Innocence Rock Time ~

Angel walked distractedly around the corridors. She had barely slept the night before due to thousand of thoughts that crowded her mind; principally, the blonde girl's threat.

"I'm not asking if you want or not, I can make your life impossible if you don't obey me. I know everything about you, Angel Leverrier, that your father is a corrupt and…"

Leverrier couldn't be corrupt, was her affirmation. She was pretty convinced of that and wouldn't let any other person unconnected to her problems change her mind.

Still, there was the girl's threat about making her social life impossible. There was something in those words that sounded serious enough to chill out Angel's nerves.

Like if calling it, Melanie's high-pitched voice resounded behind her that moment.

"Hey, Innocence's slut!" she called. Angel tried to ignore her and walk away, but the stamp of the blonde's heels sounded closer with each step she took forward.

"Go away" Angel snorted when she felt someone tugging her sleeve. The girl jerked away instinctively, conscious of the attention they were calling around, and prepared to sneak away when a cold substance washed her from head to toes.

Angel stayed steel, surprised. Cool water slipped along her skin, damping her clothes and dripping from the locks of her dyed hair.

The girl gasped and spit out some of the liquid that had drained into her mouth. She realized then, for the taste in the tip of her tongue, that what was all over her wasn't normal water at all.

The color was green, like if it was full of mould or had been collected from a stinky poodle after a rainy day. Besides, the smell that it emanated was of rotted eggs and sewer's gunk.

After taking note of these facts, Angel's ears finally noticed the laughs. Sheepishly, she cleaned her eyes so they could look properly around beyond the locks of hair and filth that obstructed her sight.

There was, at least, half of the student body standing in a circle around her, everybody laughing at her pitiful state. Closer than anyone, the blonde girl was laughing even harder at Angel's astonished face which soon converted in a pained expression.

"I told you to get away from Lavi, slut" she hissed close to her ear. Escorting her, there were three other girls who threw to Angel dirty insinuations and names. "Nobody defy Melanie Williams and goes away like that. This is my first warning" Melanie stated.

Angel felt like crying. Probably, she was crying by then and she almost thanked the dirtiness that damped her for hiding her tears.

There was no known face around, just malicious expressions and those earsplitting laughs.

"Angel!" a female voice –her savior- finally called. The summoned girl looked for the person who had said her name until her eyes landed on Lenalee's preoccupied form walking in her direction.

"What's going on here?" the singer demanded. The laughter abruptly stopped as all eyes observed the gorgeous singer surrounding Angel's shoulders with an arm to console her.

"Who did this?" Lenalee raised her voice angrily when nobody answered.

It was unsettling and almost scary to see her angry. The delicate Chinese features had turned into a deep scowl which still looked cute on her, even when a deadly spark shone in her brown eyes.

"WHO DID THIS?" Lenalee repeated.

"Is alright, Lenalee-" Angel hiccupped "I…Just leave it like that"

"No, it is not alright, Angel!" the singer retorted "And of course I'm not leaving this, whoever dared do such an awful action deserves being punished"

"Well, I did it, and what?" the petite blonde girl gave one step forward. "I don't know how you believe her" Melanie pointed accusatorily to Angel's trembling form "Don't you know what kind of person she is? I bet she is a cheater, they say those things are inherited from the family"

"Sh-shut up!" Angel weakly responded offended by the insinuation of her adoptive father's corruption.

"See! They say a strong denial is a flat yes" Melanie sneered "She doesn't deserve to be with you"

"And you deserve it, Melanie Williams?" a male voice asked.

Lavi had stalked to the center of the circle as soon as he heard Lenalee yelling. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared around before stopping his cold eye on Melanie's direction.

It was unnatural to see him like that, Angel thought. It was frightening and sent shivers down her spine. In spite of her boasts about knowing Lavi as well as the palm of her hand, she never guessed his handsome face was able to contort in that terrifying way. Her head discovered that moment her new greatest fear: having Lavi looking at her like that.

"I…I…Lavi, she is fooling you, can't you see it?" Melanie replied. However, the strength of her lame explanation was diminished by her pale face. She fidgeted with her fingers nervously while her eyes flickered from Lavi to the floor.

