Better Life
By: Lilly Blitz
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. That's all I'm saying on that matter.
A/N: This is an AU, so the characters may be slightly OC. I'll try to keep them as close as possible. Also, their ages may be off. Just telling you now.
Chapter 1: Back to Iselia
A small blue car was driving down the highway. The driver was a small man with a large beard. His skin was a rich brown colour, a shade lighter than his air and beard. His small eyes were currently concentrating on the road as he was not the best driver in the world. A loud 'humph' in the backseat caused the man to sigh slightly.
A teenage boy was sitting in the backseat, his arms crossed and his expression annoyed. His hair was chocolate colour and slightly spiky. His eyes were an almost perfect mix of brown and red. He was wearing a simple red shirt and a pair of blue jeans, topped off with a pair of boots. Said boots were currently atop the passenger seat. All in all, Lloyd Irving was not a happy person.
"Now I know you aren't happy about moving, Lloyd," the driver sighed, "but it's the best thing for you."
"That's bullshit Dad!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Language son..."
"I mean, c'mon! You were doing fine on your own!"
Dirk made a left turn and sighed. He knew this was not going to be easy. They had been living in the same place ever since Lloyd was a little boy. But this was the best for both of them.
"Lloyd," Dirk tried again, "you need a proper education, and I can't give it to you."
"You were though!" Lloyd argued. "You said so yourself that I'm smarter than the average 16 year old."
"That may be true, but you need to interact with other people. You need to be other people; you can't spend your whole life as a hermit."
"You were doing that fine," Lloyd muttered.
Dirk sighed and gave up. He knew better than to argue with his son when he was in one of his moods. They had been living the woods and Lloyd had been home schooled. Than Dirk had gotten a wonderful job opportunity, making decorative weapons for rich folks. That meant, however, that him and Lloyd had to pack up their things and move.
"Where are we going, again?"
Dirk couldn't help but smile at that. Lloyd couldn't stay mad for long when he was curious.
"Iselia, my boy. It's where you were born, remember?"
Lloyd blinked, than a small scowl appeared. "Will he be there?"
Dirk sighed, all smiles now gone. "I have no idea son. Your father could be there..."
Lloyd's scowl deepened. He knew that Dirk wasn't his real father. His mother, Anna, had left him with Dirk before she died from her injuries. Where she got her injuries from, Dirk had no idea. He also didn't know if Lloyd's father was alive or not. Dirk had told Lloyd the truth when he was old enough to understand. Somehow, Lloyd had gotten it into his head that his biological father had abandoned him and his mother, even causing those injuries to her. Those theories had subdued as Lloyd got older, but he still despised his real father.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Lloyd stated suddenly, "because you're my dad."
Dirk couldn't help but smile at that. "That I am son. No matter what happens, Ill always be your father."
The new house was a nice size. Not too big, but not small either. The house had three rooms, a kitchen and dining room, a living room and a bathroom. Lloyd stood outside with his dog, Noishe. Lloyd had gotten the dog as his 10th birthday present. Noishe was now a happy six year old collie that enjoyed chasing squirrels and digging up dirt.
Lloyd turned to his father, who was moving some boxes into the house. "Need a hand, Dad?"
Dirk rolled his eyes, though Lloyd couldn't see. "Of course I need some help. Get to work."
Lloyd moaned but helped his dad anyway. It was made difficult by Noishe running around them, causing them to nearly trip on the dog. It took a little bit, but they finished putting away all the stuff they had brought with them. Dirk was going back to pick up the furniture with a van, while Lloyd kept an eye on the house.
"So Lloyd," Dirk began. "Today and tomorrow, we get settled in, than the day after, you go to school."
Lloyd groaned, falling to the floor in the living room.
"No complaining," Dirk said sternly. "Now, be good and watch the house. The van's here and I'm going to get our furniture." With that said, he was gone.
Lloyd stayed on the floor, scratching Noishe's ear. From what he had seen, Iselia wasn't a that big of a city. Smaller than Lloyd thought, but still bigger than anything he had ever seen. He thought about going around the neighborhood and see if he could meet some people around his age. He decided against it; he'd meet people at school anyway.
"So boy, what do you think of this town?" Lloyd asked Noishe.
Noishe whimpered slightly and flopped onto the floor. Lloyd rolled his eyes and scratched his dog's stomach.
"Stupid dog," he said, not really meaning it.
He wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't wanted to leave his home; it was his home after all. On the other hand, his dad was offered a huge job and he wanted him to take it. But this was here he was born and where his real father might be.
He held up his wrist and looked at the chain there. There was a bright blue stone embedded on the chain. It was a keepsake of his mother's and he never took it off.
"Well Noishe," Lloyd said, getting up off the floor. "Time to get used to life in Iselia."
Even though he really didn't want to.
A/N: What did you think of the beginning? Good? Bad? Let me know!
I've never done an AU story before, and I hope I do a good job of it. I'm doing this story to try and get my creativity back so I can work on my Chrono Trigger fanfic again. As for romance, I'm not sure what I'll have the couples as yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll be LloydCollette at the very least.
Please review!