[IC] He's Crazy!

[Tazu The Fox]

Somewhere in the east coast of California, there was a small city known as Drava, It had a few schools, banks, gas stations; the list goes on.

In this town was a young boy with a split personality. At times he could be really ecstatic and cheerful, other things things got a little weird. Walking down the street in his usual black overcoat, the boy was on his way to the coffee shop just a bit down the road from his Mom's house. He was planning to move out soon since he knew that she couldn't stand him ever since the fight had broke out about four years back.. His father, a burly man who had worked night-to-night to keep the place running had lost his patience once again in the middle of the
day, angry with how his own flesh and blood liked to portray himself. "You look like a fuckin' punk, why the hell'd you let him dye his hair for anyway ?, Kid looks like shit with that mop." his dad had said with a overly aggresive tone, flipping through the daily newspaper for a bit.

Normally things usually calmed down after that but his dad kept eyeing him, a disgusted look stilled on his face before he quickly moved from his seat at the dinner table and quickly grabbed him by the arm. "No son of mine is going to look like some piece of garbage..." he said before starting to rush him towards the bathroom.
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Tyler snapped out of it as a car nearly ran him down in the middle of the street, he was in a cold sweat and he heard the angry honking as he looked over to the streetlight which had turned red and he saw the big Red hand motioning for him to stop; it occured to him though, that stopping in the middle of the road wasn't the best choice of action. Quickly, he pulled up his hood and ran across the street, only a block away from the coffee shop.

[xKarnival]

By the time she knew it, school was out and it was already spring break. Emi found herself laying on the couch, pondering what she could possibly do. All of her friends were out of town, and she had no plans for the entire week. Sighing, she realized that her life was boring, dull, and stiff. She always went through the same routine day in and day out, secretly hoping for something exciting to happen to her.

After nibbling on a couple of chips and lounging in front of the TV, she eventually decided to get up and move. Wanting a change of pace, she left her house and headed to the main streets of the town. A flood of people covered the streets, forcing her to squeeze through just to get a couple blocks away from her house. However, once the traffic slowed, she realized that she hadn't thought of where to go. Glancing at the multiple stores surrounding her, a coffee shop caught her eye. Through the glass windows, she spotted an upright piano in the corner. Feeling a pull of interest towards the piano, she eagerly crossed the street towards the coffee shop.

The tinkling of the bells on the doors rang as she entered, bringing the attention of one of the workers to her.

"Would you like to order something?" He asked politely.

"Uhm...I'll take...a" she quickly scanned the menu, blurting out the first thing she read, "caramel cappuccino." The worker nodded and she quickly paid for the drink and chose a table near the piano.

Barely sipping on her cup of coffee, her fingers tapped the table anxiously, wondering if she had the courage to ask if she could play it. She had to admit even though she was a shy person, she loved to show off her skills on the piano. Every time her eyes meets a piano she feels like she has an obligation to play it.

Eventually, one of the workers noticed her eyeing the piano and came up to her, "you can play it if you want."

Hearing those words, she flashed a quick smile at the worker and instantaneously dashed towards the piano. She hastily adjusted the chair and got into a good position to play. Taking a deep breathe, she started playing the song she was working on at the moment. In the beginning, the song was slow and heavy. Eventually, the speed of her fingers flew across the piano and the intensity of the song grew. Once she entered the peaceful part, she realized that the coffee shop had gone quiet. Continuing with her song, she now felt slightly embarrassed from all the attention, resulting in a couple of stumbles from her fingers. She started to blush, but pushed through till she reached the very end of the climax and song. As she let the last note ring, the air grew silent and she heard an applause from the other customers.

Even more embarrassed, she bowed a little bit and then quickly sat down at her little table again. This had happened every time. Even though she knew showing off would lead to her being embarrassed, her pride wouldn't let her not play a piano if it was sitting in front of her. The adrenaline from the short performance ran through her and she couldn't sit still. She shot up from her chair and walked towards the exit of the coffee shop. Receiving some compliments here and there, she gave them a small smile and a quiet, "thank you." Too busy thanking all the compliments, she didn't pay attention to where she was going, resulting in a crash with another person in front of her. Quickly after, her coffee flew all over the person. Flustered and slightly shocked, she panicked, unsure of what to do. "Uhm...uhm...I'm sorry. Sorry..." She said as she desperately looked around for some type of towel.

