"What's happening with me?"

The next morning Zeke woke up in his bed, a bit tired, but in a very good mood because of what happened last night.

"Things seem to be getting better lately" he thought, while making a cup of tea "My friendships have become a lot better during the last few weeks. Now that we're under Tsmd's protection I have much more free time than before"

He took his cup of tea outdoors on the balcony, taking advantage of the wonderful, chilly air that blew outside.

"I was able to spend more time with Luis, like we did before he started dating Amber, even so, their relationship looks stronger than ever, they already look like a married couple. As for 'us,' it appears like Yuki is interested in me, but I haven't had the opportunity to speak with her fully since we returned home last night. I'm waiting for her to wake up so we can talk about what happened"

He began to shiver slightly, as he peered out the balcony at the lovely view of Paxton early in the morning, before the people began to go to work, he began to shiver slightly.

"To be honest…I'm a bit nervous…since she hold my hand tightly last night, I kept thinking…Is it possible that I have feelings for her too? Or is it merely a figment of my imagination…?" he said to himself.

"I couldn't stop thinking... since the incident with my parents five years ago…I was always alone...I went to school alone, remained at home alone, and paid my expenses alone... I've done everything on my own... But things have changed since she appeared in my life... I didn't have that feeling anymore... I don't know how to put this in words...but I feel…" his thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound coming from inside "That should be her door, she must have woken up" he said to himself, sweating "Now is the moment…"

He stepped inside and braced himself for what was to come. He saw her in a white robe as soon as he stepped inside, her lovely, untidy black hair reaching to the middle of her back. Her magnificent crimson eyes, which she rubs. Her mouth, with which she was yawning since she had just recently awoken. And the detail that drove him insane early in the morning, those two enormous toys that Zeke couldn't take his gaze away from with just one glimpse.

"If only she'd worn anything other than her black bra to hide them…" he thought, trying as hard as he can to not get too excited "Ahem, good morning Yuki, how are you feeli..."

"What the Hell do you want?!" she said in an angry tone, turning him off right away.

Zeke's anxiety grows, especially after hearing her first line after what happened the night before.

"A…Are you not feeling good Yuki?" he asked, stammering

"Huh? What do you mean?! Do I look bad or something? Do you want me to kill you right now?" she asked, looking him dead in the eyes.

"What? No no no no" he replied fluttering his hands in the air "I was just wondering…" he then made a small pause "Can we talk a bit about last ni…"

"NO!" she yelled, interrupting him "FORGET EVERYTHING!"

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said forget everything, and don't talk to me today!" She yelled once again as she walked inside her room and shut the door behind her.

"Wha…what happened with her?" Zeke wondered, totally clueless "Did I do something wrong to upset her?"

He waited ten minutes while preparing breakfast, but she had not appeared from her room. He stepped near her door and knocked after preparing a lovely meal on a dish.

"Hey, Yuki…" he said in a low voice "You're here, I know... I'm not sure what happened... Everything seemed OK a few hours ago, and suddenly you're acting quite chilly... Please let me know if I made or said something to upset you..." he made a small pause, gathered his courage and said with a trembling voice.

"If...it's about last night...I'm sorry if I broke a line in our relationship...all I want is for us to get along...I've made you breakfast and will leave it here, at the entryway, so please, even if you're mad at me, you should at least eat well" he then made another pause, while getting up.

"I'm leaving right now; I have to met Mr. Herrler at his office, so I'll see you tonight; take care of yourself, and again, I'm sorry if I upset you in some way…"

"And just when I thought things were looking better... it seems that it's all in my head; even though she's been acting strangely recently, there's no way Yuki will feel anything for me…" he thought as he took his coat and got ready to leave.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Yuki's door, she was crouching close to the door, clutching her legs to her chest and tucking her red face between them "I'm such a big idiot…" she said in a quiet, gentle voice, that resembles a lot of regret.

After some time had passed, Zeke met with Herrler in his office to discuss 'that thing.' Zeke's attitude shifted when he entered Herrler's office; he appeared more serious than before and leaned on the desk where Herrler was working on the computer.

"How does she feel?" Herrler asked.

"Not in the greatest mood" Zeke replied, his arms crossed across his chest "Everything appeared wonderful last night, everything went according to my plan, but this morning...she turned me off as soon as she woke up"

"Maybe it would have been better to let me enroll her to a school, it seems she really wanted to go"

"Oh I bet she does" Zeke instantly replied "But it's as I told you, right now, it's better for her to stay at home and not went outside alone"

"It's about that guy again?" Herrler asked.

