While this story takes place after chapter 218, I totally forgot about Chiori's manager getting hurt, and about Kyoko going with Chiori to filming the next day. Trying to write a fic based on a particular chapter is tough. I hope you enjoy it though!

"…"

"…"

"…"'

"Hello?" Kanae answered.

"Moko-saaan!" Kyoko wailed into the phone. Behind her, several of the nurses eyed her cautiously and carried on. The orange-haired teenager had been fidgeting awkwardly in the corner, staring at her phone, for nearly fifteen minutes before finally calling.

Kanae pinched the bridge of her nose. "What? What is it that you have to call in the middle of the day?"

"Chiori was in a car accident! I'm at the hospital! And then we had a heart-to-heart about acting and I want to tell you about it!"

At these words, Kanae stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. "What?! What happened?"

"Well, she'd been avoiding the variety shows because it didn't suit her acting, so we had a good talk about how—"

"Not that, the first part! She was in a car accident?"

"Oh, yes, a car accident, Moko-san! When someone is in a car, and something happens—!"

"I know that, but—is she okay?" Kanae clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to let her annoyance get the best of her. She knows what a car accident is.

"Eh? Oh, hai!"

Kanae sighed with relief and frustration. Couldn't Kyoko have mentioned that bit of news earlier?

"But, nee, Moko-san…"

"What? What is it now?"

In the corner of the hospital, Kyoko balances the phone between her shoulder and her ear, drops to her knees, and clenches her hands before her in prayer to the Great Friendship Gods.

"Please have a girls' night with us tonight!"

"Ehhh?!"

And so it came to be that the LoveMe girls were supposed to meet at L.A. Hearts, the cute café adjoining LME's first level, once Kyoko and Chiori ended filming for Box R. Kanae, though she was loathe to admit it, was actually free for the entire day. Suspecting the kind of affectionate, sugary, friendship-forming activities that were sure to spring up tonight, she had jogged for 6 miles so that she wouldn't have to war between Kyoko's puppy eyes (while undoubtedly holding an ice cream sundae) and her internal calorie counter.

Kanae waited at a booth Kyoko had reserved for them, snapping her phone open and closed, staring at the glass doors where her two best friends would ultimately appear. Her eyes twitched slightly when she realized she'd admitted that they are her two best friends, but the annoyance didn't last long. Kyoko had been off filming for a long time, and Chiori had been wrapped up in her own mysterious filming, and she was concerned about the car accident. Chiori had already suffered an accident when she was a child actor and was still suffering from it.

I should be worrying about myself, though, she huffed. Kanae's biggest filming prospect was set to start tomorrow morning. Reminded of the cast and crew listed in the script, she wondered if she could ask Kyoko if the name Mogami Saena meant anything to her. From what Kanae knew about Kyoko's family, there weren't any relatives she'd be happy to see.

Shaking her head, Kanae redoubled her focus on the glass doors just as the two girls made their way into view, Kyoko laughing while accidentally pushing on the doors instead of pulling. Surprising herself with what was probably a very sweet smile at the sight, Kanae quickly reworked her face and stood up from the booth.

"Mo! You're late!" Kanae chided, even though it probably wasn't even true.

"Moko-san!" Kyoko ran towards Kanae, Chiori following with the indulgent smile of a parent at a candy store.

Allowing herself to get swept into the hug, Kanae huffed slightly before taking a deep breath and carefully placing her arms around Kyoko.

Sure enough, Kyoko tightened the hug in excitement and Kanae was thankful for the lungful of air. Chiori sent her an understanding, grimacing smile while stretching out her shoulders a little. Surely Kyoko had fallen into hug-mode once she realized it wouldn't threaten Chiori's injury.

Deciding that fifteen seconds of contact was long enough for the girl to have gotten it out of her system, Kanae pushed Kyoko off with a blush and a scowl.

"Glad you're finally back," Kanae muttered.

"Un!" Kyoko beamed.

Kanae turned and headed back to the booth, while Chiori followed and Kyoko wandered off to the host desk to ask for a waiter.

Glancing over at Chiori, and the bandage around her neck, Kanae quickly reached out for the girl, catching her in a quick and awkward hug. "I'm relieved you're okay, too," Kanae admitted, looking away from Chiori.

Surprised, Chiori nonetheless smiled at Kanae's back while she hopped up into the booth. "Thank you," she returned. Looks like someone's rubbed off on you. Scooting up into the booth as Kyoko returned, the three girls relaxed and started to catch up the past few weeks that they'd spent apart.

"What about you, Kyoko? You haven't said much about the dangerous mission the president sent you on."

