Angst And Antagonism

Whoops

Last chapter was a filler, because I wasn't home and I didn't have my flash drive, so I didn't remember what I'd originally written for chapter three. This might not fit together very well, and I'm sorry about that.

Just think of it as after the events of last chapter, they continued talking about the fight stuff from Chapter Two.

"But, you're just like Soul and Maka! That's awesome!" Ryan fan-girled. He was practically squealing with glee.

"Conner does not look anything like Soul or transform in to a scythe at will. I don't look anything like Maka. We are not just like Soul and Maka! Please take this seriously! What do you mean, we fight together?" I yelled at him, momentarily snapping him out of his reverie.

"It means you can channel Conner's energy in a form that's harmful to demons! That's so fucking cool!" he screamed.

I didn't bother saying anything, just punched him in the face. It was not a soft punch. He'd probably have a black eye by tomorrow. I walked out of the room and found my way to the front door. I heard Conner's footsteps behind me and Ryan's groan from down the hall.

Conner didn't speak as he walked beside me. We made it to our houses and I walked up to my porch and unlocked my door. I shut it behind me as I made my way to my kitchen. I decided that Ryan was completely off his rocker. About an hour later, I took a shower and as soon as I got out, there was a knock on the door. I hurriedly put on pajamas and opened it. "What the hell--Oh, hey, Conner."

"Can I borrow your shower?" he asked, his voice shaking. It was at that moment I realized he was soaked in blood. I backed up to let him in and he stopped to take off his messy shoes. How sweet, I thought, even caked in blood he's thoughtful. His big grey eyes were shimmering and I thought for a second it was because of tears. His voice was steady though; I honestly didn't know what to think.

"Conner, what happened? Are you alright?" I asked, genuinely concerned. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He shuddered. "It's not mine." He continued to shudder, and I felt sorry for him. I may not have known him very long, or been very nice, but he was still kind to me. He was very considerate and tolerant and I felt the need to help him as much as possible.

"Well, you go shower, I'll toss your clothes in the washer. Or go get you some new ones. If you want, we can talk about it later. Or never." He looked at me gratefully. I grabbed my car keys and headed out the door. I drove down the street and turned a few times until I was moderately certain I was going in the direction of Walmart. I may and/or may not have gotten lost a few times; it was a big town, after all. There are so many turns and alternative streets, you just need to learn one road to get you in the general area of where you need to go and use it for everything. I use the road to get to my college to get to restaraunts and stores; I don't know anything else. It was way easier than actually carrying a map or buying a GPS.

I was never one for late night shopping, but I wasn't just going to let Conner sit around in bloody clothing. I ran to the men's section and grabbed a couple graphic tees, a pair of pants, and other things. Shopping for males was really uncomfortable. I got hit on twice and got myself out of it by saying, "I have a boyfriend. He'll be here in a few minutes."

I checked out, then ran out of my car. I drove as quick as I legally could to my house. I pulled in to my driveway and walked to the door. I opened it and found Conner in my kitchen. I threw him the bag of clothes and he walked to the bathroom to replace his towel with actual clothing.

He came out a few seconds later in pants and a T-shirt. "Thank you. It's really uncomfortable, standing in a kitchen without pants."

I kind of grinned at him, and said, "No problem."

"Did I just see you smile?" he asked. "I'm pretty certain that was a smile. You finally smiled." He laughed at my frown. "I saw you smile. Get over it."

I rolled my eyes at him. I turned my back to him, which was a mistake. I didn't keep my eyes on him and he took advantage. He picked me up and flung me over his shoulder. "Put you down, you savage," I yelled.

"Are you going to admit that that was a smile?" he asked.

"Fine, fine, it was a smile. Now put me down." He threw me up in the air and I squeaked. He caught me easily and put me on my feet.

"So, um, about earlier. I went back to Ryan's house." He suddenly looked like he was going to cry. "Well," you could hear him forcing back tears and it was heart-breaking, "Ryan's dead." The floodgates opened, and he started sobbing. I pulled him to me and wrapped my arms around his neck. I lead him to the couch, where I sat down, and he lay there with his head in my lap. I stroked his damp hair, and let him cry himself out on my jeans.

"It's all my fault," he cried after a while.

"No, it's not," I told him firmly. "It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing." He fell silent and continued to cry.

"He was my only family, Cleo. My parents are dead, my brother's dead, my grandparents are dead, and now Ryan. He was the one who looked out for me after my brother died. He got me through school, fed me, sheltered me. I never even got the chance to repay him. I was going to be an English teacher, work a lot, give him some money to get him through the month..."

"Oh, honey," I whispered sympathetically. I knew what that was like. I'd been in the same place. Except the one person I thought I could trust ended up betraying me. My parents died in a car crash when I was young. My grandparents were long since gone. I was an only child. My cousin took me in, but when someone gave him money to hand me over, he took it and gave me to them. Ever since, I've held a grudge against everyone.

He stopped sobbing and just fell asleep. I felt him stop quivering gradually and stopped stroking his hair. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the couch as I fell unconscious.

I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs, neither of which I had. I sat up and noticed I had a blanket on. I smiled slightly and walked in to the kitchen. Conner sat there, trying to put a small flame out with his shirt. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and shot it at the fire.

Conner grinned sheepishly. "Surprise?" Laid out before me was a variety of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I was actually pretty impressed.

He set the table and pulled a chair out for me. He filled a plate and put it front of me. "Oh, thank you," I said as he handed me a fork. I knew he was a nice guy, but this was over the top.

"No problem." He walked out of the kitchen, pausing at the doorway. "Hey, I'm going to go my house for a little bit. I'll come back later if you want."

"Alright. Let yourself in if I'm not paying attention." He nodded and I heard the door shut a few seconds later. I didn't know what to do, so I decided to shower and play my PS3 for a little bit. Of course, a little bit ended up being several hours, although I did finish Portal 2 and most of the Companions' quest line. I also figured out how to make Jello successfully, and I must say it was pretty great. After all this, he still wasn't there, so I just sat back down and continued playing Skyrim.

He came back three hours later. I was still sitting on my couch playing Skyrim and he sat down beside me. "Ew, you use iron arrows?"

"I don't have another choice. I had to pay off my bounty in Markarth because the fricking guard saw me before I saw him. I'm out of gold and iron is all I have. Get over it."

"Also, what kind of loser buys horses? Finish the Dark Brotherhood quests and get Shadowmere."

"Look, asshole, I did not ask for your advice. I am honestly getting really tired of this. So, if you want to stay alive, please stop dissing the way I go about quests. Your sass is not appreciated. A'ight?"

"Sure." He got serious for a few seconds. "I think I may know who killed Ryan."