[Tazu The Fox]

Tyler continued to make his way to his destination, quietly opening the doors to the shop and hearing some slow, beautiful music playing throughout the shop, a rarity that someone skilled was at the helm of the old piano in the corner. He usually ignored the players but this one managed to grasp his attention. As the song continued on he realized he hadn't gotten his order yet, turning his attention to the counter and purchasing the usual: For him, it was a "Chocolate Melt Extreme" an ice cold mocha with fudge at the bottom and a bunch of off-brand store bought chips for a dollar, there was also the option to make it into a twist, adding a variety of different flavors, but he was usually fine with just the basics. His mother usually always wanted him to bring her back some coffee as well, liking it bitter and black as night.

As he waited for his order to be done, he moved his thoughts back to the piano player; he studied her from distance, back against the wall near the counter and his hands in his pockets. He had always wanted to try his hand at an instrument but his father had forbidden it. "The day you learn to play any instrument is the day i'll roll in my grave" he said doubtfully, looking at his son with a doubtful smirk " You can't even stand being in school for an hour extra.. what makes you think you have it in you to go to music lessions ?"

Tyler had a slight grimace on his face as the memories continued to flood in, almost not noticing the gaze from the worker behind the counter, the two drinks in a nice cup-tray and he quietly appologized taking them from her hands and hearing the music stop. As he was making his way for the door he was surprised when he suddenly felt a hot, scalding burn hit him straight in the chest and drizzling down to his stomach...

Biting his lower lip he looked at the large stain on his shirt, one he had gotten from a concert a few cities away, he had seen one a band with his sister, who had moved west when she had gotten the chance. A favorite band of hers called "Ashes for My Love" one of the bands most people would think something was wrong with it's listeners. The kind of death-growling screamo bands where all the members look like their dads beat them occasionally.

Realizing he needed to react, say something or maybe even yell at the person now in front of him he recognized her as the one playing the piano moments earlier and saw the distress on her face as she looked every-which way for something to clean up the mess. "... it's fine, I got it" he told her calmly, but his voice revealed he was slightly irritated. Knowing that this could have happened to anyone, he quickly turned to the counter. " It was my bad, I should have watched out... you guys got a mop, right ?" he asked the girl behind the counter before she nodded and went to go retreive it; leaving the two alone with their stained clothes...

[xKarnival]

Emi expected more of a reaction out of him, but he continued to remain calm and composed. However, she noticed a flash of irritation in his tone as he tried to reassure her. As the girl went to get a mop, an awkward silence blanketed the area, both not sure of what to possibly say to each other. She still felt awful for spilling her and his drinks and decided to pull out her wallet, attempting to offer money for the cleaners and his coffee. Surprisingly, when she opened her wallet she found a nicely flatted out bill of only one dollar. She stared blankly at her wallet in disbelief, eventually closing the wallet and slipping it back into her handbag. Glancing at her watch, it was one in the afternoon now and she thought that it wouldn't take that long to run back home to get the money. It was a bit of a stretch, but by the time she knew it her feet was already moving towards the door.

"I'll be right back," she said hurriedly to the boy and then dashed out of the coffee shop. She sprinted down the now empty streets and headed towards her house. Reaching the door, she fumbled to unlock it, taking an extra minute or so for her to open it. Once she was in the house, she thought of getting him a change of clothes, so he didn't have to walk around in a completely coffee stained shirt. She scavenged her dads, closet looking for a shirt, hoping that it would fit the guy. Holding the shirt in her arms she then searched her room for some money. "I wonder if it was okay to just leave him there..." a thought popped in her head as she checked in another wallet for some money. Once she found some, she quickly stuffed it into her current wallet and left the house.

"Wait...what if he thinks that I completely bailed on him?" She thought as she started to panic. She rushed out onto the streets seeing that the sidewalks remained empty, making the trip back to the shop quick. When she finally managed to make it back to the store, through the window she noticed that he was still there. Feeling relieved that he didn't leave, she started to worry if he was upset that she left him there. Panting and face flushed from sprinting home and back, she took a deep to slow her heart rate and then slowly walked up to him.

"Sorry...I went home to get some money to pay for your coffee and to get a shirt that you could change into. I felt bad that you might have to walk around in that all day," she said apologetically as she handed him the money and shirt.

