Melted Flowers, Melted Friendships

Chapter IV: "An Identity"

   The whistle of the wind blew under the front door, giving D-0 chills down her spine as she let her gaze low; she couldn't face anyone.

   "Let me show you your room." Frankenstein broke the silence without hesitation. He let go of M-21's shoulder and returned to the corridor, still attempting to retain a smile on his face. But D-0 wasn't following him as closely as he had hoped. She stayed motionless and silent, as straight as a candle. "...D-0?"

   She leapt to her feet and immediately shifted her sight to Frankenstein, bowing.

   "I-I'm coming...s-sorry...." she voiced in panic, turning quickly to the rest, bowing before them as well, "Please excuse me..."

   Before she could lose him in his enormity of a house, the girl was by Frankenstein's side in the blink of an eye. It appeared to her to be a maze, an unending space with too many ins and outs. He began going with her to her room as soon as he noticed her behind him.

   Tao didn't even notice Raizel sipping from his tea; he was as focused on M-21 as Takeo was. They couldn't comprehend their comrade's strange behavior toward the person that was considered to be his friend and they wanted to know what was wrong; but before either of them could say anything, M-21 rose up and walked up the stairs to his room, leaving the two young men staring at him, then at each other.
   Takeo shrugged his shoulders. He glanced at the stairwell for a while, debating whether or not to go after his companion. But his attention was drawn back to Tao by his gentle hand that touched his shoulder. He looked at him dead in the eyes, shaking his head; they shouldn't rush. They both knew M-21 didn't like it when other people interfered with his business. They didn't want to piss him off, not after the way he looked at them earlier.

   D-0 kept her head down all the way. She coudn't make eye contact with Frankenstein; his reaction was replaying in her head everytime. She could just look down, at the pink oversized slippers she had her feet in. She would walk and trip from time to time, or even lose one along the way; a humble Cinderella.
   Frankenstein abruptly came to a halt. She came to a halt as well, raising her head to see a dark wooden door in front of her. Everything was new to her, from the way it looked, to the way it smelled, to the way it felt.
   As Frankenstein opened the door, a cold wind blew on her pale face, on her dried cheeks. The wind swept her bangs away from her watery eyes, making her to lower her head more. Frankenstein dashed inside, closing the window shut. It was cold enough outside, and the big chamber had been shut off by the stench of disuse for a long time.

   "Come inside." she heard Frankenstein's soft voice; he was also trying to forget the recent past event.

   D-0 gave him a shy look before moving her eyes over the entirety of the room. She proceeded forward and stepped inside with her right foot, but not before she left her slippers near Frankenstein's.
   Her gaze was drawn to the wooden desk on her left. Its simple yet elegant design drew her in, even though she couldn't think of a use for it. All she wanted was a bed; which she got. She switched her sight to her right, to a modern bed with a full-sized mattress; five times her size. She blinked, trying to hide her surprise, and then proceeded to the wooden closet in the corner, between the window and the bathroom door, which had warm clothing for the cool weather waiting for her.
   It didn't feel real; the girl couldn't believe or even embrace the idea of living in a real house, of sleeping in a real bed instead of the cold, icy concrete floor she'd become used to; she had to find comfort in the worst of things.

  "What do you think?"

   D-0 turned her gaze towards the blonde before looking around her once again.

   "I-it's...beautiful...but..." she paused; she lifted her hands, fidgeting her fingers nervously, "I-isn't this room...t-too...big...?"

   She noticed a subtle shift in Frankenstein's expression, which made her to lower her gaze and bite her lower lip.