(IMPORTANT: Hey, even if you never read the author's notes, please read the end note to this chapter. Thank you.)

---------------------------------

Me: …Continuity errors… they burn…

Chrono: How bad could it be?

Me: Well, I was looking back at an earlier chapter to see whether or not I said Rosette and Joshua were in the same grade, but then I got distracted and kept reading.

Chrono: And…?

Me: ………In chapter 2 (part 3), remember when Rosette told you that you had to submit any questions you had for her in written haiku?

Chrono: Yeah…

Me: And then you asked, "What the heck is haiku?" And then I made you Japanese in the later chapters…

Chrono: Oh, that's really bad.

Me: (nods pathetically)

Chrono: Anything else you'd like to say at this time?

Me: Yeah… Sorry for being gone so long. I've had a lot of extra school work this year, but I'm still writing whenever I can.

Chrono: Good girl.

Me: Oh, and there is something quite special about this chapter that actually has nothing to do with the content of it. Do you know what it is?

Chrono: Um… NO.

Me: Well I'll tell you… in the end note.

Chrono: Of course…

X

X

X

I've been waiting a long time
For this moment to come
I'm destined
For anything at all…

"She's pretty good."

"…"

"Don't you think?"

"…"

"I asked you a question," hissed the girl in the back of the café. She reached over the table and slapped the boy's arm. He flinched slightly but stayed silent. The girl sighed and sat back down in her seat. "Fine; keep quiet."

Downtown lights will be shining
On me like a new diamond
Ring out under the midnight hour…

After a moment, the girl sighed again and stood up. "You're just no fun to talk to," she whispered.

No one can catch me now
And I can't turn my back
It's too late, ready or not at all

The girl stood by the wall, reading the menu above the counter. Without finding anything she liked she sighed once more and sat down at a new table away from the boy. She opened her book and set the bookmark on the table.

I'm so much closer than I have ever known…
Wake up

She glanced up at her bookmark to find a steaming drink sitting beside it; another boy was standing across from her.

"Hey," he said. In the dim light of the café, the girl couldn't see his face clearly; he sounded cute but rather stupid. "Is this seat taken?"

Dawning of a new era

Calling… don't let me catch you falling

Ready or at all

"No," replied the girl simply. She turned her eyes back down to her book, expecting the boy to take the extra chair to another table, but she heard it scratching the floor; he had sat down next to her. "Is there something you want from me?"

So close enough to taste it

Almost…I can embrace this

Feeling…on the tip of my tongue

"Not really," he said smiling. He reached over and pushed the drink by the bookmark closer to her; "Just thought you'd like some tea."

The girl raised an eyebrow, not taking the drink. "Do you flirt with all the girls?"

"Only the pretty ones,"

I'm so much closer than I have ever known…

Wake up

Better thank your lucky stars…

The girl sighed and closed her book. "Well I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't flirt with me; I'm not anyone's type."

"How can you be sure? Have you ever been in love before?" asked the boy with a smirk.

The girl scowled, pushed her large glasses up her nose, and went to stand up, but the boy caught her arm, staring up at her intently. "What do you want from me?" she snapped.

He frowned. "Did you really think I wouldn't know it was you?" he asked quietly.

The girl turned away, jerking her arm from the boy's grasp. "Grow up, Gene." She hissed as she stalked passed the spotlighted stage where the brunette was singing; her long golden tresses flashed in the light as she left the café.

Well I'm so much closer than I have ever known

Wake up

Better thank your lucky stars…

"Sir," drawled a blonde waitress, "please remove your feet from the table." She waited for the customer to comply but he appeared to be asleep. "Hey, wake up!" she ordered, snapping her fingers at him; he didn't budge. "These tables are hard enough to clean," she growled, clenching her tray and raising it over her head, ready to strike the boy. "They don't need your muddy feet smudging them any more than they already—"

The boy looked up at her, still not taking his feet off the table; the waitress dropped her tray instantly, eyes wide and staring.

I've been waiting a lifetime

For this moment to come

I'm destined for anything at all

"Chrono…?" whispered the waitress in disbelief. "You… you came back…"

The boy looked down, placing his feet on the floor, standing up. "Hey,"

The girl raised her hands to her trembling lips, tears sparkling in her eyes; speechless.

"Rosette," called a blond waiter, attracted by the loud clatter of the fallen tray, "what's going—" He stopped as soon as he saw the other boy; he scowled. He marched over to the waitress, gently pushed her aside, grabbed the boy's shirt collar and slugged him.

