As the morning rose, Kire slept in well past the usual morning hours and when he finally woke, his body was still sore from the abuse he endured yesterday thanks to Evelyn’s beat down. He groggily opened his eyes and groaned in annoyance when he forced himself to sit up and rise entirely out of bed. The room was engulfed by several popping noises as Kire stretched his arms then scratches his side lazily. He lifted his arm to take a smell of his armpit and coughed at the stench from all his hard work yesterday. Like his usual mornings, he always took a shower but thanks to his current situation he wondered if he can leave the room. Moving up to the door, he slowly opened it to peek outside and noticed no one guarding the door like before. He took this chance to run down the hallway and slip into the bathroom without anyone noticing he was gone. Once inside, he was amazed at how big the bathroom was; it was bigger than his entire one bedroom apartment. Everything was neatly arranged and each towel was crisp and clean, all having the Nicestone logo on it: the letters ‘NS’ etched into a wonderful and beautiful penmanship. Kire didn’t do much sightseeing of the bathroom before he started up the shower and stepped into the steaming waters.
By the time he finished, he had wrapped his lower half with one of the larger towels and dried off his hair with a smaller one. He felt cleaner than usual but it might be because of the fancy soap he used. His body and mind were both in different places today and he struggled to focus on a single thought, every time he thought about the events of yesterday, he found himself stubbing his toe or bumping into a wall because he didn’t pay attention. A deep breath was heard and Kire walked out of the steamy bathroom with nothing but a towel covering his lower parts. He walked down the hallway and left droplets of water that left a trail for anyone to find him.
Close to the room he was prisoned to, worked a maid, cleaning the floors with a broom or watering the flowers that hung close to the doors. She hummed with a carefree vibe and didn’t notice Kire walking up to her. As Kire approached his room, the maid turned around to see him and her face instantly went from cheery to horrified.
“Good mornin'.” Kire said to the maid, smiling.
The maid didn’t respond to Kire and only eyed his towel. She didn’t see a friendly man saying good morning but the man that Mr. Nicestone painted out. She took a step back and away from Kire while the grip on her broom tightened.
“Uhh… okay?” The man looked at the maid with a perplexed gaze. He ignored her defensive stance, mostly because he wasn’t going to do anything to the girl, and reached for the door handle. The maid instantly jumped back.
“Don’t touch me!” She yelped. “I know what you did!”
“What?”
“You sneaked into Lady Evelyn’s room and attempted to rape her! Mr. Nicestone said he caught you red-handed and warned all the maids to stay away from you!” The young woman trembled before defensively switching the broom to protect herself. “You’re a creep!”
“Oh, for fuck sake…” Kire’s mood turned from good to grim in a second. It was too early in the morning for him to deal with this nonsense. He didn’t respond a defense for himself over such a ridiculous accusation. Grabbing the doorknob, he flung the door open and walked inside, slamming it shut before the maid’s face who stood awkwardly in the hall. “Now that man labeled me a rapist, go figure.”
Kire rolled his eyes at the thought but it didn’t bother him much, mostly because he knows that none of it is true. He removed the towel from his lower parts and stood there naked and without any care, wondering if he put on the same dirty clothes from yesterday. In his attempts to look for his clothes, he opened a drawer and found many copies of the exact same attire he was brought in with. Confused and astonished, he found his usual gray tank top, baggy khaki cargo shorts, an arsenal of fresh boxers and socks and even multiple types of bandanas. In another drawer, he found essentials like deodorant, combs, and cologne. Smiling at the generosity of the people he worked for, he found a soft spot for them…slightly. While he pulled out his fresh clothes from the drawer, a knock was heard from the door.
“Yeah, it’s open.” Kire confirmed while not looking away from the nicely folded clothes. He took hold of the deodorant and began to apply some to himself. In a way, he half expected it to be the maid from before to continue her pestering and find ways to get him in trouble.
The door opened and a familiar butler entered the room.
“Good morning Kire, I hope you slept well last night—“ The man stopped once he noticed a completely nude Kire. Cringing slightly at the unwanted sight, he kept himself composed and simply turned his head away from viewing any wrong parts. A tint of red embarrassment formed on Gerome’s cheeks followed by a groan of annoyance. “I see you’re up and well…”
“Yeah, I see you guys got me some new clothes,” Kire said while putting on a fresh pair of boxers. They were just the right size and perfect fit for his skinny body. “Why did’ja do that?”
“Because in this house you’re considered family, even if Lord Nicestone doesn’t take a liking to you.” Gerome smiled. “Besides, I doubt anyone would like to see a naked man running and working around the house.”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
Kire remained silent after Gerome had called him family. In a way, he felt bashful and even sheepish. The term family was somewhat of an enigma to Kire and how he views it can be vastly different from the people around him. Nonetheless, he felt flattered and let his gaze lowered slightly, he couldn’t help but smile at Gerome’s words. It didn’t take him long until he was fully dressed and ready to start the day a new with more work. His only worry was that it was the same labor intense job he had from yesterday. Still sore, he wasn’t looking forward to the work he might be given today. After his little show with Edwin yesterday, he felt as if everyone was out to get him but Evelyn’s words continue to circle his mind and he wondered if she had a reason for not liking the man. While his thoughts continue to trail about, he didn’t even listen to Gerome as he spoke to him; all the butler got was an empty green gaze from a blank face. The only voice he heard in his mind was the thanks Evelyn gave his last night. Confusion stormed his face while he tried to understand Evelyn’s words and why he thought so adamantly about them.
