Author's Note- Yes, I know I should be working on my other story. And no worries, as we speak I am working on the fith chapter but I guess you can say that I'mhaving a bit of a writer's block. But I've been working on this here story for the past few days and I sent it over to my crappy laptop from my work computer (Reasoning, me being too scared to do anything that isn't work related on it any more thanks to a certain creepy Microsoft Word incident). So I thought, 'why not start up another story along with the one your're already in the middle of writing, plus the collection of one-shots you're trying to work on, isn't that a great idea?' Yes, it is a great idea, so here I am with this guy right here.

Exhibit A

The Beginning

**- BEEP BEEP BEEP -**- BEEP BEEP BEEP- ** - BEEP BEEP BEEP -**

I jolt out bed, scared half to death before slamming the annoying pink alarm clock.

Fuuuuuuck. I moan in my head. I slowly crane my neck, not even wanting to see the time on the alarm clock knowing all too well that I am already running behind this morning.

7:30

At that I scramble from my bed, ripping my pajamas off and scurrying towards my closet. Late, late, late, late, late. Oh I am so late; Motoki is going to kill me if I am late. Shaking my head I grab a pale green shirt and pull it over my head, my blonde hair stuck beneath the collar.

I run out of my bedroom and into the living room. "HELLO? IS ANYBODY HOME? WHY DID NOBODY WAKE ME UP, I'M LATEEEEE" I cry out to nobody in particular knowing damn well that if Minako isn't here then I'm the only one.

Ami leaves for class at 7, Makoto has to be at the bakery at 6 and Minako probably didn't come home last night. Of course, I am totally going to be late for work today.

I involuntary groan as I pull a pair of khaki capris on before dashing towards the bathroom. Oh I have got to hurry. If I don't leave at 8 I won't make it to Crown by 8:15 even if I do sprint.

7:45

Okay, yeah I can totally do this. Even with the late start I can totally make it to work on time. I'll just skip breakfast and coffee this morning, no biggie.

I adjust my bangs in the mirror before making a mad dash out of my apartment, only pausing to lock the door. Can't forget to do that again or I'll get a HUGE lecture from Ami about burglars again.

I dash out of the apartment building and down the street. I'm sure I look like a mad-woman but what else am I to do? I totally cannot be late for work.

I check my watch.

8:05

Okay, I can do this; I am making perfectly good time. That is until I crash into a firm chest and end up sprawled across the sidewalk. I groan but don't dare to look up. I already know who it is judging by the laughter.

"You BAKA," I shout as I drag myself up from the pavement. "I don't have time for this, baka. I'm already basically late for work. The last thing I need from you is to be taunted."

At this his laughter stops and I don't stop to give him the chance to say anything before I continue my mad dash to Crown Arcade.

I skid to the front doors and check my watch as I pull the keys out of the front pocket of my small lavender backpack.

8:12

I sigh as I unlock the doors. Two minutes to spare, it looks like Motoki won't be skinning me alive today after all.

TWO HOURS LATER

"Don't you think now is probably the right time for you to find a real job, Odango?" A deep, silky voice bubbles behind me.

I spin on my heel aaaannnd find face in a firm chest for the second time this morning. I make a noise in the back of my throat but make no attempt to move from the position I'm currently in. The longer I stand with my head in the Baka's chest; I begin to notice just how great he smells. He smells of coffee, soap and is that a bit of chocolate?

But my moments of creepily inhaling his scent is cut short when I feel his hands steady my shoulder and he slowly peels my face out of his chest.

"You just can't stay away from me can you, Odango Atama?" He asks with a slight chuckle before removing his hands from my shoulders.

I immediately feel empty and for some reason I want him to keep a hold on me. A blush rises to my cheeks and I make an effort not to say anything back to him. If he wants to act like a jerk he deserves the cold shoulder.

I suck my lower lip into my mouth as I head behind the counter and begin making his coffee. A bit of sugar and a splash of the vanilla creamer I know he loves so much.

"You know," I begin as he slides on to a bar stool across from me and quirks his eyebrow. "There is nothing wrong with working here through Uni. Besides, I have a job lined up at a pre-school during the winter semester, and it's paid." I continue as I place his coffee in front of him.

"Hmmmm, a Pre-School? Sounds like you'll be right where you belong, Odango." He says looking at me, a glint of something I can't place in his eyes.

