Daphne: Sorry its taken me so long to up-load this chapter. I came down
with a stomach bug, and I am still shaky, making it impossible for me to
type correctly. I am still having trouble as I write this, so please
forgive me!
Someone, namely 'Midnight Blossom', told me that this story was sort of like the 'Miracle Girls' manga. And guess what! It is!!! I got the idea of some of the twin's quirks from the twins in 'Miracle Girls', but the plot line has been in my head for ages. It was really smart of you to point that out, though! And just for the record..
'MIRACLE GIRLS' ROCKS!!! I love the manga, and I read it over and over as much as I can! Jackson and Chris are so cute, ne? But personally, I like Mason the best! ^__^ hehehehehehehe!!!
Ahem. On with the story!
~*~*~*~
JUST BREATHE
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 4.
~*~*~*~
"Heidi! Over here!" Bailey called, her brown hair swinging out behind her as she ran. Hilde turned and smiled at her new (or old), friend.
"'Morning, Bailey." She laughed, her amethyst eyes sparkling with excitement. Her first day at a co-educational school!
"Man, there are a lot of boys, here." She murmured, unaware that she was speaking outloud. Bailey gave her a funny look.
"There always are. So, who do you have a crush on this week?" She asked teasingly. Hilde's face heated up and her ducked her head.
"I don't know."
"Oh, that's a first. Usually, you have a whole list of at least ten guys!" Bailey laughed, leading them to their lockers. Heidi had shown Hilde a map of her school, so she knew relatively where her locker was. Finding it was easy, opening it was easy...but trying to find her schoolbooks under all the junk that Heidi kept in her locker was not easy.
"This girl is a pack-rat." Hilde mumbled.
"Finally admitting your species, Hiiragizawa?" Came a cold voice from behind her. Hilde gasped and turned in confusion. Her eyes caught a pair of amber ones, and held them. It was Kojii Li! She knew him immediately, by that look in his eyes; the same one that had been on her sister's picture.
"Excuse me?" She asked, her confusion making her neglect the fact that she was supposed to be acting like her sister. Kojii raised a haughty eyebrow.
"Oh, now we're playing innocent. How cute. Oh, and by the way, I got a better score than you on the basketball-drill test! You came in second!" He crowed, his three friends grinning behind him. Hilde recognized the hateful tone in his voice, and something welled up in her chest, choking her. She blinked back the tears that came to her eyes and bravely met his amber orbs.
"That is nice." She murmured, kicking her locker closed with her foot and then pulling Bailey away from the scene. The four boys stared after her in astonishment; Kojii's mouth fell open and confusion marred his handsome face. For a moment, Heidi Hiiragizawa had looked almost...hurt. But that was impossible, right?
"That was brilliant! Did you see the looks on their faces?!" Bailey giggled. Hilde shot her a weak smile as they entered their English class room. They waved to Bailey's mother, and then took their seats at the back of the room.
"I suppose you're going with the hurt and innocent looks this term? It sure worked! They didn't know what hit them!" Bailey laughed. Before Hilde could say anything, the final bell rang and kids piled into the room.
~*~*~*~
*ONE WEEK LATER*
Hilde weakly made her way out into the school-yard, and dragged her weary body to a tree at the far end of the yard. It was a cherry tree, but the blossoms were gone and snow was piled on the branches. With an exhausted sigh, she dropped down into a cold pile of snow below it and smiled. The snow was soothing on her hot body.
It had been a week since she had first arrived at the school, but she was already wishing she was back in England with her mother, father and brother. It wasn't that the classes were hard, or that Japan was awful. No, it was because of a certain boy. A boy she couldn't seem to get the best of; Kojii Li. After that first day, he had taken to teasing her mercilessly about the smallest things.
First it was the fact she couldn't do any sports on account of her 'dislocated knee'. He seemed to get a huge charge out of pretending to trip down flights of stairs and other such things, just as she was in viewing distance.
The next was that she couldn't seem to retaliate to anything he said to her. Whenever he said something offensive, her Hilde-side of herself would take over, and she would barely be able to keep her tears in. So instead she would bite her lip and turn away with her head down; and he would laugh.
