TWELVE

I'm on the roof! :D
SEND? YES / NO.

come quick, i'm huuungry! x( /3
SEND? YES / NO.

I'll eat w/o u!1 :( :o
SEND? YES / NO.

hmph looks like i should come g—

EMAIL RECEIVED:
I'm coming. Stop texting me.

.

The railing is the perfect height for him. He can hook his elbows over and rest his chin atop it without his muscles cramping or becoming stiff.

Nine's glasses are flashing, and he's talking about one thing or another. Stop texting him so much, not to memorize the names of students not in his class, keep a low profile, yada yada, blah blah blah. He's a hypocrite, seeing as a lot of girls have been talking about him in the hallways with hearts in their eyes.

He doesn't realize how appealing he is. New transfer student, dark hair, dark eyes, glasses. Even his aloofness makes girls go crazy for him.

On the other hand, people are only talking about Twelve because he's weird. Too loud, too happy, too much.

The two of them have always stood out. He isn't surprised about it, and neither is Nine. It doesn't change the fact that they need to remain under the radar, though. And they will; just not the way Nine wants them to.

Twelve's going to interrupt him with something random, as usual, when he notices something move below them. A dark-haired girl, holding her lunch in trembling hands, making her way towards the girls' bathroom. She runs forward, then pauses; looks around surreptitiously like a thief before continuing forward.

The name comes easily to him. Mishima Lisa. And then he's pointing her out to Nine before he can think better of it.

"She has her lunch with her," Twelve continues. "Planning to eat it in the bathroom, maybe?"

Their meeting in the morning comes to mind, and how pale she had looked in homeroom. Trapped, like a small animal. Head bowed and shoulders hunched. Her hands, though, had been balled into fists.

"Don't stick your nose in it," Nine warns.

Don't draw more unnecessary attention, he means. But most importantly: don't establish ties.

Twelve closes his eyes, and Lisa's descent to the bathroom vanishes. Swallowed into darkness. He may be more reckless than Nine, but he knows when to call it quits, contrary to popular belief.

"Aye, aye."

A/N:

Sorry about how long this update took, guys! I forgot which email address this account was on, and it took me until now to track it down. I'm really grateful for all the reviews, favourites, and follows this story has gotten in the meantime.

Next chapter won't feature canon dialogue, and will finally be divergent from the show. :)

Thank you to TheRoseShadow21, Miyako Shinohara, Kimisa, Reviewer, and InLightIsHope for their reviews! I hope people are still interested in this story, lol.