September 2nd, 2014

The day began as any ordinary day would, with the distinct feeling of being completely alone. I couldn't quiet help this sort of depression from latching its merciless claws into me, but I tried to overlook this sadness. I had to be at my upmost best, I had to be alert and positive and keep my energy at its highest. Because today…Today is the day I begin a new life, full of new opportunities, and uncertainties. I have to be at my top form if I were to survive today…

I curse my damn guardian for not being here, but heck, I guess it can't be helped. Wish me luck!

Allen closes his notebook and sighs as he takes a brief look around himself, noting the various empty spots within the rather large living room with a scowl. He seriously needed some more furniture, perhaps, he thought, Cross would come back and help him find at least a few couches. But he doubted that drunken bastard would help him with anything, let alone come back.

The place was much too big considering it was just him at the moment. But he sort of fancied the neighbourhood it was located in, after being in such a small home in a very dangerous neighbourhood that he assumed was the "ghetto" part of the city, he enjoyed the change. It was a house nestled between two brick fences of the neighbouring houses, painted a dark shade of blue, almost indigo in color and darker than any other house on the street. It was a two story house, beautiful and grand…far more beautiful than anything they had ever owned in their life. It was surrounded by small shrubs, with dark, looming trees sitting proudly in a field of radiant green grass, the house was glorious.

And as for the noise, it was nearly quiet, a refreshing beginning from the noisy city streets and the constant sounds of sirens and cars, (as well with the occasional gun-shots). For once he could hear his own thoughts, and not the constant arguing of upstairs neighbours or the relentless barking of the satanic dog next door. He hated that dog…and he was sure that Tim did too.

Speaking of which…

"Tim…?" Grey eyes searched around, his body twisting left and right as he sat on the floor. He couldn't see his little pet anywhere, until he caught sight of a ball of golden-orange, fluffy fur curled up on one of his duffle bags in the corner. "Oh there you are…!" Allen smiled.

The kitten was so tiny he barely seen it amongst the dozens of bags and boxes.

A sense of worry washes over him at the thought of leaving the poor, defenseless kitten by himself inside a big, yet empty house. However, he knew the kitten would be okay. No matter his size, Timcanpy was actually quite the little scrapper who knew how to defend himself and at one time, he had even bit Cross when the stupid man tried to give him a taste of beer.

Tim wasn't even his to begin with; the kitten had been left inside their old home during a party. Both he and Cross didn't know how the kitten got there, or who left it, but it stuck around and eventually warmed up Allen's somewhat cold heart and the first time it scratched his "master" Allen immediately took a liking to it and fell in love with Timcanpy. It had been a name Cross came up with, after hitting Allen over the head when he suggested to name the kitten Edgar, after one of his favourite authors, Edgar Allen Poe. Allen refused to suggest a name again, knowing that he would just get hit over the head again, but the name stuck and his world welcomed the kitten even more.

"You won't be lonely without me will you?" Allen asks the kitten as he scoots over to the small feline and scratches it lightly on his head.

The kitten looks up, eyes blinking blearily at the young teenager with little interest. The grey-haired boy simply smiles and rubs the kitten's cheek as it purrs quietly, slowly drifting back to sleep.

Getting up, Allen skips off to his new bedroom and throws off his shirt before looking at the time. "Crap! I have ten minutes to get outta here…!" He hurries out of his grey sweats and kicks them into the corner. He didn't have time to be clean up after himself, not now anyway.

Allen starts to button up his crisp, white dress-shirt, still in his AC/DC boxers as he tries to button every last one of the cursed things. But during his rush, he doesn't even realize that he had made the mistake of putting it on inside out. He stumbles around the room, one leg in his pants as he struggles with other. He curses lightly, clicking his tongue with frustration while he continues to dress himself.

By the time he was done, five minutes had already passed.

Allen runs into the bathroom, momentarily screaming when the sudden slide on the bathroom tiles almost sends him flying. But he shortly retains his composure and begins to comb through his unruly, white hair all the while trying to brush his teeth.

Damn, two more minutes!

The seconds became crucial, and Allen was becoming more frazzled.

"Oh crap! My iPod…!" He runs into the room, only to run back out. "It's in my pocket! Oh! Timcanpy…!" Allen scurries off into the kitchen and pours an appropriate amount of food into the kitten's dish. "Alright…! I'll be going then Tim. I put some food in your dish and I'll be back at lunch to check up on you…!" He rushes back into the living room.

With a quick kiss on the kitten's head, Allen got to his feet once again and hurries to grab his bag, followed with an apple for the road as he springs out the door.

