A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I know that this hadn't been updated in such a long time, and I hope you do forgive me. Enjoy this second chapter, and leave a review! Thank you for all that had commented on the last chapter, and I hope you all continue to read this story.
P.S. Sorry if it came out too snarky.
Chapter 2 - Windows
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bother - um… a rocker?"
"What? No! I'm not a musician or anything!" Corazon tried to explain.
He was genuinely surprised that the boy would think that, and he tried his best to diffuse the mistake. Perhaps the make-up was a mistake? He heard the boy laugh – a happy laugh that resounded within the whole room and came from deep inside his chest.
After the boy apologized and left, Corazon felt a rising nervousness creep up behind him. The boy he had just seen may have been able to shrug off his new look, but that was because he didn't know him. He sighed, a heavy breath leaving him as he tentatively placed the tips of his fingers under his right eye. The soft, tainted flesh felt raw under his touch. If that strange boy had found him looking odd, then what would Law say?
The burn marks he had suffered didn't hurt as much as they did anymore, but they would leave a lasting scar. Thinking about how the marks would always be with him made him remember how they'd gotten there in the first place.
After he was attacked at the outburst in Addison, he had been knocked out by the butt of a gun. When he came to, he found himself lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. A dingy light dangled above him to illuminate the room, and his eyes immediately searched his surroundings to find three men sitting at a table.
He could not identify any of them as they all had hoods and a bandana covering the lower halves of their faces – just like the gang members in the streets. Corazon's mind clicked then and he knew he was in trouble. Their attire made them look like a cult more than anything, and the unison of movement when all three heads turned to look at him made him freeze. They knew he was awake.
One of the figures stood up, and the rest followed him to surround the cop. The one with the red bandana squatted beside Corazon's shoulder and caressed his cheek. With a sudden flick of his wrist, he lolled the blonde's head to the side.
"How you doing there?" The voice rang happily. The way it clashed against his ears, the voice still sounded underdeveloped, and it did not yet have the same deepness of a man who was fully grown. Corazon could still pick out the higher pitch of a developing teen – this person was still a boy.
Corazon stayed quiet biting his tongue. He knew he needed to figure out what was happening and what they were planning before he could act. Cautiously, he stared in silence as the group of strangers peered down at him. One them who was standing kicked Corazon's side apparently not liking the calculating look in his eyes.
"Hn!" He flinched biting into the gag they had pulled against his mouth. The foot had hit one of the bruises still sore at his ribs.
"I don't like this guy," the one who kicked them stated bluntly. "Why'd you bring him here, bro?"
"Because of this," red bandana said, a smile curling the edges of his lips underneath his mask. He motioned to the other man who hadn't said anything and told him to go to the fireplace at the other end of the room. "Bro."
It was one word, but the man knew the command. The one with the blue bandana walked over to retrieve a metal rod that had been heating up in the midst of the fire. Corazon's eyes widened as the man came back, the heated metal glowing a mad red at the tip in his hands. A crown like mark shaped the glowing end, and his eyes followed it as the metal was passed to the teen with the red bandana.
As if trying to get a comfortable feel at the handle, the boy gripped it and looked back down to Corazon. Brown eyes twinkled in suspense.
"Old man. Did you know? Some people brand themselves instead of getting tattoos. You get similar results, but ink tends to fade, you know? And you can always remove a tat once you figure out that you don't like it. But a burn mark – that shit, you can't erase. It stays with you as a scar."
The hooded stranger held the glowing metal close to Corazon's face, the tip a hair line's distance away as the heat radiated against his cheek.
"And the smell. The god damn smell stinks like rubber. Shit," the guy laughed. "You ever experienced that?"
The metal rod hovered upwards Corazon's face until it was right under his eye.
"You know, simple threats just don't work on you cops. You think you guys can do anything just because you're the authority. Guess we just need another way to, how you say, revise the way we convey our message. So listen to this.
"Stop fucking messing with us."
The metal came down kissing his flesh, the intense heat making Corazon scream.
It was like he could still feel it. Corazon let his fingers trail down to the marks at the corner of his mouth.
He could still hear himself tearing out his vocal cords and trying hard to restrain his body from jerking in fear of moving the heated rod towards his eye. It took immense will to keep from moving and to not balk at the smell of searing skin.
