A/N: Waugh! So few reviews...did I lose you all? Nope! I still have some of you! Hurrah! Thank you who did review the last chapter! I'm sorry again if I'm late reviewing any stories that are posted, but give me time, I will, promise! Okey dokee then, on to chapter 30...8? Waaauuuug! (Falls over!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade. I own Ikkimyoyo, Bridges, Dream of Dragons (which will never by finished) and various other comics I've come up with, but I don't own cc. I can only dream that one day, my comic (or book/movie) will be this popular...sigh. I can dream, can't I?

Chapter 38 (I've thought about this a lot. Look at the month I'm at- the end of October. Chrono supposedly has until July. I'm soooo screwed at this rate, so I hope you really like it- I might be writing this for a while!

Golden smiled, watching her charge as he struggled not to gape at the huge mansion that his friends call quaint. Well, maybe he would loosen up, because that was what they needed now: to release them from the chains that bound them. Once that was done...then what? Rosette would live on, get married and eventually go to heaven, and Chrono? Would die young and go to hell...There had to be a better way!

Rosette wrinkled her nose against the country house smell of Jake's out of town house. It wasn't musty, or anything like it, just...empty, usually.

"Sorry," Jake said, smiling weakly as he latched onto her arm. "You know how this sort of thing is. I know it's cramped, but I hope you'll enjoy the party." he gave her a pleading look as they went into the living room. "Hey, Rosette?" she nodded as Jake dropped his voice. "Uh, about Az and Brad. Is...is the plan making any difference?" Rosette gulped. She'd totally forgotten! Quickly, she glanced over at Az who was standing across the room, chatting with Fi and Ms. Harvenhiet.

"Uhm...Yes!" she blurted, straitening and giving him a broad smile. "Yes, I'm sure it is!" What was a little white lie going to do in this case? Jake liked Az and Brad wasn't here so... she grinned. "I've got an idea! Az likes music, so why don't we put some on?" She made a small gesture at the huge sound system that was subtly spread through the room. "You and I can dance for awhile, then I could...I dunno, sprain an ankle? Or I could just get tired. She might need a partner by then, so..." Jake grinned back.

"I get ya. Give me a moment!" Quickly, he darted out of the room, and a couple seconds later, loud music hurled from the speakers.

"I love this song!" Rosette grabbed Jake the instant he entered the room and dragged him into the centre of the floor to dance. Within the space of two words, Rosette was living in the music, as were the others, bouncing, living, breathing the sound, the rhythm.

"So Let's. Live in the twilight. Dance, Dance 'til you're outta sight. I'll live, Live into the twilight yah!" the words of the some weren't melodic, or even with much point, but they were made to chain your feet to the song and get you moving, as were the words of the next piece, Summer Laughs, and the next...and the next...

"Rosette!" she blinked and glanced over to where Az was. "She's watching!" he hissed, the glee evident in his voice. He was right. The pale girl was indeed watching them from the side of the dance floor...where she was standing holding Chrono's hand. It was all Rosette could do not to freeze in her tracks. Quickly, she resumed dancing, forcing herself to move with the speeding beat, trying to erase the image from her head. Against her will, she glanced back. Thankfully, Azmaria had moved off and was talking to Ms. Harvenhiet again. Chrono seemed to have disappeared.

Crap!

She'd known that it was going to happen, didn't she? She'd known he'd disappear as quickly as he could once they reached here, that if she didn't haul him out, he would take his normal post as wallflower.

A very pretty wallflower at that.

"Dammit! Jake?" Rosette caught his arm. "I'm going to stop now, ok?" The boy nodded enthusiastically and bounced over to Azmaria, leaving Rosette alone.

"Aw Come on, Chrono! Are you sure?" Chrono sighed, looking away from Azmaria.

"No thanks. I don't like to dance." he said, careful to keep his voice even. He was lying again, but not really. He didn't hate to dance- he just didn't think he could dance while watching Rosette dance with their host. Chrono snorted, blowing his bangs out of his face. He'd tried to catch Rosette as they'd come in, but she'd promptly caught up with Jake and trundled off, leaving him alone with a very clear message.

"Chrono! Aw don't be a-" Azmaria grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him out to where the others were dancing.

