(( Oh Fuuka, how we wish you would shut up. I say Toasty goes first. 8D;; ))

[No fucking kidding. Can I kill her?]

There weren't many things that could get to him. He was cool, unflappable James Schant- every girl at this farce of a school wanted him, every teacher wanted him dead, and no one ever wanted him pissed at them. You could attack his gang. You could piss on his mother's grave. But this... insult... was intolerable.

One did not get assigned to punishment with James Schant and then not show up.

The teen's eyes, an eerie red that seemed to entice and frighten people at the same time, wandered the room with a look of utter boredom that was oh-so-common to him, his pale skin and strange eyes mostly obscured by equally pigment-less strands of hair, most of which was thrown back in a sloppy tail at the base of his neck. The fact that he was most obviously an Albino was driven in by the black clothes that so starkly contrasted with the rest of him, the only splash of color a long, tasseled red scarf that looked oh-so-European.

Oh, was he pissed. As the overbearing gym teacher smirked at him and suavely explained that he would be cleaning the halls today for his... transgressions... he imagined a million and three ways to roast the other kid's ass for dumping all of the work on him.

Jerk.

(( Nuuu. Lucia/Juno is needed. xD Maybe we can cut her vocal chords? 8D;; ))

Today sucked. Big time. Actually, the next few weeks would probably suck. Thanks to some asshole, whose name was kept secret for the sake of his life, Lain was stuck doing clean-up work... with the guy he absolutely hated. He took his own sweet time walking to the classroom, hoping the avoid doing the work as much as possible, but alas, he finally reached his destination. With a lazy sigh, he opened the door rather quietly and walked in. "Teacher kept me after class." Whether the coach would believe that or not, was the least of his worries.

Standing as far away from James as he possibly could, he half-listened to the instructions. Something about the halls. Mops. His focus was on the douche next to him, who was obviously just as pissed as Lain was, if not more so. I-hate-you-I-hate-you-I-hate-you-I-hate-you-I-hate-you... He repeated this over and over in his mind while glaring at the other student.

Lain had no significant reason for disliking the guy, besides the fact they were, without a doubt, enemies. And that was all he needed to despise him. His attitude only added to that; he spoke like he was above everyone else, asshole. And that scarf--what the hell was up with that? It's like someone threw a tomato on a black and white painting, thinking it would be artsy and a lovely finishing touch. Fucking hell.

His thoughts were interrupted as the teacher thrust a mop into his face. And a bucket. Apparently it was cleaning time. The prick practically shoved them outside of the room and named the halls that were to be cleaned. As the punisher walked off, he glared at his back thinking anything but pleasant thoughts. "Asshole."

[YES! She can be mute! Perfect!]

"Like hell he did." The second they were out the door and out of the teacher's hearing-range, he spoke. "No teacher would want to keep any of us after class... Otherwise we wouldn't be here." Smirking, James rolled up his sleeves and grabbed one of the mops, dipping it into the bucket of sudsy water that he had been given without delay. The quicker he got this over with, the less he had to see this punk-wannabe's face.

It wasn't even really that he hated the kid- what was his name, Lia, Lottie? Something girly, he remembered that much- as much as it was that the kid existed. James hated everybody, something that five years of counseling had no effect on... except maybe to make his hatred grow. The fact that he was the kid to pick on up until two years ago didn't help the fact.

Albino-freak. He'd heard a lot of that in his lifetime. He heard a lot more of it at this place, but it was easier to chalk it up to wimps trying to look tough so as not to get beaten into the ground. He had his gang, and he had his rank- people knew not to fuck with him.

This moron didn't, though. James found him detesting the black-and-neon colored thorn in his side more than others. Was he trying to guide airplanes down the fucking runway? "Oi." He glared at him, ivory brow twitching faintly. "Get to work, kid. Less time I have to spend around you the better."

