Another update! ^^

Thanks to -my-forgotten-rose-, LyssaLoo62 and REDRydingHood for reviewing/commenting on the fic. Your reviews/comments have helped motivate me to continue writing. XD

Anyway, enjoy the update!

Chapter 14: Reactions

"Kyoya-sama," Lia said, running after Kyoya to catch up with him.

"What is it, Lia?" he asked. He had been puzzled at why she had only returned in the morning. He could not ask her as she had been busy getting him out of bed and then making sure that he had a proper breakfast. In the car, she had been busy telling the driver to speed up that there had been no time for him to question her. Now, they were on the way to the club and she looked calmer, and a little nervous…

"It is alright if I take Friday off?" Lia asked. "I have a lunch date with someone."

Before Kyoya could reply, Hunny cut in, saying, "Lia-chan has a date? With who?" They turned to see both him and Mori standing behind them. Hunny ran over to Lia and asked again, "Lia-chan, who are you meeting on Friday?"

"Um… Hitoshi Shinjo," Lia answered awkwardly. "A childhood friend of mine."

"Ah…" Hunny said, looking awed. He and Lia walked onwards together. Kyoya watched them, frowning. Hitoshi Shinjo… He was beginning to hate the sound of that name.

"Bye!" Hitoshi said, waving goodbye to his friends as he walked towards his mother's shop. She expected a lot of customers to be there today and needed all the help she could get. He hummed a tune as he walked across the park. A date with Lia! That was the best thing that could ever happen to him!

"Are you that happy about yourself?" Hitoshi sighed. He should have expected such a confrontation. He looked to his side and saw Kyoya leaning against a tree, partially hidden in its shadows.

"I am," Hitoshi said smugly, not bothering to look at Kyoya. "What are you going to do about it? Are you jealous that she chose me instead of you?"

Kyoya grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He hissed, "You listen. If you hurt her, even once, and I will make sure that you will regret it! Your playboy days will be numbered! Yes, I know the number of girls you dated and dumped. If Lia joins that number, you will wish that you never even considered adding her to that list of yours! Lia is not like those other girls that you dated!"

"Like I don't know that!" Hitoshi growled, glaring at Kyoya. "All those girls I dated could never compare to her. The reason why I dated them was because I wanted to find a replacement for her. But obviously, that was impossible!" Kyoya watched him, before deciding that Hitoshi really was telling the truth. He shoved the boy backwards.

"Remember, if you hurt her, I will kill you myself!" He turned to walk off.

"Why don't you tell her how you feel, Kyoya-sama?" Kyoya stopped in his tracks. "I am sure if you did, you will get satisfactory results. You have everything a girl would want in a guy: looks, wealth and power. Why don't you fight me?"

"I find no satisfactory gain if I use such dirty methods," Kyoya said over his shoulder. "Besides, she knows how I feel about her. She is a valuable member of my club. Talent like hers will benefit us."

Hitoshi scoffed. "Is that all you ever think about? You are shallow even if you have a high IQ. Don't your parents ever teach you how to think for others? Or to even voice your own feelings?"

"The only people who do that are fools. I do whatever it takes to build my family name and power. Think whatever you would like, Shinjo-san. But that is how members of the elite society work." Then, he walked off without another word.

Lia sat at her desk, doing her homework. After awhile, she stopped, her mind thinking about the date she would have on Friday and about that morning. Why did she even say such things in front of Kyoya? She could have lied and mentioned another friend's name. But she had to mention Hitoshi's name. There was obviously some feelings of dislike between them. But what, she did not know. She could never understand the way guys work.

She checked her clock and noticed that it was close to midnight. She got up. Time to tell Kyoya to sleep. She stretched and then begun walking towards Kyoya's room. She knocked and entered, seeing Kyoya typing away on his laptop. She went up to him and said, "Kyoya, it is close to midnight. It is time for you to sleep."

"Later," Kyoya said, not looking at her. "I have work to do."

She sighed. "You could continue it in the morning, Kyoya-sama. Please sleep now. Your body has barely recovered from the flu you had. You might fall sick again if you continue with this unhealthy habits of yours."

"My immunity system is fine after that attack, Lia. If you really are worried, go get me some food. I didn't have enough for dinner. Father rushed us through dinner as he had other things for all of us to do."

"As you wish, Kyoya-sama." She left the room. She went into the kitchen, noticing that there was no one else about. Since she did not know what to cook, she heated up some milk and brought a plate of cookies with her back to Kyoya's room. She placed it on his desk. When it seemed as though he had not noticed her or the food, she coughed to draw his attention.

