Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man
Chapter 10: Sanctuary
Mana hadn't mentioned the book to Allen once. He didn't say he suspected the boy of seeing the book, or ask him odd questions that could secretly be about the book. Instead, everything continued on as usual, and an unusual but exciting treat was coming up soon. Mana was going to take Allen to the zoo, all the way over in Vancouver. To say the least, the boy was excited.
Even now, two days before they were leaving, he was packing everything he could think of, since they would be gone for a week. It was good timing, since his school was having a long break right now, but Mana said even if it wasn't he would have taken them all out. Unfortunately, Cross was coming as well. Happily, Allen added in his favorite stuffed animal, before hesitating and pulling it back out.
"I want to cuddle with you until we leave." He declared aloud, smiling. The eight and a half year old boy felt happier than he had since the incident a few months ago, and he had a feeling that this was the reason they were going in the first place. Mana was the only person who knew exactly what he needed during tough times.
Since the hike, things had been different with Lavi. He didn't ask me questions about my past any more, and I avoided the questions at all cost if he let one slip. Lately, he had decided to come around during lunch, dragging Kanda along with him, and since Fou had gone back to her trio of friends in the back of the school Lenalee had taken to dragging me around again.
Things got more easy as time went on, slipping into a casual routine up until Saturday, when we would be forced to sit through the day with the Noahs, and instead of growing awkward and farther apart Lavi and I seemed to only be getting closer. Also, Halloween was fast approaching, and two weeks after the hike on Friday I found Lavi and Kanda arguing about it.
"Come on, please!" Lavi begged, as I turned the corner. Kanda just scoffed.
"Hell no, get out of my face." He snapped, shoving Lavi on the forehead. The redhead stumbled backwards, and Kanda walked past him, heading in my direction. I tried to smile at him in greeting, but he just glared at me.
"Yuu!" Lavi called desperately, beginning to run after him. When he saw me, he smiled, waving before pursuing Kanda again. "Come on, Allen wants you to, too!"
"What do I want again?" I asked, frowning.
"I'm trying to convince him to hold the Halloween party at his house," Lavi replied with a grin. "Want to help?"
"Not really." I said casually, shrugging. Lavi's expression dropped immediately into a pout.
"Please, please, please, please, please?!" He begged, going on his knees and bringing his hands up as if in prayer. I rolled my eyes.
"Nope." I said meekly, and then looked at Kanda, then back at Lavi. "Why don't you hold it, anyways?"
Lavi's face fell dark, and his hands dropped onto the floor. "Stupid old panda…demon, devil, cunning old geezer, pain in the ass, piece of-" I interrupted him there, sure I didn't want to hear the rest of the names he had in mind.
"Alright, so you're not aloud," I had long associated things like 'old geezer' and 'panda' as his authority figure, but I still had no real proof of this. "You can still just not have a party." Lavi gave me the most horrified expression he could probably muster, and I winced. "Or…you could…"
"You were kidding, right?" he demanded. I just shrugged. "How can I not hold the party! No one else is going to! Where are all the teenagers going to go on Halloween night if I don't hold this party?"
"Fine, then hold the party, but you don't have to force someone else to do it for you." I glanced at Kanda, who had long since stopped walking to listen to our conversation, and he scoffed.
"Stupid rabbit will probably just beg me again as soon as you're gone." He said, glaring at Lavi.
"Well, I tried." I said.
"Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!" Lavi snapped, standing up. "Yuu, you will hold that party!"
"Stop calling me that!" Kanda snapped.
"Then throw the party!"
"You'll still call me that even if I don't throw the party!"
"So what!" Lavi's voice was taking on a whine, while Kanda's was just plain cold. I winced the whole time.
"Would you two please stop arguing?" I jumped, searching for the owner of the voice until I found her, standing not too far away from Lavi. Lenalee smiled at me before giving the other two boys a motherly look. "Lavi, stop bugging him. Kanda, why don't you just hold the party so he'll stop whining, and you already know you were going to give in eventually anyways."
Kanda scoffed for somewhere around the third time since I had walked around the corner. "Whatever. Don't expect me to try and convince my parents, that's up to you. If anyone goes into my room I swear to god I will personally kill you, and then I will kill them." He said, and walked off. I watched him go, wondering why he had to make everything so much more dramatic than necessary.
"Great! So, Allen, make sure you're ready for tomorrow." Lavi said cheerily, back on his feet and wiping his jeans off.
"You mean for the club? Why bother?" I asked, but Lavi just laughed.
"There's no club activities tomorrow, or next week, and probably not the week after. Well, there is, but we're not going to be in the club room for any of them, and tomorrow everyone is off doing whatever I assigned them." Lavi explained, and I blinked. I still found it hard to believe that Lavi was like the ring leader for all of this, the one everyone listened to.