(( Hooray! 8D But wait, what if she actually needs to tell us something important...? Nevermind. Like that will ever happen. lolol. Aw I'm so mean. D: ))

Lain stuck out his tongue. "Not like he knows any better." He stretched a little then resumed glaring; the idiot had gotten straight to work. The hell was his rush?

And what was up with his attitude? They hadn't really met until what--yesterday? Something like that. And the guy already hated him as if they'd known each other for life. Sheesh, who stuck a pole up his ass? Again, the scarf--eee! It annoyed him to no end for reasons unknown. He could care less that the guy was like a freaking ghost, he was just such an ass!

Having his thoughts interrupted a second time around, he twitched. Kid? They were the same age! Christ! He bit his lip angrily, trying to resist the urge to drop an f-bomb on his ass. "I'll take as long as I damn well please, thank you." With that, he strut to the opposite side of the hall, and began to mop as slowly as possible. Just to piss him off, of course.

The tedious work made him wish he'd brought some music along today--he totally forgot this morning that his CD player wasn't in his bag, but on his bad. So instead, he whistled cheerfully to fill the silence. Not anything particular, just randomly whistling. Ah, life.

[PFFFT. Puh-lease, ho. You ain't mean, yer honest.]

Oh. Oh hell no. If there was anything, anything at all, that James hated more than childish actions, it was whistling. The shrill sound pierced his unnaturally sensitive ears like the whine of a high-powered drill running right next to his ear. This was going to be a loooong couple of weeks, oh yes it was.

Gritting his teeth, he brushed his hair back from his face in an obliviously feminine way- no, growing up with only women around hadn't affected him at all- and tucked his scarf around his neck, unwilling to let it get dirty. Then he set to work on the floor faster. There was no point in procrastinating at something he had to do anyways, and he was a well-behaved teen not too long ago. Old habits die hard. Eyes narrowing, he nearly spun around to kick the other boy's teeth in.

"Shut up." He couldn't help it. The sound was giving him a headache, one that would develop into a full-blown migraine if he gave it the chance. The only thing he could have wished for more right now than a good reason to kill the kid was a pair of ear plugs. The last thing he needed in his life was to be stuck with someone as inherently annoying as this.

"Tche. The fuck is your name anyways, kid?"

(( Psssh same diff. xDDD ))

He blinked at James, not very surprised at the outburst, but he had to work so hard to not burst out laughing. Oh, this could be fun, more fun that he thought it would be. A small 'pfft' managed its way out and he let a grin slip. "Don't like that song?"

If not for the sudden question, he would have whistled something else, maybe an actual song. Dammit. How can a person hate someone else so much and not even know their name? His eyebrow twitched in annoyance, and he set about thinking of a way to tell it to him that he would find infuriating. That probably wouldn't be too hard. So, he eased his anger, and put his finger to his cheek thoughtfully.

"How mean~ You don't even know my name?" He tilted his head then smirked. "Lain..Wisteria. So stop calling me kid, we're in the same grade, yeah?" Letting out an exasperated sigh, he resumed mopping at snail speed.

[XDDD No doubt. Poor Fuuka... ... ... *cough* Not really.]

James sneered at him, but couldn't help but be relieved that the infernal sound had dissipated. "No one is different than anyone else. What's the point in knowing names? You're all the same to me." Eyes focused on his mop, he moved on to a new section of the floor.

Sighing, he pushed his hair back from his face, then freed his ponytail from his scarf to pull it out and pull all of his hair back. "And you are a kid. It reflects in your childish actions and rebellion." Replacing the tie in his hair, he resumed mopping, noting with satisfaction that maybe this wouldn't take as long as he had feared.

If he had been anyone else, mayhap James might have felt a twinge of guilt at being so unexplainably rude to Lain. Maybe he'd have turned and apologized, introduced himself, asked to start over.

If he had been anyone else, though, he wouldn't have been there in the first place.

So he stuck with his work.

