A/N: Thank you Anime Lady PIMP, Enji86 and YELLOW JACKET PRIDE for leaving reviews and others for reading my story! Enji86, I forgot that erased the part about Conan's damage, and now I can't think of it well :( Well I added some parts to the previous chapter, and hopefully it's better.

Disclaimer: Gosho Aoyama owns DC. I own the story.

Chapter Seven

Romeo

I just want you to know.
I wanna be your Romeo.

-0-

(Ai's POV)

It was some of the last days of school as 1st grade of Teitan High School. It was also a glorious day, as the sun finally broke through the grey clouds of snow. I was staring out the window, at the boy who was bouncing a soccer ball up and down with his thigh.

I sighed as the image brought me up various memories.

(Hakase's)

"I want to take care of them. The problems you think you've made. I want you to have a smile just like them."

(School)

He stood up, all excited, "Really? Thanks!." And he walked out of the class, satisfied by the stupid bet.

(Haido Park)

"Just think of it as an…only grant from me." He gave me the nameplate and grinned.

(Street in front of hakase's)

His face was much too close to mine. He leaned more and said hesitantly, "You don't know, Haibara…How…how radiant you look tonight." He put his head in my hair and breathed a few times. Too soon, he let go.

(Living room)

"I know I've made the right decision, Haibara…But it still hurts all the same." With that, he hugged me tenderly, ignoring my minor protests.

And after that incident, he became depressed, and came to my house a lot more to talk to me. So I asked him,

"Why?"

"You are the only one that can understand me, though. You are the only one…that can't be with the one you loved."

And I had nothing else to say.

I stared at the nameplate he had given me. It had the name 'Edogawa Conan' written on it.

What's in him these days? What does he want? He doesn't have…a desire. I squeezed the nameplate, and thought of Ran.

Is this…just all I get to know? Still. I'm afraid to know more than this. What he is after.

"Who are you waiting for?" Said a voice.

I quickly hid the nameplate under my arm and turned around. A girl with long black hair that would've reached her waist if it weren't tied stood. It was a girl in my class…Aikawa Kana, wasn't it? "Aikawa-san…"

She looked out the same window, and found what I've been looking at.

"Ah…it's Edogawa-kun, isn't it? Are you waiting for him?"

"Yeah…kind of. He told me to wait for his soccer club to end."

"I thought you were always together. You are his girlfriend, right?" She asked, as if she knew the answer already.

"What? No!" I blushed for some reason. "Just a friend."

"Just a friend…I see." Kana smiled.

Then, Conan grabbed his soccer ball and walked towards the school door. I also grabbed my bag and prepared to leave. Kana waited for me. She seemed to be…nervous with me. When we went out of the classroom together, I knew the reason.

"Haibara-san…I want to ask you something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"There is a rumour that Edogawa-kun likes long-haired girls…Is that true?" Her face turned a bit pink as she spilled the words out.

I blinked. Image of Ran flashed through my mind.

That animal magnet. I couldn't afford to have another one that's hurt. Although I sighed internally, I smiled at Kana.

"I don't know...he likes many people to be around him, don't you think?"

With that, I told her to go, since I was the one who had to lock the classroom doors. She walked away, her face not really satisfied.

I sighed and started to walk when I couldn't see her from the corridor.

Now there's another that I have to hurt…

Seriously. I thought. Is he really that noticeable and attractive? Somehow, that fact was annoying. Deducing mind-freak…smart…intelligent…special…

"Hey, Haibara!" Speak of the devil. I heard him run behind me, so I turned around.

"You forgot to lock the door." Shoot. Forgot it.

"Right." Feeling foolish, we started to walk all the way back there. He had the amused expression on his face.

"What happened? You've been strange lately. Must be your age." He teased.

He didn't notice that I wasn't in the mood. I just locked the door properly.

"Let's go." And I started to walk, expecting him to follow.

He didn't. But I kept walking.

"Wait, Haibara." I still kept walking. "Hey!"

Then he grabbed my arm at the end of the corridor.

"Let go!" I roughly shook out my arm. In the process, the nameplate that was under my arm slipped out and fell on the floor. Crap. I'm an idiot.

"This is…" His eyes widened as he bent his body to pick up the thing. "…the thing I gave you."

I ran while he was still on his knees. I wanted to get away from there, though the reason was unclear.

"Haibara!"

He ran after me.

