Track 17

"Hikari! Hikaaaaaariiiiii~!" The voice of a certain lioness rung through the halls of BRR as she called out to her best friend. She hadn't seen her all morning... Where could she have been? Kamiko had spent the night with Aion the night before and when she returned to the room she shared with Hikari, the leopard was nowhere to be seen. She had important news to tell her! How dare she leave for work so early without saying goodbye! But it was Sunday... the cafe Hikari worked at was closed on Sundays. So she had to be in the building somewhere, right?

Directly across the hall, a couple began to stir in their sleep. Hikari, who could hear her name being called, groaned and sat up with a sigh. "There she goes again... I was sleeping really good this time, too..."

Crow rolled over, still half asleep and reached his arms to where she had previously been sleeping, wanting to pull her closer to him, but came up empty handed. He opened his eyes to see her climbing out of his bed. He sat up and crossed his arms, pouting like a child. "You know... you're going to have to tell her at some point. We can't keep sneaking around like this... not that I don't enjoy it or anything. I'm just saying."

Hikari growled as she started getting herself dressed. "I know... but she just wouldn't understand." Kamiko had always expected Hikari to end up dating some sophisticated type. There were many times that she had tried setting her up on blind dates. Something her boyfriend at the time constantly bugged her about was that she needed to meet a close friend of his, but because of the fact that Hikari was against going on random dates with people she didn't know, the girls never had the chance to meet the guy. Kamiko, always listening to every word that boy told her, had it in her head that the guy just had to be perfect if he picked him out.

Crow, as perfect as he was to her, happened to be nothing at all like the guys Kamiko always wanted her to date. Because of this, Hikari wasn't sure how she would react. Not only that, but she happened to recall a certain moment between those two when they first moved to BRR that would just make things awkward.

"Hikariiiiiii! I know you're here somewhere!" Kamiko called from the hallway.

Hikari sighed and held her head. She just wanted to go back to sleep. It was only a few short hours after her very... energetic boyfriend had finally let her sleep. Though, it wasn't like she had a problem staying up and doing the things they had.

Crow stood and hugged her from behind. She closed her eyes and relaxed into him. She wasn't sure how he did it, but anytime there was something on her mind that bothered her, he was easily able to calm her. "She's going to find out eventually, Hikari."

Hikari whipped around and looked up at him. "What do you mean? I haven't said anything to her. And you promised you wouldn't say anything to her. Plus even if Yaiba wanted to tell her, she doesn't even think he's real, so she would never listen to him."

"Ah... well it's not you or me or even Yaiba that I'm worried about," he said, a bit of a guilty expression showing.

She crossed her arms and gave him a look. "If no one else knows, then who is going to tell her, Hoglet...?" She began tapping her foot as she waited for an answer.

Crow sighed and took her hands in his. "I kind of already told Aion..."

"Aion!? Seriously... of all people. I think you've forgotten that he and Kamiko are kind of together! Don't you think he's going to tell her?" She pulled her hands away and placed them on her hips.

"No. He won't tell her. I trust him, Hikari. He's my best friend, you know. We talk about things like this," he told her, hinting at the fact that Hikari should trust Kamiko to know as well.

She sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "Yeah well... it's just not the same. She's going to freak out either way, whether it's positively or negatively."

He looked down at her with a sad smile on his face. He hated to see her stress. "Hey..." He lifted her chin so she would look at him. "What matters is you're happy. Don't worry about how others will react. Besides, you're prettier when you smile, so quit your pouting." He leaned in and kissed her softly, bringing butterflies to her stomach.

When he pulled away she blinked, staring at him. Suddenly she felt all her worries melt away. "How do you do that so easily...?"

"Do what?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"Whatever it is you do to make me feel so... so peaceful all the time!" She waved her hands in the air as she spoke, trying not to be too loud since Kamiko was just in the hallway.

