I'm going mad, but I know I'm going mad so I must not have gone mad yet. Mad, mad...no get that word out of there. I am not going to go mad, do you hear me? Shut up.

Haruka is going insane. She is sitting on her couch with her knees pulled up to her chest, rocking back and forth and trying to keep herself calm. Yukino sits beside her with a hand on her shoulder and a comforting look on her face. "What's wrong, Haruka? You can tell me."

"I don't know anymore, Yukino. What's real?" She reaches out and touches Yukino's face. "Are you real, Yukino? Tell me you're real."

"Of course I am, what else would I be?" Yukino takes Haruka's hand and holds it to her chest. "Tell me what's wrong."

Haruka's gaze turns glassy and she stares off into nothing. "Do you remember that time we went to my family's cabin for spring break?"

-IPR-

Said cabin was nestled in the foothills of northern Virginia and was owned by Haruka's father Robert Armitage. It was a small single-story, all wood structure built by hand by Haruka's great-great grandfather and passed down in the family for over a century. Now that the Armitages lived in the city it went unused, so when spring break of their senior year came around Haruka decided it was time to use it.

She had invited most of the class before Yukino gently reminded her that the cabin was quite small and there wouldn't be room for everyone. Haruka reluctantly uninvited everyone except Shizuru, Natsuki, Yukino, Reito and herself. Reito 'had something come up' and was unable to attend. The truth was that he had been sleeping with one of his mother's advisors and was planning on spending the week with her.

So that left the four girls packed in Shizuru's car driving out to the countryside. Shizuru was driving with Haruka sitting beside her in the passenger's seat because she had to show her the way, Yukino and Natsuki sat quietly in the backseat. Haruka frantically tapped Shizuru in the arm. "No, it was that last road. You missed it, turn around."

"Okay, calm down." Shizuru spun the car around and turned onto an unpaved dirt road that wound through the hills for ten miles before coming up to the Armitage's cabin. Shizuru parked the car in front and all four girls piled out. Natsuki complained about her legs hurting while Haruka went to unlock the house and Yukino started unpacking. Shizuru took in all the wild country. "It's beautiful out here."

Haruka returned and everyone got to unpacking. Shizuru lifted her bag and the sound of bottles clacking and liquid sloshing emanated from it. Haruka looked at her inquisitively. "What's in the bag, Shizuru?"

"Just a couple of bottles from my father's private stash. He won't miss them."

Natsuki took two more bags out that were Shizuru's and slung them over her shoulder then her own duffel bag. She sagged under the weight and Haruka, unfortunately, noticed. "Need some help there, Kuga?"

"What's in these, Shizuru?"

"Just clothes and things I'll need for a few days."

"Did you have to bring a wardrobe?"

"I need to have things to wear." Shizuru grinned at Natsuki, "Unless you want me to wear nothing. Do you want that, Natsuki?"

Natsuki blushed and Haruka spun around. "Hey, keep that flirty stuff to a minimum, okay? I don't want to see it all the time and neither does Yukino. Right?"

Yukino blushed in her mousy way. "It's kind of nice, I think. You know, to express your love for another person. It's beautiful."

"It's shameless and ill-mannered is what it is. If everyone kept to themselves the world would be a better place. Now come on, we've still got to turn on the generator and figure out what we're eating. I'm starving." Haruka stomped into the house followed by Yukino then Shizuru with Natsuki bringing up the rear.

The inside of the cabin was lavish, far more lavish than it appeared from the outside. A large rug sat in the center of the room surrounded on two sides by a pair of large red velvet couches and a matching recliner on the third side. On the walls hung pictures of Haruka's family through the years, Yukino looked through them until she found one of Haruka at around age ten. "You were an adorable little girl."

Natsuki set the bags down on the rug, "Yeah, what happened Haruka? You fall in a well?"

Haruka brandished a large kitchen knife at Natsuki. "As a matter of fact I was always big for my age so I got teased a lot. Well, until they realized that I could beat them up anyway. They usually left me alone after that." Haruka opened a door on one side of the cabin and tossed her bags inside." Yukino can sleep in this room with me and Shizuru, you and Natsuki can sleep in the guest room on the other side." Haruka went to the front door. "I'm going to turn on the generator, I'll be right back."