He had considered himself lucky to have a home that wasn't far away from his new school. It was only a fifteen to twenty-minute walk away from his house and it saved him the excruciating torment of the bus. The one thing that he hated the most was the school bus. A cramped, stifling vehicle full of noisy, obnoxious kids, with seats that were either full or would have you sitting beside some stranger that was invading your personal space. He hated when he had to sit beside some random kid, especially one that would pry into his boundaries and ask him so many questions about his hair, his eye and where he came from.

But now…he didn't have to worry.

He must thank Cross whenever that drunken bastard got back from wherever the hell he went. Seriously, his so called "godfather" actually out-done himself with the brand new house, but Allen wasn't exactly grateful or thrilled to be left with all the moving and the hauling himself.

Allen slings his backpack over his shoulder and stares out into the streets with a proud little smile curving over his lips. He could get used to this…well, until the time comes when they would have to move again. But until then, he was going to enjoy every single day he lived in this place.

Before Allen started his first walk to school, he pulls out his iPod and quickly searches for a song, like he often would, he would search for the song that suited his attitude. He was very particular with his choice in music, for instance, he had to have one genre or a song that would match the activity he was doing or the mood he was feeling. When it came to cleaning he had to listen to rock, typically AC/DC. When it came to cooking he had a choice between jazz or alternative rock. And when it came to studying it would always be classical, preferably Beethovan or Mozart. Allen was peculiar but he just had a way of doing things.

Considering what today is, being the first day of school and what not…I need something that will keep me in good spirits. Hmm…Ah-ha! Found it…! Allen smiled brightly as he sped his way across his yard, listening to the sound of guitars and the pitch of Billy Joel Armstrong's voice singing in his ears.

With him humming and singing lightly under his breath, Allen starts off towards his school. He needed to keep his head held high; he needed to keep a positive attitude especially approaching high school. He heard so many horrific stories of Cross's high school experience and was nearly floored at all the shit that man put himself through.

Drugs, vandalism, sex, pranks, parties, girls, fights, and so many illegal activities Allen was amazed that he hadn't been thrown in jail during that time. Don't get him wrong, Cross has been to jail at least once or twice since then, but Allen wasn't sure how that man got through high school, let alone graduate from the place! How did the man do it…?

However, Allen was a lot… A LOT smarter than Cross, and he was determined to never go through any of those things that Cross put himself through. He wasn't going to let himself be like that…No way in hell!

"Th-this is…the school…?" Grey eyes stared incredulously at the grand school and glanced back down at the pamphlet in his gloved hands. "I-it's…so much bigger in person…" Allen smiles nervously and feels his stomach drop. He breaks out in a sweat, his heart racing as he sets his eyes on the highest peak of the school. "It's like a castle. Like…" He pauses. "Hogwarts…"

His ethereal moment of being pushed into a whole new world is quickly interrupted with a string of curses practically being yelled out from the distance and Allen feels distinctly offended, even though he knew that this person wasn't swearing at him in particular…but to a car. Allen peers in back of himself, curious to know who had been swearing his head off and sees a very irate girl.

Her hair was long, very long and seemed to be almost messy in the onslaught of wind that swept the dead leaves into the air. She had the same uniform as he did, and it almost made Allen feel ashamed that she filled out those clothes better than he ever did. But it occurred to him…that this girl was wearing the male uniform of the school and he couldn't help the sense of interest. Allen wasn't sure whether she was a cross-dresser or whether she was just someone who preferred men's clothes, rather than the skirts the school expected of young girl students.

The girl is swearing again, but its low, barely a whisper this time and she's kicking the side of a raggedy, beaten-up car that's more rust than paint at this point. As she's kicking away at the poor vehicle, she's also punching the side, denting the elder of a car.

Allen wants to go and see her, to ask her what was bugging her, it was most likely his personal respect for women, or maybe it was his concern for people in need of help, but Allen quickly rejects the idea when he sees the girl begin slamming the door. Every time she opens the door, she immediately slams it back and this ensues for at least ten more seconds before she outwardly swears again.

But this time Allen is mortified.

This young girl wasn't a young girl…

But a guy

And Allen couldn't have been more mystified and astounded when he didn't realize this before. He blames it on the wind though, which hampered his hearing during the whole ordeal of wind and the scattering of leaves.

It's a guy! Allen's mouth falls open and he shakes his head. How could I mistake him for a girl…? Then he comes to a conclusion…it must have been the hair. Yes, that guy's hair was obviously too long for a male to have and that it actually shines and looks to be well-kept that it only confuses Allen more. If he was a guy, why did he keep his hair so damn long? Maybe he was transgender? Or something

The pissed-off teenage male eventually leaves the tattered remains of a car and walks off in long, angry strides towards the school and Allen freezes, making note that the school was just behind him and the fuming pony-tailed student was walking towards him now.

