She frowned and loosened her grip on his collar, she couldn’t even look back up at him for some reason as his words rang throughout her head. ‘I don’t think you’re a bad person’… She repeated, it almost became a broken record in her mind, but everyone else thinks I am… The brunette knew he had a point to all of this, and it all lead up to the mention of money. They were poor, abandoned, and criminals. They didn’t chose this, it just sorta happened and it couldn’t have been avoided at the time. “ I feel like I’m dragging you into all of this, I’m dragging you down into trouble along with me. I… I don’t want to do that. “ Scarlet admitted before she finally looked back up at him, “ but I don’t want you to be alone either, like you said before. “ She added before gently placing a little kiss on his lips rather then his forehead for once, she meant it in a comforting way but it didn’t seem like that…
( 真二 ) Shinji had been getting ready to respond when he felt her lips against his. Well, that was new, and he certainly didn’t know how to react to it. So he drew his head back slightly to break the connection, looking more confused than anything else. “Er, um, well,” he stammered. Heat rose to his cheeks as he found himself unable to form a proper sentence. How was he supposed to respond? An empty train of thought washed over him, not giving any answers to the matter. All he knew was that he didn’t want to leave her hanging for an answer. “I-I… I like you too. Er, I mean, I don’t… w-want you to b-be alone…?” Did that work? He couldn’t be sure at all.
She smiled a bit after finally hearing his reasoning, “ I don’t want you to be alone either… loneliness is never good. “ The girl stated before falling silent as she thought back to the previous scene they caused, she frowned once again. “ It’s still not a good idea to be around me, you’ve seen what I can do Shin. I’m not a safe person to be around and you know that! “ Scarlet told him before looking right back up at him, she then moved right in front of him and stopped walking. She grabbed his collar and brought his head close to her level, “ you’ve seen me do terrible things! And even if it’s out of loneliness, I just–! “ The girl stopped and looked him in the eyes, “ I don’t understand… “
( 真二 ) Shinji gave a light shrug, unsure how to clarify. But their faces were so close at that point and he couldn’t keep his from flushing as he brought a hand up to scratch at the side of his head. “Well, we’ve known each other for a long time and you’re my friend. Even if you’re doing bad things… I don’t think you’re a bad person. I know it bothers you, what you do, but you aren’t just doing it for fun. Kids like us do what we have to to get by. I’ve been looking for a job to make some money, but people don’t want to hire anyone without qualifications. I don’t have enough money to get qualified either… So the bad things aren’t for nothing…”
“ That way, huh? “ She asked as she looked down the street, of course she believed him but either way she glanced back behind them to make sure no one would be following. “ Alright, as long as it’s the fastest everything should be okay for now… “ She explained as she kept her bruised up hands in her pockets and a frown took over her once cheerful attitude. “ Hey, Shin? I need to ask you something. “ She started off with as she kept hr head down, then she looked up at him a bit. “ I’m doing bad things, why do you still stick around if you have the risk of getting in trouble too? “
( 真二 ) The question surprised him; of course it did. The subject had never been brought up before, nor had Shinji ever given all that much thought to it. How did he even begin? As they walked, he remained silent, pondering over his answer. “Well…” he began after a couple minutes, “because I care about you, I suppose. Even if you’re doing bad things, I don’t want you to be alone.” After all, being alone wasn’t a pleasant experience, something they both surely knew at that point. “And you keep me from being alone in return.”
“ Alright… as long as you’re okay, we can get moving. “ She stated before glancing back into the alleyway at the unconscious man, lying face down on the dirty ground. “ Eh, he got what he deserved to some extent. We could walk, wouldn’t wanna waste the money just yet. “ The brunette explained before pulling her hood on top of her head and shoving her hand in her pockets. “ I’ll toss the wallet once we find a garbage can, although I left his ID and such behind. I was nice enough to leave the cards and photos he had too. “
( 真二 ) Shinji nodded along with her words as he glanced around them. Fortunately, the area was deserted, no one lingering around in the streets. The houses looked run down enough that he was willing to bet that at least a number of them were abandoned; still, as far as he could see, there was no one around to give them any trouble. “I understand,” he murmured before lifting a gloved hand up to point down the street. “That way should be the fastest back to the motel.”
“ Ya sure you’re okay? “ Oh look, she’s being protective over her partner in crime. “ I mean I could kill him, but right now he’s kinda unconscious in the alleyway over there… “ She said as she pointed to the nearby entrance to the alley, “ I also took some cash, but that’s ‘cause we kinda need it. Anyway, are you alright? “ Right after she got off topic, she snapped right back to her original purpose of leaving a man unconscious in an alleyway at night.
( 真二 )
“I’m okay,” the teen assured her, his tone revealing little emotion. The mention of killing made him frown a bit; he’d never liked the idea, so it was a relief whenever avoided. Still, neither of them had gotten hurt, so that was good too, even if he would have to wash more blood from her clothes. “Are we okay to leave? We could walk, or if we have enough money for a cab, we could do that too.”
