Hi everyone! I am super, super, super sorry this is so late! I have been so busy with exams at school that I kind of forgot to work on this. Everytime I had free time in school I wrote in my notebook. I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm not sure what to think of it. I kind of had a writers block but I somehow pushed through! Today was my last school so I am happy! Anyway, enjoy this chapter (that is way overdue)!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything with it. Those things belong to their rightful owners. I just own my OCs.

Chapter 6:

I wake up with a jump. I look at the clock and I can feel my eyes grow wide. It reads 6:15. I'm kind of hungry. I hear knocking on the door and I quickly close my notebook that was left open on the floor. I walk to the door and open it. Ranulf is standing there with a plastic bag in his hand.

"You hungry?" Ranulf asks. Right at that moment my stomach grumbles and I quickly hug it. I blush and Ranulf laughs. "I guess my intuition was right!" I open the door wider so Ranulf can walk into the room. He walks in and I shut the door. "You don't mind Chinese, do you?"

"N-No, that's f-fine." He sits down on the ground. I grab my pillow and hand it to him. "You can sit on this."

"Thanks." He takes it and sits on it. I grab one for myself and sit across from him.

He starts pulling out containers from the plastic bag. I count three. Ranulf opens up one to reveal dumplings. They look really good! The next container he hands to me. I open it up to see brown noodles with a few cooked shrimps in it. My favorite! He hands me a pair of chopsticks. The last container Ranulf opens is the same thing I have. He gets his own pair of chopsticks.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back." I say staring at the delicious food.

"No, it's fine."

"B-But…" He puts his finger over my mouth.

"I'm treating you. Ok?" I blush but nod. He moves his finger. I start eating the noodles. They do taste good. "How are you doing?" He asks.

"O-Ok. I was d-drawing so that k-kept me busy."

"What were you drawing?"

I blush. "U-Uh… just stuff."

"Can I see it?" I quickly shake my head 'no'. "Why not?"

"Because it's not that good." He looks at me as if concentrating. I imagine an anime sweat drop on my head. "B-But, if you w-want to look…" I say carefully as I grab my notebook. He nods and I hand it to him.

Ranulf's eyes sparkle at the first page. "A lily flower…" he says sounding a bit distant.

"Y-Yeah, I l-like them a lot." I say before taking a big bight out of my noodles. He continues looking through the pages. He smirks at a page and I blush bright red. He must be looking at the picture of him in the tree.

Ranulf looks up at me. His smile is big. "So that's why you took a picture of me." I look away in embarrassment. He laughs. "You really love to draw, don't you?" I don't respond. He flips to the next page. His smirk disappears. "That kid is from archery class."

I look up at him. "Yeah. That's Leonardo."

"Is he a friend of yours?" I nod. "Do you like him?"

I don't know how to answer him. I don't like Leo that way if that is what he is asking. "He is nice to me. We barely talk to each other, though." Ranulf looks up at me. I quickly blurt, "I d-don't like him in th-that way! I don't think h-he likes me too much a-anyway." Suddenly, he snorts. Then he starts laughing hysterically. "Wh-What?" I ask worried. Did I say something?

Ranulf calms himself down enough to talk. "You are just too cute." But then he goes serious. "Honestly, though. I want you to be careful. Promise me you will."

I am so confused. What does he mean by that? "I-I promise." He flips to the next page. I keep eating my noodles. I'm halfway through them.

"You draw really well."

"N-No, not really."

"Yes, you do. I don't know that many artists but you are really good and I am not just saying that. I wouldn't lie just to make someone happy."

I froze from trying to protests. So he is that type of person. Honest. I like that. I smile. "Thank you."

We continue to eat. He tells me how everyone was talking about the accident. Rumors were flying around about how it happened. A few of them involved a fight. I just listen as Ranulf tells me all of them. I can tell Ranulf wants to know the truth but I just can't tell him. I don't know why but my gut told me not to. I won't tell anyone. Soren kind of knows what's going on but not a lot. I don't want anyone else to get involved. Lenna got involved and look what happened. I got to keep this a secret as long as possible.

