A/N- sorry to anyone who tried to review anonymously when I set up the account it automatically blocked anonymous reviews. I fixed it though, so feel free to review.

Chapter Two

Lantis sighed heavily and looked up at his ceiling aimlessly. His apartment was off-campus, but he could hear noise from the university nearby. Right now though the sound made no difference; he was deep in thought. In his last year, almost finished his masters he was falling in love. He had never considered what this might mean until now. How was he supposed to go up to Hikaru and just say, "By the way, I'm in love with you."

He almost hit himself for even thinking it.

The only thing that made him stir was a gentle noise from the other room, a voice, "Lantis? Lantis, you here?"

His heart seemed to leap into his throat when he walked into the living room and found Hikaru. His roommate was smiling as he walked out of the door, bowing slightly to Hikaru. "Hikaru." His voice was choked; he quickly cleared it when she looked at him curiously. "What brings you here?"

"Well…" she sighed and shifted the load in her hands, making the smell drift to him. She offered him the box, and he peered inside, his favorite, mushrooms and pepperoni. He grinned at her and urged with his eyes for her to continue. "You said you did all this Shakespeare stuff, and we have to read the first part of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I thought you could help me find the deeper meaning of it."

He nodded, setting the pizza on the coffee table. He went into the small kitchen and got glasses and soda, letting himself a tiny grin.

He came outside to find her staring at a picture on his side table. His heart clenched in his chest when she picked it up and gently ran her fingers across it. He watched her for a minute before he cleared his throat. She turned and smiled at him, her face brightened when she did. She set the picture back down, and he looked at an image of the two of them together outside the school. They sat on a courtyard bench, both smiling.

"I love that picture of you," she informed him. "You're smiling."

He gave her a small smile and sat next to her on the floor as they munched on a piece of pizza.

After the first piece the mood changed to school as he picked up her copy of the book, "So how do you like it?"

"I hate it," she muttered, and he looked confused. "What?"

"Most girls love this stuff," he informed her.

"Yeah, I would, but I don't really understand it. I mean I understand the words and the language, but keeping the characters straight is impossible. They all have basically the same names," she sighed and stared at the names, two of the main characters, dialogue went between them constantly, who was who anymore? Helena and Hermia, the names didn't vary at all for her.

"Well…" he looked for a better way to help her. "Well, it's not much different from Hikaru and Hikari."

"But they're totally different!" she protested.

"Not to me," he looked at her gravely, and she realized that maybe the language was her problem. Lantis was English and saw very little difference between her name and her dog's; she was Japanese and saw very little different between the names of the two women. "So you could change their names in your head, make them something different, something you'll know them apart by. Call Helena Hikaru and called Hermia Hikari."

Hikaru shook her head and giggled, "I could never do that."

"Why not?" he looked perplexed.

"Because Helena, I think, is supposed to be beautiful right? To have these two dudes after her, and Hermia is evil. I'd rather call Helena Emeraude and Hermia Alcione."

"Why those?" he inquired, feeling she had a deeper meaning.

"Well, there's an old Japanese legend about a princess from another realm. She was very beautiful, but she was trapped and lonely. You see, to keep her realm alive she had to constantly pray for the safety and well-being of her people, forsaking her own happiness. There was her head priest though, Zagato. He loved her, and she loved him, but they couldn't be together. Now, Alicione, she loved Zagato too, and hated Emeraude for stealing his affections. She fought the Magic Knights, the saviors of the Princess, in order to help her master Zagato, who had been driven by love into insanity and captured Emeraude, imprisoning her. Alicione did this to gain his love.

"Eventually, Alicione was defeated by the Magic Knight of Water, a beautiful girl with an ever-changing personality. She fought them all with a hidden desire to save her secret love, the Master Mage of the realm, whom they had captured and imprisoned.

"The story ends sadly though. It turns out that the Magic Knights had come to help the Princess commit suicide. She and her lover are killed by their hands, and they are banished from the other realm, back to the earth, with their guilt and lost loves.