Today, he had decided to tease her about her sudden success in the Music class. The teacher had decided to do a little quiz, each student singing a song that she chose for them. The teacher did it in order from the best singers to the worst, and Hilde was put as the last singer. By the time the teacher had gotten to her, the poor sensei looked like she would be sick; but she suggested the song, and began to play on the piano.
A soft, beautiful melody emitted from deep inside Hilde's body. Her voice was bright like the sun, and refreshing like a spring rain. Everyone, including Bailey, simply stared at the girl standing next to the piano, their eyes wide with disbelief and shock. The bell rang, and still no one had moved.
The teacher had finally recovered and excused the embarrassed girl from class. Little did she know, Kojii had gotten out of his class a bit early, and had been walking by the Music room just as she started to sing.
At first, the boy had stopped in amazement, wondering who could sing like that. Then, when he caught sight of the singer, disgust had filled his chest. By the time class was released, he had come up with a dozen or more insults to throw at the poor girl.
And that was why she was here now.
Hot tears spilled down Hilde's red cheeks and she finally let the sobs escape from her lips. No one was in sight; they all thought it was too cold to be outside. So the girl cried in peace, her face buried in the snow that melted quickly under her hot tears. She didn't notice the cold, she didn't feel the snow melting into her clothes and soaking her skin; she never even heard the foot-steps behind her.
"Hiiragizawa? What in the hell are you doing out here?"
Hilde choked on a gasp, and fought back the sobs that were riveting her throat. She hid her face from Kojii Li, who was standing behind her, arms folded on his chest.
"Go away, Li." She managed in a strangled voice. Kojii stared at her for a moment, his eyes registering mild alarm.
"Are you all right, Hiiragizawa? You've been acting weird." He stated, folding his arms even tighter to his body, and looking at the girl below him. For some reason, he didn't feel like being mean to her right then.
"For God's sake, just leave me alone, Li, please!" She choked, her arms coming up to surround her face. For some reason, she felt very cold...and not just because of the snow. A few minutes ago, she had been hotter than Hades, but now...
"You're sick, Hiiragizawa." The young man stated in a monotone voice. Hilde, realizing he must be right, let out a bitter laugh.
"You just figured that out?" She hissed. There was silence for a moment, then Kojii reached down suddenly and turned her over, looking into her face. Her cheeks were flushed abnormally, and her eyes were bright, and not just from tears.
"You have a fever. We'd better get you to the nurse's office." He stated, helping her up. She swayed and fell forward, colliding with his firm chest. She was too dizzy to even notice that his cheeks turned red.
"Why are you out here?" She asked, trying to shake off her dizziness. He sighed.
"I come here to think. I guess I won't get to do it today, though. Come on. I don't want you barfing on me." He grumbled, helping her inside the building. She managed to shoot him a disdainful glance.
"I'm not that sick."
And with this, her world turned black and she fell limp in the alarmed boy's arms.
~*~*~*~
"Mom?"
"Kojii, is that you? What's wrong?" Sakura Li asked anxiously. The boy paused, looking at the still, pale girl on the bed next to him. He had carried her clear to the nurse's office, and was told to call her grandmother to take her home. But when he did, no one answered the phone. So he used his last resort and called his mother.
"It's not me, mom. It's Hiiragizawa Heidi. She's sick, and we can't reach her grandmother." He said. There was a gasp on the other end of the line.
"How bad is it?"
"She's fainted. The nurse says it's not bad enough to take to the hospital...yet. But whoever takes her home will have to look after her." He groaned.
"You stay there. I'll be right there to pick you up. We'll bring her over here, and then I'll leave a message with Sonomi to tell her where Heidi is." Sakura said, hanging up the phone. Kojii stared at the phone in his own hand for a moment, then hung it up.
"Well?" The school nurse asked, looking worried. Kojii shrugged.
"My mom's coming to pick us up. She knows Hiiragizawa's mom, so it's all good." He stated. The nurse eyed him.
"You'd better not make any trouble for her, Kojii Li. She may not be sick enough for the Hospital, but she is quite sick. She will need rest. Heaven knows why she was out there without her coat!" The nurse chided, looking at the pale girl in the bed.
Hilde's hair (wig) spilled over the white pillow and contrasted with it beautifully. Her pale cheeks held a tinge of red, from the fever, and she was deathly still, only occasionally shivering. The nurse gave one last look at the girl, then left the room to inform the office of the two checking out.
