A/N: Hey guys! OMG, it's been too long since I updated! I'm sorry, I feel soooo bad about it! Q_Q *hides behind a corner* please don't kill me! D:

I know it's the same old excuse every time, but school demands of me to sacrifice all of my free time for it right now X.x Exams are coming up and a huge term paper is due on Tuesday and I have about 1/8 of it done... but I felt so bad about not uploading for so long, which is why I took the time to upload this "back up chapter" as I'd like to call it. For those who don't know, I usually upload a chapter after I've finished writing the chapter after that. It's so I can upload something just in case I can't find the time to write or if I happen to have writer's block. ^^ I haven't written more than five lines or so of the next chapter though, but I didn't want to make you wait any longer... ._.

Anyway, I hope you can forgive me ;_; I can't say when the next chapter will be uploaded though, cause as I said, I'm incredibly busy right now :/

By the way, this chapter is dedicated to everyone who's still waiting for me to reply to their messages. I'm really sorry, guys! :(

Well, there's no reason to make you wait any longer, on with the chapter! :)


Chapter 7 – Meeting


It was getting darker by the minute as I hurried through the maze-like alleyways that I knew so well. I was late for the meeting with that guy, mostly because in the back of my mind I had started doubting my decision to go through with it and meet up with Mr. Eye-patch. I had wasted too much time contemplating, noticing far too late how close the sun was to setting already.

Without wasting another thought on if meeting him was the right thing to do or not, I had jumped to my feet, grabbed the plastic bag I had received yesterday and rushed out of the... piece of wood that dared to call itself the front door of the run down building I lived in. Now here I was, by now already panting, hurriedly making my way through the different alleyways that led to my destination – my usual supermarket.

I instinctively dodged the old boxes and bottles that were lying around everywhere while speeding up, hoping to make it to the bicycle racks before that guy would leave. Why exactly did it suddenly matter this much to me? Maybe because there was the possibility of it being a realistic chance to get out of this homeless life. I didn't know, but I didn't have time to waste thinking about it if I wanted to make it to the supermarket on time.

I reached the main street that the store was on and skidded to an abrupt halt, allowing myself to catch my breath for a minute. Having stopped right before I rounded the corner, I then pressed my back against the brick wall and carefully glanced around said corner towards the bicycle racks, trying to make out the figure of the guy that had offered to let me stay with him.

I had to search for a minute or so because of the crowd hiding him from my view, but finally I spotted him standing under a lone street lamp close to the store's side wall. He seemed to be leaning on the lamp post, as far as I could tell from the distance. Suddenly, I was painfully aware of my heart pounding loudly in my chest. Oh crap, now I'm nervous? Awesome, I thought sarcastically.

Hesitantly, I made my way closer to the boy that had wanted to meet me, but I decided to stay hidden for now, so I made a detour, tiptoeing through the shadows of the buildings that conveniently surrounded the bicycle racks while approaching him. Soon, I had managed to get within about three meters of the redhead without him noticing me.

I once again pressed my back against the wall, standing right outside the pool of light the street lamp created. Mr. Eye-patch had his back turned to me, so I remained undiscovered for now.

As I stood there in the semi-dark, so close to the person that could make my life either better or worse, I hesitated. Should I really reveal myself to him? What if it was really just a trap to get revenge for stealing his bags?

Absentmindedly, I fiddled with my old, worn out gloves, nervous and not sure what to do. I didn't know this guy, so how should I know if he meant what he had offered? Just because he seems to have such a nice friend, it doesn't mean that he's automatically a nice person, too. Sure, it was more than nice of him to buy me food, but if that was just an act to gain my trust, there was nothing nice about it after all, right?

I flinched and almost forgot to breathe for a moment as the guy a few feet away from me suddenly heaved a sigh, his posture slumping. I exhaled slowly and silently – that just now had startled me. My eyes darted over to him and I noticed him pulling out a mobile phone, dialing and putting it to his ear. Before I could decide whether I wanted to eavesdrop or not, the person on the other end of the line answered the call.

"Yea, hi Lenalee," I heard the redhead say, his voice deep, but not overly so, and surprisingly melodic. I randomly thought that I liked the sound of it, then shoved the thought aside when I realized that the person he was talking to had to be the Chinese girl from yesterday.

"No... seems he didn't come..." I frowned. So he was talking to her about me? Well, I guess that means I'm lucky. Let's see what he has to say.

"I don't think he will, Lena-lady. I've been waiting here for hours already, and it's getting late." He actually sounded genuinely depressed about that. Why? Did he want to beat me up so badly? I couldn't really imagine a different reason.

The redhead continued talking. "Why should he? It was a stupid idea, I guess. I don't know what I would've done if I was in his place. I probably would've gladly taken the food – after I've checked if everything was alright with it, of course – and then I'd forget about the rest. Being offered something like this is so damn unrealistic these days, I'd be one hundred percent sure that it was a trap." he chuckled bitterly.

Hey, this guy actually wasn't as dumb as I thought he was. I had done almost the same as he had just described, except that I was here now. What did that say about me? I didn't know, but I didn't really care, either. I was starting to think that it may not have been a trap after all, though.

"You're right," he sighed, "I wish we could've helped him, though." So he really wants to help me! I couldn't believe it. How high was the possibility that he was lying to her? He didn't know that I was listening, so I supposed it was highly unlikely.

"Yea, I guess I'll go home now, then. I'll call you again later, okay?" now he really sounded resigned. I watched as he pocketed the phone, straightened up and adjusted his clothes.

I felt as if someone had just punched me in the stomach when I realized with a start that the person who wanted to help me get away from this life that I hated was about to leave, and that my only chance to change for the better would disappear with him.

