A/N: I do Not own Skip Beat.

OMG! A single chapter story!

Sorry, but I have to get back on the ball somehow. HI! I've missed you all so much! Really and truly, I missed writing. I have been reading lots, which always left me with that desire. I hope that this will signal some kind of long term return, but I never like to make promises I can't keep. Please forgive me for any mistakes as I get back into the swing of things. So here is a starter story that is fluffy, while I work on a longer story.

Italic are internal thoughts. Bold Italics is a different voice in their head. Bold is the script reading.

Cheers! AB

Days like these were a mixed blessing. The sky was clear and sunny, and there was just enough wind to make the heat comfortable. It was one of those days that begged people to come outside and walk around; however, those kinds of days meant everyone felt that way and they came out. To say that the streets were crowded was an understatement. With all the people out and about, it made things a little less enjoyable for the young actress, but Kyoko wouldn't let it faze her, especially not with her current plans.

Kyoko made arrangements to meet with Kanae today. Nothing was going to darken her mood. They were going shopping for a dress for Kanae. She had a cast party to attend to and wanted something new. She haphazardly mentioned it one day to Kyoko and Kyoko insisted on going with her to get it. Shopping with her best girlfriend in the whole wide world, who wouldn't want to do that!

Kanae wanted to reject it immediately, but there was that look of pure unadulterated joy on her face and then the possible soul crushing heartbreak that would follow was too much for Kanae to handle, so she said yes. It was easier that way.

So they were to meet at a shop that Kanae knew had designer dresses for a fraction of the price. Kyoko had never heard of it before, so she took off early to make sure she wouldn't get lost and make her friend wait. She arrived there first and looked at their window displays. Sure enough the dresses were gorgeous. There was an extremely light green cream colored long sleeved dress with a very deep V neck design. The V neck actually stopped at the mannequin's stomach where it was knotted with the tails of the knot draping down to its feet with the skirt. Next to it was a beautiful black cocktail dress with see-through lace flowers that curved from the left side of its breast down across her torso to her right hip and then again high at her left thigh to the bottom of the skirt at her right knee. It had spaghetti straps and was a modest cut at her breast. Maybe Kanae would like that one.

"Hey," the voice of her number one friend chimed in behind her.

"MOKO-SAN!" Kyoko cheered and twisted to give her a huge bear hug, which was promptly stopped with a hand pressed against her forehead. Kyoko fell back with a pout.

"Alright, let's do this," Kanae announced as if she were going to war.

Kyoko followed closely behind with a little frown as they entered the store. "Don't you like shopping, Moko-san?"

"No," she snapped. "How is spending all day trying to find something you like with a decent price having fun?"

"Well, because you get to try on lots of pretty things. See like this one," Kyoko explained and pointed to another cocktail dress. A white wrap dress with colorful splatters of black, lavender and a little orange that fell mid-thigh. It might not be what she was looking for at the moment but pretty for something else.

"Yeah, now look at the price," Kanae dared her and waited as Kyoko went to the rack beside the mannequin. She lifted the price tag and visibly paled: 65,000 yen.

"Exactly, what fun is it when you can't afford the things you want to buy," Kanae bemoaned and pulled Kyoko towards the back with the evening gowns.

Kyoko had to cough before speaking. "Moko-san, I thought you said this place was cheap?"

Kanae laughed. "CheapER. I said this place was cheaper. I bet that dress actually goes for twice that price. It was probably last season's design."

"Are you really going to spend that much on a dress for a cast party?" Kyoko asked as she tentatively fingered a dress beside her.

"No, are you crazy?!" Kanae growled and started shifting through the rack in front of her. "I'll probably end up with something from like four seasons ago. This place takes the unsold inventory from the designer stores and sells them at a discount. The further back you go, the cheaper it becomes. I'm not going to walk down the red carpet in the dress, but I, at least, want something nicer than a second hand store dress."

Sure enough Kyoko found a dress that was only 20,000 yen and another that was 18,000 yen. So yeah, while that was still a lot from her pocketbook's opinion, it was doable.

"What kind of dress are you looking for?" She asked wanting to help.

"Hm, nothing flashy," Kanae replied thinking about it. "I don't really care what color, but I want something simple. I'm not really sure."

Kanae has a very elegant style in Kyoko's opinion. She always had the best outfits that made her look so mature and well… beautiful. She pulled out dresses and held them up for Kanae to inspect. When they had five, she helped carry them to the dressing rooms for fittings. When Kanae was settled, Kyoko sat to wait.

"Aren't you going to try something on too?" Kanae said almost angrily making Kyoko blink.

"Oh, well, I wasn't planning on buying anything. I just wanted to come shopping for your dress," she declared with a sweet smile.

Kanae rolled her eyes. "That shouldn't stop you from trying something on. Go get that white splatter dress you pointed out before," she ordered and then turned suddenly sad eyes to her friend. "Don't make me do this alone."

"Of course not, Moko-san! I'll go get something right now. Just hold on one second!" Kyoko quickly rushed out to the floor and returned with three dresses in her size while Kanae smiled softly to herself.

They spent close to three hours trying on dress after dress. Kanae will never admit it, but she had a lot of fun trying on all the different dresses with Kyoko. She found the one she wanted about an hour ago, a sleeveless black form fitting dress with a slit that cut all the way up her left leg but had large white ruffles giving the dress a modest allure. However, they continued their day going through the rest of the store and trying on different and often outrageous things to force each to wear.

