She spent the next few days locked up in her house because Marie was really paranoid about letting her out on her own, what with the stalker walking the streets and all. Stein knew nothing of what had occurred. Marie agreed with Crona and Kid that it'd be best to keep him in the dark. So she was alone during those days.

It almost felt like all her friends had abandoned her. Worst of all it felt like Kid had abandoned her, until he started to drop by for about an hour or so to visit. They just talked about the usual stuff. When she tried talking about what happened in the classroom he shrugged it off and changed the conversation. Some days she went to his place but when that happened she usually ended up hanging out with Liz and Patty. They were great friends and supported her crush on Kid but spending time with them wasn't like spending time with Kid. It felt different when she was with him.

After a while her life seemed to melt back into the usual normality. She worried that he wouldn't stick around but Kid still hung out with her, though she noticed he limited his time because he had things he had to do himself. Mostly self-appointed chores and errands he needed to run for his dad, Liz, or Patty but Crona understood he had his own life. Some days he didn't come over. It was okay though because he called and they talked.

Even on the days he wasn't around or called it was okay because she knew it was unrealistic to expect Kid to spend every single day with her. Besides, if he did that she'd eventually feel too suffocated by all his attention, which she guessed he needed breaks too.

As far as Crona was concerned things were good. They were still friends and hung out. Everything was normal for the most part and Kid didn't seem to be tense or uncomfortable around her. It was almost like that day in the classroom hadn't happened, which seemed okay because Crona supposed she'd taken things too far too fast. She supposed Kid couldn't deal with that. She understood what it was like to not be able to deal with something so she supposed it was best to keep things on a steady pace and wait until he was ready. The only problem was that she wasn't certain he would ever be ready. After a full month of nothing too eventful she decided to talk with Liz about it. She was older and didn't seem too uncomfortable talking about relationships. That's how Crona found herself sitting in Kid's kitchen with Liz who was reading through some magazine.

"So, you're sure he's been well informed about your feelings for him?"

"Yes. I told him after what happened at school, you know, that really bad thing?" Liz took a moment to give it thought before nodding with a look of distaste. Crona sighed and went on to explain how she'd confessed her love to him and kissed him and how he'd rejected her. She tried to bring it to a close, "but he didn't seem to…he didn't…Kid thought I didn't mean it. But I did. And he won't talk about it so I don't know what he thinks about me now and I'm scared he doesn't like me. He acts like he does but…I dunno…."

"Okay, Crona, you've made three big mistakes from what I can tell. Your first mistake was telling him about how you felt when you did. You picked a really bad time. You should've waited til things cooled down before spilling your feelings out all over the place. Secondly, you shouldn't expect him to talk about it. He's a man, Crona. And men seldom talk about this stuff. A guy like Kid...well...he's still a guy and has to make things harder than they need to be. I mean, he's been a confused emotional pest for a while now."

"He has?"

"Yeah. He really sucks at hiding it. Anyway, your last mistake is assuming he doesn't like you. I know he does and you know he does, but he's probably just too embarrassed about everything to bring it up or admit it to himself because like I said earlier he's a guy and has to make things harder than they need to be. I'm sure he likes you as much as you like him. You just need to give him a little push."

"A push?"

"Yeah, just a nudge in the right direction. Do something to show him how much you like him and I'm sure he'll come around and stop torturing himself. Despite how he may act at times Kid isn't made of stone. He'll come around."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea but how do I do that?"

"Well, what's he like? Think of something he likes and make it happen."

"I know something he likes-"

"Good. All you have to do is make something of it."

"Uh, but I d-don't think I can-"

"Make it work." Liz said sternly. "No matter what. If you're serious about Kid then you'll stop at nothing to get him. And honestly, he's lucky to have someone like you even bothering with him. I mean, he can be a real jerk at times."

"He does have his faults," Crona said quietly. "But everyone does, right? It's wrong to expect him to be perfect."

"It is, but it's not wrong to expect him to be decent and gentlemanly every once and awhile, or for him to tone down on his OCDness every once and awhile. I mean it just pisses me off when he goes off because some picture is tilted or because one little line is out of place in a painting. It's so freakin annoying. And when he starts about my breasts, I have a mind to-"

"W-what? He talks about your breasts?"

"Oh, uh, sorry did I mention that?"

Crona nodded looking a little on edge then.

