Chapter Two: Strange Encounter

"Why didn't I chase after her?" Ronald mumbles to himself as he rolls over in his king-sized bed. The young reaper has tried to get some rest but it evades him. Thoughts of the small girl from earlier flood his mind and take root, not letting himself forget about the one moment they shared together just a few hours ago.

"It's pointless! She is long gone by now! Who knows where she could be?" He moves strands of blonde hair matted to his face by sweat out of his eyes.

He stares at his ceiling, thinking back to the moment he first saw her. "Her hair was so long and soft looking. And oh how her eyes sparkled. They were like pools of radiant crystals." He blinks, attempting to remove the image of her staring up at him from his mind. "In all my life I have seen girl after girl but none as beautiful as her. Why did she shove me off like that?"

He sighs loudly and relaxes into his pillow, turning on his side and pulling his knees up.

_
The phone rings early one morning, waking Ronald from yet another restless, thought-filled trance. His senior, Grell Sutcliff's voice comes through the receiver.

"Morning, Ronnie." He says energetically. "Did I wake you?" His voice drips with anxiety.

"Nah, mate. Just... another night full of thoughts." Ronald shuffles and sits up in bed, revealing his bare chest and plaid pajama pants.

"Oh, Ron." Grell remarks, the frown evident in the reapers tone. "You really should move on. I mean, how cute could a girl possibly be?"

Ronald sighs heavily. How could Grell possibly understand? All he ever does it flirt. He doesn't want anything more than a physical, skin-deep relationship.

He lets the feminine voice explain the havoc that has been the office the last couple of days. He tunes out his seniors voice, thinking of what HIS life has become since the strange girl entered his thoughts, not letting them have a moments rest.

When he gradually becomes aware of what the man was saying, he is startled to hear about the upcoming changes at Dispatch.

"They are going to start putting us on shifts..." He trails off and pauses. "Ronnie boy? Are you even listening?" The blonde clears his throat uncomfortably.

"Uh, yeah mate. What about 'em going on shifts?" The boy rubs his face, mustering up all the energy he can from his sleep-deprived body.

"Since there haven't been as many deaths lately, they are going to start reapers on shifts so there aren't divine beings wandering around with deadly scythes bored out of their minds. It is suppose to 'keep us out of trouble'." The redhead scoffs over the phone and lets out a small chuckle. "Ronnie?"

"Yes, senpai?" he answers, getting out of bed and heading to the kitchen.

"I would like to see my junior today. You feeling up for lunch at Julia's later?"

Ron sighs happily. Julia's is the little cafe that he ran into that girl a couple days ago. A small smile creeps on his face. Maybe, just maybe, she'll be there.
"That sounds great. I've missed you senpai."

Grell squeals joyfully and laughs.
"Someone's missed having a lady in their life, huh?" He remarks playfully. Ron chuckles at the thought of his senior's face lighting up at the comment.

The sound of a door opening and William's exasperated tone are muffled by Grell's hand. He removes his hand after a moment, clearly upset.

"Ron, darling, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you there at noon." The phone clicks and goes silent. Ron sets the phone down and starts water for tea.

_

As Ronald draws near to their meeting place, he grows nervous.
"What would I even say if I saw her?" He grumbles quietly to himself as he walks. He rounds the corner, just in sight of Julia's cafe, when a teenager stumbles out of an alley, clearly wasted.

"Ey, mate? Are you okay?" He kindly asks, all too familiar with the effects of alcohol. The boy looks up to him and stares at him for a minute before he starts to fall. Ronald catches him and pulls him back into the alley, out of the street.

"Do you need help?"
Just as the guy opens his mouth to talk, he leans over and throws up. A girl comes running from the darkness of the alley to his side.

"Robin! There you are! Dad is worried sick. We need to get you cleaned and sobered." She wraps an arm around his ribcage and he puts his arm around her shoulders. The boy lets go of Ronald's arm and holds on to his sister. They start walking out of the alley when he finally realizes who it is.

"Hey!" He calls after the pair. "You are the girl from the restaurant a few days ago!" He runs after them, not allowing himself to miss his second chance at talking to the girl. She stops, struggling under the weight of the boy. He catches up with them and notices her difficulty in carrying someone almost twice her size. He slides his arm around the other size of the guy, supporting the extra weight.

"I've got it." She barks out, pushing him away.

"What is your problem!" Ronald's frustration peaks. 'Why won't she just accept help!?'

"I've got it." She breaths out heavily. The teens weight isn't allowing her to breathe correctly.

Ron won't let her get away this time. He looks her dead in the eye, the most courage he has had around her yet.

"No. You don't." She is taken aback by his defiance and it throws her off for a minute. She quickly recovers her hard exterior but the girl's eyes show her desperation. He slides his arm around the teen again, and they start walking. After a little while, the girl speaks up.

"Can we go back to your place?" She says confidently. 'Is this girl crazy!? We have her brother! She couldn't possibly be thinking about-' Ronald blushes, finally realizing that she couldn't bring her brother home in the condition he was in.

"Um...yeah." He mumbles, clearly embarrassed. The girl seems to notice and smiles cruelly.
They reach his apartment and he leads them inside. The teen crashes through the sitting room and lies down on his couch.
"I'll make tea."

The girl stands awkwardly near the door, examining the room.
"You live alone?" She asks, a bit sarcastically.

"Yeah." He calls from the kitchen. The girl frowns but covers it when she sees Ronald reentering the sitting room.

"I do." He states. "I have for a long time." He meant for the statement to be reassuring but there was sadness in his tone. She looks down, embarrassed.

"Oh." She looks up after a moment and stares at his face.
He smiles warmly and starts to blush.

"Did you want to say something?"
She takes a couple steps towards him to get a better look at his features.

"You look so young. Exactly, how old are you?"

"Oh, just a couple hundred decades." He smiles, hoping that she would believe him.

The girl slightly narrows her eyes and then starts to chuckle.
"I thought you were serious!" She says through her laughter. He stands there waiting for her laughter to die down, with a hurt look on his face. She finally calms and looks up, noticing his expression.

"Is something wrong?" Her face softens and she blushes a bit, realizing that she must have hurt his feelings.

"Oh, Eh, well, no." He stammers. 'Why does she make me so bloody nervous?'

She walks up to him and lays a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry." Her tone sounded a bit harsh but he took it as her way of trying to comfort him.

"It's alright." He chuckles breathlessly. "Just gets lonely sometimes." She removes her hand from his arm and goes to her brother's side, who has rolled off the couch and fallen asleep on the floor. "What a mess." She mumbles to herself, positioning his head in a way he can breathe properly. Ron walks to the siblings and picks up the boy, placing him back on the couch and sits in a nearby chair.

"Thanks." She quietly whispers, not used to saying the words. She stands and sits at the foot of the couch, by her passed out brother. She glances at Ron, who had been politely staring at her.
"You recognized me, didn't you? Back in the alley?"
He stiffens as her words cut through him like daggers.
"Eh, yeah. You ran into me a couple of days ago." He smiles, trying to hide a blush. He laughs quietly for a moment. "I was actually on my way to the same cafe to-." His eyes widen and he shoots out of his chair. "Grell!" He bows quickly and darts for the door. "I'm so sorry! Be back soon!" He rushes out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Author Note: So sorry it took forever to write this chapter. I have been busy and have writer's block as well. Crimson Accomplice is giving me some problems so it might be a while until I update that story. Thanks for the support~