Slamming the door to his locker, Cal slung his pack over his shoulder prior to storming off down the hall.
When he had started his morning, he could feel Malecai's gaze upon him from the moment he got downstairs to the moment he sat down for breakfast. When mentioned, the older man acted as if he didn't know what the teen was talking about, leaving a growing annoyance to slowly simmer. To make matters worse, his guardian had even offered him a ride to school when he knew Calix did not care much for riding in the vehicles. Furthermore, he had received a text every hour on the hour pertaining to the same question of his current well-being. He literally had to put his holosphere on silent before finally opting to keep the thing in his locker.
However, that was just the morning of a long day.
In his first class he forgot that he had left his term paper on his desk, resulting in an automatic fail until it was submitted and shared with the rest of his classmates. For his second and third classes, he had forgotten to actually do the homework, leaving him to gain a detention from each of his teachers. At lunch, he nearly slipped in a puddle of juice but safely avoided that merely to sit in a spilled dish of mystery meat. To make it even better, they ran out of the one of the better lunch items, one of his favorites, leaving him with some odd-colored slop he wound up pushing away.
For his PT class, he realized he didn't have any of his fitness clothes and the ones leant out to him were dirty and smelled musty. Left with nothing but that, he wasn't exactly top pick in the session's round of Aeroball. Plus, within fifteen minutes of the game, the raven rolled his knee out of place, leaving him to get sent off to the infirmary. By that time, it was a mild throb but Calix had a hunch that the day wasn't completely over yet.
In his fifth block, his computer course, he looked everywhere for his school ID. It acted as a keycard for him to access the school's internet, his records, his assignments, and just about everything else.
Basically, he was screwed without it and the school would rip him a new one if he had actually lost it.
Dammit…
"Calix Lefay, please come down to the office." Said person looked up from his computer screen. "Mr. Calix Lefay, please come down to the office. You have a guest."
Looking over at his instructor, Cal held in a sigh of relief that he'd be excused from the current assignment. Being told to take his things along with him, given the time of day, the raven collected his items hurriedly before walking out.
Door closed behind him, he made his way down the hall grudgingly when he began to think it was a certain grey-eyed man that had come to pick him up early. The man had done that before, though on different circumstances, making this time around rather unwanted.
Frankly, Mal was being too worked up over this.
I'm going back to class after this…
Walking into the office, Cal looked over at the secretary before being redirected to the side conference room down the hall. Never having to go in there before, he raised an eyebrow at the woman sitting at her desk before being shooed towards the room. And sighing to himself, Cal bowed his head before pushing the door open.
"Malecai, I'm f-" Shifting his bag uncomfortably, brown eyes locked with a familiar pair, a slight tremor running the length of his spine. "You-"
"Close the door and sit down." The teen remained frozen. "Close the door and sit down. I will not say it again."
Looking back over his shoulder, Cal took a hesitant step forward before doing as told, mind reeling in the process of it all.
"H-how…?" Calix trailed off. Watching as a card, his school ID was placed on the table, the teenager stared at the thing as if it was foreign before looking at his guest in the same way. "What do you want?" Oddly-colored eyes blinked once. "Evren…?"
"To talk," he replied monotonously as he rested his hands in his lap.
"About…?"
From there, it was just quiet. When the bell actually rang, it donned on the student that the two of them had been sitting there for about a good thirty minutes. Every time he went to move, the officer's gaze remained fixed on him in an almost scrutinizing fashion. And, deciding to do the same since nothing had been spoken by the time the tardy sounded, Calix folded his arms.
Avoiding the cold, yet strangely collected gaze, Cal observed the halo present along the head of pale tresses. There wasn't an actual ring of light, but from the lighting in the room, it was pretty close. Then there was the color of the officer's hair. Where it had once been a dirty blonde years ago, the strands were shorter, save the somewhat longer bangs, and almost bleached. From the look of it, it didn't look as if the man had dyed his hair since his eyebrows were almost the same color. The odd feature of his hair, however, was that not only was it white but it held faint yet almost distinct strands of purple. Again, despite the peculiar color, somehow Cal didn't think the officer dyed it.