Did you really listen to me or did Edwin actually make you mad? Thanks for helping me either way, Kire…
“Kire? Hello? Earth to Kire?” Gerome said while waving a hand over his face. “Are you listening to me?”
“Huh?” Color rushed back to his eyes as he finally shook out of his trance. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said that all workers have a free day today,” Gerome said while holding up a clipboard. “Even you.”
“Huh, well I guess I can spend my time exploring this place.”
“Actually, I have a small task for you.” Gerome messed around on the clipboard and flipped some papers before holding out a few photos of what looked to be a broken pocket watch. “I heard you are quite the inventor so I was wondering if you can help fix this for me…”
Kire seized the photos from Gerome’s hand and gazed at them intently. He scoffed before handing the images back to Gerome.
“Sure, looks easy enough.”
Gerome’s face lightened up when Kire accepted his favor. He nodded before leading Kire downstairs to the workshop where many tools were stored and held. Thousands of devices of each type and caliber were hung on the walls, stored in drawers, or protected in cases. Everything was perfectly clean and organized and very well taken care of. The smell of the room was that of sawdust and wood chippings and the tinge smell of metal when it rubs against someone’s hand. Power tools and manual tools littered on a workbench, the bench itself was scratched and gashed with the constant use someone put on it. Kire managed to smell a hint of rubber and plaster and glue. His lungs were filled with true ecstasy. At the center of the large workbench was a small, solid gold pocket watch, identical to the one Gerome showed him. It looked like a regular broken watch to some but Kire saw a helpless animal that was suffering on a bench. While Gerome turned on the backlights, Kire saw the entirety of the room and he felt in heaven: this was all he needed to confirm his stay here and it was finally worthwhile. Glittering eyes, rapid heartbeat and sweaty palms, the man took his first step forward in this new room. Time was slow for him as he tried his best to process the possibilities he can conjure up in this room.
In the midst of the room, Kire barely managed to snap out of it and turned to Gerome. For once, the butler saw a real and genuine smile from Kire ever since his arrival. He didn’t say a word and only walked Kire to the bench that held the pocket watch and the tools needed to fix one.
“I’ve tried to fix it myself, but nothing worked.” Gerome sighed. “I even called a professional and he said that it was broken beyond repair.” As Gerome spoke, Kire was already on his way to handle the situation with the pocket watch. “Hey, are you listening?”
“I am, don’t worry,” Kire replied. “Why do you wanna fix this watch so much?”
“That is none of your business.” Gerome’s voice trailed away slightly. “Just fix it for me, okay?”
Kire switched his gaze from the watch to Gerome and decided not to continue to pester the man for a reason. He assumed it was special for him and that’s why he wanted to fix it so badly. Regardless of what his intentions were, he made sure not to ruin Gerome’s mood.
“Ok. I’ll get to it when I’m done looking at all the wonderful stuff in this room.” Kire nodded. “Maybe I can build a new laptop and—“ He felt a strong stare coming from Gerome.
Gerome remained silent but glared at Kire.
“Alright, alright! I’ll fix this watch for you since it means that much to you. Just give me an hour and I’ll see what I can do. Sound good? Just step out and wait outside.”
“Very well. Please be gentle with the watch, it’s a bit old.”
Kire nodded and quickly got to work on the small pocket watch. Gerome was hesitant about leaving Kire alone in a place where he can quickly grab a weapon or make one from scratch but for unknown reasons, he trusted the man for the time being. The look Kire gave him when he entered the room didn’t have a hint of malice or ill intentions which left him confident that he would do no harm. He left for a moment only to return with a chair to sit on while he patiently waited the stressful hour to hear the news about his pocket watch. It was clear that his devotion to this watch was unmatched if he was willing to get a complete stranger work and fix it. While rooted in this thoughts, Gerome noticed how quiet the house was when no one was working; it stunned him because he never saw it before. The hall was soft and the house was calm. He gazed out the window and on to the beautiful garden that rested outside. The scene relaxed his mind and eased his soul for the moments he stared outside. The wind blew flower pedals of all colors into the sky and the birds sounded like a choir against the warm rays of the sun, each flying off into the distance to create a gentle and holy echo. Spring was approaching and nature was evident in showing it to the Nicestone Mansion. Gerome fiddled with his fingers and continued to wonder the fate of his watch, uneasy and tense despite the beautiful scene before him. He shook his head, reminding himself not to stress out so much about a mechanical object. After a while, he decided to get up and pace up and down the hall and eventually the whole floor in its entirety.
I shouldn’t stress so much, especially when the day is giving me nothing but a smile. Gerome thought to himself.
Jeez, I seem to get worked up quite easily… I should schedule a hot bath later on.