"Scream, bitch. I like it."
Corazon lost himself in the memory that he almost jumped when he heard a knocking. He lifted his eyes from the part of the blanket that he was staring at, and he caught a glimpse of himself at the reflection of the window glass. Black painted at the places where he had been burned, and he couldn't help but think that they looked absolutely ridiculous.
How could he possibly think he could get away with this? No way was this look normal.
"Mr. Donquixote,"
He turned from the window and tore his gaze towards the nurse who had come in to his room. He guessed he looked distraught as she smiled at him, a warmth filling her expression. Her long brown hair moved as she tilted her head to the side.
"There are people here to see you," she said. The pity in her big brown eyes became more transparent the longer he looked at her. "Your son and a few of his friends are with him."
The hand which was glossing his marred skin now clutched to the blanket covering his lap.
"No," he said.
The moment the word came out, he knew he was being selfish. This wasn't the right thing to do. If there was anyone that could have the privilege of seeing him, it was Law. As his son, it was his right to. But some part of him didn't want the boy to see him like this.
There were still spots coloring his neck where he was chocked and blotches of discoloration running down his arms and the rest of his body. He looked battered and swollen, and he wouldn't be able to handle how Law would look at him. What would the kid see? What would he think?
Corazon knew that Law was already against his return at the job, and one look at his sad state would only convince him that his argument was right. And if Law asked – if he asked – Corazon ran his hand against his mouth. If Law asked him to leave his job, he would.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Donquixote?" the nurse asked sensing his reluctance.
He looked at her feeling horrible.
"I don't want to see anyone right now. Can you please tell them that I'm unwell?"
"Of course," she nodded after giving him a sympathetic look. "I will tell them that you are unable to accept visitors at this time. But are you sure you are feeling well? Do you need anything?"
He shook his head.
"I'm fine. Just please tell them I'm sorry."
The woman gave a small noise of agreement and went off to ward Law and his friends away, but with the promise of returning and checking on his temperature and heart rate. She thought that something might have been wrong with the drugs they were giving him, but she was completely off. He just wasn't ready yet. Corazon heard the door close, and he slumped into his hand, fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose.
He had to show Law his burn marks sooner or later. Putting it off wasn't going to help, but he didn't regret trying to delay it as much as possible and opting for the latter.
Corazon took a heavy breath, hands rubbing against his face. He took another glance at the window pane, his reflection staring back at him. His makeup had completely smudged like charcoal, streaks lining down his cheeks following his fingertips. The hideous color of burnt flesh showed under the destroyed mask of black, and it hurt. Not just looking at it, but the burns weren't even healed yet. The doctor would certainly scold him later for messing with the healing process.
But he didn't need the scolding. He already knew he wasn't supposed to be doing anything with the wounds because everything was still itching and bothering him. He was just in pain everywhere.
Cerulean eyes stared at him with contempt – or perhaps it was anger?
He didn't want to keep looking at the image, but he couldn't pull his gaze away. There was something in that hollowness, in that fear, in his own eyes that felt too real and overwhelming at the same time.
Law was standing at the helper's desk with Shachi and Penguin. They had asked if they could see his father, but for some reason, the woman at the desk made them wait. He didn't know why they would stop him and he had made sure that it was visiting hours.
It wasn't long until the nurse that was sent away came back. She was pretty with her pale, milky skin, but the small knit to her brows ruined her charms slightly. She looked to Law with a wan smile.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Your father isn't able to take visitors right now."
"What?" he tensed immediately assuming the worst. His friends behind him straightened up with him. "What do you mean? Did something happen?"
"No, Mr. Donquixote is fine. He just requests that no one visits him at this time."
Law was at a loss. If his father was okay, then why didn't he want to see him? He couldn't shake off the building apprehension as he was left wondering.
"Please," he tried. "I just want to see him."
"I'm sorry, but we can't let you do that."
"Can you at least tell us why he's decided to refuse visitors?" Penguin piped up trying to help.
The nurse sighed. "He says that he is feeling unwell, and we'll be checking to make sure that nothing is wrong. Your father may just be tired. From what he's been through, it's not a surprise."