He seemed too straight-lace for that.
Compared to his hair, his skin was just as ashen. It wasn't a snowy white but it wasn't entirely normal either, perhaps a bit darker than that of an albino, but a lot paler than that of one that was confined to a dark place. It seemed to stretch taut against the man's jaw, presumably from clenching. The bit of color present wasn't much, just a faint grey under his eyes from perhaps a lack of sleep. Even more, what really caught the teen's eye was the dark looking mark marring the white flesh.
"Your neck." Mismatched eyes blinked once. "There's a mark on your neck," Calix reiterated before the other tugged on his collar to cover it. "No, let me see it."
Reaching out to move the collar, Calix shrank back as his hand was swatted away. Initially he would've been annoyed by the gesture, perhaps even retaliated but when he saw how fast the other pulled his hand back, clutching it to his chest, the teen sat down in his seat, flinching when sharp eyes landed his way.
"Are-"
"Why were you outside?"
"Are you ok?" Calix asked, disregarding the question. "What happened to your hand?"
"None of your business." Lowering his hand, Evren then proceeded to adjust his collar prior to giving his attention to the teen once more. "Why were you outside at that hour."
"That's none of your business." Folding his own arms, he then leaned back in his chair. "Care to tell me why you let me go?"
"Did you not want to be let go?"
"No, don't get me wrong, I did and I appreciate that and all if you're looking for a thank you, but why'd you let me go?"
"I didn't have to, you know?"
The raven leaned forward, a slight smile in play. "But you did release me, and without a ticket no doubt." The white-haired man presented one, watching the mild surprise and disdain flit across the other's face. "Yeah, well, you still let me go."
"Though I didn't have to," Evren replied slowly to add emphasis. "We could've thrown you in a jail cell for the night."
"But you didn't. Why is that?"
"Look, kid-"
"Kid? You're no more than a year or two older than me, Ren." Said person raised an eyebrow at the name. "Besides, call me Cal; I know you know it."
"Ok, Cal," Evren began, "why were you outside?"
"Ask me something else."
"Like what?"
"Well, I don't know. Ask me how I've been for the past decade or something."
"Why on earth would I ask or care for that matter?" the officer asked. "What you've done is none of my concern."
Sitting up slowly, Calix placed his hands in his lap prior to dropping his gaze to the tabletop. Feeling his eyelids shut, he remained quietly, the only real sound coming from the faint hum of the ceiling lights. Sighing quietly, the teen sat up a bit straighter before opening his eyes once again.
"Ren."
"Don't call me that."
Brown eyes shifted to look at the man. "Why?"
"That isn't my name," Evren replied. "If you're going to address me, I'd prefer you to say my full name."
"Ren-" Said person's face flattened, making the other grimace. "Evren."
"Yes?"
"No, Ren."
"Definitely not."
"Ren-"
"Mr. Lefay-"
"Don't call me by my last name."
"I'm trying to keep this professional."
"Profess-come with me."
"Remain seated."
Rising from his seat, Calix rounded the table as he extended his hand. "Come with me, Ren."
"I told you to sit, and I'm not going anywhere with you," came the reply.
"You don't have any room to object." Grabbing the officer by the arm, the raven hurried out the room and down the small hall. Passing the secretary, he gave a brief wave before running out of the office with the white-haired man.
Cutting down hallways and rounding sharp turns, Calix finally exited out the school and came to a stop on the sidewalk.
Once he regained his bearings, and before Evren could protest, he began pulling the man down the sidewalk. Sparing a glance at the squad car outside his school, Cal turned away from it as he began pulling his the other away from the building altogether.
"Let go."
Shaking his head, the raven continued for at least another ten minutes, actually surprise that the other hadn't said much in that time, yet alone followed that far.
