Diclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji, or any of it's character. All copyrights go to Yana Tosobo.
Chapter 2: First day (Part 2)
"Eli! You gotta hide me!"
Memel had finally been able to locate his maid during lunch. Meliana walking with, who Memel assumed, other upperclassmen females. He'd surprised her when he suddenly launched himself at her and hid around her front, burying his face in the chaffing fabric of her blazer, the faint scent of mint and lavender entering his senses. The girls with Meliana asked about the small boy, and she merely recanted the story she was taught to say whenever someone asked about her and Memel's relationship. She was Memel's distant cousin from Romania staying with the Taźel's for an extended period of time while her father was on business. Both girls bought it, proclaiming how lucky Meliana was to be related to such an amazing family, both girls cooed over how adorably cute Memel was before they both bid Meliana goodbye.
"I'm sorry if I ruined your chance to make friends," Memel muttered into her jacket.
"Oh no, those girls just wanted to walk with me, because they believed I made them look prettier in comparison." Meliana scrunched her nose up at the disdainful memory of those two girls from her calculus class suddenly coming up to her with the promise of friendship, when their true reasons were as easy to read as an open book. Meliana didn't need to peak into their minds to see the gussied up, busty females only wanted someone disdainful in their group so they could seem prettier and more desirable in others eyes.
"Well that's mean!" Memel huffed, moving away from Meliana to look her in the eye. "You're way prettier than those girls, Eli."
Meliana chuckled, "Thank you very much for trying to lift my spirits, but I do believe you ran to me, begging me to hide you for a reason. Is there some deliquent bothering you?"
Memel flinched, eyes flickering about the crowded lunch courtyard for a familiar head of blonde hair and eerie blue eyes. He'd forgotten all about that crazy blonde-Alois Trancy, Memel remebered, and kept being reminded by said boy-that had been pretty much stalking his every move since his history teacher placed Memel beside him. To make matters worse, no matter how many times Memel protested, Alois insisted on holding onto him and calling him Meme; as if he was some girl! Granted yes, he was gifted (and cursed) with a good deal of his mother's soft features, unlike his older brother, who got lucky in their family gene pool and inherited their father's rugged looks. But that still didn't mean that, that kid had a right to give him such a feminine nickname, or any nickname for that matter! Alois didn't know him like that!
"There's this weird kid in my a couple of my classes that just won't leave me alone. He keeps clinging to me and calling me Meme! It's suffocating!" Memel wailed.
Meliana was utterly confused. If she was correct, friendly bonds were normally formed when one individual shows a keen interest in another individual. Wasn't what her young master describing a student who had a keen interest in him and wanted to be friends?
"I am confused, was not the reason your parents sent you here was to make friends, no? The boy you just described sounded like he wanted nothing more than to be your friend."
"More like wanted to make me his next meal." Memel grumbled.
"Excuse me? I still do not understand why you do not accept this boy's invitation for friendship, youn-Memel." Meliana had to remember that while they were in a school setting, Meliana was to address him informally, to keep up the lure they were cousins. Of course one quick spell could have the entire school believing they were related. But both of Memel's parents advised against using any of her magic unless absolutely necessary. So she was stuck with recanting they lie they came up for her to use should anyone encounter them together.
"Eli, honestly I not even sure he wants to be friends." Memel replied with a sigh, thinking back on all of Alois's advances thus far. "It's like he wants something totally different, something that I can't quite give, and I'm not even sure what it is I'm giving up."
"Is his interest in you not what starts a friendship?" Meliana urged once more.
"No!" Memel cried. "That's not even romtely close to how a friendship is started! Look that's beside the point-"
Memel was never able to finish his point when an obnoxiously familiar voice cried out, "Meme! Meme, where are you~? You know it isn't nice to hide from me~!"
Memel squeaked and quickly hid behind Meliana. Meliana's attention drawn to the scantily dressed (in what looked to be the school uniform, but Meliana wasn't entirely sure) blonde boy that was clinging tightly to a bespectacled male who looked utterly uncomfortable with all the attention they were gaining from the blonde's wild shouting.
Memel clung tighter to Meliana and whined, "Oh god, it's him. Eli, we gotta go before he sees me, c'mon."