Unknowingly, Allen turns right around, unable to keep eye-contact to a stranger and pretends to be looking at the pamphlet in his hands, mumbling to himself.

"Okay, now what's my first class? Let's see here…this is the first floor…oh! It's on the second floor!" Allen nods his head in feigned understanding and glances his eyes upward to see the male actually looking back at him.

The guy is standing at least several feet away from him, openly staring at him with indifference but hidden somewhere behind those narrowed blue eyes was a hint of curiosity.

Allen instantly gives off a small, startled squeak and looks back down to his pamphlet and papers, pretending that he hadn't been looking at all, but only to yelp out in surprise when the wind blows them right out of his hands.

"Shoot!" The grey-haired student fumbles with the remaining papers in his hands and scurries off to retrieve the rest that were now being tossed in the cruel wind of autumn. Allen curses lightly under his breath that was now being lost due to his frantic running to catch the very last of his papers. He manages to catch the few that were in the air, but as he was about to bend down to get the last two, he trips.

Allen falls to the ground face first into the dirt, the instant sting he feels against his nose triggers a trickle of tears in his grey eyes, but that wasn't the worst of it all…No, it was the sudden gust of wind that blows every single one of his papers (even the ones in his hands) back into the unforgiven terrain of autumn.

"Shoot…" He mumbles lastly before he slung his head down in utter defeat, sighing into the crook of his arm. He stays on the ground for a bit; embarrassed to see who had all seen his incident and he groans when he realizes that the pony-tailed guy was probably still staring at him.

Undoubtingly, he was.

The older-looking male is blatantly staring at the grey-haired teen that was now lying face down in the cold earth, the flock of his papers already flying off into unknown directions as he sulks and tries to hide from the staring he knows that's being directed at him. And the black-haired student couldn't help it…

He chuckles

Then he coughs out another, more-louder chuckle.

At first Allen didn't know what he was hearing. He thought there was some sort of animal choking somewhere in the vicinity, or a crow hacking down hot-sauce, but when he takes his head out of his arms to look to where that noise was coming from, he peers back at the long-haired boy and sees that he had been laughing at him.

But that was not laughter.

What it was, Allen had no idea, but he figured that it was some sort of disease the man was dying from in order for him to sound like that.

Allen frowns. The embarrassment he was feeling before is later replaced by an irritation for the older teen that's still snickering (or whatever the hell it is) a few several feet away.

Ass... Allen's frown deepens and he glares at the pony-tailed prick laughing at his misfortune.

Before Allen could make any sort of come-back or argument, the guy is already seen walking away, his shoulders still shaking with his amused wheezing—Allen assumes is laugher—and for a moment, he looks back at him with a shit-eating smirk and flicks his hair at him.

Allen is stunned.

Was that imitation of a bitchy-girl directed at him?

If so…then how dare him!

Allen looks around, hoping that no one else was around to see his catastrophe of a first impression…and he doesn't. He sighs to himself, thanking the Lord that he was safe of the embarrassment but that quickly vanishes when he hears a voice call out to him.

"Are you okay?" There's an amused tone in this person's voice and Allen was about to get mad again, but when he looks up he's greeted with a stern face of a much older man.

Allen blinks, there's a sort of familiarity to this man, as if he had seen him before.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Allen smiles out of good nature and scratches his head. "Just a stumble…"

"That's good. I seen you're unfortunate stumble and it wasn't nice of Yu to just laugh at you." The man sighs as tries to help the younger from the ground, but he stops when he sees confusion on the boy's face.

"What?" There's a clear sense of perplexity in Allen's voice, as though he though the man in front of him was insane. "It wasn't nice of me to laugh at…me?" He grows even more confused.

"Ah, my apologies…!" The man dismissively waves his hand, "the gentleman who was laughing at you is actually named Yu. Yu Kanda to be exact…"

Yu Kanda…

Allen swears he'll never forget that disrespectful girly-bastard's name.

"Hmph…I hope his hair gets caught in the front door." Allen mutters and glares in the direction of where he last seen this Yu Kanda. But the moment he says that, the older man next to him lightly scoffs at the comment.

"Yeah, he doesn't exactly make a good impression on the other students here. So I suggest you keep a clear distance of that fellow…he isn't the happiest, or the friendliest of this school." Finally he helps the young student off the ground.

