Away From Home
Chapter Two
By Andruindel
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"Matsuda, I thought I told you not to bring girls into the hotel any more."
I flushed scarlet at the words, but couldn't lift my eyes from the floor. Matsuda stuttered an explanation, and I simply bit my lip, waiting to hear my fate. I knew that L was standing barely three feet in front of me. That was why I couldn't lift my eyes. I didn't want to meet his gaze.
"Very well, she can stay. For now." L relented, only after Matsuda had explained my situation.
Relieved, I lifted my eyes to his face, about to thank him. But Matsuda put his hand on my elbow and led me quickly away. All I could do was follow at a fast limp.
Ten minutes later I was back in front of L. I had my eyes on the floor again, my hands clasped before me. Matsuda stood slightly behind me, watching L's face.
After Matsuda had introduced us, L, or Ryuuzaki got right to the point.
"So, you have no where to stay, Amy-chan?" He asked.
I shook my head. "I was… just kind of dumped here on my own." I replied slowly, hesitating just a bit. "Thank you for allowing me to stay, by the way."
Ryuuzaki said nothing in reply to my thanks. Instead, his eyes traveled slowly over me. I wouldn't meet his gaze, I was trembling, and I was blushing. Of all the awkward positions to be in, this was the worst. He would think I was some sort of… girl or something.
In an attempt to save face, I raised my eyes to his. I immediately wished I had not. He was so much hotter in real life. I blushed again, but met his gaze evenly, lifting my chin slightly. I was determined not to look scared, or shy. Good luck on that one, Amy.
"I see…" L said quietly. "Well, seeing as we're busy, I must ask you to go back to your room for now." He dismissed me with a wave of his hand, and left to sit at his computer. I flushed. It was like I hardly existed to L. Ryuuzaki, I mean. I would have to try hard not to call him L, I realized suddenly.
"Don't worry, Amy." Matsuda said as he led me back toward the room I had been offered. "He's not always like that. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"I hope I won't be an inconvenience.…" I said quietly.
Matsuda smiled. "No, you won't be." He replied. Then he left me in my room, to go back to work.
I sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, staring around the room. It was empty except for the bed, and a dresser. My mind wandered to my predicament. I was stuck in… Death Note land, for lack of a better name. I had only the clothes I was wearing, and my cell phone. Exhausted, both from the mental strain of trying to figure things out, and the physical strain of nearly getting run over, I stretched out on the bed, clutching a pillow to my stomach, and closing my eyes. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
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Several hours later I opened my eyes. How long I had been awake, or if I had been awake before that instant at all, I wasn't sure. At first I didn't know where I was. I sat up slowing, gazing around. Sleepy, and cramped from the position I had fallen asleep in, I stretched. Falling asleep in the middle of the day often did more bad than good. But, at least my head had stopped hurting.
I turned as someone knocked on my door. Running a hand through my hair, I winced as my fingers encountered tangles. I opened the door slowly, peering cautiously around it. My eyes met those of L, and I blinked once.
"Watari just brought dinner, if you want some."
Before I could even react to his words, L was gone down the hall. I blinked once, twice, three times, and then I closed the door, and strode to the mirror above my dresser. My hair was a mess. And without a brush, it was a hopeless case. I could only take the hair tie I always kept on my left wrist, and pull my hair into a pony tail.
With my hair at least some-what presentable, I opened the door and limped as quietly as possible toward the work room. Peering around the corner, I spied L sitting in a large arm-chair, and an older man sitting on the couch. They were eating pizza. I raised one eyebrow.
"Do you always eat like this?" I asked as I stepped further into the room.
L hardly glanced at me. "Yes." He replied in a low voice.
I raised an eyebrow again, but said nothing as I sat down on the other couch, across from Watari, and with L on my left. Watari offered me a slice of pizza. I accepted, although I was not really hungry. I was too nervous to eat much, what with L staring at me.
"So tell me, Amy, how old are you?"
I gulped, swallowing the bite of pizza I'd just taken. "I'm seventeen." I replied. "But I'll be eighteen in a few months." I tilted my head to one side, giving L as calculating a look as I could summon onto my face. "How old are you, Ryuuzaki-san?"
L didn't answer. Instead, he asked another question. "You are from America, am I correct?"
"Yes." I answered hesitantly. What was with all the questions?
"Where is your family?"
"I don't know."
"How did you get here?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know how you got here?"
"That's what I just said, isn't it?"
I frowned, staring hard at the pizza I no longer wanted to eat. I missed my family and friends. And I missed my own home, and I even missed my loud, annoying, obnoxious neighbors. I just wanted to be home, where I didn't have to answer stupid questions.
"That could be quite a problem…" L said, as though to himself. And then he looked up at me again. I met his eyes, and wished I had not. Once he had me in his gaze, I was unable to escape. I could only look him in the eye, lifting my chin defiantly and frowning slightly.
"Thank you for allowing me to stay, Ryuuzaki." I said firmly. "I really appreciate your hospitality." I glanced once at the pizza, and then looked back at L. "But, before I forget to mention, there are a few things I need to…point out." I almost lost my nerve at this point, as L glared silently at me. But I lifted my chin higher, and continued. "I'm going to need clothes, as well as other things. Before I stay here, I think we need to establish an agreement of sorts."
"Please, continue," L said as I paused to gather my thoughts.
I flushed, annoyed, but continued. As I spoke, I noticed that I was using much bigger words than I would normally have. My defensive state of mind had put me into a… much more formal mode of speech that I usually used.
"I was thinking that in return for your hospitality, I will do whatever chores there are to be done around here, washing dishes, laundry and things like that. But, in addition to providing me with a home, I ask that you provide me with food, clothes, and any other necessities I might require."
L nodded. "That sounds reasonable."
I allowed myself a tight-lipped smile. "In that case, the first thing I'm going to need is clothing."
I thought I saw L's eyes flash with annoyance, but I couldn't be certain. "Very well." L replied.
Satisfied, I stood. "Thank you for dinner. I'm going to bed."
I limped back down the hall to my bed, annoyed with L, though I hardly knew why. I hadn't realized he would be such a jerk. The way he looked at me, if he looked at me at all, made me feel like an inferior being. It was infuriating, and I was already tired of it.
I paused in my doorway, hesitating. But then I went inside, closing the door, and crawled into the bed.
My room was huge, and empty. I had never had such a huge, empty, lonely room. Plus, my bed was in the middle of the room. There was darkness all around me, and I had no wall to put my back to. Determined to be brave in the face of darkness, I closed my eyes, clutching one of many pillows to my stomach. I had lied before. The first thing I needed was not clothing. It was companionship; something to keep me company in the long hours of the night.
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Well, here's chapter two. I told myself I wouldn't commit to this story yet, but it's the only one I really like at the time. Plus, I've got a whole eight chapters written, and I'm working on the ninth. So, I figured I might as well have updated. Besides, it seems like people like it so far. Sorry if this chapter was a bit short, and.. nothing really important happened. I promise we'll have some fun in the next chapter. ;) Thanks for reading, and please review!