A hand patted Law's shoulder giving a comforting squeeze. He knew what had happened to Corazon; that was the only reason he didn't argue with the nurse and understood the amount of recovery that was needed for his father. One of the men his father was working with, Coby, had stopped by at his house the night of the incident to report that his father had gone missing. He nearly lost it then, but the news of Corazon's state when he was found almost obliterated him in comparison.
Coby tried to be by his side the whole time. Throughout the whole investigation of trying to find Corazon, he tried to give Law support, but sometimes, he could tell that it also went the other way.
His father had been in the force for a long time, Law understood that. Corazon may have taken a break when Law came into the picture, but Law was used to the blonde coming home with injuries as the man had returned to his job three years ago. Three years was enough time to accumulate multiple wounds – grazes, bruises, and knife wounds, but nothing like this. Corazon getting hurt wasn't new, but to this extent – it took three days to find him. Three days that allowed Law's worry to sky rocket and make him go crazy.
He hadn't seen his father when they found him in an abandoned building in the next city over, but he had visited when he was still unconscious in the hospital. His fists curled from the memory of seeing the purple skin and the bandaged wound on Corazon's thigh which had been infected. The worst of all, though, were the marks on his father's face. The three pointed marks under his right eye and the lines that stretched from his lips – his blood boiled at seeing how anyone could deform someone's face like that.
He was glad to see that his father was unconscious at that time so he wouldn't have to feel all the pain. Just trying to grasp what he went through when he was missing – he couldn't.
Law had refused to leave Corazon's side that day until the nurses came and told him that he needed to leave. It was unhealthy for a person to be staying so long with another in complete apprehension, even if it was with their loved one. It would do the patient nor the family member any good, and Coby had reminded him that he still had school. In the officer's words, he said that Corazon would not forgive him if he let his son worry himself to death. So by Coby's persistence, Law had grudgingly left his father's side, but promising that it would only be for a moment. That had been two days ago, and he was hanging on to the edge of his seat waiting for Corazon to wake up. When Coby called again this morning informing him of his father's progress, Law had been anxious to get to the hospital and see his father awake – blue eyes blinking and alive. But now that he was here, he didn't understand why the man would want to drive him away.
"Did you tell him that it was me?" he looked to the nurse hoping she would ask again, but he still received the same answer.
"I have told him. He is fully aware that you were the one visiting. I'm really sorry, but you just have to come back another time."
The woman gave him one last look before taking off. She was done trying to reason with him and expected him to leave as she went on to resume her daily tasks around the hospital.
The hand on Law's shoulder squeezed tighter, but he remained where he was standing. He refused to let the rejection sink in.
"It's alright, Law," Penguin whispered. "We'll just come back tomorrow when your dad is feeling better."
Gently, another hand rested on his opposite arm of where the blue eyed boy was holding. Shachi didn't need to say a word as he tugged on Law's arm.
A slow breath staggered out of his chest, and Law turned around himself to head towards the exit. His two friends were fast enough to move with him and matched his stride as they left the office, Penguin's arm slung around his shoulders to keep him grounded and calm.
No one said anything as they made it outside to Shachi's car in the parking lot. Law got in the back seat silently seething.
The next day better have something good for him.
The next day, Law was at school and he stood leaning by the cabinets with his arms crossed. The downwards curl to his lips came naturally as he rose a brow to the familiar sight.
"What? Am I supposed to expect another person to come barging in here again?"
He was annoyingly retorted with a snort.
It wasn't as if he had a reason to be happy to see the redhead again. He had no obligation to greet anyone with a smile, and he was definitely not going to start with someone who had humiliated him in front of Doctrine. Usually, this was Law's downtime and chance to get away from everyone, but the boy had disrupted his peaceful get away by coming again to the infirmary. Now, the boy named Eustass Kid was sitting on the same bed he had used the last time he came. Law eyed the redhead up and down not missing the reopened cut on his lip and scratches on his cheek.
"Law," Dr. Kureha called his name to move and not just stand there.
She was doing some paperwork at the front desk and was too busy to take care of guests. She gave the two a wary eye, and Law scoffed as he turned around. He searched the cabinets for disinfectants and some swabs which he gathered and brought over to the bed. Grabbing the seat close by, Law sat down when he was suddenly pulled by the wrist. Instinctively, he reached out with his other arm to break his fall. His hand landed on the other boy's leg, and he quickly flung his head upwardly to glare at the big headed delinquent. Their faces were only centimeters apart, their nose almost touching and eyes immediately locking.
