Author's Note: Hello lovelies! I'm back with another chapter and thank you for the delicious reviews :) I loved dem! ^-^ I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Lemme know :3 and if there's any mistakes, I'm sorry! *bows* But anyway, enjoy! Toodles~
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"So you won't be in school tomorrow?" Lavi asked through the receiver of the phone. "Why? I'll miss you." He whined, making Allen roll his eyes on the other end.
"I'll be in school the next day, Lavi. I just have some things to do out of town that Cross demanded we do. I think he's actually trying to be some sort of 'parent' now and it's weird." Allen stretches out his limbs as they sprawl out across the bed. Tim was resting on his stomach and Allen had no choice but to lay like this for awhile.
"But isn't that a good thing? I mean, yeah...he walked out for a few several weeks—"
"—a month and a half."
"Yeah, okay...but he came back! He could have left forever, but he chose to come back to be a responsible, or whatever, guardian...he's trying at least, you got to give him credit for that."
Allen frowns. "You seem to take a liking to my drunken, twat of a guardian. What did you two talk about when I left?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing much, he was just wondering how you were doing in school and shit like that. He also said, and I quote: 'I wouldn't even mind if you were this kid's fuck buddy. You seem more likeable than the little prick in the vehicle' referring to Kanda who was in the vehicle."
"I know who was in the vehicle!" Allen yelled, his face turning red. "Ugh...I hate him. I know with a great deal of certainty that he will be the death of me. I'll develop stress, get a heart attack and die."
"Ah, you're just being melodramatic, Al baby." He chuckled. "So, since you're leaving in the morning and I probably won't see you for like...24 hours...you want to do something tonight?"
Allen hummed thoughtfully. "I'd have to ask Cross first." He sighed. "I miss having my independence. Now I have to ask to go hang out with my friends..."
"Cheer up buddy! If you say that you're going to hang out with me, I'm sure it'll be fine. After all, he likes me...otherwise he wouldn't have said such nice things."
"Nice my arse!" Allen spoke up and rubbed at his head. "I'll text you and let you know, alright?"
"No probs! Bye baby!" He hung up.
Allen was finding it disturbing that being called 'baby' wasn't bothering him as much as it used to, in fact he was beginning to get used to it...and that's what bothered him. Of course, Lavi could get away with it, but when it came to Mikk...he loathed the entire word.
The teen rubbed at the kitten's chin, stirring him from his sleep. "Come on...I got to go." He smiled and scooped the kitten in his hands, and felt a paw slide out from his hand. "You are getting bigger aren't you? You usually fit so perfectly in my hands."
He placed the kitten on his pillow and stroked it's fur before leaving the room, searching for his guardian.
"Cross? Can I go hang out with my friends?" He asks as he walks into the living room and seen the man laying on the couch, his leg hanging at the side which showed how small the couch was for him. He sees the man grunt and look at him with a scrutinizing stare.
"That's fucking weird to here you say." He furrowed his eyebrows.
"What is?"
"The fact that you have friends...it's weird."
Allen felt his eyebrow twitch. "Anyway!" He continued. "Can I go?"
"Who are these friends?" Cross asked as he switched through channels, finding an interest in a women's volleyball game.
Allen glances at the T.V and rolls his eyes. Of course. "Lenalee, Kanda and Lavi."
Eyebrows knit together as Cross tries to recall that name. "Lavi...is he the Jewish, one-eyed fellow with crazy hair?"
"That'd be the one." Huh, was Lavi actually right? Did Cross actually tolerate another teen besides him? Well...He could barely tolerate Allen as it is, but to take a liking to one of his friends? Impossible!
"Hmph...and Kanda. That's the little asshole yelling from his shitty car right?" A look of total resentment crosses the older man's face. "The Jew and the Lee girl I don't mind. But I really don't like you hanging around with that punk."
Allen blinks. "Wait...You know Lenalee's last name?"
"I know her brother."
Jesus Christ! When? How? How did Cross know all these people!?
"You can go...but be back before 11 o'clock. Do I make myself clear? You got five hours." Cross kept his auburn eyes on the screen, watching the woman bend and dive on the sand.