At the insistant tugging at her sleeve, Meliana turned and led her young ward over to the fountain and sat him down. Her orange irises became steely as she said, "Hold still and do not move an inch, young master."
Memel obeyed and sat still as he felt Meliana's hand move to the small of his back. He watched as she closed her eyes and saw what looked to be thick black veins appear under the skin around her eyes, and her once normal eyes turn an unnatural black color. The words that came out of her mouth weren't even remotely close to human, or even a part of he human tongue. They seemed to cling and wrap around Memel like something slimy and cold. It took all the will he could muster up not to run away from his maid then and there. So this was what her arcane magic was like, cold and inhuman.
"Body of flesh and blood, be no longer of this earth and be invisible to the mortal eye."
She stopped and the black veins were no longer as prominant, but still visible if one was to look close enough, and her hand remained on his back. Memel realized unlike in the films, Meliana didn't use some giant pot filled with strange ingredients, there was no giant explosion of green smoke, no rhymes or wands, and nothing over flashy that drew attention to where the two of them sat. Just strange, slimy words and nothing. As far as Memel could tell he didn't look or feel any different, with the exception of the chills he felt when Meliana chanted he spell.
"Did it work?" Memel finally asked after a beat of silence.
"Look into the fountain," was his only reply.
And so he did...but he didn't see anything. "Eli ae you sure it worked I don't...see any...thing." Memel's words slowed as his eyes grew wide and he quickly turned back to the fountain, realizing he couldn't see anything! His reflection was gone! He was gone! There was Meliana, well the back of her, and her arm was outstretched, but her hand was touching air! No it was touching him-Memel could feel the pressure of it still on his back-but looking back at the fountain, Memel could see the space where he sat was empty. Well there was a bit of haze; if he squinted hard enough and tilted his head just right he could faintly see his mirrored reflection staring back at him.
"Did you turn me into a vampire?" Memel asked, awed.
Meliana looked at Memel from the corner of her eye, horrorified he believed she'd turned him into such a creature. "No, I did not. Nor will I ever. I merely turned you into a ghost, to the human eye that is. The spell is temporary and will only last until my hand is removed from your back."
"So then Alois won't be able to see me," Memel replied eagerly. His head snapped up to where he could see Alois and his mystery escort scanning the crowds calling out to him with that ridiculous pet name and not finding Memel at all. Memel grinned as Alois rushed by, not even so much as sparing Meliana a passing glance. A part of his brain said he was cruel for avoiding a boy that probably did just want to be friends, but a louder much more dominant part of his brain said the blonde kid was pyscho and needed to be avoided at all costs.
"Yes! He can't see me!" Memel said happily.
Meliana rolled her eyes, or Memel guessed she had rolled her eyes her eyes were still that creepy black color. "Satisfied?"
Memel knew that tone, disappointment. He'd heard it enough, from many years of disobeying his parents' orders, to decipher it from any other tone.
"What?" Memel asked defensively
"Nothing," Meliana replied coolly with a shake of her head.
"Oh no, I know that tone, and you're angry. What did I do wrong?"
Meliana sighed removing her hand from Memel's back and her eyes and the veins going back to normal. Melianan checked her ward's reflection in the water to make sure everything was the same; after being sure nothing was amiss she turned to look at Memel, her tangerine eyes dark with contempt and slight fury. Something that usually came with her disappointed rants, which was set to being...now.
"I might be a bit behind on the times, but I still find what you did to be extremely rude."
Rude? Memel rude? What about that blonde weirdo trying to hunt him down all over God's creation?! That small part of his brain Memel had ignored was saying, told you. "How am I being rude? That kid won't leave me alone."
"And is that so wrong?" Meliana scolded, "Is it so wrong that a boy your age has decided to show some interest in you?"
"It is if it's Alois showing the interest." Meliana and Memel looked up to see youth walking up to them a dark-haired male flanking him. Memel smiled fondly, instantly recognizing the blue haired, eye-patched boy. He'd come to his aid throughout the course of the day whenever Alois's advances became a little too uncomfortable. "The bloody moron's still hunting the school grounds for you
"Oh it's you! I never got a chance to thank you for all those times you saved me. You're my hero and it's only my first day," Memel replied with a chuckle.
