DISCLAIMER: Hey guys. I realize it took me a long time to update...again. In my defense I was busy with exams and finals. It's all over now. Finally. Finally.

Haruhi jerked awake. She had been freezing all night and wasn't able to get enough sleep. She assumed that this was due to the fact the she went blanketless all night. She crawled out of bed and groggily walked over to Faith.

"Agh, I hate mornings." She groaned. "Faith, it's time to get up." It wasn't until she was next to the undisturbed bundle of blanket that a horrible feeling reigned over her.

"Faith?" She asked nervously. She eased her hand down slowly and grabbed the edge of the blanket. Haruhi sucked in a breath as she pulled and, to her horror, revealed nothing but a pillow inside.

"Oh no. No no no no, this can't be happening." She uttered in horror. The blanket dropped from her hand as she rushed out of her room. Haruhi was halfway out of her house when she caught sight of something odd. She did a double-take and quickly walked backwards back into her house.

"Hey Haruhi. I hope you don't mind but I thought I'd make breakfast." Faith smiled from behind the counter. She was in the kitchen surrounded by a mass of ingredients.

"I didn't know what to make, so I pulled a bunch of random things out. I finally just decided on frying up some eggs." She laughed nervously. "Don't worry! I promise to clean it all up." She added quickly.

"N-no, don't worry about it." Haruhi stuttered in shock. She felt a rush of relieve wash over her as she finally processed the sight of Faith in front of her. She thought about bringing up the blanket incident but decided to just drop it.

"I'm not much of a cook so I hope this turned out alright." Faith said as she scooped the first of the fried eggs onto a plate and handed it to Haruhi.

"They look amazing. If you don't mind my asking, what made you decide to cook breakfast anyway?" Haruhi asked as she graciously took the plate and sat down.

"Hmm? Oh, well I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here. I know it must be very inconvenient but I assure you that this won't be for long. As soon as I find a job and save up some money, I'll find a place and-" She was cut off by Haruhi.

"Don't be ridiculous. You being here is no trouble at all so please feel free to stay as long as you need. My dad's kinda insane so I understand if you want to leave but in all honesty, it's nice to have some female company…Born female company, that is." Haruhi smiled timidly. She wanted to feel relieved at how energetic Faith was acting, but it was actually making her more worried. Was it possible for someone to be this okay right after something that life altering happened? Haruhi wondered about it before deciding to bring it up with Tamaki and the others later.

"Good morning dear. Something smells good! Is somebody making eg-" Ranka froze up like a deer in headlights. His eyes focused on Faith standing there with a frying pan in hand.

"It's happening again!" He yelled as he ran back inside his room.

"What was that all about?" Faith wondered aloud. Haruhi laughed nervously.

"Oh nothing. Heh heh, I did say he was insane didn't I?"

"I suppose so but that was a bit….." Faith lost her train of thought as Ranka marched back into the room.

"Dad!" Haruhi scolded, seeing as her dad actually had the nerve to come out wearing the pillow suit after all.

"Am I missing something?" Faith asked questionably.

"No no, not at all." Haruhi waved her off quickly.

"Don't mind me, I'm just a woman covered in pillows. Nothing suspicious going on here." He rambled nervously as he took cautious steps towards the table.

"Umm, I made you some eggs mr…miss….? Uhh, master Fujioka." Faith quickly realized that she had no idea what to address him as and quickly plopped the eggs onto his place in hopes that they would forget her awkwardness.

"Thank you darling. Hehe, master. You make me blush." Ranka swooned, still keeping a safe distance from Faith and the frying pan. "You can either call me Ranka or The Dark Overlord Queen Ranka." Ranka added. Faith, content after serving them their food, nodded before quickly starting to clean up after herself.

"You're not going to have any?" Haruhi asked curiously. Faith glanced up at her quickly before redirecting her attention to the dishes she was washing.

"Oh no. You see, I just don't have much of an appetite at the moment." Faith laughed timidly.

"…Right." Haruhi stuffed a mouthful of egg into her mouth out of sheer lack of anything to say. Things went uncomfortable quiet and Faith worked diligently to keep her mind off it. Haruhi, who was now finished eating, got up and took her plate over to the sink.

"Here, let me wash that for you." Faith offered.

