Okay, eight pages. Kid should be so happy! Lol. I hope that you guys aren't too confused by this chapter. It was hard for me to write and I tried to keep it from getting all mixed up and stuff. I'm not sure if I succeeded. Anyways, here are the warnings: angst, confusion, and some other stuff but don't worry this is a pretty T chapter. There is, however, a lot of emotional confusion, mostly on Kid's part.
Akire Rosales: Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate your insights and opinions, and I see you make some valid points. He does come off as caring about what others think and whereas he does make a right choice here and there he doesn't seem to get Crona, but I am hoping to make that change. ;3 One-sided romances are dramatic! X) And the stalker will most likely just remain an oc referred to as 'stalker' or whatever because I have no intentions of making them anything other than that, though they do play an important part in leading the plot in the direction I want it to head. I'd respond to your observations about Crona but am afraid it'd lead to me giving out spoilers by mistake. Anyway, Maka is not Crona's ONLY friend but she is her best friend but at the time being she's an absent best friend because of things that will be explained next chapter. To conclude this response, thanks for the reviews!
Now, let's get on with this lengthy chapter.
Sniffling Crona felt rather confused and somewhat heartbroken. She had liked Kid for sometime now and was hoping that he liked her back. And it seemed he did at first, talking to her and worrying over her and letting her come over to his home, but everything was ruined. He probably didn't want to see her again because of what happened. And she didn't blame him. She supposed he deserved someone else, someone better who wasn't so dirty and useless. It made sense when she thought about it.
"Hey, Crona! Wait!"
Turning around she felt like a rag doll, limp and lifeless. A questioning look passed between her and Kid before he finally spoke up though he seemed somewhat reluctant as he spoke, "If you want, then I'd like to...I don't know...spend more time with you later...or something."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Really?" Her voice was too quiet to be heart. Still, he gave a sigh and a nod already guessing she'd questioned him to make sure she had heard correctly. Smiling slightly Crona nodded. Taking one step forwards she rethought what she was about to do and turned around, heading for home. Kid yelled to her telling her to get Maka to walk her, but she didn't think it was necessary. After what happened she didn't suppose that anything else bad could really happen. How could the day get any worse, after all?
"Hey," Marie inquired a few minutes after Crona had entered the living room to head for her room, "where did you get that?"
"Huh? Get what?"
Marie patted her neck with two fingers. Blushing Crona supposed it was the hickey Kid had mentioned earlier. Blushing brightly she tried to slip out of the room, but the next thing she knew Miss. Marie was laughing and supposing that Kid and she had had a 'good time'. Whatever that meant or implied Crona had no idea.
She just nodded and agreed. And then Marie started to question her further, caught between seeming glad and worried. It was then that Crona understood what she had originally meant and her face felt like it was on fire!
She was so uncomfortable and started to get scared that she would say the wrong thing and get Kid into a lot of trouble without meaning to, but of course she couldn't just say that Kid didn't do it or else Marie would probably freak out. Frightened, Crona went along with what was said. After a little while Marie finally stopped with her cross-examination and told Crona that she shouldn't be a pushover around Kid.
Crona knew that Marie was worried but didn't think she had a reason to be. Kid was a good guy. Nonetheless, she promised she wouldn't be a pushover around him to pacify Marie who accepted it but still seemed uncertain about dropping the subject. It was then that Crona managed to get up the stairs just as Professor Stein came in the front door with a large, black bag tucked under one arm. She already knew what was in there.
Work. Files and papers, schedules, lists, and notes he needed to take care of before he left to head back for work. She would have offered to help him sort through the papers and stuff but she really didn't want him seeing that mark. He'd probably blame Kid just like Miss. Marie had and that'd probably make him mad and get Kid into a lot of trouble.
That was the last thing Crona wanted.
Elsewhere, Kid had finally made it home though some guilt still gnawed at him for not helping Crona out further. He could have taken her to a clinic or walked her home to make sure she got there safely. He wanted to call and make sure she was okay but had no idea what he'd say. What if he got Marie or Stein on the phone instead? He had no idea what he would say. Asking for Crona probably wouldn't go over well if he got Stein and Marie would probably try chatting with him before giving the phone to Crona.
