Dawnwood Park, 10:00 AM

Kyle had always thought there was a general rule about most narcotics: Never go outside whilst under their effects.

Kyle, however, wasn't the biggest fan of following a societal rule just because everyone else did. And besides, it wasn't as if he was under the influence of anything. Rather, he had just gotten OFF the influence of something, albeit momentarily.

And that was the reason why he was outside currently. Kyle was reeling from a decently sized heroin shot and hot damn was he feeling the aftershock. Headache, chills, slight tremors. All were coming in at an alarming rate.

Leaning up against a nearby fence in the park he was situated at, Kyle took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of his head.

'Ugh, I really need to stop this. I'm not doing Seth or myself any favors by keeping this up. … But it's just so god damn HARD.'

"Excuse me? Sorry to bother you, but are you alright?"

Kyle opened his eyes and turned his head to where the voice was emanating. It came from a woman.

She was Asian with grey hair and matching eyes. Over said eyes was a pair of red glasses. What she wore was a green jacket over a white shirt that showed her midriff with matching white shorts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm alright. I just had a rough night, that's all." Kyle said. A bald-faced lie, sure, but Kyle didn't exactly want to divulge in his drug habits with a stranger.

"I'll say. You're so pale, you look like you've seen fuckin' ghost." The woman said with a laugh.

Kyle in turn laughed at the small use of an expletive.

"Ah, 'fuckin''. A dear friend when you both A.) Need to fill a sentence and B.) Have the urge to drop an F-Bomb." Kyle said with a smile.

The woman had a good laugh at that one.

"I agree." She said whilst reaching out her hand. "I'm Aiko, by the way."

"Kyle." Our man in question said whilst reciprocating the handshake.

"Say, can I be honest with you about something?" Aiko asked.

"That depends. What is it you want to be honest about?" Kyle inquired in turn.

"Asking whether or not you were okay was only half the reason I came over here." As Aiko said this, her grey eyes morphed into what Kyle could only label as equal parts seduction and predatory. "The other half was I thought you looked pretty hot."

"… Y-you do?" Kyle asked, his glasses becoming slightly askew.

Aiko laughed at Kyle's reaction, and continued on with:

"Of course I do. I mean, besides the whole paleness thing, you're muscular, have got a nice frame, and those glasses look dead sexy on you. Trust me," Aiko said whilst adjusting her own glasses. "The look is hard to pull off."

"Really? Well… thank you. You also look very… attractive." Kyle struggled to say.

Once again, Aiko let loose another hearty laugh before saying:

"Why so nervous? I take it you don't do this very often?"

"... Okay, it's my turn to be honest with you: If you're looking for romance, you've come to the wrong man."

"What? Where's this coming?" Aiko inquired with a slight chuckle.

"Okay, firstly, to answer your question: Yes I don't do this very often. But that's only because I really don't want to be tied down in any form of romantic relationship. So, I just wanted to warn you up front that if you were looking for anything serious, I'm not your guy."

Kyle was expecting to get told off by Aiko, or at least have her leave. However, Kyle was more than surprised to see her face shift into one of upmost happiness.

"I'm so glad you said that. I'm not looking for romance either." Aiko said.

"… You aren't?"

"Nope. I completely agree with you, I don't like to be shackled down by anything serious in my love life."

"Well…" Kyle's face slowly became painted with a smile. "That's a relief."

Yet again, Aiko administered a chortle. This time, however, she was cut off by a beeping coming from her pocket. Releasing her phone (the device that was emanating the sound) from the confines of her pocket, Aiko peered at it for a moment before uttering:

"Aw, shit. I'm gonna be late."

"Late for what?"

"Oh, I teach Algebra at the local university. You familiar with it?" Aiko said, a questioning look on her face.

"Yeah, I've passed it once or twice."

"Well, there you have it. Sorry, but I've gotta go." Aiko said whilst taking a few steps away from Kyle. She stopped her walking, however, turned to Kyle and said:

"Do you have a piece of paper?"

"Um, no, I don't. Sorry."

"Damn it." Aiko said under her breath. "Alright, here, give me your arm."

"What for?"

"Why do you think? I want to give you my number." Aiko said as if it were the most obvious thing, albeit with another chuckle.

"Oh. Okay." Kyle said in surprise, handing over his arm to his new acquaintance.

Several strokes of Aiko's pen later, and Kyle had her number.

"Well, see you. You better call me!" Aiko said with a playful smile, walking away towards her job.

"Don't worry…" Kyle said to himself, looking at his arm. "… I will."

And thus, Kyle continued his walk, a smile on his face.

For still struggling to get a grip over his high from last night, Kyle agreed with himself that his morning turned out much better than expected.

Good morrow, People of Fanfiction! Sorry that this chapter was so short, but I'm planning on making the next few chapters little vignettes like these of each of our four mains meeting up with their respective girls. That way, I can give focus on one character at a time without jumbling them all into one chapter. I hope you folks understand my direction. With that said, please leave your reviews and tell me what you think/what I can improve!