Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Chase. All I own is this plot, and this fic which was not created to earn any sort of profit. Heh. Enjoy~!

2: Misunderstandings

Valentine's Day.

Normally one would look forward to getting chocolates, and a time when confessions usually happened all around school. For Ryan, it was just another day. He personally had nothing against the day itself, in fact he encouraged the act of baking something for that certain someone and giving it to the one they secretly loved. With that level of devotion, any man would be lucky to have gotten something.

Indeed, as he watched others from his seat in the classroom, he couldn't help but feel a little envious of the others, Ronan especially, who was bombarded by gifts the moment he entered the classroom. The blue haired rich kid merely smiled warmly at his admirers and thanked them kindly, while giving them each a hug and a peck on the cheek or the nose. One girl got so bold as to try and kiss him on the lips, only to be stopped by a rather angry red head. Ryan grinned. Things didn't look so good for the poor girl.

"Here," he heard her utter from his seat across the room, throwing a rather large wrapped block in the boy's face, knocking all others out of his arms as he attempted to catch it. Ryan chuckled at the scene, knowing Elesis well enough to know that she wasn't the type of person to like just anyone. The thing that confused him was, why Ronan? Those two never got along and argued every chance they got. Well, whatever. No use thinking about it too much.

"Jealous?" He heard a voice say next to him. Looking over to seer who it was, he wasn't at all surprised to see Arme. She was really the only person who spoke to him, besides Zero. Ryan shrugged, suddenly finding the clouds outside the most interesting thing ever. "Come on, don't be so cold! I just wanted to talk."

"I'm not jealous." Ryan lied, though he wouldn't admit to it. Arme shrugged anyway and placed something on his head. He didn't bother to look at what it was. He could already guess just by the weight alone. "Consolation chocolate? That's so not you, Arme."

"Perhaps, but neither is you sulking." She spoke, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

"I'm not sulking." Ryan pouted, though he knew she was right. He was always in a terrible mood during this day, even if he held an air of general indifference upon seeing others getting what they want and fulfilling their hearts desires, his dream, and the one desire of his heart would forever be out of reach. At least, that's what he always told himself. He felt an hand tugging on his sleeve and looked up to see Arme gesturing towards the door of the class room. He looked over to see Elesis waving him over. Confused, he got up from his seat and went to see what it was that she wanted. "Can I help you?"

"Come with me." She said, dragging the boy along before he could protest or ask where to. He knew he must've looked weird to the other students who watched as he was pulled along by the collar, but ignored them as she started grumbling to herself. "-I mean really, how hard is it to approach a guy and-"

"Um, Ms. Sieghart? What are you talking about?" Ryan asked sheepishly, hoping she wouldn't get agitated that he was eavesdropping (though he didn't really have much of a choice) and possibly hit him. She merely looked back at him with a wicked grin, which shut him up, much to her amusement and relief. Ryan gulped. He certainly hoped he wouldn't be used as a practice dummy of something for her kendo practice. He shut his eyes, fearing the worst.

"What're you closing your eyes for, ya big chicken? Open up, or you'll miss the big surprise!" Elesis ordered, and Ryan obeyed in a heartbeat. She turned a corner, led him up a flight of stairs to the club wing and down the hall and into an empty classroom where, much to his surprise, Lire was waiting, a bright blush forming on her face at the sight of her best friend and er crush. "Ta da! I'm gonna wait outside. Try not to suck each other's faces off, okay?"

"E-ele!" Lire squeaked, earning a light chuckle from the girl, but nothing more. The door slammed shut, leaving the two confused teens together in a very, VERY awkward silence. "S-so...um..."

"Is...there something I can help you with? Maybe you need help in your classes?"

"N-no, that's not it."

"Stomach ache?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Yeah, that was kinda lame. Um..."

"How would you...confess your feelings to someone? You personally?" Lire asked, her blush brightening, as she looked down at her feet. Ryan took the time to notice her posture. She looked cute, shyly looking down at the ground with her arms behind her back. Her hair, which normally fell way past her shoulders unbound, was neatly braided and slung over her shoulder, bound by green ribbons in several places, each with a white flower on it. She looked...beautiful. Who would've guessed that a girl like her could be as shy as this? Talk about being shell shocked.

"Well...I'm not sure. I've never thought of confessing before." Ryan lied, shrugging. Lire looked up at him, confused, causing him to look away instead, a small blush on his own face. "I guess you could try a straightforward approach, or maybe leave hints? I don't know. Why?"

"Well...there's this guy," Lire said with a small smile, her eyes closing as she got lost in thought. Ryan grimaced "He's really lazy, sleeps in class, doesn't study, always finding ways to get out of P.E and very laid back. He's always forgetting his homework, he disappears during lunch time and he never stays for cleaning duty and doesn't take part in any clubs that I know of."

"Sounds like a handful." Ryan uttered, his heart sinking into his stomach. Also sounds very much like Areknard. He thought bitterly, frowning slightly.

"He is, but he does have some good points. For instance, he organized the plant seeds every day after school, he has a gentle aura that makes you relax just being near him, he sings, he's strong, reliable and it's easy to depend on him, especially if you need something from him that no one else is willing do. He's good with his hands, light on his feet and is always calm."

"I see. Sounds like a good guy." That's pretty much Ronan for you... his inner self grumbled, rolling its eyes.

