Omg

Zomg! . you guys! You've given me 55 reviews. That's really amazing, especially considering the lack of boy cuddles and Allen in this so far. So, here's another chapter for you!

Thank you to:

Kayday­­­­- wow, I must admit, I never thought of it as being anyone else than Miranda and Krory. . ah, I could have used that to make a little more mischief for the order! . Haha, Russian? O.o? lol, but thanks for the review!

Endslaher- But that's a good thing, right? Lol, so now you don't have to wait for like a week before I get anything else out. Lol, you know you secretly want to know what happens XP lol. Thanks! XD

­­Lonely Kitty­­- death hug? but if you give me a death hug, doesn't that mean I die then? What would happen to the story then?! Oh noez . lol you got a cookie? Nice! Lol, I tried to make the chapter a little more unpredictable, and that way it's more fun to read and write too! But thank you darling!

artist-girl731- lol, here's your update!

darkangelwings90- lol, well, I can't tell you, you'll just have to read for yourself! XD

Kyurengo- lol, oh well, you're good I'll give you that. But I still can't tell yoooooou! lol

blueporing90- Hehe, Miranda is pretty awesome, ne? lol, well, I'll have to see whether I'm in an 'emo' mood or not. Lol .

PirateCaptainBo- lol, yup! I finally added Miranda! lol.

YugiKitten- lol, yay Miranda!

Thank you all! You've all been wonderful reviewers! Please tell me if I missed anyone, and I'll make sure I get your review reply in the next chappie, ok?

Disclaimer- I still don't own DGM. Wouldn't you all kill me if I did? …...

Now, on with the fic!

Chapter 7- I can't see your star.

He wasn't going to ask what would happen if it didn't. he didn't even want to think about that. Because there was no way it was going to happen. Miranda wouldn't fail, and Allen would wake up so Lavi could tell him how worried he'd made everyone, and smack him on the head. Gently of course, since he has injured.

And then he could finally tell the smaller boy exactly how he felt about him.

Walking to the infirmary, Lavi had time to ponder the turn of events. Wondering how Miranda would wake Allen up, because she would, there was no way Lavi was going to let himself believe anything else.

Allen's favorite saying was 'keep walking.' So, that's what Lavi would do then. He would keep walking down his path of hope, and daring to dream that it would end with utter happiness.

Happiness is such a fleeting thing, Lavi thought. It only takes one person, one second, one incident to make it transform into it's opposite. Despair was quite common at the Black order; comrades had been known to fall to the depths of a wakeless sleep countless times. And each time it left the ones left behind shrouded in a black cloud of despair.

Yes, the Black order was aptly named.

Lavi had seen many exorcists come and go, and all were fine people that gave it their all. In the end, it wasn't enough to save them.

But Allen was different. Lavi mused. Allen went down time and time again, but got back up, and kept walking. Just like his favorite saying. Lavi remembered with a fond smile, how whenever Allen recited his saying, that his face would light up brilliantly, and his eyes would sparkle with a memory that must have been pleasant.

Lavi would ask about it when Allen woke. Not if. When. Lavi really couldn't afford to think anything else at this point. Or else he might break. Something he heartily disapproved of, for both himself, and everyone else around him. None of them had seen him break down yet, and he was going to keep it that way, thank you very much.

"Just keep walking." The voice of Allen sounded in his mind.

'Alright Allen.' Lavi smiled. 'You got it. Just keep walking, ne?'

Allen was stubborn to a fault, but it was what Lavi knew kept the smaller boy going when he got knocked down. Life had not been fair to the younger boy. Lavi noticed when Allen tried to hide his arm, a subconscious gesture by now; all branded into him by harsh stares, cruel whispers, and angry beatings by the town Allen had been born in. Too small to defend himself, and too young to know that he didn't have to put up with it; the young boy had just grinned and bared it. Lavi didn't understand how the frail child had survived. Having harsh and cruel judgments placed on him so young must have had some kind of lasing effects, if his uncomfortable nature about his arm had anything to say about it.

But. He supposed, Allen had always had an underlying strength that surprised everyone once and a while, the usually happy boy sometimes expressing himself in ways no one ever thought he could. They usually left the emo vibes up to Yuu, but sometimes, when he thought no one was looking, Lavi had seen the pale boy with a darker sadness about him that only tucked itself away when he needed to be happy for everyone else, and to keep up the group's spirit.

