[A/N]: 1st chapter or prologue to my new story. I don't think it turned out exactly the way I wanted and I may end up changing some things, but it's as done as done can be. Not sure when the next chapter will be out, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.

I hope you enjoy it! :)

Dedications:

My Lil Sis again. lol She spurs all my ideas on. ^^;;

You Again

Cobalt green eyes looked to the sky, a hand coming up to shield them from the bright summer sun. The young girl took a hardy breath of the fresh mountain air. A smile graced her lips, imprinting a dimple on each side of her olive colored cheeks. She tucked a dark brown strand of hair behind her ear, taking in more of the scenery.

"So, this is where you have been hiding?" She mused before picking up her suit case and walking into the bustling town of Echo Village.

oOo

Allen snipped away at the mop of hair seated in his chair. He moved with speed and grace; the strands of hair falling away and aligning perfectly against the young woman's head. Afterwards, he primmed and pressed her hair until the honey colored locks shined. He gave his work of art one more glance before turning the girl around to face the mirror. She squealed in delight at the new hair style that had been tailored made just for her.

"Oh, it's wonderful!" She gushed.

"Of course it is. Remember I'll always know what's best for your hair," He took the woman's hand and held it to his lips, barely ghosting over trembling skin. "So, make sure you return to me."

"O-okay," The woman blushed deeply and nodded. Allen smiled as she left the shop in a daze. He pocketed the extra-large tip and turned to the rest of his customers who were sitting on the edge of their seats watching him.

"Who's next?" He asked and all of their hands shot up; waving around in response. He picked up his chart to see who was on the appointment sheet before calling the next name.

"Yes!" The woman hopped up and ran to his seat, grinning like a ditzy school girl. He gave her a charming smile that made her melt into the salon chair.

He had been living here for a little over a year and he already had customers flocking from towns over just to get their hair done by him. It had been so easy that the fun of it was almost sucked away. However, he felt that someone had to bring style to people in the country. Allen chuckled at the thought.

"Is there something funny?" The woman in the chair cooed. Allen smiled at her through the mirror and leaned in close to her ear to whisper some flirtatious comment when something caught his eye. He caught a flash of it in the mirror; a waterfall of shining brown hair, a pleasant smile accompanied by a graceful step that even a goddess would envy.

Allen's head snapped towards the window, his eyes dashing wildly around as he sought the woman out. He only saw a few people moseying through the streets. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he turned back to the mirror.

"Are you okay? You look like you seen a ghost," His client mentioned to his paling face. To Allen, he might as well had, but he played off; distracting the customer with another dazzling smile before he began working on her hair.

It wasn't her. It couldn't be her.

oOo

"Guess who?" Allen whispered charmingly into Rio's ear. The blonde tensed at his sudden touch, but she soon relaxed before she scoffed.

"A dead man, if it's who I think it is," Rio removed Allen's hands from her eyes. "You have to stop sneaking up on me. Next time I'll punch your lights out." Rio huffed before blushing lightly when Allen cupped her cheek and moved only an inch away from her lips.

"And miss your blushing cheeks? I think the punishment is worth the reward," He smirked at her frazzled appearance. She pushed him away from her and took an extra step back just in case.

"Don't you get tired of playing around?" Rio crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Allen.

"Actually, I'm not playing around. It's the whole reason I came to find you," Allen straightened himself up, but kept himself as alluring as always. "I want you to go out with me and I mean it, all jokes aside." He confessed, watching Rio's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting Rio to fall over with joy or do cartwheels up and down the street. She may get a little flustered around him, but she was never overeager like the rest of the women who entered into his shop. She would definitely be classier than that when she accepted his invitation, he thought to himself.

However, his overconfidence was his downfall. Rio instantly felt very awkward, unsure of how to answer. She couldn't remember the last time someone had seriously asked her out. She fiddled with her fingers nervously before speaking.

"Well, you see, I can't. I don't really feel that way about you. And, by now you should know that Neil and I…well…" Rio waivered near the end. Initially upset about the rejection, Allen's hopes started to mend themselves back together. Rio liked Neil now, but apparently, they had not become official; despite the rumors floating around. It meant he still had a chance to win her over.