"Yes…Yuki appears to have a 'admirer' who will not leave her alone, and as I previously stated, Yuki is special, so everyone in her past must be special as well."

"Zeke…" said Herrler as he stopped tasting on his computer "Are you sure you're not just jealous?"

"Yes" Zeke replied in a serious tone "All this protection is necessary…" then said to himself "Plus...if Tamos are the ones who stands by every Hals attack, who knows how close they are to us, and given that Yuki had known about them since the beginning, I can only assume they know about her identity as well, so I can't risk leaving her alone in a place where she isn't safe."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"That's why I came to you…" Zeke replied, looking at the floor, in a much lower voice "I don't know…I want an advice"

"An advice?" Herrler asked, trying to look surprised. "And what makes you think the advice of this old man can help you with something?" he then replied laughing.

Zeke chuckled "You're always like that" he told Herrler with a small smile on his face "Even when it's just the two of us, you're always like that…" but something at him was not alright, the sadness in his eyes could tell everything "I would've like to be like you Mr.Herrler"

"Then why aren't you?" Herrler asked in a much more serious tone "What's keeping you from being yourself among other people?"

"You're well aware of the reason... I'm not the kind guy I appear to be... You are fully aware that I am also guilty of many wrongdoings..."

"I wouldn't say 'wrongdoings' Zeke; it's true that your choices aren't always the greatest, but you've never had a bad intention" Herrler said trying to comfort him "Even now, you just want her to be safe, don't you?"

Zeke didn't say anything after that, leaving Herrler to continue his monologue "If I were you, I would just talk to her and tell her the truth; you know how bad it is to keep secrets from loved ones. Then I'd ask her to tell me what's going on since you mentioned she's terrified when she talks about 'him', didn't you? Then attempt to talk about it as a couple, rather than acting alone."

"You know we aren't a real couple," Zeke replied in a low voice.

"I know, but based on how you treat each other, I wouldn't say you're far from being one." Herrler told him, but Zeke remained silent again for a couple of seconds.

"Thanks for your advice Mr.Herrler" he said as he walked to the door.

"Any time Zeke, you know you can count on me whenever you want"

Zeke then leaved to office, but he didn't seems to enjoy Herrler's advice to much.

"To tell her the truth you say…? That's impossible…maybe she will forgive me after a while…but she will end up worrying again if she finds out what I'm really doing at 'school'...maybe I should seek advice from someone who is closer to our age" he thought as he pulled out his phone and started calling someone.

"Hey, are you free to meet in a few minutes?" he said to that person. "No, nothing bad happened, I just want to help me with something…Yes it's about her…Ok thank you, I will wait you near the entrance of my place"

Another 30 minutes had passed, and Zeke was still waiting for this person to arrive. He was still standing in front of his block, well dressed, as he was ready for a date, when this person arrived. It was Amber, she was dressed elegantly in a light brown shirt, a long black skirt, a straw hat, and a tiny pocketbook slung over her shoulder.

"Sorry, did I make you wait long?"

"Not really, but that's not important, I have something important to discuss with you, so let's go to more secluded place"

"Huh? Why? Are you sure nothing bad happened?"

"Yes, I'm sure, but here some walls have ears," he said, pointing to his apartment's balcony, where Yuki was looking at him with a murderous intention.

"Oh…I see, yeah it's better if we go to another place"

The two moved considerably away from the place where they met and stopped at a terrace, without leaving the territory of Tsmd. After that Zeke explained to Amber what happened and why he called her so suddenly.

"So, let me see if I understood everything right" she said after Zeke explained everything "Yuki never went to school her entire life for reasons you don't want to discuss. And now Herrler has recommended that you two resume your studies at a college, and Yuki was extremely excited to start school, but you secretly told Herrler not to enroll her?

Because you knew she wasn't going to school, you secretly took her to a public school to show her what a typical day would be like. And then you two walked home holding hands, but when she woke up this morning, she was angry at you for reasons you don't understand?"

"Pretty much, yes, something along those lines, and I'd like some advice about situation"

"Before that, I have a question: since you and Yuki are a couple, don't you normally hold hands?" she asked confused "Why do you think things were different this time?

"Oh crap…I forgot that Amber still thinks I and Yuki are a couple…" Zeke said to himself and remained silent for a moment "I…felt it…" he said in the end "This time was different...well at least that's how I saw it, and I don't want to misinterpret her feelings... That's why I'm seeking female advice; do you have any idea what she might have?"

