Here it is: the chapter that is guaranteed to have you all hate me by the end. Because of it, I wasn't sure how long this chapter would run on for. So you're welcome. For everything. ;p

Thank you for reading!

This was just a walk. A nice, simple walk between two girls where one of them definitely did not have an attraction to other. Besides, what was there to be attracted to in Anora anyway? Her soft, earthy voice was rarely heard of. Her short hair that was styled into a bob with a soft color that in no way was a natural shade of pink. Her eyes giving away how easily impressed she was- sparkling in wonder at anything that looked mildly interesting. And her unblemished tanned skin that only glowed under the summer sun instead of burning like Strelitzia's tended to do.

There was nothing to be attracted to. It was all ridiculous. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the moment Strelitzia's hand accidentally brushed up against Anora's, and the older of the two got an excited shiver up her back. It definitely didn't influence Strelitzia to actually place Anora's hand into her own. And when Anora gave Strelitzia a funny look before putting on a calm smile, tightening her grip on Strelitzia's hand and making the carrot-red haired girl blush, it definitely did not make Strelitzia's heart beat out of her chest.

Of course they did talk for most of the walk. Or rather, Strelitzia did most of the talking while they walked. It helped to keep her grounded.

"Lauriam and I hadn't been to the beach since we were children." she explained in a small voice. "Our father was a conservationist and he'd take us with him while he worked. Or, tried to work, anyway. Lauriam wasn't as impressed with the ocean as I was; I used to be so enamored with tide pools that I'd daydream about all the little organisms that lived there."

Anora let out a small laughter. She could easily see a much smaller Strelitzia bent over at a tide pool, staring at the creatures trapped within with wide eyes.

"What about you?" Strelitzia then asked. "Have you ever been to the beach before?"

Anora shook her head. The corner of her mouth curled into a small smile before she said, "Beaches existed in fairytales. They just seemed too good to be true."

Strelitzia smiled. "It does feel like that, doesn't it?" she agreed. "I think it's the waves when they crash on the shore- it's a very calming sound."

The girls continued their walk until they arrived to a small plaza near the shopping area. Despite it being well into the afternoon, the plaza was completely empty. Strelitzia's heart clenched when she realized that this was the perfect time to finally tell Anora how she felt. But… could she even do it? This was only meant to be a simple walk, after all.

"A-Anora..." the oldest of the two started to say, forcing them to stop walking for a moment. "There's… there's something I want to tell you."

Anora gave a small sound of inquisition as she turned to face Strelitzia. They were still holding hands, a fact that Strelitzia suddenly became aware of far too quickly. She placed her other hand on Anora's elbow as if in some act to steady herself.

"Anora, I..." Strelitzia started, but couldn't finish. The two were about the same height and that meant they were looking each other directly in the eye. Strelitzia's jaw slacked as she admired the kindness in Anora's eyes. This was someone who saw her as a friend, an equal, but Strelitzia wanted more than that. So much more. Without her permission, Strelitzia's eyes moved on their own as they went from Anora's eyes to her lips. Her lips… oh, those very soft looking lips… So gentle, curved into a sweet smile. So… so tempting...

Unable to hold herself back, Strelitzia took hold of Anora's face and pulled them both into a tight kiss. Anora's whole body shook in surprise. Despite herself, she gave in to the gesture, returning the kiss in earnest. Strelitzia, meanwhile, had gone into autopilot; months of pining culminating into many passionate kisses that neither of them bothered to stop. It didn't even dawn on Strelitzia was she had done until she gently pulled them away.

"Oh my gosh..." Strelitzia mumbled. "I didn't mean… I didn't…!"

Anora couldn't say a word- instead blinking as her mind tried to process what had just happened. She looked at Strelitzia with glassy, confused eyes. It was the wrong expression, because to Strelitzia, it meant she messed up big time.

"I'm so sorry!" Strelitzia squeaked before running in the opposite direction.

Anora remained where she was; blinking in confusion as she was trying to figure out why her heart had decided to race a mile a minute. It took a small shuffle from some nearby bushes to partially snap Anora out of her trance. The girl slowly looked a bit to her left and numbly noted Ephemer was there- his eyes wide and jaw dropped in surprise. Anora only continued to blink in confusion.

"Ephemer?" she wondered out loud. When she moved her foot forward, Ephemer took a step back. It was that initial movement that made the boy take another step back, then another, until he finally spun on his heel and started to run away.

