Away From Home

Chapter Ten

By Andruindel

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"Amy-chan!"

For once I was up before someone came to fetch me. I had risen an hour ago, and showered. Now I was in my room, fixing my hair and looking at my reflection in the mirror. I looked alright, I guess. My hair was curly, rather than frizzy, and I was wearing the one skirt I'd bought, a denim one that reached my knees, and a green top.

I smiled once at my reflection before going to my door.

"Good morning, Matsuda!" I greeted Matsuda. I smiled, and hugged him. I was feeling random, impulsive, and hyper.

Apparently Matsuda was surprised by the hug. But he returned it none-the-less, smiling down at me.

"Good morning, Amy-chan." He replied. "Are you ready?"

I grinned. "Of course I am. I'm surprised he actually remembered." Shrugging, I started down the hall toward the work room. Matsuda followed me.

"Actually, I'm going to take you to the book store." He said. I looked up at him, surprised. He hurriedly went on. "It's good to see you and Ryuuzaki getting along, though." He said cheerfully.

I merely smiled to myself. It really was nice to be getting along with Ryuuzaki. Not being suspected of Kira was pure, unadulterated bliss. I was still getting used to the freedom.

Now that I thought about it, I liked spending time with L. He may have been intimidating, and weird, and way too smart for his own good, but he was fun to talk to. If only I could actually have a conversation with him without embarrassing myself. L wasn't like Matsuda. He wasn't easy to talk to. I was just going to have to figure out how to get him out of that shell.

"Ryuuzaki!" I skipped into the work room, looking around. L was sitting in front of the monitors. It was a Saturday, so of course he was watching Light. Chief Yagami was there, too.

L barely glanced at me. "Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm ready." I replied. I stood watching him, my hands clasped behind my back, and my head tilted to one side. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for. Perhaps a 'you look nice, Amy'? It was, after all, the first time I'd worn a skirt…

L waved one hand dismissively. "Have fun, you two." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "Ryuuzaki, we're just going to the book store." I said. I followed Matsuda out the door, sending a quick glance at L as I went. I couldn't help wondering why L wasn't going with me.

The two of us walked the short distance to the elevator. I skipped at every other step. Even the ride in the elevator, which under normal circumstances I hated, wasn't enough to rid me of my random, hyper mood. I could scarcely keep still. But I wasn't even sure why.

My eyes were everywhere as we rode the elevator down. Except on Matsuda. He seemed to notice how jittery I was, for he had fixed me with a calculating stare.

"You seem…" He hesitated searching for the right word.

"Hyper, spazzy, jittery, take your pick." I said obligingly. I finally looked at him, and smiled, lifting my shoulders slightly in a shrug.

Matsuda smiled widely at me. He was still looking at me, and I blushed lightly, looking away. I hated it when people looked at me like that.

"You seem hyper today, Amy-chan." Matsuda completed his sentence.

I shrugged. "That's because I am, Matsuda-san." I replied. "I dunno why, though." I was hoping that Matsuda wouldn't think I was weird. Most people thought I was weird anyway. But when I displayed my rare hyper side, that image was magnified by ten.

Matsuda grinned. "Why?" He asked.

I shrugged yet again. "I really don't know. I just am." It went quiet then.

Minutes later the elevator reached the ground floor, and the doors opened. Relieved to be out of the elevator, I skipped out after Matsuda. My eyes stayed on the back of his head as I followed him out of the hotel. I continued skipping with every other step, just enough that my walk had a slight spring to it.

We passed Aizawa on the way outside. He nodded to Matsuda, and then me. I smiled. Even Aizawa wasn't going to annoy me today. I was in a good mood, and determined to stay that way.

Matsuda and I didn't talk again until we reached the book store. That was actually when I discovered something awesome about Death Note land. Just like I could understand what they said, even though I was pretty sure they were speaking Japanese, I could read the books. I was enthralled.

The first thing I looked for was my favorite book ever. Actually, my three favorite books. I found them no problem.

