Thanks to AmiMinazuki, CJPost, zeKaien, Shizza24, Xtremefairy, LeeshyLoo, HOC97, Midnight Phantomhive, imuya, AnimeFreakGurl144777, Teeshalynn123, teesha, and Melinda. meningmedivet for the reviews. Wow thank you guys sooo much! I'm soooooo sorry about the long wait. The manga was ticking me off plus I have been obsessed lately with Doctor Who... like really obsessed lol And I wanted to get this chapter out before my birthday tomorrow because I will be busy all weekend lol

But enough about me. Read and tell me what you think! Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"I love her, and it's the beginning of everything."

Stretching herself out of sleep, Yuuki awoke feeling so comfortable. 'It also smells nice… but wait, I'm not in my bed. This isn't even Yori's!' She sat straight up but then immediately regretted doing the action. The pounding headache kicked in and she felt instantly nauseous. She groaned, closing her eyes, and slowly laid her head back down on the pillow. She then began to rub her temple, hoping the headache would subside. After several minutes, she opened her eyes to study her surroundings.

'Wait a minute, this looks like—'her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. She looked over and sure enough, the silver headed Zero stepped through the doorway. How in the hell did she end up here? He wasn't even at the party last night. Not only that… what was she doing in his room, sleeping in his bed? She really couldn't remember what happened or the events leading up to this scenario. Lavender eyes fell on her, trying to see is she was awake. Yuuki hurriedly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. No way could she face him right now.

After hearing his footsteps go over to the other side of the room, she risked a peek to see what he was up to. She watched as he went into his closet and pulled out, she recognized his work uniform. Then he made his way over to his dresser, not sending any look her way again. She caught of glimpse of what had to be a pair of boxers. She instantly reddened and shut her eyes tight. Counting the seconds in her head, she finally heard the door open and close.

After opening her eyes back up, she thought 'Ok, it seems I ended up here somehow. But how? And even though I'm still in the same clothes from last night, why are the ends of my hair frizzy like it's been washed?' All she could recall from last night was the drinking contest with Serah but then after that… nothing. 'Oh god, that means I must have gotten seriously drunk which never happens. I hope I didn't drunk call Zero and made him come get me. Who even knows what I said or did? I wonder what happened to Yori though. She wouldn't have left me behind?'

Even though she was embarrassed, she was so grateful that she woke up here and not at Kaname's. The door opened suddenly and he gaze flicked over to meet the lavender gaze of Zero. They stared at each other for a moment, completely silent. She felt a blush coming on being under his unwavering stare. It unnerved her a little but not in a bad way. She went to say something so her blush would not show through, but he turned his head away from her suddenly. He opened his drawer on the dresser to get out a pair of socks.

The brunette studied him, confused. 'Oh god, what did I say or do last night to make him so stand offish?' Finally Zero spoke up, "You alive then?"

Somehow, that comment made her want to roll her eyes. But she restrained herself because she really needed to get to the bottom of what all went on last night. "Yeah, umm what am I doing here?"

Zero's eyebrows went up. "You don't remember?"

"No, not much at all."

"Really… you blacked it all out last night?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I wouldn't be asking if I did remember. All I can recall is taking a bunch of shots of whiskey and then…"

Yuuki trailed off. She suddenly did not feel like she should tell Zero why she got in a drinking contest. She thought that it seemed childish now and didn't want him to think any worse of her.

"And then what? What even possessed you to drink in the first place? Especially that much at a party." He said this as if he was scolding a child.

The brunette didn't like that. "Don't talk to me like that, Zero. And quit blowing it up. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Are you even listening to yourself, Yuuki?" He said, stunned. "When I got to Kaname's, you were hanging on him and smiling brightly up at him. I'm pretty sure he was thinking of all kinds of ways to get you to go upstairs with him."

The brunette couldn't help it. Her eyes widened in horror at the thought. She really didn't want to believe that she acted like a complete idiot but it must have been true. "No way."

"Luckily, Yori called me to take you back to my place. No way I was letting you stay with him. You were way too sick to stay much longer anyway."

