How it starts..

Luciano yawns and drops his tablet pen to his desk, scratching at the back of his head lazily. He's been drawing for a few hours now and he's starting to run out of motivation to finish it today. He stretches in his chair, angling so he doesn't fall over completely. He's been drawing for years now. Only recently has he given into his brother's peer pressure to put them online. Some website his brother said would be good for art though Luciano doesn't know for sure. He doesn't go on all that often unless uploading a new photo or fucking around to try and see if anyone stole his art this week.

For some reason his art style got really popular. He's not sure why exactly, most of his work is just extensive landscapes with minimal people scattered about. Fantasy settings and places from books or movies he's seen before. He's not overly fond of drawing people, but he'll doodle here and there. Every so often he'll get a commission from someone. It's one of the few times he will actually draw for someone else.

He leans forward and clicks on the inbox button with a little number two above it. Even if he doesn't draw for others, he does makes sure to reply to compliments. He hadn't been raised in a barn. Quite the opposite actually. Which is why he can afford to draw for extended periods of time. The first message is a what he might consider a standard, someone complimenting his work and telling him to keep up the good work. He replies simply and privately, not one for tooting his own horn. The second message makes him pause for a moment.

Wowie~ :O your art is gorgeous :D I think this is my new favorite style X3 please don't stop drawing ever~ it would be such a shame to see you stop X( Wonderful work~ all the colors work so well together x) AND. I LOVE. THE ITALY PIECES :DD it's all so detailed :o

Luciano blinks at the message, then has to physically lean back to stare at it. He can't quite remember the last time someone sent him a message so littered with faces like that. Sure some people use a face or two but this has to be a record somewhere. He clicks the button to reply only to pause over the keyboard not actually sure how to respond. Normally? Probably.

Ah, well, thank you for your compliments. I'm glad you like the Italian settings.

He stares at what he typed out, feeling almost guilty that it's not as bubbly sounding as the message he receive. He clicks send before he can over think it and goes back to sketching the top part of a building in his next project. He narrows his eyes at one part finally getting it to angle the way he wants to before glancing up and seeing a new message in his inbox. He sighs and clicks it open, eyes widening once more at the message he received.

Oh! :o You replied! That's cool :D oh that makes me happy! Of course I complimented you! :D you deserve it! X3 I love all the little details you put in :o I spent a half hour! Searching one picture for little details :) it's such a different style from mine x(

Luciano twirls his pen in his hand before accidentally letting go for it to hit him in the head. He glares down at the offending object before turning back up to his screen. He clicks on the senders icon, taking him to their little blog. He finds a tag quickly enough and skims through their art. Well, they weren't wrong. This person, TinyPasta, has a simplistic style, with very few details, more cartoony than anything. Lots of people and cute outfits, then animals and flowers. Their muse bounces all over.

I always try to reply. Again, thank you for the compliment. Your art is different, but, cute?

Luciano bangs his head on his desk after hitting send, wondering what got into him to send something like that. It sounded so awkward. A grimace makes it's way onto his face as he realizes even if he spent a few minutes typing up a reply it would still have sounded the same. He runs a hand through his hair, looking over his project once more. He makes a new layer, circling parts he thinks that need to be worked on for later.

Even though he doesn't mean to he glances back at his tumblr screen, noticing something different. Instead of the inbox having a number over it, the little talk bubble does. He raises an eyebrow as he clicks on the button, a little messaging box popping up with TinyPasta's username attached.

Do you mind if we talk here :o I don't know how long you plan to be online D: but I would love to talk to you more :3 and this is easier I think XP

Luciano stares at the message and sighs. Before responding he saves his project once, then twice, and then again when he closes the program down and the system asks if he wants to save again. He sits up straighter and pulls his computer closer.

No, I don't mind. I'll be on for a while so we can talk till then I suppose.

He narrows his eyes at the sent message, wondering if it's too formal. It's how he talks though. Hopefully this persons doesn't think him too standoffish. It's not like he's trying to be.

Oh yay! :D Also! Thank you for your compliment X3 it means a lot to me~ I was wondering :o what program and brushes you use? :o

He rolls his eyes to the message. He has this answered on his small FAQ page but he types out a reply anyway, playing nice instead of giving an assholeish answer. In turn he asks about their art preferences too, it's only fair. They talk about art for their whole conversation, when they started, how they get inspired, what convinced them to set up a blog for it.

Why the username bloodreflections? :O it sounds scary XO

Luciano actually snorts at that one. It doesn't take him long to find his first series of posts he uploaded. His favorite theme to draw when he first started. A body holding a knife, bloody or not, and the reflection of what they have done, or plan to do in the knife reflection. It sounded morbid, plus his brother hated it. He sends the link to his conversation partner. That of course leads to a whole new bout of questions, mostly in all caps.

Ah, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I need to go now.

Luciano sighs to himself, a small smile on his face. It's not that he disliked talking to TinyPasta, the opposite actually, he's just tired now. He has to get some semblance of normalcy before school so he doesn't feel like murdering everyone he sees.

