Rhythm of Life
Chapter Twelve
"Damnit! Allen said as he struggled to get his arm into his shirt sleeve. The ace bandage, wrapped tightly around his elbow, didn't give him much room to bend it. He had left his bedroom door open and Cross walked by and saw Allen's arms tangled in his shirt now inside out.
"Here let me help you with that," Cross grumbled and Allen huffed sighing. Cross didn't seem to have any remorse about what happened after Kanda left from dropping him off last night.
Cross had been drinking again when Allen got home andKanda had stuck around to make sure Allen was going to be alright before leaving him alone with his guardian. They had been in Allen's bedroom when Kanda said good-night and left Allen gathering his school papers and books for the next day.
Of course, Cross had been standing right outside of Allen's door when Kanda had opened it knowing full well Cross had been eavesdropping. There was nothing they had said or did for the brute to be angry about, but little did Kanda know Allen's guardian had been seething over the incident that had happened on Saturday night.
Cross had been holding some sort of grudge against Allen for leaving and staying over at Tiedoll's house. He himself, in his drunken state last night, did regret grabbing Allen by the arm, swinging him around so forcefully he fell over backwards slamming his right elbow hard on the hardwood floor.
The amount of pain Allen was in Cross had been afraid he had cracked his elbow and yanked Allen out to his car, rushing him to the hospital. Luckily, it turned out not to be broken, but only bright red and swollen. The emergency room used an ice pack to help with the initial swelling then later wrapped it with an ace bandage. Before leaving the hospital to head back home the nurse brought in pain medication for Allen to take.
"Is it still painful?" Cross asked flatly as he finished helping Allen put his shirt on. "The doctor did say it should only be a few days before you would start feeling a lot better – if you keep icing it."
"Yes it still hurts, but not as bad as it did last night. I don't want to take any pain medication with having to go to school today. They make me too drowsy," Allen said, picking up his knap sack and slinging it over his left shoulder.
"I won't be home until late this evening, so don't bother with dinner for me tonight," Cross said curtly.
"Mr. Tiedoll is going to bring my painting to school, so I can show it to the teacher. He said he would store it until Friday night for me," Allen told Cross leery how he might respond.
Cross gave Allen a look he'd never seen before and didn't know what to make of it. "Just make sure to ice your arm when you get home," Cross said, turning to leave his room.
Allen's day at school was more than dealing with his classes. Student's had been asking all morning about his arm. Even the girls started hanging around him wanting to help him with his books. He thought he was going to die when one of the girls kissed him on the cheek after leaving some of his books off at his locker.
What was worse, the pain and aching in his elbow was starting to bother him more than he wanted to admit, but he really didn't want to miss Art class – his chance to see Kanda today. Lavi was hanging around his locker and saw the drawn look on his face.
"Nice move Allen to get some chick to kiss your cheek. You look like shit. Give up already, you need to go to the nurse's office and put some ice on that arm. I can see you're in pain. If it's Kanda you're worried about I'll tell him where you are," Lavi said, with a big grin.
"Uh, you don't have to tell Kanda. Anyway, why would he want to know where I am? He's not interest in me," Allen said, acting as if there was nothing between the two of them.
"Yeah right, what about the way he looked at you after he won the fencing competition on Saturday? And you, you couldn't take your eyes off him. So, you're saying there's nothing going on between the two of you, eh?" Lavi teased Allen, chuckling.
"Go on and get to the nurse's office," Lavi grinned, shooing him away. Allen said nothing. His face felt like it was bright red and turned quickly and walked to the nurse's office before Lavi could say anything else to embarrass him. 'How does Lavi always know what's going on? Am I that transparent?' Allen thought as he walked along holding his right arm.
Allen had never needed to go to the nurse's office before and he was unsure where it was. He should have asked Lavi, but he hadn't wanted to hang around with Lavi any longer then he had to. Some girls hanging around their lockers saw Allen looking confused or perhaps lost. One of the older girls walked over to Allen.
"Allen Walker, right?" she asked.
"Ah … yes," Allen said, nervous having an older girl talking to him that knew him, but he didn't know her.
"You look lost, Allen Walker. Could I help you find something?" she asked, raising one of her eyebrows.
"Well … yes, I need to go to the nurse's office, but I seemed to have lost my way," Allen said nervously, his cheeks blushing pink.
"Hey girls, I'll meet up with you in class. I'm going to walk Allen down to the nurse's office," she said, sweetly, winking her eye at her friends.
"That's quite alright. You can just tell me the way and I can find it on my own," Allen said, stammering over his words, feeling suddenly shy. He'd never had any of the older girls talk to him except Lenalee and she was his friend.
"Come on Allen, I'll walk you down. It's not too far from here and I'm heading for class in that direction anyway," she said, slipping her arm through Allen's left arm.
"Looks like you hit your arm pretty hard," she said as they strolled along. Allen was so tense he felt perspiration in his arm pits.
They reached the nurse's office and the girl walked him inside to the nurse sitting at her desk.
"Good morning, Ms. Freeman. I've brought Allen Walker down so he could see you. He wasn't sure where your office was," she said sweetly and let go of Allen's arm.
