Chapter 1: First Impressions

Author's Note:Hey all! So this is the story that my imps hijacked my brain to create. I swear that I didn't forget my other stories! In fact I'm in the middle of writing them right now! I swear! Anyways back to this story. So this is my first story like this. Hopefully I'll wind up getting some good feedback. *hint hint*

Also in this story there will be two italicized "voices." One *looks like this* and the other ~looks like this~ These are inside Yuri's head. The reason for them will be explained later. As well as anything else that seems abnormal. I do appologize if antyhing that they say disturbs you.

Disclaimer:I do not in any way, shape or form own Tales of Vesperia or the characters mentioned. I do however own my plot and would like to keep it that way.

Warnings:This story will contain the following: intimate yaoi/maleXmale relationships, vulgar cursing, rape (definate past, possible future), past child abuse, continuous mentions of suicude. If you DO NOT LIKE what I have just mentioned please DO NOT READ. You have been warned. If I recieve any flames I will laugh (and use them to make s'mores for Yuri and Flynn).

A special thanks to my beta little rosebud. This chapter would not be like it is now without your help.

I slid into my seat just as the bell rang. It was only the beginning of December, but I couldn't wait for school to end. School was quickly getting on my nerves with the continual homework and tests; causing me to have late nights and not nearly enough sleep. *You sure that's the only reason?* a soft voice echoed in my head. Irritated, I shook it off. Fine; the mixture of homework, studying, my two jobs, and the regular nightmares were keeping me from sleeping correctly.

Honestly, I still wasn't sure why I had decided to enroll in college in the first place. Oh, right, that's why. For some odd reason I believed – or rather Judith believed – that I could function normally and open my own bakery. As if. I can barely get through each fucked up day. She must've made me high somehow but I had decided to humor her fantasy and enroll in Vesperia University. There was no possible way I could open my own bakery. I wasn't even sure how long it'd take before I got placed into an insane asylum.

A soft voice chuckled softly in my head before sneering at my train of thought. *Don't deceive yourself. You might as well jump off a cliff before you go to an asylum. I mean, who would want to pay for your treatment? Well I suppose your presumed friend would, but she can barely support herself. Why would she want to help you?* I growled at the voice, but, deep down, I wondered if it was true. I shook my head vigorously to try and rid myself of those thoughts, but I knew that they would still be there at the end of the day.

"You alright?" a familiar voice asked.

I turned to see concern in the red tinted chocolate eyes of my best friend Judith Kritya. *That's not concern. You need your eyes checked.* I ignored my inner doubts and decided to respond. "Just tired, I suppose."

"Why don't you go to sleep then, handsome," she suggested, playing with my hair flirtatiously. She knew that I was gay, but that didn't stop her from flirting with me or me with her for that matter. It was an amusing pastime we enjoyed together. *As if. She's only spending time with you 'cause she pities you and has nothing better to do. As soon as she finds something new off she'll go and you'll be left alone again.*

I mentally snarled at the voice as I felt my eyes droop. I had only been able to get a few hours of sleep last night. Luckily, the nightmares didn't come back a second time in a day once they had played all the way through, so I felt relatively safe in sleeping in class.

There were two reasons as well as to why I didn't fight my fatigue. One was that this was Freshman English, one of the easiest classes I had this year, and the other was that Judith was sitting right next to me. Despite what my vocal doubts said, I trusted Judith to some degree. *That's right. You just can't trust anyone like you used to huh? They'll never tell you the truth because you don't deserve the truth or their trust, if you think about it. In fact, you don't even deserve to be living in this world. Why are you still desperately hanging on? Just what are you waiting for?* I shifted into a more comfortable position and tried to block out the voice.

I felt a hand weave its fingers through my waist length black hair. My clenched muscles relaxed a little, but I was still tense. As sleep gently started to overtake me, I felt a gentle nudge.

Groggily, I opened my violet tinted grey eyes and looked at Judith in confusion. "What?" Judith knew I didn't get much sleep, so she normally didn't bother me in the classes I had with her and monitored me, so that if a nightmare did occur, I wouldn't wind up startling the whole class.