"No, it's fine. Why don't you let me help? It will go faster that way." Haruhi didn't wait for a reply before taking a towel and starting to dry the dishes. Faith looked as if she was about to protest but decided to just let it go. Things fell silent again and somehow Ranka had managed to slip away without anyone noticing. Both girls managed to fall into the rhythm of washing and drying the dishes, but the off-putting vibes in the air were impossible to deny.

"Hey Faith." Haruhi spoke up after a while.

"What is it Haruhi?" Faith asked, not bothering to look up.

"Are you doing alright?" Haruhi asked as gently as possible. This time Faith did look up but only for a moment.

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked nonchalantly.

"It's just that after everything that happened, you must be feeling so conflicted right now. Especially after yesterday. . ." Haruhi wondered off track.

"I wasn't in the mood for talking. I'm fine now." Faith shrugged her shoulders as she handed the last of the dishes to Haruhi. "Well I'm done with the dishes now. Guess I better go organize my things." Faith turned off the water and walked away before Haurhi had a chance to say anything else.

"Is she really okay?" Haruhi sighed doubtfully as she stared at the counter blankly.

Morning came and Haruhi woke up only to see that Faith had beaten it to her again. They had spent the rest of yesterday inside, awkwardly avoiding each other. Haruhi's dad hadn't been much help either since he had been gone almost the entire day. Today was going to be different though. Haruhi had made up her mind and wasn't going back on her plans now. She had even gone to the trouble of calling all the others to arrange some type of activity for Faith. When Haruhi walked into the kitchen, she noticed that Faith was making breakfast once again. She got the strangest feeling of déjà vu that only served to motivated her more.

"Good morning." Faith smiled. She seemed cheerier than she did yesterday, which both surprised and worried Haruhi.

"Morning." She replied wearily.

"Sorry, but I only made you cereal today. I hope you don't mind. Your dad ran out of the house earlier today saying that he had somewhere to be. I can't help but get the feeling that he's scared of me." Faith wondered.

"W-what? Where w-would you get that idea from?" Haruhi denied nervously. Faith decided not to press the issue and just handed Haruhi her bowl.

"Thank you." Haruhi smiled.

"Sure thing." Faith smiled in return. Haruhi noticed something odd and decided to bring it up.

"You're not going to eat again?" She asked with concern. Faith laughed anxiously.

"N-no. I still haven't regained my appetite completely." She admitted with an uncomfortable smile.

"You didn't eat anything yesterday either. I really think that you should eat something." Haruhi urged.

"I will. Later." She agreed. Haruhi wanted to nag her further but decided to change the topic.

"Be sure to. Anyway, I was thinking that we could go out and do something today." Haruhi offered. She could have sworn that she saw Faith's eye twitch, but it happened so quickly that she thought she might have imagined it.

"I'm not so sure about that. I-I still have some more organizing to do." Faith rambled. She looked more withdrawn and secluded then she had only moments ago.

"I thought you finished that yesterday." Haruhi pressed, refusing to take no for an answer.

"Yes, but I'm really slow when it comes to these things." Faith added with resistance.

"You only have one bag with you. How much time could that take to organize?" Haruhi added.

"True. . ."

"If you're really that behind, I will help you. So? What do you say?" Haruhi refused to give up. Faith hesitated for a moment before replying.

"A-alright. Let's go." She agreed. An hour later and Faith found herself at a food court alone with Haruhi. Despite her constant protests, Haruhi was determined to get her to eat something. She took many small sips of her drink, hoping that somehow she could just evaporate into the air.

"Hey Faith." Haruhi said after a while.

"Ya?" Faith replied hesitantly.

"Did you sleep well?" Haurhi wanted to smack herself but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to ask the serious questions.

"Umm yeah, I slept fine." Each word came out like it had been scripted. Inside her was a conflict between what she was supposed to say and how she really felt.

"That's good to hear. I wasn't so sure seeing as how you slept on the floor and all." Haruhi sputtered out.

"Ya…." Faith went into a daze, remembering how she actually hadn't slept at all. She had been out all night and made breakfast as soon as she had come back. Faith noticed the weary look that Haruhi was giving her and quickly cleared her throat. "I slept great last night. My back was hurting a bit but after sleeping on solid ground, it feels much better." She put extra effort in making her voice sound more upbeat and energetic. Haruhi offered a timid smile.

"That's good to hear. Tonight you can sleep on my bed. I don't mind taking the floor." Haruhi offered.