"What? Not going to scream like a girl this time?"
Kid smirked at him. Law squeezed the boy's leg making him flinch as he touched a bruise.
"Mhm-!" The boy cringed.
Law pulled his arm back trying his best to act as professionally as he could in front of Dr. Kureha and sat down. He soaked the swab with alcohol and quickly started cleaning the cut on Kid's cheek before the boy could straighten up. The sting of the alcohol made him flinch.
"Argh! That hurts!" the redhead hissed swatting Law's hand away.
The dark haired teen ignored him and dabbed again. "Now, who's screaming like a little girl? Hold still."
"I would if you'd warn me next time."
"Next time? You're going to make this a routine?"
"Hey, don't start clinging to me already, sweetheart. You're expecting too much if you expect me to visit you all the time. We just met. But if you like that, I guess I like them demanding."
Law paused on his dabbing to give the boy a look. Sweetheart? Did the boy just give him a disgusting pet name? Law almost felt the bile rising from his throat. He set down the swab and grabbed a cloth which he half smacked the boy with on the cheek.
"Next time I see you, I'll make sure to lock the door."
He played the smack as a forceful rub to clean the wound.
"Don't be such a prissy bitch – Ow!"
Law nicked him with the bone of his finger earning him a glare. Once he finished, he cleaned the cut on his lip as well and rubbed ointment on it. Kid stayed quiet as he took care of his lips, but he could feel the boy watching him as he did so. Once he was done, Law promptly stood up to throw away the dirty equipment he used in the trashcan. The golden red eyes didn't stray from him, and Law turned to meet the gaze. Kid smirked leaning back on the bed when their eyes met.
"I might have cuts again on other parts of my body. Are you going to tell me to take my shirt off?" He cocked his head the side. His shirt was already half way open so when he shifted back, the collar shifted to reveal his upper chest.
Law threw the dirty mess in the bin. "Do it yourself if you need to."
He was sure the boy didn't have any more injuries. He didn't know why Kid was playing with him, but he could tell that his shirt was completely white. There were no red stains anywhere, and even his shoulder where he had the gash seemed fine. Law walked over to the front desk to retrieve the clipboard with the sign-in sheets and shoved it towards the redhead.
"You know what to do."
He would not give any more words other than commands.
"You know," Kid said as he took the clipboard, "you ain't really a nice nurse to be around. Usually, they try to make patients feel better by being all nice and stuff."
"And stuff?" he repeated icily. "What exactly do you want me to do, Eustass?"
He really hoped the boy knew better than to answer, but he had little expectations. Did the man take him as his damn maid? What did nurses do other than take care of injuries? And he already attended to all of them. And secondly, he wasn't even a damn nurse. The term 'assistant' would be more accurate, but he had already tried to clarify that to the redhead earlier and apparently failed to make himself understood.
Kid scribbled his name shrugging and handed the papers back to him.
"I wouldn't mind a lap dance or a lollipop."
"You're disgusting." Law snatched the clipboard away before he was really finished. Anything to make the redhead leave faster.
"Hey, don't get too carried away with the dirty talk or I might just believe it."
Kid just had to add in and Law groaned rolling his eyes. Dr. Kureha actually looked up from her paperwork to make a face, one side of her lip twisting clearly disturbed.
"Don't just sit there bothering my helper, brat," she beamed at Kid. "If you're fine, then get out of my office and go back to class."
She was getting sick of the weird display of flirting. Kid clenched his jaw wanting to retort back, but something held him back. Instead, he did as he was told and hopped off the bed, hands slipping into his pockets. A small hint of fear flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a noncommittal look of boredom as soon as it came. He kicked the floor for a little bit and Law ignored him opting to busy his hands with organizing the medical equipment in the cabinets. Nothing really needed to be ordered and he was only pretending to be busy. He reached over to a hydrogen peroxide bottle when he felt Kid come up behind him.
"I need someone to walk me back to class."
He didn't even stop to act like he was listening.
"Did your head get banged up too hard that you forgot your way back," he stated more than asked.
Whatever Kid wanted, he didn't want to be part of it. He continued like before, but the presence of the other teen never left. After a few moments, a pale arm reached over and grabbed the bottle and lifted it from his hands.
