One Step Closer

By Raining Dreams ("Bunny")

She's all revved up!: 'ats right. I'm REALLLLLL happy today. Why you ask? Because one of my IDOLS, Mr. Lemony Snicket, is coming to my town. And guess who's going to the meeting? I cannot explain the sheer JOY I feel right now. It's real good for writing. Not to mention I already have 15 whole reviews. 15 reviews and it's JUST been up a little under 24 hours. Boom-shacka-lacka. Special thanks to Brian for filling me in on what happens and introducing me to TVtome. He's my special person of the chapter!! -puts a cheap paper crown on his head- And now, I respond!

Neverland's Apprentice: Yeah ..; I can't wait for Monday. I screamed at my TV when it cut off right there.

Kyma: ...Meow... o.o; Erm. Yesh. Meow. Thanks. Meow. Review more and stuff. Meow...? -cough- I'm a bit rusty. Meow. On my cat-person. Meow.

Brandon Rice: I still love you -cling tackle love- . hee.

Lady Starlight2: EEEE!! SALTED CASHEWS AN' PECANS -steals all the cashews and pecans, hoarding them- nummers o.o; -consoooooom-

Itzjustme: Ha. I found them amusing as well XD I just had to take advantage of Rachel's temper. And trust me. They'll just get better and BETTER in this chapter. I wrote my favorite to date early on in this one.

Somebody: You loser XD You clearly did not watch Thursdays episode which has all of us all aflutter with anticipation. Harley is a cocky, annoying, know-it-all detective from the west. He came looking for Jimmy to challenge him. Instead, he meets the Moores and Conan. He's suspicious of Conan, but is still too busy looking for his eastern counterpart to notice much (Although he DOES supposedly figure it out in Monday's episode -points to Conankun-)

Nittle Grasper Fan Joshie: Fwee. -bow- Thankies. And yeah. Our school starts in August. But we get out in late May, so it all works out.

Ember Mage: Hmn? I never said he was related XD He's just living with them looking for Jimmy. Well. Actually he's got a hotel room nearby. But he normally just crashes on the Moore's couch. It'll be explained in this chapter.

The Liz: Ha XD I know. I hate him but I love him. He just makes the BEST antagonist. And he fit just PERFECTLY into the plot I'm thinking up.

XSRX: Thanks o.o; I hope that works -peers at the VCR in the den- It's like, 10 years old XD If that dun work, I think I may just get my old TV out (It has a VCR in it), put it in my room, put the tape in, set it to wake me up at 12:55 along with one alarm (I have two alarm clocks), pop it in, hit record, and set it to sleep 40 minutes later. -clever-

Conan Edogawa: I. LOVE. YOU. -tackle- you're my special person of the chapter runner up!! This helps so much for me to write this! -presses a gold star sticker on your forehead-

-five minutes later- Gads o.o; I'm making Harley slightly out of character. Oh well ..; please don't hate me.

I know I have more reviews. I'll respond to you guys in the next chapter. Promise!

One Step Closer: File 2

The following day didn't prove better for Rachel or Conan. Rachel had tried. Really, she had; But she'd failed miserably in losing Harley in order to take Conan to the pool. Yet again, here they were. Rachel and Conan were desperately attempting to swim without being disturbed, but with Harley all BUT holding onto both of them, it was difficult. Rachel finally just slapped him and started to take Conan home. The boy frowned, getting out of the pool to follow them.

"Rachel! Come on!! You never know!" Conan frowned, his eyes narrowing so he had a sarcastic look upon his face. Here we go again.

"Yeah! I do know! I haven't even HEARD from him in nearly 3 weeks! He's not going to just show up!"

"He could! He might wanna see how his kid and girl are!!" Rachel blushed furiously, glaring. Needless to say, they'd gained the attention of the entire pool. One older woman near them murmured to her friend, "That poor child. That's what happens in teen pregnancies." CONAN blushed furiously at this, and had to bite his tongue not to snap out something along the lines of 'She is NOT my MOTHER!'.

"I'm not his girl!!!" Rachel yelled.

"Are so! Otherwise he wouldn't call!"

"I'm his best friend! It's what best friends do!!" she was exercising a lot of will power not to just kill him. So, she did the next best thing. With a firm shove on his chest and a large 'SLAPLOOSH!', Harley Hartwell was in the pool once again. Several people clapped at Rachel's assertiveness as she exited the gate, marching off with her charge, her head held high. She placed Conan in the front seat (he'd grown enough to sit there), quickly getting in front so she could drive. Yes, Rachel had wheels. Her father allowed her to use the car on days he wasn't working, so long as it kept Conan out of his hair. They sped off, the girl glaring the whole way home, ranting to no one in particular.

"I can't believe him! He comes into MY home, takes over, and then accuses me of knowing things! I am NOT Jimmy's girl. Not, not, not!!" was just a small clip. Conan watched her, listening, eyes slightly wide. Rachel was SCARY when she got this aggravated.

They got home to find Richard Moore fussing over his moustache. He glanced at his daughter through the medicine cabinet mirror. "Hey Rachel. Turns out we have a party to go to. You don't need to dress up much, but pull it together, okay?"

Rachel's eyes got wide. "WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Forgot."

The teen rolled her eyes, sighing angrily. "You're hopeless."

Her father frowned, looking to her directly. "Someone is cranky."

