, and grant me a scholarship if I have an average of over 90.' Lavi explained. 'So since I'm still here, I'm still being treated as a third-year.'

'Oh.' I said. 'But what about Kanda?'

'He failed half of his classes. So he has to take another year to compensate.'

'Our next announcement regards the winter formal coming up in January!' the voice continued. 'Tickets are being sold in the front foyer for the next two weeks at 150 pounds! That includes the limousine ride, food, and the hotel room for one night! Alcohol and drugs will not be permitted! And that concludes these announcements.'

'Damn.' Lavi laughed.

'What?' I asked.

'Usually when we go to formal, I bring a bit of wine to celebrate. Guess they really went through with tightening the "smuggling security".'

'… "Smuggling security"?'

'It's those guys who search you for stuff like marijuana and beer, if you were planning on getting high or drunk during the event.' he clarified. 'So you gonna go?'

It sounds tempting, for sure. But...

'I don't think I'm going to.' I replied, frowning a bit.

Lavi sat up straighter. 'Why not? You'll have a blast!'

'My dad and I don't have that much money. So I'm not going to make him spend money on me like that.'

Lavi seemed a bit surprised, but he then had a genuine smile on his face. 'You've got a good heart, Allen.' he complimented. I smiled sheepishly back at him. 'But I think your dad would want you to have fun, too. There's no harm in asking.'

'Well…' I suppose he's right, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to go. 'I guess I can try.' I answered.

He put a hand on my shoulder and shook it lightly. 'That's the spirit!'

I glanced at the clock above the library doors. Only 8 minutes left until the end of lunch. I then looked at the calendar by the librarian. The x's of each passed day stopped at the 16th. Lavi looked over there too.

'Can you believe Christmas is only a week and a half away?' he sang. 'So what are your holiday plans?'

'Well, my birthday is on Christmas, so I'm sure I'm gonna be celebrating that as well.' I responded.

Lavi's mouth gaped slightly in amazement. 'No way! You're so lucky! What are you going to ask for your birthday?'

His attention was totally set on my reply. I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. What do I want, I asked myself. 'I guess… a new bike?'

'A bike?'

I nodded. 'I've memorized the way to school now, so I wanna get a bike so I can save Mana the drive.' I told him.

His expression became incredulous. 'You sure? He did say you had a bad sense of direction and all-'

'It's not that bad!'

The first bell for period 4 rang loudly; telling us it was time to go. I put the book back on the shelf and hurried to class with Lavi.

Now normally, I would have gym at this point. But I wanted to skip ahead this time to the class after that: Science. After gym, I would change back into my regular uniform, and Lavi and I would part to go to our separate classes. The class was upstairs in room 239, and we had two teachers: Mr. Gill and Mr. Dopp. They're a very eccentric duo, not to mention really nice too.

I stepped into the room, usually being one of the first students to arrive. The two became aware of me coming in.

'Hey, Allen!' Mr. Gill greeted. I smiled delightfully at them. 'You're gonna love this lesson today; we're starting chemistry!'

I took a seat at my desk. 'Chemistry?' I repeated.

'Yup! The periodic table, different chemicals and their reactions; it'll be a very "hands-on" unit, so not a lot of writing.' said Mr. Dopp.

'Sounds like fun.' I smiled. No one really liked writing, so this'll be an interesting change.

The rest of the class came in within minutes. Once everyone was seated and quiet, Mr. Gill began the lesson.

'So today, we'll be starting our chemistry unit. First and foremost, we'll be handing out two sheets: a permission form for the use of the chemistry equipment in the room, and another sheet of the periodic table of elements. Make sure you get your permission form signed by a parent or legal guardian so you won't have to miss out on anything.'

Mr. Dopp handed me the two sheets. I folded up my permission form and slid it in my back pocket, and the other sheet I placed in my binder.

Mr. Gill then attempted to reach a pull-down chart, but he was too short, so Mr. Dopp had to get it for him. It was a bigger version of the sheet of the periodic table.

