Promenade
by Apple-chan

Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know what this means.

Summary: Four couples, one perfect night...or is it? A 5-act tale on how four young men and four young women fall in love at the night of their Junior-Senior Prom. YXA, RXP, LXJ, and HXT.

Warnings: AU, PG-13, and the appearance of Hao.^_^

Umm, excuses to Ryu/Lyserg fans for this chapter.^^;;;


ACT II: Ready.


SCENE 4: Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cookies.


Ren tapped the newly-baked loaf of bread suspiciously. The juniors were in Home Economics class, currently finalizing their newest project to date--baking. "Are you sure this is baked and not burnt? It's as hard as stone."

"Pretty sure," Tamao examined the baking pan thoughtfully and nodded decisively at her group mate. "It's supposed to be hard on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside," she added, glancing at the recipe card, just to be sure.

"Well, that's no good." Ren frowned with dismay at their bread. "How are we supposed to know if it's soft on the inside when all we can see is the OUTSIDE? That's just STUPID." He tossed off his apron and glared at the back of their weird-haired Home Economics teacher.

A laugh sounded from below him, and Lyserg rose up and placed a tray laden with a certain kind of cookies on top of the table. "I think we're supposed to slice it, Ren-kun."

"Oh YEAH? And THEN what?"

A sigh. "Then we take a look. Or we taste."

Ren looked at him oddly. "What do you know about baking?"

"More than you do, definitely," Lyserg answered with a bright smile. He started placing the newly-baked cookies in his tray on a medium-sized box. "I bake a lot at home, if you remember."

"Hmph." Ren huffed and resumed staring at their loaf of bread. Arming himself with a knife, he contemplated on whether to slice it or not. He sighed. To slice or not to slice--that is the question.

"Hey, what's that for?" Tamao asked, pointing at the cookie sheet trays Lyserg was emptying. "I thought we were only supposed to bake bread. What's with the cookies?"

"They're for rehearsals," the green-haired boy explained as he wrapped the package in a brown paper bag and placed it inside his backpack. "I mixed the dough up last night but I didn't have time to bake, so...I brought it here."

Ren put down his knife and raised a meaningful eyebrow at his best friend. "Are they for Jeanne, maybe?"

"...Yeah." Ignoring the knowing hint in the other boy's comment, Lyserg glanced at the clock. "I have a feeling she's been starving herself for the sake of prom night..."

"Don't you mean for you?"

He rolled his eyes at that. "No, Ren-kun, for the prom. And NOT another word from you," he added warningly as Ren started to open his mouth again. "...Unless of course, you want me to announce to the whole CLASS the real reason why you're guarding Pilica-chan like a hawk?" He added, a note of threat gracing his soft, angelic features.

"The REAL reason?" Tamao gazed at Ren with interest, picking a stray thin slice of their bread and popping it into her mouth.

Ren shrugged indifferently. "Go ahead. I have nothing to hide." As an afterthought he added, "Horo-horo asked for it."

Lyserg shook his head. "I don't mean that. The OTHER reason."

"Eh?" Ren looked at him blankly. "You mean HER? Please," he snorted.

Lyserg rolled his eyes again and shook his head with exasperation. "Ren-kun--" he stopped short in alarm as the final dismissal bell rang. "Uh-oh. I'd better go. I don't want Jeanne waiting too long at rehearsals again..." He started fixing all his things, flashing a cautious look at their Home Economics teacher, who still had his back turned. "Can you PLEASE tell Ryu-sensei I went on ahead?" He gave his two group mates a pleading look.

"Sure." Tamao said with a smile.

"What's the matter?" Ren grinned slyly. "You don't want him hanging all over you and making goo-goo eyes at you again?" He wiggled his eyebrows and gestured suggestively at the self-confessed bisexual Home Economics teacher, who seemed to favor Lyserg among all his students, for some mysterious reason. "Is Jeanne getting JEALOUS?"

