I am so so so so so so so sorry it took so long! My computer crashed on me! My chapter uploads will be much quicker than this, but, just so ya know, a lot less frequent than before. And, again, so sorry for the really long delay. :'( Forgive me? Read and review, please!


PART SEVEN

They made it back to Mayu's just before darkness fell, Romeo leading the way through the sleeping village in the last few rays of sunlight. Once they were out of the trees, he'd come to stand in front again- partly because he didn't put it past the villagers to chuck a pot at them through a window and partly because he wanted to lead. They stepped through the front door of the familiar cottage and, much to Romeo's disappointment, ran right into Aiko.

Wendy smiled brightly when she saw him. "Aiko!" she said happily.

Aiko smiled back and, completely looking over Romeo, said, "Wendy! I was worried when you didn't make it back for dinner. Are you all right?"

Romeo frowned and said a little irritably, "We're fine."

"We were late because I tripped and got stuck in the grass," Wendy explained. She stepped around Romeo to be directly in front of Aiko. "Sorry if I made you worry."

Romeo felt like throwing up from the flirting. It was very obvious- Wendy liked this boy, and he seemed to like her back. And all this went down after one day? Romeo had known Wendy since he was six, and yet she never-

No. He didn't let himself finish that thought. He fell back into reality, then, and realized Wendy was looking at him. "Um, what?" he asked.

"Aiko said there were leftovers in the kitchen if we're hungry," Wendy said.

"It's just some soup, and it's gotten a little cold but you have fire magic, right?" Aiko was looking at him over Wendy's head. Romeo detected a slight smirk on his face when he was forced to explain that his flames weren't exactly hot. He resisted the urge to flip the guy off when he said, "Well, that's okay. I can just start up a fire for you."

Wendy smiled wide. "Thank you very much!"

"It's no problem," Aiko said with a grin. "After all, if I didn't help a pretty girl, what kind of gentleman would I be?"

Wendy blushed and giggled a little behind her hand. This time, when Wendy and Aiko's backs were turned, Romeo didn't fight the temptation. With a scowl, he flipped the dark-haired boy's back off before following them into the kitchen.


As Romeo spread out a blanket on the floor later that night, he did the best he could to ignore his unwanted companion sprawled on his side on the couch. Somehow the boy had convinced him to let him take the couch while Romeo slept on the floor, which had already put Aiko a bit into Romeo's bad side. But he went deeper still the more Romeo saw him with Wendy, not that he really understood why that ticked him off so much. In fact, he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know why. But it bothered him.

A lot.

"So why can't your fire heat up anything?" Aiko asked curiously. Then, with a smile that Romeo didn't like, he added, "I mean, isn't that the whole point of fire?"

"In magic, it doesn't have to follow reality," Romeo said in a surprisingly calm voice, then prayed the boy would shut up and go to sleep. Of course Romeo could never be that lucky.

"Well, why not?" Aiko asked. When Romeo didn't answer, he said, "Then what can your fire do?"

Romeo suppressed a sigh. "I have one type that is cold, another sticky purple type, and…a yellow one that you don't wanna know about."

"So you have a cold flame?" Aiko laughed. "Really, what's the point in that?"

"I don't know," Romeo snapped. "That's just what it does, okay?" He grabbed a cushion from the couch to use as a pillow, laid down on the blanket, and closed his eyes, hoping Aiko would get the message that he wanted to sleep, not talk.

At first, Romeo thought he had. The boy went quiet for a bit, only occasionally rolling over on the couch and making the springs squeak. Then, right as Romeo began to drift off, Aiko said, "So what's your relationship with Wendy?"

Romeo's eyes snapped open. "What?" he asked, sitting up and looking over at Aiko.

Aiko propped himself up on one elbow and said, "Like, are you guys dating or…?"

Romeo shook his head quickly. "No, no, no!" he said. "Wendy's just my friend. We're on the same team. That's it." He said the last two words a little sadly and frowned. Why would he say them sadly?

