Chronoa

D. Gray-Man

Chapter Four

Revised

Someone was screaming.

Shooting up into a sitting position, Christine looked around in confusion. Someone was screaming, and it woke her up. Sliding out of the bed she was occupying, she listened carefully. Where was it coming from?

Opening the door that led out into the hallway, she finally realized that the screaming was coming from the room next to hers. 'Allen?' She thought frantically, rushing to his door and knocking forcefully before barging in.

"Allen!" she said worriedly. Said boy was tangled up in his sheets, thrashing around fretfully. Walking closer, she was shocked when she saw his finally uncovered face. His snow white hair was damp with sweat and clinging to his flushed face. Getting even closer, her hands flew up to cover her mouth when she laid eyes on the red scar that lined the left side of his face, from his forehead to the bottom of his cheek. "Oh, Allen…" she whispered.

"M-Mana!" he whimpered.

"Shh, it's alright," Christine whispered, sitting on the edge of his bed and drawing him up into a hug. Allen froze, waking up abruptly.

"W-what?" he whimpered, looking up at her with tear-filled eyes. "Christy?"

"Yeah. I'm here, Allen," she told him with a gentle smile. His eyes re-filled and he clung to her like a small child, sobbing into her shoulder. She just held him, allowing him to cry.

"W-why?" Allen whispered when he had calmed down slightly, about ten minutes later. She rubbed his back reassuringly.

"Because, you needed someone," she said simply. "You were there for me earlier, so it's only right that I be there for you when I can."

"Thank you," he said tearfully. She shook her head.

"It's my pleasure," she said with a smile. "Are you okay now?" She made to stand up.

"Please," he pleaded. "Don't leave me," he begged, clutching her arm to him. Her eyes softened and she nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere," she reassured, sitting down and drawing him closer to her. "Go back to sleep," she coaxed. He nodded and yawned, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling his head into her shoulder. She blushed brilliantly and covered their bodies with his blanket and setting into a more comfortable position; they fell asleep quickly.

0-0-0

"Aww, Yū, look at them! Aren't they cute~" Christine woke up to the sound of a camera shutter closing. Opening her eyes wearily, she groaned and snuggled herself closer to her pillow. She froze. Her pillow snuggled back. Yelping, she threw herself ungracefully away from it, consequently falling off of the bed. Hearing a loud groan, followed quickly by the sound of laughter, she groggily opened her eyes.

"Che. Idiot," Kanda muttered before exiting. Lavi, still laughing hysterically, helped her stand up.

"So, how did you end up in here?" he questioned.

"U-umm…" she stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"I had another nightmare," Allen said tiredly, sitting up. "Christy heard me screaming and came in to comfort me. She fell asleep. Simple as that," He said, staring blankly at Lavi.

"Oh, Allen…" Lavi said sympathetically. "I didn't know."

"It's okay. It's better that way anyways," Allen said, smiling at him falsely. Lavi sighed.

"Well, thank you for comforting him, Christine," he said. Christine, who had been dozing off, jerked awake.

"It's no problem. I know what it's like to be plagued by nightmares," she said softly, folding her hands in front of her.

"Anyway!" Lavi shouted suddenly, making the other two jump in shock. "Why don't you two get dressed, and we'll have breakfast, then we'll go and explore around town, like we planned!"

"Umm, alright," the young girl said. "But, I don't have any clothes," she told them, cheeks reddening.

"You can borrow some of mine," Allen replied immediately.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, blushing. Smirking, Lavi waved before disappearing out of the room. Christine finally got a good look at the uncovered Allen. Seeing her stare, he sighed and ran the fingers of his left arm, which, she noticed, was a dark red color as if it had been badly burned, across the scar across his eye.

"I…" he paused. "I was in an accident when I was little," he told her softly.

"I-I'm sorry, Allen. I shouldn't have –" He cut her off.

"Don't apologize. It's human nature to be curious," he replied gently. She nodded, blushing. "Maybe I'll tell you the whole story, one day soon," he said as he got up out of bed and over to his walk-in closet.

"Here, these should fit you alright," he said, handing her a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved red t-shirt that he had long since outgrown.

"Thank you," she said softly before retreating to her room to get changed.