-0-

Soon, I ran out of breath and we both stopped behind the school.

"Damn! Haibara. I thought I said wait." We both panted for a few minutes, while I continuously stared at the ground.

"What do you want?" I finally asked when I could speak again. I was still embarrassed that he discovered me carrying his stupid namplate at school.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you something today." He was still panting, looking at the ground.

Then, a bad premonition hit me. "Sure, another time!" I really didn't want to be with him right now. Couldn't he tell? I barely took my first step away from him when he thrusted his arm to block me. I had no choice but to look at his face with my exasperated expression. His eyes were burning, almost furious as they stared into me.

"No, this cannot wait." A part of me told me to walk away, to deny, but I waited for him to speak.

He sighed and bowed his head a little, so that I couldn't see his face properly as he spoke. "Haibara." His voice was serious, so much that I almost laughed. "seriously…" Then, I suddenly realized what he was about to do. No way. He put his face up, and stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

"I think I love you."

The words didn't strike me. How many times have I dreamt of him saying these words? How many times did I hope that he could actually be with me? However, this time, the words didn't touch me.

All I thought was, he doesn't.

-0-

"What are you saying, fool?" I covered my face with my bangs, while I averted my eyes elsewhere to avoid looking at his face. "Get out of my way." I tried to push his arm away, but he didn't relax one bit.

"I love you, Haibara." He said the words clearly, as if he wanted to make sure to engrave them inside of me.

"No." My voice was cold. "You don't." I tried to pass for the second time, but he resisted.

"Please…Just endure a bit more." Those words widened my eyes…

She visited me inside of my lab on an autumn day…We went out together to a coffee shop…We chatted casually…Mainly about her life as mine was yet miserable...Then, she started to talk about her plan…To insure my protection…To acquire another life for me…The words she had said before executing her plan…Were so strong, so secure…

"Please Shiho…Endure a bit more, won't you?"

However…she…she…

I was getting colder. Icier than any glaciers that existed on Earth. When I talked, the words were a slash.

"You just remind me of someone." He waited. "Endure a bit more? What do you mean?" I shouted the last words, as I thought of her inside of my head. I wanted to ask her the same question. Tears ran down my face as I thought of her smiling face. So willing to protect me, the cursed one. The one that brought pain to the others.

"Kudou-kun." I said his name on purpose again. "You are forgetting yourself. You are out of your mind. You are just being carried away. Please tell me that."

No matter how many times I hoped…I always knew. She was the one meant for him. She was his fate. His destiny. My limitation. So many people think that way, too. Even I do. No matter what happens between them, they will always be together. No matter what.

Although I waited, he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear.

"You know, Haibara. I still haven't told Ran anything about the Organization or the drug." Don't look into his eyes, I thought desperately as his arm blocking my way held my shoulder now. "As I said, I will be Edogawa Conan. Kudou Shinichi…cannot be back." I jerked my head up at these words, as pain pierced my inside.

"And it is my fault, isn't it? I ruined your life." I smiled ruefully.

"Haibara! Listen!" He was frustrated. "Just because you made a drug that accidentally happened to turn me into another person, you don't have to blame yourself for everything! Don't you get it!" He shook my body as he spoke, almost roughly.

Then, he was calm again. He put his head down, and his glasses began to reflect the light, which made me easier not to look into his eyes. "The time passed too much. We had to wait for too long. Now, if I'm gone, she will be hurt once more, by the disappearance of Conan from her life. Either way, there is no way to make her completely happy."

Then, his eyes shone through the light, looking at me directly. "The romance was good, but hopeless. It kinda looked like that back then."

"No." I hung my head. My tone was brittle as a shattered glass. "This is different. The feeling of choosing…Is much too easy to change. You will always think of her, and for me, this feeling is only pity. Control yourself, Kudou-kun, please."

I know you're not the one to leave her alone. You will only hurt me more, please stop, Kudou-kun…

His face tensed for a bit. His eyes were melting while they looked at my face silently. Then, they closed and he suddenly embraced me tightly.

"K-Kudou-kun!"

"You can laugh, if you want to." His voice was soft as he whispered into my ear. "Ran is still an important person to me, and she always will be." Another pain stung me. "But now, Haibara. I love you." He said for the third time, and he pulled back. He held my face with both of his hands, forcing me to look at him straight, which did not help at all.

