Lol! Sorry this took sooo long to get out. I had all but the very last part done, and I just didn't want to write it. xP

Soo, yea! Thanks to all the reviewers, especially the last few. The email alerts is what reminded me about the story. :D

"Daine, he's hott. Two t's." Miri was trying, fruitlessly, to give her friend regular hormones.

"He's best friends with Orzone!" Daine gestured wildly and sat on the table behind her. They were at work, five minuets to closing time.

"I know! So he's rich!" Miri protested.

"Too rich, in my opinion." Daine sniffed.

"Are you all right?" Miri felt her friend's forehead. "Did you just say, too rich?"

"Yes. It probably made him cocky."

"Is he? You were talking to him. Which I'm extremely jealous of, may I add." Miri poked.

Daine had to admit he was pretty down to earth. Not that she would let Miri have the pleasure of knowing that. "Very."

"Hm." Miri frowned and then broke out in smile again. "I know, cut out his vocal chords! Not his tongue, cause then you wouldn't be able to kiss him."

"Eww! Miri!" Daine wrinkled up her face in disgust. "That's nasty."

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about trying it."

"I haven't." Daine told her truthfully. Then again, it would be better than kissing Perin.

"I suppose there's that small problem that you're both in relationships…" Miri pondered.

Daine realized, with a start, that Miri not longer wanted her to date Perin. Which meant…

"I love you, Miri!" Daine squealed.

"Eh…" Miri glanced around to see no one was watching. "Daine?"

"Perin! I can break up with him!" Daine clapped her hands up and jumped from the table.

"What?!" Asked Miri, who was completely at a loss to her friend's behavior.

"You don't want me to date Perin! So I can break up with him!"

"…That's twisted, Daine." Miri realized what was going on.

Daine stopped for a second. "Huh?"

"That's twisted. You're dating him for me?" Miri asked.

"Of course." Daine frowned. "Shouldn't I?"

"Ugh. Daine." Miri shook her head. "Date who you want, not who I want. Geeze. Where was your head?"

"Not in the gutter, where yours apparently is." Daine grinned.

Miri rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "Come on, we're ditching."

"But we have…" Daine glanced at the clock. "One minuet and a half left."

"Daine!" Miri cuffed her on the head. "It's called being normal!"

---

Daine was just pouring some coffee from the pot when there was a ring at her door. She grabbed the cup and gingerly sipped the super-strong brewed coffee most college students drank.

"Hello?" She asked tiredly as she opened the door.

"Hello!" Numair stepped in side her home.

"Wha?!" Daine spluttered.

"Is Miri here?" He asked.

Daine nodded. "Just in the other room."

"Thanks." He nodded to her, and stood there awkwardly for a moment before asking, "Which room?"

Daine laughed. "Miri! There's someone here to see you!"

Almost instantly Miri bobbed into the room.

"Hihi! Oh! You're Numair! Two t's, Daine, TWO!" Miri giggled.

Daine coughed. "Excuse her, she's just gotten some coffee."

"Alright." Numair said.

"Go, Daine! Shoo, shoo! We have some planning to do!" And then Miri added, almost like an after thought, "Hey! That rhymes!"

"Okai. Have fun you two." Daine winked at Numair. "Fun, fun, fun."

Daine thought she heard a sarcastic, "Of course", but it could have just been her imagination.

Back in the front room, Numair turned to Miri. "What was it you wanted?"

Miri made a disbelieving sound and gestured from the hallway that Daine left in, to him, to the hallway.

"You wanted me to see the hallway?" His eyebrows knit together. "What's so… Miri?"

Miri had begun hitting her head on a nearby wall.

"Um…" Numair watched in complete confusion.

"'Scuse me. I'm marveling at the idiocy of men." She muttered.

"Ok…"

"Do neither of you have hormones?" Miri asked suddenly.

Numair flushed a nice shade of pink that a flamenco would appreciate.

"I heard that." Daine drawled from the kitchen.

"You were supposed to." Miri yelled back.

"I think," Daine walked into the room and leaned against the doorframe, sipping coffee. "That you should leave the poor man alone."

"Daine!" Miri whined. "I'm doing you a favor."

"No, you're not." She pointed out, an amused look on her face. "You're embarrassing me."

"No I'm not!" Miri stomped her foot, finding it easy to get angry at this time of the

mornings. Daine always figured it was worth it if she only had to pay half of the rent.

"Miri, that's not very nice." Daine grinned impishly.

"I don't care what's not nice or not, dammit! I'm going back to bed!" Miri huffed and stormed back to her room.

