Sorry this one took so long! I've been pretty busy the past week and this is an eventful chapter. I hope you can forgive the time it took for me to post it!

Momiji: Don't worry, author-chan! I could never be mad at you!

Kyo: Who invited the little brat!?

SnowyNeko: I did! He's just so friggin adorable! :3

Kyo: Then I'm out of here!

SnowyNeko: NOOO! KYO! COME BACK MY KYO KITTY!

Yuki: It'll be alright, miss author. he'll be back, I promise.

SnowyNeko: I know… but still...

Momiji: Don't be sad! Author-chan does not own any of the Fruba characters!

SnowyNeko: That doesn't help... :(

"Yuki! I'll save you a dance tonight!"

"Yuki! You'll love my dress tonight! Just wait until you see it!"

"Prince Yuki! I look forward to seeing you tonight!"

Ugh! It's terrible on a regular day, with his fans swarming us. Today, his fan girls are beyond unbearable! With the prom (I'm beginning to regret suggesting) being tonight, they've grown all the more rowdy and restless. Tuning them out has quickly become impossible.

Yuki answers all them with his usual thank-you's, but I can see it in his eyes that he's gotten weary of it. Since the fanatics have us so surrounded that I'm trapped at his side, it's easy for me to slip my hand into his without being noticed. He accepts my hand instantly, relief flowing across his expression. I find it easier not to scowl at the naïve girls flocking us.

Still, I sigh in relief when we break free of the crowd. "How can you stand them?" I question as the last of the students drift off to class.

"They don't mean any harm," he assures me, smiling. "It's normal to be enthusiastic like that."

I snort, because it is fairly obvious that's how this world was created to be. "Yeah, well, it's pretty out of the ordinary where I'm from."

"Did you remember more of who you are?"

I stop walking and turn my head away, so he can't see the lie in my eyes. Why do I feel so guilty about this? If I told him the truth he'd think I'm crazy. And to boot, he's a computerized drawing. It's ridiculous to feel so deeply for a person that doesn't exist.

"Not exactly," I fib. "It's more like a feeling. It just seems new to me, out of routine."

I can feel his gaze on the back of my head and close my eyes. Please, stop looking at me. I can't tell you the truth. Please believe me!"

"I don't believe you." The breath is knocked out of me from those words, but they didn't come from Yuki's mouth. I glance up to see Tohru's friend, Hana, standing in the middle of the hall.

"That was a lie," she reveals without the slightest change in tone. It isn't a question. It's a statement. I study her silently, caught. I decide to keep my pride and straighten my shoulders, meeting her eyes. Even with my lie being exposed, I don't let go of Yuki's hand, and he doesn't loosen his grip on mine. I can sense his feeling of betrayal, though, and that scares me more than anything.

"How did you know?" I ask her, my voice emerging as apathetic as hers.

"Your electrical signal wavered. I doubt you lost your memory in the first place."

I struggle past the lump in my throat to force out a reply. "That's right," I admit, voice cracking a bit. I reign in my emotions before speaking again. "What of it?"

"I don't really care," she shrugs, "but you lied to Yuki and my Tohru. It would be appreciated if you apologize and tell them the truth."

When I don't have a response, she turns and disappears down the hallway. She leaves the atmosphere lingering with fear, regret and discomfort. Hesitantly, I disconnect my hand from Yuki's and reach up to wipe a tear that has somehow escaped.

"I-I'm sorry," I choke. I desperately try to blink away the tears without prevail. "I really am! I'm sorry!"

He doesn't say anything, which makes it worse. The more I try to stop, the more I sob. All the guilt of acting and hiding for the past week comes pouring out in an overemotional breakdown. Whoops, there goes my pride. Now I'm blubbering like a scolded toddler whose blanket has just been taken.

Or who's just been beaten. Images begin to reappear, flashing like strobe lights before my eyes. My mom, bruised and bleeding. My dad, fist raised to strike. My mom again, rope around her neck…

There are suddenly fingers pressing into my throat. I claw at them, but my hands find nothing. My eyes snap open to find they're not there, there isn't anyone strangling me. As I catch my breath, I think back. When was the last time this happened? Surely not for years. I had thought I was over it by now.