0-0-0

"Breakfast is ready!" Lavi called out, the shout echoing throughout the house.

"Shut up," Kanda said as he made his appearance, sitting down at the round kitchen table.

"Whatcha make today, Lavi?" Allen asked as he took his seat next to Kanda, shooting the Asian a glare as he did so.

"Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast!" Lavi said with his usual grin as he set the platters of food on the table. "Come on in, Christine," he grinned when he noticed her hesitating by the door. Smiling shyly, she walked into the kitchen and took a seat next to Allen, leaving Lavi to sit in between her and Kanda. "Dig in!"

Everybody finished eating fairly quickly. Allen, as usual, finished last. Christine, not used to eating breakfast, had eaten very little and therefore stopped eating first; she sat at the table quietly with folded hands.

"Hey, Christine," Lavi said, getting up and placing his plate in the sink. "Where do you wanna go first?"

"Umm…We could go to the mall first, if you wanted."

"That sounds fun!" Allen said. Christine was slightly confused. He was acting like nothing had happened at all last night. Now that she thought of it, so were Kanda and Lavi. She was now thoroughly confused; why were they acting like both Christine and Allen didn't have breakdowns last night? Was it a normal occurrence for Allen, happening so often that they just ignored it now? Or were they just trying to be nice and not bring anything up that may result in another breakdown?

"Che. Hurry up Moyashi," Kanda said, getting up and leaving the kitchen swiftly.

"Moyashi?" She asked in confused. Wasn't that Japanese?

"It means 'bean sprout' in Yū's native language," Lavi said while laughing. "At home, he tends to speak it more often, so don't worry if you can't understand him." She raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not a bean sprout," Allen grumbled, placing his dished in the sink. "It's not my fault that I haven't hit my growth-spurt just yet." He continued to mutter to himself as he walked out.

"Umm…"

"Don't worry about him," Lavi said, grinning. "It's always been like that between those two. Deep down, they care about each other's well being. Very, very deep down," he told her. "It's usually worse after Allen has one of his nightmares, though," he said softly, eyes downcast. "It's Kanda's way of cheering him up, getting him to not think about it." So, they were just ignoring it, but to help Allen.

"Oh..Does Allen have nightmares often?" she asked in curiosity. The red-head sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, unfortunately. It gets as bad as every night, some weeks."

"Really?" she asked in surprise. That was horrible…Every night? "Poor Allen…"

"Yeah, he's had a pretty nasty life so far…That's one of the reasons why we've moved here. To try and get away from everything that haunts us, even if it's just for a while," he admitted with a sad smile. Her brow furrowed. So she was right; they didn't need to worry themselves with her problems; they had more than enough to worry themselves about. Especially Allen…

"I'm sorry Lavi," she began quietly. "But I've just realized that I have to get home. Mother doesn't like it if I don't come back the next day," she finished abruptly. His eyes widened in shock.

"W-what? You can't go back there!" he protested loudly.

"I have to. Thank you, for being so kind to me, even if it was for only one night," she said, giving him a small smile before jumping up and running out of the house.

"Hey Lavi, where's Christy?" Allen asked, walking back into the kitchen a few minutes later. Lavi didn't answer him, instead staring at the place Christine had disappeared, visible eye wide with shock. "Lavi? What happened?" Allen asked, voice shaking.

"She…she left," Lavi said softly.

"W-what?"

"She left, Allen. Ran right out of the house," Lavi said, getting angry. 'How dare she?' he thought aggressively. 'I tell her personal info, and she runs right out of our house!'

"Why?" Allen asked him. "Why did she leave, Lavi? She can't go back to her house! Who knows what her mom'll do to her!" His voice lowered. "And…she made the nightmares go away," Lavi's eyes widened. No one had been able to stop Allen's nightmares; they had just been able to wake him from them.

"I told her why we moved here, Allen," Lavi told him, making the younger boy's eyes widen. "I told her that you have had nightmares. I told her that our lives have been far less than perfect. And she ran," he said bitterly.

"Why would she run?" Allen asked weakly. "I thought she, of all people, would understand."

"Yeah, well she ran instead."

"What are you two whining about?" Kanda asked as he returned.

"Christy left," the white-haired boy told him with sad eyes.

"What? She can't go back to that house," Kanda said with shocked eyes.

"Well she did. Told her some stuff and what does she do with it? She runs," Lavi told him, face devoid of its usual happy expression.

"Che. You knew her for two days. She managed before, she can do it again. So can we," Kanda said with a note of finality before spinning on his heel and striding up the stairs to his room. Allen smiled falsely.

"He's right for once, Lavi," he said sadly before climbing the stairs and locking himself in his own room. The red-headed youth sighed.

"Yeah…I just wish I knew why she ran after everything she told us."

0-0-0

Christine felt tears well up in her eyes as she slowed to a walk at the bottom of her driveway. She had finally found people she could maybe – just maybe – call friends, and she couldn't even keep them. She sniffed, thinking about the problems that they had to deal with. 'They didn't need to have to worry about a worthless girl who can't even protect herself in her own home'

Slowly opening the front door, she looked around immediately for her mother. As she had expected, and hoped, her mother was passed out on the couch, empty beer cans and a wine bottle or two surrounding her. Christine sighed in relief and quietly closed the door behind her. She figured she had at least an hour until her mother regained consciousness. In the mean time, she decided to clean the house as quietly as she could. If her mother wakes up to a clean house, food, and painkillers, her punishment would hopefully be less severe.

0-0-0

An hour and a half of cleaning and cooking later, she heard the telltale signs of her mother waking up. By the sound of it, she had a massive hangover. 'Good thing I put the strong painkillers on the table' Christine thought as she scooped spaghetti onto a plate for her mother.

"Oi, Brat. You here?" she heard her mother call hoarsely.

"Y-yes, Mother," she replied nervously, walking into the living room with the plate of food held out in front of her as sort of peace offering.

"Oh, good. I see you already made lunch," she said, greedily snatching the plate and beginning to stuff her face. Christine nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground. If she was lucky, her mother had forgotten all about kicking her out last night.

"Yes," she said, watching her mother practically inhale the food she had prepared.

"For once, you're not totally worthless!" her mother said it as if it was the greatest compliment in the world. For her, it pretty much was. Christine nodded once more. "Did you clean the whole house?"

"Yes, mother," she told her quietly. Her mother nodded.

"Good, good. Now, I want you to do the laundry, the dishes, and vacuum. I'm going out in half an hour."

"Yes, mother."

"I expect it to be done by the time I get home."

"Yes, mother."

"I should be home around midnight. Is that clear?" her mother demanded, standing up.

"Yes, mother," the young girl repeated, bowing as was expected from her. Her mother nodded and strode past her, marching up the stairs. Christine sighed in relief as her mother disappeared into her bedroom. "I can't believe she didn't say anything about last night," she mumbled to herself as she picked up her mother's dirty dish and went to clean up the kitchen and wash the dishes.

When she was finished with them, making sure that they were done to her mother's amazingly high standards, she started the laundry and vacuumed, hiding from her mother when she left the house.

"Well, I better do my homework, this may be the only chance I get to do it," the blonde said to herself after she had finished her assigned chores and had pre-cooked dinner. Quickly running up the stairs, it was only when she saw her reflection in the dusty mirror that hung on her wall that she realized she was still wearing the clothes that Allen had given her. Her eyes misted over as she thought about it.

"Why do I have to be cursed?" she muttered sadly, sitting down at her small desk and pulling out her homework. "Why can't I just have a peaceful home life and friends? That's all I really want."

0-0-0

"Allen, please come out!" Lavi pleaded from his place outside of Allen's door. The distraught boy had not come out since he had locked himself in after Christine's leave, and Lavi was worried.

"No," Allen muttered, but he knew Lavi had heard him. He was in the middle of his bedroom, doing one handed pushups as he had been doing all day. He switched to sit-ups when his arms started trembling too violently to hold him up properly.

"Allen, you have to let it go!" Lavi shouted.

"No! You don't understand!"

"So you had a crush on her, big deal! It'll fade!" Lavi made the mistake of saying. Allen yanked his door open and glared ferociously at the taller boy.

"It's not as simple as that, Lavi," he said with tears forming in his eyes.

"She made the nightmares go away."