The next morning, I was roused from my deep sleep by the ever wonderful (if not familiar) sound of my mother screaming for me to wake up. She seemed even more frazzled than usual. I mean, I completely understood her worry, but she was annoyingly anal about the way I was dressed that day. Nothing even remotely close to green. A pink tee shirt and some jeans with my standard black hoodie. And I swear, when I picked up a Granny Smith apple to eat with breakfast, she twitched. Even Mom's insulting scrutiny couldn't spoil the unshakably good mood I was in, though.

You see, upon realizing that there was even the smallest chance that the previous night wasn't just a hallucination, I lost any concern for the outside world. I lost concern for everything, really. I sat in English, thinking in circles while the teacher drawled on. Had it been real? Was that even remotely possible? Yes. But it was also about three times as possible that it had all been a dream. I needed concrete proof, something that was undeniable. I needed something to show to everyone else. But what could I possibly get? A strand of hair? A shirt? No, those things weren't convincing enough. What I needed was a plan. I pulled out a sheet of paper and began scribbling away, completely oblivious to my surroundings. About halfway into my brilliant plotting, however, I was interrupted.

A small square of folded paper landed in the middle of my desk. I looked around, only to see Mei grinning at me from her seat. Carefully, I unfolded the note so that the teacher wouldn't see it.

Chihiro, I'm really sorry I snapped at you the other day... I didn't mean to bring up you-know-who. I was just being really defensive for no reason. I don't know why I haven't told you this already, I mean I know I can trust you and all, but I've sort of developed a wee bit of a crush on Ren, the stupid pansy.

I hastily scribbled my response.

Haha! Mei, you crack me up. But Ren isn't a pansy. He's a water lily. ^-^ But seriously? Ren?

A stern look.

Yes, Ren. Now SHUT UP before I get onto you for dodging my calls. Stupid whore. And I swear to god if you breathe a WORD of this to Ren…

A raised eyebrow. But before I could reply, the bell for lunch rang, sending us off to the cafeteria. Mei was visibly shaking, and I briefly wondered if this was due to her anticipation of seeing Ren. If so, this was a lot more than a little crush. Plopping down at our normal table, Mei and I sat in silence until Ren came tramping up, singing.

"A veeery merry unbirthday to you! Chihiro!"

"Who, me?" I batted my eyelashes innocently.
"Yes, you," Mei fidgeted with her food. "What, exactly, do you plan on doing for your birthday anyway? It's not a milestone like 16 or 18, so we can't very well throw you a party without looking like complete twats…if you don't give me any ideas, I might just end up taking you to a strip club."

I laughed. "Mei, you know my parents are far too anal. They'd know the second I came home exactly what I had been doing, and who with. They'd never let me see the two of you again!"

"Anal, eh? Damn, Chihiro. I didn't ever think of your parents as open to experimentation. Wink wink." Ren sniggered, biting into a large sandwich.

"Shut up, you pervert! I was actually thinking that we could go to Otaru Dream Beach, if that's not too much of a hassle."

Mei's eyes lit up. She had always loved the beach. "OHMYGOSHYES! That is a GREAT idea! I-" she was cut off by the dismissal bell. "I'll talk to you later, Chihiro. Have fun in Chem!"

The rest of my day went by quickly, and so I shuffled out to my car with the ringing of the final bell. Pulling out into the street, I was quickly met by oncoming traffic. My heart stopped as I glanced at the cab of the truck behind mine. God Dammit, SAM. I'm going to kill him. I waved. He grinned a big, silly grin and waved back, obviously enthused by my noticing him. It was then that I realized I had to do something, anything to relieve myself of this constant Haku-obsessing ASAP.

Once home, I checked to make sure neither of my parents were there before rounding up the supplies and heading up to my room; oils and herbs, candles, and a homemade Ouija board. Turning on some soft music and lighting the candles, I began to daub the oil and herb mixture on the doorways and windows and chant loudly the things I had found on the websites I visited.

Ad captandum,

For the sake of pleasing, (I set the incense burning and lit the last of the candles)

Ad usum,

According to custom, (I daubed the oil and herbs on the entrances)

Amor animi arbitrio sumitur, non ponitur

We choose to love, we do not choose to stop loving,

Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio:

I ask you to fulfill what I so desire:

Ut te revelata cernens facie,

To see you face to face again.