Shizuru and Natsuki took their bags to the guest room and started to unpack. Shizuru pulled out several bottles of wine and took them to the kitchen. When she returned, Natsuki had already unpacked her duffel bag and was laying on the bed with her eyes closed. Shizuru approached the bed and sat down, Natsuki opened her eyes. "Aren't you going to unpack? You've got a lot to do."

Shizuru laid down on the bed next to her and put her head on her chest. "That can wait, right now I want to relax." She yawned and listened to Natsuki's heartbeat. The rhythmic thumping relaxed her and, coupled with having driven the whole way there, she was asleep in moments.

The lights flickered on and the front door opened. "Lights are on. Who's cooking?" Haruka bellowed from the living room before plopping down on one of the couches.

Yukino came out of the main bedroom and walked to the kitchen. "I'll cook for you, Haruka." Then under her breath muttered, "Every day if you'll have me."

"What?"

"I said I'm making spaghetti."

"Sounds good. Where are Natsuki and Shizuru?"

The clatter of pots and pans sounded from the kitchen as Yukino took out what she needed. "The guest room, I think. They must be unpacking."

Haruka stood up and walked to the guest room door. She opened it and looked inside. Shizuru was asleep beside Natsuki who turned her head on the door. Haruka whispered, "Is she asleep."

Natsuki didn't whisper. "You don't have to whisper, she sleeps like a rock." Sure enough Shizuru didn't stir. "It was a long drive here, she must have been exhausted."

"Yukino is making spaghetti, it should be ready soon." Haruka stood in the doorframe for another moment. "I'm jealous of you two. You seem so happy when you're together. I want that some day."

"It never occurred to me to want to be this close to someone. Before I met Shizuru I always wanted to be alone, I was just more comfortable that way. I don't know what she did but she changed me. Now I can't imagine living without her."

"Are you happier now?"

"Happier? I wasn't unhappy being by myself, but being with Shizuru is ... satisfying. That's the word, satisfying." Natsuki tried to sit up but Shizuru wouldn't let her. "Now that I think about it, I'm kind of tired, too. I think I'll lay here for a while."

Haruka made a whipping sound and flicked her wrist, to which Natsuki made a face but didn't argue. "There will be food out here when you're ready."

She left and Shizuru hugged Natsuki tighter. "What happens when I have to go to the bathroom?"

"You'll just have to hold it."

"Right."

-IPR-

Shizuru woke up just before the sunset to an empty bed. She found Natsuki on the patio sitting comfortably in a chair with a glass of wine in her hand. Shizuru threw her arms around her and kissed her on the neck. Natsuki laid her head back, exposing more neck to her. She looked out over the world as the sun dipped just below the tree line and everything looked like it was covered in gold. A soft wind blew through the trees filling the earth with song. She spoke softly as if her voice might break the picture before them. "It's beautiful out here."

Natsuki found her lips for a kiss. "Yes it is."

"I see you already started on the wine."

Natsuki swirled the glass in her hand. "I wanted to wait for you, but Haruka was insistent that she didn't care."

Shizuru went inside to pour herself a glass then returned to the patio. She pulled a similar chair up to Natsuki's and sat next to her, taking her hand and holding it across the armrests. They sat in comfortable silence for long moments. Shizuru can't remember ever being happier. "Where are Haruka and Yukino?"

"Playing in the woods. Haruka mentioned some haunted house that she knew about. She asked if I wanted to go but I passed. No thank you."

"Maybe we should go, Natsuki, I want to see it." She laid her head back and looked at Natsuki with affection. "You'll protect me, right?"

"Nope, sorry I don't do ghosts."

Shizuru pouted. "So you'd let them take me and do all kinds of naughty things to me? You wouldn't even fight for me?"

Natsuki shook her head. "Not if it's ghosts, sweetheart."

Shizuru laughed. "Then maybe we should just stay here."

"Now you're talking sense."

-DSOF-

Meanwhile, Haruka and Yukino were walking through the woods in search of the haunted house that Haruka mentioned. The sun was going down and it had gotten dark beneath the trees. Yukino held tightly to Haruka's arm, both relishing her proximity and afraid of what lie ahead. The bushes near them rustled and Yukino shrieked and jumped on Haruka's back. "Hey, not so tight." From the bushes jumped a rabbit that looked directly at them before continuing on with it's day. "See, it's just a rabbit, now can you get off me."