Dumbstruck; color me stupid

Good luck; you're gonna need it

Where I'm going if I get there at all…

"Joshua, what're you doing?" screamed the girl.

He didn't answer. He waited for the other boy to stand up only to grab him again, starting a fist fight. "Bastard!" he yelled at him. "How dare you come back?"

Wake up

"What the hell are you talking about?" demanded the victim as he made a swing at the waiter.

Better thank your lucky stars…

X

X

X

In the Life of a Rock Star

Chapter 23: Things Change…

X

X

X

"Rosette, what's going on?" asked the brunette singer as she hopped off the stage and dashed to her friend. All the lights in the café came on and everyone's attention switched to the fight. Sora and Roxas came running to help restrain the two boys as Rosette continued to scream at her brother.

"But you said I could!" he griped, still refusing to calm down.

"When?"

X

"You know what? The second I see that lowdown bastard—I'm gonna wallop him right in the kisser!"

"But what if you forget?"

"Then I give you permission to do it for me!"

X

"Oh yeah… I did say that, didn't I?" whispered Rosette. "Well I was gonna!" she spat firmly.

"Oh please," groaned Joshua, "you were about to cry."

"Shut up!" she growled, enforcing her point with a super noogie attack.

"OWOWOWOWOWOW!"

"Who is this guy?" asked Sora, releasing his hold on Chrono.

Rosette was about to answer when she came up with a better plan than hitting Chrono. She turned to Sora and smiled slyly, lacing her fingers around his apron straps and pulling him toward her effortlessly. "No one at all…" she breathed, pressing her lips to his. Rosette budged one eye open to see Chrono's reaction; torn to pieces. 'Good,' she thought vindictively, 'this ought to teach him a lesson.' After almost 30 seconds, she finally let go of Sora, licking her lips. "I'll see you tomorrow," she cooed, calling to Joshua and Beth that their shift was over.

After the Christophers had left the café, Sora flung his arms up in the air in victory, silently nodding his head, grinning like an idiot as he went back to work.

X

"YAY!-!-!" cheered Rosette when they got home. She pranced around the living room like a three year old, and then finally flopped down onto the sofa, giggling madly.

"Why are you so happy?" asked Beth as she closed the door.

"Coz that was my boyfriend!"

"Sora?"

"No!" pouted Rosette, sitting up. "Chrono—the guy Joshua was fighting with!"

"Why are you happy then?" asked the other girl confusedly as she went to the kitchen to get some Band-Aids for Joshua.

"She's happy because she just spited him." said Joshua, grasping his fist.

"That's not it either!" she huffed, slumping down on the couch; her good mood was fading. "I'm just happy he's back, that's all."

"Wait," started Beth, sitting down beside Joshua, "if he's your boyfriend and he 'finally came back,' then why did you kiss Sora?"

"Coz that bastard hasn't talked to me in practically six months!"

"Some boyfriend…" grumbled Beth.

"But I'm still happy to see him; I was beginning to think I never would again."

"Yeah," sighed Joshua, "I'm happy he came back too. In fact, I'm so happy I could bleed!" he chirped, holding up the hand that he had used to beat the other boy.

Rosette frowned. "I only said I was going to hit him, not pound him into next week."

Joshua shrugged as Beth started cleaning up his hand. "He had it coming."

Rosette frowned again and stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Even so, you shouldn't have wasted so much energy on him." With that, she stood up and bounced up the stairs, still bubbling with joy. "Don't stay up too late!" she called back to Joshua.

The boy sighed as Beth finished with his hand. "This isn't going to end well."

"What do you mean?"

"She has too much faith in him."

"Is that bad?"

Joshua looked away sadly and stared at the front door. "Even if he hadn't come back today, she'd still wait for him, even until the day she dies… My sister!" he griped, standing up. "She's so stubborn!"

Beth giggled and stood up, giving the boy a hug. "Well at least she has a sweet little brother to look out for her!" she chirped, ruffling the boy's hair. Joshua blushed and wriggled out of her grasp.

"Quit it; you're embarrassing me!" he laughed, still bright red. Beth grinned evilly and within a second she pounced on the boy. They fell to the couch and she immediately went for his weak points. "Stop!" he cried, laughing madly, "I'm ticklish!"

"I know!" she cackled, relentless in her attack.

Upstairs, Rosette laughed to herself as she listened to Joshua being tortured. Between Beth, Joshua, Satella, and Azzy, she had the best family she could ever want.