"Don't worry." Liz said gently. She gave a sigh and then began the explanation, "I mean, he thinks me and Patty should look exactly alike because as far as he's concerned we're practically twins. There's like a year difference, but that's not the point. I told him fraternal twins aren't identical and…it's complicated…long story short he's bothered because my breasts are smaller than hers and hers are bigger than mine. It's probably a blend of OCD and the perviness every guy gets once in awhile. Don't worry about Patty or me wanting him. He's all yours, Crona."

"Thanks." Crona said as she got up and started to leave. "You've really helped me a lot, Liz."

"No prob. See you later."

"Okay, bye."

She was heading out when a sudden crash from upstairs followed by a loud cry caught her attention. Risking getting yelled at or scarred for life she headed up the stairs and peered into Liz and Patty's room where Kid sat in a state of depression on the floor over the ruined remains of…some sort of dark blue glass object…and Patty stood over him apologizing for breaking it and trying to comfort him. Eventually Crona stepped into the room to see what had happened and found that Kid wasn't willing to talk. He just slunk from the room, depressed and silent. "What happened?" She asked Patty who seemed rather somber for once.

"I was playing a really fun game with his glass animal but it broke. I didn't mean to break it, but just like that...poof! It's gone."

"Maybe we can replace it?"

"No. I don't think so. His mom gave it to him when he was a little kid. Before she died."

"I think I'll try anyway."

Patty sighed and helped her get all the pieces up, sitting them on Liz's bed. Patty then dashed off to find as much glue as she possibly could. Crona then began the painstakingly slow task of gluing the blue pieces together. It was really hard getting all the pieces together right but after two painstaking hours of concentration all but a few tiny glass fragments were together creating a rounded, dark blue glass puppy with two small nubs for ears and small black dots painted on as eyes with two eyelashes on each side. No wonder Kid likes it so well. She thought upon realizing it was perfectly symmetrical in every way possible save for the fact it was now covered by cracks and chipped here and there. Other than that it looked perfect.

She showed it to Liz who seemed quite impressed. Though she was uncertain if it would be good enough to satisfy her OCD housemate. "Let's give it the test," she said smiling.

That statement had Crona confused up until Liz and Patty drug her up the stairs and shoved her through Kid's bedroom door. He was still sulking and wasn't too thrilled at being burst in on while trying to find it in him to forgive and forget. That was when his eyes landed on Crona and he froze, then drifted down to the object she held shyly in her hands, which were extended out offering her gift to him.

There was a span of time where everything seemed to freeze before he took it in what seemed like slow motion, inspected it, and then sat it down after murmuring his approval. Then for a second time that month Crona knew what it felt like to be hugged so tight that it felt like her spine would break. Luckily, he got his strength under control and eased up promptly after hearing a whimper of discomfort. It felt rather...nice. She let her eyes drift to the doorway where she saw Liz and Patty were giggling and smiling like crazy. Patty gave her a thumbs up and she just barely heard Liz whisper the words, "You're in!" before she and Patty left to let her enjoy the moment. Tentative she lifted her own arms and hugged Kid back before he had a chance to stop. She blushed as she nuzzled her face against his shoulder feeling like she was walking on air for the next five or so minutes.

Not that Long Later...

After what had happened between him and Crona, Kid felt somewhat awkward. She was really sweet for fixing the ceramic puppy and he had to admit she did a rather good job of it but he supposed he got a bit carried away. He didn't feel bad about it though. He was truthfully glad he did as he had. She claimed she was fine with it and it didn't bother her or make her uncomfortable but he still worried he might have went a little too far when he thought back on her initial reaction, on how she had whimpered and flinched away before hugging him back. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. She'd already been through enough. Presently, she sat in the kitchen with Patty watching her as she made a small army of paper giraffes. He tried to bring it up with Liz while they were busy but she'd practically bashed him upside the head with her magazine.

"Don't think about it, Kid, just enjoy the fact she likes you enough to let you touch her!" She said sounding annoyed. "I swear, if you do anything to mess that poor kid up I'll never speak with you again. The same goes for Patty."

He blinked in surprise at hearing this. "Since when did you two become such good friends?" he muttered rubbing his head slightly, straightening his hair. Frowning a bit after fixing whatever her magazine had ruined he sighed. Glancing towards the kitchen he nodded. "I have no intentions of 'messing' her up, as you put it. I was just making sure what happened was okay."

"That's weird. You should know what's okay and what isn't."

"I don't know." he admitted. "She's different. I really don't want to do something wrong."

