Monday night...

By the time the doorbell rang, everything she could think of was ready. Looking around once more, she headed to the front door as the bell ding-donged repeatedly. She rolled her eyes and smiled as she reached for the handle.

The sight that greeted her was that of her pals in full party-mode: Nao with a big grin, Mio jumping up and down, and Amou with a bakery box in her arms. "Kaho-chan, we brought Amou-chan with us!" Mio squealed, stating the obvious."

"That's great!" Kahoko asserted. "I'm so glad! Please come in, everyone." Eying the abundance of baggage that the girls had with them, she wondered how many days her friends were planning to stay over!

"We're prepared for anything" Amou replied, following the redhead's visual survey.

The hostess opened the closet, grabbed a hanger and held out her hand to take Nao's jacket. "What all did you bring?"

Mio answered "I brought my sparkly pink nail polish..."

"I've got this great face mask for you gals to try" Amou offered.

"...and we stopped for munchies along the way" Nao said as she rifled through the two bags in her left hand. "Soda, chips, chocolate..."

Amou held up the bakery box in her hands. "...and cake" she finished. "Is the kitchen this way?" she asked, inclining her head.

Kahoko led the way. "Sorry, yes. That's right; you haven't been here before. Follow me..." She took the box from Amou and led the way.

"Cozy house you have here" Amou commented.

"Thank you. We have a lot of good memories here." Kahoko was pulling large bowls, drinking glasses and napkins from the cupboard. Nao and Mio arrived to help dump munchies into bowls and pour beverages.

"All right, let's go. To the living room!" Kahoko announced

The girls grabbed food and drink and made the trek to the other room. Suddenly the redhead burst out "Let's put our PJs on right away! Remember we did that last time?"

"Yeah!" all of them shrieked. Putting pajamas on before supper seemed like the ultimate indulgence. It was also a wise move in terms of getting into the swing of the evening. After all, it was a school night and they would bitterly regret it the next day if they stayed up too late. Upstairs they changed out of their day clothes, chatting the whole time about this and that.

Just as they were about to head downstairs, Amou convinced everyone that they should put on the face mask. Minutes later after crowding around the bathroom sink they all had mint-scented blue clay on their faces and were giggling uncontrollably. Then they decided they may as well put nail polish on as well. Just as Kahoko returned from her bedroom holding a camera in her sparkly fingers, the doorbell rang. All the girls cried in unison "PIZZA!"

"Oh no! I forgot all about it!" Kahoko complained. "And we've all got blue faces!"

"I'll go. I don't care." Amou tossed off the comment with insouciance. She grabbed her purse and vaulted down the stairs with Kahoko calling after her. "I have to give you the money!..."

"I'm fine!" Amou's voice drifted back. The girls cowered out of sight, tittering girlishly until they heard Amou close the front door. "Yummy!" she exclaimed loudly, and the friends descended to the downstairs level

"Was the delivery guy surprised?" Mio asked.

"Yeah" Amou laughed. "At first he just stared and then he smiled. He didn't say anything about it, though."

"I'm so glad that you did it, Amou-chan. I would have died of embarrassment!" Mio declared earnestly.

They were ready to chow down. With plates in hand they were about to serve themselves when suddenly Amou exclaimed "Wait! We really should remove the face masks before we try to put food in our mouths!"

"But we just put them on. Aren't we supposed to leave them on for a while?" Mio protested in confusion.

"I've been keeping track" Nao said. "We have 4 minutes to go. We should put the lid down on the pizza box so it stays warm."

The friends tromped back upstairs to wait for Nao's signal, and then they got to the business of rinsing their faces with warm water. Moments later they sprinted downstairs and were once again gathered around the pizza box, agreeing that their faces did indeed feel soft and silky.

The girls inhaled the food and discussed light topics such as music and movie actors and fashion and beauty tips. Finally the chatter died down. "I'm stuffed!" Kahoko echoed her friends' sentiments.

"So..." Nao turned to her "are you going to tell us about these boys you've been dating, or what?" Murmurs of enthusiasm for the topic filled the air. "Yeah, tell us, tell us! You hardly told us anything for weeks!" Mio demanded in her little soprano voice.