I finish most of my noodles and all but two shrimps. I am so full. Ranulf finishes all of his food. I don't know how he can finish all of that. The sauce of the noodles is enough to fill you up. I pick up a shrimp with my chopsticks.

"Do you want it?" I ask Ranulf.

He looks at it. Then he leans forward and… eats it off of my chopsticks! I blush as he leans back and eats with satisfaction. He kind of reminds me more of a cat. No wonder he is a cat Laguz! I laugh causing Ranulf to look at me very confused.

"What?" he asks.

I shake my head 'no' as I calm down. "I-It's nothing. I just thought of something." To keep myself distracted I look inside the plastic bag and find a few fortune cookies. I pull one out. I open it from the plastic wrap and then crack it open. "The dream is within you." I read softly. That's kind of ironic since I have dreams.

"Huh. That's a bit odd." Ranulf comments.

"Yeah."

Ranulf digs into the bag and grabs a cookie. He cracks it open and looks at it. "Anything you do, do it well. The last thing you want is to be sorry for what you didn't do." He reads out loud.

"That's long compared to mine." I say.

"Yeah. That is nice, though. I can understand what it means, too. It's not of those confusing ones." Ranulf laughs. I giggle a little bit. It is annoying when you get those.

I start closing my containers of food. I go to my desk and grab sticky notes. I write my name on two of them and place them on the containers.

"I'll be right back." I say as I pick the containers up.

"I'll throw the trash out." Ranulf says while cleaning up the mess.

"O-Ok." I reply. We walk out of y room and into the kitchen. I put the food in the fridge as he tosses the trash away. I sigh and sit on the counter. "Ranulf?" He looks at me. "Th-Thank you for k-keeping me company."

Ranulf smiles at me. "Anytime." Down the hall I can hear a few girls chatting. They enter the kitchen. They stop once they see us. "Want a drink?" Ranulf asks me. I look at Ranulf and nod. He goes to the fridge and opens it up. "Want soda?"

"Yes." I reply.

"Coke?"

"Yep."

He shuffles in the fridge for a little bit. Then he closes the fridge door handing me the nice cold drink. Ranulf has his Coke so he opens it. He looks over to where the girls are standing. They haven't moved. They are watching us as if we are a TV show or something. I look away from them blushing.

"Can I help you?" he asks them sounding annoyed.

They quickly snap out of there daze. Then they scuttle away. I can't help but giggle. Then I start laughing. Ranulf looks at me confused for a minute. Then he starts laughing along with me. It was just so funny! The way they stared at us. Then the way they ran away. Classic! I take a deep breathes then open my Coke. I drink it up. I put it down and sigh. I haven't had a real actual laugh in a while and it felt good. Ranulf really is just the best. The way he makes my day that much brighter. Ranulf leans against the counter next to me. It was quiet while we drank our Coke. After a while I finish my drink, jump off the counter, and I toss it away.

"Thanks for today. You really helped me out a lot." I say. "I better head back to my room and sleep."

From behind me Ranulf wraps his arms around me. His head rests on mine. "Ok, Mina. Come see me if you need anything." He kisses the top of my head. "Night!" He lets go of me. I turn around to see him leaving the kitchen waving and smiling at me.

I leave the kitchen smiling to myself and blushing. Ranulf is a sweet guy. I'll never understand why he likes a girl like me. I'm quiet, shy, weak, and not that pretty. A lot of girls want to be with him but he wants me. I enter my room, shut the door, and lock it. I grab my PJs and put them on. I climb into bed to see Kisa sleeping on my white blanket that is rolled up by my pillow. I smile as I lie down and pull the covers over me. I turn off my light and close my eyes. I hope tomorrow will be a little bit easier on me.