With today being a free day, he saw the other maids and butlers sitting in the dining room and chatting while eating breakfast. His worried face softened upon seeing his familiar friends and coworkers. At the end of the dining table was Mr. Nicestone and next to him was Lady Evelyn, both of which wore casual clothes for a chilly Sunday morning. Upon seeing Gerome enter into view, Mr. Nicestone waved a bulky hairy arm to get his attention and gestured him to come sit next to Evelyn. With a little hesitation, Gerome was finally persuaded to sit and eat a plentiful breakfast with the group while getting morning wishes from them. He smiled at the thought of calling these people his family but in a way, he wished they were as friendly and forgiving to Kire as they were to him. However, he decided to not bring up the topic of the redhead to anyone as of now, fearing that he could possibly get in trouble for not keeping an eye on him.
Munching on his favorite English muffin and strawberry jam Gerome chuckled at the jokes and stories Mr. Nicestone told about Evelyn in her infant years, most of which he knew since he worked for the family around the time of Evelyn’s younger years. Evelyn groaned at her father’s stories and flicked a piece of bacon off her plate and on to his chest to which both laughed. The bond between father and daughter always left a tender sensation in his heart because it reminded him of his own father. He always wished the best for Evelyn and strived to make her bond with her father stronger each day. When days like this come out, he felt blessed to be in the hands of a wonderful person like Mr. Nicestone. All the days each servant work can all be washed away with a single talk and gather for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In a way, he wished Kire can be here to enjoy this moment but he knew people would treat him far differently. As the time passed and the hall got less crowded and the workers returned to their free day, Gerome sat silently. As Mr. Nicestone was finishing off his last piece of toast, he eyed Gerome suspiciously. Evelyn turned to face the man and her father spoke out.
“Is something troubling you, Gerome?” His voice deep and strong.
“Oh, uhm!” Gerome stared at his Lord and shook his head bashfully. “It’s nothing, my Lord. I was just thinking about something.”
“What may that be?”
“I was just wondering about all the wonderful things you’ve done for all of your servants right here in your home.” Gerome smiled gently. “You’re very kind to all of us here, Lord Nicestone. However, the redhead… don’t you think sending him off without dinner is a tad bit harsh?”
Mr. Nicestone looked lost and somewhat ashamed for his actions last night, all clear by the look on his face. While he truly respected all his servants and looked at them as his family, he did take Gerome’s words into consideration, mainly since it involved the well-being of his daughter in a way. Mr. Nicestone, however, was very rigorous with manners and his guests.
“Well, yes, I suppose so.” The bulky man finally replied. “However his rude behavior will not be tolerated in my house. No matter how rude our guests can be, it should be the wiser to simply turn the other cheek. I am in agreement that his behavior was provoked by Edwin’s ego.”
Gerome nodded to his Lord. A breath of relief was heard.
“Yes. I assumed you did not like the man.”
“Oh no, I don’t like him at all for the
attempted acts of deflowering my precious daughter.” The father growled under his breath. “I will not sit back and allow anyone to touch my daughter.”
Evelyn’s cheeks flushed slightly at the thought of her father being so adamant about her protection, but she always looked at it as somewhat annoying since it always prevented her from finding male friends. She knew that Kire did not attempt to harm her but no matter what she told her father she knew that he would not believe her. The roll of her eyes made it apparent where she stood on that point. When something was set in her father’s mind, there was nothing in this world that could change it.
“Speaking of the redhead, where is he?” Mr. Nicestone asked while sipping on some coffee. “I thought he was in your care, Gerome.”
Gerome’s eyes widened when he realized that he has been gone and speaking with the family for well over an hour. His tan skin turned pale and the fear expressed on his face was both notable and comical. He didn’t want to make it evident that he left the man all alone so he merely cleared his throat and rose from his seat all while trying to look as casual as possible and give no implications of his error. His only fear is that his Lord will lash at Kire for being all alone and unsupervised.
“He’s still soundly asleep in his room. No worries my lord, I will wake him swiftly so he can eat a fine meal.” Gerome swallowed hard. “Please excuse me my Lord and Lady Evelyn.”
After a quick courtesy bow of the head to his superiors, he calmly walked to the hall and once he was out of view from the two, he dashed down to the warehouse area of the home. His thoughts ran wild as he assumed that Kire was building a sort of weapon or had escaped somehow. Panic swarmed his face and he wondered if what he did was actually a good idea. Gerome had always been a worrisome man and more often than naught the most straightforward errors would still give him a run for his thoughts. Thoughts of Kire building a makeshift spear, sword, or even a gun raced through his mind and his eyes widen at the very idea, causing him to pick his fast walk to a slight jog. Upon reaching the warehouse area, he hastily opened the door and gasped for a quick breath of air. What he saw instantly caused his shoulders to slump and his nerves run cold.
Kire was working on what looked to be a small laptop-like item. In each hand, he held a unique tool to deal with small objects and what is assumed to be glue. How Kire managed to build what he did with just the amount of materials he found was astonishing. He had only gotten a base prepared and appeared to be working on each keyboard key individually. No weapon in sight and no ill intentions from Kire’s side. Kire barely even looked phased when Gerome came rushing in and didn’t pay him any attention. As he promised to Gerome, he not only fixed the watch but he managed to behave himself in the process. Before Gerome managed to say a word to Kire, the redhead lifted his head away from his work and offered a kind wave and smile to Gerome. The smile was the same smile Kire held when he first arrived in the warehouse: one of pure joy and happiness. The workbench Kire had grown so close to was cleaned while he was there and everything looked to be in top condition from the last time Gerome visited. The entire area, at least the one close to the door, had been adequately taken care of despite barely anyone going in the room.
