Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.
AN: Second chapter is up! Enjoy it, folks :3 Thanks for the reviews –hugs-
Please leave a review, if you feel like it xD.
Chapter 2: Families Aren't What They Used To Be
"You live here?" I ask, dazzled by the giant mansion standing in front of me. Ren just rolls his eyes at me.
"No, I live in the tree next to it. Hurry up."
"You know, I don't think it can be good for you to be sarcastic all the time," I mutter quietly. One of the positive qualities I have, is that I can easily forgive and forget. Of course, Ren is still being an ass towards me, but I have already forgotten about our fight the day before. I try to act calmly now, but the Chinese boy is really giving me a hard time, making me almost go into serial-killer-mode. But, I have promised Yoh that I won't kill anyone. I shouldn't have made that promise though.
I think Ren almost let's out a chuckle at that comment. Almost. "Come on," he says, while a servant opens the door for us. The inside of the house makes me gasp as well- I have never been in such a gigantic one ever. Sure, Yoh's place is pretty big, but it's nowhere near Ren's mansion. "Are mother and father home?" Ren asks a servant, who is taking their coats. I don't really pay attention to the conversation, since I am still busy gaping. Just a bit of drool, and the image would've been complete. The servant shakes his head, before walking off towards what seems to be the living room. Ren walks towards the staircase in the middle of the hallway, gesturing me to follow him. I do so, as I don't want to get lost.
Two staircases later, I find myself standing in Ren's room. It is all a dark shade of purple- just like his hair- and quite spacey. The bed is a king-sized one, he has the biggest television Horo has ever seen, a laptop stands on his desk, a cell phone lying next to it. The guy seems to have everything. The fact that everything is very neat and tidy, doesn't escape me either. Ren's servants must clean it about every day of the week- it could never be this neat otherwise.
"Nice room," I say, nodding my head in approval. I really like it, except the neatness. I think a bedroom should at least have some junk lying on the floor. "Hey!" I scoot over to where Ren's DVD's are neatly put in the closet and start looking through them. "Wow, awesome movies you have here. Could we watch one?" I ask, in an almost whining voice.
"We have to rehearse first, so we'll be done with that," Ren says, surprising me that he actually complied watching a movie with me. I nod happily, before bouncing to the other side of the room where Ren is standing.
"Where should we start? As long as we'll leave the kissing-scenes for the end, I don't care," I scrunch my nose at the thought and Ren shrugs.
"I don't think we'll have to kiss during rehearsal," he retorts. "Probably only during the performance."
"Hope not."
"Kissing is that bad?" I blink once.
"You've never kissed anyone? Well, it's not bad, I think. I mean, at least when you do it with a girl." Ren seems to think about that, while I'm still blinking confusedly. The question Ren has asked seemed so… innocent. Very unlike Ren, really, because I have already named him the 'Spawn of the Devil Himself' just a few hours before.
"I've seen a lot of guys kissing with other men. They don't seem to have a problem with it," Ren finally speaks, while rummaging in his bag, probably to find the script Silva has given us. I think about it for a moment- it's true. They don't have a problem with it and they seem to like it. But, then again, a boy kissing a girl likes it too.
"Well, I don't think it's bad, but I wouldn't do it myself," I say, scratching my head. "But, I guess, maybe it could happen. If I love someone, gender doesn't really matter, right?" I blink again, surprised that it actually comes out of my mouth and in front of the person I hate most. Well, maybe not the person I hate most, because Ren actually acts nice right now. Maybe the mansion has some mystical power that can turn any bastard into a nice person and- wow, stop. I'm beginning to have thoughts like Yoh, which is not a good thing. Honestly, vampires? Yoh's nice, but he's sometimes a bit weird. Pirika won't like it if I go out and hang out at the graveyard every full moon to look at the stars, like he does. She'd kill me.
So, anyway, I look at Ren once again and try to figure out what was going on with him. The stoic boy has a strange expression on his face, a frown of some sort. It has been there ever since I said the word 'love'. I may not look like it, but I am a very observant person and I certainly haven't missed the reaction of Ren. I'm kind of wondering what I have said wrong.
"Anyway, let's just get started so we can watch a movie!" I say, grinning. I have decided to change the topic. Ren nods slowly, after he rolls his eyes at me, but not with so much irritation as he had done with Silva. This time, it seems as though he's amused. He hands me a script.
"Let's start with Act One, Scene Five," he says. I nod happily- it is one of my favourite parts. If I hadn't been in the play, of course.
--
After we're done, Ren asks me what movie I'd like to see. Which surprises me, because Ren looks like a guy who does everything he wants to do and not what others want. I need to get some more into that.
"Really? You're letting me choose?" I ask him, surprise evident. Ren growls something, before replying.
"No, I actually just asked that out of politeness," he says, which sounds more Ren-like. Maybe I should give his behaviour a name?
Renism. Nah, that sounds like a religion.
Renish. Nah, that sounds like a religion too.
Rentroversion. Sounds good, we'll keep that one for now.