"A-alright." Allen turned away, preparing to go get himself dressed. For once in his miserable life, Cross had managed to sound like a parent...this was getting too weird.
Allen wrapped a scarf around his neck and secured the gloves around his hands as he stood by the door. He checked for his cell and his keys but when his fingers touch the deck of cards, he sadly smiled. He forgot to give Tyki these...but if Cross ever found out that he went to the bar again, he'd be smacked upside the head. He'd have to wait then, until Cross was gone again or when he was asleep or something.
"I'll be back!" He called out, opening the door.
"Damn straight." Came a gruff response.
The moment he steps out the door, an angry honk of a horn indicated that they were already here. As he stepped out onto the grass, he rolls his eyes as the driver began to yell out the window.
"Get your ass in gear, nerd!"
Allen walked up to the car, seeing the familiar faces of Lenalee and Lavi in the vehicle. But instead of finding Lenalee in the passenger seat, where she usually was when they drove by to pick him up, he found the seat empty and both her and Lavi sat in the backseat.
But he didn't question it. Besides, he barely sat in the front seat and as ridiculous as it was, he felt that only 'worthy' people had the privilege of riding shot-gun in Kanda's car.
"Pleasant as always I see." Allen droned as he opened the door and slid into the seat.
"Still gayer than Freddy Mercury I see." Kanda retorted. "And don't think that your special—or some shit—to be riding up front, Lenalee is sending us to get coffee and crap. She has a pretty fucked-up logic that people who sit in the front should be the ones to get shit." He eyed the rear-view mirror.
"Hey! It makes perfect sense!" Lenalee smiled. "We can't open the doors back here, and we don't want to go through the trouble of climbing in and out of the window every time, so...those who are able to, should be the ones to get stuff."
"I think it's cool! Which is why I'm back here too." Lavi smiled, a toothpick in his mouth.
"Whatever." Kanda mumbled and sped off down the street.
Once they had gotten the stuff they wanted (coffee, junk food, candy and energy drinks) they had wandered the streets in Kanda's car, driving to pass the time neither of them knew what to do with. But even then, just cruising and listening to music, was enough for Allen to get his mind of the impending morning...even for a moment.
They drove for a few hours, parking occasionally for breaks at the nearest convenience store and to get more drinks and snacks. They fuelled up on caffeine and sugar, which made this relaxing ride turn into a frenzy of loud conversations and laughing, along with the unsettled arguments that usually turned and escalated into a mix of playful teasing and insults being tossed back and forth at each other.
The night had eventually slowed to it's upcoming end, the energy they had was now gone, leaving them burnt out and lazy as Kanda drove through the streets leading back to Lenalee's house. Lenalee had fallen asleep on Lavi, who fell asleep playing a game on his cell phone next to her.
Allen stole a glance to the backseat and smiled. "Looks like the children are wiped out." He giggled lightly and glanced at his phone to see the time of 10:24 P.M.
Kanda snorted. "Then why aren't you tired?" He took a cup from the holder and sipped through the straw.
"I don't tire easily." Allen shrugged.
"I noticed."
There's a small silence and each of them knew what sort of conversation this was leading up to, but neither of them knew how to start it.
"But...I've been sleeping regularly." Allen spoke, fiddling with a piece leather on the seats.
"I've noticed that too. You don't have those circles under your dumb, clueless eyes." Kanda took an inhale of his cigarette. "So...did you talk about it with him?" He asked, referring to Lavi.
"No." Allen shakes his head. "I get the feeling it's too serious for him. He doesn't seem like somebody who likes serious conversations."
"Yeah? Well you'd be surprised." Kanda grumbled. "I mean, he likes to crack jokes and be total dumbass about things, but when it comes down to being serious and talking with someone, he's actually not a dumbass."
"You think so highly of him." Allen smiled.
"Tch...believe me there are times where we can't come to fucking terms with shit, but...he's...okay, I guess. Annoying as hell, but okay. He's saved my ass a couple times so I can't exactly complain."
Allen looked curious. "Saved you how?"
Kanda took a moment to take one last drag before throwing the cigarette out the window. "Awhile back...I think we were like...shit, I don't know. Like, thirteen? No older than you and you're like...what, twelve?"
