Passing Words [Kevin/Cecil]

Not for the first time, and far from the last, Cecil found himself sitting alone, dull to the world. As he sat back, he let the music streaming from his earphones fill his mind and take him away...not to any place in particular, but just away from his current reality.
Within his mind, the spectral being he'd found himself with that would cause him problems were it ever discovered was engaging in its usual pastime of harassing Cecil over the things it deemed a productive use of his time. The music did little to silence it, but at least provided a more than welcome means to try and ignore it.

As he sat there, people talked around him, occasionally commenting on him as he remained in his place, never saying a word.
Why wouldn't they? It was the way of people to talk and form ideas...especially when there was nobody to refute them.


======="Bet he's planning it all out for when he shoots the place up."

Kevin was on his way to the library when he heard a lot of unpleasant words from the people passing by the corridors. Gossips, baseless accusations and it destroys a lot of people. Kevin hated to hear gossips, why can't people just know the truth before spreading things? Ooh, The thought agitates Kevin and he stopped the bitchy-looking girl who is one of them. "Hey, you shouldn't spread rumors like that!" Kevin scolded the girl, who just gave him a smirk and a glare. "Why do you care? We're not talking about you!" The girl started to point fingers and seem to be annoyed from the scolding she got.


The girl didn't speak and she was sweating. What Kevin might be true. They didn't know anything about them. "If you're so persistent about the truth! Why don't you do us a favor and ask that guy!?" The girl pointed at a lone person sitting in the bench. The person was very family to Kevin and someone alone with headphones on? Yeah, he already knows who it is.

Cecil Erinforth, the guy he met on Vista Square. They had a little accident. and Kevin is a little bit shocked about that. He didn't seem to be the type of a gossip material. However, in their two meetings, Cecil didn't show anything that could prove those gossips. He was pretty nice and one of the people that Kevin can relate to. Kevin can't say they were friends but, he can't let someone get destroyed like that. Even if it is true, he wants to see the good in people. He wants to know, everything.

Kevin took a deep breath before going to Cecil, who seems to be unaware of his presence because of the headphones he was wearing. "Not this again..." Kevin sighed, he feels hesitant now. This will be the second time Kevin will be disturbing Cecil from his silence. But, Kevin is concerned about Cecil. Now, that Kevin's here, he can't turn back now. So, he slowly reached for Cecil's shoulders and tapped it. "Hey, what's up?" Kevin greeted Cecil. Then, Kevin would sit right beside him. "Can I sit?" Kevin chuckled, "Nevermind, I already did." Kevin couldn't get straight to the topic, he might hurt his feelings. He must do this slowly and smoothly without offending the person.

At the tap on his shoulder, out came an earphone, and Cecil looked to see who was grabbing his attention. "Kevin?" Well...there was someone he hadn't been expecting to see much of again. He cut the music as he took out his other earphone, letting them hang around his neck as the other boy took a seat. A small smile crept onto his face as the exchange played out. "Why bother asking if you were going to do it anyway?" There's no accusation in his tone - just a slight amusement.

...why was Kevin here, though? Why was he talking to him, rather? He only knew of one person that'd really approach him like this normally, and Kevin certainly wasn't him. So why was...?
...no, there was no point thinking on that. It was what it was, and he'd find out soon enough. Frankly, he was just glad for the company. Even if it wasn't typically a matter on his mind, he'd really been sorely lacking in social interaction, and he had no intention to chase people off besides.
He'd enjoy this while he could. It probably wasn't coming again for a while yet.
"So, a, ah...what brings you here? Wasn't...expecting to see you."

Kevin just laughed out the question. Yeah that makes sense, why ask when you've already done it? Anyways, that was for entertainment purpose for a careful approach. The laugh died out when Cecil asked what brings Kevin here. Kevin's face turned serious all of a sudden. "I came here because..." Kevin took a deep breath. "I heard something about you. They aren't good, in fact. I don't believe in it, of course. I don't know anything. So, I want you to be honest with me." Here goes nothing.

