Thanks so much to my reviewers! I'm glad you like it, and Happy Easter!

Chapter Nine

"Hey, is everything all right?" A girl's voice asked softly. I blinked the blurriness from my vision and stared wide-eyed.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just some jerks saying crap…" I choked past the lump in my throat.

"You're not hurt or anything?" She checked.

"No, I just started crying because I'm angry. I do that a lot," I said with a weak attempt at a laugh.

"Well, that's a relief, I suppose," She said with a kind smile. "Well, not that I'm happy that they were jerks to you, but at least you're not hurt. My name is Mai, what's yours?"

"I'm Rei Otsuka…" I said quietly, wiping at my face. "And I suppose I look like a mess. What a great first impression."

"Oh, you're the girl that's staying with the Sohmas, right? I've seen you around, but never talked to you before. It's nice to finally meet you in person!"

Mai was, simply put, gorgeous. She had dark brown hair that was usually straight, but tonight was curled up and just brushed her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep brown, and she had long eyelashes that didn't even need mascara. She was thin and tall, and had on a light blue floor length gown. One wrist was covered in silver bangles, and the other had an elegant wrist watch. Apparently Tohru and I weren't the only ones who disregarded the "semi" part in semi-formal.

"Come on," She said, smiling. "Why don't we go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up? I heard you're here with Kyo, is that true?" She helped me up and paused until I nodded a yes. "Then we should make sure you look real nice for him."

I returned her smile, deciding that I liked this girl. I had just met her, and she was such a sweetie.

"I'm in the same grade as you, but we're in different classes, obviously, which is why we haven't met before," She explained. "Besides, you were only here for a week, weren't you?" I nodded. She held the door open for me as we reached the bathrooms, and I made a beeline for the full length mirror to assess the damage. I groaned aloud when I saw.

My hair had mostly survived, but that stubborn piece had stuck back out again. My makeup was smeared all down my face, and my eyes were still slightly red rimmed, though it was starting to fade. I started reaching for a make-up bag, when I realized that I didn't have one with me, and I flailed in panic.

Mai chuckled and handed me her purse. "I've got make-up in here, you can use some of it. There's even some remover, so you can get rid of the streaks."

I smiled gratefully and breathed a rushed thank you before diving into the bag to find what I needed.

I quickly scrubbed off the tear-and-make-up streaks from my face and started re-applying everything I needed to my eyes. A few minutes into this there was a timid tap at the door. I looked up in confusion, wondering who the hell was too shy to enter a public bathroom.

"Rei?" Kyo's muffled voice came through the door. I froze, my hand stopping halfway to my eye with eyeliner in hand. "Rei, are you in here?"

I still hadn't moved, so Mai stuck her head out the door. "Can I help you?"

I could almost imagine Kyo's expression. He would blink and jerk back slightly in surprise, and then raise an eyebrow skeptically before answering. There was just enough of a pause before his words for what I imagined to be true. "I'm looking for Rei," He said bluntly.

"Well she's fixing herself, so you'll just have to wait," Mai said sternly. I sighed in relief and went back to my make-up.

"Wait, she's actually in there? What happened, is she okay?"

"Oh hold your horses and ask her yourself, she should be done in a few minutes" Mai commanded.

To my surprise he didn't argue, and Mai pulled her head back in. "Your prince awaits," She teased. I just rolled my eyes.

"I thought Yuki was the one referred to as prince around here?" I questioned, applying the last of my make-up and screwing the top back on.

"That's true, but Kyo played prince charming in the play 'Sorta Cinderella' a while ago. It was hysterical, you would have loved it," Her eyes looked slightly far away, and she chuckled, remembering.

I blinked. "Sorta Cinderella?"

"Well, Tohru cried in practices because she felt bad for being so mean, since she was the evil stepsister. Hana would only wear a princess dress if it was black, and of course Kyo had issues with his role. We ended up rewriting the script."

I laughed aloud, imagining all this, and looked in the mirror one last time. I tucked the annoying stray hair behind my ear, then nodded in approval. "Okay, I'm ready. And Mai? Thanks a lot."

"No problem!" She exclaimed with a large smile. "Come on, we'd better get out there before Kyo thinks I drowned you in a toilet or something."

I stared at her for a moment before bursting out laughing, then stumbling my way toward the door. I had to keep my hand against the wall as I walked to keep my balance, I was laughing so hard. I'd just met her and she'd been so consistently kind since that first moment, the idea of her trying to drown me in a toilet was simply hysterical.

I sobered up as soon as I saw Kyo. He looked so worried, it made my heart ache. I immediately wrapped my arms around his waist in a tight hug, trying to wipe that look off his face. He was still for one surprised moment, and then returned my embrace. "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

"I'm fine," I murmured, my face buried in the cloth of his shirt. "Just some idiots talking crap and pissing me off."