(The Next Day)

I open my eyes rubbing them gently with the back of my hand. Kisa is still rolled up next to me asleep. I roll over to see what time it is. It reads 5 o'clock. I slowly get up trying not to wake her up. I dig in my trunk trying to find something to wear. I find a purple t-shirt with the word 'Together' on the top and 'Forever' on the bottom. In the middle is a cartoon picture of a milk carton and a chocolate chip cookie holding hands. Two little red hearts is in between them. I find jean Capri's and put those on. [a/n: I just realized something. As I was typing this I was wearing the same things that Mina is! It was completely by accident, too! lolz] I put on my socks and shoes and walk out of the room to the bathroom. After I brush my hair and teeth I head back to the room. I pack my school bag together getting ready for my classes. I better head to the classes I missed yesterday and see what I need to make up. I hope I don't have too much to do.

I go to the kitchen and grab myself some cereal. Once I pour milk in it I sit down at the table and eat. Shortly after I sit a guy walks into the kitchen. He has red spiky hair and matching red eyes. He is wearing a white shirt and black shorts. He yawns loudly and grabs an apple from the fruit bowl that is sitting on the counter. He takes a bite and looks in my direction. His eyes grow wide. I guess he thought he was alone.

"Hi." He says to me.

I swallow my food quickly. "H-Hi." I say a little surprised. I thought he was going to ignore me or leave.

"You're the girl who went to the hospital, right?"

"Y-Yes. My friend g-got hurt so I-I went with h-her." I explain.

He nods his head understanding. He looks at my arm confused. "What happened?"

I look down to see the bandage around it. "O-Oh. I got cut by accident." Not exactly true but close enough.

"You sure? My friend said you got attacked." He says bluntly.

My eyes grow wide. How did the friend find that out? Who is the friend he is talking about? "H-How…?" I couldn't finish my sentence. I'm just too shocked to speak. I am awake, right?

He smirks. "So Vika wasn't lying. Interesting…" A look of confusion is on my face. "Sorry. My name is Tormod and my friend, Vika, is a raven Laguz. She was flying when she saw you guys on the roof. She didn't hear anything but she did see the attack and fall."

I was panicky now. "I… Uh… I-I mean…"

Tormod laughs. "Calm down! I was just curious, that's all."

I sigh calming myself down. "O-Ok."

His face becomes serious again. "You ok? What was the argument about?"

I look down at my cereal. Why are so many people asking questions? Can't he be like everyone else and just assume? This is getting a little bit annoying. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with." I look at him with slight annoyance showing on my face.

He stares into my eyes for what seems like forever. I wanted to look away but it is like he locked my eyes into place with his own. Plus I should stop running away. I need to stop being weak. Finally he looks away and stares out the window that is on top of the sink. I am slightly surprised with myself but I ignore the feeling. I continue eating my cereal before it goes soggy. Tormod sits on a chair across from me.

"Sorry." Tormod suddenly says. My eyes grow wide. He looks hurt because I acted mean. Guilt gnawed at my heart and I immediately feel really bad.

"Don't be sorry! I didn't mean to say that so meanly. It's just that a lot of my friends are asking questions and I rather that they didn't." I mutter to myself, "It's better that they don't get involved." I finish my food and put the bowl and spoon in the sink. I stare out the window. Sure looks nice out today.

"Well, if you told your friends what was going on maybe they will be able to help you out." He suggests.

I shake my head 'no'. "If they get hurt I won't be able to forgive myself. When Lenna got hurt I couldn't handle it. She doesn't want me to blame myself but I can't help it."

I hear the chair get pushed against the tile so I turn to see Tormod standing. "Well, I guess you will have to figure something out then." He looks at me and smirks. "See yah!" He then walks out of the room taking another bite of his apple.

I think about what he said. He's right. I do need to do something. How do you stop a group of Laguz girls? They hate me because I'm with Ranulf. What if I stop seeing him? I feel a jolt of pain from my heart. It's logical but it is painful to do. Imagining myself without him is nearly impossible. Augh! Why can't they just have crushes on movie stars or something! Do you they have to be so defensive of Ranulf when he doesn't really know any of them?