"First and foremost," she said, sipping the juice that had just been delivered to her by the server, "Come close, I need to tell you something about her, but you need to hear it very clearly"

Zeke was a little nervous, but as he got closer to her, she grabbed his cheek and squeezed it till it was nearly bruised.

"Ahhh! That hurt!" he told her, stroking his red cheek.

"You deserve it," she said, folding her arms at her chest and felt extremely confident in her actions "I can't believe you did something like that to her" then replied in an irritated tone "You should be ashamed of what you've done."

"I've told you…I had a good reason for this"

Amber slammed her hand into the table to get Zeke's attention, and then told him "Let me give you the advice you've been waiting for, Zeke: no reason in this world is good enough to take away a loved one's happiness. You should have just supported her if you knew she was excited about going to school; even if you went through all that chaos to show her what school is like, it's still not enough"

She then lent on her back and began to sow from her juice once more "To be honest, based on what you said, she doesn't appear to be aware of the incident, thus I believe the reason she's mad at you is for a different reason. If you want, I could take her out and talk with her, maybe I'll find out something"

"Please, that would be great"

"Ok, it's settled then, so if you excuse me I'll take my leave; I have something to do right now," she says, getting up from the table "And then I'll take her and talk with her; I should be able to figure something out today."

"Ok, I'm counting on you Amber, and thank you for taking the time to talk to me, and thank you for the advice"

"Before leaving" she said in a serious tone "I want an honest answer to this question. Do you love her right?"

"Oh fuck…this again…" he thought "I can't tell her that Yuki and I aren't actually a couple since it would be too suspicious if we spent our time and now live together... For now, I'm going to play her game" he then told her loud "Yes"

"Then you should apologize to her, even if she is unaware of the school incident; hiding things for her is not a smart idea." then she walked away.

Zeke let out a heavy sigh before becoming buried in his own thoughts "We already keep a lot of things hidden from one other...I don't think adding another one will make a difference…" he got up from the table and was about to walk away, when the sound of a familiar voice made him stop.

"Zeke?" the voice said "What are you doing here?"

When Zeke turned around, he saw Luis, with a bag in his left hand. "Oh Luis, hi, long story to be honest…" he told Luis with a tired voice.

"I thought I saw Amber leave here earlier, did something happen?"

"Ahh" Zeke sighed "I should let you know too" then he invited Luis to take the sit where Amber stood before, then started to explain everything that happened with Yuki, and why he called Amber.

"Oh…I see, you did well to call Amber; the two appear to get along well, and perhaps she will be able to help you out"

"That's what I was thinking...just that her advice gives me headaches" Zeke said, leaning his face on the table and putting his hand on his head.

"To be honest" Luis replied after staring at Zeke for some time "I don't believe you did anything wrong, Zeke. I'm sure you have your reasons for doing something like this, and I don't see anything wrong with it if you say it's for her own good."

hearing this, Zeke chuckled "Thank you Luis, it made me feel a bit better"

"Well, you're welcome, but if you truly want some advice, I'd say go buy her something she would love; I'm sure things will improve after that."

"That won't work. If I try to be empathetic to her again, I'll end up a loser; I already believe I misinterpreted her message and her feelings, but I can't let him know that…" Zeke said to himself then told Luis loud "I will consider it, thank you for your advice Luis"

"Any time Zeke"

Luis and Zeke got up from the table and went for a walk to 'unumb their feets' according to Zeke. As they walked towards their home Zeke remembered something.

"Oh yeah, Luis, I wanted to ask you" he said "Why did you refuse to stay inside Tsmd area?"

"Hmm? Oh that…I don't feel to comfortable around Herrler, that's the only reason, but my place is still inside Tsmd's area, it's just that we're not that close to headquarters"

"Oh…do you still have a problem with your dad?"

"Have I ever stopped?" Luis said in a serious tone, which made Zeke remain silent.

"Since that cursed day, I have a problem with him…if he had listened to my mother and not gotten too involved in what the Tamos were up to, she could still be alive today" Luis said with a crushing frustration that pervades everything he says.

"Luis…I think you're a little to harsh with your dad"

"Is that so, Zeke? I don't wish to be harsh, but I'm not sure if you understand how it feels to have a parent taken away from you and know there's nothing you can do about it"

Zeke remained silent for a moment before telling Luis, hesitantly and in a mournful tone "Yes, you're right, I don't know how it feels" then the moment for the two to say goodbye to each other came. Luis waved at Zeke, and Zeke continued to stare at him even as he walked away from him.