Kojii was left to stare at the still form of his arch rival. He finally realized that she was a human being as well, susceptible to the pains and illnesses of real people. Before now, she had seemed like more of an enigma to him, untouchable and invulnerable.
"Kojii?" Came the soft voice of Sakura Li. Kojii looked up in relief as his mother stepped into the room. She looked at the girl on the bed and her face fell.
"Oh, poor thing. Kojii, I'll need you to carry her to the car." She murmured. Kojii figured that it was no use to argue, and did as he was told.
Great. His number one enemy was staying at his home. Just great.
~*~*~*~
Hilde moaned and slowly opened her eyes. Confusion and fear swept over her as she first realized that she was in a strange, dark room; then pain washed over her as she tried to gasp. Her lungs burned at the effort, and her throat stung. She fell back against the fluffy pillows on the bed and looked around with wide eyes, trying to remember what had happened to her.
She had been talking/arguing with Kojii, then he had told her to come inside, they had talked more, then...everything had gone black. She remembered nothing beyond that.
"Oh! You're awake." Came a soft, motherly voice. Hilde turned her head in surprise, as a woman stepped out of the shadows, carrying a tray of food. Hilde had seen this woman in pictures that her mother had; it was Sakura Li, her mother's best friend.
"How did I get here?" Hilde finally managed, her voice scratchy and weak. Sakura smiled and set the tray down, putting a cool hand on the hot forehead.
"Kojii took you to the nurse, and when they couldn't get a-hold of your grandmother, they called us, instead." The woman murmured. Hilde sighed.
"Gram went to Tokyo for a few days. I was supposed to stay with the bodyguards."
"I know. We found out when we called again to tell them where you were. But they decided it would be best for you to stay here until you got better. And that's just fine with me! I've always hoped to have a chance to get to know the children of my best friends!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. Hilde shot her a weak smile.
"Thank you for your kindness." She murmured, as Sakura reached for a cup of tea and held it to Hilde's lips. Sakura smiled.
"You're welcome. But the real person to thank, is Kojii. He helped you the most, you know." Sakura reminded her. Hilde blushed. She had just realized how Kojii must have gotten her to the nurse and to his own home; he had carried her.
"I will thank him." She promised. Sakura gave a satisfied nod and then helped Hilde to eat the soup she had brought.
"Mom? Aunt Tomoyo's on the phone for you." Came a girl's voice from the doorway. Hilde immediately recognized it as Meilei, Kojii's sister. Sakura gave a soft squeal and raced from the room with the tray. Meilei laughed and came further into the room.
"How are you feeling?"
"All right." Hilde said, her voice soft. She had only met this girl once, and she had seemed nice enough, but Heidi seemed to dislike her...
"Liar. You're feeling horrible, I can tell." Meilei stated, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed. Hilde shrugged.
"I shouldn't have stayed out in the snow for so long. It's my own fault." She murmured. Meilei gave a snort.
"Who are you?" She asked abruptly. Hilde looked startled.
"What do you mean?"
"You're not Heidi. Heidi would never let my brother get away with all he has this week. She would have pounded him. So either you went through one heck of a change over winter break, or you're not Heidi. And I'm guessing the second one." Meilei stated, plopping a framed picture down onto Hilde's lap.
Hilde looked at the picture and choked. It was of her family, all of them. Her parents were in the back, arms around each other. She and Heidi were kneeling in front of them, smiles on both of their faces, and Yuki was sprawled in front of them, grinning cheekily at the camera.
"You're this one, aren't you?" Meilei asked, pointing at the picture of the longer-haired girl; her. Hilde sighed and then turned pleading eyes on the other girl, knowing that she couldn't lie.
"I am. But please don't tell anyone! I promised Heidi..."
"I won't say a word. But now that we have that covered, what is your name, and why are you here?" Meilei asked. Hilde broke down and told her everything, from the time Heidi had begged her to switch places, to the moments where she couldn't find it in her heart to argue with Kojii. When she finished, Meilei sat gaping.
"Wow. You've gone through a lot." She managed. Hilde winced.
