Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! First off, I want to thank everyone who was really sweet to me about the work I've had and everyone who wished me well and such. It cheered me up quite a bit! It's incredibly kind of you all. Secondly, this story still has a lot to cover, but some aspects feel almost complete, and that's a huge relief for me, because this story is busy! Hahaha. I try to ensure I'm not leaving anyone out, but just in case – what would you specifically like me to cover next chapter? As long as it's not something huge like DIRK AND LILLIAN KISS or ASH AND LILLIAN KISS hahaha, I'll try to handle it. Like if you want to see Nori or Georgia I'll slip in a scene about them. I want to make sure I'm covering the characters everyone wants to see as much as possible, but sometimes I delay others to bring certain people's problems to the forefront, but I'm at a point where I can stretch the chapters out if there's someone you think is being neglected! Since this story covers sooo many characters, I know I have to overshadow some, and I don't want to overshadow any fan favorites haha. Also, sorry again for the late update. To be honest, I debated heavily on whether or not I should put this story on hiatus, but I decided against it – I have so many loyal readers I don't want to disappoint, so I will continue to get chapters out as often as possible. (: Thank you all for the support that has encouraged me to keep going. With that said, I hope this chapter is enjoyable for all of you, and thank you for the lovely reviews. Have a good rest of the week/weekend, by the way, in case I don't write again too soon~

The text message Lillian received Sunday afternoon convinced her to leave the comfort of her bed and the dream she had been clinging to and begin heading west. The traffic on foot and by car was light, and Lillian was still drowsy she went. Her dream had been of a fun high school life, filled with the joy of all of her friends, everyone happy, nothing wrong. It couldn't be a true life, she knew – everything had to have some bit of conflict. But still, she liked thinking about it.

Much to her surprise, it was Cam who opened the door. He leaned against the frame with raised eyebrows and said, "Hey. I didn't know you were coming."

"I wanted to see Reina," Lillian explained hesitantly, unsure whether or not Reina wanted Cam to know that she had pleaded with the brunette via text message to make an appearance.

Cam smiled and shrugged. "Well, sure. Come in, she's in the garden with Laney right now."

"…Oh. Okay! Thanks, Cam."

He closed the door behind her and she stopped to untie her shoes, prying them off and leaving them in the entryway. Laney's purple flats were resting beside Cam's sneakers. Reina's shoes were on the other side of the hall. Lillian put her sandals beside them. "How have things been going?" she asked as he led her towards the backyard.

"A little awkward, but…not too bad," Cam shrugged. "I invited Laney over since Reina seemed okay with it, and they seem to be getting along pretty well…you know, I thought it would be really weird, but Reina has been doing her best to make sure I don't feel uncomfortable. We spend a lot of time taking care of her garden. Her parents are pretty laidback. My room is even bigger than my one at Howard's." He listed the good qualities off readily, nodding as he spoke.

"Sounds good," Lillian told him, smiling up at him.

Cam returned her smile, but then sighed. "I do wish I could keep on living at Howard's though, no matter how good this place is to me…Well, here they are. Reina! Lillian came to see you."

Laney spun in her place, bent down beside Reina to look at a patch of herbs, and looked shocked to see her. Reina looked relieved. "Oh! What a great surprise," she said. "Let's go to my room, you're probably tired from your walk over here."

"Yeah," Lillian said, her voice slightly robotic. "I am…pretty tired."

In truth, she now felt much more awake, and sleeping for so long had given her some extra energy. She felt like she could do whatever chores they were taking care of in the garden easily. But she backed into the house again with Reina pushing forward, and followed her down the hall of memories and to her teal room once more.

"What's the matter?" she asked when Reina plopped down onto her bed, looking exhausted.

"I'm doing my best," Reina mumbled. "Really. I told him he could invite Laney, and I researched a lot of edible herbs that would be good to use for cakes. And Laney's been great…she's really nice, and easy to get along with. But…I just feel…so out of place. I want to just…kick her out. Even though there's no reason to. It's so frustrating. I thought maybe if you were here with us, things would be a little less awkward. I…I'm sorry to call you out here, but Nori's grandfather is still sick and I didn't want to make Hiro uncomfortable…"

Lillian sat beside her, offering a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you asked me. I'll do my best, but just so you know, Laney is sort of upset-"

"I know. She told me a little bit about it," Reina admitted with a shrug. Lillian was surprised to hear that Laney had confided her troubles in Reina, but it made sense – the best way to convince someone to feel at ease with you was to confide in them, after all, and the only thing they had in common was Cam and Lillian, and Cam was a little strange to discuss. "She told me what I already knew, though she left a few parts out, and said she is doing her best to move past it."