"No." He growled, pulling away. "I just said I don't like to dance, and I said before I didn't like this sort of thing." He was being a jerk, but he was tired of this and he'd been here what? Half an hour? Finally, Azmaria pouted and went to go talk to Ms. Harvenhiet. Relieved, he took the chance and slipped from the room out onto the balcony, happy as he shut the door, blocking out the music. Music. They'd started a singing contest, not something he wanted to be anywhere close to. "Aw sassafraaaaaaaas." he slumped over, leaning on the wooden rail and dangling his arms over the sides. Singing...dancing, having a drink even though he was underage...no. He couldn't do that. He'd come to make sure no one got hurt, and by the laughter inside, it was probably a good thing someone was. There seemed to be an awful lot of jeering, laughter, squabbles and squeals, enough to fill the huge house.

"There you are Chrono!" the doors behind him burst open, washing him in the noise of the party as Rosette staggered out, still giggling. "Oh you should've heard Jacob sing Moonlit reaches!" she chuckled, shutting the doors and leaning on the rail beside him. "It was hilarious! He couldn't stay on key, and he was staring at Az the whole time!"

"Did you mind?" Chrono forced himself to stare at the circular pond in the garden, trying to keep his eyes on the bright circle and not Rosette's glowing face. She was so...vibrant, as always.

"What? That he was off key or that he was singing for Az?"

"You seemed to like dancing with him."

"You know all about my plan Chrono! A little match making!" He couldn't help it. He turned, hopping up onto the railing and watching her as the moon lit her face and turned her hair silvery.

Angelic. The angel for his demon, the purity for his taint. Perfect opposites. "The perfect match." She sighed dreamily, seemingly unaware of his thoughts...or had her eyes just slipped over to him, just for a moment longer? Rosette grinned. "Oh! They're playing blindfold kiss inside. You want to play? Joshua kissed Az, and I was sure that Jake was going to kill him, let alone Fi!"

"I thought you were having a singing competition." Now he was really confused. Was this normal for parties? Rosette laughed, waving a hand at him as she sipped her sprite.

"No, no," she laughed when she swallowed. "We're waiting on you for that. We started Blind kiss while we were waiting."

"I'm not-Ack!" instantly his air was cut off as something latched around his neck and bit his ear.

"Uwah!" Ms. Harvenhiet stepped back, untying her blindfold. "Oh! I got Chrono!" she squealed happily, giving him a light push as she danced back into the house.

"Arg!"

Thump. For only being one story up, the fall seemed like an awful long way.

"Chrono!" Rosette leaned over the railing. "I'm going to kill that woman!" she screamed, racing back into the house. Judging by the screams inside, Ms. Harvenhiet was getting it good. Grunting, he sat up, dropping his head to his knees at a brief dizzy spell. He was lucky he hadn't broken anything, he noted as he eased himself onto a bench. He'd be bruised, but nothing too bad.

"Arg! Oh no! Rosette stop!" he could hear Az inside, trying to quell the vengeful blond. Chrono laughed, inching his way back to the house until something clicked back into place and he could walk again. He couldn't help feeling somewhat flattered that Rosette had gotten so mad. Still, he didn't want anyone to be hurt.

Shyly, he peeked into the living room.

"Chrono!" Instantly, Satella grabbed his arm and yanked him in. "Look who finally showed up! The mouse has appeared!"

"Wha- huh-" Before he could say anything, his sight was blocked by a bandana and he was spun around.

"Alright Chrono!" Az cheered. "Just kiss someone!" Good grief. What had he done to deserve this? Carefully, he took a step, his head reeling. Then another. Did he just aim for a random person?

The answer came too quick for comfort, but it was an answer all the same. Calmly, he turned, marched across the room, dodged the chair, sofa and table flawlessly, went behind the column and kissed.

"Uwah! What are the chances!"

"No way! He was facing the opposite way!"

"But she was hiding!"

"I told you he'd find her! I told you he'd find Rosette!" Face burning, he quickly untied the bandana and there, indeed, was a furiously red Rosette. Well, that had been what he was trying to do, but...

Uh oh.

"Chroooooooonooooo." the way her voice was raising with his name could not be good. Nor was the glint in her eyes. A grown man would quake in fear when he saw that look in another man- from Rosette; they'd drop dead...unless she got to them first.

Whack. Bam. Crash. Thump.

Azmaria averted her face. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just listen to when she-" whack. "Hits him. It's not as vicious as when she hit me." Joshua noted huffily.