"You should get that one!" Kyoko moaned as Kanae stood in front of her in a fun flirty red dress. It had a halter neckline with a hi-low hem and an open back. It was really pretty, but she only set aside enough money for the one dress.

"Mo! You buy it if you like it so much," she griped and started to unzip it. "Here," Kanae grabbed a black dress and tossed it to Kyoko, "try that one on. I bet Tsuruga-san would like that one."

Kyoko flushed. "Why would that matter," she grumbled as she took off the previous dress to put on this one.

"You can't tell me you wouldn't like him checking you out every now and again."

"As if he would," she said in a muffle with the dress over her head. As soon as the dress passed her shoulders, she found Kanae in her underwear looking through the other dresses they brought in to try.

"Ah, but you didn't deny that you would like it," she jeered with a grin on her face.

Kyoko didn't want to dignify that with an answer but knew her expression would betray her. She could feel the heat coming off her face as she maneuvered the tight black dress into place. Once done, Kanae came up and zipped it up without asking, and they both looked at her in the mirror. This was definitely a sexy little black dress. It had a straight off the shoulder neckline, a very short asymmetrical skirt and there was a diamond shaped chunk of fabric missing at her right waist.

"You can't tell me he wouldn't give you that, what did you call it? Emperor of the Night look with you in this dress," Kanae teased making Kyoko's blush burn brighter.

Kyoko covered her face and groaned, "Why did I tell you about that?!"

"Because we are best friends. By the way, I'm still pissed that you waited that long to tell me you were in love with him," she complained.

"I was embarrassed, and I thought you would be angry at me for being so stupid," Kyoko confessed.

"Well, that's something you can't help," Kanae said as she finally picked out another dress to put on.

Kyoko sighed. "I wish it was. Stupid heart," she snarled. "And then why did it have to be him. Of all the people in the whole world it had to be Japan's Most Desired Man," she said with a sneer as she zipped up Kanae's dress. "Really, I feel even dumber falling for someone everyone is in love with, like a brainless fangirl."

Kanae snorted. "Yeah, pretty much."

"You're so mean, Moko-san," Kyoko cried.

"Mo! Stop being so hard on yourself," she said and turned to her friend taking her by the shoulders. "There is a huge difference between yourself and the idiots." Kyoko looked up at her and waited for her to finish.

"You got to know him first. All those faces you named and all that time you've spent with him. Kyoko, you know him. You know things about him that fangirls would kill to know." Kanae stopped to watch her friend. Kyoko was looking down with that blush on her cheeks fading but still noticeable. She looked sad, but that look of accepted defeat was always on her face when they spoke about him. Kanae hated it. Really, this girl broke through so many walls when it came to everything! Even with herself, Kyoko slammed herself against the wall that kept so many other people out to become her first real friend. Again she would never admit this out loud but even her acting was spectacular.

"So suck it up and confess!" Kanae barked out her frustration. She really hated seeing her like this.

"Confess?" Kyoko squeaked.

"Yes! I'm so tired of hearing the same old story and then watching the both of you make disgusting lovey dovey faces at each other."

"I do not make lovey dovey faces," Kyoko murmured a little unsure and then shot a glare at her friend. "He doesn't make those faces either!"

"Yes, he does and they are sickening. I should know because neither one of you pays any attention to me the moment you two see each other," she said casually, disguising the little pang of hurt in her heart. "Oh and there is that manager of his, he makes creepy faces too while watching you two. I swear he is planning your wedding every time you guys talk."

"Waaaah! Moko-san, stop," Kyoko screamed into her hands that was trying to hide her dark red face. With every word, her heart kept picturing inconceivable things and getting its hopes up. This time Kyoko faced her best friend truly angry. "You shouldn't say such mean things! Things that are so obviously not true," she bawled as tears started to fill her eyes. "I told you all those things as a friend, to simply vent out some of my issues, not for you to rub them in my face!"

Kanae stood there wide eyed and stunned. Her mind tried to think of a single time when Kyoko was angry. She's seen her sad, hurt, upset and the closest thing to anger would be with that Shotaru person, but now seeing this, she realized this was her well and truly angry and at her.

Kanae sobered up quickly. "I'm sorry," she apologized and for once wanted to hug her, but unsure with what to do in this situation she bowed down slightly. "I'm really, really sorry."

Without a second's hesitation, Kyoko grabbed Kanae for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Moko-san. I didn't mean to get so upset."

Kanae laughed softly and actually returned the hug. "It's my fault. Look, I know you're scared of everything, but I thought I would help encourage you. You need to get over this, and the only way you are going to do it is by telling him how you feel."

Kyoko pulled away with a scowl. "How is that supposed to help me? It's not like I need to hear another cruel rejection, one in a single lifetime is more than enough."

"You…," Kanae stopped, her mind catching up with what her mouth was about to say. In the past, telling her that Tsuruga-san was in love with her did nothing but aggravate her.

"You need to tell him, so you can find out how he feels about it. You keep hoping that your feelings for him are going to go away, but tell me, Kyoko, are you still in love with him now?"

Kyoko pressed her lips together and after a few heartbeats, she nodded softly. "Yes."

"So then why do you think anything will change if more time passes?"

Kyoko didn't say anything, instead preferring to look down than face the truth in her friend's words.

So Kanae continued, "If you tell him and the worst happens, then you can look past all the things he does for you as nothing more than friendship." She licked her lips preparing herself for the next words. "And if he doesn't return your feelings, I'll be right here for you. Kyoko," she called to her and wiped away a few tears running down her cheeks trying to get her to look at her. "I'll help you get through that."

