Disclaimer: -taps heels together- I wish it was mine, I wish it was mine, I wish it was mine… -waits- Nope. :C

Author's Note: I know what you're thinking: haven't I seen this story before? O.o Yeah, you might have. This is the rewrite I was talking about. If you didn't get the message, I basically started hating the original version of this story and decided I needed to start over. Yeah yeah, I know, it took me forever (I said that what, last September?), but I took a loooong break and worked on other things (AKA I had writer's block and tried again and again to get a beginning I liked before giving up for a while). So let's start this journey again, shall we? :D I hope you enjoy~

Duplicity

Chapter 1: First Attempt

.~.~.~.~.

You know those days that you aren't quite sure how they might go, but are excited and hopeful for no real reason when you wake up anyway?

Today was one of those days, except I might have had a reason to be hopeful. And extremely nervous—and boy, was I. I was practically shaking the entire morning, what-ifs plaguing my mind non-stop. What if I made a fool of myself? What if she said no? What would I do then? Probably go hide in a corner and wish I could dissolve into it.

Today was a holiday, but just not any holiday. It was Summer 19th—the day of the Dance Festival. And I was going to ask the girl I liked if she would dance with me.

Well, if I could convince myself not to chicken out, anyway. I was good at that—chickening out, that is. The past few festivals were a complete failure on my part because of it, and this time I was stubbornly holding onto my resolve. I was going to ask her out. I was going to ask her out. I was going to ask Rosalind out, and nothing I could say to myself was going to change my mind. Maybe if I could keep on repeating that to myself, I'd actually do it.

…Who was I kidding? I couldn't do this. I slumped into the chair at the front desk with a sigh, setting my mug of coffee on the table. This was pointless. She would never say yes. Never in a million years would Rosalind, esteemed only daughter of the affluent Herman de Sainte-Coquille, agree to dance with me, the quiet doctor-in-training at the Alvarna Clinic (who wasn't the best dancer ever), childhood friends or not. Well, she might agree, but not in the way I wanted. Not…romantically. Just as friends. It has always been just as friends. I didn't want to be just friends anymore, not since…well, a really long time ago, when I figured out that my feelings towards her bridged past that point. Rosalind has yet to take the hint—not that I was doing a good job at dropping any.

There was a loud thump right above my head that snapped me out of my gloomy slump, and I heard angry voices filter down from upstairs. I sighed. Mom and Alicia were fighting again. I guess they decided to start early today; they usually didn't start bickering until they came downstairs. I took a sip of my coffee and leaned back into the chair. Today was going to suck, I decided. So much for waking up in a good mood…

Alicia came stomping down the stairs a few minutes later, looking positively livid and mumbling under her breath—one didn't need much of an imagination to guess at what she was saying and who it was directed at.

"Good morning," I called out, which she grumbled back before walking out the door and slamming it behind her. I gave the door a sour look before turning back to my coffee. Perfect way to start the day, definitely. At least my coffee wasn't rude. Mom came down with much the same expression, locking herself up in the infirmary before I even had a chance to say hello. What a wonderful family I had, totally supporting and loving, right? Here I was, spiraling into a nervous wreck, and no one noticed.

I guess I had no reason to be upset at them; they had their own things to worry about, but still. It would have been nice if someone noticed and gave me a little moral support. But no, no one cared.

"Good morning!"

Well, that was a little better. I looked up to see Max closing the door behind him, a great big grin on his face like he was the king of the world.

"Good morning," I replied automatically, taking another sip of my drink. Max came around the desk and sat on it in front of me. Why was he so happy?

"Why the long face?" He grinned, leaning back on his hand.

"You're sitting on my papers," I answered sullenly, but his grin only turned into a knowing smile.

"That's not it. Tell me." I frowned, avoiding his gaze. He was just going to make fun of me for chickening out, that little insecure voice in the back of my mind that was slowly getting stronger told me. I decided to ignore him. Max, not the little voice. The little voice was becoming very convincing right now—this was never going to work, I was just going to make a fool of myself, she was going to say no and not want to be friends with me anymore or ever speak to me again, she'll get angry or creeped out or-

"Hey, I'm talking to you, pay attention," Max said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I jumped slightly, looking up to glare at him.

"What?"

