Chapter Six

Allen walked out to the roof and sighed. It was a nice day. The sun was shining brightly, and there were only a few white, fluffy clouds in the otherwise bright blue sky. The rooftop was a little bit dirty from people walking on it, but it was clean enough to sit on. From near the edge, Road looked over at Allen and smiled brightly.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to come," Road said, blushing slightly for the first time around Allen. Usually she was completely calm and composed, but now, her heart was beating like crazy, and she could feel her breathing getting quicker and quicker, like she was having a panic attack. It wasn't as severe as that, but it was the same general feeling. She had had several panic attacks in her life. They happened back when she first awoke to her Noah memories, and she was trying to deal with all of the things that she knew, but didn't remember learning about, or seeing. The memories had been so clear, as though she had seen it all happen just days before. She very nearly went insane, but then the Earl came and told her that it was alright, and that she wasn't crazy. No, she wasn't crazy. She was merely a Noah, a superior breed of human with special powers and memories that lived to serve him, the Millennium Earl. At first, Road didn't want to have to leave her family. She was scared, and she wanted to just live a normal life like a normal child and go to a normal school. The Earl had promised that she could have a family, that the other Noahs who had awakened their ancestral memories also lived with him. They were just like a family, and though the old Noahs that she knew from the beginning died eventually, she developed a sense of familiarity with the Noahs that came after her, that lived with the Earl and did his bidding, and eventually, she came to like being a Noah. It was like having a special secret that she couldn't tell anyone, but that made her unique.

Now, though, she was starting to wish that she could be a normal human again. It wasn't impossible, either. Theoretically, Allen could exorcise her Noah memories, purge her of any remnant or proof that she ever was a Noah. She didn't know the side effects of that, though. What if along with her Noah memories, went the memories of Allen Walker? What if she didn't remember meeting him, of falling in love with him? Wait, was she calling what she felt love, now? Suddenly, she felt a little bit ill. She swooned slightly, almost falling over, but was caught by Allen, who looked at her, eyes full of concern.

"Are you alright, Road?" Allen asked, looking at her resolutely.

"Y-yes, Allen-kun… I-I'm fine…" Road said, looking away shyly, her face turning bright pink at looking like such an idiot in front of Allen. This whole thing with him was setting off her balance, the tenuous balance that she had worked so hard to achieve was being shaken by this one boy. She wished almost that she could tell him the truth. However, she knew that she could not. First of all, it would ruin her chances of ever having Allen. Second of all, it would really hurt Allen to know that she had manipulated both him and Lenalee, and Kanda, if only indirectly.

Meanwhile, at the door, Lenalee was watching silently, fuming that Road was all over Allen like that. In Lenalee's eyes, all she saw was Road making a fabulous display of trying to seduce Allen, and Lenalee was sure that if word of this got out to the Order, that Allen would be sentenced to death. That was why she couldn't tell anyone other than Kanda, who was officially her boyfriend, but technically just a façade. She suddenly realized what exactly it was that she had done. She had led everyone that she had ever loved or cared for into a trap. She led Allen right into Road's clutches. By asking Kanda out in a public place and then explaining what happened to him, he was in on the secret, and he had to keep it, lest he get her and Allen in huge trouble. She had also trapped herself in a web of lies and deceit that threatened to entangle her irretrievably, leading to Allen's, Kanda's, and her inevitable downfall. There was no way to survive this, and even if they all did. Even if Road somehow Allen found out, he would be heartbroken all over again, and this time, she wasn't sure that anyone would be able to be there to comfort him. Allen would never trust her again, and he would be completely engulfed in despair that the one girl that he thought loved him, despite the fact that they lived in different worlds, had betrayed him so vilely.

She could see the concern and love in Allen's eyes. His were the eyes of someone who was far beyond retrieval. Road had completely ensnared him, and there was nothing that Lenalee could do that would change that, now. For even if she were to decide to tell Allen what really happened, Allen wouldn't believe her. After all, she had broken his heart and then asked out Allen's biggest rival. She had known how much this would hurt Allen, and she went through with it, anyhow, thinking at the time that in the long run, it would be better this way. At least she was saving his life, but she didn't account for the fact that maybe he wouldn't have wanted to be saved if he had to live his life like that. She also hadn't counted on Allen really liking her that much that he'd become so desperate for consolation after she 'broke his heart'. What had she done? She was no longer sure who was the bigger monster. Was it Road, or was she, Lenalee, the true monster?

After what seemed like hours of painfully watching Allen and Road talk and laugh together, and of Road giving Allen a haircut, Lenalee finally forced herself to leave, and it was just in time, too, because just as she shut the door, Allen leaned back to kiss Road, and they shared a passionate kiss under the warm sun on the roof. It was perhaps good that they were so far away from the door, because that meant that they didn't hear Lenalee sobbing on the way down. Once down the stairs, she ran to the left toward the bathroom, not really hungry anymore. For a while, she just sat in one of the stalls, crying. She didn't know what to do anymore. She had lost utterly. Road had completely beaten her through superior intellect and planning. Lenalee usually had a plan for any situation, but now, she was fresh out of plans. Lenalee knew that she was smart, but Road had to be some sort of genius to be able to think of all that she thought about on the fly. Road had had no way of knowing that Allen would snap that night, so she was probably just staking out HQ, and had seen an opportunity for herself when Lenalee led Allen into the storage space. She had probably then thought up her plan and then gone to Lenalee and coerced her to join in, and now Lenalee was just as guilty as Road and Allen.

