Amu Hinamori hummed and stretched lightly as she stepped outside of her room, stretching as her chara's did the same. Ahhhhh, such a delightful day. It sucked that it had to be ruined by the fact she had so much school work. At least she had a balcony though(seriously, what high school girl has a balcony on their room?) and it allowed her to step out and enjoy the delightful sunny day.
She had a big bottle of milk, too. She didn't care what Ikuto said. She was CERTAIN it would help her grow bigger boobs. Her mom said so! Not like she hadn't been trying it for years.
She sighed and leaned against the edge, glancing over. she wondered what the guardians were up to today.
"So, you do live here." Came a rather familiar voice from nearby. Eilam was standing against a nearby lightpost, actually. "Care to talk, Miss Hinamori? We could stand to clear a few things up." He seemed less tired than the previous night, but certainly still tired. Even if he was dressed up rather nicely today, including in a proper expensive-looking custom tailored suit. One perk of being pretty was he /could/ look rather nice in a suit.
Amu Hinamori glanced down. Then urked. He didn't. He DID! "Ran! Hop! Step! Jump!" Little wings formed on her wrists and ankles and she leaped off the house, landing by him a moment later and glaring at him. "What are you doing here? Why are you here? Are you--"
Then she froze. "You... tracked me down. You're... you're a secret admirer?" and her face went red. "L-listen, I-I already have a boy friend a-and you're cute and all b-but n-no thanks I'm not interested!" Crossed her arms and harumphed.
"..."
She could both jump, and jump to conclusions, it seems. Given she was so close, he got to see her expression change, seeming embarrassed. "Maybe I am. As I said, I think of Reiko as a friend, and something about her does make me want to be around her more. But she and I both know the age thing is a bit much. But neither of us are trying to force anything to be there that is not. You, though? You are closer to the age I seem to be, cute too. And if you were really not interested, why so embarrassed? Even if I only came here to make sure we both understood similar things. Hard to get along well if we're not on the same page."
Eilam stepped forward just a little to lean close, looking at her with the intention of staring directly into her eyes. "How about it? Invite me in so no one sees you getting so flustered around someone who is not your boyfriend? Unless you like the attention. You seem to enjoy me paying attention to you after all, despite your reservations." He was terrible and he knew it. Terribly good at flustering others. Not at all why he came here, but no harm in passing up the chance to tease someone.
Amu Hinamori stared at him, her eyes going wide. "W-w-w-w-what? NO!" Have HIM meet her parents? Not on his life! She shook her head, blushing. "I-I don't, I'm not... l-listen. Y-you're like... r-really old. If... if you're r-r-really interested in... in Reiko just, errr, w-wait a f-f-few more years until s-s-s-s-she's old enough a-a-and stuff!" Her guardians were shaking their heads.
"A-and I'm not f-flustered!" Oh yes she was. She crossed her arms and glared up at him. "A-and you better not keep coming a-around here. My parents they aren't... involved in this. Any of it. They don't need strange immortals c-c-oming to my house."
"Who is the liar now?" That amused him greatly, reaching out to lightly pat her shoulder. "You are always welcome to come to my manor instead." Manor? "But what would others think of that? Seeing you ride with an attractive boy your age to his place, in his private town car? So very scandalous. Much less so if you just invite me in so we can talk somewhere quietly. Not like I'm going to be magical in front of your parents. I mean... unless you injure me somehow and it heals?"
A pause, then, "And about Reiko? That is between her and me. I am not going to hurt her, she is my friend. You, on the other hand... that is quite between us. And I am fairly sure you enjoy me paying attention to you like this. Because you are still standing here instead of stepping away, which means if I were to lean in and kiss you, right here, that would be your doing. Because you could have easily walked away." Wait, why was he leaning in? Surely not to kiss her!
Amu Hinamori stared, her eyes wide. "W-we can talk here. I'm not going anywhere with you and you're not coming ins--" And then he said that. And moved forward. Her eyes widened and she looked stunned. He wasn't. There was no way. Her mind was going in a thousand different directions and she looked like she was about to faint from sheer shock. Oh gosh it was Ikuto all over again.
Miki of course stared, her eyes stars. While the others just looked worried. Well, if nothing else now she was so shocked she COULDN'T step away.