Then again, Evren wasn't Evren.
He's an officer, a task officer, his thoughts reminded, making him jerk his hand away.
Distancing himself from his old friend, he turned around to face the man before glancing over at the dark mark marring the side of his neck.
"If you're done staring at me," the older male said, fixing his collar to cover the mark, "care to tell me where you're trying to lead me? I don't have time to run around and entertain you. I have work to do."
"Just…just follow me." The other's eyebrow arched slightly. "Please? An hour at the most, ok?"
Not receiving a response, Calix hung his head as he averted his gaze.
"An hour, nothing more."
Looking up, the teen studied the other before a faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Ok."
- † -
"Why here?"
Opening his eyes, Calix stared out at the old district of the now shining city. Looking towards his reluctant companion, Cal watched as the other brushed aside the longer, white-colored bangs from his face. The sunlight shining down seemed to lighten the color in the officer's cold looking eyes. The light also added a bit more warmth to his pale-colored skin, making him appear just a bit more normal with subtle changes. It was also a nice change to see that the man wasn't wearing that intimidating uniform for once.
Instead, it was a nice white, button down shirt. It didn't seem to be overly starched, yet wrinkle-free. The somewhat high collar rustled now and then in the passing breeze of the rooftops while the unbuttoned cuffs appeared to the same. The hand that usually reached for a holstered weapon remained at his side as the other was hidden away in the pocket of black slacks.
Casual.
Dangerous nevertheless…
"Mr. Lefay." Aforementioned blinked out of his thoughts to see the mismatched pair of eyes slide his way. "Why did you bring me here?" Evren inquired. "I have better things to do than look at this decrepit area."
"We used to live in this decrepit area."
"Excuse me? I've done no such thing."
Walking past the officer, Calix stood along the edge of the roof as he looked out at the crumbled road below. "Sure you-we have." That earned him a somewhat bated stare. "We used to run all over this place."
"Why on earth would I do something like that?"
"It was fun."
"That's not my definition of the word fun."
Cal shrugged before looking back at the man. "It was our definition of it. We made it fun."
"Stop saying we. There's no we," Evren stated. "I've never been here before a few months ago and I don't know you."
"Yes you do."
"No, I definitely do not. If anything, you're just some crazy kid with a knack of getting in trouble."
"Heh, this coming from the kid that was able to lose a small squadron of officers all by himself."
"Why would I run from the police?" Evren asked, growing a bit more annoyed. "And don't call me a kid."
"Ren-"
"Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going now," the officer interrupted.
Facing forward, Calix lowered his gaze to observe the old vehicles littering the grounds. "Have you seen it? There's a tree that grows in the middle of the park; a park so large and green."
"If we just sit here in July, we can watch the leaves blow on by. See how they fall, see how they fly? Some are small, some are large, some are yellow, and some are green."
"The bark is smooth, the bark is hard."
"To have trees cross the entire yard-"
"-would be nice, would be fun."
"Too bad that there's only one."
"But have you seen it? Do you know where it is?" Calix asked.
"That tree, it grows in the middle of the park; a park so large and green," Evren finished as he stopped.
Looking over his shoulder, the older male's gaze locked with the dark brown pair. "Ren," the raven said quietly.
The tone was steady, gentle.
"Ren…"
The name was friendly, sincere.
"Ren."
That word, however brought a twinge.
It hurt, it throbbed.
It gave the officer a headache.
"Are you ok?!"
That voice felt like something from a vague memory.
"Shut up," Evren muttered more to himself than to the other.
"Ren."
"Shut up." That was much louder as the officer brought up a hand to hold the side of his head. "Just…just shut up."
"Are you ok?" Calix asked, taking a small step forward when his companion didn't reply. He then came to a stop when the hand in the man's pocket removed itself as well as a small firearm. "Ren…"
"What did I just say?"
"Are you ok, Ren? Tell me."
