Standard disclaimers apply, and all that crap. First Zatch Bell fic, hope Hyde and Eido aren't too OOC. Anyways, have fun. And yes, I know the title is just a little bit naughty sounding.
Behind the Billboard
'I am a plastic man
Wish I can be the one you could be proud of
I'm losing heart again
Wish I could show you what you think I'm made of'
'I don't think I'll ever understand.'
Why would you risk your life for something that would just end up...leaving you eventually, anyways?
Then again, why wouldn't you? I did, didn't I?
...No...
'I never intended to sacrifice myself to save Hyde.'
That one thought scares the hell out of me, and I'm torn to shreds on the inside every time it crawls through my mind. What would I have done, besides the exact same damn thing? I would have given up, once again, abandoned the one I care about most.
'The only one I have.'
Because I was jealous. Because Kiyo is someone I'll never be.
Gritting my teeth to keep the anger from seething forth in a string of curses, I slammed my fist against the billboard of Megumi. I had to feel something other than the ache of the thoughts that barraged my mind.
I was so pissed.
I heard the rustle of Hyde's clothes as he got up, and the sound of his shoes colliding with the concrete when he began to walk from the back of the billboard to the front. He had the same apathetic look on his face as always, eyes half-lidded and dull.
There was something about his always cold and dead eyes that made me turn away from him.
'I wish I could be the one you want me to be.'
I turned and slid down the huge advertisement board, letting out a weird, pitiful noise as my back drug against it.
Shaky sigh.
'It's all downhill from here.' The flesh around my eyes began to sting and tingle.
"Stop staring at me," I demanded loudly. My head twisted even farther from his intense, icy gaze.
"Eido." The word that escaped Hyde was like a reminder, because this sure as hell wasn't Eido.
Then I felt him sit down beside me. He didn't say anything more, just…sat. And the warmth of his company was all I needed for the moment.
"Hyde, I'm sorry," I said after a few minutes of silence.
"I understand-," He began, but he wasn't saying the right thing.
"No, I don't think you do. You and I both knew that this would never work out. I've never been strong enough and I'll never be strong enough. I'll never change, and you know it. That's why I'm sorry," I explained, nearly yelling by the time I was finished.
Hyde jumped up, and I looked at him. To my utter surprise, he was the one that was tearing up. I couldn't stand to see him so upset; I had to turn away.
"How can you say something like that, Eido! When I said that being friends with you wasn't all that bad, I meant it. So maybe you're right, maybe you won't ever change," He finished, his hands clenched. "How could you be so selfish?"
I looked up at him once again. A solitary tear fell from his eye, leaving a trail of salty water down his pallid cheek.
"Hyde, I… I was afraid of losing you," I said, standing up. "I was afraid of losing. And I was afraid of letting you down. I was so afraid."
"Then why won't you take this battle seriously! Could you even possibly fathom how important this is to me? I doubt you've had an actual goal in your entire life, let alone achieved one!" Hyde yelled. His words stung.
'You're right Hyde. Why won't I, how could I? You're right.'
"I thought that… if we never fought any other mamodos, then…," I trailed off.
"Then what? WHAT, EIDO!" Hyde yelled furiously.
"I don't know," I whimpered.
"Don't know much, do ya?" Hyde commented, his voice suddenly becoming a lot softer, like he was trying to hold back tears.
"Guess not," I replied bitterly. "There's a lot you don't know, either."
I walked closer to him, and bent down to embrace him. He squirmed at first, then gave in and hugged back. It was sort of like a dam breaking, he was reluctant to start with then didn't want to let go.
"Like how much you mean to me," I said.
We let each other go, and, even though he was trying to hide it, I saw the blush that was immanent against his pale cheeks. I lowered myself to a sitting position against the front of the billboard, and Hyde made a move for the back of it.
"Eido…?" He said a few seconds later, just loud enough for me to hear.
"Huh?" I answered.
"I don't think I'll ever understand."
