Title: Paint the Sky with Stars - Chapter 5

Author: Yugure

Genre: Romance - Z/L

Rated: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own Zel, Lina, or any of the Slayers characters. Except I do own Briar, Elena, and Maxwell Graywords.

Author Notes: As some of you probably noticed, the last chapter was really short. Sorry. ^_^;; Here's a slightly longer chapter. For current and future reference, there shall be no Amelia-bashing in this story. I happen to like Amelia. And for those of you who don't like the Zelgadis-based chapters, don't worry. The next one is definitely Lina.

Chapter 5 - Guilt, or a Reasonable Facsimile Thereof

Saturday. Probably the most celebrated day of the week. No school, no work; nothing but relaxing in the sun. Zelgadis whistled a simple tune as he approached his parents' brownstone for the second time that week. This time, he was prepared for any assault his parents might deign necessary. And if all else failed, he could count on help from Briar, who would gladly get him out of any pickle.

Just as the day before, the door flung open and Briar came barreling out. Her long hair was plaited into two braids, which swished around her as she bounced down the steps.

"Let's go, oniichan!" she said. She held up a small blue camera with butterfly stickers on it. "I've got my camera and everything!"

"All right. I have to let Mom know we're leaving, though. Just wait here a second." Zelgadis hid a smile as Briar sighed loudly, her impatience very clear.

Inside, Zelgadis walked no further than the entranceway. Any deeper into the house, and he might not come back out again any time soon.

"Mom, we're leaving now! We'll be back later!" he yelled. Having done the "responsible older brother" thing, he beat a hasty retreat.

"Wait, Zelgadis!" Elena Graywords called back. Zelgadis cursed under his breath. He wasn't even across the threshold yet. Just a bit further, and he could have feigned that he hadn't heard. With a growl of impatience, Zelgadis pasted a falsely cheerful smile on his face and turned around.

"Yeah Mom?" The smile vanished as Zelgadis watched Elena hurry towards him with a sheepish Amelia in tow.

"Zelgadis, why doesn't Amelia go with you? It would be a perfect opportunity to show her around the city and get to know her more," Elena said. The glare spoke volumes more than the words did. If Zelgadis refused, he'd be in deep sh-

"Sure, why not?" Zelgadis flashed a very brief, very tight smile. Amelia blushed and followed him outside. Briar sat on the waist-high wall bordering the steps, kicking her feet violently against the bricks and yelling a song at the top of her lungs.

"Hey, Yoko. We're leaving now," Zelgadis said, snagging a braid and giving it a tug. Briar stuck her tongue out at him and leapt off the wall.

"Ame-chan, you're coming with us?" Briar asked, gazing up at Amelia.

"Yes, I am. I hope you don't mind," Amelia replied. Her genuine smile made Zelgadis feel a little guilty for allowing her to come, under false pretenses.

"Naw, that's cool." Briar nodded her acceptance and began humming a tune. Together the trio crossed the street and began the short walk to the zoo.

"Mr. Zelgadis… I'm sorry for intruding like this. I only stopped by this morning to drop off some papers my father wanted your father to have. I wasn't expecting to accompany you…" Amelia's soft smile warmed a small piece of Zelgadis's cynical heart.

"Don't worry about it. My mother has a strange way of… well, of doing everything," Zelgadis replied. "Did you have somewhere else to be? You don't have to follow us if you don't want to."

"No, I have no plans for the rest of the day. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay with you." Amelia blushed yet again. Zelgadis had a bad feeling this girl already had a crush on him, even though this was only their second meeting.

The rest of the walk was in relative silence, except for Briar's random musical accompaniment. Zelgadis wasn't sure what to think of his current predicament. He had no real interest in Amelia, other than perhaps casual friendship. They barely knew each other. Of course, that was the whole point of Elena Graywords practically shoving Amelia at Zelgadis. It wasn't the first time it's happened, either. Elena and Maxwell Graywords were near fanatics about their son's love life, ever since she died. Girls would constantly show up on Zelgadis's doorstep, as if by magic, but all bearing the mark of his parents. Always polite but never sincere, Zelgadis turned each and every one of them away. He thought his parents would have given up by now, but apparently, the new business deal between Saillune Industries and Graywords & Co. offered them a perfect opportunity to meddle even further in his life. Zelgadis had suffered through a year of pain and despair and anguish. He wasn't ready for any sort of relationship again. Not after that… No, Zelgadis Graywords wanted nothing more to do with women.

Then what's up with that Lina girl? a voice in Zelgadis's mind prodded.

You shut up. You're just a voice, was the miffed and inane reply.