"No, I really couldn't kick you off your bed like that." Faith denied nicely. Haruhi insisted on it and eventually they decided to just share the bed. Faith was incredibly thankful that Haruhi and she had shared a meal because she barely managed just to take a few bites. Haruhi happily finished off what was left on their plate while Faith continued to sip quietly on her drink. After they were done eating, Faith noticed Haruhi going the opposite directed that her home was in.

"Haruhi, you're going the wrong way." Faith called after her. Haruhi didn't bother looking back and just motioned her to follow instead. After a moment's hesitation, Faith ran after her. She didn't know where she was going but continued behind Haruhi without saying a word. They went through a few dark tunnels, crossed an annoyingly long bridge, stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break, crossed another bridge and were still walking when Faith finally spoke up.

"Where the heck are we going?" She panted tiredly. Haruhi stopped for the first time in what seemed like forever. She turned around to look at Faith and smiled before continuing her walk. Faith wanted to throw a fit and threaten to hold her breath until Haruhi told her where they were going, but instead let out a long breath and continued forward. Faith managed to stay calm up until the point she found herself halfway up a ledge.

"I probably should have mentioned this before I was hanging for my life, but I can't rock climb!" She hollered at Haruhi.

"You managed to climb this far, just a little bit farther!" Haruhi called back. By the time Faith had reached the top with Haruhi helping to pull her up, she didn't know who was crazier; Haruhi for dragging her along for some crazy road trip or her for following.

"Oh. My. Goodness." Faith panted. Her hands went all over her body. "I am alive!" She huffed exhaustedly. Haruhi got up and started walking again.

"No more! I give up already!" Faith threw her arms in the air and fell back.

"Come on. Just a few more steps. Take off your shoes and come here." Even Haruhi was panting a little at this point. Faith groaned but did as she said and took of her shoes. She was too tired to argue or even question Haruhi's motives at this point. Faith got up with her shoes in hand and wobbled after Haruhi. Faith continued to take small, unstable steps until she felt something really cool touch her feet. Water. Faiths eyes flung open and she took in the beautiful scene around her. There was a small creek surrounded by lush, green vegetation.

"Wow." Faith said it amazement.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Haruhi came up next to her and they both stared into the clear water.

"Yeah…." Faith was hypnotized by the ripples in the water created by the falling leaves. She walked further in and closed her eyes. The cold water on her feet helped her cool down and made her feel refreshed. Eventually, even Haruhi took off her shoes and let her feel dangle down into the water. It wasn't long until it started getting dark outside. Faith hadn't thought that they were at the creek for that long and realized that the walk took longer than she thought.

"I guess we should go home now." Haruhi sighed. Faith groaned.

"I can't. It's going to be years until I can walk again!"

"Come on, it's not that far." Haruhi got up, slipped her shoes back on, and started down the hill. It finally occurred to Faith that they would have to walk all the way back. She felt the life drain out of her and had to fight off the urge to scream. Or die. They both worked. Faith was going to go into full-on-nagging-mode when she saw Haruhi walking down the hill.

"Wait, aren't you going to scale down the ledge? Like how we came up?" She asked in confusion. Haruhi gave her a strange look.

"What? Are you insane? It would take us forever to get back home that way."

"T-then where are we going?" Faith cried.

"Home." Haruhi replied matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?!" Less than three minutes later and Faith knew what she meant.

"I hate you so much right now." She moaned from on top of their couch.

"For what?" Haurhi asked innocently.

"Don't act like you don't know what you did. You had us walk that ten hour route to get to that stupid creek when we could have just walked five minutes to your house, and three more minutes to the creek."

"It was hardly ten hours and it was fun." Haruhi was obviously very pleased with herself. Faith, on the other hand, worked up the will to lift her head high enough to shoot Haruhi a very mean glare.

"I am going to shower." With that she dragged her body off the couch and crawled to the bathroom. After what seemed like the most painful shower in history, she dragged her lifeless body over to Haruhi's room and plopped onto her bed. She heard Haruhi go into the bathroom to take a shower herself, but dozed off seconds later.

AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, I know that this chapter is longer than my usual ones. For this reason, I have not taken the time to review and edit it. In all honesty, me being lazy also plays a big part in it. Sorry if there are some large errors in it but i am still tired from school. I have to literally roll out of bed everyday. Agh -_- How were your finals? I hope they were better than mine.