Gerome was fascinated. All the negative thoughts he had of Kire disappeared once he realized that the man kept his word. However, he wondered why he would keep it so firmly the way he did. With no supervision, Kire could have easily made a weapon or escaped thanks to Gerome’s carelessness. He didn’t let that lower his guard as he approached Kire to get a better view of his favorite pocket watch. When he did, he noticed how remarkably shiny and well-polished it is but it did not deter his initial thoughts of why he left it there to begin with. He felt Kire’s cocky smile grow as he opened the watch and saw the ticking hand moving at a steady rhythm. The time was set and everything in the pocket watch worked precisely as it should. A wave of delight flowed all over Gerome at the sight of his watch working in perfect condition. When he glanced at Kire, he only saw the redhead raise an eyebrow in amusement, no doubt enjoying the look on Gerome’s face.
“So, wha’cha think?” Kire said while he rested an elbow on the workbench and his head atop his hand. “Looks totally brand new, eh?”
“How did you do this?” Gerome questioned, still on guard. “This is in an impeccable quality, almost as if made right in the factory.”
“The only thing that was wrong with it was the spring. I can’t believe you paid professionals to look at it and they couldn’t figure out it was a simple spring error.” Kire looked unimpressed. “All I did was change that spring and polish it up. Most of the time I was working on this.” Kire nudged his shoulder at half the laptop he was making.
“How long did it take you to fix my watch?”
“Uhhh… about twenty, twenty-five minutes? Give or take.”
Gerome was taken back at the skills Kire possessed and how easily he was able to work with them. Not only was Kire skilled in fixing things but he was a phenomenal inventor that needed minimal materials to make even the most complex objects. And to Kire, it all looked like a basic task he could take on anytime, anywhere. The potential Kire held in his inventing skills shocked Gerome, almost terrified him. In a way, Kire is a threat far beyond anything he or even the family could take on if given time to create his crafts which only confused Gerome even more as to why he didn’t leave when he could. All the thoughts he had about the man were swirling around in his apparent paranoia. Despite his views on the situation, he was still grateful to Kire’s efforts.
“Well, thank you very much.” Gerome bowed his head awkwardly. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Kire lifted his head slightly to pay attention to the person by the door’s entrance. His tone was somewhat seductive and his face completely overconfident. “Hey cutie~.”
“Wha--?” Gerome quickly turned around to see the rolling eyes of Lady Evelyn. The woman crossed her arms and stared directly at Gerome. “By God! L-Lady Evelyn! What are you doing here?!”
“I wanted to see if Kire was finally awake but noticed that he wasn’t in his room so I decided to look for him.” She answered. “I overheard your voice and decided to follow it. I see that Kire was awake for a while and left in here to invent pointless toys.”
“They ain’t toys you witch.” Kire spat. “Besides, Gerome here wanted me to fix his watch or something. Ain’t that right?”
“Y-Yes.” Gerome choked.
“You fixed his watch? Pfft, yeah right! Gerome had to call the professionals, and even they couldn’t fix it. Do you take me for an idiot?” Evelyn gawked.
“Why don’t you ask Gerome yourself?” Kire shoved Gerome slightly to Evelyn’s direction and was rewarded with a strong glare. “Go on, make her look dumb, shouldn’t be too hard.”
Gerome stared at Evelyn and gently revealed his antique pocket watch to the woman. He showed how the ticking hand was functioning as if it were brand new and the time had correctly displayed on view. Evelyn remained silent at the demonstration and her eyes slowly trailed over to Kire who was too busy working on his custom laptop to pay attention to her expression. The woman just nodded to Gerome and her skepticism went to rest upon realizing that Kire and the butler were not lying to her.
“Well then, I guess I should give you
some credit, Kire.” Evelyn boasted. “But you still won’t impress me unless you do a job for me.”
“Oh, the horror…” Kire said sarcastically. “How will I ever live without impressing
you.”
“Hmph, don’t talk so high and mighty when I tell Dad what you were doing! He’s going to make sure you never enter this place again.”
Kire paused for a second at the risk of never seeing this piece of heaven again and his face flushed; the thought of never returning made a cold shiver slip up his spine. Thanks to his love for inventing and computers, he knew he had no choice but to listen to Evelyn’s plea.
Sheesh, if she runs to her dad, then I’m seriously screwed. Kire sighed in defeat.
And it’s not like he’ll believe a word I’ll say anyway…I don’t have much a choice.
“Lady Evelyn, let’s not jump to conclusions…” Gerome said with a worried smile. “I will be to blame as well since I was supposed to keep an eye on him…”
“It’s alright Gerome.” Kire stretched his arms and popped his shoulders. “I’ll see what she wants and get it over with. Maybe I can show her a thing or two about what I can really do.”
“Glad you see things
my way.” Evelyn giggled. “Now then, Gerome, you are dismissed.”