Lillian sighed, her shoulders slumping forward. Laney was doing her best to forgive the pain that had been inflicted on her, but that didn't make things any easier for Lillian, who hadn't been the one to inflict the pain in the first place. She had readily agreed to take the blame for this situation, but that didn't make it easy to swallow. Why had the Oracle asked Reina to invite Cam to live with her? Lillian had tried to get a hold of her all Saturday to no avail. She had considered calling Dirk for help, but had decided it against it. She wasn't sure how she would even speak to him after everything that had happened.

"I can…tell her the truth, you know," Reina muttered, looking mildly uncomfortable even saying the words. Still, Lillian was shocked that she had offered to do such a thing. Considering how against the idea of confessing the truth to Laney and Cam the girl had been at first, the fact that she now just handing this suggestion over was impressive.

"No," Lillian told her quickly. "It'll be okay. Laney is the type who forgives no matter what. Maybe she's forgiving to a fault."

"Not all good qualities can turn into bad ones," Reina laughed, shaking her head. "But I guess too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, right?"

"Sometimes," Lillian murmured. They listened to Laney laugh outside, and Lillian let herself hope for some sort of reconciliation between the two. But too much of a good thing, she told herself as she glanced sideways as Reina's strained expression, could be a bad thing.

After a dreadfully awkward day in which Lillian and Reina mostly followed Cam and Laney around the garden while they took notes on particular plants to use in cooking – despite not actually proposing Cam's suggestion of a party for both clubs to the club presidents – Lillian finally headed towards the door.

"I can walk you home," Reina offered, but even as she began to step into her shoes, Laney spoke against it.

"Actually, you don't have to put yourself out, Reina. I can walk Lillian home." Laney smiled at her and slipped into her flats with grace. Everything Laney did tended to be poised and elegant. Her high bun, soft features, modest outfit – clothed in a t shirt and worn sneakers made Lillian feel much like a fool beside her. But of course, it was Laney, and she never capitalized on other's people's flaws. She turned her smile to Lillian, and said, "Is that alright?"

Reina shot a questioning look towards Lillian, but it was Cam the brunette looked to. He nodded encouragingly, giving a shrug as if to say, Why not?

"Okay," Lillian said, pulling the knots tight on her shoes and stepping beside her. "Thank you for having me over, Reina. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Bye!" They said in unison. If it bothered Laney, she did a good job of hiding it.

Laney's flats pitter pattered delicately along the sidewalk as they went. Lillian's sneakers slapped the pavement, only lifting her anxiety. Every moment she panicked. Laney hadn't spoken to her much, and the only sign that she was willing to forgive her was the quick apology after the competition. An apology was just like Laney. She would apologize for being angry. But did that mean she actually stopped being angry? If she was in her place and believed what Laney had every right to believe, Lillian knew that she would feel the exact same way.

"Georgia is doing very well as vice president," Laney said. "It was kind of you to give her the position."

"I thought she would be a better fit," Lillian murmured.

"Ash told me on the phone yesterday that some of the students were pressuring you to get Georgia off of the club management position. I think it's really brave of you to offer her a promotion and demote yourself."

Laney's tone was impressed, and she gave Lillian one of her famous kind smiles. "Thank you," Lillian said, wondering what had provoked Ash to call Laney and say such a thing. "I'm glad Georgia is happy with the position."

"I…don't know exactly what to believe."

"What?"

Laney stopped walking, staring at the ground. "I know there was a time when everyone but Georgia was in on one of your secrets. I think now is one of those times where everyone but me is in on it. Cam doesn't seem angry at you at all. He seems really comfortable when you're around. If you were really behind all of this…I don't think he'd be so calm, considering he was almost forced back to the City. I don't need you to tell me the whole truth. I just want you to tell me…a piece of it."

Lillian stared at the blonde, dumbfounded by this statement. Laney's hands were clasped together before her waist, and her entire stance was patient. With Laney, it was always empathy. Empathy, not just sympathy. Lillian smiled at this clever conclusion and said, "I played my part in what happened, but I was more of a catalyst than anything else. What happened was just a series of accidents. I…don't want to say more, because I don't want to make anyone else take the blame. Nobody was really at fault for what happened."

