Shihna quietly shut the door of the guest room behind her. She couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. There wasn't really anything wrong. The bed was comfortable...maybe a bit too comfortable. Or maybe it was the fact that she was sleeping in Zelos' house that made her uneasy. She didn't really like Meltokio either. I wish we could've stayed somewhere other than here, she thought as she descended the stairs.

As she reached the last step on the stairs she noticed that the fireplace was still lit. That saves me the trouble of having to light it again. She sat down on the couch and stared at the flames. She leaned back. Her thought travelled to various topics. How much she wanted to sleep, what they would be doing tomorrow, where they would be going...all kinds of things. She let her mind drift until it crashed into an extremely aggravating thought. Zelos Wilder. "Eugh," she muttered. "That stupid Chosen."

What did she feel for him anyways? Hatred? No, it wasn't that strong. He was annoying and perverted, but she still considered him to be one of her friends. Friends. That was all, wasn't it? There wasn't anything more, right? Shihna's cheeks reddened slightly. Of course not! Who was she kidding? She would never feel that way towards that idiot. She shook her head. No, no, no.

Okay, maybe she did like him more than a friend. Only a little bit, though. Something like a best friend. Yeah...a best friend.

Damn. She couldn't fool herself. The answer was sitting right in front of her, but she refused to look it in the eye. Her? Love Zelos Wilder? Impossible. She twirled a strand of her hair, now free from the messy ponytail it was always in, around her finger. I don't love him, she told herself. I don't.

With those thoughts in her mind she drifted off to the world of sleep.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Meanwhile, Zelos was pointlessly walking around his huge mansion, wondering exactly why he was still awake. He should've been in bed hours ago, not pacing the floor thinking about...her. Shihna was just another one of them. His enemy- a person from the weaker side. Besides, she wasn't that special. She wasn't that smart and he had seen enough pretty girls.

Oh, fine. He lied about seeing enough pretty girls. But she was...beautiful. It wasn't just because her chest was well-endowed either. There was something about her. Something in those gentle eyes of hers and the smile she gave to everyone else except him. He wanted that; he wanted it so badly. It's just that he could never say anything right. Ninety-nine percent of the time their conversations ended with Shihna slapping him in the face and calling him a pervert or an idiot. The remaining one percent was for the times when he actually managed to say something decent to her. That was when he was rewarded with a smile or he was spared from her beating him senseless. He seemed to live for those rare moments.

Zelos walked into his living room, noticing that he forgot to put the fireplace out and...was she sleeping on his couch?! He stepped forward without making a sound. She was. He smiled at the innocent look on her face. She looked so cute with her dark hair framing her face. Zelos quietly walked up the stairs.

He returned a few minutes later with a blanket in his arms. It would be bad if she caught a cold, he thought, covering her body with the blanket. "She looks like an angel when she sleeps," he mumbled to himself, stroking her hair softly.

"Nnh?" Shihna opened her eyes groggily. "Zelos?"

"Oh, sorry," he said, pulling away. "It looks like I woke you up." Shihna shook her head. "I was worried about you catching a cold, but I didn't want to disturb you so I got you a blanket," Zelos explained, hoping that Shihna wasn't thinking the wrong thing. All she did was nod tiredly while rubbing her eyes. "I'm gonna...go sleep now," he said. "Good night, Shihna."

"Wait," Shihna mumbled. She struggled so sit up.

"What is it?" Zelos asked softly.

"Please stay," she murmured, pressing herself against him. "Please..." she repeated.

Zelos stood, as still as stone, wondering what to do. Shihna had just asked him to stay. He looked down at her. She was looking up at him, her eyes like a lost child's. He wanted to stay, but he considered what would happen in the morning when Shihna woke up. Maybe she was just sleep-talking and wouldn't remember anything in the morning. Then he would get beaten up and everybody would think that he had tried to do something to her when he really didn't. "You sure you want me to stay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I do."

Zelos sat down. He felt so nervous. How could he be so carefree with other women and feel so freaked out with her? She was the only one who made him feel this way. "I was thinking about you before I fell asleep," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I hope it wasn't something bad," he replied, adjusting his position so they could both be more comfortable.

"I thought about how I felt about you," she said. "And I...thought that maybe I care more about you than I thought I did." She tugged on his hair playfully. "I'm going to give you another chance, I guess."

"I'll make sure I don't screw things up this time, then," Zelos answered. He tried to control his emotions, but a smile kept on returning to his face.

"You better not..." Shihna mumbled sleepily, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll kill you if you do."

Zelos snickered. "Would you?" he asked. Shihna didn't respond. She was already sleeping. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Sleep well, my beautiful princess," he said softly.

He had chosen which side he wanted to fight on. I must be nuts, he thought. He was going to be fighting for the weaker side, something he had never done. Usually he fought with the strongest, but this time...He looked down at Shihna. How could one person have so much power over him? Just one request and it ended up like this. Why couldn't he resist?

Oh well.

Whichever side she chose, he would follow her. He wanted to be with her...as long as he lived.

SakuMeiMei Says: Sorry it's late! DX I had everything going well and then my train of thought totally derailed and I couldn't think any more. I still can't.

Anyways...I wanted to focus a little more on Zelos. Which I kinda did, but didn't do at the same time because my mind crashed right about there. DX