Shadows of My Heart

Chapter Seven: Sleeping With Rhythmi…?

(Kellyn)

I return home, and act as if nothing is bothering me. It's an easy façade, really. My parents don't notice, and even my sister didn't seem to think anything of it.

Either I am really good at this, or they're really bad at detecting things.


Tuesday rolls around fast, and I keep wondering if Rhythmi still wants to meet up. She has all the reason in the world to not want to, but it would be nice to see her again.

Maybe even see if this whole, 'we almost kissed' thing has blown over.

While changing shirts, the house phone begins to ring, and when I look over at the phone, it's an unknown number.

Thinking that it could possibly be Rhythmi, I answer it. I was right.

"Thank goodness I caught you before you left. I really hate to do this, but I have to cancel on our plans." She tells me, her tone indicating that she's trying to do a few other things along with talking to me.

I open my mouth to ask if everything is alright, but she stops me by yelling at someone. "Alyssa, would you stop sucking face with whoever that is, and start helping?" She angrily asks, sighing an apology to me.

I stifle a laugh. "Do you need any help, Rhythmi?" I ask.

"No." She promptly replies. "My sister is sick, and I don't want to burden you."

"It's no burden, really. I'm the one offering." I tell her, leaning against my desk.

A small silence follows, before she finally agrees to my help. "I'll meet you where we last saw each other around one thirty." She says, her tone a bit strained when she mentioned where to meet her.

I hope she isn't mad about that…

I would be lying if I said that I had forgotten about that. It's all I've been thinking about, really.

Well…I guess if she was upset about it, she wouldn't have accepted my help.

Before I leave, I should probably at least tell someone where I'm going. Walking downstairs, I see my mother sitting on the couch, reading something.

I explain the situation to her, and she says I can go without a second thought. Huh…she sure has been lenient lately. It's almost like her and father have swapped roles…sort of.

"Just don't stay out too late, okay?" She tells me. I tell her that I won't, and begin to make my way to Pueltown. I've got a feeling that today is going to be interesting to say the least.

The walk to Pueltown felt much longer than it normally would have. Granted, I guess the last time I was going here, I was with Rhythmi, and when I left, I was far too confused to even consider time.

I spot Rhythmi sitting on a bench a few yards away, and the first thing I notice: her hair isn't straightened.

I'm not about to let this go un-commented. "Yeah, I don't know why you straighten your hair. You look beautiful." I compliment, blushing a tad.

She calmly looks over at me, and then stands up. "You're not very good at lying." She tells me.

Lying? Why does she think I'm lying? I would never lie to her! "Yeah, I'm a terrible liar. Though, I would never lie to you. Trust me, you look beautiful."

She blushes. "Thanks. It means a lot." She timidly says.

She's so cute when she's nervous.

For once, she doesn't continue to deny my compliment, and that makes me happy.

When I smile at her, she suddenly remembers that we need to get moving. I allow her to lead, and it isn't long until we reach her house.

It doesn't appear to be very big on the outside, but I certainly like the style of it. I guess it's almost like a modernized cabin.

Pausing outside, Rhythmi turns to me. "I warn you, I tend to yell a lot." She nervously tells me.

It makes me smile. "You, yell? Rhythmi, I'm shocked." I sarcastically say. She playfully rolls her eyes, and she then unlocks the door. Once inside, she announces that she's back.

Before we could even take a few steps in the living room, another blonde rushes into the room.

She's fairly tall, and her blonde hair matches Rhythmi's. Though, it's very curly in comparison, and her eyes are blue.

The girl walks over to Rhythmi, and begins to talk to her, glancing at me a few times before she does so.

"Yeah, Annabelle seems to be getting sick too…" she says in a worried tone.

Well, I am going to assume that this is Lakota. Rhythmi doesn't seem agitated by her, so it can't be Alyssa. She mentioned Annabelle, and she obviously isn't six.

Rhythmi tells her to give Annabelle a certain medicine to help prevent any other symptoms, then turns back at me. "Well, that was Lakota." She confirms.