"I wish I could tell you about my past, Luis... maybe you wouldn't have said those things if you knew…" he said to himself, then turned back on his way home. However, as he got at the door and was about to call the elevator to bring him to the top, he was greeted by two familiar faces. Yuki and Amber were heading out; Amber was still dressed in the same outfit she wore when she met Zeke, while Yuki was dressed more casually for a day out.

"Oh Yuki, hi, are you feeling bette…" Zeke tried to tell her something, but was interrupted by her passing by. Yuki had never been so heartless before. She simply went by him, no words, no look in his eyes, nothing.

He then turned his anxious face to Amber, who was equally surprised. "You 100% done something wrong," she said. "Leave it to me, I'll try to figure out what's going on." Zeke simply replied, "Thanks," and then walked inside the elevator with a sad expression on his face.

Amber rushed to catch up with Yuki, who had already left the spot where they had run into Zeke. She was eager to figure out why Yuki was upset with him, but as Amber exited the building, she was greeted by Yuki, whose face was red.

"D…did he left?" she asked stammering.

"Huh?!" Amber asked "Now I'm even more confused than before. Are you upset or not? I no longer understand anything"

"Huh? Me? Upset? Who should I be mad at?" Yuki replied with a cute and clueless expression on her face.

"You've got to be kidding me...come, we need to have a real talk," Amber said as she grabbed her hand and dragged Yuki after her.

"Wait Amber, we're are we going?"

"I told you, we need to talk, I have a vague idea of what's happening here"

The two have moved away long enough to be sure that someone known will not intervene. They arrived at a terrace, where they sat and waited for someone to take their order; during this time, Amber began asking questions in order to confirm her theory.

"So, answer me this question" she said in a serious tone "Aren't you upset with him?"

"Why should I be upset with him?" Yuki replied again in her cute and clueless way.

"Then why do you avoid him and treat him like that?"

Yuki's face turned red upon hearing this. She tried to hide her excitement, but her gesture exposed her true feelings "T…that…it's not like I avoid him on purpose…it's just…" She then started rubbing her index fingers together.

"Yuki…are you shy talking about your boyfriend?"

"B…BOYFRIEND?!" Yuki replied stammering, then she started to laugh in an awkward manner "Oh yeah, Zeke, he's my boyfriend, hahaha, my boyfriend…"

After a few seconds of careful observation of Yuki's behaviors and reactions, Amber asked if she was okay, because she was acting strangely.

"Strange?" Yuki replied then looked away and told her "Neah, it just seems to you"

"Yuki…" Amber said in a very gentle and low voice "I truly want to help you...But I need you to be honest with me in order for it to happen...after all, I'm your friend...Isn't that right?"

Yuki was frozen for a fraction of a second. The word 'friend' conjured up many memories from her past. Aside from the memories that went through her mind in a split second, her next word elicited a flood of emotions.

"Amber…" She uttered it in a tone that conveyed a variety of emotions: regret, fear, shock, hope, sorrow, and a small bit of happiness "Of course you're my friend!" she said out loud " But this situation…is a bit hard for me to explain…"

Amber holds Yuki's hands and told her in a very friendly tone "Start easy, you don't have to tell me everything at once, take your time"

Yuki wanted to say something, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat every time she tried. "W…Well then…" she was able to say in the end "I'll tell you everything briefly..."

Amber noticed the tremble in Yuki's voice, and the sweat from her hands, that's why she told her "Thank you " with a big smile on her face.

"Then…we should start…first of all let me clarify something…Zeke and I aren't a real couple, we're just living together for details I don't want to discuss"

"So in the end it was true," Amber replied with a small smile on her face.

"Did you knew?"

"I had my suspicions, but in the end I was right"

Yuki was silent for a few seconds "Yes…but please don't tell anybody else!" she said, fluttering her hands in the air "I don't want other people to know…"

"You have my word Yuki, I won't tell anybody"

"Thank you Amber, then let's continue, now comes the bad part about it…" she said after which she remained silent again.

"Yuki?" Amber asked after she saw Yuki was silent for over 10 seconds now.

"I'm sorry, it's a bit hard to find my words" she replied with a small and innocent smile on her face "It's just that…I've come to this place a few years ago, after an incident with my parents, I end up being an orphan" Yuki said, appearing to be able to speak without tripping or hesitating now.

"I…I know about this…you said that before…after Zeke woke up at the infirmary…"

"Yes…I did…well, after I ended up in this place, I was all alone…I had nobody, I had no family, no friends, nobody…it was just me…that was before I met 'him'..."