Lyserg stole a glance at their teacher, then ducked near the oven instantly the minute the man turned around. He gave his friend a look. "Ren-kun, you're creeping me out." He shuddered.

Tamao smiled sympathetically at her classmate. "Don't worry, I know how you feel. I can relate." Second to Lyserg, Tamao was another one of the Home Economics teacher's favorite students; either for her cooking prowess or for an altogether different reason, we'll never know.

"ALRIGHT, CHILD~REN!" The weird-haired Kimono-clad Home Economics teacher, whose name was Umemiya Ryunosuke, but was commonly addressed as Ryu-sensei and Ryu by his students and colleagues, respectively, crooned loudly and clapped his hands cheerily. "Let's all take a GO~OD look at what all of you have baked. Can we start with your group, LYSERG-KU~N?" He started to walk across the room, an eager, besotted smile on his face.

"EEEP!" Lyserg cringed, frantically trying his best to hide. He began to crawl towards the exit door. "I'm going! Ren-kun, Tamao...cover for me, onegai? I'll see you both tomorrow!" He said in a whisper.

"Don't you worry about a thing. We'll see you!" Tamao gave a small, discreet wave.

Ren smiled with amusement at his best friend's retreating form. "You owe me one!" He muttered so only Lyserg could hear.

"Put it on my tab. Ja!" Faster than lightning, Lyserg sneaked off before the teacher even had a chance to see him.


***


Rowrr.

Ignoring the growling pain in her stomach, Jeanne continued studying the latest song piece in her hands, making sure to keep track of the sudden high notes and the rests. Tell me her name I want to know...the way she looks and where you go...I need to see her face, I need to understand...why you and I came to an end...

I'll let you go, I'll let you fly...why do I keep on asking why...I'll let you go, now that I found...a way to keep somehow...

More than a broken vow...

She glanced up at the clock. Five minutes more until the juniors' classes were over. She sighed. She didn't know how she was going to explain the whole thing to Lyserg. More importantly, she didn't know how she was going to explain it all to Professor Silverberg. I can't practice with you anymore and I can't sing at the prom because my father has forbidden it.

And my father has forbidden it because...

The ironic thing was, if it wasn't for the music professor's pleading and prodding, she never would have agreed to sing for the prom in the first place. Social events weren't her cup of tea, especially if it involved any dancing of some sort. Now, singing at church and in charity choirs--that was another thing altogether. She was used to that. But school dances and mingling with other students, especially, older students, and more importantly, boys--she didn't know if she could handle that. Passing other students at the halls, and having other kids to study with instead of being alone with a private tutor--the way she had been for most of her life--even after almost a year, still...it didn't feel quite like routine to her.

And the prom...? Professor Silverberg had begged her with his life, which is why she had...very reluctantly agreed. It was very hard to refuse the middle-aged, red-haired music teacher anything.

And then, when she found out that she would be singing along to none other than Lyserg...her Lyserg-niichan's piano-playing, the reluctance somehow dissipated. And after two weeks of listening to the tune of Lyserg's piano, vocalizing, memorizing music sheets, and non-stop singing, the idea of prom was becoming more and more appealing to her. Even though she would only be singing most of the time, still...she was going to be with Lyserg, and that alone was enough to make her feel like she was the luckiest fourteen-year-old in the whole universe. Not because he was one of the most eligible juniors at school, but simply because...he was Lyserg. The first boy she had ever met in her whole life and her first friend, ever since that fateful rainy evening...

RROWWRR! Jeanne stifled a sigh and gently swallowed. She was getting ravenously hungry. She knew she shouldn't have skipped lunch, but she just had to. Despite her Lyserg-niichan's warnings earlier today, she still managed to do what he had specifically told her not to do. It wasn't that she didn't want to eat--far from it--she just couldn't risk being embarrassed again in front of Lyserg and Professor Silverberg; so, she had to make sure she had all the pieces memorized by heart. She didn't want to end up tongue-tied and flustered in front of them again, like what happened yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before...