'We want everyone to write above the top of each given column the group name of the elements in that column,' Mr Gill used a metre stick and directed our attention to the first column. 'The group of elements here are called "alkali metals". They are highly reactive, so do not try mixing these metals with other chemicals: we'll show you what can happen.'

He turned to Mr. Dopp. 'Could you grab the lithium from the cupboard?' he asked. Mr. Dopp nodded and walked over to the cupboards; opening one and taking out a small bottle of a silvery metal. Meanwhile, Mr. Gill got a petri dish of water and placed it in a small safety chamber.

'So add a bit of lithium to a small amount of water-'

Mr. Dopp used a pair of small tongs to pick up the metal and placed it in the petri dish. Then they quickly shut the chamber, making the petri dish visible only through an unbreakable window. Nothing happened at first, but I knew something was going to happen.

BANG!

Everyone jumped at the sudden explosion of the lithium; the petri dish didn't break, surprisingly, but the whole chamber had pieces of lithium everywhere. Mr. Gill pulled a glove on, opened the chamber, and took out the petri dish to show everyone. 'Lithium is an alkali metal. Along with potassium, sodium, and any other metal in the first column; they will explode when they come into contact with water. Write that down everyone!'

I quietly repeated what he said as I wrote it down. 'Also, alkali metals can be cut easily with a knife, write that down as well, as it ay be part of a test.' he added. I heard a couple of kids groan.

He moved onto the rest of the columns, and we moved on to the next thing. 'Now then, I would like everyone to pass these sheets around-'

The door suddenly opened to a rebellious-looking girl. Her hair was long and a bit on the spiky side, and her uniform was modified; by modified I mean a bit more skimpy.

'Ah, Miss Kamelot. Late again?' Mr. Gill picked up the attendance sheet and marked her late.

'Yeah. Couple of friends got in a fight outside, we were trying to break them up.' she explained. She glanced in my direction and gave me a seductive smirk.

This girl is Road Kamelot. She made it obvious during the first week of school that she was into me, which came across as a bit creepy. Not to say that she's ugly or anything, she's actually really cute, but I just wasn't really that into her. She gets on my nerves a bit.

'Well then, if you could please have a seat at your desk, you'll have to borrow someone else's notes and copy them. You'll also need a permission form and this sheet.' Mr. Gill told her.

'Mhm.' Road accepted the sheets from Mr. Dopp and sat at her desk behind me. She tapped on my shoulder when the lesson continued.

'Hey, can I borrow your notes?' she whispered.

I nodded reluctantly and handed them to her. A bit further into the lesson, she returned them, but she went and wrote in a bright pink marker, "Thanks, baby ;)" with a big heart around it. I glanced back at her, and she still had that smirk on her face. I sighed.

'So next monday, guys, we're going to be doing our first chemistry experiment! Care to fill them in, Tapp?' said Mr. Gill.

'Alright, well we're going to do a quick lesson on acidity and alkalinity, and then we're gonna take a whole bunch of household products and test them to see whether they're an acid or a base!' he informed us. 'Your homework tonight is to research 3 metals, 3 metalloids, and 3 non-metals and write down their chemical information! This will be due in 2 days from now!'

The bell rang right after he finished that sentence. Everyone began packing up their stuff and leaving for home; I quickly ran up to Mr. Gill.

'Mr. Gill?'

'Oh, Allen! Did you need something?' he wondered.

'Actually, um… could I have another periodic table? Road wrote all over mine…'

I pulled out the sheet and showed it to him. He made a face. 'Ah, yeah, I'll get you a different one.' He took another sheet and gave it to me. I thanked him and took my leave.

As I made my way outside, I spotted Mana waiting outside in the car. I opened the door and got in, closing it after.

'Hey Allen. You had a good day?' he asked, driving off the property.

'Uh, yeah!' I told him. 'Totally.'

He smiled. 'So what's new and going on at school?'

'Well… there's a formal coming up, and Lavi told me that I should come, so…'

'I see.' he replied. 'How much did they say it was?'

I swallowed hard. '… 150 pounds.'

He was silent. I was almost certain he was going to say no.

'I don't know, Allen. Money's tight this winter. I was planning on using the money on your birthday present.' he told me. That's a no, indeed.