Lavi was sure that no one had noticed the sadness and the hurt lying just beneath the surface of the bright smile Allen wore. He was sure no one wanted to look any further, not wanting to know that their optimistic moyashi was upset in any way. Because if Allen was sad, that meant that there was something to be sad about. And the rest of the order didn't want it. They had enough sadness to contend with, and didn't want any more. Instead, they looked to Allen, and sometimes Lavi, for reassurance. For stability.

Sometimes Lavi hated people. Their own selfish needs blinded them to other's pain. Lavi supposed that he was sort of doing the same thing, using Miranda's innocence in a way that could exhaust her, but Lavi couldn't bring himself to be too concerned at the moment. For once, he wanted to be selfish too. He wanted to see Allen's bright smile, and hear his laughter ring out in the silence of the blanket of depression the redhead had woven around himself in Allen's absence.

Besides, what was a little energy, compared to a life?

"Lavi." Linali broke him out of his melancholy thoughts, and he turned to look at her.

"Hmm?"

"You've been zoned out for the better part of an hour." Linali paused, concern pouring out of her words as they left her lips to hover in the air. "Is everything alright?"

"Maa, why would you think anything was wrong?" he smiled at her, and she seemed to accept it.

"It's just that….this had been really hard on you, hasn't it?" she said, looking at Lavi to gage his response to the question.

"Yeah." He simply said, Linali understanding the pain behind the words. "It's been hard on all of us."

"Yeah." Linali smiled sadly. "Allen's a big part of our lives. To have him suddenly missing from it…" she paused.

"It's like loosing the last piece of a puzzle, isn't it?" Lavi smiled. "You have all the pieces that fit together, but one seems to have gotten lost along its way to the bigger picture."

Linali blinked at Lavi's eloquence. And the answer he gave seemed to…fit somehow.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Allen's always getting lost."

"Then it's our job to find him, ne?" Lavi put an arm around her shoulder, giving her human comfort, one of the basic needs that every human seemed to need. Even Yuu needed to be around people now. Thanks to Allen, and Lavi's constant yammering, Kanda now had softened around the edges some, opening up a little each time he was in a sustained period of time around his friends. Yuu wasn't quite able to admit that he was friends with anyone, but his actions spoke louder than words, at the risk of being cliché.

So Lavi wasn't going to deny Linali the comfort she so obviously needed, the human contact that she craved.

"Yes." Linali smiled, and Lavi knew she was placing her hope and faith in the fact that Allen would wake up, and they would have fun annoying Yuu together, and they could just enjoy having Allen whole, in one piece, and able to converse, and have fun again. They could revel in the fact that they could just be, and they could tie a metaphorical brick to their worries, and throw them into the metaphorical pond; watching as they slipped out of sight, forming ripples in the water that would fade away. Happiness would return full force, and all would be right again.

Or so Lavi dared to hope. For the first time in ages, Lavi allowed himself to hope and dream, like a normal person should. He allowed himself to feel again, something he had often denied himself in favor of cool indifference.

Yes, Lavi thought; feelings are worth it sometimes. Especially when that pleasurable jolt went through him like a shockwave whenever Allen laughed, or smiled at him. Or the happiness he felt when Allen would tell him about all the little circus tricks he and Mana had performed in the streets sometimes, just to amuse themselves.

Man, he had it bad, didn't he? Lavi sighed, and shook his head.

The problem was that he wasn't supposed to feel. Lavi wasn't allowed to feel. He was just supposed to observe from a distance, and record everything, like some sort of machine. He was supposed to be devoid of basic humanity, and not allow himself to become attached to anything.

He was a future bookman, after all.

The flaw with that statement was that he had become attached. Irrevocably attached. To a spunky stubborn little boy, who had stolen Lavi's heart, and taken over his thoughts.

Sometimes, Lavi didn't even need to tell Allen how he was feeling, or what he was thinking. The younger boy just knew. Such was the enigma named Allen.

Stirring himself from those thoughts, Lavi realized that they had arrived at the infirmary; and he had been wearing a fond grin, while thinking about Allen.

Looking down at the small boy, Lavi saw just how small Allen really was. The white haired boy looked about twelve, but in actuality was 16. Lavi, who was 17, seemed to be much taller than the boy lying on the bed.

That left Lavi wondering if the shorter boy would ever grow at all.

-TBC-

Lol, I realize I didn't answer any questions in this chapter, and I apologize deeply for that. But you really must forgive me, because I was going to add another five or so pages onto this, but I'm so tired I can't even see straight right now. But I'm still really really sorry, and I'll do better next time, ne?

Please continue to tell me what you think, ok?

There are around 1,885 words in this chapter.