"Well, bye then." Daine waved ironically at Numair and headed back to the kitchen, before thinking better of it and turning back around.

"Never come over here in the mornings. Especially if Miri invites you."

Numair chuckled and headed out the door, shaking his head at Daine's odd room mates' behavior.

---

Daine glared at her paper. This was biology, not rocket science. Much less, it was a beginning work sheet, on the parts of a microscope!

Who cares about what a stage is, anyway? She though bitterly. And since when did a microscope have a stage?

The answer was nagging at the end of her mind, too, from the last time she took a science class. It was driving her mad.

With a huff of indignation, she hit the desk with the end of her mechanical pencil.

Numair saw what she was doing and chuckled to himself. "It's what you put the slides on."

"What?" Daine's face was screwed up in confusion until she realized what he meant. "Like a water par- oh! Oh!"

Quickly she scribbled the answer down on her paper and continued on her worksheet.

Worksheet. Daine's face scrunched up again, but for a different reason. Like elementary school.

---

Clubbing. Another word Daine distinctly hated. Which was why she was plopped on the coach eating chocolate and reading a book called Trickster's Queen. She found the character Duke Nomru especially endearing.

It was funny though, a lot of names of people she knew were in there, including her own. Apparently she was the adoptive aunt. And guess what name the author put as her husband? Numair.

Samalin.

Yup. Daine thought of personally castrating the author, but then realized that that probably wouldn't work, because one, she was a girl, and two, Duke Nomru was awesome.

Totally, dude.

Then again, she really could get used to him. He was going to be her tutor.

Yeah. She did it. Nice little Daine couldn't say no when Numair asked her if she'd like him to tutor her.

At least it wasn't a date, then Daine would be completely helpless. She just couldn't put anybody do-

"DATE!" Daine yelped and jumped up. Thoughts rushed through her head: Date, Perin, Tonight, Dinner…

"Oh, geeze. What time is it?" She snuck a glance at the VCR clock. 7:37. Perin was picking her up at a quarter after eight…

"Whew…" Daine sighed. Then she moaned. Now she had to get ready for a date.

A few minuets, clothes and mascara strokes later, Daine was plopped on her couch, waiting for Perin.

Daine wished someone like Ulasim would show her a magical way out of dating Perin. She didn't mind the grass covered, secret tunnel thing.

Daine was just getting to the part where Aly hinted to Dove that she could cheer on the people, if she was out of arrow range, when the door bell rang.

Daine sighed, stood up and pulled her knee-length skirt to where it was supposed to be, and opened the door.

But it was Numair.

"Hello." He nodded to her.

Daine blinked. "Hi?"

"I here to tutor you?" He reminded her.

"Oh right." She prayed to a god, any god, at the moment. It was not the time to be choosy. "Damn."

Numair raised an eyebrow.

"You do that too much." She muttered under her breath.

"Do what?"

"Raise your eyebrow."

"Ah. Can I come in? It's cold- hello." Numair turned and smiled good naturedly at a fuming Perin who had tapped him on the shoulder. "May I help you?"

"Yes. You can let me collect my girlfriend." Perin glared.

Daine felt her cheeks burn when he said, 'collect'. She could not believe how much she disliked this guy.

"Oh? Your girlfriend? I'm terribly sorry. Let me just totter off then." Numair said, obviously playing with him.

Daine stifled a laugh when she saw Perin's face.

"Indeed you will 'totter off'!" He grab Daine's wrist through the door way. "Come on, dearest. Let's go on our date."

"Um…" Daine was getting smushed. Perin was tugging at her, even though there wasn't hardly any room for her to get through, with Numair's bulk.

"Excuse me." Numair stepped out of the way, so Daine stumbled out the door way. She caught herself before she reached Perin's all too eager arms.

"Wait. Um, Perin, I told Numair I'd meet with him tonight too." Daine slowly pried Perin's hand from her wrist. "This is academic. Can't the date wait till another night? And, Numair? Please don't 'totter off'. I'm sure you learned to walk normally when you were, say 3?"

"Maybe." He grinned rather impishly.

"Alrighty, then." Daine shook her head. "I'll see you tomorrow, Perin. Numair, step inside my office."

---

Daine's eyes widened in amazement. "Miri. Miri!"

"Huu?" Miri rushed into the TV room. "Who died?"

"I got it! I got it!" Daine yelped, and thrust her fist into the air.

"Got what?" Miri scratched her head.

"The scholarship!"

"But you already got one…"

"Noooo! The over seas one! In London, Miri, London!" Daine was the abject picture of happiness.