"It's that stupid Harley Hartwell. He wont leave me and Conan alone and wont stop talking about Jimmy!" She threw her hands up, stalking off to her room to find something to wear. She emerged roughly an hour later, clad a creme turtleneck and long, black skirt, walking to the now vacant bathroom to mess with her hair. Conan had dressed himself in his normal blue outfit. It was sorta dressy and it made hiding his gadgets easier. Harley had since shown up, now clad in a navy suit. He walked up to Rachel; he didn't look happy.

"What was that for?"

"For not leaving me alone." she said, tossing her hair, brushing it out.

"You're lying. It's because I mentioned Kudo."

"It is not." she snapped. At this moment, Conan started down the hall, desperately trying to get his hair to stay in some sort of reasonable position. Chlorine always made his hair stick out at odd angles.

"See? I mentioned him and you get all touchy! You're in love with Kudo, aren't you?" Rachel felt a blush raise to her cheeks, and she stopped brushing her dark locks.

"I am not!!"

"You ARE!"

Conan stopped, blushing as well. Is he telling the truth...is he right? he paused, watching them anxiously. Nope. He isn't that smart. he concluded, continuing down the hall. She just missed her best friend. That was all. There was the sound of a slamming door, and Harley shoved past the child, muttering to himself. Something about woman being impossible.

They left within the next hour. Rachel and Conan sat in the backseat while her father drove, Harely boasting in the front seat about some case he had recently solved back home. Rachel rolled her eyes, interjecting.

"Why are we going to this party, anyways?"

"Some business friends of Meguire invited us. Dunno why." Conan blinked. That's odd... Why were we invited?

Upon reaching the party, Rachel couldn't help but let out a small gasp. It was a lovley, two story building made of white rock. Lights were set out to give it a heavenly sort of glow, and the lawn and flowerbeds were beautifully manicured. The wooden door was open, leaving only a door of glass to keep out the night air. Inside, a dim roar of people socializing filled the air, which had was filled with the smell of food. The basement had been converted into a dance floor, while the upstairs was more for eating and talking.

Conan held Rachel's hand so he wouldn't get lost. He gazed up to her. She looked especially pretty tonight. His gaze fell to the floor, and he let out a sigh of longing. He'd give ANYTHING to be himself right now. To have just ONE proper dance with her. But no. He was stuck like this. If only he could figure out what had happened the other day; how he'd turned back. Rachel looked down to him when he sighed.

"Conan? You alright?"

"Hmn? Oh! Yeah!"

She smiled, letting go of his hand and crouching to his level. "Tell ya what. Let's go dance for a bit, okay? I need a date, and you're the most handsome guy in the whole room."

Conan smiled back. "Alright Rachel!" It wouldn't be the same, but it would still do nicely. They walked to the dance floor downstairs. It wasn't crowded; there were only about fifteen other people there. Rachel lead her "date" onto the floor and began to dance with him to the best of her ability. It was fairly simple. If Rachel had her arms all the way down, and Conan raised his slightly.

Conan felt his heart twinge as they danced to the slow, calm music. I was wrong. This makes it all worse... I hate this body! I hate it! He looked to Rachel, and he all but sunk into the ground. While she was smiling at him, her eyes were vacant. She didn't really want to be dancing with him. She wanted someone else...He cleared his throat. "Hey, Rachel. Can we go upstairs? I'm thirsty." She nodded, leading him upstairs to the punch bowl. Harley was there and absently handed the two cups of the ruby, fruity liquid. Rachel happily sipped hers, while Conan all but inhaled his. Roughly a minute later, his face flushed and as he looked at Rachel, he grinned stupidly.

"Hey sexy lady!"

Rachel looked horrified and stamped over to Harley. "What'd you give him?!" He looked lazily around.

"Oops. Must've slipped him the spiked punch. Sorry."

"Slipped him the-- YOU JERK! You gave my Conan ALCOHOL?! Have you no responsibility?!" Just like at the pool, they received the direct attention of everyone in the room. Conan tottered around in circles around Rachel, laughing lightly. She picked him up gingerly, and with a last glare to Harley, went upstairs to find a bedroom to lay Conan in until he sobered up. Several people gave Harley dangerous glances, before they all resumed talking.

The party thinned out slowly, eventually leaving only the Moores, Harley, two close friends of the family, and the hosting family, the Mitimos, themselves. 9 people. Harley had long since taken to the couch, watching TV. Rachel had dozed off with Conan upstairs. Mr. Moore was drunk and babbling something or other to Mrs. Mitimo. The friends were chattering in the kitchen, and Mr. Mitimo had recently retired upstairs.

Harley got up to retrieve a peace offering from the kitchen for Rachel and Conan, when something caught his eye. A knife was missing from the display...he thought nothing of it, however. There were several trays and snacks about. It was very possible it was being washed. Still. His detective's instinct told him something was wrong. He grabbed a series of snacks, loading them onto two plates and wandering upstairs with them.

The house had several bedrooms upstairs. Four, to be exact. He tried the first one, but it was empty. But on try two...he dropped everything with a loud "WOAH!" This in turn woke Rachel, who had been in the next room. She walked over to investigate sleepily.

"What's going on?"

Harley wrapped his arms around her, pulling her away. "Get back, Rachel. This is a crime scene."

Wooooo: And it's DONE. Fhew. I couldn't find a good spot to end, hence we get this long thing. I'm fond of it, though. It's spiffy.