"I told you not to call me that." Redirecting the pistol so that it was aimed at the student, Evren took a deep breath the try to stave off the growing migraine. Another throb made the man step back, lowering the weapon steadily.
Furrowing his brow, Cal stepped forward, merely stopping when the other raised his weapon once more. "Ren-"
"Stay away from me," he ordered as his finger curled around the trigger slowly. "I don't know you, and stop calling me that."
"But-"
"Just stay away from me," Evren growled before taking off.
Running over to the edge the other had disappeared over; Cal looked down to see the other pulling himself off of a dumpster he landed on. Seeing the indent from the impact of a six story drop, Calix grimaced when he saw the officer limp momentarily. Catching a pained, and what almost looked to be a fretful stare, Cal knelt down, watching just in time to see his old friend hurry out the alleyway and disappear from his view altogether.
"Ren…"
- † -
Climbing out of the squad car, Evren hung his head as he leaned against the sleek model. Shutting his eyes, he inhaled deeply, slowly, as his fingers threaded through his pale-colored hair. Hardly catching the faint sound of footsteps that were not of his own, Evren cracked his eyes open the moment another set of fingers began to slide through his hair. They soon opened bit by bit when the other set of digits tightened suddenly to pull his head up.
"Where have you been?" Mismatched eyes blinked lazily as if trying to come back into focus. "Evren…"
"Out," came the reply. Swatting the hand away, Evren then straightened as he tossed the keys towards his leader. "Now, leave me alone."
"Evren." Said person kept walking. "Get back here!"
The officer gave him the finger.
When nothing else was said, Evren turned the moment his wrist was grabbed. Glaring at the man, he startled though he did well at hiding it behind an emotionless façade, as he was pushed against the wall of the garage. Grimacing when his limb was wrenched behind his back, Evren rested his brow against the cool brick before sliding his eyes shut again. Feeling his collar being brushed aside, the man clenched his jaw subtly when he felt a finger trace the mark marring his porcelain skin. When pulling away failed, Evren hunched his shoulders.
"Tyson-"
"Where'd you go?"
"Nowhere of importance."
"Then tell me."
"No."
"Evren…" the raven drawled, reaching into his pocket to withdraw the other's firearm, "…tell me."
Listening to the click of safety being taken off, followed by the touch of cold metal along his brow, the officer straightened before turning to face the man completely. "Pull the trigger if you're serious about shooting me," he replied coolly, "but don't play games with me because, frankly, I don't have time to entertain you right now."
When nothing was said, Evren brushed the weapon aside before taking his leave. Feeling the other's stare on his person, he sighed heavily, inwardly as he picked up his pace. Several minutes later, he entered his appointed room and pressed his back to the door. Slowly sinking down to one knee, he ran his fingers along the pant leg covering his injured ankle.
"Are you ok?!"
Picking himself up, the officer held the side of his head as he felt the mild throb starting to beat against his skull. Dragging himself to his bathroom, Evren rummaged through the medicine cabinet and retrieve the small bottle of aspirin. Shaking the container, he estimated three or four of the small pills left and scowled knowing he'd have to get more.
He hated them, but they were needed.
In the kitchen, he poured a glass of water before popping one of the pills into his mouth. Heading to his bed, he sat down, downing another pill prior lying on his back.
"The bark is smooth, the bark is hard."
It was familiar.
"But have you seen it? Do you know where it is?"
"That tree, it grows in the middle of the park; a park so large and green."
"That rhyme…"
Sitting up, he refused to move as the weakening side effects kicked in prior to reaching into his nightstand to retrieve a PDA. With a quick search, he set the device in his lap before looking out the window.
The limerick wasn't in any search data base.
It wasn't posted in any ad for a kid's book nor any form of forum, blog, or social media.
In all, it didn't exist within the public.
It didn't seem to exist at all, yet he knew it.
A sharp pang had him grasping pale strands before he lay back.
He knew that rhyme but it was hurting his head the longer he thought about it.