"Yeah," I continue on. "Mornings at the Pre-School, class in the afternoons and evenings here. It's the perfect set up."

"I would hardly count Art School as class, Odango" He snorts before taking a swig of coffee. He looks like he wants to add something else but decides against it.

"Art school? You're kidding me right? We go to the same university and I am not in art school, you Baka!" My voice moves up a few octaves and I can feel the prick at the back of my eyes, the sting in the back of my throat.

You are not going to cry, there is no reason for you to cry. You are not going to let Chiba Mamoru of all people know that the comment actual hurt.

I turn away from Mamoru and swipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. But it doesn't help and the tears begin the fall freely. I hear myself make a squeaking noise in the back of my throat before flying towards the break room. There is no way in hell that I am going to let myself break down in front of Mamoru.

I hear him call out my name, my real name as I make a mad dash towards the break room but I ignore it. As soon as I make it to my destination I slam the door behind me and sink down to the floor, sobs raking through my small body.

It's childish, of course I know how childish I'm being but you can only take so much from the same person for so long. Nearly six years to be exact in my case. Yes, Mamoru and I have been taunting and picking at one another since I was 14 years old. But I'm 19 now, a woman and for some reason he can't seem to see that.

He can't seem to see all the good I've done for myself since I first met him. I'm no longer that crybaby middle schooler he met nearly 6 years ago. I'm almost 20, I excelled in high school. Hell, I'm even graduating from uni a full year early and I've worked here at Crown since I graduated High School. I even moved out of my parent's house last summer and got an apartment with Ami, Minako and Makoto.

But still, all of that and more is not enough for Mamoru to notice. I'm still that 14 year old klutz he met almost six years ago.

I hear a knocking at the door and wipe my eyes with the backs of my hands. "Who is it, what do you want?" I ask the intruder in a small voice.

"Usa- Usagi, what's wrong? What did I say?" Mamoru asks in a quiet voice as he slowly cracks open the door. "Come on Usagi, talk to me. Tell me what I did wrong" He pleads as he slips into the small room with me.

Thank god the light is off and the only light coming into the back room was from the crack in the door that is now shut. Somehow I ended up in here instead of the break room.

"Usagi, please" Mamoru pleads. I can feel him slide down the wall next to me.

I try and scramble away from him but there's a tower of boxes in my way and there is nowhere for me to go. This must be a sick joke, he must be in here to taunt me more about what a failure he thinks I am. At this thought another bout of tears erupts from my eyes.

I try, I really do. You can even ask all of the girls. Even Rei says that I'm not as much of an Odango brain as I used to be. But no matter how hard I try or what I do it is never good enough for Mamoru.

As a fresh set of sobs overtake my body I feel Mamoru pull me into his lap and wrap his arms around me. I try and scramble away from him but he's a lot bigger and stronger that I am and it's no use so I let myself go limp in his arms, only moving when another sob comes on.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. " I hear him mummer into my hair as I sniffle over and over again.

It was oddly comforting, being in Mamoru's arms as he rocked back and forth, whispering things into my hair. It only took minutes for me to be lulled into a deep sleep. A sleep where I felt warm, fuzzy, and oddly safe, a sleep I never wanted to wake up from.

I regretted the words as soon as they came out of my mouth. I wanted to apologize immediately but before I knew it she was gone. I could tell by the way her shoulders were shaking that I had gone too far.

I always go too far, but I've never made her cry before. There was something different in her reaction this time. Of course I knew her life did a total 360 when she went into high school. I remember her begging Ami and Makoto to help her get better grades so she could stay in the Magna Club. I know she did stellar in high school because somehow she ended up getting into the same prestigious university as myself.

She was smart, I knew she was the first day I met her. She just had to apply herself and that's exactly what she had been doing for the past 4 and a half years. Hell, she was graduating from university a whole year early because she hadn't taken summers off.

I knew she had no, has done good for herself but for some reason I can't stop tormenting her. I cradle my head in between my knees and groan. I feel a hand on my shoulder before rising from the stool I was previously occupying.

Motoki was here, thank god. "Do you think you have this?" I ask my best friend and he just gives me a pointed look. It's like he always knew when I went too far with little Usagi Tsukino.

I knock before entering the room, my whole body filled to the brim with guilt. I don't know why I act the way I do around the girl. I know Motoki has been somewhat making excuses for my behavior for the past 5 years but even I know that there is no reason at all for the way I treat the petite girl. I just can't help it and I don't know what's wrong with me.