While she was hoping for one of those overly enthusiastic smiles from Kyoko's face, instead she got more heart wrenching tears. Kanae held her for a few minutes as Kyoko cried. She cried as if he had already rejected her. Honestly, it made Kanae want to kick Tsuruga's ass. How dare that stupid man make her friend cry like this! But then that would make Kyoko angry at her and she didn't ever want that to happen again.

Kanae pulled back and timidly smiled at her friend. "Hey, we should get out of these dresses before you stain them all with your tears, and we are forced to buy them."

Kyoko snorted - a very ugly unladylike snort due to her crying.

And then Kanae got her smile.

The next few days, Kanae's words lingered in Kyoko's mind. They came in like the waves of the ocean, receding when work or schooling came and rushing back the moment her head wondered on its own. Obviously, the thought of confessing scared the living daylights out of her, but then the idea of her continuing this way left a sour taste in her mouth.

Yes, everything experienced in life would help her in her career. She knew this thanks to President Takarada, and her feelings for Ren had helped her with her role as Momiji. It was one of the easier characters to portray because of what was currently happening, but to live on like this with no changes whatsoever. How would that help her?

Then there's the idea of losing him because of her feelings. Kyoko grew pensive as she thought about it. Would he stop seeing her because she confessed? Her heart thumped painfully at the idea of not ever having him in her life. He probably wouldn't give her advice as a senpai after that either. Perhaps there was a way to find out how he would react before actually confessing. Or maybe she could confess in a way that wasn't a full blown "I love you". Something that said the same thing but isn't as grand.

Kyoko was heading to the LoveMe room with these thoughts swirling in her head. When she entered the door, she found Chiori irritably mumbling something to herself as she read a small booklet.

"Good Morning, Amamiya-san," Kyoko cheered, happy to have something else to distract her.

"Morning," she grumbled back in return. Kyoko knew she wasn't upset at her, so she didn't take offense to her crude greeting.

"What's wrong?"

Chiori huffed and tossed the booklet to the ground. "People," she snapped. "Writers to be more specific. I get that it's difficult to come up with new things, but do they really need to keep writing the same junk over and over again. Weak girl corners strong willed guy and timidly confesses only to find out he doesn't even know her name. What kind of stupid intro is that for a story?! Really! And then the stupid story has them getting together anyway because of the will of the writers."

Chiori had gotten up and was pacing by now while Kyoko had picked up the papers and sat to listen to her friend rant.

"It makes no sense whatsoever! Like put some damn logic into the story! Why would he suddenly appear at the place she worked if he lives on the other side of town?"

Kyoko felt that was a rhetorical question but answered anyway, "perhaps to see her?"

Chiori rushed up to her when she spoke and countered, "Okay but why? There is a reason why he didn't know her before the confession. They have absolutely nothing in common. He's into sports; she is into music. He likes comics; she likes movies. They aren't even in the same class! The only reason she knows him is because he is the brother of her friend."

"Well maybe the friend can help them get together."

Chiori groaned. "As if they would have any chance of staying together even if the "god" writers got them to date. It's just cliché. I want something different. Like having two strong characters who got to know each other through something they both have in common and then fell in love."

Kyoko stayed silent as Kanae's words came to haunt her. You got to know him first.

"Why is that any better?

"That is more realistic. It's something that people can wrap their minds around. Isn't that how normal people fall in love?" Chiori finally sat down next to Kyoko, having calmed down. "Wouldn't it be better to be with someone who has common interests, and it's more likely to be love instead of lust if you know the person."

"I suppose," Kyoko replied softly. Her eyes finally turned to the booklet and noticed it was an advertisement for writers. Her eyes grew large as it stated that they were looking for amateur writers to do a love story on a web series.

"Oh, are you going to enter this Amamiya-san?" She asked excitedly.

"Not if this," she roughly jerked the pages of the book within Kyoko's hands and stabbed a certain page with her finger, "is what they are looking for!"

Kyoko started to read the page. Since she didn't read the first few pages, she assumed she was reading an example of what they wanted. Sure enough the story given was about that timid girl and the popular guy getting together.

"Well, all the poster says is that they are looking for a love story. Write one that you like and then submit it," she encouraged.

"Like they would take it," Chiori grunted.

"Here I'll help. Write something about two people who have known each other for years. They started out in school, and um… the girl joins the yearbook club because she wants to be a photographer. There she meets the guy who is a year older and therefore her senpai. He helps her out and as time goes by she falls in love with him. However, she is scared to confess because she had her heart broken before. She's afraid that if she did confess, and he didn't feel the same, he would start to ignore her. So rather than lose their friendship, she keeps her feelings to herself. But now she feels like she has to confess because otherwise nothing will move forward but she doesn't know how." Kyoko finished in a soft voice with her eyes looking down in deep thought. She couldn't help but start voicing out her own dilemma and it got away with her.

"Wow."

The single word snapped Kyoko out of her thoughts. Did I say too much? Worry gnawed at her until Chiori spoke, "Did you really just come up with that on the spot?"

Kyoko blushed. "Yeah?" No way was she going to tell her how close that last part was to her life.

"That could work," Chiori started to pace again and voiced her thoughts out loud. "People would love to read about the girl slowly falling in love with the guy. Of course we would have him fall in love with her too. I'll have to come up with a reason why he isn't confessing to her though. Maybe he is dating someone… na. That's overdone, and I hate love triangles. Perhaps he could be too busy for a girlfriend, like working all the time or his dreams of being a photographer take up too much time. Hmm…"

Kyoko smiled watching her go back and forth with a light radiating from her face. She looked like she was having fun thinking about it. Happy that she was able to help, Kyoko got up to change into her pink uniform. Even though Kyoko had fallen in love, because she didn't embrace said love, President Takarada still hasn't let her go from the section. But that was okay with her. All three of the girls never felt like they were being held back because of it and they have all made good progress with each of their issues.