Eilam stopped just a moment away from actually kissing her. "As I said, I have a thing for Reiko. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I know it is." Well, he certainly doesn't peck her lips. No, instead he just stands there that close with the same smile. "Sure you want to stand out here like this? I would rather not talk about things in a place this open where everyone can see. You're adorable, but no kiss for you. Yet, anyways. If you want a kiss that bad from me, you'll have to piss Reiko off and take it on your own."
So why was he still that close? Just to fluster her. He didn't feel remotely bad about that.
"Or perhaps just get it in your dreams. Those are all yours after all. But given you seem this bothered just by me being close to you, I can only imagine how vivid your dreams would be."
Amu Hinamori stared, her eyes going wider. Oh gosh, yes, her dreams usually were pretty vivid. Se shrieked and shook her head. "nO NO NO NO!" She jumped back and then sighed. "Listen. If you want to talk, we can talk outside or like... go somewhere down the street. i am NOT letting you into my house, creepy stalker person. And if it's not important, you should just leave."
She then paused and glared back at him. "And if you're trying to scare me off of LAcrima, it won't work. I do plan to help her and I won't give up just because you're a weirdo."
"Now you're just being rude." Eilam remarked rather bluntly. "Weird? Creepy? I was being perfectly nice to you, there was no need to insult me like that. And to think I came out all this way just to check on you and make sure you were not too upset learning about my condition and curse." He came out all this way for her? "Oh well." And with that, he turned and started to walk away. "Thought we could be friends, but I've been around a bit too long to tolerate people pointlessly being rude." If he was serious or not, hard to say. Maybe a bit of both?
Amu Hinamori stared for a moment, glaring at him. But then, friendship. Her gaze softened and she took a step forward. "Wait. I'm sorry. you're right, that was rude of me." Because he'd been being so polite. "Listen, I don't... know about this. Curse. Or any of that. I mean, why even tell me you were dying if you're immortal?"
She took a slow, deep breath. "But... I can't really... grasp it. You know? Living forever. Healing like that. There's so, so many things that are over my head with... all of this. But that just means I have to try all the harder to do what I understand." She held out her hand. "If you meant that. IF you want to be friends... we can be. So, what do you say?"
"Why?" Eilam turned to face her. "Because I am. When I was young I came down with some illness that ate away at my strength, health... until I was like I am now. Barely able to walk on my own, days where I can hardly move. A few days at best from death, likely. And something happened. I was frozen in time, trapped. Forever alive. Forever dying. Unable to be fully either. I did not lie to you about that. I am always dying, Amu. Not a pleasant thing, but... I have learned how to... live with that, as strange as it might sound." The offered hand was looked at, though he did take it, raising her hand to press a soft, warm kiss to the back of her fingers. "We can be friends, yes, but that is why I came here. I want to make sure you understand a few things about me... and why I decided to lie to you about what Reiko said. I have not had the chance to bring it up to her yet, but... having others spread my condition, knowledge of it, scares me more than most anything else. I work way too hard to keep myself hidden, every four or so years moving to another country, a new name, a new life. My previous self 'dying' with it. Just to make sure no one can ever really... know. To protect myself. But that was before I came to learn of magic. Reiko, she showed me magic. And I want to have some hope that magic can do something for me, even if I know in my heart that it probably will not."
Of course, he was still holding onto her hand, not having even realized he was. He was just... holding her hand in his and quietly talking to her there in front of her house. Then again, she might not notice either.
Amu Hinamori stared up at him for a few moments, before nodding. "I understand. And i... won't tell anyone. Listen. I know what this is like. This... need to keep secrets. I don't know what it's like to be immortal, or anything like that. But..." She paused and shook her head. "I can't begin to imagine what it's like for you. what it feels like. Reiko isn't telling everyone. The only reason she told me is because, frankly, I'm one of the few adult-stand ins she knows really well and trusts. If she thought for a moment I'd tell anyone, she'd never have told me. And I won't."
"And yeah, I can understand that. A few years ago I didn't even know magic existed. Now I transform almost every day and just... it takes some getting used to. Maybe there will be people who can help you. I don't know. But... even if we can't help you magically. We might be able to lesson your pain. Okay?"
