You stretched up to tack your home-made notice sign to the bulletin board. The sun had just begun to set, a cool damp light was being cast over the sidewalks. A balmy fall breeze slid close to the ground, cooling your exposed ankles as it passed. A sigh escaped your lips as you straightened the stack of papers that you were still holding in your arms and glanced back over its contents.

Looking For:

Available room

Only one bedroom necessary.

Shared bathroom and storage is fine.

Willing to pay up to $300 a month

Please contact at (454) 454-5454

It had been hard since your mom had moved, and you felt just horrible always occupying the couch of your friends house. You just had to get a place of your own, even if it wasn't necessarily your own.

The traffic on the streets had started to die down, and the shadows of the tall buildings around you had begun to grow long. You looked hopelessly down the street and pouted, knowing that it was going to take forever to hang the rest of the flyers all by yourself.

Your parents had separated when you were young, leaving you to grow up in a quiet little house in the suburbs with your mom for as long as you could remember. You had nothing but wonderful things to say about your childhood. It had seemed that the strong connection you shared with your mother was enough to last through the toughest of times, and that she would do anything she needed to do to push you in the right direction. When you turned 18 it was discussed that it was time to leave the nest. Your mother had found a man that would take care of her. 13 months later they had packed up, and all the boxes but yours had made it on to the truck.

You ran a finger along your bottom lash line to catch a small droplet that had been forming there, and concentrated on steadying your breathing to the beat of your backless sandals hitting the pavement. Hugging the remaining flyers to your chest you closed your eyes and prayed that whoever answered your plea wouldn't be some creep, or some other bankrupt college kid that was just as desperate as you were. You really needed someone to take you in out of compassion. Friends were always there for emotional support when necessary but tensions grow quickly. Most especially when you are a constant hassle for both them and their family.

You twisted your hair over your right shoulder to keep the wind from playing with it. You bent down to set the papers on the ground while taking the one on top, planning to pin it to an opening on a memo board of a bus stop. You couldn't help but run your eyes over the wording once again and feel your insides curl. Pathetic. No employer was going to take an aspiring architect seriously if she is forced to "get by" by assigning herself to live with some rampant stranger.

The wind whistled through the trees, gently plucking dried leaves from the branches. You hugged yourself with your arms and watched them somersault with eloquent grace before touching down on the glassy surface of the pond in the park across the street. Your shirt billowed against your skin and you breathed in deep, allowing the cool air to fill your lungs.

A rustling filled your ears and the papers that had previously been sitting at your feet twisted their way through your legs and took off in the same direction as the leaves.

"Oh no!" you yelled, running after them while flailing your arms aimlessly through the air in attempts to catch the ones that still drifted. "This is NOT what I need right now! No, no no!" You managed to catch a few, and watched mournfully as the rest scattered themselves across the sidewalk and street, dancing mockingly.

You allowed your body to collapse on the bench near the bus stop and dropped your face into your hands. Well, you did want to spread word…..

You could feel the presence of another living entity approach. You hunched your back and curled yourself smaller, hoping it would prevent being approached.

"Um, excuse me. Are you alright ma'am?" Just your luck.

Your head snapped up at the deep satin voice. Before you stood a young man with iron colored hair. He was formally dressed in a well fitted suit, the navy jacket draped over his arm. He was exceedingly handsome, his broad shoulders showed strength and in one of his large hands he clutched one of your demoralizing flyers.

"Y-Yes." You stuttered. Wait no. You did not need his sympathy. "No. No. I, I'm fine thank you." You rose from your sitting position and held out your hand to shamefully accept the paper, but his face remained stern, as he analyzed you with eyes that gleamed like amethyst.

"You're looking for a place to stay?" He questioned, refusing to take his eyes off your face. Your bottom lip twitched with embarrassment, and you hesitated, wrapping your arms around your abdomen as you spoke.

"Yes, I'm looking for a place to stay. So I don't have to put so much pressure on my good friends."

He scoffed. "Must not be too good of friends if they are kicking you out."

"No! No, you don't understand- they're wonderful it's just.." Your eyes drifted back to the pond. Its surface was now dappled with leaves, flecked with gold as the sun inched closer to the horizon.

"You need to talk about it."

The way he said it made it seem as though it were not a question. Leading you to assume that he wanted you to "talk about it" with him. You found yourself staring questioningly into his eyes. The burned with compassion, and sincerity. You then took into account his formal business attire and chiseled appearance. He was probably some rich CEO looking for a publicity stunt.

"Why would someone as important as you care about someone like me? I have nothing to offer you." You forcefully snatched the flyer from his hands and began to stalk off in the direction you came. Your sandals snapping with sass as you went. A strong hand grasped at your wrist and you found yourself being pulled by the shoulders to face this strange empathetic business man. He smelled of spice cologne, and his lips kindly formed a smile and he barley whispered the words,

"Try me."

You signed and felt your mouth quiver. You wanted nothing more but to go to your friend Ellie's house, curl up on her scratchy fiber sofa and sleep off these hard feelings. You felt the strong grip of his fingers tighten around your wrist and you breathed in with surprise. Your stomach squirmed at your closeness.

"If you must know.." you snapped "My father left when I was young, and my mother got herself hitched and moved to London."

You twisted yourself out of his grasp and tried once more to escape, but this time he grabbed for your hand.

"So you're all alone?"

You stared at him with shock; he seemed so genuine- this stranger- as if he actually cared. And you found that you couldn't help but trust him.

You simply nodded and sniffed.

"How are you living?" he asked giving your fingers a squeeze. Again you found yourself getting lost in the glint of his eyes. But you cleared your throat and tried to seem confident.

"I have a job, as a secretary. But I'm going to school and I will be a licensed Architect in a little over a year!" You boasted. His eyes widened.

"Really?" His smooth voice was filled with interest. "You seem so young…"

"Well I'm not!" you snapped. "And I am perfectly capable of taking care of my-"

His hand clamped over your mouth. "I'm sure that you are. But right now you need help." You cocked your head confused. "I'm alone too." He murmured. "But I have room, plenty of it. And I wouldn't mind having some company." You backed away, astonished.

"Are you- inviting me to, stay, with you? You don't even know me!"

"Well, you were sending out flyers! Waiting for some stranger to call. I don't want you to succumb to staying with some pervert!" You couldn't help but chuckle. He did seem like a dependable man, not to mention he might have friends that were just as attractive as he was…although that was a hard match to beat.

You hesitantly stuck out your hand, and he grasped it. Your pearly skin glowed next to his, which was faintly bronzed by the sun.

"Mokuba." He smiled and he shook your hand. "Mokuba Kaiba."