Allen blinks for mere-moment, unsure if he should be talking to some stranger, but the vague sense of seeing his face before was a strange feeling all together. "Um, excuse me…but uh…who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I should have introduced myself earlier. My name is Howard Link. I'm the student counsellor of this school."

"Oh…" Allen wasn't sure of what to say next. Until he comes to a realization of where he seen this man before. "OH!" He exclaims loudly. "You're the guy in the back of that pamphlet."

"Yes, I am." The man says, obviously proud. "The St. Hevlaska Academy pamphlet was actually designed by our students. I thought this year we should try to convey the creativity of our students through the artistic work and design of our brilliant art students to help captivate those who are interested in this school."

"I see…well…it really reeled me in. Very…top notch." Allen smiled awkwardly. He was never good with striking up a conversation with strangers.

"Thank you…" Link paused. "I'm sorry, but what's your name?"

"Ah, it's Allen. Allen Walker" Allen holds out his hand but is later interrupted from the sudden shock look that seems to wash over the man's face and Allen takes a step back. "Um, are you okay? You look like you're about to be sick…"

"Ah…Uh, Mr. Walker…!" Link dives his hands towards Allen's own and grips them in a firm hand shake that nearly tosses the younger male around. "I heard so much about you."

"Y-you…what…?" Allen now seems nervous. "When…? Where…? From who…?"

Link clears his throat, a little embarrassed from his outward display of over-excitement. "From a Miss Anita…"

Allen visibly pales and feels his heart drop to the center of his stomach, the vice that's around his throat constricts further and he tries to swallow, a sensation that feels like sand travelling down his throat. There's a lingering dread stuck behind those wide grey eyes and a trembling in his limbs, all of which are clearly noticed by the counsellor in front of him.

"Allen? Are you okay?" Link asks, concerned.

Damn…does he know? "What d-did…she say…about me?" Allen asks, fighting off the panic.

"Oh, nothing extremely personal if that's what you're worried about. She simply told me to keep an eye on you and help you as you enroll into this new environment." Link looks down at the boy with a stern expression. "She sent me a letter to inform me of your enrollment and we've talked on the phone a couple times. She's told me about your condition…and you must know that it is nothing to be certainly wary of."

Allen isn't convinced. "What else did she tell you?"

Link raises an eyebrow. "Well…that's all she's told me. Just about your condition, how I should keep a watchful eye on you and help you stay on the right path in your education…" The older man crosses his arms and gives an apparent frown. "If you're concern is about me knowing of your situation then you have nothing to worry about, I'm the student counsellor, all things pertaining to the student is personal and I won't go blabbing to everyone I see or meet."

Having been settled of his panic, Allen's shoulders relax and the feeling of his heart beat steadily in his chest once again was relieving.

"I'm a little offended that you believe me to be untrusting."

Allen glances at Link and finds the man actually looking a little miffed about his hesitancy and nervousness. "S-sorry…It's just…I'm not—"

"—Say no more. I understand that it's an uncomfortable topic to talk openly about. No one likes to have a conversation with a total stranger about his or her problems." Link places a have a hand on the younger student's shoulder. "But I am the student counsellor, and if you need any one to speak to, about anything at all, if you have any concerns about school or your classes, please come directly to me. You don't need to ask, I'll be there to help you with anything you need."

Allen blinks and glances up at the man with a small smile. "Thank you…Mr. Link. I'll keep that in mind."

"Be sure you do." Link gives him a quick pat and turns to look at the school. "School will be starting in five minutes, Allen Walker. I suggest you go directly to class if you don't want to be late."

"Yes…well…my schedule isn't exactly with me at the moment…" Allen glares, having remembered that the wind had scattered them everywhere. Ohh, Mother Nature was cruel…cruel indeed.

"Right…" Link nodded. "Almost forgot about that. Well, here…" The man reaches into his pocket and takes out a paper and a pen, quickly circling the classes the young student was taking and drew a small map on the other side of the entire paper. "I've circled the classes you're in, drawn a map of the school and circled the rooms you will be going to for these classes. Have one of the teachers give you a time schedule, because I don't have one with me at the moment."

Allen takes the paper in his gloved hand and takes a look at the elegant writing of the man and the excellent drawing of the entire school. He's a little amazed that the man had time to draw out an entire map of the school in just a few short seconds.

"Thanks." Allen smiled. "I'll be going then…!" He gives a quick bow to the counsellor before he bolts off into the direction of the school.

"Yes, and please be sure to come see me whenever!" Link yells back. Then he stops to rethink everything, noting the difference in Allen before it was actually too late. "Was his shirt inside out…?"