My heart was pounding loudly, telling me to hurry up and just do something about this situation. Panicked, I stared at the guy's back, wondering if I should cross the distance between us and lightly touch his shoulder to alert him of my presence. I was about to raise my arm, but then I grimaced. Would he want to be touched by a hobo? Probably not. So should I just call out to him? But that would draw attention to not only me, but us. Who would want to be seen with someone like me? Plus, I didn't even know his name.

While I was busy contemplating what I should do, I saw him begin to walk away. I took a few unsure steps forward, which caused me to stand inside the pool of light that the redhead had previously occupied. I stared after him, more or less frozen because I didn't know what to do.

He's leaving! What am I doing? He'll disappear! My thoughts were in disarray, making me unable to decide on what to do next and freezing me in place.

With every step the guy took away from me, my heart sank further and further. Then suddenly, it leaped and skipped a beat. For some reason the redhead had turned around one last time. His only visible eye now seemed to be fixated on me.

Frozen, we stared at each other for a moment, neither moving nor talking. Then the guy began walking back towards me.

Shit, what now? I hadn't even thought about what to do when I actually met him. How was I supposed to act? And why did I have to be so nervous? Oh god, what was I going to do?

Once more panicking inwardly, I stayed where I was and watched as he approached me. I was a little relieved when he was close enough so I could see his face, for it was clearly visible for a moment that he was almost as nervous as I was.

Hesitantly, he took the last few steps before stopping when we were standing in front of each other at a comfortable distance. I looked up at him and expected him to say something, but instead he just flashed me a beaming grin that was almost unsettling.

"Hey there, Post-It thief!" he greeted enthusiastically, "I thought you weren't going to show up!"

I frowned, my heart still beating fast. "Is that my nickname now?" I asked, somehow managing to smile at him.

"Yup! At least as long as I don't know your name," he told me and actually stuck out his tongue.

Was that his way of hiding his nervousness? I grinned slightly.

"Well then, Mr. Eye-patch," I started, only barely suppressing a laugh at the face he made when hearing my nickname for him, "you said you'd like to talk to me, so here I am."

He looked at me for a moment, studying my face, before getting a little more serious. "The name's Lavi," he said with a kind smile, "and I'm actually quite surprised that you did show up."

I nodded. "I wasn't sure if I really should, so before I knew it it was later than I thought." Man, that kind of sounded as if I was stupid. And why did I even feel the need to explain myself? I felt a little embarrassed.

"That's okay," he grinned at me once again, "being late is better than not showing up at all. Much better, actually."

I couldn't help but smile back. He seemed to be a nice person, after all. No, don't let your guard down just yet, I reprimanded myself.

"So, are you going to accept my offer?" he asked me, sounding genuinely curious.

I'd love to, but I don't trust it. It sounds way too good to be true.

"What's the catch?" I asked him straightforwardly.

I saw him pause and almost chuckled, but stopped myself before the sound could escape my lips. Had he really not thought about that?

"Hmm, the catch, you ask? Well, you have to promise me that you'll stop stealing." the glint in his only visible eye unmistakably told me that he had a good idea of what I thought about that rule – I didn't mind it in the slightest. Why was he thinking this up on the spot? Wasn't it kind of pointless?

"Nothing else?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"The bed's mine. You'll have to sleep on the couch, but don't worry, it's a very comfy one."

This time I couldn't stop myself from snorting with laughter. Lavi's eye shone with amusement and a grin tugged at his lips as he watched me.

As soon as I had calmed down a little, I said, "You can't be serious, there has to be something you expect me to do in exchange for being allowed to stay with you."

He just looked at me questioningly, not saying anything. Was there really nothing? Nothing at all? He really didn't seem to be able to come up with something, so I decided to 'help him out'.

"For example, what about money? I can't pay you for staying with you, how are you going to afford it?"

At this, he actually looked genuinely surprised. Was he kidding me?

"Hm. Good point. Don't worry, I'll figure something out." he said happily.

I sweatdropped, raising an eyebrow. Wow. He really hadn't thought about that yet. That was... impressive, in a way. Maybe I should take back what I thought earlier, he was definitely as dumb as I had thought he was.

I stayed silent for a minute, trying to decide if it was worth the risk to just go with him, weighing up the pro's and con's.

Then, after a few moments of awkward silence, Lavi quietly asked, "Well? What do you say..?"

I inwardly sighed, took a deep breath and answered, "I guess we could try it out."

"Awesome!" Lavi yelled, making me flinch in reaction to the sudden loud outburst. "Let's go, then!" he exclaimed.

"Uh... okay." I answered quietly. Was I going to regret this, after all?

"Wait! Do you need anything from... well... wherever it is that you stay? Where did you stay up til now, anyway?"

"That's none of your business...," I muttered, before adding a little louder, "No, I don't need anything except this." I raised the hand that was still grabbing onto the handles of the plastic bag I had received yesterday.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, pleasantly surprised and without any indication that he had heard the first part of my reply, "You brought it with you!"

"Uh, yeah... I didn't want to let it go to waste..." I was slightly embarrassed for some reason.

"That's awesome, it'll save us some money!" he grinned heartily at me, making me smile back involuntarily.

Once again he exclaimed, "Okay, then let's go home!" And with that, he grabbed my wrist and gently pulled me along with him before I could protest or change my mind.

'Home', huh?

I just hope I've made the right decision.


.Chapter 7 FIN.


A/N: So that's it. I hope you liked it, and I hope you won't have to wait ages for the next chapter to be uploaded ;_; Also, to everyone whose messages I didn't reply to, I'm really sorry! I just couldn't find the time to do so, don't hold it against me please Q_Q I'll reply to you all as soon as I can!