He shrugged, that same adorable cocky smirk on his face. "I guess I'm just that good~"

He leaned in to kiss her again, when Kamiko's voice could be heard once more. "Hikari, come on! This isn't funny! I have to talk to you about something really important!"

Hikari sighed, pulling away from him. "I guess you're right... I will tell her soon." She paused for a moment and looked up and down at him. "Just... not today! So get some clothes on!"

She started tossing his clothes to him as she moved closer to the door. "Kamiko! What's up? Why are you being so loud?"

The lioness' ears perked up at the sound of her best friend's voice... coming from Crow's room? "Uhh... Hikari? Where are you?"

"Oh, I ran into Crow at Angelica's this morning when I was grabbing breakfast, so we decided to hang out and work on some music until everyone got up." Once Crow was finally fully clothed, she opened the door. "Since you were over at Aion's, I figured it would be hours until I would see you, so I needed someone to talk to."

"Oh," the gullible Kamiko responded. "I guess that makes sense. Well come on! I need to talk to you!" She grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the hallway. "Sorry, Crow! She's mine now! We'll see you later!"

The two girls left to go to their room and sat on their own two beds. "So what's up? What's so important?"

"Well Mama called this morning! This weekend my family is organizing a big Halloween party at the estate! You just have to go with me! We can wear super cute costumes! I kind of invited Aion, though..." She tapped her fingers together in front of her, reluctantly awaiting the lecture Hikari was bound to give her this time.

"Really? That sounds great, Kamiko! I'd love to go. And I'm sure Aion will have fun, too. Halloween seems like it would be his thing." Hikari flashed her friend a wink, catching her off guard. Why was Hikari being so... positive? She hardly ever acted this way about these types of things.

"Uhh... Yeah! It's going to be great!" She took a moment to debate with herself over whether or not it was a good idea to ask her next question... "But I was thinking... maybe you should invite that farm boy you seem to be so fond of~ I still need to meet him!"

Hikari's face went red and she rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. "Yeaaah... How about we not do that this time. You could always invite the boys. I could hang out with them while you have your time with Aion."

Kamiko crossed her arms and gave her a pout. "Aww, alright... but that doesn't mean you're off the hook! I still need to meet this guy that is good enough to finally get my Hiki-chan to open up!"

"Maybe someday soon, okay? But not right now. I don't want to jinx anything," Hikari responded. She could only imagine the things Kamiko would say when she found out who that boy really was...

Later that evening, Hikari and Crow sat at the ramen house, waiting for the others to arrive. "Okay... So Kamiko is going to invite you to a party at her house this weekend for Halloween, so please say yes. There's no way I could survive the weekend there if she has Aion with her. They'll most likely run off somewhere and I'll probably never see them!"

He chuckled as he flashed her a grin. "So what you're saying is you want someone there that you can run off with, huh?"

She elbowed him playfully as she blushed, looking away from him and stared into her bowl of cheesy ramen. "I mean... I'm sure we could find the time. Plus, there are plenty of places to hide in that giant home," she teased. "But seriously, it would just be nice to have you there. You don't actually have to dress up or anything if you don't want to. I usually don't."

"What!? Hikari, you can't go to a Halloween party and not get all dressed up! I happen to have a costume that looks super amazing on me. I don't get very many opportunities to wear it, either." He turned to look at her with a bit of a judging look on his face. How could she not enjoy dressing up?

She scoffed and made a face back at him. "Well fine then! Kamiko wanted to get me to dress up this year anyway. I'm sure I could find something of hers to wear." Suddenly, she grew curious. "So what exactly is this costume you have?"

"That happens to be classified information. You'll just have to wait until the party to find out," he said with a smug look on his face. "But I will tell you that Cattle can't get enough of me when I wear it. I doubt you'd be able to keep your hands off me~"

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "That's just not fair..." She couldn't help but smile at the last part. It was so cute how he always thought so highly of himself. "Oh give me a break, Hoglet. I can handle myself! I'm going to have to. We will be with Kamiko after all."

