DISCLAIMER: I don't own Skip Beat or any of its characters, except the ones I made myself ^^

Chapter 2 - Rival

Kyoko stood in front of the door of Tsuruga Ren's flat, fist rising halfway to knock. Even though she had come here for hundreds time, she was still nervous. She took a deep breath and braced herself to knock.

Suddenly, the door flew open and she found herself face-to-face with Ren.

He smiled a heavenly smile which nearly blinded her demons. "Good evening, Mogami-san."

She was dumbfounded. "G-good evening, Tsuruga-senpai." How did he know I was already here? Did he have a psychokinetic power or something?

Ren chuckled. Actually, he had been waiting for her right behind the door. Curios that no one was knocking even though her footsteps had come to a halt, he opened the door and surprised her in the process. She must think I gain a fairy power or something. He sighed at the thought.

After a series of formal Japanese greeting, Kyoko immediately settled in the kitchen, busying herself with the food and knife. Ren leaned on the sofa and turned the TV on, since Kyoko didn't like being watched while cooking. Occasionally he would glance at the high school girl and wondering if she had been informed about the new drama.

When the food was ready, Ren decided to ask cryptically. "How's work, Mogami-san?"

There was a pause. Then, "It was great."

Ren raised his eyebrows. Work was a common topic between them, but this was the first time Kyoko wasn't enthusiastic in talking about it. Isn't she supposed to be ecstatic knowing this would be her first debut? "Is that so? You seem upset about something."

"Eh?" She blushed. Was she really that easy to read? She didn't want Ren to think of her as unprofessional, so she tried to pick her words carefully. "Ah..um..actually, a new script just arrived this morning. It's really good.. No, it's beyond good. It's brilliant." She took a deep breath. "The title's Yamato Nadeshiko."

Ren smiled. "Well, that's good news, isn't it? What kind of role are you going to play?'

"Um, actually, I was offered to be the female leading role."

His face showed a pleasant surprised expression. "That's amazing, Mogami-san! So that means it's going to be your debut, then?" She nodded. "Congratulation. So you're going to accept it, I guess."

Unexpectedly, she didn't nod or say anything for a while. He was beyond confused. Why didn't she look happy? "Is there something wrong, Mogami-san?"

She bit her lower lip and looked like she was about to cry. "Actually, it isn't only me."

"Excuse me?"

"Moko-san," she referred to her Love Me bestfriend, Kotonami Kanae, with a sad voice. "was also offered the leading role. The two of us will be auditioned." She blinked back a drop of tear, but another threatened to fall.

Ren was stunned for a second, but then quickly placed his arms around her and embraced her gently. "I see. It must be hard for you." This time Kyoko didn't resist. Despite feeling happy that his lady love was in his embrace, it was painful to see her cry.

"I hate it." She mumbled. "I hate that feeling. When they said that Moko-chan is going to be auditioned against me, I was.. I actually felt disappointed. And worried." She sighed heavily. "Why? I should've been happy! But-but I want the role so much, I couldn't help but feeling jealous. I hate that ugly feeling, and I just can't get rid of it!"

Ren sighed. He knew that Kyoko cared a lot for Kotonami, and even though she never showed it, he knew Kotonami cared about her best friend too. He closed his eyes. What the hell was that weirdo director doing? Well, his guess was that Shinichi bumped into Kotonami Kanae on his way to meet Kyoko and saw something in her - which complicated things.

"Damn." He muttered softly. He waited patiently for Kyoko to calm down before wiping the tears away from her cheeks. "Mogami-san, look at me." Blushing, she raised her eyes to meet his. "Listen to me. Don't let this best-friend-as-a-rival-thing drag you down." She frowned.

"But Moko-chan.."

"What I mean is, as a professional actor, you should forget the fact that Kotonami is your best friend. You two will do the audition fairly as professional actresses who just happen to know each other, and you'll congratulate the one who passes." He winked. "Besides, I don't think Kotonami-san is going to accept it if you concede defeat so easily. You know how high her pride is."

Kyoko giggled while wiping the last drop of tear from her face. "You're right. Thank you so much for your advice, Tsuruga-san." Suddenly, she realized the embarrassing position she was in and quickly disengaged herself from Ren's arms, blushing furiously. "I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-san!"

"No, I don't really mind.." But she had fled to the kitchen. Ren sighed. It looked like he had to take things painfully slow with her. But then he remembered that Kyoko had accepted his comfort and he felt warm inside. Well, whatever Yashiro said, a tiny progress was still a progress, after all.

Kotonami Kanae flipped through the pages of the Yamato Nadeshiko's script without really looking. It had been two days since the director of Yamato Nadeshiko, Shinichi Azuma, offered her a leading role in his upcoming drama. It wasn't just big – it was a huge project. And it would definitely boost up her career.

The only problem was that the role was originally Kyoko's, and Kanae didn't like the feeling of snatching something away from her.

Kanae sighed and tossed the script across her room. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't even give a damn. But this was Kyoko, the only person she cared about beside her family.

Which one should she choose – her best friend or career?

Minutes passed as she immersed in her own thought. Finally, the clock struck nine and she made her decision: she would think of this audition as a measure against her and Kyoko's ability. If she won, she would find a way to apologize and make it up to her friend – even though she knew Kyoko would have been forgiven her already. And if she lost.. well, it just meant that Kyoko was that great of an actress.

She picked the script up again and started reading with a new determination. She would have to give her all tomorrow at the audition.

Author's Notes :

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Please feel free to post up any suggests/comments/critics, and I apologize for the mistakes in the grammar or vocabularies, since I'm not an English-as-the-first-language user. Anyway, thanks and happy reading! ^^