She flushed angrily; not at him, but at herself. Why did she act so stupid? It was all because she had to get in that drinking contest over him. Worse, Zero had to take care of her. That was the worst part of all. He probably thought she was so pathetic. she didn't know why she cared so much about what he thought of her. His opinion mattered to her. 'Why does it seem so awful that he might think so badly of me? I never really cared what people thought about me.' She thought to herself.

She looked down at her hands gripping his bed sheets. 'Oh god… he must have let me sleep in here when, by the look of the dark circles under his eyes, he slept out on the couch.' Her heart melted a little at the thoughtfulness but she really felt bad. She looked back up at him, "I'm sorry, Zero."

His expression became puzzled, "You're sorry?"

She nodded, slowly. "Yeah. You shouldn't have had to put up with me last night. You didn't even go to the party in the first place. You went out of your way to make sure that I was safe and comfortable… Thank you. No one really has gone to such lengths for me before."

Zero was frozen in place. But then after a minute, he abruptly turned his back to her without saying a word. Now confused, Yuuki asked, "Zero, what's -"

"Nothing," He said hurriedly and gruffly. "Just shut up for a second."

Definitely ticked off now, Yuuki's feelings of appreciativeness and thankfulness quickly turned to anger. There she was trying to be sincere and apologize while he just acted like a jerk off. She was really tired of not knowing what she did to make him so short with her. "You know, here I am actually admitting to you that I'm wrong and sincerely grateful that you came to that ridiculous party to make sure I was ok. And all you can do is be your absolutely unpleasant self. Well Zero, I also sincerely mean this, you really need to take that stick out of your butt and loosen up."

The said man turned back around to glare at her. "Me? Yuuki, I hate to say this but last night sure proved that you're idea of loosening up sure isn't a good one. So I think I will pass on that."

The brunette narrowed her cinnamon eyes at him. Zero went on to say, "You need to learn to not get in a ridiculous drinking contest with someone. You know you can die from alcohol poisoning right? I really thought you would have more sense to know that is not a good thing."

His tone was condescending and patronizing. He really thought he was smarter than her. The brunette threw the sheets off her body and quickly stood up to march over to him. "You know what, I don't appreciate—"

Feeling like she stood up too fast, she swayed on her feet; head feeling like it was going to explode. Her vision was going dark and she felt her legs want to give out. She fell a little off to the side but something caught her fall. She looked and saw it was Zero's arms that stopped her fall. His lavender eyes scanned her worriedly, trying to asses her condition. Blushing, she quickly pulled away from his grasp.

Zero let go, but still watched her. She quickly smoothed over her appearance. The brunette moved to change the subject. She wasn't happy with the idea that flitted through her mind about liking how she felt in his arms. She was locking that though up and never going to think of it again. "Honestly, I don't even know why put up with you crabby ass all the time."

The silver haired man looked away for a minute. Then said with absolutely no emotion in his voice, "Then I guess you shouldn't hang around me anymore."

Yuuki watched him. "What's your problem? I mean, really. I was only joking."

"What if I wasn't?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know you're just being a jerk right now but that isn't—"

"I'm being absolutely serious about this." He finally looked at her but this look scared her. His eyes looked glazed over, like he wasn't even really there. "Maybe it's time for us to stop spending so much time together."

"What?"

"I mean it. I think we are getting too comfortable with each other. We are graduating this year so we will have to go our separate ways anyway at the end of the year. So what's the point? We won't see each other after we graduate. You'll go off to college while I move back to the other side of the country. It's better just to do it this way."

Yuuki still hadn't been convinces. What changed all of the sudden? Why did he want to end their friendship so easily as if they weren't planning on a forever kind of thing? To be honest, she thought they were going to be friends after school ended. "Zero, come on. You're being absolutely ridic—"

"Oh my god, Yuuki." Zero said, exasperated. "What part of this don't you get? I just don't want to be friends with you anymore. I'm done with this little game."

There was such a finality and cruelness in his that made it made her tremble. The air went out of her lungs. What did she do? Her eyes burned so she quickly turned away from him. She would definitely not let him see her cry. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Putting on her boots that were beside the bed, she said, "Whatever."

