'Was that door there before?' Kirin wondered. She was pretty sure it hadn't been. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stood up with her sketchbook, picked up her backpack, and slipped through the mysterious door.

The door shut behind her, leaving her in darkness. She saw a faint light in the distance, and slowly made her way toward it. She came to another door, illuminated by a torch on the wall. Once again, her curiosity was too strong to resist, and she opened the door, slowly and silently, and tiptoed deftly into the room. The doorknob slipped from her hand as she was shutting the door, and it slammed shut noisily.

She suddenly found herself pinned against the door by a man in a black cloak. He was half a foot taller than her and radiated dark emotions. She stared up at him, wide-eyed and frightened, trying to push away the images that popped into her head—images of a younger her, pinned against an alley wall by a large man, the alley wet, but no rain falling from the sky.

"What are you doing in here?" His voice was low and raspy, almost a whisper.

She didn't respond.

"…Are you frightened of me?" he asked.

A hint of sadness in his tone caught her attention; she pulled herself out of her quasi-flashback and focused on his face. She caught a glimpse of bright blue eyes framed by dark blackish hair, and immediately felt herself calm slightly. She slid slowly down the door until she was sitting on the floor.

"…Good," he growled, turning to walk away. She grabbed the hem of his cloak, and he froze.

He slowly turned around to face her, warily, as if he was the one who should be frightened.

She smiled.

He stared.

She just stood there and smiled at him; he just stood there and stared at her.

Silence.

He didn't know what to say; she couldn't say anything at all. Silence permeated the air, until—finally—he broke it.

"Why?"

She tilted her head, looking confused.

"I thought you were afraid of me."

She shook her head—'no.'

"…Why?"

She pursed her lips, searching for a way to communicate her thoughts. She pointed to her eyes.

"What? Eyes?" he was the confused one now.

She nodded and pointed at him.

"Me?"

She nodded more enthusiastically. He just stared at her, not comprehending. She blinked, waiting.

"…This is stupid!" he groaned. "Why don't you just tell me?"

Kirin frowned. She placed a hand over her mouth and shook her head.

"What? Oh…. You can't talk?"

She shook her head again.

"Oh…. Oh, you're one of the new girls in my class—your mom went into a coma and you stopped talking, right?"

She nodded.

"Ok…. Umm, Kirin, right?"

She nodded again, then pointed at him with a questioning expression.

"Nekozawa. Umehito Nekozawa. Um, wait here," he turned and ran further into the room, returning a moment later with a notebook and a pencil. He sat down across from her and handed them to her; she grabbed them eagerly. She opened the notebook, wrote, and turned it toward him.

'Your eyes.'

"Oh…. My eyes… What about my eyes?"

She wrote more, then turned it back toward him.

'I like your eyes.'

"Um…. Thank you?"

She grinned. She was pretty sure she saw him blush—but the lighting was too dim for her to be completely certain.

She bit her bottom lip, debating. She decided to tell him more:

'The day I stopped talking, something bad happened to me—something other than my mom going into a coma. I don't actually remember what happened, but I remember running. I ran into a police officer—my dad's friend. He and his partner calmed me down. They made me feel safe. They both had blue eyes; ever since then, I've liked blue eyes.'

She let him read it, then wrote more:

'I've never told anyone that something else happened.'

"Not even your family?"

'No—they would worry more.'

"Why did you tell me?"

'I like you.'

That was definitely a blush she saw—this time she was certain.

He stared at his puppet for a moment, silent, then looked back up at her.

"…. Do you like black magic?"

She blinked. She tilted her head contemplatively before she wrote.

'I've never done it or anything, but I think it's interesting. I think all that occult stuff is fascinating :) I love Halloween! And horror stories!'

A small smile flickered across his lips, quickly disappearing but definitely there.

"Would you like to join the Black Magic Club?" he couldn't hide the eagerness in his voice. "You get a free Beelzenef doll if you join—"

She nodded enthusiastically, smiling.

"R-really?"

She nodded again.

"Wonderful—ahem, I mean, wonderful."

She grinned; he tried so hard to mask his excitement, but it shone through. It was cute.

Suddenly, "If I Only Were a Goth" started playing from Kirin's pocket. She pulled out her phone at the same time Nekozawa's buzzed.

"I have to go," he said.

'Me, too,' she wrote, pouting.

"Um… Can I…" he trailed off, fidgeting with his phone.

Kirin smiled She leaned forward and took the phone from his hands. She typed on it and handed it back to him.

He looked confused until he saw what she'd done—given him her number.

"Oh… Thanks…" he stared down at the phone.

She stood up and tugged on his sleeve. He looked up to find her smiling down at him expectantly. He stood and let her pull him out the door.

Tamaki and Megan were waiting by the front door.

"Ah, Kirin! There you are—I was worried! Oh—hello," it took Megan a moment to realize there was someone with Kirin.

"K-Kirin! W-What are you doing with him?! Get away!" Tamaki yanked her away from Nekozawa—and proceeded to hide behind her. Both girls stared at him.

"You're so weird, Tamaki," Megan said.

Kirin Nodded and twirled her finger in vertical circles at the side of her head—'crazy.'

"She wandered into my clubroom," Nekozawa said. Kirin noticed his voice had reassumed its eerie, raspy quality.

"I'm sorry if she interfered with your club," Megan said.

"No; the others already went home."

"I see. Well, thank you for taking care of my sister," she bowed.

"It was my pleasure. Kirin, I'll send you the details. I'll see you Monday."

Kirin nodded. She waved goodbye as he turned and glided out the door.

"Isn't he in our class?" Megan asked.

'Yes,' Kirin signed. 'Umehito Nekozawa. I like him—he's nice. He has blue eyes.'

"K-Kirin! You can't like him! He's not nice—he's evil! He'll curse you!" Tamaki was freaking out.

Kirin and Megan looked at him like he was crazy.

"Oh, calm down, Tamaki. You're so superstitious!" Megan rolled her eyes.

"Megan, you don't understand! He's the president of the—"

'The Black Magic Club?' Kirin guessed.

"H-how did you—oh, no. Kirin, you didn't—?"

Kirin nodded again, grinning. Tamaki started crying.

" So that's what he meant by 'I'll send you the details.' I think that's great, Kirin. Clubs are fun, and you'll make lots of friends!" Megan didn't care if Tamaki thought Nekozawa was a demon or an alien or anything else—Kirin was happy.

Kirin tugged on Tamaki's sleeve. When he looked up at her, she signed, 'I really like him, Tama. And I think his club sounds fun. I don't think he would curse someone in his club—club-mates are friends!'

"…I still don't like it…"

Kirin suppressed a grin; he was caving.

"…Just promise me you'll be careful," he sighed.

Now she let the grin out. 'I promise!'

"C'mon, guys, let's go home," Megan started walking out the door and toward Tamaki's limo; Xander and the girls had taken theirs already.

Kirin stopped just outside the door; there was something on the ground.

She picked it up and hurried to catch up with Tamaki and Megan, slipping on her sunglasses as she did so.

She had some research to do.