(( Maybe if she had a better voice actor, people wouldn't hate her so much. :0 ))

Ooooh. Well wasn't he a badass! 'You're all the same to me.' Hahah! This guy was great. But he still pissed him off. "So you find names meaningless? Can I call you Cracker, then? That's much more exciting than James." Regardless of how he answered, Lain would probably call him this from now on. He relished the thought.

Lain would've gone back to work now, too, but that last comment was just a little too personal for his liking. At least, he took it personally. "Um. What?" Stopping in mid-moppery, he turned to glare at Saltine-Boy. Talking like he knows everything about me.. the fuck is his problem?!

Tightening his grip on the mop handle, he turned his deathly gaze down to the murky bucket of water and spat. That was it. One more lousy remark from this guy and he was outta here. He didn't have to put up with this shit from some prick he barely knew. It looked like they were almost done, anyway. "Don't talk like you know me. The hell is with you anyway? I've 'known' you for less than 24 hours and you're treating me like a pile of shit you've known for half your damn life."

[I love her! I just fucking hate her voice. And her lines. And her picture... Okay, so her only redeeming quality is her Persona. Shh.]

Oh, it was on. This kid was fucking begging for a war, and that's what he would get. Psychological Warfare was his specialty. All he had to do was do nothing until the other got pissed enough to attack him and get his ass thrown in holding. It would be sweet. "That was a good one. You're so original. I've never heard that before." With the bland way he was drawling the words, it was hard to tell if James was being sarcastic... but he sure as hell wasn't being sincere. Pale lips twitching in a faint smirk, he shrugged one shoulder casually.

"I don't give a shit what you call me, Raver. You're not worth enough for it to bother me." Yeah, that would probably get him nice and ticked. It had actually been a while since James had actually had a decent spat, and he was enjoying stretching his brain a little. Looking over his shoulder, he scoffed, eyes narrow and disinterested.

"I don't presume to know you- I don't particularly care to. Not even on my list of shit to do, I assure you. But when you're an open book, expect people to be able to read the pages. I treat you like what I see."

(( lol xDD I love it's design. Lucia/Juno is win. I pretty much like everyone's personas except for Akihiko and Ken. Nemesis is cool, but then it changes into that red one and it looks retarded. D: ))

Hmmm. He hadn't been trying to be original, it was merely the first thing that came to mind. Saltines were a wonderful snack, really. This particular one, however, was most likely stale. La-la-la-laaame-o. Lain simply shrugged back. Cracker it was, then.

Hahaaaa.. raver, what? Lain may or may not have been called that before, to be honest, he couldn't remember. It didn't get much of a reaction out him, probably because the term wasn't especially insulting, and if anything, it just threw him off.

Ohh, but that last little speech. Mm, perfect. Strike three. The mop handle made a small cracking sound in the silence. He finished off cleaning a muddy looking stain on the floor that was bothering him, then set the mop neatly against the wall. Then he picked up the bucket, walked quietly over to James, and set it down next to him. Lain stood in front of him, and got right up in his face, glaring in a rather displeased fashion. It all went downhill from there.

Unfortunately, Lain was a little on the short side, so the glare of death probably wasn't very threatening. Nonetheless, glare he did, even if he had to look up a little. "Right. Whatever, asshat. If I'm such an open book, then you totally failed at reading it. Good day, sir." And with that, Lain poured the majority of the water on the floor, then proceeded to pour the rest out on James head and leave the bucket there.

The hall fell silent again. Realizing that he'd gotten carried away, he took a quick glance up at the towering figure--now neatly adorned with a bucket--and took off running. Fuck.

[Yus. Mum was cracking up when she saw Lucia's design, just like 'WHAT is THAT?' I love it though. AND I LOVE NARCISSUS. <3]

In all his years of being teased, bullied, beaten into the ground, humiliated, made to eat dirt, and attacked on his way home from school, never had anyone taken a bucket of dirty mopping water to his head. His eyes narrowed, not in anger, but to keep the water dripping slowly over his face out of them. His shoulders hunched, tense from having expected a physical blow and having his expectation unfulfilled. Tense, he stared at the shorter boy, all in all a picture of the very devil himself bearing down on all in his path... but in truth, too shocked for thoughts, much less words or actions.

