Author's Note: Wow! I definitely wasn't expecting such a positive response. Thank you so much for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! I can only hope the second chapter lives up to your expectations, ahah. Hope you enjoy.

"Where are you?" Luka asked over the phone.

"Where am I? I'm at school! You just...ignored me!" Miku said, still staring at the door that Luka had disappeared behind. "Actually, you didn't remember me at all when I talked to you too. And you just walked into the school, and you weren't calling me either when you did!" The conflicting messages warred in Miku's head. Luka had called her, but Miku did not see her call. Luka was talking to her over the phone and knew her, but the Luka Miku had just talked to didn't. There were so many contradictions in what was happening; nothing added up. What was going on? It made no sense, no sense at all...

Then it hit her. It was a prank. A big, elaborate prank set up at her own expense. Miku started to laugh, weakly. "I get it...this is all some kind of joke, right?"

"What?"

"Okay, who are you? You can give it up. I know you're not Luka. I don't know how you managed to get your number in my phone, but if this is all some kind of prank-"

"I am Luka," said the voice, utterly confused. "I don't see you anywhere, and this isn't a prank. I'm right outside the school gates. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"No one's at the school gates other than me," Miku said. "This isn't funny, whoever you are."

"But I'm here...Crypton High, next to the plaque," the voice sounded increasingly frustrated. "This isn't a prank."

Miku looked. She was standing right next to the plaque as well. If the voice she was talking to was actually Luka, they would be standing on the exact same place right now. Miku swallowed. The world lurched under her feet. It had to be a prank, it had to be, otherwise none of this was possible. But at the same time, what kind of prank would go so far as to insist that Miku's senses were deceiving her? Miku knew where she was standing...did she?

"What...?" Miku whispered.

"Please believe me," said the voice. "Ah-wait, there you are!" the voice picked up, happily, before suddenly becoming confused. "But...you're not on the phone?"

"I am on the phone," said Miku. Her mind was spinning. She put a hand on the wall to steady herself.

"But you're not! Look, you're right there. Do you have Bluetooth? I'm waving at you right now, maybe...wait, you're not looking over, Miku-"

"That's not me," said Miku, as something slow and immense dawned in her mind. She collected the facts, laid them out quickly in her head.

1. This person's phone number appeared on her phone under mysterious circumstances.

2. This person sounded a lot, if not exactly, like Luka.

3. The Luka Miku knows does not recognize her.

4. The Miku this Luka knows most likely does not recognize the other Luka.

5. According to what the Luka on the phone said, the two of them are standing at the exact same place, but they can't see each other.

Miku's eyes widened.

"What...?" Luka-over-the-phone said. "What do you mean, that's not you?"

"Because right now," said Miku, "I'm standing next to the plaque of Crypton High."

"You just went into the school-"

"No, I didn't! I'm still standing outside."

"That's not possible," Luka sounded increasingly agitated, "I just saw you walk inside, you can't possibly still be out-"

"Don't you get it!" Miku cried into the phone. "I don't know what's happening, but we're not...we're in different worlds!"

There was nothing but silence on the line, before slowly, Luka spoke once more. "You mean...we're in alternate universes?"

"Right."

A pause, then: "That's...crazy."

"It's the closest thing we have to making sense out of everything," said Miku, leaning against the wall fully now as she stared up at the sky. "Think about it. There's no other way to explain all this, unless it really is a big prank."

"But it's not..." Luka's voice was slow.

Miku shook her head. She didn't know much about science, or quantum mechanics, or alternate universes, or anything of that sort, so she had no way of explaining this. All she knew was that somehow, this happened. "I don't get it...but it's the only thing I can think of."

"Tell me about your world," said Luka, suddenly.

"Huh?"

"If we are in alternate universes, then some things have to be different," Luka's voice had suddenly become analytical, the way she would talk when she was explaining math problems to someone (not that Miku had ever eavesdropped on Luka helping others with math problems in the library, of course). "You have my number, I have your number, but the you I know doesn't know me, and the me you know doesn't know you. That's one difference right there."

"Yeah..." Miku said, slowly, turning it over in her head. If the Miku this Luka knows doesn't know her, and the Luka Miku knows doesn't know Miku...Miku thought back to last night, how this Luka had asked her out. That was something the Luka Miku knows would never do, especially not to a stranger. It seems like...

"Our positions are reversed," said Luka, seeming to come to the same conclusion.

"So you like Miku," said Miku. "I mean, the Miku in your world."

"Well...it's embarrassing when you say it straight out like that..."