Just then, San Francisco jumped up onto the bed and started snuggling Rosette's cheek. "Stupid cat," she murmured, "why are you so cute?" The black and white fuzz ball meowed loudly as an answered. Rosette sighed and picked him up. "I miss them… I really do…" she smirked abhorrently, "Only Al could think to name a cat after a city." Francisco meowed again, wagging his tail and purring. "You're right," said Rosette, setting him back down on her bed, "I shouldn't think about it too much."

After a moment, she smiled broadly and spun around. "But at least Chrono came back!" she squealed, flopping down onto the bed, nearly squashing her cat.

X

Once in a very great while, and I mean a very great while, Rosette becomes a morning person. There's no explanation to it, she just becomes chipper and is all smiles and sunshine. In fact, this happens so very rarely, it's like watching a horror movie.

Futari ga kitto deaeruyouna mahou wo kakete
Ryoute wo sotto kasanetehora hohoemukara

"What the hell are you singing?" asked Beth indignantly as Rosette sang her way into the kitchen.

"I have absolutely NO idea!" she chirped, still humming the tune. "I heard it on the radio and I can't get it out of my head—Honto no kimochi kitsukanai furishite; Totsuzen futari koi ni ochitano!"

"Well it's creeping me out," sighed Beth, turning her attention back to her newspaper as Rosette started 'ooh-ooh'ing away, "so please knock it off."

"I can't help it! Let me be with you! Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, yeah! Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, yeah!"

"Easy for you to say; you don't have to listen to yourself." grumbled the other girl. Rosette started giggling in between the words, trying but failing to stop singing the fluffy song. "Oh, right," said Beth, "is Joshua awake yet?"

Rosette, still dancing but not singing, turned to her and asked, "Isn't he down yet?"

"Nope, I haven't seen him yet this morning."

Rosette slowly stopped dancing and went back upstairs. "Joshua?" she called, knocking on his door. "Are you almost up?" She waited a moment, but he didn't answer. Rosette carefully opened the door and slid in. Joshua was still in bed, quietly moaning. "Are you sick again?" she sighed.

The boy slowly rolled onto his back, coughed, and nodded. "Sorry…" he murmured, ready to fall back asleep.

Rosette sighed again and pulled his blankets over his shoulders. "It's fine, but this is why I didn't want you to waste so much energy beating up Chrono." Joshua smiled weakly as Rosette went to leave. "Just get better soon, okay?" he nodded, snuggling back into his blankets.

"So what's the verdict?" asked Beth when Rosette came back to the kitchen.

"He's sick again," she sighed. Rosette went over to the phone and dialed a number. "Hello? Hey Fiore, it's Rosette. Listen, you've got a summer fever today and can't make it to school, 'kay? …Alright, bye." She hung up.

"What was that about?"

"I don't want Joshua to stay home alone, and Fiore's terrible with coming up with excuses so I always have to give her one so she can watch him."

Beth folded her newspaper and set it down on the table. "And she doesn't mind missing school? I mean, does she come over every time he gets sick?"

"Well… only lately she does. I think they're not telling me something, but I'm pretty sure whatever it is they've got it under control."

Beth smirked into her coffee after taking a sip. "So you think, but you should understand that teenagers can be very naughty—are you sure they're not having an affair?"

Rosette rolled her eyes. "I would know if something like THAT was going on."

"Riiiighttt…" Beth finished her coffee and put the cup in the sink. "Come on, or we'll miss the bus."

"Nah, I don't wanna take the bus today." said Rosette calmly as she found some cereal.

"Ohh… you're taking that to school again?"

"You say it like it's a bad thing,"

"Oh, no no no," cooed Beth, grinning wickedly. "It's the most amazing thing ever!"

Rosette snorted. "You are SO weird…"

X

"…this phrase has become the notorious slogan of Marie Antoinette. Which brings me to the subject of movies; just as a reminder I trust that all of you will be going to see Flags of Our Fathers and Marie Antoinette this weekend?" asked Mrs. Grace, Rosette's history teacher. The class grumbled a collective 'yes', totally uninterested in movies suggested by a teacher.

Ding Dong Ding Dong! (The cafeteria has run out of bread—today's menu, CAKE!)

As Rosette gathered her notes into her bag, she glanced over at Chrono who walked by her without a word, going to his next class. She frowned; he hadn't said anything to her all day. 'I wonder if he's mad at me for last night?' she thought sadly. 'I didn't mean to upset him, just get revenge for the past six months… Oh, wait…' "Doh!" she muttered, silently cursing herself. "I am such an idiot…"

X

"It's just no fun anymore," griped Anna.

