[ ONE ]

August 18th, 1986

Lenalee looked at the photograph of her friend's club, then at the building in front of her. He told her the club was huge, but she didn't think it would be this big. It was almost half a block big! Then, Allen said there had a variety of things to inside, and that she would love it there. Double-checking the similarities between the photo and the building. As easy as it may sound, it wasn't. The sun was down and in the photo the sun was up and the street near empty. Red, purple, white, black, and yellow neon lights sparked on, a couple flickering, signaling they were dying. A crowd of people walked by the club, in and out, and Lenalee found it hard to examine the club on a street bustling with pedestrians on a Saturday night. So she read the name of the club again - Black Order - and read the neon lights again.

With a nervous, shaky breath, Lenalee sliced through the crowd, her heels clicking against the pavement. She hasn't seen Allen in almost three years since he moved out of Mater to Edo. They would often call or write letters to each other. Rarely, they would send pictures of themselves to their friend so they know they don't look too different but are growing.

Upon entering the club, the music she heard outside blared in her ears among the shouting and laughing of people. She pushed through the crowd near the front doors, glancing around for any patches of white hair. Allen wasn't expecting her to come to Black Order. In actuality, he wasn't expecting her at all. She's supposed to be home, but instead, came here. Never even told Komui, because one, she's mad at the elder, and two, he wouldn't approve of her coming here alone either. She had to see Allen. She missed him so much, and she wanted to meet his friends.

But where is she to find the guy? The dance floor... Well, she hoped he wasn't over there. Lenalee would never find him there, so she checked the tables, the scent of just cooked pizza lingering in the stuffy air, thankfully droning out the awful scent of disgusting perfume and alcohol. To her relief, she found just the guy she was looking for sitting on the bar, cleaning a glass with a rag. A stoic, angry, tough-guy-looking with hair she wished she had, sat on a stool, downing a blue lagoon. A redhead wearing an eyepatch laughed, playfully shoving the childhood friend of hers, and Allen tossed the rag at him.

Hastily, Lenalee ran through the crowd straight to the bar. "Allen! Hey, Allen!" Lenalee shouted, waving her arm frantically till she got his attention. He blinked, the redhead saying something to him, and Lenalee leaped into Allen's arms. "Allen!"

Allen wheezed, hesitantly embracing the girl who just ambushed him. "Uh, hello, miss..." His eyebrows arched up uncertainly, warily, as Lenalee tightened her grasp around Allen's torso, a nostalgic feeling of her high school days washing over her. "Miss, who are you?"

Lenalee gasped, stepping back. "You don't remember me, Allen!?"

The white-haired guy tilted his head to the side, eyeing her. Black hair, deep violet eyes, Chinese- "Lenalee?" he gasped, earning another hug from said girl. "Lenalee!" He smiled, enthusiastically embracing her this time in a tight bear hug. "My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they? Please tell it's really you."

"It's me." She looked up his face, looking deep into those gray irises. "And I got the right Allen, right?"

"I sure hope so," the redhead whistled. "You don't just go jumping at men like that. Not that we don't like prettys like you begging us to take you."

"Lavi!" Allen hissed, jumping off the bar and wrapping his arm around Lenalee's shoulders. "This is my friend. Don't speak to her like that."

"But Al, that's what she just did," Lavi protested, grinning. "So who she?"

"Lenalee Lee, my best friend." Lavi shook his head, other words, telling him he doesn't know what the younger guy was talking about. Allen sighed, squeezing Lenalee closer to him. "From high school in Mater?"

"Oh." His green eye widened in realization and he smacked his head. "Ohhhh. Duh."

"Red hair, eye patch, green eye, you must be Lavi," Lenalee remarked, then looking at the silent Japanese sitting two seats away from Lavi. "Then you have to be Kanda Yuu, right?"

The supposed Kanda huffed, studying her, then going back to his drink. "Tch."

"Oh, ignore him," Allen spoke up, and despite his words, pretended to kick Kanda in the ass.

"Yeah, the grump is planning a diabolic plan, don't you know," Lavi snickered, leaning on the bar, arms stretched on either side of him. "He tryin' to kill his good ole pops. Oops, guess that's gonna spread now. Forgive?"

"Go to hell and don't come back," Kanda growled, throwing his highball glass at him; Lavi ducked with a hearty chuckle. "Fuck, don't duck you fuckin' idiot-"

Allen covered Lenalee's ears, shaking his head, smiling apologetically. She simply rolled her eyes. "Are they always like this?"

"Sometimes," Allen half lied, gently pushing her away. "Let me get a good look at you," he explained, hands on both her arms. "Dear Lord, you've gotten prettier."

"Thanks." Lenalee placed her hand on her head, moving it toward his face. "And you've gotten taller!"

Allen grinned. At least she was someone who never made fun of his height, nor joked about it. But she was fuckin' A. Lenalee looked healthier than before, but... "What happened to your hair?" he asked cautiously.

Lenalee fingered a lock of hair with a forlorn sigh. "Car accident."

Allen's eyes widened incredibly. "What?"

She waved her hands around frantically. "Calm down. Komui and I only came out with a few scratches, I swear! Well, my hair got stuck and there was a fire after the crash, so they had to cut it."

"Lenalee!" Allen shook her violently. "When did this happen?"

"Four months ago..." She sheepishly answered.

"Lenalee!"

"What? I came out alive, Al. Take a chill pill." Lenalee crossed her arms, slanting her eyes as if to challenge him.