"I need proof that I was here and wasn't ditching class. I don't want the teacher thinking I was skipping again."
"Well, that's your problem, now isn't it?"
"Come on. Do a guy a favor, will ya?"
Law suddenly turned around irked. Just the sound of the redhead's voice made it seem like he was supposed to owe him something when really, it should be the other way around. He looked up at the redhead, his eyes sharp. Kid may have been a few inches taller, but they were almost leveled and he wasn't intimidated in the least.
"I've patched you up twice. Based on what I've done, it's you that should owe me. So do a favor for a guy will you," he mimicked in spite, "and leave me alone."
Kid stared at him for a second, his expression blank when Law snatched back the bottle of antiseptic. He made sure to elbow him a little when he turned back around to return to the cabinet and restock the second shelf.
"Ouch," Kid said in feint hurt. He stepped back a little from the jab, but from his muscular built, he wasn't really hurt at all. "You really know how to turn down a guy."
"Only those that can't get a hint."
"I was just playing. Don't take it so seriously."
"Hey!" Dr. Kureha growled from her desk. "Didn't I say to break it up? Or do you want me to send your ass back to class myself?" She focused on Kid, and the boy backed off just slightly.
He gave an uncomfortable shift in his stance. Something about the Doctrine made the redheaded teen feel slightly intimidated. Kid's jaw tightened once more like it kept doing whenever he faced the old woman, and Law paused glancing over his shoulder just to see how he'd handle Dr. Kureha. Part of him was hoping she'd kick his ass.
"I still need someone to escort me back," Kid pushed. "Shanks is all over my shit and won't believe if I come back with just a note."
"And I wonder why," Doctrine said dryly. In her lack of surprise, she gave an aggravated glance at Law. "Go walk him back."
Law opened his mouth in protest, but she quickly cut him off with the gesture of her hand.
"And I want my assistant back in five minutes, got it?" She was talking to Kid, but she effectively quieted the both of them, her decision final.
Kid gave a slanted smirk as if he was trying his best to grate on her nerves. "What if I keep him for six?"
He was sure that old hag had it in for him ever since they met.
The old hag scuffed him on the back of his neck and threw him out of her office. It wasn't like he was asking for anything big, just that someone take him back to his homeroom. He had basically stumbled into the hallway when he asked. The only thing that made it less humiliating was that the nurse boy was kicked out in the same fashion.
The boy followed him into the hallway, Dr. Kureha also throwing him out and shutting the door. Law – that's what the hag kept calling him – gave an incredulous glance at the shut door, and Kid almost smiled to himself. Things were always better when people suffered with you.
The dark haired teen jerked his head, eyes narrowed into deadly daggers directed at him. Even Kid knew when not to say anything then, though he had to admit those smoldering grey eyes were kind of hot, and began walking without a word.
Heading back to class, he thought that Law wasn't following him until the boy came by his side.
"Where's your class?" The teen was short with his question, and his tone as icy as ever.
"Room 218," he answered casually.
The boy gave a huff and walked faster taking the lead. Kid let him, the boy walking a good five feet ahead, and it wasn't so bad. His eyes trailed down to Law's ass, and he smiled. The teen's eyes weren't the only things that were smoking.
The two continued walking in silence, Kid bringing his hands behind his head in a relaxed fashion. He was pretty content with the looks of the other teen, but he actually wasn't after him. This was just one of Shanks' way of making sure he got his truant ass to class. If there wasn't someone to escort him back, the man wasn't wrong when he assumed that he'd stray and not come back. The grass out in the school garden seemed so much more appealing than sitting in a crowded room filled with mindless talk. And wasn't it a saying that people had to stop and smell the roses? Kid just wanted to smell freedom.
Unfortunately for him, Shanks had different opinions on the matter.
Kid was pretty surprised when he told Killer about Shanks' conditions. The blonde thought it was a good thing for someone to be with him and watching him during his walk back as it was dangerous for any one of them to be alone. There had been multiple ambush attacks that singled out members of Ace's and his crew whenever they were wandering by themselves in the streets or at school, and the attacks had increasingly become more common. Still, Kid firmly believed that he didn't need any babysitting during the walk back from the nurse's office since it was so short, but after explaining to him, Killer had a point. Even though he had been doing well in protecting himself whenever he was alone, the fact wasn't the same for Haruta, one of Ace's friends who they were tied to, and Wire who was also in the hospital. Killer was just being careful, and he wanted someone to be by Kid's side in case anything happened.
