15 LOVE

"Aria this, and Aria that"

"Ciel, where in the hell did you go last night?!"

Ciel was barraged with questions the following afternoon at Alois'. A rare occurrence for them, but Alois had demanded everyone come over with the exception of Lizzy, of course. He demanded that she stay at home, but she of course she had come anyways.

He had tried to think up an excuse for why he couldn't go, but he was in such a daze after last night that he couldn't even think straight, let alone come up with a convincing lie. As such, he had no idea how to answer the questions being thrown at him.

"I… uh … wasn't feeling well, so I went home."

It was only Soma, Alois, Hannah, Agni, and Elizabeth that afternoon. Finnian had family things to do and Meyrin and Bard partied a bit too hard and were probably sleeping it off.

Alois looked skeptical.

"Are you feeling okay now?" Elizabeth asked in concern, though she looked away as soon as she met eyes with him.

Alois acted as if he hadn't heard her speak. "What did you do? Walk home? You live really far away from Adrian's house, you know," he stated. Ciel really wasn't one for physical activity, so there was no way he had walked over ten miles to get to his house.

Ciel avoided the questioning gazes in the room as best as he could, choosing to stare at the crooked blinds making the room even darker since it was raining outside.

"No. I… um…" There was no way he could say that he had ridden a bus for the first time in his life just because he wasn't feeling well. "So did Sebastian and Claude ever show up?"

Alois' frown grew deeper. Ciel was dodging the question. Everyone knew he was a terrible liar when he was flustered about something but what exactly was it that had him so flustered?

"Those guys are amazing with entrances. They came in really late with Adrian and at least two girls fainted," Soma answered with a grin.

"Did Aria Tamburlaine end up going? I heard a lot of rumors about that," Agni spoke up.

"She was there for a little while. Wasn't she, Alois?" Soma answered, poking him teasingly.

"Why are you singling me out?" Alois snapped, smacking his hand away.

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?" Soma answered, grinning. Alois looked at him with wide eyes. Had he seen what happened?

Shit, just when he had resolved for the first time in his life to not tell anyone about what happened. He had been telling Ciel his every move ever since they agreed to the bet, though now that he had somehow managed to kiss Aria Tamburlaine and live to tell about it, he wanted to keep it a secret. It would be oh so satisfying to see the look of shocked defeat when he proudly came into school one day and announced that he had won the bet or... race…- he had won the game and he had fucked Aria Tamburlaine's brains out and it had been great.

Nevertheless, the display yesterday had been a bit embarrassing no matter how he had tried to spin it. He doesn't do that; get too involved in the moment and act without thinking. Well… okay he did, but he didn't throw himself so eagerly at someone. It was a carefully structured game of tug-of-war. He'd give a little, a wink, a very interested look, show how great his ass looked in his shorts and they would be drooling at the mouth when they came to him. And more importantly, they didn't practically run away after he kissed them. So, yes, he had been hoping none of his friends had seen and he would continue to keep that little thing under wraps.

Until his stunning victory, anyways.

With that in mind, he sent a harsh glare Soma's way and relaxed deeper into his beanbag.

"She disappeared before her brothers came in, though I wonder what that was about," Soma continued, his dense personality ignoring the silent daggers being thrown at his skull by Alois. "I wonder where she went."

By chance, Alois had glanced at Ciel only to find that his blue-haired friend was already looking at him though he looked away immediately when they met eyes. A cold smirk found it's way to Alois' lips.

Almost got me, Ciel. You're a little too obvious when you're flustered.

Elizabeth, who had remained silent over the stretch of conversation, stood up and crossed her arms.

"Enough! All you guys talk about now is Aria this and Aria that. I'm sick of it!" Her outburst stunned everyone and as she looked around the room, her face grew slowly redder and redder. "I'm leaving," she announced and gathered her things up quickly, slamming the door behind her as she left.

Alois sucked his teeth. "Whoops." He found himself trying incredibly hard to contain his laughter.

Soma, seeming unusually talkative today only because he was usually ignored, finally got around to the question he had been wanting to ask. "Anyways, Alois are you alright? You were acting kind of strange when we went home last night."

Alois groaned, his anger from the past night resurging. "Yeah. I'm fine. That asshole Pluto gave me something way stronger than what I asked for and thought it would be funny. I'm used to the cheap shit. Such a dick move." Hannah, who had been sitting as still and as quietly as a ghost, suddenly got up from her chair and frowned deeply.

"Alois!" she exclaimed.

"Calm your tits, Hannah. I don't 'drink and drive'," he responded airily. His tone suddenly went into negative degrees as he opened his mouth again. "Wouldn't want to die prematurely, now would I?"

Ciel was having a hard time focusing on the conversation, not to mention he had no idea what Alois was talking about. He zoned out thinking about last night.

…

"Hop on."

