After that, Don Thousand found himself acting more and more out of character. Sure, the no touching rule was still a biggie and he would still insult Lyle, but it was in a less cruel and slightly more teasing way. Don Thousand would often berate himself for acting like that, silently reminding himself what happens when you get too close to another being, before shoving those concerns aside on the basis that he wasn't getting too close to Lyle, he was just not telling him to piss off anymore. There was a difference.
Don put his hands in his pocket as he walked to the corner of 6th and 5th street, where he and Lyle met to race to school. Don Thousand almost winced when he remembered his vow not to race anymore and that he had been doing exactly that for the past two weeks. Well, except on weekends. Then he would just spend the entire day at the library reading or look around for someone remotely challenging to duel. Despite losing his powers, he had been allowed to keep his deck. He couldn't inflict real damage but no use in letting his skills go to waste.
"Hey! Don!" Lyle waved and ran towards him. Don Thousand started and stopped in his tracks. He slowly calmed himself down. Lyle had an obnoxious habit of popping up from nowhere. It really tended to piss Don Thousand off.
"Hello, Lyle," Don sighed.
"Did you hear the news?" Lyle asked.
"What news?" Don Thousand asked, puzzled.
Lyle looked slightly sheepish, "Well, you remember the chemistry incident yesterday?"
"You mean your fourth one this week?" Don Thousand said while rolling his eyes.
Lyle coughed, "Uh, yeah. That one. Anyway, the fumes went into the ventilation shaft and they found out about it when the janitor passed out after school. So they had to cancel school until it gets cleaned up which is supposed to be by Monday. On the brighter side, they don't know for certain it was my fault so they cannot pin it on me!"
Don Thousand sighed. Great, now school was canceled for who-knows-how-long. He was just glad the city had drinking fountains and that the normal human body could survive for three weeks without food, meaning he should be able to last for twice that long. He didn't get any food outside of the school lunches, not that Lyle knew that. It wasn't ever part of Don Thousand's nature to tell others about any of his liabilities.
"Don? Earth to Donny, come in Donny." Don Thousand started and snapped to attention. He had been zoning out.
"What did I tell you about using that name?!" Don Thousand snapped.
Lyle grinned, "Not to. Sorry. So do you want to come to the park with me and shoot some hoops?" For the first time, Don Thousand noticed the basketball underneath Lyle's arm.
"You mean play basketball?" Don frowned with a cock of his head.
"Yeah! Please?" Lyle begged.
Don Thousand thought about it before deciding he had absolutely nothing better to do. That seemed to be his reasoning for agreeing to a lot of things recently. "I guess."
"YES! Come on!" Lyle grabbed Don's arm and started to drag him along before Don Thousand managed to twist out.
"I know where the park is," Don said but his tone implied the added, So we can race there. Don Thousand marveled in the fact that he was actually using that tone again. In the past he had used it when he was in a diplomatic situation where he was threatening another being or to emphasize a point since what he left unsaid was always much more prominent in others' brains that what he actually said out loud. He hadn't had the need to use it in many millennium since he was locked away in a sea of f*cking acid and had no need for it.
Lyle blinked at him then slowly grinned, "Wow, that was cool! You didn't even need to say that last part, I just got it! Why haven't you talked like that before?"
Don shrugged. "I just didn't feel like it. And it's really only a tone of voice. So you want to race?"
"Oh yeah! Last one there's a rotten tomato!" Lyle laughed as he took off with Don starting at almost the same time. Once again, Don Thousand mentally kicked himself for not only going along with, but suggesting a race. Casting a look over at Lyle, he wondered, for the first time, whether opening up completely to Lyle would end the same way it had when he trusted Eliphas. Although, the two of them were so different and would probably kill each other if left in the same room together. Correction: Eliphas would kill Lyle if he was left in the same room with him. Or possibly tell Lyle a whole lot of embarrassing stories about Don. Don Thousand lengthened his strides as he ran, forcing the pain in his heart from thinking of Eliphas to recede. Don Thousand hated how simply thinking about the Patron of Astral World could hurt him so much. Eliphas betrayed him, it was thousands of years ago, he was over it by now. It happened, it hurt, but he didn't care about Eliphas anymore. Not one tiny bit.
And that little voice in his head that said he still did could go screw itself.
…...
"Okay! So you just place one hand on the side of the ball to steady and aim it, and have your other hand underneath the ball to shoot it! It's easy!" Lyle explained as he demonstrated by shooting the ball into the hoop.