Judith gave me a sympathetic look as if to apologize for waking me. *Apologize? She did it on purpose for no reason.* She then turned her attention back to the lecturing teacher, Whitehorse, and murmured back a response. "I know you need the sleep but I think you should listen to what Mr. Whitehorse is saying."

I blinked sleepily in response and shifted myself into a position I wouldn't fall asleep in easily. "So I have decided to assign a project," I managed to catch Whitehorse say. "It will be due at the end of the school year, so there's no need to panic, but you absolutely cannot leave it until the last minute. It requires continuous work. Sorry to all the procrastinators, but if you wish to get a decent grade; you should work on it a little each week. Every student will be given a partner and be expected to participate in the project. Unlike other projects, there will be no alternate assignment. You will be tasked with finding about their life. Who they live with, what sports they play, where they work, where they grew up, what their childhood was like, aspects like these.

"Then you will be required to write a biography summarizing their life so far. I will be assessing your ability to write formally in this part of the project. You will also be required to write an essay. In your essay, you need to compare and contrast their life with yours, as well as, mention their first impression on you and what you think of them after you've learned about them.

"I bet quite a few of you are wondering why I assigned this project. Well, I've noticed that there is a distinct line between different groups of people. I would like you all to expand your boundaries and meet new people, so you will not be paired up with people I've seen you interact with on a daily basis. Who knows, you may wind up finding a new friend that has tons in common with you. Now are there any questions?"

I stared in shock at my teacher. First of all, this was Freshman English not fucking Psychology. And second of all, there was no fucking way in hell that I could do this project. I just couldn't do it. *Yeah, like who would believe a little liar like you?* There was no way I could tell my whole past and current life to a complete stranger. But there was also no way I could go up to my teacher and get out of it. If the nurse had on record what I was going through, then I could possibly get out of it, but she didn't so that was written off as a possibility.

"What am I supposed to do?" I whispered frantically to Judith as a few of the students' questions were answered.

"I'm not sure," she whispered back. "Maybe…"

She let her voice fade away. I noticed uncertainty flit across her sharp face. *See, she doesn't want to tell you the truth.* "Maybe what?" I asked. Panic was starting to settle into me. I was never one who had frequent panic attacks, but there was always a first for everything.

"Maybe this project will be a good experiment," Judith ventured cautiously. "This would be a good chance to see if you can overcome it and tell people about yourself. I mean, if you're serious about trying to live as normally as you can, you'll need to tell people about yourself to get a job or make friendships with others."

I stared at her for a moment, her words not quite registering for a few seconds. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I hissed back. "Why the hell would I do something as fucking stupid as that? Do you want me to be the wacko fag of the whole school? Fuck no. Hang on a second. I already am; it's just unknown."

"Yuri calm down, please," Judith urgently pleaded with me.

Before I could snap back an answer, a deep voice sounded from my right. "Is everything alright, Mr. Lowell, Ms. Kritya?" Whitehorse asked.

"Everything's fine," Judith reassured, flashing him a grin. "Yuri here was just freaking out about the size of the project. I was trying to tell him it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be."

"Well, if you are sure that everything is fine I'll tell everyone their partners," Whitehorse said as he turned away and walked back towards the front of the lecture hall. "I will remind you again that you will not be allowed to switch your partner with anyone. Now let's begin. Tyler Abbott, your partner will be…"

I tuned out Whitehorse as he rattled off his list of partners. Truthfully, I wasn't overwhelmed by the size of the project. My business teacher, Oltorain – or Raven as the lazy-ass insisted on being called –, had assigned us to follow a store in Zaphias – the city that Vesperia University was situated in – and document in a formal report each day on how the store did for the day, and then submit every report at the end of the quarter with a cumulative essay on how the store had done overall. Now that was a huge project, but at least it was on a subject that I enjoyed – or at least tolerated.

But Whitehorse's project, on the other hand, was on a subject that I refused to talk to anyone about because they always seemed to wind up judging me. *That's because they see you for your true self: a lying, deceiving, attention seeking whore. You can't run from the truth for much longer Yuri. Soon you'll be forced to face the truth and then what will you do? Suicide perhaps? Or maybe you'll drink yourself off the face of the earth? Or you could always overdose. There are so many ways to end this impending wave of pain now.* I shook off the dark voice and tried to focus on something else.

