A/N: WOW. TWO YEARS. SOMEONE SHOOT ME. At least this chapter is longer? Apologies for my lack of conviction. There are only two more chapters, so this should be finished soon, anyways, whether anyone still reads it or no.

Warnings: Implied slash/shonen-ai. OOC-ness. I haven't written in the Beyblade fandom in far too long for this to be close.

Also, I caught myself writing Harry instead of Hilary a few times. My apologies if I missed one. D:

Chapter 3

From: byakko.dream

Sent: April 25, 2005 6: 11 PM

To: hamahelp

Subject: RE: Re: Re: I want to know you

My favourite colour is red. I like rock music. Basketball is my passion. I hate Math. I like you.

Hilary's jaw dropped and she groaned, leaning back in her seat. Well, Jesus, she thought, scowling at her computer screen. After a moment of fuming she ran a hand through her short hair and straightened again. He was telling more about himself, obviously, and things he felt described who he was. Hilary, on the other hand, found the lack of any real information frustrating.

Well, the best thing to do is fight fire with fire, she supposed. Stick him in her shoes.

She glanced at the closed door of Kenny's office, and her frown deepened. byakko.dream had answered so quickly…he had to be at a computer, right? Then…it couldn't possibly be Kenny, could it? A shudder ran through her at the thought. Technically, Kenny was not only one of her best friends in the entire world, he was also her very short, very young boss.

Her eyes returned to the short e-mail. Then again, Kenny did not do well with Basketball or rock music. He thought both were barbaric.

Utterly confused, Hilary began to type up an equally short response to her Admirer.

From: hamahelp

Sent: April 25, 2005 6:19 PM

To: byakko.dream

Subject: RE: Re: Re: Re: I want to know you

My favourite colour is blue. I like dance music. I want to be a journalist. I hate Science.

That night had Hilary awake for far too many hours, checking her e-mail every fifteen minutes, or until she just couldn't take it anymore and had to know if he had e-mailed her back or not. Six o'clock AM found her on her computer, tired and in quite the foul mood, her Inbox still void of any message from anyone.

Had he given up? Well, she wouldn't say she minded all that much. The whole situation was still rather creepy.

With a sigh, she got up and forced some coffee down her throat before preparing for what was sure to be an exhausting day.

She was at school by 7: 15, which was normal and quite possibly a bad habit of hers. With a coffee mug in one hand and a book in the other, she slid down the front of her locker without even bothering to open it and shut her eyes.

Hilary wasn't stupid enough to fall asleep right then and there. Really, everyone knew better than to leave oneself so vulnerable to the hordes of immaturity that stalked the hallways at any and all hours, Hilary better than most considering her best, best, best friend's twin brother was a major contributor to said hordes of immaturity.

That didn't change how tired she was.

Forcing her eyes open she could glare at the wall opposite her, Hilary took a long, long sip of her quickly cooling drink. She set her mug down with a slight clink of metal on tile and turned around on her knees to open her locker and at least dump her bag inside.

A loud, surprised squawk echoed in the hallway as far too many dark blue…who gives a damn's fell out of her locker and all over the tired form of Hilary Tatibana. Confused and a little bit angry, Hilary allowed herself to fall on her back and a large amount of the blue things to sit on her stomach.

"What the…?" She raised her head carefully, scowling at the paper bits and eyes glinting with curiosity. Hilary sat up cautiously and picked up one of the light, dark blue, paper…paper…

Paper cranes?

Despite herself, Hilary giggled and crossed her legs as she straightened her back. Paper cranes! That was…that was…well, it was just silly and cute enough that she forgot to be shocked someone had gotten into her locker. She twirled the tiny paper creature between two fingers.

Well, there was only one person she could think of who would possibly do something like this…though how had he gotten her lock combination?

"Hils! What happened?"

Chorusing, questioning voices snapped Hilary out of her contemplation of the paper crane and she let it drop to join the pile around her. She turned her head and raised a hand to hesitantly wave at the shocked figures of Miriam and Tyson Kinomiya.

"I don't know." She replied as Miriam ran forwards to kneel next to her, gaping at the many paper-birds. Tyson was not far behind, looking as tired as Hilary felt – though that was nothing new with the blunette. She turned to look at the many tiny bits of origami scattered inside her organized locker and around her. A bit of white caught her eye, and she frowned, leaning forward.

"How many do you think there are?' Miriam mumbled, breathless with shock and apparently impressed.

"Did you make these Hilary?" Tyson asked, sitting down next to his sister and picking up a crane, studying it much like Hilary had not a minute before.

She shook her head in a distracted response, turning the white square over in her hand. It was a CD case, as far as Hilary could tell. Miriam was also studying the CD, frowning in confusion. With a moment and a click, Hilary opened the case and a piece of paper – the same kind and colour as the cranes – slipped out and onto her lap. Miriam snatched it up before Hilary could even process its existence.

The blue-haired girl's brow furrowed as she read the note and bit her bottom lip. After a moment, she looked up at Hilary's dazed face and Tyson's amused one with a scowl before wordlessly handing the note to Hilary.

Good morning, Hilary!

I made the stupid birds and this CD for you, since we obviously need to educate you in the art of good music. I hope you like the cranes. We are getting somewhere you know. ;)

With love,

byakko.dream

Oh.

Hilary read it over once more and then folded it neatly and stuck it in her jacket pocket. Her movements were slow and drawn out, her way of stalling the moment when she'd have to explain to her best friends what the short greeting meant. She clicked shut the CD case and finally raised her eyes to Miriam's.

