"Freya, come on, you gotta buck up! If you keep putting yourself down, you'll never be able to wield James properly." Naomi said with her eyes closed and eyebrows fixed in irritation.

"We know it's hard for you but please understand. As your friend I want what's best for you. We know you can pass any test with flying colors but…" Mariko trailed off.

The more blunt, Naomi spoke up.

"But you suck in the field." Naomi finished.

Freya's eyes watered.

"I'm not like you Naomi! I'm not confident and it's not like me to be outgoing all the time! Why do you say things so harshly? We're supposed to be friends!" Freya shouted sadly with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Duh! I'm this damn honest BECAUSE we are friends!" the black haired girl shouted.

Freya looked at her friends shyly.

"Naomi…maybe you are being too…" Mariko started but was cut off.

"What's going on?" James shouted. "Huh? Freya!" the scythe weapon shouted. "What the heck are you two doing? Are you being mean to her? Freya, I'm here now." James said pulling her close.

"James, we were just trying to help her." Mariko said glancing up at him apologetically.

"Some kinda help this is! She's crying! I don't care if you are her friends; get lost until you feel like being nice to her!" James said leading Freya away.

Mariko stood with her hands at her chest and Naomi with her arms crossed.

"Damn. I get yelled at for trying to do something good." Naomi said.

"Don't get into a mood Naomi…you know how Freya is…" Mariko said; Naomi sighed.

"I know, but I just can't stop myself sometimes. I just want her to be stronger so she can face the kids who pick on her. I love her and I worry that I won't always be there to kick the asses of those bullies for her." Naomi said looking up at the ceiling.

"Heeeeeey ladies!" Caden and Zeke called as they wrapped their arms around their meisters.

"Caden, you're so silly all the time." Mariko laughed.

"What the hell? Get off you big DUMBASS!" Naomi shouted, giving Zeke an uppercut.

"So what's going on? You two look way bummed." Caden said curiously.

"Wanna go draw some penises on the blackboards? That always cheers me up." Zeke asked with a smirk. Naomi instantly punched him. "Ok…I guess not."

"No thanks Ezekiel. Anyway, we were trying to give your sister a pep talk but I guess it got more out of hand and she got upset." Mariko explained.

"Ah geez, that girl…just can't grow up." Caden said.

"Yeah, she's never had confidence and so she clings to other people." Zeke said crossing his arms.

"But she has friends like me and Mariko!" Naomi objected.

"Yeah but still…" Caden started.

"she needs more than that." Zeke finished.

With James and Freya:

"J-James…where are you taking me? Why do I have to wear a blindfold? It's kind of…scary." Fray said nervously.

"Hey, relax. I would never hurt you Freya! Do ya know why?" James said guiding her forward by holding her shoulders.

"Wh-why?" Freya asked.

"Because you're my princess!" he answered laughing.

Freya's cheeks glowed a soft strawberry color and a tiny smile crept onto her face.

"We're heeere." He called happily.

"Um….where's here?" Freya asked worriedly.

"Why don't you take a look on…1…2…3!" James shouted and pulled off her pink blindfold. She gasped instantly.

"Ahh…woooow…so pretty…" Freya whispered taking small steps.

James had brought her to a small clearing within the woods, where the grass was soft and green, there was a tiny stream and small waterfall, and tons of colorful flowers.

Freya loved flowers; they were her favorite thing in the world. She giggled and ran up to a patch of them and gasped in surprise when several beautiful butterflies flew out. Butterflies were another one of her favorite things.

"James…how did you find this?" Freya asked in an awe-struck tone.

"I ran into it when I was out training. I knew you'd love it right away and so I decided to bring you here! Isn't it great?" he asked her happily.

"Yes…it is…I love it…" Freya said closing her eyes and allowing the spring breeze to blow her soft locks around enchantingly.

James stared at her. She was caught in a small ray of light that came through the trees, and she was simply captivating. Her hair shimmered like liquid gold, and her skin glowed more beautiful than any star in the sky. Her small smile graced her lovely features just right and her eyes were closed angelically.

"Freya." James said gently.

"Yes?" she asked with that innocent smile of hers. James took her hand.

"E-eh?" she sputtered with her cheeks turning pink.

"You know I mean it right?...when I say that you're my princess right? And…I really am gonna make you my wife one day okay. I'm gonna get a really good job so I can buy you lots of flowers and strawberry shortcake! And I wanna buy a pretty clip to put in your hair! And then I—"

"James….I know you mean it…hehe you're so….nice…" she said simply, looking down timidly.

At the academy:

"I appreciate you coming down here Mrs. Stein." Maka said.

Caden and Ezekiel were shaking in fright in two chairs as they sat before Maka who had called Marie.

"Maka…I'm so sorry. What have my boys done this time." Marie said sending her sons a death glare.

"Caden. Ezekiel. Why don't you tell your mother what you've been up to today." Maka said with a smile.

"Um…..well…" the boys said together.

Marie stood in front of them.

"If you two don't speak up right now, I won't give you cookies for a month! Have I made myself clear?" Marie said with her hands on her hips.

"OK MOM!" the boys cried at the same time.

"You see, we got bored and so we decided to play a game." Caden said.

"What kind of game?" Marie said not taking her eyes off of them.

"We filled some guns with sour milk and decided that whoever hit the most people after 5 minutes was the winner." Zeke explained.

Marie's scowl grew bigger, but she turned to face Maka instead of disciplining them right there.

"Maka, what punishment would you like to give?" Marie said seriously.

"They hit about 30 kids total so I say 30 days detention." Maka said calmly.

"THAT'S LIKE A MONTH!" the boys shouted in outrage.

"Very well….and BOYS." Marie glared. "When we get home, you two are going to have a talk with your father about this."

Caden and Zeke gulped…hard.

Back with Freya and James:

"Freya…." James said softly.

"Wh-what is it?" Freya said uneasily.

"Can I…kiss you?" James asked carefully.

Freya's heterochromic eyes widened and her cheeks turned the color of sakura petals.

"You don't have to say yes Freya. I'm sorry if I scared you." James said placing a hand on her upper arm comfortingly.

"Ok well…hold still so I don't miss alright?" James said, now blushing as well.

"Ok…" Freya breathed gently.

James took her shoulders gently and began to lean forward slowly. Freya leaned in too but even more slowly than James.

Freya is my princess James thought.

I like James…I like James a lot….he's…sweet…. Freya thought.

Freya could feel the heat of his cheeks mixing with the heat of hers. He was so close.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" a deep voice said suddenly.

James and Freya's eyes shot open as the whipped around to see.….

"D-daddy….." Freya stammered.

(A/N: Freya's having a tough time mastering her skills due to insecurity, the boys are in deep trouble, and holy crap Stein walked up on his little girl getting kissed. Uh oh…hope you're enjoying so far!)