'… I know. I just thought I'd see what you'd say.'

We pulled into the driveway of our small two-story house. Mana sighed and was silent again for a moment or so. I felt myself clamming up.

'Allen, I really, really want you to have fun during your first year of school. I regret that I'm not able to pay for it this time. I'm so sorry.'

'It's okay, Mana.' I grimaced. He seemed really guilty, I felt bad for him. 'I don't have to go this year.'

I don't think that really made him feel better, I thought. I thought I should change the subject. We both got out of the car and approached the front door. Mana searched his pocket for the keys and pulled them out.

'We're also starting chemistry in science.' I stated.

'Are you, now?' he asked, seeming a bit more upbeat. 'Have you done any experiments yet?'

'We're doing one tomorrow, but Mr. Gill and Mr. Dobb showed us something really cool today!'

I told him about the alkali metal lithium, and how it exploded when it reacted with water and how everyone jumped at the sound. He must've laughed at the image of everyone becoming startled. I also told him about that girl, Road, and how she's been annoying me.

'Sounds like it's pretty eventful over there.' he joked. 'How are your grades so far?'

'Lenalee told me they're good.' I told him. Hey, I wasn't that sure of what was good or not.

'That's good. Do you have any homework?'

I pulled my binders and books out of my bag and tucked them under my arm. 'Going upstairs to do it right now.'

The clouds covered up the evening winter sky, leaving it to be slightly dark in my room without any lights. I reached over to my end table and turned on the lamp before lying back down on the bed again. My eyes were fixed on the patterns of the ceiling as I was in deep thought.

There was only one more day until Christmas. School ended for the holiday last Thursday, giving us Friday off. Lenalee and Komui had family friends coming over for the holidays, so she was busy, and Lavi mentioned he was going to be working quite a bit. This kind of left me with nothing to do. I heaved a heavy sigh out of boredom.

I began to remember a dream I had some nights ago. I feel a bit uncomfortable talking about it, but I suppose it's too late to not tell. It was a "sexy dream" I suppose you would call it. Someone was pinning me down, and it wasn't a woman. I couldn't tell who it was, but they were young. He never said anything.

He began removing my sweater and shirt, leaving my bare chest out in the open. His fingers trailed softly along my skin, causing me to shiver. They then slinked around my torso, took my clothes from under me and threw them aside; I watched as they disappeared into nothingness. I remembered my arm was visible now; I wanted to hide it, but his hand grabbed it, preventing me from doing so. The young man then began leaving kisses along my jaw line and neck; I moaned continuously as he did this.

I reached up to feel him; he had hair longer than mine, but the colour I could vaguely remember. It was dark-ish. I also discovered that his shirt was still on. I tried pulling it off with one hand, but he ended up doing it himself. He leaned in again, and his lips met with my own. My eyes closed automatically as I took in the feeling…

And then I woke up. You can only guess how awkward that felt, especially when Mana asked why I was down in the laundry room at 4 in the morning at breakfast.

I tried to erase those images from my mind, but failed horribly. They were so vivid and realistic, except I couldn't see who it was. I rolled over on my bed and hugged my pillow. Now not only did I look weird, but I dream about having sex with guys as well. Could my life get any easier?

I stayed motionless on my bed for another half-hour, trying to clear my mind and calm myself. I then got up and put my sweater on, placing my pillow back after. I sauntered down the stairs and got my key and a bit of money, until Mana stopped me.

'Where're you going, kiddo?' he asked from the kitchen.

'Just gonna go out for a bit. I'll be back soon.' I assured him.

'Alright. Just don't stay out too long, okay?'

I opened the front door and closed it behind me, making my way onto the sidewalk.

It began to snow lightly by the time I made it down to Main Street, which was as busy as ever. Maybe it's the fact that I was born in winter, but I loved snow. I felt it really calmed my nerves as I watched it fall from the sky like feathers and land neatly on the ground. It was so graceful. I felt like finding a patch of untouched snow to just lie there and watch the flakes.

