Act II: Enter The Players
Summary: A long school week begins and ends. It could have been just like any other school week, but the two boys were being far too obvious. Add the curious, the gossipy, the forlorn and the plain pissed-off, and we have a drama unfolding in the perfectly normal lives of two teenagers.
Sometimes it's all in your mind, and sometimes it really is a conspiracy.
Monday
Allen sighed as he walked into homeroom. It was the start of another school week, made worse by the fact that he had something to look forward to at the weekend, which only meant that time would crawl by slowly, as time always did. He walked to his desk and did not notice the person approaching him until he was beside the window.
"Good morning, Allen!" Lou Fa popped up beside him and greeted him cheerily. Allen started but recovered quickly.
"Ah, good morning, Lou Fa," Allen said, smiling at the girl. "How was your weekend?"
"O-oh, it was fine, thanks!" She said with a slight stutter to the oblivious boy. Allen sat down in his seat, inviting her to sit on the chair beside his. Lou Fa hurriedly took the seat and glanced behind her. In the other corner of the room, Ri Kei and Shi Fu laughed and gave her a thumbs-up. She swallowed, mustered up her courage and turned back to face Allen, who was busy taking out his books for first period and hence did not see the exchange.
"Um, Allen?" She asked nervously.
"Ah, yes?" Allen smiled at her and Lou Fa stuttered again. She had to swallow before continuing.
"Erm…I was, was just wondering, if you're free this Saturday to, to, to, to just hang out?" She said, aiming her words at the floor.
"…Eh?" Allen was perplexed. Almost impossibly, Lou Fa blushed even harder and her eyes widened.
"Err, I mean, I mean, you know! You, me, and Ri Kei and Shi Fu, too! Uhm, uh, you know, not just the two of us!" Lou Fa said in a panic. In the other corner of the room, the two boys groaned and smacked their palms to their foreheads.
"Oh…that's very kind of you, Lou Fa," Allen smiled kindly and Lou Fa felt her blush deepen. "But…I'm afraid I have something on this weekend."
"E-eh? What? Oh, oh, I mean, that's okay! Ah hahaha, I should have known you'd have a date already, ah ha, ha ha…" Lou Fa rubbed the back of her head and was prepared to bolt. Then she noticed the silence on Allen's side.
He was…he was blushing. Hard. And looking at her in shock.
"Who…I mean, I, it's not a date!" He spluttered.
"Eh? Oh, ah, yeah, okay, it's not a date! I mean, yeah, you can hang out with whoever you want to hang out with, ah hahaha, eh…oh, uh, I have to go now, talk to you later, Allen!" And before Allen could say another word, she dashed off to where Ri Kei and Shi Fu were standing and looking at her with concern. Allen blinked at the sudden departure.
He sighed and willed his blush away. If he kept this up, Lou Fa and the others would find out soon, about the not-date that was consuming his mind.
However, thankfully, Mr. Tiedoll walked in at that moment and he pushed the thought firmly away as the teacher began to take the attendance.
.
Tuesday
Lavi stared straight ahead at his professor. If Kanda didn't know any better, he'd say Lavi's crush was on the professor and not the guy he was talking on the phone with just two nights ago. Some guy with a weakling girly name like 'Ellen' or something.
The professor was going on and on about biblical history, though he probably knew full well that half the girls enrolled in his class just to be able to legitimately ogle over him in class. Lavi might have joined the ogling gang had he not already have someone he's devoted to.
As it was, he was simply staring at Professor Mikk's clothes.
But, dress shirts probably don't look good on me, and are they even suitable for a carnival anyway? Well, and dress pants don't look that great either in such a place. Maybe I should go with jeans? But jeans are so everyday, but then again, if I'm supposed to go as myself…
Chewing on his pen distractedly, wholly absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice the giggles coming from the girls as Professor Mikk stepped closer to his seat. He did notice, however, when a tanned hand planted itself neatly in the middle of his notebook. He blinked and looked up at the smirking man.
"Mr. Lavi. I wonder, could you tell me more about the Noah's Ark, and the different scholastic interpretations of that specific part of the Bible?" The man fairly purred, his golden eyes fixed on Lavi's bright green eye.
Lavi suppressed his uneasy shiver at the sight of the man's smile and groaned quietly, before quickly slapping on a smile and grinning cheekily up at him.
"Certainly, Prof. So, while the devoted might believe that it is a sign of punishment from God, scholarly examination and research has led to the finding of several discrepancies that dispute this religious claim. Firstly…"
As he went on about the several different views, he never thanked God more for his photographic memory and the ability to absorb information even while he was not paying attention.