Ciel hesitated, but as Aria's back disappeared from his sight, he quickly stepped up the deep stairs and onto the bus. There was hardly anyone on, and who would be at this time of night?

Aria sat down in a vacant seat near the back of the bus. Ciel would have preferred to be near the front - who knows the history of those seats? - but it would have been incredibly rude of him to do so. He hesitated about where to sit since there was a completely vacant seat next to her and he had no reason to sit that close. He had already invaded her personal space far too much.

He got his answer when she gestured towards the seat across from her. Ciel grimaced as he sat down.

After a few moments, the driver turned off the hazard lights and pulled out onto the street. Aria sighed and leaned her head against the seat. Ciel observed her for a moment then turned his attention to the dark scenery moving by.

"How is someone like you friends with Alois?"

Ciel was surprised. "What?"

Aria didn't repeat herself knowing fully well he had heard her.

"Well… I'm not really sure myself. He's the type of the person you just can't shake off, you know? He's insufferable most of the time but he has his moments, I guess."

"Insufferable?" Aria asked, pushing him to elaborate.

"Yes. This hair wasn't my choice. He said I was being a bore and that I should liven up a bit, so he put blue hair dye in my shampoo. Unfortunately, he messed it up and it was not only permanent dye but also non diluted dye so it will literally not come out. I suppose I could just dye my hair back to complete black but that feels like losing."

"And you're the type that hates to lose," she commented.

"We both are."

"Hmm," Aria hummed and then remained silent.

It was much, much easier talking to her when she initiated conversation. But that, unfortunately, seemed like that was all she had to say.

"Do you… think our art teacher will ever come back or will we be stuck with that college student for the rest of the year?"

Aria snorted under her breath but it was the closest thing to a laugh he'd heard since earlier. "He's an idiot," she said.

"He is," Ciel agreed.

More silence. The bus drove over a small pothole and a window slipped down a notch, exposing the inside of the bus to the chilly night air.

"What are you doing in an art class?" Aria asked out of nowhere.

"Sorry?"

"For the credit or…?"

"Um…" Ciel wasn't really sure how to answer. The reason was long; too long and he didn't really feel like talking about it. "I used to play violin and be in some of the school theatre productions but I just… lost motivation for those things. So, I decided to try art." He forced out a small laugh. "Guess I chose a bad year to try it. What… um… what about you?"

"I just like drawing." Aria said giving him a small smile.

Ciel chuckled under his breath. His reasoning was much more personal.

"So… you sneak out a lot?" He couldn't help from asking. He, for some reason, found this whole situation impossible. Aria Tamburlaine rode busses at midnight and snuck out of her house all the time to do so? What on earth was she doing?

"Sometimes," she responded airily.

"And you… do this?" She turned towards him, amusement in her eyes.

"This? And what is this exactly?"

Ciel hastily clarified. "Ride busses in the middle of the night."

Aria breathed out a laugh. "Like I said, I've got to get around some how."

Ciel knew he was pushing his luck. "And… where do you go?"

"It's a secret."

Of course it wasn't that easy. It was Aria Tamburlaine he was talking to. In all honesty, he was just glad that they were kind of having a conversation- more or less.

Or had.

He couldn't think of anything else to say that wasn't too intrusive and they only had so much that they could chat about that wasn't Alois or art class and they had already exhausted both topics. Ciel wasn't going to start talking about the weather, so he decided to just stay quiet and not think too much about the germs on the seats they were sitting on.

After a while, the bus pulled to a stop and Aria stood up. "Come on."

Ciel hastily stood and followed her off the bus. He wasn't completely sure where they were but it looked vaguely familiar.

"If you walk that direction for a few minutes, you should get your bearings. Your house shouldn't be too far. The main road is up there."

Ciel nodded but a frown formed as he thought about something. "Wait, what about you? How far is this from your house?"

Aria smiled close lipped at him, and although it was a smile, Ciel felt weird hostility coming from her.

She made eye contact with him. "Go home, Ciel."

Ciel blinked. Once. Twice.

"Okay. Good night, Aria."

She hummed and turned around, walking in the opposite direction.

He wanted her to answer his question. She really shouldn't be walking alone in the middle of the night like this, but he also really felt like he should just go home. He had bothered her enough for one night after all.

Sighing, he turned away from her, retreating back, and began walking towards the main road.

…

I was in the kitchen getting something to drink when my brothers finally arrived home. I was feeling extremely thirsty after tonight for some reason. I heard them walk into the house and tipped the bottle up, waiting until they got far enough in to see me.

"Aria," Sebastian snapped.

"What?" I groaned in response.

"We need to talk about something."

"Is it about me going home early?" I eyed Claude. He didn't really seem upset. "Because I called you and let you know."

"It's not about that. Sit down." I eyed the both of them curiously and walked over to the couch with them.

"Okay… well what?"

"How many people have you seen with green eyes?" Claude asked. He was actually talking to me, wow. This must be important.

