I woke to the lovely smell of dinner being cooked and sat up, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to get a clear look at what was in the making.

"You slept all day." Ikki said once he noticed I was up. "You must be starving." My stomach growled as a confirmation.

"I hope I've not kept you from your work or anything."

"I didn't have to work today and I spent most of my time working on my report, so you did no such thing." I got out of the bed and sat down at the table.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he put a plate down in front of me, going back to get his own.

"A whole lot better, actually." On the plate were two eggs and some bacon. I had no idea something so simple could smell so amazing.

"Good to hear that." He reached over the table and laid his hand on my forehead again. "Your fever"S gone down considerably as well." He sat back and started his meal. Just as I wanted to do the same, my ringtone resounded through the room.

"I'm sorry." I said as I took it out and looked at the caller ID, surprised when it said my home number was calling. I answered it, hoping it wasn't the fire department with the message that the house had burnt to the ground.

"Alice speaking."

"Alice, we're back!" My eyes widened as I recognized my mom's voice.

"Already?"

"We were gone for four months, honey, don't sound so disappointed."

"Right, four months." I rubbed my head, I'd almost forgotten about them. "I'm not disappointed, of course not, it's just a bit of a surprise."

"I understand, sweetie. Where are you anyway?"

"Where am I?" I looked up at Ikki, he was looked at me with great interest. "I'm at a friend's."

"At Cass' place?" I could tell from her voice that she was multitasking.

"No, a new friend. You don't know him." I held a hand over my mouth just as that last word popped out.

"Did you say "Him'?" My parents were against going over to boys' houses, it was the number one rule.

"I… uh… I said "Em. You don't know "Em. Multiple people, you know."

"You know your dad can track your phone, right? Don't lie to me, honey." I shuddered. The calm and kind manner in which she said it made it all the more scary.

"It doesn't matter, I'm leaving soon anyway." I quickly said.

"Alright, see you in a bit, sweetie!" With that she hung up. I let out a deep breath and quickly took a bite of the food, cheering slightly when finding that it was still hot.

"What was that about?"

"Apparently my parents just came home from their travels."

"And why did you lie?"

"If they knew I was at a guy's house my dad would track my phone and come busting in just like that." He blinked a few times.

"Alright, I'll walk you home after you've finished."

"Are you sure you're not cold?" He asked again as we walked onto the street.

"I'm sure, I now have two vests and a coat on, I'm not going to be cold anytime soon. Thanks for letting me borrow those, by the way."

"No problem. Can't risk you getting worse again, right?"

"Right. Have to get healthy again as soon as possible." We walked in silence for a few minutes, our arms brushing past eachother occasionally in the cold night air.

"Summer break is almost over, isn't it?" He said as he looked up at the stars.

"Suppose it is. I don't really look forward to going back to school though."

"Why not?" I shrugged.

"It's not that I don't like school, I don't mind that at all. Just the people there…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not the most popular person there, let's just keep it at that. Well, I'll be going into my last year anyway. Then it's off to Uni for me."

"You're not being bullied, are you?"

"No. The contrary. People are scared to even talk to me because everyone knows what my dad used to do for a living. Some ugly rumors are going around about him already, so that's not helping either."

"I bet you're dad's a great guy. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, just give me a call."

"Thanks. Right back at you, even drunken calls are fine." We both laughed before realizing that we were already practically standing in front of my house.

"Well, that went faster than I thought it would." I murmured as I frowned and looked around, making sure this wasn't just some trick someone was playing on me. I knew this for sure when the door opened and both my parents came out.

"Hey, guys." I said as I walked up to them and gave them a hug. "Welcome home." They both looked at Ikki behind me and turned to me, accusing looks on their faces.

"This is Ikki." I said as I walked back, grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "He's the new friend I was talking about."

"Nice to meet you." He said as he took a small bow.

"Was she with you all day?" My mom asked me, gesturing at me to be silent when I wanted to answer for him.

"Yes and I hope you'll forgive me for asking her over if that's against your rules." Both of them blinked at how polite he was.

"That's alright. If nothing happened, then it's fine."

"She did get a cold, though, please make sure she gets plenty of rest." He turned to me. "And take some more of the cough mixture before you go to bed." I nodded.

"Well then, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you. If you'll excuse me." After another bow, he was already on his way back.