Then Yuki's face is in front of me, worry shading his expression. "Vierra, what's wrong?"

I touch my throat gingerly, afraid that any second my fingers will brush across a fresh bruise and I'll feel a flash of pain. Suddenly I realize I've fallen to my knees.

"S-sorry," I stammer, pulling myself up on wobbly legs. "We h-have to get to class." He dabs a tear gently from my cheek.

"You can't go looking like that. Come on, tell me what's wrong."

I struggle to regain my composure, failing miserably. Why? Why do I have to be so weak? I was doing so well! I was supposedly healthy, body and mind! The panic attacks had become a thing of the past, so why now?

I jump when Yuki takes my hand in both of his.

"When I was younger…" he starts with a deep breath. "My parents gave me over to the family head. That boy from before…Akito…brought me up." I cringe, realizing what he's about to tell me. "And he beat me. Every. Day."

His voice grows shaky, and he closes his eyes to recollect himself. I squeeze his hand encouragingly and he offers a sad smile.

"I'm not looking for pity, but I want you to…just be aware, I guess. He used a whip, because he wasn't physically strong enough to hit me with his fists. He always told me…people would hate me…if they ever found out. They'd all see me as a dirty, sly rat. I…you said that I'm still me, even when I'm my zodiac. Thank you."

The last of my strength drains from me and before I realize it, my head is resting on his shoulder. Heh, didn't he do this to me a while back? Well, whatever. A shoulder to lean on is surprisingly comforting.

"My dad used to beat my mom and me," I confess, looking down at my charm bracelet. "He was a drunk, and he fell into debt. Those first eight years of my life were lived in terror. I loved fantasy books, especially the ones about black magic. Back then I was convinced we were cursed.

"I actually lost my first tooth during one of my dad's beatings. Instead if the dollar most kids get, I was given this charm bracelet with the tooth charm from my mom. That's when I first began to collect these. The bumblebee is for when I lost the school spelling bee. The heart if for when my first crush turned me down.

"The flower is my favorite, though. I bought it the day of my mom's funeral. She committed suicide when I was seven, leaving behind a note apologizing to me, but she couldn't take how the man she once loved had become a monster."

His hand reaches up to cradle the back of my head, which is probably the closest thing I'm going to get to a hug from him.

In my ear, he whispers, "Isn't that hard on you? To be carrying around reminders of my failures and grievances…I couldn't bear it."

I turn my head, still keeping it on his shoulder, to look at his face. He doesn't look back at me, but it's better this way. His eyes are closed, a look of comfort coloring his beautiful features. Someone else would likely think it insane, to look as he does while discussing a topic so gruesome. I get it, though.

When the domestic violence in my home was discovered after my mom's death, I was taken to live with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. They sent me to countless therapists and I remember meeting daily with the school councilor. When I told them all exactly what they wanted to hear, they declared one by one that I was mentally stable.

All the while when I was sitting in those strangers' offices, I meticulously planned my suicide. The plan never ended up being set in action, due to my fear I'd be saved and thrown mercilessly to more psychiatric doctors.

Cassidy, my cousin, was by my side the entire time. She chatted nonstop about every positive thing she could think of, and came straight to me whenever she needed to cry. Her reliance on me is what helped me most. She's normally pretty popular, quiet, and calm. Around me, however, a hummingbird on caffeine couldn't be more hyper.

I put a brick wall around my past for her sake so I could be there for her no matter what. Still, I had no one to talk with, no one to understand what I went through. Cracks in my wall appear now and again, and there's only so much one person alone can do to fix them.

Now, with Yuki here, I feel as if I've become lighter. He's the first I've ever told the meanings of my charms to. I breathe in his scent (he smells of lavender, by the way).

"They do remind me," I admit. "They remind me of the past I've overcome. They remind me that, though I may not believe it at times, there is still hope for the future."

Well? Was that clear? Did I not answer any questions? If not, please tell me. No matter how horrible this might sound, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I love writing about the unstable and vulnerable parts of being human. Think that's weird? You do? Well then, I'm going to go hide now. I don't really want to be showered with words of disgust at the moment. I don't know exactly when I'll emerge, so...

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!