Ciel hummed, "I understand the feeling." He then noticed Meliana who was watching the boys' interaction with mild interest. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry if I interupted your conversation."
Memel shook his head as he moved to sit next to Meliana, wrapping her up in a tight hug, "You're alright. Meliana, this is Ciel Phantomhive, he's kinda been protecting me. And Ciel, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Meliana Kantis."
Meliana saw the looks both the young boy and male at his sidewere giving them and she quickly interjected, "We're distant cousins, I'm from Romania, my father married into the family, my mother is his's father's third cousin. I'm staying with Memel until my father's business trip is over."
"Ah, well this is my cousin, Sebastian Michaelis." Ciel replied, pointing to the mystery male stoically standing behind him, assessing the situation with an amuzed glint in his ruby eyes.
Sebastian bowed a small smile teasing his lips as he looked up at Meliana, who regarded Sebastian with a steady gaze, not in the slightest amuzed by his little display. "Very nice to meet you two."
"Likewise."
"Meme!" A familiar voice cried, "Found you!"
Meliana turned just in time to see a blur of blonde launch themselves at Memel, who looked equally surprised at the sudden launch attack. Meliana hopped up, watching as Memel struggled under the assailant's weight, but Ciel was quicker to the punch. Grabbing the blonde boy by his collar. The minute he was freed, Memel quickly scrambled to hide behind Meliana. The poor ancient witch was confused three ways to next week. None of this was making any sense and her head was beginning to hurt from the sheer absurdity of it all. She stared at he blonde who was back up currently swearing up a storm towards the blue haired boy, spewing all types of horrid insults, and the blunette doing the same. His strange escort seemingly appearing out of thin air and cleaning him off, brushing away dirt and gravel from his "uniform" (which was an extremely loose term to describe what the blonde was wearing). Memel began to look like a frightened five year old as he watched the two boys bicker. Tears began to swell in his eyes and he hiccuped quietly, slender fingers gripping Meliana's blazer tightly.
The blonde suddenly whipped around to stare at Meliana, piercing blue eyes scruntinizing her very existance. His eyes seemed to darken when he saw the crying Memel clutching tightly onto her. His lips, which were once set into a sneer, now screwed into something akin to a grimace and sneer combined. "Who the hell are you, and what the fuck do you think you're doing getting close with my Meme?"
Meliana raised an eyebrow at the boy's rude manners and regarded him as easily as she had the other newcomers. Her young master seemed to be very popular today, maybe just not with the right crowd. "I am, Meliana, Memel's cousin, and to my knowledge, you have no claim to him. And, if I am not being so rude, may I ask who you are?"
The blonde scoffed, walking over to Memel, and snatching him away from Meliana, pulling him into a tight and possesive grip. "I am Alois Trancy, Meme's future husband."
"Like hell you are, Trancy," Ciel spat angrily. "Let him go and leave him alone. He doesn't need you bothering him. Stop being a pest."
Meliana looked at the other male, the one who'd been with Alois, who had now come to stand beside her as he too watched the three boys interact (well it was more like the two youths bickering and Memel still held tightly in the blonde's grasp). He was tall, as tall as Sebastian, with slicked back, dark hair that looked almost violet in color in the light. He had a stifling air to him that Meliana found rather uncomfortable to say the least. She moved away, but he caught onto the movement quickly, gold eyes flicking over to assess her as well. She looked at him as well, catching sight of her reflection in his glasses, before staring into his eyes.
"Claude Faustus," he said with a nod and holding out his hand.
Meliana stared at his outstretched hand, but did not reach for it, merely nodding as a sign of acknowledgement, "Meliana Kantis."
She looked away and shook her head, realizing this craziness has gone on for far too long qnd passing students were beginning to stare. It would only be a matter of time before an authority figure passed by and got the wrong idea, and Memel really did not need to get in trouble his first day. Reaching in her skirt pocket, Meliana fished out her mobile phone and checked the time; they only had a minute before the bell for class rung. With a sigh, Meliana walked over and easily pried "her cousin" from the blonde's grasp; he squawked indignantly, trying to get him back.