"I know… but it can't be helped," sighed Claire.

"Ohhhhhh—I MISS MISS KATE!-!" squeaked Mary, throwing her arms up into the air.

"Things change, Mary," said Rosette, "It's Mrs. Remington now, remember?"

They all gave a collective shudder, chills running down their spines. "He was too cool for her…" they muttered.

As Rosette opened the door to the choir room, she didn't see Chrono right away. She sighed but took her seat all the same. A few minutes after the bell rang Mr. Steiner arrived late as usual. He threw his bag of lesson plans onto his roller chair where undoubtedly he'd forget about them again, and he stood up straight behind his lectern, clearing his throat to quiet the class down.

"Alright class, we have a couple of students to welcome back today." he announced once he had everyone's attention. "Chrono and Charlene," he looked to the back of the classroom, expecting to see the two, but when he noticed they weren't there he said, "Hmm… I could've sworn that they were supposed to be back today…"

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Steiner," said Chrono as he walked into the class, "I forgot where the room was."

"That's quite alright; being gone for six months can do that to you." The teacher chuckled at his own joke as the boy took his old seat. "Oh, where's Charlene, wasn't she supposed to come with you?"

Chrono shrugged. "I think she dropped this class."

"Oh… how unfortunate."

In the back of the room, after Chrono had sat down, Genai leaned over to him and asked, "Did Shader really drop the class?" Chrono nodded. "Why?"

"How should I know? And she's gonna get upset if you keep calling her that—she goes by Charlene now, remember?"

Genai grumbled a "yeah, yeah," and slumped back into his seat, wondering why it seemed like Shader was trying to avoid him.

"Alrighty," continued Mr. Steiner, "let's begin today's lesson. Um…" he looked at his desk. "Oh dear," he ducked under his lectern, "Where did I…?" he started scanning the entire floor. "Fiddle sticks!" he muttered under his breath.

Chrono snickered at the senile man. "Where's Ed to give him a hand?" he whispered.

Rizelle turned to him sharply and slapped his arm. "Shut up, you idiot!" she hissed, glaring at him.

"What?" he whined, rubbing his arm.

X

Ding Dong Ding Dong! (Some nut cases with bows and arrows have stolen all the cake from the cafeteria to give it to the less fortunate! Revised menu—PIZZA! …again…)

"I think I really blew it this time," grumbled Rosette as Beth met her outside the choir room so that they could go to lunch together.

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean that I think Chrono's really mad at me for last night coz he hasn't spoken to me at all today!"

"I'm sure he'll get over it. He doesn't hold grudges, does he?"

Rosette frowned, staring at the floor as she walked. "No, not really… but he does take thing too seriously sometimes."

"Ohh… you're talking about that one boy, aren't you? What was his name?"

"Edward," said Rosette sadly, only feeling worse.

"Oh right, Edward. Man, it's really sad what happened to him…"

"Can we not talk about this now?"

"Oh, sorry,"

"Angel—SHUT UP!" screamed a girl as Beth and Rosette came into the cafeteria. "The Sinners are so NOT the greatest band ever!"

"You're just being schizophrenic again!" yelled the other girl back. "Yesterday you said they were your favorite band!"

"That's because yesterday they were! But today they're not!"

"Stop being so schizo!"

"I am not being schizo! Yes you are. No I'm not! Yes you are! No I'm—"

"You're doing it again."

"Sorry,"

"I have to agree with Rose today—they're way overrated." said the boy with them, finally speaking up.

"They used to be your favorite, too, Darian." said the one called Angel.

"That was ages ago," retorted the boy. "My tastes have evolved."

The two girls stopped walking a moment and gave each other a mischievous look. "He's SUCH a romantic!" they chimed, sighing dreamily at each other.

"Stop doing that—it's not funny." pouted the boy, blushing. The girls turned away from him and giggled.

"Hey, Rose," said Rosette as they walked passed each other.

"Oh, hey!" chirped the girl, stopping and backing up to Rosette. "Is Joshua here today?"

"He's out sick again…" sighed Rosette.

"Oh, darn…" whined Rose. "Everyone seems to be either sick or busy nowadays." She sighed and after a moment she thrust her fist above her head and shouted, "But I won't let this keep us down! The F.A.G.s shall live on!"

"Couldn't you have thought of a better name?" grumbled Darian, totally embarrassed.

"Are you kidding?" cried Angel. "It's a brilliant name!"

