You Didn't Ask (Reader x Nea D. Campbell) {D Gray Man}

chapter 34

later on that day...

reader pov

"i must say, you are a soldier," said chalker. i shrugged. "it isn't as hard as it sounds, chalker. i work at the bookstore part time and i work at the studio at the part time. rounds out to about 30 hours a week," we were on our lunch breaks from our jobs. it was a little bummed to see that i only had classes with kazaana. i wanted all of my friends to form groups and shit. instead, me and kazaana join a group if we cant work by ourselves. "which one pays more?" he asked. "studio pays three times as much," i took a bite of my sandwich. "why dont you quit the bookstore and just work at the studio?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. "couple of reasons. bookstore gives me discounts on my books for school. i can even rent certain books for free with my id card. i get to talk to all types of people everyday which makes it easier to talk to people in the classes i dont have friends in. other reason is that....well if i dont have this job, i would literally never see you," i shrugged. "there you go again with the mushy shit, ian. i swear you live to make me emotional. we see each other at the club pretty often," he muttered, a light blush coming on his cheeks. "yeah but that's like three times a week sometimes. mainly on the weekends since neither of us goes to parties or has a life outside of our circle. we just hang out and watch tv or play games or something. i dont want three-day-a-week friends, chalker. i see kazaana when we work out together, we share three classes, and at the club. edgar is my roommate. i only get to see ya when i work at the bookstore. besides....if i weren't here, are you really confident that you guys would still be friends?" i raised a brow. "tsk...probably not. kaz is in the honor's dorm so we arent roommates, he has a full ride academic scholarship so he dont need a job and i dont really work out cause im lazy. honestly, i never really.....understood edgar. he makes it seem like he always has other things to do when we hang out yet when we try to leave, he acts like we are his entire life," said chalker. "oh that's simple: he is trying to save face. he is a sophomore who is friends with a group of freshmen. wants to appear cool to us cause we dont really have lives outside of the circle. in my opinion, he probably cherishes this friendship more than either of us," i said. he shook his head. "naw, id say kaz appreciates us more than anything. he is always the first one there when we all go out together. first one there when its for club meetings. i feel like he would be depressed if something happened to all of us," he finished off his sandwich just as i finished off mines. we still had ten minutes left of our break. "you smoke, ian?" he asked, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "naw but i dont wanna be all by myself," i got up and followed him out the door to the smoking area. 

i made sure to sit down wind so his smoke wont bother me. guy goes through a half a pack a day so he isn't deathly addicted but is addicted. "tsk....kaz wouldn't be the only one depressed if something happened to all of us. before you guys, i had one friend. some shit happened and i haven't seen him since. going from spending 90% of a week with someone to not having someone to talk to at all is fucking hell. id do anything to make sure this friendship lasts with all of you. i dont want us to just be college buddies, chalker. even though we dont all have the same majors, i want us to be friends for the long haul. all of us. you, me, edgar, and kaz," i said. he chuckled. "you sound depressing as fuck, ian. i really hate how much alike we are. before i was able to come to college, it was straight gang banging. i was able to get out of it a year ago thanks to a friend but i cant say it was easy after that. selling drugs isn't exactly a transferable skill," he grunted, lighting another cigarette. "cant say i dont know the feeling. i didnt sell drugs but my job in the gang was just as dangerous," i muttered, sipping my bottled tea. he looked at me, taking a drag of the cigarette. "you gangbanged?" he asked. "yeah, and i was probably the most dangerous kind: the snitch," i said. "shit...i sold while snitching on the side. hated it but it paid the bills, put food on the table, kept gas in the car, all that shit but im not even the one who you should feel sorry for. when i was in the gang, there was this 15 year old boy who was selling just like i was for the same reason i was. i wanted to bring him with me when i got out but i couldn't. it was hard enough for my boss to get me out of it," he said. "daisya," i sipped my tea. he looked at me again. "you know him?" he asked. i chuckled. "know him? spent more time in his house than at my own. wasn't uncommon that we would fuck from time to time," i finished off my tea.