"I don't like sweets, Lia," he said, still typing. "Can't you get the cook to prepare something for me?"

"Everyone is asleep at this time of the night," Lia answered, gritting her teeth. She was starting to lose her patience. "You will just have to make do with this."

"Fine…" Kyoya said, turning off his laptop. He stood up and walked pass her. "Could you bring it to the coffee table? I do not want to dirty the books and files that are on my table. I can't have ants walking all over my important documents."

"As you wish, Kyoya-sama." She took the plate of cookies and cup of milk, placing it on the table in front of him. Then, she stood up straight, her hands clasped before her. "If that is all, Kyoya-sama, I will go then. Please sleep early." She bowed and turned to go.

"Wait, Lia," Kyoya said, stopping her. She turned and looked back at him. "Are you sure you would want to go on your date on Friday? Are you sure that Shinjo-san can give you the happiness that you need?"

"Why are you so bothered about my affairs, Kyoya?" Lia asked, meeting his eyes. She tried to ignore the way her heart suddenly accelerated and hoped that she was not blushing. Why did his eyes look so mysterious and inviting to her at a time like this? "Didn't I tell you the difference in our social status? As my boss, I don't think my affairs and thoughts should concern you." But do they really make you so concerned? she thought, hope blooming in her heart before she squished it. She could not hope about that. She should not.

Kyoya got to his feet, intending to intimidate her. She held her ground. She believed that she was right. She wanted him to remember about their difference in social status. To not play around with her feelings, to not make her as confused as she was now. Did he really care? Or was he just pretending to?

"Why can't I be concerned about you, Lia?" he asked. "You are an employee of this household. I have to know about your affairs to make sure that you would do nothing that could stain the name of this household."

"Is that all you think of?" Lia demanded. "Your family's good name? Don't you even think about people's feelings?" He stepped close to her that now they were just a hand's breath apart.

Lia looked away, unable to continue looking at him. She felt hurt that that was all he thought about. Was that all she was worth to him? He had raised her hopes up for one moment and then brought her crashing down to earth with the mention of his family's reputation. She had hoped that he would have thought of her and cared for her as a friend. But he seem to only care about his family name. Why couldn't he just for once tell her what he felt rather than toy with her like this? Kyoya could see that he had hurt her and reached out to touch the side of her face. Lia murmured, "Stop playing with my feelings…" Kyoya let his hand drop to his side, wondering whether he had heard correctly.

"Lia, I-" Kyoya said.

"I don't want to hear your explanations, Kyoya," Lia cut him off, forcing herself to look at him. "Let's leave our relationship between each other as employer and employee. Once I have repaid my debt and earned enough, I will be out of your house and out of your life." She turned to go.

Something inside Kyoya told him that if he didn't stop her, he might never see her again. He reached out and grabbed her arm, making her look at him. They stared at each other in silence. One hurt and the other confused. Kyoya leaned close, the urge to kiss her too strong to deny. But then he stopped, waiting to see whether she would be willing enough to complete the kiss. She looked at him, her heart pounding wildly. Then, she wretched her arm from his grip and ran as though her life depended on it.

Kyoya watched her go, feeling as though he had been slapped by the way she reacted. He should have known she would react that way. She was different than most girls in her situation who would have just thrown themselves at him in hope to gain something from him. But she, she had her pride and her dignity that prevented her from stooping so slow to gain what she wanted and needed. Sometimes, he just wished she was like other girls!

Kyoya ran his hand through his hair and then kicked at the chair. He had pissed her off and then scared her. He really needed to get some control over his feelings. If he did not, he might actually lose her. And he did not want that to happen! Especially when his rival was a playboy like Hitoshi Shinjo.

Lia leaned against the door to her room as soon as she had closed it behind her, panting hard. Her heart pounded wildly. She had wanted him to kiss her. When he stopped, she had wanted to reach up and pull him closer, to feel his lips against hers and breath in his scent. But then, the realistic side of her brain kicked her as hard as it could and told her to run before she regretted anything!

The only thing she regretted now was not kissing him. How had her feelings manage to intensify itself like this? It was getting harder and harder for her to just walk away now, to just forget about him and get on with her life. She knew that if she continued liking him like this, she would eventually hurt herself in the end. But she could not stop herself from falling harder for him.

Then, she remembered Hitoshi. Here was a childhood friend of hers who sincerely liked her, who looked out for her when she was bullied after her father's disappearance. He had been there for her when she was weak. She knew that he would be the better choice. The 'safer' choice. But she could not turn away from Kyoya.

"You are an idiot…" Lia muttered to herself. Hopefully this date with Hitoshi would help her forget about Kyoya.