Akatsuki-hime: Hi! I'm sorry if it took so long to update. Hehe... I kinda rush this chapter so I'm not sure about the grammar and spelling. Okay, please read on...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed Destiny. I will never will...

Destiny High School

Phase 14: On friendly terms

Minerva High School

It was the day of the competition. Cagalli and Kira, along with their teammates, were all gathered in Minerva High School's Track and Field. Coach Neumann was currently giving advises to his team, while his assistant was checking if all players were present. When he saw Shinn's name on the list, he immediately searched for him only to realize that he was missing.

"Where's Shinn Asuka?" the assistant asked the coach.

Coach Neumann turned to him, with a worried look on his face. "Asuka is not here yet?!" he murmured, "This can't be happening. We need Asuka for the first match!"

"I bet he won't show up," said the assistant.

"I'm definitely going to kill him if he doesn't show." The Coach instantly turned his head at Cagalli who was busy talking to Kira at the moment. "Hibiki-san, you're Asuka's best friend, right?" he asked.

Cagalli looked at the coach and nodded her head.

"Then tell me where is he now?"

"Shinn is probably on his way here," she replied, "so you don't have to worry about him."

"How can you be so sure about that?"

Cagalli smirked at him. "Oh, I'm sure of it because I know him so well."

"The last time we had an event like this he didn't even bother to show up."

"Just trust me coach... He'll come here."

Not a moment too soon, Shinn arrived as expected. He approached the coach and gave him an awkward smile. "I'm sorry that I'm late," he said, while scratching the back of his head.

Coach Neumann raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't you know what time it is already? You are an hour late, Asuka!" he scolded.

"I got into a fight before getting here. It was unavoidable."

"Anyway, just go change into your uniform." Cagalli butted in before they could get into an argument.

Shinn walked over to the dressing room to change.

Destiny High School (Room 2-B)

Lunamaria sighed at the ringing of the school bell. It was already time for class, but she felt like skipping it. She wasn't in the mood because Shinn wasn't in school. She knew that he was busy running in a sports event so it can't be help. She silently wished that she was one of the cheerleaders so she could cheer for him.

"I've tried auditioning for the Cheerleading Team, but I failed. I wasn't good enough." Lunamaria slouched in her seat, as she fiddled with her fingers.

Stellar walked into the classroom. She immediately approached Lunamaria and gave her a worried look. "G-good morning," greeted Stellar, "Hawke-san."

Lunamaria instantly stood up and faced her with a stern look. "What do you want?" she questioned.

"I just want to talk to you for a while," Stellar replied.

"Didn't you hear the bell? It's already time for class. If you want to talk then let's do it later."

"Um... Okay then."

When Stellar was about to go to her seat, Lunamaria pulled her closer to her and whispered something into her ear. "If you don't want any trouble then you give Shinn to me."

Stellar's eyes grew wide after hearing that. She quickly pulled away from Luna, as she stared at her innocently. "Hawke-san, you're really serious..." She said in a low voice.

Luna smirked at her. "Of course I am."

Room 3-A

During lunch hour, Lacus went to Room 3-A to see Kira. As she got there, she was told by Dearka that he wasn't there. Lacus turned around, looking depressed, as she deeply sighed.

I have completely forgotten about the competition. She lightly bonked herself on the head for that. Before walking off, she was confronted by Dearka who seemed to have some questions for her.

"What do you want, Elthman-kun?" Lacus asked.

"Why are you looking for Hibiki anyway? Is there something you want from him?" Dearka insisted on the questions.

Lacus shook her head. "No, I just wanted to see him."

At that, Dearka had a feeling that Lacus likes Kira. He grinned at Lacus, making her feel uneasy. Dearka folded his arms as he leaned against the wall beside him.

"What is it?" Lacus nervously asked.

"You have a crush on him, don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. It's all written on your face, Clyne." Dearka pointed a finger in front of her face.

Lacus panicked when she realized that she was blushing. Oh no! This is too obvious! She yelled in her mind.

Dearka giggled at her reaction. "Just calm down," he said, "don't take it so seriously."