He huffed, mimicking her. "'Take a chill pill'. Easy for you to say."

"I don't see the problem, Allen," Lavi muttered, seeing this was about to climax. "She came out alive and sexy." Lavi waggled his brows, and Lenalee pointed at him.

"See?" she responded. "He understands."

"Yeah, and? Lavi's stupid, no offense." Allen offered a quirky grin to Lavi, who shot him a definite offended look. "And he didn't grow up with you." Allen tapped her chin, making her look at him. "Or Komui. But if you two weren't seriously injured..."

Lenalee smiled weakly. "Sorry, you're right. I should have told you, being my friend and all. I swear nothing bad happened to Komui or me, except my beautiful hair."

"At least I know you did hack the bloody hair off. That'd be a total shame." Allen shook his head to emphasize his words. Lenalee's small smile vanished and she looked at her feet, instantly making Allen feel bad.

"Not like it matters, the sexy defines sexy," Lavi's grin was impish. Allen kicked his shin, noticing Lavi eyeing her lady lumps and the redhead yelped, more shocked than anything.

"He's right, you know," Allen conceded. "You're as lovely as ever."

"Hey, Lenalee, right? Ya gotta boyfriend or somethin', cause I'd love-ouch! Yo, Al, knock your fuckin' shit off." Allen momentarily glared at Lavi, then Lavi grumbled. "Come on, Al, she's rockin', bangin' and fuckin' A."

"Keep talking Lavi, I'll shove my foot up your backside," Allen growled.

Lenalee had forgotten how protective Allen can be sometimes towards her, but he wasn't so... crude, is it? "Allen, I'm fine. No harm done. So own this joint?"

"Hell no. He co-owns." Kanda snapped.

"Whatever. I mostly pay the damn bills and... just... Ugh, never mind." Allen huffed, staring at Lenalee pensively. "So what are you doing here? I doubt Komui let you roam to Edo all by your lonesome self."

"Who gives shit." Lenalee snapped.

The white-haired guy leaned forward in shock. "Wha..?"

"Who gives a shit, I said. I'm almost twenty-two, Allen, he don't need to know everyone I fuckin' go." Lenalee glared at nothing and Allen flinched at her sharp, angry tone. "Anyway, you said you wanted to see me again. Said you had something important to tell me. In person. So..?"

Allen scratched his neck nervously, thinking. Komui's gonna kill me when he finds out she's here. "Right, well, uh, do you have a hotel room or something?"

"No. I don't have anymore money. Used the last of it to come here, and either way, I just arrived."

"How?"

"... Promise you won't be mad."

And now Allen narrowed his eyes. "I don't make promises I can't guarantee to keep."

"I walked," Lenalee warily answered anyway.

"You walked! Lenalee, that's... miles. Three hours just by a damn vehicle!" Allen flailed his arms above his head, restraining from shaking her violently, oviously distressed. Lenalee stepped closer to Kanda, thinking maybe he would be helpful in warding Allen off. Not at all.

Allen stepped closer to her, pointing his finger at her nose angrily... Then, with a sigh, he looked at her trembling legs, and noticed she had no baggage. She had a few scratches, mud and dirt here and there. "All the way, Lenalee?"

"Not all the way." Lenalee whispered this time, looking slightly ashamed. "I hitched a ride halfway here, walked the other half."

"That's still pretty far." Lavi noted, concerned.

"Stupid." Kanda added, just to be a jerk.

"Allen, I know it's absurd and-" Lenalee stopped herself. No point in saying what everyone knows already. Besides, Allen looked truly dismayed as it was, she needn't add onto his burden. Maybe she shouldn't have come at all. It's clear he's changed somewhat. With a sigh, she turned, deciding to leave and find some way to get a place to bunk.

Allen grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Don't go." He sounded slightly desperate. "Look... I have spare room at my apartment, so... Why don't you come home with me tonight, clean up and get some rest. We can talk about all this in the morning."

She nodded wearily, and Allen said something to Lavi, not wanting to hear Kanda's baggin', and then Allen guided her outside the club at an even pace, trying his best not to exert her. He often waved or replied to someone in the crowd. Lenalee never remembered when she got in a vehicle or when a humming vibration under her began. However, she remembered someone warm and someone who smelled choice, amazing, carry her somewhere and set her down on something soft and comfortable.

And she fell fully asleep within seconds, after faintly hearing Allen whisper, "I missed you."

Okay, I've been wanting to write a story like this for a long, long time. But I didn't grow up in the 80s - this story is during the 80s by the by - so I try to make it as realistic as I possibly can and if anyone wants to help me by giving good reliable websites or info on anything at all, then please, do so. I will try to make the '80s vocabulary as similar as possible. Warning ahead of time, though, this story MAY have a mix of modern time/eighties junk in it. Again, help me, if you will.

Also, I'd like to say this story was inspired to by the musical movie RENT and some time after I first watched that, I read Novelist Pup's Any Way You Want It. (So, yeah... Long time ago, since I first read that story when it was in it twenty-something chapter) PAIRINGS? WELL, there will be heterosexual and yaoi, but the main pairing... Guess you'll have to read to find out. Lenalee and Allen can just be friends or more, but I was planning to put Lavi with her... So we'll see how things go.

I hope you like this, and I hope you'll continue reading. AND I hope you will tell me what y'all think. Any questions? I'll answer and ry to clarify anything if it's confusing. Blah Blah Blah, usual, usual. HEED KNOWLEDGE: Title may change eventually. If so, let'cha know chapter beforehand, kay? All right.