Gerome didn’t agree to leave Kire all alone with Evelyn but he knew that the girl was no pushover to others; a strong-willed girl like her made him worry more for Kire. He shot a look to Evelyn as if to ask her if she’s really okay with letting Kire work on her stuff and her bright smile eased him of any worries but filled him with sympathy for Kire now that he was at her mercy. The butler bowed his head to his superior and then to Kire to thank him for fixing his precious watch then swiftly departed from the room. As the man left Evelyn turned her attention to Kire who looked as bored as ever, no doubt wanting to finish his task as soon as possible and rid himself of such a stressful girl. Before Kire managed to utter a word he saw Evelyn jutted a finger in front of his face then point to the laptop he was working on; Her voice sounded more pleasant to Kire.
“Are you good with computers? Like, programming them and stuff?”
“Yeah..?” Kire grew suspicious.
“Ok, think you can make it so my laptop can download–or whatever, my favorite shows? They recently canceled one of my childhood shows and I know they still air reruns online somewhere…”
“That’s it?”
“Yup.” Evelyn lowered her voice slightly to hide her embarrassment. “I kinda didn’t understand the videos that explained how to do it and I also think I downloaded a virus or something…”
Kire began to burst in a fit of laughter at Evelyn’s little request and her attempt to solve it on her own. A massive wave of relief waved across his chest when he realized that it wasn’t a big problem as he thought it was and he would be out of this mess sooner than he thought. Evelyn wasn’t so happy with Kire’s laughing fit which forced her cheeks to turn red from embarrassment and anger.
“Quit laughing! It’s not funny!” Evelyn pouted.
“Relax Evelyn,” Kire said while catching his breath. “I can fix your problem in no time at all, just show me your laptop and I’ll handle the rest.”
“Hmph… you better do it right!”
“Yeah yeah…”
The female wasted no time in directing Kire out of the magnificent tool house room and up to several flights of stairs, all of which the redhead kept a memory of as he toured the mansion. It was a small while before they finally reached a pastel pink door with lilacs creating a crown-like arc over the top of the door. On the wood was a large and elegant ‘E’ which no doubt stood for her name. The hallway barely had any doors that lead to other rooms and had a very unique lavender smell to it. The sensation made Kire feel like he was on a cloud or enter a state of euphoria; he enjoyed it. Compared to the rest of the house this is where Kire felt the safest. However, a thought lingered in the back of his head: If anyone saw him this close to Evelyn how will he explain himself? Everyone in the house already has mixed views about him and hanging out with Evelyn will only enforce some of them.
Before Kire can think up any answers, Evelyn opened her door and inside was the same room he snuck into a few days earlier, but it felt different to him. The first time he entered he barely registered how the room was but now, after taking a second glance, he realized it was a typical, albeit big, room. This whole time he assumed that rich people were snobby with their rooms and usually over decorate with useless things for the sake of wasting money but this room made him question Evelyn and her stance in the prosperous society. He watched Evelyn move to a desk and open a sky blue colored laptop, preparing it for whatever Kire was going to do. Kire retook a glance around the room while awkwardly standing by the doorway refusing to come in.
“You can come in you know.” Evelyn said.
“What if someone else comes in and gets the wrong idea?” Kire said crossing his arms. “I’m not exactly on good terms, especially around you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll just tell them that you came to fix my laptop. They’ll believe me, trust me.”
“Well…” Kire hesitantly entered the pure room. “If I get beat up or anything I’ll never help you again. That’s a promise.”
“Oh please, don’t be a child…” Evelyn stepped away from her cute laptop and slid the chair for Kire to sit on. “Anyways, do you need anything specific?”
Kire took a seat and stared at the screen of the laptop, examining everything Evelyn had on display. He ignored the female and when he opened up her internet browser, he began to type away for certain keywords. Evelyn stood beside him as he looked up things on several sites and downloading a few things; it was all so fast and so precise that she couldn’t keep up, let alone understand, what Kire was doing. When she glanced at Kire’s face her eyes widen at the hypnotized expression he had as he continued to mess around her laptop. A couple minutes passed and all the typing from the keyboard and clicking of the mouse had stopped in unison. Evelyn peered from behind Kire’s back and stared at her screen only to see a new software open and show that something finished downloading. She got worried that he might have hurt her laptop but a pop-up appeared on the screen and it read as:
CLEAN-UP COMPLETE. THREATS NEUTRALIZED. RESTARTING COMPUTER.
All of Evelyn’s doubt and worry grew as she watched Kire relax and become laid back on the chair. The screen went blank and the reboot continued onto the password screen where Kire stared at Evelyn, almost as if asking her what the password to her laptop was. Understanding his gesture, the female shook her head at his attempt and Kire only shrugged, moving to the side and turning his back on the girl so she can enter the password. Hesitant at first, Evelyn eyed Kire with suspicion, assuming he would look as she was typing.
“You better not look…” Evelyn said as she hid her typing hands from Kire’s view. “And you better not have done anything funny either.”
“Are you done yet?” Kire said while yawning slightly.
“Yeah, sheesh.”
