Part II

Summary: Modern AU in which Elliot refuses to say anything, Leo is perfect, Alice is annoying and deep at the same time, Oz is not everything he appears to be, and Gilbert is…confused. What the heck is going on?!

Ages: Gilbert is 21 year old college student, Elliot and Leo are both 18 and in 12th grade as high school seniors, Oz and Alice are both 17 (Oz about a month older than Alice) and in 12th grade as high school seniors as well.

Pairings: There aren't supposed to be any pairings in this story, since this is mainly about friendship and hurt/comfort.

-0o0-

Somewhere along the way back they managed to stop at a pizza place and ordered a few pies for dinner. They even got one with meatball toppings for Alice. While Gilbert and Leo paid, Alice, Oz and Elliot ran into a supermarket and stocked up on a few bags of chips and pretzels, just in case they got stuck in traffic for a few extra hours and got hungry again.

Turns out, there was traffic. More than they had expected, extending the trip by at least another two hours, according to the radio traffic status.

After being stuck in the same spot for over half an hour, Elliot started to curse profoundly and demanded that somebody else 'drive this stupid piece of junk' before he did something drastic, like ram it into the ugly yellow minivan in front of them.

Everyone had moved very quickly after that. Alice had protested at first, but eventually agreed that a change would be good after sitting in the same seat for so long. A few minutes of arguing later and everyone had their new seats; Leo, Elliot and Alice would sit in the back- in that order- with Alice sitting behind the passenger seat while Gilbert drove with Oz next to him.

Now it was completely dark outside, the sun having gone down hours ago. So far they had moved only a few feet up the road and were still surrounded on four sides by other annoyed drivers. The only sound was the light ticking of rain against the windows and heavy breathing from their friends sleeping the back seat.

Gilbert drummed his fingers on the wheel and stared out the window, wishing he could put on some kind of music but knowing that he couldn't if he wanted to avoid waking the others up (after bickering over different radio stations for most of the trip they had agreed to just not put on any music at all).

He glanced over at Oz, who was the only one left awake. The teenager had his legs drawn up to his chest and he stared out at the rain with a blank expression. He hadn't moved nor said a word since Alice and the rest had fallen asleep. Gilbert watched him with some worry, noting the way Oz's skin looked pale and sickly under the glare of the car's lights ahead of them. His eyes were dull and out of focus, turning the color of pale green beach glass, and even his hair had turned a flat yellow instead of the bright gold from before.

Gilbert fidgeted and looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. It was odd how much of a change had taken over the blond; he seemed like just a shadow of the lively person Gilbert had met a few hours ago. What had caused the change?

Suddenly the sound of static filtered through the speakers and Gilbert jumped at the unexpected noise. His head snapped around to find the source of the noise, horrified at what would happen if either Alice or Elliot woke.

Instead he found Oz fiddling with the dials for the radio, seemingly unworried about the consequences of his actions.

"What are you doing?!" Gilbert hissed lowly before he could stop himself. Oz blinked and looked up at him, one hand still on the dial.

"I'm putting on some music," Oz whispered back. "It's too quiet in here!" He went back to trying to find a radio station but Gilbert's arm shot forward and grabbed him before he could do anything.

"Are you crazy?!" Gilbert snapped, hand tightening around the teenager's small wrist. "You're going to wake them up!

Oz raised his eyebrows. "So?"

Gilbert gaped at him. "So? What do you mean, 'so'?! I don't know about you, but I do not want to deal with a cranky Elliot and pissed Alice!"

"Calm down, you're going to wake them up just with your shouting," Oz said and Gilbert immediately shut his mouth. They both paused for a moment, waiting to see if any of the others had stirred.

"Listen, I know what I'm doing," Oz reassured him quietly after the moment had passed. "Trust me, okay?"

Gilbert hesitated, but he let go of Oz's wrist and leaned back in his seat. If Oz woke Elliot or Alice up at least the blame wouldn't be on him.

Oz shifted in his seat and pulled out an iPod from the back pocket. He reached forward and used a cord from the car to plug it in as Gilbert watched him curiously. For a few seconds the static was replaced with eerie silence while Oz clicked away on his machine. Then he pressed a single song with his thumb and leaned back.

