\o/

It wasn't that hard...or really, it shouldn't be. He stared at the door, feeling waves of guilt washing over him. He reached for the knob, feeling his heart pound against his chest. What if...she hated him? What if she didn't want to talk to him. He held his breath for what seemed to be an hand shook as he felt the cold metal against his skin.

No.

He jerked back, heart thudding erratically. He couldn't do it. He closed his eyes, releasing the breath.

"Um, Sir?"

He looked up. A red haired nurse was looking at him curiously. "You can go in you know, she's awake."

"Uh-No-no thank you.." He took a step back and let her through. She gave him a long look, tilting her head.

"You know...I think she would want to see you..but oh well." She shrugged and walked past him.

He clenched his fist. She would..? No..stop deluding yourself.

He let out a wavering sigh and rest his head against the pale blue door.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, dreaming that she would hear him-and know that he tried. He stepped away, with a heavy heart, and took a final glance. Shaking his head, he trod through the quiet halls.

Eve opened her eyes. Nope. She didn't want to do today. If only it were possible to skip days… She squinted as the light from the window pierced her vision. She slapped a hand to her face and let out a loud groan of irritation. Curling up into a near-ball, she pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes. She hugged her arms around her waist, squeezing her eyes shut tighter. A sharp, twisting pain in her abdominal area alerted her to the fact that it was...that time.

She really, really didn't want to do today.

After forcing herself up from bed, she stomped around her house, undoubtedly scaring Shiro, getting herself ready for the date she still had to go to. She knew she could refuse-or cancel, Chung seemed like he wouldn't mind doing so, but, just couldn't make herself do it. She'd get through the day-whether it killed her or not.

She tried to ignore her agony as she sat on the couch, watching her favorite show and drinking tea. Occasionally, she glanced up at the clock. To her surprise, her little white kitten hopped up onto the couch, a small distance from her, and curled up. She blinked. Well, this was certainly new, but not unwelcome, of course. He looked so cute, dare she admit. He was growing, she noticed. He had gotten a little bit bigger, and looked healthy. A smile graced her lips as she watched his eyes flutter slowly. He never hung around her, so this wasn't something she wanted to ruin by moving quickly. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch, tuning out the noise from the TV.

She was snapped from her reverie when her phone buzzed.

"I'll be there in five minutes or so, I'm excited for today! -C.S."

She sighed quietly and sat up.

"Alright, thank you for letting me know." She texted. After staring at her phone for a bit, she let herself fall back, groaning again. Looking down at herself, she was sort of impressed with what she came up with. Her choice of clothing that is. A light blue tank top with white shorts and black converse. It was pretty simple, but she didn't need to dress up-as he had told her before. She got up to look for some pills-Advil or something to ease her agony.

She sighed and tipped her head back, swallowing the pill and water. She turned her head to see Shiro trailing behind her-at a distance. Why was he suddenly interested in her? She took a step towards him and heard a light hiss. So, he didn't like her yet. She frowned and sidestepped him.

The doorbell rang, and she was reminded suddenly. Steeling herself, she took a breath and made her way to the door.

He looked up and blushed. "Good morning, you look lovely." He offered a smile and his hand. She gave a polite smile in return, masking the pain, giving him her hand. Her eyes widened at the expensive vehicle he came in. He noticed.

"Ah, yeah, it's a bit much, sorry."

"It's no problem.." She bit back a grimace when another sharp pain shot across her lower abdominal. He frowned slightly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She tried to reply pleasantly. He didn't seem completely convinced, but let it go. He helped her into her seat and made his way to the driver's spot. She was sure now, that this was a bad idea-she should've stayed home, even thought they hadn't even left yet. There was still time...but for some reason, she couldn't do it. Maybe it was because he was so enthusiastic about it. She leaned her head against the window.

He started the car, and they settled into a slightly uncomfortable silence. She told herself that she'd be fine as he pulled out of the driveway. Of course she'd be fine…

"Um, if you'd like, you can play some music, I have an auxiliary cord here." He pulled it out and handed it to her. She accepted it and plugged it into her phone, opening up her music app. She pressed shuffle and switched off her phone, leaning back and sighing. Her eyes widened slightly as the song started playing-her favorite song, and the one she'd been listening to for a while after her heart was broken.