"The only one that fools around is you" Lavi sentenced. There was a heavy silence until he talked again "I am very glad I discovered your true colors before going any further with you" he flatly said "You are the most unworthy person of my attention"

With one fast movement, he grabbed Angel's wrist and dragged her out of the circle with Lenalee stepping over their heels.

"Lavi, I…" Angel started to say once they stopped outside the bathrooms.

"Shush, don't say anything" Lavi kindly murmured, all his anger vanished. "Is alright"

Together, he and Lenalee, started cleaning Angel's face softly with toilet paper until her slightly tanned skin was visible again. Lenalee did the same with the neck and arms while the male singer squeezed Angel gently against his chest.

"I'll take her to my house" the Chinese informed when it became obvious that the stinking smell wasn't disappearing just with the toilet paper. "We'll meet you in the headquarters"

Lavi twisted his mouth "Amm, actually, we weren't planning going to the headquarters today" he explained.

"Why not?" Lenalee raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction.

"We are going on a date" the male winked happily. "That may cheer her up, ya' know?" he whispered subtly to Lenalee's ear, but Angel still heard him.

"I don't…I don't want to cause any more problems" Angel murmured more for herself than for the others.

"Problems? Come on, Angel, I've been preparing this the whole week, you are going to love it!" Lavi beamed at her.

"Then I'll have to go fetch Izzie" Lenalee thoughtfully commented.

"Izzie? Please, don't tell her about this, please!" the false-raven snapped out from her doom state and frantically pleaded. "She is going to make a big fuss of this, please"

"Izzie-chan? I think she'll understand" the male singer bewildered said. Izzie was a tranquil, thoughtful person, imagining her making a big fuss about something bordered in the surreal.

"Oh, you don't know her when she is mad" Angel responded "Please, please, don't tell her, please. I'll go to the date, but please, don't tell her anything"

"Oi, don't say that like if you are going out with me forcefully" Lavi smirked "But I think Izzie-chan should know, she is your best friend, after all" he said.

"I agree, for once in my life, with Lavi" Lenalee supported his comrade with a serious expression "She'll have to find out sooner or later"

"I'd rather if it was later" Angel said "Just, don't tell her, alright? Now, I want to get a shower, I stink more than Lavi after a concert"

"Hey! Don't bust me! My heart is going to break now, ugh" the redheaded teased along.

Lenalee rolled her eyes but a smile appeared in her features when she saw that everything was back to normal.


"I don't think this is necessary, Lenalee-chan" Angel said.

"Shush, don't talk and relax" the Chinese singer ordered. She gently pushed Angel's head back to get a better view of her face. "Close your eyes"

"Lavi knows me without makeup, what's the point of using it now?" Angel protested.

"Because I want him to get a heart-attack so I can be Innocence's principal voice" Lenalee sweetly smiled "Now, close your eyes"

Angel heavily sighed. She knew, from the Chinese's expression, that she was not going to give up and keeping on discussing about the matter only meant more time that she was going to be kept away from Lavi.

She wondered with some fear what the hell Lenalee was doing with her face once she closed her eyes. She could feel the singer's fingers slightly pressing her eyelids, then moving to her cheeks, her mouth and, well, all her face.

The penetrating smell of the foundation invaded her nose, together with the other chemicals that the singer slowly spread in her face.

"Now you are ready" Lenalee said after a while "Open your eyes, c'mon"

With a growl, Angel straightened in the chair and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She gawked. The gorgeous girl of the mirror did the same at the same time, like if none of them could believe what they were seeing.

Angel had worn makeup before –in the Grammy's ball, for example- but she never tried before the false eyelashes neither the magic of concealer nor a good foundation. As a result of them, her skin seemed smooth and flawless which, in addition with the soft eyeshades, eyeliner and maroon lipstick, transformed her face in something unrecognizable.

"Do you like it?" Lenalee shyly asked, worried about the lack of words from her companion.

"I…" Angel muttered "Woah, you are an artist, Lenalee!" she exclaimed and hugged the singer "Thank you"

Lenalee giggled "Don't thank me already. You still have to put your clothes on. Come, we have no time to lose"

The outfit Lenalee had selected was a rather bold but casual one. A straight, black skirt that hugged tightly Angel's body fell up to her knees. It was supposed to be a mini-skirt, but Lenalee was taller and thinner than Angel, so the way the clothes adjusted to Angel's body was kind of weird.