"I need to get to class, but it was a pleasure to finally met you, Allen Walker," she said, winking at him and scurried off as the bell rang for the next class to begin.
"What can I do for you, Allen?" the nurse asked, noticing Allen's pale face and the way he held his arm in discomfort.
"Well, I had an incident last night and the doctor's told me to keep it iced and wrapped. I thought I could wait until I got home from school today, but the pain and throbbing is becoming too much for me," Allen explained to the nurse.
The nurse came around the counter and carefully held Allen's arm as she gently pushed on the injured area.
"Ouch!" Allen said, startled as he tried to pull his arm out of her hands.
"Okay Allen, go into the other room and lay down on the bed. I'll bring in a Tylenol and an ice pack to help ease the throbbing," the nurse said, walking over to the medicine cabinet unlocking it.
Allen did as he was told. He felt stiff as he climbed on top of the bed and laid his aching body down on the firm mattress. Since the fall, not only did his elbow ache, but his whole body from the impact with the floor. The nurse came in with a glass of water and Tylenol for him to take. Even though she was gentle in unwrapping the bandage Allen still had pain pulsing in the elbow's area with any movement. Noticing Allen wincing in pain the nurse carefully wrapped the ice pack around it.
"I'm glad you came down to my office the swelling is bad enough you needed to ice it. The Tylenol should help with the pain and throbbing. I'll leave the ice pack on for twenty minutes then I'll be back," she said as she laid a blanket over him and left.
Allen hadn't seen Kanda all morning to tell him what had happened. It was too late last night to call him, plus the medication had already started making him sleepy. Allen was sure Lavi had blurted it to Kanda by now, but Allen was too tired to think about how Kanda might react to what happened and fell asleep.
A short time later, the smell of food wafted to Allen's nose just as his stomach growled. Opening his eyes he found Kanda standing next to the bed with a tray of food he sat down on the bedside table.
"I thought you might be hungry, Moyashi," Kanda's soft blue eyes gazed at him.
"Want to tell me what happened after I left last night?" he asked and pulled a chair closer to the bed.
Allen wasn't sure he could speak right then. Kanda's deep blue eyes gazing at him made his stomach flutter with butterflies. He seemed to lose himself whenever he looked into those incredible eyes of Kanda's.
The nurse came in, nodded to Kanda and propped Allen up with pillows to be more comfortable to eat. She removed the ice pack and said she would be back to wrap his arm, but Kanda told her not to bother that after Allen finished eating he would wrap it and help him get to his next class.
"Eat, Moyashi. You need your strength," Kanda said, quietly, leaning back in the chair not taking his eyes off Allen. Allen wondered what was going through Kanda's mind, but didn't dare ask.
After Allen finished his lunch Kanda pushed the table out of the way and brought his chair closer to the bed. He gently took Allen's arm into his warm hands and examined it. The swelling was going down. Kanda's warm hands encased his cold arm then lightly rubbed his thumb over the swollen area.
"Talk to me, Moyashi," Kanda said as he wrapped Allen's arm. Allen told him everything that had happened last night after he left.
He watched as Kanda's jaw tightened as if gritting his teeth and his soft blue eyes turned a dark steel blue. Kanda quickly turned away from him as if he didn't want Allen to see the anger in his eyes.
"Damn it! I never should have left you alone with him last night especially when I knew he was drunk," Kanda cursed, angry with himself for not foreseeing this happening.
"Kanda, you can't watch me all the time and it's really not that bad. You can see the swelling is going down," Allen said, trying to ease Kanda's frustration.
"Not that bad? He took you to the fucking hospital to make sure it wasn't broken! Why do you always want to make excuses for him? He's a cold-blooded bastard who could care less about your safety or health," Kanda said sharply, not meaning to speak so roughly to Allen.
"Look, I have to go to practice soon, but I don't like the idea of you being home alone with him tonight," Kanda grounded out. "I can't believe the bastard would hurt you after his performance on Saturday night. I could …"
"Kanda, he's not coming home until later and I'll probably already be in bed. I'll be fine, really," Allen said, trying to sound confident.
"You don't sound to convincing, Moyashi. I wish I could bring you home with me again, but it would probably make matters worse for you with him. Call me if you need anything and I mean anything," Kanda said, worry wrinkling his brow.
"I will Kanda. I'll see you tomorrow after school, right?" Allen asked, trying to take Kanda's mind off him and his safety.
"Of course, your arm, hopefully, will be better so you can practice with me," Kanda smirked. He knew what Allen was trying to do – ease his mind.
Kanda finished wrapping Allen's elbow and held his hands around it gently as if not wanting to let go. Kanda's eyes locked with Allen's silvery eyes as he too felt the electrical current flowing between them. Kanda leaned in towards Allen wanting to kiss him, but the nurse walked in interrupting him.
"Are you alright to go to your next class, Allen? I've dismissed you from music class today due to your arm," the nurse said, handing Allen signed paperwork for being excused from classes.
"Yes, I'll be fine," Allen said lightly with a smile.