"Oh!" Chiori exclaimed jerking Kyoko's attention back to her. "Maybe he knows about her heartbreak and doesn't want to push her. OO what if the one she was in love with was like his brother…ehhh,"Chiori paused, "no, too complicated, but I like that first part." She stopped and wrote something down on a notepad Kyoko didn't notice before.

"So then she would have to confess," Chiori continued.

"It would seem so," Kyoko sighed. She started to feel a little jealous of the heroine of Chiori's story. Things were so much easier with a script, with knowing how the other party felt before risking their heart.

"But how…" Again Kyoko nodded in understanding as Chiori racked her mind for ideas.

"I don't want to do the usual, asking him to come alone and then confessing. It should be something more unique. Maybe I can do something with pictures. Confession through pictures…"

"Why pictures?" Kyoko asked confused.

Chiori blinked at her as if she suddenly appeared there. "Well it's something they both enjoy. Wouldn't it be fun to be confessed to by the one thing that you both like. Like if I loved painting, imagine getting a painting from the guy you like with the both of you in an embrace. Kinda like, I wish this was us." She paused to think something else out. "It could be a collage, like of them meeting or all the special things they did together," she said already checked out into her own mind again.

"A script," Kyoko whispered.

"Yeah, right! I need to start writing the script," Chiori declared and turned to Kyoko with a huge smile. "Thank you so much, Kyoko-san." Suddenly her smile fell and she asked, "Wait, do you mind me using your idea? I mean I'm going to change a few things here and there, but I really like your idea. I can give you credit when I submit the story."

"What, no. I mean yes. Please do what you like with it, I don't need credit," Kyoko reassured her and Chiori regained her smile.

"Thank you! I gatta go. I need to write this down before it escapes me." She gathered her things and started to leave when she stumbled into a stop. "Shit," she cursed.

"What?"

"Um," Chiori timidly turned towards her. "There is a LoveMe assignment from the music section. They need help cleaning up and packing one of the studios for remodeling. Kyoko-san, is there anyway..."

"Go!" Kyoko interrupted with a smile. "Don't worry about me, I'll get it done! You go write that script, and if you need any more help call me."

"Thank you again! I promise that I'll make it up to you when I finish. Whatever you want, okay?"

Kyoko nodded, and Chiori eagerly took off repeating her thanks until she was out of ear shot. Kyoko felt really good after that. She picked up the request form and walked over to the studio with a spring in her step. At least her problem was able to help someone out with their career goals, and Chiori might have even given her a way out of said problem.

Turns out that Kyoko was not a writer. Her table and floor was littered with crumbled up paper balls of failed attempts to write out her scripted love confession. She started to wonder if she would have been able to help Chiori if she didn't have her own life to reference, because everything she wrote down sounded so stupid to act out. Coming up with a personality and then a background for your characters was difficult. She knew what she wanted them to do, but then finding the right words to say it was another hurdle all together.

Maybe she was putting too much thought into it. Perhaps she could simply improvise the whole thing.

"But then how is that any different from confessing as yourself?" she asked her lonely room.

Kyoko hung her head and groaned. "How am I going to do this?"

When she picked up her head, her eyes fell on his smiling face. She had the sudden urge to ask for his help which made her smile and then laugh uncontrollably. Some of the tension melted away after a good laugh and her mind continued theorizing.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?

I want to know how he would react to how I feel.

So you can't write his part since you want him to be honest.

Well I can and then ask him how he felt about his character, or how he would respond to the female's confession.

That might work, so how are you going to confess your feelings without him knowing that you are the female in question or that he is the hero.

"I don't know!" She cried out loud.

Do you really need to lay out the whole life story of your characters? It doesn't really have to be you, just write the confession part. Not the hows or wheres of their lives.

Kyoko frowned. Maybe she was going too far back. It's not like she had to explain how the two people got to that point.

But wouldn't the characters feel hollow if that's not written out.

You and he are the characters!

"Whaaa! But I don't want him to know that," she yelled to her head. Kyoko rolled herself up in her futon and rocked back and forth in though. She peeked out and looked at the clock. It was 3 in the morning. If she kept this up, she wouldn't be able to sleep for days.

Look, just write out what you want to happen. Don't think of it as you and him. Take yourself out of it and disconnect yourself from your own story. Your life is simply a role and you are the actress playing it out. Write your happily ever after.

With that Kyoko sat up and the pen in her hand started to write, with the handy help of several noisy angels that is.

It was done, and she didn't let herself dwell on it either. The only thing she gave herself permission to do was polish it up, fixing up typos or adding a few details here and there, but no editing out lines.

And now several days later, she held onto the two page script in shaky hands with an hour left before she had to go meet Ren at his place.

It took her forever to call him up and ask for his help. She didn't say much about it other than she wanted his help for an audition piece, which was a total lie. She could always say that she didn't get the part if he asks about it later. Ren quickly said yes. That was nice. He was always willing to help her, which was probably why she liked him so much. Well, one of the reasons. There were so many.

Kyoko sighed. She shouldn't be this nervous. The reason she was doing it this way was so that she could escape without actually revealing herself. She could have her heartbreak quietly, and he would never know what he was doing.

I won't lose him this way.