The sound light tinkling notes filled the air and floated through the car. Gilbert blinked in surprise as he listened; this was not something one would expect on a teenager's iPod. The song sounded like something from a music box, the melody simple and sweet. Yet there was something almost alluring the way the different notes clashed together. The sound made Gilbert feel wary and guarded; like this song was something forbidden that he shouldn't be listening to.

What an odd feeling to get from listening to such a harmless song.

"I've never heard of this before," Gilbert commented and he looked sideways at Oz.

Oz shrugged. "Most haven't."

"What's its name?"

Oz was silent. Then, "It's called 'Lacie'."

"Lacie?" Gilbert repeated.

"Yeah. They guy who wrote the song loved this one girl a lot and decided to write a song for her, but she ended up dying a little while after the song was completed." Oz spoke softly, letting the music wash over them undisturbed.

"That's…" Gilbert struggled to find the right words. "Sad."

Oz let out a short laugh. "That's one way of putting it, I guess."

"How did you hear it?" Gilbert asked, though he was somewhat uncertain if he really wanted the answer or not.

"Elliot played it for me once," Oz said simply. "I asked him what the name of the song was because I thought Alice would like it." He paused. "It sounded better when Elliot was playing it though."

Gilbert smiled. "I know what you mean," he said earnestly. He had always loved listening to Elliot play. There was a certain grace and beauty in how Elliot handled the piano that made the experience all the more satisfying than hearing the recording of the same song.

"Elliot's great," Oz agreed and Gilbert was surprised and warmed to see that the light had come back into the blonde's green eyes.

"How long have you known Elliot, by the way?" Gilbert asked curiously.

"Um." Oz tilted his head sideways, thinking. "A few years now. But it feels longer."

"How did you meet? Elliot refuses to tell me anything…"

"It's really nothing that important," Oz confessed, running a hand through his blond bangs. "You've heard of Holy Knight, right?"

Gilbert nodded. "Of course." It was impossible not to have heard about the series when you knew Elliot for as long as he had. "You two were yelling at Alice about it before."

"Yup," Oz said, grinning. "Alice'll never understand why we like it so much. She thinks the whole thing is ridiculous, but she stops complaining about it after I point out her rabbit obsession."

"She has an obsession with rabbits?" Gilbert asked incredulously. Why would someone obsess over rabbits of all things?

Oz made a face as the 'Lacie' song ended and another slow song started. "Kinda. I mean, she likes collecting them and stuff. Her whole room back at school is covered with them; key chains, stuffed animals, books… you name it, she has it. Not that I mind or anything," he hurried to say. "I like rabbits, too. But she can't really make fun of my love for a book series when she loves rabbits just as much."

"Ah," Gilbert said politely, though he was still confused as to the whole situation.

"But anyways, that's not the point. You wanted to know where I met Elliot, right?" Oz looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah."

"Well, the reason I brought up Holy Knights is because we actually met at a midnight opening for one of the newest volumes," Oz explained. "You might remember it, actually, since it only happened a few years ago."

Gilbert frowned and tried to think back. He thought he did remember something from that night...

"Wait," he said as realization dawned on him. "You were the idiot Elliot was talking about?!"

Oz made a chocking noise. "He called me an idiot?" he asked and his voice shook from suppressed laughter.

"It had to be you!" Gilbert exclaimed, focusing on the memory. "I remember he called me the next morning to complain! He went off about some idiot who thought that the main character's valet was better than the main character himself and then a fight started between him and this idiot in the middle of the bookstore-"

Oz's laughter burst from him and suddenly he was laughing so hard that he was clutching his sides in pain. Gilbert leaped sideways as fast as he could and slapped a hand over the teenager's mouth, casting a worried glance at the passengers in the back. Thankfully, they all seemed to be heavy sleepers and didn't move from their slumped positions.

Oz was still snickering, even with Gilbert's hand over his mouth, and it took him a full minute to calm down. Eventually, Gilbert removed his hand and sat back down.

"Sorry," Oz said with one last chuckle. "I had forgotten about that."

"So that means that you two didn't get along at all when you first met," Gilbert said.

Oz shook his head. "Nope. We totally hated each other, and it wasn't just because we had different opinions on the book. You should have seen how messy everything got once we figured out who we were."

Gilbert looked at him with confusion.

"You know, with Elliot being a Nightray and me being a Vessalius and all," Oz said casually.