"See you later, Rosette!" called Rose as she and Angel marched down the hall chanting "F.A.G.s! F.A.G.s! F.A.G.s!"

"Do I want to know what that was about?" asked Beth as she and Rosette finally sat down at a table.

Rosette laughed a little. "F.A.G.—the Fans of Anime Gang; it's just an after school club for, well, fans of anime."

Beth laughed skeptically. "I can see why Joshua joined…"

X

"Alright, Rizelle," started Chrono, "why'd you hit me in choir?"

"I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you." she whispered, looking away from the boy.

"Did you hear they changed the menu again? Pizza—my favorite!" cheered Aion as the band (excluding Shader) walked down to the cafeteria.

"Hey wait," said Chrono, "why aren't we going out to the courtyard?" he asked, pointing out the window.

"We don't need to anymore."

"Why not?"

"We're not that famous anymore."

"What?" cried Chrono, stopping in the middle of the hall. "Why not? What happened?"

"It's coz our sales—" Rizelle started; she whistled while diving her hand toward the floor and making it go 'splat!' with a loud 'ka-boom!' sound effect.

"And for those of you who don't understand interpretive dance," said Aion, "our record sales plummeted."

"I don't understand how that could've happened. I mean, why didn't we just write more songs?"

The rest of the band stopped and pulled Chrono over to the side of the hall. "We did write more songs." said Rizelle glumly.

"But they never sold because they didn't have your pretty little face on the cover."

"Or your fan-favorite voice singing the songs." added Viede.

"Face it," grunted Aion, "we're just not the titans of the music world that we used to be."

"So… who replaced us?" asked Chrono sadly.

"Lots of people," said Viede, "but probably the biggest would be—"

"JESSE MCCARTNEY!-!" squealed Rizele…and Aion.

"Who?"

"Jesse McCartney!" cheered Rizelle again. "He's number one on all the charts right now! And for good reasons! His songs are beautiful! His voice is gorgeous!"

"And he's soo dreamy!" chirped Aion.

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" he asked, "I'm allowed to think another boy is dreamy—there's nothing wrong with that."

They just kept staring at him.

"Oh, whatever," he mumbled, turning away, "I'm gonna go get me some pizza."

"So… other than Aion acting totally gay, what else have I missed?"

Before anyone else could say something, Genai stepped into the conversation. "You've missed WAY too much to tell you in one sitting. So can we save it for later; I'm starving?" The others agreed and Chrono reluctantly followed them to the cafeteria where, surprisingly, he wasn't swarmed by fan girls; he kinda wished he had been, though.

X

Chrono, contrary to popular belief, is just a naïve, sensitive child. So naturally when he asks different people the same question, "Where's Ed," and he gets a number of varying responses ranging from tears to apathy to inflicting pain upon him, he has the right to be a little weirded out. He was even tempted to ask Rosette, but then he remembered her "unfaithfulness" and changed his mind.

"Alright class, would you please open your literature books to page 125?" asked Mr. Remington; not a single student moved, they were still upset with him for getting married… and then his new wife going out on maternity leave so quickly. "Come now, I don't want to fail you all for the day." Still they didn't move; the teacher scowled. "Fine; be that way you teenaged brats. See if I care when all your parents ground you for the rest of your life because you failed tenth grade English!" he snapped; post-marital remorse, much? Whatever it was, it got the class' attention and they finally opened their books.

Rosette glanced back at Chrono, wondering if he was still mad at her. "Relax," whispered Beth across the aisle, "I'm sure he's gotten over it by now."

"I'm not so sure," hissed Rosette back. "Coz he has gym with us next, and—"

"Oh right…" groaned Beth, "and they're in gym with us." Rosette nodded.

X

"Where the hell is he?" Chrono asked himself in the next period, gym. "Is he out sick or something?"

"Who's where in the what with the who now?" asked a curious voice beside him.

Chrono looked over at the other boy and nearly jumped out of his skin. "YOU!" he screamed. "It's you! You're him!"

"I'm flattered you know so much about me," said Sora sarcastically with a bright smile.

"You're that bastard that stole my girlfriend!"

"Now we're getting somewhere,"

"Wipe that happy little smile off your face or I'll do it for you." muttered Chrono menacingly, leaning down to the boy.

"Dude, chill. What's your problem?"

"You're my problem!"

"What're you talking about?"

"You stole Rosette from me!"

"You've been gone six months! And besides, that kiss last night was just her getting reve—" Before he could finish, Chrono took a swing at him. "What are you? Blind and deaf?" taunted the boy smugly. "Coz if it's a fight you want," he landed a punch on the Chrono, "then it's a fight you'll get."