.
Wednesday
"It is very suspicious," Lenalee said with a firm nod.
She was sitting in the crowded cafeteria with Lou Fa and Fou. All three girls were looking in the direction of another table across the room from theirs, where Allen sat munching his sandwich mechanically, a dreamy, absent look on his face. Shi Fu and Ri Kei were sitting with him and attempting to get his attention to no avail. Lenalee frowned and returned to her own lunch, tilting her head at the other two girls.
"If I have to guess, I'd say it's definitely a date," she said confidently. Fou snickered slightly as Lou Fa's face fell. She patted her back in a supposedly comforting way, though to Lenalee it looked more like she was beating the heck out of the poor girl. Lou Fa didn't even seem to notice, absorbed as she was in shredding her napkin.
"Oh darling, it really isn't you. Walker is so gay that he probably won't pay any attention even if you flash your boobs at him," Fou said with a sigh, a grin twisting her lips. Lenalee winced at the bluntness of her statement.
"Well," she said gently, trying to soften the blow, "it could be so, Lou Fa. I don't think he's had a girlfriend the whole time he has been in school, and he is pretty oblivious to the letters he gets for Valentine's. And he doesn't seem to notice the number of admirers he has now that he's hit puberty. And he was hanging out all the time with Lavi last…year…"
All three girls simultaneously widened their eyes and shot their gazes in Allen's direction again. Shi Fu and Ri Kei seemed to have managed to get Allen's attention and Allen was blushing progressively deeper as the boys interrogated him on the details of his Saturday plans. It was accompanied by a wild flailing of his hands, intrigued expressions on the other two boys' faces, and finally ended with Allen standing up abruptly and running out of the cafeteria, a very deep blush on his face that extended to his neck.
"Very suspicious," Lenalee whispered and received a strong nod from Fou and a depressed one from Lou Fa.
.
Thursday
As the students busied themselves on and off the stage with hollering for construction materials, finding copies of the script, squabbling over the blocking and complaining about technical problems, Doug found his way to Lavi who was sitting in one of the audience seats contemplating the meaning of life and his existence.
It was a wondrous sight to behold a silent Lavi for once. Doug took a moment to imprint the image into his head.
Then, silently, he tapped the redhead on the shoulder, hardly having expected the loud shriek and jump from him. Doug similarly shrieked and jumped back, holding his hand over his thumping heart. Lavi turned a scared, wide eye to him and there was a moment when they both just stared at each other. Doug was the first to break out of the standstill.
"God, Lavi! Don't scare me like that!" Doug glared at him.
"That should be my line! Gah, anyway, what did you want?" Lavi said as he slumped back down onto his seat. Doug settled in the seat beside him and looked at him curiously.
"Well, nothing much, really," he shrugged. "It's just weird not to see you fooling around with the rest on stage. What's eating you?"
"Oh, eh, hehe!" Lavi laughed somewhat nervously, spiking Doug's curiosity. "Nothing, nothing! I was just thinking about some work, that's all," Lavi said in a falsely confident and bright tone. He scratched at the back of his head once more before decisively springing up from his seat. Doug followed in a slower manner, still looking at Lavi.
"Listen, Doug, it's really nothing much," Lavi said unconvincingly. He smiled. "I'll just be heading off to rehearse now, yeah?" Without even waiting for Doug to protest, Lavi bounced off to the stage, yelling out apologies to the huffing director as he reached the front.
Doug blinked. That was…fast, the encounter didn't even last more than a minute. The cogs in his mind started whirring as he watched Lavi dash off. Something about Lavi's behaviour seemed fishy…the goofy redhead was spacing out and smiling in a silly manner more than usual these days, almost as if…
Almost as if he had a love interest.
Doug's eyes widened. Might it be possible? The signs pointed to it…the spacing out, the silly smiles, the sudden silences that seemed to descend upon him, the nervousness when random people appeared and touched him, almost as if he was expecting someone else to greet him, almost as if he was nervous for a certain someone to catch him grinning about him or her. And if he was not wrong, his friend and roommate Kanda seemed to be more irritated than usual lately, as if Lavi had been bothering him more often about, well, who knew what, but it could be his romantic interest, right?
Doug started to grin. So, the cynical redhead who never believed in love, who was so cold the first time they met, who had tons of admirers but never a true love, had finally found someone who managed to crash through the walls he built around himself. Doug shook his head and laughed fondly.
Now, just to get confirmation and the exact details on what was going on…
With that thought in mind, he excused himself from the technical chief and wandered off in the direction of the kendo training room.