"So? Why are you telling me to be ready for tomorrow?" I asked, cautious now. He had something up his sleeve, I was sure.
"We're going shopping!" He jumped high in the hair, doing a victory-type pose, acting like some giddy school girl.
"Lavi…are you sure you're a male…?" I asked, backing away slowly. He glared at me.
"Don't be like that, Allen," the glare turned into a pout. "Of course I'm a male."
"You're not acting like one." I replied. Lavi gawked in horror.
"How can you say such horrible things all the time?" He cried out, covering his face dramatically.
"Who's saying horrible things?" A voice asked from behind me, and I sighed, turning around. How many people were showing up now?
"Oh, Ms. Lotto!" Lenalee called happily, and I blinked, staring at Miranda Lotto in surprise. She wore a long gothic black dress, her black-brown hair down today.
"Please, call me Miranda." The woman said, walking forward. "Is something wrong?"
"Everything's fine," Lavi said happily, slinging an arm over my shoulder. I was still baffled by how easily his mood could change sometimes. "You seem more comfortable with your job now."
"Yes, well…" Miranda smiled tentatively. "The children here have been very welcoming, and I've yet to be fired, so I feel a little bit more confident…" She must have been feeling a whole lot more calm, too. I still remembered the last time I had seen her, which had been the first, and how she had been so dramatic and apologetic, along with her partner or comrade or whoever, Alistair.
"Where's Mr. Krory today?" Lenalee asked, and Miranda waved a hand absently.
"Please, he prefers to just be called Krory, and he's currently still working. I think he may have said something about a poker game with a couple of the kids, as well…" Lavi and I exchanged a look at the same time, and I wondered what kind of a teacher would play a poker game with his students, and just how much the students would be getting out of him. From the look on Lavi's face, he was thinking the same thing.
"Maybe…you should go check on him?" Lenalee suggested, smiling. Lavi and I nodded, looking back at Miranda.
"The kids around here are really cunning." Lavi said. "They'll probably end up scraping every bit of money Krory has, and then humiliate him in some other way as well."
"Oh dear…" Miranda looked worried now, and without saying goodbye she turned and fled towards the nearest entrance, which was around the corner. As soon as she was gone, Lavi released his hold on my shoulders and turned to Lenalee.
"So, you know what you're doing tomorrow?" Lavi asked, and she nodded in the affirmative.
"Yup, just leave it to me." She said happily, and then looked at me. "Allen, don't be too scared." With that, she turned and began to walk off.
"W-wait! What does that mean?!" I cried out, trying to go after her, but Lavi already had me by the hood of my sweater.
"Leave her be, she's going off to her friends." Lavi said, dragging me back. "Which leaves just you and me."
"And…that's supposed to be a good thing?" I asked weakly, sighing and deciding to give up something that hadn't even been started (but would be). "So? What am I doing for you tomorrow?"
"Good question!" Lavi remarked loudly, stopping in his tracks. I skidded to a halt before I could smack into him. "The two of us are going to go shopping for Halloween costumes!"
"The…two of us…?" I asked slowly, staring at him in horror. "You mean…only for a couple of hours, right?" I asked hopefully.
"Nope. We'll be gone the whole day. In fact, we'll be driving to the next town so we can go to their mall, so be ready." Lavi said happily, obviously thinking this plan was perfectly fine. I groaned.
"Why do you have to drag me along?" I wined. Lavi blinked down at me.
"Don't you know? You're my new pet." He said, his grin turning mischievous. I glared, smacking his hand away.
"I'm not something that can be considered a pet," I snapped. "I'm a human being."
"Yes, but humans are animals too, aren't they? So therefore, since we take it upon ourselves to call 'lesser' animals our pets, why not call each other pets too? Surely if an animal were able to speak the way we do then we would be hearing them calling us pets as well." Lavi winked, probably trying to seem extremely smart and witty (which, if it were any other argument but this one, I would say it was fairly convincing).
"Yes, but since we're both equal and both the same species, I would say it would be just wrong to call me a pet. It's disgusting to hear human beings calling other human beings pets, and it's unfair and unjust. Things like that should have been demolished when the slave trade was demolished." I stated, glaring firmly at the redhead. He laughed.
"Allen, I think you're getting a little mixed up." He said. "Being called a pet is something completely different from being a slave. Besides, if you don't like it that much I'll stop. I was just copying Road, after all. If you had any sense of humor at all you would have caught on to that a long time ago." He gave me that Cheshire grin again. I suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Well…next time, just don't call me a pet," I muttered, looking away stubbornly. Lavi just laughed again, beginning to walk. Hesitating only briefly, I followed after him. Even in a situation like this, when I was left embarrassed because he once again won a petty argument, I couldn't help but follow him. It was like he had a leash around my neck, and I found myself wondering if it could be true that I was actually something of a pet towards him.