[Tazu The Fox]

Tyler was relieved when the burning quickly stopped as the girl went to get the mop, but was a little puzzled when the girl suddenly bolted out of the store yelling that she'd return. turning around as he heard the door of the shop slam open from her speed, he arched a brow and looked down at his shirt, a shocked expression hit his face again and he gripped the warm stain, happy that the shirt was black in color, but still a little annoyed.

He decided to sit down and looked out the window, seeing a older looking couple in the car bickering about something he couldn't quite make out on their lips. He quickly began thinking about how much his parents would argue, day and night and tried to think further back to any really bad times before he saw something in the corner of his eye and turned his attention to the mop's handle being presented to him.

He quickly got to work, taking the bucket and mop given to him without another word and began cleaning up the mess on the floor, he ignored the snickers that he had got ever since the incident had occured, was too used to hearing scowls and insults to bat an eyelash.

Right as he was finishing he heard the door open again and saw the girl who had gotten him in such a mess, he wasn't even sure what time it was anymore and he peered around for a clock before noticing the shirt that she had in her hands and blinked, staring at her as she began talking for a few seconds and looked down at the money she had got, then the shirt.

"... uh, yeah... thanks" he said trying to keep himself from sounding like he was completely caught off-guard and cleared his throat. As he took the shirt and the money from her, he turned around for a moment and leaned over the counter, placing the shirt on the table while the other one presented the money given to him. "I would like the same thing I just ordered." he said firmly before turning his attention to the girl in question, looking down at the shirt on the counter "You didn't need to bring me a new shirt..." he told her before folding it and turning around, presenting it to her with a slight gaze "But thank you for paying me back... what's your name ?" he asked, though it almost sounded like a command by the way his tone struck.

[xKarnival]

As he ordered his drinks again, Emi realized that the floor were mopped clean. She then felt a pang of guilt, for leaving him here to clean up the mess himself. Once he had finished with his order, he offered the shirt back to her. Somewhat unwillingly, she accepted the shirt back, letting it hang over her right arm.
"What's your name?" he asked.

"Emi," she replied shortly, pausing a little. She noticed that he looked oddly familiar, recognizing his features from somewhere before. Thinking about it for a second, she realized that he probably went to her school. She then asked, "What is your name? You look really familiar, do you go to Franklin high School (completely made this name up XD)?"

[Tazu The Fox]

(That's fine owo)
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Tyler blinked as she asked this question, peering at her closer than before he tried to put his finger on it when she brought up the highschool he had graduated a year ago. "Oh, yeah I actually finished a year back.. Emi huh, is that short for something or-" he paused realizing he was probably just boring her and looked around again for a clock before giving in. "Say, you don't have a phone on you or something, do you ?" he asked hoping he wasn't taking to long with this diversion and was stunned that he never noticed the shop lacked a clock.

Should be part of the requirements to run a place like this.. he thought to himself, hoping that he wasn't too teribly late with his mothers coffee, normally it took him around a few minutes while he was now taking around ten...

[xKarnival]

"Yea, I guess it's short for Emily," she quickly answered him, before he stopped mid-sentence. She noticed that he started to look around for something, seeming slightly anxious.

He then turned towards her and said, "Say, you don't have a phone on you or something, do you?

The sudden question he sprung on her surprised her, but she fumbled a bit as she pulled out her phone, "uhm...yea I do." When she glanced at her phone, she noticed that it was already three o'clock. Her eyes widened, surprised that that much time had past already. After getting over the surprise, she faced the bright screen towards him that read 3:00 on the top.

[Tazu The Fox]

Tylers eyes widened alarmingly as he looked at the digits on her phone. Silent for a long while, Tyler realized he had been staring with his jaw wide open and he quickly shut it and began moving for the door, forgetting the drinks he had ordered a second time around and knew his mother would be furious with him for how long he was keeping her waiting.

"I gotta go, we'll talk later, right !" he said before abruptly slamming straight into the door, forgetting it was a "Pull", not a "Push".

Scowling, the boy fell backwards onto his bum, his hands reaching for his forehead in recoil, "Son of a bitch!" he thought to himself.. or rather, he had hoped as he was gaining quite the attention in the shop today, much more than he could handle as he got up and looked around, the faintest look of embarrassment hit the staring crowd and he quickly pulled the door open, walking slowly out, not wanting to attract anymore attention

Nice going, loser... wait.. where ? The boy grimaced as he realized the two coffee's he had forgotten and sheepishly walked back in, his eyes darting over the room and wondering how his luck at that very moment could get worse...

