The cycle repeated itself again the next morning: Grunted goodbyes, a lonely walk to school, dreading the arrival of Elizaveta.

It wasn't always like that, Lili thought. There was a time when Liz had been her best friend. They had spent the night at each other's houses countless times, laughing and talking and gossipping, just like everybody else. Then… something changed. Something that seemed small at the time, but grew inexplicably larger every time it happened. Lili started to say no. First to a camping trip with some of Liz's other friends, including Roderich and Gil, then to tagging along as a plus-one on Elizaveta's dates, and then, finally, to sleepovers. It got easier and easier every time, and she never paused to wish she had said "yes" until it was too late. She had not seen the inside of Elizaveta's home for two years now. She missed the warm, spiced smell that embraced her as soon as the door opened. She missed the overstuffed furniture, and she missed the late nights, lying side by side, talking for hours on end about nothing at all. She missed Elizaveta. She missed home.

The cafeteria held no hints of home, though. Gilbert stood in the same spot, waiting for Lili and Liz, his red eyes scanning the room. His foot tapped against the floor.

"Lili." something tapped her shoulder, and she jumped, spinning to face her attacker. "It's just me." Two bright blue eyes smiled down at her.

"Ludwig… Hi. I was just…" She glanced back at Gil, looking for something to say. "Waiting for Elizaveta. She didn't respond to any of my messages last night."

"Well, maybe she was with Gil."

This earned an exasperated sigh from Lili. "Isn't she always…"

The red eyes fell on the pair, and before they knew it, Gilbert had made his way over. He looked just about ready to shoot something. "Have either of you seen Liz?"

The pair shook their heads. "Not since yesterday. Why?"

"We have business to settle," he growled. "Look, just forget it." He sauntered away, just in time for the bell to ring. Ludwig bade her good-bye, but not before offering her a ride to Alfred's party. She accepted graciously, and Ludwig left to find Feliciano. The day went on as usual, except for the small fact that Elizaveta was gone.

The house was empty when Lili arrived, just like it always was. Vash was still working, so she had a few hours of precious quiet before he came home. Just like every other Friday, though, she knew that he would only turn around and leave for Roderich's house for their weekly ritual of drinks, dinner, and something that Vash called "alone time" despite the fact that he had explained the birds and bees to Lili years ago.

Until he came home, though, she was alone. She dropped her bag on the couch and retrieved her phone, retreating to her room. Ludwig's number was still in the contacts, although she had only had time to type in "L" before the bell had rung. She hurriedly completed the name and called the number.

"Hey."

"Hey, Ludwig. It's Lili."

"Hello! Was there something you needed?"

She swallowed. "Well… yes. Yes and no. You're… dating Feliciano, right?"

"Mm-hm. For about a year now, actually."

"So that would mean that you're… um…"

A sigh was heard on the other line. "Gay, yes."

"Well, how did you know? I mean, was it just something you noticed, or was it Feliciano, or… what? How?"

"It wasn't that simple, you know. There wasn't a specific moment where I knew, just like that, but I had a lot of help from Feliciano."

"And how did you two start dating?"

"We were close friends since we were kids. Our grandfathers were friends, so you might say we were friends out of convenience… when I first told him what I was thinking, it turned out he was going through almost the same thing. I never really thought we'd end up in a relationship until… well, that's another story."

"Tell it, then."

"It's not that important, you know. I'm not even sure I remember most of it."

"Then tell me what you do remember." Lili didn't notice how badly her hands were shaking.

"Fine, fine. Somebody's certainly pushy."

"Well, I need to know."

"And may I ask why?"

"Because I… no, no you may not."

"Very well. We were watching a movie, and he was hugging my arm. That was just something he did to everyone, and he still does it sometimes today."

"Go on."

"He sighed, and I looked over at him… then he kissed my cheek. Neither of us said anything until the movie was over, but we talked a bit afterwards, and we just agreed…"

"Agreed about what?"

"A few different things. That we liked each other, that we had for a while, that we should be together…"

"Oh. I see."

"So are you going to tell me why you're so desperate to know?"

"It's nothing!"

"You know you can tell me anything about this. I'm not exactly in the position to judge at the moment. You're questioning, aren't you?"

"No! It's nothing like that! I mean, not entirely…" Images flashed before Lili's vision. Fantasies, memories, words. Brief hugs. Hands wiping tears away. Elizaveta's smile. "Maybe. But that means nothing. It means..." Elizaveta with her arms around Gil. "Nothing."

"Are you sure about that? From where I stand, you sound pretty bothered."

"W-well…" Tears started to form. "Maybe I am. I can't do anything about it, though." They rolled down her cheeks. "I can't change it. She's never going to l-look at me like she looks at Gil... it won't happen."

The silence from Ludwig's end of the line was thick. Listening to it felt like waiting for a boulder to fall down a mountain… the one boulder that would trigger the landslide. "It's… Elizaveta?"

She tried to take in enough breath to say "yes", but it was released as a sob before she could get the word out.

"Lili…"

"Please don't say anything else. I know it's h-hopeless. Besides…" She laughed, and the bitter sound startled her. "What would Vash say if he found out?"

"Well, I meant to ask… do you still need a ride tonight?"

She hesitated for a moment, and hurriedly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Yeah… I'm not sure if I still want to go, though."

"Because of this?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, it could still be fun. You could stick with me and Feliciano, and we can watch our drunk classmates make asses out of themselves. Does that sound good?"

"Well, when you put it like that… yeah. What time can you be here?"

"I was thinking eight."

"That works. And Ludwig… thank you."

"There's nothing to thank me for. But nonetheless, you can call me whenever you need to talk. It's not a problem."

"Well, thank..." She glanced at her screen. Ludwig had already hung up. "...you." She stood up on shaking legs and made her way back to the kitchen to fix herself a sandwich. She contemplated the bottle of whiskey that Vash kept on top of the fridge, and glanced at the shot glasses in the cabinet. Maybe… maybe she could forget, if she tried hard enough. It would be easy. But no, that was illegal. She was underage, and if Vash came home to find the bottle open on the counter and Lili a giggling (or cursing) mess next to it, there would be consequences.

Her train of thought was cut off by her phone again. Elizaveta was calling. She stood up a bit straighter and swallowed, bringing the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Lili. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be coming tonight…"

"What? Why not?"

"Look, I can't explain it right now. I just can't."

"Liz, that's not a good answer. You know, you haven't even told me why you didn't show up today."

"I can't explain that, either. I promise I will sometime, but just trust me for now."

"How can I do that? We've barely had a decent conversation in almost a year. I don't know anything about you anymore, aside from the fact that you're practically glued to Gil all the time. Why can't…" She hadn't quite recovered from her earlier outburst yet, and the sobs were starting to come back. "Why can't we just go back to how things were? I hate him, Liz. I hate him so much…" What was she saying? Stop. "I don't even know why you're with him in the first place."

"Lili…"

Her name on Liz's lips. That had to be the one thing she was powerless against. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I'll… I'll come tonight. But on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"I'll tell you when we get there. Please just trust me until then. I know that's a lot to ask for, but please. I'll tell you everything."

There were so many ways to respond: "I don't believe you." "You don't listen to me, so why should I listen to you?" "Of course you're coming. Gil's going to be there." "I love you." But none of them were right. None of them would make Liz happy. She settled with one word, the word that could settle any argument. The word that said everything while meaning next to nothing.

"Fine."