"I figured." I tell her. "Okay, what led you to assume that?" She asks.

Strangely, this reminds me of my first day at school, when she asked me how I figured out she wasn't going to be a Ranger.

I tell her how I figured it out, and she smiles at me. "Yeah, there's no doubt that you'll make an amazing Ranger." She tells me.

I return the smile. "And I'm positive you'll be an amazing Operator."

She immediately tires to deny it, but I have to stop her. She needs to stop thinking so negatively.

"I already told you that I would never lie to you. Trust me, please." I beg, trying my best at a pleading expression. It must have worked since she's now laughing at me.

She reaches up, and messes with my hair. "You're too adorable." She says, blushing when she begins to walk away.

Adorable? I guess that's a compliment….an odd one at that. I'll take it. It may not be the manliest compliment ever, but coming from Rhythmi, it means the world to me.

"So what would you like me to help with?" I ask, following Rhythmi into the kitchen.

She sets her house key on the dark marble counter, then looks back at me. When she starts to giggle, I realize that I forgot to fix my hair. "Hang on a sec," she says, walking back over to me. She then proceeds to fix my hair, though, I can't help but blush at our close proximity.

At least it seems that the whole, 'almost kissing' thing is forgiven.

"Mostly everything has calmed down, since my parents, Alyssa, and whoever her boyfriend of this week was finally left. Though, I still have some dishes to do, so I guess you can help me with that."

We make casual conversation while doing the dishes, but when Rhythmi pushed her sleeves up, I couldn't help but scan her arms for any fresh scars.

All of them look old, and are very faint. I don't think she has cut since she told me, but it doesn't mean I don't worry. The look of despair on her face still haunts me. I never want to see her so upset again, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure she stays happy.

A knock at the door interrupts our conversation, and Rhythmi excuses herself while grabbing a towel to dry her hands.

I continue to dry a few of the dishes, listening to Rhythmi in the other room.

"What, did you forget your key?" She asks in a peeved tone.

The person laughs as they answer her. "Yeah, I did. Your boy-toy here yet?" She asks.

A tall brunette then walks into the kitchen, an angry Rhythmi following her. "One, he's not a 'boy-toy', he's my friend. Two, yes, he is here." She angrily answers.

She's so cute when she's angry. Her yellow eyes seem to hold the intensity of lightning.

I would introduce myself, but the way she is observing me with her hazel eyes has me feeling a little too nervous.

"I see you're training him well. I mean, you've gotten him to do dishes, and he can handle seeing your cotton ball hair." She says after awhile.

Rhythmi glares at her sister. "Alyssa, go away, would you?" She says, obviously trying to contain her anger.

Geez, it's easy to see that these two don't get along.

Alyssa laughs at her, leaning on the counter. "So, when are you getting this one to bed?" She asks, a grin on her face.

The glass I am holding gets dropped back into the water, and there is no doubt that I am blushing a bright crimson.

Rhythmi's eyes go wide, and she too blushes.

Laughing even more, Alyssa walks over to me, and throws an arm over my shoulder. Despite my complete embarrassment at the moment, I do realize that she is my height.

"Aww, he hasn't given up his v-card, has he? When you plannin' on takin' it, Rhythmi?" Alyssa asks, much to my disdain.

No…bad idea saying that. I'm just as human as anyone else in the room…but that was the wrong thing to say. I'm a teenager; my hormones are already running wild as it is. This doesn't help any.

Rhythmi is my friend, best friend at that. I should not have any thoughts like that about her. It's wrong…Yes, I am only human…but…thank you, Alyssa.

Rhythmi then begins to yell at Alyssa once she had removed her arm from me.

Rolling her eyes at Rhythmi, Alyssa looks back at me. "Looks like someone is thinking about having fun with my sister." She says with a cheeky grin.

Okay. I get what she is doing. She's basically complaining about herself, but using us, instead of outright saying herself.

She's easy to read. Far too easy. I think I can turn this against her. As mean as it is to say, she has obviously never had a stable relationship, so if I basically show her that I'm stable, she should back off.

