[ Prize ] It's okay--

________ sighed tiredly, looking up at her blank ceiling. She didn’t feel too well that day and had wanted to go to sleep from the moment she stepped out of her home; but now that she was in her room again, she didn’t know what to do. She felt horrible, feeling as if a heavy weight had been dumped on her body and heart for absolutely no reason.

She didn’t understand why she was suddenly like this; she was fine yesterday but, all of a sudden, when she woke up today she felt dreary and dull, as if she had just come to realize that she was but a mere speck in someone’s life ( it was the fact that she had come to terms with this a long time ago that unnerved her about her sudden discomfort towards it ).

She heard her phone’s ringtone going off, alerting her to the fact that someone was calling her. Without so much as a thought, she lazily picked it up, barely holding it against her ear as she mumbled out a ‘hello’ that she hoped whoever was on the other line would hear.

“______! Are you ready for today?” Allen’s cheery voice chirped on the other line. ________ felt a sudden feeling of guilt when she heard his voice, just now remembering that she had promised to go to the fair with Allen today.

“I… I’m sorry Allen… I don’t think I can go today…” her lips etched itself into a pained smile and _____ had to close her eyes as they were getting too heavy to keep open for a second longer.

I’m so tired.

I really want to sleep.

But Allen…

“______, are you okay?” Allen’s voice flitted through the device, making ______ open her eyes again. She could sense the concern in his voice even through the phone and she really wanted to smack herself right then and there. She rolled to her side, letting the phone lay flat against her ear as she picked at her bedspread.

“I’m fine Allen… I’m just tired, that’s all… Uh, h-have fun with Lavi though!” ____ really did want Allen to have fun at the fair, even if he wasn’t her.

I mean, he has other friends too… so….

_______ was inwardly shaking her head, trying her best to mumble out a cheery goodbye ( which laid flat to her ears ) and hanging up before Allen could even utter another word. She threw her phone across the bed, watching it slide and fall to the floor with a thump. She didn’t want to go and pick it up so she decided on pulling her blanket up so that she could sleep.

She didn’t realize that she was still in her school uniform and that she had received a text from her silver-haired friend when she fell asleep.

 

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You sound sick so I’m coming over, okay?

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Allen had been really really really excited to go on this fair with one of the very few female friends he has, _____. He had been thinking about this fair since the start of the week and hadn’t stopped talking about it to the (h/c), which made her laugh at his ‘similarity to a child’. Sure he was sixteen but even he had his soft spots! Like fairs! And children! And a certain (h/c) haired person with—

Allen shook his head violently, trying to get rid of the redness on his cheeks.

Too far, thoughts! Too far!!

The silver-haired boy was on his way home when he remembered that _____ hadn’t been acting quite like herself today. Pulling out his phone, he dialed her number and hope that the thought of going to the fair would put her, somewhat, back to herself. She was so quiet today that even Kanda had seemed talkative when put next to her.

Allen barely heard the hello through the phone, now fully concerned if _____ was okay or not. He cheerily asked her if she was ready for the fair, hoping to put her at ease or lift her spirits. He just wanted to do something!

Bringing her to the fair would do the trick right?? _____ loves the fair!

“I… I’m sorry Allen… I don’t think I can go today…”

Allen felt himself froze, taking a double take to make sure he hadn’t heard her wrong. She never passed up on the opportunity to go to a fair; even if it was during finals week! Was he hearing wrong or did someone else answer ____’s phone?? To his knowledge, _____’s only sibling was all the way across the continent with her parents.

“______, are you okay?” He thanked himself for not stuttering when his heart was beating a mile a minute, worried about his friend who had suddenly taken on a completely different personality.

What happened?!

“I’m fine Allen… I’m just tired, that’s all… Uh, h-have fun with Lavi though!” right after was a goodbye that sounded way too wrong to the silver-haired boy and, right then and there, he knew something was up. He needed to check up on her. He shot her a quick text, telling him that he’s coming over before pulling out his wallet, mentally counting how much money he still has left.

Between the debt piled up on him by his caretaker, Cross, Allen’s habit of eating a whole feast in one sitting and the part time job he took, Allen had somehow managed to save some money, enough to buy ______ her favourite food and a little extra. He power-walked towards the nearest store and searched through the aisles for what he needed, paying for them and giving the cashier a friendly smile before he practically ran out of there.

______’s apartment complex was a ten minute walk from school and it would take Allen another five minutes from the convenience store he was at. Then another ten minutes to walk up the stairs to her apartment ( the complex didn’t have elevators since the landlord thought it wouldn’t be necessary ).

Allen hoped _____ was alright.

----

______ grunted when she heard knocking outside. She stayed a couple of minutes, hoping it was her neighbour’s visitor when the knocking stopped. She exhaled gratefully, burying her face back into her pillow as she continued her sleep.

“______?” The door to her bedroom opened and she would have up and screamed if it weren’t for the familiar voice.

Allen?

She shifted her head just a bit to the right, peeking an eye open to see the silver-haired boy smiling at her. He put, what she assumed was, a plastic bag down on the floor beside the door and walked over, grabbing her study chair and bringing it over by the bed so that he could sit down. _____ couldn’t bear to see the smile on his face for some reason so she buried her face back into her soft pillow, sighing softly as she felt Allen’s hand on her arm.

“Are you okay?” silence took place as _____ stayed silent, letting his words dig into her mind before she answered.