Don frowned in concentration as he threw the ball. It rolled around the rim for a few seconds before falling in the hoop. Lyle whooped, "Way to go! That's amazing for a first try!"
"If the idiot is done shooting his mouth off, can I talk to you, Don?" Lyle jumped and yelped then hid behind Don, who had turned to face Aida.
"I suppose, I'll be back in a few minutes, Lyle." Don said and he followed Aida, who led him out of earshot of Lyle.
Aida rounded on him and crossed her arms, "I honestly thought you had more sense than to hang out with him."
Don frowned. "Last I checked, I'm allowed to make acquaintances with whoever I want. Besides, you said it yourself, he won't leave me alone anyway. If you only wanted to talk to me about my choices in the company I keep, I'll go now." he said coolly.
"Wait!" Aida sighed, "Since I sort of know you and you're honestly the only slightly sensible person my age," Don Thousand inwardly snorted at this, "Could you, maybe, oh forget it!"
"What?" Don asked.
Aida for once looked very meek, "Could you make Willy Gringis back off from me?"
Don Thousand frowned again, "Who?"
"He's a bully and a womanizer. He picks on the kids smaller than him and has gone out with half the girls in school. And he now wants me to date him. He's been trying to make me fall for him for almost a month. I kept shoving him away from me but this past week he started getting a little physical with me and started saying certain hurtful things. He promises he'll stop if I go out with him but I've seen what state his exes are in when he's done with them. I can't make him leave me alone, but he has been staying away from Lyle now that you're around. I think he might be slightly intimidated by you."
"So let me get this straight," Don Thousand said slowly, "You want me to put this jerk in his place to make him leave you alone?"
"Yes." Aida said bluntly, "I just want you to tell him to back off when school opens again, THANKS A LOT FOR THAT, EISEN, BY THE WAY!" she suddenly shouted so Lyle could hear her.
"So that's it? Why don't you just ask a teacher to make him back off? Why can't I just stay out of it?" Don Thousand complained.
Aida sighed, "The teachers aren't allowed to discipline a student on someone's word alone. They have to catch the person in the act."
Don rolled his eyes, "The school rules are incredibly inept."
"They're still rules," Aida countered. She crossed her arms and seemed to be waiting for Don's answer.
Don Thousand frowned before deciding that this human might cause him problems in the future if he didn't show him where his place was. "Why not?"
Aida looked relieved for a second before her expression changed into one of indifference. "Well, I'm going to continue my walk if you don't mind. See you later."
Don Thousand shook his head as he walked back to Lyle. She was impossible. Slightly like a female Eliphas. The humorous image of Eliphas as a girl overpowered the returned pain in his chest.
"What did she want?" Lyle asked when Don arrived back on the court.
Don Thousand explained about Aida's dilemma and Lyle nodded, for the second time since Don had met him looking somber. "Willy's a jerk. He hasn't bothered with me since you came around but he likes to shove me around a lot. Whenever I even smile around him, he'll punch me. He and Aida are the two people that I'll cower in fear of when they're around."
"Still don't get what your problem with Aida is..." Don Thousand muttered.
Lyle shook himself. "Man, I need to stop being serious so much! It's no fun! Hey, let's shoot some hoops from half-court! It's no challenge when we're up close like this!" Lyle ran to the half-court line and Don Thousand followed, bemused. Lyle was almost incapable of being somber for over sixty seconds. Don privately thought it might actually be one of his best traits.
As Don shot hoops with Lyle, he began to wonder how exactly the kid managed to stay smiling. Don was sure Lyle had been kicked into the ground more times than he had admitted to but he was still laughing and grinning like an idiot. Unlike Don, who had over a long period of time completely lost it and had been filled with hatred, Lyle managed to still smile and have a cheery attitude that Don Thousand had lost for good a long time ago. In that regard at least, could it be... that Lyle was stronger than him? No, he couldn't be, besides Don had longer to dwell on his sorrows and heartbreak, Lyle was still very young. But, by the time he was the same age as Lyle, he had become, while not completely filled with hate, cold and distant. So, Lyle, a mere human, was in at least one regard, stronger than him.
Don Thousand shuddered. Lyle paused and looked at him. "You okay? Are you getting cold, Don?"
Don Thousand shook his head. "No, I'm fine." he focused on the hoop and made a shot into the basket. He couldn't believe a human, a creature with an extremely short lifespan, could be stronger emotionally than him. And a very obnoxious human at that. Maybe there was more to their species than he had believed.