I take a small breath, gathering myself so I don't mess up. "I would never force myself upon her. Even though she is a very beautiful girl, she is my best friend, and I would never want to hurt her in any way." I tell her, my tone very serious.

When Alyssa falls silent, I assume that I have won.

She then looks at Rhythmi, crossing her arms. "Have fun getting in his pants." She says, followed by a laugh as she finally takes her leave.

My face goes red again, and Rhythmi begins to mutter a few obscenities.

"I never understand girls like her. Intimacy is something to be serious about, not solicited so freely." I think aloud, quickly regretting doing so.

Rhythmi looks at me, her eyes now showing sadness. "I don't understand her either. She used to be a good girl, but after her first kiss, everything went downhill." She said, now avoiding my questioning eyes.

"It's kind of why I'm terrified to be kissed, let alone be in a relationship…I guess I just don't want to be like her." I notice a slight waver in her tone, and a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

That alone cuts me to the core. "Rhythmi." I mumble. As soon as I say that, she shakes it off, and gives me a fake smile.

I hate it when she pretends to be happy. It just makes me feel like I can't actually make her happy…

We finish the dishes in silence just in time for Lakota to return.

"I guess I can properly introduce myself this time. I'm Lakota." She introduces. I smile at her, and introduce myself.

She returns the smile. "Oh trust me, I've heard a lot about you." She says, grinning as she glances at Rhythmi.

It makes me happy to know that she has talked about me. I guess it gives me hope that maybe, just maybe she feels the same.

The rest of the evening is less eventful. Alyssa has stayed in her room, much to my relief. Lakota taunts us enough, but at least she's not as bad as her. Lakota just likes to make witty remarks, and point out things that make it seem like we both share the same feelings. Alyssa…not so much.

Lakota and Rhythmi are busy gathering the things we will need to make pasta, and I'm trying my best to stay out of the way. Who knew Rhythmi could be such a control freak in the kitchen?

The sound of light footsteps behind me pulls me out of my thoughts. Looking down behind me, I see a small girl. Her brown eyes look up at me, curiously. She doesn't appear to be too well, so I bet this is Abigale.

"Abigale, what are you doing out of bed?" Rhythmi asks.

Abigale shifts her gaze over to the blonde. "Lakota wasn't there, and I'm thirsty." She says in a meek tone, followed by a small cough.

I smile at her, and before Rhythmi can say anything, I volunteer to take care of her.

I don't really want Rhythmi stressing more so than she already is.

Once I have her a glass of water, Abigale leads me to her room, and then asks me to get her stuffed Pokémon since she can't reach it.

"The one on the top shelf." She instructs.

Okay…that doesn't help much, considering there are at least four or five stuffed Pokémon up there. "Piplup?" I ask, hoping I've made a good guess.

"Yeah!" She says in a happy tone.

I chuckle to myself as I grab the stuffed Piplup, and then hand it to her once she has finally gotten back in her bed.

Oh the innocence of being a child. Nothing to really worry about. I'd give just about anything to go back to those days.

She thanks me with a warm smile, and I head back to the kitchen.

When I walk into the kitchen, I see that Rhythmi and Lakota seem to be taking in harsh whispers. I wonder what about…?

Rhythmi notices me, and they immediately go quiet. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were talking about me.

Eh, that seems like I am full of myself. If either of them had something to say to me, I'm sure they'd say it to my face, especially Lakota. That girl just doesn't really seem to have a filter.

Lakota begins to laugh a bit, looking from me to Rhythmi.

Now I'm really confused.

Walking over to the counter, Rhythmi scans her eyes over everything placed there. She then excuses herself to go look for something.

Pasta sauce, I presume.

Lakota leans on the counter, resting her head in her palm, and begins to think aloud.

"Yeah, I worry about her a lot," she begins, now looking directly at me. "I don't know if she's done it recently, but considering how much she tugs at her sleeves, she probably has." She pauses to sigh.

I think I know where she's going with this…

"She struggled with horrible depression in the past, and it led to really bad self-injury. She even tried to kill herself once, and it terrifies me to know that she may try it again." Her eyes widen when she realizes what she has said. "Oops."

