*Author's note: I decided to post the rest of the chapters this week as I'll be traveling in the next 2 weeks. It's been fun writing this and I hope you guys enjoy reading it. Sayonara.

"Ahiru, are you sure about this?"

The freckled youth ignored Pike, rummaging through the racks of dresses. Lilie sat nearby, eyes sparkling. She'd been informed of the whole situation and thought this whole love-triangle thing wonderfully romantic. She'd nearly busted all their eardrums with her squeal of joy and Pike had had to pry her off of Ahiru before the girl fainted from lack of air. Ahiru paused and pulled out a sparkling blue dress she'd found, holding it up against her body.

"What do you think?"

Pike brushed off the question, staring hard at the girl in front of her, unable to hold on to her opinion anymore, "Ahiru, you can't do this! You love FAKIR! You guys were, like, made for each other!"

Ahiru finally turned toward her friend, her eyes swimming with tears, "Yes, well, he doesn't love me! Pike, why else would he be avoiding me like this?"

Lilie clasped her hands together, giggling, "Oh, Ahiru! You just love these one-sided relationships, don't you? It's just so CUTE!"

Pike smacked the blonde on the head, giving her a stern glare, "Lilie! It's not true, Ahiru. Fakir is totally crazy about you! He's probably avoiding you because…well, he probably has a good reason!"

She shook her head, her voice pained, "What reason could it possibly be?"

Pike bit her lip then groaned in frustration, "I don't know! I don't know!"

The three fell into silence. Pike wanted, more than anything, to see the two together. She had been surprised when she'd seen her friend's attention turned toward the brother...especially when she'd expressed her dislike of him quite vocally in the beginning. But seeing how happy she'd been those past few weeks and how miserable she was now, Pike knew that the two needed to be together. Pike was quite sure that the feelings Ahiru had held for Mytho were just a small crush but that her feelings for Fakir went much farther than a simple crush…Pike was positive that Ahiru had really found her true love. And it hurt Pike to see her normally exuberant friend depressed like this. Ahiru broke the silence with a heartbroken sigh, the sound painful even for Lilie.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she whispered forlornly, "I really am going out with Mytho now. I liked Mytho before, didn't I? I'll learn to like him again. Now, are you guys going to help me pick out a dress or not?"

Pike shared a long look with Lilie before sighing in defeat and nodding, standing to help their friend find a nice dress for the dance that was to be held in 3 days time. The dance was the biggest thing in school, an event that every student, and teacher, looked forward to. Ahiru had never attended as something had always come up on that night, except for last year when she'd served the dinners. Now, she would be not only going but she'd be accompanied by the school's number one hottie.

And she didn't feel excited in the least. There was only hollowness, an empty numbness that refused to leave her. Not even Mr. Cat's compliments on her dancing had lifted her spirits. The only time that she truly felt contentment these days was when she wrapped herself in the borrowed jacket, burying her face in the cool leather. She'd given the unfinished manuscript to Mytho to return but she'd kept the jacket, wanting to retain a bit of Fakir for herself. Occasionally, she'd gather up her courage to ask Mytho about Fakir when she'd visit him at the hospital. He'd tell her that Fakir was fine, though very busy these days and she'd just nod, pretending to be disinterested when her heart yearned to hear more about the green-eyed youth.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she turned back to the difficult task of finding a dress for the ball, secretly wishing that she didn't have to go at all.

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"Karon? Could I talk to you?"

Fakir stepped into his adopted father's workshop when the man nodded, sitting down on a nearby workbench. His father continued to work the metal in his hands for a few more minutes and Fakir waited patiently but anxiously. Karon finally put down his tools, turning toward him with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it you need to talk about?"

Fakir took a deep breath, mustering up his courage, "Karon…I need to tell you something."

"Obviously," Karon chuckled dryly, "Spit it out, son. I can take it."

Fakir bit his lip, running a hand through his dark hair, "It's just that…Karon, you know I went to the Metal Academy because you wanted me to, right?"

Karon smiled knowningly, his eyes sad, "I know."

"Because you wanted me to," Fakir struggled to maintain eye contact with his father, feeling small, "Not because I wanted to."

"I know," Karon repeated again, "I've been pretty blind these past few years, haven't I? Trying to force you and Mytho to be something that you didn't want to be. Edel was right…I'm an old fool."

Fakir smiled dryly, shaking his head, "You just wanted what was best for us. I understand that. But I need to follow my dream. It took Mytho being in a coma to get me to see that. I've always wanted to become a writer, like Drosselmeyer. But I was afraid that I would disappoint you."

"You could never disappoint me, Fakir," Karon rested a calloused hand on the youth's shoulder, "You and Mytho are my sons and I will always be proud of the two of you."

Fakir swallowed the lump in his throat, "Thanks."

Karon grinned, his eyes shining with emotion, "No problem, son."

"Karon! Someone wants to talk to you on the phone," Edel's gentle voice drifted down and both males clambered up the stairs. Edel handed the phone to Karon then took Fakir aside, her eyes bright with expectation, "Well, how did it go?"

Fakir pulled her in for a quick hug, "He's okay with it, Edel. He said it's all right."

"Oh, fantastic! I'm so happy for you, Fakir!"

She brought him in again for another hug and he obliged, wrapping his arms around her. It had taken him a good week and a half for him to finally gather up his courage and go talk to Karon but now he would finally be able to study what he wanted to and on top of that, had his father's permission. It all seemed surreal. Ahiru had been right all along…He couldn't help the small smile that emerged as he thought of Ahiru's reaction when he told her of his conversation with his dad. Thinking of Ahiru made him remember the other promise he'd made to her. Even if she couldn't be his, Fakir was a man of his word and always kept his promises.

He slowly stepped away from Edel, grinning, "If you need me, I'll be upstairs."

Edel's eyes followed him, her expression puzzled, "Fakir?"

He met her eyes and his smile turned bittersweet, "There's a story that needs to be written…And it needs to be finished in 3 days."

With that, he dashed up the stairs and locked himself in his room where he stayed for the next few hours, his pen flying over the parchment, giving life to a dream that would now never come true.

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"It's got to be around here somewhere," Drosselmeyer grumbled, rummaging around in an old bookcase that held more dust than books. Ahiru needed his help…She was depending on his success, even if she didn't know it. He shouldn't have asked her to keep it a secret. But he had seen an opportunity for Karon and Mytho to reconcile and had taken advantage of it. Besides, she obviously had a crush on Mytho, so to him, it had been a win-win situation. The family members would be together again and the girl would get her prince charming.

He never would have guessed that the adorable girl would end up falling for his other grandson. Never had it crossed his mind that there could emerge feelings between Fakir and Ahiru, given that the two seemed to be polar opposites. But, as he had often discovered, life had many twists and turns and hearts were things that were uncontrollable.

And it was as plain as the nose on his face that Fakir mirrored her sentiments. He'd always been fond of a good love story and he was going to do everything in his power to get the two to end up together. On top of that, he was actually rather fond of the unique girl and wanted her to be happy.

His eyes lit up as he found what he was looking for in a small notebook. Grinning wickedly, he flipped open his old cellphone and dialed the number written on the paper. It rang three times before a curt female voice answered, "Hello?"

Drosselmeyer's grin stretched from ear to ear, his orange eyes glinting, "Hello there, Rue…"