The guys couldn't always be there to have his back, the blonde argued. Kid could accept that counter. Everybody had different schedules, and it was irritating to organize everyone. He was expecting for his friends to recommend a security guard but for some reason, they thought it was a good idea for the nurse's assistant to walk him. Why, he had no idea. The dark haired teen didn't even look like a fighter. Kid bet he could pin him down in ten seconds.
He let his eyes wander at Law's backside a little longer.
Eh, he shrugged. It was a nice view. There were very few things he could appreciate, and Killer did have a point.
If someone called him cowardly, he'd break their nose flat. He was just being cautious. Things weren't so good with the tension between Ace's crew and the Birds.
The Birds – that's what he nicknamed the other group inside their school that liked to create trouble against their original crew in the District. After a while of calling them that, the name sort of just stuck, and everyone else began addressing them as such.
It had always been the Whitebeards that ruled this area, and Kid and his circle had been cool with them. He wasn't into creating fights with such a big gang, and he was close friends with Ace who was one of the higher ups within the crew. It was a nice set up. Kid and his friends minded their own business and they could enter parts of the city without stirring any disputes. In return, he helped the Whitebeards every now and then when they needed muscle.
True, he kind of liked beating the shit out of people just for the hell of it. In truth, it was kind of a stress reliever from all the shit that went on his life, but it was a give-give relationship they had, and the order was stable. That is, until those Birds came flying into their territory. It was just recent that those pests came. They were new guys from the next city over who migrated to their parts – new meat trying to claim their district and started throwing their weight around like the gangs that already existed within the city would hand their control over on a silver platter. Who did they think they were? Those conniving bastards.
No one even heard of them before, and they come tossing demands with their stuck up attitudes. As soon as they came, they immediately came up to rival crews demanding their cooperation and threatened them if they refused. One of the Bird's members actually came up to Killer once when Kid wasn't there. The rest of his friends were hanging out at the bridge near the river so the blonde was alone. They asked him if he wanted to join their shitty gang and actually called his best friend trash. Killer beat the shit out of the guy of course, but when Kid found out about it, he was furious.
They tracked the messenger a few days later and found him hanging out at the park with a bunch of other guys. They beat the shit out of the guy again and his friends too. Kid had dibs on the messenger though just because he personally wanted his fist to break the guy's jaw.
That fight got Kid's circle some attention from those avian dicks, and Kid was surprised to find that some of the invading group's members were also newly enrolled into their school. Immediately, he knew that they were going to get into a real sticky dilemma. Some people from the school were quickly recruited into the new gang, and he wasn't surprised. The Birds were recruiting after all, but that's all they were – just a new group that was all mass, exactly like a flock of birds who were crowding to intimidate by numbers.
There were many gangs who hated the Whitebeards, and it was predictable that the smaller fish would try to congregate around a bigger fish to try and take down the leading crew. It wasn't long until the lesser groups around the city who were opposed to the Whitebeards became subgroups of the Birds, and the new gang became huge. Threateningly massive, even.
The Whitebeards and their few remaining allies weren't small, perhaps half of the city still remained loyal. But knowing that the other half of the city was an enemy – seeing anyone with a bandana around their faces would send anyone up on their toes if they were still a part of the Whitebeard crew.
Kid personally thought the bandanas were kind of cool, but he preferred to show his face. Hiding behind a piece of cloth was cowardly in his opinion, and it maddened him when he didn't know the identities of the people who would sometimes try to attack him or any of his friends. Not even Killer would be able to go and chase down the pricks who would ambush them in the middle of the night because they wouldn't know who to go after. If there was no face, there was no trace. If there was no trace, there was no satisfactory pay back.
While the problem of bandanas only applied to the streets as it violated the dress code at school, it was a bigger headache to try and pick out who belonged to what group when there was no obvious sign to indicate people's loyalty. Kid could get jumped any time while walking the halls alone, and he wouldn't even expect it.