Tears threatened her eyes and she quickly forced them to stop. No crying. Not yet! She took a deep breath and shook her head. She looked at the clock again and stood up. Her cab would be coming soon. She decided to call for a cab rather than walk or ride there just in case her fear betrayed her and turned her around. This way her destiny was out of her control.

However, everything was out of control. Why am I doing this? I'm so stupid. This is so stupid. Why did I write this? This part right here gives too much away. I should have worded this different. The paper in her hand started to crinkle as she read it over in the cab. She wished for a pen anything to write with as the car crept closer to her destination. She wanted to yell out to the driver to stop or turn around. Yet some strange force of nature prevented her from even opening her mouth.

Keep it together girls! We are almost there!

"That will be 1548, please."

The words of the driver jerked her vision out the window to reveal Ren's building. Panic rushed through her yet she was still able to move as she reached for her purse and dug out the money. She was shaking as she handed it to him making him look at her rather peculiar. Not that it mattered to him. He gave her the change, and Kyoko stepped out only to stand there and stare up at the tall building unwilling to take a step forward.

"Food!" Kyoko abruptly yelled out causing a few of the people around her to jump in surprise.

I need to go and buy food, because I bet he hasn't eaten all day! She turned on her heel and started walking. Where is the farthest…

No, go to the one inside. Her feet halted mid step and turned.

That is too expensive. How about the one by Daruma-ya? They have such good deals there.

If you go back home, then you'll be very late, and that will make him angry.

That made sense. She didn't want to make him angry. Kyoko took out her phone and checked the time. She had ten minutes left. That did put her in a bind. With that little time left, she really would have to shop in the expensive store.

Or you could simply arrive there early, maybe order in?

"Alright, overpriced food it is! Maybe they will have a special on something" she hoped making the little angels sigh at their master.

This place was ridiculous! Really how did they stay open with the prices they put on these things. Kyoko looked high and low as quickly as she could, trying to find something she felt comfortable buying. Usually it was a question of quality, but not this time. Common sense stopped her from buying anything other than ingredients for a simple vegetable curry. Even then she paled when she saw the total on the register.

Luckily, that trip put her in the right frame of mind to get her upstairs. She was so upset at the prices of things that she found herself at his door within seconds, her hand poised to knock. Here is where she hesitated. Looking down, she counted to ten softly, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… calm down."

Her heart started to hammer erratically as soon as she realized what was about to happen. Fortunately, she has gotten used to the way he made her feel and was able to calm herself down rather easily now. It was something that happened all too often now. Really now, a person would think that after being in love with a man for almost a year that their heart would be used to him by now; however, that didn't seem to be the case with hers. In the beginning, it wasn't so bad, but as time moved on things escalated.

Now the mere thought of him made her face burn red. Any time she knew she was going to see him; her heart would start to race in anticipation just before they meet. It was hardest when they met accidently. Her whole body would hum and she thought that she would visibly shake when he surprised her. Thankfully, she was told otherwise. She had to use all of her acting capabilities to prevent all these embarrassing outbreaks from being seen.

Kyoko had thought that with her acceptance of her love for Tsuruga Ren she would be able to move past it, or at least be able to shove it to the side within herself. Yet, every time she saw him, it would appear that her heart fell even deeper in love with him. Kanae was right, things had to change. Now at the front door to his condo, she had to calm herself once more, to take a deep breath and breathe out slowly, forcing herself to clear her mind and slow her heartbeat to something normal. She used to tell herself to act like she wasn't in love as if it was a role for her to play. That didn't work out so well. Apparently she was so distant around him that he took her aside in a very secluded spot to ask her what was bothering her. Ren slightly bent over her with this heart stopping look of concern on his face and then having his soft sweet voice whispering to her in a dark private corner.

Yeah, that can never happen again!

She knocked on the door and waited patiently with a small smile on her lips. Her hands stayed still as they held the two bags of groceries. They weren't wringing the bag or nervously sweating. Her feet weren't nervously bouncing or shifting around eagerly. We were calm, cool and collected. The door opened moments later and out popped that handsome face with a warm welcoming smile.

"Hi Kyoko-chan, please come in," he greeted and stepped aside widening the door for her.

And there goes all her hard work as her heart sped back up in record time.

Damn it.

Now she was ecstatic that she had something to do while there, anything to distract herself from why she came.

"Hi! I brought food knowing that you probably haven't eaten today," she told him as she entered and started to unstrap her sandals. She heard him chuckle softly as he closed the door behind her.

"I purposely don't eat just so I could eat your cooking when you come over," he confessed and Kyoko had to fight to keep the blood from rushing to her face. She wasn't too sure she succeeded.

Kyoko turned a glare at him. "Tell me you at least ate breakfast, maybe a hardy late breakfast to make up skipping lunch?"

Ren actually looked away bashfully. "Define hardy."

Kyoko groaned and charged into the kitchen. How dare he look so adorable with that bashful embarrassed look! She focused on being upset at his eating habits instead of her desire to touch him.

"You are so eating an extra portion," she announced making him moan. "No complaining!"

Cooking was always something she could lose herself into. Plus he didn't know his left from his right in the kitchen, so he willingly left her alone to completely the meal. Most of the time anyway. He took it upon himself to make sure that she had everything that she needed to make the meal. For some reason, all of his pots and pans were always in the highest possible location. Kyoko thought it was to keep them out of his way for what he felt were more useful for his day to day needs. Once she had everything, he would come in and out to setup the table. He took forever doing that one, taking a single trip for each item they would use: one trip for the glasses, one trip for the plates, one trip for the silverware, one trip for each item that they would need. Honestly, she never understood why he doesn't grab everything all at once. His hands were certainly large enough to carry everything.