"S-so you know that Elliot is a Nightray?" Gilbert stuttered, feeling himself flush. He felt like an idiot; this entire time he had been trying to avoid bringing up the Nightray family, worried that Oz didn't know who Elliot was.

"Of course!" Oz scoffed. "Elliot tried to avoid me for ages after that. But we kept bumping into each other since we went to the same Holy Knight stuff, and then there were the meetings between our families, so it was kinda hard for us to not become friends, if you know what I mean. Not that our fathers know that we're friends or anything." He scowled.

"Why don't your parents know?" Gilbert asked cautiously.

"Because they would rip our heads off!" Oz said and his eyes flashed angrily. "And I already get enough trouble from my father without bringing this up too!"

Gilbert recoiled slightly at the tone of Oz's voice. The resentment there was so strong...

"Your father won't approve of your friendship with Elliot?" he said hesitantly.

Oz snorted. "He doesn't approve of anything I do. This will just be another proof to him that I deserved to be shipped off to the Abyss boarding school instead of getting raised in Pandora with Ada." He stared out at the rain, eyes hard.

Gilbert stared at him, shocked. He hadn't thought of it before, but it was strange that Oz was in Abyss while his whole family lived in Pandora. The four oldest and most powerful families in the country- consisting of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma families- all lived in Pandora, which had been previously named Sabrie before the Tragedy a century ago. Since Oz was a Vessalius, he should have gone to the same school as Elliot and Leo. Instead he was in Abyss and was friends with Alice. Was it all Oz's father's doing?

"So…your father sent you to a boarding school in Abyss?" Gilbert clarified. "And that's why you don't live in Pandora?"

Oz nodded, still glaring out at the rain.

"And Ada's your sister?" Gilbert asked. He thought the name sounded familiar. Hadn't Elliot mentioned her once or twice before?

"Yeah," Oz said quietly, his expression softening. "She's a few years younger than me but we're really close. When we were younger, Father never wanted us to spend a lot of time together - he said that I was a bad influence or something- but we never listened to him. It only made us want to hang out more, you know? But, anyways, we became really important to each other by the time I was sent to Abyss. I haven't seen her in ages…" His voice trailed off.

"You really miss her, huh?" Gilbert asked. He felt a sudden need to find this Ada Vessalius and bring her to Oz straight away- anything to wipe that sad look off of Oz's face.

"All the time," Oz said with a sigh. "But we've stayed in contact with each other ever since I left, so it's not like I don't know what's going on in her life. It's different from meeting her face to face though. I hope that I'll be able to find her in the short time I'm back at Pandora."

"I'm sure you will. But why did your father send you away to Abyss in the first place? Did you do something wrong? And what about your mother? Didn't she object?"

Oz shrugged. "My mother died a long time ago. I don't even remember what she looked like. And my father never really loved me in the first place, so it was easy for him to send me away. He'd probably been planning to do it ever since I was born."

"What?!" Gilbert exclaimed, both horrified and furious that any parent would say that to their child, much less to Oz of all people!

Oz looked at him curiously. "Its okay, Gil- can I call you Gil?"

Gilbert managed to nod numbly, still too shocked and disgusted to form a complete sentence. But he felt his face warm slightly; no one had ever come up with a nickname for him before. A nickname meant familiarity and friendship between two people. Did this mean they were friends now?

"But, yeah, its fine. Really," he stressed at Gilbert's scowl. "It's normal for me."

"How can that be normal?" Gilbert hissed furiously. "Oz, I don't know what that is, but it's definitely not normal! A parent should never act like that towards their child! It's cruel! Did he ever say anything to you to make you think this stuff?"

Oz avoided Gilbert's gaze, looking down at his iPod. "He said…" He swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing.

"He said that my sin was my very existence. Before I left for Abyss, he told me that I should have never been born because I was an abomination to the Vessalius family. Me going away would put an end to all of the terrible things that happened to our family. So, really, in the end it was my choice to leave. I couldn't bear to stay in that cold house anymore with him." Oz spat out the last word like it was a curse. "I'm better off without my father. The only thing I miss from my old life is Ada and my Uncle Oscar. Otherwise, I'm quite happy to stay in the Abyss if it means never speaking to him again."

Gilbert gaped at Oz, too revolted to say anything. How could anyone treat another human being the way Oz had been treated by his father? How dare he say that Oz should have never been born?! Who was he to say that Oz was meaningless in this world?!

