Alrighties people! After being on a small hiatus, I am back! And as promised, this will be a long, multi-chapter fic. Hope you enjoy! The excitement is coming, just hold on for me :)!

Chapter Three

By the time I exit the library, Claire and Jack are long gone and nowhere to be seen. I wonder idly if they left for the inn or if they went home as the cold breeze bites at my face hungrily. I exhale and a puff of white cloud escapes into the open air.

I think I've always suspected Mary's feelings for Jack, but I never knew the extent of it. By the tears in her eyes and the way she looked when he announced his marriage with Ann, she must have been head over heels for the guy.

I'm not as surprised, though. I mean, Jack and Ann have been dating for two years already. In a stable relationship like that, there's really only two options: break up, or get married. I guess Mary was hoping they'd break up.

And Claire...

I don't even know how to wrap my head around the Claire situation. What in Goddess' name happened to her? How did she lose her sight? A stream of worst-case scenarios play through my mind and I clench my jaw tightly, narrowing my eyes. If any of my suspicions are confirmed, I will not be held accountable for my actions.

Why do you care so much?

And then there's that. Why the hell do I care so much? One part of me says that it's because I pity her. Not in the sense that she's pathetic, but that I feel sorry for her. I feel sorry that...

It all goes back to you...

I feel sorry that I made her leave. But how? What did I do?

Then another part of me thinks my guilt is to blame. After all, she left because of me. She's blind because... I frown. Because what? I need to know.

Still, perhaps the part of me that I'm most afraid of facing...

You still have feelings for her.

Still? I sigh, another puff of smoke ejecting into the air. If I still have feelings for her, that would require me to admit that I did have feelings for her, before she left. Do I really want to admit to that?

I reach the inn and open the doors, the warm air from inside beckoning me forward. My eyes flash to Claire and Jack sitting at the counter, talking with Ann. As usual, she's blabbing on animatedly and Jack is gazing at her in awe. I feel a pang of emotion that makes me narrow my eyes at their display of affection.

Jealous?

I roll my eyes in a huff and head towards the stairs. But they notice me.

Crap.

"Gray!" Ann calls. I turn to face them and notice that Claire sits up from her bored slouch against the counter and a smile lights up her pale face. She gazes in my direction and I make contact with her eyes. My heart jumps in my chest. Feeling a strange connection between us, my feet involuntarily lead me in her direction- er, in their direction. "It's a good thing you're here, we were just talking about the welcome dinner for Claire tomorrow!" Claire blushes at Ann's remark and stares down at her fingers.

"What's that got to do with me?" I mutter dryly, pulling down my cap.

"Well, I thought that Claire deserved a nice day of pampering after her long trip," she pauses to gauge my reaction, but seeing none, she continues. "so I was hoping that you, Cliff, Kai, and Jack could work together and make the dinner."

"What?!" Jack and I say in unison. She flashes us a big grin.

"You never said anything about that!" Jack exclaims. Ann shrugs.

"I was getting to it!" she giggles. "Claire and I are going to have a spa day." she says proudly. Jack gazes at her wearily but makes no further comment. She leans over the counter and plants a loving kiss on his face. "Mmwah!" I roll my eyes. I glance at Claire and she looks embarassed.

"Hey everybody! I heard Claire's bac-" Kai's loud voice bellows as a chilling gust of summer and warmth blows into the inn. Kai catches sight of Claire and releases the door, only for it to smack into Cliff. The poor guy. Kai rushes over. "Claire! Oh my god, look at you!" he exclaims, before picking her up and spinning her around. She giggles and throws her head back. My eyes narrow and I glance at Jack, his dismay evident on his face.

"That's enough, Kai." he says sternly. The smile on Claire's face disappears at the menacing tone in Jack's voice but Kai simply places her down, unfazed.

"Hey, man, how's it going?" he pats Jack on the back before pulling up a bar stool beside Claire. I narrow my eyes and lean against the counter beside Jack.

Cliff stumbles in and makes his way over. He takes a seat next to me dizzily.

"Well, now that everyone is here..." Ann begins. I sigh. This is going to be a long night.

After a long discussion downstairs, Cliff, Kai, and I all head upstairs to our room. I think I'm the most weary, of all of them.

"Man, I'm stoked for tomorrow's dinner!" Kai exclaims. I opt for silence and Cliff only nods quietly. "C'mon, why the long face?"

"Does my face look long to you?" I spit, narrowing my eyes. I sigh inwardly. I'm so exhausted.

"Woah, man, chill out." he puts his hands up in retreat as I kick off my boots beside my bed. "I'm just excited to spend some time with Claire." I freeze momentarily, body tensing, but quickly resume taking off my boots. "Don't worry, boys. With my cooking expertise, tomorrow will be a breeze." Kai grins happily and walks off to the bathroom. I lie down in my bed, still fully- clothed.

Why did I agree to this? I sigh.

You know why.

I slowing begin to drift when Cliff's quiet voice brings me out of my reverie.

"It's nice to see Claire again." Cliff says softly. I glance at him and he's sitting on his bed, staring at his palms. Cliff smiles and remembers. "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't even be here today..."

"Don't be down, man." Kai says, leaving the washroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. After all these years, I still can't grasp how he can be so damn comfortable with exposing himself. The towel doesn't leave much to the imagination. I shudder. "You should just be happy! Claire's back!" he grins before tossing the towel at Cliff. It hits him in the face.