"I'm fifteen." The teen grounded out.
"Whatever, but around that age anyway, fuck if I know. But I got into fights a lot—"
"—you? No way..."
"Shut it. Do you wanna hear this story or not, dipshit?"
"Sorry, go on." Allen smiled.
"Hmph. Anyway, I got into this one fight in particular and these fuckers had ganged-up on me, kicking the shit out of me and whatnot. And I thought I was going to fucking die from these bastards, then this weird Jewish kid with crazy fucking hair comes in with a bat and hits a couple of them before they ran off like pussies. He saved my ass that day." Kanda slowed down, reaching Lenalee's house. "But don't get me wrong, I've been saving this fucker's ass since then. He always gets into shit and I always have to clean it up."
Allen giggled.
"Lenalee! Get up and get out, we're at your place." Kanda called and watched as the girl began to stir.
"Huh...?" She lifted her head up, her voice groggy. "We are?"
"Yeah, now go to bed."
"Mm...fine." She yawned and looked over to Lavi who was still fast asleep beside her. "See you guys tomorrow, well except for you Allen, I'll see you Tuesday." She smiled sleepily and climbed out of the window.
"Good night Lenalee. I'll see you Tuesday." Allen waved from the window and they were off again, this time heading into the general direction of his neighbourhood. "Who's getting dropped of first?"
"Probably Cyclops." Kanda kept driving. "Good—fucking—thing you two almost live close by each other, don't have to waste so much fucking gas...which I basically spent anyway driving your asses around all damn night."
"I know. I should probably go visit Lavi once in awhile. I mean, he's just thirty minutes or so away from my place. But I'm too nervous to just walk over and stop by."
"That's stupid. Why?"
"I feel like I might over-stay my welcome. It's apart of the package deal that comes with my anxiety." He said dryly.
Then it suddenly occurred to him...he just shared something about himself he never revealed to anybody before. What the hell? When did that happen? Man, this was weird...since when has Kanda been a sort of therapy session for Allen? So far, he's shared things with him than he had with Lavi. Sure they both knew of his fear of crowded places and his general awkwardness around people, but to admit he had anxiety? Well, maybe they already knew...they just...didn't want to say anything.
Did that mean...that they were actually being considerate?
They probably knew more than they led on, but they didn't want to say anything. Was that it...?
Allen glanced down at his gloved hands and frowned. His hands were full of self inflicted scars, which had faded a long time ago. He had done this to himself at a young age and they simply blended into his skin. Even Lavi thought they were cat scratches.
"You can always come to see me, baby."
Both men blinked as Lavi arose from his seat, stretching his back with with a yawn.
"Never be afraid to come over. If you ever get bored or something, come over." Lavi rubbed at his eye. "Just make sure you text first, because I might be naked...actually, come to think of it...just walk in and join me."
Kanda jerked the steering wheel. "What the fuck, Cyclops!?"
Allen shook his head, scowling. "Rather not..."
"Oh come on, it'll be fun." The redhead grinned mischievously.
"Seriously Cyclops, shut the fuck up! Driving or not, I'll go back there and kick your Jewish ass!"
"Alright, alright..." Lavi smirked. "This coming from a guy who, not moments ago, was calling me an 'okay' guy."
The wheel jerked and Kanda flew at him from the driver seat, recklessly abandoning the wheel.
"Holy shit!" Lavi wailed.
"Kanda what th' bloody 'ell!?" Allen dove for the steering wheel and tried to direct the car back onto the streets.
"I'll kill you!"
"Jesus take a joke!"
"KANDA!"
Allen stared out the window, watching as the darkening clouds quickly ascended over the skies, casting a sombre grey shade to stretch over the streets below.
He sighs just as a knock came from the door.
"You ready?" Cross asked and stood for an answer.
"Yeah, be right out." Allen called back.
"Then hurry your ass up, I'll be waiting in the car."
Cross seemed a lot more irritable today, Allen noticed at breakfast when Cross has two smokes between eating, which meant that he had something plaguing his mind and it stressed him out. And Allen knew that it had something to do with going to see Anita today.