"Ephemer!" Anora called out, even making the feeble attempt to reach out to him. But he didn't stop, and so Anora was left there alone; still confused, still surprised, and her lips tingling from Strelitzia's spontaneous passion.

What. Just. Happened?

. . .

Lauriam had made a point to keep a certain distance away from the girls during their walk. They weren't aware that he was following them, or he hoped they weren't aware of it. Brain's meddling was not a welcome addition. An instinct rooted deep within Lauriam knew that something would happen between his sister and Anora if they were left alone for too long. His sister's pining honestly was not that subtle.

He had no reason to dislike Anora, honestly, but seeing his sister become so distracted that she'd forget to eat or do homework was definitely a pet peeve he didn't know he had until then.

The sound of Strelitzia weeping caused Lauriam to look up in alarm. Down the boardwalk came Strelitzia, her face buried in her hands and the sound of her crying coming louder as she ran toward him.

"Strelitzia!" he called out to her in worry. "Strelitzia, what happened?"

But his sister didn't seem to acknowledge him as she continued to run. She almost would have run into him had he not grabbed her by the elbow. Even if she did know her brother had grabbed her, Strelitzia tried to wiggle out of his grasp like he intended to hurt her. She gave up the struggle after a few moments but her tears did not stop.

"I can't..." she choked as she continued to weep. "I didn't mean to..."

Fear now making its way into his heart, Lauriam took his sister by the shoulders and roughly shook her. "Strelitzia, answer me!" he all but demanded. "What happened?!"

"I kissed her!" Strelitzia yelled right back- her tears flowing in torrents now. "I ki- I kissed Anora!"

The news hit Lauriam like a truck; his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in surprise. The only word he could manage to get out was a flabbergasted, "Why?"

"I don't know!" Strelitzia continued to cry. "I don't… I don't know!" The girl then buried her face into her brother's chest, crying her heart out with no sign of stopping. Still in shock himself, all Lauriam could do was hug her. This… was definitely not what he had expected. At all.

. . .

Ephemer felt like he was going to be sick. On one hand, his heart was racing so fast that it threatened to beat out of his chest; on the other, his stomach was in enough knots that he probably wouldn't be able to eat dinner that night. The boy ran a shaking hand through his hair as he paced back and forth. If he could have gone back in time to tell himself that Anora would kiss another girl (a girl, mind you, who was Lauriam's own sister), he never would have believed himself. But now here he was; his heart and mind in a battle of confusion and absolute denial. Anora had never seemed interested in other girls before, but -the more he thought about it- she didn't seem to be interested in anyone before.

There was also the fact that he hadn't seen what lead the two into that kiss. Not that either girl looked to be fighting it. Maybe there was some context he was missing? What other context would two people having before sharing (what looked to be) a very passionate kiss?

"Ephemer!"

The boy jumped before whipping around to see Anora coming up to him. Her face seemed paler than usual. Without a second guess, Ephemer ran up to her and they met halfway. The two just looked at each other for the longest time. So many thoughts were running through their heads. Where could they even start? How could they even start?

Yet, despite everything he wanted to say, Ephemer looked Anora over before calmly asking, "Are you okay?"

Anora froze. He didn't have to say it, they both knew he was referring to Strelitzia's kiss. She could feel her face heat up at the question. Was she okay? The more she remained silent, the more Ephemer's heart sank.

"Just… just answer me one thing." Ephemer quietly murmured. "Did you…? Do you…?"

Anora looked down at the ground. She knew what he was asking, but she wasn't sure on how to answer. Never before had she considered who she was and wasn't interested in. Too much information had entered her brain at once. She physically could not answer. Anora's conflict was not lost on Ephemer- he looked at her with sad, heartbroken eyes.

"I get it." he sighed, putting on a smile. "It's alright if you don't know."

Anora looked up at him. If it was alright, then why didn't he sound like it was?

Without looking at her, Ephemer walked a bit closer to Anora. He smiled, but even Anora could tell his averted eyes held a certain sadness in them.

"Whatever you choose, I'll support you all the way." he then told her, taking her hands into his. "That's what friends do, right?"

Especially friends who have crushes on their other friends.

Anora nervously bit her lip as she looked at Ephemer. Was it awful to say that she suddenly wanted to kiss him instead? Would it have only made things worse? Why did she want to kiss him? He was only being himself. Her head was still spinning; her heart was telling her one thing and her mind was telling her something completely different. This was all so confusing...

"Thank you." she finally said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Ephemer's only response was to hold her hands tighter.