His eyes followed when the kid took off, and he slowly unclenched his fists as he turned the corner. Standing in the middle of the hall with a dented metal bucked on his head, drenched in dirty he-didn't-want-to-know-what, with the floor that had almost been clean now completely trashed once more, James Schant, unflappable, intimidating, and completely unpredictable, leaned back against the wall, put one hand to his face... and laughed.

He slid down against the wall slowly until he was sitting in the puddle of water, head tilted back, bucket still on his head, and cackled like an insane man, chest heaving between the sounds, wheezing for air that the laughter wouldn't allow. The sound drew teachers and monitors and disciplinarians alike, and one of them muttered 'fucking crazy nut-case, should be in the fucking loony bin' as a few of the stronger men took up the cause to drag him away.

He was completely unresisting.

--

When he woke finally, he was in the holding cell, lying bare on cool metal with a fresh change of his clothes- the shirt a deep red today instead of black- lying on the floor near the bars. The holding cell was for humiliation, teaching students a lesson. Unhurried, he pulled on his clothes and scarf, pulling his hair, still dirty from the mop-water of yesterday, away from his face.

"Oi, Casper! Let's go already, you've got labor to report for!" The monitor unlocked the bars of the cell, unsubtly trying to trip the albino up as he sauntered out of the cage, hands in his pockets. She failed, his long legs going right over her foot, and she scoffed. "To the gym, Casper. Gonna put your little arms to work today."

As he took his sweet time getting to the gym, he wondered how late he was for the work he was supposed to be doing, and if Lain had noticed he was missing today. Hehe... this was getting to be fun.

(( What's so amusing about it? D: LOL, Jessie was like.. 'She looks pregnant :O ' Narcissus is such a man-whore. :3 ))

Lain had spent the entire day dreading 5th period, the class he shared with 'Cracker'. For obvious reasons, he ended up skipping 5th, which made him feel much more at ease. Now, it was late afternoon, and he was feeling rather cheerful. God knows why, he could be facing a beast from hell any minute now. And for that exact reason, he did his best to get to the gym as early as possible, so that he may finish his work and run the hell away.

Nobody was in the gym this late--why would they be?--so Lain slid off his backpack and stretched. Now for the main problem: what was he supposed to do again? Unable to remember, he settled for messing with a basketball laying around, which was in dire need of more air. Maybe he could find the inflater-thingy somewhere, and give the poor ball some life. Nodding to himself, he adventured into the equipment closet, now having completely forgotten the task at hand.

But that was Lain for ya.

[I know, right? I think it's awesome. AHAHA. She DOES look pregnant. Pregnant with Fuuka. *dies* I know, isn't he? So gay, too. I mean, dude. He like, does this girl flap of the ARMS as his attack.]

Even with the bitch behind him prodding his back the entire way to the gym, James was frighteningly cheerful as he walked. Slouched, his hands in his pockets, face as bland as ever, he seemed without a care in the world... And thus his subordinates ran after seeing him, sure that some amazing miracle had happened and ready to spread the gossip. And he didn't even care. He even hummed slightly, no tune in particular, just a jazz beat that he had heard somewhere. Probably Lizzie had sung it to him when he was younger.

By the time he actually arrived at the gym, Lain was already there, and by the sound of it rustling around in the equipment closet. Looking around, he noted with amusement that today's course had been Gymnastics- too bad he had missed it, he wasn't half bad. Instead of setting to dragging the bars and mats away and setting up the court for basketball, which they were supposed to do, he quietly pulled himself up to sit on one of the higher bars, amusing himself with watching Lain's antics.

But that only lasted so long. "Long time no see, Neon." And if that slightly cheerful greeting wasn't enough to make anyone's skin crawl, then there wasn't shit that would.