"I thought so," Laney whispered. "I trusted you all. I didn't hold back that Cam and I were going out because I didn't trust you. I swear, that's not it. I wanted to tell you. I really did! But I was terrified that something like what happened that day would happen. I knew that if someone knew, it was just a slip of the tongue away from becoming known by my father. I…don't want to know about everything that happened. I trust you still. I trust what you're telling me. But…I have to know. Reina…did she have anything to do with this? If it was an accident – whatever part she played – that's okay. But I need to know if she feels vindictively towards me. I'm doing my best to befriend her even though I know she has feelings for Cam. And I know…anyone's feelings for Cam aren't my place anymore. I broke up with him, after all. But knowing that I don't have anything to do with that doesn't mean I don't want to know."

Lillian felt a swell of pity for the miserable looking girl before her. Laney's fingers fumbled nervously with the bottom of her sweater, and her eyes were still downcast. Lillian gently put her hand on the girl's and squeezed it. "Reina doesn't want to come between you and Cam. She knows who his feelings are for. She doesn't want to hurt you at all."

It wasn't exactly answering the question, but the answer was confusing to voice. Reina had been vindictive once, but wasn't now. Reina hadn't necessarily been vindictive towards Laney, but Laney had been a part of her original plan. How was Lillian supposed to explain that? But Laney didn't need an explanation. She nodded and smiled at the sidewalk. "I'm glad," she whispered. "I'm…I'm really…really relieved…"

Tears struck the sidewalk where she looked, and Lillian's eyes widened. "Laney…what's wrong?"

Laney hesitated, taking a deep breath. It didn't seem like she would answer, but she finally said in a small voice, "I don't want to hurt Cam." She crouched down, burying her face in her arms, right there on the sidewalk. Lillian knelt down with her so she could still hear her, her hands on the girl's arms. "I didn't want to break up with him," Laney continued, her voice shaking. "But…it's just me and my dad. I completely betrayed him and lied to him all this time…and I'm all he has left. That night, after you all went home, my dad just…cried. He cried because I didn't confide in him and I lied to him for so long. It broke his heart. I couldn't…"

Her words subsided, replaced with sobs. The poise Laney so often carried had vanished, and the broken girl before Lillian did not look anything like the elegant one she was used to. She leaned forward and hugged the girl, murmuring gentle, reassuring comments to her, but nothing she said seemed to halt the tears.

"Can I tell you a secret, Lillian?" Laney asked after a few moments, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah, of course. What is it?"

"I told you that I hated the clubs and wanted them to end, but then I said that I needed to win. I needed to win so much, I haven't been doing my job…I've been lying. And it's because…my mom is in the city, Lillian. I found the one letter she sent to dad a while ago, saying that she was leaving us and she would be there. I don't blame my dad for hiding the letter, and I don't want him to know that I know he did. But…I need Bluebell to win this club competition so I can find her myself while we're there. Then…I can tell her what she did to us. I don't know how much it can change things, but if I can get her to talk to dad…to apologize…it would mean the world to him. I want dad to know that he's the number one guy in my life. So for now…I can't be with Cam. Even if I want to."

Lillian looked at Laney for a moment as she lifted her tear stricken face to see how the brunette would react to her words, and then she hugged her tighter. "Okay," she said. "We'll win. And until then, I know Cam will wait for you."

"Really?" Laney whispered.

"Really."

Laney laughed for a moment, strained with tears. "Okay," she said. "I'll trust you."

Laney trusting her to keep her secret as a secret, Cam counting on her to patch up things between him and his ex-girlfriend. Lillian held Laney as she waited for her tears to subside and sighed silently to herself. When would she learn to stop making promises to her friends that she wasn't sure she could keep?

The next day Lillian parted from Ash the moment they reached the school. "I have to find the Oracle," she said. "Maybe you can talk to Cam and see how things are going."

"Sure," he replied. She had already filled him in on the parts of her conversation with Laney that were not secrets, and he had celebrated with her. Still, she saw what Reina had seen – the awkwardness in their interactions. Lillian felt frustration rising up in her. She was not like Dirk, able to say sweet things with a straight, unashamed face, but she had done her best to give Ash every sign that her feelings for him were not simply friendly. Did he truly believe that he was inferior to Dirk, that Lillian's feelings for their old friend have grown so rapidly? Guilt struck her at this thought, and she looked over her shoulder as she walked away and met his eyes, which had followed her, with a blush. He looked away and started walking towards Cam's usual spot, and Lillian persevered.