Smiling Liz gave a small laugh. "Well don't worry," she reassured, "hugs are okay. Listen, the best thing you can do is be yourself. She practically worships you already. Relax and be who you are. I mean, do you think Crona is walking on egg shells around you?"

"No. That sounds more like what she does around Soul or Black*Star."

"Right. Because she knows Soul is taken and Black*Star is kinda pervy. You're neither of those things, currently. If you treat her right then maybe you guys can hook it up. God knows she wants to."

"Liz, I don't think I want to."

"Huh? Why not? Don't you like her?"

"Of course I like her. She's sweet and caring, thoughtful, pretty, and perfect in almost every way, but-"

"Uh-uh. No. You can't say 'but' after all that. I mean, I don't know about the 'and perfect in almost every way' part but to me it sounds like you like her more than you've been letting on."

"But I can't be with her!"

"And why not?"

"Because she-"

"I swear to god, Kid, if this is another symmetry thing I am gonna scream."

"It's not! Well, it partly is, but-"

"You've got to be kidding me! Isn't that therapy stuff working on you anymore?"

"Yes, but Liz-"

"No, this OCD crap is starting to really interfere in your life. I mean, before when it was just you and nobody else that was fine but now that a friend is involved I'm not going to sit back and let you destroy whatever self-esteem she's got because you can't handle a little-"

"Liz!" he snapped with evident annoyance. "It's not that!"

"Then what the hell is your problem?"

"I think I'm..." he mumbled the last word so she couldn't hear. There was obvious embarrassment on his face as his eyes went in all directions in an attempt to avoid looking at Liz.

"You're what?"

He mumbled again.

"Speak up! I can't hear you."

"I said, 'I think I'm scared'."

"Scared? You? Of what?"

"I-I don't know. Everything. I-I've never…been in…an intimate…relationship before."

Liz raised an eyebrow at hearing this. "Never?"

"No."

"But I thought-"

"No."

"Not even with Maka?"

"No!"

"Oh. Wow. I thought it'd be something to do with the fact she's got a paternal guardian who cuts dead people up for a living but I guess that's a good reason too."

"Well, Stein does hate me. Or any other guy who shows Crona the slightest interest. I think he might be worried that she'll let me, or whomever else she likes, take advantage of her. I don't know. He sees her as being weak. Vulnerable."

"She kinda is." Liz muttered, thinking back on how shy she was during their sleepover and how she seemed to almost fall completely apart after Black*Star burst in at the wrong time. She clearly had some serious emotional issues that needed to be worked on. The fact she was so strongly attracted to a guy like Kid was proof enough of that for Liz. It wasn't anything personal towards Kid. She cared about him and liked him and all but when it came right down to it Liz just didn't see Kid as being boyfriend material like Crona did. Though she also saw Kid's side of things.

Sighing she nodded to him, understanding her friend a bit better now. "Okay, I totally get your lack of commitment now. I think you should tell her."

"What?"

"She'll understand. You aren't the first jer...err...guy with a fear of commitment."

"I don't fear commitment! I just-"

"Fear her dad?"

"No." he said with a frown. "There's a risk of ruining everything, right?" Liz didn't respond. Instead she let him continue with his line of reasoning. "So if I ruin our relationship then reasonably she'd hate me, which would lead to her avoiding me, right?"

She nodded, starting to follow where he was going with this so she took over the explanation, "And if she hates and avoids you, then you think she won't care about you anymore? You don't want to ruin this little friendship you have so you're playing it safe?"

"Is that really bad?"

"Yes! It's selfish. You need to come clean about this."

"I know it isn't the most decent thing to do. God knows I hate lying to her, but I'd hate it even more if I did anything to hurt her in any way. Contrary to what you may think I care about her, Liz. I don't want her to stop seeing or talking to me. I used to not know, or really like her so much," he admitted then added, "but now I do like her, Liz. I don't want to lose her after getting to know her."

"I do get all that, Kid. But like I said, you have to come clean about how you feel, otherwise she'll end up thinking something is wrong and you know she'll most likely blame herself. Then you will be hurting her. Lying to her doesn't really protect her if you know she's going to get hurt in the end."

Kid knew she was right. Exhaling he nodded and relented.

Ooh, how will this play out? I'm hoping to establish more later and thought I'd go ahead and get this over with because this chapter would have happened sooner or later and managed to squeeze it in here to avoid confusion later. I hope this explains things clearly without confusing anyone.

*Fingers Crossed*

Next chapter is where I hope to establish more of a relationship between Kid and Crona.