HitomiFanel: I want to thank everyone who reviewed!

Zakyra: Hey Hito, aren't you going to tell them something you told me?

HitomiFanel: Oh! Right. A quick note to all those who are reading my Amnesia story and my 'A Walk in the Clouds' fic. I'm going to take a break from it since I'm so in trouble right now.

Zakyra: She's writing so many fics at the same time!

HitomiFanel: Hehe, okay, so I'm a procrastinator. So sue me (well, not LITTERALLY ^_^')

Zakyra: She's busy writing 2 Digimon fics, an Escaflowne fic that she's sending to a friend through e-mail, a Hey Arnold fic that's 30 episodes AT LEAST, two more Escaflowne fics that she won't send out till they're done, plus Amnesia and A Walk in the Clouds!

HitomiFanel (blushing): Geez Zakyra, you didn't have to tell them all of THAT. Besides, I know I can finish the two Digimon fics quickly and the Escaflowne one I'm sending through e-mail. Then I can get back to Amnesia and "A Walk in the Clouds" WHILE writing my Hey Arnold fic.

Zakyra (doubtful): Sure. Anyways, go ahead and read this. Hope you enjoy it! Meanwhile, Hito will go off to write her other fics for everyone.

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne

Hitomi had finished getting ready for the dinner and was now looking herself over in the mirror. She didn't know why she had to dress up, even though it was dinner with the Fanel's, she still didn't see any reason to dress up for them. Why couldn't they just have a casual dinner? She sighed as she put the finishing touches on her dress. She wore for tonight a short green dress that matched her eyes and green eye shadow to go with it. She wore lip-gloss and powder on her face. Her shoes were green strapies that went with everything.

"Hitomi! Come down now! The Fanel's should be here any minute now! I want you stand in front of the door with us when they come!" Her mom yelled from downstairs.

Hitomi sighed and descended the stairs. Why did she have to do this? She saw her mom gasp at her, making Hitomi blush.

"Hitomi, you look very nice. I hope Van likes it," her mom commented with a mischievous smile.

"Mom!" Hitomi yelled blushing badly.

Mrs. Kanzaki only laughed and prepared herself to tease Hitomi a bit more, but then the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the Fanel's.

"Okay everyone, stand in front of the door," her mom instructed. Hitomi, along with her dad and brother, went to stand in front of the door.

Mrs. Kanzaki opened the door, which revealed Van's parents, Van (who wasn't even smiling but still looked good in his tux), his sister Merle, and someone else Hitomi didn't know. He was tall, with spiked silvery hair and reddish eyes that were twinkling. Hitomi figured it was Van's older brother Folken.

"Please come in," Mrs. Kanzaki instructed.

"Thank you for having us," Mrs. Fanel said as she went through the door.

"Hey Gouo (his name is either spelled like that or Goau. I haven't checked out an information Escaflowne website in a while)! Glad you could make it!" Hitomi's dad yelled as he shook hands with Van's dad.

"Yeah," Gouo responded, smiling professionally, yet still like a friend. He turned towards the one no one knew. "This is my other son, Folken. You remember when I told you about him don't you?"

"Of course! You're the one who lives back in Hokkaido aren't you?"

"Yes sir," Folken said as he bowed in front of Hitomi's dad.

"Well, let's all go to the dining room. I have lasagna that I hope you like," Mrs. Kanzaki interrupted.

"Oh I bet anything you make is good," Van's mom commented as she cupped her hands in front of her dreamily. Mrs. Kanzaki blushed.

They all went to the dining room. All went except two.

Van stayed behind, as did Hitomi. Hitomi wanted to know why he was so cross in the afternoon.

"So, has that Jack called you?" Van asked. He looked like he had regretted mentioning Jack. His face went from unsmiling to sad.

"Yeah. He just called a couple of hours ago," Hitomi answered. For some reason she didn't want to talk about her future date with Jack. She didn't feel all that comfortable talking about it.

"Hey you two, come on and eat before it finishes," Mrs. Kanzaki called from the dining room. She wondered what those two were doing or talking about. She had a little feeling of what it could be and decided to talk to Van about it later.

Hitomi and Van did as told and joined everyone in the dining room.

During dinner, Van kept sneaking glances at Hitomi (who never caught him). Sometimes, Mrs. Kanzaki would take a pause from her eating and saw Van staring at Hitomi. Van would notice and turn away, blushing. That caused Mrs. Kanzaki to giggle to herself.

Once dinner was over, Mrs. Kanzaki offered tea and cookies to them. Only Mrs. Fanel and Merle accepted the offer. Mr. Kanzaki and Mr. Fanel decided to talk about politics and smoke some nice Cuban cigars.