She wasn't sure if the Oracle had a particular "spot" like so many others did. She seemed to pop out of nowhere and surprise her constantly. It was impossible to truly guess where she was – but it was possible to guess where Dirk was, and he always knew where the Oracle was. Lillian met him near his first class, and he looked at her in surprise.

"Where's Ash?"

"He went to hang out with Cam."

"What…did you come find me for?" he asked. His cheeks were tinged slightly with red, and Lillian's were as well. She wished that he wouldn't look at her with such an earnest expression, because then she couldn't help but return it.

"Do you know where the Oracle is?"

Dirk's expression hardened as he stood up straight, closing the book he had been holding. "I'm guessing she's with Reina, trying to figure out how things went over the weekend."

"Oh…" Lillian turned to walk away and then hesitated. "What are you reading?"

Dirk smiled. "It's a book about music. The Oracle has been listening to a lot of violin music lately, so I thought that I would try to research it so I could answer all the questions she's constantly asking me. I have to keep up the pretense that I'm all-knowing, after all."

Lillian smiled back at him and held her hand out for the book, flipping through the pages when he gave it to her. "Mikhail plays the violin," Lillian murmured. "Maybe the Oracle should go listen to him play if she's so interested."

"Take us to his next performance," Dirk suggested.

"Okay. I'll ask him when it is and…we can all go together."

Dirk's fingers brushed against hers when he took the book back, and he tilted his head to the side. "Something bothering you? You look a little off today."
She thought of the Oracle trying to gently explain Dirk's feelings to her and felt a wave of embarrassment. She did her best to continue this charade of ignorance, but it was difficult. When Dirk was looking at her like that, everything was a little more difficult. "No, I've just got a lot on my mind, with Reina and Cam and Laney and all of that…"

Dirk tapped the spot between her furrowed eyebrows and offered up a reassuring smile. "Don't look so down. Things will be just fine. They've got Detective Lillian on their case."

"Don't call me that!" she protested, but she was laughing as she said it. "I…I better head off to see the Oracle."

He shrugged, but his eyes were glued upon her. He did not miss a single action. She constantly felt nervous around Dirk, and she thought that perhaps it was because he always watched her like this – like he was waiting for something. She lifted her hand to her bangs and his eyes followed, and she embarrassedly brought it back down. "I'll see you in class today, Dirk."

"…Yeah. Bye." He smiled at her, but even he seemed to sense that something had shifted. You could pretend you didn't realize someone's feelings your entire life, but the moment you knew someone else had realized them, you were obligated to do the same. That's what drove Lillian to flee down the halls with such an embarrassed, confused frown on her face.

It was only two minutes until class started that Lillian managed to find the Oracle, who had not been with Reina, but had told Nori that she would be heading towards the back of the school. It took Lillian some time to extricate herself from the small talk among club members who were no longer wary of speaking to her with her new lack of power, but she finally found the Oracle leaning against a wall – with Mikhail beside her, holding the violin delicately in his hands. He wasn't playing it, but pretending to play it. Lillian wasn't sure what caused her to hesitate, but she did.

"I can almost hear it," the Oracle mused, her eyes half closed. "I can't wait until I can learn how to play the violin too."

"It'll take a while, but I think you'll get the hang of it," Mikhail told her. "I'll do my best to help you."

The Oracle nodded excitedly, clapping her hands together and saying, "Show me again, please!"

Lillian watched for another moment as Mikhail pretended to play the violin, and then she backed up until she was no longer watching them. For some reason, she suddenly felt that she had seen something she shouldn't have.

During homeroom, Lillian returned to sitting between Laney and Cam. They carried on an amiable enough conversation, but she could feel the awkwardness in it – Cam's fears and Laney's hesitation. She wondered if they had ever actually talked about the break up. What did Cam even know or think of it? She looked between them and struggled to keep up with their conversation, often falling into thought instead. It was a surprise when Laney told her at break, "Ready to go meet up with Cam?"

"Huh?"

She exchanged a teasing look with Mikhail, who smiled at the confused expression on Lillian's face. "I was just talking about it for the second time with Mikhail!" Laney laughed. "Me, you and Cam agreed to ask Georgia what she thought about a party for both clubs, remember?"