"What are you getting depressed about? You're supposed to be excited!" He said, gesturing eagerly. "Today is the day you're finally going to ask my sister out!"

"And why am I supposed to be excited?" I grumbled, "I'm just going to make an idiot out of myself."

"Hey, don't say that. You will not. We discussed this, Ray." He jumped off the desk—spreading papers everywhere, much to my dismay. "You're going to go up to her, start a nice, pleasant conversation, then sweep her off her feet for the best time she's ever had. You'll dance all night," he started moving around the room animatedly, dancing with himself and humming while I watched him incredulously, feeling a small smile tug at the corners of my mouth, "and when the night ends you'll tell her how you feel and she'll be so love-struck she'll have to say yes." He turned to me with a flourish, his grin from when he came in back. "And then you'll wonder why you were being so silly and didn't just ask her out weeks ago."

I chuckled. If only it was that easy… "…Do you really think she'll say yes?"

"Of course!" he responded quickly, "she'd have to be out of her mind to say no to you."

"But…"

"But nothing, Ray." I frowned.

"No! But… but what if she does say no? What if I make a mistake and make a fool out of myself? What if she's disgusted by the idea and doesn't want to talk to me anymore afterward or—" Max slammed his hands on the desk, startling me out of my rant of all the insecurities that had been plaguing me all morning. I looked up, but his gaze wasn't angry, just concerned.

"Do you really think she would do that, Ray?"

I let my head fall into my hands and groaned. "I don't know… no, probably not. I'm just… nervous." I was just making up excuses to not do it and save my dignity. Or possibly save myself from heartbreak. Both, probably.

"Ray…" Max said softly, his coat rustling just above my head. I wondered for a second why he was wearing it on such a hot day, but dismissed the question immediately because it was Max I was wondering about, and who ever understood why he did anything anyway? I shook my head in response, heaving the what, fifth sigh of the morning?

"It's stupid, I know, I should just ask… there's no point in building myself up and then not doing anything about it…"

"That's better! Now," he pulled me up from my chair by the hand, ignoring my protests and practically dragging me to the door, "go out there and ask her."

"But—"

"Go, silly!" he demanded, pushing me out and closing the door behind me.

"Hey! You can't lock me out of my own house!" I yelled through the door, trying the handle—it was locked—before knocking on it insistently. I wasn't ready for this yet!

"Sure I can! Go already; Rosalind is probably hanging around the West End by now. You don't want to keep her waiting, do you?" he responded, slightly muffled through the door. I glared at it; this wasn't very fair…mean door. Did it have to be so solid and prevent me from hiding from inevitable doom?

I groaned, turning around and staring in the direction of the Park. I could already hear music playing - lighthearted with a steady beat. Well, it was now or never…

.~.~.~.~.

Rosalind was where Max said she was—at the West End of town, lingering between the Mayor's house and the dock there, where we usually met on festival days. She was watching the water, looking lost in thought, and I watched her nervously for a little while—could I really do this?—before approaching.

"Good morning," I said politely, smiling when she turned to me.

"Good morning!" she responded with a smile of her own, which made my heart jump a little in my chest. "How are you today?"

"I'm good…" It was a lie, really, I was just about to jump out of my skin with nervousness, but she didn't have to know that. "How are you?"

"I can't complain. I actually slept decently last night. Thank you for the remedy you gave me, it worked wonderfully."

"Uhh, you're welcome, I'll be happy to make it for you whenever you need it," I responded shyly, feeling my face heat up. She definitely looked more rested than she had yesterday, and the grateful look she was giving me tied my stomach up in nervous knots.

"Thank you; that would be great." She nodded, turning her attention back to the water. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" I said lamely, and an uncomfortable silence stretched on after that, neither of us seeming able to think of anything to say. I could feel her gaze flicker toward me every few moments, and it was eating at me. What was I going to do? Freezing up was not part of the plan…

The silence stretched on, and I fidgeted in place, not knowing what to do. Should I just ask her? The conversation part of "sweeping her off her feet," as Max had put it, wasn't going very well.

"Is something wrong?" Rosalind asked, and I jerked with surprise, glancing at her with alarm. "You seem a bit… uncomfortable."

Shoot, was it really that obvious? "N-No, nothing's wrong, I-I'm fine!" I protested, waving my hands.

