Disclaimer: i own nothing!~
Allen looked at the first book, tattered thing that it was, sitting on her lap. She opened it and skimmed through the story. It was only a fairy tale - the well known Beauty and the Beast. A children's classic. Allen smiled as her eyes scanned the page; it had once been her favourite childhood story. It was amazing how one girl managed to change a man for the better. If only she could do the same with Kanda... True, she was no beauty, but Kanda could be pretty beastly sometimes. He needed to change his icy attitude and heartless behaviour. It was -
"Allen?" Lenalee popped her head around Allen's door. "I'm bored. Do you want to go shopping?"
"Mmm?" Allen looked up from a pile of books all lying around her. "Shopping?"
"Yes, shopping. Let's go to town today! You need some new clothes, too."
"Alright, I guess I could accompany you."
Giggling and chatting, the two girls made for town, where they headed to the largest shopping mall. Walking into the nearest departmental store, the two busied themselves with searching for their own preferred types of clothes. Soon, Lenalee came up to Allen with various tops.
"Hey, Allen, try these? I think they'd look good on you."
Allen leafed through the articles of clothing. "Nah. These will make me look even skinnier."
"Are you sure? Lavi likes looking at girls who wear tops like these!" Lenalee insisted.
"What has Lavi got to do with anything?" Allen asked, a white eyebrow raised.
"Oh. Nothing much." With a rather high-pitched giggle unlike her usual tinkling laugh, Lenalee hastily made for the changing rooms.
Over lunch, Lenalee broached the subject that she'd been curious about for quite some time.
"Ehhh, Allen?" There was no answer. Lenalee looked up from her own plate to behold Allen Walker in all her hungry glory. Lenalee almost cried out in vexation. Allen was literally pouring her food into her mouth without any consideration of the finer points of eating in public. Girls weren't supposed to eat like that!
"Allen Walker!" Lenalee glared at her friend.
"Uhh, yes?" Allen finally put her bowl down.
"Are you that hungry that you have to resort to eating like this?"
"Oops, sorry, I won't do it again." Allen said, giving one of her warm smiles, which immediately melted Lenalee's annoyance.
"Anyway, Allen, I want to ask you something. Do you like Lavi?"
Allen stared in Lenalee in shock. Her eyes were wide open, and her mouth folded into an extended oval. "Me? Like Lavi?"
"Yeah. Do you like him?"
"No! Of course I don't!" Allen could not believe the words she was hearing. How could Lenalee even think that! Haven't I already given everyone many hints that I have absolutely no feelings for Lavi?
"Come on Allen, don't be shy. I won't tell anyone about anything. Come on, spill already!" Lenalee smiled expectantly at her friend as she said those words.
"Lenalee," Allen leaned across the table to make her point, "I have no feelings for Lavi. At all. I'm serious."
Lenalee searched Allen's eyes for signs of lies. But she saw no trace of deceit in Allen's large blue-grey eyes. With a sigh, she nodded. It was too bad for Lavi; the poor guy was going to suffer a shock when he learned of Allen's non-existing feelings.
"He likes you, you know."
"I've been trying my best to get him to see that I don't like him that way." Allen said, eyes downcast. She hated the thought of hurting anyone.
"Oh. I won't tell him you know. You and Lavi have to sort the problem out yourselves. Good luck." Lenalee patted Allen's hand reassuringly. "It'll turn out okay."
*
That night, Allen found herself walking along a deserted road as she trudged her way back to the campus. Shopping with Lenalee had been tiring, and she'd had to nip over to the bank in the evening to settle some pressing financial matter in Cross's name, which explained why she was currently waking along a poorly-lit street, carrying a bag of clothes, and all tired out from her active day. She sighed. The darkness was all very well, but she couldn't really see around her.
What if I meet a pervert! But I'm in the campus already – there shouldn't be a problem, right? But even the campus isn't safe!
Thoughts of the sort constantly whirled in her brain. She tried to push her legs on to greater speed. Taking deep breaths, she almost ran her way towards the halls of residence, when she hit something rather hard. That hard something was also rather warm. And that hard something was covered in cloth of some sort.
The hard something caught himself back from the realms of fantasy he'd grudgingly allowed himself to enter, and tried to stop thinking about a certain white-haired girl who streamed though his thoughts and refused to leave no matter what he did. She'd been really odd the other day – treating him coldly when he met her and Lavi. She was usually a most friendly person, even to him, so it stang to remember the cold, hurt glance she had shot at him. What did she have to feel hurt about, anyway? And there was still his problem with his senior who stuck to him like a persistent cat, with claws of steel.
Then, the hard something grunted, as he came back to reality and found an unknown person stuck to his back.
Allen gasped and started hitting the hard thing with her lone shopping bag. Thwack. She'd barely gotten in one hit before a pair of cold hands seized her wrists. In the vague light from the distant streetlamps and the barely-there moon, she thought she saw a pair of dark eyes glower at her. Who's this? Should I kick his groin first, or should I scream first? Maybe I should do both at the same time…then maybe I should run away. Oh damn Cross for getting me into this situation! He and his freaking debts are going to be the death of me…
The dark eyes continued to stare at her face. Suddenly, the iron-grip on her wrists loosened, and her arms dropped limply to her sides.
"Ehh moyashi, what are you doing, running into people like that!" A well-known voice seeped towards her through the darkness, from the direction of the dark eyes.
"Kanda?" Relief flooded through Allen. His voice had always intrigued her, but now, the very words and tone danced around Allen, and intoxicated her with their presence. She forgot all her preoccupation with the fact that Kanda knew an attractive girl named Lulubell.
"I was just a little frightened." Allen pouted, but she was still really glad to see Kanda in her time of need. She was always glad to see him nowadays, but right now it amazed her how warmth radiated from his body the way she had never thought it could. He looked and acted like an ice king, but here he was, like a sun descended to earth, warming the cockles of her heart.
"Che."
Kanda started walking again. He had been surprised when something unknown had barrelled into his back so unexpectedly. He'd turned around expecting to find a mugger or two trying to snatch his money. What he hadn't expected was to end up holding a pair of thin wrists that belonged to a body with a rather familiar head of white hair. The surrounding light was poor, but he'd managed to discern the patch of white seemingly floating around in the darkness.
Only, too, he hadn't expected the rapid pulse rate that followed. The moment he'd realised the identity of the person behind him, his heart had started to pump so much harder. He'd almost forgotten how to speak too, though he did manage to open his mouth in the end. Embarrassed by this sudden influx of new emotions in his usually ascetic mind, he walked away.
"Kanda! Bakanda! Wait for me!" Allen started walking after him.
A/N: This is short D: But i really haven't the faintest idea of how to lengthen it without destryoing the overall plot, so yeah. And school's starting in a week for me, so i'll be pretty busy then, which means i have to use the remaining time on developing my new plot for another story. School sucks, though i do miss my classmates...
And of course, here's wishing everyone a happy new year! May 2010 be a lovely year for you!
A shoutout to my reviewers: thank you hawktakesflight, Astaline Nihtingale, SeikaDragon, SALADS, AnimeCrazed121, and Kichou! And of course thank you if you put this on story alert! (: