Title; The Only Thing I'm Missing
Repertoire; 05 The Bargain.
Authoress; Chrome Hearts
Fandom; My Candy Love
Main Focus; Lysander x Candy
Rating; K
A/N: First of all, I'd like to apologise to those whom I told I'd be updating earlier; I've been trying to keep my head above Universities' water. Second of all, I would like to announce that the character Josephine belongs to the lovely Ryuu Miyori. I hope I got her character right, lovely.
Disclaimer; All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
~The Only Thing I'm Missing~
The following day, Tyson kept a particularly close eye on me as I travelled to and from class, even going as far as to sneak out of his classroom early only to meet me out the front of mine.
Although he was generally a carefree, happy type of guy, he had his fair share of serious moments. And those moments were not to be taken lightly.
I have to admit, I was shocked when I discovered him leaning casually on the picket fence outside my house in the morning, but after he explained why he was there ('You could use a friend, Janiel. Someone to talk to when you're upset or down. And I'm always happy to help.'), my shock disappeared and remained that way for the first two hours of school.
Shortly after break, as I was heading to my first Forensics elective of the year, accompanied by a chattering Tyson, did I wish that his serious mood would blow over. And quickly, too.
I much preferred the friendly, easygoing Tyson who gave me room to breathe. This new, concerned-for-my-wellbeing Tyson was completely foreign to me.
"Are you sure you're alright, Janiel?" he asked for the umpteenth time as we stood out the front of my classroom, our books in our hands. "I mean, you seemed upset yesterday. Actually, upset would be an understatement," he added quickly with a grin.
I knitted my brows together and frowned at him.
"I already told you, I was just feeling unwell that day."
Tyson laughed; it seemed as though his usual self was back again.
"Sure, whatever you say Janey."
He shot me a V pose, sticking his tongue out to the side.
"Just try not to kill Lysander when you see him next. Or his girlfriend for that matter."
Yes, he has certainly reverted to his usual self. But that wasn't to say that I appreciated that one very much, either.
I narrowed my eyes at him, but, sensing a snide remark, he flashed me another grin and turned quickly around in the direction of his classroom.
"Later~"
With a roll of my eyes, I watched his retreating back as he disappeared down the corridor before turning and entering my own classroom.
There were a few students scattered throughout the room in pairs, but all in total, there couldn't be more than eleven. An immediate assumption of Forensic Science is the thought of studying and dissecting cold, lifeless bodies. As a result; the elective was bypassed by more than the majority of students here at Sweet Amoris. As for me; I always found it fascinating.
The teacher glanced up at me from his position in front of the whiteboard; the days notes and diagrams scrawled messily across it.
"You must be Janiel," he said, his face unreadable. "Welcome to the class, we were short one person."
Actually, I thought you were quite a few short.
"In this class, a majority of the work is practical, with the occasional exception," he gestured to the whiteboard with one hand. "And because it is practical work, students are required to work collectively and efficiently in pairs."
I nodded slowly, waiting for him to finish. Instead, he wrinkled his brow.
"I trust you don't need me to ask your new partner to raise her hand. I would have thought it was obvious. Come on now, off you go."
I chewed my bottom lip – a habit of mine whenever I was bored, upset or confused – before glancing quickly around the class. There, at the back work bench sat a girl with long curly blonde hair and thick-rimmed red glasses. Assuming that was going to be my partner for the rest of the year, I made my way over, offering a smile as I took my seat next to her.
"Hey," I said quietly as I arranged my books on the table. "I'm Janiel."
The girl's lips tugged upwards into a small smile and she nodded her head in greeting.
"Hey there," she replied, "I'm Josephine."
Mirroring her previous motion, I nodded my head and the two of us lapsed into silence as we copied down the notes on the whiteboard.
"Fingerprinting, huh?" I mused silently as I finished off my case study before collecting the equipment for the practical.
"Yeah," Josephine said, closing her notebook and standing. "Not the funnest of things. Dissecting and cell examination are far more interesting."
"Dissection?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.
"Yeah," Josephine paused for a second, trying to read my expression, "don't tell me you're afraid of cutting up a heart or two."
My lips tugged upwards into a smile and I laughed, Josephine following soon after.
"Not at all," I grinned as we gathered or equipment. "A little dissection never hurt anyone."
"Nope," Josephine mused. "Because they're already dead."
My grin distorted into something that one would expect from a psychopath as I tried to contain my laughter.
"What?" Josephine asked innocently as I looked first at her, and then at the none too pleased teacher. "I just said it cause it's true."
The two of us snickered quietly as we gathered the rest of our equipment and headed back to our bench.
"Oh, and by the way," Josephine said as somewhat an afterthought as she finished reading the objective aloud, "Call me Jo Jo."
"Sure."
I had a feeling this was the start of a very good friendship.
~The Only Thing I'm Missing~
"So how was Forensics?" Tyson asked as he helped me put my books away. "Cut up any dead people yet?"
Restraining myself from rolling my eyes, I sighed inwardly.
"Oh, yes. Of course. We got two people today; the classes way of saying 'welcome to the family,' you know?"
Tyson grinned enthusiastically.
"Great! Because I might need to get you to apply what you've learnt today to Nathanial."
A small smile played across my face as I looked up at my friend.
"Not that I'd have any real hesitation on the matter; why? What has he done this time? Asked you to hand out absentee notices or something?"
Tyson frowned. "No," he said slowly. "Why would he do something like that?"
I chewed on my bottom lip. "Er, no reason. What did he do to you?"
Tyson shook his head, his fists clenched, his body stiff.
"It isn't what he did to me," he said, his tone overcast. "It's what he did to us."
"Us?" I asked, taken aback and Tyson made a face.
"Not us as in… Us," he said gesturing first at me, and then to himself. "But us as in the band."
I closed my locker and turned slowly to face him.
"What did he do?"
Tyson remained silent for a short moment as he attempted to compose himself, both mentally and physically.
He sucked in a deep breath but, remained incapable of explaining.
I reached out and touched his hand encouragingly and he unclenched his fists in a flinching like reaction.
My hands must be cold or something.
Tyson looked down at the floor and frowned.
"He said he was going to ban us from rehearsing if Castiel doesn't show up to every class."
I blinked. That was why he was upset?
"Well," I soothed, "it can't all be that bad. At least that means Cas will be showing up for class more regularly."
"That's not it," Tyson said quietly. "We all know that he won't."
Okay, so maybe he had a point there. Deep down, I knew it too. And as much as I could try, I couldn't force him to come every day.
I decided to try another approach to the matter.
"Well," I suggested, "Nathanial can't exactly put a ban on it, can he? I mean, that power can't possibly fall to a Student President, no matter how egotistical. And if it did, that would mean he was abusing his powers."
Tyson met my gaze and forced a smile.
"Actually, he can. We're not actually allowed to practice in the school after hours. Nathanial is the only reason we can do so, and we do so discretely. It's against school policy to partake in activities on the campus after school hours; unless you're Nathanial, and those activities involve locking yourself in a room with mountains of paperwork."
"I see," I said slowly. "So unless Castiel attends class, there's no way you'll be able to practice anymore?"
"No chance."
I gave Tyson a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Alright, I'll go talk to him. Just leave it to me."
It felt good to be in charge again.
~The Only Thing I'm Missing~
As expected, I found Nathanial in the Student Council room well after school had finished. And, again, as I had grown to expect from him, he sat, novel in hand, and did not look up as I entered.
"Come to ask for my forgiveness Casti-"
"I've come to make a bargain," I interjected.
Surprised by my voice, he closed his novel, setting it gently down on the table before looking up at me.
"Janiel?" he asked mildly. "I didn't expect you. What brings you here?"
"You know perfectly well why I'm here, Nathanial," I said levelly.
"Do I now?" Nathanial replied coolly. "Enlighten me then."
I made a face. This guy's arrogance level could rival Castiel's; although Nate's was more self-contained.
"Let them keep practicing. It hardly seems fair that you take that away from them. They've worked so hard."
"It's not my problem. I gave them the chance and Castiel ruined it for them all. His lack of interest in his studies and attendance. If only he applied the enthusiasm he had for his guitar to his classwork, we wouldn't have this problem. Anything else?"
Yes. Maybe you could pull your head out of your-
"As I said earlier; I've come to make a bargain." I was trying to maintain my cool now.
"A bargain?" Nathanial asked. "What could you possibly have that I would want?"
I kept my gaze locked with his, unblinking. To be perfectly honest, I hadn't thought about it. But he surely didn't need to know that.
"What would you like?" I asked.
Nathanial pondered the question for a short while before smiling.
"From now until the end of the semester; Castiel must complete all of his class work and homework. And he must report to me daily so that I can see his mistakes and record his academic… Improvement."
Could he get any more patronizing? Not to mention Castiel would downright refuse.
No. "Deal."
I turned to leave, wondering how in the world I was supposed to explain that to Castiel before Nathanial cleared his throat and slowly, I pivoted around to face him.
His lips curled upwards into an unnerving grin.
"I haven't finished my conditions yet, Janiel," he said slowly.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Yes?"
"If I need anything in future, you come directly to me. You carry out the task. And you do so uncomplaining. As of today, you are my new errand girl."
I clenched my fists and sucked in a deep breath to stop myself from arguing.
"Also, I believe you are familiar with my sister, Amber?"
I nodded slowly.
"I've heard a few things about her from Castiel. Still, I've had the pleasure of not meeting her."
Nathanial scowled for a short moment before his face smoothed out once more.
"Brilliant. Then you are familiar with her affection for your brother."
I shuddered slightly.
Actually, Castiel steered clear of that subject – thankfully.
"Er, sure," I lied.
"Great. I want you to get the two of them together."
I think I'm going to be sick!
"Is that all?" I growled and Nathanial nodded.
"So, they are allowed to resume band practice as per usual?"
Again, Nathanial nodded.
I took that as a chance to stalk out of the room.
Castiel was going to kill me.
I only hoped he was willing enough to give me a head start before he did.
~The Only Thing I'm Missing~
A/N: Ohmygod! Guy! I've got the most amazing news that I just have to share with you all!
I…. Just unlocked a mustache! A curly one! ASDFGHJK That is so amazing (':
Yep. It made my night. Haha. D: No Lysander. I'm sorry. He will be appearing on and off for a few more chapters before his character gets a larger role. xD