Everything was cooking nicely when her mind wondered, and her hand stilled from stirring the curry. Her eyes grew distant and her face flushed as she thought of his hands. Certain memories that she would have preferred to forget always came rushing back to her, like whenever he held her hand or the few times when he's held her for various reasons. His hands were always so warm, and it always amazed her how large they were. She swore that he could….

Several beeps sounded beside her, snapping her out of her thoughts. Her eyes looked over to the source of the sound, which was the rice cooker announcing that it was finished and then she looked around for Ren's location. Kyoko released a held breath when she saw him walking down his hallway towards his bedroom.

"No doubt I was making a stupid face," she mumbled to herself. See, things were getting more difficult.

After a quick taste, everything was done. Kyoko grabbed the plates he had set beside her earlier and served them their portions. She only gave Ren an extra half portion, knowing that he couldn't eat any more than that.

"Ren-san, dinner is ready," she called out to him as she walked over to the table.

He was already on his way over when she called and sat down with her, but not before placing a rectangle box in front of her.

"What's that?" She asked suspiciously making him chuckle softly.

"It's for you," he answered with a smirk on his lips. He knew what came after every gift he gave her.

"Why?" She wasn't expending this.

Already prepared, he replied, "It's a congratulation gift for successfully finishing your latest drama."

She huffed. "You don't buy people things just because they completed their job. Do you get things whenever you finish a role?!"

"Sure, there is always a celebration after each role," he stated as if that was reason enough.

"That's for the whole cast. Did you get something for all my costars?" she sassed making him snort.

"If I knew them, I would have."

"Liar," she retorted and picked up the box knowing she wasn't going to win this. It was solid white and didn't have much weight to it, though that didn't mean much with this particular buyer. Actually, it would be better if was heavier. Chanel was imprinted in a slightly darker color making it barely visible unless in the right light.

Isn't Chanel a perfume? It didn't feel like there would be a bottle of perfume in the box. It was too big for it to be this light. Finally, she opened it. There was a hard black case again with Chanel printed over the top and inside the case were…

"Sunglasses," she said surprised.

"We can exchange them if you don't like the style. Do you like them?" he asked as she took them out of the box. Kyoko smiled as she examined them.

"I do." They were large round glasses with a burgundy color as the frame. The lenses weren't completely blacked out with a burgundy gradient tint. The temples had a pretty design made up of silver flowers. What pleased her the most was that they didn't look that expensive.

"But the real question is," she put them on and turned to him with a huge smile on her face, "do they look good on me?"

"You look very good," he complimented her with a honeyed voice making her cheeks flush. He's such a PLAYBOY! She screamed in her head.

"Thank you," Kyoko whispered, not trusting her voice as she took off the glasses and put them back into the case.

They started eating and Kyoko couldn't help the smile on her lips. Her eyes kept flickering to the gift and to the man who gave them to her. He was happily eating the food she made for him, not once complaining about the larger portion. She wondered if it was easier to eat because there was no meat. That was something to take note of for the future.

Listen to me talk about the future as if things would go well. Her smile wilted a little remembering that she was about to get rejected by him. Some of her thoughts must have shown through because he quickly caught them and asked.

"Are you that worried about the audition?"

"Hmm?" Kyoko looked up confused and then connected the dots. "Oh right. Um, yes and no," she replied. Yes, because of what it's really about. No, because it isn't real. Oh boy, I really am screwed here.

"You shouldn't be. I'm sure it will be fine, and we'll go over it as many times as you like until you feel comfortable with it," Ren reassured her with a sweet smile making her nod contently.

"By the way, what do you have to do for it?"

Until he asked that.

Kyoko let out a nervous breath and smiled up at him. This time she let her nerves show. "Well, um it's a confession scene."

"Really?"

"Yup," she said, not really wanting to get into more detail.

"What part are you trying to get?" He asked and Kyoko froze. She didn't think about that. What kind of role would have her act out a confession scene as an audition? Her mind started to tumble and turn trying to think of something.

"It's a voice acting role for one of those otome games," she answered. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!

"Oh, I didn't know you were interested in voice acting," Ren said curiously.

"Well, I'm not, but um, I saw the audition flyer in my acting class and thought that it would help me with my diction. Since it's all about how you talk, it would help with my breathing and really allow me to work on putting emotion in my voice instead of just my body," she reasoned, but inside she was all torn up. I'm going to hell for all these lies!

"Okay that makes sense. Though I don't think you need the practice," he stated. "Putting feeling into your voice is one of the things that I feel you do especially well. I still remember the first time you read lines with me when I was recovering from that fever. It was impressive how you picked up the character's feelings and emotions from one afternoon of watching my show."

Steam surely was pouring out of her ears. Her face was burning up from the compliment. Kyoko licked her lips to speak, "Yes, well instead of being a proper manager for you, I was distracted and was reading your script and watching you work. That is not something to compliment me for."

"I didn't. I was complimenting your acting," he corrected and smiled as the blood rushed to her face again. "Thankfully you aren't trying to become a manager."

Kyoko pretended to be outraged, "I would be a good manager!" Then added in a calmer thoughtful tone, "Except for the fans, I'm not sure how I would keep them away."

Ren laughed. "That's true. You couldn't keep a single one at bay with me."

"It's not my fault you have insane fans!" Kyoko laughed with him.

