Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Simply, Alchemy ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: 'snap'

A/N:

Oh my, I bet you hate me don't you. Sorry `bout the stupidly long wait. I got carried away for a while so I didn't come back and edit this chapter for ages. You're lucky I did. I think I was asleep when I wrote it originally. And characters changed completely. So whatever, I'm still like “blerr” about this one. And then my internet died for a while, and I had a zillion tests at school. I'm alive now, and it's holidays in … 2 days. Ahh, that's so lucky. School gets tiring doesn't it? It's bloody cold right now. My fingers are frozen over, and I can't type properly. Whatever, here you are.

Simply, Alchemy:Chapter 02

Echo yawned as he pulled the car into an empty parking lot just outside a small hotel. It looked as if it had been standing for many years. Cracks adorned the brickwork and cream paint on the doors was peeled back to reveal an unattractive yellow-brown tinged wood. Suffice to say, by the state of the windows, this place wasn't the safest possible, not that it made a difference for one night. As long as it had a bed, along with running water, then they could make do.

The older of the two turned to face the young blonde who was still out cold. It would be the understatement of the year to say that the copper-haired boy was sickened by what he had found out about the kid. No, completely and utterly disgusted didn't quite cut it either. Of course, as one may expect, his “small discovery” had made his attitude towards the boy dig down through the centre of the earth until it became so hot, that any slight hint of kindness burned away. Then once it was satisfied with that, it stained the boy with vulgar thoughts and a craving for violence towards the kid.

Around six minutes after realising (three for surprised silence, two for silent gagging, one for incessant mumbling to himself, plotting his next move), Echo had kicked the boy in the side. Hard. “It's okay, he's a man, he can take it,” Echo had assured himself, the thought trying to push the other to the back of his overcrowded mind. The one that said “He's a pansy, you probably killed him!” Despite the impact of the blow and the suspicious “crack” noise associated with it, the blonde still didn't move. Perhaps this was training for becoming a rock, or rather, a boulder?

The fact that Alchemy's stick-like form refused to move, and instead lay flat on the ground, meant that Echo had had to conjure up a magnificent plan to get the blonde into the car. The plan which of course ended up as: Drag. Drop. Kick. Kick once more for good measure. Then repeat as necessary. If the boy could even move when he woke up, Echo would give him money. Well, imaginary money, but that's not the point.

Getting the 15 year old into the car was difficult, but getting into the hotel was a whole new story. Echo socked him in the stomach. No, guess not. He opened the passenger-side door and put his hands out to avoid having the boy fall out. He put his arms around his chest under his arms, and pulled him up a little, pausing just for a moment to gag at the realisation. Alchemy happened to be wearing a bra.

Nice, he'd really gone all out.

“Sick fantasies…” Echo grumbled, dragging the boy backwards out of the car, the blonde's legs dropping off the seat to the cold black ground of the car park, increasing the weight Echo had to support by about double.

“Ack!” he cringed as the sudden extra weight caught him off guard causing his knees to buckle. “Ah, crap.” Echo dropped the boy, making sure to put his foot out to break the force of the fall, so to not smash his little girly head on to the ground. Echo couldn't have him dead, as much as he might prefer it.

He slowly pulled his foot away so his head eased onto the floor, before he crawled half inside the car leaving a leg dangling out, to retrieve his belongings. He swung the bag over his back and bent down, trying to find that comfortable hold again. Once he had the boy tightly, he proceeded to drag the boy inside. Alchemy didn't really need the heels on his shoes, right?

He successfully made it to the room, and somehow managed to hoist the kid up onto the bed. The instant after doing so he cringed, hastily throwing the blanket over him. It was at that point that he made a mental note to lend the boy some proper clothes. He refused to be seen with another boy who paraded around in a mini skirt. No, he would sooner die.

As he sorted through his thoughts, he stared absentmindedly at the digital clock flashing green in the corner of the room. He attempted to process the information it blinked at him, failing miserably. His vision was blurry and shapes were difficult to make out. The events of the night had clearly messed with his head, leaving him with phantom screeching, echoing throughout his brain - enough to drive a person crazy. He gave up and walked over to the clock, his vision becoming clearer with each step.