"I guess," she finished her sad tale looking down, "it shows that true love isn't always easy."

"Hikaru, that's it," Lantis smiled a little at her.

"What's it?" she asked in between a piece of pizza.

"That's the point of A Midsummer Night's Dream, true love isn't easy. You understand it fine; you just need to relate it to something you're comfortable with," Lantis explained to her patiently, waiting for it to all fall into place. Eventually, it did.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as the whole book tumbled through her mind, and a light bulb went on. "Wow!"

He smiled at her, and she blushed, "You are an amazement."

She grinned and thanked him. "I am the only one who can make you smile."

"You can make anyone smile."

She thanked him again and looked at the box. She must have been hungrier than she thought, because between the two of them they had eaten almost the whole pizza.

*

Hikaru said goodnight to Lantis and shut the door of his apartment, slinging her book bag over her shoulder and sighing to herself.

She liked to think she and Lantis were just friends, but…she wanted more. The question that raced through her mind now was, did he? Was she brave enough to find out? She had lived her life being bouncy and lighthearted, but whenever he was around she plunged into a world where words, and courage, seemed to fail her. She had never not been sure of herself, and now she felt timid and shy. Sure she could pretend, but it didn't seem entirely right and not at all fair.

But she didn't want to lose what she had, so pretending was okay for now.

She could pretend to keep him near. She sighed heavily, something she very rarely did and walked into her dorm room.

"Hey Hikaru! Where have you been?" she turned and met the voice.

"Over at Lantis'; he was helping me with a book for English Literature," Hikaru answered her roommate, Presea, who smirked slightly but refused to answer Hikaru's questions at the gesture.

"So besides Lantis, anything interesting happen today?" Presea teased, making Hikaru blush.

"Well actually, there are two other Japanese girls in my Lit. Class."

"Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji?" Presea inquired.

"Uh huh, how'd you know?" Hikaru grabbed a soda and opened it.

"They both have reputations around here, very different reputations."

"Oh Presea you know I don't listen to that," Hikaru looked at the soda in distaste, "Diet?"

Presea disregarded both comments. "Umi, well she's pretty, and popular with the teachers…" she began.

"Yeah, our Lit. Professor said her reputation preceded her."

"Oh Hikaru," Presea sighed, "in a bad way."

Hikaru's jaw dropped, "No!"

Presea nodded, "But Fuu Hououji, she didn't need daddy's money, and doesn't use her body or beauty, she got a scholarship. She's very smart, but kinda reclusive," she gave Hikaru the scoop.

"Aw Presea, that's not nice."

"True though, I met Fuu Hououji today myself. I was trying to help Ferio out with his homework when she came over and told us we were too loud.

"Ferio seemed quite taken with her, but you know him. He's French; he falls in love with every pretty girl he meets. He'll be over her in a week or less," Presea waved the distraction off.

Hikaru nodded, that did sound like Ferio.

*

Ferio threw the book on the bed and scowled at it viciously, "Stupid math," he muttered and then threw himself on the bed. "Oh but what wonders does it bring," a stupid grin swept across his face when he thought of the girl who had approached him that day.

"And yet," he turned and glared at the book again, "you made me tongue-tied. I should have said something!"

"Talking to yourself again?" someone teased from the door. "Oh wait, never mind, you're talking to your calculus book."

Ferio glared at his roommate as he walked in the room. He seemed to loom in the doorway. He was easily a foot and a half, maybe two feet taller than him, almost as tall as the frame. "I am not crazy Ascot!" Ferio protested.

"I didn't say you were!" Ascot threw his hands up and sat in a chair in the room. "I was simply saying that you were talking to a book which just isn't very healthy Ferio. I mean, wow, that's just not healthy."

Ferio glared again at the boy.

"Besides, it's not healthy to be taking Calculus in your-what-fourth year of college?"

"Hey!" Ferio protested, "I'm not slow, I'm just misunderstood."

Ascot laughed and grinned at his friend, "I know."