I contradicted myself. It was just that he was my friend, and I was drawn to him, and as such I couldn't help but follow him. It had nothing to do with him trying to control me, because he wasn't. I knew that if I had decided to turn the other way just now, he wouldn't have stopped me. I was left with completely free will, and I chose to follow him, because I couldn't seem to resist.
I was starting to get really agitated by this.
("…")
"Again?" I cringed when Master's voice rang through my ears, and I slowly turned towards him. "Where are you going this time?"
"To the next town to go Halloween shopping," I muttered.
"You sure have made friends fast." He said, leaning against the hallway wall.
"I'm not so sure I was the one who made friends," I muttered, slipping on my black jacket. "They were the ones who found me."
"Why would they want to do that?" Master asked, sounding genuinely surprised, though genuinely with him was more like a cruel monotone. I ignored the question, placing a hand on the doorknob.
"I'm going," I said, and opened the door. I wasn't surprised to find Lavi there, looking expectant. At least he didn't hit me in the face this time.
"Hey!" he said, raising his hand happily. I just grunted, shuffling past him. "He's not a morning person, is he?"
"I wouldn't say that's true, he gets up at least two hours before me every day," Master replied. I glared at the sidewalk, stopping midway through the yard.
"Lavi, can we go?" I called impatiently.
"See you later," Lavi said happily, and the sound of the door closing reached my ears. A moment later, and Lavi was by my side. "So, why're you so grumpy?"
"I don't want to go," I sighed. "It can't be helped, though. If I don't go you'll just torture me for weeks with your nagging." We reached the car, and I didn't bother waiting for Lavi to get in or invite me inside, I just opened the door and slipped into my seat. A moment later and Lavi was also in the car.
"So, you really don't want to go?" Lavi asked, turning the car on. This wasn't actually true, I did want to go, since I always seemed to have fun with Lavi, but at the same time every time I went somewhere with him something happened that was either embarrassing or terrible. I wasn't sure what would happen today, since I would actually be alone with just Lavi, and it had made me restless all night. I hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep.
"Just go," I muttered. There was a long pause.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to." I looked up in surprise. "I just thought it would be fun, and lately…well, in the end, you're the only one I feel like being around," Lavi smiled at me sheepishly, and I stared at him blankly. Why had people been saying that lately? I wasn't special, I didn't even show enthusiasm half the time, yet they all wanted me to be around. Why?
"Lavi, can I ask you something?"
"Well, you just did, but sure." I rolled my eyes, but continued on anyways.
"Can we stay in town, please?" I asked. He seemed surprised, but slowly nodded.
"Yeah, sure." He said. He didn't ask me why, he just drove. I wasn't so sure why anyways, but last night I hadn't had a nightmare. The reason for this was because I hadn't fallen asleep, but I was still worried. It was like that nightmare was my constant reminder of life, of what happened to people every day, of reality, and not having it was like not seeing reality. These days with Lavi, with everyone, had been so dream-like that lately my only reality had been my dreams. I didn't want to lose sight of my reality, because otherwise I would soon forget that I could be hurt again, that these people could disappear on me. I would begin to get a false sense of security.
Lavi ended up stopping in front of a store I had never been to, on the complete opposite side of the town I had explored almost a month ago. It looked almost creepy, like there was something sinister inside, but seeing Lavi's happy expression made me relax. "What is this?" I asked, beginning to take off my seat belt.
"A place that specializes in Halloween, I guess you could say. It's not very well known, since it's in a more homey area, and I'm one of few regular customers." He was right. Everywhere around here were houses. This place could have just been a normal house if not for the 'Open' sign hanging on the door. "The people in the neighborhood come here for their costumes sometimes, but most of them are too scared to go in."
"So why are we going in?" I mumbled under my breath, opening the car door.
"Because this place is the best." Lavi replied, and I tensed. I hadn't realized he had heard me. I didn't move until I heard his car door shut. Lavi appeared by my side just as I was closing the door. "I mean, I would've just gone shopping here for everyone's costumes but since you were coming with me I decided we could go on a little road trip instead. Then you said you wanted to stay in town, so I decided to stick with my usual plan. I've been coming here for the past five years, by the way."
"Lavi, why did you just say everyone's costumes?" I asked slowly. Lavi blinked at me, looking surprised.
"I pick out their costumes for them," he said. "If they don't like it then they have to suck it up." He grinned maliciously, and I swallowed. "The same goes for you. If not, then I'm going to make you eat some stuff you never even knew existed, and trust me, it won't be pretty." Of course, I loved food, but generally only food that wasn't rotten or pickled for a hundred years, which seemed to be what Lavi had in mind from the glint in his eyes.