"Yeah. And I still have a little more than two months to live through. Its all right, but I don't like having to compete with Kojii, or lying to Bailey. She's my sister's best friend, and I feel like I'm cheating her. I mean, she's nice and everything, but she's my sister's friend, not mine." Hilde whispered. Meilei smirked.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't suspect a thing until you started being nice to me. I mean, Heidi would never look at me twice." She murmured. Hilde smiled wistfully.
"Yes, she's like that. But you are perfectly nice, and I don't see why she doesn't like you."
"Probably because I am the sister of her dreaded arch-enemy. She thinks that I'm like him."
"You are not."
"I know. I'm the decent one of the family!" Meilei's emerald eyes sparkled with humor and Hilde couldn't help but laugh; bad idea. Now her throat hurt even more.
"You should get some rest." Meilei commented, seeming to understand. Hilde nodded and gave her a grateful look.
"See you later, Hiiragizawa!" She called over her shoulder, teasingly. Hilde grinned.
"Later, Li."
~*~*~*~
"Oh, that's just terrible! Thank you so much, Sakura! I'd better go tell the others, so they don't get worried. Talk to you soon! Goodbye!" Tomoyo chirped, as she hung up the phone. The rest of her family sat around the table, looking worried.
"What was wrong?" Eriol asked as Tomoyo returned to her seat.
"Heidi got sick at school today. Kojii had to carry her to the nurse's office." Tomoyo stated. Yuki's eyes widened and the real Heidi choked on her food.
"Where is she now?" Eriol asked in worry.
"She is over at Sakura's, because mother is on a business trip." Tomoyo explained. Heidi winced.
"You mean she's staying over at Li's? She hates him!" Heidi cried. Her family stared at her.
"She'll have to live with it, then. They've been very kind to help her. Meilei seems to have taken to playing nurse, and she is helping to take care of Heidi. Don't worry, Hilde-darling. Heidi is in good hands." Tomoyo stated, going back to her meal.
Yuki looked over at his usually calm sister and saw her frowning.
"What's the matter with you, Hill?" He hissed, making sure that his parents didn't hear. Her frown disappeared and she shot him a smile.
"Just worried, that's all." She whispered. He nodded and went back to his food. Heidi played with her food and seethed inside.
Of all the places to get sick, Hilde just had to choose the Li's! How pathetic!
~*~*~*~
Someone, namely 'Midnight Blossom', told me that this story was sort of like the 'Miracle Girls' manga. And guess what! It is!!! I got the idea of some of the twin's quirks from the twins in 'Miracle Girls', but the plot line has been in my head for ages. It was really smart of you to point that out, though! And just for the record..
'MIRACLE GIRLS' ROCKS!!! I love the manga, and I read it over and over as much as I can! Jackson and Chris are so cute, ne? But personally, I like Mason the best! ^__^ hehehehehehehe!!!
Ahem. On with the story!
~*~*~*~
JUST BREATHE
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 4.
~*~*~*~
"Heidi! Over here!" Bailey called, her brown hair swinging out behind her as she ran. Hilde turned and smiled at her new (or old), friend.
"'Morning, Bailey." She laughed, her amethyst eyes sparkling with excitement. Her first day at a co-educational school!
"Man, there are a lot of boys, here." She murmured, unaware that she was speaking outloud. Bailey gave her a funny look.
"There always are. So, who do you have a crush on this week?" She asked teasingly. Hilde's face heated up and her ducked her head.
"I don't know."
"Oh, that's a first. Usually, you have a whole list of at least ten guys!" Bailey laughed, leading them to their lockers. Heidi had shown Hilde a map of her school, so she knew relatively where her locker was. Finding it was easy, opening it was easy...but trying to find her schoolbooks under all the junk that Heidi kept in her locker was not easy.
"This girl is a pack-rat." Hilde mumbled.
"Finally admitting your species, Hiiragizawa?" Came a cold voice from behind her. Hilde gasped and turned in confusion. Her eyes caught a pair of amber ones, and held them. It was Kojii Li! She knew him immediately, by that look in his eyes; the same one that had been on her sister's picture.
"Excuse me?" She asked, her confusion making her neglect the fact that she was supposed to be acting like her sister. Kojii raised a haughty eyebrow.
