Oh man, reading the reviews on the last chapter was hilarious. You guys are always good for a laugh!

Enjoy!

The sun was shining through her window and right onto her face, but that wasn't what woke Nashi up. She'd been up for hours anyway.

"Sorry, was that weird?"

Yeah. it was.

Nashi rolled over and stared at her roof, for the millionth time recalling the day before. The day when Michael had kissed her. She'd never felt so out of it before - nothing felt right. She was so confused and didn't know how to act.

And in turn, she'd just made the whole situation awkward.

Nashi hadn't been able to find her voice whatsoever. She didn't know what to say, or how to say it. So she was quiet, barely giving Michael so much of a nod if he said something. Once they'd parted ways, Nashi went home and went right to bed. She didn't bother eating, and just told the others she was tired when they tried to talk to her. And she was tired. Having little to no sleep often did that to someone.

"Nashi?" Nashi's eyes slowly moved over to her door where she could hear Ultear's voice. "You up?"

"...Yeah." Nashi replied, voice hoarse. Ultear opened the door a bit and peeked through it, Elise behind her. Ultear smiled softly.

"Are you feeling okay?" She asked. "You've been in your room since yesterday night."

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" She asked. Nashi nodded and put an arm over her eyes, trying to keep them closed to get some sleep.

"Yeah." She said. The two of them were quiet for a minute, and Nashi sighed. She knew the two wouldn't just leave, so she'd have to get up and go with them. "Just let me get dressed, I'll be out in a sec."

"Okay." Ultear said, closing the door. Once it was shut, Nashi laid there with her arm over her eyes for a few minutes. After deciding that the inside of her eyelids held no answers for her, she sighed again and kicked off her sheets, slowly sitting up. She got up and walked towards her mirror, and stared at her reflection.

She looked awful. The bags under her eyes were grossly apparent, and she looked so done with everything. Whatever. She couldn't get any sleep anyway. Sighing, Nashi reached forward and picked up her elastic and put her hair back in it's ponytail, seeing as it was still too long to let it do it's own thing. She threw on her usual outfit and wrapped her scarf around her neck, making it cover her mouth. Once she'd done so she made her way for the door and opened it, revealing Ultear and Elise waiting for her. Once they looked up, they frowned.

"What?" Nashi asked. Ultear broke into a smile.

"That ponytail makes you really cute." She said. "Right, Elise?" Elise nodded with a small smile on her face too.

"Yeah. Looks really good." Nashi managed a smile at this.

He thought that too.

At this, her smile faded. Ultear made a face.

"What?" She asked. Nashi shrugged and yawned.

"It's nothing." She said. "I'm just tired is all."

"You look it." Elise agreed. "Were you not sleeping last night or what?"

"No...Not at all." She replied. "I'll sleep like a baby tonight, though."

"I'd think so." Ultear agreed, turning around. "Let's go, I'm hungry." Nashi didn't really feel very hungry, which was odd. Generally she was pretty hungry, but her stomach wasn't in the mood.

Yesterday had thrown her whole operation out of whack.

Once they made it to the guild hall, The three girls went right towards the rest of their team, who was already up and waiting. Simon and Drake were eating, while Steph and Damien appeared to be looking through A Sorcerer Weekly magazine. As they approached, Steph smiled and pointed to something on the page.

"Do you like that outfit, Onii-chan?" She asked. Damien shrugged.

"I dunno." He replied, sounding bored as hell. "Sure." This made Steph frown, but she looked up as they approached.

"Good Morning." She said with a happy smile on her face."

"Morning." Ultear said, smiling. Elise greeted them as well, but Nashi kept quiet and sat down, mind still muddled from yesterday and the lack of sleep she'd had. The group began to talk, but Nashi stayed out of it. She was still thinking.

"Right Nashi?" Her name being spoken made her look up. Ultear had said something to her.

"What?" She asked. Ultear didn't break stride.

"I said your ponytail looks great." She said. "Right guys?" Nashi looked over to find none of the guys even paying attention.

"Sure, sure." Simon said, still eating.

"Hm." Damien hummed as he flipped through another page, making Steph frown at him.

"What did you ask?" Drake asked, looking up from his own breakfast too. This made Nashi frown. Ultear made a face, and about a second later the table bucked upwards, along with Simon who seemed surprised.