I heard some music playing farther up the street, and jogged up to see what was going on. Hundreds of people were crowded along the street to watch the annual Christmas parade go by. There were floats decorated for different holiday occasions, such as Hanukkah or Ramadan, but there were floats that were themed for other things too, like a Christmas chocolate factory.

After a marching band went by, I saw the float that Santa Claus was seated upon. He was waving and smiling joyfully; all the kids on the streets were practically going nuts over him. And then they went on.

Several minutes later, I decided to leave and find another place to go to. I noted Jerry's café just up ahead, and decided to get something there. I swung the door open, which chimed as it did, and got a seat at a table near the corner of the store. I gazed out the big window, watching people go by with their bags of presents for their friends and family at home. They're so lucky, I thought to myself.

'Well, hello there, cutie!'

I knew that voice. Jerry was standing before my table, looking delighted to see me. 'Hey, Jerry.'

My friends introduced me to Jerry one time when we went out for lunch. He makes the best food and pastries here, and almost never gets an order wrong. I really admired him for that.

'Want the usual today, Allen?' he wondered.

I shook my head. 'Nah. I think I'll just get a hot chocolate, please.' I told him. He nodded and went back behind the counter to get my drink. Jerry then came back a minute later and placed the drink beside me.

'Thanks, Jer. That's all I'm gonna have today.' I placed the money on the counter and he took what he needed. I had a sip and continued to gaze outside. The drink wasn't exactly doing anything to deal with my anxiety, and I exhaled in discontent.

The café door chimed again, but I didn't bother to look. That is, until the person who came through decided to call me.

'Allen?' said Lavi's voice.

I glanced up to find him coming to my table and taking a seat across from me. 'Fancy seeing you here.' he grinned.

I grinned back. 'Yeah, just had a lot of stuff on my mind. Thought I'd take a walk and pop by down here.' I told him.

Lavi quickly told Jerry what he wanted before he turned back to me. 'Really? Talk to me.'

'Huh?'

'Tell me what's on your mind.' he clarified.

No way, buddy. 'I'd rather not talk about it.' I told him.

He seemed a bit more concerned, but I guess he let it go. Jerry came back with his latte, and Lavi paid him for it. 'You gonna be okay?' he asked.

'Yeah.' I chuckled lightly. 'So what are you up to, Lavi?'

'Just got off of work for the day. I usually come to get a latte after a shift.'

'Ah, I see.' I nodded. 'What are you doing afterwards?'

'Well, I never really have anything to do when I get home, so I guess I just chill out in town for a bit.' he said. 'You can join me, if you'd like?'

I smiled at his offer. 'Sure.'

We chatted for about another 15 minutes until we decided to say goodbye to Jerry and leave. We decided to go by the park, just for the hell of it.

It was a fairly large park; mainly just for hanging around in or having outdoor meals, but there was a small playground for younger children. I always used to stay away from the playground when I was younger, but when no one was around, Mana and I would use it. There was no one around at all tonight; they were all at home with their families for Christmas. The ground was blanketed with the pure, white snow. The only things illuminating the place amidst the darkness of the evening were the tall park lights.

'It's quiet, huh?' Lavi commented, enjoying the desertedness of it. I agreed. And… I wouldn't say this out loud, but I was glad that Lavi was with me this time instead of Mana. It was a nice change. Not that I prefer one over the other or anything.

WHUP!

I yelped at the coldness I unexpectedly felt at the back of my head. To make matters worse, it slid down the back of my shirt, making me gasp. I could hear Lavi busting a gut behind me.

'Oh man! I got you good! Bullseye!' he laughed.

Oh, it's on now.

As he was busy laughing, I hastily bent down, trying very hard to ignore the snow running down my back, and picked up some snow. Within seconds I turned it into a ball, and threw it at Lavi, which hit his lower back.

'Oi!' he shouted as he turned back to me. 'Some of that got down my pants!'

'You reap what you sow, Lavi!' I told him, smirking mischievously.

He picked up some more snow. 'Alright, you asked for it!'

'Bring it on!'

Lavi proceeded to throw the snowball at me, but he missed. I ran sideways and picked up some more snow, throwing it at him after.

