CHAPTER 3

Haibara took another sip of coffee before setting it gently on the table and resumed her typing. It was about slightly past eight in the morning and the professor and Conan had not gotten up yet. Not that that was a surprise of any sort. The earliest time that the professor had ever gotten up without Haibara's infamous wake-up calls was for him to be just in time for linner. Breakfast and lunch was brunch, which made lunch and dinner linner. It was some lame joke that Genta had cracked up when she had told Conan about it and Genta had overheard, and she had not been able to get it out of her mind every since.

She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. Somehow Conan's kiss had woken her up drastically, and for some reason she had wanted to stay at the computer until he woke up and came out with a reason she did not know why. She blushed at the thought, and unknowingly her finger lifted up to caress her cheek before pressing it on her lips.

Blushing even more furiously, she shook herself violently and resumed her steady typing. She had almost unlocked the second code when a rather loud knocking sounded the room. She jumped at the noise before glaring at the door and stomped over to it. Whoever that was who was at the door, if it was not for something extremely important and life changing, she would personally wrap her arms around that person's neck, and-

" Hello! Ai-chan! Did I wake you up?"

Oh. Never mind then.

" Hello, Ran-san." She said tonelessly.

" Sorry for coming so early in the morning," Ran said sheepishly, stripping off her shoes and hopped past Haibara, a plastic bag in her hand. Haibara's eyes immediately traveled down to the bag she was holding, and looked up at her with raised eyebrows.

" Oh, that!" Ran said, dropping the plastic bag onto the table. " Well, it sort of is the main reason I came. Since you both did the favour of letting him stay over countless times, I guessed it would be paying back the favour to bring you all some breakfast!"

Wow, this girl must be really nice.

" You like teriyaki, right?" she went on cheerfully.

She must also be daft.

" Yeah" she said, forcing a smile on her lips. " I'm okay with it."

" What are you doing on the computer?" Ran asked curiously.

" Nothing." Haibara said, opening a packet of rice. " Just homework."

" Oh." Ran said, before sitting down. " Where are,"

" Sleeping." Haibara answered. " I'll wake them up if you want."

" No," Ran said. " It's okay. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you in private."

" Oh? What about?" Haibara said, not showing an inch of interest.

" About you and Conan," Ran said slowly, watching Haibara recoil at the thought. " I know it's none of my business," Ran persisted. " And you might just think that I'm being a busybody, but I would like to know what's going on."

" Why?" Haibara hissed, and Ran bit her lip at Haibara's tone.

Sure Haibara almost never smiled at her or even talked to her, but Ran was older that her, and so naturally Ran expected even the slightest of respect.

She bowed her head, bitterness in her tone. " Because the same thing happened to me and Shinichi." She said, and Haibara turned to look at her.

What?

" It happened not too long ago with me and him. I told him I loved him but he didn't show it back. And it hurt."

Haibara's expression softened.

Stupid, Haibara thought. He just didn't want you to get in harm's way. He still loves you. I bet you know he does.

" In a way we're both alike." Ran said, wiping her eyes softly. " We both have someone that we love, but's just out of reach."

Haibara didn't say anything, her hand still on the unopened packet of rice.

The room met with silence for a while.

" I fell in love with him ever since one last Christmas." Haibara said quietly, and Ran looked up at her. " There was a party in the living room in the professor's house, and I just stayed alone in the basement. I just sat there, staring at a blank computer screen, having no idea why I was there when I had absolutely nothing to do with it. That was when my eyes came across the picture of my past away sister in my room."

Ran licked her dry lips, not saying anything.

" I was weak all of a sudden." Haibara went on, breaking through the eerie silence that followed her last sentence. " So I just started to cry. I didn't make a big fuss out if it. I didn't scream or holler. I just cried. I had just about stopped when I noticed a shadow behind me. I turned at K—Conan was there."

Ran didn't say anything.

" He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight." She continued, biting her lip, almost forgetting Ran's existence. " I'm not fond of expressing emotions or being hugged and touched, but I just stayed there. And as I felt his arms around me, I knew that I would not fall for anyone else but him ever again."

Suddenly realizing what she had just shared, her face reddened furiously, and was about to say that it was all a joke once more, when she met with Ran's smile.

" As I said," Ran said. " You and I are terribly alike."

Haibara's eyes widened.

Ran just smiled at her.

Haibara's shocked expression changed to a warm smile.

" Yeah." She said. " I guess you're right."

-

" So how are you going to get about to ending up with Conan?" Ran asked, biting into a slice of chicken. The two of them had started to eat the still-warm food, almost totally forgetting about the waking up of the professor and Conan.

Haibara blushed and shrugged.

" I don't know." She said. " I don't think it's possible he would love me back."

Ran raised her eyebrows.

" Why's that?" she asked. " From what I hear from your friends and Conan, you're very popular in your class with both the girls and boys. And plus you're really mature, smart and pretty. Just like Conan."

Haibara bit into her teriyaki softly, not knowing what to say.

" Because I was the one who ruined his life." She said.

Ran would have laughed if she didn't know Haibara so well.

" Why?" Ran asked. " What did you do?"

Haibara ate quietly for a moment.

" I did something normal people would forgive." Haibara said.

Ran blinked. " But did he?" she asked again.

Haibara raised her eyebrows at this. Even she was not so sure. Did Conan still hate her for what she did to him? Did he still hate her for shrinking him?

" I don't know." She said.

Ran didn't say anything before smiling once again at her.

Haibara looked at her in surprise.

" I don't think he does." She said, laughing. " Or else he would not have showed affection to you at the Christmas party, right?"

Haibara bit her lip.

" That's true, but," Haibara said.

" Conan is a person who forgives easily." She said. " He does not remember past grudges. You should know that."

Haibara's hurt expression turned into a smile.

"Yeah." She said.

" Someday," Ran said brightly, dropping her chopsticks down for a moment. " You and I should go shopping together. I'll bring you to the best shops I know. Even a girl as pretty as you should get nice clothes once in a while you know."

Haibara wanted to tell Ran that her sense in fashion was ten times better that Ran's could ever dream of being, but looking at the sweet smile on Ran's face, she sighed and grinned. " Okay, Ran-san." She said. " I would like that."

The professor had heard it all.

From the top to the bottom.

He glanced at the sleeping Conan.

" Damn, just how do you do it?" he whispered softly, smiling to himself. " You created an impossible bond between that would have never started because of you. You made twp girls that would have never even liked you in the beginning fall in love with you. And,"

He glanced at Haibara, who was laughing with Ran.

" You turned a cold devil of hate into an angel of love."

With one last look at the two girls, he carefully shut the door.

END OF CHAPTER 3

By the way, the professor didn't think Haibara was a devil or anything like that. It's just that it was the only word that would fit in the sentence. Please read and review.