Mamoru (Hitomi's brother) asked Folken if he wanted to see his PlayStation games. Folken slightly laughed and accepted. That left Van and Hitomi alone in the living room.

Things were pretty awkward at first. None of them had anything to say. Finally, something occurred to Hitomi.

"So, are you excited about being nominated king for the dance?" Hitomi asked, trying to make conversation.

Van made a snort noise. "I'm not that excited about it. I heard that you were nominated queen. I don't think I would want to be paired up with you at the dance. The king and queen have to have a spotlight dance."

Hitomi got up from the couch rather mad. "What an idiot of me to try and make conversation with you! You are the rudest person I have ever met!"

She was about to leave to go cry in her room when Van stopped her. He grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I've had a bad day." (We all know the cause of it, right? ^_~)

Hitomi turned around, showing to Van that she was indeed going to cry. That made Van feel bad. He hadn't intended to make Hitomi cry. Meanwhile, Hitomi was thinking something that had occurred to her. Everytime Van was mean to her like that, tears would build up in her eyes. She didn't know why he had that effect on her.

Van then pulled Hitomi in to his arms without hesitation, making Hitomi gasp. Van didn't notice the gasp.

"Hey you two, get a room!" Mamoru called from the top of the stairs with a smile.

Van and Hitomi pulled away, both blushing.

Later, when dinner was over and the hours past, the Fanel's left. For the rest of the night, Hitomi had avoided Van and instead went to talk about Merle. Van went to hang out with Mamoru and Folken, playing games. While Hitomi talked with Merle, Hitomi noticed that she seemed to be hinting at something. She would always be trying to talk about Van and even point to him when he passed (though he didn't notice). Hitomi figured she wanted them to be on friendlier terms, though Hitomi never got the ACTUAL assumption. Hitomi went to her room when it was all over and wondered about the event that took place before she began to ignore Van.

'Why did Van hug me? I don't think it was only to comfort me.' Hitomi thought as she climbed into bed. She shrugged thinking about it and decided to go to sleep. She was too sleepy to think about it.

----

Hitomi woke up the next morning and remembered that it was Saturday. She had suddenly forgotten because of a dream she had last night.

* Flashback of dream*

"Where am I?" Hitomi wondered. She was standing in front of a theater. It only took her a second to realize that it was the same one that Jack Roberts had invited her to.

Hitomi walked around and discovered Jack. Something else she noticed was that he wasn't alone. Right there, in front of everybody, Jack was in a passionate kiss with another girl. Hitomi didn't know the girl but it was enough to make her cry.

Hitomi ran from that spot and eventually bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry sir," Hitomi apologized, wiping her tears.

"What's wrong Hitomi?" a familiar voice asked.

Hitomi looked up at the keeper of the voice and discovered that it was Van. He looked so sweet, standing there in his regular school clothes, a worried look on his face.

Hitomi immediately ran into his arms for comfort. She hugged him and cried.

Van, rather surprised, asked again what was wrong. But instead of waiting for an answer, he simply pulled her away softly and leaned closer to her for a soft kiss.

Hitomi didn't object to the kiss as she too leaned in closer......

* End dream*

That was when Hitomi woke up. She didn't understand why she had such a dream. The kiss especially was something to question.

She decided to worry about it later as she heard her mom calling her from downstairs. Hitomi got out of bed and descended the stairs.

"Hitomi, isn't today your date with that boy?" Mrs. Kanzaki asked her daughter as Hitomi entered the kitchen.

Hitomi walked over to the table and sat down. "Yeah, why?"

Her mom walked over to the table and set a plate of eggs and rice down. "Just curious."

Hitomi frowned. 'Why did my mom want to know?' She decided to ignore the idea and just eat breakfast. She had to hurry and make it to the mall in order to buy a new outfit for her date.

"Mom, I'm going to the mall! I'll be back really quick!" Hitomi called from the door after she had finished her breakfast and changed out of her PJ's.

"Take your time!" her mom called back. She had other plans today…(remember when she said she needed to talk to Van? *wink, wink* ^_~ What do you think they'll talk about?)

Hitomi walked out the door and enjoyed the feel of the warm sun on her face. Today was an especially beautiful day.

"Hitomi!" she heard someone call.

Hitomi turned around and discovered that Yukari was the one that called her.

To be continued…

HitomiFanel: Part 6 done! Yay!

Zakyra: Ooh, I feel like something is going to happen soon ^_~

HitomiFanel: You bet Zakyra. The story gets REALLY interesting on part 7 and beyond.

Zakyra: I can't wait to see what happens!

HitomiFanel: Well, I hope you all liked this part and sorry for the way it ended. That was a weird way to end it.

Zakyra: No kidding :)

HitomiFanel: Well, you all know the drill…

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!! ^_^ V (HF) and ^_~ (Z)