"Oh, now we're playing innocent. How cute. Oh, and by the way, I got a better score than you on the basketball-drill test! You came in second!" He crowed, his three friends grinning behind him. Hilde recognized the hateful tone in his voice, and something welled up in her chest, choking her. She blinked back the tears that came to her eyes and bravely met his amber orbs.
"That is nice." She murmured, kicking her locker closed with her foot and then pulling Bailey away from the scene. The four boys stared after her in astonishment; Kojii's mouth fell open and confusion marred his handsome face. For a moment, Heidi Hiiragizawa had looked almost...hurt. But that was impossible, right?
"That was brilliant! Did you see the looks on their faces?!" Bailey giggled. Hilde shot her a weak smile as they entered their English class room. They waved to Bailey's mother, and then took their seats at the back of the room.
"I suppose you're going with the hurt and innocent looks this term? It sure worked! They didn't know what hit them!" Bailey laughed. Before Hilde could say anything, the final bell rang and kids piled into the room.
~*~*~*~
*ONE WEEK LATER*
Hilde weakly made her way out into the school-yard, and dragged her weary body to a tree at the far end of the yard. It was a cherry tree, but the blossoms were gone and snow was piled on the branches. With an exhausted sigh, she dropped down into a cold pile of snow below it and smiled. The snow was soothing on her hot body.
It had been a week since she had first arrived at the school, but she was already wishing she was back in England with her mother, father and brother. It wasn't that the classes were hard, or that Japan was awful. No, it was because of a certain boy. A boy she couldn't seem to get the best of; Kojii Li. After that first day, he had taken to teasing her mercilessly about the smallest things.
First it was the fact she couldn't do any sports on account of her 'dislocated knee'. He seemed to get a huge charge out of pretending to trip down flights of stairs and other such things, just as she was in viewing distance.
The next was that she couldn't seem to retaliate to anything he said to her. Whenever he said something offensive, her Hilde-side of herself would take over, and she would barely be able to keep her tears in. So instead she would bite her lip and turn away with her head down; and he would laugh.
Today, he had decided to tease her about her sudden success in the Music class. The teacher had decided to do a little quiz, each student singing a song that she chose for them. The teacher did it in order from the best singers to the worst, and Hilde was put as the last singer. By the time the teacher had gotten to her, the poor sensei looked like she would be sick; but she suggested the song, and began to play on the piano.
A soft, beautiful melody emitted from deep inside Hilde's body. Her voice was bright like the sun, and refreshing like a spring rain. Everyone, including Bailey, simply stared at the girl standing next to the piano, their eyes wide with disbelief and shock. The bell rang, and still no one had moved.
The teacher had finally recovered and excused the embarrassed girl from class. Little did she know, Kojii had gotten out of his class a bit early, and had been walking by the Music room just as she started to sing.
At first, the boy had stopped in amazement, wondering who could sing like that. Then, when he caught sight of the singer, disgust had filled his chest. By the time class was released, he had come up with a dozen or more insults to throw at the poor girl.
And that was why she was here now.
Hot tears spilled down Hilde's red cheeks and she finally let the sobs escape from her lips. No one was in sight; they all thought it was too cold to be outside. So the girl cried in peace, her face buried in the snow that melted quickly under her hot tears. She didn't notice the cold, she didn't feel the snow melting into her clothes and soaking her skin; she never even heard the foot-steps behind her.
"Hiiragizawa? What in the hell are you doing out here?"
Hilde choked on a gasp, and fought back the sobs that were riveting her throat. She hid her face from Kojii Li, who was standing behind her, arms folded on his chest.
"Go away, Li." She managed in a strangled voice. Kojii stared at her for a moment, his eyes registering mild alarm.
"Are you all right, Hiiragizawa? You've been acting weird." He stated, folding his arms even tighter to his body, and looking at the girl below him. For some reason, he didn't feel like being mean to her right then.
"For God's sake, just leave me alone, Li, please!" She choked, her arms coming up to surround her face. For some reason, she felt very cold...and not just because of the snow. A few minutes ago, she had been hotter than Hades, but now...
"You're sick, Hiiragizawa." The young man stated in a monotone voice. Hilde, realizing he must be right, let out a bitter laugh.
"You just figured that out?" She hissed. There was silence for a moment, then Kojii reached down suddenly and turned her over, looking into her face. Her cheeks were flushed abnormally, and her eyes were bright, and not just from tears.