Ferio sighed and looked at the book, "I just don't get it, and Presea only makes it worse. I know she's trying to help, but she's too strict."

"Well if you didn't fall asleep while she was talking…" Ascot began, but Ferio cut him off.

"If she didn't talk so much I wouldn't have to fall asleep."

"If you were paying attention you wouldn't fall asleep."

"If I paid attention I would…" Ferio stopped, realizing Ascot had caught him as the other boy finished his sentence.

"Pass?"

Ferio scowled and nodded. He quickly stood and walked into the kitchen, "So are you hungry?"

"No, I just ate," Ascot called back, "Thanks though."

"Suit yourself," Ferio pulled out leftover pizza and heated it up.

"I went to the coffee shop around the corner, and there was the most gorgeous girl there," Ascot sighed happily at the memory and fell into a chair next to Ferio as he ate.

Ferio stopped in mid-chew, and rage swam in his body as he managed to mutter, "Oh?"

Ascot nodded, "But she left before I could say anything to her, not that I would have but…"

"What…what did she look like?" Ferio tried to be uninterested, but he knew that if Ascot described the girl in the library he would personally beat him to a pulp.

"She had gorgeous blue hair and these amazing blue eyes. She looked sad though; she ate alone and left when someone came near her. I thought she was going to cry, but I didn't hear what they said."

Ferio sighed and finished his pizza quickly. It wasn't like Ascot to fall in love with pretty girls he didn't know. This didn't seem like him at all.

As if Ascot sensed this thought he added, "But I don't really know her."

"Well," Ferio grabbed another piece. "I met the most gorgeous girl today."

"Really?" Ascot didn't seem surprised.

"Yes really," Ferio growled. "She was in the library when Presea was trying to teach me, unsuccessfully. She seemed smart, I wonder…" in his head he was planning what he would say to her to convince her to help him study.

"Oh no," Ascot muttered and stood. "Well I'll leave you to your scheming, it's late and I have early classes tomorrow."

Ferio looked at his watch and realized it was time for him to start partying. He grabbed his coat and walked out toward the nearest frat-house.

*

Fuu sighed and looked up from her biology book. What was she doing? She didn't have classes until mid-afternoon. She should go out and have a good time; college was half-social too. It was still early, early for most. And what was stopping her? This biology test? As far as she could tell she knew the book from cover to cover.

Somehow, her mind convinced her that she was going to go to a party; something she hadn't done in over four years. Tonight, Fuu Hououji, you're going to do it, she promised herself.

So she went into her room, got changed, grabbed a light sweater and shut the door behind her.

*

Hikaru numbly dialed his number, "Hey Lantis."

"Hikaru," on the other end he sounded surprised.

"Presea and I are going over to Alpha Beta; you wanna come?" she asked casually as butterflies formed in her stomach.

"Sure," his casual façade must have worked because her voice remained unchanged.

"Great, see you in ten."

"Okay."

She hung up the phone and let out a small cry of happiness as Presea walked in.

"I swear," she muttered and modeled her outfit. She wore a pure white dress that was supported only by four small spaghetti straps, two on each side. In the middle of the dress, holding the straps and the dress together was a great jewel that looked like a ruby though Hikaru knew it wasn't. Her hair was in its normal state, a high ponytail with a red tie that went all around it. Her brown eyes twinkled as she twirled a sash that went with the dress. It looked like it should be longer than it was; it only went to her knees.

Hikaru grinned and nodded her approval, "Nice, very nice."

Presea thanked her, and they were off.

*

"No, I'm not going," Umi put her foot down.

"Come on, please," Caldina begged.

"Why? So they can ridicule me? I think not!" Umi sounded firm.

"Please, please, pretty please," Caldina begged. "For me?"

"No Cal, not even for you. I can't take that, not tonight," Umi flopped into a chair.

"No one will bother you when I'm around, and if they do I'll beat them up."

Umi giggled but shook her head.

"One comment and you can leave," Caldina bargained.

"Promise?"

Caldina nodded, "Promise."

