disclaimer: I do not own -Man.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

That was the only sound. The only thing the boy could hear. Nothing else, just that. It was so constant, so annoying. Like the steady heartbeat of the one who no longer has the desire to live. Waiting for death to take him, waiting for the peace to come rolling in. The beating stays though, reminding him that it is in control. Reminding him that he was still in the world of the living. Still with all the pain, and sorrow.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Still the noise hounded him. Reminding him that he was alive, reminding him of his pain. He so badly wanted to reach out, and quell the hated sound, but he couldn't. He didn't know if he was held down, or if his body just wasn't responding to the commands of his mind, but the only thing he could do was lay there, waiting for the blasted noise to leave.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Why couldn't it just leave him alone? That was all he wanted right now. He was so confused. Where was he... who was he?
Allen
The name sounded familiar, so he grasped it, and made it his own.
The boy, Allen, looked around. But all there was, was the darkness surrounding him. The darkness, and the horrid noise.
He just wanted to wake up, but his eyes wouldn't open. No matter how many times his mind sent the command, nothing would move. He was stuck, trapped, in the world of gray. In between the living, and the dead. In between awake, and asleep. He desperately wanted to wake up. There was someone he needed to see. But... what if the world would be better if he didn't wake up? What if he just fell asleep, and never woke? No one would miss him... right? So many times had he been told that the world would be a better place without him. So many times had he been told he was a monster, a freak. So many times, he had started to believe it himself. What if they were right? Maybe he should just leave the living world. All his pain and sorrow were there. Why not leave it behind, and find peace?

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Even in his doubt, the noise still would not leave. Couldn't it see he just wanted to be left alone? But no, it refused to listen to him. It was like it was trying to tell him something, like it was trying to tell him to come back. No! Why should he? All there was there was pain and suffering. Why would anyone want to go back there?

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Still, the noise pushed him. Trying to get him to come back. It just wouldn't leave him alone. It was like a heartbeat. Constantly there, reminding the holder of it that they were indeed, alive. But surely this thing wasn't his heart. Heartbeats were supposed to be calming, and peaceful; not aggravating like this. But... if it wasn't his heartbeat, what was it? He just wanted it to leave. But it wouldn't? Why wouldn't it let him stop, give up?

"Never stop... keep walking. Until the day you die."

The voice rang in his head over and over again. A distant memory. Who did the voice belong to? It was so familiar, yet it wasn't at the same time. It calmed him, his panic settling down. Not even the strange noise could get to him now. As his mind left the world in between for the peaceful grasp of unconsciousness, the noise slowly started to fade, giving him a sense of quiet... of peace...

Pain. That was the first thing he was aware of. A horrible, constant pain, refusing to subside. The beeping was back, but this time, there was the murmur of voices, faint. The sounded familiar.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Everything was blurry. There was someone leaning over him, speaking to him.
As the world slowly came into focus, so did the person above him. He registered dark black, almost green hair, and violet eyes. He recognized her. He opened his mouth to speak, but a searing pain ripped through his head. His hands came up to hold it, and a groan escaped his lips. Lenalee's eyes became concerned. "Are you okay Allen?" she asked
Allen nodded. "Just a headache." he said
Lenalee nodded, and Allen noticed she was trying to hold back tears. He didn't want to see her cry, he hated when people cried. "L... Lenalee, please don't cry..."
She nodded, but tears started streaming down her face anyway. "I'm sorry Allen. It's just that..." she looked at him, and pulled him in a hug, sobbing in his shoulder. "There was just so much blood, and you were hurt... and... and..."
Allen's arm's tightened around her, ignoring the pain that came with the action. "Shh, it's alright Lenalee. I'm alright. I'm right here. You don't need to be worried. Everything's going to be alright, I promise. Shh." He continued to hold her and whisper comforting words to her until she calmed down.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and teary. Allen felt his breath catch in his throat. She was just so beautiful. Butterflied were flapping around in his stomach. He just wanted to lean in and... No. He shouldn't be thinking like this. Lenalee was his friend and nothing more. Her brother would kill him anyway.
"A... Allen. Your master told us about a gang. Why... why didn't you tell us about it earlier? We could have helped you!"
Allen looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "I didn't want to put you guys in danger. You're my friends, I didn't think you deserved that. I don't know what I would do if any of you got hurt." his voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "I... I never really had friends before. I didn't want to lose you guys so soon after finding you..."
Lenalee's eyes widened. "You've really never had a friend before?" she whispered
"Well... I had one once. When master and I were in India, I met this kid named Neirein, but... he committed suicide after his sister died." A single tear slid down Allen's face, and Lenalee hugged him again. "It's okay Allen, just let it out... okay?"
He nodded, and finally just let go. Tears fell from his eyes as he sobbed into her shoulder. For the first time in forever, he felt comfortable letting it all out. And that's exactly what he did.