Kire then turned around on the chair and waited patiently for Evelyn to move out of the way. The way he acted around her made Evelyn question if he’s really a jerk or not but, nonetheless, she still kept his doubts about him and his motives. Her large brown eyes shifted over to Kire’s work and noticed a program open up and engulf her computer screen on a black screen that is similar to a movie screen right before the film began. As Kire continued to fiddle around he clicked on an obvious search bar and turned to face Evelyn who was gradually inching her way closer to him. They met face to face, inches apart, to which Kire smirked and puckered his lips to annoy her.
“I know I’m irresistible hun’.” Kire chuckled. “So why don’t you give me a sweet lil’ kiss eh?” He was quickly rewarded with a hit to his smug face. The smug left his face and switched to Evelyn.
“Why don’t I knock your teeth out next time?” Evelyn smirked.
“Yeah yeah…” Kire rubbed the side of his head. “Anyways, what stupid show did you wanna see? I can search it from this program as long as you have internet.”
“It’s not stupid! It’s called Lizard Ball Z.”
“Lizard Ball Z?” Kire’s eyebrow rose with curiosity and surprise. “I used to watch that show as a kid too! Heh, you may be a shrew but you got a good taste in shows.”
“You watched it too?” Evelyn’s reaction copied Kire’s. “That’s pretty cool! How far along did you get?”
“I last left off when that pink candy monster was fighting Gukon and Virgilla.” Kire said as he typed away to find the show listed on the program. Once he found the complete season collection that was available, he proceeded to download it to Evelyn’s computer. “That’s about as far as I remember too. Anyways, I got your show down and registered. All you need to do is open this program and click on the show you want. You can put some in your favorites' list to get to them even quicker. Search any foreign shows you want and have fun.”
“Alright, how much is this going to cost me? Is it a monthly subscription?”
“What?” Kire scratched his head slightly annoyed. “It’s completely free to use and free to have. You don’t need to pay anything, even for high definition.”
Evelyn’s face looked stunned, but she only stared at the screen which showed the program and the hundreds of episodes that the show had. Kire rose from his seat and allowed Evelyn to take a seat and watch her show while he showed her the works of how to use the program. Once Evelyn got the basics down she began to search other shows that Kire was familiar with. He wanted to leave but her interest in shows was the same as his; while he refused to admit it, he wanted to stay and watch some of the shows with Evelyn or admit to her that he watched the same thing. His eyes watched as a majority of the shows she liked were action and sci-fi cartoons, most of which he saw a few episodes here and there. Kire backed away from Evelyn, leaving her room without making a noise to distract her, however, a childish smirk formed on his face knowing that at least he can talk to her about shows they both like and viewed as kids and never outgrew.
As Kire left the room, he traveled silently across the hallway, trying to remember his blurry childhood years. He barely remembered much about his parents, but the few memories he did have were pleasant to him. The last thing he could remember is hearing his mother cry, begging him not to leave as young as he did. Why was he having all these thoughts all of a sudden, especially after he did a simple task for Evelyn? He brushed it off with a scoff and thought nothing too deep about it. It wasn’t long until Kire found himself traveling to the kitchen to finally eat something, but once he was there, he was overwhelmed by how many things he can choose from to eat.
Aw man, all this stuff to eat but I don’t know how to cook it… Kire sighed.
I guess I can stock up on snacks or something but I think a sandwich wouldn’t hurt.
Kire dug around the fridge to search for his favorite ingredients and any sort of snacks he can sneak along with his sandwich. He crowded the counter with many ingredients while he tried his best to keep everything as clean as possible to give less work to the cleaners, considering it was a free day for everyone. Every utensil he used was washed, every bit of trash was placed in a separate bag for him to toss out, and every crumb out of place was swept up to make the kitchen extra clean. Kire parted the ingredients on the plate so he can assemble it better in the comfort of his room and once he felt confident that he can muster more than one sandwich with the ingredients at hand, he snagged a large bag of chips in his mouth and left off with his plate of food.
Kire was careful not to drop anything or make any sort of mess to avoid a problem with the cleaners. He was quick to slip into his room and closed the door behind him using his foot. He tossed the chips on the only desk in his room followed by the plate but he noticed that he was missing a drink. His eyes trailed back to the door and soon he was out and back with about three cans of soda and a trash bag to throw any extra food away. When Kire sat down and placed the cans on the desk next to his waiting plate of food is when he felt a horrible feeling of absolute loneliness. The room was quiet and the air was still, it was choking Kire by how heavy the weight pressed on his chest; there, he stared at his food with little interest and a sudden loss of appetite. The man took in a sharp breath and dug his face into his hands, his fingers messing up his hair and ultimately removing his bandana. For the first time in a while, Kire felt very agitated and insecure, but the cause of why eluded him and frustrated him even more. For a while, he didn’t have anything to stimulate himself with other than the short time he had in the workbench to fix Gerome’s watch and he didn’t have time to take the laptop part with him since he was rushed by Evelyn. He wanted to go and get it but he assumed that the place was locked down or they would just not allow him to enter. The man stared blankly at his food and let his thoughts to wonder violently in his head which only proved to discomfort him even more.
Man, what’s up with me? Kire groaned in agony.