'Jeez, no wonder you're getting high marks in gym!' said Lavi.

'You're leaving yourself open!' I called out, throwing another one at him. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued to chase me down.

I climbed up onto the playground equipment and hid behind a plastic wall. I suppose Lavi decided to throw them upwards, because one landed right in front of me.

'Can't outsmart me that easily, bean sprout!' Lavi laughed.

I felt a twinge of anger. 'My name is not bean sprout!' I shrieked, throwing two more at him. As he regained balance, he threw some more snowballs upwards; the more he threw, the more sand I started to see in them.

I ran towards the slide, during which I had a snowball or two hit me, and went down. Lavi tried to stop me at the bottom, but reflexes made me kick him out of the way.

'Sorry, Lavi!'

'That wasn't really necessary!' he shouted, getting up and running after me.

The snowball fight prolonged for what seemed like hours when it was only minutes until we both collapsed onto the ground, as tired as dogs on a summer day.

'T… time out…' Lavi panted.

'Yeah…'

Only the sound of our breathing could be heard for a while. I looked up at the snowflakes that were still falling on us. A small one landed on my cheek, melting and then streaming down the side of my face.

'So,' Lavi spoke up. 'Tomorrow's Christmas day, huh?'

'Yeah.' I replied.

'And you're turning 16, too.' he recalled, turning his head to the side to look at me.

'Yeah.'

Lavi gazed back up at the sky, and was silent for another minute or so. 'Hey, Allen.' he said.

'Yeah?'

He turned back to me. 'I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, but how did your left arm become like that?'

Come to think of it, I've never told anyone about how my arm became like that. 'I was born with it.' I told him.

'You were born with it?'

'Mhm. Apparently my biological parents hated my arm and decided to abandon me when I was just a preschooler. For several months I was left to fend for myself.'

'That's terrible!' Lavi exclaimed, sitting up. 'How could they just leave you like that?'

'Guess they thought 5-year-olds knew how the world worked by that age.' I joked.

Lavi gave me a strange look, and shook his head after. 'It sucks that some people just can't accept their kids for who they are. It makes me wonder why someone as selfish as your biological parents would decide to have children in the first place.' he said.

'That's just life, I suppose.' I said blithely.

'You don't seem to take this subject about your parents seriously.'

'Why should I care about my parents? They're pathetic human beings who I wouldn't even give two shits about.' I retorted, flicking some snow beside me. 'Mana, on the other hand, is a way different story.'

Lavi lied back down on the ground. 'How did you and Mana meet, anyways?' he asked.

'I got a job at the circus as a mess hall server. I wasn't paid that much, but the ringmaster was kind enough to let me stay until I could find a different place.'

'This is the same ringmaster we saw last month at your performance?'

'Yup. Back then; Mana had a dog that had the same name as me. He was like my only friend back then, other than the ringmaster. He died suddenly one day, on Christmas actually, and I was there with Mana when we buried him.' I continued. 'After I told Mana he was my only friend, I guess he decided to take me in as his own. So he took me to this office, re-named me as Allen Walker and made my birthday on December 25th, since I couldn't actually remember it.'

'Wow…' Lavi replied in awe. 'I… don't know what to say. You've been through so much, Allen.'

I glanced at him. 'What's there to say? But you know… I'm really glad to have met everyone I know now; Mana, Lenalee, Komui, Daisya, the teachers, Jerry, not so much Kanda… and you.'

Lavi sat up again. 'Me?' he laughed. 'I'm honoured.'

I sat up as well. 'Well, you've helped me through so much and taught me to come out of my shell. I'm really grateful to have you as a friend.' I beamed.

'… I'm glad.' said Lavi, giving me a real smile.

'Now you tell me about your eye,' I requested.

'Sorry, man. Classified info.' he told me, crossing his arms.

'Aw, come on, Lavi!' I pouted.

He chuckled through his nose. 'Well, the only thing I can say is that it involved a shooting.' he answered.

A shooting? 'As in gunfire?'

'Yeah. But that's all I'm allowed to tell you. The old man won't let me say any more.'