"Let's watch Lord of the Rings, I haven't seen the third one yet," Ren says. I've always loved those movies, though I personally would've picked another one. Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.
During the movie, I keep glancing at Ren, who is watching the film with great interest. I have already seen the movie six times, so my interest fades when there are parts I don't like. The boy next to me, feels like a big mystery to me. He's unlike anyone I have ever met and strangely, I want to know everything about him. I have no idea why, but he interests me.
My eyes wander over to his hands, his fingers are fumbling with the cloth of his black sweater nervously, as if he's uncomfortable right now. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I'm in his room? But he hadn't been nervous before, so it is quite odd.
Interrupting my current thoughts, someone knocks on the door and immediately opens it. Now, I personally don't get scared easy- I mean, I can't think of any fear I have at this moment, but the man standing in the doorway of Ren's room certainly does scare me. A lot.
He is big. Very big. He has an odd sort of beard, black hair and… well, his entire body seems to be covered in hair. Ren immediately tenses as the man speaks to him- he's gripping his sweater a lot tighter, his eyes fixed on the man.
"Ren, are you not going to introduce us?" The man says, looking at me with mild interest. He doesn't seem to want my name that bad, but he's just asking it out of politeness. I decide that I don't like him.
"Father, this is Horo- I'm sorry Horo, I don't know your last name," he mumbles softly. I tried giving him a reassuring smile, but I don't think it's even a real smile- I stand up and walk towards the gigantic man- obviously Ren's father. I hold out my hand and he takes it.
"Usui HoroHoro, or Horokeu, or you can call me Horo," I say brightly, confident. At least, I try to sound like that. Ren's father doesn't seem too impressed and he looks me over, making me even more nervous.
"Tao En," he booms, his very deep voice cutting through the silent and tense room. "Ren, is he staying for dinner?" He says, looking over me at Ren. I look over my shoulder as well- we hadn't actually made any arrangements, but he knows I don't get to go home until it's 8 p.m. . Damn sisters. Whoever invented those, must have had serious problems. Or must have been a woman. Anyway, Ren blinks and looks hopefully at me.
"Yes, he will," he says. "And he'll spend the night here too," Ah, I guess Ren has some friendliness in that- Wait. Stop. Rewind. Did he just say I'm going to spend the night here? That can't be right.
"Eh, Ren?"
"His sister is having some friends over, so he'll be staying here," Ren says, almost growling. He doesn't look away from me as he's saying it and I find it hard to look back at his father as his golden eyes pierce right through me. "Or is that not okay with you, father?" I breathe a sigh out of relief as he looks back at his father.
"Of course it is," he says, though he doesn't seem to be alright with it. The vein on his forehead tells me so. "Be downstairs in thirty minutes." Tao En turns and walks away, slamming the door in my face. I guess I now know where Ren gets his social skills from. Though, Ren's are a bit better, I grant him that. I turn around to face the Chinese boy.
"Explain." Ren shrugs, turns around and faces the movie.
"I know that look," he says, leaving me even more confused. I walk over towards him and sit down next to him, my face confused. "You need a place to stay, right?"
"Yeah, but only until-"
"Then just stay," he says, looking at me with piercing eyes. Somehow, I feel my heart sink at the look he gives me; it's almost pleading, as if he doesn't want to be left alone. I shrug and nod- it can't hurt to stay over. His pleading face immediately turns into his famous blank one and he hits the 'play' button on his remote control, the sound of Orcs being killed booming through his room .
"I'll have to get some clean clothes though," I mumble.
"Indeed," he replies, smirking.
"Are you implying that I stink?" I huff. His smirk grows wider and nods. I stick my nose up in the air playfully and he chuckles. I think this is the first time I hear him laugh, and, to be honest, I really like it. I give my attention to the movie again, though I sometimes glance towards the boy next to me, who almost feels as a friend. Almost.
--
Dinner is awkward, to say the least. I must say that Ren has a very interesting family. I met Jun, Ren's older sister and his mother (I didn't catch her name) and, at this moment, we're all sitting together at the dinner table. Like one, big happy family. Yeah right.
Everything is quiet as we eat, I occasionally glance over to Ren, who seems to go to tense-mode whenever he's with his family. I'm afraid to speak, so I try to refrain myself from saying anything stupid, which is very hard for me. Whenever I'm bored, I always like to give people updates on what I'm thinking- random comments slip out of my mouth, such as 'that fly sure is big!' or 'hey, did anyone fart?', etcetera, but that doesn't seem to be a very good idea in this situation.
After dinner, Ren immediately pulls me towards his bedroom. I really don't want to pry, but I can't help it- I mean, I'm a victim here! First he wants me to stay the night, then he forces me to have dinner with his creepy family and then he starts dragging me all over the place. God, I need to get out of this house for at least an hour- so, I tell him that I'd like to get my toothbrush and some clean clothes for tomorrow from my place. I invite him to come along, because he doesn't seem like he wants to be alone- every time I go to the bathroom, he tenses and looks at the door. I don't know why, but he seems to feel safe with me somehow. I'm definitely going to question him some more once we get outside, I can't take this. I hate not-knowing-things.
