Thank you Ryuakilover and soursupergirl for reviewing! I don't currently have any ships in mind, Lenalee is just the only one who knows him right now so it was easier to use her. I plan on having similar chapters with all of the characters at some point, next is Lavi I think. Hmmm more about Allen's past would probably be a good thing… I actually have an idea of where the story is going now so I'll keep this in mind :) Enjoy and please feel free to review if you have any comments about the story!
Chapter 10: Lone Melody
Allen reluctantly but graciously accepted Lenalee's assistance in guiding him back to the school. By the time they arrived both were soaked to the bone and unwilling to enter the gym. They bore the frigid rain a few minutes longer in order to walk the perimeter of the school and gain access through the cafeteria. The lack of students and amount of time taken to get back, roughly a half hour, meant they were no doubt late to their next class.
"I didn't show you before but their is an infirmary between the gym and the main office." Allen's head bobbed slightly in response. Lenalee quickened their place, supporting Allen so their destination could be reached in a more timely manor. Marie sat at his desk, chair turned slightly and strumming a strange instrument. The melody was not last to Allen, who perked up immediately at the sound created by the plucking of strings. Lenalee on the other hand ignored the noise completely, taking the time Allen spent being transfixed, and using it to seat him in a plushy chair adjacent to that of the large man occupying the room.
"Lenalee? Is something wrong? Who's this?"
"Marie this is Allen. Link-"
"That man..." Marie sighed. He rose, placed the strings on his desk and crossed the small room to kneel before his patient.
"Allen, do you mind telling me what happened?" Silver eyes darted to Lenalee's, then to the wall.
"What'd you need to know that for?"
"Because I'm blind, I need to dress your injuries, but I want you to tell me how you got them so I don't cause further damage." Marie was patient and a warm grin was constantly marking his features. Guilt swelled inside Allen, accompanied by other emotions on a second. He sighed, setting them all free and leaving himself drained. He was exhausted. He curtly apologized before explaining to Marie his injuries and how they were received. He skipped over trivial things such as the cuts and bruises, mentioning only his aching ribs, throbbing knee and screaming shoulder. Marie frowned, unconvinced that was all but not pushing the matter.
"Lenalee may you grab the bandages?" Marie tugged lightly at what remained of Allen's hoodie. Upon his flinching, Marie explained
"If you take of your shirt, you may damage your shoulder further." Allen reluctantly allowed Marie to remove the hoodie, and t-shirt beneath it. Lenalee glanced at his face, similar to before. But unlike before, his features had a more distinct hint of sorrow and shame. Lenalee handed Marie the bandages.
"I set the other things on your chair… I'm going to go see if Komui has any other clothes, I'll be back soon." She spoke softly and shut the door behind her. Allen sighed as she left, grateful for the privacy. Lenalee had already seen his hand, but she did not deserve to be exposed to it again. Not only that, but she was unaware that the horrid scars crawled all the way up his arm, stopping just below the shoulder, where the normal skin sunk into the scarred bulge of the deformed. His shoulder was lined with patterns, scarred into his flesh, though not nearly as intense as his arm. Thankfully his right ribs were the worst, so Allen was able to shield his arm from Marie's inspection.
Marie quickly fixed his arm back into place with a sharp tug on the immobile limb. The swollen knee was iced, wrapped, and iced some more. Not much could be don for his ribs, but Marie dressed the injuries appropriately, cleaning then bandaging the bruises Allen had 'forgotten' to mention. How did he know?
"How did you know?" Marie chuckled slightly, continuing his work.
"You aren't the first to come in here. The head nurse complained nonstop about kids coming from the training courses asking for painkillers but never letting her properly dress their injuries. LInk's classes are way too intense…" Part of Allen wanted to inquire more about why that was, the rest wanted food. He sat in silence, wondering what to do when Lenalee returned. Knocking before nudging the door open.
"Komui had some stuff, but it's probably too big. I grabbed your bag just in case."
"Thank you." Lenalee exited along with Marie to give Allen some privacy. He was grateful to her for the warm, though indeed over-sized clothes. But mainly he was grateful for not having to shamefully re-enter the gym to grab his belongings later.
"Ah, the new student! Komui seemed rather excited about him." A nod.
"What do you think?" Lenalee ceased her half-hearted nodding to glance up at the man.
"Oh… I think… It isn't fair that he has to take the combat class right away…" This was muttered, but Marie heard it regardless. What he lacked in sight he more than made up for in hearing. Allen emerged, backpack slung over his left shoulder. His soiled gloves seemed rather out of place in comparison to the baggy uniform. In truth Lenalee had been too ashamed at having not intervened to avoid the incident to face Komui. Instead she broke into Lavi's locker, which was always dummy-locked, and 'borrowed' his clothes. He was in Link's combat class and she had been near the locker rooms to grab Allen's bag sooo. Besides, Komui probably only has t-shirts, but all the seniors have uniforms which include jackets.
"Was done Komui have a uniform?" Allen pondered doubtfully. Lenalee tensed slightly as Marie's expression grew doubtful yet intrigued.
"Well you know, they're just here and there, for emergencies. Anyways I should probably get to class, Tiedoll is understanding but I don't want to test my luck, bye." She scurried off, leaving the pair slightly suspicious. At the end of the hall she turned and waved, calling back,
"Hope you feel better Allen!" She rounded the corner and was gone.
"What are you going to do?" Allen shrugged but began walking off only to be stopped by a large hand on his head.
"I'm not going to ask about the scars or your arm, but if you ever want to talk I'm here." Allen stood, frozen by the words. When he finally managed to spin around he was welcomed by that same smile. Allen nodded curtly and darted off.
"See you around Allen, try and take it easy for a few days!" Allen continued weaving about the halls with no destination in mind, but somehow wound up outside the music room. He sighed slightly, the hint of a smile masking his face as he stepped inside. He didn't dare play while school was in session, so he patiently waited. He fell asleep among the abandoned instruments, tucked into a corner and head resting on his backpack of a pillow. He awoke with a start to the distant echo of footsteps and jumbled words. The sound was faint, but he waited a few minutes till that faded.
He pulled the lonesome notebook from his bag, flipping it open to a page that had only been written on once, the only one. On it was a circular musical score Allen had drawn up from memory when he first received the notebook from a teacher. His uncle had taught him to play before he disappeared, and Mana taught him the score. Over the years of sneaking into music rooms, he had discovered the music he knew how to read was not the standard, and had made it his mission to learn the normal way. He almost had it figured out, save a few symbols, but he could usually just fill in the notes with others that seemed to fit the piece. He cautiously walked over to the grand piano, removing the dusty sheet obscuring it. He used the same sheet to wipe off as much dust as possible before lifting the lid and admiring the keys. He tapped a couple out of curiosity and was greeted by cheery notes, though not the right ones. Not too out of tune considering how long it's been sitting here. He placed the notebook on the stand and began playing out the melody. He would translate it later, right now he just wanted to get lost in the music.