"Yuri Lowell," Whitehorse's voice startled me and I felt myself jump a little. I turned my attention to him in a slight fright. "Now that I have your attention, I would like to inform you that your partner is Flynn Scifo. And Judith Kritya, your partner is Estellise Sidos Heurassein. Now that you have all been informed of whom your partner is, I will give you the rest of the class block to get to know your partner and decide your plan of action. I will expect you to do your project outside of this class. This is the only time I will allow you to work in class. I hope all of you will learn about each other and maybe even a little about yourself during this project."

FSxYL

"Great," I grumbled under my breath to Judith. "Not only is the fucking project about our goddamn pasts and current fucked up lives, but we have to work with the Princess and her Knight." *Did you expect anything different? Now everyone will know even sooner how fucked up and useless you are.*

I winced and forced myself to swallow a yelp when a sharp elbow dug into my side. In my fury, I failed to notice a certain blond and pink haired girl walking towards us.

"What the hell woman?" I snapped and glared fiercely at Judith who glared back just as fiercely.

"I know you don't like this, but still; would it kill you to behave and just go with it?" Judith asked icily.

"Yes it would," I responded dryly. "I don't want to do this fucking project and I definitely don't want to work with him." *Actually, you'd still live. But I'm sure you can think of so many other ways to hurt yourself. Like the pencil that you're gripping and is almost about to break. That would make a good weapon if sharpened enough.*

"Umm, excuse me," a soft voice said and I snapped my burning gaze towards the speaker. I noticed the pink haired girl flinch slightly at my glare. *Now that's a normal reaction. Too bad not too many people can see past your facade.* the voice whispered, trying to alter my perception of reality. I ignored it with much difficulty and focused on the nervous girl. "But, but would you two happen to be Yuri and Judith?"

"Yes we are," Judith intercepted before I could tell them to go the fuck away.

"Pleased to meet you," the pink haired girl said formally. "My name is Estellise Sidos Heurassein but you can call me Estelle. And this is Flynn Scifo."

"It's nice to meet you too," Judith responded with a smile. "I'm Judith Kritya and this grumpy butt is Yuri Lowell."

I watched in annoyance as Flynn and Estelle grabbed two chairs and sat down at our pair of desks. To say I was pissed was an understatement. I had no words to describe how much I loathed the current predicament I was in. One of the richest and sexiest guys in the school was my partner and I was expected to just spill my past. *What's stopping you? After all, everyone's going to know eventually. You can't keep it a secret forever, so it's not going to make much difference who gets told first right? So just go spill your wonderfully dark life to this sexy piece of eye-candy.*

Fuck no. I didn't care if my stubbornness was going to make Mr. Perfect fail this project; I was not going to tell anyone anything. The only people who knew anything about my past in this school was Judith and my business teacher Raven – who was Judith's guardian, in fact. Not only was Flynn Scifo one of the worst people Whitehorse could've stuck me with, but he had no idea who I was. I didn't miss his earlier conversation with our teacher and the pointed finger in my direction.

While I was mulling over my shitty project, another sharp jab was directed at the same spot as before, but this time I actually did gasp slightly in pain.

"Thanks Judy for deciding that my ribcage looks better in a purple color rather that its natural color," I complained, rubbing my side. *I'm pretty sure that she thinks your whole body would look better in a bruised coloration rather than the one it naturally is.*

"Well, I figured it would match your eyes better," Judith teased back. At least I hoped it was teasing and not serious. "Now pay attention before I decide something else would look better in purple."

I didn't need to ask which extremity she was talking about. I already knew from firsthand experience. I nodded in fear for the future of my kids; well, boyfriend would be more accurate – since kids were probably not going to happen. *And neither is a boyfriend. I mean who would date a fucked up bastard like you?* I noticed Flynn watching us in surprise before he cleared his throat to get our attention. "Now who's not paying attention?" I ducked a swat to my head that Judith sent my way as she chuckled at my comment.

