So sorry about the delay guys! Now onto the story!

"Erm…hey" I said, shifting my weight from one foot to another awkwardly as I felt my face become increasingly warm I instinctively planted my gaze onto the ground to avoid looking at my best friend directly in the eyes, and consequentially blurt out every single thought I had concerning her from escaping my brain.

"…Hey" Alex replied cautiously, surveying the small band of three that Hunny, Mori and I had created in front of Lobelia's huge, detailed iron gates "What're you guys doing here?"

I removed my gaze from my feet and looked up at Alex. I could tell from the tone of her voice that she wasn't mad, but I was still surprised to see an expression of pure and innocent confusion on her face. I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her.

"Well" I laughed "After you were kidnapped by three Lobelia girls, what else would a friend done other than gather her forces and wait for your escape!"

Alex raised an eyebrow, and then turned to Hunny and Mori, or rather, the spaces that Hunny and Mori were occupying a few moments ago.

Somehow in the brief moment our eyes were off the two boys, they had taken off and must have gone home. That was just wonderful.

"Er…where are the guys?" Alex asked, somehow looking more confused than before, staring blankly at the space they used to stand.

I walked up to Alex, and pushed her along the sidewalk a few steps, indicating that we should be getting home. I would have pushed her further, but she quickly understood the message and ran ahead, before turning around ten meters ahead of me and yelling; "Race you!"

I grinned, and began running. Although Alex was miles more athletic than me, and would easily beat me on the track for P.E. lessons, it was always fun to run back home with her. Besides, with her so tired after the Lobelia dancing, maybe I stood a chance this time. I smiled gently, I was glad to have my best friend back.

COOL TRANSITION

"So" I said, nudging Alex in the ribs as we walked beside the road on the way home; limos and posh cars passing us by without even a second glance. "What was the best all girl's academy in the world like? Tell me every detail!"

Alex laughed, tipping her head back as she did so and allowing her somehow still perfectly positioned blonde hair to hang freely behind her. Once she had calmed down, she looked at me with a wide grin on her face. "It was both the most amazing and the scariest place I have ever been to! Firstly, the three girls that kidnapped me told me in their limo that they were part of this club, called the 'Zucchini' club or something-"

"I think their called the 'Zuka' club" I interrupted her, earning a roll of the eyes from Alex.

"Details, details Kate" Alex said, waving her hand in front of her as many Japanese seem to do to say 'no big deal'. "Anyway, then we got out of the limo and I walked down this really long red carpet, surrounded by these crazed fan girls. They must had been fans of the club because the three girls, particularly the leader with the short hair, Benibara was her name I think...Well anyway she was flirting with them as if the entire fan girl army were some sort of lesbian swarm!" she exclaimed, her hands were thrust into the air for emphasis.

Alex paused to take in a long, deep breath, giving me enough time to process the information Alex was spewing out at a hundred miles an hour, before continuing.

"Then, they made me put on the Lobelia uniform! Oh it was SUCH high quality Kate! It was like, a thousand times better than the best dress I've got! Then, they wanted me to dance for the Zuka club's followers in the dance club, and...oh you'll never guess what they said Kate!"

"What did they say?" I asked

"They said that I was perfect for a dance scholarship! And that I should start as soon as term's over!" She yelled, jumping up and down with glee as we walked along the pavement. The next thing I knew, she had jumped on me and was giving me the most lung-crushing hug I had ever had.

"Oh Kate!" She exclaimed "Thank you so much!"

"What the heck for?" I asked, trying to pry Alex's arms off of me.

"For everything! I mean, it's all because of you I can switch schools and move towards the future!" She replied, still bouncing up and down after letting go of me, how could she have that much energy?

"By the way Alex," I asked, now walking at a slower pace as we approached the crossroad where we parted ways "What exactly ARE your plans for the future? I've never asked, but's it's been nagging at the back of my mind for the whole of today"

"But of course," Alex laughed lightly "I'm going to Lobelia, you idiot!"

"Yeah, I know that." I replied "But what I mean is, what about after that?"

Alex paused, before sighing, and replying in the most serious tone of voice that I had ever heard her since she told me her dream in the first place. "Well, my plan was...for me to go...BACK to New York. And work professionally there."