.
Friday
Allen tapped his feet irritably as he watched the clock for the nth time that day. It seemed to be stuck, though if he squinted he could see the second hand ticking forward slowly, seeming to mock him exclusively. Though, as he looked around, he could see many other people shooting impatient glances at the clock as well, and was it just him, or was the teacher also glancing more at the clock even as he droned on from his textbook?
The pen tapped a steady rhythm against his book as he tried to concentrate. Something about differentiation, or integration, heck, he really didn't care. Something weird that he would likely never put to use in the future ever again. Allen sighed. It brought to mind the days when he would run to Lavi asking him for help in his math homework, and that in turn brought to mind thoughts of tomorrow. Allen bit his lip and looked at the clock again.
The teacher was frowning at the mass inattention and was about to call someone to answer a question. The class fidgeted. Mercifully, the bell rang. Immediately, everyone forgot manners to give a loud cheer at the end of another school week. Allen was one of the many who shot up from his seat, stuffed everything into his bag and all but dashed out the door.
At least, that was the plan.
With a sudden jerk at his bag that nearly sent him crashing to the floor, the door shot out of his reach. Allen yelped and whirled around to find out who the heck was restraining him.
"Fou!" He exclaimed, barely holding in his frustration. "What on earth is it?"
"Hold it, beansprout," Fou said, smiling sweetly. It sent shivers down Allen's spine. It definitely was not a good smile. As the room rapidly cleared out with only a few people shooting curious glances at them, he found himself manhandled into an empty seat and then Fou was looming over him, still with that sweet smile on her face. Allen groaned.
"Okay, I really don't know what I did this time," he said defensively, clutching his bag to his chest.
"Oh, but no one has even accused you of anything yet, beansprout!" Fou said cheerfully. Allen was about to ask what she meant when he was distracted by the entrance of Lenalee. But, he thought, bewildered, what on earth would the senior be here for?
"Good afternoon, Allen," she said when she spotted them, smiling sincerely at him. She walked in their direction. Allen relaxed slightly at her tone, thinking that it might not be that bad if she were here to control Fou. Apparently, he thought right as Fou scowled slightly and stood back to let Lenalee take over. Lenalee grinned, nodded in her direction and took a seat next to Allen. Still slightly tense, he leaned back slightly as Lenalee leaned forward. Lenalee only smiled wider.
It all reeked of a sinister plan. Highly suspicious.
"Well, it's just that, Lou Fa was saying you have a date, and we were just, you know, wondering who it is," Lenalee said, smiling all the while, as if she were asking a truly innocuous question. Allen immediately protested.
"It's not a date!" He said, flustered. Fou raised her eyebrows disbelievingly.
"Oh?" Lenalee faked surprise. "But, well, if it isn't a date…then why are you so flustered, Allen? And surely if it isn't a date," she said louder, interrupting his protest, "then you could just tell us what you have on tomorrow such that you can't hang out with us, right?"
And bingo, they caught him. "Uh, um…" Allen couldn't find a way out of the situation with Lenalee looking at him with such an innocent expression and Fou blocking his way out physically. He flushed. While it was true that it was not a date…it was still quite embarrassing that he thought it as such and that everyone was pressing for details. To make matters worse, here he was cornered by the two nosiest girls in school. And while they could keep secrets well, and they were his friends…there was just no way out of there except to tell the truth and get away when he could to prepare for tomorrow in peace. Surely they wouldn't do anything bad or humiliating, right?
Right.
He sighed, resigned. "I'm just going to hang out with Lavi at the carnival, alright?" He muttered.
The two girls exchanged a triumphant grin that Allen missed, concerned as he was with staring at the tabletop intently. Lenalee clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled sincerely at his startled look.
"Well, sorry for the misunderstanding, Allen! And sorry for keeping you too, I guess you want to go?" She said brightly.
"Uh…" Allen looked back and saw that Fou had stepped back, albeit she was giving him a truly scary grin. "Right, yeah, um, have a good weekend!" He said quickly, before standing up and dashing out of the classroom. As he ran, he was determined to put the intimidating incident out of his mind, and very soon his thoughts turned to those of tomorrow's activities.
However, if he had stayed a little longer, he would have seen the extremely excited smiles of the girls as they chatted secretly, making plans and sending phone messages to all who were concerned with one of the biggest gossip of the week.
Who, indeed, had gotten the so-far unattainable Allen Walker's heart?
And on the other side of town, a redhead in a similar state of panic was rummaging through his wardrobe, his increasingly disgruntled roommate glaring at him from across the room.
