A/N: okay I loved writing this chapter, besides certain scenes that hurt a bit to write. Other than that it was a bit fun to write it.
Thanks to: Masked-Flame, 99DenmonChick99, FierceEyes, Synk, msdragonwings, and LightMyBulb for your reviews they made my day. Also thanks to all of you who have read and not reviewed, you guys rock too just for reading this.
Warnings: possible OOCness, Allen's break downs, and some adorableness.
Onwards to the reading!
Enjoy ~
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Having no other choice, Allen pulled out of his driveway and headed towards the hospital. The twenty minute drive was spent in relative silence; Allen occasionally sent quick looks to his redheaded companion.
There's nothing I can do about this now.
They arrived at the hospital in no time, much too quickly for Allen's taste in fact. As soon as he parked the car, he felt Lavi's gaze on him again.
"Happy now Lavi?" the youth asked flatly.
The redhead gave Allen an unreadable look.
"Why are we at the hospital?" the redhead questioned.
"To get my bandages off," replied the youth uncertainly.
"I have a feeling that I'm not supposed to be here right now." Lavi said.
"Your feeling is correct." Allen said.
"Sorry, buddy. It's your fault though," the elder student said, getting out of the vehicle.
"How's this my fault? You're the one that's too nosy!" Allen exclaimed, getting out of the car and locking it.
"I might be nosy, but you're the one who won't talk to me." Lavi replied.
"And with good reason," the other huffed.
The duo walked silently side by side into the hospital, the younger man lost in their earlier conversation. Mechanically he walked up to the receptionist desk, and spoke with the woman there. After speaking with the lady he turned to Lavi.
"Wait for me in the waiting area," the snowy-haired youth said.
The redhead gently placed his hand on the shorter man's shoulder.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked.
Allen raised his gaze to the redhead, his face solemn as he looked up at Lavi.
"Yeah," the youth finally replied.
The redhead held the younger's gaze for a moment longer, before Allen quickly turned and disappeared down a hallway. Pushing open the door of a room, the youth cautiously entered.
"Hello, Allen," the doctor greeted.
The doctor who'd taken care of Allen's injuries was a kind elderly man, and Allen enjoyed his company.
"Hi, Doc." Allen greeted in return, a faux smile on his pale face.
"How have you been?" the elderly doctor asked.
"I've been well," the snowy-haired man replied politely.
The doctor motioned for Allen to sit down on the cot. Which the student promptly did, looking a bit worried.
"You've come to get your bandages off, correct?" the man asked.
"That's correct." Allen replied.
"Alright then, let's begin," the other said.
Slowly the kind doctor began to unravel the bandaging from his face, peeling off the gauze. The young man sucked in a sharp breath at the feeling of the cool air caressing his now exposed skin.
Just as slowly the bandaging on his arm was removed after he took off his jacket. His left arm was a bit tenderer than his face and he winced slightly when the cool air hit the exposed skin.
"Well it looks like the burns are almost completely healed, it's better to be careful with that arm of yours," the doctor said.
"Yes, sir. Do I have to come back?" Allen asked.
"Only if that arm of yours starts giving you too much trouble. Your face shouldn't be a problem since it's mostly healed. In fact I'd say it looks almost like a tattoo," the man told him.
Allen looked thankfully at the doctor; the man had never judged him. However, he now faced a problem with Lavi waiting for him.
"Thanks for everything," the snowy-haired man said, slipping on his jacket.
"Not a problem Allen, just take care of yourself," the doctor said.
"I will," was Allen's response before walking out of the room.
The youth stuck his left hand in his jacket pocket, after brushing his hair over the healing scar on his face to obscure what he could from view. Keeping his head downcast Allen began to walk slowly towards where Lavi was waiting for him.
What now? I've run out of time and options. I can't let Lavi see me like this, or anyone else. Allen thought sadly.
Too busy with his thoughts to notice where he was going, Allen bumped into a strong chest still looking at the floor.
"S-Sorry," the young man apologized shakily.
"Hey, Allen, what's wrong buddy?" Lavi's familiar voice spoke.
Allen backed slightly away from the elder man, realization fully setting in. The snowy-haired youth startled to tremble slightly.
"Oi, Allen, what's gotten into you?" Lavi asked, concerned, as he placed his hands on both of the youth's trembling shoulders.
Allen shrank back at Lavi's touch, making a deep frown appear on the other's face.
Lavi's right hand left Allen's shoulder and the redhead softly grabbed the youth's chin.
"Hey, look at me, Allen." Lavi commanded in a soft tone.
The other did not obey the simple command, and the redhead's brow furrowed when something warm and wet came in contact with his hand. (a/n: get yer mind out of the gutter people! XD) Lavi tilted the other's chin up so Allen was looking at him, what her saw in the youth's face concerned and surprised him.
Allen was shedding tears and Lavi wasn't really sure as to why.
"Allen, tell me what's wrong." Lavi urged softly.