Kahoko smiled wearily and interlocked her fingers in her lap.. "Yes, I know, sorry...All right. Um, as you know, I've been dating Tsuchiura, Yunoki, Hihara, Kaji, Etou, and Tsukimori-kun...and I've never been so confused!" She rolled her eyes and buried her face in her palms.

All the girls giggled, enjoying their friend's delicious predicament. Because from the outside, there wasn't much to complain about from being wooed and courted by the school's six hottest guys. This past month their imaginations had been working overtime, wondering what it was like for her.

Nao chuckled, but was cognizant of her friend actually needing help. She had a very big decision to make, that would affect a lot of people. "So what's the problem, Kaho-chan?"

"The problem is that I really like all of the boys and they all seem very serious about me. I can only pick one of them and the rest of them will be very upset at not being picked. They're all going to hate me!"

"Huuhn..." Mio's jaw dropped, for the first time considering that Kahoko's situation might be something other than a romantic dream.

"Don't you like one of them more than the others, Kaho-chan?" Mio wanted to know.

The violinist shared with her friend with a look of self-frustration.. "No"...

"Really?" Nao approved of Mio's line of thought as a first line of attack. "There isn't one of them that you have a soft spot for, or that you feel more comfortable with?"

"Well let me think...I probably feel the most relaxed with Hihara-kun..." Her gal-pals were nodding as if they weren't surprised. "He's easy to be with...He may be the one that is most like me. We like a lot of the same things...Oh, but Kaji-kun is super-easy to be with too. We're not as much the same, but he's so patient and easy-going...caring. It's like I can do no wrong with him. He makes me feel wonderful. He's a really special person." She paused to compare the two boys. "He's more mature and worldly than Hihara-kun, so I feel safer with him...But Kazuki' is really fun."

She considered further. "Tsuchiura-kun has always been a great friend to me and he likes taking care of me..." She searched for a tactful way of relating his jealousy and criticism of Azuma and Kiriya. "I've discovered that he feels quite protective of me. I feel comfortable with him, although I wonder if he could be over-protective."

Amou jumped in. "Yeah, you wouldn't want that. You need someone that recognizes your free will. Woman power!" She punched her fist in the air and everyone laughed.

"Did he do something that concerned you?" Nao inquired.

"Yeah, sort of. He said stuff about a couple of the other guys. He doesn't know them as well as I do. Of course he just wanted to make sure that I was being treated right."

"What did he say?" Mio asked.

"I don't want to say." She smiled. The girls knew how she was about protecting the boys' privacy. "I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with him. It's just something that I'm wondering about." She'd hate for them to get the wrong impression about him. After all, she and he had resolved the issue, and in a very satisfactory way, too. Even more important than never having disagreements was having the communication skills and the willingness to work through a problem. She thought they'd done a good job of it. She loved the way he had checked with her afterward, asking "Are we OK?" Such a useful phrase and she was glad that it was in his repertoire. "I'm glad that he told me what was on his mind, and it shows that he cares about me. I thanked him for his concern, told him that I didn't have any worries about the guys, and that he should trust that I have good instincts about people. He said he did trust me, and I was glad that we were able to talk about it. It felt good talking with him, like we respected each other."

But regarding the ingredients of a good relationship..."But comfort isn't the only thing that's important, is it? Some of what really interests me in some of the boys is the way that I can learn from them...because they know more than me about something."

"Like what?" Nao encouraged.

Mio bounced in her seat. "I know! Tsukimori-kun is way better than her on the violin!"

"Yes" Kahoko agreed. "That's an understatement! I feel like I could spend a lifetime with him and never run out of inspiration about the violin."

"Oooh..." Amou teased.

"What?"

"You said you could spend a lifetime with him."

"Oh...well I didn't mean it like that! Besides, he's going away. It's too sad." She would save his mysterious statement for later, after they'd discussed everything else.

Nao inquired "How do the boys challenge you?"

"Ok. So...Etou-kun is very quick-witted and good with words. And I would love to be able to do what he does on the violin. He's great at improvising and composing." She described their first date together, touching on his charismatic performance and his enthusiastic fan base.

