Hey everyone! I'm back with more Stopani stuff! I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this but I felt bad for what happened with my other fic, so I'm going to use the last chapter of that to start a new story.

In-depth Summary: The Etoile election is a distant memory as the girls face life outside of Astraea Hill. Loves that were never acted on begin to crumble and fade, and lies that they told themselves begin to slip away. Shizuma's back to fuck with Miyuki's heart once again, and where does Nagisa's loyalty lie? Shion and Chikaru are together, but not everything's as it seems when two people both have something to hide from everyone but each other. Miyuki's finally met her fiancé, but when the cast reunites at a congratulatory dinner hosted by Shizuma at a private estate, it appears that she isn't the only one unhappy about the situation.

All the usual couples with some twists thrown in.

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the plot!

Before the Music Ends by xXLiStLesSXx

Scene 0, or Let's Travel Back for Just a Moment

Outside of the dorms, a lone figure was leaning against an old weeping willow, staring out at the lake. She scoffed slightly. This is cliché even for you, Tamao, the bluenette told herself wryly, thinking about the poetic potential of the situation. You know she'll never notice you, and even if she does it'll be as a comfort figure; you're not Shizuma.

"Ara, but maybe that's a good thing?"

Tamao started, whirling around to face the smiling Le Rim president. "I said that out loud?" she asked, then cursed herself for the stupidity of her words. Of course she said that out loud- unless the rumors about Chikaru were true…

Chikaru gave her a sympathetic smile and stepped closer so that she was leaning against the same tree as Tamao was. Tamao was suddenly hit by the subtle perfume of brown sugar and vanilla and something else. "Shizuma-sama is no saint, Tamao-chan," Chikaru said quietly, turning her head slightly so that she could look Tamao in the eyes. "None of us are perfect."

"But some of us are perfect for each other," Tamao said quietly. "Some of us can be as horrible and flawed as we like and there'll always be someone waiting to pick up the pieces. Shizuma-sama even has two of them- I don't even think she knows about Rokujou-san."

Chikaru's eyebrows raised just slightly. "Miyuki-san?" she asked in a contemplative tone. "So you knew about that too." She smiled slightly. "Even Shion-chan noticed that, though. She pretends to be so strong, but Miyuki-san simply isn't a strong person. She tries to cover it up…"

"But she's not Shizuma-sama either," Tamao murmured, staring down at her feet. "She can't encase her heart in ice. Rokujou-sama wears her heart on her sleeve, free to be broken again and again. Trying to cover up her weakness is like hiding in the corner of a well lit room and hoping no one sees you." She sighed, slumping back against the tree.

"Perhaps," Chikaru began, gazing at Tamao with the same contemplative look, "Nagisa-chan isn't the right one for you."

Tamao frowned and glanced up as if to question the statement, but Chikaru only smiled enigmatically and stepped forward, embracing her in a brief but unrushed hug before leaving towards the dormitories.

Tamao stood there for another few seconds, confused by the warmth in her face and the tingling in her arms. It had never been there with Nagisa- surely it wasn't supposed to be there when it felt so strange and out of place.

"You found her?"

Chikaru smiled sadly at the blonde who gazed up at her blankly, dwarfed by the immense office chair that she sat in. She nodded. "She reminds me of someone else we both know," she said quietly.

Shion scoffed. "And just like Miyuki, she'll let it tear her apart before she realizes there's someone better out there for her," she finished for Chikaru, her violet gaze fluttering to the ground. "Who's going to stand up to me when she's mourning after that baka-hentai of an Etoile? It's not like Shizuma'll ever realize what she has- she's proven that twice now."

A sly smile lit up Chikaru's features as she took a small step towards the Spican. "And what does she have, Toumori-sama?"

Shion's expression didn't waver from the stubborn pout, but her cheeks lit up like the fourth of July. Clearing her throat hastily, Shion leaned back, attempting to regain her cool. "Well, it's not like I'm completely stupid," she said gruffly. "Even I can see how much potential Rokujou-san has, and how much better of a girlfriend she's be then that spacey new girl. I don't think she even knows what love is."

"And do you, Shion-koi?"

The tone in Chikaru's voice made Shion stiffen, and the blonde president's back straightened immediately. "Chikaru…"

"Shh," Chikaru said, instantly closing the distance between the two and pressing a finger to Shion's lips, her eyes twinkling. "It's alright, Shion," she said softly. "I think at this point, we can try and try to make things work, but in reality, all we're doing is making things easier on ourselves, fitting into the mold so we don't have to deal with love triangles and heartbreak. We complete each other, Shion- but not as lovers, hmm?"

With a great exhale through her nose, Shion nodded slowly, her frown softening into one of acceptance. "It was simple," she stated softly. "Watching all of the rest out there, fighting their feelings and getting their hearts trampled…and there we were, unattached for whatever reason, with no one to moon after us; no one's heart to break."

"No one's but our own," Chikaru agreed, brushing back a strand of blonde hair from Shion's face. "But that's no way to live, is it? I think we've been hiding our hearts away for long enough- especially you, koi."

Shion's jaw tightened and she spun in her chair so the back was facing Chikaru, who was at this point sitting on the large oak desk, one creamy leg folded over the other. "What are you talking about?" the blonde finally asked harshly. "If anyone's got to worry about hiding their heart it's you, Chikaru- your heart's big enough for four of us ordinary people."

