Amethystwind: I'm so proud of myself. I'm actually writing and fairly close to the end. (sorta... I actually have no idea how much longer this is going to be. Depends on my mood....) A few notes before I get started....

Kari-123: I know I'm mean to my poor characters. I love em so much (which is why there is some Jenruki in this ch) but I screw with em waaaaaaaaaaay too much. sweatdrop And by the way, I see nothing wrong with Jenruki. I happen to like it. The only reason prolly won't end up as a Jenruki is because it was originally made for a ryuki plus everyone seems to want a ryuki.

Smallhands: I wouldn't even think about dropping this. For one thing, some people might kill me... But it's just so much fun to write despite me evil tendencies. It might take me a while to update at times but it will eventually finish. Hopefully with a happy ending.

Ryo's eyes widened and he quickly pushed Catherine away. "Rika, it's not-"

Rika shook her head, tears filling her eyes but she willed them not to fall. She raced past him, refusing to look at him.

"Rika! Wait!" but she was already gone.

"You deserve so much better, Ryo," the girl purred.

"Get off me," Ryo snapped. "It is impossible for you to take no as an answer?" he glared fiercely at her, not noticing the look of surprise on her face.

"Ryo!" the boy paid her no notice and raced after Rika.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Rika cried, flinging open her door and tore into her room. "And I thought that he would go out with a normal girl like me. But he's just like any other guy. He only cares about looks. But what guy wouldn't chose Catherine over me?" But she knew one boy who would.

"Rika, there's someone here to see you!" It was the next afternoon and Rika was lying in bed, refusing to move.

"I'm not in the mood to see anyone right now, mother!" Rika called back, rolling her eyes as she heard footsteps. 'Probably just stupid Ryo, feeding me some crap about how he's so sorry and it was all a mistake.' There was a gentle knock on the door and Rika glared daggers at the invisible figure on the other side. "Leave me alone!" she yelled.

"Rika, are you okay?"

"Henry?"

The door opened to reveal an uncertain looking boy, a look of worry in his steel blues eyes. "Yeah, it's me." He cautiously entered her room, taking a seat on the edge of her bed when she didn't complain. "What happened last night? You went off looking for Ryo and then you were gone. And you weren't answering you phone... We're all really worried."

"It's Ryo. When I found him...He and Catherine were..." A rebellious sob escape and then the tears fell as she did her best to explain. "I was so stupid! Why would he like anyone like me? Guess I'm back to square one, huh? Exactly where I was when this whole mess started," she added bitterly, doing her best to hold the tears back. ((don't you just hate crying infront of people?))

Henry placed his hand on hers, leaning over to wipe away a tear that was trickling down her cheek. "Rika, it's not your fault," he said, tone gentle and soothing. "He was the stupid one for giving up you."

Rika glanced upward, shining amethyst eyes filled with wonder as she realized her mistake... Who had always been there for her? The one who always knew just the right thing to say? The one she really loved?

His hand lingered on her cheek, his touch making her heart race. "Henry," Rika replied, her voice filled with surprise and a hint of happiness. The boy cocked his head, confused by her tone. "I don't love him." A slight frown appeared on her face as she tried to sort out her emotions. No, she didn't love Ryo. Physical attraction, lust even, but certainly not love. But the one she had loved all along was right there infront of her. Her frown faded into a smile and hesitatively, she leaned upward and their lips met.

Henry sighed, hands in his pockets as he walked slowly down the path through the park. Rika had just kissed him, why shouldn't he be happy? Instead, he was filled with a strong sense of guilt. As much as he sometimes thought otherwise, Ryo was still his friend. The idea of not just being in love with his girlfriend- or ex girlfriend- was bad enough but now his feelings might be returned... That was just more than he could handle. And what were the chances of Rika actually liking him? She had just found out that her boyfriend had cheated on her, maybe he was just a rebound. Another sick and twisted plot to gain Ryo back. But what if her feelings were real? What if this whole mess with Ryo was what triggered her true emotions? What then? And there was Alice. True, she said that she wanted him to be happy but who was really that selfless? But the thing was, he really did like Alice. The question was, who did he like more? Who did he really love?

"Henry?" A sorrowed voice interrupted the boy's thoughts and he turned to the direction of the sound to see Ryo sitting on an empty bench. "I suppose you're going to yell at me too? Don't worry, Rika handled that this morning when I called her."

"How could you do it?" Henry asked, his voice surprisingly even.

"Despite what she might think, I didn't do anything." There was something about how he said it that made Henry believe him. Maybe this was all just one big misunderstanding and the next thing he would know, Rika and Ryo would be back together. He shook his head slightly as Ryo continued. "Catherine asked to talk to me, I didn't have much other choice especially seeing as she was practically dragging me. She told me some crap along the lines of that I should be going out with her and not Rika. The next thing I knew, she was kissing me and out walked Rika. I did my best but..." he cut himself off, turning away. "Either way, Rika doesn't believe me. She just think I'm some shallow ass. I suppose this is your chance." His gaze turned upward, cerulean orbs filled with pure sadness as they locked with Henry's. "I just hope you can make her happy."

Henry's frown deepened. Was the really the same Ryo Akiyama that he knew? That Ryo would never give up. The boy sighed, taking the empty seat next to Ryo. "Rika's.... Confused right now. But I think, deep down, she still loves you. You just have to win back her affections." He sighed again, not believing that he was trying to help Ryo. 'This is how Alice must have felt,' he mused bitterly.

Ryo gave him a quizzical look. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you trying to help me?"

"Because you are the only one who can truly make Rika happy. I want what's best for her and the one who's best for her is you." Henry's heard was shattered as he said this but no matter how much he tried to deny it, he knew it was true. Rika was meant for Ryo and he would do everything in his power to try and make her happy.

Amethystwind: awwwwwwwwww. Not that much Jenruki.... Henry's too damn selfless. He and Alice make the rest of us look bad. I suppose that most people really couldn't do that, give up their love to make their loved one happy. But Henry' seems like the kind of person who would... hmmmnmm Enough ranting. Hope you liked it and please review.