Maladaptive

03

ash heard eiji's genuine, but slightly stupid question and snickered slightly before he answered.

"yes, I have" he looked down at the boy as he continued to answer with more detail than he had for any of ibe's questions

"this gang is a family and we always have each others backs in any situation, i'll do whatever i need to protect my family." he bit off the end of his sentence, showing that he didn't plan on going into too much detail.

"wow...." eiji blankly stated, a trance overtaking him that was a mixture of fear and awe.

he couldn't even imagine what it was like living in the gang leader's shoes and wanted to listen to anything that Aslan would possibly tell him, to catch a glimpse of a life that contrasted so greatly from his own.

the interview went on for about an hour afterwards; ibe taking pictures while ash answered any random questions thrown his way in the simplest way possible, while eiji listened intently, taking notes on every little thing he said.

after the interview came to a close... everyone walked outside to wish the two reporters goodbye, skip insisting that they make sure the duo got into their cab safely.

as everybody said their goodbyes, a familiar face happened to catch her attention from across the street. "SING!" she yelled out, and waved the boy over before turning back to continue conversation with the group.

he smiled as he started walking in her direction.

he hadn't expected to see her anytime soon, it had been a while.

as he approached, she focused her attention on the friend she hadn't been able to see in some time, bringing all other conversation to a close.

"hi sing! how are you?"

the conversation went on for a while, the pair catching up and having a good time..

until sings attention went to shorter, the gang leader clearly displeased..

his facial expressions holding nothing back.

probably because he was currently supposed to be doing something shorter had told him to..

or could he be... jealous?

he knew shorter could be stern when it came to jobs, but it was still pretty early and he felt he had some time to spare.

so that couldn't be it.

sing just stood there, trying to figure out why shorter had that stern look on his face; his constant thoughts causing him to zone out completely from the conversation.

"yooo.. earth to singg!" the girl in front of him waved her free hand in his face gently, finally catching his attention and snapping him back to reality.

"sorry, i'm really tired and keep zoning out lately." he awkwardly rubbed his neck, unsure how long he had been out of it.

she looked at him with clear worry in her eyes, lecturing him lightly.

"you should really make sure you rest well, you're always so busy and it seems like you're always tired" she smiled gently and tilted her head slightly waiting for his response.