"It's true though, right?" Miku felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips, despite the crazy situation she was in. A flustered Luka wasn't one she was used to, and she sounded cute. Miku tried to imagine the cool, elegant class idol blushing and being embarrassed, and felt her cheeks heat up at the thought. Cute...too cute...

"Y-yeah...it's true," Luka mumbled.

"Then that means, we're the same!" Miku pushed herself off the wall. "We both like the other selves of the other world!"

"Well, yeah, but how does that help anything? It's not like we can see each other-"

"Don't you get it?" Miku clasped her cellphone in both hands now, too excited to let go. "We know ourselves better than anyone else, right?"

"R-right..."

"Then that means that we can give each other advice on how to win over ourselves! It's perfect! You can tell me about yourself to help me win over the Luka in my world, and I can tell you about myself so that you can win over the Miku in your world!"

A sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. "That's true..."

"Right? Rin always says I'm scatterbrained, but I can be pretty fast on the uptake, huh?"

Luka laughed. "Yeah. You hang out with Rin a lot in your universe too, then?"

"Of course," said Miku. "Rin and Len live across the street from me, so we grew up together."

"Ah, that explains it," Luka said softly, as if to herself.

"What about Gumi and Meiko, then?"

"Oh, um, Meiko and I have been friends since we were little," said Luka. "So she can be a bit protective, because as a child I was really shy and quiet."

Miku could not imagine the popular school idol as a shy and quiet kid. "Really?"

A surprised laugh. "Yes, really. Why, is it really that shocking?"

"You just seem so cool."

"O-oh." Miku could almost sense Luka's blush over the phone. "I-I'm not cool, really."

Miku opened her mouth to reply, but then she spotted Rin and Len walking up towards her. Len was giving her a quizzical look and tapping his wrist in the universal 'time' signal. "Ah-I gotta go now, school is going to start in a few."

"You're right," Luka sounded surprised herself. "I need to get moving too. Call me later!"

Miku barely had time to say "Okay" and flip her phone shut before Rin slung her arm around Miku's shoulder. The blonde pushed her head over towards Miku's phone, and Miku quickly shoved it into her pocket.

"Who were you calling?" Rin asked, grinning. "Did someone get a phone number after all?"

Such a simple question, but in this situation, Miku had absolutely no idea how to answer. She got Luka's phone number...but it wasn't Luka's phone number. She decided to go for the simplest solution. "No, I didn't...I was just talking to uh, my mom." If she told Rin about the alternate universe, Rin would definitely think she was crazy...and then proceed to tease her forever.

"We were surprised when you weren't at your house this morning," Len said, looking a little miffed. "Your mom said you got up thirty minutes earlier than usual, too. What happened?"

Oh right. They usually walked to school and back home together, since they lived so close to each other. Miku thought rapidly for an excuse. "The sun was just really nice today, you know? Ahaha...ha..." her laughter died as Len and Rin looked at her with eerily alike unimpressed expressions.

"It's cloudy," said Rin. "You're really scatterbrained sometimes..."

"We should really get to school now," said Len. "The gates close in a few minutes, and we still need to get to class."

"Crap!" Rin let go of Miku. "We gotta get a move on!"

Miku watched as Rin and Len ran off towards the gate, before shaking her head and running after them, her thoughts full of nothing but Luka and Luka.

xxx

From: Megurine Luka
To: Hatsune Miku
Did you get this text?

"Hey, what're you staring at?" Rin asked, hand on her cheek. "You've been really preoccupied with your phone lately, you know. What's up with that?" she directed that question over to Len, who shrugged uncomfortably.

"Maybe she got a new game or something," he said.

New game. Right. Miku smiled despite herself and typed out a reply.

From: Hatsune Miku
To: Megurine Luka
got it! :) so cool lol whats up?

"Earth to Miku," said Rin.

"What is it?" Miku said, eyes still fixed on her phone as she waited for a reply. Her mind spun. They could text each other. This opened up so many new possiblities...what more, Miku's phone could send pictures, and she was willing to bet Luka's could too. They could use this somehow, she just knew it-

"You're staring at your phone really intensely," Len said, a trifle nervously. "A-are you okay?"

Miku opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the phone vibrated with another text that Miku immediately opened.

From: Megurine Luka
To: Hatsune Miku
I'm eating lunch. Are you free to talk now?

Without a second word, Miku got up from her seat, staring at her phone. "I have to call someone now," she said.

Rin rolled her eyes, and Len looked at her quizzically. "During lunch break?"

"Yeah," Miku nodded. "It's important! Life and death important. It's Luka important."

"What, did you find a cheat guide to woo her or something?" Rin asked.

Miku grinned, shrugged, and left the room, leaving the twins staring after her.

"What's up with her?" Rin said, finally.