"Um… Does Grell Sutcliffe count?"

"Just anyone with green eyes," Sebastian answered.

"Okay well, Grell Sutcliffe, I think Alan at the coffee place does… my substitute teacher Ronald Knox… oh, and Mr. Spears…and then the Undertaker as well. I think that's it. Why?"

"Tonight wasn't really a punishment." I frowned. "We just needed to talk to Adrian and make sure you were in protective distance."

"Protective distance? From what?"

"We've had some suspicions about some people living in this town. As you know, this place is a hotspot for people like us. And every now and then, we draw negative attention. We spoke to Adrian about it and it turns out he's one of them as well."

"One of what?"

"Grim Reapers. They harvest human souls from the recently deceased and make a judgement on them based on their life history - whether or not to reap their souls, that is."

"Okay…"

"And we just had to make sure that they weren't going to be a problem. Though, they've been quiet for the entire two years that we've been here."

"And The Undertaker is one of them?"

"Yes. Though, he claims he no longer works with them and is retired."

"Which we think just means that he broke some rule or something. He's probably some type of fugitive."

"Everyone here is some type of fugitive," I say, rolling my eyes.

"We know that. My point is we only trust Adrian to a certain extent. He's an information broker but only so reliable. You ask a question, he gives an answer to it. He used to be one of those things. Maybe we didn't ask the right questions."

"Just be on guard, okay? We don't know if they see us as a threat or not and we apparently have some staying very close to us."

I sighed and turned my gaze to the ceiling. "Alright."

Sebastian sighed as well and walked into the kitchen. I could feel Claude's eyes lingering on me and waited for him to get whatever it was that he wanted to say off his chest.

"What happened at the party tonight?" he asked finally, his tone even but I could tell he was trying to decide if he should be angry or not.

"Besides the two of you ditching me at it?" I responded, glancing at him before turning my gaze back up to the ceiling. Sebastian was right, I really am good at upsetting Claude. I keep doing it without even trying.

"Yes, besides that. Who and what bothered you enough to make you want to leave?"

"Did you ever entertain the thought, Claude… that I might have been lying as an excuse to leave? I mean you left me unsupervised in a place I really didn't want to be in." I couldn't tell him what actually happened. None of it. Especially just coming off of his rage period.

He remained silent, staring at me. I was discreetly avoiding eye contact with him so I couldn't really tell if he believed me or not.

A long moment passed before he breathed out a deep sigh and stood up. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," I replied, tiredly.

I watched as he slowly trudged up the stairs and heard the closing of his door.

"You absolutely exhaust him, you know that?" Sebastian mutters from the kitchen. I groaned and got up, walking over to the door frame and leaning against it.

"It's not like it's my fault."

Sebastian was pouring himself a shot of brandy. "I'm not saying that it is," he quipped, quickly pouring the liquid down his throat and filling his glass once again. I raised an eyebrow.

"Easy there. You're underage remember?"

Sebastian looked up from his glass, clearly unimpressed. "Ha. Very funny." Nevertheless, he left the glass on the counter and looked at me in silence.

I sighed. "And if Claude is exhausted, that means that you're exhausted too."

Sebastian raises his eyebrows and drinks the shot he poured. He rinses out the glass and puts both it and the bottle away.

"If he's your caretaker, I'm practically his." He forces out a small laugh. "He's gets so beside himself with worry for you. And you know I worry about you too, but I end up having to deal with both of you at the same time. Can't blame a man for having a drink, can you?"

Guilt rippled around the seams of my mind. "Sebastian, I'm sorry, but it just really isn't my-"

"-Your fault. I know that. But can you at least keep in mind that you have people that worry about you and just… behave?" He searched my face for a moment and sighed, running a hand over his face. "I'm going to sleep," he mumbled and brushed past me on the way to the stairs.

I fought against the guilt brewing in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't my fault. I hadn't done anything to warrant their extreme overreactions. It's not like I could control what other people did.

I repeated that to myself a few times before I was attacked by a strange sensation once again.

Why am I so thirsty tonight?

Hello, Hello! So a funny story- originally Alois had said that Pluto gave him Molly instead of what he asked for and I had the task of searching for recreational drugs that produced similar effects and was visually similar to common pain medicine such as aspirin, tylenol, and ibuprofen. Needless to say, my search history would probably raise some eyebrows. Anyways! I just wanted to thank you all for your continued support and love for the story it means a lot! Now, I recently finished my first story ever and have been eagerly at work planning and writing another story that I've been wanting to write for months! Due to all that excitement and some really tough writers block (you think figuring out what happens next is rough? What about when your own characters start seeming OOC?) I've officially caught up to myself with this chapter. Granted, I have most of the next chapter written but there are some changes happening that are hard for me to write. In any event, if I have that chapter done by the end of the week you'll see it on the 18th! If I don't- October! Also the new story I'm working on is ElizabethxSieglinde let me know if you're interested!