AN: ...What is this?

Chapter 17:

Setting Mew Roots

Boredom. It may sound odd to say, but the city was a boring place. Coming from the rural land of Connecticut, Patrick found the city to be Dullsville. Sure there were big shopping malls, movie theatres, and arenas and such, but that wasn't what he was used to doing. From the crack of dawn, til the setting sun, he was always doing something. If it wasn't chores, he was riding horses at his neighbours house, helping them out with handy work as payment, or working on cars at his uncle's garage. He would also practice his marksmanship and rock climb. Anything that had to do with the great outdoors, he could do, if not, he'd learn.

But in the city, there was none of that. Instead of open plains, that gave you the feel of freedom and solitude, you had crowded paved street with skyscaping buildings that gave the country boy a slight feel of claustrophobia. Instead of seeing the daily friendly, familiar faces everyday, you were bombarded with new ones at every turn, hundreds of them, and most of them not friendly at all. It just wasn't the same. He missed his life back home, with his friends and family, but now he was here, in a foreign country across the world where he knew no one, and could just get by with speaking their language.

Sighing, Patrick rolled over on his bed, and stared up at the ceiling of his small room. That was another thing he didn't like. Instead of a nice big house they used to own, they lived in an apartment. It wasn't a cheap small one, but it didn't have anything on the two-story house he grew up in. His room barely contained any of his old belongings. He couldn't take them all with him, so he brought a few sentimental items. The switch to the first lawnmower he tried fixing for his mom, a photo album full of pictures, and a set of reigns his neighbours had given him. He wasn't sure he'd get to use the reigns anytime soon, but they were an expensive brand and he wasn't just gonna get rid of them.

A high-pitched bark came from out his door, and there was a small thunk as something came into the door, followed by a few more energetic barks. Patrick smiled and rolled out of bed to open the door and allowed the black lab puppy to run inside and attack his leg. He dropped to the floor, and rubbed the excited puppies head as she jumped up at him, licking his face. She was only a few months old, one of the few things they actually got to bring with them. Her name was Midnight Shadow, and he didn't like leaving her in the baggage area of the plane.

"Did you go for your walk yet?" he asked, scratching under her chin. She yipped, and sprinted out the door. He chuckled and got up. "I'll take that as a 'no' or a 'please take me out again'." He slipped on his shoes and got Midnight's leash from the closet. She was practically jumping out of her skin. She enjoyed walks more than anything. I can relate, he thought hooking on the leash and allowed the dog to lead him out of the apartment.

\NMM/

He had the day off from both the cafe and the rebuilt garage. He had offered to work more at both places, but Eliot fussed about him making too much money, even though he was fussing just before that about how they didn't work enough. Patrick just shook his head at him. He made no sense, and recently he made even less sense. He had walked Midnight through the park earlier that day, and decided to take her to the garage. Sure he didn't work, but he was bored, and wanted to see if Katsu was around. Midnight tugged him the entire way, sniffing at poles and people, and even a couple of other dogs. One of which ran from her because it was scared by her energy.

Since being rebuilt, the garage's business hadn't been so good. People were skeptical about the place, and were unsure if another attack would take place. If anything the cafe should been the business suffering since it was their van to begin with, but it was through the connections of that garage that Eliot came to obtain the van, so the weight of the suspicion fell on the garage. As they approached, Patrick could see Katsu working on his car in off to the side, while other works worked on the couple cars that were in the shop. Midnight barked, and tugged, catching Katsu's attention. He rolled out from under the car, his face and forearms smeared with grease.

"Oh hey Patrick," he greeted, sitting up. "Who's this?"

"Midnight," he replied, as the pup jumped onto Katsu's lap and licked his face. "Thought she could use another walk."

"She's adorable," he grinned, but tried avoiding the dogs tongue so she didn't lick the grease on his face. "How old?"

"Just 4 months," he answered, squatting down. "What you working on?"

"What haven't I been working on?" Katsu sighed, rubbing Midnight's head. "I've had to fix the fuel line, breaks, replace the battery, you name it. Just when think it's finished and ready to take out on the road, I find something else wrong with it."

"Don't worry, it'll happen," Patrick said encouragingly, "and when it does, you'll feel proud of all the work you put into it."

"Since I put in a lot of work, I better be a lot of proud," he chuckled.

"Katsu!" one of the works called. "Your dad wants to see you!"

"Probably wants me go pick up something," he groaned, getting up. "If that's the case, did you wanna come along?"

"Sure," Patrick shrugged. "What does he want you to pick up?"

"You'll see," he grinned hurrying into the building.

\NMM/

"Patrick!" Kotona greeted when he and Katsu walked through the door. "I thought today was your day off."

"It is," he replied with a smile. "Katsu hear wants to pick up an order."

"It's for Gawdo Auto," Katsu nodded.

"Oh, right the car shop," she nodded. "I'll go see if it's ready." While she went to go ask Wesley, Patrick took a peek outside to check on Midnight. He had tied her to a tree outside. She was laying on the floor whining, the leash stretched as far as it could go.

