I forgot to mention that this is the final chapter. Forgive me. And...be objective please. I rewrote it twice because I changed the ending. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review.


Five

The house had an unusual tension no one could have predicted. Yoh's friends who had gathered in the sitting room tried to have normal conversation even though their thoughts were understandably amiss. Sorrow and worry replaced Tamao's anger. Although there were questions to be asked and emotions to be expressed, no one dared to utter any words.

"You guys don't have to pretend I'm dead." Yoh said finally.

"Are you okay?" Tamao asked as if Yoh had given them all permission to speak.

"Yeah," sighing heavily he continued, "I'm just confused. I don't know how to deal with this. I don't even know what I'm supposed to think."

"Well, we don't really know what you're talking about." Manta seemed embarrassed by his statement even though it was true.

"Why are you mad at Ren?" Tamao asked impatiently.

"I'm not mad at him." Yoh's reply was a surprise.

"What do you mean you're not mad at him?" Horo protested, "I understand you're confused, but I think you should be angry...at somebody."

"Well, I was angry but..." Yoh paused to re-gather his thoughts then started again, "I'm not angry at him. I can't blame him for how he feels. It's not like he meant to fall in love," Pausing again, he turned to Horo with a frown. "Wait a minute. Who told you?"

"Told him what?" Tamao's question was ignored by the two.

"Ren told me six months ago. I just thought he would have told you by now." Horo replied reluctantly.

"You've known about this for six months and didn't tell me? You didn't think I needed to know that?" Yoh's voice seemed harsh and heated.

"Well, yeah I thought you needed to know, but it wasn't my place to tell you." Horo suddenly felt like he needed to defend himself, "It doesn't matter now anyway. You know about it now. So, what are you going to do about it?"

"What are we talking about again?" Chocolove asked hesitantly. Lyserg, Ryu and Manta seemed to agree with his question.

"Ren and Anna are in love and..." Horo started.

"Who told you that?" Yoh demanded angrily.

"What?" He didn't seem to realize Yoh was offended.

"They're in love?" Tamao seemed floored, "But..."

"Anna doesn't love him. She loves me. He has this crush on her that has grown into something serious. I have to figure out how to deal with this." Yoh stood abruptly and began pacing back and forth in front of them.

"You don't think there's a possibility she may feel the same way he does?" Horo asked after a brief period of silence.

"How can you say that, Horo?" Tamao yelled at him as if he were talking about her, "Anna and Yoh are supposed to be together. Ren came to break them up. He thinks he loves her. That doesn't mean she loves him back. She wouldn't do that to Yoh!"

"Why are you so mad?" Horo asked her when she paused to breathe.

"I don't know. I just need to figure out how to deal with this." Yoh started, excusing Tamao from having to answer the question. "I need time to think and clear my head."

"Maybe there's nothing you should do." Manta mumbled.

"Manta, he has to do something," Horo started.

"Well, maybe he's right." Lyserg said, convinced he had enough information to comment, "I mean, if Anna doesn't love Ren then there's no need to do anything. If he just has a crush, no one can control it. You can still get married and be happy... I guess Ren would just be sad."

"That makes perfect sense," Ryu said as the others began to speak simultaneously.

"You're right, Lyserg. I'm thinking too hard about this. I should just relax and clear my mind. Maybe I should take a nap...get some rest or something." Although Yoh seemed pleased with Lyserg's advice, his friend's words could not comfort him.

"You're an idiot," Horo's nearly inaudible words were only detected by Tamao, who nervously watched Yoh walk out of the room.

---

"We are talking about this right now. You are not walking away, and we are going to figure this out." Ren scolded.

"I'm here. Talk to me." Anna replied. While seeing Anna vulnerable was irresistible to him, Ren had grown irritated from her kiss.

"We do this too much. You kiss me, I ask you what it means, and then you act like I imagined everything. Nothing is ever your fault. You won't even admit that you kissed me just now. Don't you ever grow tired of lying to yourself?" Ren's heated comments sounded exaggerated since his lips quivered as he spoke.

"I didn't deny anything, Ren." Anna's soft tone surprised him, "I know I kissed you. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I can't take it back." She bit her lip as she watched him roll his eyes at her. "I didn't mean it that way..."

"So you don't love me? Just say it, please, and I'll be on my way." He sighed as he relieved the tree trunk of his bags.

"I can't let you leave like this," She whispered, stepping in front of him to block his path.

"Go home, Anna. You need to work things out with Yoh. The wedding is very soon, remember?" Ren's sarcastic tone wasn't intentional, but his anger made his voice uncontrollable.

"I can't do this."

Ren stared at the object of his torture, but for a few short seconds he didn't recognize her. Anna's face glowed as her hair blew behind in the wind. Her tears overflowed in her eyes and rushed as waterfalls down her cheeks. It was an emotion he hadn't seen before...one that he was not prepared to counter or decipher.

"Anna I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," He didn't know what else to say.

"You didn't make me cry, Ren." She was suddenly smiling, "It's time to be honest, right?"

"Right?" The normally calm boy that stood in front of her had now begun shivering.

"It's a complicated thing, really. I can't explain it except that I keep having these stomach cramps..." Anna's rambling seemed to amuse him.

"Butterflies?" he asked calmly.

"I don't have butterflies in my stomach. That's impossible, Ren. Use your head. I mean...this isn't coming out the right way...what I'm saying is that you may be right." Her nervousness satisfied him in a way he never imagined. She wasn't even looking at him.

"I think you love me on some level. Could that be possible?" Ren smiled and allowed his bags to drop at his sides.

Anna began pacing back and forth in front of him as she tapped her fingertips together. Ren tried to guess exactly what she was thinking but couldn't. When she stopped and faced him he held his breath.

"I love Yoh. He's my fiancé. He makes me happy and makes me feel safe. I don't think you can do that for me. I don't think you can make my life peaceful." Anna's tears were confusing to Ren as she spoke.

"Then you've made your decision, right? Yoh is the better choice. I actually agree with that. You should marry him and be happy for the rest of your life." In his attempt to make things easy for Anna, Ren's words became physically painful for him.

"I can't marry him." Anna's whisper was almost inaudible.

"What? But you just said you love him and he makes you happy and he's safe and..." Ren's frustrated rambling stopped suddenly as she spoke again.

"Ren, I love you. I have to make a choice, right? I can't marry Yoh and then regret it for the rest of my life...and I know I will. This is something I can't ignore anymore. I don't want to have to feel guilty for kissing you and then thinking about you every waking moment afterward..."

"You think about me every waking moment?" Ren's reply was ignored.

"I can't put him through that torture. I want him to be happy, and I don't think he will be, knowing how you feel about me. I...have to do something." Anna suddenly seemed scared.

"You have to call off the wedding and tell him how you feel." Ren didn't want to sound too eager because it would seem as though he had no regard for his friend.

Anna suddenly stormed away from him and began walking quickly up the hill. Leaving his bags in the grass, he followed her.

"Where are you going? Are you angry now?" he seemed confused by her haste.

"I have to get back to the house and tell him before I lose the nerve." She replied without looking back.

"Wait!" Ren picked up his pace to catch up with her and grasped her hand tightly. "You don't have to do this alone." He said.

She didn't look at him, but as her hair blew back and forth in the wind he could see she was smiling.

THE END