Aiko smiled. "Good!" he said. "Then you won't mind if I take a shot at her."

Romeo blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Well, she is a real babe!" Aiko said.

An uneasy feeling stirred in Romeo's stomach. "You mean, like…you're going to ask her out?"

"Well, sure," Aiko said with a grin. "Like I said, she's hot."

The uneasiness grew. Did he really just call his Wendy "hot"? Romeo blinked again. Wait, did I just call her my Wendy? He shook his head a little and said, "That's not a real polite way to refer to a girl's…attractiveness."

Aiko snorted. "She's not here, is she?"

The uneasiness turned to a bright flash of anger. "So? If you like her, respect her," he snapped.

Aiko just smirked at him. "Knew it," he said, sounding triumphant.

"Knew what?"

"You do like her."

Romeo frowned for what seemed like the millionth time today. "Well, yeah, she's my best friend, even if her cat gets on my every freakin' nerve…"

"No, you like her," repeated Aiko, his smirk turning into a full out grin.

Romeo's eyes widened at the assumption. He rapidly opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something but unable to find something intelligent to say. Really, how do you respond to that?

Aiko's grin vanished suddenly, fast enough that Romeo wondered if this guy was prone to mood swings. "But let me warn ya, buddy- I've already got her wrapped around my finger. This contest is already won."

The anger returned, replacing Romeo's shock. "She's not a trophy; she's not something you can just win like a prize at a fair!" Romeo objected angrily.

"Yeah, I know," Aiko said. "She's not the prize, anyway. Her heart is."

Romeo felt like putting his hands over his ears and chanting under his breath like a five-year-old. He didn't want to hear all this mushy crap. But he didn't move fast enough to block out Aiko's next words.

"Those sweet little girls' hearts are always the most fun to break."

"What?"

Aiko's grinned returned. "What? You haven't figured it out yet? I'm a player, and proud of it."

In a flash, Romeo's anger turned to fury. He wanted to break Wendy's heart? He was going to make her cry; he was going to take her smile away…

Romeo was on his feet in an instant, fists clenched, eyes flashing dangerously. Aiko's eyes widened, startled, and said, "Hey, man…"

"Before you make her cry, I suggest you think through who's going to back her up. Who's going to beat the crap out of you if you do."

Aiko's startled look quickly changed into a sneer. "What're you going to do if I do make her cry?" he demanded. "Set me on fire? Oh, wait- that won't do anything, now will it?" And the boy laughed at him. He laughed at him.

"Trust me," Romeo said in a soft but still threatening voice that for some reason managed to shut the kid up. "If you hurt her, I swear I will tear you to pieces." Then, turning to grab his blanket and starting for the door, he snarled, "She deserves much better than you." And he slammed the door behind him.


Wendy curled up tight in the covers on Aiko's bed, feeling somewhat giddy. Aiko had said she looked pretty. He'd smiled at her. She squealed softly to herself, thinking happily, He's so nice to me, and he cares about me, too. He was worried for me, oh, how sweet! He saved leftovers for me, too. And (she couldn't stop dwelling on this part) he called me pretty!

She was grinning now. She could just imagine the moment where she caught him alone for a little while. They'd start talking, she'd make him smile, he'd make her laugh, and their eyes would meet and a connection would immediately be formed. He lean in slowly, cup her face in his hands, and…

Suddenly, the image of her and Romeo in the carriage flashed in her mind. It startled her, making her blink in surprise. Why had that entered her thoughts? That had all been an accident, nothing more…it wasn't like she liked Romeo in that kind of way. He was her best friend. Her kind, funny, mildly insane, and cute best-

Cute?

Her face flushed in the darkness. What made her think that? What made her-

"Wendy?"

Wendy bit down hard on her tongue to hold back a startled scream before sitting up, the covers still wrapped around her, to look towards the door. Her fear vanished, but her heart still pounded wildly in her chest as she thought of her what she'd just been thinking of. "R-Romeo?" she asked incredulously. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Romeo stepped into the room, his blanket draped around his shoulders like a cape. He seemed to hesitate before shrugging and saying, "Couldn't sleep. Mind if I stay up here tonight?"