A summer's drive away from dying, A broken heart nothing to lose, I know it hurts so bad just trying-to please the ones you hate to love…

She saw him glance at the speaker, frowning slightly, but he didn't say anything. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, letting the lyrics sink into her mind. The song was a terrific reminder…

Love is empty, love is cruel, love it blindly breaks the rules, How could you have been such a fool..

Her lips curled into a bitter smile. Those words rang true.

She heard a slight cough and opened her eyes.

"We're here." Chung gave her a sweet smile and opened the door, motioning her to stay there. She watched as he walked over to her side and opened the door for her. Her heart gave a painful twinge. She didn't deserve this man. As he helped her out of the car, she looked around. A park.

"I hope you don't mind, I thought it would be a nice change." He rubbed the back of his head.

"No, I think it's lovely. Thank you." She forced a gentle smile onto her face, holding back another grimace at the twisting pain.

"Well then, I'd like to take a short walk and then stop by a cafe for lunch." He cocked his head.

"That sounds good to me." She replied quickly. She couldn't' let him know…

"Alright then, off we go." He offered his arm and led her to the path. "I would have taken Hachi, but he may have been a little too hyperactive for just the second date." He stated sheepishly.

She laughed politely. "It's alright, maybe another time." Another time..was she really going to keep seeing him?

They quieted and a strained silence developed. She was really struggling at this point, and prayed for a miracle-anything that would get her out of this.

"So, how has your week been?" He asked politely.

"It's been..uh, uninteresting." Mentally face-palming at her own reply

"Oh, I see, well then, how about your cat? How is…-"

"He doing?" She finished.

"Sorry, I didn't know it's sex. Yes, how is he doing?" He coughed lightly.

"He's alright, hides most of the time..he doesn't like me too much for some reason."

"Well, he'll get used to you. I suppose it takes time doesn't it." He laughed quietly. "Although, Hachi and I got along perfectly from the start. Maybe it's because he's a dog? I don't know, dogs seem kinder than cats-not to offend you or anything." He looked at her, blushing slightly.

"I'm not offended. It's true, dogs are..nicer than cats." She shrugged. A thought popped into her head. A certain white haired man and the blonde one..one was definitely kinder than the other. She blinked. Was she seriously comparing the men to animals? Well...she was indeed. It helped keep her mind off of other things...like the gut-splitting pain down below.

"So then, I still want you to meet Hachi, and maybe have him meet your cat. I wonder how that'd play out." He chuckled and looked at her for affirmation. She nodded.

"That would definitely be an interesting situation."

They fell silent again and she looked around, taking in the scenery. Everything was green and healthy. A small pond to her right had a few ducks in it.

She looked up as a ring sounded. He blushed.

"Sorry, I should get this. It'll only take a second." He looked at her apologetically.

"It's fine, go ahead." She sat down on a bench by the path as he walked a distance and answered the call. He looked surprised, and then slightly angered, disappointed. Quite easy to read, she noted.

He came back to her, sighing. "I'm really sorry, something came up and I have to cancel this." He looked at her with a face akin to a sad puppy.

"It's alright, really." She felt relieved, and instantly guilty.

"Let me take you home at least."

"I'll make this up to you, I promise." He called out from his seat in the car as she opened her front door.

"Okay, let me know when." She waved as he left and felt crushed. She made another promise...well, not technically a promise, but close enough. She'd be going on another date with him. She all but ran into her living room and collapsed on the couch. Letting out a loud groan, followed by a sigh, she curled up and hugged herself. She didn't feel like doing anything. Well, actually, mentally screaming at life seemed like a good distraction. She noticed her phone laying on the coffee table, a few feet from her. No...it wouldn't be wise to make it a habit...but she needed a distraction. She closed her eyes and sighed. Chamomile tea helps with cramps…

She forced herself up and went to the kitchen, grabbing a cup and a teabag. She mentally fought with herself on the subject as she made her tea. The subject being whether or not to text Add.

Add...that was his name. She almost never actually used it, he didn't like it when she did, for some reason. She brought the cup to her lips and blew, then took a sip. Well, it wouldn't hurt-he did text her quite a bit randomly, so..why not. She needed to complain, or make fun of him, or something right now.