"Aren't you going to stop them?" asked Roxas who was watching the fight from the other side of the bleachers.

"No," said the silver-haired boy he was talking to simply; he didn't even bother to look up from his book.

Roxas stared at him a moment and sighed. "You're no fun…"

"Alright, break it up you two!" ordered Coach Gilliam as he came out to the class. He pushed the two fighters apart with ease and gave them a warning not to let it happen again. "Everyone take a seat on the bleachers—I need to take roll call. Christopher!"

"Here," called Rosette.

"Du Monium!"

"Here…" grumbled Chrono, rubbing his cheek. As the teacher went down the list of names, Chrono looked over to Rosette to see her fussing over Sora's bruised face; he scowled.

"Osment!"

"Here—obviously…" muttered Sora, flinching as Rosette poked at him.

"Why were you two fighting?" whispered the girl so that Chrono wouldn't hear her.

"Ask him; he wouldn't listen when I said that it was spite kiss! He got all worked up for nothing!"

"Wait, you knew it was—"

"Of course," laughed the boy. "Why else would you finally kiss me right when he showed up?"

Rosette sighed, smiling at him sweetly. "You know, maybe you're not quite as stupid as everyone says… maybe."

"Oh gee, thanks…"

"And Flynn! …Where's Flynn?" called Gilliam.

"Right here!" called a boy from the top of the hill by the school. The redhead started running down the slope and tripped and rolled most the way, luckily leaping up into an acrobatic stance at the bottom. "Never fear!" he cheered. "The Senior Student Council President is here!"

Roxas lit up like a Christmas tree light and fainted, falling to the ground underneath the bleachers where the Senior President couldn't see him.

"Nice of you to join us, Quinton." grumbled the teacher sarcastically.

"Ah-ba-ba-ba—Axel," he said slowly.

"Yeah whatever, just take a seat."

Axel bounded over to Sora and flopped down right next to him, both smiling like idiots. "So how has your day been thus far, Sora?" chirped Axel.

"Not too bad, not too good; I got me a souvenir!" he said proudly, pointing to his cheeks.

Axel gasped. "What treachery is this?" he cried.

"It be-ith of thine yonder fallen star who hath wronged my face and distraught his pride,"

Axel squealed like a little girl. "That was amazing!" he hissed to Sora.

"You think?" whispered the other boy back. "I've been practicing my olde English a lot so I'm glad it's paying off!"

"Okay, okay, let me try!" whispered the President excitedly; he cleared his throat. "But lo weary traveler, tis not thine enemy that wrongs you, but his turf on which ye stand." Sora started to laugh and Axel gave him a broad grin. "Hey, you think he'd like it, too?"

Sora thought for a moment. "He's pretty dull, but I'm sure even he'd get a kick out of it." The two boys glanced around the class and when they didn't see who they were looking for, Sora turned to the silver-haired boy. "Hey, Riku! Have you seen—"

"No," said the other boy, turning a page in his book.

Sora frowned. "What's up with you? Why don't you talk to me anymore?" Riku didn't answer; Sora sighed. "Do you not talk to me because you hate me?"

"No,"

"Then you still like me?"

"No,"

"…You don't want me interrupting your book, do you?"

"No,"

Sora sighed again. "He's so fickle," he whispered to Axel.

"At least you get to see him; I haven't seen you-know-who in days."

"He's just being shy,"

"Alright children," called Coach Gilliam, clapping his hands together, "since we're nearing the end of the school year, we don't have anything left scheduled, so what would you all like to play?"

" Rugby!"

"Baseball!"

"Nap time!"

"Ha ha ha—very funny!" laughed the teacher tiredly. "How 'bout a game of dodge ball?" The class groaned; "What?"

"We always play dodge ball!" shouted one of the kids.

"Well…tough! Everyone on the left of the bleachers go put on red jerseys, the rest of you go get blue ones." After everyone was ready but before Gilliam could start the game, he blew his whistle suddenly. "Riku!" he shouted, "This isn't English class—put that book away!"

"No,"

The coach growled. "Alright fine, but when you get hit out don't come running to me…" he threw the balls into play. "Have at ye!"

Chrono immediately grabbed a ball and aimed it at Sora, chucking it with all his might which apparently equaled the force of a small child. Sora laughed at him and picked up the ball as it slowly rolled to him. He threw it back at Chrono, just barely missing him. Rosette looked over at the two and frowned disapprovingly.