Why am I feeling like this? I must be so hungry that I’m getting some sort of episode or something. Still… I shouldn’t feel like this and it’s making me lose my appetite…
Kire let out a sigh and slowly began to assemble a sandwich in absolute silence and boredom, staring blankly at the wall in front of him and taking a bite. The food didn’t taste like anything in Kire’s mouth so he quickly swallowed his mouthful and placed the sandwich down to glare at the ceiling. There was no doubt he needed something to entertain himself with or waste the time he will ultimately spend in this room. On the outside, he was slightly agitated, but mentally he was screaming and suffering from his boredom but since there was nothing he could do about he merely had to deal with it like he did with everything else. He took another bite of his sandwich and his temper did not get any better with each bite. Gradually, Kire began to show signs of annoyance thanks to his boredom, only when he heard a knock on his door did he suddenly calm down his from mental rage and discouragement; however, he was too lazy to get up and answer the door himself.
“Yeah, it’s open.” Kire said while taking another bite. When the door finally opened, he saw the beautiful Evelyn holding her laptop.
“Hey.” The woman said as she walked in.
“What do you want now? Did you break it already? Why are you here?” Kire narrowed his eyes.
“I’m here so we can watch Lizard Ball. I thought it would be cool to watch it with someone who also watched and liked it as well. C'mon, it'll be fun!”
“Then why don’t you watch it with your friends or something, you’ll only get me in trouble if I’m around you.”
“They don’t like Lizard Ball and think it’s dumb. They don’t like watching cartoons since it’s made for kids. Hmph, they’re kinda stuck up if you ask me.” Evelyn ignored Kire’s last statement and sat herself down on his bed while fiddling around with the program Kire installed. “Okay, I think I got the hang of this computer program thing. Now I just gotta—“
“Go away.” Kire said bluntly.
“What?”
“Look girlie, I’m not in a good situation thanks to you. Your little show got me in huge trouble and now people are giving me all sorts of nasty looks and spreading rumors about how I was gonna rape you or something. Now people don’t even wanna go near me fearing I’ll attack them or worse and they especially don’t want me near you. So why don’t you just get out of here and save me a beating before your guards come here and—“
“Oh shut up already.” Evelyn remained unfazed by Kire’s insults and set her computer to the side. She rose to her feet and pointed a finger right at his face to which he instantly backed up. “First of all, don’t call me girlie. Second, you’ve been talking nonstop about the same thing and it’s driving me nuts. Listen, when I say you’re okay hanging out with me then that’s that! Quit acting like being around me is a curse or something, shit.”
Kire went silent at Evelyn’s response and could not think up an intelligent or witty remark. She had a point but the uncertainty showed in Kire’s face even after she finished scolding him. Evelyn’s face softens slightly and she let out a sigh knowing and understanding the trouble she put Kire in. It was only natural for him to act the way he did and she was partially to blame for his actions and words. She returned to the bed and sat down while looking at her laptop, her words soft.
“Look, if anyone gives you a hard time, I’ll set them straight. Just because you’re here against your will doesn’t mean you should be treated like trash. As long as I’m around, I’ll let people know you are not hurting me, alright?” She looked back at Kire who shifted slightly in his seat but stared directly into her eyes. “I promise.”
“Fine.” Kire let out a long sigh. “So why are you here again?”
“I wanna watch Lizard Ball with you since you also watched it as a kid. We can both talk about it and just have fun!” Her smile showed the sincerity and beauty of her honesty. “Besides, you must be so bored being locked up in this room all day, so relax and enjoy yourself Kire! You even have snacks for binge-watching episodes.”
“Snacks?” Kire stared to where Evelyn directed him and saw his entire meal. “Oh no, this is my meal for the day! Don’t think I’m letting you have it!”
“Too late!” Evelyn dashed to the plate and snagged it from the desk. Kire struggled to get it back but wasn’t fast enough. Every time he reached out to get the plate back, Evelyn would effortlessly swipe it away from his grasp. “I’ll give this back to you if you agree to watch Lizard Ball with me. Please! No one else wants to watch it with me since they don’t get it…”
“I said yes earlier! Now gimmie my food!”
“Yeah!” Evelyn returned the food to Kire and began to show off how well she handled the program despite knowing only the basics. It didn’t impress Kire but it made him chuckle.
When the show started, Kire noticed how childish Evelyn was and how proud she gets when she wants to prove her point. She didn’t let herself get stepped on and will always voice her mind no matter what it was, even if it meant annoying people, primarily him. His eyes occasionally trailed to gaze at her figure but he didn’t attempt to do anything to upset her. As the cartoon played on the laptop, both of them laughed at certain scenes, disagreed with others, and got excited about the action, both acting like kids who just became friends. The two of them snacked on their hand-made sandwiches and nibbled on chips and drank soda before watching more episodes lying on their stomachs. Kire’s pressure of loneliness and boredom disappeared as he talked and laughed with Evelyn, genuinely enjoying himself since the first time he’s been here. As he spoke with Evelyn, he found out how thought-provoking her statements were and she wasn’t just a dumb or childish girl. She kept him on his toes when they argued or debated certain decisions made by the characters which usually end up in both of them re-watching the episode and switching opinions or dismissing their thoughts entirely.
