DISCLAIMER! This story involves characters that belong to Taboso-sama. I own nothing except the made up story, and I do not profit from this in anyway.
Chapter 6: Heedless
Ciel woke as the car stopped in Claude's driveway and he stretched. He rubbed his eyes and looked around in the car, "Where are my clothes?"
"They had to be disposed of because of the cat hair." Claude said as he put the car into park and turned off the engine.
"I only have three uniforms!" Ciel started, but went into a coughing fit.
"You need to take it easy until your lungs feel better. The tubes were almost completely closed off." Claude said as he reached over and petted Ciel's shoulder.
Alois chirped in from the back seat, "You're the same size as me, so you can use some of my clothes! I have plenty to spare!"
Ciel looked back at him and couldn't help but smile, "What happened to your clothes?"
"Mine were covered in cat hair too, so we're thinking it was your bed. Maybe a cat broke in or something." Alois said through his wide smile.
Claude opened the door and got out, then walked around to Ciel's door, "Well, I'm going to grab all your stuff, clean it, and bring it to the house since it's my day off. You two get in the house and fix some breakfast." He opened the door for Ciel.
Ciel got out of the car, turned for his small bag of medicine, and started toward the house.
"Wait, Ciel! You need to clean your feet first since we didn't grab your shoes." Alois said as he bolted out of the car.
Claude smiled and watched the two boys get into the house before he trudged over to Ciel's old house. He picked the lock on the back door before entering again, but noticed the floor was wet and there was a fresh loaf of bread on the counter.
He was concerned that someone had been breaking into Ciel's house while they were gone, and he also wondered how long it had been happening. He decided it was best to hurry and move Ciel's things to the other house as soon as possible.
He decided the sofa in the living room wasn't worth the move, and the same went for the bed, but the small dresser would fit in Alois's room. He walked down the hall and into Ciel's room, but decided the dresser should stay too because of the broken mirror. He grabbed Ciel's last school uniform along with a few more articles of clothing from the drawers, then the underwear and socks from the top.
He folded them all and put them in the kitchen with the food he intended to take and returned down the hall and into the bathroom. He grabbed the remaining shampoo and soap from the shower as well as the washcloths and towels from under the sink and the basket of dirty laundry. After looking the bathroom over again, he couldn't find anything else worth bringing, so he decided to move on.
Claude then returned to the living room and decided to bring the television back for Alois's room. He unplugged it and put it on the counter as well, then he decided to clean out the cabinets and the refrigerator. The cabinets held a single bag of sugar, and a box of stale cereal. Claude took the sugar and then moved over to the refrigerator and grabbed the grapes, apples, celery, mangos, and strawberries from the drawer. Then he grabbed the cheese from the door, inspected the freezer that housed some fresh bacon, pork, and a whole chicken. He was surprised to find all this food because he knew Ciel couldn't afford all that on the small government paycheck he received as a result of this parents' death, but he didn't question its origin too much. He unplugged the refrigerator and all the other appliances that would run up the electricity bill and left for a bag to carry all the belongings.
He grabbed the television and carried it over to his house, greeted the boys in the living room, and carried it on into Alois's room. Claude then grabbed a bag from the closet so he could carry everything else back in one trip before it started raining again.
He jogged back over to the old house and gathered everything from the counter and placed it in the bag, did one more search through the house, and left with the bag in tow.
"I'm back." He said as he entered the house and headed straight for their room. The boys were gathered in the living room watching television.
"Ciel, where is your school stuff? We'll do our homework together!" Alois chirped and started rocking back and forth.
"It's at school. I planned to do it before class." He replied without looking away from the television.
Alois bit his lip, "Um, well, would you help me with mine? I don't really understand math."
"Sure." Ciel blinked and turned off the television, "Let me put my medicine in our room."
He stood and walked into his room and saw Claude hanging clothes in the closet, "They aren't separated."
"Oh, you two are the same size, so I just put them all in here together. Is that a problem?" Claude asked as he put away the last pair of pants.
"Yes! How will I know how many uniforms I have left before laundry?" Ciel said, almost in a panic.
"Calm down before you hurt yourself." Claude walked over and put his hands on Ciel's shoulders, "All of these are for you and Alois. I'll order more uniforms when I get my paycheck at work."
Ciel looked down and away, "I don't mean to be this much of a burden. I'm so sorry."
"Ciel, listen to me, you're not a burden. If anything, this is a relief for me! I know that you're all right here, I can keep an eye on you, and I know that you're eating well!" He hugged Ciel, "Besides, you still get your check, right? There's money for you and Alois to spend so all of my paycheck can go to bills and groceries."
Ciel smiled because Claude made it sound so easy, "Thank you."
Claude smiled, "You can put your medicine in this drawer here," he pointed, "but you need to keep at least one epi-pen on you at all times."
Ciel nodded, tucked his medicine away, and returned to the living room with Alois.
"Wait, guys, come here." Claude called.
Alois and Ciel both entered a few moments later, "What is it?"
"Change out of those gaudy hospital gowns!" Claude said with a chuckle.
Both boys laughed and changed, and before they all knew it, the sun had set and it was time for dinner.
Claude started baking the chicken and was preparing a salad when Alois came into the kitchen, "That smells good, do you need any help?"
"Please set the table." Claude said as he tossed the salad.
Alois skipped over to the cabinets as Ciel entered the room.
"Is there anything I can do?" Ciel asked.
"Uhh, grab the silverware." Alois said as he was grabbing plates.
Ciel nodded and walked over to the counter next to Alois and grabbed the knives and forks from the drawer.
"We don't need any spoons." Claude added as he was pouring some dressing over the salad.
Ciel waited for Alois to place the plates before he placed the silverware, then both of them sat down at the table.
