A/N: This fic is gonna be pretty long, I should warn you in advance! Not too long, though, I suppose it all depends on what you consider "long". Moving on...

THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO MY FIRST EVER REVIEWER, Sky Lantern Paradox, because she's awesome :) I sincerely hope you like it!

Sunlight filtered down through the branches overhead, forming dancing patterns of gold on the leaf-strewn ground. Those patterns shifted and changed as the breeze wafted through the trees. The only sounds were mostly birds calling and children playing, the park being well outside the parameters of the city and its bustle.

A tall, dark teenager leant against the trunk of the tree, her long, wavy ebony hair tied in a ponytail that flowed down her back. A red cap sat atop her head, and she was wearing a dark blue crop top and a pair of fitting maroon jeans. She watched the glimmering play of sunlight on the ground before her through beautiful slanted eyes, lost in thought.

Not too far away, a serious-looking young man watched the girl under the tree, caught up in thoughts of his own.

At first glance, he seemed to fit in well enough with everyone else; he was clad in straight black jeans, a light beige shirt and a long-sleeved, open brown jacket he wore on top of it. Nobody would have guessed that two weeks ago, he had been in a different part of the world, preparing for his stay in America.

The stranger's eyes narrowed as he heard the faint, unmistakable sound of a mobile ringtone, and watched as the girl fidgeted around with one of the pockets of her jeans, trying to fish her phone out of the tight material. He wished he could move closer so he could eavesdrop, but he dared not attract her attention. Not just yet, anyway.

Finally, the girl leaning against the tree managed to get to her phone, and she smiled as she saw the name flashing across the little screen. Sliding the front part of her phone up to answer, she put it to her ear, grinning.

"Hey boy, 'sup?"

"Abby?" The male voice at the other end sounded distracted. It was the kind of voice that made you think of cute dimples and good intentions.

"Ain't gonna be nobody else, baby, you called Abby's cellphone."

"Oh, y-yeah." The voice suddenly sounded nervous. "Well, uhh, it's just… I was wondering, if maybe, uhh…" Abby rolled her eyes as the voice trailed off uncertainly. She wondered for the umpteenth time how she could possibly have gotten a crush on one of the most ridiculously nervous and dorkiest boys she knew; despite his cuteness and the fact that he was one of her closest friends.

"Abby ain't gonna be reading your mind, Gilligan," she stated flatly. "Out with it. You haven't done anything stupid, have you?"

"N-no!" The voice sounded almost insulted. "C'mon, Abby, when do I ever do anything stupid?"

Abby sighed. "Hoagie, I'm not even gonna answer that."

Hoagie chuckled slightly, his low voice melodic. "Listen Abby, the thing is… uhh, well I was thinking, you know that party over at Janet's place tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Abby had been one of the first to be invited, but she had been hesitant about it when told of the theme – Couple's Night. What kind of theme was that for a party? As far as she could tell, Janet the head cheerleader just wanted to reinforce to everyone how perfect her relationship with quarterback star Matthew Jacobson was.

However, a party with a theme like that meant that most people were planning to go as pairs – usually with their partner or a date. She supposed there would be people who'd go in small groups of friends, but somehow she didn't feel like doing that at something with such a blatantly romantic atmosphere.

There was also that awkward little detail of Matthew being one of her ex-boyfriends.

"Well, you know how, uhh… lots of people are planning to go with their date and stuff, right?" Hoagie's voice had reduced to slightly over a mumble. Abby straightened up, moving away from the tree trunk. Was Hoagie doing what she thought he was doing?

"Um, yeah?" Uneasily, she hoped that he wasn't going to ask her for advice on asking some other girl out to that stupid party. She might have to karate chop him into oblivion if he did. She leant forward, staring intently at the ground without really seeing it, unaware of the leaves whirling around in the wind under her gaze.

"Well…" Hoagie hesitated yet again. "If you weren't planning to go with anyone… that is… you're not going with a date, are you?"

"Nah, Abby ain't goin' with anyone," Abby said softly, waiting. She had gotten two invites already, one from a cute jock and another from a cute-enough nerd who could barely talk to her without stumbling over his words. Mind set hopelessly on Hoagie's lively, sky blue eyes, she had declined both.