She was really angry with him. He was being really stupid and hurtful. Her chest burned from the thought of rejection. Was her friendship really that easy to throw away? He really was just like all the rest of them. She was thrown away like she was nothing but trash.

Snatching her purse that lay on the nightstand and making her way past Zero, she whispered, "You're just like him."

Then she left the room.

Zero realized what the meant. No, she really not must have understood his reasoning for doing this. And to hear her say those words so brokenly; he couldn't let her leave like this.

He tore after her and saw she was almost to the door. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her while the brunette instantly froze. She looked down at the contact and then back up at him. Her eyes were angry but teary. "Let go of me, Zero."

"Listen, it's not about anything you did. This isn't your-"

She tried to pull her wrist away from his grasp but he held on tightly. "Don't you dare give me that speech. Whatever, it's done. You don't have to explain yourself. You got what you wanted so now let me go."

He shook his head stubbornly. She immediately became more angry. "What the hell is your problem? You just said we couldn't be friends anymore so I'm leaving. You can't just throw that out there and expect me to let you take it back a few minutes later!"

"I'm not trying to take anything back. I meant what I said. I just need to make sure you understand-"

"Shut up, right now! Let me go! I don't want to hear your moronic reasons." She was trying with all her might to push him away from her. Every word he was saying was only making the hole in her chest that much deeper and more hollow. When she saw that he really wasn't going to let go of her and saw there was really no way out of this, that's when the tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Damn it! I trusted you, Zero; wholeheartedly. I really thought we were friends. I have never felt this closeness with anyone since Yori..."

He tried pulling her into his arms but she wouldn't let him. She already looked pathetic enough. She really wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "Please, let go of me, Zero. I really don't know how much more I-"

Finally, he relented. He let go of her wrist but when she went to turn towards the door, he grabbed ahold of either side of her face and pulled her to crash their lips together. Shocked beyond all else, the brunette froze. Her eyes were wide open to make sure she really wasn't hallucinating. Zero was really kissing her.

Before her brain or body could even contemplate on what to do, he pulled his head back and backed away from her. Dead silence followed while Yuuki just watched him. His eyes were still closed and his head was slightly down.

Then he pushed past her, abruptly. Putting on his shoes, he mumbled. "Sorry. Do you get it now?" And before she could say anything, out the door he went.

That kiss was totally out of left field. No, she didn't get it. What she did get was that he only confused her more? Why would he do that? Then she realized that was also a real, genuine kiss and it was her first one. Her face flushed but surprisingly, she did not feel an ounce of disgust that she suspected she would have. She kind of... sort of... slightly... liked it.

Trying to dash those feelings quickly from her mind, she also tore out of his apartment. She needed some air.

One Week Later, Monday

A whole week... an entire week had gone by and not a word from Zero. The only time the brunette even saw him was in class. Even then, he did not send one look her way. She wished she could say the same thing for herself.

Even though she avoided talking to him, she couldn't help but watch him. It was becoming a scary habit of hers. Of course, she only watched him when she knew for sure he wouldn't notice her. She was now catching herself knowing all his little habits he had; like how when he was bored, he would slouch a little in his chair and look out the window. His eyes would get this serene look, like he was a million miles away. How she really knew what he was thinking. Was he thinking of her at all? Another habit she never noticed before was how if he was playing rapt attention to the teacher, he would bite his left thumb in concentration while quickly writing down what said teacher was saying.

But then after this, her gaze would zero in on his lips and then she would go back to when they had been on her own lips. How surprisingly soft and warm they felt... and then she would vigorously shake her head to get that thought out of her head. That memory would just not go away. That kiss they shared had ruined her. She couldn't really concentrate in school and you could forget about sleeping. All over a stupid little kiss. It was all his fault.

But even though she hated to admit it, she missed him... badly. After she got home that Sunday, she decided that she was just going to forget everything that happened, including ever entangling her life with Zero's. She learned a few days later that it was just impossible. She never realized how deeply Zero rooted himself inside her heat until he wasn't there anymore. Even if she wanted to talk to him, he made it clear that he was done with this friendship and been avoiding her just as much as she was.