Rosalind gave me an expression that quite plainly told me she thought that was full of bull, and said so. "I don't believe you. What's wrong? You're acting strangely." She reached over, putting her hand on my forehead, and I'm sure the color of my face skyrocketed toward tomato. "Are you not feeling well?"

"No, no, I feel fine!" I said quickly, pulling her hand off my forehead before my face could possibly heat up any more.

"Then what is it? Is something bothering you?"

I sighed, staring at the ground timidly. Just say it, I told myself. Now was my chance…

"It's nothing, really… I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what?" she asked when I paused, and I squirmed a little. Just say it!

"I—"

"Hey!" I jumped at the voice and looked up to see Kyle running towards us, waving. I exhaled with relief, finally, a small distraction…

"Good morning, you two," he greeted when he reached us, slightly out of breath.

"Good morning," we replied in accidental unison, and I felt my heart jump a little again because of it. Rosalind just giggled.

"I had something I wanted to ask you, Rosalind." He glanced at me, then back to Rosalind. "Am I interrupting anything?" Uh oh, that sounded like trouble…

Yes! The little voice in my head replied indignantly, but I didn't voice it. I was only just about to finally ask Rosalind if she would dance with me after beating around the bush about it for forever, so yes, you are interrupting! Too bad I didn't have the courage to say such a thing.

"Not really, what is it?" Rosalind replied, and I frowned. Kyle looked relieved, and it bothered me. What did he want, anyway?

"Well, I was just wondering if you would like to dance with me."

…Wait, what?

"Hmm?" Rosalind stared at him for a second (where I hoped and prayed she would say no) before answering. "Yeah, sure, I'd like that."

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach.

"Great!" Kyle smiled, looking absolutely ecstatic. She returned it, and it felt like something inside me crumbled and died. Just like that. He asked her just like that, with hardly any hesitation at all and right when I was just about to ask her myself, and she agreed. Just like that.

"We'll talk later, okay Ray?" Rosalind called back as she walked off with Kyle, which I belatedly grumbled an 'okay' back to.

I couldn't believe it. That was so unfair.

.~.~.~.~.

The rest of the day saw me randomly wandering around town (steering well clear of the Park, where everyone was enjoying the festival—including Rosalind and Kyle) in a dejected mess. This was just perfect. The one time I had managed to collect my courage enough to just ask her like I had wanted to do for practically forever; and Kyle steps in and does it himself! Since when did he like Rosalind, anyway? I thought he was involved with Mana, but I guess not…

I eventually wandered back to the Clinic, and upon hearing the loud din coming from the room Mom, Douglas, and Gordon usually drank in on holidays, I quickly ran up the stairs and into my bedroom, crawling into my bed with a long sigh. This sucked. What were the chances that this would happen? I didn't even want to think about it anymore…

I was just about to doze off when Max knocked on my door. "Ray, are you in here? How did it go?" he asked loudly as the door clicked shut behind him. I didn't look up. "…What are you doing?"

"I'm moping, what does it look like?" I deadpanned.

"Moping? Why, what happened?" I heard the quiet screech of a chair being pulled across the floor to the side of my bed, and the creaking sound it made when Max sat in it.

"Kyle happened," I mumbled dejectedly through the pillow. "Just as I had finally gathered my courage and was about to ask her he appeared, talked to us for a bit, then asked her if she wanted to dance with him. She agreed before I could say anything." Not that I could have said anything… Kyle had an expression that resembled a kid at the Shooting Star Festival when she had agreed, and she had looked so excited herself…

"He what?" Max replied, shocked. "Wow…"

"Yup." I groaned, burying my face farther into the pillow. Suffocating sounded nice right about now.

"That's unfortunate…"

"Tell me about it," I huffed into the pillow, "he just walked right up and asked her like he was asking her about the weather. She looked really happy, too. Honestly, if I had this much of a problem getting to this point, I probably don't stand a chance against him if he really does like her…"

"Hey, don't be that way," Max said, forcibly rolling me over so I would face him. I scowled at him, but he ignored me. "This just means you have a little bit of competition, that's all! You just have to tell her how you feel before Kyle does."

If only it was that easy…

.~.~.~.~.

A/N: So that's the first chapter!

Thank you for reading; comments, suggestions, criticism, or whatever you want to throw my way is deeply appreciated, while not required. But I will love you forever if you do drop me a line!