Kyoko immediately reddened. Even though she had been prepared to have this conversation with her friends, for some reason the risqué night she spent—no, that Setsu spent —with Cain—on top of Cain—immediately came to her mind. Trying to avert her eyes, they nonetheless noticed the dessert spoons served with the ice cream sundaes, reminding her of Ren on Valentine's Day.

Ridding her mind of such thoughts, especially in the presence of her wonderful friends, Kyoko clenched her eyes closed and clasped her hands together again in prayer to the Friendship Gods, still holding the dessert spoon. "I promise, promise, promise I will tell you both someday! I swear on my life as an actress! But…for now…it's secret," she finished lamely, looking down at the table.

Both Kanae and Chiori raised an eyebrow at each other. Kanae then shrugged. "A job's a job, right? So long as he's not making you do something unreasonable."

"Ah…hai."

Chiori noticed the deflation of her cheeriest friend with concern. "Kyoko-chan, are you okay? Do you want to go home?"

Kyoko glanced up, a bit of fire relit in her eyes. "Never! I haven't seen you two in what feels like ages!" Now that she was smiling again, the two other girls relaxed. "Plus, Amamiya-san, after what you just went through, I really want to try to cheer you up a little."

Kanae twirled her spoon in her sundae, trying to spin it fifty times before taking another bite, in order to pace herself. "So, what do you have planned for the night?"

The table was silent. Kanae glanced up from her measured spoon handling to see Kyoko nervously glancing at her with the most shining, hopeful, pitiful puppy eyes yet.

Kanae pinched the bridge of her nose again, closing her eyes. "Let me guess, a sleepover…?"

The shine in Kyoko's eyes seemed to pour out into the air, and even without looking at her, Kanae felt their effect.

"Okay. Okay! Let me just…see who's home tonight."

As Kanae started to pull out her cellphone amidst cheers, fanfare suddenly started to play throughout the restaurant.

Glancing up, Kanae found Chiori and Kyoko equally confused as they looked around the restaurant. Other guests, mostly managers and their charges, looked around in confusion.

Then, suddenly, everyone remembered they worked at LME.

The president made his entrance through a rotating bookshelf on the opposite wall. Guests nearby quickly scampered out of the way as an enormous, white, puffy cloud seemed to float into the room with Lory Takarada on top of it.

Suspicious, Kanae glanced at the bottom of the cloud to see a dozen pairs of feet sliding in unison. Realizing that the president probably had a staff of workers for this exact purpose, Kanae shuddered in relief that her LoveMe tasks didn't involve carrying a half-naked old man around.

Laughing magnanimously from his perch, Lory, dressed as Cupid today, readied an arrow and aimed it into the crowd. When it landed on the LoveMe girls' table, all three girls gulped and pitying glances were aimed at them from throughout the room before everyone hurriedly turned away from the sight.

A person-sized cloud moved up towards the president's perch, and the president gracefully moved to sit upon the cloud's no-doubt shoulders. Kanae grimaced. Definitely could've gotten into a worse department.

Lory Takarada approached the girls atop his mount. "My loveliest rosebuds! A little bee told me that you girls are in need of bonding tonight, for you have reunited despite dire circumstances!"

Immediately, the dark-haired girls looked at Kyoko, who scratched the back of her head, admitting quietly, "I may have gotten a little carried away when I made the reservation for our booth…"

"And so I," Lory interrupted, booming, "have decided to send my blossoming princesses out for a night on the town!"

"Um, no, President, you don't have to…" Chiori tried to say, fearful as she was of this wildly eccentric man.

"And you shall do it," Lory continued, "as a LoveMe task! For which I shall secretly observe you and grade you in your friendship-love!"

Kanae facepalmed while Chiori laughed uncomfortably and Kyoko just looked apologetic. Hopefully no one had to work early tomorrow…

Three hours later, the girls had had enough. The president hadn't even needed to threaten them with a "secret observer"; Sebastian had insisted on chaperoning them the entire time. This guy was impossible to dodge! (If you had to keep tabs on and keep up with the president, you'd have to be.)

Still, as he dropped them off at Kanae's place and they bowed goodnight, the girls all shared common smiles. They had to admit it was definitely the most fun night they'd had in a long time. They'd been sent to an imperial-era style restaurant for dinner (to please Kyoko), a Victorian gothic-era themed dancing hall for dancing lessons (which Chiori loved, but didn't even realize had been aimed at her), and finally an upscale metro bar that served low-calorie desserts in cocktail glasses (that even Kanae admitted was a do-again). While they didn't have real alcohol at the bar, all three girls felt a little intoxicated with the evening's events.