The white blouse, on the other side, fell loosely, leaving one of her shoulder uncovered. She was wearing a black tank top under the piece which contrasted perfectly with the thin fabric –almost transparent- of the blouse.

Angel felt rather awkward while she waited in the hall of the hotel Lavi had arranged their date to start. If it hadn't been Lavi the one to ask her out in a hotel, probably it wouldn't have crossed Angel's mind to even consider the possibility.

But it happened that it was Lavi the one who called her, so there she was, waiting for the singer to appear.

Angel shifted her feet, uncomfortable. She consulted her wrist-watch for the umpteenth time. 6:45, they were supposed to meet at 6 o'clock, where the hell Lavi was?

"Hey, you" a full-grown up man called. He made signs to call Angel's attention, which she utterly ignored. Her heart started racing fast when the fat man walked in her way with the full intention to talk to her.

Angel stepped backwards and locked her gaze upon the glass-doors.

"Hey, I'm talking to you" the man called. He was short and fat, with a funny haircut that unsuccessfully tried to cover the bald spots of his head.

"I don't know you, I'm sorry" Angel spat immediately and prepared herself to run.

"Oh, I am sorry" he shook his head "I must have scared you. I am a friend of Lavi Bookman, he asked me to get down here and fetch you"

"Pardon?" Angel blinked twice. Lavi had sent him?

"Yes" the man vigorously nodded "He is in the rooftop right now waiting for you. You must be Angel Leverrier. I am Chad Thornton" he extended his hand and waited for Angel to shake it.

"Amm…well…If Lavi sent you guess it's safe to follow you?" she shyly asked after releasing Chad's hand.

"Of course, come here, we don't have time to waste" Chad guided Angel to the elevators across the hallway.

The girl followed him unsurely. If he tried anything funny, at least she was sure to be able to knock him. His complexion couldn't allow Chad to move or run fast. Maybe just making him trip with her feet or a punch in the nape…

"Mss. Leverrier, would you be kind enough?" Chad pointed to the interior of an empty elevator with a hand. Angel nodded and climbed into, followed by Chad.

She observed while the man pressed the last button of the row that prayed '25'. The compartment swiftly started moving upwards.

"The two upper floors lack of elevator system, so we'll have to use the stairs" Chad informed. He gazed once at Angel's high heels and flinched "Maybe you'd like to take them off" he pointed to the shoes.

"No, thanks" Angel refused. "What is Lavi exactly doing in the rooftop?" she inquired. Her stomach twisted when the needle that indicated the floor they were passing pointed 20. That was bloody high.

"Surprise" Chad smirked "I have strict orders to not reveal it until you are there"

"Amm…okay" Angel groaned. 23. She was so going to kick Lavi's ass for making her get into an elevator with a stranger to get to the terribly high rooftop of a hotel. Trying to distract her mind from the fact that her stomach was left down in the first floor, she thought instead of Lavi's machinations. When she said she wanted to go on a date with him, she imagined an Italian restaurant or maybe a walk in the park holding hands. This was totally out of her schemes. Nonetheless, now that she thought about it, truthfully, which of Lavi's doings were in her schemes?

The needle finally stopped in the last number and the metallic doors opened to reveal an illuminated hallway with identical doors on each side.

"Here" Chad moved his big body to the end of the corridor and pushed another metallic door to reveal a set of staircase.

"You first, lady" he indicated. Angel twisted her mouth doubtfully. The stairs were made of rusted metal with some random holes here and there. Now she understood why Chad had told her that she may prefer to take the stilettos off. However, walking barefoot on a surface like that couldn't be wise at all.

"You are so dead, Lavi Bookman" she hissed to the nothingness. At her back, she could hear Chad's diverted chuckle.

Clinging to the banister as if her life depended of it –and it probably did- she made it through the last two floors. She felt like if the entire complex was about to fall whenever her foot stepped on the next stair. It wouldn't have surprised her that the banister trembled now and then under Chad's weight.

Another door similar to the last one was at the end of the staircase. She gently pushed it and the sunlight kindly met her sweated face.

"Angel-chan!" her boyfriend's voice exclaimed as soon as she became visible. "How are you~?" he asked while sinking her small body in a tight hug.