"Oh, good, cuz…" Abby sucked in a breath. Here it comes, she thought giddily. "Cuz I thought maybe you could take Tommy to that party with you," Hoagie's voice said very quickly. Somewhere in the background, Abby thought she heard a disbelieving shriek and something being knocked over. She heard Hoagie making shushing noises.

"I- what?" For once, Abby was actually stunned.

"Yeah, I mean… you know, he's a thirteen-year-old freshman, there's no way he's getting into that party, and he really wants to go." Hoagie's voice sounded higher than usual and rather strained, but Abby couldn't tell if it was because he was lying somehow, or because he was just embarrassed for asking her to accompany his little brother.

Tommy was almost four years younger than them, how could Hoagie ask her to take him anywhere? Not that Abby cared much about it being social suicide, but she did care that instead of going with her himself, he wanted her to go with Tommy.

"Let me get this straight." Abigail Lincoln rarely ever lost her cool, but when she did, boy did people start running. She tried to keep the anger from creeping into her voice, but it really took a lot of effort under the circumstances. "You're callin' up Abby to ask her… if she can take your little brother to that dumb party?"

"Uhmm-"

"No, Hoagie. I ain't even goin'. You can take Tommy yourself!"

"Wait, Abby- I didn't-"

"Gotta go. See you around."

"But-" Abby slid her phone down and ended the call, cutting Hoagie's protests short. She supposed she shouldn't have lost her temper that quickly, but of all the ridiculous things that could have gone wrong, this hadn't even occurred to her. She really couldn't blame herself for reacting that way.

Sighing, her back thudded heavily against the tree once more, as her own weight suddenly became too much to handle for a split moment. The wind had picked up, blowing loose strands of her hair across her face, irritating her already rather blurry vision. She impatiently swept her hand across her hairline, and her fingers came away damp – she was tearing up, and she hadn't even realized it.

Annoyed, she rubbed away the offending moisture, shaking her head. What did she care that Hoagie hadn't asked her out? It was just a stupid party, she reassured herself. It's not like she actually wanted to go!

Hearing her ringtone, Abby glanced at the screen to see Hoagie's name again, but determinedly pressed "Busy". She was a little preoccupied at the moment, after all… contemplating her sad love life.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew Abby's cap off its precarious position on her bowed head, as Abby avoided Hoagie's third attempt at reaching her. Sensing the absence of her favourite childhood relic almost immediately, Abby pushed herself away from the tree yet again, eyes following the abducted object as it was carried away through the air.

"Aw man, my hat!" She scrambled down the little grassy mounds, desperate not to lose one of the few things she had kept since she was a little girl. That red cap had always felt so important to her, for reasons even she couldn't understand. It was almost like the connection she had felt when she had first met Hoagie, three years ago at her high school – an emotional connection that seemed to have been forged ages ago, although it was completely new; heavy with significance that wasn't there.

The wind seemed to die down a little, and she spied her cap making a steady descent near a clump of bushes about ten feet away from her. She was just about to jump over some kid's temporarily abandoned bike, when she caught sight of the person who had leaped up out of nowhere and grabbed the item she had been chasing.

Surprised, Abby skidded to a stop in front of her unexpected rescuer, and bent over for a moment to catch her breath. Staring at the large, brown boots now in her line of sight, she eventually looked up at the newcomer, her onyx eyes taking in a tall, lean boy in a brown jacket and black jeans, who looked to be about her age. Abby found herself stunned and breathless for a completely new reason.

The guy's flaxen hair was longish and cut in a style that complimented his face, the back tied up in a high, short ponytail. He was pretty handsome, his nose only slightly bigger than considered conventionally beautiful, and he had a rather pronounced jaw. The thing that most fascinated Abby was the eyes; his close-set, almond eyes were the steely blue of winter; a frosty, intense gaze that pierced right through her soul. The moment she looked into them, her mind became strangely blank, and she couldn't look away.

The stranger smiled at her, extending the hand that held her cap. "I belief zis is yours?" His voice dripped with a heavy European accent of some sort, and the sound of it had a strange effect on Abby, sending tingles down her spine.

