Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added this story to their favorites. I really appreciate the effort. I'm so sorry this chapter isn't as long as the previous one and it took me so long to update it too. = ^ = I've been swamped with school work since it's almost the end of the year.

Here's chapter two, enjoy.

Chapter Two: Working with this Cross-Dresser Again

[LEN'S P.O.V.]

"Len, how long have you been standing there?" Mikuo stared in shock when he noticed my presence.

"… Hm? I just got here, actually. Ah, did I interrupt something- Ah! Don't tell me I interrupted a confession, perhaps?"

"… Yes, Len! How could you embarrass Neru-chan like that?" Mikuo offered.

"What-?" Neru looked shocked, almost offended, actually.

"But, alas, I can't accept your feelings Neru-chan! I'm afraid that being involved with someone like me will only harm you!"

"What kind of bullshit is this? Are you taking lessons from Gakupo or something?" Neru's terrifying screech- er… Protest, I mean- nearly shattered my eardrums.

"No, Neru-chan! I can't, I can't be seen with you anymore! It'll only cause trouble for you!"

"Really, Mikuo… What the hell are you smoking?" Neru's cheeks flushed in embarrassment; I chuckled to myself.

"No! Don't look at me with those eyes! I won't fall into temptation!" Neru must have been pretty ticked off because the next thing we knew, she stormed off after knocking Mikuo down with a yellow garbage can.

"Are you okay, Mikuo?" I offered a hand to him, pulling him up to his feet.

"We need to talk."

[RIN'S P.O.V.]

Since the supplies that Haku and I had were… wasted… Megurine-sensei asked us to bring her more from the art department. I entered the designated room and proceeded to set my bag down on the first desk I saw. "Hey, Haku, sorry to make you wait… I got the room number mixed up. Well, shall we get started then? Those buckets of paint can get pretty heavy-"

"Haku?" A masculine voice mimicked the name that I just called out. I looked up to see a face that was very different from Haku's. Oh shit-

"Piko?"

"Rin Kagamine!"

An awkward silence filled the room and we exchanged glares. That's it… I'm officially convinced that the world hates me. First Len, now Piko. I just had to be stuck in the same room they were in. When I realized that we were getting nowhere, I swallowed my pride and ended the staring contest.

"Where's Haku?"

"Megurine-sensei switched her over to a different duty." Piko looked away, as if refusing to acknowledge me.

I raised my eyebrow in suspicion, "And just how did that happen?"

"… No idea." He said with a singsong tone and an apathetic expression. "It just did." Piko shifted his gaze to me.

I felt a vein pop. This kid… Is incredibly irritating!

I fell into a kneeling position when the work was finished- I felt like a human OTL*. As always, working with that brat is incredibly labor intensive. I frowned at the unhappy memories that began to flood back into my mind.

(Let's work together.

E-Eh? What do you mean?

You like Len and I want to protect my sister. So let's split them up.

Upon hearing those words, Rin blushed in embarrassment. She looked away, blinking nervously.

I-I won't betray Len-kun! I'll make him fall in love with me without your sneaky tactics!

Are you kidding me? With the way things are going now, you wouldn't stand a chance against my sister!

Rin was stunned, fallen victim to Piko's words.

Well? Do we have a deal?

Piko held out his hand.)

"Stupid cross-dresser," I mumbled to Piko who had already left the room ages ago. I pulled my orange phone out of my school bag and flipped it open to check the time, but instead found an unread text message:

Can we talk? I'll be waiting outside the school.

-Len

I stared at the screen, ready to toss my phone out the window. How did he get my number? I inched over to the window and looked outside. Just like the text said, he was there. "You have got to be kidding me-" My phone vibrated again to show another incoming text message:

Rin,

Meet me for a cup of tea after school? You know the place.

-Neru

I looked back to make sure that no one was following me. I was able to sneak pass Len by having Haku distract him, but I could never be too sure with that guy.

I pushed the door to the café open and entered to see a busy and bustling scene. I looked around to see Neru sitting at the usual table, sipping at her drink. I walked over and braced myself.

"Rin, you came…" Neru looked surprised.

"You wanted to talk?" I sat down in the seat opposite to her.