"Don't listen to them, they're just jealous bastards." He said fiercely. "You don't have to worry about them anymore. I gave them a thing or two to think about."

I looked up at him in a kind of admiring horror. "Did you beat them up or something?" Despite the fact that I had wanted to do that so badly myself, I kind of disliked imagining him wiping the floor with them.

He shook his head. "Not beat, per se, I just roughed them up a bit. Haru helped too, he was pretty pissed." I blinked. I hadn't seen Haru, but I suppose it was possible that he was following Kyo before I ran away and I'd just lost sight of him in the crowd.

"Why was Haru pissed?" I asked confusedly.

Kyo gave me a weird look. "Why wouldn't he be? We all were. Did you think we'd be fine with some idiots calling you… Wait, what did they say anyway?"

I blushed and looked down at my feet. He feels sorry for you. He just wants your body. Are they trying to start a whorehouse? "I'd rather not say," I whispered.

"Come on, you can tell me," He said gently, putting one finger under my chin and tilting my head back so I would look at him. I stared with wide eyes for a moment, then blushed and jerked away, suddenly remembering Mai. She was watching silently, a small smile gracing her lips.

"W-we'll talk about it later. Come on, let's go back. We're missing out," I stuttered out excuses.

He sighed lightly and nodded. I lead the way back towards the gym, Kyo was one step behind me, on my left, and Mai walked beside me on my right. She filled the air with light chatter, successfully relieving us from an awkward silence. I smiled and listened, nodding when needed.

"Oh, Kyo, this is my friend Mai, by the way," I said suddenly. "And Mai, you already know Kyo."

"Nice to meet you in person," Mai said, her ever present smile growing slightly.

"Uh, yeah, same," Kyo murmured with a nod of acknowledgement.

At that moment we reached the gym, and I wandered over to the floor. I stretched my neck upwards, scanning for the others. Kyo took my hand and lead me through the crowd, and I quickly grabbed Mai's arm and pulled her along. Before long we were back to our little circle of friends.

Tohru was the first to see us. "Rei!" She squealed. "There you are! Are you okay?" At this, everyone's heads snapped in my direction. Tohru ran forward and gave me a tight hug.

"Yeah I'm okay, just some jerks saying crap," I repeated for, what, the third time?

"I still think we shouldn't have let them off so easy," Haru growled, cracking his knuckles. I shivered at the sound and smacked his hand.

"Stop that, it's gross," I said sternly.

"Just tell us if they give you any more trouble, Miss Otsu— Rei," Yuki told me, hastily correcting himself at the end.

"Will do," I said with a nod. "Oh, and by the way, everyone, this is my friend Mai," I announced, stepping backward to take Mai's arm again and pull her forward. "Mai, this is Yuki, Hatsuharu, and Momiji Sohma, and Tohru Honda."

Mai smiled and gave a shy little wave. Momiji bounced around, excited to have a new friend. Haru bowed his head slightly in greeting, and Yuki returned the small wave.

There was a pause as the current song ended, and we waited for the next song to come on. Apparently the Deejay had blanked out or something, and didn't have the song ready. After a few silent moments, a few sweet notes floated out of the speakers and a slow song started.

XXX … XXX

"Aren't you going to ask her to dance?" Haru asked skeptically. Kyo shot him a glance.

"I dunno," Kyo muttered, shifting his weight anxiously from foot to foot. Should he? Would she want to? He glanced her way. Rei was huddled with Mai, whispering something. She looked up at him, widened her eyes a smidge to find him looking back, and hurriedly turned her attention back.

"What are you afraid of?" Haru demanded. "It's not like you'll change. What's the worst that could happen?" Rejection, Kyo thought worriedly. "You won't get rejected," Haru snapped, as though reading his mind, and gave him a shove. "Just go, already."

"Alright, alright!" Kyo said in protest to the shove, and stumbled forward. He paused to fix his expression, putting on the most charming smile he could manage. He went over to the whispering girls and tapped Mai on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Mai giggled and stepped back.

Kyo turned to Rei and his expression softened slightly. He couldn't help but think for the billionth time that she looked amazing tonight. "Would you like to dance?"

XXX … XXX

I blushed, but didn't look away from him like I wanted to. I tried to rediscover my old self, the one that had dealt with flirting so easily, and was always cool and collected around guys. "Of course," I murmured, and he took my hand and pulled me close. I twined my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around my waist, and we swayed gently.

I sighed lightly and set my chin on his shoulder, happy that my high heels made me just tall enough to do so. His head tilted to the side, resting on top of mine. I felt so amazingly content at this moment, I could hardly stand it. My heart felt strange in my chest, and I let out another sigh, this one soft and happy.

I bit my lip then, and thought about what Mai and I had talked about. I'd asked her why she thought Kyo was being so quiet, and she insisted that he must think I was keeping something from him, since I'd been so obviously uncomfortable when he'd asked about my confrontation.