"Pleasant." Was all I said, inching away from him and closer to the store. Lavi chuckled, following closely. He was the one who ended up opening the door, waiting for me to get inside before following. I was actually sort of surprised that the store looked relatively normal, with bright beige walls and fluorescent lights, a set of stairs leading up to the second floor of what had probably used to be a normal house. It looked like all the walls had been knocked down on the first floor except for one room that stood in the far left corner, padlocked and hidden behind the many racks of clothing. A great deal of displays were all along the walls and in the windows, of many different designs and ideas.
"Hello, Lavi." I jumped, looking to the right, where I hadn't noticed a desk with a till. An old lady sat behind it, her face hidden by a curtain of gray hair. I could see her teeth just barely, though. They were crooked and yellow, and I was reminded of a witch. She even wore a long black robe. I shivered.
"Good day, Annabelle?" Lavi asked, waving in the direction of the old lady as he headed towards a random rack.
"The usual. Business will be picking up in a few days, I imagine." She replied. Her voice was crackly, and a little high pitched. She sounded like she was having a hard time saying the words that were coming out of her mouth. "You've always been my best customer, of course. Who's this young lad you've brought along this time?"
"His name's Allen. He's a good kid." I was surprised how soft Lavi's voice was as he talked to the old lady. "He's been living here for six years, but we never really started talking until about a month ago."
"Really now? This is the first time you've ever brought anyone with you to shop. You've always been alone, never even talked about friends even though you bought at least six costumes every year." The old woman continued, and I turned to look at Lavi. I was the first person he had ever brought here? Not even Kanda?
"Yeah, well, Allen's different." I stared at Lavi for a long time, wondering what on earth he meant, when he suddenly turned on me. "What do you think?" he asked, showing me a long black robe. It had purple embroidery, with gray flame patterns along the sleeves and the bottom, looking almost real.
"What is it?" I asked, confused. A wizard?
"Not sure. Maybe something for a shaman or something." Lavi shrugged, putting the costume into the fold of his arm. "Annabelle, what do you think would go with it?"
"Don't be shy, dear. Go and help him look." I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt the old, shaking hand on my shoulder, and turned to look at the old woman. She had made it all the way behind me from the desk in the time that I had been watching Lavi. "A good pair of traditional black Japanese clothing would do well, I suppose." She added, and Lavi just nodded.
"Over in that rack, right?" He asked, pointing to a rack in a far off corner by the single room.
"Yes, of course." Her attention turned back to me. I hadn't moved since her hand had gone on my shoulder. "What do you think you would like to be for Halloween, dear?"
"U-uh…" I stuttered. My heart was beating against my chest, and I was afraid she would hear it.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Lavi called over his shoulder. "I'll have something picked out for him in no time. For now, come and help me choose a costume for Lenalee, Allen." I just nodded, the old woman's hand dropping. I quickly went to where Lavi was, swallowing nervously. "What do you think?" he pulled off a red and white cheerleader outfit, and I stared at Lavi blankly.
"You're kidding, right?" I asked, and Lavi laughed.
"Sort of, not really," he said. "I think she would look cute. I made her a bumblebee last year and she said if I do something like that again this year she's going to kick me into the ground. She has some pretty fierce kicks." I couldn't really imagine Lenalee being angry, but remembering some of the times that she had gotten close to it I realized I never really wanted to see her angry in the first place.
"Well then, don't put her in a mini skirt and make her some kind of display for other guys," I replied. I was already calming down from the old lady appearing. "What about…" I looked around, and saw a display off to the side. "A princess dress?" I asked, staring at the display in surprise. It really looked like it was a one of a kind dress, and even though the lights were dull the sparkles still sent little rainbows all over the dress.
"Wow, Allen. I never realized you had those kinds of fantasies." Lavi laughed, patting me on the shoulder, and I blushed.
"I just saw it and got surprised, so it sort of just rushed out of my mouth," I muttered.
"Sure, sure." Lavi agreed heartily, patting me on the shoulder again as he began to walk to the next rack, leaving the cheerleading outfit behind. I trailed after him, staring at him. He seemed relaxed, at home. His face was soft, and it seemed like the small smile there wouldn't go away. He was happy here.
I watched him as he looked through the costumes, his face brightening especially when he grabbed certain costumes, and I would give him my half-hearted opinions. I never actually looked at the costumes, I paid more attention to his expressions. Even if he found a costume he didn't like, he would still just smile.
"Allen, don't tell me you've fallen for me?" I blinked in surprise, my face reddening with the sudden question. It had been at least ten minutes since I had pointed out the princess dress, and we were now on our fifth rack.
"W-what makes you say that?" I asked, looking away from him stubbornly. "Of course not."
"Aw, don't be embarrassed. I was watching you stare at me that whole time. You were so entranced by me that you didn't even notice when I pointed out a dress for Yuu." Lavi chimed, and I could feel my face getting even more red.
"D-don't be ridiculous. Why would I ever like a guy?" I muttered, glaring at the side of an unknown costume. Lavi just laughed.