"Alright, let's go," Ren says and starts dragging me downstairs. Where does he get that urge to pull me around? "Is it far from here?" Is it? I have no idea, I think not, so I shake my head. "Good, then we'll walk." I nod in agreement- the last thing I want is one of them creepy servants drive us to my house.
--
"Piriki, I'm home!" I shout as I open the front door. I hear some girls giggling- it's coming from the living room.
"Brother, why are you here?" My sister stands in front of me, hands placed on her hips. God, she looks scary like that; of course, she always looks scary. She looks at Ren for a second and I can see her face flush. "And aren't you going to introduce us?" She smiles at the Chinese boy shyly, who just looks away from her, uninterested. I can't help but feel slightly triumphant at that. But why? No idea.
"Right, Pirika, this is Ren. Ren, this is Pirika, my little sister," I say. Ren snorts slightly and I give him a small nudge in his ribs. Just because he's a prick, doesn't mean that he can ignore my family members! This brings back some memories of when we first met.
"Nice to meet you," he mumbles, still very disinterested. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't like girls. My sister walks up to him and practically glues herself to his arm, much to his annoyance. I snicker at him as he sends me a glare.
"Come on, you must meet the other girls! Finally my brother brings home a nice looking guy, who doesn't look as if he can fall asleep any second now!"
"Pirika, hate to bother your little sleepover, but I'll be taking Ren with me," I say, saving him from the claws of my evil sister. He looks at me, clearly relieved, as I take his arm and guide him up to my room. "Well, it's nothing fancy like your room, but it's home," I say, grinning nervously. I feel slightly self-conscious about my room- I mean, my sister and I aren't rich, so we can't really afford any expensive stuff- we barely have enough for food and clothes. I open the door for him and he steps in, looking around immediately.
"It's messy," he says. I grin apologetically at him- he's right. You can barely see the ground as all of my dirty clothes are on it. I really do need to clean it up some time soon. "But I like it." Was that just a compliment, or do my ears deceive me?
"Great," I say, grinning from ear to ear. Why the hell does a compliment, however small it is, matters so much to me when he gives it? I'm so hopeless. Maybe it's wanting approval from someone- I certainly am not getting it from Pirika or anybody else. Or maybe I'm just hopeless. Whatever.
"Your sister is annoying," he points out finally, as I'm gathering some clothes.
"I know," I reply, smiling. She really is, but she's caring as well. I guess she's annoying, because she cares? People can be so confusing sometimes.
"Where are your parents?" Somehow, I saw this question coming.
"They're dead, died in a car crash," I reply, standing up straight with my bag. "I was eight when it happened, don't remember much about it, really. Me and my sister were lucky- we were in the backseat and we didn't have a scratch on us."
"You've been… living alone since then?"
"Yeah, well, sort of." I smile at him, a bit forced. I don't really like talking about my past that much, but I guess I could tell Ren. He would've asked me sooner or later anyway. "My uncle took care of us until I was twelve, then he sent us away. He gives us some money to pay the rent, food and other stuff. Pirika and I didn't really like him, so we didn't mind, really. He told us to keep our mouths shut to anyone and he'd give us money- I guess he didn't really like us either." Ren nods seriously. "So, what's your story?"
I can see him tense immediately.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me, China-boy. What's up with you and your family?" Ren shrugs, narrowing his eyes at me.
"My father beats me on a regular base, I suppose. He locks me up in 'the Cell', as he calls it, threw me out of the attic in our previous house once. Mother doesn't really do anything about it, my sister tries sometimes, but she'll just get beaten too whenever she does that." He says these things like they are nothing! Well, it sure explains a lot, I guess. "Don't give me that look, Horo."
"What look?"
"The pity-look. I only told you this because you don't seem to have had an easy childhood either. You should understand that I hate pity, just like you hate it." I nod, slowly.
People: if I die in the next five minutes, please, do not cry about me.
"I hate pity, but I hate not being able to talk about it. Or… not having some form of comfort." I put down my bag and walk over to him. For a moment, I hesitate, but the next thing I know, I'm holding Ren closely in an embrace. At first, he tenses greatly, but after about five seconds he actually returns it, to my great surprise.
Why am I feeling like I don't want to let go of the guy? I mean, he is a guy; I'm not supposed to hold him like this. Sure, me and Yoh hug once in a while, but not like this and certainly not this long.
And I certainly never have a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach whenever I hug him.
… did I just say that?
Okay, just scratch that last part. I do not have warm, fuzzy feelings! Ew! Boobs. Boobs. Boobs.
I just figured out that the 'boob'-method isn't working anymore. I reluctantly let go of Ren and he still seems a bit confused about the whole 'hug-thing'. And, to be honest, I am too. I give him a reassuring grin and grab my bag.
"Well, let's go! We still need to watch a bunch of movies." Ren rolls his eyes at me, but seems to be quite amused.
"Idiot."
Somehow, it doesn't sound insulting.