Heck, the last time he was walking alone, he brushed it off when he noticed that a girl was following him. She didn't look threatening. She had medium black hair, nerdy bangs, and was short. She looked like one of the model students, the ones who liked to stay late in the library studying or something, and he thought she was one of the normal ones so he didn't give her much thought. But boy, was he wrong.
When he got to the bottom of the stairs near the music building, the crazy chick suddenly went and clawed at his back with a knife. He dodged, but just barely. He didn't even notice when she had flung out the weapon! The girl tried multiple times to hang on to him, and he had to flip her to the floor to keep her from hopping everywhere. It was easy to overpower her once he had her on the ground, and he got rid of the knife easily. He threw it out the window, then knocked the girl unconscious.
Not knowing what to do, he sort of just left her there in the hall. He didn't bother to hide her as no one saw what had happened, and he resumed to his original destination – the restroom.
Kid couldn't even go take a damn piss without getting hassled. That's how bad it was. So his precaution of having someone walk with him back to his homeroom was not excessive or just an irrational fear. Anyone could be a damn Bird.
Kid looked at the reflection of the window as they passed by one in the hall. He looked at his own, his bruised face looking back at him, then at the figure of the person walking in front of him.
Law didn't notice he was staring at him as he made it look like he was staring at the buildings lining the city outside. Considerations of Law being one of the Birds played in his head, but for some reason, he thought it was unlikely. Someone as tight in their backside as him couldn't be part of shady scuffles. The dark haired teen probably knew nothing of the things that went on in alleys and late in the night far from normal life.
Law seemed normal, and he didn't give off that unprincipled vibe. He gave the impression of a hard working student – someone who had goals of going into college or something. At least, that's what Kid got.
He would have preferred if one of his friends like Wire was accompanying him, but he thought about it. The Birds wouldn't attack someone who wasn't part of the war when it would draw attention to them. They didn't need any more bad rep when they were still new. If they created too much trouble, then they would lose support of the more independent groups that they've been able to amass. Attacking someone who wasn't involved would create more problems than wanted. The attack would get reported and tighter security would befall the whole school. No one would be able to make any moves then.
Even if it was just the nurse's assistant, Kid was safer with him than any of his crew. If it was Killer or anyone else he knew, the other gang wouldn't hesitate for a free chance of shanking a shiv into their guts. But it would really be a damn shame if nurse boy was an avian puppet.
The pair of legs in front of him suddenly stopped, and Kid almost bumped into Law, his mind elsewhere.
"What?" he finally tore away from the mirror to look ahead.
The dark haired boy turned around on his heels giving him a dead look of 'are you stupid?'
"This is your classroom," Law said flatly.
Kid looked to the side and noticed that they were indeed in front of a door with the number "218" engraved in bold letters just below the frame. His redheaded homeroom teacher could be seen through the slim glass window of the door, and Shanks seemed to have already started today's agenda of leaning back into his chair and letting his students do whatever they wanted with their free time. Blinking, he barely realized that he had been daydreaming the whole trip here.
"Well?" Law spoke, his arms crossing across his chest, when Kid continued to stand there. "Aren't you going in?"
"Nah," he drawled. "Not yet. Gotta keep you for at least six minutes remember?"
"Believe me when I say that it's been way past that, at least in my point of view."
"Don't you get tired of being holed up in the nurse's office all day?" Kid asked.
"I prefer to have my peace and quiet," Law remarked. "Not that you know of that."
"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"
He purposefully gave off an irritating smile. Law rolled his smoldering grey eyes – could the guy act any sexier? Kid just loved the snappy attitude – and made off to leave. Kid followed Law as he brushed by, his eyes meaning to catch a last glimpse of the teen's fine ass, when he caught something at the reflection on the window. His eyes quickly jumped to the glass panes which captured an image of the hallway, and Kid spotted a yellow haired kid waiting at the top of the stairs. The kid was acting suspicious as he crouched down to hide behind a wall, his gaze strictly focused on him and Law.
Shit. This is what he got for spacing out. He didn't even notice anyone trailing them.
Kid quickly reached out taking a hold of Law's wrist and pulled him back.