The redhead gently brushed the younger's hair out of his face, and that's when he noticed the mark on the other's face. Allen sucked in a teary breath as he gauged Lavi's reaction. The snowy-haired youth was very afraid at the moment, more so when his companion had such an unreadable look on his face. Lavi's other hand moved to Allen's face to trace the healing scar gently. He began by tracing the angry red star above the younger's eyebrow, causing Allen's eyes to involuntarily close at the touch. Tears still streaming from under his closed eyelids. Lavi's finger's traced the angry red line coming from the star, down over his eyelid, then to the smaller intersecting line under his eye. Finally following the way the scar hooked around his cheek bone, before ending parallel to the corner of his mouth.
The younger man cracked open his still watery eyes, and looked at Lavi with a mix of fear and wonder. The elder student's expression was gentle almost one of pity, he took Allen's left arm gingerly in his hands. The youth flinched away from the touch, but Lavi didn't release his grip. A sound almost like a whimper escaped the younger's lips, as the redhead pulled up the jacket sleeve.
Rather than finding a normal looking arm, Allen's arm was a deep red, nearly black. The skin was badly burnt, and Lavi ran his hand gently over the rough skin.
"Allen…," said Lavi.
The snowy-haired youth pulled his arm out of the redhead's grasp and turned away from the other man.
"What happened to you?" Lavi continued in a soft tone, as not to frighten Allen any more than he already was.
The younger student stayed silent, and began to walk away towards the entrance. Lavi stopped Allen by placing a hand on the other's shoulder. The youth froze in his steps, and the redhead felt him tremble slightly again under his touch. However Allen no longer made any moves to escape and Lavi swung an arm around the frail shoulders. The redheaded man then steered his unresponsive companion out of the hospital. Fishing Allen's car keys out of his jacket pocket, Lavi unlocked the car. Once the snowy-haired youth was settled into the passenger seat, the redhead walked around to the drive's side and got it.
The drive home was relatively quiet, save for Allen's occasional sniffling and soft whimpers. When Lavi tried to talk to him, the youth continued to be unresponsive. As Lavi was pulling into the street, the man suddenly slammed his foot down on the break when a shout echoed through the small vehicle. With a widening eye and his hand over his rapidly beating heart, Lavi looked over at the source of the shout. Allen was looking over at him with wide frightened eyes.
"Don't hate me," the words were spoken in a lower tone.
"Why would I hate you little buddy? We're friends right?" the elder student said, driving towards Allen's house.
"I'm ugly, a monster. Unwanted." Allen said voice barely above a whisper. (a/n: Ooo you have no idea how much this hurt to type!)
"No you're not Allen, who told you that?" Lavi said with a frown on his face, as he pulled into Allen's driveway.
The snow-haired unbuckled his seat belt and looked over at Lavi.
"Yes, I am!" the smaller man shouted, getting out of the car.
Lavi followed suit pocketing the keys, a frown still on his face at the other's behavior.
"You're not a monster Allen, and you sure as hell aren't ugly," the redhead said calmly.
"Yes I am! You don't understand anything Lavi!" Allen shouted, lunging at the taller man.
Lavi was quick to react and being stronger, he ended up pinning Allen down on the driveway. The younger man struggled wildly, slapping Lavi in the face quite a few times in the process. Until finally the redhead pinned the other's arms down.
"Allen! Calm the hell down!" Lavi hissed, straddling the other to immobilize him.
"What are you two idiots doing?" Kanda's voice sounded in their ears.
"Lavi, what in the world are you doing!?" Lenalee exclaimed.
The sudden appearance of Kanda and Lenalee made the redhead loosen his grip on the struggling youth. Allen quickly got away from Lavi, covering his face and arm quickly. Lavi stood up from where he was kneeling on the ground, only to have his head snapped to the side. Allen had slapped him, hard. The younger student snatched his keys from Lavi and stormed inside his house, slamming the door shut. The redhead stood frozen to the spot, holding his reddening cheek as he stared sadly after Allen.
"Lavi, what did you do to him?" Lenalee scolded.
"Don't worry about it, Lenalee. He'll be fine, I hope," the redhead said, sounding unsure of himself.
"Whatever it is, fix it you retarded rabbit. Your stupidity is overwhelming." Kanda grumbled.
The trio the moved away from Allen's driveway, heading towards Lavi's house. The redhead cast a last wistful look back at Allen's home. He decided to leave Allen alone for now, deciding that he would check on him later.
Meanwhile inside Allen's house, the youth was sprawled out on the couch. Face buried in one of the pillows, Timcanpy was curled up close to his face. Occasionally licking his owner's scarred cheek.
Why is this happening to me? Someone out there must really hate me. Why doesn't Lavi hate me right now? Why is he being so nice to me? I'm an ugly monster, I don't deserve his kindness.
His dark thoughts went on for a while longer, before the emotionally exhausted man fell asleep.