Aww okay :( thanks for talking to me though :D byebye~

Of course. It was nice talking to you, bye.

With another yawn, Luciano drags himself to his bed and collapses face first into it. He stares at the blinking light of his computer as it shuts down as his mind slowly does the same.

A friend?

Luciano drags his hands down his face as the kids in his literature class keep talking on and on while the teacher is painfully trying to get a good lecture going. He sighs and rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time. It's his own fault. He chose to go to this school. He could have gone to a fancier preppy school like his brother did. He hated that kind of "expected" setting, so he chose to go to a school that expected barely anything. Except a headache, he always expected that though.

Growing fed up with the talking, Luciano takes a spare pencil and chucks it across the room with deadly accuracy to hit Allen in the head to get him to shut up. The other yelps and glares at him. Luciano doesn't care for his power challenge and looks away, ignoring the relieved smile the teacher sends his way as the class settles down to learn for the day. Luciano distracts himself by doodling in his notebook and pretending to take notes

"You didn't have to hit me that hard you fuck," Allen says tossing the pencil back at Luciano bitterly during lunch. The drawer catches it easily having played with the tool millions of times to know its dynamics. He pokes listlessly at his lunch, not really feeling up to eating the excuse called food in front of him. His so called friends are sitting around him, blabbering on about who knows what. Luciano takes out his phone to ignore them, opening up his tumblr app to have his eyebrows shoot up in shock at the little message bubble with a little one over it.

He taps the symbol, recognizing the url that shows up instantly. He did spend quite a few hours talking to them yesterday, and there is no way he could forget the weird emoji littered way of typing. He feels a small smile tug its way onto his face as he reads the message.

Hey! You! :D is it okay if we talk today too? :o im at school and im boooooooored XP are you still in school? ._. I didn't think about that X(

Luciano raises an eyebrow and types out a little reply, wondering exactly when TinyPasta sent him this. It could have been hours ago, who knows if this person is even still in school now. Fuck what if he's talking to a 12 year old? That would be really freaking weird.

I am in school, right now actually. I'm a senior in high school. What about you?

He takes a bite of the apple in front of him, chewing it slowly and puts his phone away. Still he ignores the conversation around him, his mind going back to the doodle he drew earlier in class, trying to figure out a way to make it a little bit better. He'll put the doodle online later after he's touched it up some. Again it's his brother's influence, but he puts all his doodles up online now.

Feeling antsy, he pulls his phone back out, almost surprised and nearly relieved when the little message bubble is back up even after five minutes. He taps it with more excitement than he really should to see the reply.

Oh wowie :o I thought you were so much older :OO im just a lil ol junior XP im not distracting you from class am I? DD:

Luciano snorts at the question. Maybe TinyPasta is distracting him from paying attention but it's far better than class anyway. He's mostly just relieved they aren't super young. He doesn't know how to deal with children, hence why he hates highschool.

At least you aren't a freshman. You're not distracting me, it's nice to talk to you again.

He blinks down at the message he just sent and grimaces hardcore. What kind of wording came from him? This is why he draws instead. He smacks his phone to his face and lets out a low groan.

"Damn Luci what's up your ass?" Kuro purrs out, smirking more when Luciano glares at him from the side of his phone. He huffs and puts his device away, eating another bite of apple to distract him from his anger.

"Who you texting?" Oliver asks all bubbly. How he fits in with their ragtag group of delinquents Luciano isn't sure but he is the happiest mother fucker he's ever met, except for maybe his new internet.. Friend?

"No one," Luciano mumbles, earning him a pout from Oliver.

"Which means someone," Lutz says, nudging Luciano playfully, though he doesn't take it playfully, shoving Lutz right off his seat.

"Someone is defensive today~" Allen coos at him and Luciano has had enough. He picks up his things, taking his apple with him to head to class ten minutes early to avoid his group of asshole friends and their laughing at his retreating form. He leans against the wall next to his next class, taking out his phone again, and not for the last time.

Its super nice talking to you again too :DD aww whats wrong with freshies? :C theyre not all bad

Once more a smile twitches its way onto his face. He doesn't know how long this interaction will last, but most people he's ever texted have gotten sick of him quickly because of his colder typing style. It's a little nice to have someone to talk to who has enough expression for the both of them.

They're annoying, trust me. My school is shit.

Throughout his last two class periods, he messages TinyPasta. Mostly about school work and the difference of where they are. The closest they get to asking where the other is when TinyPasta asks what time it is where he lives, which Luciano begrudgingly thinks is a cute way of asking. They are an hour apart.

I got to work on an essay now Xo but I'll talk to you later? :o yeah? :O

Luciano inhales sharply at the message on his walk home from school. Usually people are begging to get away from talking to him, it's rare to have someone so eager to speak again. He sighs, a small something happy, and responds.

Good luck on your paper, talk to you later.

