It hadn't been long after breakfast had Fran found a good hiding spot away from everyone else. He had tucked himself into a corner of what he thought to be the living room, hidden away by the wall and the side of the couch where surely no one would think to look for him. No one else had come into the living room since he had been there, so it was peaceful for him; he hadn't needed to be around anyone, and he could just sit there and think for as long as he needed to.
The little TV perched on a stand in the opposite corner had been left on ever since Fran had been there, but even so, he didn't pay any attention to the TV; he instead let the sound it produced wash over him as background noise that wasn't entirely unwelcome. He was thinking about who else could live in this house; hee had only seen the three he had been at the dining table with, but every other orphanage he had been to had an abundance of kids and staff. Should this one be any different?
The sunlight that had been filtering through the curtained windows disappeared after an undetermined amount of time and soon the only source of light came from the illumination of the TV. It was getting cold in the room, but Fran didn't care; he didn't want to move from where he was - he was quite content in his corner.
Fran must have stayed where he was for years by now. He was tired, and as hard as he was trying to keep his eyes open, it soon became too hard; just when heavy eyelids slid closed, the sound of the living room door opening startled him back into reality.
The teal-eyed male glanced at the doorway. He found a messy-haired blond with a tiara tilted to the side grinning at him with a smirk that honestly made Fran feel uncomfortable; it reminded him greatly of the people from his past, and if there was one person he wouldn't trust in this house, it was this blond.
"Shishishishi~"
Fran blinked at the other. "..."
"So you're the new peasant? Xanxus told the prince to find you and tell you it's time for dinner." The other's voice was soft, but Fran was certain it was deceiving; there was just something about the other that betrayed his silky tone.
Fran spoke his first words in days at that moment. His tone was thick with sarcasm as he stared blankly at the taller boy. "Don't you mean fake prince?"
Though the self-proclaimed prince's eyes were hidden behind unruly locks of blond, the smirk was quickly wiped from his face as he took a step forward and reached into his pocket to withdraw a small, oddly shaped knife.
Fran stared at the object in his elder's hand. He couldn't find it in himself to be scared; he just felt as numb as ever. "You shouldn't run with knives. You might hurt yourself."
The blond's mouth twisted into a frown as he spoke, slowly and carefully. "The only one who'll get hurt is you."
Emerald eyes blinked at the blond a few times before Fran spoke again. "Am I supposed to be scared?"
"Kaching…" The blond's anger had risen enough for him to raise his hand, fully intent on pushing the knife as deep as possible into the teal-haired kid. He took a few steps towards the smaller male, unable to stop himself from advancing; he was already in a bad mood, and this little brat was only making him angrier. "I should –"
"- Oh, there you are, Fran."
The two kids stopped and looked up at the unexpected voice. Tsuna was standing behind the blond in the doorway, and his brown eyes were focused on Fran. A soft smile adorned his face as he stepped past the blond.
"Dinner's ready," Tsuna explained as he reached out to take Fran's hand. "We sent Bel to find you but he took so long, we thought you were hiding from us all."
The blond boy still standing in the doorway quickly sheathed his knife back in his pocket, almost as if he knew the repercussions of having it out. He watched as Tsuna grabbed the smallest male's hand and pulled the expressionless child to his feet, and he scowled; why was that little brat getting all of the attention already? What about him? He had been here the longest, and he deserved all of the attention! But instead, all he ever got was hate. It wasn't fair, and he hated it.
The worker turned around to face the blond, and he couldn't help but soften his demeanour as he saw the pain on the younger's face hidden almost completely behind anger and imperceptible to all but the most well-trained of eyes; he knew how the blond was sensitive about feeling as if he just weren't good enough and was inferior to everyone around him. He gestured towards the blond-haired boy as he turned to speak to Fran. "This is Belphegor, but you can call him Bel. He'll also be sharing his room with you."
The boy's – Bel, Fran had learnt – mouth dropped open before he turned to presumably glare at the burnet - but beneath all that hair, it was hard to tell what he was even looking at. "I will not share a room with a peasant!"
"I'm sorry, Bel," Sawada explained, "but this was not my decision; Xanxus said the other rooms are crowding and because you're the only one not sharing a room, we decided to let him bunk with you."
"The prince should turn you into a cactus..." Belphegor didn't stay; he walked away, mumbling under his breath as he did so.
Fran watched Bel leave with an emotionless stare. When the boy was out of sight, he looked up at Tsuna and fell silent once again. He was a quiet kid, and he wasn't prepared to start talking again anytime soon.
~~That night~~
Fran had met most of the other residents at the dinner table, but that didn't mean he was interested in any of them; the small plate of food he had been given was more appealing than the others, and he had barely touched it at all. He was finding it very difficult to become attentive towards the others under the same roof; all he wanted was to be by his lonesome where no one would ever come near him again.
The kid stared out of the window across from him with his usual blank expression. The black sky threatened to pelt the earth with rain as it rumbled occasionally with the onset of a storm, and the trees swayed with the wind so hard, he considered if they might be ripped out of the earth at some stage tonight.
Fran was so absorbed, he didn't notice as the people at the dining table slowly disappeared off to do their own things, leaving him alone with Belphegor who was currently violently stabbing the meat on his plate with a maniacal grin on his face.
The younger boy's attention slowly drifted over to the blond as he watched this act. He blinked a few times but he didn't speak; he didn't feel the need to.
