A/N: Natalia stops being a bitch! YAY!

Tear woke up, blearily rubbing her eyes as she looked around groggily. Pushing the sheets away, she frowned, trying to think why that seemed so strange. Then she remembered.

'How did I get in last night?'

she wondered, a little surprised.

She sat up, shrugging, then grabbed her hairbrush and brushed her hair out. Today was a Sunday, which meant it was a free day all day.

As she stood up to head to the bathroom, it opened and a pale looking Natalia wobbled out. She looked at Tear with a flat glare then stumbled towards her bed, almost collapsing. Tear caught her, looking worried.

"Natalia? What happened? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"S-Shut up, stupid commoner," Natalia murmured, then went green before throwing up. Tear gently rubbed circles on her back, then helped Natalia back to the bathroom. She grabbed some cleaning things and (with a bit of resignation and disgust) cleaned up the sick.

Chucking it all into the bin, she went back to the bathroom where Natalia was throwing up again. Tear grabbed a glass from the side, filling it with water and passing it over. Natalia took it, rinsing her mouth out before spitting it out and taking a long gulp.

"Now, what happened?" asked Tear gently as Natalia collapsed against the wall.

"Some..idiot spiked my drink..." Natalia muttered angrily.

'Ahh...So she was drunk,' Tear realised.

"Alright. Let's get you back to bed, okay? I'll find some aspirin, and you just take it easy until you're feeling a little better, alright?" she soothed, helping Natalia up. She considered, then sighed, leading her over to her own bed.

"What are you doing? I don't want to sleep in your manky sheets!" Natalia protested weakly.

Tear tried to think of a reasonable excuse. "You don't want to get sick on your own bed, do you?" she said finally. Natalia grumbled but agreed, allowing Tear to tuck her in. She went and fetched a bucket, putting it beside the bed, then went to the cabinet to try and find some aspirin.

Finally she returned with another glass of water, placing the glass down and getting a couple of the aspirin out.

"Alright, take these. Drink slowly, alright?" Tear murmured, helping Natalia swallow them. Finally she set the drink down, Natalia lying back in the sheets. The blonde looked up at Tear, her olive green eyes tired and a little confused.

"...Why are you helping me?" she asked finally.

"Huh?"

"Why are you helping me? After how I've treated you...you should hate me, shouldn't you? The other girl did. She let me get on with it by myself," Natalia murmured.

Tear blinked, then smiled. "I'm not going to make you deal with it by yourself. You're not well, and when someone is sick, they're looked after. Now, I'm going to go make you some food, unless you'd prefer something from the cafeteria?"

Natalia shook her head and Tear walked into the adjoining kitchen. Being rich apparently had its perks, such as a private kitchen in your dorm room. She set about making some food, making something easy on the stomach but that would help Natalia and fill her up.

Finally she came back, helping Natalia sit up before watching her carefully as she ate the food. When she was finished, she took the plate back and settled Natalia down, tucking her in again.

"You should go to sleep. It'll help if you can sleep it off properly," Tear murmured. Natalia nodded, half-asleep already, and soon had drifted off. Tear smiled then went back to the kitchen, making her own breakfast before washing up and packing everything away. She headed back to the room, smiling approvingly at the sleeping Natalia, then heard a knock on the door.

Walking over, she opened it and smiled as she spotted Luke.

"Hey Tear! I was wondering..." Luke began before Tear shushed him, motioning to Natalia. Luke looked confused, and she stepped outside before closing the door behind her.

"Sorry. Natalia got sick last night, so I'm looking after her. She needs rest, but she's only just fallen asleep," she explained quietly.

"Oh. Sorry," Luke murmured.

Tear shook her head. "It's okay. What did you need?" she asked.

"Dad said he's prepared your other room if you still want it," he explained.

Tear considered, glancing back at the closed door. "Maybe later. I want to make sure Natalia gets over this," she replied.

"Sure. I'll tell Dad," Luke replied with a smile.

As he started walking off, Tear called his name. "Luke!" He glanced back, looking confused. "How did I get back in last night?"

Luke blinked, then grinned. "Let's just say you're really light," he replied before running off before she could question him any further.

She sighed, heading back into the room. Making sure Natalia was still asleep, she grabbed some of her text books and sat on the floor, back against the wall as she read them.

A couple of hours later, she heard moving and looked up, watching as Natalia sat up. The blonde girl looked around blearily, then spotted Tear.

"Tear?" she asked, her voice quiet. She looked like a child, and Tear smiled gently before standing up.

"I'm here Natalia, don't worry," she soothed, walking over to her. As she drew close, Natalia suddenly threw herself into her arms, crying. Tear blinked in surprise, then smoothed her hair. "There there. Now what's the matter?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

"I-I'm sorry...I was so mean..." Natalia cried. Tear blinked, confused. Why was she apologising for this now.

"It's alright...No harm done," she replied.

"Yes there was! I'm always like this, pushing everyone away, but you were still really nice to me! I-I don't understand how you can be so nice when I'm so horrible," she half shouted, half whispered, burying herself into Tear's arms.

Tear considered, then sighed. "I was going to change rooms," she said.

"I don't blame you..." Natalia murmured, then noticed how she'd phrased the sentence. "Was?"

"Yeah...But I'm not going to now."

"Why? You should! Y-You deserve better than this!"

Tear looked surprised at Natalia's outburst, then frowned. "Would you prefer if I did?" she asked gently.

Natalia blinked, then pulled away, bringing her knees to her chest. Tear waited patiently.

"...Yes," Natalia said finally, resignedly.

"That's a lie," Tear replied.

"No it's not!"

"Yes, it is. You don't want to be alone here, Natalia, but you're afraid to let anyone close. So you treat them badly until they leave. I imagine that Asch is the only person who never pushed you away?"

Natalia stared at Tear for a moment, then finally nodded. "Yeah...I treated him horribly, but he just snapped at me and said that he didn't understand why I was acting like a bitch when I wasn't one."

"See? You don't need to push everyone away, Natalia. Certainly not me, at least."

Natalia looked up at her, her eyes red from crying.

"Really?" she asked quietly.

Tear smiled gently. "Really. Now come on, it's nearly lunch. Let's get you cleaned up and head down, okay?"

Natalia hesitated then rubbed at her eyes, nodding and smiling gently. "Alright," she murmured, allowing Tear to help her up and go to the bathroom.

Standing outside the door, Luke turned to Asch. "See? I told you," he said.

Asch shook his head. "Fine. I assume she's passed yours, then?"

"Pretty much. Yours?"

Asch considered. "Not quite. You're too soft. We'll see how it goes," he replied, then walked off. Luke chuckled before following after him, glancing back at the door one last time.

A/N: I would have put more in this chapter, but c'mon, you had 2000 words for the last two. Leave me alone!

Plus, y'know, the flow? Kinda wants to stop here for this chappy.

Review?