"You have a fever. We'd better get you to the nurse's office." He stated, helping her up. She swayed and fell forward, colliding with his firm chest. She was too dizzy to even notice that his cheeks turned red.
"Why are you out here?" She asked, trying to shake off her dizziness. He sighed.
"I come here to think. I guess I won't get to do it today, though. Come on. I don't want you barfing on me." He grumbled, helping her inside the building. She managed to shoot him a disdainful glance.
"I'm not that sick."
And with this, her world turned black and she fell limp in the alarmed boy's arms.
~*~*~*~
"Mom?"
"Kojii, is that you? What's wrong?" Sakura Li asked anxiously. The boy paused, looking at the still, pale girl on the bed next to him. He had carried her clear to the nurse's office, and was told to call her grandmother to take her home. But when he did, no one answered the phone. So he used his last resort and called his mother.
"It's not me, mom. It's Hiiragizawa Heidi. She's sick, and we can't reach her grandmother." He said. There was a gasp on the other end of the line.
"How bad is it?"
"She's fainted. The nurse says it's not bad enough to take to the hospital...yet. But whoever takes her home will have to look after her." He groaned.
"You stay there. I'll be right there to pick you up. We'll bring her over here, and then I'll leave a message with Sonomi to tell her where Heidi is." Sakura said, hanging up the phone. Kojii stared at the phone in his own hand for a moment, then hung it up.
"Well?" The school nurse asked, looking worried. Kojii shrugged.
"My mom's coming to pick us up. She knows Hiiragizawa's mom, so it's all good." He stated. The nurse eyed him.
"You'd better not make any trouble for her, Kojii Li. She may not be sick enough for the Hospital, but she is quite sick. She will need rest. Heaven knows why she was out there without her coat!" The nurse chided, looking at the pale girl in the bed.
Hilde's hair (wig) spilled over the white pillow and contrasted with it beautifully. Her pale cheeks held a tinge of red, from the fever, and she was deathly still, only occasionally shivering. The nurse gave one last look at the girl, then left the room to inform the office of the two checking out.
Kojii was left to stare at the still form of his arch rival. He finally realized that she was a human being as well, susceptible to the pains and illnesses of real people. Before now, she had seemed like more of an enigma to him, untouchable and invulnerable.
"Kojii?" Came the soft voice of Sakura Li. Kojii looked up in relief as his mother stepped into the room. She looked at the girl on the bed and her face fell.
"Oh, poor thing. Kojii, I'll need you to carry her to the car." She murmured. Kojii figured that it was no use to argue, and did as he was told.
Great. His number one enemy was staying at his home. Just great.
~*~*~*~
Hilde moaned and slowly opened her eyes. Confusion and fear swept over her as she first realized that she was in a strange, dark room; then pain washed over her as she tried to gasp. Her lungs burned at the effort, and her throat stung. She fell back against the fluffy pillows on the bed and looked around with wide eyes, trying to remember what had happened to her.
She had been talking/arguing with Kojii, then he had told her to come inside, they had talked more, then...everything had gone black. She remembered nothing beyond that.
"Oh! You're awake." Came a soft, motherly voice. Hilde turned her head in surprise, as a woman stepped out of the shadows, carrying a tray of food. Hilde had seen this woman in pictures that her mother had; it was Sakura Li, her mother's best friend.
"How did I get here?" Hilde finally managed, her voice scratchy and weak. Sakura smiled and set the tray down, putting a cool hand on the hot forehead.
"Kojii took you to the nurse, and when they couldn't get a-hold of your grandmother, they called us, instead." The woman murmured. Hilde sighed.
"Gram went to Tokyo for a few days. I was supposed to stay with the bodyguards."
"I know. We found out when we called again to tell them where you were. But they decided it would be best for you to stay here until you got better. And that's just fine with me! I've always hoped to have a chance to get to know the children of my best friends!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. Hilde shot her a weak smile.
"Thank you for your kindness." She murmured, as Sakura reached for a cup of tea and held it to Hilde's lips. Sakura smiled.
"You're welcome. But the real person to thank, is Kojii. He helped you the most, you know." Sakura reminded her. Hilde blushed. She had just realized how Kojii must have gotten her to the nurse and to his own home; he had carried her.