Miriam was scowling, her arms folded under her breasts as she surveyed her friend. Tyson was looking between, still confused and still holding one of the cranes.

"Okay, Hilary Tatibana: what the hell?"

From: byakko.dream

Sent: April 26th 8: 42 AM

To: hamahelp

Subject: Smile?

By the time you read/get this, I'm betting you've already gotten the CD and paper cranes I made for you. I also am going to be that you're trying to figure out what to do with the stupid little things.

I'd tell you how many there are, but I lost count around the same time my fingers cramped up.

-byakko.dream

Miriam was not happy with Hilary, understatements aside, and refused to speak to said aspiring-journalist for the first two periods of class and even during the forty-five minutes in which Tyson suggested they sit and watch the Boys' Basketball team's morning practice – after, of course, they piled all the paper cranes into a plastic bag Tyson always had lying around.

Hilary didn't understand how Miriam could be so upset. Sure, she hadn't told her about the whole 'secret admirer' thing, but, come on! Miriam wouldn't have told her, either, had she been in the same boat.

When she voiced this, Hilary got a heartfelt glare and a hissed contradiction that yes, she would have.

The saddest part was that Hilary found herself entirely too distracted to come up with a way to get back in her friend's good graces or to pay attention in class. Instead, she found her thoughts always slipping back to the bag of paper cranes and the CD byakko.dream had left for her (educate her in music? Ha!).

"Psst!"

Hilary let her pencil fall onto her open notebook at Tyson's slightly conspicuous whisper. She turned in her seat, ignoring their English teacher's interjecting cough, and nodded to him to show she was listening. Tyson grinned.

"Are you going to the dance?" He asked, and, next to Hilary, Kai slapped his forehead audibly. Both Hilary and Tyson shot an amused glance at him, before turning back to each other. Kai was muttering to himself, scribbling furiously in his notebook.

"The dance?" Hilary echoed with a frown. Well, she played a large part in planning it, of course, but she didn't want to actually dance. Tyson nodded encouragingly to her, and she settled for, "Maybe."

This was, apparently, enough for her blue-haired friend. "Great! We can all go in a big group!" Tyson said cheerfully. "You, me, Kai, Miriam…hey, we could ask Max and Kenny!"

Here, Hilary suppressed a giggle, trying to imagine Kai or Kenny dancing.

"Max? I thought you didn't like how he looked at your sister." She replied teasingly. Tyson scowled at her, and she endeavoured to answer him. "Well, I suppose we could do that, if Miriam wanted to start talking to me again," she shot a glance at Miriam, who was a couple of seats ahead of her.

"Good! 'Cause then Kai and I can go together and not look, you know, gay."

"Tyson! Shut up!" Kai had turned full around and chucked his novel (which, Hilary remembered, they were supposed to be reading) at Tyson, earning further giggles from Hilary and more manly ones from Tyson.

"Even though, you know, you are gay?" This earned Hilary a wad of paper thrown at her face.

"I hate you both." Kai hissed, looking around them as though the entire class was about to start condemning him for dating an idiotic boy. His eyes settled on the bright-eyed boy next to him, and his scowl and foul mood intensified. "What are you looking at, Kon? Do your work. Give me back my book Tyson."

Tyson threw the book back to Kai with a barely suppressed chuckle and Hilary grinned. As she turned back to her own work, a pair of yellow eyes caught hers and she blinked, shocked that popular basketball-captain Rei Kon was looking at her. Well. She would just stare right back then.

"Man, are my hands ever sore."

Her head spun around again and she stared, panicky, at the dark-skinned boy sitting behind Tyson. Tyson, Kai, and Rei all looked at him too, his voice carrying around the classroom. Hilary noted with some jealousy that their teacher didn't cough at him.

Eddie Wheeler was annoying, she found, and most certainly your stereotypical jock. Normally, she would ignore his existence as much as possible, but his last complaint had caught her attention, dragging her thoughts again to the note and paper cranes sitting in her locker.

Eddie was talking to the boys on either side of him – Steven and Michael Who-Gives-a-Damn – with a wide grin on his face. Apparently he had realized a large majority of the class was giving him their attention. He sighed dramatically.

"I take it basketball practice was tough this morning?" Michael replied boredly, leaning back in his seat with his hands tucked behind his head.

"Yeah," Eddied nodded his head, apparently not interested in the fact that his two friends really didn't care. "Captain ran us real hard this morning…I think he was in a bad mood 'cause he didn't sleep last night or something."

"If you don't like it, you're welcome not to come…just don't expect to play, either.' Growled Rei as he turned to face the front again, apparently not interested in his team-mate's complaints.

Eddie raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything of the sort, Rei." He responded smoothly, smiling at the Chinese boy's back. "Basketball's my passion; I'll give up some sleep for it just like you." Rei grunted in response.

Hilary stared at him, heart pounding rebelliously in her chest.

Basketball is my passion.

My hands are sore.

The basketball team was around way earlier than everyone else this morning, she knew that, and that gave her admirer plenty of time to break into her locker and stuff his hard work in there. Hilary shuddered and turned slowly back around. Numbly, she reached forward to clench the already-worn school novel in her hands. Somehow, she didn't think Eddie Wheeler was that resourceful, but…those phrases couldn't just be coincidence, right?

Another shudder ran through her. Well, she wasn't quite as interested anymore, that was for sure. She scowled to herself, trying to imagine idiotic, big-headed Eddie Wheeler writing her those e-mails or making the pretty little cranes in his big fingers.

Under her breath, Hilary muttered, "Ew."