"What a polite fellow." My dad said as he nodded in approval.

"And handsome." My mom chimed in.

"And he got you to drink cough mixture?" I shrugged.

"He wasn't very subtle about it."

"Well, either way, he performed a miracle."

"Hardly." I murmured.

"But I think we should heed that boy's advice and send you off to bed early." I nodded and took my coat off, walking up the stairs and into my room. "Don't forget the cough mixture!" They yelled after me.

"Got it!" I yelled back as I took the vests off and put them on my bed before sitting down as well. I did feel a lot better than before, but I still didn't feel completely fine. Before bed, I ended up taking a spoonful of the cough mixture he'd borrowed me, it tasted a lot less good than before.

I woke the next day to a text from Ikki.

And? Did I invoke your father"S wrath yet?

Anyway, I wanted to thank you for rushing to my apartment when my drunken self had summoned you. Meet me at the park at 14:00, I have a gift for you.

Ikki

I frowned at the last sentence and wondered what the gift could possibly be. I checked the clock, it was 12:00, giving me plenty of time to get ready and make the trip.

"Where are you going?" Mom asked as soon as I laid a hand on my coat.

"The park?"

"Are you feeling okay? How's that cold?"

"Nonsense! The girl's fine. She's not a wuss or something." Dad said, his mouth pretty much full with rice.

"Of course not. Well, don't stay out too late."

"I won't." I smiled as I put on my coat and made my way out.

As I turned the corner onto another street, I was jumped and smacked to the ground.

"You slept with him!" A female voice yelled frantically.

"Did not!" I said as I stood up and took a good look at my attackers. The three girls who"D accompanied the fancy one with her nightly visit.

"We saw you entering his apartment in the evening and then leave next evening." Another supplied the eye witness report.

"So? He called me, I slept over and then left the next evening. Nothing happened or anything."

"I find it hard to believe that." The last one said.

"Then don't believe it." I felt a sting in my knee and looked down, seeing a hole in the fabric of my pants and a bloody knee. "And thanks for that. Now, if you excuse me." I wanted to walk on, but one of them stopped me.

"Oh? Are you sure you want to do that?" She immediately pulled her arm back and seemed unsure for a moment, but then pointed a finger at me.

"You better not get too close for him. We've already made plans involving the bad things. Don't make us have to put those into action." I laughed.

"I'd love to see you try."

"Hey." I sat down beside him on the small park bench and shifted uncomfortably at the cold surface under me.

"How's the cold?"

"Good, haven't coughed since the first time I took that cough mixture."

"Since you took?"

"Whatever that was called then." He grinned and turned to me.

"As I said, I have a present for you." He took a small box out of his jacket pocket, there was a big bow on top. He handed it to me and smiled, his eyes were practically sparkling.

"What did I do to earn this?"

"It's a little something to apologize for making you come over and then sort of forcing you to sleep with me." I pulled up a brow before letting out a little laugh.

"That sounded really weird, but thanks." I carefully took the lid off and stared at the contents of the box, not sure what to do.

"This is…"

"Don't you like it?" He asked worried.

"No, no, that's not it, not at all." I quickly said. "It just looks kind of expensive."

"Nonsense. Here, try it on." He took the bracelet out of the box and tied it around my wrist, the bells on it jingled a merry tune. "With these bells I'll always be able to find you." I held it up and looked at it more closely. There were at least ten tiny silver bells on the silver bracelet, they all shone brightly in the sunlight.

"Thanks so much, I don't know what to say."

"As I said, it's just a small apology. Nothing major." I gave him a hug.

"You're forgiven."

"That's a relief." He let go and looked me up and down, frowning upon seeing my knee.

"What happened?"

"Oh, that. I fell on the way here, tripped over something. I'll fix it when I get home." He sighed and shook his head.

"You're such a cluts sometimes." I raised my shoulders.

"That's not my fault. Do you have to work today?"

"I do, I'm heading to the café after this. Why?"

"I'm taking my parents to visit. They're going to be so surprised when they see Waka again." He stood and smiled at me.

"Then I'll see you soon." I stood as well and nodded.

"Yeah, see you soon." Just as he walked past, he leaned forward and gently kissed my cheek.

"I'll be looking forward to serving you."

After standing around for another three minutes, I slowly made my way back home to pick up my parents.

"I have a surprise for you two." I said as I smiled mischievously.