You could at least try. His conscience told him.
"Alright." He mumbled aloud, grabbing his cell from the nightstand drawer. He dialed in the number after attaining it from a phone book and waited. There was one ring. What if she's mad at me? A quiet fear played in his mind. He felt bad for not doing more but knew he'd feel bad if he had done more. Either way he felt like a total jerk. Two rings.
How do you deal with this sort of thing? He wondered as a third ring came. And then the phone was picked up.
"Hello?"
It was Marie.
"Um, hi." He greeted awkwardly. He had no idea how to proceed but that didn't stop him from just cutting to the chase, "Could I please talk with Crona?"
"Sure, give me a minute." Marie sat the phone down and went to the kitchen where the pinkette was cleaning dishes. She had her collar pulled up in an attempt to hide the mark on her neck and her sleeves were also pulled up as she finished washing the last of the dishes. Her forearms were wet yet warmed by the soapy water.
"Guess who called?" Marie chirped. Crona turned her head to look over her shoulder. A confused look on her face.
"Who?"
"C'mon, Crona I said guess!"
"Uh, okay. Is it Maka?"
"No. It's someone else."
"Tsubaki?"
"No." Marie said starting to guess the pinkette wasn't going to get it without a hint. "It's a certain boy."
"Soul?"
"You aren't good at this are you? Okay, it's a special boy who you've been spending some time with lately."
"K-Kid?"
"Bingo!"
"Wh-why is he calling?"
"That's a ridiculous question. He wants to talk with you, silly!"
"Oh. Now isn't a good time." It really wasn't. She'd promised Stein she would go down to the basement to help him with some of his papers. If she blew that off to talk with Kid then she'd most likely get a lecture later. Or worse, there wouldn't be a lecture and he'd give her a cold, disappointed stare. That was way worse than any lecture or talking to because it made her feel like she'd really let him down. On the other hand, she didn't want to pass up the chance to talk with Kid. Who knew when he'd call again?
"I-I don't know what to do." She said looking to Marie for some guidance. "I really, really want to talk with Kid but I already promised I'd help Professor Stein. What should I do?"
"Sorry, Crona," the blonde woman said sadly already knowing that this was an instance where she had to be a parent and give the answer she didn't favor, "but if you promised to help Stein then you'd better do it. Otherwise, he's likely to get upset. And you know how he can be."
"I know."
"I'll just tell Kid you'll call him back later. Okay?"
"Okay." she mumbled, unable to hide her disappointment. "That's okay."
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart." Marie cooed hugging Crona who really didn't mind being told no. She knew that Marie had to be a responsible adult and make decisions that she didn't like. She understood that it wasn't her fault. It really wasn't anyone's fault. That was just how things were.
Starting to worry that maybe the connection had gone out Kid sighed caught off guard when Marie's voice came back suddenly, "Oh, no, I'm afraid Crona can't come to the phone right now."
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"No. She's just busy doing chores."
"Oh. Is it a lot?"
"Yeah. She's really busy. She's helping Stein sort through some papers. It's going to be a while but Crona promises that she'll call you when she's done. Is that okay?"
"It's fine. Thanks."
Hanging up he couldn't help but to feel a bit morose. He tried to wait patiently but that seemed to be a fruitless endeavor. A single minute felt like an eternity. Kid decided to pass the time. He couldn't seem to stop thinking back to the same old things though.
What is wrong with me? He wondered five to ten minutes later. He was lying on his bed, trying to read a book and failing to concentrate properly. Why do I care so much? It is at least partly her own fault. She should tell someone about all this. But then he felt responsible for everything too because he knew like she did what was happening and he kept as silent as she. Why didn't he tell someone who could help? It wasn't like Crona would do anything to harm him if he did, but then he knew someone close to her that sent a slight chill up Kid's back. Someone who probably would hurt him if they found out he'd known about all of this stalker business but hadn't said anything about it right away.
What if everyone felt the same way? Crona would always be viewed the innocent victim and he would be blamed for all her troubles, as of late, because he could have spoken up right after learning about all of it.
Then came the silent verbal abuse he brought on himself. Coward. You're just a spineless coward! He internally accused himself. If you really wanted to help her you'd say something to someone who could help! What can you do? You're so stupid for getting mixed up in all this!