Motioning behind her to "shush", Kanae carefully creaked the door open, fearing what would happen if the household woke up at this time of night. To her surprise, the lights were totally off in the house, and Kanae spotted a simple note left on the counter.

"We won tickets to stay at a resort! For all eight of us! Can you imagine the odds?!

Oh. Sorry we didn't invite you! Enjoy having the house to yourself! :)"

Kyoko and Chiori, who read the note over Kanae's shoulder, giggled to themselves at the president's efforts, while Kanae just rubbed her temple and sighed.

"Okay girls, even if we have the house to ourselves, we are going to bed now. I am not going to lose any sleep because of that guy's antics."

Nodding while still suppressing giggles, Kyoko and Chiori agreed, and the three settled down for the night.

Once Kanae was sure Chiori was asleep (who really needed rest the most at that point), she whispered, "Hey Kyoko?"

"What is it, Moko-san?"

Kanae shifted in her covers to face Kyoko. "Nothing happened while you were filming, right? Nothing weird happened?"

Kyoko again thought of Ren. Blushing in the darkness, Kyoko decided that even if she eventually told her friends about Tragic Marker, she would be too embarrassed to talk about some of the acting she did as Setsu. Remembering something she could talk about, however, she turned to Kanae's voice with a smile.

"Well… I did have my first kiss!" Kyoko whispered with glee.

"What?!" Kanae did not whisper at this point, and Chiori sat straight up, her hair a mess.

"Zha happen?" Chiori mumbled.

"Kyoko had her first kiss!"

"What?!" Chiori shouted.

"It was with my fairy prince, Corn!" Kyoko admitted with excitement, happy to have an audience, and to have such a happy story to share.

Silence filled the room as Kyoko waited for a response.

"I'm going back to bed," Chiori muttered as she settled back in to sleep.

Within a minute or two, when her breathing had evened out, Kanae sighed and rubbed her temple in frustration. Still, she was curious. "With your fairy prince?"

"I met him when I was a child. He was always there for me, even when no one else was. And he could fly! And we ruled the hamburger kingdom together. But…he was trapped in his father's shadow, and so he couldn't really fly… The kiss that he gave me, it supposedly broke the curse. And he flew off into the sunset, I swear!"

Kanae couldn't help but smile. She was glad that Kyoko had had her first kiss, even though she was 100% certain that this was all in Kyoko's imagination. Still, if it helped cover up the fact that that asshole had stolen her kiss on Valentine's Day, she had to support Kyoko's subconscious, overactive imagination. Still, it really sounded like a perfect, romantic fairytale, just like Kyoko needed…

"Although what I can't get my head around is that, well… Kanae, he had to borrow someone's appearance in order to stand in front of me, since I could no longer see his true form…"

Kanae "hmm"ed in response, still thinking about how Tsuruga probably wished he could've planned such an elaborate event to steal her first kiss and make her believe in romance again. What with that rose and that phony story, he was definitely the type to indulge her…

"Well, he looked exactly like Tsuruga-san, but with blonde hair, and green eyes. It's…confusing…" Kyoko admitted sleepily, not bothering to stifle a yawn.

Next to her, Kanae was stiff. What? So she ran into a guy that looked just like Tsuruga-san, and he just so happened to have an elaborate fairy-tale story in place in order to steal her first kiss? Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh!" Kyoko suddenly sat up. Thinking that she had come to the same shaky conclusion Kanae had, Kanae was surprised that Kyoko had managed to figure it out. She was awfully dense sometimes.

Instead, Kyoko muttered, "Um, I wanted to check in on Tsuruga-san. To make sure he, um, ate dinner…" As Kyoko fumbled for her phone in the dark, Kanae closed her eyes and laughed. No, of course she wouldn't think that. That's why he would've done it in disguise, right? To make it a fairy-tale with a magical prince, instead of admitting his real feelings, as a real man.

"Whatever," Kanae said. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay," Kyoko whispered back. "I missed you, Moko-san! Thank you for having this sleepover with us!"

Kanae smiled in the dark, her back towards Kyoko as Kyoko used her phone's light to guide her towards the bathroom.

Sighing as she closed the door and slid her back down against it, Kyoko opened her phone to check the time. It was only an hour later in Guam, and in Tokyo it was… 9:43. Kyoko closed her phone, deciding it was too late to call, and then nervously opened it again, wanting to hear his voice. She suppressed a blush and looked at the faded ink on her hand. He gave me this so I wouldn't call, right? He doesn't want me to bug him. I kinda…want to tell him I landed safely. And that Chiori was in an accident! And…I'll skip the part about Sho. And maybe mention that the president sent us on a girls' night as a LoveMe mission! Maybe that would make him laugh?

