~~Prologue~~

"Hey guys! What's going on? I thought we were supposed to meet at Rei's," I questioned with my usual bubbly personality, even though I didn't feel it today. I was completely worn out, but didn't want to let on just how tired I was; it would lead to too many questions and questions weren't a good thing right now. I couldn't make things up as well when I was this tired.

"Her grandpa is sick. She said he wanted some quiet so he could sleep. She'll be by in a little while," Ami said without looking up from her book. Minako and Makoto were eyeballing the hot college guys that had come in right behind me while Ami answered my question. I just rolled my eyes as I climbed into the booth across from Ami. Minako and Makoto were sitting on the bench in front of the window, leaving Ami and myself sitting alone across from each other.

After a few minutes, one of the younger waitresses, a girl around our age, came over to take our orders. Makoto ordered a burger with fries and a shake while Ami got a sandwich, which cause Minako and Makoto to roll their eyes. Minako just ordered a large plate of fries and a shake, then the waitress turned to me.

"And what for you, Usagi?" she asked, pen poised over her notepad, ready for my normally large order. I thought about it for a moment, before my stomach rolled and made up my mind for me.

"Um, nothing for me, thanks," I said quietly. She frowned slightly then nodded, capping her pen as she walked away. I didn't notice the girls giving me funny looks, and probably wouldn't have if someone hadn't interrupted my thoughts.

"Wow, Usagi actually turned down food! Are you feeling okay?" Rei asked in a teasing tone as she sat down next to Ami.

"I'm just not hungry right now, I ate before I came here," I said, trying to ignore my now upset stomach. If only I could forget things for just a little while, maybe things would be normal again, even if for only a little while.

"Oh, I get it. You spent all your money on manga and video games again, didn't you?" Minako questioned with a laugh, while watching the door for more hot guys. If it'll shut them up…

After that, the conversation switched over to the usual. Talk about school and finals, and since we hadn't come across any new enemies since Galaxia, it then went to the latest movies. I, for one, was glad that we hadn't had any new enemies, even though it might have been a good distraction. Then again, maybe it would have just added to the list of things I'd rather forget about for a while. After about an hour, the conversation finally went to guys… Damn. Can't go one meeting without talking about guys. Maybe I can get out of this early, play sick or something. That shouldn't be too hard with how I'm feeling right now…

"Usagi? Are you here?" I heard Rei ask, then noticed her hand waving in front of my face. I looked around and noticed all the girls were watching me again. I just nodded slowly, nervous about what I had missed this time. Hopefully it wasn't anything big. "Good," Rei said, "Let's try that again. Ami asked you how Mamoru was doing in America." Shit. Why? Why did they have to ask about him right now?

"He's doing good. He has finals coming up too, so he's been real busy lately," I said, looking down at the table. Wow, I'm getting better at this. I guess after making it up for so long, it just comes naturally. That shouldn't be a good thing…

"Are you sure you're okay?" Minako asked after she scooted closer to me, then laid her hand on my shoulder. Guess I spaced out again, I need to quit doing that.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, wondering what they were thinking.

"You just seem out of it today. You keep spacing out, and you didn't try for any of our food," Makoto answered before Minako could say anything.

"I did tell you I wasn't hungry," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"No, I still think you don't have any money and that's why you didn't order anything," Minako stated. I just rolled my eyes and pulled out a small wad of cash from my pocket, showing I had plenty of money to order anything I may have wanted.

"No, I have money, I'm just not hungry, okay?" I snapped out without meaning to. They all noticed, of course.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Minako mumbled before returning to her remaining, and now cold, fries. She made a face as she ate one, then played with them for a while instead.

"I heard that, just so you know." I stated. "I think I'm gonna go ahead and leave. I guess I didn't get much sleep last night," I said, excusing myself. I stood up to leave, then was stopped by another question from Ami, one I really didn't want to answer. Not honestly at any rate, not right now.

"Why didn't you sleep well?" Ami questioned, somewhat pointedly. I slowly turned around to face them, wanting more than anything to leave instead.

"I don't know, I just didn't. You know, just one of those night where you keep looking at the clock to see it's only been another hour or so," I said, turning away from them once again. "I'm going back home. I think I'll try to take a nap or something." I quickly walked away before anyone could ask anything else, but my getaway wasn't fast enough. Andrew was just coming into work and stopped me for a quick chat. Dammit, I just want to leave!

"Hey there, Usagi. Have you talked to Mamoru lately?" he asked as he grabbed my arm and lead me to the counter. I could feel my friends watching me once again, this time wondering why I hadn't left yet.