I checked my watch; it was almost 8:30 at night. I stood back up and brushed the snow off of my clothes. 'Well, I should head back; Mana's probably wondering where I am.' I told Lavi.

'I'll come with you.' he said.

'You sure? I mean your grandfather may not like it-'

Lavi quickly gave a "pshaw" look. 'Oh whatever. I'm 18, I'm a grown-up; I can make my own decisions.' he rebutted.

We left the park and went back down Main Street; the parade was over, but the people were still out and about doing their last minute shopping. We chatted and laughed along the way over various things, like over our different classes, or how Komui got food poisoning from the hot dog last month. Later on, we began to notice that all the stores were beginning to close. We passed by Jerry's and wished him a good night before he closed up the café.

Now that all the lights of the city were turning off, the only things that were left on were the streetlights looming above us. I gave kind of an eerie feel, but it wasn't that bad since Lavi was walking with me. It didn't take us long until we were in my neighbourhood. We wowed and laughed at some of the decorations outside of each of the houses. Some people just didn't care to take down their stuff from Halloween.

Finally my house came into view. But before we could make it there, Lavi grabbed my wrist all of the sudden. I turned to face him.

'Hey, Allen. Before you go home, there was something I wanted to give you.' Lavi told me.

I paused for a minute. 'Uh, okay.'

Lavi let go of me and reached into his coat pocket. His hand came out holding a bright blue slip of paper, and he placed it in my hand.

'Happy birthday, Allen.'

I turned it over to find "Blackwood Winter Formal!" written on it, along with the information and destination. My mouth gaped open as I looked back at him. 'You didn't!' I exclaimed.

'I wanted to. I felt bad that you couldn't afford it, so I got you one.' he smiled.

'But what about a tuxedo-'

'It's all good. Komui agreed to pay for it for you.'

I was speechless. I wanted to cry out of sheer happiness, but come on, I'm wasn't gonna do that in front of Lavi. I decided "okay, brohug" instead.

I said goodbye to Lavi and ran back to the house as quickly as possible. I opened the door and closed it behind me, leaning against the surface. I held up my ticket once more in front of me and grinned excitedly.

'I'm home!' I called out. No answer. I walked into the kitchen. 'Mana? Dad!'

I quickly spotted a piece of paper on the table. It had Mana's handwriting on it.

"Come to the garage."

I put the paper back down and placed my ticket back in my pocket. I went back outside and searched for the garage door pull, dragging it up after. The lights were on, and I found Mana waiting inside.

'Mana?'

'Hey kiddo.' he grinned. 'Happy birthday.'

I wondered for a second what he meant until I saw the big, grey bike I saw behind him. 'No way!' I exclaimed. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly, and then looked at my new bike in awe. It was so shiny and new, I actually didn't want to ruin it by riding it. Then I remembered the ticket.

'Oh, dad, look what Lavi gave me!' I took the ticket out of my pocket and showed it to him. He grinned.

'So you get to go after all, huh?' he said.

'Yeah! I'm so excited! I can't wait to go.'

Mana patted my shoulder. 'I'm glad you're able to go now, Allen. I just wish I could've been able to pay for it. But I knew you wanted the bike too, so-'

'It's okay, Mana. I love both of these gifts, and I couldn't ask for anything more.' I told him.

I wrapped my arms around him again gratefully. He chuckled. 'You should think about heading to bed now, kiddo. We've got a big day tomorrow.' he reminded me.

'Christmas with the crew?' I asked. He nodded once. 'Alright then. Night, Mana.'

'Night.'

I ran back into the house and bounded up the stairs to my room. I closed my door and flopped onto my bed, taking out my ticket once more. I stared at it for a good minute and put it on my end table before I continued what I was doing a few hours ago: staring at the ceiling.

I thought about my dream again, and finally came to a conclusion. Two, actually. The first was that I was probably attracted to guys. And the second: I was in love with my senior.

And that's it for chapter 4! Allen's crush has finally been revealed! But what lies in store for Allen at the winter formal?

Find out next time when chapter 5 comes out!

Yours truly,
LMC