Disclaimer: I'm in a rush, so just read my other disclaimers...it really hasn't changed at all

Kuronue and Kara reached Kara's apartment and saw that Kara's mother had a guest. The two teenagers froze and grew wide-eyed when they saw that the guest was a cop.

Kara's mother looked over to them as did the officer. "Oh, Kara, you're back. I wanted to introduce you to our neighbor, Ralph. I told you about him, remember?"

Kara thought back to her conversations with her mother about her mother's new boyfriend. She didn't know he was a cop, though.

"Yes, I remember," Kara responded. "It's nice to meet you, Ralph."

"Likewise, Kara," Ralph responded. "Carol has told me so much about you."

Kara forced a smile. Her mother noticed that she was holding Kuronue's hand.

"So did you two have fun with your friends?" Carol asked.

Kara nodded. "Yeah, we met up with Stephanie and Keiko at the ice cream parlor."

"I'm glad. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that Ralph has offered to take us all out to dinner: you, me, and Kuronue."

"Oh, okay," Kara said. "Let me go change, then."

Kuronue didn't want to be left alone in the room with her mother and a cop. It was too intimidating. He ended up following Kara too her room while the two adults were left to talk.

"Yes, they definitely know something," Ralph said to Carol.

"Well, Kuronue told his friends last night about his mother's murder, but I don't know who his father is or where he lives," she told him.

"Well, if it happened out of state, it is out of my jurisdiction, but I can assist them as best as I can, but that young man can't keep a murder covered up forever. He's bound to slip up, like he has already, and then they will all be in danger."

"Well, what do we say?" Carol asked.

Ralph kissed her hand. "Don't worry about that. I'll deal with them. It's a very delicate matter."

Carol nodded in agreement. It was best to let her boyfriend handle the situation.

"I am so sorry," Kara said to Kuronue. "I had no idea she was dating a cop."

Kuronue smiled at her. "Calm down. I know that you didn't know. It's not a big deal. Just don't leave me alone with him."

"I won't," Kara promised. "Now, I'm going to go change, but I'll see you in a few minutes. You can wait here in my room if you want." She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Sure," he said smiling not wanting to let her go.

While Kara was getting changed, Kuronue looked around her room. The room was decorated with shells and a ton of ocean decorations. He looked at one of the walls and saw pictures of Kara and her mother at aquariums and saw some from when she was a little girl. He smiled at how adorable she looked when she was a child and then thought about how beautiful she was now. Getting lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Carol enter the room.

"She's such a sweetheart," Carol said making Kuronue jump.

"Uhm, yeah she is," he agreed nervously.

Carol sighed. "She's had it rough for a long time, but it seems like all of this stuff about the ocean distracted her from it."

"Is that why you're so supportive about her major?" Kuronue asked. Carol looked at him in confusion. "Kara always says how grateful she is that you support her."

Carol smiled at Kuronue. "I would have supported whether it helped her or not. You should always pick a career in something you want to do, not what your parents say. You're the one that has to live with the choice later. So what are you majoring in, Kuronue?"

Kuronue looked down and said, "Business."

"Do you like it?" Carol asked.

"Not really," Kuronue replied. "I'm good at it, but I don't enjoy it."

"Well, what do you enjoy?"

"Chemistry," he answered.

"Well, then why don't you switch majors? You can do that, you know?"

What Kuronue didn't tell her was that the only reason he was majoring in business was because his father wanted him to take over in the future, not that he would. Kuronue was planning on, when and if he became "head" of his father's organization, to throw it under the bus. His father wouldn't be able to threaten him anymore, so he wouldn't have to worry about his friends.

"I can't do that," he answered honestly. "I would love to, but I can't."

"Why not?" Carol asked, although she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"Well, I know you said that you should do what you want and not what your parents say, but my father is involved in business, as his father was, and he's a traditionalist so to make him happy, I'm just learning how to handle business," Kuronue stated. He had no idea that Carol already knew about his father so he assumed that to her he was just talking about a strict father.

"Well," Carol said, "you could always double major. It's more difficult, but if you do that, then you will be able to what you want and appease your father." She didn't want this poor boy to be miserable with regret in the future.

Kuronue's face lit up. "Hey, that's not a bad idea. Thanks."

Carol smiled at him. "You're welcome."

