"What? No! Mama! Papa! You can't be seriouse!"

"I'm sorry my dear daughter...I never wanted it to come to this. I wanted you to choose. But...that's not the way things have worked out."

"We're terribly sorry..."

A young girl stood there, staring at the young family- in her opinion, intruders- and her own that were standing in her living room. Tears ran down the young fifteen year-old's face as she glanced back and forth between all the adults, searching for a sign of humor or help. There was none of either. She choked back a sob as she glanced at her parents. "I hate you..." she whispered.

"I HATE YOU!"

"Ayumi-chan? Is everything alright?"

Ayumi Yoshida snapped out of her trance and turned to Ai Haibara, her best friend sense first grade, and spilled her tea all over herself.

"Ah, yes! Yes, I'm just fine!" Ai rose a skeptical eyebrow at her, looking her up and down. "Are you sure? You were in quite the trance right there. Even snapping our fingers in front of your face didn't work."

Our?

She then noticed that she and Ai were not the only ones occupying the small room. There was Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Conan. Mitsuhiko was leaning against the wall, giving her a worried glance. Conan was sitting on the coffee table in front of her, giving her a worried glance. And Genta was to the left of Conan, ALSO giving her a worried glance. Ai was seated on a velvet red couch next to her.

"Yep! I'm fine! Sorry to make you guys worry! Just daydreaming." Conan gave her just as skeptical a look as Ai did, glaring at her with his untrusting eyes.

Oh, how she loved those eyes...

"You sure? That's an awful heck of an imagination you got there to be that far gone..."

Was he trying to make a point?

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay geez!" Genta cowered, hiding behind Conan. "Didn't mean to upset you!"

She sighed and shook her head. "It's alright. I shouldn't have snapped. You guys are just worried." Conan sighed in annoyance and handed her a towel. "You need to watch where you set your things down. This has been happening a lot lately."

Ayumi blushed and accepted it, drying her skirt and partly her shirt down with it.

"I'm going to go out and get something to eat, I'm starving. Wanna come, Genta?" Mitsuhiko called, walking towards the door. Genta nodded his head enthusiastically and ran out the already opened door. "Ai-chan?" She gave her boyfriend a weak smile before standing up. "Alright, fine then." She then turned towards Conan and Ayumi.

"What about you two?"

Conan looked like he was about to say yes but Ayumi spoke first.

"No, I'll stay here."

"Then I will too."

Ai smiled knowingly at him before walking out and closing the door behind her, walking after Mitsuhiko and Genta.

"You're staying in here just because of me, aren't you?"

"You do realize that if anythings wrong you can tell us, right?" Conan asked, adjusting his glasses. Ayumi gulped silently, not sure if he heard or not. "Yeah, of course I know that!" He smiled at her, causing her heart to flutter uncontrollably.

"I'm a detective, Ayumi. You can't fool me."

"Who says I'm trying to?"

"My gut."

"You should have gone with the others then because THAT means you're hungry."

"Yes and no."

"So I was right, you DID stay in here because I was staying."

Conan scoffed and little and turned away, crossing his arms. "Whatever you want to believe is fine with me."

"So what, you don't care about me?" Ayumi pouted and crossed her own arms over her size-C-chest. He sighed in irritation. I never said that, stop making it seem like I did! You'll have Genta and Mitsuhiko chasing after me in no time! "Where did that come from?" He hissed, turning around. "Of course I care about you!" Ayumi opened her mouth to say something, but her face turned a little darker and she turned away instead. Knowing he won the fight, Conan came and sat down next to her. "Ayumi-chan?"

"Hmmm?"

"What's wrong?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Because if I did I'm worried about what we'd become."

"What?" Conan gave her a look, one that said 'are you going insane, woman?'. Ayumi kept her focus on the window to her left, peering out and watching whatever birds and squirrles might be playing. When she didn't answer, he grabbed her shoulder. "Ayumi-chan! Answer me."

"We're friends and nothing more right now, right?" He cringed, remembering her love-filled confession when they were in middle school.

"Conan-kun...I've never felt like this around anybody but you." She whispered, sitting next to him on a plane. They were heading back from a crime that Kogoro had been sent to invesitage in Kyoto. Heiji and Kazuha were returning with them for the summer. Said female had her eyes on them, watching Ayumi's from-the-heart confession. "I...I don't think I ever really will either." He had felt himself start to shift uncomfortably. "Conan-kun...I love you. I love you so much..." With that, she leaned her head down against his shoulder, eyelids falling heavily over her eyes. Blushing, Conan took his arm and wrapped it around her, holding her closer. After all, for some reason it was really cold in the plane so...THERE! PERFECT EXPLANATION AS TO WHY HE WAS HOLDING HER THE WAY HE WAS!

Kazuha blushed and smiled at them.

Deciding to try this for herself, she leaned her head onto Heiji's shoulder, acting as if she had fallen asleep. Heiji looked down at her, smiled, and fake yawned an arm over her shoulder.

(later)

"So...do you love me, too? Conan-kun?"

He shivered at the mention of their situation. "Uhh..."

Ayumi stared at him, knowing that studdering was a bad sign. "Conan-kun! I'm cooking dinner! What do you want?" Ran called from the kitchen, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling. It was then that Ayumi noticed his lovestruck gaze. It wasn't directed at her, no...!

...it was directed at Ran Mouri.

"The easiest is fine with me, Ran-neechan!"

Smiling even wider, the woman returned to her kitchen, sounds of pots and pans echoing throughout the Mouri Detective Agency. Turning back to Ayumi, he was finally ready to answer her question, only to see her stand up and walk towards the door. "She's too old for you, Conan-kun." She hissed in pure disbelief, a scent of hurt and anger mixed in. She then opened the door and slammed it on her way out. Ran stook her head out again, toast in her mouth, watching the door in bewliderment. Conan sat there, staring at the door, open jaw and wide eyes.

Wasn't Ayumi supposed to spend the night?

"Yeah...I don't think that 'right now' was nessacary concidering I kind of hinted to you I wasn't interested and I probably never will be so-"

"CONAN-KUN!"

"Okay, okay!" Ayumi face seemed to show worse hurt spreading. He mentally slapped himself in the face, knowing he was the cause of that pain.

"Well...I just wanted to let you know that no matter what happens, I will always, ALWAYS have those feelings for you."

Conan rose an eyebrow.

"The real reason?"

"I'm..." Ayumi suddenly coughed. "I'm..." A gulp.

"I'm..." What the heck? She couldn't get it out? WHY? "You're what?" Conan menaced, glaring at her.

"I'm getting married as soon as I leave highschool."

Conan's jaw dropped and he sat there, watching her tremble at her own words. He hadn't heard her right, had he? Was she really that stupid?

"Ayumi! Just because I don't love you doesn't mean you should go out and-"

"No, Conan-kun." She bit her lip and pulled a ring out of her pocket, handing it to him.

"I'm betrothed."