"Just because you choose to hide behind your argumentative nature doesn't make it any different from my hiding behind my caring one," Chikaru said gently, in that same frank tone. "I know your secret, Shion- I've known it for a while now. You might think you're hiding from the world, but if someone really wanted to see past the cover, all they'd have to do is look."

"Shut up."

The response was brief and cutting, like a knife, but Chikaru didn't even flinch. "Hiding from others is one thing," she said, "but it's impossible to hide from yourself. Even if you shove me away and choose to ignore my words, Shion, they'll still be the only thing on your mind." Hopping off the desk, Chikaru tapped a finger to Shion's forehead. "As much as you don't want to believe it, koi, the heart is stronger than the mind. And your heart wants- needs- what your mind is telling you that you can't have. Which will you listen to, I wonder?"

"What do you mean you're holding a celebration?"

A soft chuckle came from the other end of the line. "I'm your best friend, Mi-yu-ki- I only want you to be happy. Is that so wrong?"

Miyuki's jaw trembled, but she hesitated for only a moment to make sure her voice wouldn't waver. "You left the school in pieces when you left, Shizuma, and now that everyone's just started putting themselves back together…"

"Peace is boring, Miyuki- I doubt everyone's as together as they want the world to believe. Besides, I miss my Nagisa-chan."

The words stung more than she'd ever admit, but Miyuki forced herself to remain strong. "Nagisa doesn't appear to miss you, though," she said, taking a leaf from Shizuma's book and sneering through her words. "How does it feel to be on the other side for once, Shizuma? How does it feel to be the one with the broken heart?"

A pause on the other end signified that her words had struck their mark, but Shizuma replied with a steady voice. "I wouldn't know- you'll have to ask that pathetic Suzumi-san after I leave the school after staying for just one week. Nagisa will fall right back into my arms, where she belongs."

Something in Miyuki twisted at Shizuma's patronizing tone. She'd never been particularly close to Nagisa, but the girl was obviously innocent and easily manipulated- she didn't deserve having to be another notch in Shizuma's bedpost. Like you. "You left her, Shizuma. You don't have the right."

But the blaring dial tone told her Shizuma was already too far gone.

She sighed, hanging up the phone and sinking back into the sofa of the luxurious mansion her fiancé had inherited. Funny- she'd think she'd be happy with the way things turned out, or at least mildly satisfied. Despite what she said, without Shizuma, Miyuki was nothing but a hollow shell of a girl who wordlessly allowed her parents to engage her to a man she didn't know- a man who spent his days with a bottle and his nights with his wordless wife. She didn't dare contradict him- she'd learned that the hard way.

Still, she didn't have room to complain. Overall, they left each other alone, and she got a large house and an undying source of money for whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, right at her fingertips. So what gave her the right to feel so empty?

She missed Miator- she missed the hill. She missed Chikaru, the only one she'd ever told her deepest secret to- she even missed Nagisa, even though the woman she loved fell for her. That wasn't Nagisa's fault. Miyuki missed having to deal with Kaname and that little tart Momomi. She didn't miss Shizuma- she loved the girl, but she didn't miss the pain that came with that. The pain was duller here.

And Miyuki missed Shion- she wouldn't even try to deny it anymore. Shion, who'd played her foil in every attempt she'd made for a better life at Miator and Astraea Hill. Shion, who was always so stubborn, but secretly kind-hearted and chivalrous to a fault, never wavering in her moral values.

Shion, the only one who'd ever seen Miyuki cry.

Shizuma didn't count- Shizuma never counted anymore. And those tears were meaningless- those tears were fickle, fearful tears that came from being transferred to a new place where she wasn't caged.

It had been so stupid; Shizuma hadn't shown up again, and Shion was yelling at her for it again, and Chikaru had claimed sickness and left the room. And Miyuki didn't know exactly how it happened, but she'd ended up on the floor, arms drawn around her knees, positively sobbing because one could only be abandoned so many times by the girl she loved for a one-night-stand before one broke down.

It made Miyuki crack a small smile for the first time in months when she thought of Shion's reaction- the blonde had instantly stopped ranting and had become extremely flustered, kneeling beside Miyuki, chattering non-stop about how she hadn't meant anything by it… Finally Miyuki had stopped crying long enough to look up and see the distressed look on the Spican's face and had managed to laugh a little bit before standing up and assuring her that it wasn't her fault. Shion, of course, had refused to accept that answer, and had insisted on seeing Miyuki to her dormitory to make sure she was okay.

Miyuki shook her head- why she was remembering Shion of all people, she didn't know. Someone so cold and so stubborn, just like Shizuma…but not. Shizuma didn't care about people's feelings- Shizuma broke Miyuki's heart and went back to stomp on it with her expensive, brand-name heels. Shion was…Shion wasn't as tough as she liked people to think. Shion cared, but didn't want people to know it. Shion was a kitten who fancied itself a tiger. Shizuma was selfish, and pretended to care just long enough to get what she wanted.

Shizuma was a viper.

Miyuki rolled her eyes at herself and got up to pour herself a glass of wine before she went to bed.