"Yuu! Help me!" Lavi cried, shooting a panicked and pleading look in the man's direction. Kanda only glared harder. Lavi ignored the glare and continued throwing out shirt after shirt, all of which somehow managed to land on Kanda's neat bed and on his work table.
A twitch appeared on his forehead. Lavi was oblivious. He had moved on to fighting through his horde of pants.
Kanda gritted his teeth and resolved to ignore it. The mathematical question in front of him required his full attention after all, so he just continued to work on it, and so if the original equation were to be converted to be something useful for the problem…
A pair of boxers landed neatly on his head. The pen snapped.
Lavi was startled as Kanda suddenly stood up, reached over to grab his shirt collar then flung him solidly onto the floor. He landed on his bottom with a cry of pain.
"Ow, Yuu! What on earth was that for!" Lavi said, dismayed.
"God, shut up, you stupid rabbit! All week, all week, you've been wailing non-stop! Just, GRAH," Kanda growled with an inarticulate sound of anger. Taking a quick scan of the clothes piled on the floor and the bed, he grabbed a random shirt and a relatively clean pair of jeans before flinging them onto Lavi's head. Lavi squeaked as his vision was momentarily obscured.
"There! Just wear that, and your stupid headband, and whatever stupid scarf you like, and just go." Giving one last glare, he stomped out of the room, presumably to head to the relative peace of the dining hall. Lavi had started picking the clothes off his head and gave Kanda a wide-eyed look until the door was slammed in his face.
Lavi sighed as he heard his friend retreat and flopped back onto the floor, an impromptu cushion of clothes pillowing his head. The room was in a state of mess, clothes everywhere and pieces of undone work lying around. He groaned as he thought of the amount of cleaning up he'd have to do later and the amount of groveling he'd have to do to get Kanda back in a good mood. For now though, he fixed his eye on the ceiling and allowed his mind to wander.
God, but this was difficult. He'd never cared too much before, about the girls and boys he dated. It was always, always just a stupid lunch and movie, occasionally holding hands if he felt up to it, and perhaps some kissing while feeling nothing except a vague sense of lust. He'd never gone as far as sex, but then again, he'd never cared about those people before either. He knew he broke hearts, and he knew it was cruel, but…
He flung his hand up to cover his eye, blocking out the light and allowing his mind to wander further without the distraction of sight.
By God, he wanted to do it right this time.
Allen was perhaps the first person he'd taken true interest in. First with his looks – the pure white of his hair and the nervous look on his face as he entered their high school. He might have just been like any other freshman, but, well, his hair did make him stand out. And everyone noticed. But it could have stopped just at the fascination with his physical looks.
Then Allen just had to choose to join the drama club. And that's when it started to spiral downwards. The boy was a good actor and his audition definitely stayed in Lavi's mind. It could have been just that, an innocent interest in his acting skills and a desire to pit his own skills against a fellow actor on stage.
Then Lavi decided to talk to him. And the boy, while normally soft-spoken, was witty and fiercely intelligent when provoked far enough. He was probably the first person (that Lavi was interested in, at any rate) to match Lavi on the intellectual level. They talked about many things, beyond the giggles and superficial talk he got from his one-off dates. It was fun, their bantering, their conversation, it all came so easily and he had never felt so relaxed. Soon, without knowing, Lavi was opening himself up to the kid more and more, finding Allen opening up to him in return, and by then it was too late to return to his previous shell.
Now…he was going on a date…not a date, Allen might not consider it as such, can't forget that. It was a forlorn thought, one that had plagued him throughout the week.
Lavi sighed and sat up slowly, his eye showing the turmoil in his mind. He truly hoped that he didn't royally screw up everything between them tomorrow. He won't let things change. He can't.
As night fell, two boys fell into an uneasy sleep, a flurry of text messages popped up in many phones, and the carnival lights shone in the far side of town, beckoning the arrival of the next day.
.
Saturday
So, Saturday finally dawned bright and cheery. It was indeed wonderful weather for a date. And for reasons Mana couldn't fathom, his son was wide-eyed and sitting on his bed at seven freaking a.m. in the morning, waking him up from a wonderful dream that he forgot promptly the minute his son shook him awake.
"Oh god, Allen," he groaned sleepily, pushing futilely at the offending body. "It's seven o'clock, go back to bed." He tugged at his blankets and realized that they refused to go up his shoulders as Allen sat obstinately on them. The warmth was slowly seeping out of the blankets, making sleep further and further from catching.