"Better pay attention, Rosy!" called Beth, "Or you might just wind up," she threw her ball, "striking out!"

Rosette watched the ball bounce past her pathetically and then she turned to her friend; "You throw like a girl."

"Well you play like one!" rebutted the brunette. Another ball came flying and hit Beth in the stomach.

"Grunberg you're out!" shouted the coach. Beth grumbled hotly as she trudged off the field, leaving Rosette to find a new target, and Chrono just happened to be on the other team.

"Face it Chrono," yelled Sora as he obtained yet another ball to hurl at him, "you're luck's run out—you're a dead man!" The boy grinned evilly as he wound up his pitch; he threw it harder than ever but somehow Chrono dodged it and the ball went for Riku. "Watch out!" yelled Sora, suddenly very nervous.

Still without looking up from his book, Riku caught the ball with ease, one handed nonetheless. Before Gilliam could call Sora out of the game, Riku threw the ball back at him, knocking Sora over.

"Uh, yeah… you're out Osment…"

Sora groaned, trying to stand up. Chrono looked back at Riku to see that he was still reading his book, minding his own business, yet a small smirk had made its way to his lips. While Rosette was watching them, a ball hit her out and soon after, Chrono, too. When the game was down to its final two players, it was Riku on the blue side and Storm on the red; needless to say Riku kicked butt without ever looking up which ticked off Gilliam quite a bit.

Ding Dong Ding Dong! (It's the end of the school year, and if you don't turn in all your library books we'll keep you in a tiny cage in the basement all summer!)

"Nice game, Rosy!" chirped Beth as they headed for the locker rooms.

"Are you kidding? My team lost."

"Hey, at least you lasted longer than me!" they both started to giggle, and then they both freaked out when a body rolled out from underneath the bleachers.

"Ugh… what happened…?" it moaned.

"R-Roxas?" asked Rosette nervously. "Wh-why were you… oh. Did you faint again?"

The boy slowly got up, rubbing his head. "I guess… what time is it?"

"The bell just rang; you missed all of gym."

He groaned, slumping over. "I can't believe this keeps happening to me…"

"You're fine as long as you don't faint in the street," joked Beth; Roxas became even more sullen as if it was actually possible.

"It's all because of him…" he muttered.

"Who?"

He straightened up quickly, waving his hands at the girls. "N-no one!" he stuttered, "Forget I-I said anyth-thing!" he started to laugh nervously, inching away before he flew to the boys' locker room.

"That was weird," stated Beth. "Hey," she started, turning to Rosette, "do you have work today?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "but not 'till later tonight. Meaning I won't get any sleep again…" she moaned.

Beth laughed; "I could take your shift if you want."

"Nah," she sighed, smiling at her friend, "I'll be fine."

Just then, they spotted Chrono walking toward the front entrance through one of the glass hallways. "Hey," said Beth, "didn't you want to talk to him today? Maybe if you hurry you could catch him."

Rosette blushed and nodded, dashing to the locker room and speedily slipping into her regular clothes. She shot down the hall and just before Chrono got into the atrium she called out to him. He turned but didn't smile or say anything.

"Hey," she chirped, breathing heavily and leaning over, trying to catch her breath. "We… we haven't really talked yet… have we?"

He shrugged; "What's there to talk about?"

Rosette frowned, standing back up. "Well… how about…" she trailed off; there were a million questions she had, but she didn't know where to start.

"Oh, I've got something," said Chrono rather lightly. Rosette looked at him but he turned away. "How about, 'what's his name?'"

She tilted her head; "What…?"

"That waiter—what's his name?"

Rosette frowned. "Oh… him…" she cleared her throat. "You know, that thing, I mean about last night that was just, um…"

"Don't worry," he said, continuing to walk to the door, "you don't have to explain." Rosette actually got her hopes up that he could understand—something she'd soon regret. "He's just one of you're weekly infatuations that you'll dump in a few days and then go find some fresh meat."

Rosette took a step backward. "What?" she asked, utterly confused, "What're you talking about?"

Chrono stopped walking, still not turning to face her. "Don't pretend like you don't know. I know all about your little boy toys; a new one every week—you just drop them like flies." Before Rosette could get a single word in, Chrono scowled at her over his shoulder. "My mother was right; you are a whore."

Rosette swallowed hard, gripping her books tightly, pressing them against her chest. "I don't," she choked out, holding back tears. "I don't know where you heard that from, or why you'd ever believe it, but it's not true."