My eyes in turn widen.

Tried…to kill herself? You mean, I may have not met her…?

Words cannot even begin to express the level of concern I have for her.

There's no doubt in my mind that I will always make sure she's alive, and happy. I'll do whatever it takes to show her, if I can, that life is worth living.

Seeing my expression, Lakota quickly adds, "though, I honestly doubt that she would try again. She didn't really have anyone to comfort her then, seeing as I was too young to understand what to do, and Alyssa never knew about it. She has you now." She says, a smile.

"You'll protect her, even from herself, won't you?" She asks, now using a more serious tone.

You know, coming from her younger sister, this seems like an odd question to be asked, but she deserves to hear my answer. "I'd protect her with my life. There isn't really anything that would keep me from doing so."

Okay, that probably sounded lame beyond belief. At least Lakota seems happy about the answer.

After a few more seconds of mindless conversation, Rhythmi returns with a sigh. "So, I just realized that we don't have any pasta sauce." She says.

Lakota rolls her eyes at her. "Rhythmi, why didn't you think of that sooner?"

"I thought there was some!" She objects, crossing her arms.

Looking between the two girls, I suggest that we make homemade sauce. It's not that complicated, really. I've made it plenty of times when I had to cook for my sister and me.

Lakota leaves us to go check on Annabelle and Abigale while we begin to cook.

At first, it was just innocent, me instructing her on what to do, but then I noticed that we kept ending up closer to one another. It got to the point where we were standing right next to each other.

There was plenty of room in the kitchen, yet we seem to be right next to each other…why am I complaining?

At dinner, I finally get to meet everyone, and luckily, Alyssa has yet to join us.

Abigale and Annabelle look a lot alike. If there wasn't an obvious age difference, I probably would have assumed that they were twins, or at least had the same father.

"I like him. He cooks better than you." Annabelle comments, looking at Rhythmi with a grin.

I can't help but laugh as Rhythmi rolls her eyes. "Oh, pardon me. I'm sorry I'm not going to culinary school." She says in a dry tone.

Before anyone can say anything in response, the voice of Alyssa distracts us. "So, what's for dinner?" She asks, walking into the dining area, and scanning over the table. She then walks over to me and ruffles my hair.

Unlike when Rhythmi had done that, I immediately fix my it. "Aww, he can cook, too? You sure can pick the keepers, Mimi." She says, now looking at Rhythmi.

At the mentioning of the nickname, I notice Rhythmi give her an angry glare. "Either join us, or leave." She grumbles, avoiding looking anyone.

Alyssa walks away without another word, and begin to wonder why Rhythmi got so upset when Alyssa called her 'Mimi'.

Later into the evening, after helping Rhythmi do some cleaning in the kitchen, I realize that if I don't leave soon, I won't get home till well after midnight. Oh great…

Rhythmi left a few seconds ago to go make sure that Abigale had gone to sleep, and when she returns, we hear rain on the roof. Even better.

We both sigh. "'I still have your jacket." She offers. As if on cue, the rain begins to fall harder, and lightning flashes.

The following thunder makes Rhythmi jump, and we both sigh again.

Well, isn't this just perfect? Just my luck…

"I'm not really confortable with you leaving when it's starting to storm." She tells me, giving me a worried look.

I look at her yellow eyes, and have to force myself to remember to talk. "Well, I guess I don't really have a ton of options." I reply.

She's giving me the look that says, "I want to say something, but I'm scared of how you'll react."

"I-if you want, and I know this will be an odd offer, but like I said, I'm not too keen on the idea of you leaving right now." She begins, nervously messing with the hem of her shirt. "If you would like, you can stay the night. I understand if you don't want to! I just…thought it would be best to put the offer out there." She nervously finishes.

Well, I understand from both angles on why she is offering this, and why it's probably not a good idea. I'm a guy, of course I'd never try anything, but her parents don't know that.