He sighed and took her hand under the table. "That again? You need to stop worrying about her finding out."

She blushed at the contact and squeezed his hand. "I can't help it... I've never had to do something like this before. And I don't want anyone to come between us. These past few months have been perfect."

"But it's Kamiko... She's going to approve of anyone you want to be with. And how could she not approve of this guy?" He pointed to himself and put on a smile, bringing one to Hikari's face.

The bell at the door rang as Kamiko and Aion entered the ramen house. Hikari quickly let go of Crow's hand and slid away from him. "Hope you weren't waiting long~" Kamiko chimed as she sat in her usual seat at the table. "The others will be here shortly. They were about to leave when we did."

Aion sat in his seat next to Kamiko, which happened to be across from Crow. He had seen how close the two were sitting when they came in as well as how quickly she pulled away when the two arrived. From beneath the hand on his face, he gave the hedgehog a questioning gaze, wondering if Hikari was still wanting to keep the two of them a secret from Kamiko.

The two lions ordered their ramen as the rest of the group came in. Rom took his seat at the end of the table next to Hikari.

Kamiko stood up and cleared her throat. "Okay, I wanted to get everyone together tonight because I have a big invitation for everyone! My family is throwing a big Halloween party this weekend! The party isn't until Saturday, but my parents have plenty of room for all of us to stay the entire weekend! We will be leaving Friday and come back Sunday! Aion and Hikari already said they would go! So what about everyone else?"

Crow pumped his fist into the air, actually pretty excited to get out for a while. "I'm there! Sounds like it could be fun!" He winked at Hikari as he said this, who instantly grew embarrassed. Could he be any more obvious...? He sure was a cutie, though...

Hikari looked to Rom, who seemed to be a little annoyed. "Well this just happens to be my weekend to work, so it looks like I'll be staying here once again." Poor guy... he never seemed to have time off when it was needed. Even when everyone was away on vacation, he stayed behind and worked. "Have fun without me. I don't need to go to some party, anyway."

Hikari flashed him a little smile, hoping it would help him cheer up. "Well maybe next time! It would be fun to have you there!" Even if the guy was a jerk to her sometimes, she had a bit of a soft spot for him. Before the girls had ever met the band, she looked up to him for his awesome drumming skills, and the fact that he was much like her.

He glanced over at her and saw her cheerful smile. A small grin creeped it's way onto his face. "Alright. Next time, then." It was nice to know someone would miss him if he weren't there and a part of him was glad it was her.

"Great! Knowing Kamiko's family, there will be plenty more of these parties in the future." Hikari was glad to see him smile, too. The whole group was slowly starting to feel like family to her. She didn't like seeing any of them upset.

Kamiko sat on her side of the table, pouting to herself over the whole scene. First Hikari refused to invite farmer boy and now Rommie can't make it? A part of her felt a little guilty that she would be spending so much time with Aion over the weekend if Hikari couldn't have a boy to spend time with. At least Crow said he would go... The two of them had been hanging out a lot lately, so at least she will have another friend there to talk to.

Later that same week, Hikari wandered up to the dorm floor of BRR directly after practice, hoping her Crow would be home. She tapped on the door to his room and waited for him to answer. "Can I come in?" she asked as he opened the door, but he simply smiled down at her.

"Sorry, Angel," he replied, using the nickname he had given her after finally coming to terms with her calling him Hoglet all the time. He agreed that it was a cute thought, considering it meant baby hedgehog. So it was almost like she was calling him baby all the time. "I can't let you in here right now."

She blushed as she heard the name. He didn't use it often, but when he did, it always got to her. "And why can't I? Aion met Kamiko in the studio, so it will be a while before she comes back up here..."

He gave her a teasing grin. "I'm busy getting ready for this weekend. You can't come in."