He tsk-ed, turning away again. "Oh please, don't insult me with more lies; that waiter was only proof."

Rosette bit down on her lip; it was becoming harder and harder not to cry. "Is that what you really think?" she squeaked, unable to control her pitch.

"Turning on the waterworks, eh? That is so overdramatic." Rosette jammed her eyes shut and bowed her head, hiding her tears from him. She tried to speak, but her words either came out as small squeaks or nothing at all. "You know," he continued, halfway looking at her, "I really should have seen this coming. Ever since your fling with Ed you've been nothing but—"

"Shut up," she choked out, now more angry than upset, "don't you dare drag him into this. You know I already apologized for that and… and I thought that we had everything back to normal…"

Chrono snorted. "Normal? That's a good one. Nothing's normal since Aion told me about your—"

"Aion?" asked Rosette, cutting him off. "When did you talk to Aion?"

"When I came back in late March, of course; but then I left again because of you're little antics."

Rosette balled her fists. "You were back… after only a month…?" he nodded. "And then you left again because of some gossip?" she screamed. "You didn't even come to see me? Or talk it out? You didn't even leave a damn message?" Chrono flinched at her outburst; he hadn't expected her to take it like this. He started to wonder if it was true or not. "How could you be so stupid as to believe such a dumb rumor?"

"Rumor?" he yelled back. "You've done it before, it wasn't a surprise!"

"Oh really? Then I guess my promise meant nothing at all to you?"

"How am I supposed to believe something you can't keep your word on?"

"I DID keep my word!"

"Then what was THAT last night?"

"That was—" she stopped yelling and looked down at the floor. "That was…" she whispered.

"See?" he said more calmly. "Typical of a whore; can't make up her mind on the lies she tells." Rosette shot him a glare; he smirked cynically. "There are two little words I'd use to describe you,"

"We're through." She spat, glaring at him determinedly.

"…What?" he asked slowly, becoming very nervous.

"We're through, done, finished—it's over." She said coldly, turning away and walking down the hall.

"…B…but…" he started, unable to find the right words. All he could do was chase her down the hall to the parking lot as she hastily walked to get away from him. "You can't do this!" he finally managed to say.

Rosette turned on her heel and glared. "I'm sick of being treated like this, so I can do whatever the hell I want!" she shouted. She reached into her pocket, still storming away, and tried to take out her keys; she accidentally fumbled them, though, dropping them onto the pavement. Chrono automatically reached down to get them, but she swatted his hand away and snatched them up. He stared at her with wide eyes still unable to find the words he wanted.

He hadn't wanted anything like this to happen. Yes he was mad at her. Yes he felt betrayed. Yes he wanted to hurt her… but not like this. He hadn't thought that she'd actually break up with him. He didn't know what to do; it was times like this when he really hated himself for being so slow.

"His name's Sora," came Rosette's icy voice, breaking into Chrono's thoughts. He looked down at her as she put on her helmet. She glared up at him one more time before turning the key and starting the ignition. "Things change, Chrono. People change. But I guess you're still as gullible as ever." With that, she revved her bike and sped away, disappearing into New York traffic.

X

X

X

Chrono: Why are you so mean to me?

Me: Coz it's so damn fun.

Chrono: People hate you for it.

Me: Really?

Chrono: …Well…I hate you for it.

Me: Doesn't count.

Azzy: Soo… What's so special about this chapter?

Me: Oh right. Well, today is 10/23/06.

Azzy: And…?

Me: Exactly one year ago today, I posted the prologue (chapter 1) of this story.

Azyy: So it's—

Me: Yep: one flip-tastic year anniversary.

Azzy: Wow. An entire flip-tastic year…

Chrono: That's pretty bad that this rant has been going an entire year.

Me: I don't use outlines—I said that ages ago. But there is one thing I have to say. (turns to reader) An entire year. You've been reading this an entire year. …WHY?

Chrono: I'd like to know that, too. Why do so many people read this?

Azzy: Certainly it can't be good.

Me: Actaully, people do tell me they like it.

Chrono and Azzy: ………WHY?

Me: I dunno; they just do.

Chrono: You should ask them

Me: Maybe I will. (turns to reader again) Hey, why do y'all like this so much? Or not, which ever. I'd kinda—

Chrono: —really—

Me: —like to know.

Azzy: Other than that,

Me: Please review… like always.

Chrono: "Always?"

Me: I mean like I always ask.

Chrono: Ohh… coz you don't always get—

Me: (evil death glare)

Chrono: (whimper) I'll shut up now.

Me: Good boy.