“I don’t know….” Allen raised an eyebrow at this but held his question back as he saw the (h/c) haired female pushing herself up, hair hanging down the sides of her head, acting as a curtain. He heard her take deep breaths, making him even more worried.

“I’m sorry Allen…. I’m just… Really.. really… t-tired,” her voice cracked and, for some reason, she was crying. She didn’t know where the tears came from, or how long they had been there before they fell, but here she was; crying. In front of her friend no less.

____ heard sound of her chair being pushed back and felt the bed dip under just beside her. She looked up, meeting eye to eye with Allen’s gray eyes that clearly portrayed worry. She felt the guilt coming back to her tenfold and she felt like she was choking on her own saliva, heart clenching painfully as she diverted her gaze back towards her soft coloured bed.

“Please tell me what’s wrong…” Allen’s words were merely a whisper and ____ felt warm appendages wipe her salty tears away, gentle and careful on her cheeks, as if she would tear if he used too much force. _____ felt her emotions blocking her ability to speak, her head and heart a flurry of different and conflicting emotions.

“I’m sorry.. I really don’t know,” _____ couldn’t stop her tears from falling and, taking a quick moment to readjust herself, she wiped away her tears and leaned back from the silver haired boy.

“I’m just tired.. a-and rea--… really sad,” she was sobbing by now, trying her best to bite back as many sobs as she could. She knew that trying to stop Allen from worrying about her was pointless by now. She felt arms circling her figure and a head rested itself on hers. She didn’t even bother looking up; just buried her face into his shoulder and grasp the back of his shirt in her hands.

“You can’t explain it, can you?” ____ shook her head, wondering why she had suddenly taken a change of personality herself. A calloused hand ran itself through her hair, the other rubbing comforting circles into her shoulder blade. Just as ____ opened her mouth to speak, Allen cut her off with his own words.

“It’s completely fine, you don’t have to apologize…” the waterworks didn’t stop as another emotion took over her. She bit her lips, trying to silence herself while the edges of her mouth curled up into a smile. She was grateful for him, for not asking why she was sad or tired ( even though she barely did a thing that day ), for trying to understand her even when she couldn’t understand herself.

“I’m… really sorry… are you still going to the fair…?” _____ asked hesitantly when her crying subsided, letting out occasional sniffles but keeping her head in his shoulder. She liked the feeling of safety she got from being in his arms and she could smell the faint cologne he always used. A laugh rumbled through Allen’s chest, the vibrations being felt under the girl’s hands.

“No, I’m not going. I’d rather stay here with you actually,” Allen pulled back, flashing her a warm smile which caused her to stare. Her eyes got blurry and she looked down, burying her face in his shoulder again as she heard Allen panicking, which caused her to chuckle.

“It’s nothing… I’m just… weirded out by you…”

“Huh? Why? Is it wrong to spend time with you?” ____ took her time to think up of a response, not exactly sure how she would go about telling him her feelings on the matter.

“Well.. For one, I’m too tired to actually to anything other than sleep—“ as if to prove her point, she involuntarily let out a yawn, letting go of his shirt for a brief moment to cover her mouth. “—and the other, I’m pretty sure you have other things to do…” _____ mumbled sleepily, resting her chin on the boy’s shoulder as she struggled to keep her suddenly heavy eyelids open.

“It’s fine by me,”

“Really…?” Allen nodded, a serene smile on his face as he closed his eyes, bringing the girl closer to himself.

“It’s okay if you’re too tired to go out or do anything for that matter… We can just stay inside and do whatever you want…”

She suddenly realized how much Allen had grown from the time they had met, which was as children. She realized that his hugs were warmer than they had been last time. He was more of a gentleman now, which caused him to get a lot of admirers. He wasn’t the little boy that needed help from the tomboyish girl anymore but rather, it was the other way around…

“Or we could eat the (favourite food) that I bought for you,” ______ couldn’t help but laugh at that, remembering his habit of eating a huge feast. If they actually ate (f/food) together, it would probably be gone in seconds ( and also end with _____ and Allen wrestling for the last bit as it was his favourite food too ).

“Yeah.. Sure… I’d love that,” _____ pulled back, taking a moment to wipe her eyes, giving the boy a weak smile, which slowly turned into a grin as a mischievous thought crossed her mind.

“Race you to the tv!” _____ suddenly jumped out of bed and ran towards her living room, taking a brief moment to snag the plastic bag that contained her, as she once quote, ‘very reason for existing’ before making a sprint for the tv, where she planned to watch all her favourite movies until she didn’t feel like she had just crawled out of the dumpster.

“Wa—Hey! _____!” Allen sputtered, quickly running after her as he shouted out an ‘unfair!’ which caused the (h/c) girl to laugh.

 

 

- Extended ending –

“_____! Komui wanted me to—“ Lenalee paused, taking in the sight of the living room. There was a pillow fort where the couch used to be along with blankets and other fabrics thrown around here and there. The tv was currently playing a Disney movie, which Lenalee happened to find out was _____’s favourite when she caught her watching it for the umpteenth time.

What struck her to be the most adorable amongst the chaos that was previously _____’s neat and tidy living room was the two people sleeping together. Allen and _____ were in the pillow fort, the latter resting her head on Allen’s chest; her arms wound around his waist.

A smile rested itself on the Asian girl’s face as a single thought passed her mind, turning on her heel to walk out the door and leave the two alone.

_____’s using Allen as a pillow… How cute.