Wow, I'm so glad you all liked the first chapter! The response was overwhelming—five reviews in, what, barely twelve hours? Thank you all so much for your love and support! Review responses will be at the bottom of the chapter for this fic :)

While I was writing this, I was listening to the song "Why Did I Fall in Love With You?" by DBSK. Look it up if you'd like the vibe I got while I was writing.

Please enjoy theme 2! I'll take a request from the first person to see the movie reference in here!

2. Reject

Back home, they'd called her the "goonie"—she was the town reject. She played with the boys all growing up, the girls wanting nothing to do with a rough-and-tumble child who'd rather get smeared with mud than have a tea party.

Deryn had never minded being called a "goonie". Her da had taught her when she was very small that the other girls were just jealous that she had the guts to go and do whatever she pleased. She had taken that to heart and had vowed to do whatever she pleased her whole life.

To her, being a reject had never been quite so bad.

That philosophy, however, changed the second she realized her true feelings for one Prince Aleksander. She was terrified of being rejected by him. He was the best friend she'd ever had, she realized, and it was built on a premise that was a complete lie. She wasn't Dylan, she was Deryn; she was a girl.

She supposed she should have been happy for him. He had been through so much in such a short span of time; he deserved something good to happen to him, like this girl he wanted to draw so badly. It hurt so much, but she would help him. She had to. As long as he was happy, it ought to be enough for her, right?

She took a charcoal pencil and shoved it into his hands. "Take this." She stared at it for a second, then shook her head and grabbed it back. "Never mind. Just dictate, I suppose, and I'll draw what you picture."

Alek nodded.

Deryn bit her lip and sharpened a pencil with a few quick swipes of her pocketknife. "Alright. Where to start?"

"A girl."

"You've already said that, ninny." She forced herself to chuckle and smile.

He blushed furiously. "W-well—I…!"

"Oh, relax and tell me," Deryn said, this time giggling genuinely at the look on her friend's face.

He attempted to regain his composure and coughed. "Well. Erm, she… She was in the hot spring. From the knees down. And she was wearing just an old shirt."

"Old shirt?"

"Yes. It was too big to be hers, I think it may have been a father's or a brother's shirt. The sleeves were unbuttoned."

"Aye."

And… Alek closed his eyes and leant back against the wall behind him. "She was very slender. Long arms. And she had short hair; I couldn't tell you the color of it, it was too dark."

"Aye. And did you see this girl in a dream or something?" Deryn had an eyebrow cocked as she began to sketch to his specifications.

"It must have been. But she was beautiful. And she had an angel's voice."

Deryn felt her heart break. Part of her was hoping that it was her he'd seen at the hot springs—but that would have been ridiculous. And completely inappropriate; Alek must have seen this girl in a dream, he would never… She couldn't even complete the thought, it was so completely and utterly absurd.

Alek sat beside her for a good two hours as she drew, altering little things here and there. His eyes lit up as she finished shading; this was the girl. "It looks just like her."

Deryn gave him a half-hearted smile. "Yeah? Good. I'm glad." She ripped the page out of her sketchbook and handed it to him. "Here you are."

Alek slapped her back gently. "Thank you, Dylan. I appreciate it. So much." He gave her the largest smile she'd seen him give in a long while.

"You're welcome. If you'll excuse me, your princlieness…" She stood abruptly, gathering her things, and left, taking long strides towards her quarters. At least there she could cry away from prying eyes.

It was that day that she decided for sure she hated being a reject.

There you have it, lovelies! Reviews are appreciated, as always.

Anonymous Reviewer: Hmm... You're probably right. But its late at night-she doesn't assume anyone's around. You do bring up an excellent point! I'm glad you liked the first chapter :) And yes, the song is long, but its so beautiful...!

Insert Lame Name Here: First off, your profile icon made my day. Just sayin'. ;) Here is your update, dahling! I hope you enjoyed it as much as you did the first chapter :D

Julia456: Oblivious? Yes. He's intelligent... but totally people-stupid. ;) I'm glad you enjoyed theme 1, I hope you enjoyed this one as well!

ByStarlight999: Really? Hm... Well, I googled "Random word generator" and it was down the first result page a bit. Its called "creative random word generator" and it generates up to eight words at a time. I hope this helped you alittle, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter, too!

HollyMarieFowl: Yes, yes, Alek is being rather inappropriate. But in his defense... she was clothed... kind of... Haha, I'm happy you liked the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed this one, as well! And I love your username ;) AF FTW

LemonRS: Oh, the awkwardness will ABOUND. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it! :D