"So, you and Neil…?" He began to question her before colorful movement caught his eye. He looked away, only for a moment; doing a double take when his worst fears had come true. He cursed to himself when their eyes met over the crowd, who didn't even seem to exist. The serene green eyes that had trapped him all those years ago had once again ensnared him. The noisy bustling of the tourists was blocked out as a spark ignited between the two. Allen hastily looked away again when the young woman's face brightened up.

"Allen! Hey, Allen! Over here!" The woman shouted. She was standing in the middle of a crowd, who was looking very strangely at her, but she didn't mind. She stood on her tippy-toes, waving her right hand wildly trying to get his attention. The sheer joy on her face was enough to light an entire country.

"I think that woman is trying to get your attention," Rio stopped looking at the girl, only to catch a glimpse of Allen ducking and running into a bush. He only briefly poked his head out to hold an index finger to his lips and swear Rio to secrecy.

After he was tucked away in his hiding spot, he could hear the sound of running feet that stopped in his previous location. The bush he was in started to feel a lot hotter and he was sweating bullets. His heart was leaving bruises against his ribcage when he heard her angelic voice greet Rio.

"Excuse me ma'am? Did you see a young man over here with red hair and glasses? He was about yay big and…" He heard her give the description to Rio and prayed that Rio would have mercy on him.

"Please don't say anything," He muttered under his breath like it was a mantra.

"Um, well…I…um," Rio hesitated. The woman in front of her looked desperate to find Allen and had been so excited at seeing him only moments ago. She could see the girl shifting from foot to foot, waiting for her answer. "No, I didn't." Rio said quickly before she could stopped herself from lying. Then, she saw all the hope and faith in the world drain from the woman's face and she opened her mouth again.

"But, he owns a hair salon down the street and you might be able to find him there!" Rio said just as quickly to fix her guilt. Allen smacked himself in the forehead at Rio's good heart.

"Really? So, he finally did get his own shop. I'm so happy for him," He heard her merriment. "Do you mind showing me where it is?"

"Sure," Rio answered her and Allen suppressed a groan. He could hear them walking away and when he thought the coast was clear. He let out all his frustration, ready to throw a tantrum on the ground beneath him.

How did she find him?

oOo

The sky was turning dark and Allen was still sitting in the bush. He was sitting Indian style, elbow pressed to his knee with his chin resting in his palm of his hand. He was wondering how long he could wait out in this bush before returning home. He had a feeling Elise was already in his shop, twirling in a chair; waiting for him to return.

"Maybe she left by now…" He whispered out loud and scoffed. "As if."

"So, you were here!"

"Aah!" Allen jumped back when the bush was moved aside and Elise's face was right in front of his. "E-Elise!"

"I finally got that Rio girl to tell me where you were. She explained it all to me. Why didn't you tell me you wanted to play hide and go seek?" Elise chuckled while Allen was at a loss of words. The smile on her face said that Elise had bought that story, but the look in her eyes said, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Well, I know how you like surprises and games so I thought I would mix the two together," He answered her in a suave tone that made the killer look in her eyes melt away. He released a sigh of relief. He stood up and stepped out the bush. Elise was still smiling as if nothing was wrong, but Allen felt very awkward at the moment.

"Did you miss me?" Elise finally said, nibbling her lower lip. Allen frowned and Elise matched his face. "Cause I missed you." She grabbed his hand and Allen resisted the nerve to yank it back. "You left for no reason. I got worried about you when you didn't say anything."

Elise commented and Allen didn't reply. She wanted him to say anything, even if it was just a snarky comment. An explanation would have been better, but Allen just left her hanging. She decided to shock his brain into working.

"If you come back now, we could get married by the end of next week. I have everything ready. I just need to make a phone call to get it all into place," She hummed in delight, feeling Allen's hand jerk away from hers. She had been expecting that and held tightly to him. She used the momentum of his pull to draw herself in closer. They were chest to chest as she hugged him tightly. Anybody watching the scene would think two lovers were embracing each other romantically, but it was anything but.

"What are you talking about? I'm not marrying you," He told her hastily, trying to pry her hands off of him. He didn't know where she would even entertain such a crazy idea.