"Sorry, Haruka." She got off her back, but refused to let to of her arm. They walked together for another minute or so before they came upon a small clearing in the woods. What remained of a cabin stood at the opposite end, it's roof had crashed down upon it making it look more like a pile of lumber than a house. What sent chills down Yukino's spine wasn't the house itself. It was the silence and stillness that seemed to occupy the clearing.

"This house used to belong to a family we knew, but they moved away. The rumor is that their only son had died in his bed and the parents, unable to stand the grief, moved away to the city after strange things started happening around the house." Haruka was whispering, as if her very voice could break the spell. Yukino clutched her arm tighter. "If you listen really carefully, you can hear his name on the wind."

Yukino picked her ears up, when the wind blew through the broken timbers if the house it did seem to say "Shawn". Or it could have been Haruka whispering the name under her breath. Either way, Yukino grabbed Haruka by the waist and held on for dear life. The timbers groaned as they settled and Yukino shook. "Let's go back, Haruka. I don't like this place."

But Haruka's thoughts weren't there. They were, in fact, with the boy who had lived in that house who was now dead. A boy that was close to her when she was growing up. Her face was blank but her thoughts raced behind her sightless eyes. "I wonder what it would be like if he had lived. If we would have dated or married? How he would have proposed to me?"

"Who?" Yukino was confused and scared, a terrible combination for the brunette. "Who are you talking to, Haruka?"

Haruka shook the memories from her head. "No one. Let's head back and see what those two lovebirds are up to."

When they arrived back at the cabin both Shizuru and Natsuki were drunk, sitting in easy chairs on the patio. Natsuki had been trying, terribly I might add, to sing a love song to Shizuru who was almost falling out of her chair laughing. Natsuki stopped and sulked. "I told you I can't sing. It was your stupid idea in the first place."

Shizuru placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "It was romantic, baby, but you're right. You sound terrible."

"What is going on here? Are you two drunk?" Haruka stormed onto the patio. She noticed the empty wine bottles sitting near them. "How much have you had?"

Shizuru tried to lift her head, but it wobbled so much that she laid it back down again. "Calm down, Ha ... Ha-ru-ka. We came out here to relax and that's just what we're doing."

"Well come inside, then. It gets pretty cold out here at night." Yukino followed Haruka into the house while Shizuru and Natsuki tried to stand, but only together did they manage to get into the house to plop down on one of the couches. Haruka and Yukino sat down on the opposite couch with a glass of wine apiece.

"So did you find that haunted house, or whatever."

"Yes." That was all Haruka said about it, which was good because Natsuki had fallen asleep before she could hear the answer, Shizuru fell right on top of her. "Well, Yukino, I guess it's just you and..." Haruka felt a weight fall on her shoulder, Yukino had fallen asleep beside her. She downed her glass and the rest of Yukino's then sighed. "I need to find new friends."

-IPR-

Shizuru woke up in the morning with a pounding headache and a stomach doing somersaults. She jumped out of bed and had to find the restroom before her stomach emptied itself. When she returned to the bedroom Natsuki had woken up and was looking at her. Her voice was groggy and her eyes were dull. "Good morning, Shizuru. Feel better?"

"Not much." She fell into bed beside Natsuki and held her close, put her head on her chest and closed her eyes. "I'm hungry."

Natsuki laughed, "Let's go find something to eat, then."

Shizuru got shakily to her feet and Natsuki took her by the arm and led her to the living room. Haruka was already up and bacon was sizzling in a skillet over the stove. "You guys want eggs and bacon? You look like you need it."

Shizuru managed a nod. "Where's Yukino?"

As if on cue, the door to the other bedroom opened and Yukino appeared red-eyed and disheveled. She stumbled over to the counter and sat down. "Good morning, lightweight. Want some breakfast?" Yukino managed a nod and Haruka laughed. "Drink some orange juice, you'll feel better."

This story is more difficult for me to write than the others, so the delay between chapters is longer. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you're still enjoying the story.