"But you found out and I..."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Do you really mean it?"

"Yes, I do. I'm a man of promises."

"Oh, thank you so much."

In her excitement, she held Dearka's hand and shook it. Dearka immediately looked left and right to see if Milly was around. Then he just remembered that Milly was at Minerva High School to do a report about the competition. He felt relief and awkward at the same time.

If Milly will see me with Clyne, I don't know what to do.

Garden

After class, Stellar and Lunamaria met under a tree in the garden. They sat down on a patch of grass and stared silently at each other for a while.

"I'm waiting," said Luna, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

Luna groaned, "What do you mean huh?! You wanna talk about Shinn, right?! So, what are you waiting for?!"

"Oh... sorry..."

"Make it quick, okay? I don't want you to bore me to death." Lunamaria hissed, as she turned away from Stellar.

Stellar sighed, as she leaned against the tree. "Hawke-san, why do you love Shinn?" she suddenly asked, which gave Luna a surprise.

"What did you just said?" Gradually, Luna turned her head back at Stellar.

"Why do you love Shinn?" Stellar repeated for her.

At that, Luna's cheeks showed a hint of redness. "Well... I..." She stuttered.

"I wanna know the reason why, Hawke-san." Stellar sounded demanding.

"I love Shinn because he's interesting," Luna shyly said. She lowered her head to avoid eye contact with Stellar.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know Shinn is a bully and he always bosses people around like me. He's very inconsiderate and he has a violent temper like Joule."

Cafeteria

The two best friends, Yzak and Dearka were busy eating some snacks when all of the sudden...

"Achoo!" Yzak sneezed.

Dearka immediately pulled his food away from Yzak to avoid his germs. He looked repulsively at his friend.

"That was unexpected," said Dearka.

Yzak pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his nose with it. "Yeah," he said, "somebody must be talking about me."

"Hmmm... Maybe that somebody is an admirer." Dearka started teasing, which eventually pissed Yzak off.

"Will you quit it?!" yelled Yzak, as he showed a clenched fist to Dearka.

"Okay, I'm shutting up now." Dearka lightly laughed. Man, what a grouch.

Garden

"But most of all, Shinn is a really nice guy." Luna's heart skipped a beat as she finished her statement.

"A nice guy?" muttered Stellar, "He's more than that. Shinn is a very caring and understanding person."

"You don't have to tell me that!" Luna uttered.

"It seems like you're the kind of girl who can see a person's true heart." Stellar said that with a smile.

"Hmph, what do you know about me? I'm just some girl in class who is being ignored everyday!" She folded her arms in front of her chest, as she continued. "I've found out about his personality through constant observations of him when he's with Hibiki." She blurted without a care.

"That's because Cagalli-san is Shinn's best friend, so it's only natural for him to act so nice to her."

"Anyway, I still hate you and Hibiki!"

"You only feel that way about us because we're close to Shinn."

"That's right and I'm going to take him away from you."

Stellar narrowed her eyes. "Hawke-san," she started, "Shinn loves me and I love him. I'm not going to let you destroy our relationship."

"Is that a threat?" Lunamaria showed a spiteful grin.

"Hawke-san, you can't force him to love you and you know that."

"We'll see about that, Stellar Loussier-san." Lunamaria said. She stood and walked away in a hurry.

Stellar clasped her hands together, silently hoping that everything will be all right. I don't want to lose Shinn, but I don't want to fight Hawke-san either. What should I do?

Entrance

Lacus was waiting near the entrance of the school for her sister. Mia was really taking her time and Lacus was getting tired of just standing in one spot. She looked around to see if anybody was around.

Since nobody's around I might as well sing a song to past the time. She silently thought.

She carefully placed her bag on the floor and then she clasped her hands together. She hummed a sweet tune before she started singing.

In this quiet night

I'm waiting for you

Forgetting the past

And dreaming of you

Time passes by

And memories fade

But time can't erase

The love that we made

During her singing, Fllay happened to pass by and heard her. She quickly pulled herself into a corner to hide from Lacus. She peeked at the pink-haired girl, as she listened to her song carefully.