I walk to my dorm and pick up my bag. I see a book on the shelf that catches my eye. I walk over and pick it up. Tempted! That's the sixth book of the House of Night series and it's the book I need to read to be caught up. I pick it up and leave the dorm then lock the door. I walk out of the building and wait at the sidewalk for the streetlight to turn green so I can cross the road. Someone stands next to me so I look.

I smile. "Good morning, Micaiah."

She looks over at me and smiles back. "Good morning."

The light turns green so we cross the road. There were a few students out talking to each other in the school yard. I think now would be a good time to ask.

"Micaiah?" I start.

"Yes?" she replies still smiling.

"Um… remember that time we first met? You shook my hand."

"Yeah, I remember." She says. Micaiah's smile falters just slightly.

"How come I felt that, uh, you know…?" I ask trying to put the feelings into words.

"Power? Energy?" she suggests.

"Yeah, that's it." I say nodding.

"Well, usually when people with special abilities touch they feel each other's power. This means you have a gift and so do I." Micaiah explains to me.

That is pretty cool. I become curious. "What is your gift?"

She hesitates for a moment. She then takes a deep breath. "I can heal people without using a staff. It drains my energy making it there's. I also get glimpses of the future. Sometimes they are short clips and other times they are vivid."

I stare at her in awe. "Wow! That's amazing!" I excitedly respond.

Micaiah smiles. "Thank you." She thinks for a moment. "What is your gift?"

I think about that for a second. Then I remember that I have my dreams. My smile drops as I explain, "Sometimes when I dream I see what happens in the future. It's like watching TV and they usually scare me."

Micaiah looks at me sadly and pats my shoulder. "I know the feeling. It's ok. Whenever you need to talk to someone about your dreams just come and see me, ok?"

I smile at her blushing a little. "Th-Thank you."

"You're welcome." Suddenly an orange bird flies towards us and lands on her shoulder. "Yune! How are you doing? I thought you were still at home." Micaiah says gently rubbing the bird's head.

I smile. "She looks pretty. Yune is a cute name, too."

Micaiah smiles more to herself. "Yeah, she's been with me forever. I would like to think that we are best friends." Yune rubs her head against Micaiah's cheek. She giggles. Yune then flies and lands on my shoulder.

I look at her and smile brightly. "Hi there, Yune. My name is Mina. Nice to meet you!" She chirps and I giggle.

Then she looks at Micaiah and chirps a few things to her. "Oh, he is?" Micaiah asks her. The bird nods her head. "Thank you, Yune." Yune chirps once and then flies away. "I got to go to the library but will see you later, ok?"

"O-Ok. Bye." I reply a little dazed.

"Bye!" She waves and walks away.

I stare after her amazed. They are able to talk to each other and understand one another. I wonder if Kisa and Lenna are able to do that. That must be such a great feeling to have that kind of connection. Will I ever be able to have that? I doubt it. It's still worth dreaming for, though.

I walk to my favorite place and sit on the bench I always seem to sit on. I pull out the book and read. I recap about what happened in Hunted so everything can make sense. I finally remember and start to read Tempted. I like the House of Night series. It's a really great series to get into. It has vampires but it's not Twilight for sure or even the type where you have murdering vampires that smell and are ugly. The characters are actually high schoolers and it has some nice twists here and there. Especially later in the series a big twist comes along. [a/n: I don't want to give anything away but it's hard not to!] There is someone who becomes evil and I suspected that person from the start. It's amazing how much stress Zoey is getting into. I don't think I could handle all that!

From the corner of my eye I can see someone sit next to me. I finish the paragraph that I was reading and look. It's Soren. He is looking straight ahead.

"Hi." I say to him.

"Hello." He says without moving. I wonder if there is something bothering him.

Ranulf's POV:

I see Mina talking to that mage guy. What was his name again? Soren. Yeah, that's it. He's Ike's friend. He smells different than most Beorcs but I don't know why. I can't quite put my finger on it. I start to walk over to Mina when a hand grabs my arm firmly. I turn around to see Lethe glaring at me.