"So it seems that we are supposed to write an essay on our first impressions, a biogr–"

I cut Flynn off before he could continue. "Whitehorse already told us this shit. Tell me something that I fucking need to know, Scifo."

"I didn't know that you were paying attention," Flynn slightly hissed, obviously annoyed at my treatment towards him. Well, he was going to have to learn how to deal with it 'cause I wasn't going to change the way I acted. My anger rose to a new level right then and continued to rise as Flynn kept digging his own grave. "I thought you were sleeping through his instructions. I mean, you don't strike me as someone who'd bother to stay awake in class."

"Now listen here you goddamn bastard," I snarled as I stood up quickly and caused my chair to flip over and fall to the ground with a clatter. I ignored the voice in my head that was shouting with glee, Judith's gaze that was pleading with me to sit down and let Flynn's comment slide, and the fact that every single person was now staring at me. "You don't know one damn thing about me so don't you dare assume anything about me. And you know what? I have no intention of telling you one fucking thing about my past. You can fail this damn class for all I care. But since you were so kind as to tell me what you fucking think about me; I'll tell you what I fucking think of you. You're a stuck up ass who thinks he's the best in the school. You've got a damn shitload of money to allow you to do anything and probably got the best goddamn girlfriend in the world. Well, you can just fuck off because there's no way in hell you could possibly understand someone like me."

As I finished my tirade, the clock struck the top of the hour, signaling that class was now officially over. I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the room. The voice in my head was laughing manically now. *That was priceless. How long before you tell them all everything? A few hours? Days? I won't give you past a month. And then, when you've shouted out your whole fucking past to your whole damn class, I'm sure it'll be in the school paper. Probably under the title of Yuri Low…* I blocked out the rest of its ramblings the best I could. I stormed out of the campus and started to head home.

Unconsciously, I walked the path that I had taken daily until about a year ago. I froze when I reached a frighteningly familiar structure: the broken remains of a housing complex that the government hadn't bothered to fund the repairs or even to finish the demolition of it. I blinked as the air seemed to shimmer and I found myself staring at the sinfully sexy man I had dated for three years, until it ended a year ago. I couldn't move as he stalked gracefully towards me. My feet seemed frozen to the sidewalk. He reached up and gently brushed a lock of my hair out of my face. He opened his mouth to speak, but then seemed to change his mind as he suddenly grabbed my throat. I was finding it hard to breathe as the pressure on my neck continued to build.

"Yuri! Yuri!" a voice yelled frantically and I felt my hands being tugged away from my neck. Wait a second. My hands? I opened my eyes to see Judith standing over me, fear etched into her features. I was sprawled out on the sidewalk and began shaking as reality hit me. "Oh God Judith," I gasped. I wasn't about to start crying. "I thought it was him. I swore he was right there and then he started chocking me," I felt Judith kneel down and hold me tight to her body. "I swear I didn't mean it. I swear. I truly thought it was him. I did."

"Hush Yuri," Judith murmured softly, caressing my tresses and rocking me back and forth. "I know you didn't mean to. You couldn't stop. I know. It's not your fault. It's not your fault."

FSxYL

I allowed myself a few moments of comfort before I pulled out of Judith's arms. I was still shaking slightly, but the threat of tears had passed. "Let's go," I whispered, my voice rough from keeping back my tears.

"Are you sure?" Judith questioned.

"Yes," my voice staying soft. I couldn't trust my body right now. The last thing I needed was to have Judith see how damn fragile I truly was. She didn't need any more burdens. *Yes. She doesn't care for you that much. Anymore of your thoughts that you would trust upon her would be a heavy burden that she doesn't want.*

"I don't believe you," she replied softly. Her normally warm eyes were now cold and calculating.

"Just let it go Judith," I snapped back. I saw hurt flash across her face, but I ignored it and turned my back, heading to my apartment. There wasn't anything she could do anyways. *That's right. You're broken. Shattered. No one will ever want you.*

I heard Judith quicken her footsteps and ended up beside me as we walked back to my apartment in silence. I could still feel concern coming off of my best friend. I just didn't understand. She shouldn't be this concerned with my well-being. This was my problem and she didn't need to be involved any more than she already was. Before I realized it, we had reached my safe-haven. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the key and unlocked the door.