After about half an hour, another girl came into the bathroom and heard Lenalee crying. The girl shook her head and went over to her stall and knocked. Lenalee jumped at the noise, and stood, opening the stall door, looking at the girl, her eyes rimmed with red and tear streaks running down her cheeks. The girl stared at Lenalee and then put a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place for a moment.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked. "Oh, by the way, I'm Sakura Minamoto, she said, smiling sympathetically, hugging Lenalee closer to her. Lenalee wrapped her arms around Sakura. It had been a while since she had had a girl her own age to talk to.

"Oh… I-it's… nothing."

"Wait, let me guess. Boy troubles. The boy you like is completely under the spell of another girl."

"H-how did you know?" Lenalee asked, amazed.

"Boys are simple minded creatures. They can never seem to see what's right in front of them, and they're sooo easy to wrap around your finger. All you have to do is flirt with him a bit, and you could have him in a flash. You're really pretty. Someone like you wouldn't have much trouble."

"B-but I don't want to manipulate him. He's already been manipulated enough in his life."

"I see. Well, if subtlety doesn't work, have you tried just telling him straight out that you like him?"

"I-I can't. I can't talk much about it, but I was coerced into something awful by someone, and now, A… the boy thinks that I like someone else, and she's fingers deep in this boy. Right now, they're kissing on the roof. That's why I'm in here."

"Ah, Road Kamelot… She is a strange one. I don't know much about her personally, but I've heard things, and none of them are too flattering. Nonetheless, she seems completely impervious to the rumors. And this boy must be Allen Walker. I heard that he was looking for Road earlier."

"H-how do you know all this!?"

"Rumors spread fast in this school. The girls are all travelling in huge packs, whispering amongst themselves. Another pack of girls overhear and then a rumor is started. I can't comment on what Road did or said to you, but I've always found that being honest, no matter how late you are on the uptake, is best."

"H-he would never believe me."

"Is this what you think, or what Road has told you would happen? Have you ever lied to this boy in the past?"

"Yes. But he still thinks that I was telling the truth."

"Then you need to clear that up and everything else along with it."

"Thank you! I have to go, before something happens that we'll all regret!"

Lenalee ran out of the bathroom at top speed and toward the staircase. She nearly knocked over a few first years in the hallway on her way, and the wind that she was creating nearly blew up the skirts of some other girls. Finally, she made it to the stairs, and ran up them, throwing open the door to find Allen and Road kissing passionately, and removing each other's clothes. Road looked up first, seeming quite unbothered by Lenalee's interruption, despite the fact that her school blouse was about to fall off her shoulder, and Allen was touching her breasts. Allen next noticed that Road had stopped and looked behind him at Lenalee. He turned bright red and stumbled back off of Road, stuttering like a moron.

"W-wait! L-Lenalee! This…"

"Never mind, Allen! I have to tell you something, so just shut up and listen!!" Lenalee shouted passionately. "Road has been tricking you all along. She came to me on the night that you snapped and were thrown in prison in order to offer me a chance to 'save' you. She said that she could remove the memories of the fourteenth from your mind. I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but I knew that it had something to do with the stress that you were under. She said that what she wanted in return was for me to break your heart and then ask out Kanda. Kanda is in on this, too. I told him about it. Road then planned to offer you comfort so that you would gravitate to her as she so aptly put it. We were both played for fools, Allen, and Road was behind it all! I'm sorry for what I said to you. I love you, and I wanted so badly to be able to tell you that I did, but I couldn't because of the trap Road had caught us in!"

Allen looked at Road, not sure what to think. He backed away from Road and started stuttering. Finally, after a moment or two, he spoke.

"Road-chan… I-is this true?"

"A-Allen-kun… I-I did that b-because I wanted you t-to see how much I loved you!"

"But you aren't SUPPOSED to love me!! I'm an exorcist, and you're a Noah! We're polar opposites, sworn enemies… And now I see why! You Noah's are no good! You manipulate anyone you see fit to your own ends! Get out of my sight, Road, now! Before I do something that we're both going to regret!"

Road nodded numbly and buttoned up her shirt, running inside, looking as though she was about to cry. Of course, Allen didn't look much better. His lip was quivering, and his eyes looked like they were wavy with all of the tears that were glistening in them. Lenalee ran over to Allen and hugged him tightly, whispering into his ear as he cried that he was going to be alright. Allen didn't feel alright, though. He felt as though his heart had been ripped out again. And finally, he realized that he was hugging Lenalee and he pushed her away from him.

"Lenalee. Why did you do that to me? I would have rather died than been hurt like that by you… I told you. I don't need you to feel sorry for me! Now, just leave me alone. I'll tell the chief that the whole thing was a trick. There is no innocence here."

"Lenalee nodded and walked away, and through the door, closing it behind her."