Though, I don't know what the weather is going to do. It may or may not blow over soon, and I really don't like the idea of walking for about three hours in the rain.

"I don't know. Your parents probably wouldn't like that." I tell her, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.

She shrugs. "They're actually our of town for a week, so unless I tell them, they won't know." She reasons.

Okay, that does rule that out, but still…

"If you do leave, you had better promise to call me when you get home. Though, I'm not too thrilled to be waiting a few hours just to know that you're okay. Wait…that sounded wrong." She grumbles to herself.

Obviously she's very worried, and I can see why.

Okay, I've made up my mind. If it doesn't look like this storm will be over anytime soon, I'll stay and call home, if it's going to blow over in a little while, I'll wait then leave.

"Let's check the weather." I begin, then telling her of what I have planned.

She nods, and we then head into the living room to turn on the television. After waiting for the commercials to be over with, we intently wait for the weather report.

"Hurricane Allen made landfall a little over an hour ago, and it seems he's already made it to Pueltown. Reports of damage have already been called in, and it seems Almia is in for a rough night. As always, we'll be airing all night, keeping everyone up to date with information." The male news anchor said.

Looking at one another, I do my best to give her a smile. "Looks like that settles things. Got a phone I can use?" I ask.

She returns the 'smile'. "In the kitchen. I'll show you." She says, beginning to walk back towards the kitchen.

The news anchor then says something about a different city, making Rhythmi stop. "Actually, I'll be there in a second. Mom's there tonight." She says, her tone trailing.

I nod, then head into the kitchen. Once I have located the phone, I reluctantly dial home. After a few rings, dad picks up.

Not who I wanted to speak to.

"Hey, it's Kellyn. Is mom around?" I ask.

I receive a prompt no, and am then asked what I did.

"Well, I'm pretty much stuck at Rhythmi's. The storm already hit here, and it probably wouldn't be too safe to head home right now." I tell him.

A feeling of dread overtakes me when there is a silence, only broken by the faint background noise of the television.

"Boy, you better get your ass home right now." He threatens.

Just what I expected him to say. I stifle a sigh. "Dad, I can't get home." I try to reason, but he cuts me off. "Oh yes you can. Get walking!" He says, his tone taking on a new level.

Great…I've succeeded in pissing him off…wonderful.

Though, I have this idiotic nerve to challenge him. "Dad, come on. She's my friend, nothing more. Nothing will happen."

I hear him sigh. "You're my son, I know you better than you think. Get home." He says.

If he thinks that we're going to…have sex, then he is very, very off track. "You know, normally you're the lenient one, but now, you're acting like mom used to." I tell him, quickly regretting doing so.

I half-expect him to yell at me more, but he mumbles something away from the phone. "Fine," he says. "You can stay, but so help me Arceus if I find out you two did anything." He warns.

I assure him that nothing will happen, say bye, then place the phone back on its receiver.

A heavy sigh passes my lips. Setting my hands on the counter, I shake my head.

I hear Rhythmi enter the kitchen, and when I look up, she places her hands atop mine. She gives me a shy smile, and I can't help but return it.

A very slight blush tints her cheeks, and I can feel myself growing nervous.

"I should have just told you to stay home. I feel bad for basically getting you in trouble." She apologizes.

I shrug in response. "It's alright."

We continue to smile at one another, not daring to look away.

"Say, what was that phone call about?" Lakota asks, walking in on us.

Rhythmi reluctantly removes her hands from mine. "It seems I'm stuck here tonight." I simply tell her.

Her eyes go wide, and she then looks at Rhythmi. "Talk. Now." She rushes, dragging her into another room.

Way to make it obvious that she's talking about me. Oh well. As I said earlier, I'm not too worried.

I wonder if she's worried that Rhythmi is doing something Alyssa might do. Sure, I don't know Alyssa that well, but having a guy stay over for not-so-innocent reasons seems like something she may do.

While waiting for Rhythmi to return, I muse over everything. I wonder how angry my parents will be tomorrow…

Going home doesn't seem like something I really want to do right now.