[xKarnival]

As soon as Emi showed the time from her phone to him, a panic looked flashed upon his face. Right when she was gonna ask why he was in a hurry, he suddenly blurted out, "I gotta go, we'll talk later,right!" and ran into the door. Emi wasn't sure on how to react, but she was surprised, not expecting him to be the type of person to run into a door. He quickly got off the floor and dashed out of the coffee shop. She wasn't sure what just happened, but she realized that she still hadn't learn what his name was.

However, in the midst of her thoughts, someone hastily came into the shop. Snapping out of her thoughts she realized that he had came back. He looked like he was searching for something and she noticed his drinks sitting on the counter. She then briskly walked up to the counter grabbing his coffee and placing them in his hands.

"Here," she smiled, amused by his actions, "I think you need these, right?" she said, stifling a laugh.

[Tazu The Fox]

Tyler looked the girl with almost a spiteful look underneath his flushed cheeks, meanacingly staring at her before cracking a small smile "Um, yes thanks..." he said before deciding he owe'd her something "Ummm, anything I can do to repay you for your... kindness? " he asked, the glare fading from his eyes as he accepted the drinks she had been so kind to grab from the counter and was a little more relaxed.

He suddenly got an idea and he looked at her for a few moments, almost examining her before speaking abruptly " You know!, uh, you should meet my mom, she likes company..." he said with a slight grin, through, he mostly felt like he was just trying to take some of the heat away from when he got back late...

[xKarnival]

"Ummm, anything I can do to repay you for your...kindness?" he asked. She was surprised, from his sudden offer, not expecting anything back for getting his coffee for him, so she was speechless, unsure of what to say. Again he blurted out, continuing his statement from before, "You know! Uh, you should meet my mom, she likes company..."

"His mom?" She thought surprised and slightly confused. She hesitated, for a while glancing at her phone again, pondering whether she should or not.

"Hmmm...I guess I don't really have to be anywhere..." she mumbled to herself. In the end she just gave a shrug, "Sure. Why not," she finally answered giving him a small smile. "Here, let me help you with this," she said as she freed one of his hands by grabbing one of the coffees, "I'm guessing this is for your mom?" She said motioning to the coffee in her hand.

[Tazu The Fox]

Tyler began moving for the door as he began speaking "Yeah, I was supposed to come here and come straight back so she might be a bit angry..." He told her before looking back towards her "So what year are you, y-your schooling.." he added, making sure they were on the same page as they made the journey to his mothers. He stopped at the light, the one where he was nearly run down and wondered what he would talk about on the way there, not being too much of a talker.

He started to think about what he liked doing, he owned a dog, but it almost actively tried to avoid him.. he wondered what was the point of owning a dog if it didn't want to be by you.

As he walked he waited for her to respond, almost in a anxious needy way, his eyes showed a want for attention and he waited for her eagerly to say something, Anything.

[xKarnival]

When Emi heard that he was supposed to go straight back home, she felt guilty for delaying him at the coffee shop by running into him. They starting walking out the door towards his mothers house and she started to doubt herself on going to a strangers house. However, she decided to try not to be so closed in all time at home and to try and meet new people. Too deep in thought, she realized later while they stopped at the light, that he had asked her a question.

"Oh...uhm..." she said trying to think back to what he asked, "I'm in my senior year in high school," she finally answered as they crossed the street, "but I can't believe we will be graduating so soon...there will only be a couple of months left and then we'll be off to college," she said worriedly. Once they crossed the street she glanced at him and asked, "Are you a senior too?"

[Tazu The Fox]

Tyler looked at her as they began nearing their destination, slightly unsure how to answer the question. "Well... I actually graduated last year." He said unsure how she would take that, feeling she might get a bit salty at him for already being out of school. As they continued forth, they finally reached his mother's house and he pointed over to it "Just right there across the street" He told her, pointing to a house that looked like it was starting to weaken and fall apart. He quickly began crossing in the middle of the road and motioned for her to follow... though, it was the busiest street in town...

So far there wasn't a car coming down the road, a rarity for such a busy area, the road went straight off into a highway route so there was usually plenty of traffic but for the moment it seemed it was alright. "Come on, this is the fastest way, we won't have long!" He told her as he rushed to the other side and hoped she was following from behind.