She curled up on the couch again, turning on the TV and letting it play. Grabbing the phone, she found his name and stared. She honestly wasn't even sure why she still had it in her contacts...after he did that to her, she should've deleted it and forgotten him. But, she kept it, which now allowed her to do this. On that note...that meant that he too had kept her number. She felt warmth coil up her body at the thought.

She started a few texts, but deleted them, thinking it better not to. She let out a frustrated sigh and subconsciously sent a text.

He strummed the strings lightly, hearing the chord play out. Moving his fingers down the frets, he struck another chord and listened. The sound bounced around his empty apartment, making him realize how lonely it really was. He snorted lightly and shook his head at himself. Loneliness wasn't new to him. He plucked at random strings half-heartedly. He hadn't touched his guitar in a long, long while. He stared at the wall distantly, until he heard his phone buzz. He got up and put his guitar down carefully.

Walking over to the phone, he looked at the screen. She was texting him first? That was a surprise.

"I hate everything."

Wow.

Add just stared at that text for a minute. Was she venting? To him of all people? She had friends...so why the heck would she text him? He wasn't quite sure of how to respond.

"Well, that's pretty extreme, don't ya think?"

After a pause, he received another message.

"You wouldn't think so in my position." He raised a brow.

"And what position would that be?"

And an almost instant reply. "Never mind-forget about this." He felt a smile tugging at his lips.

"Oh come on, don't be like that, answer the question~" He walked over to his couch after grabbing his guitar, sitting down and waiting for her to reply.

"No, just stop being an idiot."

A laugh left his lips. What? "Wow, that's rude. Sounds like that time of that month, eh?" He was just joking, really.

"Why are you texting me again." Well, looks like it really was?

"So I was right, lol. And you texted me first, so who's the idiot now~!" He smirked, ignoring the fact that he was suddenly having fun-no longer bored.

"I never said anything, moron." Ouch. He shook his head.

"You are so mean! ): And the fact that you changed the subject is enough to alert me that I am correct. Just accept it, it's not a big deal."

"I'd like to see you have cramps."

"That's a horrible thing to wish upon me. I guess you're releasing your pain and anguish by throwing insults and such at me, eh?" He laughed and sent it. What a strange woman.

"Congratulations, you guessed it. Want a prize? :v" He smiled.

"Yes. A specific one tho. -wiggles eyebrows-"

He laughed again at her reply. "You lecherous cur. You don't deserve anything."

"Geez...D:"

"What do you even do all day?"

Eve waited for his reply, disinterestedly watching the TV screen. She had actually accidentally sent that first text. She had typed it out because she was thinking it..and now it had blossomed into this.

"Well...usually I'm at work. Otherwise, I go to the gym, laze around the house watching movies or something, or I guess I picked up guitar again." She blinked. His life was that..simple? The gym, huh? Her face automatically grew red when she thought about how muscular he was. That explains it.. And then, guitar? He played guitar? Wow, she'd never expect that. Although..she could picture it, he'd look good as a guitarist. No, no she couldn't think that. She mentally berated herself.

"Well, that's kind of depressing." She typed and sent.

"I don't need you to tell me that."

"At least you're aware of it" She sighed and fell back on the couch, spying her little cat staring at her curiously from the kitchen.

"Well then, how bout you? How much better is your life?"

She stared at the text and thought about it. He..had a good point. How much better was her life, really? After a few minutes, she realized she hadn't answered yet, and wasn't even sure how to answer either. She also noticed something warm and wet sliding down her cheek. She raised a hand to wipe it off, and realized she was crying. Wait, no, why was she crying? She stared at the tear in her hand and felt more rolling down her face. She wiped them away and let out a strangled laugh. What the hell.

She had answer now. "Oh God, it's miserable."

She let the phone drop from her hand and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't sure why she was crying, well, it was most likely from the craziness happening in her body.

Or..it could be from the fact that she realized just how badly...she missed him. She covered her eyes and another broken laugh left her lips. Oh how much easier life would be without feeling.

And here's the 9th chapter \o/...I really should have finished this like a week ago, but kept getting distracted. At this rate it's going to take me a year to finish this...hahaha JK, (well, I hope..) I wasn't honestly very happy with this chapter, but Idk, let me know what you think of it! I do have certain things I'm very excited to write *^* but they come in later chapters... -cries- Well, thanks for dealing with my ridiculously slow updates (lol) and your support, guys! And as always, review and such! I'll answer any questions you may have!