They decided to give Lizard Ball a rest, both looking up new shows that were airing around the world and give their opinions based on the first episode. Evelyn was eager to show Kire more of the shows she watched as a kid and Kire was always happy to judge and joke at how childish Evelyn is. Before long, the day was quickly turning into dusk and Evelyn’s laptop was slowly running out of battery, so they decided to watch one last episode of a dramatic romance show they both saw. It was cheesy but lovable and what stuck out the most were the characters which Kire and Evelyn made a note of. For some reason, the female character reminded Kire of Evelyn: outspoken, strong-willed, and fearless. It made him think about why Evelyn would even spend a moment of her time with him now that he’s realized how late it was getting. He didn’t want to ask her and ruin her day, so he decided to think about it later on as he attempted to go to sleep tonight, changing the subject to current events and news.
As he spoke with Evelyn about the current events of today he realized that she was very insightful and far more intelligent than he imagined and her ideologies kept him on his toes; it was exciting him! Not only was Kire able to understand Evelyn but she was able to completely understand him and provide support or a powerful counterargument against his thoughts but never lead up to a battle of insults. Both of them were almost equally matched but shared some differences. Compared to Kire, Evelyn was much more helpful and warm to others and only wished to seek a better world for the people living in it while Kire was more down to earth and approached things from different angles to solve a problem. They were almost exact opposites. The thought lingered slightly in Kire’s head longer than he expected because it bothered him slightly. Kire’s thought of Evelyn changed drastically when he was given a chance to really sit down and talk to her and he thought the girl was a lot better than he gave her credit for. He wanted to continue talking to Evelyn but realized that it was getting very late so he opted to hold the conversation for tomorrow. The girl didn’t want to leave because she was caught up in the conversation.
“Aww, I don’t want to go to bed!” Evelyn whined.
“Yeah, well, I going to get hammered hard by your servants and worked to the bone so I need my rest for tomorrow.” Kire yawned.
“Oh, right…” Evelyn frowned at Kire’s remark. She grabbed her laptop and nodded to him. “Let’s walk back to my room at least.”
“Fine…”
The two of them took their time walking back to Evelyn’s room and the entire house was very dark. Barely able to see a few feet in front of him, Kire didn’t seem too alarmed but it surprised him to see that even with pure white walls, the entire hallway looked like it never ended and continued forever into darkness. While Kire was perfectly fine with the dark, Evelyn kept very close to him and made sure to keep him within her line of slight; it annoyed him whenever she bumped on to him or stepped on his foot. He assumed that she was afraid of the dark and quietly chuckled at her fear. Evelyn crept closer to Kire until she found herself wrapping her arm around his to comfort her. The man didn’t say a word and rolled his eyes at how childish she was acting. He thought it would be best to let her continue this game until they reach her door. When they finally arrived, Kire yanked his arm free from her grasp and opened the door to her room which showed the light from a lamp she left on. The light coming from the room apparently calmed Evelyn down and she was able to move away from Kire and enter her room. Confusion stormed Kire’s face.
“Dude, are you scared of the dark or something?” Kire asked.
“No, not really… I’m just scared that something is going to come and attack me like in the movies…”
“Pfft, that’s dumb.”
“S-Shut up! You won’t think it’s dumb when you get the piss scared out of you!”
“Yeah yeah… Anyways, I got you to your room so now I’m leaving.”
“Wait! Hold on!”
“What?! What do you want now?!” Kire said as he got more annoyed and agitated.
Evelyn dashed into her room and quickly began to search for something. It wasn’t long until she returned to the door with a notebook and a few fancy pens at hand. She shoved the items to Kire who stumbled to accept them into his arms.
“I thought I’d give you something to pass the time and relieve some stress after a hard day at work.” Evelyn smiled. “You spend all day locked up in that room or working your ass off so I can only imagine how bored and tired you get…”
There was a small awkward pause before Kire finally replied to Evelyn.
“Errm, thanks.”
“No problem. And one last thing," Evelyn smiled brightly at Kire. "I had a wonderful time with you. You're so interesting to talk to, and you are nothing like I imagined you'd be. You're something else... Let's do this again sometime soon. Anyways, good night.”
Kire watched her close her door and stood silently in the dark for a minute before shrugging off his thoughts and walking back to his room in the shadows of the hall. Once he arrived in his room, he tossed the notebook and pens on the desk then stared at the plate of food he bought earlier and snacked with Evelyn and realized there was enough for roughly half a sandwich left. Taking advantage of his scraps, he made a meal for himself and thought about the weird events of today when his eyes shifted to the notebook Evelyn gave him. He took another bite of his half-sandwich before sitting on the chair in front of his desk and opening the notebook he will consider his journal or idea book. Grabbing a pen and spinning it between his fingers idly, Kire began to write down the thoughts of what happened today. Minutes turned into an hour as when he finally came to a stop he noticed how tired he was. He knew that he would be sleepy when he woke up to work but at least he could return to his journal when he needs to express his thoughts. Heavy eyes forced Kire to head straight to his bed, leaving the desk as a mess, but he slept with a smile on his face; the food was remarkably delicious today and that content smile was all the proof anyone could need.