"Did you get her while still in America?" Katsu asked, noticing where he was looking.

"Yeah, my parents got me her to soften the blow of moving," he replied.

"Didn't wanna come huh?" he wondered. "Can't imagine leaving everything behind."

"I'm doing okay," he shrugged. "Homesick a lot though. I talked to my friends online when I can, it's kind of hard with the time difference."

"Why did you move? If you don't mind me asking."

"Mom got offered a better job here," he replied, then froze when he caught sight of Amaya emerging from the kitchen with Kotona, carrying boxes. Amaya only glanced at him once, the put down the box and walked away. He felt a sting, and confused. He didn't know why she hated him so much. He didn't do anything. She never spoke to him, barely talked to him, and kept a distance from him. He wanted to know why, but she carried a strong air of intimidation. He thought she was pretty from the first moment he saw her, but he couldn't talk to her. Not just because of how she treated him, but because he was just downright horrible at talking to girls, especially ones he found pretty.

"That your girlfriend?" Katsu teased in a quiet voice.

"N-no," he stammered, looking away, trying to hide his face.

"Um, here you are," Kotona announced, finally bringing the boxes over. She was a little confused as well, but didn't look all that surprised. The others were catching onto how Amaya was treating Patrick. As Katsu paid Patrick caught sight of Wesley waving from the kitchen. Patrick lifted his hand in greeting.

"I thought Amaya didn't work Saturdays," Patrick brought up. He knew everyone's schedule.

"She just showed up and said she was working," Kotona shrugged. "Eliot tried to tell her otherwise, but she ignored him."

"There's a cute puppy outside!" Patrick jumped when Kita popped out of nowhere, scaring the crap out of him. "It's so cute!"

"Kita, you're here too?" Kotona asked, looking confused. "You don't work today either."

"No, but my family decided to come for a snack," she grinned. "Also they wanted to make sure this place was legit. They still iffy about me working, and I wanted them to meet Eliot and Wesley. Why are you here Patrick?" She looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

"Um, just picking up cupcakes," he answered, pointing to Katsu who was now carrying the boxes.

"You didn't tell them Midnight was your dog?" Katsu asked.

Kita's eyes widen into large orbs. Larger than Patrick thought possible. "That's your dog?! Oh she's so cute! OMG!" She continued to ramble and squeal over his dog in fast Japanese, and he wasn't able to make out exactly everything she was saying.

"Perhaps you can bring her over one time and she can play with Makoto?" Aneeta suggested, walking by with trays in her hands.

"Or the park!" Kita shouted. "We should all hang in the park sometime! We can have a picnic! You guys can bring your dogs! And we'll have MAL! Oh it'll be so much fun!" The girls chatted about their options for times, days and where, and Patrick just observed. They had a diverse dynamic, but managed to work well.

"Patrick," Eliot had come out of the kitchen and was hailing him over. "Need to talk to you."

"Oh," Patrick said, looking surprised. He looked to Katsu who was edging toward the door.

"It's okay man, you go ahead," he said, with a smile. "I gotta go get these back to my dad. Thanks for stopping by though."

"Yeah, sure," he nodded. "See you at school." Once Katsu was out the door, he walked around the girls still chatting at the podium and walked toward Eliot.

"Get back to work!" Eliot yelled at them as Patrick approached. "Out back." He motioned with his hand and led the way out behind the store. There the van they had used for their first and only catering job was sitting.

"You finally got it back?" Patrick asked, looking at it. The police had confiscated it for further investigation, but they couldn't get anything from it, and there wasn't really anything they could really do anyways. Aliens were way out of their league.

"Yeah, but the jerks kept everything under the hood," Eliot groaned, popping it open. Patrick looked inside, and sure enough, there was nothing in it. "I need you to get it back in working order."

"Wait, what," Patrick asked, looking at him incredulously. "There's nothing in there. I'd have to get all the parts, before I can even start working on it."

"Then I'll give you the money you need for the parts," Eliot replied. "Instead of being in the cafe, you can work out here, and I'll pay you the same."

"Kick my hourly pay up a couple bucks and you got a deal," Patrick negotiated, folding his arms. Eliot eyed him. Patrick wasn't so sure he'd go for it. He'd want to go for the cheapest route possible, but really the cheapest option was to just get a new van. He asn't sure why Eliot wanted to keep this thing, especially after being stripped.

"Deal," Eliot said, to his surprise. The two of them shook on it "Take a look at it now, and then email me the parts you need tonight. I'll have them ready for you tomorrow."

"Okay," Patrick nodded. "I'll just go get my dog. Left her out front." Eliot went back inside while Patrick walked all the way around the building. It wasn't that big, and he really didn't want to walk through the crazy dinning room again. He didn't mind working here...okay he kinda did. He wasn't good with talking to people, and it was always crowded with giggling girls who always requested him. And it always got noisy, especially on weekends.