And of course, Allen just had to choose that moment to speak loudly and gratingly so that try as Mana might, he would never fall back into the peaceful doze of before.
"Mana," he whined, not even bothering to whisper as etiquette might have required in this situation. "Mana, help, I have nothing to wear."
"…Oh lord, please remind me that you have a brain," Mana said in disbelief. He pushed his face into the pillow stubbornly. "What on earth do you call what you're wearing now then?"
Allen smacked him none too gently on the back. "You know what I mean. Help me find something to wear for later, Mana. Mana! Don't go back to sleep, you lazy bum!" He crawled up the bed and much as he had done when he was younger, he started tugging on Mana's hair. Mana grunted at the pull and endured it only for a few seconds. While Allen was absorbed in finding new ways to wake him up, he reached up swiftly to tackle the boy, tickling him expertly. Allen squealed and scrambled around on the pillows, trying to escape from the attacking fingers.
"Ah, Mana, don't! Gah! Ah, AH HAH, HAHAHAHA! Alright, alright! Stop!" Allen gasped in laughter, eyes squinted shut. His body still shook in spasms even as Mana dropped back, smiling lazily in his son's direction. Allen breathed deeply for a few moments to recover. Almost subconsciously, he snuggled his body closer against the warmth of Mana. Mana allowed himself to be briefly amused by the affection Allen was seeking, something he hadn't done since he was very young. He would definitely deny his childish actions later and sulk whenever Mana teased him for it.
Something flickered in his eyes as he observed the smiling boy pressed against his side. His smile dropped slightly and twisted into something almost…sad. He reached a hand up to stroke through the white locks, tenderly cupping his hand against the back of Allen's head. Allen grinned as he looked up at his father.
"What is it, Mana?" He said softly this time, and Mana smiled at the abrupt change in tone from previously. He petted his head fondly and smiled reassuringly.
"Allen, don't worry, alright?" He said. Allen just cocked his head, grinned wider and pressed harder into the embrace.
"You're such a sap, Mana," he teased. Mana chuckled.
"You're one to talk, young man," he shot back, and both of them laughed softly at their silliness, neither willing to relinquish the first peaceful moment they had in a long while. Mana shifted and tugged the blankets out from under Allen's body, draping it comfortably over both of them. Immediately, Allen yawned widely, snuggling into the warmth and tugging at the blankets to create a cocoon around both of them.
Mana laughed and reached to the bedside table to set the alarm, knowing that Allen definitely would not want to oversleep that day. Just two more hours of sleep, and they would be ready to face the day. Putting back the alarm clock, he turned back and had to bite back a laugh when he saw the boy already snoozing against his side.
So much for waking up early to prepare for his date, Mana thought fondly, before he drifted off to sleep again, getting the energy to help his son later when the kid would definitely be panicking.
.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky to have an understanding figure by their side on one of the most important days of their adolescent life. Lavi, having always been a morning person, had sprung out of bed at seven a.m. on the dot. Kanda was already long gone, the man being able to inexplicably wake up at six every morning without any sign of tire. He probably sensed danger that morning too and that gave him even more incentive to hit the training rooms, leaving Lavi alone in the room. Lavi groaned at having missed the chance to let out his worries to Kanda.
Guess I'll just have to get ready myself, he thought, and started his morning routine.
An hour later found him with clothes scattered on the floor, and the redhead in question striking a ridiculous pose in front of the full length mirror in leather pants, a graphic tee and a jacket over it. He grinned brightly in the mirror and held the pose for all of one minute before deflating and tugging the jacket off, throwing it onto the floor.
And highly unfortunately for Kanda, even as he came back another hour later, Lavi was still doing the same thing, only in a different set of clothes, as if he were determined to go through all the different permutations of shirts and pants that were humanely possible before one in the afternoon. Kanda barely suppressed a growl when he saw the mess the room was in. Lavi's ears perked up at the sound of Kanda entering the room and he practically flew at him, hugging the startled man around the waist, face pressed into his side.
"YUU! You're finally here! Help me now, please!" Lavi begged pathetically, looking for the entire world like a mad man. It did not help his case that he was wearing a pair of bright orange trousers and a blindingly purple t-shirt. Kanda, for all his lack of a fashion sense, felt his insides shrivel at the ensemble.
He growled and kicked at Lavi's side to remove himself from Lavi's clutch, making the redhead slump on the floor whining in pain. Lavi looked exceptionally betrayed and Kanda just glared harder. Lavi sighed at that and sat down carefully on the floor, picking through the clothes in the immediate area around him. Kanda allowed himself to be slightly worried at the silence that greeted him.