"I don't mind. I mean, I am open minded." This surprised me, and I looked up. Even though his face was smiling, I didn't see any sign of a joke in his eyes. He was telling the truth.
"You are?" I asked. He just shrugged.
"Yeah, I don't see the point in saying straight or gay or bisexual. I mean, no one really knows, do they? If you're in love, you're in love. Doesn't matter what the gender is. Or at least, that's what I think." He gave me another grin, and I just nodded silently, the blush fading from my cheeks. It did make sense, after all. Although, him suddenly telling me the fact still had me a little surprised.
"What are you going to be for Halloween?" I asked, in an attempt to change the subject.
"Not sure yet. I usually spend at least two hours in this store looking through costumes and trying them all on in the dressing rooms upstairs, until I find the one that I can't ignore and have to get." Lavi said, not saying anything about the change in subject. I was glad. "It'll be fun picking out your costume. I'm still not really sure what to look for, though. I mean, you seem a little too innocent for anything really fun, and I don't feel like getting you some lame ass thing like a vampire costume or something."
"Innocent?" I asked, blinking in surprise. He thought I was innocent? "Innocent…innocent…Hehe…" I smiled coyly as I played with the word. "Say, Lavi, do you want to play a game of poker?"
"Uh…Allen, we're in the middle of a costume shop." Lavi pointed out. I looked up at him.
"Are you afraid?" I asked, crossing my arms. He was staring at me like I was some kind of alien.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I stepped closer to him, and he took a step back. "Allen, what'd I say?"
"Is anyone really innocent?" I asked. The mood had changed in a mere second, just from one little word that had my head spiraling with thoughts. "Is anyone really free of sin?"
"Allen, I think you need to calm down." Lavi continued, but I wasn't listening. I was thinking of all the times Master had made me gamble for him, or buy him his alcohol despite being under aged, or go and work for him when he had a debt to pay. Although these were not my sins, it had taught me how to win in any gambling situation and had taken away anything innocent left in me. My real sins, the ones that had truly corrupted me, were things that I could not think of without breaking down.
"I doubt you're very innocent, are you?" I asked. My question made Lavi's expression fall. The happiness was gone in an instant. A part of me cried out to stop, but I couldn't. That single word had made me go off. "I bet you've done plenty of things to others-"
"That's enough!" I jumped, so surprised that I even fell into the rack next to me, knocking a few of the clothes off in the process. I hadn't even noticed the clerk creeping closer. "You, young boy, need to take a time out." The words made me wonder if she thought I was five.
"Don't worry about it, Annabelle." Lavi's voice was softer than before, just barely a whisper, and his hand came into my vision. I looked up at him, and his face was composed. There was no smile this time. Had I done it this time? Had I offended him? A part of me wanted it, so that he would stop paying attention to me and I could go back to my old life of not caring, but I knew that I wanted things to continue. I had gone too far to go back now. I would fall apart.
"He needs to watch his mouth. He doesn't know a thing about you, this boy," Annabelle chided, and she swept her hair away from her face. Two milky white eyes were staring down at me, and a cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. A single picture flitted through my head as I stared into those eyes, and I quickly shut my eyes.
"And I don't know a thing about him," Lavi said. "It was my fault." Although his voice seemed almost dangerous with how soft it was, it was these words that reassured me that he would not be angry with me.
"You have too much to deal with to be dealing with a selfish boy like him, all the same." There was a long, tense silence, and when I opened my eyes again Lavi's hand was gone and the woman's eyes were once again covered by her hair.
"It's all right. He's not really selfish." Lavi said, and he looked down at me. "He's just guarded." I snapped my teeth together as I gained control over my mind again. Lavi held out his hand for me again, and I took it this time. As he helped me up, I made sure I had complete control over my temper.
"I'm sorry," I muttered, but not to Lavi. I would apologize to him later, when I understood the feelings that were running through me right now. His words were echoing in my head, and my stomach was twisting in knots. I wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it was a lot like being scared or nervous. Instead, I was turned towards the old lady, bowing my head. She was only a few inches shorter than me, which definitely said something about my height, considering it seemed she had a slightly hunched back. "It was rude of me to start something in your store, and I promise I won't do such a thing again. If I offended you in any way, please let me know."
There was a very long silence, and when I took the chance to look at the lady her crooked teeth were showing in a smile. "Apology accepted, young one. Although, I'm not so sure I'm the one you should be apologizing to." I wasn't sure how, but I had a feeling her eyes had moved from me to Lavi. I stood completely straight, turning to face Lavi, who looked back at me with the same blank, polite expression I knew I had on my face. Just from seeing it, I knew he would be patient and wait. I was thankful.
"So, think of a costume yet?" I asked, smiling. He smiled right back.
"Nope. Got a little distracted." He said. I laughed.