"Really? What is it?" Mom asked instantly.

"It won't be a surprise if I tell you. You'll see soon enough. But you'll have to get your coats, we're going for a short walk first." They did as I asked and within minutes we were all out the front door and onto the sidewalk.

"What happened to your knee?" Mom asked.

"Tripped and fell, just a scratch. I'll fix the jeans later." My dad nodded proudly at my short explanation. Even though I did it unconsciously, I was doing what my father had taught me, explaining in short but clear sentences.

"Alright, this is it. Go in through the front door, I have to handle something over here." I hurried down the stairs and sighed relieved to find Waka in his office and not in the cafe itself. I knocked and patiently waited for permission to enter.

"Who is it?"

"Alice."

"Come in then, no need to knock." I opened the door and laughed.

"It would be rude not to knock."

"Not for you, don't worry." His smile turned to a frown. "Did something happen?"

"No, I just got a little surprise when mom and dad showed up yesterday."

"They're back?" I nodded.

"I took them over to visit. You can come greet them if you want." He was up to his feet and at the door before my brain could even process it.

"Of course I'll greet them."

He went out into the cafe and smiled when he saw my parents at the table, studying the menu. He walked up to the table and halted there, neither of them looked up.

"Have you decided?" They both looked up. My mom's mouth fell open and my dad's eyes widened so much that I thought they might pop out of their sockets.

"Surprise." I chimed as I stood beside Waka. They looked at me and then back to Waka.

"That's-" My mom was cut off when my dad jumped up.

"Waka!" He yelled as he took his long lost son into a bear hug.

"Hey, dad." Waka said as he smiled and hugged back. My mom quickly followed her husband"S example and they all stood there for a while, locked in a silent hug.

"Well, this is a sight to see." Ikki muttered as he stood beside me. I nodded.

"For me too. They're never this affectionate towards anyone."

"Don't they hug you?" I shrugged.

"Not since I was five. All the hugging came from Waka. Then he left, so no, guess not." I saw it coming, but accepted it with a smile. His hug was something I would gladly accept anyway.

"If you want a hug, just ask and I'll give you one." I heard some annoyed sounds coming from the back of the café and looked up, finding the group of three girls there, glaring at me.

"Thanks." I said as I patted his arm. He let go and smiled.

"Anytime." It seemed that Waka had sat down next to my parents. They were wildly discussing the fact that he'd left without a word all those years ago.

"Come along." He took my arm and pulled me along to the bar. I took a seat on one of the stools and watched as he went to the other side.

"What can I get you, milady?"

"A smoothie? Is that okay?" He took a small bow.

"Of course, coming right up, milady."

"Come on, you don't have to call me that." It made me feel so much older than I actually was.

"It's protocol. If I don't, Waka'll have my head."

"He won't, trust me." He leaned on the bar, one hand holding up his chin.

"Maybe he's not the reason." I felt my face flush. "Maybe I like calling you that," he paused and leaned closer, "milady."

The smoothie tasted great, but Ikki wouldn't stop bugging me throughout my enjoying the drink. As he walked past, he would subtly brush past me, barely touching, but enough so that I felt it. He grinned contently every time I shivered. When my parents and the three girls were the only customers, Ikki leaned on the bar and stared at me.

"What?" I asked finally.

"Nothing." The small mischievous smile said the exact opposite. "Just thinking you must be really glad that your parents are back home." I unconsciously looked at my parents over my shoulders, their discussion, which had now shifted to their vacation, seemed endless. I looked back at him and shrugged.

"They'll probably be gone again next week." He blinked.

"They're not staying?"

"I doubt it. If there's not really any reason to stay then they won't." He looked at me, dumbfounded.

"Aren't you reason enough to stay? You're their daughter." My parents had never been very controlling over me. We had strict rules which I usually followed and sometimes broke, but that was it.

"I guess you could say I have a business contract with them. I don't screw up, they don't mind me. Easy as that."

"But that's kind of... Cold."

"You think so?" He nodded and pushed himself up slightly as he smiled.

"Want to come over to my place for the night?" He changed the subject. I could hear surprised gasps and angry whispers from the corner.

"Sure. Do you have an Xbox, or playstation or anything?"

"No..."

"Okay, I'll bring mine then." The only concept I had of sleepovers was gaming, loads of gaming, nothing more and nothing less.