Amou prompted "Apparently Etou-kun is quite the sensual guy."

"Yeah, he's quite cuddly." She related how affectionate he was, about their long hugs.

Mio and Nao were shocked to hear about the gruff boy's hidden character. "I can't believe my ears" Nao declared. "If it weren't you talking, I'd think it impossible for him to be nice to anyone."

"I know. It was a surprise to me too. And to think that the change happened because of a blindfold kiss." She smiled at the thought. "Umm, who else haven't I talked about?...Azuma knows everything and has been all around the world. Kaji-kun also. He gets good grades and has done more traveling than I'll ever do. He's so wise, too. He has great instincts about people. And he's a great athlete, of course."

"Hihara and Tsuchiura-kun are superb athletes too" Amou said.

"Yeah, if I end up with one of them, I'll probably end up getting lots of exercise." She unfortunately met Amou's provocative look at that very moment. "I don't mean that kind of exercise! Normal exercise." She rolled her eyes. Must Amou always favor a sexual interpretation of things? But she wasn't actually upset. She cherished her friends' different personalities and considered herself lucky to have them. I was such a relief to be able to talk about her situation.

Nao thought of another angle. "Do you like one of them less? Or maybe there's some concern or complication about one of them?"

Kahoko frowned and chewed on a knuckle. Azuma instantly came to mind. "Yunoki-sempai's family wouldn't like me dating him. They could make trouble, although he says he's determined to somehow overcome that."

"Ohh..." The wheels were turning in their heads as the girls thought about what kind of measures a wealthy family could take to tear a young couple apart. "That could definitely be an unpleasant situation" Nao observed. "Do you believe that Yunoki-sempai is actually serious about you?"

"Yes, he is." Kahoko understood Nao's concern, although she wasn't about to share with her friend the depth of Azuma's commitment to her, more than to say "He's very serious."

Nao and Amou would have doubted her statement if she weren't so firm in her conviction.

Mio gushed. "Ahh, you're so lucky, Kaho-chan. To have someone so handsome and distinguished wanting you. Did he ask you to marry him?"

"Huh?"

Mio's starry-eyed question was hitting a little too close to the mark, and Kahoko was relieved to be interrupted by the sound of her cute ring-tone in another room. "Oh, that's my phone!" Kahoko jumped up, grateful for the distraction. She left the room to the accompaniment of the girls' knowing 'Wooohs' as they guessed it was one of the boys calling. Looking at the call display, she was surprised to see the name 'Etou, Kiriya'.

"H-hello?" she answered tentatively, continuing to walk further out of earshot of the living room.

"Hi Kahoko, it's Kiriya." Even without having identified himself, she would have immediately recognized him from his distinctive voice. That voice that could readily deliver cutting sarcasm and criticism. But with her it was soft and caring...and now it was cautious. "Uh, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Kiriya." Although in her embarrassment over taking his call while 3 sets of curious ears were perked up in the other room she almost blurted 'Why are you calling?' Instead, her mother's training had her hold her tongue until the phrase "It's nice to hear your voice" came to mind.

"You too" he responded warmly. "Um, I just wanted to make sure that you're OK. You were acting a little...weird this morning."

Uh-oh. She needed to keep Azuma's overnight stay a secret from Kiriya. Only she and Azuma knew and she intended to keep it that way. She wouldn't even be telling her girlfriends. Wow, Kiriya was so perceptive. What could she say to him to put his mind at ease? She scanned the possibilities in her head...

The silence seemed long to him. "Kahoko, is there anything you need to talk about?"

She realized that he was genuinely worried and that maybe he thought there was some serious situation that she needed help with. "Oh no, Kiriya. I'm totally fine. This morning I was wondering again about whether we should have done what we did the other night. But later I realized that I was more worried about what other people might think, than about my own feelings. Because you made me feel really good and I am glad that we did it, but I guess sometimes I can't help but worry about what other people might say...like my Mom, although I'm not planning to tell her or anyone else!" Very true.