"Oh…right, of course…are you coming with us Mikhail?"

"He has to see Principal Rutger, right?" Laney asked, head tilted to the side.

Mikhail shook his head and a mildly embarrassed expression came onto his face. "Er…actually…I'm not going to talk to Principal Rutger, but I am teaching someone how to play the piano right now."

Laney clapped her hands together, an excited look on her face. "Really? That's great. You can tell Georgia and Ash about our plans for the party during the club meeting."

He seemed pleased to have received a compliment and an inclusion – he beamed as he agreed, said goodbye, and exited the classroom. Lillian thought about when she had first met him, and he sat at the end of the table barely being mentioned in conversation. Now he was a full-fledged club officer being included in important manners. She had to admit that he too was a better fit for a club position than she was.

"Let's go," Laney told her. She wore a smile that could not be wiped from her cheeks no matter what, but it seemed a little forced now. Lillian returned that smile and decided to do her best to make it a little more natural.

"I'm worried about what she'll say," Cam mumbled as they went, having met them on their way to Georgia's class.

Laney and Lillian exchanged a nervous look. "I'm sure she'll be alright with the idea…" Lillian murmured. "Ash will definitely approve it, at least."

Cam laughed and nodded, but he looked worried still. "That's true. We don't need to think that our plan will be turned down as long as he outranks her."

Georgia was speaking with Kana – though speaking was a bit of an overstatement – when they found her. She was rolling her eyes at whatever he was saying, but he still had a smile on his face. Lillian considered suggesting that they turn around and come to talk to her later, but Laney and Cam had no clue that Kana and Georgia were each doing their best to put the past behind them, and so approached them even faster.

"Can we talk to you for a bit?" Laney asked Georgia. Lillian offered Kana an apologetic shrug, but he just smiled and shook his head.

Georgia shrugged. "'Course. What's the matter?"

"It's about Bluebell."

"On that note, I'll head off," Kana declared. Cam and Laney smiled at his words, but Georgia just shrugged and turned away, acting completely uninterested. Still, she was the first to say, "Well, I guess I'll see you around sooner or later."

Kana and Lillian exchanged a smile. A goodbye from Georgia was an incredible step up from the usual screaming at him to stay away from her. "I'll see you in class," Lillian told him.

"Yep! See you guys." He strolled down the hall, whistling cheerfully to himself as he went. Georgia watched him go for a moment before turning back to them and saying, "So, what's the matter? Should we go get Ash and Mikhail?"

"Er, no, we just wanted to run something by you first," Laney admitted, her voice small and a little frightened. Cam brushed his arm against her in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but it surprised her so much that she moved away, and he did the same. Lillian wondered if they would ever be able to go back to their causal closeness, and hoped that they did.

Georgia looked a little worried now. "What is it?" she asked, her voice quick. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"No!" Lillian answered hurriedly, shaking her head. "You're doing a fantastic job. Everyone is really impressed. It's just an idea that we had that we wanted to share with you."

"Oh." Georgia looked against the wall, looking very relieved. "Sure, shoot."

The three exchanged a look and then Laney and Lillian looked at Cam, who visibly paled, but was outnumbered. He cleared his throat and said, "We wanted to have a party – at first just to celebrate how we were pulling ahead, and since the winter holidays are going to come in just a couple more weeks we thought why not…but then we thought it would be more fun if we threw a party for Bluebell and Konohana so-"

"No!" Georgia interrupted, looking horrified. "The entire point of the clubs is to win, not make friends. I know that we all have people on the Konohana team we like, but those friendships need to be separate from club matters. There's no way we're throwing a party for both of them. Didn't the last Bluebell/Konohana mixer go pretty bad?"

Cam and Laney both winced, and Lillian said, "It won't be like that! We just want to assert that even though winning is important to each of us, that doesn't have to mean we treat each other poorly and-"

"Lillian, you of all people should know how important this is to me," Georgia snapped. "I want a trophy that we won. If you guys are going to try and pull so much Konohana/Bluebell bonding, soon both presidents are going to get some participation trophy. Nobody wants a participation trophy. Trophies are for winners."

"Trophy?" Laney asked. "I'm…a little confused."

Lillian didn't address Laney's question, and instead focused on rebutting Georgia's words. "We want to win, but winning doesn't have to mean that we put beating other people before having fun! It's just a suggestion for club unity, not…club synonymy, or something."