Bel paid no attention to his observer as he ripped his meat apart savagely like a ravenous wild animal would. His food had spilled all over the table by now as he had spent far more time playing with it than actually eating it, and every now and then when he would actually eat some of the tiny pieces he had ripped up, he would chew slowly as the clock on the wall behind him ticked away with each passing second. Fran could recognise an eating disorder when he saw one, even if he didn't realise that was what it was; all he knew was that he himself couldn't eat much at all, let alone huge meals, and all he could manage was bite-sized pieces as small as the ones the blond seemed to take forever to swallow, almost as if he physically couldn't get it down into his stomach.
Neither boy spoke until someone walked into the dining room. It was a male, with long silver hair that hung down their chest. He was frowning as he observed the two, but that quickly disappeared when he narrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth.
"Voi!"
Fran blinked at the man's shout while Bel only grinned up at the man. The younger watched as the new intruder moved to stand behind Bel, and he couldn't help but feel the corners of his lips twitch upwards as he watched the older boy get back-handed across the head.
"What the hell are you still doing up, brat?" The man bared his teeth threateningly as he raised his hand and held it above Belphegor's head as if he were going to strike again. "You should have left for bed ages ago! You know you have a bedtime!"
Bel slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the knife he had hidden. He knew it would get him into trouble, but he wasn't thinking clearly tonight; his mind was clouded and it was hard for him to consider his actions properly. His lips curled into a grin as he pointed the knife threateningly at the man. "I'll make you bleed, Squalo."
The silver-haired male who Fran had figured was Squalo grabbed Bel by the wrist and twisted his arm back so that he could take the knife out of the orphan's hand. "Weren't you told to leave knives alone, you little shit?! I'll get Xanxus to check your room again!"
Bel frowned before he stood up from his seat and stormed out of the room. There was a loud bang from down the hall seconds after his retreat, and Fran could only look at Squalo and tilt his head slightly; he couldn't quite work out what had just happened; all he knew was that he was sharing a home with a freak.
~~With Bel~~
The blond had kicked back on his bed after leaving the dining room angrily, furious that the last knife he had been able to hide had been taken. He knew it was his fault for having showed it to Squalo, but still…! His room was dark, the only light shining through the slight part in the closed curtains, and he couldn't say he was happy about this; total darkness made him uneasy.
The only sounds Bel could hear was the occasional car passing by in the street across his bedroom, or the soft thud of possessions falling to the hardwood floor from one of the other rooms around him. He knew that he was sixteen and he shouldn't be afraid of the dark, but when he could hear life around him, but couldn't see it, it would put him on edge; how was he supposed to protect himself from what he couldn't see?
The boy didn't close his eyes, not willing to sleep; not now when he was so worked up – he didn't want the nightmares to come to him again tonight.
When a loud knock sounded on Bel's door, the blond growled before he rolled onto his side so that his back was to the door; he knew exactly who was there, and he didn't want to deal with them. "Go away!"
The visitor didn't listen. They instead turned the knob and opened the rickety door. Xanxus stuck his head inside, and he narrowed his eyes narrowed as he addressed the younger; he wasn't happy about being here because he would have much rather stayed in his office with his wine rather than have to deal with an unruly orphan. "Room check, you trash. Squalo told me you've been hiding knives again."
"Shishishi~" Bel laughed before he shrugged. He kept his back to his elder and didn't acknowledge the other any further; he remained staring at the wall in front of him.
Xanxus slipped his hand into the room and flicked the light-switch. He smirked as he heard Bel hiss at the sudden brightness; serves the brat right for making him have to get up. He stepped in through the doorway, prepared to turn the room upside-down to make sure Bel wasn't hiding anymore knives; he knew what the boy would get up to if he had any left, and he refused to let that happen on his watch because it would be far too messy to clean up.
Bel laid carelessly on his bed as he listened to the man rummage around in his room. He knew he was a messy person, clothes laying everywhere amongst empty food containers and other random items, and it irked him to know Xanxus would probably tidy up a bit while he was here; he liked his room the way it was, and he didn't want it changed.
The blond didn't move until he was forcibly pushed off the bed so that the black-haired male could pull his blankets and pillowcases off the bed in order to search for hidden objects. When at last Xanxus deemed the boy safe enough after no forbidden weapons turned up, he growled at Bel as he gestured towards the door. "Fran is spending the night with you. Make room for him, trash."
Bel growled at these words. He rolled onto his side from his new position on the floor beside his bed and glared through his long bangs at the teal-haired male who had come to stand in the doorway sometime during Xanxus' search. His lips curled into a sneer as he silently dared him to so much as step into the room.
Xanxus was quick to leave after he shoved Fran into the room and closed the door behind him. Fran glanced down at Bel with the same emotionless face he had worn all day. "…"
"What are you looking at, peasant?" Bel spat as he pushed himself onto his feet. He climbed into the tangle of blankets that was his bed before he turned back to his 'guest' and pointed at the ground. "The prince doesn't care where you sleep as long as it's on the floor."
With that said, Bel forced himself into sleep, leaving Fran to find somewhere to sleep in the mess of a room. Amongst the clothing and many other things scattered across the ground, barely any floor could be seen, and he truly didn't know where he was supposed to lay.
With a sigh, Fran gathered up some of the clothing so that he could make his own little nest to curl up in. It was better than what he was used to sleeping on, after all; the cold, hard bottom of a steel cage he had never been allowed out of.
Fran couldn't help but find it difficult to fall asleep; he felt as if the unfamiliarity of this place was consuming him, and he felt far too suffocated within his own skin. He didn't know what he wanted; just that he would have been happier if he had somewhere to curl up by himself with no one else around.
But already this place was making him far too uncomfortable, and he didn't know how to deal with it.