"Oz," he croaked finally and Oz looked at him with puffy green eyes. "Please, I want you to listen to me very carefully."

"…Alright," Oz murmured.

"Oz, you are-" Gilbert reached out to take Oz's hands in his own, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "You are not meaningless. You are not a sin. You have purpose here in this world even if your father can't see it. You are important, do you understand?" He looked seriously into Oz's eyes.

"I suppose," Oz said lowly.

"No. No supposing. Think about it, Oz. Ada, Elliot, Alice- where would they all be if they had not known you?"

"Not in traffic," Oz said and gave Gilbert a crooked grin.

Gilbert's lip twitched. "No, not in traffic," he confessed. "But from what I've heard about your sister, she loves you very much. And that means you must have had a huge impact on her. If you weren't there, both of you would have missed out on a beautiful relationship that will last your entire lives. Would you really want that?"

Oz frowned. "No, of course not-"

"And then there's Elliot who drove two hours to come bail you and that stupid rabbit-"

"'Stupid rabbit?'" Oz repeated. There was a strange expression on his face that looked half surprised and half amused at the same time.

Gilbert cursed, the blood rushing to his cheeks. "Sorry- I meant Alice-"

Oz snickered and Gilbert blushed furiously.

"Sorry, continue." Oz tired to put on a serious expression and failed.

"As I was saying," Gilbert said. "Elliot came all the way out here to get you out the police station, even putting his family's reputation at risk considering the Vessalius and Nightray families are rivals. Do you really think that he would have driven to Abyss- which is nowhere near Pandora- if you didn't matter to him? Especially at last second and without notice?" Gilbert shook his head. "I've never seen Elliot do that for any of his friends. Well, except Leo, but he's an exception."

Oz blinked. He looked stunned, as if he hadn't realized the extent to which Elliot had gone through to free him.

"And then, finally, there's Alice. Alice, who is annoying and loud-" Oz made a protesting noise but Gilbert continued.

"- who is annoying and loud but acts completely different when you're around. You complete her, Oz. I don't know how to explain it but you do. You help her to stay on focus and you steer her away from decisions that are foolhardy or may hurt her. Without you to guide her, Alice would be a completely different person."

"How can anyone think you are meaningless when there is no evidence to back that theory up? You are so much more than what your father says about you. There is proof right in front of your eyes, living in the people you love. Why are you the only one who can't see it?"

Oz's eyes were huge. They glistened like two emeralds in the dark, brighter than anything Gilbert had ever seen in his life.

The teenager's breathing was shallow and his skin was same shade of sickly pale that Gilbert had seen before they began talking. His hands were limp and strangely cold in Gilbert's grasp. Oz looked like he was in shock.

"Oz?" Gilbert asked hesitantly and reached forward to touch the teenager's shoulder.

Oz suddenly sucked in a shuddering breath, coming to life before Gilbert's eyes. Color flooded his cheeks, staining them a bright red, and his eyes turned glossy with an extra layer of water. His hands twitched and turned warm again. He began squeezing Gilbert's hands so tight that the older male could barely feel them.

"You mean it?" Oz said frantically, like he was desperate for conformation. "Every word you said- you actually mean it? You don't think I'm worthless? You don't think that- that I'm…" He looked down, blinking rapidly.

"Oz," Gilbert said and he felt his heart breaking. "Of course I mean it. I wouldn't say them if I didn't mean it. Has none of your friends ever told you this before?"

Oz laughed, but it sounded bitter and broken. "They've never had to." He looked back up at Gilbert and his eyes were glossy. "I've never told anyone about how my father treats me. You're the first person to know."

Gilbert gaped. "What? Why not?"

"I-" Oz struggled to find words. "I don't know. I've just, never been able to say anything about it to my friends. It's not that I don't want to tell them- because I do- it just never felt like the right time…"

"Yet you told me," Gilbert said, feeling numb.

"Yeah." Oz smiled at him. "I trust you."

"But why would you trust me?" Gilbert blurted.

"Because…" Oz's voice trailed off and he stopped, thinking.

"Because you say all of the right things, and you mean them too," he finally said, sounding thoughtful. "Like, just now, you said exactly what I've needed to hear for years. None of my other friends have ever been able to do that for me. But you have. So, I trust you. It's as simple as that."

Gilbert opened and closed his mouth, unable to think of anything to say.