"...uhhh..."
Cecil was somewhat bemused at this moment.
He was not expecting to be subjected to a heartfelt speech of any kind. He wasn't even sure what Kevin was on about at this moment in time. He'd come up to him, greeted him, and...launched into a speech about how he wasn't alone and that he was there for him, and compelled him to let loose all his issues in this moment.
There was kinda only one way to respond to that.
"Kevin...? Just...what are you on about...?"
He appreciated the sentiment, he really did, but Kevin'd really jumped into this without much in the way of a leadup. He needed more to go off than this.
All he had to go off was that...people were...talking about him like some kind of monster...
The result of your not seeking to break isolation.
Ankou...
He grit his teeth as his face shifted from confusion to something more bitter.
Shut. The fuck. UP!
His eyes come back into focus on the boy in front of him, a strange look in Cecil's dark green eyes, and his tone somewhat resigned. "...just what are people saying, Kevin? What did you hear?"

"People w-were saying t-that..." Kevin stuttered, is he really planning to shoot this place up? There's only one way to find out. "People were saying that you were planning to shoot this place up." Kevin took a deep breath, the nerve is real he can't even properly breathe. "Of course, I don't believe in it. That's why I'm here, I want to help you. I want to prove to them that they're wrong about you. It's not true, right? You're not planning anything like that, right?" Kevin really wants to believe in Cecil, he really do.

Cecil's breath held. His fingers pressed against the surface of the bench, one by one as they laid atop it, while his canines dug into the inside corner of his lip.
It wasn't just the information that hurt. Oh sure, that was bad enough, but that wasn't all there was to it. No...the worst bit was the uncertainty from Kevin as he spoken. The nerve, the tone pleading him to say it wasn't so.
He said he didn't believe it, but he didn't sound confident on that.
That was the worst part of it.
"...no, Kevin. I'm not." His face twisted, even as he tried to hold it straight. "I don't know why anyone would think that...you, or...or anyone else." He started to let out a sigh, before it started to warp into a broken, bitter laugh. "Good luck convincing anyone else though. Bet you they argue or just ignore you once they've gone."
To the surface of his mind where his thoughts lay, the emotion he felt was not so severe.
Beneath that...it lanced deep.
He couldn't even muster a facsimile of calm, right now. This troubled him, and it was obvious...worsened by a pair of piercing white dots in his mind that told him he was to blame.

Kevin took an another deep breath, but this time in relief. "I guess rumors are just rumors, huh?" Of course, who's gonna plan something like that in Endymion? That's pretty crazy and reckless considering that the government is pretty tight here. "Yeah, I guess you can't convince everybody but at least, you know the truth yourself. You won't do it. That's all that matters. Gossipers are just good-for-nothing people with no life that's why they're nosy." Kevin shook his head, he went bananas there for awhile. "Ughhh.. I'm sorry for bothering you about this. I just want to know the truth that's all."

"Want to know the truth, huh?" Something about that statement grated against him, let alone after the sigh of relief that came after his refuting the one prior. "You already said you didn't believe it. So why'd you feel the need to make sure?"
A look went Kevin's way that seemed to try and pierce into him, demanding he really think both about what he would say, and what he'd already done before. "Just why did you consider it, Kevin?" His fingers started to press together against the bench's surface, slowly creeping to the edges to grip it. "You let it go easily, but for all I don't notice, this definitely had you tense. You were thinking about it. You sounded like you needed me to say no. Not that you expected me to, but that you wanted me to."
His mind turned back further, and the sound that came out was only half-laughing, too upset to properly hold any kind of humour. "You even started off like I was someone on the brink."

"Cecil..." Kevin took a deep breath, clearing his mind so his emotions won't get to him. He looked at Cecil with firm eyes, drastically changing from tensed to calm.


Kevin stood up from the bench, he's done here. All he wanted was to be a friend to Cecil, even if Cecil doesn't consider him as one. "I'm sorry... I went overboard. Guess what i'm trying to say was, if you need a friend, i'm here. You can approach me, anytime." Kevin threw a small card to Cecil. It's Kevin's calling card, it's something that he has always kept to keep him confident somehow. Yeah, he gave Cecil his number so he can talk to him, anytime.