He stopped when he was finally able to read “3:29”. Ah, oops. They would have to leave by 5AM if they were to keep to schedule. He looked around the room anxiously, before frowning. He'd thrown Alchemy in the only bed in the room, damn stingy hotel. Shuddering at the thought of sleeping within arm's reach of the blonde, he made his way to the couch. A little small, but it would have to do. He fiddled with the alarm on his watch, setting it to sound in an hour. A pathetic amount of sleep, but sleep nonetheless. He shifted in the chair trying to find the most comfortable position, before finally drifting off to sleep.

The steady “Beep, beep, beep” of the alarm came much too soon. Or so Echo thought, until he noticed Alchemy. What did the blonde think he was doing? He hung over Echo in his chair, and stroked the older boy's neck, staring at him hungrily.

Echo froze as his right eye twitched slightly. What a creepy face. He regained movement soon after and hit the 15 year old in the face with full force. Alchemy stumbled back slightly and shook his head, opening his eyes completely, and scratching the back of his own neck. And he was supposed to be where? Alchemy's eyes scanned the room as he fished through his memory. No, he came to the conclusion he definitely did not walk himself in here.

He looked at Echo with a blank expression on his face, and then turned to walk over to the counter. He filled the jug provided, and stretched as the sounds of boiling water filled the previously silent room, killing whatever awkwardness there could have been completely. Funny, his cheek stung, and his sides fell a little… “punched in”.

Click! The water finished boiling, and Alchemy reached for a cup before pouring a glass.

And then he drank it.

Straight.

Boiling.

Water.

Did this kid have no sense of hot and cold? Echo's eyes widened as the younger kid continued to pour the boiling liquid straight down his throat. Freak, was the only word Echo could think of. Oh, and cross-dresser came to mind as well. It was then he remembered to do something about the blonde's attire. He scratched his head, ruffling his copper hair.

“Okay kid, I don't know what you've got going on, nor do I really want to know, but you will not wear those clothes anymore, as long as you're with me,” he walked over to his bag, and began to pull things out.

“What? You mean I have to be naked?” Alchemy questioned, raising an eyebrow, but keeping the rest of his face straight, his voice dull and expressionless.

Echo could have thrown up, right then and there, if it weren't for the fact there was nothing in his stomach. He threw a pair of light denim overalls (questioning where they came from) and a plain white shirt hard at the blonde's face. The clothes knocked Alchemy back a bit, as he used one hand to brace himself against the counter, the other to hold onto the clothing

Menswear. Oh, so he knew. Well, he was going to find out sooner or later. It had been a while since Alchemy had worn something other than girl's clothing. He shrugged his shoulders and slipped off his school vest, dropping it on the floor and loosening his tie, before moving on to do the same his white blouse. Ooh, bra. He unclipped it and threw it to the side. Ahh, it felt good to not wear one of those. He reached up, hands above his head and stretched out. He let his arms fall back to his side as he looked at the clothing questionably. Boring. Either way, he threw on the shirt and began to slip off his skirt. Echo cringed and walked into the bathroom.

Alchemy laughed and scratched at the pale smooth skin on his legs. He pulled the overalls on, only bothering to pull one piece over his shoulder and clip it in. He adjusted the black sweat band on his wrist and looked at his legs. Thigh high white socks that now looked like stockings didn't go all that great. He walked over to Echo's bag pulling out short red socks. He didn't bother asking permission. Once they were on he slipped back into his sneakers.

It was ten past the hour. Echo was behind schedule. Maybe only by ten minutes but hey, late was late. He tossed his bag over his shoulder and grabbed Alchemy by the wrist. He was actually surprised the boy hadn't tried to escape. He hadn't taken any precautions while he'd slept or when he conveniently needed the bathroom. He sighed, and made a mental note not to mention it to the boss.

Alchemy allowed himself to be tugged along by the taller boy, stumbling occasionally. A small pain shot through his chest, making him seize up a bit. He put it down to eating something dodgy, which of course was completely ignorant of the fact that he hadn't eaten since around midday the previous day.

Echo flung open the front door, knocking it slightly off it's hinges, and walked straight into another person. A teenage girl at a guess. He squinted his eyes and looked her up and down, he had to make sure. There was no doubt she was female, only a girl could pull off a blue bikini top like hers. Echo couldn't be sure if she even had the bottom piece, but if she did it was covered by baggy gray pants. What rather sparked his attention however was the shower cap, simply sitting atop her head like a hat, not even attempting to hold up her green hair that had two pieces either side her face that reached her waist, while the rest was as short as the bottom of her earlobes. She released her right hand from its hold around the top of her left arm, revealing a cross-shaped marking of some kind.