Kyoko decided on calling him, and scrunched her eyes shut as she pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear. Opening her eyes in shock, she snapped her phone shut. Wait! He's Cain Heel right now, why would Mogami Kyoko be calling him? What if my name shows up on his cellphone while he's out…with…people… Realizing that Cain Heel would never willingly spend the night in the company of others, Kyoko felt a sense of relief, but then stopped immediately. What if… he's with someone? Her heart ached. While she was with him, Ren was either in-character, doting on his sister, or he was the perfect gentleman. Or close to the perfect gentleman. Kyoko's eyes fell downcast as she remembered him definitely acting like…someone else…someone hurting and in need of comfort. What if he was in the company of some woman now that she was gone, giving him the comfort she couldn't…?

Kyoko shook her head. It's just… Setsu's jealousy. That's all. She couldn't quite deal with her feelings right now. Pressing her empty hand to the floor, she was about to raise herself from the ground when her phone started vibrating in her other hand. Looking at the front screen immediately, Kyoko's face moved to a sweet, relieved smile at the name on the screen. Tsuruga Ren.

Ren had had an uneventful day filming. He had a better grasp on his characters as both Cain Heel and BJ, thanks to the stability Kyoko had provided him in the few short days they had spent together.

Uneventful, uneventful, uneventful. Even though it was just one day, it helped him realize that a role was a role, a job was a job, and a life without Kyoko was hardly a life at all. Even with the challenges and successes of a mysterious role, rising to the challenge wasn't enough to satisfy him like it did before. Even when he was back in Japan, a day spent filming could very often contain the hope that he would see her, in the hallways at work—or in his hallway at home, waiting outside of his apartment…

Ren turned over on the mattress, relishing the thought of Kyoko coming to see him. He ignored the fact that she would be there to make sure he ate healthily. Or maybe he wanted to pretend she did it because she was worried about him. Maybe, he blushed, she could just make me bentos every morning, after... Ren cleared his throat to get a grip on himself.

He was lying on the mattress in the hotel room. Kyoko's bed was still neatly made by her or the housekeeping (Ren couldn't tell), and was completely empty. The whole hotel room felt empty.

Get a grip. Get some sleep, he told himself.

As he was lying there, trying to get some shuteye, he recalled their last conversation. The way he told her he would live as "your me", he swore there was a reaction in her expressive eyes, but she hid it so quickly. Was he seeing things? He wouldn't put it past himself. It was…lonely here, without her, and when she was there he was filled with longing. Dwelling on it now would just make it worse.

It's fine. It's fine. Even if she can't return my feelings, so long as I can be by her side…

I wonder what she's doing now? He glanced at the clock, unable to help himself. It was 10:40. She was probably getting ready for bed. She probably…didn't think of me today, even if I tried to leave a mark…

Shaking his head into his pillow, Ren was about to cover his whole head with another pillow when his phone rang.

Reaching out for it like lightning, a heavenly smile crossed his face when he saw the name on the screen. Mogami Kyoko. He should've changed it to Setsu Heel for the duration of the filming, he chastised himself. Still, he couldn't help the smile stretching his face so wide as he stared at the screen…and then the screen went blank.

Letting out a small laugh, he rolled onto his back and pictured her so perfectly. She's probably too nervous that she'll be interrupting my character and hung up. Or that I'm asleep. Kyoko, I'd…wake up to you, any time of night…

Clearing his throat again in a vain attempt to wipe the smile from his features (since it will clearly show in his voice), Ren opened his phone and called her back.

"…Tsuruga-san? Is that you?"

Despite his preventative measures, the smile was back, in full force. "Yes, Mogami-san. It's me."

"I'm sorry to have called you so late!" he could hear her bow. "Were you sleeping?"

Ren stretched out, his back flat against the bed, and rested his arm under his head. "No, this is fine. I haven't done anything but lie in bed since I got out of filming."

Silence. Ren pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced at it, fearful that this treasured contact would be cut short already. "Mogami-san?"

"…you mean, you haven't done anything but eat and lie in bed, right, nee-san?"

Ah. Setsu's here. He ignored it. "Mogami-san, I'm perfectly capable of eating. I had rice. I can take care of myself, you know."

Kyoko huffed over the phone. "I'll believe that when I see it. Knowing you, you won't eat right until you're back in Japan."

"Knowing you, you'll be the one to cook for me."

Another silence. "Knowing Yashiro, you are probably correct," Kyoko said quietly.

Ren smiled. "I look forward to it, Mogami-san. I could eat your cooking for the rest of my life."

Another silence. Was that too forward? Ren glanced at the phone again to make sure she was still there, but didn't say anything, instead listening intently.