Len shook her head. "I have no idea..."

xxxx

"Hey, what's up?" Miku spoke into the phone as she sat on the toilet, fingers drumming on her thigh impatiently. She didn't actually need to go, but this was the most private place she knew of.

"Not much," said Luka. "So...I guess now we exchange tips?"

"Of course! Do you want to start?"

"I don't know what to start with..."

"Let me tell you about myself first then," said Miku. She put her elbows on her knees. "Ummm, my name is Hatsune Miku and I'm a second year at Crypton High..."

Luka laughed. "I knew that much."

"H-hey, I'm just getting started. This is hard, okay?" Miku pouted. "Anyways! My favorite food is definitely, absolutely leeks-"

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows that too."

"Do you want my relationship advice or not?" Miku asked, smiling a little. For some reason, she felt...relaxed, talking to this Luka over the phone. She was different, in a way - she was Luka, sure, but she wasn't as intimidating to talk to as the Luka Miku knew. Maybe it was because of the fact that it was over the phone, or that they were in such similar situations that Miku's normal awkwardness went away. "Anyways, as I was saying, leeks. You can really just talk to me about leeks, you know?"

"Sure, but I can't hold long conversations about leeks..."

"The fastest way to a girl's heart is through her stomach," Miku declared solemnly. "Even just making me something with leeks would be good."

There was a brief pause. Miku strained her ears, and heard a scratching sound. She paused as the meaning of this dawned in her head. "...Luka."

Luka made a noncommital sound over the phone.

"...are you...actually writing this down?"

"E-er..."

Miku couldn't help it; she laughed. "Wow, it's not like this is a test or anything!"

"Hey, I'm serious about this, you know..."

Miku recalled Luka's expressions in her mind, that air of mystery that constantly surrounded her. "Yeah...I'm serious too," she said. "Tell me about yourself this time. We can trade, one for one."

"Ah, okay," said Luka, and she paused, seeming to think it over. "Oh. I like the rain."

"...you like the rain?" Miku stared up at the ceiling, committing this to memory, thinking it over until something occurred to her. "O-oh! So does that mean, if I walked up to you and asked to share umbrellas, you'd say ye-"

"Not so fast. No matter how much I like the rain, there's no way I would share an umbrella with a total stranger."

"We're not strangers," said Miku.

"We are in your world, remember?" Luka said, and then she paused. "Wait...you said you talked to me today and I didn't recognize you...that could be bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it! If you're walking to school and suddenly this stranger pops up out of nowhere and starts talking to you about talking with you over the phone last night..." Luka trailed off meaningfully.

Miku's eyes widened. "Oh no..."

"Exactly," said Luka.

"I asked Gumi for your phone number yesterday too! Luka's going to think I'm a freak!" Miku put a hand to her head. Was this over before it even begun too? "Luka, what would you do in this situation? How can I redeem myself?"

"W-well," said Luka, "you can maybe find me later and apologize? Say that you were having a strange dream-"

"I can't tell her I dream about her! That's even creepier."

"Um...oh! I know!" Luka sounded triumphant. "Talk to Gumi. Gumi will help you."

"Gumi?" Miku couldn't think of a single way the green-haired girl could help her. "What? Why Gumi?"

"She's less protective than Meiko," said Luka. "And since I was shy when I was young, it's harder for me to open up to people. If you talk with Gumi a lot, I'm sure she'll see you're a good person, and she'll tell me that too. She tells me about a lot of people, you know."

Miku stared down at her hands. She remembered yesterday, when she tried to ask Gumi for Luka's phone number, and winced. "But that's...she's an upperclassman..."

"That doesn't matter," said Luka. "Gumi will help. She's a good person."

Miku was silent for a few seconds, before she sighed. "Yeah, but still..."

"Huh?" Luka sounded a little taken aback. Miku stared down at the bathroom tiles, alternating gray and darker gray. A boring pattern, really. "But it's just Gumi..."

"Right," said Miku. "It's just Gumi." She shook her head, as if to clear it. She had to be brave. For Luka. Right. And Luka, phone-Luka, was helping her too. She couldn't let her down. She had to help her with her own Miku as well. "Alright," Miku got up from the toilet. "Lunch is almost over now, so I have to go. I'll call you later."

"Ah...okay," said Luka, still sounding a little confused. "Remember to talk to Gumi!"

"Yeah," said Miku, and she flipped the phone shut.

xxx

The orange sunset cast dark pools of shadow on the street as Miku, Rin, and Len walked home, Miku quiet as Rin chattered on about school. Len kept casting anxious glances at Miku, but Miku didn't notice; she was too wrapped up in thoughts of how to talk to Gumi. After their last meeting, how could Miku talk to her? She really screwed things up for herself...Miku sighed and hung her head.