"I'm sure now you'd be able to keep them back with one of your characters, like Mio or Setsuka," he suggested.

"Maybe. It's probably a good thing that I'm the actress instead of the manager. That way I don't have to worry about that sort of thing."

"And we have more fun than they do," Ren added. "Like performing a confession. Are you ready?"

No…. Kyoko looked down at their plates and noticed that they had both finished their meals. I guess this is it.

"Sure," she replied and stood up to take their plates. "Um, the script is in my purse; feel free to grab it while I clean up."

There was a moment of silence as Kyoko started gathering all the dirty items and Ren retrieved the script. When she set to start washing, Ren appeared next to her.

"Just put them in the dishwasher and come over. We should get started sooner rather than later just in case it gets too late."

She wavered not really wanting to get started just yet. "But it's only two pages, so we should be able to finish it quickly. Let's clean these the old fashion way and save water."

"But you were having problems with it, so it may take a while. Don't worry about the water. The machine is here for a reason," he insisted and started to load the dishes himself. Kyoko obliged and handed him the dishes while he set it up, then followed him into the living room as he read over her horrible made-up script.

She idly wondered if by reading it, it would give her whole plan away and at any moment he would turn to her and outright reject her confession. Did you seriously think you could get away with that ill written garbage? It's so obvious that this is about you. So you were dumb enough to fall in love with me? How shameful. I was simply trying to be a good senpai and you….

"How would you like to do this?" He asked interrupting her internal lashing.

"Eh?" She looked around as he waited patiently. "From the first line?"

Ren smirked. It was clear that she was nervous about this. It was a simple confession, one that may have cut a little too close to Kyoko's heart. The girl in the story was terrified of confessing to the guy, even though they were friends. Normally one would be flustered and nervous, but that wasn't the only thing. The feelings that she had to portray had a lot of fear and doubt. Even with what little that was here, he understood that the girl must have been rejected before.

Maybe by him? He doubted that since he does respond in kind. So someone else hurt her. Ren really didn't have a lot to go off of. But it's a romantic love scene and Kyoko was still very timid about things related to love. He should know. She still passed off everything he did as friendly senpai things. At least he had her here like this often. Dinners and fun conversations were very normal for them these days.

"Let's just read through it once and see how it goes. Okay?" He offered.

"Uh, yeah. Okay," she agreed.

"Hey, Rin. What's going on?" Kyo walks up to Rin curiously. The request to talk wasn't unusual and was actually desired by both parties.

Yes, Kyoko totally blanked out on what names to use. That was one of the huge mistakes she wanted to fix in the cab.

"I was hoping we could talk. Do you have time?" She asks trying to sound normal even though her heart was racing.

"Sure! Anything for you," he replies with a smile making her blush at his eagerness.

Kyoko really did blush at his line. She made him way too cheery and it was making her want to laugh. Ren was much more calm and cool with his interaction with her. Why did she make him so upbeat? Her wish was for him to be just as eager to be with her as she was being with him. Perhaps that came across as over eager puppy. All well.

"Then…Then let's go for a walk," she stutters. Rin nervously chews on her lip as they fall into step with each other.

"How did your game go on Saturday? I'm sorry for not being able to make it." She stalls going to a topic that was easier for her.

"Don't worry about it. It was an out of town game. But didn't you get my text? I already told you we won," he asks confused making her want to smack herself at her mistake.

"Yeah, I did. Of course, I even replied. I was asking for more detail, like was it a close game? Or did you guys overtake them?" She quickly plays off her mistake.

"It was a slaughter," he says with a laughed. "Though that's not really fair to say. We were just on the top of our game that day. We always have so much more to prove in out of town games."

Rin smiles and nods with a wistful expression. She really wanted to go.

"Wait," Kyo says confused. "Is this what you wanted to talk about? I thought you were having a problem with something with the way you asked to talk."

Rin swallows a lump in her throat and answers, "No, but it's not but I thought it was a good time to ask."

"Then what's up?"

"Let's sit down first," she says as she points to some benches nearby.

Kyoko actually did want to sit down and started to walk around to the couch, leading Ren to follow. He didn't say anything, so she thought he didn't think it was odd.

Rin struggles with what she wants to say, so she continues to beat around the bush, "How long have we known each other now?"

"Ah, geez," Kyo stops to think about it. "Almost three years, right?"

Rin nods to confirm and then throws out her first test. "It feels so much shorter, huh?"

"Yeah, it feels like we just met a little bit ago. But hey that means we'll be graduating soon. That will be great," he exclaims not realizing how sad that makes Rin feel.

"And you'll be going to Tokyo while I stay in Osaka," she reminds him with a sad voice.

Kyo frowns and turns to her. "Hey don't be sad."

Ren leaned in and touched her shoulder, shocking Kyoko since she didn't put that in. She tried to stay in character, but his touch combined with her nerves shot her heart into overdrive. There was still more to his line so she waited for his delivery.

"We'll still talk all the time, and we can take the train to see each other whenever we can."

"Really? You would do that?" Rin asks with an uplifted hope in her voice.

"Of course, you're my girl." Kyo says in a sincere voice. Ren takes his hand off her shoulder and gently caresses her cheek while wearing that warm earthshattering smile of his.

Rin expected that line. It was a line that he says to her often. It was one of those things that he did that made her question his feelings for her. One of the many things he does that she would dismiss as friendly banter, but today it was her cue to push things further.

"What if I was?" She asks cryptically. She still struggles to say exactly what she means. Ren's hand dropped from her face when she asked Rin's question.