Half an hour later, Lavi's arms were full with costumes, and I was getting well on my way to full arms as well. We had spent the time in silence or talking about random things. Currently, we were discussing our previous Saturday at the club. "I still haven't brought the TV in for repair. Yuu really cracked the screen."
Last Saturday, Kanda had decided to take it upon himself to get unnecessarily angry, and had ended up smashing the wall in an attempt to attack me. All I had done was say he should sit next to Lenalee since she had a full couch to herself and Lavi had once again forced me to sit with him in the middle, where Kanda refused to sit, and the other couches had been completely taken up by the others. As a result, since I had jumped up and ran around trying to avoid him, he had run smack into the wall hard enough to make the TV fall off, cracking the screen and probably damaging some of the insides too.
Kanda and I had not gotten any closer since our encounter in the washroom two weeks ago, and he had yet to tell anyone of my arm, but I still tried to keep on his good side as much as possible in case he did. I had gotten a little worried on Saturday when he had gotten so angry, but it seemed he was more honorable than I had expected.
Talking about the TV brought on a different question, though. "Hey, Lavi? Why do we even have a fifty inch plasma for a school club?" I asked. Lavi laughed.
"Been wondering about that for a while, huh?" He asked. "It's not school property, so the other students can't really complain. The truth is, I brought it myself for some entertainment in a boring life."
"Isn't that sort of…drastic?" I asked, but Lavi just shrugged.
"Not really. I have plenty of them at the house." I stared at him blankly for a moment before giving a heavy sigh.
"I guess you forgot not everyone is extremely rich." I muttered, looking back at the current rack we were exploring.
"Well, no, I never forget. Most of the money I use is for activities for the club, I'll admit that, but our entire company puts tons of money into charity and supporting elder people and giving homeless people homes." Lavi said, shifting the things in his arms. I didn't say anything, and when it became clear that I wouldn't at all, Lavi changed the subject. "Want to start trying these things on? My arms are getting a little tired."
"Yeah, sure." I said quietly. "So are mine."
"Alright, so, everything on this arm is for you." Lavi said cheerily, gesturing to his right arm. "On the left is for me."
"You were able to keep that organized?" I asked.
"Yeah. You have all the other costumes for everyone else. I made sure to keep ours with me, because otherwise you would probably disorganize them completely." He explained shortly, and I glared at him, though he did have a point. He lead me to the stairs, and without even glancing at the shop keeper he headed up them. Hesitantly, I followed after him.
"Are you sure we're aloud up…here…?" my words drifted off when I saw the upper level. I had thought that this would be where the old woman lived, but I was wrong. Just like downstairs, all the walls were taken down, but unlike downstairs there was no extra room, and there was a whole wall taken up by dressing stalls, and directly across from it a mirror wall that you would see in dance studios. Directly across from the stairs was a wall with tons of shelves, all covered in wigs and other accessories, anything you could think of for necessary costumes needs. I was pretty sure I even saw a sword that looked suspiciously real. The entire floor was empty save for these things, with hardwood flooring.
"Yeah, sure. The old lady doesn't mind, after all, how else are we supposed to know which one we want?" Lavi asked, heading towards a dressing stall. He went inside, but didn't close the door. Instead he put down the contents of his right arm. He then went into the next stall, this time closing the door. I got the idea that I was supposed to go into the stall he had put the other costumes in.
Before I did, though, I headed towards the accessory shelves. On the lowest shelf, a great deal of necklaces laid on display, each one not looking like the normal plastic accessory that would come with a costume. I picked up one that looked like the Evening Star, from Lord of the Rings, and found that it was indeed not plastic or the usual dollar store metal, but was real crystal, the chain real silver.
"Lavi, are you sure these are just for costumes?" I asked absently, stroking the star.
"Yeah. Annabelle collects these really old items from all over the place and sells them here with her costumes, knowing they probably wouldn't get all that much use otherwise. She also looks around in catalogues and stuff to find Collector's Items on all the hot new fantasy stuff and buys them all, after making sure she has everything for the actual clothing of the character the accessory comes from. She's really good with her job, and it's really a pity not many people know about her. Of course, she says she doesn't want to be known about. She likes her quiet little business in her quiet little town." Lavi's voice was muffled, and every now and then became strained from putting something on, but I could hear the compassion there.
"You really like her, huh?" I asked, putting the necklace back down. There was a long pause, a bit of scuffling, and then the stall he was in opened. Lavi came out looking almost exactly like a police officer. I stifled a laugh.
"What do you think?" Lavi asked, doing a comical pose as if he were holding a gun. I turned around, doing a quick scan on the wall until I found what I was looking for. Standing on my tip-toes, I grabbed the item and threw it at him. He caught it neatly, only vaguely surprising me (I had grown used to Lavi being good at things), and grinned. Now, he had a police baton to go with it.
