A/N:

Doumeki: I'm in this chapter.

Watanuki: Whoopdy-do for you.

D: (nods)

W: (glares)

A-n-B: haha...before you beat me with sticks...ENJOY this chapter!

D: (nods)

W: (twitch) Can't you do something else?!

D: (nods)

Disclaimer/Songs Used: I own nothing....nothing at all. i'm crying internally right now....

1.) Tainted Love- Rise Against (cover of original)

2.) Remembering Sunday- All Time Low

3.) Decode- Paramore

--

...Sometimes I feel I've got to, run away, I've got to, get away...

"Hello?" I asked somewhat breathlessly into the side-kick pressed against my ear--wiping away some of the sweat the had accumulated on my forehead with a small white towel.

"Oh! You're already up." Came Kunogi's voice from the other end. She fumbled a bit before she spoke again. "Uhm, Miss Yuko asked me to call you, she wants us all at Lattice in an hour."

"Alright." I responded, standing from the black plastic bench I had been sitting on. I could her some shuffling from Kunogi's side. "How long have you been up?" She asked, concern in her tone. I shrugged, though I knew she couldn't see it. "Maybe...three hours now." I said blandly.

Kunogi sighed. "So that means you probably only got about an hour or two of sleep. Are you okay? You can't possibly still have jet lag."

I knew what she was asking, what she was probing at.

"I'm just not used to being back in Califo-"

"Are you having those dreams again?" Kunogi cut in, still not really pleased with my answer. The question made me think, somewhat surprised at what the answer actually was.

"No. Not since two days ago."

There was a pause, both of us thinking on this. "Oh..." Kunogi broke the silence, "Well, okay then! See you in an hour!" She finished, her usual cheeriness in her tone, which relieved me.

I hung up the phone, thinking on our conversation. What had caused me to completely forget about my re-accuring dream? The one I had experienced the night before had been so pleasant.

It was of my last day in Cali, I had been wandering the streets of downtown at some obscene hour of the night. I was thirteen, brooding, and strung out on hormones, but still the dream was pleasant, well, the memory that is.

I had been circling closed off buildings and cafes until I finally came across the usually festive and alive Alevara Street, which was now completely vacant. I walked through the open alleyway, where hundreds of stands would usually be set up, selling trinkets and what not, until I finally came to the rounded square that centered around a steel and concrete gazebo, that was rarely occupied by anything unless there was some sort of event being hosted there.

However, on that night, there were three people there, one leaning against the gazebo's iron bars, another strumming on a bright beige acoustic, and the third sitting indian-style in the center. I stopped on the outskirts of the square, listening to the wonderful sounds coming from the strangers.

I can still remember the words from the sad song the people had been playing.

"He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes. Started making his way past two in the morning, he hasn't been sober for days."

All my anger went away, worries, fears.

"Leaning now into the breeze, remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees. They had breakfast together, but two eggs don't last like the feeling of what he needs."

That small enclosure the strangers played under, made the sounds reverberate and expand, there was perfect acoustics in that little area.

"Now this place seems familiar to him. She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin. She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs. Left him dying to get in. Forgive me I'm trying to find my calling, I'm calling at night. I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl?"

That night was the night I fell in love with music, realized its influential capabilities, how it could change people.

"She's been running through my dreams and it's driving me crazy it seems. I'm gonna ask her to marry me. Even though she doesn't believe in love, he's determined to call her bluff. Who could deny these butterflies? They're filling his gut. Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar faces he pleads, oh he tries, but he's only denied, now he's dying to get inside."

Now that I think back on it, the feeling of those performers seemed somewhat familiar, something about the one sitting down making those wonderful harmonies with the standing one... but I can't quite place it.

I shrugged, pulling on my jacket to head into the just starting day, allowing the song to still run through my head.

"Forgive me I'm trying to find my calling, I'm calling at night. I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl? She's been running through my dreams and it's driving me crazy it seems. I'm gonna ask her to marry me. The neighbors said she moved away. Funny how it rained all day. I didn't think much of it then, but it's starting to all make sense. Oh I can see now that all of these clouds are following me in my desperate endeavor to find my whoever, wherever she may be."

--

My hand was about to open the door to our recording room, when my entire body froze, shocked at what I heard behind it.

"I'm not coming back, I've done something so terrible. I'm terrified to speak, but you'd expect that from me. I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt. Now the rain is just washing you out of my hair. And out of my mind, keeping an eye on the world. So many thousands of feet off the ground. I'm over you now. I'm at home in the clouds. Towering over your head."

And then the most unbelievable thing happened. Watanuki's voice almost perfectly mirrored the one that had been streaming through my head all morning.

"Well I guess I'll go home now, I guess I'll go home now, I guess I'll go home now. I guess I'll go--"

I pulled open the door, and instantly the sound stopped, four heads turning their attention to me. I stared somewhat at a loss at the other's, my gaze fixing on Watanuki, whose hands were poised lightly over the piano keys in the center of the instrumental room.

"Where did you learn that?" I asked, something akin to disbelief in my usually even tone. The younger tilted his head, quirking his eyebrow in mirrored confusion. "What are you talking about?" I continued to look at him, and then my three companions who were looking in-between us. I shook off the strangeness and stood a little straighter, walking fully into the room. Syaoran coughed uncomfortably and turned to Watanuki.

"It really was nice though, thanks for playing it for us." The boy said politely, obviously more comfortable with Watanuki's presence. Sakura nodded her head from where she sat next to Watanuki on the piano bench, smiling brightly, completely dissipating the awkward mood I had created.