He couldn't recognize the blonde and he didn't trust for the teen to walk back alone. A silver object came glinting into view against the reflection as the blonde took out a knife, and he furrowed his brows. If he had already brandished out his weapon, then it wasn't Kid that he was after since Law would be passing by him very soon. Kid could tell from the way the boy was holding his weapon with two fingers that it was a push knife – a blade that was easily concealed due to its small size. Such a thing couldn't really kill a person, but it could still cause some serious damage. Typical – the Birds preferred to use something like that as they preferred to hurt, rather than kill, to lower moral and psyche people out.
"What the hell?!" Law growled clearly annoyed.
He tightened his grip on the wrist and turned to the dark haired teen.
"I asked if you wanna bet on that."
Law only gave him a strained bemused look before Kid pulled him towards the other end of the hallway.
"What are you doing?! You're supposed to go back to class!"
"It's alright! Shanks will think that I'm still at the nurse's office!"
"You're clearly not, and that is not an excuse!"
"You're my excuse."
Kid continued to drag the unwilling teen who continued to wiggle out of his grasp. It wasn't until they were down the stairs and alone that he stopped and pushed Law to the wall. Law let out a disgruntled sound of surprise as Kid pressed up against him and pinned both his arms above his head, the redhead's voice falling into a deadly whisper. Eyes turning wide, Law was about to speak in protest when Kid cut him off.
"Shut up and don't talk. Someone's following us."
That effectively causes the other boy's mouth to close, but it doesn't erase his look of contempt. How cute, Kid thinks to himself as the boy looked at him confused. He had probably been taken aback, unknowing how they had a stalker. Kid's jaw tighten still angry over the yellow haired punk and how he could have sneaked up on them, but he calms a little liking the position they were in – him towering over the other teen – but he doesn't let it distract him, and he keeps his senses alert.
"If you go back to the nurse's office now, then there's a guy out there waiting to get a good stab at you."
"What?" The boy failed to take his order on keeping quiet.
"I saw a guy waiting by the stairs with a knife waiting for you to pass by."
"That was probably meant for you," Law hissed. The boy doesn't hide how indifferent he is to the situation. Or more accurately, how he doesn't care how someone wanted to stick a blade into the redhead.
Kid doesn't deny that maybe the attempt was for him. There were so many people that wanted to kill him, but he clearly saw the blonde eyeing Law.
"No. He was aiming for you."
"He has no reason to hurt me."
"Hardly anyone has a reason to hurt anybody, but they still do," he growled. Kid thought about the many times he picked fights with random guys just to get the feel of something breaking under his knuckles, and how that reasoning was so invalid. "If you saw him with a knife, it doesn't matter! The guy would've attacked you so he could run away and not get caught!"
Kid knew he'd do the same, and he had - twice this semester - as he carried around a weapon himself. The switchblade knife felt heavy in his pockets, a constant reminder of its existence and why it was there.
A crinkle folded Law's nose and he tried to push Kid back, but Kid put all of his weight into keeping him down. He pushed his knee in between Law's legs to increase his advantage over him and solidified his grip harder.
"If you don't want a knife sticking out of you, just shut your trap and follow me!"
"No," Law said refusing to listen. "You just want to skip class, and I need to get back to Dr. Kureha, asshole!"
The boy kept trying to get free, and he could see him grit his teeth.
"Damn, you're stubborn!" Kid frowned at the challenging glare he was shot.
"Don't order me around."
It was just four words, but maybe because of the way they were said that they made Kid give a feral grin. He looked at Law meeting those defiant eyes head on, a twinkle shinning in his own. When a person tells him not to do something, that just makes him want to do what he's been told not to do. Now, all he wanted to do was order Law around and give him so much commands – commands that were going to be fulfilled.
Kid shifted to give one of his hands control over both Law's wrists where he kept them pasted against the wall. Leaning closer, the teen narrowed his eyes warily as the redhead let his now free hand travel down to the boy's side.
"Oh yeah?" Kid whispered to Law's ear. "You don't like me ordering you around?" he teased.
His breath tickled the hairs on the boy's neck as they were that close. A smile pulled his lips when he felt the dark haired boy stiffen the moment his fingers dug into his back pockets. Kid quickly pulled back and jumped a few paces when he felt Law move and try to kick his nuts. Damn, the guy fights dirty!
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Law shouted, his face turning red. His hands curled into fists, and Kid couldn't help but grin.
He held up the boy's phone flashing it like a trophy. Two words sashayed out of his lips in command.
"Follow me."