I entered my sanctuary and was immediately knocked down by a huge mass of black and white fur. I reached up and gave my Akita, Repede, a rub between the ears. He licked me back in response and nuzzled my neck comfortingly as if he could sense that I recently had a mental breakdown. Actually, I wouldn't put it past him to know that. Repede had only been with me for a few years, but he already knew me inside and out. I looked past my dog to try and see where Judith had disappeared to, but caught sight of the clock instead.

"Ah shit," I groaned letting my head fall back onto the floor.

"What is it?" I heard a voice call from the bathroom. So that's where she had disappeared to.

"I had to work at Aspio Aer tonight," I responded. My boss, Rita Mordio, was going to kick my ass. Despite being short, she had a hellish temper that no one wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Judith said, coming into the room with a cup of water nestled in her hand. "I called your workplace earlier after you stormed out of the class and told them that you had come down with something and weren't feeling up to working your shift."

"Thanks," I muttered out, shoving Repede off me enough so that I could sit up.

"No problem," Judith replied with a grin. "Now hold out your hand."

Sighing, I complied with her order and felt a few small, hard blocks drop into my hand. I stared at the pills sitting in my hand. She then placed the cup of water in my line of vision. I decided that it was best if I grabbed the cup and took the medicine without a fuss. As I swallowed the final pill, I felt a wave of drowsiness fall over me. My breakdowns always left me exhausted afterwards. We sat down on the couch and chatted for a while. My inability to hold back my drowsiness was failing faster than usual.

As Judith helped me to my bed, I realized that she must have a stock of sedative pills somewhere in my apartment, but I wasn't complaining. It was a temporary relief to know that I could get a decent amount of sleep after a draining episode. I let a dreamless sleep pull me in, but not before I felt Repede jump into bed with me and curl up next to my abdomen. It was nice to have such caring friends. *You keep telling yourself that. Just continue to live the lie.* I heard the voice laugh mockingly before I became oblivious to my own mind as well as the world around me.

FSXYL

I would've liked to say that I awoke the next morning to sunshine and no mental problems whatsoever. In reality, I woke up to chattering teeth and the sound of two voices arguing about how I should leave the world, no less. Surprise, surprise. *No, hanging is the best way to go. It's the most painful* ~But so is cutting. If you hang yourself just right, you could wind up snapping your neck and leaving the world quicker than you had hoped. Slicing one's wrists is so much better.~ *Well Yuri? Which would you chose?*

I had managed to make my way over to the bathroom during the end of the conversation. Grimacing, I unscrewed the cap to my meds – ignoring the voices that were screaming at me to stop – and downed the pills with one gulp of water. They didn't disappear right away, but I wished that they had. I dismissed the voices that were cursing me out for weakening their hold over me as I exited the bathroom and got dressed for the day. Hell if I cared if they were weak or not. They were the ones putting me through this shit. I put on a loose shirt and pair of jeans, as well as my worn leather jacket, so I wouldn't freeze my ass off like I just had. I would have to remember to pull out another blanket before I go to bed tonight; freezing to death was not on my list of ways to die. ~You're right. What a boring way to die.~

Repede's whine yanked me from my thoughts and I walked over to the door, letting him out with a soft apology. I finished getting ready for work. Today happened to be the wonderful day of Saturday, which meant no school and a full day at Travelers' Café, a small, well-known café and bakery run by siblings Karen and Rich Bain in the middle of Zaphias. I've been working there since my third year in high school. There, I could act somewhat normal and not have anyone judge me. They truly were two of the kindest people I've kept in touch with over the hellish years.

I heard Repede's bark as I nabbed a granola bar from the pantry and went to let him in before he woke up the entire apartment complex. I walked back into the kitchen, unwrapped the bar and was in the middle of chewing my first bite when I noticed a note tapped to my fridge.

Yuri~

I'm sorry that class yesterday was hell for you. I told Flynn not to take you too seriously the other day as well. He still wants to work with you, despite your blow up. Will you consider it? Please? I know you're uncomfortable with the idea, but do this for me. And for yourself when you realize that I'm right.