"I hope you can smile everyday and enjoy your life. I want to make you happy."

At these words, something clicked inside of my mind. As if rusted metal chains were being cracked. As if my cold mind was tweaking. Weakly, I smiled as I recalled. Too kind. Too persuasive. Like the last time. Yet…

As I thought, it was too late when I realized he was too close to me. He was approaching, his face closer to me every second. I tried to back away, only to realize I was against the hard wall. He was much too close, too much for me to think... Yet, impossible will be impossible. Please, stop this…But with my fogged mind, and my desire burning at the same time, how could I possibly push him away?

Both of us half-closed our eyes. His upper lip only began to brush against mine gently, however, when we heard footsteps against the dry grass. I was rooted to the spot, while he broke out of the trance right away.

He sighed, looking disappointed. Then, he smiled at me, his eyes shining again.

"I will be waiting for your response anytime." He walked into the school through the door that was next to us, thankfully, leaving me alone.

I slid down to the ground. What just happened?

I barely heard the footsteps coming closer.

-0-

(General POV)

A girl with shoulder-length black hair and innocent eyes ran out of the school, realizing she had left her literature club too late.

Then, a familiar girl bursted from another school exit, running behind the school.

…Ai-chan?

Soon afterwards, a boy was chasing after her.

…Conan-kun?

She decided to wait for them, but they didn't come out quickly. She slowly walked towards the pair. At the very corner, she could hear that they were at the other corner of the school, so she decided to peek a look. Then, she was not really surprised, but pained by what she saw. The boy was holding the girl tightly in his arms in a sincere embrace.

She ran silently around the school, wanting to hear what they were talking about. When she almost got there, however, she realized that she wasn't being careful about being quiet. She noticed that she was walking on dry grass, which made a lot of noise. Sighing internally, she continued her way.

At the place where she saw the pair, there was only the strawberry blonde girl who was sitting down, pale and shocked.

"…Ai-chan?" She spoke carefully, considering her friend's expression.

"…Ai-chan!" Ayumi called again, and her blank eyes refocused.

"Yoshida-san…" Her voice was very weak.

"Ai-chan. Let's go home together." She made her voice sound as if she noticed nothing.

"Yeah…"

They walked together silently, and Ayumi could only think of the image she saw a few minutes before. Just as I expected…She thought.

At the crossroads, Haibara did not part.

"Ai-chan! You're home is that way."

Haibara jerked, and smiled. "Thank you. See you tomorrow, Yoshida-san."

As she turned away, Ayumi called her once more. "Ai-chan!"

Haibara spinned her head rather rapidly. "Yes?"

"Uh…it's nothing. Bye!" And she started to run. At a distant street corner, she paused and sighed deeply.

-0-

It was another bright day. It was lunch time in Teitan High School. A week later, new high schoolers would come and replace the ones that have graduated. At the corner of the schoolyard, Ayumi was sitting on a lonely bench, holding a soccer ball.

She sighed as she did previously, and stared blankly at the ball.

"What's worrying you, Ayumi-chan?" She looked up. It was Mitsuhiko.

"Mitsuhiko…" She looked at the ball again and continued. "I want to talk to Ai-chan…but I don't know how." The images of yesterday flashed in her eyes.

"If it is that troubling…why not just wait? Sometimes, it is better to just wait than to talk directly…and the day you are hoping for might come."

Ayumi glanced at him. How does he know what I'm thinking about?

"And I'm still waiting for that day to come, because I still like Ayumi-chan." It seemed like he was talking to himself.

"EHH?" Ayumi exclaimed. Then he realized to whom he was talking with and he turned red. Crap! I got carried away. He quickly added, "But it's OK! I gave up…I'm no match against Conan-kun."

This time, Ayumi blushed.

"Haibara-san told me once…not to look back or regret, but it cannot be helped. I still like you." He sighed. "Well, good luck."

Ayumi laughed, a little uncomfortable. "Thanks, Mitsuhiko! I feel better. Maybe I will make some chocolate for you as my gratitude…?" Then she realized, Valentine's day? It's tomorrow…The images flashed in her eyes again.

She bit her lip, and made her decision.

-0-

-End of Chapter Seven-

A/N: I like this chapter :D For those who may be confused...Ai has feelings for Conan, but she can't believe that Conan can actually love her. She thinks he is better together with Ran. Maybe it was too short…I'll b posting again asap.