Eilam stood there, quietly, watching Amu before he finally started to realize he was still holding her hand. More importantly, though, she was still holding his. "You really are cute, you know that? So earnestly trying to help others. Even if you do seem a bit... naively blunt in your efforts, I'm less worried knowing you actually care about those you want to help. Thank you, for that."
Though once again Eilam leaned in, though this time it was to press a soft kiss onto her cheek, letting the touch linger there a moment. "You had me really worried for my friend that you were going to hurt her by stupidly trying to 'fix' her. But if I can trust you with myself, maybe I can trust you with her too."
The kiss, however, wasn't the only thing that lingered. Eilam did, too, just barely pressing against her with his one hand holding hers, and the other having come to rest on her hip. Okay, maybe he's a little interested in her. Maybe a little. But not enough to do something that might upset others.
Amu Hinamori froze, her eyes going wide. Her cheeks turned bright red and she just stared at him. He kissed her. On the cheek. But it was still a kiss. Her one of many weaknesses. She kept staring for a few seconds, her mind awash in the sensation. Then his hand on her hip. He was making a move. Oh gosh he was making a move she didn't know what to do a-a-and she was panicking and--
"Stop it!" she finally shrieked, trying to push him away, weakly. If he did it, she just kind of took a step back, her face red. "L-listen. I'm not... I'm not stupid. I know there's no magical fix for people. I know it can be difficult and require a ton of steps. My open heart isn't an instant fix. It requires people to want to be helped. To want to be healed. So I know how hard it can be to... just try. But... I saw her. The look in her eyes. How desperate she was to hurt me and yet how hard she stopped herself. She... might not believe there's any hope in her left. But I know there is. And I don't care if it's impossible. I won't give up on her." She then blushed a little more and glanced to him. "And... if you want my help... I won't give up on you, either."
Well, less making a move and more being friendly in his own way. The push managing to be a bit more effective than she might have realized. Eilam stumbled back a little, confused. Maybe she just got a bit too flustered and kind of knee-jerk reacted? Well, guess there's no reason to put /too/ much thought into it. "If you understand all that, then that makes me happy. I'm not here to take advantage of you, though, so... relax a little, Amu? I gave you a kiss on the cheek, that was fairly minor all things considered. If I can hardly give you a real kiss anyways, then you'd turn into a vampire like I am. Even if the kiss would probably be quite enjoyable for us both."
He offered his hand out towards her quietly, palm up. Why? He didn't say. Just his hand. "Unless you want to be a vampire too. Wouldn't do much for you, you're already quite pretty as you are, nice hair, nice skin. A little jumpy but I hear vampires personalities really don't change much."
Amu Hinamori stared and then, slowly, reached out for his hand and... pushed it away. "You don't tihnk I'm really gullible enough to believe you're a vampire, do you?" she asked with a snort. "How dumb do you think I am? Miki, not a word." "Awwwww."
She nodded. "And this girl has gone through a lot. I can see that. I can't claim to understand all of it. Or even much of it. But... I just want to help her. And I'll do whatever I can to do it. So... what can you tell me about her?"
"I do not think you are dumb, I am simply having a conversation with you, Amu. Why would I talk down to a friend?" Eilam shook his head a little. "I am not going to tell you about her. That's not my place. Just like it's not yours to tell anyone about me. If you want to know more, ask her next time you see her. But do not walk up on her, or corner her. Give her space. She's more scared of herself than you are of her." To which he stood upright a little more with a wince and stepped away to grab the stave he'd leaned against the light post.
Amu Hinamori nodded, staring at him for a few more moments before turning away. "Fine. I'll find out what I can from ehr and... I'll do everything I can to help her. But I'll let her come to me. I won't corner her, I won't chase her. I'll just... be there for her."
She started walking to the house. "Hop, skip, jump." Once again the wings appeared. "I'll see you around then, okay? I'd best get back to my homework." She paused. "Unless you are any good at doing book reports? You ever read... ugh, nevermind. Tadase'd be so mad."
"No thank you. I prefer to spend my time enjoying myself. Have fun. Nice dreams." And with that, Eilam turned and started to walk away. "Keep using that shampoo of yours, by the way, it smells nice." Hopefully nothing was thrown at his head before he got around the corner.