I'm not stupid, I can help! He tried to defend himself from all the silent abuse, but it was hard to put up a good defense when he was fighting with himself. I just don't know how….
The offense lashed out cruelly, you're a worthless freak and she knows it!
That was one internal fear pried loose. Why he was destroying his own confidence and questioning his own motives were beyond him but there was really nobody else he could talk to. He was conflicted. He wanted to help, but at the same time he knew that he really couldn't. The kind of help Crona needed was beyond him. But still, he wasn't willing to abandon her or give up on her. She needed someone and the only one who knew about her pain was him. He had to do something, anything to make things better without betraying her trust.
But you can barely help yourself. That unkind voice inside his head pointed out. That comment bothered him the most, but didn't daunt his determination. He had to try.
Still, the internal battle raged on and he had no idea where he truly stood. Sighing, Kid felt a migraine coming on. He put his book back with the others on the small shelf located by the only window in the room. He left out and headed downstairs where he hoped to get a glass of water and some pills to kill the throbbing pain in his head when unexpectedly he was jumped from behind, spilling the water on himself and dropping the two tiny pills he was about to swallow in the process of falling. He landed on the floor with a sharp yelp of surprise. His face burned when he tried to get up, but instead found his face against some girl's chest. Hands got all up in his hair and the sounds of evil giggling filled his ears as he fought to escape from his attacker.
"Patty!" He shouted already guessing who it was. "Get the hell off me!"
"Oh, great," a dull sounding voice said from across the room, "you've got some aspirin. I need it. I mean, drinking only keeps you up for so long, and then you get trashed and the hangover is a real killer."
"Liz!" Kid shouted in a panic. "Help me!"
The elder girl popped some aspirin in her mouth before turning to glance at them. She managed to pull Patty off and the next thing Kid knew she was zipping from the kitchen to some other room. Kid didn't know or care as long as it wasn't his room. "Sorry." Liz said. She didn't sound very sincere, due to being so tired. "She's hopped up on...something...sugar, I think. She had a ton of candy last night."
Kid barely heard the explanation. He was sobbing and struggling to perfect his disheveled appearance all the while fussing about how evil Patty was. Then he was off cleaning the place faster than anyone Liz had ever seen before. It actually seemed to only take a few scant seconds for him to sweep, mop, polish, and inspect the kitchen's pristine white floor though really he took over an hour. Liz felt even more exhausted just sitting and watching him work.
"I'll be in my room." She eventually muttered, taking her leave. Kid didn't hear her, nor pay her any attention as she left. Her reaction time was slow and she swore her sister was moving on fast forward.
Kid immediately began cleaning the floor again having found part of a black smudge that Patty probably made with her boots as she ran from the room. Kid finally finished after another hour of his obsessive cleaning, unfortunately he was still thinking about things that were Crona related. Thus began his binge cleaning where he cleaned and cleaned to try and distract himself from reality. It didn't work so well, besides Patty deliberately foiled his attempts to keep everything nice, neat, and more importantly symmetrical.
After fixing and cleaning everything at least two or three times in over four to five hours time he determined he was getting slow with the pace. He also determined that distracting himself from Crona was a fruitless effort. Liz and his father were the first to notice his distress. It was mostly obvious because he began having a breakdown of some sort and was repeatedly banging his head against a wall in his room.
They decided to intervene before he seriously hurt himself. However, Liz was too hung over to personally do something about it, so she sent his dad to handle him after he got home from work and commented on how nice everything looked supposing it would give his son a boost. Unfortunately Kid was out of earshot that day and was also moping about in his room, having finally stopping beating his head against his wall. And he'd only stopped that because Crona finally called. He spent over two or so hours on the phone with her. The conversation didn't end until she finally decided to go to bed at nine-thirty.
Meanwhile, Kid was still sitting up and trying to figure his life out. Everything was just a big mess as far as he was concerned but unlike tangible messes this one was too hard to just wipe or sweep up. Emotional confusion over a relationship was something he never had to really deal with beforehand and now it was being a real bitch.
