A/N: Hello my readers! So sorry for the delay in updating. I suddenly came down with something and was really sick all last week where I couldn't even write. Also I got a Lil stuck with my story but I figured it out and am back on track. I should have the next chapter for my other story up by tomorrow (iit's 2:30pm on Monday) and another chapter for this up either tomorrow or wednesday. :)

Thanks for your patience. Please enjoy the chapter. And just so everyone knows I do read the reviews just don't get to reply to all of them but I love your feedback and ideas. :)

Chapter 8: A Helping Hand

Ren awoke suddenly, his breathing labored and panicked as he stared around his dark living room. What? Where am I? His eyes quickly adjusted and he realized he was in his apartment and not in the street of his nightmares. He had not just watched as he caused his friend to die.

I haven't dreamed about Rick in a while. He sighed, then realized there was something in his hand. He opened his hand and saw the stone in his palm. That's right. She's gone. He felt a pain in his chest at the thought of Kyoko.

I wonder if she's okay.

He rose from the couch and slowly made his way to the bedroom he had avoided the night before. There had been no reason to drag himself to bed. No one waiting there for him. He ran his hands through his hair.

"I can't just keep thinking about her. I have to focus on work." He grabbed a towel and moved toward the bathroom to take a shower, hoping it would serve as a distraction.

Yukia was just finishing getting dressed for the day when he smelled the scent of food. He moved towards the kitchen where he found James sitting at the dining table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper while Kyoko flitted about the kitchen. She didn't seem to notice him so he moved next to James.

"What is she doing?" he whispered to his boyfriend, taking the cup from his hands to take a drink.

"She insisted on making us breakfast as a thank you for letting her stay here." James replied, quickly taking back the cup before Yukia could finish its contents.

Yukia moved away from the table and towards Kyoko. "You know, you don't have to cook for us." He said gently.

Kyoko glanced his direction. "Good morning, Yukia-kun. It's really nothing. It was the only way for me to show my gratitude."

He nodded, "All right, well, thank you. Do you need any help?"

Kyoko shook her head. "It's all right, I'm used to cooking on my own. Ren can't really co-" she stopped, face frozen in pain as she realized who she had mentioned. She forced a smile back on her face. "It's fine."

Yukia nodded and served himself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table with James.

After she had finished cooking, the three of them sat together and began to eat.

"What are your plans for the morning?" James asked Kyoko.

"I think I'll try going to school. I'm in my third year now so I need to be sure and attend as much as I can." She replied.

"I think that's good, Kyoko-chan. Did you want a ride?" Yukia asked, taking another drink of his coffee.

Kyoko shook her head. "Oh, no. You two have done more than enough. Plus, you have work this morning too. I'll be able to make it to school fine and then I'll meet you at TBM this afternoon for the drama filming."

Yukia wanted to argue that they could drive her but James placed a hand on his arm. When Kyoko rose to get dressed for school, he turned to Yukia. "I think she may need the time to think."

"Yeah, you're right."

James cleared the dishes from the table, and Yukia went to the door of Kyoko's room. He knocked, "Kyoko-chan, we'll be leaving now. Have a good day at school!"

"Thank you! You have a good day too. See you this afternoon." She called back.

Kyoko listened until she heard the sound of the apartment door close. She sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed with her hands clutching her skirt. Corn, why did you have to lie to me. Do you really distrust me so much still? She felt a few tears escape her eyes. "I still love you so much…" she wiped away the tears, but they were only replaced with fresh ones.

Half an hour later, she dried her face and forced a smile as she headed out the door and began her walk to school. She hoped school would be a distraction from her current problems, because right now, he was the only thing she could think of.

As Yashiro climbed into the car parked outside of his home he watched the driver. Ren had done his best to put himself together, but Yashiro could see that he hadn't put in his full effort. There were still parts of his hair that were sticking up at odd angles. His clothes were ironed and he looked well-dressed, but Yashiro had caught sight of two mismatched socks on Ren's feet.

Luckily, his pants will cover the socks most of the time. He told himself as Ren began to drive them towards the agency. He could see that Ren had dark bags under his eyes. Well, at least he'll have make up on before he goes in front of any cameras.

Before long, they parked at LME and headed inside to their morning meeting. As they walked past the LoveMe section, Yashiro caught Ren's eyes glance towards the door.

"How are things with Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro asked suddenly. He knew it was probably a bad idea, but he was desperate to get Ren talking. Since he had entered the young man's car, he had yet to speak except for a few grunts of acknowledgement.

Ren stopped, his feet pausing in place. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes taking a breath before pulling his sparkly smile out in full force. "I think I'm going to get a drink from the vending machine. I'll be back."

Yashiro watched as Ren walked down the hall and stepped into a corridor that held a few vending machines, leaving his sight.

While he waited for Ren to return, a certain LoveMe girl with long dark hair passed by him.

"Kotonami-san, good morning!" he greeted her.

"Good morning, Yashiro-san." She replied, then glanced around. "Where's Tsuruga-san?"

Yashiro chuckled nervously. "Um, he just stepped away to get a drink?"

She nodded, but before she could say anything else, Ren re-entered the hallway. He paused for a moment, looking surprised, then smiled at her using his fake smile.

"Good morning, Kotonami-san."

Kanae thought something seemed off with him, but put it out of her mind. "Good morning, Tsuruga-san. How's Kyoko doing? She hasn't been sending me as many annoying updates lately."

This time she couldn't dismiss the pained expression that crossed Ren's face when she mentioned his girlfriend. Did something happen?