"I didn't think that you would come to be honest."

"Why?"

"Because you decided to cut off all ties with us after what happened." Neru's lips curved to form a small smile. For a second I felt a pang of guilt in my heart. Right… When I did that… Len wasn't the only one I ignored… Neru was too…

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, "If that's all you called me here to talk about today then-"

"Sorry. I shouldn't have told you to meet up with Len last year. It was stupid of me to even bring it up." And once again, she managed to catch me off guard with her words.

"It's fine. At least now I know where we stand." I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Let's… Have lunch together tomorrow, okay?"

"Wh-What? Seriously?" I bit my bottom lip and began playing with my strands of long hair, avoiding to make any eye contact with her. "I-"

I was interrupted by a yelp from the background. I turned around to follow where the distraction came from. It seems a waitress spilt coffee on one of the customers. I heard a muffled sorry from her.

"Ah, that's the new waitress. Ever since you quit working here, Meiko has been hiring a new waitress almost every single month now."

Wait a minute… White hair? I shifted in my position and strained my neck to see the waitress's face. It couldn't be… I got up from my seat to get a better view of the waitress's face.

"Huh, Rin? Where are you going?" The waitress turned around and our eyes locked in contact. I could've sworn that my eyes almost bulged out of my eye sockets.

"P-P-PIK-!" I was whisked away to the backroom in a heartbeat before I could finish a word.

"Why are you here?" I was shoved into the room.

"I was meeting with a friend. A better question: why are you here? Meiko only hires female waitresses! What are you doing here, dressed as a girl, Piko?" I almost shouted, but Piko covered my mouth and shushed me.

"I-I need it, okay? I need this job. So, please, shut up about this!"

I removed Piko's hand and let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine."

"Thank you." It sounded as if he was forcing himself to say that.

There was a moment of silence after that. Before things got to awkward, I made a move to leave, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to my friend before-"

"Why are you here with Akita?"

I swallowed. Damn it, I didn't think that he'd notice her… "What I do is none of your business."

"It is- considering what happened last year. Are you going to associate yourself with him again?"

"Don't worry; I'm not going to be fooled twice."

"Akita is friends with him."

"But she's also friends with me."

"If she truly viewed you as a friend then she would have abandoned that guy when you did and supported your decision." I flinched at Piko's words.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Was Piko right? I shook my head and proceeded for the door, only to be stopped once again.

"Rin," there was a sudden seriousness in his tone. I waited for him to continue, "Lily is coming back home in a month."

I closed the door and kicked my shoes off. When I got to my dining room, I noticed a plate of food with plastic wrap over it. There was a note beside it:

Rin,

I'm going to be home late again tonight, we're just about to break through this case. Please don't wait up for me.

Love you,

Mom

I frowned at the note and ignored the plate of food on the table, heading straight to my room. I took a pair of scissors out from my drawers and faced the vanity mirror.

(Rin, Lily is coming back home in a month.

Rin turned around and stared at him with a look of bewilderment, but she soon regained her composure.

Why are you telling me this?

I think we both know how Len will react.

I have nothing to do with him anymore-

Rin was interrupted by an abrupt outburst from an impatient Piko.

Make him fall in love with you.

A-Are you kidding me? Why would I do something like that?

Her face flushed with anger and embarrassment.

Don't you want revenge? If you make him fall in love with you and dump him then you'll be able to do to him what he did to you; I won't have to worry about my sister either anymore.

He held out his hand the same way he did so a year ago.

Let's work together again.)

My phone vibrated again. I flipped it open to find another text message from Len:

You never showed up. Why?

I shut my phone, tossed it onto my bed. I took the pair of scissors in hand and began snipping away at my long strands of hair, recreating my past self from a year ago.

(Rin reached out and shook Piko's hand.

Len-Kun… I'm sorry.)

Neru… I'm sorry. But it's no longer in my nature to be the same nice person that I was a year ago.

This chapter isn't that funny and there wasn't much Len in this chapter either. Dx I'll try to add him into the next chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone!

* OTL: OTL is an emoticon representing failure.
O represents the head
T represents the arms on the ground
L represents the legs on the ground