“Well I like it there,” she smiled, showing off a glimpse of her sparkling white teeth, outlined by bright pink lipstick. “Don't you?” She cocked her head to the side, as Echo continued to look overly confused, for two reasons. 1: “Who are you?” and 2: “Did I even say anything about the bloody shower cap?!”

“You thought it though.”

Oh fabulous, one of those, “Haha! I can read your mind!” people.

“Anyway, I'm Cinnamon. It's nice to meet you both,” she said excitedly.

“And you're in my doorway because?” Echo questioned, scrunching up his face. She was a bit odd, but her body shape was disturbingly easy on the eyes, that's for sure.

“S'posed to have this room after you, but I'm a tad early.” She scratched the back of her head, and then adjusted the cap.

A tad? It was barely past 5AM. They didn't have to be out until 10AM. Echo rolled his eyes and pushed past the girl, not wanting to waste time.

“Oh wow! He's so cute! Can I have him?” Cinnamon squealed, pinching Alchemy's cheeks, causing the blonde to cringe. She looked up at Echo and tipped her head to the side. Before he could answer, she spoke again. “Oh, don't worry. I know he's yours,” she winked waiting expectantly for his reaction.

This girl was really starting to get on his nerves. She piped back up again. “What? It's obvious! It's completely suspicious too, the both of you coming out of there together, you clinging to him like that. And he's even got your clothes on!”

“ -!” And she knew that how?

“Stalking? I guess you could call it that. I saw all that with that, er, monster thing. You guys are involved in something supernatural aye? That's pretty exciting.” I guess she didn't need words from someone else to keep a conversation going. “So if I can't have him, I'll have to tag along I guess.” Her voice had gone dull, the expression trapped within the room behind them after the door slammed shut.

Alchemy growled. He was being treated like a “thing” rather than a human being. He wasn't anybody's property, nor did he want to be. He shoved off Echo's hands and began to walk away. Echo grabbed at the boy's waist. There was that pain again. Instinctively, Alchemy pulled out his sword, seemingly coming from his chest. Echo gawked. No, no that couldn't happen. He snapped out of his reverie when he found himself face to face with the tip of a very sharp sword, Alchemy staring at him, with his two-tone eyes that somehow seemed much darker than before. The hard gaze made the hairs on the back of Echo's neck stand up.

“Oh my, that was unexpected wasn't it,” Cinnamon said sarcastically. “You've figured it out, haven't you Echo?”

No, he really hadn't told her his name.

“You know what he really is, don't you?”

What was she saying? Alchemy whipped his head around and growled at her, diving on her, bringing her to the ground. He straddled the girl and held his sword to her throat.

“Not a word.” He whispered, just loud enough so the green-haired could hear.

Alchemy rose up off the girl and began to sway uneasily, having trouble staying on his feet. He tripped over himself, as Echo instinctively thrust his arms out to steady the boy. Alchemy pushed the older boy away and gestured for Cinnamon to come help him, as he replaced his sword into his chest. She draped his arm over her own shoulders and held him still.

“Hmm..” he mumbled, staring at the taller boy, looking half-asleep, eyes still darker than normal, almost as if he'd run off to apply eyeliner and come back again. A chill ran down Echo's spine. It was as if those eyes could see right through him. They made him want to run away, and lock himself in a room safe from outside entry. He twitched at the overwhelming feeling. Alchemy, clearly enjoying the older boy's expression, smirked slightly.

Then without warning, the blonde coughed, as if he were going to throw up, and then collapsed to the ground, Cinnamon not having the strength to hold onto him. Echo held his head, something was definitely wrong with this boy. No doubt. He shuddered and looked at Alchemy, sitting on the floor, propped up on his hands. He looked equally confused, as to why he was all the way down there. He quirked an eyebrow as he directed his gaze to Echo, who was shaking. It was slightly amusing.

“-going.”

Alchemy frowned. “Compete sentences, please,” he looked dumbly at the older boy, as he spoke in a silly voice.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We're going. Now,” he instructed, trying to hide the unsteadiness in his voice. The event had sure shaken him up.

“Yay! Exciting! We're moving on!” The girl reached down and took Alchemy's extended hand to help him up.