"Ren…"
Sliding his eyes shut, Evren lowered his hand back down to his side as he inhaled deeply. As the ache began to subside, the man allowed his thoughts to drift aimlessly until he had managed to fall asleep. Exhaling slowly, quietly, he stirred very little as the bed dipped down bit by bit. Even the feeling of something cold along his face didn't faze him.
Cold…?
Feeling another drip, slivers of turquoise and jade made their presence prior to squeezing shut as freezing water cascaded onto the pale face. Sputtering, the mismatched eyes opened gradually as a low hum began to fill the room at a rapid pace. Sitting up to fill an open palm push his head back down, the man finally locked gazes with the darker pair hovering above him. That view was soon covered by a warm towel that was thrown onto his face.
"Have a nice nap?" Tyson questioned as he mushed the towel around the other's face, hearing muffled words. "What was that?" A shock had him reeling back though he kept a firm hand on the towel. "Knock it off, Ev-" The overhead light flickered before shattering. –ren."
Hunkering down to avoid the raining shards, carmine-colored eyes slid over to regard the other prior to a foot colliding with the man's stomach. Another kick, though not as powerful as the first, then met the leader's chest. It was enough to make Tyson fall back, though not before grabbing a hold of the ankle of the foot that had kicked him, in turn making them both fall off the side of the bed.
"Let go." Feeling the other hold tighter, Evren narrowed his eyes when the towel was pulled away. "Get off of me, Tyson."
"No."
"Tyson."
"No."
"Ty-!" Cringing inwardly as his injured had was taken, Evren exhaled through his teeth. "Tyson…"
"Say sorry." The subordinate stayed silent. "Say. It."
Bowing his head as he felt cracking, shifting, within his already damage limb, Evren clawed at the tiled floor. "I'm sorry," he mumbled through heavy breaths.
"What was that?" Ty asked, squeezing harder.
"S…" He bit his lip before his wincing became more visible. "S-s…" The bones moved around again before mismatched eyes cracked open once again. "I'm…" Feeling something warm starting to trail down his lip then chin, Evren clawed at the tile until the faintest of scratches marred the otherwise unscathed floor. "I'm sorry." The other hummed. "Tyson, stop!"
Jerking his arm back, he hissed under his breath, causing the lights in his kitchen to flicker violently. Being released the moment his leader had been zapped, the paler officer fell back prior to scooting away from the other. Seeing how the other was on his feet in no time at all, Evren continued to back away, keeping his eyes trained on his rather unpredictable leader. Flinching subtly when his back pressed against the wall, Evren lowered his head.
"Evren…"Hearing the footsteps, said person curled in on himself before seeing feet stop before him. "Evren."
Seeing them ease forward, the officer swallowed down a lump in his throat. "S-sorry." The other got closer, hand outstretched to grab the wet strands of white hair. "Sorry." Fingers curled slowly before tightening in the colorless tresses. "I'm sorry!"
"Not-"
"Tyson."
Aforementioned reached down into his pocket to retrieve his radio. "Ah, hello, sir."
"Where are you?"
Red eyes slid over to observe the quieter male that was in the process of shaking, the overhead lights flickering in and out. "In Evren's quarter's," he replied. "I just wanted to check on him after his outing."
"I see," Kubrick said as he thumbed through a few medical records. "Do bring him by. I wish to speak with him."
"Ah, yes, sir." Sliding the device back into his pocket, the taller man pulled on the other's hair as if to test his grip before yanking on it to get a reaction. "Evren." The lighting flickered once more, the faint hum of the power increasing. "Evren," Tyson drawled, pulling again. He shielded his face with his good hand, keeping his head down when the last of the bulbs died out, leaving the room dark and desolate. "Get. Up."
Feeling another pull, accompanied with the reoccurring headache brought on by the tugs, Evren raised his head prior to kneeling on the floor. Bringing one foot under the other, he slowly stood before lifting his head to see the otherwise dark room being lit by a fire in the corner mantle. Looking over at the man that still had a hold of his hair, Evren's gaze then went towards the shattered lights then pill container on his nightstand to see only two of the capsules left. Taking a step forward, he hissed when he was pulled in the direction of the door.