"Sweated, scared and tired" she mumbled "What the hell were you thinking, making me come up here?" the girl suddenly snapped. However, her tone didn't reach the harshness she wished. This was Lavi, after all, and it was kind of difficult to be mad at him.

"Oww, it is just part of a master plan" Lavi beamed. He broke the embrace and moved aside to unblock the girl's view. "Admire our vehicle"

Lavi made a theatrical gesture with his hand in direction of…was Angel looking well? Could it really be…a helicopter?

"What's going on?" Angel asked bewildered. The man named Chad and another one, taller and slimmer, stood side by side in front of the machine, smiling happily at them.

"I told you I was preparing a surprise for our first official date as girlfriend and boyfriend" Lavi winked –or blinked, whatever- "First times are meant to be epic"

"Oh…" Angel was speechless. What could she say? Thanks, perhaps? This was far from what she had in mind for a date, but it wasn't unwelcome at all.

Seriously, a helicopter? How much money did that cost?

Angel realized then that she didn't really know how much money Lavi had. As a public figure and renowned singer, he was supposed to earn a good income, but his house definitely didn't reflect it. Lavi had once told her his grandpa didn't allow him to make any remodeling to the shack, but it never occurred to her to ask where all his money went to stop in.

"I know I left you astounded, but we have a schedule to cover" the male singer happily grinned "So, let's go! You are looking gorgeous, by the way" he held Angel's hand and guided her to the helicopter, where the captain and sub-captain –Chad- helped her climb.

"Amm…I don't know if I have told you before" Angel gulped nervously when the idea of flying finally stroked her. She fidgeted with her fingers nervously and noticed her stomach twisting. "That I am…afraid of…heights"

The engine of the complicated machine drowned her complain.

"Put these on" Chad yelled to make his voice hear over the racket. He handed Lavi and Angel a pair of headphones with a microphone. "In case you want to speak to us" he briefly explained.

Angel and Lavi obeyed. Angel's hands were visible trembling and Lavi didn't stay oblivious to it. He smiled encouragingly to his girlfriend in that way that made all her problems vanish away.

The helicopter softly lifted from the ground and swayed for a few seconds until it stabilized. Angel felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her mouth. When a slight turbulence shook the vehicle, she let out a shriek and clung to Lavi's neck.

He chuckled and hugged her tightly back. From the small windows they could see the buildings of the center growing smaller as they gained altitude.

"Oh my God" Angel murmured. Her eyes closed instinctively and hid her face in Lavi's clothes.

"I didn't know you were acrophobic" he said, surprised. "Do you want to return?"

"No, no" Angel shook her head "Is alright" she lifted her eyes to meet his iris and sheepishly smiled.

"Are you sure? You are green" he teased.

"Chist, just let's go where you planned" she smiled and clung to him like if he was her safest anchor. Probably he was.

Lavi's lips twisted with preoccupation, but he didn't say anything.

"Open your eyes when I indicate you, okay?" he commanded. Obediently, Angel buried her face in his chest.

The deafening sound of the helicopter's engine; the rush of the air and the rhythm of Lavi's heartbeats induced her mind to a state of terrified torpor. Her forehead was covered with cool sweat while her trembling hands clutched Lavi's clothes.

Finally, Lavi interrupted her horrified state.

"Now, open your eyes and don't freak out" he whispered to her ear. "Is okay, I am here"

Yes, he was there, there was nothing to fear. Angel took a deep breath and turned her head to look out the window, to the exact point Lavi indicated.

They were in the countryside. Vast lands extended to the infinite, places divided to indicate wild spaces from farms' territories. It was like a patched, huge blanket with different green tonalities, some of them slowly turning brown as autumn approximated.

But what caught her attention was not the beautiful landscape, but an exact point just below them that was obviously touched by men's hands.

On some cultivated terrain, somebody had smashed the plants and covered them with red and purple paint so a figure was clearly visible from the sky.

More than a figure, it was a word.

Langel

"Langel?" Angel asked.

"Your name and mine combined" Lavi responded from somewhere near her ear. She felt his strong arms slowly surrounding her waist from behind. "We are Langel~" he happily sang. "Do you like it? Yes yes yes yes yes yes? I did do a great job, didn't I? You like it?" he asked in an excited way.