"I know it might not mean much to you, Kanda, but I really am worried," he said softly, looking down at the ground. In a most coincidental way, a white shirt decorated with the words "Techies 2007" greeted him, making him fondly recall the time when he and Allen both decided to try their hands at technical work instead of acting, ending in the two of them being kicked out of the control room and earning them an eternal ban. They were teased for that for the rest of Lavi's high school life, and he'll never forgot how long they laughed over the damage they did to the control room. They somehow managed to wrestle two shirts from the techies to mark their folly.
Looking at that shirt, Lavi really couldn't explain why, but this felt…monumental, for such a simple thing as hanging out at the carnival.
Kanda finally sighed as he recovered from the shock of Lavi using his surname for once. He looked at the mess and knowing that he was hopeless at fashion, he started dialing a number. Lavi looked up curiously, distracted from his contemplation of his clothes.
"Just this once, you idiot," he muttered crossly. Lavi looked confused for a while before he smiled tentatively, accepting that Kanda was probably trying to help him in his own way, though he didn't know why he needed a phone call to do that. He busied himself gathering up the clothes in neat piles while Kanda muttered softly on the phone, conversing with a vaguely familiar voice over the phone for a while before clicking it shut with an irritated huff. Lavi looked at him.
"Wait," was the simple answer, and Lavi did just that, fidgeting with his headband the whole while. Kanda, relishing the silence for once, settled at the table to start on some of his work while Lavi occasionally glanced at his watch. Not too long after the phone call, a knock sounded on their door and Lavi sprang up to answer it.
"Hello, Lavi," Doug greeted cheerfully. Lavi gaped at the boy. "I've come to help you, and…"
"Oh, so this is the brat we're supposed to dress up?" A haughty voice rang sharply, making Lavi gape wider.
Doug had brought Lulubell, fashion student extraordinaire along with him.
.
"She's not picking up," Ri Kei said seriously. Shi Fu looked back at him. They both heaved a huge sigh.
They were both standing in front of a perfectly normal house, looking up at the second floor window where they knew a certain Asian girl's room was. From the open window, faint sounds of wailing drifted down to them. It seemed that the girl still hadn't gotten over her denial of the situation.
"Hey, Lou Fa!" Ri Kei hollered, giving up on using the phone. If anything, the wailing only increased in volume, accompanied with screeches of "leave me alone!" Shi Fu lowered his head in thought while Ri Kei started a shouting match with her. The silent teenager remained unfazed even as an alarm clock flew down and narrowly missed his companion. Around them, curious neighbours were peeking over to see what was happening.
Shi Fu sighed and tapped Ri Kei on the shoulder. He leaned over and whispered in the panting boy's ear. Ri Kei frowned at him.
"You sure?" He asked. Shi Fu nodded. Ri Kei sighed, took a deep breath and hollered again.
"If you don't come down this instant Fou will tell Walker very, very dirty stories about your desire for him, and she has the arsenal of stalker shots you took!"
There was a scream, a very loud bang, thundering steps down the stairs and suddenly, a very winded girl stood in front of them. Ri Kei was amazed at how well that worked.
"Don't, don't you dare!" She screeched in their faces. Shi Fu just smiled calmly.
"I think you'd better tell that to Fou when you see her, yes? Now come on, we have to meet Lenalee at twelve, and as it is we'll be late."
"But…" Lou Fa's eyes welled up again.
Ri Kei sighed. "Look, the girls have practically bullied Walker into saying that he has a date, but you never know, right? Who knows if Lavi even has feelings for him, even if Walker does like that fellow? So we just have to go, and we'll have some fun at the carnival along the way, alright?" He patted her on the head. Lou Fa bit her lip and glanced at Shi Fu, who smiled reassuringly back. She sighed.
"Just…let me get changed, and I'll go," she muttered and turned to walk back quickly into the house. The two boys smiled.
.
"Alright, bets," Fou said briskly. Lenalee sipped her milkshake as she thought for a while.
"I bet…five that they will hold hands today."
"Pffft, that's low, way too low! Of course they will! Come on, higher stakes, how about a kiss?" Fou shook her fry at Lenalee before biting a bit of it off. Lenalee pursed her lips.
"How about you start this bet, then?" She challenged.
Fou hummed in thought. Around them, the McDonald's started to fill up with people, but none of them were the trio they were looking for. Lenalee frowned at her watch as Fou continued thinking.
"Alright," she said, making Lenalee break her staring match with the watch for a while. "Twenty that they kiss. But! Not on the lips. Say, on the forehead, or on the cheek."