"T…Ty-"
"You shouldn't keep the Director waiting, Evren." Said man turned his head by a degree to regard the man tugging at his hair. "Being a leader at one point, you know that, don't you?"
Being released, Evren slowly made his way past his teammate, eyes down as well as head, prior to exiting through the door. His head hurt from the mistreatment as well as previous thoughts, plus his ankle was starting to hurt more and more from use.
He wished he iced it.
He wished he was still in his room, in bed, fast asleep after such a day.
Exhausted is what he felt.
Several minutes passed before he finally reached his destination. Knocking once, he slowly lowered his hand back to his side as he began to totter. Hearing verbal permission to pass through the door, he entered the well-lit room, making such lights flicker upon his presence. Seeing how his superior was still working, Evren remained standing at attention for what had to be another fifteen minutes before the man had finally set his pen down.
"Evren."
The officer took a step toward the desk. "Sir, reporting in as ordered."
The Director sat idly by, thumbing files and paperwork before selecting several forms. "I was told that you had a limp upon return. Do you care to tell me why?" Even remained silent. "Better yet, care to tell me what on earth were you thinking about when you decided that you would go out without telling me or asking for my permission first. Now, tell me what made your ankle roll the way it did," he said dully as he began to glimpse through the folders left in a neat pile. "And don't say and that you're fine. That bull doesn't fool me and you should know I hate liars as well. So, start speaking."
The officer opened his mouth though nothing came out initially. Trying again, he refrained from holding the side of his head though he switched his weight to his other ankle, hoping he would relieve the extra weight his injured ankle couldn't support.
"I-"
"Tick-tock, Evren."
"Apologies," the other began as he knelt on one knee. Bowing his head, his eyes stayed trained on the tiled flooring as the lights within the room began to blink. "I didn't mean to offend nor disobey any implied orders."
Lowering his head further as the lights continued, Evren listened to the faint sound of files being looked through before sliding his eyes shut, awaiting some command or just a reply to what he had said. When none came, however, he remained in his current position as his head started throbbing. There was also the strain in his ankle making him wish he had taken the remaining two pills.
He hated them, but he really needed one about now.
"-ren." Raising his head by a fraction at the light tone, Evren looked up to see tawny eyes scanning lines prior to locking with his oddly-colored pair. "You weren't sleeping, were you?"
"Of course not, sir," he replied slowly as he glanced up at the flickering lights. Lowering his gaze, he rested both of his palms upon the cold floor when everything appeared to spin. "Apologies."
Setting the pen aside, the Director rested his hands upon his desk as he observed the officer knelt before him. Seeing how the lighting his room had been blinking erratically, he massaged the side of brow, letting out a slow exhale before focusing on the other that was in the process of tottering.
"Evren." The white-haired man peered through his bangs to see his employer withdrawing a small bottle of aspirin. "Take these," he ordered lightly as he set the container on the edge of his work table.
Dropping his gaze, Evren slowly straightened before moving his hand up to get the item. However, a pang in the side of his head had him grasping it, fisting a handful of his hair as he let out a shaky breath. Hearing the order again, the officer raised his head prior to falling forward in a crumpled heap, the lights overhead flashing before shorting out and finally shattering, leaving the rest of the room in darkness.
"Evren."
"Are you ok?!"
"That voice," he murmured before his eyes slid shut completely.
"Evren." Getting up from his desk, the Director circled around to roll the other onto his back. Hearing the shaky breaths, he stood up to lean against his desk, withdrawing his phone as he stared up at his ceiling. "Ah, yes, I'm in my office. Can you send up one of maintenance to replace a bulb? Um, all of them actually." He let the other finish. "Thanks, and do me another favor please? Yes, can you set up the med office. Someone is in need of a checkup."
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