How could I say to him that I'd been told he was only with me out of pity and lust?

I was so afraid if I said anything he'd be angry, either at them for saying it or me for believing it.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice rumbled quietly. I jumped a bit, being snapped out of my worries.

"Er, huh?" I stuttered brilliantly. "Um, just… you know, stuff…."

I could sense his disappointment in my further refusal to talk to him, and my chest ached again, as it had when I'd seen him so worried about me. Why did I have to make him feel such negative things? Why couldn't I just make him happy?

"They called me a whore," I whispered, my voice shaking. I felt him stiffen in surprise, but I pushed on. "Th-they said they wouldn't be surprised if I worked the corners at night. They called Tohru plain, and s-said that you guys were trying to s-start a whore house or something. And they said…" I stopped there and buried my face in his shoulder, the rest of me shaking now as well as my voice.

"What else?" He murmured, trying to make his voice soft and soothing. I could hear it, though. He was furious, and attempting to cover it up so I wouldn't get more upset.

"They said…" I started, my voice sounding choked. I pulled back slightly so I could wipe at unshed tears before they could ruin my make-up a second time, but allowed myself to stay in the warm circle of his arms. "Y-you only came here… with me, because.. b-because you pity me." I was struggling to speak through the lump in my throat, and I was losing the fight against my tears. "A-and that you just w-want my body." I turned my face away from him and covered it with my hands.

I felt so ashamed, saying it out loud. I could feel shock practically radiating from him.

"Rei, do you really believe that?" He exclaimed incredulously.

I just stood there and shook for a moment, then peeked up at him through a crack between my fingers. His face was a mix of more negative emotions. Shock, incredulity, sadness, but so strong that it almost covered all of those was anger. He was practically spitting mad, and he didn't even bother trying to hide it. I flinched and looked away, frightened. Was he mad at me?

Then I felt the reassuring warmth of his arms tightening around me again, and I tried to relax. I clung to the front of his shirt, trying to make sure that none of my eyeliner-blackened tears dripped onto the white fabric.

"That is not true," He murmured, and though his voice was soft, he sounded firm, as if this point was crucial, and something I needed to understand. Then again, it probably was. "Those three are just…" I could tell he was struggling to find a word to describe them that would be okay to say in front of, say, a three-year-old. "Complete and total idiots," He finished lamely. "They're just jealous and don't know anything. You can't listen to them, okay? Everything they said was a total lie. Don't listen to it."

I listened to him ramble for a moment before reaching up and placing one finger over his lips. His words stopped abruptly, and I nodded slowly. "I know that now," I said quietly. "It's just… It s-seemed to kind of make sense." I took this chance to take my hand back and wipe at my face, using it as an excuse not to look at him.

He was quiet for a moment, and then, "You really think I'm that kind of guy?" He sounded hurt.

My head snapped up, and I stared at him with wide eyes. "No, no, that's not what I meant!" I said hurriedly. "It's just that…" I looked down again, and shuffled my feet. "I didn't really see any other reason that you would even think of coming here with me."

There was another pause, and I peeked up at him. He was staring back down at me, bewildered.

"You really can't think of any other plausible reason that I might want to go to a dance with you?" He demanded skeptically.

I blushed, feeling stupid, and looked away.

His arms went around me again, and he pulled me into a fierce hug. "I came because I like you, you idiot," He mumbled gruffly, pressing his face into my hair.

I stood in his embrace for a confused moment, and then let out a strange sound that was a strange mix between a hiccup and a laugh. I let one more tear escape my eye, and then scrubbed it away.

He pulled away slightly and used his thumb to wipe at what I imagined was another stupid make-up smear.

"Maybe I should just give up on the make-up," I suggested, attempting a laugh.

He smiled softly at me. "That's fine. You look just as amazing without it, anyway."

With that, the song ended. I blinked and looked around. That must have been a long song.

Yuki and Tohru were pulling away from each other, where they had been dancing with a strange amount of space between them. Momiji had taken Mai's hands and started twirling around with her during the song apparently, and they let go now, laughing merrily. Haru was shamelessly flirting with some giggling girl, while her date stewed angrily with arms crossed.

Had none of them realized the intense moment going on over here? Huh. Oblivious much. Not that I was complaining. I would have been mortified if they'd seen.

As we regrouped, Mai was the first to notice my faint tear streaks. "Rei, what happened now?" She asked with concern.

I laughed it off and scrubbed at my face again, trying to get them off. "It was nothing, just Kyo talking crap," I teased.

The next song started playing. There was a moment of excited joy as the first few beats were recognized, then Mai, Tohru, and I squealed in unison.

Well, that's it for now. What did you think? I love their cuteness here 8D Anyway, what song do you think should be playing now? It's gotta be a major jumping around party song, and I've got an idea for it, but I just wanted to know if you guys have a request for what it should be! Submit a suggestion in a review, and thanks for reading!