Oh Christ.

"You are so gross, Kai." I murmur, pulling my cap down over my eyes as I lie in bed. He laughs.

"Live a little, why don't you, Gray?" he suggests. I ignore him. I hear shuffling in Cliff's direction and Kai laughs.

"Awe, c'mon." he says to Cliff. The bathroom door closes and the room is finally quiet. Finally.

"So," God damnit, Kai. "what do you think of Claire? After all these years, she's finally come back- and it can't just be because of the wedding." Kai says suggestively.

"Kai, I'm trying to sleep." I grumble.

"Nope, we have to discuss this." he persists.

I ignore him.

"Don't be a wet blanket, Gray." he nags.

"Are you wearing pants?" I ask.

"Yes."

I sigh and pull myself into sitting position.

"What do you need to discuss?" I stare at him wearily. How am I best friends with someone so annoying?

"What do you think about Claire?" he prompts. I shrug.

"I don't know." I answer. But it's true. I really don't know how I feel about her. Thinking about her makes me so confused, I'd rather just... not.

"That's boring. You obviously think something of her, otherwise, you wouldn't have agreed to tomorrow's plans so easily." he raises an eyebrow at me.

"You're being ridiculous." I mutter, pulling off my cap and scratching the back of my head.

"Gray, I've known you my entire life-"

"Don't remind me." I murmur. He smirks at me.

"-and you would never give in to Ann with so little resistance. Be honest with me, man."

"I don't know, Kai." I sigh. "I mean, she's blind now." Kai's expression falls. He nods, suddenly lacking exuberance. We sit in silence.

"It's really not fair," he mutters. "she's a good person." Cliff emerges from the washroom in his pjs.

"I don't know if you've noticed Kai, but bad things happen to good people all the time." Cliff mutters, before tossing Kai's towel back in his face. I smirk.

"Cliff I showered, the towel was clean." Kai says. Cliff pulls the covers over his head and Kai turns his attention to me once more. He stares at me intently.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask.

"You like her, don't you?" I look at him, alarmed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I mutter, getting up to go take a shower.

"If you don't like her, I'm going to to try to win her heart." he says. "You know I can." I tense and turn back to face him. He is dead serious. My gaze darkens with some unnameable emotion and I glare at him for what seems to be the longest time. Anger boils up within me and for a split second, I feel like ripping his head off.

Count to ten...

"I lost her once." I say.

"I know." he smiles playfully, placing his hands behind his head and stretching out on the bed lazily.

Count to ten...

"I'm not going to let her get away again." I glare daggers through him but he remains unaffected.

He smiles wordlessly and watches me with amusement. I exhale slowly and it takes all my willpower to not start a fight with him. I turn away from him and enter the washroom. He is so damn infuriating. He can't be serious about vying for Claire's affections.

And what if he is?

I huff at my reflection in the mirror. What am I saying? If Kai wants to win Claire's heart, power to him. Why am I letting him get me so damn worked up?

His words sound in my head.

You like her, don't you?

Well if he's so sure I like her, then why the hell is he toying with me like this? What kind of a friend does that?!

You like her, don't you?

I scowl and step under the show head, preparing for some heavy contemplation. What the hell is Kai up to?

KAI'S POV:

"You like her, don't you?" I smirk at him, then grin at his alarmed expression as his head snaps in my direction. Ah, if only Gray knew how much of an open book he was. Most people think he's hard to understand but in my opinion, he's easier to read than a picture book- and that's saying something. Everything is written on his face.

Gray turns away from me quickly and mutters his denial. Then the wheels in my head start turning.

"If you don't like her, I'm going to to try to win her heart." I smile at him and lean back on my bed. "You know I can." I almost blow my cover and laugh at how menacing Gray looks- or how menacing he thinks he looks. I don't remember the last time I've seen him look so angry. Anyone else might back down now, seeing the anger fuming from his ears. But I'm not scared.

The 6"2 giant that I call my best friend would never even hurt a fly. The poor guy would rather lock himself up in a room, fuming, than let his anger get the best of him and physically hurt anybody. At least, that's been my observation over the years. In all honesty, I think Gray just needs to find a healthier way to release his steam instead of keeping all his issues bottled up inside. 'Cause that ain't healthy.

And while I've suggested some of my own- er, techniques, he often ignores my advice. Ah, the 25 year old virgin. Well, almost 25.

"I lost her once." he looks like he's about to rip my head off. "I'm not going to let her get away again." he growls darkly and I smile at him. I think my work is done.

Gray just needs a little push to get his wheels in motion- and I'd be more than happy to be that push.

Okay, so I know I took reaaaaaaaaally long to update this but I'm sure it doesn't affect the many people who read this story -light sarcasm- heh. BUT, thank you Ancient Liddel for being my first reviewer and follower! Also, thank you Cotton Candy Mareep for reviewing and following, and thank you WinterBunniesEx-Lover for following. Check out these authors! Oh, and thank you harvestgirl for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it a lot and in this chapter, I threw in a Kai POV because I thought it might be interesting to incorporate into my story. I'm just experimenting though and I'm not sure if it would make the story boring and redundant, so some feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm on the fence about incorporating different POV's cause... yeah. Well, thanks again ^^