"I told you to be careful around her, didn't I?" she says bitterly. I tense up. Sadly, I knew what she was talking about. Lethe continues, "But because you weren't someone dear to her got hurt." I open my mouth to say something but she cuts me off. "Just be glad she didn't get killed. Next time Mina could get hurt." Lethe lets go of my arm and walks away.

I rub my arm were she grabbed me. It feels really sore. That girl is crazy strong. She does have a point, though. Because of me Mina almost got hurt. I'm grateful that Lenna saved her but she was not supposed to get hurt. Those Laguz girls just won't go away. I need to do something about them. But what?

I look over where Mina is to see her looking at me. She smiles brightly. I give a quick wave and smile in return. She turns to Soren, says something like 'I'll be right back.', then speed walks over to me. She looks so beautiful with her curly blue hair and her midnight blue eyes. It's sad that I have put her into a big mess with those girls.

"Good morning, Ranulf!" Mina says happily.

"Good morning." I say in return. I smile but it doesn't feel real. Mina's smile fades a little as she looks at me curiously. "What is it?" I ask her.

She blinks a few times. "Is something wrong?"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Mina tilts her head to the side as if looking at a different angle would give her the answer. "I don't know. You seem a bit different this morning."

"Hm." Then I smirk. I know how to tease her and keep her distracted. "Do I look more handsome today?"

It works. She blushes in that cute way of hers. She opens her mouth as if to try to say something but no sound comes out. I laugh covering my mouth. She is so cute.

"Calm down! I was just teasing!" I exclaim still laughing.

Mina sighs but is still blushing. I rub the top of her head as if she is a little kid. She looks into my eyes and I smile more naturally. She always finds a way to brighten my day.

Mina smiles brightly. "There it is!" I look at her confused. Her blush deepens in color. "Y-Your real s-smile."

My eyes grow wide. So she was able to tell. Last time I checked she was the open book. Now my emotions are being exposed by her. Usually my friends can't tell if something is wrong with me unless I made it obvious. But Mina… she's good. I hug her tightly resting my head on hers. I can feel her arms wrap around me and I smile in content. If she's around I can live. I believe I can handle those obsessed fan girls.

"Mina, can you do something for me?"

"Wh-What is it?" she replies with her sweet voice.

"Try to stay safe. I'll protect you if I have to but please don't do something dangerous." I say and I mean every word of it.

"I-I'll try." I feel her shift so I let go of her. Mina gets on her tippy toes and kisses me gently on my cheek. "I-I have to go to class now." She says.

I smile. "Ok. See you later." I lean down and kiss her forehead.

Mina walks to where Soren is still sitting. He hands her a piece of paper. She then waves bye to him and walks to the Beorc building while he walks to the main building. I walk to the Laguz building smiling to myself. I just need to find a way to stop those girls from bothering me, Mina, and her friends. Then we could be worry free. But now, I need to find Mordecai and go to class.

Mina's POV:

I had gone to all of my classes and went to see the teachers that I missed yesterday. I got a few worksheets here and there but besides that not too much homework. I pull out the piece of paper Soren gave me earlier. He says that it's from Mist. I open it and read it. 'Meet me at the bench you like to sit at, ok? ;) - Mist' I smile. She is a nice girl and has nice handwriting. I walk to the designated place.

When I get there I see Mist sitting next to Rolf and they were talking. They must be really close friends. Rolf sees me and waves. Mist turns her head and smiles at me. She gets up and walks over. Rolf follows behind.

"Hi, Mina! I'm glad you got the note!" Mist says.

I nod my head. "Yep." I'm still amazed she got Soren to listen to her. That was nice of him to do that for her. "So, what's going on?" I ask curiously.

"We are going to the cooking club!" Mist exclaims. Oh, so that's what this is about. Mist told me about this before. "Would you like to come with us?" she asks hopefully.

"Today we are making monkey bread!" Rolf says excitedly.