"Usa- Usagi, what's wrong? What did I say?" I ask in a small voice as I crack open the door of the small, dark storage room. "Come on Usagi, talk to me. Tell me what I did wrong" I plead, my voice cracking a bit.

I get no reply as I slide into the dark room. She's huddled up against a tower of boxes, her back to the wall. Her small arms clasped around her lengthy legs, rocking back forth as the sobs that I caused silently racked through her body.

It was almost if in that moment I could feel my heart break in my chest. How many times have I caused Usagi to break down? And why, why why why was I so terrible towards this beautiful creature.

I slid down the wall next to her and as soon as I was on the ground she tried to scramble away from me with no place to go. She was scared of me and that genuinely stung.

"Usagi, please" I'm basically begging her now. I need to hear about how big of a baka I am. How terrible I am to her, how much she hates me. But she says nothing and a new set of sobs overtake her body.

Tears prick the back of my eyes as I scoop her delicate body into my arms. I do something I've been craving to do since I've laid eyes on this golden-haired angel. I hold her until her breath slows and she's cried herself asleep in my arms.

I gently stand up, her small figure in my arms. I can't just leave her here and I don't know where she lives. And I know she's going to kill me when she wakes up because I made her miss class but I don't care. I carry her small form ten blocks from the arcade to my apartment.

Upon arrivals I set her down on my large bed and remove the apron she's wearing over top of her soft green t-shirt and khaki pants. I then remove the pink sneakers she always wears. I then lay a soft blanket over top of her before crawling into the bed next to her and pulling her close to my chest.

Who knew that holding the person you were supposed to despise most in life would lead to the best damn sleep ever? I sure as hell didn't.

I wake up and groggily rub my eyes. I don't recognize the room I'm in and when I try to sit up I can't because there's some kind of weight over my midsection.

Oh my god, this is it. This is where I die. I was totally abducted by some freak and they must have knocked me over my head so I didn't remember anything. Oh my god, I am totally going to die here in this oddly nice room.

I then took the time to actually look around the room. It was really neat and simple, and for some odd reason slightly comforting.

I roll over on to my side, trying to reach what appears to be an alarm clock on the nightstand and "Oh my god I missed all of my classes today" I shriek before slapping a hand over my mouth. My capturer cannot find out that I am awake.

Again, my attention is brought back to the weight across my mid-section. I must be tied down, that has to be the only explanation to why it feels like there's something here. Carefully I lift the dark blanket covering my torso only to discover an arm. I breathe out a huge sigh of relief, it's only a man's arm after all.

Wait, a man's arm? Scrambling up and out from under the blankets, I try and put some distance between the arm and myself. Though, in my hysterics and somewhere between my frantic movements to escape, I find my head colliding with the ledge of a headboard.

A groan escapes my lips before everything goes black before slumping forward.

When I wake again, it is dark outside and there is no arm lazily thrown over my mid-section. I try to sit up but immediately end up regretting the decision as I guess at this exact moment my brain decided to register the sharp pain at the back of my head.

A strangled cry escapes out of my mouth as soon as I'm up in sitting position. I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to look at the spinning room around me. I hear a voice but it seems far away and I am to pinpoint who it belongs to.

Fireworks are exploding behind the back of my eyes and sleep sounds so nice, warm and inviting but I think the far away voice is telling me that I can't go back to sleep. What a jerk that voice is. I feel somebody push two tablets in my mouth. The word ibuprofen vaguely swims through my mind as a glass is pushed to my lips.

I open my mouth ever so slightly and gulp down the water. I didn't know that I was so thirsty, strange. Again, the thought of darkness and the sharp pain in the back of my head going away sounds so nice. Though, that idea is forced to the back of my mind when somebody starts shaking me.

The person has a grip on my shoulders and it's almost as if they're trying to shake me awake. I try and tell them to go away but I can't seem to make the words form around my lips. The shaking intensifies and I swear I hear somebody calling my name from far away.

"Usagi," it's quiet but it's there.

After I hear my name being called the third time, I force my eyes open. There he is sitting in front of me, a concerned look on his face. He actually looks scared. Though, as soon as my eyes are open, he's crushing me to his chest, murmuring things into my hair. And just as darkness is about to overtake me for a third time today, I hear one word that I swear makes my heart stop.

"Usako"