A/N: Right, so, here's chapter two! I still haven't gotten past volume 24, lol. So once again I apologize for any inaccuracies in plot or character. I'm trying not to tie it in too closely to canon storyline, so hopefully I can avoid being too obvious with my inaccuracies. Bah. Just know it takes place sometime after Valentines Day, okay? Also, just a reminder that the main pairing in this story is Yashiro/Kanae. There will also be a lot of Ren/Kyoko though, so you won't be disappointed! Please read and review to let me know what you think! Thank you so much for reading this far!

Disclaimer: It should stand to reason that I do not own Skip Beat. But just incase you're confused...I don't. Lol.

Chapter 2: Yashiro and Kanae?! Suspicious!

It wasn't a very long wait before the door to the LoveMe section's locker room swung open again and Kanae stepped out. Yashiro turned to look at her, and couldn't help letting his gaze linger. She was pretty enough in her pink jumpsuit, but in street clothes...well...it was no wonder she was in the talent industry! She wore black leggings, and her knee high white boots, that had just enough of a heel on them to give her a slight boost in height. Her top was a white cowl neck sweater, with bits of silver woven into it. On her head she wore a newsboy style hat of the same white and silver color scheme. It was truly gorgeous! And with her jet black hair and pale skin, it was just made all the more lovely.

The young actress could feel him watching her, and shot him an agitated look as she pulled her white peacoat over top of the ensemble, "Mo! What are you staring at, Glasses-kun?"

With that, the manager turned quickly to hide the slight blush on his features. He was so embarrassed to have been caught staring. Especially at someone so much younger than him, and so far out of his league to boot, "N-nothing. I just…"

A ebon brow arched in curiosity as the female waited for him to finish his thought, but he trailed off. He was acting very strangely in her opinion, "You just what?"

Yashiro hadn't been sure what he was going to say. He wanted to compliment her, but how could he do so without sounding like a pervert? Even without looking at Kanae he could sense her irritation, she was tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for a reply, but he dared not give one.

"Well?" She snapped at him, hands on her hips as her eyes narrowed into a glare, "I asked you a question!"

"Ah...I...I just...umm…" He was feeling more nervous by the second. This girl was so confident, and it seemed to intimidate him for some reason, "I wanted to tell...you...how nice you look…"

Again, the manager flinched, glancing at her from his peripheral as he prepared for a slap or verbal barrage. But he received neither. Instead, the young actress seemed to be staring at him, a bit dumbstruck. Why was that? Surely she'd been given compliments before. A beauty like that? It was impossible that she hadn't been told by someone! Then, to his mortification, she burst out laughing.

"Th-that's what you were having trouble saying?" Kanae brought a hand to her mouth trying to quickly stifle the laughter and regain her usual cool and controlled front. She wasn't one for displays of emotion. And she couldn't let her guard down in front of anyone. Even Kyoko rarely saw her warm side, and that was her best friend. Finally she coughed and calmed down, straightening herself, and flipping her raven locks over her shoulder as she fixed the manager with a cool, even stare, "You're serious? What, you've never given a girl a compliment before, Glasses-kun?"

If he hadn't been blushing before, Yashiro was definitely doing so now. His face was nearly crimson with embarrassment as he pushed off from his place against the wall and started walking for the exit, "Kotonami-san, we should get to that cafe you were wanting to eat at…"

His tone sounded hurt, she realized as he skulked she suddenly felt a bit bad. Being around someone like Tsuruga Ren all the time probably didn't get him noticed much by women, so maybe he wasn't very popular with them? She'd never really given it much thought. But she was sure that she'd hurt his feelings, "Hey, Glasses-kun!"

He stopped so that she could catch up, which didn't take more than a few strides, but he didn't look back at the teenage talento, "Yes, Kotonami-san?"

She walked after him, coming to a stop just behind where the manager stood. Somehow, she didn't like the way he had gone from being friendly and somewhat nervous, to almost cold towards her. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot as she looked off down a side corridor, "Look...it's...uhh…"

Yashiro blinked, turning to face her, "Kotonami-san?"

