HitomiFanel: OH! I feel terrible! So aweful!

Zakyra (who comes in with a bag of chips): What's wrong Hito?

HitomiFanel: I feel really bad. I said in part 7 that I was going to post up part 8 the next day but I didn't. (Bows as low as she can to audience) Please forgive me!

Zakyra: Hito, stand up. They'll forgive, especially since you posted part 8 now.

HitomiFanel: Thanks Zakyra.

Zakyra: Besides, I'm sure they understand about the fact that you had a TON of homework this week, plus that you had to study for 5 make-up tests!! That's a lot of tests to take at one time.

HitomiFanel: It was, but hey! Now I have a D (65.1%) in Chemistry (from an F (50.2%)! Yay! I'm so happy. Now all I have to do is get a C or D on the final and I won't have to repeat the semester! (does victory dance)

Zakyra: While Hito dances from happiness, go ahead and read. Oh! And how was part 7 for a cliffhanger? Enjoy what you read!

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own Jack Roberts

(Recap)

"Hitomi?" she heard a familiar voice ask, causing her heart a skip a beat. 'Anyone but him' she begged.

Hitomi looked up, the tears still on her face, and discovered that Van was the one she had bumped into, confirming her earlier suspicions. He had a look of concern on his face that looked adorable and irresistible to Hitomi. It seemed like a sweet scene to her.

His arms were slightly raised and he looked like he wanted to hold her for an eternity's time and never let go. He also wanted to hold her close and make whatever pain she was feeling go away by wiping away her tears and soothing her soul. "Hitomi, what happened? Why are you crying?" He swore, who ever hurt her was going to pay!

More tears threatened to stream down so Hitomi turned around and tried to leave, not wanting Van to feel pity for her and not wanting him to see her like this, but Van's hand grabbed her arm, not letting her go. She looked at him curiously and melted under his gaze.

"Tell me what's wrong," Van said in the sweetest voice he could. He actually succeeded.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She was tired of always holding the tears back and never letting it all out. She began to cry, hard, letting it all come out and deciding it felt good. Van wrapped his arms around Hitomi in an attempt to calm her down. It did ease her a bit and soon her loud crying turned into tiny sobs. She wished this could last forever. But she was also puzzled as to how Van did it. How had he made her feel better? Did he have some kind of angelic power Hitomi didn't know of that was released whenever people cried? Did a halo of power always come out and heal people?

After a while of crying, Hitomi pulled away reluctantly and wiped at her tears. She felt a little bit better and she had Van to thank. She was going to open her mouth to thank him, then leave, but he spoke.

"Will you tell me now why you were crying?" Van asked as he put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her intently, yet softly, his eyes pleading for the truth.

Aside from having those healing powers, he seemed to be able to hypnotize with his powerful eyes filled with fire that sometimes were soft and tender flames when Van was being nice and comforting, and sometimes were roaring with rage when Van was angry. Hitomi was hypnotized under his gaze and she nodded slowly. "I-I caught Jack with another girl. The same Jack I told you I was going on a date with. He-he kissed her in front of the same theater that he invited me to." Hitomi began to cry again but she stopped herself this time. The urge to cry wasn't as powerful as it had been before.

"That jerk!" Van yelled. So he had been the one to make her cry! He swore that bastard Jack was going to pay. His eyes now burned with rage. "How could he do that to you? You don't deserve something like that to happen to you Hitomi and you definitely don't deserve someone like him," he swore, his heart speaking for him, rather than his brain.

Hitomi wiped her tears, finally feeling at peace, and looked up at Van. "Thank you Van, for being here with me." She said the last line rather choked for some reason, as if she wished it were more. "I'm glad I have a friend like you."

Van frowned. Was that what she though of him this whole time? That he was just a friend? Well, actions speak louder than words, though you still have to say what the action means. "Hitomi, has it ever occurred to you that…I like you more than a friend?"

Hitomi gasped. She definitely hadn't expected him to say that! She stared in shock at him as she blushed a deep red. "Van....."

Van couldn't back down now. He had to share with her this information or else he felt like he would burst. He just couldn't keep it to himself anymore. He had to voice what his heart had been telling him to say the whole time. "Yes Hitomi. I can't hide these feelings anymore. Since the moment I met you I've been in love with you."