Anita and Cross had some sort of "relationship" back in the day. And Allen still wasn't sure on what exactly happened between them or what caused them to have this bitterness towards the other, but Allen was certain that Cross might have done something to piss the woman off. But Anita was a professional, she never let her personal problems get in the way of her work and Allen admired that in the woman.
A horn honked loudly outside and Allen rolled his eyes.
He turned to Timcanpy who was playing on the floor, next to his bed. "We'll be back Tim, I left food out for you and plenty of water." He picked the kitten up from playing and kissed it on the head. "I love you." The kitten pawed his nose making Allen giggle as he placed the playful cat back on the floor.
The teen hurried out, locking the door after himself as he jogged to the car and the grouchy looking guardian sitting in the driver's seat.
"You take too damn long, you're worst than woman." Cross complained.
"I was saying goodbye to Tim." Allen replies, his tone stern. He buckles himself up and feels the car begin to speed off.
"And the two hours before that?"
Allen stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond.
"That's what I thought. You're a damn woman. A man should not take that long getting ready. You spent nearly an hour in the shower and an hour getting ready and don't get me started on the time it took for you to do your hair."
Allen frowns. "The scolding parent thing is unbecoming of you."
"Shut it, brat. I'm giving you shit...I expect you to listen when I'm giving you shit."
"Got it." He rolls his eyes. This is going to be a long drive. Six hours on the road with this insufferable man...my life is just peachy.
"Anyway, we're getting a few things for the road...so when we make our stop, make sure you take a piss because I ain't stopping for the next six hours. And don't fill up on drinks...!"
"Then you're going in the wrong direction. The convenience store is that way." Allen jabbed his thumb in the direction of the store Klack owned.
"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Cross scoffed. "It's right beside your boyfriend's bar and how would I know that you wouldn't sneak over there and have a quickie before we leave? Yeah right...there was no way I was about to do a stupid thing like that."
"He's not my boyfriend! Please, stop thinking I'm some bloody slag that's sleeping with everyone!" The teen sharply replies, his face burning.
"Not everyone...just a sleazy bar owner, a bitchy looking kid, a redheaded weirdo and a creepy Mexican."
"Tyki isn't sleazy! Kanda...well, yes, he's 'bitchy' but I ain't sleeping with him or Lavi! And Mikk isn't Mexican and I'm not sleeping with him either!"
"Look, I don't care about the kid with the eye-patch. But the rest? Fuck that...!"
Allen blinked. Why did Cross like Lavi?
He shook his head. "I can assure you that I'm not sleeping with anybody!" Allen crossed his arms, scowling.
"Right." Cross muttered.
There was a small silence, and during that brief interlude of radio noise and quiet breathing, Allen had one thought in mind and it was a thought that kept resurfacing, driving him insane...until he finally brought it up and asked.
"Why do you think that I only sleep with men? I mean, Lenalee is my friend too and you never once asked about her and I at all. For all you know, her and I could be dating." Allen almost made a face saying that.
And Cross lost it.
He laughed, and he laughed hard. Actually, it had been the first time Allen had ever seen him laugh...well, without alcohol being in his system, but even when he was drunk...he never laughed this hard, and to be honest...it creeped him out. The man had a wheezy kind of laugh, and Allen figured it was the years of smoking, but his laughter sounded off...maybe it was the fact that any semblance of happiness coming from him was weird.
"Y-yeah...right." Cross let out a few chuckles. "You...dating girls. That's rich..."
Allen looked offended. "What! Why?"
"Listen kid, the day you start dating girls is the day that I start to settle down with a woman. It just ain't happening!" The man sniffed. "You can deny it all you want, but you, kid...are gay."
"Yeah, because you'll always be a womanizing twit...and I'm not gay!" He shot back defensively.
"Like I said, you can deny it all you want...just don't place your hand on the bible and deny it. Otherwise you'd be lying and you'll go to hell or some shit. Actually, I heard gays go to hell too...so you're pretty much doomed for all eternity."
"So do drunken, law-breaking deviants chasing after woman and sinning every damned day!" Allen fumed. "But I'm not gay..."
"Uh huh...Sure."