“Well I know we are, but you most certainly are not,” Echo said arrogantly.

She shrugged and clung onto Alchemy's arm, as if his words meant absolutely nothing at all. She refused to let go of the blonde and walked with them to the car. Or rather, Alchemy and Cinnamon skipped, and Echo marched, his body soldier-stiff. Alchemy poked around at his own head, while trying to remember who the girl clinging to him was exactly, but more importantly why she was clinging to him. He grinned as she tried to get into the car with them. He wouldn't mind some friendly company, but apparently Echo wouldn't allow it.

“Aww, why not?” she whined.

“If you're going to follow, find your own transport. You must have got here somehow. Where's your car?” Echo retorted.

“I flew,” she deadpanned. “But, for now, I want to sit with Alchemy,” she said, grinning again. Echo could swear she was sparkling.

Alchemy flopped his head from side to side as the car flew down the street, the only sounds being the engine, and the faint whistle of the wind through the partially open window on the driver's side. Even Cinnamon was being quiet in the back seat. Instead of talking, though, she attempted to copy Alchemy. He puffed his cheeks, poked his nose, scrunched his face, and finally began attempting to touch his eyeballs without flinching.

“What are you doing?!” Echo screamed, finally snapping.

“Hmm…” Alchemy mumbled, “I'm bored!” He smiled stupidly poking at the roof of the car.

“Agreed! Agreed!” she said, imitating his smile, and poking the roof as well.

Echo gagged. No wonder he would have got away with being at that school. He was as girly as they came. Which reminded him.

He was interested now that he had gotten over the original shock slash disgust. “Why were you at a girl's school anyway?” Wouldn't hurt to ask right?

Wrong. Alchemy seized all action. He hated that question. It brought back memories. Of that night. Of his mother. His eyes narrowed as he turned to stare out his window. Cinnamon stopped mucking around and leaned in forward. She hadn't been following long enough to know about any of this. Echo furrowed his eyebrows. Something was strange; not right. Nevertheless, he ploughed onward.

“Oi, I asked a question kid,” he pushed, ignoring the fact that the younger boy didn't want to talk about it.

“So,” Alchemy whipped his head around, his voice suddenly dark, “you asked, and I have to answer? What about this then. You answer me first, and I might think about it. Where are you taking me? Who are you taking me to? Why do you even care? And of course you'll answer me- right?” He smiled again, but it was clearly empty. Fake. His eyes didn't light up like usual, heck, they didn't even change. He unlocked his seatbelt and folded his legs up underneath him, not bothering to buckle back in.

“Uh, well-” Echo bit his lip. Alchemy was in that `creepy' mood again.

“I said-” he clambered over the console between their seats and rested himself down on his lap, until he was just inches from the copper-haired boy's face, “of course you'll answer me.”

Echo swerved to the side, his vision partially impaired by the boy. He pulled the car to a stop as he tried to shift the blonde off him. Apparently, he could be very heavy when it was convenient. He gulped as he tried to put as much distance between their faces as possible, his head eventually knocking into the window.

“Useless,” Alchemy whispered as put his hand on Echo's shoulder, and moved his lips closer to his neck.

“You understand, don't you? You should have figured it out by now,” Cinnamon whispered, with an all-knowing look on her face.

Echo's eyes were so wide they could have fallen out of his head, if it weren't for all the nerves connecting them. His breathing grew heavy. What was he trying to do? His vision swam as he sunk his fist into the younger boy's stomach and opened the door of the car, falling out, leaving the thing clutching his stomach, half on the seat, half on the floor. Cinnamon slipped through to the front seat, and began to nurse the blonde.

Echo panted, and put his hand to his neck.

Close.

Close to what, he didn't really know for sure. But there were a lot of thoughts and suspicions floating around inside his muddled up brain. And Cinnamon had mentioned it was something. “What he really is”. He let out a small laugh, now 110% out of it, and fainted.

A/N:

Yeah, what is there to say? Oh, yeah, Cinnamon is an annoying character isn't she? Ahaha.. (Sorry if there's weird grammar mistakes or something in this chapter!) Reviews please. Maybe. Whatever. I don't care. Don't expect a quick update. That's just a general “Beware of author's laziness” kind of thing. I don't update regularly. Maybe quick, maybe slow, maybe in between. Who likes Miyavi? Because isn't he just fun :D

Jika~