All Hitomi could do was stare at Van. She was at a loss for words. Her heart sped up to beat a thousand times per second. She was blushing as badly as the color of a tomato. Maybe more.

Her color darkened as Van used the grip he had on her shoulders to pull her closer to him. Then he began to lean in ever so slowly, as if unsure. She didn't know what was possessing her or what she was doing, but her eyes fluttered until they finally closed. She felt his wonderful warm breath on her face but he seemed to hesitate. She helped his hesitation and leaned in towards him, her arms going around his neck. Van smiled as he breathed on her, then went forward some more until their lips met in the sweetest kiss any girl could ever get from a guy. He didn't force his lips on her but it also wasn't a tiny peck he gave her. It was as if he were a naturally good kisser.

To Hitomi, the moment was perfect.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something all of a sudden didn't seem right about the kiss. What was wrong? Who knows. Hitomi was smacked back to the here and now and slowly pulled away from Van, although reluctantly.

"Hitomi?" Van questioned her with slightly pleading eyes. Why had she pulled away? Did she not enjoy the moment like he had? Was she sorry she kissed him? Van's heart felt like it was being tightened and wouldn't stop until he got an answer.

Hitomi was looking down at the floor, fiddling with her fingers. "I'm sorry Van. This just doesn't feel right." With that she turned around and went running off. She wanted to be as far away from Van as humanly possible.

"Hitomi!" Van yelled after her. He just didn't understand what had gone wrong. He finally had Hitomi in his arms, in the most romantic kiss he had ever had. And yet, she ran off, just like that. Van was very confused. Perhaps he had gone to fast with confessing his true feelings towards her? He didn't know. Van ran after Hitomi to ask her what had gone wrong.

Hitomi on the other hand, kept running. But running from who? Running from what? The kiss seemed so perfect one moment, then wrong the next. Maybe it WAS just that everything had been happening so fast. She had not expected Van to just tell her that he loved her and then kiss her as though they were already going out. She just…didn't understand herself anymore.

"Hitomi!" she heard some yell. Hitomi stopped in her tracks and saw Van running after her. She didn't continue to run. 'Might as well get it all over with Kanzaki' she thought, though it was her heart speaking and not her mind.

"Hitomi, what happened?" Van asked as he reached her. He needed an answer. He needed to know. Did she love him? At least a bit? Or was she going to tell him that the kiss had repulsed her? That she didn't like him. That she would rather be with that Jack or even Allen. The thought made Van both angry and jealous, and sad and miserable. He didn't know what he would do if Hitomi said the latter.

Hitomi didn't even look at him. "I'm sorry Van. I guess it all happened so quickly. I-I just didn't expect that from you."

"That's my fault," Van said, relief washing over him, though he was still a little panicked because she could still say she didn't love him. "I shouldn't have been to quick to tell you how I felt about you."

Hitomi looked up at him and smiled. "No, it's okay. I'm actually glad that you did. I was really hurt about what happened with Jack and you made me forget all about it."

"That's another reason I told you," Van replied, finally telling what was in his soul and heart. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from her. The thought of almost loosing Hitomi to some jerk whom didn't deserve her was in his mind and it wouldn't stop bothering him. "I was so jealous to see you with him that I had to tell you before you ended up falling in love with that Jack Roberts."

Hitomi walked over to Van and hugged him. She breathed him in and smelled his wonderful smell of soap and colon. "Thank you for loving me Van. It WAS a shock but I'm actually glad it was you. You're a much better guy than that Jack anyway."

"Hitomi......" Van whispered softly. His heart expanded with love for her and he decided to try again, hoping that this time it would be nothing but right. He bent down ever so slowly and captured Hitomi's lips with his own. This time, the kiss was only right. Nothing was wrong with it. Van could tell.

Hitomi wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back, as Van slipped his hands to her waist, although he did it as if afraid. Hitomi didn't move them. Not only did she not want to scare Van, but she actually liked the feeling.