Umi agreed, and Caldina squealed in happiness, "Yey! Thank you so much!"

"You owe me," Umi pointed a finger, and Caldina nodded and pulled Umi out the door with barely enough time to grab a jacket.

*

Fuu timidly walked into the fraternity house and looked around her. This was a bit different than the parties she went to as a freshman in high school.

The music blared loud in her ears, drinks were passed around freely and people danced half falling.

How did people have fun at these things?

She was about to leave, except when she turned she met golden cat eyes. A blush rose to her cheeks when he addressed her.

"Didn't expect to see you here!" he called over the music.

She smiled, not knowing what else to say or do.

"Wanna dance?"

She shook her head.

"I see," his eyes dropped, and he walked in, brushing past her.

"Just…I don't know how," she burst out, then blushed and looked down. Her fingers intertwined with one another.

He grinned, his confidence restored and nodded. Not wanting to seem too eager he winked and disappeared into the sea of people, "See you around!"

Her shoulders dropped, and she sighed, "Well, looks like I'm stuck here."

She wandered into the house and went unnoticed until she turned down the shot of whiskey someone handed her.

"Woah, get this, it's Fuu Hououji!"

Eyes spun and jaws dropped, and Fuu's face turned red.

"Uh…"

"Fuu Hououji…" word spread quickly.

She looked down, and people moved out of her way. She ran into a bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub, shaking.

What had just happened?

Her whole body trembled. Was she that much of a recluse?

Then she thought it was maybe because half of them were drunk, or maybe it was the smoke in the air.

"Or maybe it's you," her mind mocked, and she closed her eyes and breathed.

Why was she being so stupid over something like this? They weren't teasing her; they would accept her. Right? Right. Of course they would.

So all she had to do was just stand up and walk to the door, stand up and open the door. But she found that her feet were frozen.

Stand up and…still she was sitting on the rim of the tub, trembling violently.

"Okay Fuu, one more time," her mind urged, but still she was stationary.

A knock on the door forced her voice to emerge, "Who is it?"

"Fuu open up," the voice was masculine.

"Who is it?"

"Just open up and find out," the other voice seemed persistent. At first she was hesitant, but somewhere that mind of hers managed to pull its body up and force it to the door. She opened it a crack and saw golden eyes.

"Oh," she said softly and walked outside back into the eyes.

"Come on," he took her arm and led her outside. "This place isn't for you."

She was surprised when he didn't abandon her on the doorstep and walk back inside, but offered to walk her back to her dorm. She nodded weakly and apologized profusely.

"I just wanted to try something new," she offered a meek explanation.

He grinned, "I can understand."

"I guess I wasn't expecting such a violent reaction," she shook her head wearily.

"Hey it's okay; they're all looking for something new too. You shouldn't worry too much about it. After four years of college with you emerging it's like the big thing. You're kind of a celebrity."

"I didn't mean to be anything of the kind when I set out. I just try hard and study, that's all," she shook her head wearily. "If they put more effort…" she stopped herself from one of her long speeches on why they didn't succeed. "Never mind."

"Some people aren't as blessed," Ferio muttered and looked up when she questioned him. He would remember to pat himself on the back when he was out of eye distance of her. "Well, take me for example. You saw, I study, or try. It's hard though; some of the stuff doesn't make sense to me. No matter how many times I stare at a math proof I do not understand it. Some people just have natural talent. Studying only makes it better."

"Not true, all you need to know for proofs is vocabulary. If you memorize it and get the concept you can put it to good use," Fuu challenged.

"If you're so smart why don't you show me?" in the dark she couldn't catch the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Though her voice was quiet, and no one could tell, a battle was raging in her mind. She didn't like it that people thought that she just got good grades because she was gifted. She studied hard, if she didn't she would go to these stupid parties and have good friends and… she was ranting to herself again. "I will."

"Library, tomorrow? Five good? Five it is then," he turned and walked away when she stopped subconsciously in front of her room.

"What?" she asked, but he didn't respond, just kept walking. She just stared, shocked. He had just outwitted her.