(( Yeah same. xD I always just thought of it as a marble, no idea why. XDDD with Fuuka.. Hahah, very true. I'd feel embarrassed using him, he doesn't cover up much. 8D ))

Lain had been about to rejoice, for he found the air-pump-majig, but a certain voice made him simply release air. Something was different about the guy today; it was a little unnerving. He turned his head around slowly and saw James up on the bars. Rather amazed that he didn't start out by verbally ripping him to shreds, Lain turned back to the box he was rummaging through. "Yup--miss me?" Like hell he did.

Pondering how in the hell to get down from his awkward positioning, Lain stayed perched on the bars, acting as if he wanted to be there, and poke around through the box some more. "What're we supposed to do today?" Lain couldn't remember some things to save his life. Something with the basketballs--thats as far as his memory went, and oh, it was a long journey through his brain just to find that.

"Ooh, another." He pulled out another pump from the box and held it up victoriously. This was a rather stupid move on his part, because he still needed the support from holding onto the box. Without that support, he could easily fall... and he almost did. Slipping on the bars a little, Lain made a small squeak and grabbed onto the box--which also wasn't very smart, for this just made his situation worse. The box slid out towards him, and his feet slipped around on the bars some more. Without really thinking, he stabbed both pump tips into the wooden shelf and saved himself a few broken bones.

[XDDD I dunno. Nothing ever shows. It's just amusing to use him. <3]

If James wasn't utterly incapable of moving his facial muscles, he would have been sporting an ear-to-ear cheshire cat grin at the moment. He was extraordinarily bubbly now that he had found himself a new source of amusement. And his cheerfulness seemed to be making Neon nervous- all the better. "What do you think?"

Crouched up on the bars, he watched Lain like a cat tracking a mouse, searching more for something to get the boy ticked off like yesterday than actually interested in what he was doing. He shrugged, raising a brow. "You forgot? Early Alzheimer's, it seems. Supposed to be setting up the basketball court, not that anyone ever uses it."

There was a brief moment when he fell that James was frozen. Not even so much scared for Lain as for himself- they'd think it was his doing, and shit, that would suck. He already was going to be here longer than he wanted. But when the kid managed to catch himself, the albino smirked and hopped down from his perch easily, sauntering over to look up at him. "Having fun there, Neon?" He pondered for a moment, then reached up and yanked on the boy's foot, bringing him crashing down into James' arms.

Smirking wider now, he raised a brow at Lain. "Oh look, I caught myself a princess."

(( I know but he's just so effeminate. XD I hated using Nandi because it did this weird wiggle of its body and it looked absolutely retarded with its tongue sticking out and all. D: ))

Words could not express how Lain felt right now. He was humiliated, and pissed as hell. "P-Princess?!" Lain practically yelled in his face. Glancing back up at the wooden shelves, he spotted the pumps he'd worked so hard to find. He could go get them down.. but.. he really didn't feel like it now. The last thing he wanted to do is climb more.

"Set up the court. Got it. Now let me down before I kick you in the teeth." James had a fucking iron grip; he couldn't get out of his arms at all. It was enough that the dick had caused him to fall, but now he seemed rather pleased with his catch and all Lain wanted to do now was smack that stupid smile right off his face. As for Lain's face, it was rather red. He wasn't used to being carried--why should he? And so he resumed glaring at James counting the seconds until he could be free.

Ass.

[Truly. O.O Haven't used Nandi yet... and not sure if I want to, now. I love Lamia. She's just all... *waves hand* You're not worth my time...]

"You fit there so well, though." It wasn't much effort to keep the kid still- James wasn't that strong, but in that position it was hard to struggle enough to break a solid grip. Shrugging, James let him down, patting the shorter boy on the head, and rather condescendingly said, "You know, you're kind of a cute kid when you're pissed." Before said 'cute kid' could retaliate, James stepped away, setting to rolling the portable bars [which were probably a health hazard] off to the side, rather pleased by his little victory.