She suddenly realized that she was gaping at him, still slightly bent over. Straightening up immediately, she flashed him her best smile and flipped her pretty, raven hair back over her shoulder.

"Yeah, it is. Thanks for catchin' it for me." She made to take the cap but he firmly held onto it, and Abby looked back up at him inquiringly.

"It vas a – what is ze term, oh ja – a stroke of goot luck on my part."

His smile seemed to get a bit warmer, and something shifted behind his gaze, making Abby stare mindlessly again. If she didn't know any better, she could almost swear that she had seen this boy before; she could almost find something incredibly familiar in those eyes. Something that reached back as far as the history of the cap beneath her fingertips – but that was ridiculous. She was sure that if she had seen this guy before, she would have definitely remembered.

"I zon't mean to be rude," smiling charmingly "-but perhaps you vould like to get a burger vith me? Consider it my reward for helping you vith zis." He indicated the hat. "Just a small amount of your time, is all I ask for."

Abby felt her face heat up considerably as his words sunk in. Some hot stranger who rescued her stupid hat was now asking her out? Hot or not, she had just met him. Then again – Abby gave him a discreet once-over – he didn't seem like a bad sort. Sure, there was a slight aura of mystery about him, which perhaps boasted a little dangerous thrill, but overall he seemed friendly and nice.

She liked friendly and nice – mystery was all well and good, but danger was not something Abigail particularly wanted in her men. She suddenly chided herself for the thought – her men? Abby had just met this guy! She reminded herself that he was a stranger – albeit a very attractive, strangely magnetic one – who could have been involved in a gang for all she knew.

"Well…" She drawled out the word. "I ain't so sure that's such a good idea. Thing is, Abby don't really know you, having just met you and all…" She trailed off, looking at his eyes again. If her mind had been wiped blank when she first saw him, then everything had come rushing back – with a vengeance. Her thoughts were in chaos; it felt like a twisted game of connect-the-dots, where half of the dots were missing.

If the stranger had found it odd that she talked about herself in the third person, he didn't show it. He merely laughed, a light, happy sound that sent a pang through Abby's chest. "Oh, fair enuff. It's just not everyday zat I get to meet such a lovely Fräulein such as yourself… forgif my impertinence."

Suddenly, she was absolutely sure of several things – one, this guy was German, something she somehow knew as surely as the ground beneath her feet, despite not having met anyone from Germany before. Two, the vibes he gave off at the moment were nothing short of friendly and basically harmless, and he seemed genuinely interested in her - and three, she was going to take him up on his offer. After all, Abigail Lincoln knew how to look after herself. She also figured she ought to go out with more cute guys to get her mind off a certain auburn-haired, indecisive somebody.

"Oh alright, I'll bite. So where did you have in mind?" She smiled shyly up at her new discovery, noting that he was at least half a head taller than her.

"How about zat new place down on Worland Street?" The blonde boy smirked down at her in a way that made her blush. "Ze one vit ze huge red and orange sign on it's front. I'm sure you haf seen it before, ahh… Abby, was it?" Abby nodded at him as she recalled the fast food joint that had recently opened for business.

"Yeah, Abby's the name. Sounds like a plan, err-" She looked at him quizzically.

The tall, lean guy removed his monocle for a moment to polish it on the red ascot tied around his throat, hiding the flat collar of his brown jacket. As he replaced the circular lens in front of his left eye, hooking the wire over his ear, he supplied her with the information she sought.

"Heinrich. Ze name's Heinrich, Mein Fräulein."

A/N : Oh hello, I'm back again! "Ze name's Heinrich", obviously everyone saw that coming, but oh well xD Can I just state that I used the name "Worland Street" for no reason whatsoever other than the fact that it popped up in my head when I was lazily thinking of names; I only looked it up later, and realized it's somewhere in Michigan xD But again, I just used the name for no particular reason.

Also, I tried to write his German accent convincingly, and I hope it doesn't distort what he says too much for readers to understand.

Anyways, a bit more action in the next chapter, and reviews would be lovely! :D So very, very lovely. Thanks for reading.