"Hey fucker!" Luciano whips his head up to see Allen making kissy faces at him and flipping him off simultaneously out the window of his brother's truck as they drive by. He didn't know how the smile on his face would get wiped off, but that sure did it.

Next time, call me

The day that TinyPasta doesn't message him puts Luciano in a dizzy. They've been talking every day, maybe for an hour, maybe more, for about a week now. So when he doesn't get a message from his new friend at the usual time, at first he shrugs it off, saying they're busy, maybe finally got in trouble for having their phone out in class. It doesn't stop him from checking his phone every hour, then every half hour, then fewer, until he has his phone in his hand the whole walk home.

When he wakes up the next morning, with still no message from his friend, he sends him one immediately. He decided not to the night before, trying to chalk it up to them being busy. He decided to ignore that logic upon waking.

Morning, how are you so far?

He takes a deep breath and tries to ignore the bubble inside him that is rubbing him raw with worry. He does his best to focus in class, even going as far as to keep his phone in his backpack the whole time. It's no use worrying, probably. His feelings are apparent during lunch when his friends pick up on his more foul than normal mood.

"What's up with you?" Lutz asks, giving him a disturbed look. Luciano huffs and refuses to answer, just shrugging in response.

"Luciano's upset his texting buddy isn't talking to him," Allen teases, snickering to himself. He's lucky Matt elbows him rather than Luciano. He's not sure he would have stopped with just an elbow to the stomach. He grits his teeth and waits as patiently as he can for a reply from his friend.

It's not until he's home and it's later in the night does Luciano notice the little notification signifying he has a message on his computer. He tries to swallow his hope at who it might be, but he finds his heart beating faster at seeing the familiar url.

Oh! D: i'm so sorry! DX I had.. I had some things to take care of and didn't have internet for a while.

Just like the first message he ever received from them, Luciano has to lean back away from this one, not because of the use of emoji's but because of the lack thereof. He raises an eyebrow at the words. It doesn't sound right. He sets his computer on his lap and types quickly.

What's wrong?

He stares at the computer screen until a new message pops up. He's been waiting and he wants to know if his friend is okay. He cares just enough for this situation to bug him, to notice that Tiny hasn't used the proper amount of little faces in their message.

Nothing! Why would you think that? I'm fine!

Liar. What happened.

It may sound a little more harsh than he means, but he knows something is wrong for sure now. They are hiding something and he wants to know what. At least, he wants to know for sure if his friend is definitely 'fine'.

I… I ran away from home..

Luciano feel breathless. He runs a hand through his hair, staring at his screen bug eyed. As much as he wanted to know what happened, he sure didn't prepare for an answer like that. Before he can respond there's a new message.

Im back now! Please don't be mad! I left because my granpa and brother were fighting and.. Its hard to hear.. So I leave for a while, and I didn't have wifi on my phone..

It takes a moment for Luciano to calm down. He is mad. Mainly because Tiny made a reckless decision that could have gotten them hurt. Family problems he knows all too well. Still, he feels angry, for not being able to do anything to help. He sighs and makes his own rash decision.

Next time, let me know.

He types out his phone number. He doesn't even know his friend's name, but that doesn't matter. If they need someone to talk to when things get out of hand, he wants to be there in some way or another. He begins to fiddle with his fingers when they don't respond right away, wondering if he's overstepped his boundaries when his phone buzzes multiple times. He picks up to an unknown number.

"Hello?" He says into the device. On the other end is a loud crash and loud yelling, followed by more loud yelling and a squeak. He waits patiently for the sound to go away, only to have it muffled when a door closes on the other side.

"Hello?" A soft voice says back to him finally. Luciano releases a breath, no longer having the time to figure out what he wants to say.

"This.. This is uh.. You right?" The other voice says and Luciano nods, then remembers they can't see him.

"Yeah, it's.. It's me." He can hear them breathe their own sigh of relief, then a few sniffles.

"You okay?" Luciano asks quietly. There's a whimper and then some more sniffles. They make a noise that sounds vaguely like a whine.

"Not really.." They say. It takes some coaxing, some small questions, but Luciano gets them to quietly tell their small story which then turns into a long story as they explain. When their grandfather and brother fight, they run away, to get away from the noises and the anger. They never leave for more than a few hours, walking around, but always when they come back, their phone is taken and so is their computer.

"Well that's fucked," Luciano says once he hears that. They sputter up a small laugh and Luciano feels good for a second, getting them to get out of their slump.

"Thank you," They whisper.

"Of course, I'm glad you're safe," He says back. There's a few more sniffles before they talk again.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now." Luciano can hear them shifting on the other line. He nods his head and again has to remember that they can't see him.

"Okay, good night." They mumble a goodnight as well, then the line goes dead. Luciano sighs and leans back in his chair, staring at his phone now dark in his lap. He smiles to himself, wondering, maybe hoping, that that phone call with Tiny won't be his last.

AN: Aaahhhhhhhhhh

Art Credit: Ask2p-Italy on deviant art, a dead account.