I neglect to notice Rhythmi returning, so I jump when she speaks. "I guess we should clean some more." She says, not looking at me.

We clean, talk, and by the time we're done, it's almost eleven. Afterwards, we decide to head into the living room to watch some movies.

Flipping though the channels, we stop on a horror movie. It wasn't even my idea. I didn't know that she liked horror movies.

Interesting to know.

The first movie, nothing was horrible. Typical scary movie. Though, it did cause Rhythmi to jump a few times, and by the middle of the next movie, we were practically cuddling on the couch.

I can feel her shaking against me, and her eyes are glued to the screen. My arm is around her…I can't resist.

Moving my hand, I grab her side, and say, "ahh!"

She screams a bit, and moves away from me.

I laugh as I shield myself from her hitting me. "You jerk!" She says. I laugh a bit as she hits my arm. "Stop laughing! That wasn't funny!" She grumbles, now facing away from me.

"Yes it was." I object, continuing to laugh.

I glance at the clock, and notice that it's almost two in the morning. Wow. Where did the time go?

"You're a jerk, no it wasn't." She says, trying to contain her laughter. I smirk. "Then why are you laughing?" I ask.

She turns to face me, and I can see by the look in her eyes that she is beyond tired. This should be interesting.

"You're…lucky I'm tired." She says in a yawn.

After watching the rest of the movie, it switches over to some infomercial. Just as I begin to yawn, I feel Rhythmi leaning on me. Stopping mid-yawn, I look down at her, and notice that she's fast asleep. How precious.

Smiling, I don't bother to wake her. She'll probably wake up soon, and then head to her room. I'm not too worried…

Hours later, a loud clap of thunder awakens me. Normally, depending on the hour, I would go right back to sleep after being awoken by something like this. However, this time, it is not the case.

I can feel my arms around something, or rather someone. Propping myself up, I see that my arm is around Rhythmi, we both are lying on the couch, and a blanket has been placed over us.

I should be freaking out, but I'm still far too tired to be worried. I lye back down, and reinforce my light grip around her waist. Taking a deep breath, it puts me at enough of a calm to allow me to easily fall back asleep.

I won't lie. It was probably the best sleep I've had in awhile.

The early morning rays of the sun awake me a couple of hours later. When I move my arm, I feel that Rhythmi is no longer beside me, and it almost disappoints me.

Sitting up, I stretch my arms, and survey my surroundings. It seems to be sunny outside, meaning I will probably have to leave shortly, and Rhythmi is beginning to make her way down the stairs.

"Morning, Kellyn." She greets with a smile.

Hmm…maybe I should just pretend that I don't know about earlier.

I return the greeting, and end up staying a little longer to help with breakfast. After we finished with that, I began to take my leave.

Standing at the door, Rhythmi and I say our goodbyes. "Thanks, for uh, letting me stay." I nervously thank.

She smiles at me. "No problem." She says, before we hug. When we pull away, we hold onto one another, and Rhythmi then leans up and pecks me on the cheek.

"Thank you so much for all of your help." She says, us now standing apart.

A blush tints both of our cheeks, but I'm trying me best to not appear to be nervous. "You're welcome. So…do we want to hangout sometime again before school starts?" I ask.

She nods, saying that she would love to.

With that, I take my leave. The storm seems to have changed the air to a much cooler temperature, and the mostly cloudy sky seems to give me a strange sense of calm.

The cool breeze keeps my mind clear till I get close to home. All of my nervousness returns, and my pace slows.

When I get home, I stand outside the door for a few minutes, contemplating everything. "Well, better get this over with…" I mumble to myself.

Opening the door, I timidly announce that I am home. Nobody seems to be here…

"Oh, hey! Welcome back!" My mother calls, leaving the laundry room. She sets the laundry basket down, then walks into the main room. "You're not mad, are you?" I ask, avoiding her eyes.

"Well, did you two do anything you shouldn't have?" She asks, placing her hands on her hips.

I shake my head. "I helped her take care of her sisters, and after calling home, we watched a few movies." I explain. Sure, I mean, sleeping next to one another probably isn't something she would want to hear, but what she doesn't know shouldn't hurt me. Hopefully.