He made his way around, but hesitated when Midnight came into view. She was still there, hooked around the tree he left her at, but she was playing with someone. Someone he didn't expect. It was Amaya. She was knelt down, petting Midnight's head and back and giggling. That's right giggling. She had a smile, small but a smile, on her face, and her eyes looked so gentle. He was surprised to see this side of her. He'd kind of seen it once, in that dream at the banquet, but that was just a dream. This was real. He didn't want to interrupt, but didn't want to just stand there, so he backed up to go back to the van, but Amaya had already caught sight of him.

She instantly tensed, and her smile was gone. Midnight looked confused when she shot to her feet and marched toward the front door.

"Wh-what's your problem?" Patrick found himself blurting. He didn't realize what he was saying until they had already left his mouth. Amaya hesitated, but didn't look at him. He had her attention now, and he felt his throat run dry. "I-I've...I've done nothing to you...Why do you hate me?" His heart was pounding, as he stood there and just watched for a response. Anything. Midnight whined and tugged at the leash, and Amaya said nothing.

He was about to say something else, he wasn't sure what, but he stopped. Amaya's head slightly turned toward him, her eyes on the ground. "...I don't," was all she said before hurrying back into the cafe. Patrick stood there for a second unsure how to feel.

"Coulda fooled me," he mumbled in English, but sighed. He walked over to Midnight and untied her, then walked her around to the back of the cafe.

\NMM/

Patrick doubted Eliot would be able to get the parts he emailed him the day before, but sure enough, they were there. He had told Katsu about what Eliot asked and he offered his assistance, purely as a volunteer. Patrick reasoned that with two people working on it, it will be done faster, especially if he's only paying for one mechanic. Eliot didn't argue, and allowed Katsu to help him. After a week of working on the vehicle, they were starting to see some progress. The parts were in the right place, it was just a matter of getting them to work together. Patrick admitted to not be a pro, and neither was Katsu. It was like two amateur working on a a school project. It had its fun moments, and its very low moments with frustrations. The girls would take turns to come and check out their progress, and even sneak them a cookie or two, sent from Wesley.

He enjoyed working on the van. It reminded him a bit more of home. Leaving early after breakfast, telling his parents he'll be gone all day, actually being gone all day, sometimes taking Midnight with him, coming back late just after his parents were tidying up dinner, grabbing what he could then dropping into bed. It was almost exactly as it had been back home. Maybe Eliot knew about how tough he was finding it to fully feel okay here in Japan. Probably not, but it was nice to think that he actually thought of others sometimes. He was feeling better, and liked keeping busy with handy work, not to mention he had Katsu with him sometimes. It was almost perfect.

It was late Sunday and Patrick was doing tending to a few more things before calling it a day. The cafe was already emptied and the others had went home. Wesley left Patrick with some keys so that he could lock everything up when he was done. He was under to car tightening up a loose part when he heard someone clear their throat. He slid out from under the car, and was surprised to see Amaya standing there, dressed in dance gear, her hair tied back and was holding a paper bag.

"O-oh," he stammered, quickly jumping to his feet. "I-I didn't hear you come-"

"Sorry," she said simply, and held out the bag.

Patrick blushed slightly. "Y-you don't have to-"

"Sorry for...making you think I hated you," she interrupted, thrusting the bag at him again. He quickly wiped his hands on a cloth and took the bag without further argument.

"Um, thanks?" he replied, looking down at it.

"It's just a burger," she shrugged. "Something different from the usual cuisine here."

"Thanks," he said again, not really making eye-contact. "Haven't had one in awhile. My dad insists on trying to, you know, 'Do as the Romans do', and eat the food they have here." He found himself rambling, not really sure how else to act.

"Yeah, nothing beats food from home," she nodded, speaking in English.

"O-oh," Patrick said in surprise, looking up. "You're from America?" She nodded, and it was refreshing to see her face wasn't a stone-cold as it usually was. It wasn't completely open like it had been when she was playing with Midnight, but it was close enough.

There was a sudden car honk from the street, which made both of them jump. "Th-that's my ride," Amaya said, her face losing some of its openness. "I have to go."

"Right, uh, thanks again," he stammered. She nodded again then headed around the building. Patrick couldn't help but feel curious. She'd never been picked up from work before. Against his better judgement, he made his way around the side of the cafe, but on the other side. He caught side of an old car, old in both style and undertake. There was a guy standing at the driver's side of the car. There are greasers in Japan? Patrick thought, taking in how he looked with his hair slicked back and his leather clothes. Amaya walked up to him, but he couldn't hear the words they exchanged as she got into the car over the roaring sound of the engine. He saw the guy lean over and kiss her, but it was cut short because she pushed him back. He looked amused as they guy drove the car down the street. Patrick had an odd feeling in his gut. Jealousy? No, that couldn't be it. He looked down at the paper bag that was grasped tightly in his hand. No, it couldn't be.

\NMM/

AN: YES! I'm ALIVE! And so's NMM! It's ALIIIIVE! lol It's good to be back! ^^ Life has been ever changing and I've been going with flows, but it's time I got back to my own flow and find my way back to FF. And I did! Hope you liked! Let me know what you thought!