Have a wonderful day off! I'll try to stop by the café around lunchtime to chat and check up on you! Take care of yourself Yuri.

Love Judy

I smiled at her concern for me. *That's not concern. It's pity. And why would you do anything for her when she hasn't done anything for you? Don't be deceived by her lies.* I frowned at the voice and headed out the door to go to the café. Repede trotted beside me. He loved to go on walks with me, and Karen and Rich thought he was adorable so they always allowed me to bring him along. He normally was allowed in the café, but only by the main door and never in the kitchen. Karen and Rich still had to obey the rules if they wanted to keep their café open, no matter how much they loved Repede.

On days like this – when it was either freezing cold or boiling hot – he loved to curl up right next to the air vent nearest to the door. Most of the regular customers loved him, so there were no complaints to when he decided that he was bored lying in the same place and wanted to gain some attention by waltzing around the café like he owned the place.

The sidewalks were mostly empty this morning as Repede and I walked side-by-side. Those who were out were bundled up in thick jackets, scarves and gloves. A normal person would think that I seemed underdressed compared to these walking puff-balls. My only barrier to the cold was the worn leather jacket that I had pulled on as soon as I had woken up and that was tearing along the sleeves. Honestly, I've lost the sense of temperature that most people had. I guess it came with not having any heating or A/C year round.

We reached the café at our regular time. Karen and Rich were just finishing up getting the tables ready for the first wave of customers.

"Yuri!" I found myself smothered by Karen's enthusiastic hug. "You're skinny," she told me looking me up and down. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the comment I heard every time I saw her. "Did you have breakfast?" I looked away, not really wanting to answer. "Yuri," her voice was stern and gave me no room to maneuver.

"Does a granola bar count?" I tentatively asked.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed as she disappeared into the kitchen to find a breakfast that she deemed suitable.

"G'morning Mr. Rich," I said to the quieter and sterner of the two siblings. Most people would be surprised at my unusually polite attitude towards Rich and Karen but they had deserved my respect. Most people these days never bother to, so why should I respect them? Karen and Rich were different. They had treated me like and equal from day one so I thought it was only fair that I respected them in return.

"Morning Yuri. You ready for another day of hell?" Rich asked with a half-smile before he disappeared after his sister, most likely to calm her down before she went too far with the breakfast making.

I sat down at a table close to the door and Repede flopped down beside my feet. I didn't bother trying to get started with my work. Karen would have a fit and sternly tell me that I wasn't working until I was well fed. Honestly, these people were ridiculous with their so-called concern for me. I hadn't done anything to warrant this amount of concern. *You're right. But you did one thing to earn you all the people who hate you, both visibly and secretly. You were born.*

It was amazing that there were people who I had been in touch with for years who still didn't know about my past. Actually there were only two – Karen and Rich Bain. Most everyone else that I was still in touch with knew me during my stay at their house and therefor knew what I grew up doing.

I've had a sweet tooth for as long as I remember, so as soon as I found Traveler's Café and discovered their insane pastries, I became a frequent customer. By frequent, I mean I was there almost every day to have something small and sweet before I went to the house I lived in. Karen and Rich noticed me right the first day and began to talk to me after a few weeks of continuous visits.

I was taken in by their charm. It had been the first time someone had treated me decently outside of school. I was six back then and Rich's and Karen's hair had been a vibrant chestnut. Now, I was nineteen and Karen had streaks of grey and Rich was greying at the edges. After all this time, they still treated me as decently as ever, without really knowing what went on in my life or even asking.

"Here's your breakfast Yuri!" Karen chirped while placing a toasted cinnamon-raison bagel with cream cheese, freshly baked slice of coffee cake and a fresh Danish filled with strawberry jam on the table in front of me. I didn't miss the slices of bacon that she passed to Repede either before she ordered me to "Eat up!"

I smiled in thanks and quickly ate my meal. Karen was always too nice to me. The nicest thing I ever did in return was bake a cake for her after she had surgery on her hip. Still, I couldn't deny that I loved the breakfasts she gave me.