Hold me close

So deep in your heart

I will find you

No matter where I have to go

Just dream of me

For I will be there

Follow the stars that lead

Into the quiet night

After the song, Fllay came out of hiding and showed herself to Lacus. She clapped her hands as she gave Lacus a sweet smile.

"Alster-san, you were listening to me?" Lacus sounded surprised.

"Yes," Fllay replied, "and you have a beautiful voice."

Lacus blushed at that remark. "Um... thank you very much."

"That song," said Fllay, "Quiet Night is one of my favorites. I like your version better than Campbell's."

"Really?" she questioned. "But a lot of fans like her version better."

"Well, I'm not one of those fans." Fllay winked an eye at her.

"I'm very pleased to hear that, Alster-san."

Suddenly, Fllay placed a finger on Lacus' mouth. She quietly shook her head, as she sighed. She removed her finger from her mouth before she spoke. "Please don't call me Alster-san. You make it look like that I'm older than you. I'm still a sophomore you know."

She struck her red hair and placed a hand on her waist. "Just call me Fllay, okay?" said Fllay.

Lacus nodded her head. "Okay, Fllay-san."

"Again with the san!" she groaned. "Fllay... Just Fllay..."

"If you say so," she giggled at her reaction.

At that moment, she realized that her hatred towards Fllay has vanished a little. At first, she thought of her as a spoiled girl who has nothing better to do than to flirt with boys. Well, that was what Mia told her. But she could see that Fllay was a kind and a fun girl to be with.

The rooftop scene between Fllay and Kira still bothered her. Mia told me not to be friendly with her because she's my rival to Kira's heart. Still, I want to be friends with her... I can't decide.

Fllay noticed that Lacus became silent. "Um, Clyne... Hello?" she said, as she waved a hand in front of her face.

At that, Lacus quickly snapped back to reality. "What is it?" she said.

"You seemed to be a little dazed. Is everything all right?"

"I was just spacing out. I'm sorry if it concerns you."

"And I thought you were daydreaming about Kira."

"What?!" she shrieked, as her cheeks turned red.

Fllay instantly smirked when she saw her red cheeks. "You like Kira, don't you?" She pointed a finger at Lacus. "The last time I talked about Kira, you really looked happy and fascinated. At that moment, I knew that you like him."

Lacus said nothing. She slowly lowered her head and focused her eyes on the ground.

"Just tell me the truth, Clyne. Why are you hesitating?"

"It's because Hibiki-kun is your boyfriend..." Lacus slowly said.

"What did you just say?!" Fllay uttered, as she raised one eyebrow. "That's pretty absurd. Kira is not my boyfriend."

Lacus was surprised to hear this. "Is that really true?" she asked, "Then how come you two are really close?"

"Don't you know that Kira and I are very good friends? We've been friends since Junior High. I'm sorry if I didn't tell you during our talk yesterday."

"But you two don't hang out often," she reasoned.

"That's true," Fllay agreed, "but it's only because I'm busy with cheerleading." She deeply sighed. "I didn't expect that High School Cheerleading will really consume my time. When I was still in Junior High, I always spend time with Kira." She looked sad.

"Fllay..."

"I'll tell you one thing," Fllay said, as she smiled again, "Kira will always remain a friend to me. If you want him as a boyfriend then you can have him." She giggled.

Lacus' eyes grew wide. "I... I really don't know what to say." She stuttered.

"If you want, I can help you."

"Then I'm in your debt, Fllay." Lacus slightly bowed her head, showing her gratefulness to Fllay.

Lacus was delighted to have a friend like Fllay. Of course, she hasn't forgotten about Mia's hatred towards Fllay. She planned to keep her friendship with Fllay as secret from Mia to avoid trouble. Nevertheless, she silently hoped that Mia and Fllay would be friends someday.

To be continued...

Akatsuki-hime: I'm glad that's done. Dearka and Lacus here are only friends so don't be alarmed. Lunamaria is dead serious about taking Shinn for herself. Poor Stellar... I'm sorry if there were no AsuCaga scenes here. But in the next chapter, there will be some.