"Zelgadis, I wanna see the monkeys first! Can we go see the monkeys?!" Briar shouted as they entered the zoo. She squealed in delight as Zelgadis nodded his head. Without a moment's pause, she took off for the monkey house.

"Your sister is adorable," Amelia commented as she and Zelgadis followed Briar, although much more slowly.

"Yeah, well, you haven't seen her temper tantrums yet," Zelgadis replied. Amelia smiled.

"So, what is it you're studying at the university?" Amelia asked politely.

"My father wants me to major in business, so that someday I'll take over Graywords & Co., but I really have no interest in it. I'm hoping to get a major in English. So I'm pretty much sticking to both areas of study. You?"

"Politics!" This exclamation caused both Zelgadis's eyebrows to shoot towards his hairline. Amelia flushed with embarrassment. "Well, I really want to make the world a better place. I want to be in a position where people will be able to listen to what I say and where I can take action. Daddy - I mean, my father - also wanted me to study business, but he supports my decision."

"Politics," Zelgadis repeated. "Never have I seen a word as accurate as politics: poly meaning many, and tic being a blood-sucking thing." Immediately Zelgadis regretted saying such words to a future politician, but Amelia only laughed.

"Hey, not all politicians are bad," she said, then at the look on Zelgadis's face, amended: "Okay, so maybe they are. But I'm not going to be. I hope to change the way people look at politics."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks. I think I'll need it."

They continued to chat idly about anything that happened to come up. They followed Briar through the zoo, making faces at the reptiles and being accosted by the birds in the aviary. Zelgadis desperately wanted to ask Amelia what she thought about the way their parents were pushing them together, but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. After antagonizing over it to the point of insanity, Zelgadis finally asked.

They were all resting in the shade of an oak tree, drinking sodas and munching on a bag of popcorn. Setting aside his Coca-Cola, Zelgadis turned to watch Amelia and Briar throw popcorn to the squirrels.

"Amelia, what do you think of all this?"

"The zoo?" Amelia asked, confusion coloring her face.

"No, about the way our parents are setting us up." Zelgadis watched Amelia for any signs that might clue him in on her feelings. Amelia tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and tilted her head towards him.

"Well, I think it was very nice of them to introduce us. I like you a lot, Mr. Zelgadis. You're a fun person to be with," she began.

"No, not like that. I mean… them trying to get us together for their own profit. If we were to marry-"

"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia blushed a fierce shade of pink. "Marriage is the furthest thing from my mind right now! I don't know what you're talking about. My father would never use me like that. What makes you say such a thing?"

Zelgadis simply stared at Amelia. She wasn't lying. She believed everything she said. Zelgadis, after having a year of practice at discerning lies from truth, was a pro at detecting lies. Amelia was completely innocent of the matter. Either Amelia hadn't figured it out yet, or Zelgadis was a paranoid freak and it only existed in his mind. The latter seemed to be the correct choice…

"I'm sorry, Amelia. Just forget I said anything. I wasn't thinking straight," Zelgadis amended. He turned away from the questioning look.

"A-all right," Amelia replied quietly. After a few moments of relative silence, Amelia cleared her throat. "Shall we continue?"

Zelgadis turned back to find her smiling at him again, as though she really had erased the last few moments. Briar crawled over to where Zelgadis was and tugged on his arm.

"C'mon, oniichan! We still have the tigers and elephants to see!" she exclaimed. Zelgadis stood and helped Amelia to her feet. Briar jumped up and ran for the elephant enclosure.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, except when one of the elephants sprayed the water it had been holding in its trunk all over the innocent bystanders. Zelgadis and Amelia were soaked, and as they stood there, shrieking and laughing from the sudden downpour, Briar snapped a picture. It had been a long time since she had seen her big brother smile like that. It was a genuine, glad-to-be-alive kind of smile. Not the I'm-in-no-mood-to-smile-but-I'll-smile-for-you smiles she always received when Zelgadis returned home.

The walk home was wet but happy. At the house, Amelia declined a set of Elena's clothes to change into, and instead called her chauffeur to come by and pick her up, and to have her own clothes waiting in the car.

"Thank you for allowing me to accompany you, Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said as she crawled into the back of a sleek black limo. Daddy's girl for sure, Zelgadis thought. Then again, my father would do the same…

"Please, just call me Zelgadis."

"Okay… Zelgadis."

They parted with a smile. Zelgadis waved to the limo as it disappeared around a corner, and he wondered why, all of a sudden, something painful was tugging at his heart. Guilt, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Why would he… Then it hit him. Lina. But why would he feel guilty about a girl whom he barely knew? He met her twice. That wasn't enough time to manifest feelings… was it?