Kevin gave Cecil an apologetic smile before waving goodbye, slowly walking out.

~Exit or Stop? Teehee~

...it still didn't feel good, knowing what he did. How people seemed to be speaking about him, thinking about him. Even by not doing things, he seemed to fuck things up, and now it seemed he'd managed to read into things the wrong way when someone tried to tell him - making him and Kevin miserable in the process.
Really, it didn't surprise him that he'd managed to screw up at dealing with another human being. That felt natural, to tell the truth. It was the way things were, and would continue to be forever onward. The thought had Ankou piping up once more, telling him he had to do more to change that...but he knew it wasn't something that ever would, his inner voice be damned.
What did surprise him was that there was someone that cared so much about what he thought of them, about being able to spend time with him. It just was not something he expected from anyone - outside his family, that was.
...fuck, he really needed to hang around with Dad and Rydia more.

He didn't want to leave things like this, that was for sure, but right now he was getting far too choked up to get a proper word out, let alone to stop him or go after him.
What the hell was...oh. Oh.
Before Kevin had the chance to get more than a couple of steps away, his phone went off.
Should he check it...

UNKNOWN NUMBER : Hey
A longer pause, and if Kevin looked back, he'd spot Cecil typing.
UNKNOWN NUMBER : I didn't even get a chance to give you my number.
UNKNOWN NUMBER : You mean it? You wanted to be friends with me of all people?
UNKNOWN NUMBER : STILL want to, even?

His eyes flicked between Kevin and his phone.

As Kevin stepped away, he felt his phone vibrated. He already knows who that is, either his Dad or Cecil, the only two people who knew about his number. So, he picked up his phone from his pocket and it was a text message from Cecil. Kevin looked back at Cecil, who was typing right now on his phone. Smiling at the blonde guy, he checked the phone messaged he sent. Like some anime drama movie, instead of verbally replying, Kevin replied the same way as Cecil did.

KEVIN: Of course

Two words are enough. He doesn't need to explain himself. The emoticon would give an assuring appeal as well. All Kevin wanted in his life was someone he can relate to. Well, he found one in the moment their fates bumped. Kevin stood there, waiting for an another response either verbally or through the phone.

The reply took a while to process. It wasn't the first time, but it was still bizarre to him that what was happening here was something real. That this was something that was actually happening, outside the confines of his imagination.
Not that this was something he had ever really imagined...even within the realms of fantasy, it seemed having a friend or two was beyond him.
But it sank in eventually.

CECIL'S NUMBER : I guess I'll be seeing you later then, won't I?

...so unreal, and yet real all the same.
Now there were two among the crowd he'd alienated.

As the phone vibrated again, Kevin took a look again at his message. This is actually his first time replying continuously with a friend. He only had his phone for the sake of communicating with his father, but this time it's different. It's a strange new feeling that makes Kevin fill with happiness, friendship. He never had a friend before. It makes him really happy that he made a friend.

KEVIN: Yeah, see you later buddy

Kevin pocketed his phone and looked at Cecil again, with a smile that he never smiled before. Then, waved his new friend goodbye and walked away, for real this time. Hoping that they can see again. Of course, they would see each other again. They are friends now, aren't they?

~Exit

A smile crept onto Cecil's face at that last reply. The upset and turmoil didn't fade as it did, the influx of happiness mixing with it to create a conflicting mix of feelings that had his lips quivering at the corners even as they turned upwards, but for a moment that wasn't important.
Tightening his grip over his phone slightly as he ran his thumb up and down on the side, he clung to that fleeting feeling of joy for as long as it would stay before it inevitably left like its kin before it.
The screen dimmed as he stayed like that before fading to black, Cecil's eyes resting on it just a little longer before turning downcast and drifting away.

Two friends in this place he now called his school.
Two friends he would have to hold close in the rest of his time here.

There wouldn't be any more coming, after all. He'd had all his miracles just finding these ones.