"Huh...I certainly don't want you to worry, Kahoko. I thought about it afterward. Maybe I should have gone slower with you. I'm sorry. I don't have any experience with girls..." His voice lowered "...I just...I really wanted you."

"Oh Kiriya, I'm glad we did it, really!"

"But you obviously feel bad. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"You didn't push me, so don't worry about it. I could have asked you to stop, but I didn't want to."

"Hmm..." He sounded doubtful. He needed some reassurance...in person. "Can I come over now? I could really use a hug..."

Her voice dropped in sympathy. "I would love one of your hugs too, but right now there are three of my girlfriends over to stay the night."

"Oh!...Uh...you're not going to talk about us, are you?"

"No, of course not" she smiled. "I'm sure they'll ask questions, but there's no way I'm going to share any details or anything private...I'll just say how cool you are."

"I am pretty cool, aren't I?" She heard the smile in his voice. "All right, then...Kahoko, but seriously; you know you can talk to me about anything, don't you? I think you know that I need honesty and full disclosure, even if it's not pleasant. If there's anything you're ever concerned about, let me know, OK?

"Sure, Kiriya. Thank you. Thanks for being so great. I'll see you tomorrow."

"OK...Goodnight, Kahoko."

"Goodnight, Kiriya."

She clicked the off button and held the phone to her bosom as she reviewed the conversation, looking for a way to set her mind at ease... Kiriya cared enough to make sure that she was OK. That was a good thing. He didn't know anything about Azuma sleeping over, so no worries.

She returned to her friends, who were laughing uproariously about something. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing, really nothing. We were just being silly." Nao explained. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Oh, it was Etou-kun. He just wanted to check in and say Hi."

"I wish I had a boy calling me at night" Mio sighed.

Amou had put a slice of Chocolate Mousse cake onto each of the four dessert plates. "Now, where were we?" Amou prompted as she handed out the plates, knowing full well which question had been on the table. "Oh yes. Does Yunoki-sempai want to marry you?"


Author's Note: Ha! Amou is such a sh*t-disturber sometimes :) She must get impatient sometimes, with being the only person in the room who is willing to talk about 'the good stuff'. I have a friend like her, who on the one hand is delighted to shock people with her thoughts on risque topics, but on the other hand sometimes gets told off for doing so.

I am so not-surprised that Kiriya called. He knew something was wrong this morning and he couldn't just let it go. He's a talker, and he can't stand not talking about something that should be talked about. He hates secrets (at least secrets that are being kept from him). I think he's reassured now, although he'll be keeping his eyes open.

If you were in Kaho's situation, would you keep Azuma's overnight stay a secret from your girlfriends? If it were me, I'm pretty sure that I would share every minute detail with my friends (except if there were graphic bits, I wouldn't talk about that). But I think that Kaho's extra-protective of her family and doesn't want to bring any shame on them.

Would any of you be as bold as Amou by answering the door in a blue face mask? Um, with me I think it depends on my mood. There's about a 20% chance that I might be that wacky.

My first sleepover was for my 10th birthday. What do I remember about that?...There were about 7 girls from school...My friend Carla was allergic to our dog and when her dad came to pick her up to take her home, he fell on one of my roller skates. My Dad was mortified!...Um, one of my gifts was a really cute flashlight that looked like a ladybug...Do they still makes those mini boxes of breakfast cereal that are packaged in a long row? Anyway, we had that for breakfast...Corn Pops, Sugar Pops, I forget what all else was in there.

My next sleepover was when I was 13. My three best friends came, and the theme was baking. They each had to bring a recipe and we baked. I think there were chocolate chip cookies and popcorn balls.

I've got sparkly pink nail polish on right now. I think it's a coincidence, but you never know what was going on subconsciously when I chose the color!

Soda, chips, chocolate, pizza, cake; so North American! I can just imagine what some of you readers from non-North-American countries might be thinking. What would be YOUR most indulgent treats if you had girlfriends over?

What's your favorite cake? Hmm, I'm not even sure of what mine is. It has to be moist. I like Black Forest cake, for example.

What's your favorite pizza?

Next Chapter: More girl-talk...the girls set Kahoko straight about Len's enigmatic disclosure...