"The more you push me away, the more I want to hold you tighter," She snuggled into his chest as if she was going to meld into one with him. "After all this time you're still so shy."

"Being shy has nothing to do with it," He huffed, his arms falling listlessly to the side as Elise continued to hug him. He let her squeeze the life out of him for a few more seconds before gripping the top of her arms and tugging her away from him. He moved his hand to her shoulders and kept her a safe distance away from him. "Listen Elise, I didn't want to do it this way, but I guess it's the only way you're going to get it."

He looked into her confused eyes harshly. "I left because I was breaking up with you. I don't want anything to do with you. I barely wanted anything to do with you when we were together. Why do you think I would come all the way out here and not say a single thing to you? You need to go back home and move on with your life because I have," He told her firmly. His resolve never quivering once, even when he saw he lower lip tremble.

"But?"

"No buts, leave Elise," He finished and turned away from her. He heard a sniffle and the pounding sound of feet hitting the pavement. He was a little harsher than he wanted to be, but he expected she would get the picture. It might give her enough incentive to actually leave him alone. He sighed to himself and walked back down the path. He sulked around town, not ready to go home.

Despite what he said, Elise was still on his brain. He couldn't believe that she had been looking for him all this time. It had been at least a year since he last saw her. He had tried to let her down easily, but she would still come around and bother him to the point that she was labeled his stalker. It was the reason he had happily accepted Dunhill's offer to have his own shop. It was a dream of his to own his shop and be his own boss. The part of ditching Elise had been a plus.

It wasn't that he didn't love her or had loved her. She would always have a soft spot in his heart, but it was too much to deal with when it came to being with her. He rather just cut his losses and move on. He had new plans for the future and she wasn't in them.

"I hope this doesn't cause any problems with asking Rio out," He grunted in discontent, since Elise had a history of running off most women who he would talk to. "Woman was always causing problems." He complained as he walked into his home, bypassing his salon and heading upstairs. He stopped in his tracks when he came into his bedroom.

There was an open suitcase in the middle of his floor with "girly" items splayed out as if somebody had been digging around in the pile. He smacked his forehead when he saw a trail of discarded clothes heading to his bathroom. He could hear a sweet hum coming from his bathroom, trickles of steam escaping from under the door. He stood apprehensively as the lock clicked and the door knobbed turned. More steam was released when the stranger stepped out.

Allen felt his knees go weak when Elise stepped out the bath room. She had her hair pinned up above her head, her skin a little pinkened from the hot shower. She was wearing the top portion of a light blue pajama top. It stop just at the top of her thighs, leaving her long legs bare.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking back up to her face; a small amount of heat coming to his cheeks. Elise gripped the towel around her neck with both hands on each side.

"Well, the inn was full because of some festival and you're the only other person I know here," She shrugged.

"Rod lives here as well," He explained, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you're the only one I know that I want to stay with," She emphasized, though she didn't have anything against Rod. He just wasn't the love of her life. Allen saw a gleam twinkle in her eye. "Plus, I thought you left the door unlocked for me."

"Didn't you hear a word I told you earlier?" He walked closer to her, anger evident on his face. He was to seconds away from throwing her over his shoulder and placing her outside; even if it went against a few of his principles. She was crossing lines now.

Elise just waltzed away from him however.

"Oh, I heard you, but they say quitters never prosper and sometimes you have to look with your heart and not your mind. I had you once and I think I can win you back so I'm staying until I am either fully convinced that you don't want me or you realize yourself that we should still be together."

"You can't stay here," Allen told her, not even bothering to dignify her crazy rambling with an answer. Her lips tightened as she nodded, her eyebrows lifting.

"I'm staying here. What would you mother and sister say to you kicking a young woman out on the street in an unknown town in nothing but the clothes on her back? Which isn't much, mind you," Elise didn't wait for his answer as she walked over to the bed and dove under the sheets, her hand coming out to click the lamp off; leaving the room in darkness and Allen standing there bewildered.

Elise smiled to herself as she heard Allen murmuring curses in the background. The sound of a door opening and closing caught her attention. She opened one eye and saw the outline of him grabbing extra blankets and pillows before he went stomping down the stairs.

Yeah, he was angry with her now, but she was going to win him back soon.