I could not help but wonder what the hell Chihiro was doing. Watching her from the tree was both the best comedy I'd ever seen and the most disturbing thing I'd ever witnessed. In some ways, it pained me that she had become so desperate to see me that she would do something so sad. Armed with what appeared to be seasoning salt, vegetable oil, and scented bath candles, she attempted to summon me back through a misshapen hunk of cardboard and what sounded like a mish-mash of mispronounced Latin proverbs.

Something struck me as I watched; Chihiro was not doing this because she returned the feelings I so desperately wanted her to. Chihiro was doing this to confirm her sanity.

Nonetheless, the hilarity and irony was not lost on me. The chanting intensified, sounding more like grunting as she repeated over again the same phrases, and my name. Foolish girl… I doubted that even the most desperate of spirits would appear to her, even were they seeking someone to prey upon. However, I could not risk her behaviour repeating itself. This episode only strengthened my conviction; I must reveal myself to her on-time. No more games, no more watching helplessly as Chihiro pulled her silly stunts. Only truth.

And the truth was, I completely loved Chihiro Oniga. Cowchanting and all.

"Ohmmmm! Ohhhhmmm!" I sat, cross-legged, in the middle of my floor. "Ohmmm, Hakupleasevisitme ohhhmmmm! Ohhm, Hakuwherethefuckareyou? Ohhhmmmm!"

I had been at it for an hour and a half, and had very little time before my parents arrived home. Trying the Ouija board once more would not help (I'd say four times is enough), and my room was beginning to smell like a candy shop from all of the incense and candles (so what? All we had was cinnamon-smelling!). I was tired of this-Haku was obviously either not listening, or not going to come to me this easily. I briefly considered holding a knife to my throat, but I couldn't count on that, either. I couldn't count on him watching. My doorknob was slightly slick from the oil, and I was sure that if I didn't get my ridiculous mess cleaned up and my homework started before my mom came home I'd be in a world of hurt. I cleaned quickly, all the while thinking of the dark, shadowy figure I had seen the night before. Wings, he had wings, black and slick like oil. The memory was blurred, I was sure it had to be because Haku didn't want me to remember or something...whatever this meant, it had to be good.

When the door slammed open, I was sitting at my desk, staring at a complex math problem that I did not understand completely; I had finished cleaning with seconds to spare, opening my windows so that the smell would hopefully fade a little. A deep, male voice boomed through the house.

"Chihiiiro! We're home!" my father began to stomp up the stairs to my room. The door swung open, and I turned around to face him.

"How was your day, daddy?" I smiled, and he sniffed the air.

"Good, sweetie… we got you something really nice for your birthday in a couple of days, you can go ahead and see it in the morning. It's for the trip you have planned with Mei and Ren…but may I ask you…what is that smell? Have you been burning your mother's good candles?" I nodded.

"She's going to throw a fit when she finds out…let me fart in here to cover up the smell, okay?" my eyes widened in mock-terror, and I shook my head furiously. It was too late. A loud riiiiiiiiiiiiip, and he was out of my room. I'm usually a daddy's little girl, but it was the most disgusting I had ever smelt in my life.

I spent the rest of my night alone in my room; my mother had enough sense to leave me alone after the previous night's events. Ever-so-aware and paranoid, I convinced myself that Haku was somehow watching, somehow granted a panoramic view of the situation. Turning on the stereo sitting next to my bed, I began to dance senselessly to the new La Roux cd that I had bought a week before. A sort of summoning thing, sort of like a rain dance, I continued until I fell exhausted and limp in a heap upon my bed. I slept dreamlessly that night, and in that I was at peace, even if only for a brief period of time. Only, I could have sworn that, just before I drifted off to sleep, I felt a pair of lips pressed gently to my forehead.

Alright, guys. I'm going to try to write more. I know I've not updated in over a year, and this sudden influx of chapters may confuse you. And this one was a bit of a rush job just to get new material up, so I apologize if it's crap. But please R&R, you know the drill.

xoxoxoxo, Hoove