Hmm...she frowned thoughtfully as she scanned through her portfolio for the second page of "Again." It's not here. I must have left it in the classroom. I wonder if Professor Silverberg kept any spare copies...she glanced around and spotted the file cabinet. She stood up and proceeded to the said structure, pushing a chair towards it along the way. Gingerly, she stepped up on top of the chair to reach the highest shelf where the professor kept all his music sheets. They're probably somewhere up here...oops! Got them! Smiling softly to herself, she grabbed the thickest folder from the pile and scanned it quickly for the song she needed.

Earlier this morning, someone had decided to play a trick again on the music room. The resident troublemaker of the school was obviously very much obsessed with targeting the instruments and everything else besides in the said room, and not once had he let a day pass that even one thing was completely free of his tricks...and today was no exception. Unbeknownst to Jeanne, the latest trick involved...loosening the hinges that held the music room chairs together, and somehow, the resident troublemaker managed to victimize about half of them before Professor Silverberg came in and threw him unceremoniously out of the room.

Jeanne was currently standing on top of one of the tampered chairs, and it was now hovering on the brink of falling apart. The young girl hardly became aware of this, however...until it was too late.

The next minute, Jeanne found herself on top of...something soft and warm, her arms clutching the thick folder of music sheets tightly against her chest.

"Ouch," a soft male voice muttered behind her. "Are you alright?"

"Lyserg-niichan," she managed in a whisper, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink as she realized that he had just saved her from a very bad fall. She was currently on top of him. The soft and warm thing she had landed on was his lap. He had used his body as a shield to make sure that she didn't hit the hard, marble floor. She wondered how long he had been in the music room; she certainly didn't see him come in. "When did you get here?"

"Hao," Lyserg cursed the name under his breath. "This is Hao's doing. That bastard..." He then shook his head, and turned to her with a bright smile. "I'm sorry...did you say something?"

"When did you get here?" She repeated.

He shrugged. "A couple of minutes ago," he answered matter-of-factly. "And just in time, too. A little more and goodness knows what might have happened to you." He patted her head gently.

Jeanne could feel her blushes intensifying. It was pointless to hide it from him, though; he'd seen it happen often enough during the past two weeks. In fact, he'd seen it this morning, and more than that, he'd witnessed the worst of it during lunch time. "T...thank you..."

"It's no problem. Come on," he helped her stand up. "...Professor, you can stop hiding now!" He called out to the door.

From behind the door stepped out Professor Silverberg, a frown of disappointment on his face. "How did you know where I was?"

Lyserg rolled his eyes. "Professor..." A note of warning laced his tone.

"Alright, alright," Silverberg sighed, smiled at Jeanne, and sat down on top of his desk. "You two get started. I'll just be here."

"You're watching us?" Lyserg asked indignantly. "Again?"

"Yes, I am. Is there a problem? Anything you might want to tell me, son?" There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Nothing. Forget I asked." Jeanne noted the exasperation in his voice. When he looked towards her again, her heart began to do flip-flops, and she didn't even know why. "Let's go, Jeanne. Have you studied the music sheets I gave you this morning?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded vigorously, settling down the thick folder she was still clutching. She walked towards the front and tapped the sheets on top of the table. "I memorized them right before I..." She groaned inwardly as the growling in her stomach started again. She should have at least drank a cup of hot tea before she came here. "Anyway, shall we go?"

Lyserg stared at her for a moment, and she wondered if he heard her stomach's growl. "Yeah," she sighed with relief at his reply.

"...But first," he said again, grinning at her brilliantly as he dug inside his backpack, obviously searching for something. With a flourish, he produced a medium-sized paper bag, two cans of tea and a bottle of...milk? "Let's eat," he told her as he sat down on a non-tampered chair. "Come on," he patted the chair beside him. "This one's safe, I think. Hao only got to half the chairs at the back, didn't he, Professor?"