"Mo! Thanks for the compliment, okay? It was very nice of you to say!" Her face tinted pink in embarrassment as she refused to meet his gaze. Why was it so hard to just look at him and say thank you?

Pushing up his glasses, Yashiro smiled, and turned toward the exit once more, "You're most welcome, Kotonami-san."

Now his tone seemed pleasant again, it seemed she had been forgiven. And that relieved her, for some reason. Kanae smiled as well for a moment before putting her normal cool expression back on her face and following after the manager as they walked down the hall, and made their way to the building's exit. The path to which just happened to pass by where the hallway to the cafeteria emerged into the hallway that led to the LoveMe section was located.

"Tsuruga-san, you are not paying for my meal!" Kyoko argued with her sempai, turning and heading back towards the exit of the cafeteria, "I just left my purse in the LoveMe section locker room! I can get it and be...right...back…"

The talento had frozen halfway down the hall as she had been trying to outpace the longer legged Ren in an effort to avoid letting him pay the cafeteria bill for her food. She blinked once, then twice, forgetting all about the man approaching from behind, "Mogami-san? Is everything a-"

Kyoko held up a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, and pointed down the hall. Her sempai followed her gaze, and blinked as well. There, passing by the turn that would have led them to the cafeteria, were two very familiar people. Yashiro Yukihito and Kotonami Kanae were walking towards the building's exit together. And from the way Yashiro was smiling towards the young actress, it seemed as though they were going the same place!

"Y-yashiro-san...and Moko-san?" Kyoko murmured in surprise as soon as the pair had left the building. It was a shock! Her best friend had called off their plans so she could spend time with Tsuruga-san's manager of all people? But why? It didn't make any sense...unless…

Golden eyes drifted to look at her Sempai, who was calculating something in his mind. The older actor wore a bemused smile as he figured out a bit of what must have happened. Yashiro had left him alone with Mogami-san so that she and he would become closer, as the manager always wished they would. Somewhere along the line, he had met Kotonami-san, who he discovered had lunch plans with Mogami-san. Then, one way or another, the clever manager had managed to talk Kotonami-san into giving up her lunch with Mogami-san. That had to be it. But why was he still with the young, raven haired talento? That was the mystery. They had left the building together.

A mischievous look came into the star's eye as he glanced to the blooming actress he secretly loved. He could see her looking at him curiously, and he smirked at her, "I wonder what their up to...shall we go and see?"

"Ts-Tsuruga-san! That would be spying!" Kyoko huffed at him. As curious as she was she knew that spying wasn't right. She folder her arms over her chest and shook her head, "I will not be a part of it!"

Ren canted his head to one side, "Well...don't you want to make sure Kotonami-san's okay? Not that I don't trust Yashiro to take care of her...but she is your best friend…"

Kyoko frowned some, "Yashiro-san wouldn't hurt her…"

She hoped he wouldn't anyway. Of course, Kyoko's trust wasn't the greatest when it came to men. Especially in relationships. She looked down, contemplating, "Tsuruga-san...I know he's your manager and your friend...but...maybe it's better just to be safe…"

Ren smiled at her, nodding, "And I know Kotonami-san is your best friend, Mogami-san. But I would still like to see just what's going on. It might be nothing...or, who knows."

He offered a shrug as he moved through the building. He knew Yashiro and Kanae couldn't be too far ahead, since they were walking. It wouldn't be too hard to keep an eye on them, especially if he had an idea of where they were going, "Where does Kotonami-san like to go for lunch?"

"Oh!" Kyoko smiled at her sempai, "Someplace healthy! There's a cafe not too far from here where she usually orders a salad. I bet that's where they're heading!"

"Alright, then." The seasoned actor pulled on a ballcap and donned a pair of sunglasses to hide his identity, pulling on his coat as he guided Kyoko back to the locker room. If her hunch proved right, then they had some time. And they would be less noticeable if the Love Me girl were in her street clothes.