"U-Uh, yeah you look great Nashi!" He said, smiling weakly. Damien yelped, and Nashi looked over to find Steph's finger still crackling with electricity.

"Fantastic!" Damien agreed. Nashi then looked at Drake, who seemed to pick up on it quickly enough.

"Looks really good on you" He said, handling it much better than the other two had. Nashi smiled weakly at this display.

"Thanks, I guess." She said weakly.

Of course they think you're cute, he did too.

At this, Nashi frowned.

"What's the matter?" Drake asked. Nashi looked up at him, but didn't say anything. she really hoped for own sake Drake didn't listen in on her. He'd get all defensive like he usually did. That was the last thing she needed.

"Nothing." She replied, looking down at her lap. "Tired is all."

"You sure?" Simon asked. Nashi remained silent at this, not saying anything.

"...Yeah." She finally said. God, she was pathetic. Why was this throwing her so out of balance? She needed to talk to someone about this, but who?

...I know. She's usually at home these days though...

Nashi stood and looked at her friends.

"I'm going to go see how my mom's doing." She said. "I'll be back afterwards."

"Alright." Steph said. "Say hi for us." Nashi nodded and made her way for the door out of the guild, and made a bee line towards home. If anyone could help her out, it'd be her mother.

"...She's acting weird." Damien noted as Nashi left the guild hall. Drake made a face and nodded in agreement. That she was.

"I wonder if she's okay." He said.

"She didn't get any sleep." Elise said. "So that might be it." Drake shrugged. He didn't know.

But he had a sinking feeling that that wasn't it.

"So...I take it it went badly, then?"

"What do you think, Keita?" Keita shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't asked until now. So? Did it go well?" Michael frowned and looked at the ground beneath him as they walked towards the guild hall.

"...No, it really didn't." He said. "Went well right up until the end."

"Let me guess." Keita said, rubbing his chin. "She doesn't feel the same way about you." Michael shrugged and pocketed his hands.

"Dunno." He said. "She didn't really say much of anything after I kissed her."

"So you went right for it, huh?" Keita asked, and Michael nodded. "Alright, well, did she seem unhappy from it?"

"I don't know." Michael repeated. "Again, she didn't say another word after."

"Huh...Any idea why?"

"Keita if I had even the slightest idea why she didn't say anything I wouldn't be talking about this with you, alright?" Michael snapped at his friend, making Keita narrow his eyes at him.

"I'm trying to help, lover boy." He shot back. "Least you could do is cooperate."

"Ugh...No, I don't know." This was getting ridiculous. Why was he even wasting his time talking to Keita, anyway? Like he could help him.

He honestly had no idea what he was supposed to do. He'd hoped after their date had gone so well that Nashi would at the very least say something to him, but he didn't even get that. She just clammed up and avoided looking at him until they split up to go home. Did she feel the same way? Did she not? He had no idea. And it hurt his head to think about.

"Did you ever consider maybe she likes somebody else and you put her in an awkward position?" Keita asked, breaking him from his thoughts. Come to think of it, Michael had never considered that. Perhaps after his conversation with Drake he'd pushed that worry from his mind. But it was totally plausible that Nashi have feelings for him...

"I didn't, no." Michael replied. "God, this is so stupid."

"Agreed." Keita said as they reached the guild hall. "And sorry, but I really don't know how to help you."

"Yeah, I know." He replied. The pair made they're way towards the table where their friends were, but Michael stayed quiet for the most part as he thought about what he was to do.

The core of his problem now was that he had no idea how to approach Nashi about what happened. For all the times Michael had asked girls out before, he'd never gotten silence before. It made him doubt himself greatly, which was generally not something he did. So now he had no idea how to act, whereas if this had played out more to his expectations, he'd have asked Nashi out officially the day before. But what was he to do? He needed advice.

Oh boy, he's going to tease me for this...

Michael stood from the table, making the others look at him.

"I need to go talk to my dad." He told them, glancing at Keita. "I"ll be right back."

"Have fun." Juno said. Michael nodded as he walked away and headed towards his fathers office. Once he got there he knocked on the door.

"Dad?" He asked. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, come on in." Michael took a deep breath and walked into the office, and towards his father who was sitting at his desk. He smiled as he approached. "What's up?" Michael sat down and sighed.

"I'll be up front with you, old man." He said. "I need some advice." His father smirked.