Claude checked the chicken and decided it was ready to be removed. He grabbed two potholders and moved the chicken to the top of the oven and then removed the foil. Then he grabbed a carving knife from the board overhead and began cutting.
"It's almost ready boys." Claude said over his shoulder.
Alois giggled and kicked his feet, "It smells so good! Where did you get it?"
"I found it at Ciel's house, oddly enough. I hope you don't mind." Claude admitted.
Ciel gave Alois a side-ways look, "I didn't have a chicken at my house. I only had a few boxed things."
Alois furrowed his brows, "That's not true, when I looked around in your kitchen you had some fruit in the drawer of the refrigerator and some fresh cheese too."
"I didn't have anything. Isn't that why you brought the stew over?" Ciel asked and looked at Claude's back.
Claude turned around, "Could someone have broke into your house?"
Alois laughed, "Who would break into a house to igive/i the owner food?"
Ciel nudged him for laughing, "You do have a point, but how else would it have gotten there if you two didn't do it?"
Claude shrugged, "Maybe it was a gift from Heaven. I'm sure your parents wouldn't like you starving."
Ciel lowered his head at the mention of Heaven, "That's illogical."
"That may be so, but just because it's illogical doesn't mean it's impossible." Claude said as he turned around to finish with the chicken.
After dinner, the boys cleaned off the table and went to bed. Ciel situated his bed on the other side of their room and crawled in under the blankets.
"Who would have known the guest bed you sleep in sometimes would turn out to be your real bed?" Alois shouted as he jumped on his bed.
Ciel snuggled deep into the plush pillow he could now call his own, "It's been so long since I've slept on a real pillow."
Alois smiled, "You're welcome."
Ciel laughed, "We need to get some sleep. We have biology with Sebastian tomorrow morning."
Alois snuggled under the covers, "Why do we have to be in a gang? I wish we could all just get along."
"What was that?" Ciel asked.
"Nothing. I was just talking to myself. Did we do our homework?" Alois asked in the hopes of changing subjects.
"We have a gang because we run this town, got it? It's a status enhancement and it shows everyone that we're on top; it means we won't be walked all over." Ciel said as he roughly pulled the covers over his head.
Claude, who was listening just outside the door overheard their little scuffle and put his hand to his mouth, 'I wish he would give it up. It's not like a gang is necessary to be successful.'
He walked in, "Goodnight boys."
"Goodnight." They both said in unison.
Ciel soon fell fast asleep.
The boys woke the next morning to the smell of bacon and eggs.
Alois threw back the covers, "I call shower first!"
Ciel roused but didn't move, "Yeah yeah."
Claude heard them moving and poked his head in, "I'll drive you boys to school this morning, so you still have an hour to get ready."
As he left Ciel sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Oh yeah, I live here now. This will take some time to get regular."
Alois ran out of the room with his school uniform, "Shower first!"
Ciel watched him and laughed.
After they were both ready, all three of them ate breakfast, cleaned up, and Claude drove them to school.
Mae-Rin, Baldroy, and Finnian were waiting on the sidewalk for them. Ciel and Alois said bye to Claude and Ciel turned to the rest of the group.
"What's going on?" He asked.
Mae-Rin came forward, "Sebastian's gang has moved to the school now. There's five of them total."
"Where are they?" Ciel asked.
Mae-Rin moved over to his side and started pointing, "Of course we know Sebastian, but that red-head over there is his closest friend, Grell, though I think they're a little closer. That guy over there with purple hair is one of the more spoiled people in the group and his name is Soma, and then there's William and Ronald there with the glasses."
"How do you know all this?" Ciel asked.
"Well, you two decided to skip class yesterday and all five of them are in biology." Baldroy commented.
"Ronald is really nice," Finnian commented. "I had to work with him in a group."
"Don't be getting so close to the enemy, guys. We need to stay focused on guarding our territory." Ciel commanded.
Alois and Finnian exchanged a wary glance at each other and lowered their heads, "Yes."
Mae-Rin blew a bubble with her blue gum, "It's almost time for class." She walked ahead so she could make it to her locker first.
Baldroy scratched the back of his head, "I had to work with that Grell character, and boy he's something else."
Ciel spat at the mention of Sebastian's gang, "Let's keep our heads up because this is our turf. This is what we own, and we're not going to stand aside and let them take over."
Alois and Finnian held hands and walked ahead of Ciel and Baldroy.
Ciel followed and barely made it to the steps before the bell announced first class. He broke away from the group and made it over to his locker to retrieve his books.
He only looked up when he saw a hand on his locker, "My my, I can't believe Ciel, the leader of a school gang didn't complete his homework! Or, well, perhaps I can if he's trying to act tough."
Ciel's blood boiled, "If it isn't Sebastian."
Sebastian smiled, "I thought I should drop by and check in on you, seeing as how I want you in top shape if I'm to take Osaka from you." He propped himself against the lockers.
"I thought all of Tokyo would be enough for you." Ciel said as he slammed his locker shut.
"My appetite can't be assuaged so easily." Sebastian said and waved at someone over Ciel's shoulder.
Ciel turned and saw Paula and Elizabeth giggling and running off.
He turned back to Sebastian, "You stay away from Elizabeth."
Sebastian laughed, "It seems like you should be telling her to stay away from me! She's always calling me, always waving at me; it's a real pain."
Ciel gripped a pen in his left hand, "I mean it. Back off."
Sebastian opened his mouth to reply but someone's hands flew up to his mouth, "Now now, Sebastian! We can't let this little brat have his way, can we? Let's get on to class!"
Grell pulled Sebastian's arm, but Sebastian waved bye to Ciel before turning tail and going into Tanaka-sensei's room.
Ciel felt a sharp pain in his left hand and looked down to see that he had broken his pen in half.
"Now how will I get my homework finished?"