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Anwar's POV

"Pic…nic?" I had to admit I was glad to see her, but I didn't have any idea what she was talking about. She quickly looked around, as if searching for someone.

"Is Rex around?"

"No. He is inside." She smiled and grabbed my hand, which caused my stomach to tighten, and was pulling me towards the entrance of the town.

"Come on!" I obediently followed, curious as to what a "picnic" was. "Have you ever been to Sunny Hill?" I told her that I never recalled being in such a place. "It's a great place. A nice breeze is always blowing up there." She flashed one of her innocent smiles at me before turning around. Suddenly she stopped walking, but didn't release my hand.

"I have an idea. Let's race!" A race? She would surely lose. I don't see why she would bother wasting her breath on something such as that.

I raised an eyebrow, and told her my thoughts.

"I would not lose! I happen to be a very fast runner, thank you very much." I didn't compliment her, and she says thank you?

I couldn't help but smirk at her and say, "Then why don't we find out?" she smiled, laughed, and then started running.

I easily kept up with her. She was fast, but not nearly as fast as me. When she saw me gaining on her, she giggled and sped up a bit.

I let out a deep sigh and decided to humor her.

Aria's POV

"These are my favorite kind." I passed a sandwich to Anwar, and he carefully inspected it before taking a bite. "Well, what do you think?" He simply nodded and continued his meal.

When we were finished, I laid down on the blanket I had spread out and closed my eyes.

The breeze felt so nice. I was warm outside today, but the wind was cool and refreshing.

"Can I ask you something?" I opened one eye to look up at Anwar.

"Yeah, anything." He seemed to hesitate a moment before continuing.

"Is there anyone you love?" I immediately sat up and felt my cheeks heat up.

"Wh-what?" He repeated his question, and this time I detected a slight pink on his tan cheeks. "Well, I… I mean, well… I don't know, maybe." He tilted his head slightly to the side.

"How are you not sure? Isn't it something everyone should know?" He sure learned his emotions fast.

"Well, um…" My face was getting really hot, and I knew it looked like a tomato. "I… I guess so. Um, well… no." He bent his head down a little with a sad smile on his face.

"Oh, I see." Was he disappointed?

"I mean, YES! Yes, I do!" He looked up again, this time his smile less sad.

"Oh, okay." He said, "I do, too."

I had to admit I was DEAD curious. Of course, my curiosity got the better of me. I asked. He refused to tell. I complained. He apologized. The cycle continued.

"But, why?" I complained.

"You tell me first."

"No way!"

"Then I guess you'll never know."

"Not fair!"

"I know."

He smirked and looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes a little. Of course, I was annoyed with him, but we both knew that wouldn't last long.

"What's wrong, Rempo?" I turned my head to see Mieli trying to comfort Rempo for some reason. I cocked my head a bit o the side, questioning it. "There's something wrong with Rempo. He hasn't spoken all day."

"What, am I not allowed to talk for a day?! Just mind your own business!" Rempo quickly flew to the top of the tree, away from everyone else. The sprits called for him to come down, and Mieli even went up there to try and convince him. Still, he wouldn't budge.

"Hey, Anwar? I'll be right back, okay?" before I could let him reply, I slipped off my jacket and tossed it on the ground. The tree was thin, but I knew it could hold me. I had done it a few times before this.

I grabbed onto the first branch with both hands, swung my right leg over, and then stood up, trying to avoid hitting my head. I repeated that process until I got to the top, where Rempo was floating.

"Hey." He seemed to jump at my voice, but he didn't turn around."Are you alright, Rempo? They're right; there's definitely something wrong with you."

"I'm fine. Everything is fine." His voice was softer than when he spoke with Mieli.

"No, you're not. C'mon, Rempo. You can talk to me." He slowly turned his body to look at me, and when he did, I could see a frown plastered over his features.

"I know I can, Aria, but I don't know if it's something I can really talk about."

"So you admit something's wrong?" he sighed and nodded. "Don't worry. Just tell me what's bugging you." He hesitated for a moment, and his face was getting a bit red.

"Are… are you in love with that guy?"

I stared with my eyes wide open and my mouth slightly parted. This was what had been bugging him?

"'Cause if you don't- I mean…" His voice trailed off, and he looked out into the meadow.

"What are you doing up there?" I heard Anwar's voice come from below, and I came up with some excuse about looking for a bird nest.

"Well, Rempo… that's a difficult question. I'm not sure myself."

"Aria?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that I love you, right?"

I could feel a tightening sensation in my chest, and I didn't know what to say to him. And I couldn't understand why my heart fluttered at his words.

"No… I didn't know." He gave a sad smile before leaning in to kiss my cheek. I could feel the heat rising higher and higher, right to the spot where his lips made contact with my skin.

"Well, I do. And I always will. And, well… for a spirit, that's a long time." He chuckled and floated back down to the other spirits, leaving me speechless at the top of the old tree.

Sigh~ that's another chapter down. I'm not completely satisfied with this one, but it will have to do .I'm going to start aiming for at least 1,000 words a chapter. It's 2:15a.m. So I don't feel like proofreading it, and I just really wanted to get this up. Thanks for reading, and don't forget: R&R!