"Very nice," I claimed. I applauded lightly to add to the effect, and he did a twirl. Instead of coming all the way around, he just went back into the stall and closed it.
"I don't think I like this one. It's too similar to my costume from when I was ten." He said from behind the door, and I raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, to answer your question, yes, I do like Annabelle. She knows a lot of stories about a lot of things. She's seen lots of stuff that you and I will never get to see our whole lives, and I love talking with her."
"How often do you come here?" I asked, turning back to the necklace shelf. Something had caught my eye.
"Once a year." Lavi said. "I told you, didn't I? I usually spend hours here picking out costumes. How do you think I was able to cope if I didn't have someone to talk to?"
"She seems to know a lot about you," I muttered. I was thinking of when she had been scolding me and had said that Lavi had too much to deal with to have to deal with a person like me. "Why's that?"
"Well, she's not the only one who talks." Lavi pointed out dully. I rolled my eyes. "I mean, because she's so old she doesn't really have a lot of breath to spare, so she has to take a break sometimes. I generally take over from there. Plus, she's good friends with the panda, so even though I only see her once a year, Panda Bear sees her all the time."
"Who is this Panda?" I asked, although different questions were nagging me. Why hadn't she known about his friends? What did he talk about, then, if not them? What was going on in his life that would cause her to get so angry?
"My grandpa. I live with him." I picked up the item that had caught my attention, and bit my lip. It was forty dollars. I didn't even have five.
"Really? You don't seem to like him much." I said, staring at the item in wonder. The sound of a door swinging open caught my attention and, with the necklace still in my hands, I turned. Lavi was now dressed as a Ringleader for a circus, wearing an extremely long top hat. I grinned. "Nice."
"Thanks. I like it." Lavi replied as he looked in the mirrors across from him. "As for the Panda, it's sort of a love-hate relationship. I owe the old man a lot, all things considered, but man is he ever strict! See, technically he adopted me. My parents died when I was a toddler, and he took me in. We're not actually related in any other way than the fact that he's good friends with the Noahs, which is where my parents are both descended from. Honestly, I don't know if I should be sad or glad that they died, because if they had survived I would have been raised in a completely different manner.
"Anyways, after the Panda took me in he started to distance himself from the Noahs. I don't know if it was for my sake or if it was for a completely different reason, but it made him more of a pole than he already is. He started getting me ready to take over for him, and until last year I didn't have a speck of free time because he was so rigid with his training. Now, my new training is communicating with others, so we started up that club.
"The whole thing was actually the Panda's idea, and he even set it up with the school and everything. He probably knew I wouldn't do it on my own." Lavi took a deep breath, and looked at me. "Which is where you come in."
"Me?" I asked, a little surprised to be mentioned. I had been listening so intently to his explanation of the past (though I could tell it was an extremely vague outline that had a great deal of things missing from it) that I had completely forgotten where we were, and that I was even a part of this conversation.
"Yeah. Well, technically, it's where everyone in the club comes in. You like that thing, huh?" Lavi gestured to the necklace in my hands, which I had also forgotten about, and I blushed. Quickly, I turned around and put the necklace back.
"I was just looking," I muttered. Lavi's footsteps sounded, but he wasn't heading for the stall again. He came beside me, peering down curiously at the shelf with the necklaces.
"It's a nice one," he said. "Definitely suits you, too. How much is it?"
"Forty dollars." I muttered. "I don't have that money, so there's no point in thinking about it."
"You could always-"
"There's nothing I can do about it. If I were to get a job, any money I had would go to the house and supporting Master. I would never have forty bucks to spare." I said shortly, cutting him off. "I'll go and try on some costumes."
"Alright…" Lavi said, and I walked off towards the stall he had put my costumes in. His footsteps followed soon after, though he seemed to have paused before following me.
("…")
Well, that just about does it." Lavi said cheerily, putting the last discarded costume onto its proper rack. "We have all the costumes we need, and it's already almost three. Want to go out for lunch?"
"No, it's all good." I said, smiling. "I don't have any money."
"I do, though." Lavi replied pointedly. "I don't mind paying for you. My treat."
"Well…" I bit my lip, thinking it over carefully, before realizing I may as well take advantage of the opportunity. After all, he had plenty money to spare, didn't he? "Alright."
"It's settled, then! Here, Annabelle." Lavi placed the costumes we were purchasing onto the counter, which we had just reached. He turned to me, taking my attention away from the counter as Annabelle began to add up the prices, lacking a scanner. "So, what do you want?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.
"Chinese, Greek, Italian, Western…what kind of food do you want?" Lavi asked.
"Uh…Chinese sounds good." I shrugged deftly. After all, it had been a while since I had had Chinese food. Thinking of the buffet almost made me drool.
"Great, Chinese it is. I know where there's a good one in town, too." Lavi said cheerily, clapping his hands together.