"Hey, Kiddo," his dad greeted warmly, as he stepped into Kid's room after Liz had convinced him that he needed to have a talk with his son despite the fact he thought Kid was smart enough to figure things out for himself. "I just decided to step in and see how you're doing." A look of concern came over his pale face, "Liz says you've been hitting a wall. That really doesn't sound like you."
Bursting in is more like it, Kid thought but he was feeling too miserable to point it out. "I was told that you were needing to talk with me about something important."
"Don't you ever knock?" he grumbled. Laughing his father patted his head much to Kid's annoyance. He hated being treated like a child but made no effort to stop his father who immediately realized something was up, otherwise Kid would have put up a fuss of some sort over being treated like he were still a little kid.
"No, Dad, please I'm not needing anything." He lied. "I don't need to talk with anyone. I'm just…feeling…a little sick, I guess."
"Sick? That won't do. Tell me, just what do you have, exactly?"
"It's nothing, Dad. I mean it's not really worth talking about."
"Kiddo." He pressed, giving his son a stern scowl that made things clear that he wasn't going to budge from where he stood until Kid told him something.
"Oh, alright." Kid gave in. He didn't want to fight with his father. He just wasn't in the mood. "Well, I've been feeling sort of…dumb…lately. My stomach hurts, sometimes I feel dizzy, and I can't stop thinking about…something. I think I might hate myself and I've tried to forget about it…but I just…I can't."
"Really? And…is there…a girl involved?"
This surprised Kid who jumped a bit and gave his father a wary look. "How did you know?" he asked in a suspicious tone. He felt a bit sicker, wondering just how much his father knew about what was going on with him.
"I'm certain that every man gets this kind of 'sickness', as you call it, a few times in their lives, unless the first time was the right time. Anyway, I suppose that's why some people call it 'love sickness'."
"Love?" Kid yelped. He felt panicky at the very idea. "No, Dad, I am not in love, at least, not with this girl!"
"Denial is the clincher, Kiddo!" His father laughed, ruffling Kid's hair, ignoring how much more it unsettled the teen. "I have to admit I never thought you'd find someone due to your peculiar obsessions, but I suppose you've got a new one now, eh?"
Blushing Kid wanted to protest but found himself instead burying his face in his mattress as his dad gave him a reassuring pat on his back.
"Don't worry, Kiddo, you'll find the cure for this sure enough. Everyone does, I can assure you."
Laughing cheerily he left out of the room to assure Liz that everything was fine. Kid wished he'd died. Sharing that with his father was more painful than the migraine he about had beforehand. His father's joking actually did more to annoy, than to cheer him up. If this girl were a disease, he thought irritably, then I would never leave whatever hospital I was checked into. She'd probably be the death of me.
She might as well already have been. He felt very depressed. There was no way Liz and Patty wouldn't hear about it and his father was more than likely to tell others, just as Liz and Patty would gossip with some other people. He wasn't ashamed, at least not purposely. He just didn't want people to make false accusations.
And this was one big accusation. He wasn't immediately ruling it as false because he really wasn't sure if he felt that way about Crona. He liked her. As a friend and thought she was really cute, but he had no idea if that was what he personally felt or if it were just his damn hormones trying to get the better of him.
He felt his eyes tearing up. Why did he ever have to get involved with Crona? Why did he have to have a heart? Now everyone is going to start thinking I like…wait…some girl! He realized with a jolt of relief. He'd never mentioned a name to his dad so that meant nobody else would know which girl exactly because he knew a lot of girls. Oh thank you merciful God! He thought happily for about five seconds.
It was then that horror sank in.
There's no way Stein won't hear about this. Kid realized. The man worked for his father and he would know, or at least take a good guess at which girl was being referred to. Without warning and for reasons beyond him Kid suddenly imagined a big, blank black television screen that had the words GAME OVER flashing on and off in huge, bloody red letters.
"My life is over," he groaned.
Oh, this was painful to write. I'm not a master at writing emotional drama like this without making it twisted and confusing! But don't worry things are going to get better, or maybe not…depends on a combination of where this story goes and what reviewers think. I might just end up going straight ahead and do what I want despite what others think, but I'd really like some input. At any rate, I'll be back later with the next chapter! Promise it won't be so long. I know not everyone likes these sort of chapters, but I digress. Have a nice day and thanks for reading!