She smiles. "And see, I trust you. You're my son, and I like to think that I've raised you to be a good gentlemen. You know what's right and what's not. I trust that you have good judgment, and you've yet to give me a reason to doubt any of that." She explains.

Well, it's good to know that at least she trusts me…

"You see, your father is only acting so strict lately because he's worried. I got pregnant with you at Rhythmi's age, and I guess he just assumes that you two have that close of a relationship. I've talked to him, so you don't have to worry about anything." She finishes.

I thank her, but she then immediately volunteers me to finish the laundry. I should have expected so.


The Friday before school starts was the day we decided on later. As usual, we met up at Vientown, and walked around. While walking, Rhythmi tells me that she had run into Keith and Kate when she was leaving Pueltown, and that she saw them holding hands.

Mark my word; if he ever hurts her, he's dead.

Rhythmi then tells me that Kate gave her one of the incomplete yearbooks to look at so she could get her opinion so far, and because she would be interested in a certain page.

We both agree to look at it later.

It isn't long till it's nightfall, and we had ended up by the riverfront.

Sitting on one of the stonewalls by the river, the moon is our only source of illumination, and we begin to look through the yearbook.

Most of it isn't complete, but Rhythmi's picture is in there. Her picture is of her sitting on the Pledge Stone, looking at the sky.

I tell her that it's a nice picture, but she doesn't think so. Typical.

We continue to look through pictures, until we get to the 'Awards' section. The first few provide a few laughs, but when we flip the page to the next award, we both stop.

A can feel my face heating up.

The award? 'Cutest Couple' and it's the picture Kate took of us awhile back.

"C-cutest couple? I think Kate needs to do her research before she titles things." I comment.

"I-I warned you." Rhythmi says, pulling her arms close to herself.

"I mean…that's a ridiculous idea." I comment as we avoid one another's gaze.

Rhythmi finally looks back at me. "Well, I mean…it's not a completely ridiculous idea. I guess I can see why someone might think. We are around each other a lot, and we are really good friends, so…it's not completely stupid…" she tells me, shaking and blushing due to her own nervousness.

I turn a bit to fully look at her, and tell her that she's right.

Okay…I'm done holding it all in. I honestly can't take it anymore. I have to tell her.

I stand up, and the quick flash of a Volbeat catches my attention. Well, moonlit field, Illumise and Volbeat filling the air. I say that this is the perfect time to tell her.

I extend my hand to Rhythmi, and after placing the book on the wall, she takes my offer.

Our fingers entwine as I lead her to the middle of the field. She smiles the whole way, and it makes me smile in turn. Seeing her happy, makes me nothing more than happy. It also gives me hope that she feels the same.

When I let go of her hand, we immediately hug, though, this time her arms around my neck, and my arms are around her waist.

Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, when we pull apart, we kiss.

My heart leaps when I know that it's not a one-way kiss. She's kissing me back, and I guess that's all I can ask for.

When I went to reinforce my grip around her waist, I must have caught the hem of her shirt, resulting me grazing her skin just a bit. I think nothing of it, and pull her closer to me.

She suddenly pulls away, slaps me hard, and gives me a horrified look.

Oh shit…was…was I wrong…?


You all probably hate me by now, with these letdown endings, and my taking forever to update.

This was a tough chapter. I had so much I wanted to do, and I actually had a pretty hard time organizing everything. That, and studying for finals and such is a pain...but hey, I'm free of school for the summer as of June 4.

But then...my crammed summer begins. I will be lucky to write at all over the summer DX Like always, I shall try my hardest.

P.S~ You have no clue how badly I wanted to make a 'get back in the kitchen' joke

P.P.S~ Remember how I said that this story would probably not exceed ten chapters? Well, I may or may not be wrong. I have recently thought of something, and I can't make myself not want to write it.
So yeah... DON'T LISTEN TO ME, I'M JUST A CRAZY LADY!

~
Preview of the next chapter: Wish

"She...won't even look at me..."