Looking back to see Lain still not moving, he snorted. "Hurry up, Princess, I'm not gonna do all the work, and the last thing either of us wants is to be stuck with each other any longer than necessary." Seemed like that little act of cheer had drained him, as James was back to being a douche. It was his forte, after all.

"Move it."

(( Ahahah, you'll have to make him at least. Ah yes, I love that too. XD Just pwns a shadow with a flick of the wrist~~ Orpheus is still one of my favs though, I love how he attacks/casts spells. Why do he and Messiah have to suck so much? /sigh ))

"Like hell I do." he growled. Lain had been in the gym no longer than 30 minutes and already he felt absolutely humiliated. If James hadn't moved so quickly, he probably would have gotten his hand bitten. And, 'cute'?! Screw it, this guy was weird as hell. Oh, if only there was a nice little rock sitting around somewhere. One that was perfect for throwing... Ah yes, he could see it now, aim and--

James' usual cocky banter brought him back to reality and he twitched at the new nickname. Remembering the pumps he'd worked so hard to find, he glanced up again, and shook his head. Screw it. Whoever was playing in the court could play with limp orange peels for all he cared.

"Don't order me around..." Lain grumbled, and set off to pick up some mats. Where was a bucket when he needed one?

[Oh, I will. XD Just haven't gotten to it yet. AND I KNOW. It's just like, so not worth her attention. <3 Ohyah. Orpheus is made of win. But he's pretty much useless after you get the compendium...]

It would seem that being in this hell-hole called a 'school' was beginning to affect him adversely. Oh, sure, flustering the boy was all well and good, but hell, everyone here loved gossip and God only knew the type of shit they could spread if he kept this up. Heading over to the wall, he started pulling out the bleachers, then reached up to grab a string that pulled down the basketball hoops from the ceiling.

He repeated the process four times, not saying so much as another word to Lain for a few minutes. When he was finally finished, he straightened out his shirt, which had steadily been riding up as he stretched himself to reach the strings, and glanced at Lain.

"Che. Can't take orders, Princess? Won't survive much longer here, then. The Seniors have been here a lot longer than you, and they don't like being disobeyed." He paused, then smirked. "Not that I care. One less rodent for me to deal with."

(( He's pretty much useless by level 10. OUCH BUUUUUURNED.
But actually if you spend an insane amount of time skill morphing with him, you can make a really badass one in the end.. and eventually a Messiah. ))

As James went around setting up the bleachers and hoops, Lain managed to put away most of the mats and a bit of equipment. Considering a majority of it was probably three times as heavy as he was, it was quite a workout. This probably depleted a fraction of whatever energy he still had.

He twitched at James' return, using that ridiculous 'nickname' of sorts again. His mouth twisted into a frown and he glared at the stale 'Ritz', looking rather uninterested. "Whatever." Lain sighed and walked a few feet away to a lone balance beam. Ah. This could be difficult. Glancing up from one end to the other, he quickly inferred that this would be... impossible to move alone. Well, he could drag it to the closet but that wouldn't be very efficient now would it?

He called over at James without turning around. "Hey. Help me move this junk, wouldja? It's like, five times my size, I swear."

[owo You're so mean. <333]

James leaned against the wall, comfortably watching as Lain inspected the beam. He was going to have to ask eventually, and James was just waiting for it. Of course, James couldn't carry it himself either, but hopefully Lain would be uncomfortable asking for help and James just might get a bit of a show out of it.

He was actually rather impressed that Princess had gotten that far on his own. The kid looked rather lean- but, much like himself, that didn't seem to be a measure of his strength. Chuckling quietly when the request finally came, he pushed himself off the wall and sauntered over, inspecting the beam. "Hn... That wasn't a very polite way of asking for help. I suppose I should, though..." With seemingly minimal effort [although he could have sworn that his arm cracked under the weight, he'd have to see the doctor about that], he lifted one end of the beam onto his shoulder, then watched Lain expectantly.

"Well?"