Lenalee's jaw dropped. "What! Are you serious?"
Fou waved her hands impatiently. "What, you complaining? That gives you freer reign to make your bet, right? You could bet that they won't kiss, or that they will, but on the lips, or anything you can come up with. Come, come, give me your bet."
Lenalee frowned and mentally assessed the two boys in her head.
While she did not doubt that Allen seemed to like Lavi, she wondered if he would indeed be so bold as to confess. And did Lavi even like him back in return? Maybe they really were hanging out as friends? But if it turned out that they liked each other, would either of them really take the step to confessing?
"I bet…" She started slowly. Fou nodded. "I bet…twenty that they do not kiss," Lenalee finished confidently. Fou snorted.
"You really think Walker is that much of a wimp?"
"Not a wimp, but if Allen seems to think of this as a date, yet he always denies it, then it means he thinks of it as a date, but he's scared that Lavi might not. And if Lavi himself also thinks of this as a date, but Allen never said it as such, then neither of them will dare to act on how they feel. Now, if Allen said that it's a date, and Lavi still decides to come, then it means he at least feels the same way, then they'd kiss. But since they didn't…it really depends on how today goes."
"Well, that does make sense, but have you taken into consideration…"
As the two girls discussed on, two shadowy figures scrutinized them from a corner of the restaurant, the staff giving them suspicious glances from time to time. Quite understandably, as the two of them were wearing black coats, had huge sunglasses on and were staring intently in one direction without moving much.
"Are you certain," the man with an absolutely tasteless beanie hissed, "that the two of them are going on a double date?"
"My Lenalee said they're going to meet up with some guy friends. Guys! Whoever dares come near my precious Lenalee is going to hell!" Said the other who accompanied his words with exaggerated sniffles. The first man frowned.
"Fou never told me anything about this, idiot Komui!" He protested.
Komui glared at him. "Just because Fou refuses to share anything with you doesn't mean that my Lenalee does the same! She said she's going to a carnival, and why else would she go there but for a sinister date with some bastards that do not deserve her, idiot Bak!" There was a hissed protest at the insult and some petty pinching, before both of them hushed immediately as the girls turned at the sounds. The two men sat absolutely still, thinking that they looked inconspicuous.
"Fou…" Lenalee said quietly at the other side of the restaurant. "Is it me, or are those two in the corner looking at us?"
Fou frowned and looked at the aforementioned corner. The two men coughed and started to busy themselves with the bland tea that they bought. Failing that effort at acting inconspicuously, they started to talk with false, bright tones and exaggerated hand motions. Fou made a face.
"Nah, they're probably just some weirdos from the street. Anyway, we can leave soon," she nodded at the entrance where the trio just walked through, "they are here." Lenalee brightened and waved them over.
Soon, the group of five was out of the restaurant, chatting as they headed towards the train station, not noticing the two figures that were following them from some distance away.
.
"Okay…" Allen breathed shakily. "Okay, I can do this."
Standing behind him, Mana looked amused as Allen started checking again that he had everything with him. The boy was finally dressed and ready to go. Mana resisted giving the jibe that in the end, he was dressed in the style that he went out nearly everyday in, only slightly nicer and neater. A simple white and black t-shirt that Lavi once said he looked nice in (oh, how Mana laughed when he heard that confession from Allen) and a pair of jeans. His usual pair of sneakers, and he was all done. Allen turned back to Mana and bit his lip uncertainly.
Mana smiled warmly. "You look good. Have a great time, son. Remember, just have fun, alright?"
Allen smiled a little shakily. "Right, yeah. Thanks, dad."
Mana grinned and leaned forward, capturing the boy in a hug. Allen didn't resist and hugged back. Mana nearly, sentimentally, wanted to take a photo of the occasion of his son going on his first date. Allen would probably kill him for that, though. He settled with standing back and ruffling the boy's hair. Allen only scowled briefly.
"Alright, off with you then!" Mana said. Allen smiled nervously and giving a wave, he finally ran out, leaving Mana alone in the large, empty house. Mana grinned slightly as he saw the boy dash down the road and he watched until Allen turned the corner. He then closed the door and started on his own plan.
Checking that his own clothes were in order, he walked to the telephone lying on the couch and picked it up, dialing a number that he was very familiar with. He fixed his shirt as the phone rang and smiled when it was picked up on the other end.
"Hello, Maria? Good morning…yes, remember you said you were free today? Well, there's a fair just out of town and I was wondering if you'd like to join me there…"
.