Three hours had passed since they had gotten onto the main highway, half that time they had spend arguing and the other half was spend in silence with only the radio playing but as the time stretched on and on, Allen began to feel sleepy. He would shut his eyes for a split second before waking up to his head bobbing and as much as he tried to stay up, each second, he kept slipping further out of consciousness and each time it was getting harder to wake up again.
"Just sleep already." Cross grumbled. "Jesus, why are you trying to stay awake?"
Allen blinked wearily. "Because...the last time I slept in a car while you were driving...I woke up alone, outside of a bar, in the cold, watching two men fight up against the car while you sat inside drinking and picking up girls all night."
"Oh yeah..." Cross raised his eyebrows, recalling the time with a sense of nostalgia. But then he shook his head. "Well, if I remember correctly, there isn't a bar down this road until the next few hours...but I said that we weren't stopping for anything and I fucking mean it. So get the hell to bed and stop worrying...Christ."
Allen huffed. "Yeah...okay, fine. Just drive carefully...I don't want to die."
"Whatever." Cross rubs at his eyes. "Fuck, I need some fucking glasses..."
"I could've told you that..."
"Shut up and sleep..."
Allen balled up his coat, using it as a pillow as he rested against the window. He laid there for a moment, listening to the gentle hum of the vehicle and the radio playing throughout the speakers as the motions of the car began to slowly rock Allen into a slumber and in only a few seconds...Allen was fast asleep.
It had taken a great amount of time to finally arrive at their intended destination, but it took an even longer time to actually wake the kid up from his slumber.
"Brat! Get the hell up!" Cross kicked at his seat and seen the boy stir.
"Huh...?" Allen slowly opened his eyes.
"We're here, get the fuck up."
Grey eyes quickly shoot open and eagerly look around to find out that Cross was telling the truth. "Then where's—"
"—hello Allen."
Allen felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest as he looked over to the woman walking from behind Cross and he didn't waste no time in running towards her.
"Anita!" He smiles as he runs into her arms, hugging her tightly.
"Hi, Allen. Long time no see." She giggled as she felt the boy cling to her. "You're growing." She heard Cross scoff, but she didn't pay him any mind. "I got a fresh pot of coffee brewing, let's go chat shall we? Catch up on things." She said with a kind smile.
"Coffee? Oh, thank lord...!" The instant he knew there was coffee, Allen ran up the stairs to Anita's house, which she used for her therapy sessions and left the two adults outside. The moment he stepped inside, he's hit with the smell of fresh coffee and the scent of spices and herbal tea. The smell had brought back memories, some good and some bad, but it always smelled welcoming.
He glanced around with a smile. Nothing has changed, everything about this place was exactly the same when he last saw it and he loved it.
The house was built like a cabin. The structure was made with large, flawlessly carved logs with beautiful wooden beams centered in the middle of the room, separating the living room from the kitchen, along with timber framed windows. The whole house had a rustic appeal, but it was aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it was marvellous...beautiful, reminding Allen of a ski resort.
The living room held no T.V, but a massive book shelf that covered a whole wall with dozens of text books and various literature ranging from stories to poetry. And in the corner of the room was a small office area, that had a desk and computer but in the middle of the living room were two couches which was the essential place where their sessions began.
He remembers sitting on that large couch, talking with Anita who sat opposite of him on the red arm chair, both of them talking and listening to what the other had to say. But he remembers...the dozens of times he spent...crying on that same couch, contemplating the worst until Anita always calmed him.
But there was one time...when he...
Anita stepped inside. "Cross said he'll pick you up in a few hours. In the meantime, grab some coffee and let's catch up on things shall we?" She says with a smile.
Allen returned with a smile of his own. "Okay." He goes into the fairly large kitchen and began to pour himself some coffee with Anita making herself tea. Allen thought of Kanda at that particular moment, recalling how the teen only liked to drink green tea.
After they had gotten their beverages, they sat in their usual places, reflecting on how nostalgic this all seemed to be. Once again, they found themselves in this very living room, waiting for the other to say the first word.
Naturally, Anita started.
"So...let's begin shall we?"
Chapter Thirteen
End