I stopped in my tracks at that. Not just because we had reached the crossroad that we would pass ways either.

"What are you saying, Alex?" I asked, not daring to look at my best friend. "You know that I'm planning to stay in Japan, right?" this news hurt, I couldn't help but feel sad.

"...Yeah, I know." Alex replied. I could tell by the tone of her voice she hated this moment just as much as I was. "But, we will have to part ways at some point, you know?"

I suddenly heard the footsteps of Alex behind me stop as abruptly as I did. "I'm sorry Kate." She said.

Then, I heard Alex running. I closed my eyes so I couldn't see her run past me and down her street. No doubt at she would be distraught and pained by that one conversation, and I understood why, but for me, I felt that it was ten times worse.

My best friend, the one person I though in the entire world that I could depend on had just forced me to address the inevitable, yet completely unthinkable: Alex and I aren't going to be this close forever. No matter what would happen, if it be different colleges or jobs in different parts of the world, we would end up being separated sooner or later.

I ran, as fast as I could; faster than I had when Alex was kidnapped, faster than on a sports field, faster than my legs would ever carry me again. I felt that I would do anything to get away from that spot, away from that conversation. But yet, those words continued to ring though my head.

'We will have to part ways some time, you know?'

'My plan was for me to go back to New York'

'I'm sorry Kate'

I felt my chest become heavier and heavier the further I ran, and my legs felt as if they were made of lead, but I refused to stop running. As soon as I ran down my drive, I sprinted, without even noticing the limo parked outside my house.
I opened the door and ran upstairs to my room, not even bothering to see my brother and mother both sitting at the dining table, talking to somebody that if I had glanced upon, I would have recognized in a heartbeat.

I'll give you a hint; he had on him, a black notebook.

I leapt onto the bed, and let everything out.
Anybody that has had a proper cry would know that it's nothing like the sobbing or screaming in Hollywood movies. It's thousands times louder, more distraught and horrific to listen to than on the big screen.
I'm not afraid to say that I cried properly as I lay on that bed, and I've had more than enough attempts at strangling the sobs in boarding school to know that it can hold nothing to a proper wail.

After a good, solid ten minutes of sobbing, I had calmed down. Well, calmed down wasn't exactly the best way to put it...more like have moved from being a dramatic opera scene to falling into a spiraling depression.

I sat on the bed, emotionally exhausted. Not even bothering to change out of my school uniform, I sank into my bed, wrapped myself up in the covers, and slowly drifted off into a light, welcomed sleep. I half hoped that everything would be a dream, and that I'd wake up, and today didn't happen. Alex didn't be kidnapped by Lobelia, she didn't get accepted, and she didn't reveal her plans to move to New York after her time in school was up.

Of course, it never works like that, and I'm not the kind of person as to fool myself with such notions.

COOL TRANSITION

"I wonder what happened today..." I faintly heard the voice of my mother remark, as she said this; she straightened the covers around my half-asleep state. I felt the warmer patches of the covers move to different areas of my body as she spread the sheets more evenly.

"I don't think I've seen her act like that since we moved to Japan." I heard my brother Tom say, his voice laced in concern. I wanted to sit up, and tell him that I was ok, but my body refused to move, and my eyes refused to open. Everything felt heavy, like something was sitting on me, refusing to move.

The only sound to come out of me was a mild groan, which sounded more like I was dreaming something and mumbling rather than responding to my brother's statement.

"Maybe something happened on the way home?" I heard my mother ask, kissing my forehead gently before stepping backward. As she did so, I felt her long chestnut brown hair brush against my cheek like it did when I was younger, when I needed a goodnight kiss.

I felt comfortable and safe here, in my home with my family.

However, my sense of security was completely shattered as I heard an altogether too familiar voice, one of a cool demeanor that he had when he was writing in KIRA.

"That seems likely, seeming as the Host Club and I were with her during the afternoon. Perhaps there are ripples in the relationship between Alex and her?"

'Dam that smart-** to hell!' I thought 'He knows too much!'

"You know," Tom commented, his tone of voice lighter than before, meaning that I knew he wasn't addressing my half-conscious state. "I don't like you all that much. You know too much about people."

'You've only just realized?!'I mentally screamed.

