A/N – I read through the entire fic again recently and I have made quite a lot more spelling/grammar mistakes then I realized D: once I'm done I'll probably go back and correct but for now bear with me and my limited free time. Just concentrating on getting it out of my brain before it fades. Thanks to those who read and especially to those who review! It's pretty much the main reason I'm updating as often as I am. More reviews = faster updates! Here's chapter 11~

She hadn't realized how much she had started depending on Lloyd.

She hadn't realized that she had forgotten her previous ideal to build up a wall and get him home as fast as possible.

She hadn't realized how deeply she had started liking him.

It was a mistake.

The outing was a mistake. She didn't have many friends who were boys, so of course she had started liking him. It didn't mean anything, it was just a crush. She should have told Amy and Elsa about the seminar from the beginning and that would have been the end of it.

Besides, there was no way that Lloyd could have feelings for her in return. She had been in this situation before and was not eager for a repeat.

The coffee shop incident and conversation from last night briefly sprang into her mind but she quelled those thoughts before they could blossom and once again stepped away from the entire subject.

She wouldn't suggest any more outings.

She had made a mistake and would try and ensure it was her last.

The following week Reimi stayed late doing overtime every evening and thought of enough viable reasons to avoid spending her lunch with Lloyd.

If Lloyd noticed this he didn't say anything and Reimi took it as another sign that she had been right and it was just a silly, one-sided, crush.

Things immediately improved at home and Amy became a normal human being again.

From the snatched conversations they had had in the morning, Reimi gathered that the other girls had been keeping Lloyd busy. Elsa had gotten him a set of keys cut and Amy had bought him a new SIM card. The three of them had also made a new advertisement poster with Lloyd's updated phone number and spent an evening hanging them round the neighborhood.

It was hard for Reimi not to feel left out, but she was doing this for herself and for the best, so it was okay. She was okay, she would repeat to herself.

Once a few days had elapsed in this fashion, it felt like things got a bit easier, although it was exhausting having to spend so much time working and away from where she felt most comfortable.

The next Friday Reimi arrived home close to eleven pm, resting her head flat against the door for a few seconds in mental preparation, before turning the key in the lock and pushing it open.

"There you are!" she jumped, hearing Lloyd's voice immediately float across the room towards her. She faltered in her smile for just a second before facing him. "Reimi! Come sit down, sit down,"

"What are you guys all doing?" her words felt difficult to get out, it was strange to find her housemates all sitting together, especially since Elsa worked weekends and so normally had an early night on Fridays.

"Thank goodness you're here," the subject of her thoughts replied, though it wasn't without a smile, "Lloyd wouldn't let us sleep until you came back and got on with… whatever this is,"

Reimi apologized and Lloyd eagerly walked over and grasped her arm in his urgency, pulling her across the room towards the others where she sat down, without the opportunity to even take off her coat.

"What's all this about, Lloyd? It's not my birthday til November," Amy spoke gleefully, perching on the floor with her legs crossed like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Well," Lloyd started, reaching his hands out for something hidden under the table, "I got my first paycheck today and I really wanted to say… Thank you. For everything,"

He pulled some clumsily-newspaper-wrapped packages out, then handed one to each girl.

"Lloydie! You shouldn't have," Amy squealed, hugging hers close to her chest.

"See what it is and if you like it first," He said, rubbing his hand behind his head.

Amy didn't need telling twice. She ripped open the newspaper, and Reimi saw her pull out a string of cell phone charms.

"Sorry, I know it's not much, I saw it and thought of you so I got it," he rambled hastily, suddenly worried it wasn't good enough.

"Oh, Lloyd! I love it! It's great!" Amy threw herself forwards, enveloping Lloyd in a hug that nearly knocked the coffee table over. "It's so cute! And It made you think of me?"

Elsa hurriedly picked up the drink that was precariously wobbling on the table beside Amy. Lloyd politely disentangled himself.

"Sure. You're welcome,"

"Thank you, Lloyd. That was a nice gesture," Elsa sighed, handing Amy back her drink. She was holding up a box of what Reimi knew to be her favourite chocolates. Elsa's smile became more genuine after her eyes met Lloyd's and she nodded in gratitude.

Reimi gently grasped the present resting in her hands and carefully opened it up, one sheaf at a time. When the final wrapping fell away she saw it contained a paperweight of a little girl sitting at a piano.

