I hadn't really planned on starting another story so soon, but this one just hit me and I had to. Yeah, kinda cheesy, but oh well :P. For those of you who don't read descriptions, this is a ConXAi love story. It is AU, and takes place ten years after the current timeline, when all the kids are in high school. All other details about this can be found in-story. As for my motive for suddenly writing a story like this out of the blue, look at the bottom of this page.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way, shape, or form, other than licensed merchandise.

Chapter One

At age 17, Conan Edogawa was a very handsome high school student. He was a talented soccer player, as well as a high school detective, and was well-liked and admired by both the school and the community. He was also extremely intelligent, with a higher than average IQ and a knack for knowing more than he should.

Conan had four close friends, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Ai. He had known them ever since he had started high school a year before. He had actually met Ai in junior high, when their respective schools had competed in a sort of 'Technology Bowl' challenge, and since they were each the most powerful members of their teams, they had really gone off on each other, even stealing answers from the own teams in an attempt to show each other up. The next year when they had become each others' classmates at Teitan High, after an intense rivalry during the first part of the freshman year, they had become fast friends. Mitsuhiko and Genta Conan had known since elementary, while Ai and Ayumi had been fast friends since their elementary days.

Now, as a high school student, Conan was in a dilemma. While he had, at first, simply thought of Ai Haibara as a good friend, he now felt something more for her. Sure, his friend Ayumi was the bombshell in the group, but that wasn't all Conan was interested in. His type of girl was someone responsible, caring, and smart, with beauty as an added bonus. That was why he liked Ai Haibara so much, as more than a friend. Unfortunately, their rivalry from the years past resulted in both of them calling each other simply by their surnames, whereas Conan called the others by their given names instead.

So now, Conan was walking home from school, thinking to himself about what to do. 'Well, I've been friends with her for years, so it's not hard to talk to her, but it wouldn't be that easy, especially not about something like that. Besides, she's…Haibara. She's different from everyone else. Her personality is colder than the average girl. Besides, she's just as smart as I am, if not more so. Going further might make me feel like a complete idiot.' As Conan thought through this, he became aware that Ayumi had been glancing at him frequently the whole time, and he knew why. 'Then there's Ayumi-chan. She asked me out partway through freshman year, but she's not really my type, so I kind of mumbled an excuse. I think she still likes me, though. But if I ask Haibara out, what will Ayumi-chan do? There's just no telling with girls.'

When the five of them split up to go home, Conan made a decision. He decided to ignore the threat of Ayumi and just go for it. However, not directly. He instead decided to go about it in a more roundabout fashion.

XXX

When Conan walked in the door, he said hello to his guardian, a beautiful woman by the name of Ran Mouri. Conan's parents had disappeared when he was just six years old, so he'd been put in the care of some of their friends, the Mouris. He'd had a brief crush on Ran when he was younger, but after her childhood friend Shinichi (also a detective) had been killed saving a little boy from a fire, she'd become a completely different person, hard and cold towards everyone. Being around this attitude had made Conan more used to it, which is why he liked Haibara so much; she shared it.

"Oh, Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed when Conan walked in the door of her late husband's detective agency. After his death, Conan and the rest of the Detective Boys had kept it in business, and Ran was eternally grateful to them, although she tried to hide it. "What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the look of concentration on his face. "Is it another case?" she asked hopefully.

Conan hesitated a second before replying, "Oh, it's just girl trouble." Instantly, a look of pure astonishment was on Ran's face.

"Did Ayumi-chan ask you out again?" she teased, nudging him gently as Conan sat down in a chair.

Again, Conan hesitated before replying, "No. This time it's me that likes a girl."

"It's Ai-chan, isn't it?" asked Ran knowingly. This time it was Conan's turn to be amazed.

"How could you possibly guess that?" he asked in astonishment.

"I know you too well, Conan-kun," she replied, gently squeezing his shoulder with her hand. "Besides, the only thing that could give a genius trouble is another genius, right?"

"Fine," Conan relented. "Don't tell me how, though; I want to work this out on my own. I don't even know if she likes me, so telling her anything is basically a shot in the dark. I'm going upstairs." Pushing past Ran, he marched upstairs, shut himself in his room, and began to think about what he could do. Then he realized how he could both tell her the truth and test her feelings for him in one move; he could write a letter. However, he would leave the letter anonymous. In this way, she couldn't embarrass him about it in her snarky way, and he would know if she liked him or not if she confronted him about it, since technically the letter could've been written by anyone.

Settling down at his computer, Conan began to type his letter.

To Miss Ai Haibara,

I've been meaning to tell you something for a while, but I could never muster the courage. As today is Valentine's, I figured I might as well just go ahead and say it. For several years now, I've liked you, as more than just a friend. I don't know exactly when I started to like you, but I realized the truth a while ago and have just been keeping it to myself for fear of being rejected.

There are several reasons I like you. For one, you are extremely proactive, and are entirely willing to get your hands dirty where the rest of us might not. You are also prone to jumping the gun and taking on more work than you handle. Another reason is because of your attitude. You can be a bit quiet sometimes, chilling people to the bone with just one glance, but inside I know you to be a kind and thoughtful person, and are not above taking other people's thoughts and feelings into consideration before your own.

Now that I've gotten all of that off my chest, you might be wondering why I have purposely avoided using any words, phrases, or characters that might give away my identity. I want to remain anonymous because I consider myself to be out of your league. I'm not afraid to admit that you are smarter than me and that the chances of you actually liking me back are probably slim to none. Just knowing the truth, whether you like me or not, would satisfy me, since the pain of being unsure would be much greater than the pain of a possible rejection. But since I'm anonymous, I'm probably just dreaming, aren't I?

If you have read this far in this letter, I appreciate your courtesy in humoring me. I have confidence you are reading this sentence, however, since, as I stated earlier, I know you to be a kind and courteous person.

Love,
A Secret Admirer

Satisfied with the letter, Conan began to plan exactly how to give it to her.

Next up, Conan will give her the letter. What will happen? Will there be plot advancement? Will she even care? Is this love story doomed to fail before it even starts?

OK, the explanations portion. This'll be good. OK, so basically, the events of this story are a reflection of the real-life events happening to me right now. I'm Conan and Haibara is the girl I like. The letter I copy/pasted with few changes. I did add several events to this story to flesh it out, of course, and I'm keeping with the characters' personalities rather than ours. So it's kind of AU, kind of not in that regard. I hope you all enjoy the story, and please don't give me love advice unless I ask. Although I do ask for story reviews. Reviews are good. :D