As soon as I finished, I grabbed my dishes and headed to the kitchen. A huge pile of dishes – most likely from this morning's baking – greeted me from the confines of the kitchen sink. I sighed as I began my first chore of the day; clearing out that sink so I could wash my breakfast dishes. *You go ahead and do that. Doing chores is all you're good for…along with a punching bag and a way for people to release their…tension.* I ignored the voice as usual and focused on the work I enjoyed doing – helping out at the café not dishes in particular.

FSXYL

The day passed by without much excitement. The frequent customers chatted with me as I rung up their orders and gave them their food. About half-way through the morning, I was called to go back and bake a cake for a customer. All the cakes that people bought from Traveler's Café were made by me. Karen had put me in charge of baking the cakes after I baked one for her. The first time I was told to bake a cake for a customer, I was blown. I didn't think that they would've liked my baking that much. *They don't. They just want you to think that.* But now it was a routine for me, a way for me to get away from the bustling activity of the café and relax.

I had just finished mixing the ingredients for the cake and was in the process of putting it in the oven when I heard a familiar voice cooing praises and compliments to Repede. It looked like Judith had finally showed up for lunch. I was about to exit the kitchen to see what Judith wanted to eat when I noticed movement outside of the door to the café. I froze in the doorway of the kitchen as a familiar pink haired girl and blond entered the vicinity.

"I heard this place was supposed to have some of the best pastries in Zaphias," Estelle said as she dragged Flynn inside. "I'm so glad you decided to come with me and try them Flynn! Oh, Judith, hi! I didn't know you came here!"

"Hey, Estelle," Judith replied, polite as ever. "Nice to see you out of the classroom, Flynn."

"Fancy seeing you here," Flynn replied. "You make it seem like the only thing I do is studying."

Was Judith Kritya joking with Flynn Scifo? I couldn't believe my ears and eyes when I saw Judith laugh and the other two join in.

"What, you mean you actually have a life outside of school?" Judith asked, pretending to be shocked.

"I'll have you know that I fence and wind up sparing almost every day right after school," Flynn sounded insulted when he responded.

"He's really good too!" Estelle put in. I was surprised when I saw Flynn flush in embarrassment. Apparently he wasn't one for praise. I would've thought differently.

"Oh really," Judith said with mock disbelief while Flynn shook his head as if to persuade her to think differently.

"Whose dog is this?" I almost grinned when Flynn made such a blatant attempt to turn the conversation away from his fencing skills and turned to scratch Repede on his shoulder blade.

"His name's Repede," Judith replied as she swung around and met my gaze with her amused one. I glared fiercely back but that didn't seem to deter her from what she was going to say next. "He's Yuri's."

"I didn't know Yuri had a dog," Estelle murmured. "What's Yuri's dog doing here?"

Judith seemed to ignore her question as she sauntered over to the counter and slammed her hand down on the counter. "Oi Yuri, your service is slacking. What does a lady have to do around here to get herself a blueberry muffin?"

I had to refrain from laughing as I finally gathered my courage and moved directly behind the counter, right in front of Judith. I looked her up and down slowly before I flirtatiously drawled out a response. "Well I don't know, Miss Judy. How about you follow me to the back and give me a good lap dance? Then we can talk about that muffin. What do you say?"

She threw me a smile. "I say here's your two bucks. Now give me my yummy muffin!"

I laughed out loud at that. Shaking my head I pulled out a muffin – one of the freshly baked ones, of course – and handed it to Judith. I could barely contain my amusement at the expressions I was receiving from Flynn and Estelle. It seemed to me that they couldn't believe I was actually somewhat civil outside of school. Well truth was, I was only civil at my work places, here and at Aspio Aer – a popular restaurant where I worked as an apprentice chef – but they didn't need to know that. "So how may I help you?" I asked the two shocked newcomers with civil work voice.

So there we have it! The first chapter! Thanks for reading and some feed back would be wonderful!

Everything will be explained in a later chapter. Please feel free to ask some questions if you don't understand something but I will say that any questions pertaining to Yuri's condition will have answers that will be spoilers. So feel free to ask at your own risk.

I must appologize as well. I am currently going to be unable to write or upload any chapters until August. Yes I know that I am being mean by putting out this chapter and then not wirting for a little longer than a month but I can't help it! Again sorry.

Over and out!