"I will thank him." She promised. Sakura gave a satisfied nod and then helped Hilde to eat the soup she had brought.
"Mom? Aunt Tomoyo's on the phone for you." Came a girl's voice from the doorway. Hilde immediately recognized it as Meilei, Kojii's sister. Sakura gave a soft squeal and raced from the room with the tray. Meilei laughed and came further into the room.
"How are you feeling?"
"All right." Hilde said, her voice soft. She had only met this girl once, and she had seemed nice enough, but Heidi seemed to dislike her...
"Liar. You're feeling horrible, I can tell." Meilei stated, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed. Hilde shrugged.
"I shouldn't have stayed out in the snow for so long. It's my own fault." She murmured. Meilei gave a snort.
"Who are you?" She asked abruptly. Hilde looked startled.
"What do you mean?"
"You're not Heidi. Heidi would never let my brother get away with all he has this week. She would have pounded him. So either you went through one heck of a change over winter break, or you're not Heidi. And I'm guessing the second one." Meilei stated, plopping a framed picture down onto Hilde's lap.
Hilde looked at the picture and choked. It was of her family, all of them. Her parents were in the back, arms around each other. She and Heidi were kneeling in front of them, smiles on both of their faces, and Yuki was sprawled in front of them, grinning cheekily at the camera.
"You're this one, aren't you?" Meilei asked, pointing at the picture of the longer-haired girl; her. Hilde sighed and then turned pleading eyes on the other girl, knowing that she couldn't lie.
"I am. But please don't tell anyone! I promised Heidi..."
"I won't say a word. But now that we have that covered, what is your name, and why are you here?" Meilei asked. Hilde broke down and told her everything, from the time Heidi had begged her to switch places, to the moments where she couldn't find it in her heart to argue with Kojii. When she finished, Meilei sat gaping.
"Wow. You've gone through a lot." She managed. Hilde winced.
"Yeah. And I still have a little more than two months to live through. Its all right, but I don't like having to compete with Kojii, or lying to Bailey. She's my sister's best friend, and I feel like I'm cheating her. I mean, she's nice and everything, but she's my sister's friend, not mine." Hilde whispered. Meilei smirked.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't suspect a thing until you started being nice to me. I mean, Heidi would never look at me twice." She murmured. Hilde smiled wistfully.
"Yes, she's like that. But you are perfectly nice, and I don't see why she doesn't like you."
"Probably because I am the sister of her dreaded arch-enemy. She thinks that I'm like him."
"You are not."
"I know. I'm the decent one of the family!" Meilei's emerald eyes sparkled with humor and Hilde couldn't help but laugh; bad idea. Now her throat hurt even more.
"You should get some rest." Meilei commented, seeming to understand. Hilde nodded and gave her a grateful look.
"See you later, Hiiragizawa!" She called over her shoulder, teasingly. Hilde grinned.
"Later, Li."
~*~*~*~
"Oh, that's just terrible! Thank you so much, Sakura! I'd better go tell the others, so they don't get worried. Talk to you soon! Goodbye!" Tomoyo chirped, as she hung up the phone. The rest of her family sat around the table, looking worried.
"What was wrong?" Eriol asked as Tomoyo returned to her seat.
"Heidi got sick at school today. Kojii had to carry her to the nurse's office." Tomoyo stated. Yuki's eyes widened and the real Heidi choked on her food.
"Where is she now?" Eriol asked in worry.
"She is over at Sakura's, because mother is on a business trip." Tomoyo explained. Heidi winced.
"You mean she's staying over at Li's? She hates him!" Heidi cried. Her family stared at her.
"She'll have to live with it, then. They've been very kind to help her. Meilei seems to have taken to playing nurse, and she is helping to take care of Heidi. Don't worry, Hilde-darling. Heidi is in good hands." Tomoyo stated, going back to her meal.
Yuki looked over at his usually calm sister and saw her frowning.
"What's the matter with you, Hill?" He hissed, making sure that his parents didn't hear. Her frown disappeared and she shot him a smile.
"Just worried, that's all." She whispered. He nodded and went back to his food. Heidi played with her food and seethed inside.
Of all the places to get sick, Hilde just had to choose the Li's! How pathetic!
~*~*~*~