"Of course, why?" I asked, trying to sound casual as he gave me a glass of water.

"So, are you going to meet him there or are you going to wait until he calls to tell you he's here?" Andrew asked. I choked on the water I had been sipping.

"What?" I managed to ask between coughs.

"Oops, maybe that was supposed to be a surprise," he said quietly.

"No, you've already said it so give me the details," I said, trying to stay calm. Why the hell is he coming back? He can't come back, not now. He'll ruin everything.

"Um, well, he's supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon. He said he had a surprise and that he was looking forward to coming back. He didn't say how long he was staying though," Andrew said thoughtfully.

"Better not be too long," I said without thinking.

"What? Why?" Andrew questioned, completely surprised.

"Huh? Oh," SHIT! "Well, he has his exams coming up soon. He can't fall behind, it'll take forever to get caught up if he stays too long. We wouldn't want him to have to retake anything, would we?" I said quickly. Did he buy it?

"No, you're right. He's probably just on break and thought he'd visit," Andrew said after a minute. That was close, too close. You need to get some more sleep or something, Usa.

"Listen, I should go. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night so I'm really tired," I said, standing up slowly and backing away from the counter.

"Oh, okay. Sorry I brought you back in when you were on your way out," Andrew said. "Oh, is next Saturday good for you? Kari needs off."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you later," I said, then quickly left before anyone else could stop me from leaving.

"I wonder what that was all about," Makoto said, watching Usagi rush out of the Crown, mindless of the quickly darkening clouds outside.

"One way to find out," Minako said with a sly smile, as she got up. She quickly made her way to the counter and started talking with Andrew.

"Yeah, that's one way to find out. And flirt," Rei said while rolling her eyes, laughing lightly.

"I wonder…"

"What is it, Ami?" Makoto asked, turning towards the blue haired girl.

"She didn't look too happy when he brought her back in, or with their conversation. I have a feeling he told her something she didn't want to hear. She didn't look too happy while talking about Mamoru earlier either. Do you think something happened between them? Or maybe he's not responding to her again?" Ami questioned, looking at them thoughtfully.

"Now that you mention it, she doesn't talk about him unless we bring him up. Even then, she doesn't really talk about him. She'll answer the question and that's it. I wonder why?" Makoto said.

"I don't buy her story today about not getting enough sleep last night. Something's going on. Why would she lie to us?" Rei asked with a frown. At that moment, Minako returned to the table.

"You won't believe what Andrew told me!" she exclaimed, returning to her seat. "Apparently Mamoru is returning tomorrow. He said Usagi didn't know, but he figures it was supposed to be a surprise. Although, he said her reaction was different than he thought it would be."

"How so?" Rei asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"Well, he said that when he asked her how long she thought Mamoru would be staying, she said, 'better not be too long' then went on about him falling behind if he stayed here too long. He said that she didn't have to sit there and think of what to say, that she just came out and said it, so he's not sure if she was trying to cover herself or if she really meant it," Minako explain quickly, and all in one breath.

"Well, it fits our theory," Ami said slowly, as she glanced at the door once more. Makoto and Rei only nodded.

"Wait, we have a theory? When did we get a theory?" Minako asked.

"While you were flirting with Andrew," Makoto answered with a smirk.

Okay, so he's coming back and he'll be here tomorrow afternoon… Shit! This isn't good. What should I do? Should I avoid him while he's here? What if he tries to contact me? What if Andrew or the girls start asking questions? Or Luna? Luna's getting awful nosey lately, I wish she'd just back off a bit. I won't tell them, they can't know. What would they think if they knew? Would they still be here? Or would they have left me alone already? I don't want to be alone…

I walked silently down the street, lost in my thoughts. My fears. I played my part so well these last two years that no one had suspected anything. Now he's coming back. Would it all have been for nothing? I was so nervous now, that I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep now, even if I tried. Maybe the dreams and nightmares were trying to tell me something after all. If it were anything but this, I would go to Rei and ask her to help me interpret them. I was too much of a coward to tell her, too much of a coward to tell anyone. Not even Luna knew what was going on, all she knew was the same lie I'd been feeding everyone the last two years. That's the thing about a web of lies, they eventually catch up to you and blow up in your face when you least expect it. I have to keep this from getting away from me. I won't let them find out, but I may have to tell them some of the minor things to distract them from the major ones. Two years ago was hell on Earth, I don't want to go back there. I won't go back there.