A/N: I'd just like to give a little background on the start of this fic in response to some of my reviewers. AnD starts out post-series, so there's already been a lot of bonding between the girls. During that time, we fans had the KaoMiya bug implanted in our brains for our own choice reasons from the series to which we can refer, and therein lies the start of Kaoru's feelings for Miyako. As the fic begins, these feelings aren't new; dealing with them honestly and acting upon them are. Sorry for any confusion.

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Chapter 1-

Autumn whipped through Tokyo, its very essence in the air nipping at three girls' faces as they walked home from school. Each had been handed a flyer upon exiting the schoolyard. The redhead of the group held it up to her face, eyes riveted to the page.

"Ehh! A fall dance? How romantic!" she squealed excitedly, clutching the page to her heart. The blonde next to her smiled softly.

"Isn't it?" she cooed. The final, coal-haired member of the trio crushed the advertisement into her pocket unceremoniously.

"Waste of time," she scoffed. The redhead frowned at her.

"Oh, Kaoru, it's just like you to say something like that. Don't you even care about finding a date, getting all dressed up, and dancing the night away?"

Kaoru paused, sarcastically pretending to think about her answer. "Mmm… no." The girl addressed frowned again, but the blonde only laughed.

"Just like Kaoru."

"I don't know why you're so excited about it, Momoko," Kaoru told the redhead. "You probably won't even find a date."

"I will so! You just wait!" Momoko yelled. The blonde kept smiling at her friends' antics, despite the guilt rising in her chest.

"Hey, Miyako!" The blonde snapped out of her thoughts at Momoko's voice. "Who are you going to go with?" Miyako blushed slightly.

"Um, I don't know yet…"

Kaoru scoffed again. "Take your pick of the school," she teased. "All the guys are gonna be after you." Miyako blushed more, muttering a faint "um". Momoko grinned at Kaoru suspiciously.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous...!"

Her words shot through Kaoru like a bullet. She jumped, stiffening, face flushed. "I-I'm not!" she protested loudly. Her friends laughed, Miyako more subdued than Momoko. She was still so unsure…

The dance…

Miyako sat at her desk that night, dressed in her pajamas. Even after pouring her thoughts into her journal, she still had no idea what she was going to do about the dance. Looking at the flyer tacked to the wall above the desk, she noticed that there were still two weeks until the day. At least she had some time to think about it.

Getting up, she went over to the window and looked out at the starry sky, a habit of hers whenever she thought about Takaaki. He was the main reason for her trouble. She felt obligated to go with him. But what if he was still too sick to go? Would she stay behind? Or would she go with someone else? And if so, who with? The stars slowly twinkled back at her, as if trying to comfort her or give her advice from their heavenly abode. Miyako stretched and climbed into bed, snuggling up next to Octi. Sleep would be a long time in coming.

***

At the Matsubara residence, Kaoru was also having problems falling asleep. After tossing and turning for several long minutes, she sat up and stared blankly into the darkness. She couldn't get Momoko's words out of her head.

If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous!

Jealous of the boys? Kaoru shook her head vehemently, trying to throw off the color she felt flooding her cheeks. Surely Momoko had meant she was jealous of Miyako. As much as she teased Momoko about it, Kaoru knew no guy would be interested in her. She went so far as thinking that Momoko had a better shot at getting a date than herself.

Strangely, Kaoru found she didn't really care. All the boys in her class were stupid, anyway. She couldn't figure out what the other girls found so attractive in them. What she found more unsettling than her lacking interest in boys was her increasing interest in Miyako. She'd been dealing with butterflies and skipping heartbeats around her for a while now, but she had dismissed it as anything else she could think of. Momoko's words brought everything into a new light.

Kaoru began an endless game of hide-and-seek between her nerves and the truth, not wanting to admit it to herself, but not being able to ignore it anymore. She grappled with these feelings deep into the night.

// end ch1