It sounds nice. I haven't cooked in a while and I miss doing that. "Sure, I would like to go." I reply.

They both brighten up. Mist grabs my hand and runs off with me following. Rolf runs next to Mist. This is going to be fun. In a minute we were standing in front of a door. Mist lets go of me and opens the door. When we enter the smell of flour and other foods engulf me. I inhale it with delight. I can't wait to start cooking.

Rolf steps in front of me and looks at me. "Oh, Mina? I just remembered that I still have your guitar!" he says panicky a little. Oh, I kinda forgot about that. I'm glad he reminded me.

I try to reassure him with, "I-It's ok. Just return it when you get the chance."

"Ok! Will do!" Then Rolf turns around and runs to who I recognize as Mr. Oscar. "We're here!" he exclaims.

"Hi, Rolf." He says patting Rolf's head. He looks up to see me and Mist. "Hi, Mist. Welcome, Mina." He smiles gently and I blush.

"H-Hello." I say smiling.

Then Mr. Oscar returns his gaze back to the rest of the students that are gathered there. "Alright. Everyone get into groups!"

Mist and Rolf go somewhere and I slowly enter the room. I kinda feel left out and out of place. As I look around people were talking excitedly with their partners and getting ready for the dish.

"Mina!" I look around to see who called my name. My eyes land on Ike who is waving me over. I walk quickly to him. "Do you want to be in our group?" he asks. I look next to him to see Soren looking at me.

I look back at Ike. "Ok."

He smiles. "Great! Let's look for an open stove to use."

I nod and follow him and Soren. We find an open spot and take it.

"Ok." Mr. Oscar announces. I look at him and everyone goes quiet. "We are making monkey bread today. The ingredients and material that you need should be on the counter. There is a sheet of instructions by the stoves. If you have any questions you may ask me. Begin cooking!" With that said everyone becomes busy.

"Do you know how to cook?" Ike asks. I nod my head. He sighs in relief. "Good because barely any of us do." He says motioning him and Soren.

"Mist made us take this class." Soren grumbles. I suppress a giggle as I imagine the argument Mist had with them.

"What do we do first?" Ike asks.

I pick up the sheet and read it. Then something inside my head happens. I feel like I am in control and that I could cook this well. I just need them to work with me. I wish I had this much courage more often.

I look at them with such seriousness that I amaze myself. I tell Soren to prep the oven and Ike to mix ingredients together. I helped him with it. We followed the instructions step by step. Every time we got one thing done I would cross it out. Once I tripped and almost spilled the bowl but Ike caught me and Soren took the bowl from me. (a/n: I have made it before and it tastes amazing! You should try it if you haven't already!) Soren took some biscuit pieces and put them in the bowl to cover them with the ingredients. Ike had just finished melting the butter and poured it over the pieces. Finally I put the pieces on a tray and put them in the oven. I set the timer for 35 minutes. Soren is doing dishes so I go over and help.

"I can't wait till it's done! I'm sure it will taste really good!" I say happily.

"Thanks to your help." Soren says nonchalantly.

I blush. "I-I think it would h-have turned out o-ok without me.

"Not true." I look up to see Ike leaning against the counter. "You explained everything easily so we could understand. You must love cooking."

"I-I guess so, yeah." I say a little distant.

"Either way, we got everything without any mishaps. Thank you." Soren says.

I become panicky again. "I should thank you! I was kind of bossy but you guys listened without complaining! I'm sorry if I had annoyed you guys."

"You didn't annoy us." Soren says.

Ike nods. "You helped us a lot."

Before I could argue Mist and Rolf run over to us. "Hi everyone!" Rolf cheerfully says.

"How did Ike and Soren do?" Mist asks.

I stand up and wipe my hands across my pants. "Th-They did well." I reply.

"Any accidents?"

"W-Well, I tripped but I-I was saved." I look at Ike and Soren. I smile at them appreciatively. I look back at Mist. "H-How about you g-guys?"