"Yuuki!"

Startled, Yuuki whipped her head around to find her best friend, Yori looking at her. "Hey, the last bell just rang to let us out of school."

"Oh... sorry. I wasn't paying attention." The brunette replied, distractedly.

Yori looked at her best friend, concerned. "Yuuki... what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said, too quickly for it to be truly nothing.

The blonde girl shook her head. "No. There is something wrong and some reason, you're not telling me... is this about Zero?"

The brunette really didn't want to talk about it. She never told Yori about what happened and she would have liked to keep it that way. But maybe she could shed some light on this situation. After all, she was her best friend. "Why do you say that?"

Yori smirked a little. "Yuuki, we have know each other since pre-K. I know when something is bothering you and I did notice he hasn't been around at all... so why don't you say you come on over to my house tonight and tell me all about it?"

Yuuki gave her a little smile. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Good." Yori smiled back. "Come right after you get done here. I will see you then."

She then walked out of the classroom. Yuuki got up also and went to her locker. Maybe this was all she needed was a little girl talk. She just hoped Yori could help her because she didn't know how much more she could take of this. As she reached her locker and got her books out, she saw Zero coming up the hallway. That wasn't what caught her attention though. It was the fact that he was walking down the hallway with another girl.

She didn't immediately recognize the girl, just remembered that she saw had seen her somewhere. Of course, it was one of Yori's cheerleading friends. Not only that, she was the same one that was talking with him in the classroom before. She thought she took care of that but she was wrong. As the brunette watched them, she realized that Zero really wasn't all that bothered with the girl like he always was. She was talking excitedly to him, smiling and laughing while he would have his slight smirk/smile on his face.

That familiar sting came back in her chest. How she wanted to stop them in their tracks and rip him away from her. Didn't he just kiss her a week ago? Why was he still not even looking at her? Finally as they breezed past her, he looked away from the girl and their eyes locked for just a second. Then she saw how his demeanor instantly changed and he walked just a little faster while she heard the blonde cheerleader yell for him to wait up.

Yuuki just was so confused but also a little worried about him. She hadn't walked to him for a week but yet she still worried if he was ok. Why was she thinking this? She should hate him for what he did. Hopefully Yori could help her sort out her feelings but she just couldn't deal with it anymore. She was sick of it.

So after she got her things all rounded up, she took off to Yori's. When she pulled up to the house, she saw that Yori already had made it. When she parked and got out of the car, Yori opened the front door with a smile, "Hey Yuuki! You're a little bit later then I thought you were going to be."

"Yeah, I got caught up at school." Yuuki waved off.

"Well come on, I'll make us my famous hot chocolate and we will get down to business." Yori smiled bigger and raced off into the kitchen while Yuuki sat on the couch. The brunette girl chuckled to herself. She really did miss these times with her best friend. She felt like they haven't had something like this in a long time. Although, usually it was because another guy broke Yori's heart but this time it seemed like the roles were reversed. Yori came back over with a mug in her hand, breaking Yuuki out of her thoughts.

After they sipped a little at the hot chocolate, which was delicious, Yori asked Yuuki, "Ok, no you're going to tell me all about what happened. Because I know it has to be something big."

Yuuki looked in her mug of hot chocolate, hesitating at first. Why was she though? Yori was her best friend. So that's when she told her... everything. Leaving out the part about Zero's past. She knew he wanted that kept a secret and she honored that. But she told her best friend about how much they had been arguing and also about what happened at his apartment. Yori squealed in delight.

"Oh my god, Yuuki! I knew it! I really knew that you guys were going to hook up!"

Yuuki looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about? Didn't you hear what I just said?"

The blonde nodded, excitedly. "Yes, of course I did! And don't give me that look. You can't honestly think he doesn't like you, do you?"

The brunette girl went silent. Yori rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I should have known with you. Of course he likes you. He kissed you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but then he ran away Yori. Not to mention that everything leading up to that, he sure made it out like he couldn't even stand to be around me for more than a few minutes. I know I don't have any experience in this department, but I'm sure that means he doesn't like me."