Georgia folded her arms, her eyes narrowed. "I get that. I get that you all want to 'have fun with your friends,'" she said, adding air quotes and a fake, peppy voice to her words, "but we're in a competition. There's no need to mix competition with friends. You three can override me and go to Ash for this, but as his club vice president, there's no way I'm going to stand for this. This is a contest, not a game. I'm taking this seriously. What about you guys?"

With that she stamped off, her arms still folded tight across her chest, her knapsack thumping against her back as she went. Cam and Laney exchanged a look, and Laney asked again, "What trophy is she talking about? Do we get a trophy if we win?"

"I hope so," Lillian mumbled, leaning against the wall in Georgia's place, stifling her frustration and annoyance. "If we don't, Georgia is going to be three times as angry."

Their first lunch together in a while went well – Laney, Cam and Lillian did not mention the club issue again, having agreed to wait it out and hope that somehow Georgia overcame her prejudice against Konohana on her own, and everyone worked hard to get along. Laney and Cam now sat in opposite chairs, with Cam and Ash on one side of the table and Georgia and Laney on the other, but they were so friendly towards each other it was impossible to tell that they had ever been a couple or ever broken up. Lillian and Mikhail each sat at the heads of the table, laughing with their friends, both simply glad to be there.

Still, Ash saw through this. "What's wrong?" he murmured quietly as Mikhail told Laney the details of his next recital and Cam and Georgia haggled for fair exchanges of their treats. The question went unheard by everyone, and Lillian looked at him, both nervous and pleased that he had noticed she was troubled.

"I'm just…worried about how a lot of things are going to be working out," she admitted. "And a little confused."

"It's going to be fine," Ash told her, offering up a smile. He took the pudding he had bought and set it down in front of Lillian. "Cheer up."

"Pudding is supposed to cheer me up?" she asked. She was smiling as she said it, though.

"When we were in sixth grade, my class was right by the cafeteria, but yours was across the campus, remember? So by the time you got in the cafeteria and got through the lunch line, all the pudding was gone. But since I was one of the first people there, I always saved mine for you, and it cheered you up. You got here a little late, but it's alright. I already got what you wanted for you." He finished with a teasing voice, but his eyes were serious when he looked at her.

Lillian smiled at this story and pried open the top of the pudding tin, dipping her spork in. "Thanks," she murmured. "Thanks for saving it for me all those times."

"What are friends for?" Ash answered, laughing when he leaned back in his seat.

Lillian grimaced and nodded. "Yeah…friends. Hey, Ash?"

"Hmm?"

"Why…did you call Laney on Saturday and tell her about-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted, pushing the hand that held her pudding-filled spork into her mouth with a grin. She laughed embarrassedly as she swallowed it and wiped her face clean, but he just smiled at her. "You and Laney are fine again, right?"

"Yeah. We're good."

"That's all I wanted," he told her. He looked away, messing with his hair, looking a little shy all of a sudden. "I always go on about how I want you to rely on me and I want to be a person you can rely on. So…don't question why I do these kinds of things. I'm still working on the reliable stuff."

Lillian took another bite of pudding, her smile stretched wide as she ate. "Okay," she answered. "…Thanks, Ash."

"Forget about it," he told her, chuckling. "Just eat your pudding and cheer up for me."

Lillian nodded and they joined in with Cam and Georgia's disagreement over whether or not her breadstick was worth his cookie, laughing at Cam's protest. Still, her smile lingered throughout the conversation no matter how pointless it became, and as she walked to class.

"Oh, hello Lillian!"

"What are you up to?"

The Oracle raised a confused eyebrow. "Huh? I just said hello. I know I tend to have some strange motives, but greeting you is pretty self-explanatory, isn't it?"

"No, not that!" Lillian shook her head quickly, dropping into her chair. Dirk and Kana were still not there, for which Lillian was grateful. "I mean…you told Reina to ask Cam to move in with her. Why did you do that?"

The Oracle hesitated, looking away. "I make deals with people, Lillian. In exchange for information, I do what someone asks me too. Someone asked me to do that. That's it. I didn't have any intention of hurting Laney or Cam, honest. I'm still trying to make up for what I did to them…"

Her face was strained with guilt that seemed alien to her usually cheerful expression. "I…I didn't think you did want to hurt them," Lillian admitted gently. "I was just…confused. Can you…tell me who asked?"