"Oh, and you're my friend," Oz added, beaming. He seemed happy again, finally. "You're one of my best friends, Gil!"

"I've known you for less than twelve hours!" Gilbert managed to choke out. "How can you say I'm one of your best friends if we've known each other for such a short amount of time?!"

Oz shrugged and tugged a hand out of Gilbert's grasp. He rubbed his eyes, saying as he did so, "Time is an illusion. That's one thing I've always known, even before I was sent to Abyss. Time doesn't matter really, when you think about it. I hadn't even known Alice for a minute when I first met her and we instantly became best friends. Time had nothing to do with our friendship then, and it doesn't now with you. We just are," he finished simply.

Gilbert tilted his head. "How did you meet Alice?"

"When I first arrived in Abyss I was targeted by a ton of bullies because I was from Pandora and a Vessalius on top of that," Oz explained. "They didn't understand why a kid like me was sent to the Abyss boarding school when there were tons of other, better schools back in Pandora. Alice- she saved me." He looked up suddenly and Gilbert was shocked at the strength of gratitude and wonder in the teenager's eyes.

"She saved me," Oz said again, whispering. "And she never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself. I owe her everything. So-" He choked and gazed back down.

"So I won't ever give up on her," he said firmly, his grip tightening. "I'll never leave her side. She saved me in every way possible so I will never ever abandon her, no matter what stupid decision she makes. I'll be there at her side so I can save her, just as she saved me."

Gilbert listened silently. He was in awe at the conviction of Oz's words; he never met anyone who was so sure of what he wanted from life. Oz knew what he wanted and what he was going to do about it. He would stay with Alice for as long as she needed him.

Gilbert felt a pang of loneliness in his chest, just like before when Oz and Alice had left to change earlier. It hurt a surprisingly large amount for a person who was used to being on his own. He wanted a person like that in his life. He wanted someone whom he could protect, someone who needed to be saved, someone who would never leave him and he would never abandon. Who would be that someone for him if he had a choice- if he could choose?

He stared at Oz, who met his searching gaze and smiled. Oz, the boy with bright green eyes and golden blond hair who acted like he was happy, but carried a heavy burden in the deepest parts of his heart. Oz, who wanted to protect Alice so much that he would do anything for her. Oz, who was like a shining star in an endless space of darkness.

Gilbert knew that if he had a choice to protect someone, anyone in the entire world, he would choose to protect Oz.

And maybe, just maybe, after all of this was over, he would do just that.

HONK!

The beep from the car behind them was loud, overbearing and shocking all at the same time. Gilbert jumped in his seat and yanked his hands away from Oz. Likewise, Oz let out a small yelp and his eyes flew open wide. The three passengers in the back jerked awake and all started to yell loudly at the same time.

Oz immediately twisted around to try and calm Alice down. While that was going on, Gilbert looked at the car in front of them only to realize that the traffic had finally begun to move, leaving a huge empty driving space in front of them.

BEEP!

Alice actually screamed at the second beep and Elliot lurched across Leo- who sat between them- to slam a hand over her mouth.

"Go!" Leo cried out from over Elliot's arm. Both Oz and Gilbert scrambled to reattach their seatbelts and Gilbert floored the gas pedal.

The car lurched forward and everyone was slammed backwards into their seats. Someone was screaming again, but Gilbert wasn't going to look back to see who, and Oz was laughing hysterically like this was the most fun he had ever had in his entire life-

"Keep your eyes on the road, seaweed head!" Alice shrieked and Gilbert had to swerve quickly to avoid hitting a tree.

They finally reached a normal speed a few seconds later. By that point everyone was hoarse from shouting and Gilbert was breathing heavily as adrenaline rushed through his veins. Never before had he went through such an intense experience as this trip.

But he realized, as he looked at Oz whose eyes were shining with excitement, that he wouldn't trade it for the world. He smiled at Oz and the teenager grinned back, like they shared a secret joke that no one else would understand.

"That's it," Elliot said croakily from behind them. "I am never bringing you guys on another road trip ever again."

-0o0-

11/11/12

Thank you so much to the people who reviewed and/or added my story to their alert/favorite list! I'm sorry that there was some confusion in the beginning about the pairings but I hope it didn't stop anyone from reading. I hope you liked my story regardless!

I do not own Pandora Hearts.