Kanda walked Allen to his next class. Students were yelling and talking loud in the hallway where they needed to part ways. Girls walked by trying to get Kanda's attention, but his eyes were only on Allen and never strayed.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow, Kanda," he said, not wanting to see him go. He swore Kanda wanted to kiss him, but there were too many students milling around.
"No more girls kissing you, Moyashi," Kanda smirked, embarrassing Allen, but the glimmer in his eyes told him something different that made him blush.
'Che, what would he say if he knew about the older girl walking me to the nurse's office," Allen thought.
"Remember, call me if you need anything," he whispered down to Allen and turned to leave. Allen couldn't stop himself from watching Kanda sashay down the hallway with a little twitch to his ass. He sighed then turned and headed into his classroom.
Class seemed long to Allen for all he could think about was Kanda and the thought of kissing him. He could still see that glimmer in his eyes that sent fire rushing downwards. So much had happened between them this weekend and now they both couldn't deny their attraction for one another. Maybe Kanda was waiting for the perfect moment to kiss him. The clanging of the school bell brought Allen back from his daydreaming.
This was Allen's last class, so he called Tiedoll to let him know he'd be there soon for his painting. When Allen arrived at Kanda's house he was greeted by Tiedoll's warm welcoming smile. He had Allen's painting already in the car so, they were able to head directly back to the school to see his teacher.
"Ouch! Damnit," Allen muttered to himself as he tried to get the painting out of the back seat. He had hit his elbow on the front seat of the car and pain shot up his arm.
Tiedoll had noticed Allen's stiff arm and swore he heard him swear when he was getting his painting out of the back seat but said nothing. He figured if Allen wanted to tell him what had happened then he would. He didn't want to pry into Allen's affairs.
"This is the Art room," Allen said as he reached for the door handle and they both walked into the classroom.
Allen introduced Mr. Tiedoll to his teacher, but then wondered if Tiedoll already knew him since he was Kanda's teacher too. His teacher loved Tiedoll's paintings and owned a few of them. While the two chit chatted Allen placed his painting on the easel and uncovered it for the teacher to see.
"Allen, this is beautifully done. You've captured Kanda with such creativity. It's remarkable the blending of the paint creating texture and making Kanda look realistic," complimented his teacher. "You should be very proud of yourself. I never expected to see another fine piece of art done in my class."
"I'm sure you would like to know what your grade will be for such a lovely painting. Well, I can tell you what your grade will be, if you exhibit it at the Parents Teachers Night. This portrait is worthy of an A+. Of course, as you know, any student who won't display their painting is an automatic F. The F is because the whole project is about preparing the painting to be exhibited for that night," his teacher explained to make sure Allen understood.
"I guess I'll have to exhibit it to get my higher grade," he said smiling, then looked at Tiedoll smiling at him and there was a sparkle in his eyes showing he was proud of Allen.
"Okay Allen, why don't you bring your painting back on Friday night? There will be an easel with your name on it. Incidentally, your easel happens to be next to Kanda's," the teacher said, glancing over at Tiedoll.
When they had finished at the school Tiedoll dropped Allen off at his house. He waited in the car to make sure Allen was safely inside and he waved from the doorway as Tiedoll drove away. Allen watched Tiedoll drive down his street another car that was passing by slowed down as if it would turn into Allen's driveway. He had no idea whose car it was and with the blacked out window Allen couldn't see inside. He quickly shut the door and locked it wondering if that could have been Alma's car. But no it couldn't be, Alma didn't even know who he was let alone know where he lived.
Allen let the thoughts go and decided to make his dinner. He wanted to go to bed early tonight so he wouldn't have to see Cross when he came home. Hopefully, the pain medication would make sure he slept through the night.
His phone vibrated and he looked to see a text message from Kanda. A thrill shot through his body seeing Kanda's name on his phone.
"Just checking in to see if you made it home safely … Cross around?"
Kanda cared about him and he wanted him to rest assured that he was fine so he wouldn't worry all through his practice. He decided he wouldn't tell Kanda about the car passing by tonight, he'd tell him later.
"No, Cross isn't around, and yes, I'm home safe and have locked the door. I'm going to eat something then ice my elbow. I don't want to be up when Cross gets home, so I'll take my medication and be in bed. Will I see you tomorrow at school?"
"Of course, moron, I'll see you in Art Class, that is if you're not in the nurse's office. We'll walk to my house after school to practice – if you're still up to it."
"I'll be up to it. My elbow is feeling better – see you tomorrow!"
Allen re-read the message from Kanda over and over pinching himself to remind him this was really happening. Kanda … Yuu Kanda had been spending time with him, texting him and let's not forget he stayed overnight in his bedroom!
Every girl in the school was head over heels in love with him, even knowing he's gay, but then again, most every guy at school drooled over him too, but Kanda seemed to be hanging around with him – Allen Walker. Allen couldn't stop smiling to himself and feeling giddy.
It didn't take long for Allen to hop into bed as the medication started to kick in. He was excited about seeing Kanda tomorrow at school, but more excitingly, he would have his first fencing lesson with Yuu Kanda!
To be continued:
A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope all of you enjoy it. Love your reviews - thanks so much! Luv ya all!