(( I kept him with me the whole game though. xD Leveled him to 32 I think.. no idea why. :0 And made him super buff with cards. Yup.. he was there till I made Messiah. XD ))

Lain raised an eyebrow; he didn't expect him to do that, quite honestly. "Right..." Making an effort not to break his back or arms, he went down to other end of the beam and lifted it up carefully. Instead of resting it on his shoulder, he just carried it, otherwise the beam would've been held at an odd angle. Damn height difference.


---


He'd been stuck doing miscellaneous jobs after school for almost 2 weeks now, and it was starting to effect his mood. Sleeping more, skipping more, eating less, and being more oblivious than usual. In short, he was rather worn out; the work had gotten harder. Bastards. That and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone hanging around him. Like--all the time. Though, taking his fatigue into account, he could just be crazy. Such were his thoughts.

Today's work required them to go out into the field, and put away more equipment. Joy. More heavy shit, just what he wanted. With a sign, Lain headed for the track, turning around every now and then with a hint of paranoia. Whatever it was, it was starting to get on his nerves...

[XDD Nice. I get rid of him the second I get the Compendium. Dunno why. Also, LOL LONG POST. Sorry. Got carried away. XD]

Harsh breathing permeated the air, the little room stifling in it's heat. A pained hiss escaped teeth as white as his skin as James pressed an alcohol-soaked cloth to the torn skin of his cheek, narrow eyes watering slightly both from the stench and the pain. His fingers wavered, and the cloth came away dirtied with blood and tiny bits of rock and whatever else he had been lying on while he'd been getting the tar beaten out of him.

He tried a laugh and it came out shaky, then wiped angrily at his eyes, cursing loudly as he realized he'd not washed the alcohol off of them. Sticking his hands under the faucet and blinking futilely to rid his eyes of the burn, he felt tears running down his cheeks and scrubbed angrily at them with the sleeve of his shirt.

He had known it was coming. Though he wasn't without his standing, there was only so far he could push the Seniors before they got tired of his insolence and taught him a lesson as they had done this morning. So he hadn't been all that surprised when they jumped him on his way to the main building... But that didn't stop it from hurting.

Most of the damage was taken care of. His ribs were bandaged- best he could do for them, really- both of his arms including his hands wrapped in gauze strips, and band-aids scattered over his body. He was pretty sure there was a torn ligament somewhere in his left shoulder, but he could get away without using that for a while, probably.

They'd left his face alone, of course. Couldn't let anyone know there was violence at the school, oh no, and he chuckled bitterly, leaving the minor scrape on his cheek that stung like hell to fend for itself. It was time to go to work- he couldn't miss this like he'd missed school that day. No, he didn't want those consequences following him.

So he set out, making sure to pull on fingerless leather gloves to keep his bandages hidden, and headed towards the field. If you knew him well enough, you might see the stiffness in his forced-casual slouch. But most didn't notice. They might have noticed that he startled every time someone came near him, but his glares kept their lips shut.

By the time he got to the field, he was feeling the aches and pains all over again. Preoccupied, he set to work, not even glancing at Lain. No snide comments, no orders, just silence as he put everything he had into getting this shit done as fast as possible so he could get back to his room, curl up, and go to sleep aided by as many painkillers and sleeping pills as it was healthy to take.

(( So mean! I feel obliged to keep him, I guess. Man, he has such an awesome design and he sucks. Such a waste! *cries* ))

You'd think he'd be the happiest person on earth if James walked by without so much as a smirk or insult directed towards him. You'd think he would be filled with joy that he didn't have to bother arguing with the guy for once. But, Lain didn't really like being ignored. No matter who was doing it. He narrowed his eyes, then jogged to catch up to the gloomy figure.

"SALTINE! Heyyyy, what's up. You're quiet today, it's kinda creepy, really." Lain gave him a nice manly smack/pat on the back along with his painfully cheerful greeting. Then, he had that weird feeling again, and glanced behind him. Still nothing. What was wrong with him today?