"Quite right," Silverberg agreed, smiling with amusement at his two students. He eyed the brown paper bag Lyserg was holding curiously. "What's that?"

"Well...it's for Jeanne, but you can have some too," Lyserg answered reluctantly. "Jeanne?"

"I..." Jeanne glanced at her Professor, at the food, and then, at Lyserg.

He gave her a pleading look. "Please? I know you're hungry," he added. Then, he tossed one of the cans of tea to his teacher. "You can have this, Professor."

Jeanne inched her way nervously to the offered seat. As soon as she reached it, Lyserg handed her the bottle of milk. "This one's yours."

She glanced at him with hesitation.

"Don't worry. It's warm," he assured. "I had it warmed at the cafeteria. I know you can't take anything cold."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"...And this one's yours, too," he smiled brightly as he unwrapped the package inside the paper bag. It was a box of chocolate chip and cherry cookies. Her favorite kind. She glanced at him with surprise. "I had them baked earlier at Home Ec class. They're still your favorite, right?" He asked hopefully.

She managed a small nod, unable to think of anything to say as she accepted the cookies with a murmur of thanks. All these years, and he'd never forgotten. Chocolate chip and cherry cookies, and warm milk, with the piano playing in the background, on that cold, stormy night, nine years ago. And a lost, very drenched five-year-old girl who, after running away from home because of an argument with her father, was found by a seven-year-old boy, the young master of the estate across the street where she had somehow gotten herself stranded in...

Although her father had instantly located and taken her home the day after that, she would always remember that night, when she met Lyserg...her Lyserg-niichan. Even if she was never allowed to see him ever again, the memory of him would stay with her, vibrant and alive, just like it had been on that stormy night.

And no matter how much her father disapproved, she'd always find a way and somehow manage to--

Father.

Swallowing her second cookie, Jeanne cleared her throat, briefly recalling the important thing she needed to tell them. About her father. "Professor...Lyserg-niichan, there's...something I need to tell you..."

Both teacher and student gazed at her expectantly. She felt the heat rising up to her cheeks again. "It's...my father...he just finished the deals he was arranging for the past two years in France, and now..." she swallowed. "He's home." She was looking at Lyserg as she said this.

A look of trepidation passed over his face. Clearly, he knew what this meant. "And...?"

She turned her head and looked at her teacher this time. His brows were furrowed with concern. "I...I told him that I was going to sing at the prom, and..."

"Yes?" Silverberg prompted nervously.

"He told me I could," Jeanne continued, and she could swear she heard him breathe a sigh of relief.

"But...?" Lyserg piped up. "Jeanne, I know there's a but coming in there somewhere."

She nodded mournfully. "He asked me if there's a band or some sort of music accompanying my singing, and I told him that someone will be playing the piano," she explained softly. "And then he asked who it was, and..."

"You told him it was me." Lyserg stated in a low, flat tone.

"I had to. I can't lie to him, you know I can't," she told him quietly. "At that time, he called Marco, and...well..." she sighed with resignation at the thought of her trusty guardian, chauffeur, and bodyguard. "He told Father that you and I have been practicing at your house every night after school for the last two weeks. Apparently, he's known about ever since we started. And that was when Father..." her voice trailed off. She didn't want to continue anymore. No matter how much she reasoned out with her father, he was adamant. Arguing with him was very much pointless, especially when it came to Liam Diethyl's son.

"I don't understand..." Silverberg's face was overcome with confusion. "Lyserg? What's this all about?"

"Sir Iron...Jeanne's father...he's hated my father for two decades," Lyserg answered softly. "They used to be the best of friends, until my mother came along, and..." his voice trailed off, and he shook his head wearily. "It's kind of a long story. But the issue here, sir, is--"

"If Lyserg-niichan's playing the piano at the prom, Father says he won't allow me to sing," Jeanne told the professor. "If I refuse, he says he'll take me out of school and force me to study with private tutors again."