"$184.32," Annabelle suddenly said, and I jumped. That much?
"Alright," Lavi said, as if he weren't paying almost two-hundred dollars for costumes that would only be used once. He pulled out two hundred dollar bills, and handed them to Annabelle. "Keep the change."
"Of course, Lavi. Take care this year." She said, taking both bills and putting them in a drawer in the desk. "Oh yes, Lavi dear? Could you go and grab me a black sash from upstairs? I'm afraid I'm getting the chills, and I forgot to bring along a jacket." I was a little surprised she was so easily able to ask Lavi to do something for her, but he was gone in an instant. Annabelle began to pack away the costumes in bags carefully. "Young boy, I do hope you don't hurt him."
"Pardon?" I asked, shocked. I stared down at the old lady, and she placed her hands neatly on top of the bag she was currently filling.
"I mean to say that he has put much trust in you. Never before has Lavi even spoken of friends, not even that boy Kanda. For him to have brought you here, and to have stood up for you like that, it means that you are special. He doesn't confide in people much, and I am one of two people he has ever done such a thing with. As an old lady, I will not always be there for him, and as such he needs someone other than a cold boy who cannot express his feelings properly. I believe that you may be the one who can save Lavi." I stared at her blankly, wondering what she meant by saving, while trying to understand what she was saying about me.
"Are you saying…I'm like a guardian angel or something?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. The old lady smiled.
"I suppose you could say such a thing, but just by looking at your eye I can tell that you have much on your own shoulders. I would guess that the two of you will support each other." She said no more, as Lavi came down the stairs, and proceeded in putting the costumes into bags.
"So, we all ready?" Lavi asked as he handed the old lady a long black cloak. "Sorry I couldn't find a sash. Besides, that should keep you warmer."
"Thank you dear. Here you are, and be off with you. I can hear your stomachs moaning." She shooed us off, handing us our bags, and we waved goodbye.
("…")
"Allen, you really do eat a lot." Lavi said, watching me as I shoved another egg roll into my mouth. I was on my third plate of food from the buffet, and I was half finished it.
"I'm hungry," I said over the food. Lavi just winced, wiping off a piece of food from his cheek, which had flown from my mouth. I blushed, closing my mouth securely.
"Well, eat up, I guess." He said, putting another piece of pork into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. After swallowing, he looked at me again, though I was busy shoving more of the greasy fried food into my mouth. "You know, Annabelle was pretty interested in you." I gagged, food flying out of my mouth and onto the half-eaten plate. Coughing, tears beginning to come out of my eyes from it, I looked up at him.
"What makes you say that?" I gasped.
"Well, she kept on looking at you." Lavi replied. How was he able to tell when she had all that hair there? "Plus, I know she sent me upstairs to talk to you. What'd she say?" I gagged again.
"Lavi, has anyone ever told you you're too perceiving?"
("…")
I sighed, thankful the day was over. Without taking anything off, I flopped onto my bed. Lavi had just dropped me off, after a very long two hours of trying to pry out of me what Annabelle had said, and I had gone straight upstairs. Master didn't even have a chance to ask me where I was all day, and what I had been doing.
I was closing my eyes when the door slammed open, and I sat up with a start. Master stood there, his cheeks red and a wine bottle in one hand. "When did you get back?"
"You came in here without knowing I was here?" I asked, and he grunted. "I got back a couple of minutes ago."
"Well, there's something on the doorway…porch…thing…" He paused. "That thing. Open the door. Anyways, it's for you, cause I don't think a stupid costume like that would be for me."
"Costume?" I asked, and looked around my room. I smacked my forehead. I had forgotten to grab my costume (though admittedly it was a little embarrassing). Lavi had probably left it on the door, though I wasn't sure why he hadn't just come inside and given it to me. getting up, I walked past Master (who was now leaning against the wall looking ready to pass out) and headed down the stairs.
Master had left the door wide open, not even bringing the bag inside. Rolling my eyes and sighing at his idiocy, I picked the bag up and closed the door. I was just going to bring it upstairs and throw it in my closet until Halloween, but something jingled inside. I paused. My costume wasn't supposed to make that sound. Cautiously, I dug around inside until my fingers caught a fine chain, and I pulled out a silver chained necklace with a silver crescent moon and a golden sun together, like night and day.
It was the necklace I had found in the store.
End Chapter
Happy tenth chapter!
I didn't know how to end this one, so I just ended it with Allen getting the necklace he had found in the store. As for the brief scene in the restaurant, it was just…sort of…there. Yeah. Anyways, we're getting closer to the Halloween party. It's next chapter, so this is the last chance to give suggestions for costumes. I purposefully didn't say anything about their costumes just in case someone gave me a better idea than what I have (which actually is no idea at the moment).
This chapter was sort of difficult to write, because a lot has been going on lately, so I hope it's not disappointing or anything. Review please!