They pulled away and smiled at each other with smiles of love. Then Hitomi found herself saying something that shocked even her. She thought that perhaps her heart was controlling her and making her say it. But since it was her heart, she knew she meant it. "I love you Van."

Van stared wide-eyed at Hitomi. He certainly hadn't expected that. In his mind he was doing a victory dance because he had finally gotten the only girl he had ever fallen in love with. On the outside, he stayed composed so he could tell her the truth. "I love you too Hitomi."

They smiled at each other, both of them truly happy for once, and hand-in-hand, Van walked Hitomi home.

-----

The stars had begun to come out as Van and Hitomi walked hand-in-hand down the street, both of them snuggling together for warmth as they walked. When they arrived at Hitomi's house, Hitomi stood on the porch as she looked at her new boyfriend in front of her. She knew she was lucky for having someone like him. She smiled. "Thank you for being there for me Van. I really appreciate it."

Van smiled as his hands went into his pocket. "No problem. Do you actually think that I would leave you in that state?"

Now it was Hitomi's turn to smile. She reached up and gave Van a quick, though love-filled kiss. "Good night."

Van turned around, but moved his head to look over his shoulder. "Good night, my princess."

Hitomi lightly giggled and walked inside her house, closing the door behind her. The day had definitely turned out for the better.

-------

The next day, Yukari went to Hitomi's house to check on her. Yukari was really worried about Hitomi because of what happened yesterday with Jack. She hoped she wouldn't arrive at her house and find Hitomi all miserable and not even wanting to come to school. She knocked on the door, her impatience driving her mad.

The door opened and Hitomi came out. Yukari saw the huge smile on Hitomi's face and guessed that her family might have comforted her yesterday. That eased Yukari a bit, though she still wanted to know what happened. "Why are you so cheery this morning? I would have thought that after what happened with Jack you would have come to school all moody."

Hitomi couldn't seem to hold it in. She had to tell someone. "Guess what?" she asked with a smile.

"What?" Yukari asked, knowing she was going to say something about yesterday.

Hitomi slightly giggled and waited a while before answering. "After I ran away from the mall I literally bumped into Van. You'll never guess what happened between us."

Yukari went wide-eyed. 'Please, please, please.' "What happened?"

Again Hitomi waited. When she said it, she tried to hide her excitement so instead she spread her arms out. "Van told me he loved me and then he kissed me."

Yukari gasped. She couldn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe that the hunk she dreamt would tell her he loved her, actually turned out to be in love with her best friend. Was life really this unfair?

"I can't believe this!" Yukari yelled in a loud tone, not even knowing she had said that. She hadn't meant to be so loud. She wanted to respond by telling Hitomi that she was glad and that she hoped she would be happy with Van. But that's not the way it came out. It seems that she spoke it without thinking. She had wanted to hide it, but her mouth spoke for her.

"What's up with you?" Hitomi asked. She could tell something was bothering Yukari. She didn't usually scream stuff out like that.

'No use in trying to hide it out now' Yukari thought as she looked at Hitomi, who was standing on the porch, searching for answers from her best friend. Or was it EX-best friend? "You want to know what's bothering me Hitomi?! Well I'll tell you."

Hitomi saw the tears begin to form in Yukari's eyes. She waited patiently, though she never would have imagine the next sentence being said to her by her best friend.

"My problem is that you're with the guy I've dreamt of being with!"

Hitomi gasped. She DEFINITELY hadn't expected that. She expected something a little less shocking. "Y-you like Van?" she asked, her hand covering her mouth.

"No, I don't like Van, I love Van!"

Hitomi gasped again, only louder. Yukari ran off crying.

(Dramatic voice) TO BE CONTINUED…

HitomiFanel: Yay! Part 8 now done!

Zakyra: Oh wow! I never expected THAT!

HitomiFanel: Yeah, well, when I first originally wrote this, I had planned on only having Van and Hitomi confess and then kiss. Part 7 was where it was supposed to end.

Zakyra: What happened. How come you continued?

HitomiFanel: Well, I asked the people if they wanted me to stop, or continue and make it into a soap opera. They chose the latter so here's what resulted.

Zakyra: Wow…

HitomiFanel: And if you want to know what happens…

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