"What's wrong, Miku?" asked Len. "You've been acting strange all day."

Miku raised one shoulder in a half-hearted attempt at a shrug. "I'm just thinking," she said. "Do you two know much about Gumi?"

"G-Gumi!" Rin gasped, and then clenched her heart in mock drama. "N-no way...so this is what the flighty heart of a teenage girl is like...don't tell me, you're in love with Gumi n-"

"No, that's completely wrong," Miku interrupted. "I just want to talk to her. This morning, I talked to Luka and...now she thinks I'm crazy, probably."

Rin exchanged glances with Len, mouthing the word 'overdramatic', before turning back towards Miku. "People always think you're crazy, Miku. Seriously, what kind of teenage girl likes eating leeks that much?"

Miku scowled. "It's just a food preference! Leeks are healthy! Plus, you can spin them."

"Right, because that's totally what teenagers do in their spare time," said Rin.

"A-anyways," Len interjected in an attempt to steer the conversation back on track, "why talk to Gumi if it's a misunderstanding with Luka? Can't you just talk it out with Luka instead?"

"Ah, no, that's completely impossible, no way," Miku shook her head, flapping a hand as if by doing that she could wave the question away.

"You're going to have to talk to her eventually if you want to date her," Len said, frowning. "Miku, it's not that hard."

"I know that, but..." Miku trailed off. How could she possibly explain? "It's complicated. This morning, I said something really strange to her, so she'll probably think I'm a total weirdo now."

Len shook his head. "You can explain all that, can't you?"

Not really, Miku wanted to say, but instead she said, lamely: "Like I said, it's complicated...a-anyways, I just want to know if you two know anything about Gumi, that's all."

"Well...fine. She's in the newspaper club...I think," said Len, somewhat reluctantly, before turning towards Rin. "The newspaper club, right?"

"How would I know?" Rin crossed her arms. "Anyways, Miku, you're acting really weird. You've been on your phone all day. There's no way you could've just been calling your mom. Tell us! We're your friends."

"E-er..." Miku's mind raced. Would anything bad happen if she told Rin and Len? Would they even believe her? If they did, then what would happen? Despite herself, Miku felt as though she should at least tell Luka - Phone Luka - about this first, before telling her friends. Even though they were in alternate universes (even now that idea sounded ridiculous, strange, dreamlike), would this affect Luka's world too? Miku had no idea. "I don't know if I should..."

"Huh? What do you mean, you don't know? We've been friends since we were kids, you know," Rin huffed out an irritated breath. "You can trust us." Then she paused, and her eyes grew wide. "No way...Miku, don't tell me, you're doing compensated dating?"

"W-what? There's no way I'm doing that! Geez, what's with your mind?"

"Well, you're checking your phone all the time, you're being secretive...I know Luka's pretty well off, but you don't need to resort to that, Miku! Ahh, the thought of all those perverts out there..." Rin looked rather agitated, her fingers wriggling.

"Like I said, I'm not doing that! Seriously..." Miku sighed, and looked up. They had reached her house. Relief washed over her - no more of the Kagamine's questioning! The exit was so close, all she had to do was go in through her front door, and then peace and quiet...Miku turned back to face the Kagamines. "Oh, I'm back at my house! Hey, I have a lot of homework to do now, so-"

"I think she's trying to get rid of us," said Rin.

Len nodded, face grave. "Yeah, I think so too."

Sometimes Miku hated the twins' stubbornness. "No I do, remember we have a test on Friday? I have to study for that! English is so hard..."

Rin sighed, her white ribbon seeming to droop disappointedly with her. "Fine...but you're not off the hook yet," she jabbed a finger at Miku. "You're going to have to explain everything tomorrow! No running away. All the sudden Gumi stuff, and all the phone stuff."

Len nodded. "We're worried about you, Miku."

Miku swallowed and clutched her phone in her pocket. "Okay. I'll uh...let you know. See you tomorrow." That said, they said their goodbyes and left, and Miku entered her house. After a glum 'I'm home' (much to the surprise of her parents, who had seen her run exuberantly out the door this very morning), Miku trudged up to her room, footsteps heavy. What was she going to tell Rin and Len tomorrow? And how was she going to approach Gumi anyway? Join the newspaper club? That's a lot, just to make amends...but it was for Luka. Right. Luka - the perfect, elegant school idol.

Opening the door to her room, Miku walked over to her bed and sat heavily down on it, sighing, before taking out her phone and staring at it, screen at the contact book.

Megurine Luka

"Megurine Luka," Miku said, softly, before pressing the call button.