[xKarnival]

When he pointed to his mother's place, she was surprised by the state of the house. It seemed like it was very worn down, and to get there they had to cross a road. Tyler quickly crossed the road and motioned her to follow. Looking to her left and right, checking for cars she then quickly sprinted across the road following him. While running, she tried to maintain the balance of the coffee in the cup, hoping it wouldn't spill and end up splashing all over her.

When they finally reached the other side, she breathed a sigh of relief, glad that part was over and glanced at the cup. Thankfully, nothing spilled and she was still clean. Looking back, a couple of cars passed, but the road remained vacant. She then turned to Tyler motioning to the road, "Thank god there were no cars." When she looked at the house, she noticed only one light on in the house, which was in the area where she thought the kitchen might be, "I'm guessing she's waiting for you."

[Tazu The Fox]

Tyler nodded and took a deep breath before opening the door to his mother's humble abode. inside the place looked slightly nicer, but was still quite the mess: pillows thrown down the staircase visible from the door, the tv was on but nothing was being broadcasted, the kitchen was unclean and frankly just destroyed. As Tyler made his way inside, he looked around and saw that his mother must have gone out since she wasn't on the couch and looked for some sort of note or anything left behind to let him know where she was at.

"Well... seems she's not home now.." He said with a slight nervousness to his voice before looking at Emi with a small smile, "C'mon, you can see my room if you'd like... unless your busy." he said looking at her with a curious glance, his mood had changed very significantly it seemed as he looked at her with a bright and cheery face and began skipping up the steps, not even waiting for a reply from his guest.

[xKarnival]

When they entered the house, the house was silent other than the occasional buzz from the flickering grey and white screen. Scanning the house, she noticed that no one was in the house and that many items were strewn across the house. "Is it okay to just come in?" She thought to herself as she followed Tyler through the house.

"Well...seems she's not home now..." She heard Tyler say from the kitchen, "C'mon, you can see my room if you'd like..unless your busy." However, before she could reply, he had already started walking up the stairs. He seemed excited and his expression change, giving off a softer feel. She followed him up his room hesitantly though, almost losing track of him at one point. They then entered his room and she stood warily near the doorway, as it was gonna be the first time she went into a guys room.

[Tazu The Fox]

Much like the rest of the house, Tylers room was an absolute disaster, his clothes were bunched and all thrown about on the floor, most of them were clean but there were a good amount of dirty shirts waddled up in a small corner of the room... the more odd thing was everything seemed messed up, yet some parts were seemingly clean or spotless, his bed was made and tucked in nicely except for the pillows, in which, were all over the place. while he had nice looking room, some of the paint was torn off and withering away showing off the pale baby-green paint from when the house was originally bought. It now was fighting a much more darker blue tint, though, it would seem that it had been there awhile as the darkness to it had slowly been fading away.

Tyler sat on the bed, he looked almost like a innocent schoolboy as he offered a seat next to him and looked around "Oh... sorry about the mess, i'm sure it'll be fixed by the time you come back... you'll come back right ?" he asked her, looking at her with a wide smile that looked inviting... and misplaced.

As he waited for her to answer he suddenly began springing up to his feet, moving things back to where they should go: Dirty clothes in the basket, clean ones on the top of his dresser and in the drawers, he began to speed clean as he babbled on about something but was keeping it mostly to himself as he formed incoherent chatter.

[xKarnival]

She finally decided to enter the room and Tyler offered a seat next to him on the bed. However, she was still hesitant on sitting, so she decided to stand, well at least for that moment.

"Oh...sorry about the mess, I'm sure it'll be fixed by the time you come back...you'll come back right?" he asked her.

"Come back?" She thought. She hadn't really thought that far and she didn't really have a reason to come back. During her silence he quickly scurried around the room, trying to tidy up the place. Emi noticed a small desk and a wooden chair in the corner of the room and decided to sit there, while watching him clean. She also realized she was still gripping the coffee that was for his mother in her hand, so she gently set the coffee onto the desk. As he continued cleaning, he chattered on, letting out a flow of words that were too quiet for Emi to understand.

After a couple of minutes, Emi heard the door open from downstairs and a high pitched female voice, who Emi assumed was his mother, called out for him.