"Some sugar spilled on the floor so it took a while to clean up." Rolf says and sighs. I can see Mist fidgeting and blushing a little. She must be the one who spilled it. Poor thing.

"I'm guessing you did that, Mist." Soren says. He must have seen her fidget, too.

"It's not like I meant to!" Mist exclaims.

I spoke up. "I-It's ok. W-We know you d-didn't mean to." She calms down.

As if nothing happened she smiles at me. "I can't wait to eat!"

"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Rolf chimes in.

"Did you make extra?" Ike asks. Rolf looks at him confused. I'm confused, too.

"Boyd." Soren says.

Rolf got it. "Oh! Well, he isn't getting my share! He can beg Oscar if he wants to." We all laugh at that. It was a funny picture to imagine in my head. I sit on the counter letting my feet dangle.

After that we just talk about classes and other things. Rolf and I talk about Mr. Shinon's funny anger issues in archery class. It's really funny how he goes from exploding to being annoyed and then not caring at all. He is cool to talk to, though. Rolf and I have talked to him a few times together (since I'm too shy to by myself) and it is nice.

A girl with long purple hair and matching eyes wearing a pink cape with purple lining and dark blue/purple hood walks over to us. She is also wearing a green shirt, dark blue/purple short skirt, and light pink boots. She looks at Mist. "The food is ready." She says softly. She is a quiet girl. Not shy, just quiet.

"Oh, ok! Thanks!" Mist says. She turns to Rolf. "Let's go."

"Ok." Rolf follows Mist and the other girl.

"Who's that girl?" I ask.

"That's Ilyana. She's a mage like Soren." Ike answers. He looks at Soren. "Isn't she in the same class as you?"

Soren looks at Ike. "Yes." Then he looks at me. "She mainly uses lightning spells while I mainly use wind spells."

I nod understanding. Then the timer goes off on our oven. I go over to it and turn the timer off. I open the oven. I grab some oven mitts, put them on, then pull out the tray. I gently place it on the counter. Ike closes the oven for me.

"Thank you." I say as I take the oven mitts off.

"Should we get the plates?" Ike asks.

"Uh… not yet." I say studying the food. "We should let it cool off."

As we waited I started to think about what I was going to do with it. If there were left overs I should give some to Lenna. I could bring some pieces to lunch tomorrow and give it to my friends. Even some for Ranulf and his friends. Ranulf…

"You ok?" Ike suddenly asks me.

I look at him confused. "Huh?"

"Are you ok? You look sad."

"Oh!" I-I'm fine! S-Sorry! I just k-kind of dozed o-off there." I say smiling at him.

"Oh." He says. He doesn't seem to be convinced.

I look at the bread. "I think the bread is cooled enough. Wanna get the plates?"

Ike grabs the plates and I get a knife. I cut pieces off and put them on the plates. I hand one to Soren and Ike. Then I leave one aside for myself. They both take a bite.

Ike smiles widely. "This tastes great!"

"I have to agree." Soren says his eyes slightly wide.

I smile. "See? I told you it would!"

Mist and Rolf run over. Mist steals a tiny piece from Ike's plate and eats it. Her eyes grow wide.

"You guys have your own to eat." Soren comments.

"Yeah but this is amazing!" she exclaims. "Awesome job, Mina!"

I open my mouth to try to tell her that it wasn't just me but I see Rolf cut a piece, put it on a plate, and take it over to Mr. Oscar. He takes a bite and smiles satisfactorily. Rolf says something to him and Mr. Oscar looks up to look at us. He gives a little thumbs– up for us and I smile. Ilyana comes over to us. She stares at the bread. I can practically see her drooling.

"W-Would you like to h-have a piece?" I ask her.

She looks at me with wide eyes. Her eyes seem to sparkle with happiness. "Yes, please." I smile at her and get her a piece of the bread. "Thank you. I'm so… hungry." Ilyana takes a bite of the food. She smiles in delight. "Delicious."