"Zeke?" Amber asked, but Yuki nodded.

"No…before him…I met a guy named…" and at that time a car just passed nearby and just Amber was able to hear the guy's name "Let's just say he was my very first boyfriend" She said again with a forced smile on her face "He went out of his way to find me, brought me to his house, and allowed me to live there. At that moment I felt again after a long time, I felt like I had a home again, or at least that's how I saw it at the time... I didn't realize it at the time, but he constantly made me do his job…

Because he was a shady character, the work I did wasn't simple things like walking the dog or cooking dinner…" she said, making a small pause "I've...done a few things that I'm not proud of... The idea is that after discovering what kind of guy he was, I ran away after spending four or five years with him. And after that…some things happened that made me regret my entire life…I went through some really dark times...but…" Then a small smile appeared on her face "My mother had left me something that helped me get through them.

Fast forward, after a couple of weeks walking towards nowhere, I met Zeke, and I must say, at first I didn't liked him at all" she said laughing "After what that guy did, I no longer felt that I could ever trust anyone, but through a multitude of events, I ended up spending much more time with Zeke, more forced by certain details to be honest. At first I hated the idea…but one event made me question everything that I knew till that moment…"

As she spoke a lot of images began to appear in her mind, images of the battle between Zeke and the Hals from the forest and from how she found Zeke, after the fight with the Hals from the mall "Zeke was different…that was what I thought. Zeke was much more different from this guy, from the way he talks, from how he speaks, from the way he treats me…from everything. I was used to do a lot of work to be honest, but the moment I started to spend time with him…he always does this work in my place…sometimes even overworking himself to the point of collapsing…but…it made me feel…" she then stopped.

"How did he made you feel?"

"I don't know…worried would be the perfect word…but I don't really know….the idea is that he made me feel much better that this guy had…"

"So that means you actually like Zeke?"

"That's the tricky part…I don't know Amber…" she said with a trembling voice "I don't know…I don't know what I feel for Zeke, I don't know if I genuinely have romantic feelings for Zeke, or I just have a lot of gratitude towards him for all the things he does for me…" then Yuki stops. Tears began to stream down her cheek, almost forming a waterfall. Yuki looked Amber in the eyes, and with a trembling voice, she asked her

"Amber…What is happening with me? Why can't I give you a proper answer…? Why does my heart tremble every time I think of him? And why am I still afraid?"

"Afraid of what Yuki?" Amber asked, in a worried tone.

"Of…that guy…" she replied in a very low voice "A couple of weeks ago…I've met him again…and I must say…he was much more menacing than he used to be…and I'm afraid that I will put Zeke in danger if our relationship will evolve into something else…"

Amber sat calmly and listened to everything Yuki said, and at that moment she understood why Zeke didn't want to send her to a school. But after a few seconds of thinking, she came up with a solution to the current problem.

"That was before Tsmd took us, right?"

"Yes…" Yuki muttered.

"Then why don't you just hang around in this area for a while? I'm sure there aren't many outsiders who can get in"

"This is…what I'm currently doing…" she hesitantly said "I went outside of this area last night with Zeke, and it felt amazing, but at the same time…" she said taking a pause "I had the feeling that in every second that man would appear…"

"Yuki…" Amber said, holding Yuki's hands again "You don't have to be afraid anymore, you are no longer alone, this time you have friends, and Tsmd that has your back. If you go to Mr. Herrler and inform him about this guy, I'm sure he'll figure out a way to keep you safe. Don't forget you now live with Zeke, and you're 27/4 with him, so you shouldn't feel threatened."

Yuki remained silent for a few moments before telling Amber, "Speaking of Zeke..." in a much more menacing tone. Her eyes turned a much brighter red, and a red aura appeared about her. She continued to talk with Amber while looking her dead in the eyes. "I saw you strolling with him today, Amber," she said "What were you both up to? And why were you so well-dressed?"

"Oh that? He asked me for advice about you"

Yuki stopped "A…About me?" she asked, her voice faltering.

"Yes, he was worried that you were angry with him and didn't know why, so he sought my help."

"Was he…worried?" Yuki asked again, her cheeks slowly becoming pink.

"Given the fact that he came to ask for my advice about what to do, what do you think?"

Yuki's face turned red. She began to play with her hair, catching a hair strand she was twisting around her finger, and saying over and over, 'he was worried'.

"You know what you have to do now, right?"

Yuki remained silent, but after a couple of seconds and deep thought, she came up with her answer "I have to clarify this misunderstanding, and to apologize to him properly…"