"Oh? Of what kind?"

"Of the girl kind." There was a momentary silence between the two of them before his father laughed and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.

"Well well, what brought his on?" He asked.

"Never mind that." Michael replied. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Sure. What do you need help with?" Michael looked to the side away from his father.

"There's this girl." He said. "One that I really like. Problem is...I don't know how to ask her out. I might have, well...made things awkward between us."

"Hm..." His father said, scratching his chin. "Who is this girl? Is it someone I know?"

"In a sense." Michael said, nodding. As much as he liked Nashi, the less people that knew he was crushing on her the better. At least for now. With his luck the tabloids would get a hold on that info somehow. "I'm not sure if she likes me or not, and I feel like if I just went out and asked it'd make things worse."

"I see." His father replied. "Well, I can't say I'm well versed in this kind of thing, all things considered." At this, Michael smirked at him.

"Really now? And here mom always says you were so smooth." His father rolled his eyes at this.

"Sure she does." He said.

"What?" Michael asked. "She said you were pretty slick when she slapped you after Alvarez invaded."

"Yeah yeah." He said, waving him off. "Regardless, it seems like you're up shits creek without a paddle, kid."

"Well, do you have any advice, oh father of mine?" Michael asked, feeling a bit miffed his father could not help him.

"Actually, yes." He said. "I'd say you should talk to a girl about this. They might understand better than I do how this girl in questions feels. Ask your mother." Oh boy. The infamous 'ask your mother'. Like Michael was going to do that. As oppose to his father, his mother would be even more prying about who it was. It was pretty out of nature for her, but he'd experienced it enough to know how she worked.

"I'll ask somebody else." He said. "Thanks anyway, I guess."

"Your welcome." He replied, laughing. "Good luck, lover boy."

Oh boy.

"Mom?" Nashi called out, walking in the front door. "Are you here?"

"Nashi?" Now knowing that her mother was indeed present, Nashi walked inside to find her sitting down in living room, smiling at her. "So nice of you ti visit me." Nashi laughed weakly as she walked inside and hugged her mother.

"I'm sorry, I've been pretty buy since the Games."

"I don't blame you." She said. "But it is nice to see you." The two broke apart, and her mother frowned at her. "Sweetheart, are you okay? You look awful." Nashi rubbed at her eyes as fatigue nearly set in.

"I didn't sleep last night." She said. "I'm really out of it right now."

"You look it. Maybe you should sit down." Nashi obliged and sat down next to her mother on the couch. Nashi decided to, at least for now, turn their attention away from her.

"You're looking good." She said. "Just a few more weeks now, right?"

"Yeah, and finally I'll be rid of this little shit." Her mother joked, making them laugh. "And you get to meet him again I guess, huh?" Nashi smiled weakly at this. She knew very well that in a few weeks, she'd meet Luke for the second time, which was a weird way to think about it. But given what had happened, it was no less true.

"I guess so." She agreed quietly. There was a moment of silence before her mother made a face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. At this, Nashi sighed.

"...No. I'm not. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, what's up?" Nashi wasn't sure how to start. She was embarrassed about the whole situation, but she had walked all the way here to ask for help, so she really needed to come up with something, right?"

"There's...Well..." Nashi took a deep breath. "There's this guy..." She paused when she heard her mother snicker.

"Oh, that's why you're here. Little Nashi finally got the hots, huh? Well who is he? Wait, don't tell me. I already have an idea."

"Wait, you do?" Nashi asked. Her mother nodded.

"You don't have to say who if you're that embarrassed." She said. "I get it."

"Well, okay..." Nashi said. "Anyway, he's a really great guy and I like him and all...But I'm not sure how to go about anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Nashi thought her feelings over. "I just don't understand. What to do, or how to go about it. I'm worried it'll just make things awkward. The last thing I want is that." She shrugged. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, I think the answer is fairly obvious." Her mother replied. "You like him, don't you?"

"...Yeah." Nashi replied.

"Then I think you should do what you want to do." She said, smiling at her. "If you like him, there's nothing stopping you from being with him except you."

"Yeah, but..." This was helping, yet at the same time it only confused Nashi further. "I just don't know. This is all so confusing." Her mother sighed.