Matsuda seemed to find my book choice interesting.

"You actually read these, Amy-chan?" He asked, carefully looking over a book I had just selected.

I was appalled. "Of course I do!" I cried. "Who doesn't love C.S. Lewis?!" I snatched the book back, pretending to be angry, but I really wasn't. I actually knew a lot of people who didn't enjoy reading my favorite author. They were just too stupid to understand, and actually get, what he wrote.

Matsuda shrugged apologetically. "I've never found the time to read any of his books." He said slowly. "But I've heard they're very deep, and profound."

"They are." I replied. "Lewis was a genius."

I could tell that Matsuda was going to say something, but that he changed his mind half-way there. I tilted my head to one side, but when he didn't go on, I shrugged, and turned back to the books. I had a good idea what he had been about to say, anyway. On more than one occasion the members of the task force had implied that I didn't think. Now he was surprised that I actually thought deeply enough to enjoy C.S. Lewis's work. I resented that, but I was too busy to let it bother me.

Besides, now that I had books, I could get all my deep thinking done in peace. I no longer had to sit around watching the task force work. And with the right material, maybe I could surprise L like I had with my question about Kira.

--

Later on, back at the hotel, I had claimed the entire couch as my own. Rather than sit on the window seat, like usual, I was lounging on one of the two couches. I had started in on one of the books I'd bought, one I had actually never read before. It was one of the three Lewis books I'd bought.

L was watching the monitor, watching Light.

It bothered me that we hadn't spoken for hours. Actually, we hadn't spoken since Matsuda and I had gotten back from the book store.

Minutes after our return, I ended up tackling Matsuda to the floor in a hug. Just randomly, because I was hyper. I regretted it, because I hated being impulsive. But Matsuda hadn't seemed to mind. So I just went along with it, and laughed with Matsuda.

But the others just glared at Matsuda.

"Quit messing around, Matsuda. We've got serious work to do." Chief Yagami scolded him.

"B-but.. She!" Matsuda stuttered, looking hopelessly from me to Chief Yagami. I put on my most innocent face, and looked toward the ceiling. With a sigh, Matsuda lowered his head. "Sorry." He said. He sounded totally dejected.

So, an hour later…

There I was, on the couch, reading, and listening to L as he muttered to himself. I couldn't hear what he was saying. That was really none of my business anyway.

Only when the door opened, and I glanced up, did I snap out of my book-reading mood. Watari had just entered with ice cream.

"Hi, Watari!" I cried. This had to be the most enthusiastic greeting I'd ever given him. And he knew that. But he hardly showed it.

L gave more of a reaction than Watari. He looked up, his blank expression dropping to one of slight amusement. But then it was hidden again.

I had hardly noticed any way. I was too distracted by the ice cream. I watched anxiously as Watari began scooping the ice cream onto a cone.

I was sure my bottom lip protruded just a bit when he handed the cone to L.

But almost as soon as my pout had come, it was gone.

"Would you like some ice cream, Amy-chan?" Watari asked.

"Yes please!" I cried.

Eagerly, I watched as Watari scooped more ice cream onto another cone. And then he handed it to me.

"Thank you," I said softly.

Seconds later I was attacking the ice cream. And it was amazing. Ice cream and books: Two of my favorite things. I glanced once at L as I settled back onto the couch. He was once again watching the monitor.

With a sigh, I turned back to my book.

"Is something wrong, Amy-chan?"

I looked up, confused. "Why would something be wrong?"

"You sighed."

"Oh…" I frowned, still confused. "Uh, no, nothing's wrong."

"Oh."

I gazed at L for a moment, unsure what exactly was going on. But he had noticed my sigh. And he had cared enough to ask if something was wrong. Pleased with that, I went back to my book, a smile hovering at the corner of my mouth.

--

Well... I don't really like this chapter. It seems like nothing important has happened in so long. . Hopefully I'll be able to fix that. Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! I'll update hopefully in about a week. Until then, farewell, my luvlies!