Note: I do not own Skip Beat

I am a failure as a writer. I haven't updated in over a month; I am so disappointed in myself. I would completely understand if you all hated me and just left me. Now I could go on to a whole explanation on how I've been so busy, but you guys would still be annoyed with me. I'm sorry, and I hope I can somehow make it up to you.

-LIA

The next day, both of the two young actors woke up completely rested, after a well-deserved sleep, and it were as though there were a sort of weight lifted from their shoulders. Neither of them had realized it, but being so busy with jobs back in Tokyo, both of them had been completely stressed-out, to the point where their rest did wonders on both of their bodies.

Kanae woke first, having been a morning person her whole life, and immediately started her usual routine of heading straight for the bathroom to take a shower, the warm water washing away all traces of sleep from her body, as she remembered the events of the day before. She wrapped a large white towel around her body, and headed straight for the closet, choosing a simple white tank top and dark blue skinny jeans, along with white sandals to match, and her hair tied up in a messy but cute knot at the crown of her head.

It was a simple outfit and without many accessories, but somehow it went well with Kanae, making it seem much more fashionable than it actually was. Her hair was still a bit wet as she walked from her room outside, downstairs where Hiou was at, his hair a mess as he made breakfast.

He had woken up a few minutes after Kanae, and had walked downstairs in order to make breakfast, as he always did, when Kanae walked down the stairs.

He glanced at Kanae when she arrived, completely unaware to his bed-head as he placed the two plates of eggs and hash browns on the table.

"G'morning." He said to Kanae as he sat down. Kanae smiled. She had never seen Hiou with bed head, and it was a charming sight.

"Morning." She answered, sitting down as well, and they ate in silence once more. But this wasn't an uncomfortable and awkward silence like the night before had been. It was nice, and calming, a great change in their usual routines, to have someone else with them for breakfast. Outside the weather was perfect, the sun shining down and pouring into the rooms perfectly; a good omen, if there was such a thing.

After cleaning up breakfast, they started to make small talk, and Kanae sat down in the living room, starting to read the script while Hiou excused himself and went upstairs to take a shower, after realizing that his hair was a mess when Kanae kept on glancing at him and smiling. He came back down around fifteen minutes later, his hair still wet, as he dried it with a white towel around his neck. He wore a simple white T-shirt along with black shorts, and white sneakers. He held the script in his hand, looking through it as he went down and sat opposite Kanae on another couch. Neither of them brought up the question that they both desperately needed the answers to, which was "How do we express love?"

"Why don't we try to act out the first scene after Akira and Michiko meet, in the house?" Hiou suggested, finding it as good a choice as any on how to start.

"Sure." Kanae said, finding it a good place to start as well.

Immediately both of the actors were into their roles, and both stood, their scripts in hand, even though they both had most of it memorized anyways. Kanae was Michiko, all smiles and with a kind look in her eyes as she watched Akira, walking closer to him. Hiou was Akira, and the way he stood changed, back into the haughty and arrogant way he used to carry himself when he was younger, a bored look on his face, and a cold and calculating look in his eyes.

Michiko brought out a hand to him, a polite smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you Akira. I hope we get along." She said. Akira stared at her hand for a few moments, then at her. He didn't move for a few more moments, until he made a look of disgust and slapped her hand away. Michiko was surprised. What was wrong with this guy?

"Don't ever call me Akira." He said at last. "I don't give a rat's ass about what my old man does, but just because we're now siblings doesn't mean you and your gold-digger mother can start warming up to me." With that he turned on his heel and started to walk away from her, when Michiko grabbed his wrist and stopped him from leaving. He paused, then slowly turned back, somewhat surprised that she had dared to grab his wrist. But Michiko was furious. As soon as the words "gold-digger mother" escaped his lips she had felt her blood start to boil. How dare this boy, this kid, insult her mother.

"Let's try this again." Michiko said, her voice firm as she spoke. "I am Michiko, and I am your older sister. You are my younger brother Akira. My mom married your dad, and they are both happy. I don't care if you call me a gold-digger or anything else you'd like, but don't you ever insult my mother you disrespectful brat." The last sentence was said with such spite, unlike any Akira had ever seen before in his life, and coming from a woman nonetheless. He twitched once when he heard the word "brat" coming from her mouth, but ignored it. He was unfazed as he spoke.

"Age doesn't mean you have power over me. If you compare us, I am God, and you are a cockroach that managed to find it's way into my life. Don't speak as though you are my equal." And with that he shook his hand from Michiko's grip and left, leaving a fuming Michiko behind him.

Hiou stopped and turned back, having turned back to Hiou when he stopped. Kanae was back to being Michiko, and the way the two stood and looked at each other, it were as though they never had that heated scene from before.

"Well this doesn't make sense." Hiou said.

"How can these two fall in love when they hate each other from the beginning?" Kanae asked.

Hiou sighed.

"How the hell does the President expect us to learn how to convey love?" He asked, mostly to himself.

"I don't know." Kanae answered, lost as to how their president expected them to learn from each other, when both were in the Love Me section.

". . . . Have you ever had a first love?" Hiou asked suddenly. Kanae was stunned at first, but shook her head.

"No, I've never had a first love." Hiou simply nodded slightly, trying to think of a way to fix their problem.

