Okay, you know those light-hearted kisses your parents give to each other and the kisses that teens give each other? Let me tell you flat out, this was not one of those. Alois and Lizzy were having an I-love-you-end-of-movie-kiss.

By the looks of it, Elizabeth was trying to get away, but Alois kept his arms around her and refused to let her go. Her eyes were wide, and she had a scared look on her eyes.

I threw up a bit in my mouth and hoped Ciel didn't see this. If he did, Alois would be dead in less than a second.

At first I just felt sick, but then I felt something else. I felt…angry. Here I was, trying to be Alois's friend, and he goes off to the pretty girl. Clenching the wine glasses, I forced the guests to move and made my way to my master and Lizzy.

"Hey! Alois! Hello! STOP!" I couldn't help it. Plus, Ciel was bound to notice these two.

Alois let Lizzy go, who stumbled away in tears, and turned to me, smirking. "What?"

Okay, nice girl mode off. "WHAT!? You just made out with your enemy's girl! He's going to SO kill you!"

His smile instantly left his face as he glared at me. "Shut up. People are staring at me! You're making me look bad in front of my business partners!"

"I don't care! Broadcast this around the world for all I care! You can't just KISS people! That's not how it works!"

"I don't like your tone." He said, clenching his fists and frowning. "Say you're sorry to me!"

For what!? Telling him to not make out with a girl he barely knows? "No." I said, taking a sip of Lizzy's wine and had to force myself to drink it. It was bitter.

"Come with me. Now." He ordered, grabbing my arm and dragging me into the hallway. As I looked back, Ciel was comforting Lizzy in his arms, his face full of anger at Alois.

Once we were out of sight, Alois stared at me with fire in his eyes. "…You embarrassed me in front of everyone! You disobeyed me by talking to Ciel, and even said NO to ME!"

I looked at the ground in silence. He was really mad.

"LOOK AT ME!"

I looked at him and he raised his hand above his head. Before I could even react, his hand came down and hit me on the side of my face.

I stumbled as he did, and I held my cheek. "…Alois…"

"DON'T TALK TO ME!" He screamed, with tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I HATE YOU! GET OUT!"

This time it was my turn to cry. "No….no. I won't. Alois tomorrow-"

He slapped me again, this time harder. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

No…this wasn't happening. He wasn't really…..he was. He said he hated me.

He hated me.

I ran as fast as I could. I needed to just get out. I pushed people out of the way to. I didn't care anymore.

He hated me.

I finally got through the entrance gates, and threw my shoes off. It was too hard to run in them.

"Nichole! Come back!"

It was Hannah. She was pleading with me to return. But I kept running.

He hated me.

By the time I had gotten to the stables, I was hysterical. My eyes felt puffy, and my whole face was soaked in tears.

"Come here Juniper. We are going." I put the bridle on her, and got on. The saddle didn't matter.

He hated me.

Going at a steady canter, Juniper and I went into the forest. Once we had gotten far enough, I stopped her and just broke down. I had failed. Alois didn't want me near him, much less to save him.

I felt defeated. Everything I had done. Everything I had tried. Gone. I lay on Juiper's warm body and just cried and yelled at myself.

I didn't have my phone or anything. Only my pocket knife. Like that would help with my current situation.

I soon started drifting into sleep, so I slid off Juni and tied her to a tree. The full moon was in the cloudless sky, giving me enough light to see where I was going. Then I gathered leaves and made my new bed with them. My beautiful dress was getting ruined, but at this point, I was too tired and upset to really care about anything.

Thoughts circled my brain, but I didn't feel like even thinking. I fell asleep that night with only one thought.

He hated me.

…

"HEY! Missy! HELLO! Wake UP!"

I sat up immediately, the sun blinding me. It took me a second to figure out why I was in the middle of nowhere. Memories rushed back to me. The ball, the fight. The things Alois had said to me… I sighed and looked around. "Hello?"

"HELLO!"

I nearly jumped up as I looked up to see the person who'd spoken. He had long red hair and an even longer red coat, and was sitting on a tree branch near me. I instantly knew who it was.

"G-Grell Sutcliff!" I said, surprised that he'd appeared. There was only one reason for a Grim Reaper to come to someone, and it wasn't a good one.

"Yes! How do you know MY name?! My records say that you met BASSY; so you are IMMEDATLY my friend!" He said, jumping down the tree and landing next to me. His Death Scythe (aka his chainsaw) was in one hand, and he had a book in his other. That book must have been a Death Reader.

"Yes, I know Sebastian. Anyway, am I on the death list?" I asked, shivering because of the November chill. Only this time, I didn't have Alois or his coat to be with me.

"Honey, why ELSE would I be here? Here," Grell opened his book and turned to the page he needed. "It says, Nichole Simons, at exactly 11:00pm on November 6th, shall die at the Trancy Manor by a stab wound and blood loss. She shall be comforted by her loved ones before she passes." Grell turned to me, smiling and showing his pointed teeth.

"Today's the 5th, so I have one more day to live. Why are you following me if I have all that time to live?" I said, looking at the ground. I was going to die….

"BECAUSE BASSY will be HERE!" he screamed happily. He sounded like a demented fan girl.

"Yeah…" I said, half listening. I was going to die. He said surrounded by loved ones, but what could that mean? "What time is it?"

Grell shrugged, "I don't know. It's after noon, that I know." He then turned back to his Death Reader and started reading once more.

"What are you reading?" I said, feeling my hair. The bun Alois had made for me was nearly destroyed. The bluebell must've fallen off when I was running away from the manor.

"All about you." The Grim Reaper replied, not taking his eyes off the paper. "It says here that you are a thirteen year old girl that came to this point in time so she could SAVE her LOVE, Jim Macken. Also known as Alois Trancy, correct?"

The way he said that made me blush. "Yes, I guess so. What else does it say?" I said curiously.

Grell smiled, "Lots of things. And I think its ROMANTIC that you would risk your own LIFE for that Jim boy." He swayed and started dancing around.

That's not creepy. "So that book pretty much says everyone's secrets?" A plan was beginning to form in mind. It was risky, but if it could save Alois, I'd do it.

Even after what he had said, I still wanted to save him. I had come here to do that, and if I was to die, I'd leave here doing that.

"Yes. EVERYONE in the world. You'd think it would be bigger." Grell said, skimming through each page.

"Well, does it have Alois in it?"

The red-draped Grim Reaper quickly turned the pages. "He'd be under M for Macken. AH! I FOUND him! Jim Macken…by WILL'S GLASSES, this boy has had an AWFUL past!"

"What does it say about his death? Please Grell, tell me." I pleaded. I needed to know.

"Interested?" He asked, and began reading, "Well, I CAN'T tell you. It would be against the rules. Sorry."

Darn it. Plan B. "Grell, could you please stay with me until my death? It would mean a lot to me." I asked. I would die, while Alois would live. It didn't matter though. I could now die happily at least, knowing he would be safe.

"I guess I can, seeing how I can RAISE my chances to see MY BASSY. So, sure! DEATH!" And with that, he gave a love sign in sign language with his hand and stuck his tongue out. I couldn't help but laugh.

Still, the thought of dying scared me. How was it going to happen? Would Alois still know that I existed and cared for him? How did I get stabbed, and with what?

One thing was certain though. That I was coming to save Alois from that stupid duel and getting stabbed with Ciel's sword. Whether he liked it or not.