"Sure."

"You are sleeping on the floor!" said Carla suddenly from where she was curled up at the end of the bed. Romeo cracked a small smile, waved his hand like "whatever," and spread out his blanket on the floor. Wendy smiled a little at his back before turning to face the wall and snuggling back into her covers.

She was almost asleep when Romeo said, sounding wide awake, "Wendy?"

"Mmm?" she mumbled tiredly.

"Do…do you like that Aiko kid?"

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up straight, ignoring the thump that meant she'd accidentally kicked Carla off the bed. "What?" she demanded, sounding shocked.

"Do you like Aiko?" Romeo repeated. He was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't turn to look at her.

"W-Why do you ask?" she stammered, flustered.

"Ow!" shouted Carla, but they both ignored her.

Romeo sighed and shrugged a little. "No reason. You just…seem a little strange around him, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"The way you dressed today, the way you look at him." He paused. "I'm your best friend. I notice when you act differently."

Wendy blushed crimson. She was hoping he hadn't noticed her attempts to impress Aiko. "I-I'm not acting different," she insisted, hoping he'd just agree and let it go.

But if he had, he wouldn't be her Romeo, now would he?

"You are," he replied. "You shouldn't have to act different to make someone like you, Wen." He used her nickname, wondering if that'd get to her.

Wendy frowned. "Well. So what if I like him, then? What's the big deal?"

Romeo hesitated. One part of him wanted to tell her that he just wanted to know. Another told him to tell her the truth.

"Romeo?"

At the sound of her voice, he just knew he couldn't lie. "That Aiko kid is bad news, Wendy," he said softly. " He's not who you think. I don't think you should chase him like you are."

He could almost hear Wendy's eyes darkening. "What do you mean, he's bad news?" she demanded.

Romeo sighed again, feeling the remnants of his anger twisting in his stomach as he said, "I was talking to him earlier. He said…he said he had you wrapped around his finger. That he was player, and he only wanted to break your heart because it was fun." He spat the last word, his fist clenching without him realizing it. Wendy was silent for a long while, and Romeo couldn't tell if she was getting angry or sad. He decided to chance it and said, "I-I'm sorry, Wendy. I know you liked him and all…"

"You're lying."

Romeo sat up straight. "What?"

Wendy was looking straight at him, but her expression was unreadable. For the first time since Romeo had met her, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. "Why would you lie to me like that, Romeo?" she asked. "You're my best friend. You shouldn't lie to me."

Disbelief had to have been evident on his face as he stood up, the blanket falling to the floor at his feet. "You think I'm lying to you?" he asked incredulously.

"Aiko likes me," she said. "And he's nice to me. And I like him. Why would you try and ruin that for me?"

Romeo stepped back a step like he'd been slapped. "W-Why…I would never in a million years do that to you, Wendy. But this guy doesn't really like you…he just wants to hurt you…"

"Romeo. Just leave. Okay?"

Romeo stood there for a moment, staring at her, hurt and disbelief etched on his features. Wendy had looked away by now, staring down at her hands pointedly- she was done talking to him. Finally, Romeo blinked and a slight bit of anger mixed with hurt rang in his voice as he said, "Fine. Suit yourself." He scooped up his blanket for the second time that night and stalked out of the room.

Wendy sat there, staring at her hands until she felt the bed give a little and knew Carla had climbed up the bed to sit beside her. They were silent for a minute or two. Then Carla said, "Wendy. What if he's right?"

"He's not." Wendy's voice was stubborn and irritated, hiding how exactly upset she was. "He's lying because he's jealous."

Carla paused before saying softly, "I may not like the kid, but I know he likes you. I know he would never lie to you over something so petty if you were happy." And, without another word, the feline curled up in the covers and closed her eyes. Wendy stared at her for a moment before lying back down, trying her hardest to ignore the crazy mixture of feelings bubbling in her stomach.