"Well, at least when you get back, I guess I can… If you don't mind…" Was that a smile? Do I hear a smile in her voice? Ren relaxed, allowing himself the indulgence of believing she was smiling at the thought of cooking for him. "But until then, too! You need to eat properly! Three times a day, I tell you!" Ren winced.

"Yes, sure, Mogami-san." Ren cleared his throat again, hoping to change topics. "How was your day, anyway? Did anything happen?"

Silence. This girl is going to be the death of me. "Well…" Kyoko started. Ren's eyes darkened as a certain blonde flashed into his mind. A certain blonde that always seemed to show up whenever Ren wasn't around to guard Kyoko. Really, he should ask Yashiro to befriend the brat's manager so he could keep tabs on him. Too far, Ren. Yashiro would never let you live it down, either.

"Mogami-san…" Ren started.

"Chiori-san was in an accident."

Ren's eyes opened wide, ashamed for assuming she had met up with that punk. "Amamiya-san was? Is she okay?"

"Yes," Kyoko answered. "Thankfully. It was so scary though, Tsuruga-san, I was so worried."

Ren's eyes closed again in relief. "I'm glad to hear that she's okay. I'm sorry you were scared." I wish I was there.

"Un. I'm honestly scared to learn how to drive, Tsuruga-san. It just seems so dangerous."

Thinking of a darker accident, Ren couldn't help but agree. "It is. Please be careful when you're on your bike too, Mogami-san. Try to call me for rides whenever you can, I'm always here for you." Silence. You're too forward tonight, Ren. He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm glad she's okay. Is she going to take time off of filming?"

"No, actually, the doctor said she's fine. And she did agree to widen her acting roles now, which is great news."

"That is great news."

"And, another good thing did happen because of the accident."

Ren's eyebrow rose at the quiet excitement in her voice. "Oh?"

"Yes, the, uh, the President threw us a girls' night in celebration of our reunion."

Ren couldn't help but chuckle into the phone. He heard Kyoko laugh quietly as well. "Well, that sounds like a blast. I'm sure you're awfully tired now."

"I am," she answered. He could hear the contentment in her voice. She yawned, and he leaned his head back, deep into the pillow, pressing the sound of her into his ear as he tried to imagine she was on the next bed over, readying herself for bed.

"Well, thank you for calling, Mogami-san."

"Thank you for calling me back, Tsuruga-san."

"Always. Good night, get some rest for tomorrow. I'll see you in two days."

"Thank you, Tsuruga-san. Good night."

Ren closed his phone and drifted off into a blissful dreamland, mentally repeating the sound of her smiling voice until it morphed into Good night, Ren, and he imagined the source of it tucked into the crook of his arm, snuggling into him.

RING! RING! RING!

Kanae, with the quickest reflexes, reached out and snapped the phone open. "What?!" she barked.

No one responded and Kanae started to wake up. From the feel of it in her hands, Kanae realized the shape of the phone was off—it must be Kyoko's—and she realized who this must be. "Look, Tsuruga-san, get your act together! She's sleeping! And you'd better sleep too to prepare yourself for the beating I'm going to give you for interrupting an actress' beauty sleep—!"

"HEY!" came the angry shout over the phone. Kanae opened her eyes, realizing the voice did not belong to Japan's number one bachelor.

Moving the phone away from her face even as the voice continued, Kanae looked at the number: Blocked Caller. Pulling the phone back to her ear, Kanae interrupted, "Who is this?"

"It's Sho! Where's Kyoko?!"

Kanae's fuse lit back up again. "Mo! What the hell are you doing calling her late at night? Who do you think you are?"

"Who the hell do you think you are, you bitch! I'm her best friend! And I need to know where she is! And why would he be calling—"

"Oh yeah?" Kanae fumed, sensing the rousing of the two girls near her, "Well right now she's sleeping next to me, her real BEST FRIEND! On what planet are you anything but a thorn in her side? Now shut the hell up and don't call her again!"

Kanae slammed the phone shut and huffed while burying herself back into bed. Realizing that she wasn't going to say anything on her own, Kyoko prompted her, "Moko-san? Who was that?"

"Nobody! Go to bed!"

Well, there you have it. My first Skip Beat chapter fic. I had been wanting to write a Skip Beat fanfiction for a long time, and when I finally sat down to write one I didn't stop for five hours. This story will probably be around three chapters long, and I've already got the next one written up… I'm struggling with the third because, of course, I want Ren and Kyoko to end up together, but there are already so many great fics that cover the whole "confession" thing… Maybe I'll just jump to the citrus. Hahaha.

Thanks for reading!