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Once there was distance between them again, Howl laced his fingers together and set them on his lap. His expression was still quite serious. "My friend, you are jumping to conclusions quite quickly. Your version of the story would only skim the very edges of the full and true story."

There was a pause, where a strange silence followed. He looked to his friend, who was trying to find any sort of good in the situation, any sort of excuse to find Howl innocent. It was slightly laughable, though Howl would never reduce himself to chuckles at this point of the story.

"You see, my friend. Where as most lads would have stopped right then and there, I continued to pursue Amelia. To be quite frank, yes, it was stalking at this point, though I would have denied such an accusation then. I had even met the boy she decided was date-worthy. Brandon was his name. In all honesty, he was the one thing that made my glorious Amelia wilt like a daisy that was starved of sunshine. He stole her strength and attempted to mold her in a fashion that left her a husk of her former glory. In all sense of the description, he was the perfect 'bad boyfriend.' Even though she was dating this boy, she still considered me her friend. And no matter what I said, she had somewhat convinced herself that he was the good one, and in turn, that she herself was at fault for every little bump in their rocky relationship. It was quite maddening, to watch the fall of a strong angel, knowing full out that such a creature did not deserve what had happened to them."

He looked Franz over with a thoughtful pause, then phrased it as delicately as possible. "I was jealous and angry. Anger has a way of blinding people, Franz. None of this was Amelia's fault. No matter how much it hurt me, I will not blame her. I expect you to leave her free of blame as well."

For a moment, Howl's voice returned to its gentle and lighthearted tone. With a chuckle, he pointed out "Well, those guesses were closer to the truth. Still, they are not 100% correct." He had smiled, but then the smile fell as he continued on with the tale.

"No, I would never be so brash as to attempt strangling or fencing a boy to death. I tend to think things through, my friend. The day in which all went to hell, I had planned it out quite nicely. I had given the staff the day off so there would be no witnesses and I invited both Amelia and Brandon to my home for tea, or as in Amelia's case, coffee with sugar. It was easy enough to drug them while serving them tea and coffee. My intent for Brandon had been out of anger, and my intent for Amelia had been out of jealousy. I had set it up so that Brandon would die, yes. The staff had their own washroom away from the house. I set it up so that the area designated for baths would be his final resting place. It was not hard to set up, nor was it hard to prevent him from being able to do anything should he wake up."

In an effort to space out the two crimes, he paused, but only long enough to signal that there was still more. "I had also mentioned I was jealous. I had decided that I would make Amelia mine, no matter the cost. To shorten the story slightly, I will just outright say it. I was going to abduct her. I had only finished setting up Brandon's punishment when I came to get Amelia. When she awakened, she was quite upset, as I am certain you could imagine. Being drugged, waking up to be tied up and told that you'd be taken away, against your will. It also probably didn't help that I mentioned she'd never be seeing Brandon ever again."

A more lengthy pause followed, and Howl looked away from Franz for a moment. He placed a finger to his mouth, brushing it lightly over his lips. "All would have gone to plan, had it not been for the one maid who decided to stop by the house to ask about an upcoming vacation. As soon as she got a sense of what was going on, she had called the police. My final sentence was attempted homicide and attempted abduction. And quite obviously, Amelia did not want to be friends any longer. She got a restraining order against me, which does not allow me to be in the same city as her."

A short pause, and with that gentle smile of his, he turned to Franz and spoke in his light tone once more. "And so, I ended up at Hillworth." The feminine lad leaned forward, so his face was quite close to Franz. "I have been asked many times during therapy, that if I had the insight to the consequences, would I have still done the crime? I give the answers the therapist wants to hear. However, in all seriousness, I believe that things happen for a reason. Even now, as I realize that it had all been done out of anger and jealousy, and that none of my plans worked out as I had hoped for. Even knowing the consequences, I still wouldn't change a thing."

Here he paused and placed a finger under Franz's chin. "I wouldn't change a thing, because otherwise I would not have had the chance to meet you, Franz." In the back of Howl's mind, the predator had been mildly awakened, for he could hear mentally echoing in his mind that he would have still given Brandon what he deserved. Such a pig did not deserve to live. Without much of a pause, Howl continued. "Whether or not you realize it, I would be quite saddened if you ended yourself in the name of love."

Drawing his hand back gradually, Howl looked the situation over carefully. Indeed, something seemed off with Franz, but what had he expected. To learn that the seemingly innocent roommate was far less innocent than assumed would be a shock to the system.

He sat there in his chair, his posture still extremely pristine and perfect. "I am glad, my friend." His voice no longer held that distanced tone and was once more that warm, calming tone he used everyday. His features also seemed to relax, his mouth melting into that kind smile he frequently wore. "Franz. My friend, I felt you were deserving of the truth."

Even though the blonde had committed himself to being Howl's friend, to being Howl's brother, the long haired lad still had his doubts. It was human nature to be a bit suspicious, especially after hearing such a tale. It would have honestly been like being told you were now living with a serial killer. Chuckling slightly at Franz's reason for being banished to Hillworth, Howl stood up and took back his picture frame of Amelia. He set it back on his desk, face down, as it should be. It might have seemed out of place, but Howl offered a sympathetic "I hope your emotional wounds heal soon, my friend." There had to be some predetermined reason as to why Janice could not be with Franz. There had to be.

Turning back to face his roommate, he offered a smile and jokingly stated "As long as that 'guy love' is not of the 'homosexual' variety, then I am fine with it." One thing that Howl had never gotten used to was the notion of the "high five." His hand hesitated through the motion, but eventually he supplied a weak version of the desired gesture.

"Yes, the walking wounded. As long as we do not call ourselves 'scabs' for short." Once more, he offered a chuckle, then patted his friend on the shoulder. In a stronger, much more convincing tone, Howl offered "We will be fine."

[FIN?]