For almost twenty minutes, Allen cried into Lenalee's shoulder. When at last he had calmed down, he leaned back and whispered "Sorry Lenalee. I got your shirt wet."
She laughed. "I don't care. That's what friends are for."
Allen's eyes widened, and he smiled a smile that was one hundred percent real. "Yeah, friends."

Allen was released from the hospital a week later. He was worried that his time there would just increase the teasing he got. He was right.
When he stepped into his classroom, everyone fell silent. They were all staring at him, or more specifically, his arm. Because it had been burnt again, he couldn't wear long sleeves for a while. So except for some bandages, his arm was exposed for the world to see. People started whispering. "What happened to his arm?" and "What a freak. I bet he tried to kill himself. That's probably why he was in the hospital." and "How could they let someone like that in the school? First the tattoo, now this!"
A kid, Taylor, walked up to him. "Hey Walker, where were you that last week? Were you in some sort of mental hospital? I'd be surprised if you haven't been to one with that tattoo and your dyed hair. But now you've done something to your arm. How can you even stand to look in the mirror? You're a monster, Walker. A freak. The world would be a better place if you were gone. A lot of people think you were in the hospital because you tried to kill yourself. Looks like you didn't succeed. Maybe you should try again?"
Allen rolled his eyes and stepped around Taylor. He'd heard it a million times. He was used to it. He looked around for an empty seat and found one in the back next to a shy girl named Lou Fa. He walked up to her. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked
She looked up at him, and her face turned an impressive shade of red. "U-uh, n... no! I mean, no, I d-don't m-m-mind if you s-sit there. Go r-right on a-ahead." she looked away from him, and wildly gestured to the seat. Allen smiled at her and sat down. "Thanks." he said
"Y-yeah, n-no problem."

The rest of the day rolled by pretty quick. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, Allen met up with Lavi and Kanda outside. "Have either of you seen Lenalee today?" he asked
Lavi's eye's narrowed. "Why? Do you have a crush on her or something?"
Allen's eyes widened, and his face turned even redder that Lou Fa's had earlier. "W-what? Psh, no! W-why would, why would I have a crush on Lenalee?" he asked
Lavi's eyebrow shot up, and gave Allen a 'Why do you think?' look. "It's obvious, Allen. You're not very good at hiding it. I'm just surprised Lenalee hasn't caught on yet." he said
"Eh... am I really that obvious?" Allen asked
Lavi and even Kanda nodded. Allen groaned. Well, at least Lenalee hadn't figured it out yet. "W-well, I'm gonna head home. See you!"
he started to walk away when Lavi called out to him. "Eh? W-wait, Allen! I can't let you go home alone, not with a gang out for your head. From now on, you are not aloud to go outside alone. You have to get either me, Lenalee or Kanda before you can go anywhere. We don't want to take any chances."
Allen sighed. There was no way to change his mind. "Fine." he said
Lavi smiled, and started walking with Allen. Luckily, they encountered no gang members on the way. When they got to Allen's house, he asked Lavi if he would like to stay for a snack. Lavi agreed, and they went inside. Allen started making something to eat when there was a knock on the door. he opened it to see a winded Komui.
"Komui? What are you doing here?" Allen asked
"Have either of you seen Lenalee today?" he asked
Lavi walked over and shook his head. "She wasn't at school today. Why?"
"Dammit, are you sure? Are you sure you just didn't notice her?"
"No, she definitely wasn't at school today. I have five periods with her. What's going on Komui?" Allen asked
Komui became really serious and dark. "Lenalee's missing. I think she's been kidnapped."

Okay. I'm really happy I got this chapter published. I'm not entirely happy with it though. I was almost done with it when fan fiction crashed and I lost almost the entire chapter. I was so mad, I almost threw my computer out the window. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!