"Huh? Was what?" Kyo replies confused.

Ren thought his character, Kyo, was really dense at this point. How much more obvious could she be, dude?

Rin wants to stop. She stops looking at him, preferring to look anywhere else but at him and continues her questions, "Your girl. What if I was your girl?"

"Rin?" Kyo's grows more concerned as Rin starts to visible shake. He catches on to the fear in her voice and starts to worry about her.

"I mean," Rin pushes through and starts to lay out all the doubts that plague her mind. "It will be difficult with us living in different cities, but as you said we would try to stay in contact."

"Yeah, but…"

Rin interrupts, "It's not like you would forget about me, right? You wouldn't just call anyone "your girl", right?" Kyoko covered her face as her own feelings start to overlap with Rin's. She didn't need the script. She had read it so many times that the words like second nature to her. Plus this was her heart written on paper. Her doubt weakly masked in this foolish scenario. Her questions laid out for him to answer without actually asking them. She always wanted to know if Ren did favors for other actresses. If he went to dinner with other kohais and gave them kisses on the cheek as a thank you. Tell me you only do that with me.

"Rin, what are you saying right now?" Kyo whispers gently hoping to hear what he believes he is hearing; however, he remains unsure and guarded.

Kyoko felt Ren's fingers gently push down on her hands covering her face. She could feel him watching her, waiting for her to deliver the next line. She hoped it wasn't all an act, but then how could she be sure. Her next line continued probing him about the "his girl" comments, until he says that she was the only one. The idea that he would admit first that she was his one and only girl would give her confidence to tell him how she felt. Kyoko let her fingers curl down into a fist at her mouth revealing her tear filled eyes. If Ren was shocked or affect by her downpour, she couldn't tell. All she saw was concern.

She took a shaky breath and forced her hands down enough for her to speak. Her mind relayed the words that came next, yet her heart beat her to the punch and jumped the gun.

"I'm in love with you," she whispered.

There.

She noticed the flash of confusing on Ren's face when she said it. Those words were not in the script, and he remembered it enough to question it. His eyes flickered down at the printed word, probably searching for the line she said, and then looked up when he didn't find it.

"What would you do if I told you that?" She whispered in a thick voice.

Ren licked his lips unsure of what to do. He looked down again and then back up at her. Something inside of him changed, a decision made.

"I would probably kiss you," he declared making Kyoko lean back in shock.

"Www…what?" She wasn't expecting that answer.

Ren put the paper down, and Kyoko watched him afraid that he had caught on and was teasing her. That or he was improvising Kyo's lines, reacting to what was assumed improvisation from Rin. But is this something Kyo would do? Did I write Kyo to be like this?

"If you had any idea how long I had dreamt of hearing you say those words, you would understand why my first thought would be to kiss you," Ren explained while slowly leaning in.

Again that could be taken either way. Ren or Kyo could say those words, and Kyoko's mind wasn't working well enough to figure it out, especially with him leaning with intent.

"Wait!" Kyoko screamed out and jumped up from the couch. "Wait, wait, wait!"

Her hand reached up for her heart and she had to relearn how to breathe. She turned around and looked at him completely unsure.

"You… you," she stumbled. "Are you… Um…" The words kept falling short from her lips. She didn't know how to ask. Is this you talking?

"Yes," Ren said. That was it – a single word.

What does that mean?! Kyoko frowned completely confused. Ren stood up slowly from the couch and approached her. She was currently frozen on the spot, with her mind and heart running on overtime. So all she did was watch him through teary eyes.

It was slow, agonizingly slow for fear of her running. When he was sure she wasn't going to run, he placed a hand on her waist and time returned. Kyoko looked up with him with fear and doubt, but he hoped to ease that pain in her eyes.

"You asked what I would do if you told me you loved me." Ren reached up and touched her cheek. He stared at her for a moment, second guessing himself one last time and then tossed out his doubts.

He leaned down and kissed her.

This isn't really happening, right? Surely, she was dreaming this whole thing up. Was Ren really and truly kissing her this very second? She closed her eyes the moment his lips touched hers. Tears forcefully ran down her face as she stayed still, worried that if she moved the dream would shatter.

Kyoko blinked when she felt him move back and it took a moment for his face to come into focus. When it finally did, she saw worry and… was that fear in his eyes?

"I'm the one who should be afraid," she accidentally whispered to him.

A small smile graced his lips, a ghost of what it could be. "Actually, I believe I have the most to lose."

Confusion filled her. She wanted to ask but couldn't. Ren gently caressed her face with a look so soft and tender it made her throat close up.

"What would you do if I told you I loved you, Kyoko?"

She choked. He said my name. More tears started to cloud her eyes and she felt herself tremble.

"You said my name," she whispered with a shaky voice.

He smiled gently. "That's because I'm in love with you, Mogami Kyoko."

Kyoko burst, almost quite literally, her heart just about exploded from unfathomable joy that instead came out in an unintelligent cry and a fountain of tears. She took that last step forward, wrapped her arms around him and cried. This time he didn't hesitate holding her back.

When the cries slowed down and he could feel her calm, he posed a question, "So is that a real audition piece?"

She pulled back and laughed. "No. It's awful, isn't it?"

Ren shrugged. "Well, I can say that I liked the last part."

"You mean when I deviated from the script?"

He nodded with a bright smile. "That was my favorite part."

"Mine too. Though I will add writer next to manager on the list of things I'm not good at," she commented making them both laugh.

Yeah, I feel like that didn't really wrap up nicely, but that is all I got. I hope y'all still like it. Until next time!