Allen remained locked up in his house for three days. Luckily he'd stocked up enough food to last him for a while. During those three days he'd refuse to answer any phone calls, text messages, or his front door.
Currently he was on the couch wrapped up from head to toe in a blanket, watching the television. Timcanpy lay curled against the blanket covered youth. It was about the fourth day of his self isolation, and unfortunately he'd misjudged his eating habits. In such a way that he only had a pack of cookies left.
"Guess I'll have to go grocery shopping today." Allen said to himself, as his stomach growled in agreement.
The initial shock state he'd been in after Lavi had driven him home from the hospital. Had gradually worn away in his days of isolation, though still afraid of being friends with people that might abandon him at one point. He'd now felt ashamed of himself for giving Lavi such a hard time, and slapping the poor man on top of that. Thus it led him to want to avoid Lavi out of shame.
The youth heaved himself off the couch, causing Timcanpy to hop off, and headed upstairs to change.
Changing into a simple outfit, and a jacket, he pulled the hood low over his head. Grabbing his keys and his phone, he bid good-bye to Timcanpy and opened the door. Allen gave a less than manly shriek, when he saw the very person he was trying to avoid sitting on his stoop.
"L-L-Lavi!" the young man stammered in surprise.
The redhead slowly turned to face hmi, Allen's heart nearly stopped at the sight before him. Hand flying to his mouth to conceal a gasp, the youth kneeled down in front of Lavi. Momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be avoiding him out of shame.
Lavi wasn't wearing his usual bandana today, and his face looked like someone had punched him several times. Lower lip torn and bleeding freely, rivulets of blood dripping down his chin. His clothing had several tears in them and more blood.
"Lavi! What happened?!" the youth exclaimed, taking Lavi's bloodied face in his hands.
"Glad to see you're still alive buddy," the redhead said with a pained grin.
"What in the world happened to you?" Allen pursued.
"I won't tell you unless you tell me why you have those burns," the elder man countered, placing a gloved hand on one of Allen's.
The snowy haired student's heart sped up a bit at the touch, but he ignored it. Allen wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was a bit concerned by Lavi's condition.
"Do you want to come inside, Lavi?" the young man asked.
"That'll be great," the elder man replied.
Allen rose to his feet and held his right hand out to Lavi, who took it gently. The redhead the heaved himself up staggering as he went up, and had to brace himself against the youth for balance. The snowy-haired man gave a tight smile and headed inside. Lavi limped after him into the house, shutting the door as he went. He followed Allen to the living room and found him covering his couch with towels. When he finished this task, Allen motioned for Lavi to lie down.
"Thank you, bean sprout," the redhead said, dropping down onto the towel covered couch.
"Name's Allen," the young man mumbled.
"I know, I know." Lavi said, sounding very weary.
Allen went upstairs to fetch his first aid kit, and then headed to the kitchen to get cloths, a bowl of warm water and an ice pack.
"Gonna take care of me again?" the elder man asked.
"Well, why not?" the other replied.
Allen proceeded to clean up whatever he could of Lavi's wounds, and bandaged them. Placing the now cloth covered ice pack against the redhead's bruised face. The youth went to put back all the stuff he used, and went back into the living room. He found that Lavi had fallen asleep, and draped the blanket he had been using earlier over Lavi's battered body.
Feeling like he shouldn't leave the redhead alone for a little while, he postponed his grocery shopping for a bit. Walking into the kitchen to grab that last pack of cookies to staunch his massive appetite. Sitting down on the recliner that was situated next to the couch, he turned on the television and set the volume low.
Would being friends with Lavi be that bad? I could always leave if things go bad. I'm not really in any danger, am I? Allen thought munching on cookies.
The snowy-haired youth had very hesitantly begun to accept that Lavi really didn't mean any harm. Yet Allen still continued to think that he wasn't worth of Lavi's, or anyone's kindness. That he was a hideous monster, who stood out of society too much.
Finishing his cookies he stood up, placing the empty plastic box on the coffee table. He went over to Lavi's sleeping form and took the ice pack from the other's face. On a whim he placed his right hand against Lavi's forehead, and frowned when he felt that it was unusually warm for a human. Going to the kitchen he wet a cloth with cold water, wringing the excess water out he went back to the living room. Placing the cool cloth on the redhead's forehead, he stood back and places his hands on his hips.
"Timcanpy, watch over Lavi for me. I'm going to go to the store for a bit." Allen said to the yellow kitten napping on the armrest by Lavi's feet.
The kitten looked up at Allen and gave a soft mew, as if he's understood what his owner had said. With that Allen turned to leave keys and phone already in his pocket.
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A/N: there you have it, another wonderful chapter. I kinda liked this one to be honest. Allen and Lavi sure have their secrets lol, all will be revealed later on.
Random fact: I listen to the DGM soundtracks as well as random songs when writing.
Hope you liked this chapter; don't be afraid to give your opinion. Well see ya next chapter.