The next day during class, Jem noticed Zero was sleeping again. Swiftly, she took out her pen and opened her notebook to a blank page, then started to take notes. After class, she repeated the same process as before. She did this for the next few days whenever she saw Zero sleeping. After class, she would go find her spot, then locate Zero. He would sigh, take the notes, then walk her back to her dorm. This prolonged her trip back to her room, and she hoped that it would help her during the few times when he came across her after he had already walked her back.

She had taken to sneaking out at night, only to find a quiet spot in nature. One night Zero was on patrol, avoiding Yuuki and her nagging. He looked out over the scenery. From where he stood, he could see both dorms, lots of foliage, and the large rocks of the beach revealed by the low tide. As he watched over the grounds, he noticed a figure on the rocks. Even from far away, he could tell it was her from the black uniform and bright blonde hair. He had not seen her out for almost a week, but had never thought to check the rocks.

Swiftly enough, he made his way down to the beach. When he was close enough, he saw that she was reading. He stopped within a few feet of her. Without looking up, she sighed and said regretfully, "You still found me."

"You know, you're starting to become a real pain in my ass," he retorted.

"Mm. Maybe I'll become such a pain in your ass that you won't want to deal with me anymore, and will leave me alone entirely," she fantasized, still with her eyes on the book. She sat with her feet together on the downside of the ocean smoothed rock, book held against her bent knees. She seemed rather calm as she sat motionless, only her hair tossed in the wind and her chest rising rhythmically. Her heart at a slow beat.

He sighed and sat down next to her. She looked up. "Did that work? Have we reached that point already?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I'm going to walk you back to your dorm, but for now I'm just going to sit here a moment and take a short break," he replied. He sat with one leg outstretched, the other bent, and most of his weight resting on one arm. He lifted his other arm and covered his face with his hand, not feeling his best.

"How come you haven't taken me to the headmaster yet?" Jem questioned.

Zero removed his hand from his face and looked out at the ocean. "Because I can't fault you when your motive is to simply get away from those girls."

She finally closed her book and looked at the boy, who seemed to be relaxing a little. "It's the ocean air, isn't it? It's nice," Jem remarked as she closed her eyes, breathing in the breeze and feeling it brush against her. "I grew up on an island, and the one place I found solace was down at this beach. I would go there in the middle of the night, just like now."

"No, I just wanted a break from Yuuki, and I know you'll take any excuse to stay longer," he contradicted, disregarding her bit about the ocean.

"How come you're the one who always finds me? How come it's never Yuuki?" Jem inquired.

"Because she always patrols close to Kaname Kuran so she can gawk at him," Zero replied bitterly, then changed the subject. "You're reading."

"Yep. I don't have access to coffee or anything, so I just read like crazy to replace the cigarettes and try and fight these withdrawals," she responded, then added sweetly, "You wouldn't have happened to confiscate any from anyone else recently, would you?"

"No, God damn it," Zero replied. "I don't know why you insist on continuing with that filthy habit."

"Because I'm addicted," she answered simply, though he hadn't really asked a question. "I've done a lot of drugs in the presence of my brother, but that's the only one that stuck."

"Your twin brother?" Zero recalled.

"Yeah, why make the distinction?"

Zero hesitated a moment. "I'm a twin," he conceded. Every time she had mentioned her twin brother, Ichiru crossed his mind, something he could never relate to anyone about, even remotely.

"Oh yeah?" Jem asked, now realizing how it had affected him, "And the incident with your family-"

"Yes," he replied.

"I'm so sorry," Jem breathed before turning back to gaze at the ocean. "I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to Jude."

Zero didn't respond. He simply stood up after a minute and said grudgingly, "All right, time to go."