"I keep all of my exchanges secret," the Oracle replied, turning away pointedly.

"Oh…"

"But…" the Oracle turned back, looking nervous. "I don't want to do this…I don't want to break someone's trust. But because it interfered with you and your friends, I'm going to tell you anyways. Mostly, though, I'm telling you because…you're my best friend."

Lillian hesitated and then smiled. She briefly considered turning down this offer, but decided to accept it. Someone was possibly still fiddling with Cam and Laney's relationship, and Lillian wanted to know who it was. In fact, they weren't only hurting those two friends of hers now – they were hurting Reina, too. "Thank you. Really," she murmured.

The Oracle shook her head. "Don't thank me. I'm the one who caused all of this in the first place."

"Nobody blames you for what happened," Lillian said. "Really. It wasn't good that it happened, but it didn't ruin the world either. People make mistakes all the time. That's no reason to hold them against someone.

The Oracle smiled, but still looked sad. "If only everyone thought the same way as you, Lillian," she mumbled. "Then, I wouldn't hate this place so much."

"Huh? What do you-"

"I hate this school, and I hate this town." The Oracle's eyes were distant – much too far for Lillian to reach. There was no attracting the girl's attention at that moment. She was watching everything from some place far away so she didn't have to be there. "I can't wait to go the city."

"But…the trip to the city is only for a day, isn't it?"

The Oracle didn't say anything more about that. She said, "Hiro. Hiro asked me to ask Reina to offer her home up to Cam. In exchange for that, I asked him some questions about Nori."

Lillian caught her breath with one sudden gasp of air. "He what? Why would he do that? He-"

"He likes Reina," the Oracle murmured. "I know. That's obvious. But…he wants her to be happy overall. I don't know if he wants her and Cam to go out, or just be friends, but he begged me to propose it to her. He said she wouldn't listen to him if he asked, but she would listen to me. I didn't want to do it, Lillian, but…it was really important to him. So I decided to take him up on it."

Lillian covered her mouth, leaning against her arms like a cushion that held in her surprised words. Hiro, who had looked so miserable all Saturday, was the culprit of his own misery? She shook her head, stunned, and found she was suddenly very unwilling to say any more about him. Hiro had claimed to be selfish, but this was not something a selfish person would have done. Is that what had coaxed him to do it – to be a person he could be proud of, just like Lillian wanted to be a person she could be proud of?"

"W…why did you want information on Nori?" Lillian asked instead, embarrassed about the stammering of her words. "I don't get it…"

The Oracle didn't question the switch from talking about Hiro to Nori. She looked away and muttered, "Do you realize that Bluebell has 32 points and Konohana has 20? That's a pretty big discrepancy, isn't it? I'm trying to find out who the buzzer on my team is."

"You think it's Nori?" Lillian questioned, stunned.

"Not anymore. She has a reason she needs to go the city. A reason she's willing to throw morals out the window for. If she was the buzzer, we wouldn't be docked points. I suspected her because she's usually so honest she would be willing to take points away from us because it was the right thing to do, but…no. Dead end."

"Why does Nori need to go the city so much?" Lillian asked. She thought of Laney's reason, and she recalled Reina's words about Nori's abandonment by her father. Could it really be so similar…?

"Her grandfather is getting sicker every day," the Oracle noted. "Wouldn't it be nice if he got to see his prodigal son before he got even sicker?"

Lillian cupped her hands over her mouth again. Nori, always so sweet and gentle and never hurtful in the slightest…left behind by her father and nursing her ailing grandfather without a single complaint. "It would be nice," she murmured.

It would. But only one side could go to the city – either Laney got to find her mother and demand an apology for the father who had been forced to be a mother as well, or Nori got to find her father and beg him to visit his grandfather one last time. Either Georgia got to take that trophy to the president, or Reina would get a scholarship. Cam had once said that everyone had their reasons they wanted to win. Lillian was seeing now that there could be two reasons – a personal one, or one based on friends. It could be your reason or it could be the reasons of the club members you loved. She wanted to win for them, but she also wanted to help Konohana win for her friends in that club.

"It would be nice," Lillian repeated. "It really would."

Dirk and Kana entered the room, and the Oracle turned to face forward in her seat. The boys tried to talk to them, but each were wrapped up in their own concerns – wrapped up so tightly that the other's melancholy expression went unnoticed.