"Have you?" Kanae asked after a moment. Hiou paused for a bit, then nodded.

"Yeah, but it was more of a crush than a first love." He answered, remembering about back then, and smiling slightly despite himself. "She was a proud girl, and very dignified, though on the inside I knew there was a kind heart. But then she went away, and she never learned of my crush." Kanae was silent. She couldn't really understand it, but she felt a small twitch inside her when she realized he had a first love. But why shouldn't he? Was she simply a bit envious that he had one before she did?

"Anyways I think that will be of little help. Other than that, I've got nothing." Hiou finished, shaking his head and returning to the present.

Kanae sighed. "I have another suggestion." She said.

"What?" Hiou asked curiously. Kanae looked away and stared at the floor instead, turning a bit pink as the said the next words.

"We need to close the curtains."

Hiou didn't know why, but when he heard those words his mind started to go into overdrive, imagining several dirty things about what she was suggesting to do. Kanae simply stared at the floor, turning a darker shade of pink as the seconds rolled by. The two actors simply stood there, both faces turning pink without their consent, as they waited until one of them moved in order to start.

That Night

The two actors kissed, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. As the kiss grew more passionate, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he pushed her down on the bed, a rough sound escaping his throat as he leaned upwards and took off his shirt, throwing it in a heap to the floor. She quickly did the same, and he leaned forward to claim his love.

Kanae and Hiou sat on the large white couch, both eyes glued to the screen as they watched the scene take place, a single bowl of popcorn between them. This was the sixth movie so far, and both couldn't look away, for every moment of the movie was a learning experience for both of them. Though for scenes like this, where the two protagonists finally make love both actors started to self-consciously shift a bit, barely noticeable to anyone besides themselves.

They had gotten Netfix and started to watch a marathon of American Movies, including Notting Hill(1999), Titanic(1997), Dirty Dancing(1987), Grease(1978), and Moulin Rogue(2001).

Time passed, and this movie too, ended. Kanae glanced at the clock, and saw that it was already near One AM.

"I think that's enough movie watching for one night." Kanae said, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah." Hiou stood as well, and yet both of them, despite it being so late as it was, were not tired. More like a bit restless to try out the new information.

Neither spoke of this though. It was more of a silent agreement between the two, using no words, simply their eyes once.

Hiou walked closer to Kanae and cupped her face with his hand, staring right into her eyes as he did so. They were only a few inches apart, and, feeling a bit bold, Hiou placed his other hand on Kanae's back, bringing them closer together. He knew that he was pushing his luck a bit by placing his hand on her back, but he felt as though it were alright, that even if he were rejected or told off, he could simply blame it on trying to get the feeling across. Yet this did not stop his heart from beating a bit faster as he stared right at her.

Kanae knew what Hiou was doing, that they were simply trying out the new information they had gotten, but it didn't stop her from getting slightly caught up with his actions, letting herself be held like this, unable to really hate it. She stared right into his eyes, finally seeing their true color, a clear grey. His eyelashes as well were finally able to be seen, so long and dark, that would make any girl envious.

He really is beautiful. She thought. She didn't even scold herself then, she simply stared at him more. Hiou leaned in closer to her, and for a moment, she thought he would kiss her. And yet the strange thing was that if he did, she wouldn't hate it.

Hiou stopped right before his lips made contact with Kanae's, and could feel her breath on his face as he stood there, stopping himself before he crossed the line. What was wrong with him? He had no problem kissing other girls on screen before, even when he was younger. So why couldn't he do it now?

It's because it's not just another actress. He told himself. Because it's Kanae, and we are still in this predicament. I shouldn't cross the line without needing to. No, I can't cross it. A bit slowly he released her, standing a bit over a foot away from her.

"It's late." Hiou said after a moment, his voice neutral, showing no sort of feeling for what he was just about to do. To what had just happened. "I think it's about time we went to bed." Kanae unfroze, and regained her composure, answering with the same tone.

"Yeah." Neither spoke another word until they arrived back upstairs and went to their rooms. Both said a simple "Goodnight." and went inside their rooms, closing the doors behind them, thinking about what had just happened.

We're acting. I got into my role as Michiko a bit earlier than I would have expected, and I simply saw him as Akira. Nothing more. Kanae tried to convince herself.

What the hell was I thinking? Hiou thought to himself. I almost crossed the line. That should never happen. We may kiss afterwards on set, but before then it's completely unnecessary. Stupid Midnight Magic. He thought to himself.

He sighed. It's best to just forget it. And with that both fell asleep again, having gone through another day safely(?) Twelve Days to go.

Thank you for reading!

It's not like I didn't do anything in over a month; I have been really busy.

I entered high school, I'm in all honors/advanced classes, I've been going to business meetings in hotels, (you know with the whole coffee, briefcase filled with papers and talking about politics kind of thing) I'm also in Drama Club and we've been having rehearsals pretty much every school day and we're now performing "The Tempest," I had about four in-class debates (I'm in the debate class) went to a Debate Tournament, won a trophy at the Debate Tournament, and during the rare times that I do have some free time I am either sleeping or I'm much too tired to do anything.

I know this still doesn't excuse how I haven't posted in so long, but at the very leas you know I haven't been doing nothing.

-LIA