A few students come over and asked for a little bit. I give them some. They give me compliments and I blush red. I keep telling them that I didn't do it alone. I had help and I really appreciate it. They ask me for tips. Finally, I just give them some tips. Some people even wrote them down! I feel so happy right now. I look over to see Soren putting dishes away. He looks at me and something surprises me. I see a tiny smile on his face. I smile at him in return. He returns to putting dishes away. After a while students left to clean up. I was able to breathe again. I sit on the counter and sigh.

"Tired?" Ike asks from next to me. He is leaning against the counter.

"Just a little bit." I look at the bread. There is just enough left for me to give to my friends. "Do you want the left over's?"

He looks at it. "No thanks. You can keep it. Mist is going to have her left over's brought home."

On the other side of me Soren comes to stand there. He gives me a plate of bread. "I saw you put this aside for yourself. If you're tired you should eat."

"But-"

"Eat." He orders cutting me off.

I take the plate quietly and eat it. I smile brightly. Everyone was right. This does taste good! "Delicious!"

Ike smiles. "I know, right?" I laugh.

"I'll be right back." I say to them.

I jump off the counter and walk to find where Mr. Oscar is. I find him sitting at his desk writing something. He looks up at me and smiles that gentle smile.

"How may I help you?"

I blush a little. "I-I was wondering if I could have a bag for the left overs?"

"Oh, sure." He gets up and rummages through the closet that is behind him. After a few seconds he pulls out a plastic bag. "Is this ok?"

"Y-Yeah." I take it from his hands. I then say, "Thank you."

I walk away and back to my kitchen area. Once I return I put the bread in the plastic bag.

"Ok, everyone." The students stop talking to listen to Mr. Oscar. "Once you are done cleaning up you may go home. Have a good day!"

Students were cleaning up and talking to each other. People were leaving slowly. I finish packing the food and start cleaning the counters. Mist runs over to us.

"Hurry up you guys! I want to go home!" Mist says impatiently.

"You could go home yourself." Soren mutters.

"We'll be right there." Ike tells her. When Mist left to talk to Rolf he glares at Soren. "You know we can't do that."

Soren sighs. "I know."

I look at them. They look tired. I finish cleaning the counters and start cleaning the stove. "You guys can go home if you want. I'll finish cleaning up."

"You sure?" Ike questions.

"Yeah. The stove is the only thing left to clean."

"Ok." He looks at Soren. "Let's go." Soren doesn't respond. "Soren?"

"You go ahead. I'll catch up." Soren replies.

Without another work Ike leaves. Soren comes over and puts the ingredients away. I continue to clean the stove.

"Soren?" I ask a little hesitant. He looks at me. "Have you been able to sleep?" His eyes grow wide. I blurt quickly, "You know, since you fell asleep that time at the hospital."

Soren continues to put the stuff away. He looks like he is thing so I don't say anything. After a minute he says, "Yeah. Thank you."

I look at him confused. I ask, "For what?"

"For helping me that time. I wasn't able to sleep lately because I have been so busy with school, being vice president, and studying. When I fell asleep on the roof I felt…" Soren looks at me trying to find the word.

"Relaxed?" I suggest.

He nods. "Yeah. So, thank you."

I blush. "A-All I did w-was play my g-guitar. Th-That's it."

Soren finishes putting the things away and I finish cleaning the stove. I pick up the bag of food.

"Bye." Soren says to me.

"Bye!" I say smiling at him.

Soren walks out of the place. I look around the kitchen to make sure everything is clean. Nothing was left behind and it looks very clean. I leave the building. I walk down the barren school property. The only noise that can be heard is my footsteps and the nearby water fountain. I pass through the school gates. I should go see Lenna. I'm sure she will like the food. She said she doesn't like hospital food so this will cheer her up. I smile to myself as I walk down the sidewalk. When a nearby alley comes up I hear noises. What is that?

So... did you guys like this chapter? Please tell me what you think! I would really appreciate it! Anyway, here is my usual thanks.

HappyBunny885

SunLord89

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