Lavi stood in front of the carnival that was already busy. He could hear the laughing children, the shrieks from the people on the roller coasters, the cheers and jeers from the performance tent, and he took no joy in it at all. He gulped and looked around him, seeing only more people. Taking a look at his watch, he saw that it was only about fifteen more minutes to one. He leaned against the fence and sighed, deciding to calm himself down slightly. No use worrying after all. Allen probably didn't see it as a date, so it was just…hanging out, that's right.
Lavi worried his lips. Perhaps it was because he was more nervous than usual, but he felt several pairs of eyes on him that day. He frowned down at his clothes, wondering if it was because of that.
But really, in the end Lulubell had looked through his wardrobe and selected an outfit that…well, it was his style anyway. Jeans, a simple graphic t-shirt with a black jacket thrown over it, his usual headband and a red scarf. He wondered if it really was good advice that he received, but it was too late to back out now.
Ten more minutes. Lavi sighed and tapped out a random rhythm on the ground, deciding to shrug off his unease and just concentrate on relaxing before Allen arrived.
.
"Oh, is that him?" Doug whispered, pointing at a random kid. Kanda sighed, wondering how he managed to get dragged into this mess.
"How would I know?"
"Ah, I don't think so, he just went straight inside…are you sure Lavi never said anything about what he looked like?" Doug asked insistently. Kanda nodded tersely. Doug hummed. "By the way," he said suddenly, "I didn't know Professor Mikk is your cousin, Lulubell."
Lulubell smiled slightly. "Tyki has cousins all over the place, don't you, darling?" She said, cooing at the man beside her. Kanda was only slightly unnerved to find that the Professor was actually interested in following the proceedings of this little date. Tyki frowned at the lady.
"Well, it was a pity after all, that boy showed such…talent, pity he should already be taken," he said. The smirk on his face was almost sad. Almost. Doug only smiled placidly. Kanda repressed his own shudder.
"That's pedophilic, you know," Lulubell said. Tyki just flapped his hand irritably at her.
"It's not as if I did anything. As it is, it's simply admiration…oh, is that him?" He said with sudden interest in his voice, and all present turned back swiftly to the scene.
Their thoughts went along the lines of 'it can't be' as a boy with pure white hair jogged into their view, then turned in unison to 'it really is' as Lavi waved cheerfully and the boy responded in kind.
Doug smiled, Kanda growled, and two sets of golden eyes narrowed in anticipation.
Time to get the stalking act on.
.
"Oh, that's him, there!" Lenalee said excitedly, pointing to a redhead. The group was hiding behind a conveniently large tree. Some distance away from them, two men hid behind another conveniently large tree.
"Oh, that's him alright," Fou said. Lou Fa squinted at her competition. The boys just leaned comfortably against the trunk.
"We barely made it," Lenalee whispered. "I see Allen running over now."
At that, the girls turned to confirm it and saw a shock of white hair in the mass of brown and black moving swiftly to the redhead. Fou grinned.
"Time to get this show on, ladies," she said, ignoring the squawks that came from the boys at her statement.
.
Allen looked around for Lavi and sucked in a nervous breath when he saw the tall redhead leaning on the fence near the ticketing gate. Even so, he didn't stop running towards him. What kind of attitude would it show if Lavi saw him suddenly stopping before reaching, right?
So, firmly pushing his worries to the back of his mind (but not being able to slow his suddenly fast-thumping heart), Allen returned the wave Lavi sent him.
"Hey, Lavi!" Allen shouted.
"Hey you too, beansprout!" Lavi greeted cheerfully. Allen couldn't help his own grin from spreading and thought that maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't turn out too bad.
Lavi had beamed upon seeing his friend and that familiar smile. He tried to shake his own worries off, deciding to concentrate on enjoying the day with his friend, no matter how much he wanted to think of it as a date.
Time to get the not-date on, both boys thought as they reached each other, turned, and headed towards the ticketing gate together.
Notes:
The plot thickens.
Well, not really. There is, quite simply put, not much of a plot. Everybody is just stalking them, that's all. It really wasn't that hard to guess what would happen, huh? (: This is a clichéd high school love song after all.
I promise things will actually, uh, start in the next chapter. Yes, it will. I just have to go write it.
I'm making myself confused with the use of tenses, so if you spot anything weird/wrong please do inform me, I appreciate it. And do tell me how you like the stalker bunch of people, it's interesting to try their perspectives instead of just Lavi's and Allen's. What do you think of their interactions, their thoughts, this whole drama?
Comments are much loved, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I received wonderful reviews for my first chapter, they really made my day. Cheers! Thanks for reading this far!