"What do you mean 'getting ready'?" she asked, tilting her head. He was acting a little strange.

"Well you see, I had to get my costume ready and make sure I had it all together. But until the party, you're not allowed to see, so you will have to come back later." He winked, about to shut the door when she put her foot in to stop it.

"But Kamiko will be back later!" For probably the first time ever, Crow heard Hikari whine, which only egged him on.

He shrugged, patting her on the head. "I told you that you need to just tell her. Then you can come over any time you want~" He kissed her forehead and turned her around to send her back to her room. "I will see you in the morning when our ride gets here. Try not to think about me too much, Angel."

When he shut his door, she flipped around when she heard it lock. He was serious about this, wasn't he? She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. If he was going to wear a costume that was going to be so good that she "wouldn't be able to keep her hands off him," then she needed one that was just as good.

Hikari walked across the hall to her room and opened her laptop, deciding to research stores that sell Halloween costumes in Midi City. She had one day until they left, so she would have to buy it immediately.

She grabbed her things and rushed down the stairs. In her hurried rush, she turned a corner and slammed right into Kamiko. Both girls fell to the floor on their butts.

"Owwie..." Kamiko groaned as she stood up, rubbing her butt. She looked down to see Hikari on the floor in front of her and held out her hand to help her up. "You okay, Hiki? You seem to be in a big hurry. What's up?"

She took Kamiko's hand and rose to her feet. "Uhh... Just wanted to get some last minute pieces for my Halloween costume."

"Last minute pieces? Like what?" The lioness tilted her head to the side. She didn't even know Hikari had anything planned for her costume yet, and assumed she would just borrow one of her old ones.

"Like... all of it... I decided I'm actually going to try this year," she said. She picked her bag up off the ground and dusted it off. "I have to get to the shop before it closes. Hopefully they still have something this last minute."

"Ooooh~!" This was great! Finally she could get Hikari to dress up with her again. They used to all the time when they were kids, but eventually Hikari grew out of it and she started going to Halloween parties with Shu. "I'm going with you! I have to see what you pick out!"

"Don't you and Aion have plans tonight?" Hikari questioned, still a little disappointed that Crow shut her down for the night.

"It's okay! He'll understand~ This is important!" Kamiko clapped her hands in front of her and grabbed Hikari by the arm. "Come on!"

The costume shop was only a short walk away from BRR and the girls thankfully made it just in time. They searched the racks for something that would fit Hikari, but the leopard was being just a little picky. It had to be just right. If Crow thought he could wear something that would make her not want to keep her hands off him, then she needed something she could wear that would drive him crazy. Two could play at this game. She was strong enough to resist him while the others were around.

"Hikari... there aren't many outfits left. Didn't you like the mummy or the cute little ghostie one? They both fit you perfectly!" Kamiko rested her chin in her hands with her elbows propped up on her lap. Shopping was so boring when she wasn't the one trying everything on.

"Eh... they were okay... They weren't right, though. This costume has to be perfect." She continued to flip through items on the rack.

"What made you want to do this so bad all of a sudden. You hate getting dressed up..." Kamiko was definitely happy that her friend was so excited to do this with her, but she couldn't help but be curious as to why...

"Uhh..." She felt her face grow red out of nerves. "Well... I just figured since everyone else is going to be dressed up, it wouldn't be fun to be the only one who wasn't." She pulled out a short little black dress with long sleeves. It might be something she could work with.

"I guess that makes sense..." She looked up to see the dress Hikari was holding. "What does that one go to?"

"I'm not sure... but I kind of like it," Hikari responded, looking the whole thing over. It looked like it would be cute for a vampire or something.

"Wait! I know what I can use this with! Remember those black wings you got a couple years ago?" Kamiko happened to have accessories to just about any Halloween costume imaginable, so she was sure she could find something to make it work.

Kamiko nodded and Hikari continued. "When we get back to your home, I will see how they look with this. It could actually work out better than I planned..."