"Oh poor, naïve Yuuki. Everything that you have told me only points out further that he likes you way more than you think. Especially the part about how he gets so mad at the thought of Kaname and their natural hatred towards each other." The blonde stated.

Yuuki really didn't get it. Zero was acting so damn confusing. "Ok. Tell me this then. Why does he not want to be around me anymore? Or anytime he does see me, he tenses up and walks off in the opposite direction?"

Yori nodded. "Ok. Yuuki, I mean this in the nicest way possible. You have made it clear from the beginning that you don't want anything to do with love or boys in general. Let's just say, he started liking you back when you started getting tutored. He knows how guarded you are so when he realized that he had feelings for you, he knew he couldn't tell you. You would reject him obviously. So he decided that it was just best to let you go."

Yuuki shook her head. "But that's just stupid. Why couldn't he just talk to me?"

The blonde shook her head, "Because Yuuki, he thinks you will just instantly reject him. He's just as guarded as you are... wait a second, you know you like him, right?"

"Of course I like him... I wouldn't be here if I didn't." The brunette scoffed.

"No, I mean like him." Yori said, emphasizing the work like. "Like you would consider dating him."

Yuuki's eyes widened. "Well I mean.. I do like being with him. And I like when it's just me and him, and not anyone else bothering us... and I can't get that kiss out of my head or how it feels to be wrapped in his arms... oh my god, I think I.. I think I do."

Her best friend squealed even higher than she did the first time and hugged her friend tight. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, Yuuki! You finally get what I've telling you about for years!"

"Yori... why are you excited? This is horrible." The brunette said, softly. How could she have gone and let herself like him like that? How could he break down all those walls she had carefully built around herself for years in only a matter of a couple months? She was so stupid. She put her legs up to her chest and laid her head between her knees.

Her blonde friend looked at her concerned. "Yuuki, it's not horrible. It's a good thing. You finally found someone that makes all the bad things that happened in the past just disappear. They make you see that the world is not so bad anymore. Everything just seems brighter."

Yuuki looked up at her friend. "If it does all those things, then why do I feel so scared?"

Yori smiled at her, sadly. "It's normal to feel scared. Even more so now because you aren't exactly sure how Zero feels. But I can tell you without a doubt that he likes you too. All you got to do is talk to him."

"I can't, Yori."

"Why?"

"Because he ran away after he kissed me." Yuuki said. "Maybe he doesn't want that with me. How do I know I won't ruin what's left of the trust that we have with each other? I don't want to seem like one of the many girls that want to get him as some sort of prize. He's so much more than that."

Yori's heart truly went out to her friend. She remember what it was like to be so scared to tell the other person. But she knew deep down that Zero had it bad for Yuuki. She knew it the minute he sat down at their lunch table. "Yuuki, you missed the first part of what you said. He kissed you. Does that seem like normal Zero behavior to you? Besides, that's the risk you have to take. But why miss out on something that could truly be the best thing that has ever happened to you?"

The blonde's words hit her like she had just been doused in cold water. Maybe she should give this a chance. After all, she really couldn't see her future without him in it. He really did become important to her and she learned she hated the thought of him with anyone else. She was going to do it tomorrow. Talk to him. She only hoped that she really didn't regret it..

A/N: Sorry if the ending was a little meh but I hoped you liked it! Like I said, I'm sooo sorry for the wait. If you read my reason above, I won't repeat it here but it's really no excuse. So I hope you will bear with me because I'm in no way giving up on this story just because the manga ended... which was so crappy by the way. I hope you can forgive me for the wait on this.

But I would like to especially thank and give a shout out to Teeshalynn123 and Melinda. meningmedivet for messaging me and helping me get my butt into gear to write thid chapter. Seriously you two, thank you! It showed me how much people really liked my story and it helped me tremendously!

So I hope the next time we meet it won't be so long but I'm not going to make any promises but hopefully the next update will be in July maybe August. Happy reading and I hope to hear everyone's feedback!