"Ugh…" Allen slams the door behind him, leaning against it with a ragged slump in his shoulders and Tim could practically see the lingering shadow of depression fall over him when he greets his master at the door.

The kitten curiously tilts its head, as if he was unsure about the strange aura that surrounds the grey-haired teen until those down-casted eyes look back at him.

"Hi Tim…" Allen mumbles slowly and throws his back pack up the stairs where Tim was watching him. The kitten simply watches the bag skid across the floor and then looks back to him again.

"Mew…?" The kitten squeaks out a response and waits as his master lazily stomps his way up the stairs with less effort and even less grace.

The teen slouches over the top of the stair case, his chin resting against the floor as he sprawls out his limbs and buries his head into his arms once more. "What a horrible first day of school." His muffled voice was strained and his hair was a complete mess from the walk home. "You got it good Tim…and you don't even realize it…" Allen speaks to the kitten that's now sitting above his head and goes to scratch the infant cat under its chin.

"Prrow…"

"I wish I could be you…living the good life of doing nothing all day. Just sleeping, eating and sleeping some more…you don't even have to go to school, or meet new people…You get to just stay home and do nothing…!" Allen groaned and turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling with a slight pout.

"Mew…" The kitten came to crawl up to his chest and began pawing at his chin lightly, delicately dabbing his paw across the teen jaw.

Allen only smiles and nudges the kitten's face with his finger. After a while, the two lay there on the floor together, with Allen staring at the ceiling and Tim curling itself on the teen's chest and they remain there for what seemed like fifteen minutes of absolute silence.

Allen's expression is sullen, a most brooding frown evident on his youthful face as he stares at the pure white of the ceiling. He goes over the events of the day, and what seemed like the most horrible first day of school. The thoughts and remembrance of such events depress him further and Allen groans into his hands.

"I wish I can just graduate already." He mumbles and sighs longingly.

He begins to lay there once more, wrapped in the silence that washes over them both but each of them was almost content in the quietness of the room. Allen is staring beside him now, his eyes set on the boxes that were piled against the wall further away from him.

"If Cross were here, he would definitely kick my ass for looking so depressed and pathetic." He frowns. "Though I wouldn't blame him…I certainly do like a pathetic lump."

The kitten doesn't acknowledge him with an answer, instead it keeps sleeping.

I'm so worthless…

Allen looks down at his chest and sees the kitten snoozing peacefully, but with a small smile and a quick apology, he picks the tiny kitten up and places it on the top of his backpack. The kitten simply goes to curl up, content in its sleep to even notice it had been moved at all.

Allen reaches into the backpack slowly and pulls out a notebook, being careful not to wake the poor thing again and picks a pencil from his pocket.

Then he begins to write…

September 2nd, 2014. 4:35 P.M

It's been a long day…as long as it was exhausting. And I can't even begin to explain just how much of this day was filled with disappointment and shame. I'm probably the most unlucky person to ever walk this earth and it gets more depressing the more I think about it.

It all started when I went to school. The very moment I stepped onto that cursed piece of land, I knew there was something about today that I'm going to either regret or loathe myself for…and undoubtingly…I was right. I lost my papers due to the wind, fell on my face in front of some asshole who simply laughed about it, nearly got the crap scared out of me by a Mr. Link and showed up to class with an inside-out shirt and mismatched socks. Luckily, hardly anyone took notice of my shirt or socks, but the teacher in my second—and last—class finally pointed it out and I severely wanted to curl up and die right then and there when all the students snickered and giggled at me. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be…I thought for sure everyone would mock me of it or pin me with some sort of God-forsaken nickname…but they didn't.

So, I suppose there were two bright-sides of this day.

The other was the relief I received when I found out that Link didn't know everything there was about me. I was thankful that Anita didn't explain to him in full detail about my life, but I'm feeling a little guilty that I actually suspected her to. Maybe I should give her a call…

I certainly need someone to talk to about today…Maybe she'll cheer me up.

Well, that's all for now…

-Allen

Allen closes his book and rests his head on the cover, his eyes closed as he listens to the soft little breaths of his kitten and the repetitive sound of his own heartbeat. Though he said he would call Anita, he makes no movement to do so…instead, Allen begins to fall asleep.

He curls up on his spot on the floor as Tim often would do, but unlike Timcanpy, Allen isn't content with the motion of sleep swaying his senses, it's the persistent tug of depression that makes him curl into himself, as if he wanted to sink into nothingness and remain hidden. He can feel his body slowly being pinned under the weight of his unforeseen anguish and he doesn't want to move.

If anything

He just wants to die.

Chapter One
End