"What do you think Miss Yuko's planning?" Kunogi asked. Watanuki tried to cover up something very similar to a snort before he made his comment. "Don't even try to figure it out, it'll only make the outcome all the more confusing." The younger said, as if recalling some long forgotten memory in the back of his head. Sakura giggled and Syaoran lightly watched her actions. "She doesn't seem all that bad though..." The brown-haired boy trailed off, though his face held a look of pre-occupation. Watanuki quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh don't worry, there's still plenty of time for that."

"Why are we here so early anyway." I asked, finally adding my two-cents into the conversation. Everyone looked back at me, obviously all wondering the same thing. Watanuki looked between us all. "Well, obviously you're going to plan out the band's future. Have you even opened for a venue yet?"

We all looked at him questioningly, and that was answer enough. "Of course not, you don't even have a name yet.....well, that's probably where the conversation will start, then it'll progress to radio airings, interviews, photo-shoots..." Watanuki trailed off, his face becoming a little sterner.

"How far are you guys willing to go?" He asked and there was a tense pause. A phone began to ring before any of us could answer.

...How did we get here? I used to know you so well...

"Oh!" Kunogi exclaimed, pulling an Excursion out of the gray dress she was wearing, "It's Miss Yuko. Hello?" She asked into the device. Watanuki turned to Syaoran. "Was that Decode?" The charcoal haired boy asked with a small smirk on his face. Syaoran nodded with equal enthusiasm. "Himawari's thinks that the singer might be her older sister. Cool right?"

Watanuki looked at him skeptically, than over at me as if I would convince him of Syaoran's insanity. I nodded.

"How come she doesn't know if it's her sister?" The boy asked and Sakura grimaced lightly. "They were separated when Himawari was little, she's been looking for her ever since." Watanuki's entire face fell at the information, and I found the action endearing.

We all turned our attention back to Kunogi as she said her finale good-bye and slid the phone shut. "Well?" Sakura asked, bouncing lightly in her seat.

Kunogi looked at us, her face in a mock state of disbelief, or maybe it was worry.

"She said that..." The girl placed the phone back into her pocket, and stood from the stool she was sitting on. "We should play tag."

The room was silent, until Syaoran and Sakura started laughing. "What?" The boy asked gripping his stomach.

Watanuki, however, was deathly silent, his right hand clenched into a fist. I observed him with a unnoticed curiosity, and a very very unnoticeable amount of concern.

"She's not joking." Watanuki said a little shakily. Kunogi looked at him, always being quick at observing another's internal disposition. The girl smiled. "That sound's fun!" She stated, happily standing from her seat.

"And you're..." Kunogi approached a skeptical Syaoran, and a small wicked smile appeared on her face. "It!" She finished, tapping the brown-haired boy on the shoulder. Sakura squealed and I continue to observe the questionable antics.

Before I could contemplate the situation further, Sakura hopped out of her chair and grabbed onto Watanuki, hoisting him from where he sat. She then started to tug him towards the door, laughing all the while, but as the lanky teenager was dragged by where I stood, he grabbed onto my wrist, efficiently pulling me along where ever Sakura planned to take us, Kunogi close behind.

By the time we reached the fifth floor of the building, Watanuki was running on his own, having let go of me on the ninth a while back. Sakura had turned down a different hallway on the last floor and I wasn't really sure of where Kunogi had gone.

"Where are we going?" I asked lightly jogging behind the person in-front of me. Watanuki didn't look back as he answered. "I don't know where you're going, but I'm finding Yuko, she has to be around here somewhere." The reply was breathy, as if Watanuki was already worn down from all this running.

"A-" I was cut off when Watanuki's phone rang.

He answered it with an angered expression on his face, for a reason I still wasn't certain of yet.

"What are you trying to pull!" He demanded into the phone, and I heard a distinct chuckle from the other end. Yuko. Though why Watanuki was so angry with her was completely beyond me. It was just tag wasn't it?

"You know damn well what you're doing, and you know just as well what it'll do. I won't be tugged around by this, I'll leave." The boy's voice became threatening, but there was an edge of tiredness in the tone. What the hell was going on here?

"Fine. See you at three." He slid the phone shut, and leaned his back against the left wall, sliding down it, phone gripped in his hands.

I was at a loss.

"Are you okay?" I asked, hesitance in my speech. Watanuki jumped as if he had completely forgotten I was there. He looked at me, that same lost expression on his face. "Not really, no." He said, this small, sad smile appearing on his face.

I sat down a foot or two away from him against the wall, not really sure of what else to do.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled the device out. The screen read 'one new text message' and I flipped the middle section open, opening the message as well.

A smirk pulled at my lips.

I turned to Watanuki and stood, standing in-front of where he sat. I lightly kicked the side of his foot.

"You're it." I said blatantly and Watanuki's still held smile turned into a confused 'oh?'

We stared at each other for a moment, until the boy nodded his head. "Alright, but help me up first." He stated, stretching out his hand for me to help him.

I shrugged and accepted the appendage, efficiently pulling the boy up from where he sat.

A crocked smile appeared on his face.

"You're it." He said tauntingly as he took of down the hall, his hand grabbing the corner of it as he turned down another hallway.

I stood staring from where the boy had ran, a determined gleam in my eyes.

It was just tag wasn't it? Business could wait until later.

--

A/N: Jez! I've been so bad with my updating lately, sorry 'bout that. Ya see, I'm writing this joined novel with one of mi amigas (we're trying to pull off some CLAMP styled craziness where there will be 4 books all with an inter-twined plot---all for fun of course not for actual publishing) and then another amiga and I just started to do some MustangxHavoc role-play (from FMA) which has been occupying me.........Yep lots of writing. It's fun though! haha. Neways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you (hopefully) next week!

Reviews please! A-n-B