"That's because she knew Fi would finish the job." Viede added in with a grin as Rosette emerged, dusting off her hands but still pink cheeked.

"Did you kill him?" Jake asked. Rosette smirked.

"Oh, don't worry. It's nothing to serious. Start the singing competition; I'm going outside for some air."

Well. That had been unexpected; Rosette noted as she dangled her legs from the balcony. She had thought that by hiding, she could avoid the stupid kissing game. It definitely was a stupid kissing game, if ever there was one. Only kids played it, and she'd gone in, laughed, and chuckled as participants kissed the nearest person. No one seemed to have kissed who they liked.

Stupid, stupid Chrono. And what was worse (besides him seeking her out- there was no way he hadn't been, judging by the way he steadfastly avoided every other person in the room) was that everyone seemed to have expected him to do that! What the hell? Why on earth would he? Was basically what she'd said when they'd slyly mentioned that. I'll prove it! I'll hide!

And what had happened? Chrono had found her. Stupid, stupid, stupid Chrono. He'd found her and kissed her...very briefly...on the cheek. That was a cheery note, for if he was trying to get to her lips (if she wanted him too, which she didn't) then he was closer. Of course, since she didn't, that made it worse. Still, she could grant a dieing man his pleasures. If he wanted to seek her out and kiss her-

Had she actually thought like that? Excusing Chrono because...because he was dieing? She'd have to hit him when she saw him next. Dieing wasn't an excuse for anything.

Stupid Chrono.

"I'm getting the impression that I'm being mentally trashed, bashed, slandered and murdered in your head." Rosette jumped, looking around the empty wooden terrace.

"Chrono?" Where was he, the jerk?

"'She speaks:- O speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o're my head, as a winged messenger of heaven.'..." The garden! Rosette turned, leaning over the rail and squinting into the shadows.

"Chrono you idiot! Where are you!"

"Right here. You're looking out too far, just look strait down. Hello! Hi! Right below you!" He waved, stepping into the moonlight by the pond.

"Careful! They always say drunken guys shouldn't go near water. They're more likely to fall in." He stooped, then walked away from the water, disappearing for a moment. "Chrono?" Had he gone inside?

"The same is said for small children too, which is pretty much what we're acting like, so let's say its immaturity." A hand whisked by her face, tucking something in her hair. "There. A pretty flower for a pretty girl." Frowning, Rosette plucked the tiny blue flower from her hair, studying it before glancing at the alien who was sitting in the tree. She grabbed her glass and raised it.

"Whoever you are you mind possessing freak, you better let Chrono go before I squish you!" she growled, clenching the glass tighter. "No one takes over the bodies of my friends!"

"Yarg!" The guy who looked-like-Chrono-but-couldn't-be yelped and scrambled to dodge the glass, forgetting he was in the tree and missing his footing.

"I'm not finished yet!" she snarled, leaping into the branches herself. There were several problems with this plan. The first lay in the fact (as she quickly remembered) that she had never climbed up a tree before. The second problem was that it was night time, and what looked like a branch was often a shadow, and what looked like a shadow was often a branch. Whack!

"Aiii!" Rosette squealed, staggering back as she hit her forehead on a very solid branch.

Crack! Unfortunately, the one she was on was not so solid, cracking under her weight before she could move.

"Rosette!"

Wump! Whatever could be said for this Chrono look-alike, he made a good landing pad. "Ow." she sat up, rubbing her head.

"Sassafras! Are you alright? What the pineapple were you thinking?" Sassafras? Pineapple?

No look alike could mimic someone that well.

"Chrono! You're alright!" she grinned, not sure as to why, but it seemed right.

"I'm not sure 'alright' is the term for it." he grumbled, wriggling. "Can I get up now?"

"No." Whack. "Now you can." she said sweetly. Chrono glowered at her.

"Remind me never to catch you again. I only ever seem to get hit on the head." Hmm. Maybe he hadn't really deserved that. Oh well. She grabbed his hand, pulling him up. To her surprise, he put most of his weight on her support, wheezing.

"Chrono?"

"Oh! Sorry!" He jumped back, tripping and landing hard on the bench. Cautiously, she moved to sit next to him.

"You're acting really strangely. You were supposed to be the one staying sober." He turned a flower around in his fingers, studying the small blue blossoms.