"As grateful as I am that my cousin has become very popular with such charming lads like yourselves, we really should get to class, the bell is about to ring soon after all. Memel and I have classical music next and I am certain the teacher would appreciate us not being late."
"But!" Alois protested.
"If you a truly that desperate to see my cousin," Meliana started with an annoyed huff, "why don't come visit our home? I'm sure auntie and uncle would love to see that little Meme has made such wonderful friends."
"But!" This time it was Memel was protesting.
Meliana's head whipped around to glare at Memel, ocher eyes ablaze, who seemed to shrink in on himself, "Not. Another. Word."
"Really?" Alois asked eagerly.
"No!" Memel cried.
"Yes, of course." Meliana smiled easily, ingoring Memel's protests. "They would very much enjoy having you as company. They were beginning to worry about their son."
Alois looked giddy, Ciel looked a mixture of elated and disgusted, and Memel looked absolutely horrified. But before he could protest, the bell rang, Meliana took him away.
The rest of their walk towards class was spent in silence as Memel chose to outwardly ignore Meliana. Any other time, the maid would be worried about this type of behavior, but she knew it was only Memel lashing out because he could not get his way. They finally got to their third to last class of the day, which was classical music. It was in a band room, the room halfway filled with other students, and the teacher, a pudgy looking woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties, stood at the head of the classroom behind a black podium. When she spotted the two new entries, she gave them a bright smile.
"You two must be my new students! It's so nice to finally meet you, I'm Ms. Greene, the classical music instructor." She waved to a couple of empty seats, "Just find a seat anywhere, and once all the other students arrive, we'll introduce you, alright?"
Memel took the seat closest to the window, and quickly averted his eyes away from Meliana, figuring he wanted to be alone, Meliana started to move to the seat somewhere else, but a hand on her sleeve stopped her.
She turned to look at Memel who stared at her from the corner of his eyes, his chocolate orbs swimming with more unshed tears, and his bottom lip poking.
"Just because I'm angry with you, doesn't mean you have to sit somewhere else."
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, since lunch and classical music were the only times they saw each other, they had no more contact until the school day was over. Meliana waited by her parked car, watching as students either got into equally nice cars driven by others, or sleek limos. When she looked up and saw her young ward coming towards the car, she wasn't all that surprised to see Alois hanging onto him. Though when he caught her staring, his look screamed, see what you've started? Meliana merely shrugged, continuing to watch the interaction between the two boys.
She watched Memel said something that seemed to excite the blonde, but made him look as if he regretted his very words. Meliana listened as Alois cried out loud, gaining the attention of anyone that hadn't already been paying attention, and hugged Memel tightly. Meliana raised a brow when the blonde planted a kiss on Memel's cheek before rushing off. Memel walked over to the car, a dark look in his eyes. Meliana walked over to the driver's seat, and unlocked the doors. Memel got in his seat, wiping vehelmently at his cheek, utterly disgusted that Alois had just kissed him! Granted, yes, it was on the cheek, but that still didn't mean he wanted to be kissed!
"Why did you invite him over!" Memel whinned. "He was hanging all over asking when was a good time for him to come over?"
"What did you tell him?"
"I wanted to tell him never, but I knew you would tell mama and papa if I didn't, so I said he and Ciel could come over this weekend. Mama's hostsing her ladies' tea party, so she'll be doing other things."
"You invited Mr. Phantomhive as well?" Meliana asked curiously.
"Of course! If I was alone with Alois who knows what he'll do!" Memel cried.
Meliana smirked; putting her key in the ignition and backing out of the parking lot with ease. "I don't know, maybe you'll come to enjoy his presense."
"As if." Memel scoffed, looking out the window.
A/N: End o' chapter! Yay, finally got a wireless keyboard for samsung galaxy tab 3 (I have the really small one, and my laptop has, unfortunately, been out of commission for a couple of months now). So hopefully now chapters can come out a bit faster, it's so damn hard to type on the tablet itself. Hope I haven't made the others too OOC, even if they only got slight cameos in this chapter. Next chapter will hopefully be posted tonight.