"Research is useful to the way I and the Host Club function, Tomas Garfield Farnest." Kyoya retorted. "For example, it will be vital for me to know that you and several friends have formed a moderately successful rock band, performing in a week's time at the Tokyo Music Festival to open for various other rock bands, in case our Host Club's 'King' decides that he wants to get to know you more. It is very difficult to get backstage passes without notifying the manager beforehand..."

I heard my brothers familiar, strong and confident footsteps drift slowly away from my earshot, meaning that he had left the room. I love how my brother did that, just up and left a conversation as if he had better things to do. It may sound odd to you, I know. However, when you've seen him do it to teachers, managers, producers, parents and most of all, bullies you gain a certain respect for the confidence he possesses to do such a thing.

"Would you like some tea?" I heard my mother's soft, knowing voice say. After the third teacher had been 'walked off' by Tom, she managed to predict the moment that his victims would want a sit down and some nice tea to think over what made Tom walk off.

However, Kyoya wasn't a teacher, nor was he a manager, producer, parent or bully. He was an aristocratic, intelligent high school student.

"No thank you, Mrs. Farnest." Kyoya replied politely.

"I'll go make some for me and Tom, then." Mum said. A moment later, a trail of quiet, yet assured steps left the room at a quick pace, as if they were on a mission.

Kyoya didn't say anything, but I heard the telltale sound of a fountain pen quickly making its mark on paper, meaning the bloke was writing in KIRA again. He was undoubtedly taking notes of my room, in its recently cleaned glory.

Last weekend, my mother decided that I needed to clear up the perfectly habitable bomb site that I had for a bedroom. Meaning in other words, my weekend would be completely lost tracking down the questionable blue blob under my bed that I swear was slowly learning to evolve and eat my socks.

After 20 consecutive hours of pain and sweat, including a funeral for my questionable blue blob (after eating a dirty sock), my room looked rather normal for a human being; there were about 100 books perched on my large, tall bookshelf covering the light green wall opposite my bed. There was also a desk covered in homework that I had yet to hand in by the wall on the right hand side of the door, my phone perched triumphantly on top. The final pieces of furniture in my room were my bed on the furthest wall from the door and a mahogany cupboard beside the bed.

'That $%&^*head Kyoya is evaluation me by my room, and taking notes!' I yelled inwardly. I was about to go into my own personal mind theatre, presenting myself with all of the different methods to get a small amount of revenge when I heard my mobile phone 'bleep!', meaning I had a text from someone.

It was rare enough as it is for my phone to be charged, let alone to receive a text. I was about to get up and pick up my phone from the desk when I heard Kyoya leave the room.

His footsteps oozed with confidence. They were calm, collected and walked with a perfect tempo. It was as if even his walking pace was drilled and perfected with the life of aristocracy in mind. Somehow, that bothered me.

'Even his feet are trained for the life of the upper class.' I thought. 'That's...kind of depressing, to think of what different lives they live from mine. Not sad for me, though, but for them. How weird. I'm feeling sorry for a guy I barely know because he seems too perfectly molded...'

I heard him suddenly stop at the door, and then I heard his perfectly ironed clothes rustle slightly, as if he had turned for something.

"You know, Miss Farnest." He said, his voice still cool and calm, yet hinted with something I couldn't quite figure out. Amusement, perhaps? "You look rather cute when you're trying to look like you're sleeping. You remind me of Haruhi, in a way. You two have the same demeanor, with slight differences."

With that last remark, I heard him shut the door.

Super-special-awesome fantastic thank you to my absolutely awesome BETA reader! my_forgotten_rose!

So that's chapter 12 guys! Sorry about the delay once again! I tried writing, but nothing would work...I knew exactly WHAT I wanted to write; just not HOW to put it into words...I hope this will do.

Currently in France on holiday, and there is no internet...except if you go into town and use the multimedia centre. That's how I got this to you guys!

Also, I aimed to post this yesterday, but France had a public holiday, and the village where the multimedia centre is was completely rammed with people going to the car show, and the market, and the concert in the evening, and the fun-fair...so, yeah.

Sorry again, I can't do the review replies this time either, as I don't have the internet access time to get your names and reviews, then write down replies. I wanted to get this out as soon as I finished it, so I'm just going to do double replies next chapter.

See you next time!