"But...it'll be too late to replace Lyserg now," Silverberg said with dismay. "...Or you, for that matter. The prom's less than two weeks away. This is quite a problem..." He stared thoughtfully at his two students. "The big question is, do either of you wish to stop?"

"No." Jeanne and Lyserg said at the same time.

The professor smiled with relief. "That's good. That's very good. Then we can find a way through this, somehow," he frowned for a moment. "Jeanne, are you willing to go along with whatever I'm planning?"

Jeanne nodded solemnly. "If it means I can sing at the prom, I'll do it, sir."

"Lyserg?" Jeanne could swear that she saw Professor Silverberg winking.

Lyserg gave him a warning look. "As long as it's nothing illegal, sir." He paused. "It's not illegal, is it?"

"Of course not," Silverberg said indignantly. "I was merely going to suggest that, instead of at Lyserg's house, you two can practice at my house." He paused thoughtfully. "And you can tell your father, Jeanne, that instead of Lyserg, Caesar's playing will accompany your singing."

"But--"

"It's half the truth," the professor said gently. "So you won't be lying. Trust me." He smiled. "Okay?"

"O...okay." Jeanne said finally.

"Lyserg?"

Lyserg rolled his eyes to the ceiling and shrugged. "I guess it's fine."

"Then it's settled, once again." A look of satisfaction--and relief--was reflected in Professor Silverberg's blue eyes. "Now, if you two are finished eating, I suggest you get that practice rolling. Jeanne, you can call your father later and tell him the changes." He paused. "You can practice for a while here, and then we can head for my home before it gets dark." He decided. "Are we agreed?"

"Yes, sir." His two students answered.

"Let's start," Lyserg announced, standing up and heading to the piano. "Jeanne?"

"Yes, I'm coming," Jeanne said hurriedly, smiling with gratitude at her teacher. Then, she placed the remaining pack of chocolate chip and cherry cookies inside her purse before she headed to the stage to sing with her Lyserg-niichan.

I'm glad I'm not alone in this. Thanks, Professor.

...And thank you for the cookies, Lyserg-niichan.



TSUZUKU.



A/N: Thanks to Fluff Inc for writing that little LXJ piece called Chocolate Chip Cookies and thus, giving me a lot of great ideas to use for this fic. Domo arigatou gozaimasu! Merci beaucoup! Salamat po!


Review Replies: Kira, thanks a lot, and here's the update! Trinity, what will dear Pilica do? You'll find out!*wink* I feel for Jeanne, what happened to her happens to me a lot.^^;;; And don'tcha worry, Horo's not gonna run away from Tamao...not in a million years.^^ keiko, thanks a lot. Saikoro, no she doesn't, as you probably have seen from this chapter.^^ Thanks. anoyedshehighsupremeautho, thanks. I'm *really* glad I don't have Foxbox. I saw the whole series in Japanese, English subtitled.^^ KristiexxNguyen, I totally agree. Here's the update! Itako No Anna Asakura, I'm sure you wouldn't have minded if it was Ren, though, would you?*wink* I wouldn't. He can do whatever he wants with me and I won't even complain.^_^ Eikou, not disastrous. This is actually going exactly as I planned.*wink* Dragon Pearl1, want the picture? Give me your email and I'll send it to you.^^ itako no shaman, why would I be mad?^^ Thanks. We're all cool, aren't we?*grin* Lafine, weelll, I'll see if Pilica can take your suggestion...*wince* Needles under the nails? Sounds painful... Fluff Inc, glad you liked it! Oh, and again, thanks for the Chocolate Chip Cookies bit.^^ gatita, yep, Caesar will be here. I think I remembered mentioning him somewhere in Act I. Oh, and may I ask...have you got an ff.net account? I just wondered. C1aZnBoi125, here's the update, and thank you very much. Mendori-chan, don'tcha worry, things *will* get fixed...soon.*wink* Miko-chan, thanks for that lovely long review...you know how much it means to me!*hugs* Fe-chan, here's the update!