"I am sober. I guess I'm just not very good at fooling around." he shrugged, holding up the plant. "Amazing. You hardly ever see these in the fall. Late summer, if your lucky, but rarely now." he handed her a few stalks of the little flowers, the moon showing his hesitant smile as she took them. "These are...well, they're important flowers for Newfoundland. It's the symbol for the Newfoundland regiment, kind of like the Poppy worn on remembrance day, except in Newfoundland, we have a remembrance day on Canada day, in memory of a battle when almost all of the Newfoundland regiment was wiped out. These are also a favourite of sailors." Rosette sniffed the blossoms but got little scent.

"Why are they so important? They don't have a beautiful scent, and they're pretty, but they aren't the most beautiful, not like roses." It was true. The flowers were small, five petaled things, with dozens of the blue stars on a stalk. Chrono plucked another one, laying it on his palm.

"Well," he said quietly; his voice sounding pinched. "They're a very hardy plant, and very good at spreading, because their seed pods stick to everything." he picked a little fuzzy thing off his shirt. "They often appear in gardens, but they come up in sidewalk cracks, and drain pipes, and pretty much anywhere in the spring and summer. Most people consider them weeds, but they're actually one of my favourite flowers."

Chrono set the flower onto the bench and stared determinedly at the pond. "They're called Forget-me-nots."

Rosette gasped, raising her head in time to meet a dark fire in his eyes, one she hadn't seen before. Her stomach seemed to have taken up residence in a washing machine, judging by how it was flopping around.

Chrono tapped her nose, a playful smile changing the light in his eyes. "Mainly though, I just think they're a very pretty flower. They match your eyes, by the way. Good night." he slid to his feet and strolled back to the house, leaving her to her short circuiting thoughts. Numbly, she stumbled back into the house, found the room Jake had put given the girls and dropped onto her bed, sound asleep.

Too early, sunlight found its way through her curtains.

"Rosette! Time to get up!" Chrono. A vein on her forehead, she pulled the blankets over her head. "Oh Rosette!" That sing- song voice was getting very annoying, very quickly. "Rosette! Come on!" She burrowed deeper under the blankets, sticking her head under the pillow. "Okay then." The door clicked shut and she sighed. He was actually letting her sleep in for-

SPLASH.

"Aiii! What the hell? Chrono!" she leapt up, staring at the teen who was standing calmly beside her, an empty glass of water in his out-stretched hand.

"Good morning to you too Rosette!" Whistling cheerfully, he went to leave the room.

"Chroooonoooo!"

Whack.

And thus began another day.

It wasn't such a bad trip, Rosette thought as they screeched along the road back to St. John's and real life. No, she glanced at Chrono who was silently staring out the window. Even he seemed to enjoy himself. Smiling, Rosette thought of the tiny bouquet of blue flowers, safely pressed in her journal and tucked into her bag.

Bop.

"What was THAT for!" Chrono yelped, rubbing yet another swelling on his head. "When you get a boy friend, I might be forced to drive him off with warnings of your fury-ow!"

"You idiot! What was that supposed to mean!" Up in the front seat, Jake and Az grinned at each other while even the two Satellas could agree long enough to laugh at the pair bickering in the back seat. Azmaria reached around to the front seat and gave Jake a poke.

"Thanks for having us." She hissed. He poked her back.

"Anytime. Just tell those two not to take anymore branches off the tree."

"Hey! What's that car in the driveway?" Fi asked as they started up Bradford street. Rosette craned her head, studying the vehicle.

"Looks like a rental car." Chrono noted, squinting. "An expensive one." They drew up beside the house and piled out.

"It's not that expensive Chrono! If someone was to go really expensive-" she stopped, seeing the colour his face had turned.

"It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for hours. Now, may I ask why you aren't in school, Rosette?"

"D-Dad?"

A/N: Weeeellll...that's the end of this chapter! I hope you liked it! I know it was fluffiful, probably too much so, but I really wanted to put Forget-me-nots into the story because they seemed so appropriate, and I know the kissing game was lame, but it was a lame party. I'm not good at writing any of that sort of thing, but hey, practice makes perfect. However, I won't learn how to improve without knowing what I did wrong! If you liked or disliked any part of this chapter, please let me know! It won't take that long, just r&r! Thank you!