Ren forced his smile again. "She's doing well. Probably just busy with her drama."

Kanae nodded, "Mm-hmm, and how has your filming been going with the drama? I heard it was a bit of a different role for you."

She could see it in Ren's eyes that he wanted to end the conversation but she needed to know what he was hiding from her. After all, it did concern her best friend.

"It's going very well, thank you. If you'll excuse us, we have a meeting to get to." Ren gave a slight bow to end the conversation before he began to walk away.

Yashiro stared after him for a moment, shaking his head. Kanae turned to him.

"What's up with him? Mo!" she asked, her irritation coming through. "Did something happen with him and Kyoko?"

Yashiro glanced uncertainly between Kanae and the direction Ren had gone. He sighed.

"All right, I really shouldn't say anything but…" he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Yes. They seem to have had an argument about something big and all I know is that she hasn't ridden with us the last two days." Kanae was silent as she took in the information. "Please don't tell him that I told-"

Kanae turned on her heel and took off after the tall actor.

"Tsuruga-san! Mo!" she called after him.

Ren paused and turned to look at her. She made it to him in seconds and stepped close to him, her face full of anger.

"What did you do? If you hurt her, I'll-" she paused, feeling the anger drain as quickly as it had filled her. She could see pain in his eyes. A pain she had only seen before in one person. Every time Kyoko had been forced to talk about Fuwa betraying her. Heartbreak.

She stepped back. "I- I'm sorry."

Ren nodded, not meeting her eyes. "It's okay. You have every right to be angry on her behalf. I'm afraid I did hurt her. But now she's gone and I never got a chance to explain things."

"Ren."

His eyes darted to meet her own.

"Did you mean to hurt her?"

Ren shook his head. "No, and I regret it. If I could go back I would've prevented it."

Kanae held up a hand to stop his talking. "I'll try talking to her. Because if you're hurting this bad, she must be too."

Ren gave her a gentle smile. "Thank you, Kanae-san."

She nodded, then turned and walked away. She waved back at him and Yashiro.

Yashiro met Ren's eyes nervously.

"So, you just tell my personal matters to anyone who asks?"

"Ren, you know I didn't mean-"

Ren waved away his managers words. "I know you did it out of concern for me. Thank you."

As Ren and Yashiro entered their meeting, Kanae was dialing her best friend's phone number. It rang four times then went to voicemail.

"Hello, you've reached Kyoko's phone. I'm sorry I can't answer right now. Please leave a message and I'll return your call as soon as I can. Thank you!"

Kanae rolled her eyes at Kyoko's annoyingly cheerful answering message.

"Hi, Kyoko, it's me. I want to talk to you. Call me back." She clicked the button to end the call.

You'd better call me back sometime today, Kyoko.

After her morning classes had finished, Kyoko decided to check her phone before heading to TBM. She gasped in excitement.

"Moko called me?" she quickly listened to the voicemail. "I wonder if the day has finally come where she needs my advice on something!" she shook her head. "No, Moko wouldn't need my help. She's too amazing an actress."

She sighed happily then clicked to recall her friend.

"Hello," Kanae answered.

"Moko! You called me!" Kyoko exclaimed into the phone.

"Do you have to yell? Mo! I'm going to go deaf with you always yelling."

Kyoko smiled at her friend's scolding. "Sorry, Moko. I didn't mean to yell. I've just missed you."

"You can't have missed me too much. You haven't called me recently." She paused before continuing, "Even though you're fighting with Tsuruga-san."

Kyoko felt her face flush and her heart drop. "I- what- how did you know?" she sputtered.

"I ran into him and his manager. But the better question is, why am I hearing about it from them, when we are best friends." Kanae couldn't keep the hurt from her voice.

"I'm sorry, Moko. I just didn't want to bother you with my problems. I know how busy you are."

Kanae sighed, it was pretty easy to guilt Kyoko. "Where are you staying? I want to come see you after work."

"I'm staying with my co-star and his manager. Would you want to come over for dinner?" Kyoko offered.

Kanae thought about it and figured it was her best option to get the truth from Kyoko. "All right, yeah. What time?"

"Let me check with my co-star, and then I'll text you the time and the address."

"Sounds good. I'll see you tonight then."

Kyoko listened as the phone clicked and her friend hung up. She sighed, the excitement of a call from her best friend leaving her. Now I have to tell Yukia-kun that I invited someone over for dinner without asking him first.

But even as her thoughts of what she had to deal with later filled her head, Kyoko couldn't help but feel a little bit happy that Kanae had been so concerned for her.

As Ren and Yashiro finished their morning meetings, they returned to Ren's car.

"Where are we heading next?" Ren asked his manager.

"TBM to start the second part of filming for Keishi." Yashiro responded. He watched for Ren's reaction. As he processed the information, his face grew darker.

He sighed, "I have to act with her, don't I?"

Yashiro felt bad for his friend. I can't even imagine the pain of having to see her right now. He glanced at the man in the driver's seat. "Ren, you still haven't told me. What did you two argue over?"

He half expected Ren to yell at him, or tell him it was none of his business.

"She found out I'm 'Corn'."

Yashiro was silent. He had warned Ren about this, because he wanted to avoid any heartbreak between his favorite couple.

Go on, just say it already. Ren thought to himself. Say I told you so.

Instead, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you are hurting like this, Ren."

Ren shrugged off the hand, "Don't be all sympathetic. It's worse than when you tease me."

Yashiro might have been hurt by Ren's words but as the younger man put the car into gear and began to drive, he had a small smile on his lips because he was secretly grateful for his manager's kindness.