"Do you like it, Reimi?" Lloyd asked, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

Reimi didn't reply. She continued to stare down at the small ornament nestled between her fingers. It looked so small and fragile resting there, almost out of place in the hands surrounding it. Hands which could easily have crushed and broken it down into little pieces. The thought surprised her and she couldn't find any words to say.

After a few seconds, a heavy silence descended and she realized her lack of response was another mistake. Hurriedly opening her mouth in a wide smile, she thanked Lloyd for his thoughtful gift. The sides of her mouth hurt as she pulled them up with a strain but she managed to keep her makeshift smile in place without trouble.

"Thank you Lloyd, it's great,"

For a second, as she finally met his eyes, she thought she saw an expression of hurt break across them, but then he was smiling and she wondered whether it had been there after all.

"Don't mention it,"

After a small pause, Amy once again reached across and tried to hug him, seemingly oblivious to the awkward tension that was now filling the room, suffocating Reimi.

She had to get out. She had to get out right now.

"S-sorry," Reimi stammered, grasping her bag where it rested beside her. "I just remembered, I think I dropped my iPod at the train station. I need to go get it," She stood upright and staggered shakily backwards, tearing her eyes from the three confused housemates in front of her, before rushing out the door, voices shouting behind her.

She ran.

Down the stairs, through the small foyer and out the back entrance, hoping to avoid being sighted from the window.

Did she like it? She laughed.

It was perfect. It was something she would have picked out for herself if she had come across it in the street. Everything about it reminded her of herself; that lonely little figure at the piano, small and fragile and insignificant.

She started to jog.

She didn't know where she was headed, she didn't care, she just wanted to keep moving. The wind rushing past her ears kept her from thinking and she concentrated on the sound of her heartbeat, which got louder and louder the more she ran.

Eventually she stopped and paused at the sound of her phone beeping.

3 missed calls. 1 new message.

One call from Elsa. Two from Lloyd. She dismissed them guiltily before reading the message, also from Lloyd.

"Are you okay? Please pick up."

She frowned. She couldn't not reply. It would make a bigger mess. Surely she was making things worse behaving this way.

She couldn't face a phone call though, so she wrote a text back.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine, sorry. Thank you for the ornament, it's great. I'll be home late, talking to the police, don't wait up."

She sent it, turned the phone off and slipped it back into her pocket.

Looking around properly for the first time, she realized she had reached the local high street. Most of the shops were boarded up but a yellow light seeped out from a closed door a few houses down.

Despite it being past eleven, Reimi was surprised to see this particular shop open, it had never been open before, although she had never really looked at the space between the co-op and the chemist. It was a new, but old-looking, record store.

She hesitated a second when she saw there were no other customers inside, but debated an empty record store was better than walking around in the dark, and thus headed inside.

There was only one shop assistant present, standing behind the till - a lady with long blonde hair wearing a hoodie with the shop's name on it. She glanced briefly up at Reimi as she entered, then returned her focus to the computer in front of her.

Reimi always felt awkward being the only customer in a shop but it was warm and sort of comforting in here so she looked away and started browsing. She searched around the classical music section for awhile before realizing she hadn't taken a single thing in. She couldn't concentrate, Lloyd's face kept flashing through her mind and the ornament she had pocketed after leaving the flat brushed against her leg as she moved, a constant reminder.

Deciding she'd have better luck in the rock and pop section, she was about to move when the shop assistant appeared behind her.

"Can I help you?"

Reimi spun round, surprised.

"Uh…! No, I'm sorry. Is it okay for me to be here this late?" she spoke the first thing that popped into her head and she blushed at how silly it sounded.

The girl stared at her with blank eyes, an expression not of happiness or unhappiness. Reimi found it a little unnerving.

"Of course. You can stay as long as you want," she reassured with a nod of the head.

Reimi felt her shoulders relax a little and returned the gesture with a small smile of thanks.

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

All of the bands that Reimi liked flew out of her head. "Er... A music. I mean… a CD,"

The girl looked around the shop, silently as if trying to home in and pin point what one would be best. Reimi gently laughed at her antics, however, the girl turned to Reimi, tilting her head in mild confusion.

…

Apparantly she was being serious.

Reimi laughed harder before looking up at the girl to check her mood and saw she was smiling slightly, well as much of a smile as the girl could seemed able to manage anyway.

"Well… Er… Can you help me find a good new song for my iPod?" she queried instead.

"I can try,"

Reimi stretched out her hand "I'm Reimi,"

"Beatrix,"

The two of them smiled.