"Again," she said with a small sigh. "Not angry. Just frustrated." Her eyes fell to the floor and she remained silent for a moment, then quickly blurted out, "I hate being around you because I'm so glad every time I see you. Then when you leave, I get so...depressed, and that really frustrates me because I shouldn't feel like this. So I try not to feel anything at all, but you don't seem to want to leave me to that."

He glanced at her. "You know, if I didn't know better I'd say you want them to be together."

"I want Jin to be happy." Anette said with a soft smile. "And if Carol can be happy too, that's even better."

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked, looking rather lost.

"I-I don't know...Take me with you? Make me hate you? Something so I don't feel like this emotional turmoil is all just a waste of energy?"

And if they end up both getting hurt?"

"Well, that's a risk you take when you start a relationship isn't it."

"I can't do the first and I've tried the second."

"A very unneccasary risk in their case."

She let go of his hand, wrapping her arms around his waist instead and holding him close. "This is really annoying," she muttered.

"It's plenty worth it." Anette argued.

Jin awkwardly rested a hand on her head, unsure of what to do. "I'm sorry..."

"No, it isn't. It's going to turn out poorly."

"You always are," she murmured. She then rather suddenly returned to her original position. "You lead."

"You don't know that." She said brightly.

Jin was silent as he took the lead, proving to be a surprisingly good dancer.

He sighed. "I'm quite sure I do."

Carol followed along easily with a grace she'd never possessed as a human. After a long while of silence, she asked, "Do you love me?"

"Nope. You're a pessimist."

Jin looked slightly surprised at the question. "That's... a bit difficult to answer isn't it?"

"You're blind to the innumberable ways this could all go wrong."

"No, it really isn't."

"And you're blind to all the ways it could go right."

"I... It's not something I can answer right now... I don't..." He stumbled over his words. He fell quiet, biting his lip.

Annet smiled, "Oh, look, he's embarrassed."

Jin's face had indeed flushed, and he finally met her gaze again, but he found he couldn't put the right words together.

Diah watched with mild interest as Carol tentatively reached up, touching his cheek. But when she suddenly shifted to her toes and pressed her lips to his, he had to look away, all of his effort going into restraining himself from slamming Jin into the wall.
The kiss wasn't like her last one, which had been childlike and experimental. This was firm and desperate, pleading for him to find some way to fix all of this. She'd forgotten about everyone else in the room, and was reluctant to pull away.

Jin's eyes widened and he returned the kiss, his eyes closing.

"Relax, it's beyond your control now anyway."

"It was never in my control," he admitted bitterly.

After several moments, she pulled away, but just barely. "I'll take that as a yes?" She whispered, her face still less than an inch from his.

Jin rested his forhead against hers, "Mmhmm..." He agreed shyly.

"Calm down already." She said as she sharply tugged his hair.

He cried out, more from surprised than pain. "Ow!" With one hand he rubbed his head, the other still holding her up. "What'd you do that for?!"

A small smile crossed her face as her cheeks pinkened and she gave him another quick kiss. The fact that he wasn't pushing her away was a pleasant surprise, but as she slowly began to come back to earth, she remembered the others in the room, which brought a heavy blush of embarassment to her face.

"Because you're over reacting." She grumbled.

"Blushing again?" Jin teased, "You really are adorable..."

"I am not," he grumbled. "You're under-reacting."

"Shuddup. You were blushing, too, a moment ago." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she looked up at him with puppy eyes. "Do you really have to go tonight? It can't wait until morning?"

Anette tugged his hair again. "I'm your date for the night, quite envying other girls you promiscuous jerk."

"I wasn't, you imagined it. And I..." He paused. He could have waited until morning, but he knew where it could lead if he stayed. "I have to go tonight."

"Promiscuous? Yeah, right. You didn't even want to! And stop pulling my hair, or I'll pull yours!"

"Please?" She murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll be good, I promise."

"You say 'didn't' like it's past tense." Anette said, giving his hair a final tug before remembering she didn't have her main weapon to defend herself with.

"I'm more worried about if I will be." He grumbled, lightly pulling away.



********

I was so happy when you smiled... your smile breaks through the clouds of gray.... >>

XD

"Then I will make us both happy." Diah rather suddenly lifted her, carrying her bridal style to a chair against the wall. Had it been his choice, he would have left her where she'd been, but no matter his irritation level, he wasn't about to just let someone fall, demon or not. He set her down gently before turning and walking out the room, holding himself with a formal dignity unusual for him.

"Oh, come on." She pulled him back, her expression firm. "You know I wouldn't let you do anything. Nothing has changed in that department." Her eyes caught Diah leaving, and she suddenly looked worried. "I think I made him mad..." she said softly, letting her hands drop.

Anette panicked the moment he picked her up and began to flail, but before she could reach for a weapon she'd been dropped in a hair. "You ass!" She shouted at him as she tried to get to her feet, her hand trembling from nerves and her legs trembling from her weight as she unsteadily walked towards her machine, the metal making clanking sounds as it buckled.

"I don't think it was you." He said as he abandoned her to catch Anette before she could fall. He helped her back into her mechanical legs. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, the mechanical legs carrying her back into he depths of the house. Jin gave a sigh as he returned to Carol, "She's certainly not happy..."

"I don't think he was either..." she murmured. "God, I can't believe I didn't think about that...He's spent this whole time trying to protect me and I just go and do that kind of thing right in front of him..."

Diah dropped down into a chair by the table he'd been sitting at before. He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering if he should later apologize to Annet but doubting it'd do any good. As he thought over how to handle the whole thing, a parchment tied with a red thread appeared on the table in front of him. "Oh no..." he muttered, horror entering his expression. Hesitantly, he reached forward and broke the thread. The letter rolled open, and he scanned it quickly before dropping his head onto the table with a sharp "thud". "God, why are you making this all so bad?" He whispered, tears starting to fall down his face. Of course, it wasn't God's decision to send him the letter, nor to make Carol fall in love with Jin, nor to pull Diah in so deep, but he was the easiest to blame in situations like these.