"Hey guys," Kara said entering her room. "What's up?"

"Just talking," Kuronue replied.

Carol saw the look the two were giving each other and could tell that something had happened. She could only assume that at some point since the night before the two had decided to be more than friends. Where she approved of Kuronue, she was still concerned about the danger they were in and were pretty much ignoring.

"Is everyone ready?" Ralph asked entering the room. Both Kuronue and Kara paled and the two adults noticed.

"Um, yeah…we are," Kara answered. "Sorry it took me so long."

Ralph smiled and chuckled. "That's quite all right, Kara. Let's get going."

"Is that Kuronue with a cop?" Jesse's brother asked.

"Well would you look at that," the other guy said. "It is. For his sake, I hope he's not planning on talking."

"So, are we going to follow them?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, we are," his brother responded. "Let's head out."

"So have you ever been here before, Kuronue?" Ralph asked after they had been seated.

"Uh, no. I don't live here," Kuronue replied.

"Where do you live?" Carol asked.

Kuronue grew a little more nervous. "Well, I live in a suburban area somewhere in the Midwest so all of this is very new to me."

"That sounds nice," Carol said. "So you lived near Kara's father before, correct?"

"Um, yeah," he said. "But we moved away a few years later."

"If you don't mind me asking, why?" Ralph questioned.

Kuronue already felt like he was being interrogated. "Um, it's just that my mother had passed away and neither my father nor myself could handle the pain of staying in a house that contained so many memories of her."

"I'm so sorry, Kuronue," Carol stated. She was fighting tearing up. She already knew the story, but she didn't think she could hear it again. This young man had suffered so much.

"Well at least he's not saying anything," Jesse said.

"Let's see how long that lasts," the thug said.

"I don't think he will," Jesse's brother said. "If he hasn't already, he won't. Besides he wouldn't want anything to happen to that precious girlfriend of his or his other friends."

"How unlucky for him that the boyfriend of his girlfriend's mother is a cop. This will definitely be difficult for him."

"How long ago did your mother pass away?" Ralph asked.

"I…I don't even remember how long ago it was," Kuronue lied. He was sure he had broken out into a nervous sweat. There was only so much he could dodge in answering and he needed to be creative if he wanted the people he cared about to be safe. If there was anything he learned from his life it was that his father could always find a way out of prison.

"Usually when that happens, the event is something very traumatic for a child to deal with," Ralph explained. "How did she die exactly?"

"Uh…I-I-I…" Kuronue tried to speak.

A voice came over Ralph's walkie-talkie and Kuronue let out a large breath he didn't even know he'd been holding.

"Gah, I'm sorry Carol. I was supposed to be off duty for the rest of the evening," Ralph apologized.

Carol smiled and gave him a quick kiss goodbye. "It's okay. I understand. You go bring those creeps in for justice."

Kara and Kuronue exchanged glances and Kara could see how relieved he was. She watched Ralph leave the restaurant and saw something she wasn't expecting. Her mother left the table to walk Ralph out to the car and Kara was able to talk to Kuronue.

"Oh my God…Jesse," Kara whispered to Kuronue.

"What?" Kuronue looked over in the direction Kara was and saw not only Jesse but the two guys who worked for his father. They were at the restaurant eating dinner, occasionally glancing over to their table. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"Well, they're certainly subtle," Kara attempted to lighten the mood. "I'm sorry about my mom's boyfriend."

"It's fine," Kuronue replied taking Kara's hand. "He doesn't know anything so he was asking normal questions. I have no reason to suspect that he knows anything and I just need to relax. I just get nervous."

She rubbed his hand. "It's okay, I understand. I still think you should talk to someone, though."

Kuronue chuckled. "You're beginning to sound like Kurama."

"I guess I am," Kara responded. Just then her mother came back in.

"Well, it looks like it's just the three of us now," Carol said. "I hope the two of you are hungry."

Kara and Kuronue smiled at each other, but when Kara's mom wasn't looking, they exchanged a glance with the three guys at the other table. It was going to be a long night.

A/N: Okay, well that was interesting and totally awkward. Anyway, I'm thinking about writing a chapter to go along with this one about the other guys. Everyone knows how soap operas are and how there's like 20 different storylines. Let me know what you think. Well, time to get lunch before class. Thanks for reading :)