"Does he make you happy?" She asked. Nashi nodded. "Do you want to spend time with him? Is he special to you?" Nashi nodded for all of these questions. "Then I'm not sure what the problem is. You clearly want to be with him." Nashi sighed and rubbed at her eyes. Honestly it was probably the lack of sleep affecting her judgment so much.

"I guess..." She replied. "I guess I'm just nervous. I've never...You know, never had a boyfriend before. I'm worried."

"Trust me, it's not easy. Sadly it also runs in the family."

Michael walked over to his friends, and they looked up as he approached.

"Hey." Kyoko greeted. "What did you talk to your dad about?"

"Nothing important." He said. He looked at three girls in front of him and weighed his options. Rina was definitely out. She would just tease him and give shit advice. Kyoko would probably try to help, but Michael didn't want to remind her about Blake so soon by asking what she'd do.

So that left Juno."

"Can I talk to you, Juno?" He asked, making her perk up.

"Uh, sure." She said. Michael closed his eyes.

"Privately." He added. Juno looked around at the others, but nodded and stood.

"Okay." Michael nodded appreciatively and walked away from the table and towards a dark corner of the guild. Once they were out of earshot of the others and other guild members, Michael leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms, and Juno stood in front of him waiting. "So?" She asked. "What's up?" Michael took a deep breath and looked up.

"I'm going to be upfront with you, okay?" He asked. Juno nodded, and Michael looked away. "There's a girl I like." Juno didn't reply right away.

"...R-Really?" She asked. Michael nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "Problem is, I don't know how to officially ask her out without making things awkward." He told her. "So I was hoping you could give me some insight, if you had any."

"U-Um..." Michael looked back at her to find her twirling a strand of hair around her finger and looking anywhere but at him, cheeks pink. "I-I guess I'd need to know the girl you're talking about to help you out."

"...I'd rather not say." Juno looked back at him.

"B-But..." She started, a weird look on her face. "W-Why not? Are you embarrassed about your feelings?"

"Well, no."

"Then what's the big deal?" She asked quickly. Michael watched her carefully, staring back into her wide curious eyes. Surely if anyone could keep a secret it was Juno, right? They'd known each other long enough. Michael sighed. Today was just not his day.

"Alright, alright..." he said under his breath. He looked up to find Juno watching him with wide eyes, so he steeled himself and got off the wall, which brought him a bit closer to her.

"M-Michael...?" She asked weakly.

"Juno." He replied. "It's...It's Nashi."

If was as if glass had shattered in Juno's eyes. She took a step back in confusion.

"N-Nashi?" She asked. Michael nodded.

"Yeah." He said, leaning against the wall again. "It's her. I just wanted some advice on how to ask her out, seeing as I made it kind of awkward when I kissed her the other day.

"...K-K..." It sounded like Juno was having trouble speaking. Looking up, Michael found Juno staring at her feet with clenched fists. "...W-Well, sorry Michael. I don't know enough about her to give an opinion. Sorry." With this, she turned on her heel and tried to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Michael said, grabbing her wrist as she tried to get away. "Come on, you must have some advice. Please Juno!"

"I don't know!" She shouted, making Michael jump a bit. After staying silent for a moment, she took a shaky breath. "...Ask somebody who knows her better than me, Michael. They'd be able to help you out."

"Knows her better?" Michael asked. He thought about this for a moment. "I got it, I know just the guy. I'm sure there's no one who knows her better." He smiled. "Thanks, Juno."

"...Whatever." She wrestled herself free of his grasp and stormed away, and he watched as she stormed right for the door. He sighed and looked down at his feet.

Guess I'd better go to Magnolia. I just hope he's not on a job or anything.

Kyoko watched the entire exchange from a distance, but when Juno stormed towards them with her head down, she knew somehow had gone wrong.

"Juno?" She asked as the girl reached them. But the girl just sped right past. Not one to let up, Kyoko stood and latched onto Juno's arm. "Juno, what happened?" She asked. Juno was trembling something fierce, and tugged a bit on her arm in an attempt to get free.

And then, she turned to Kyoko, and her eyes widened.

Tears were streaming down Juno's face, and she looked heartbroken.

Let go of me." She whispered, voice cracking. Kyoko slowly did as she asked, and Juno ran off out the door.

"I know Michael was stupid." Rina said from the table. "But this...I never expected this." Kyoko watched the doorway where Juno had disappeared from.

"Yeah...Neither did I."

All the drama in this place, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!