Angel grinned "I totally love it! Oh, Lavi!" she turned around, forgetting completely that they were around one thousand feet over the ground, and hugged him. "Oh my, Lavi! You are awesome!"

"I know it~ I lurveeee you" he happily declared. Angel giggled and pushed him down to meet his lips with hers. Her hands tangled around his hair while she tried to deepen the kiss. Lavi responded immediately until his own laughter made them broke the contact.

"I surprised you, didn't I? Hahaha"

"You are like a kid" Angel laughed too "You did" she aimed to kiss him again, but he was already busy searching for something in his pockets.

"A photograph, to remember this moment" he exclaimed and passed a digital camera to one of the men in front. "Hey, Chad, please"

A minute later, Angel and he were revising the pictures while they waited for the helicopter to get to the rooftop of the hotel.

"I'd like to print that" Angel exclaimed and pointed to one photograph. Lavi and she were in the middle of a kiss with the Langel landscape visible across the only space where their bodies weren't touching.

"Whatever for my AANGEEEL~" Lavi tuned "Now, where would you like to go eat?"

"Now you are letting me decide?" Angel laughed "My stomach is so nauseous that eating will be impossible for a while"

"Then, the park" Lavi smiled. The helicopter made some rough maneuvers until the captain found the best way to land onto the rooftop.

Lavi pecked Angel in the cheek before helping her jump off the helicopter. He thanked the captain and sub-captain and paid them an amount of money that he didn't let Angel see.

"Lavi, crouch down" Angel said out of nowhere just before they reached the door that guided them back to the interior of the hotel.

"Why?" he asked while bending his knees. "Ow, you should have said that before!" Lavi laughed when he felt Angel climbing his back.

"I am not stepping on those stairs again, so you better start moving" she affirmed.

Lavi only shook his head. Afterwards, he was still carrying Angel while running across the hotel's hall.

"LAVI, CALM DOWN! I AM GOING TO FALL!" the girl yelled.

"You asked for this, Angel-chan!" he responded. Outside, the orange light of the sunset greeted the couple.

Angel never felt so lucky in her life.

Lavi had never felt so in peace and happy at the same time. With Angel's weight in his back, he felt complete. He felt happy. He felt good.

It was like being on the stage but sweeter. His heart raced furiously and the adrenaline invaded his veins while a soft warm wrapped his soul.

Who would have said that the girl that was meant to make him feel like that was a fangirl? Who would have said that that summer his life was going to give a turn?

He felt like he had never felt before. He never allowed himself to fall in love before, but now that he finally decided to let feelings strike him with no limitations, he thanked and rejoiced in it.

Love doesn't lead to a broken heart, but to happiness he said to himself like a small child that repeated what he saw that day in class Love is not bad at all.


A/N: I was so longing to make a special chapter for Lavi and Angel, hope you liked this! Alright, maybe the idea of the helicopter is a bit of a cliché, but ...I don't care haha. At first, I had three principal options for their date: 1) Dinner in an Italian restaurant; 2) A walk in the park; 3) An amusement park; but I couldn't imagine Lavi's charismatic character choosing any of these. He usually likes to get ordinary things to be extraordinary, don't you think?

About Lavi's thought: he is clumsy at love, I gotta say. At the beginning, it was pretty obvious because of the epic fails he made while trying to write a song for Angel. After that and after admitting his feelings to himself, he is like a kid discovering the world: unsure and excited at the same time. Maybe that was cheesy and sounded childish, but that's just his way of thinking. Because of the previous enclosure of his heart, he never learnt what it was to like someone, and he is so excited that he made his feelings rapidly evolve to something similar to love. Hope you understand my twisted psychology. xD Poor him, he doesn't know what is coming ~

Probably updates may take a bit longer to be made from now on due to me going back to school (buu) but I promise I won't leave this story, especially when the ending is close. I have next chapter already planned, though. Will Kanda be able to write that cheesy song? MAKE YOUR BETS AND LEAVE THEM IN A REVIEW! Please? haha xD

Thank you so much for your support, for the reviews, song suggestions, story alerts, favorites...everything! Thank you so much! Chapter 29, wow, I have never reached this far before. I am really grateful to all of you *sniffs*

Well, again, thank you. ;)

Let's get wasted!