"He certainly is. That's why it's so hard to confess to him. He's so great, even if others don't think so. I-"

"I think I get the picture." Ryan grinned. "You need help confessing to someone, right? Then I'll help you out!" Lire stared at him blankly. "What? What's with that deadpan look? That's the reason you called me up here for, right? So, who's the lucky guy?"

Lire sighed, hanging her head. "This is hopeless...I can't even say it."

"Well, lunch break's just about over, so we'll pick this up some other time. How about we meet up aftrer school and I'll take you to my place? We can discuss the details there. I'll see you later!" Ryan said, hurrying out the room as fast as he could just as the bell rang to end the lunch period.

Elesis entered the room, a little afraid that Lire might break down, considering how quickly she had seen Ryan jet out of the room. "Hey...you okay? How did it go?" Elesis asked as she watched the blond haired girl slowly face palm and start laughing. Elesis lightly tapped her on the head with her knuckles, goth amused and confused at her friend's reaction. "Um...earth to Lire. I don't think that's a sad expression."

"I'm not sad, i'm just...he got the wrong idea!" Lire laughed. Elesis stared blankly at her, still confused. "He thinks i'm trying to confess to someone else. But at least one good thing is coming of it, I'm going to his house later today. Beat that!"

"...Let's not compare our successes and failures, hm?" Elesis uttered, pushing her friend out of the room an down to the classroom.

X xx X xx X xx X xx X

On the outskirts of the city, there was an an expansive forest, stretching for miles and miles. No vehicles passed here, and no one dared enter, for fear of the monsters that lurked deem within the creepy, murky darkness that seemed to swallow you. Looking back at the girl visibly shaking as she took a single, shaky step into the forest, Ryan smiled a little evilly. "are you sure you want to follow me? You know the legends of this place, right? Once you pass these trees, you'll be eaten alive by scary monsters and never seen again!" Ryan said dramatically, startling the girl back onto the concrete sidewalk where her red haired friend shook her head as Lire clung to her tightly.

"You shouldn't say things like that. She scares easily." Elesis remarked, prying the girl off of her and shooing her towards the boy standing only a few feet away with a slight smile, holding out a hand for her to take. "Call me when you want to head back, okay? I'll come pick you up."

"O-okay.." Lire mumbled, taking Ryan's hand and let him lead her into the waiting abyss. What she found though, was a world that no one had ever known about. Through the leaves, the last rays of sunset shone down, casting shadows that looked rather menacing, but as Ryan led her by the hand, she wasn't so scared. "I bet it looks really pretty here during the day."

"It does. At least then you can see all the flowers and the grass and stuff. Don't worry though, once the moon comes up, you'll want to stay the night." Ryan spoke confidently, a slight, almost wistful smile on his face. Lire couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that, but decided not to question it.

The walk was a quiet one; a very heavy, awkward silence hung over them and seemed to suffocate any chance they had at holding a conversation. Ryan settled for humming something he had heard on the radio and Lire recited poetry in her head to pass the time. She didn't know how much time had passed, but before long, they came upon a small shack, and the smell smoked meat filled her nostrils. Ryan ushered her inside and turned on lantern before he scooted about, setting things up to get some decent lighting.

From what Lire could slowly make out, the cabin was just one large room, holding a rolled up futon in one corner by a fire place, a large oak desk littered with papers and pencils, an overflowing hamper situated next to it and beside that was a chest which she assumed held all of his clothes. The sink was right across from the door, piled high with dirty dishes, but other than that, the rest of the cabin was relatively clean. The one thing that bothered her was the lack of a bathroom, to which Ryan chuckled. "Bushes." He joked, gesturing towards the bushes not far away, causing Lire to blush and smack him. "...I deserved that. In all seriousness, there's a privy out back. Dad doesn't believe in plumbing."

Lire took a seat at the desk, as Ryan pulled out the futon and lit the fireplace. "How can you live like this? It doesn't seem very comfortable.."

"It's not at first, but you get used to it after a while." Ryan shrugged, taking a seat on the still rolled futon. "Ive always lived like this though. It's not so bad, once you get used to it. It's actually pretty cool too. Dad takes me out hunting and fishing, we chop wood together, go swimming and every once in a while when he comes by, we just sit down and just cook, talk and have a laugh."

"What about your mom?"

"She died when I was a kid, so I don't really remember her too much. Dad says she was a real pretty woman with blonde hair. He doesn't keep pictures." Ryan answered. "Anyway, enough about that. About your trouble with confessing-"

"Here, wanna try one?" Lire cut him off, opening the box eagerly, revealing white chocolates of all shaped and sizes. Ryan smiled and reached for some, taking two that looked like stars. "I-It's just a taste test, all right! I wanna make sure they taste good enough so he doesn't wind up hating them!"

Ryan smiled and popped one in his mouth, a smile instantly forming on his face. That is, until he took a bite. His face paled almost instantly and in a raspy voice he asked, "Um..what kind of nuts are in these?"

"Macadamia, why?"

"...I'm allergic..."

"How allergic?"

"Get me to a hospital. Now."

A/N: Dun duun Duuuuuun! Cliffy~! I'm not sure how many more chapters of this I'm gonna write, bit it's kinda fun. Let me know your thoughts/ideas! I'm always open to suggestions! Till next time!

~shine