PLEASE READ: Just warning you, this is a short chapter but all will be made up next time. :) Yes, next chapter will go into more depth. I was slightly rushed.

Oh, and reviews would be lovely if you have the time :) Thanks to those of you who have, they make me smile.

Chapter#3

"You're joking," Talim murmured in disbelief when she caught the redhead's awkward gaze as he ventured towards her. "Xianghua…The one with the red hair is coming straight for us." Xianghua ceased her searching to look up at him, but nothing was said. Talim certainly had no patience for his insolence.

"Umm, hey," He greeted uncomfortably as he approached them. "My name is Yun-seong."

"And I couldn't possibly care less," Talim snapped, though feeling a bit unfair. "If you're here to bother my friend then you can just—"

"I'm sorry."

"—go to... What?" Talim lost her sentence as she was struck with confusion. All thoughts of self-righteousness vanished in the perplexity; that was something she did not expect.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted," he spoke softly, reluctantly. Talim searched his features for some kind of clue that would give away his true motive but all she found was the irrefutable pout of shame

This is downright painful! Yun-seong bit his tongue fiercely in between pauses in order to keep from snarling at her. Apparently, Kilik had no idea about their disastrous first impressions... Or maybe he did. Bastard. But if this was going to work then he had to make amends before it was too late. He stood there in his own silent restlessness as the young girl processed his words. Letting his peripheral vision take over, he studied his new subject. She was, indeed, very attractive, though his mind was hesitant to admit it. Though standing meekly her eyes had a great kindness about them, and she spoke with unexpected confidence.

"Are you serious?" Her voice snapped him out of his studious trance and his eyes focused in on her suspicious gaze.

"Yeah," He found himself replying automatically. Smooth.

"Well, Yun-seong," She started with a swift glance towards Xianghua. "Thank you for your apology, I'm sure it took you a while to gather the audacity, now if you'll excuse us we need to be on our way."

Ok now I'm pissed. "You know what?!" He hissed malevolently before he could stop himself. Talim turned abruptly to face him, her dark brows slightly furrowed.

"What?" She responded impatiently as she crossed her arms.

Once again his teeth sunk into his tongue; this was his time of judgment and he could not afford to blow this. "You... are completely right. You should let me make it up to you." This must be how a married man feels.

Xianghua finally seemed to reengage herself because a temporary look of shock became clear on her face as she looked inadvertently to her friend who had yet to fully register the meaning behind his words. "...What?" Talim finally managed.

He had to tell her what she wanted to hear. "A movie, or a cup of coffee before class even," He continued before she could start to reject him. "You seem like a really smart girl and I feel awful for acting stupid and disrespecting your friend."

Oh my gawd she's falling for it! Her once bothered and highly suspicious expression now softened into a look of contemplation. "What made you change your tone?" Crap. "You were pretty quick to retort before."

"Listen, I'm really not a bad guy," Some truth was now leaking into this. "Let me buy you a coffee or something and you'll see that." She looked positively helpless at this point as she seemed to be at a loss for words, searching his face for something, but she didn't grasp anything new from his expression. Yun-seong now became aware that the room was silent even as the party continued on around them; his focus on her silenced unnecessary noise. The girl finally parted her lips to say something when—

"Don't tell me that this is your next victim!" The obnoxious female voice was enough to make him cringe. Not now! The tall, short-haired blonde emerged from the crowd with a malicious smile. She stood much taller than Talim proudly with a noticeable air of arrogance. "Please, spare the poor thing the torment. A dog is a better catch than you."

She's killing me. "Yeah, Skank? You kind of have to leave now," Yun-seong seethed in a hurry to rid him of her.

The girl turned to Talim without acknowledging his remark. "Trust me honey, he's a brainless prick who will chew you up and spit you out before you know what hit you. You're much better off."

"And you're still an annoying bitch Cassandra! Leave me alone!" Yun-seong retorted, his eyes were pleading her to make an exit.

"Noted," Talim squeaked, not liking what she had witnessed at all, "Xianghua." Xianghua nodded and grabbed her hand with a nod of goodbye to Yun-seong.

"B-But!" He stammered.

"Ciao!" Cassandra waved politely as Talim was dragged away. After they had disappeared she sighed happily at her work. "You're such a sucker sometimes."

"At least I'm not a bitch!" He exclaimed furiously.

Her hearty laugh bellowed as she walked away with an undeniably smug look of contentment. "Not on my watch Hong."

"I'm going to be the one to kill her. I know I am," Yun-seong muttered bitterly, fully aware of Maxi's presence.

"That was brutal. She showed no mercy that time," Maxi commented with pity.

"Besides that Max," Yun-seong groaned, "She drove her away! Now I have to pay Kilik more money that I don't have!"

"Don't give up so easily dude," Maxi patted his friend on the back with a sly smile, "Where there's a will there's a way."

"What the hell do you suppose that was all about?" Talim exclaimed into the frosty night.

"I'm not sure," Xianghua chirped as she struggled to keep up with Talim's power-walking. "Maybe he realized that you're a total babe and went for it!"

"What was that all about anyways?" Talim asked ignoring that last comment while looking back to see how far she was leading. "Before, when the shorter one with the black hair was talking to you."

For a few seconds nothing was heard but the soft echoes of their footsteps fading into the night. "It's nothing to worry your beautiful little head over Talz!" Xianghua flashed her pearly white smile cheerily.

Talim rolled her eyes, more so out of frustration. "Well when you want to tell me go ahead."

"Nope!"

"Didn't think so." Talim shook the jumbled thoughts from her mind. His tone switch was too random for her liking anyways. I can't believe I was about to say yes. She felt grateful for that girl's warning; she would have never seen that nasty ill-mannered side come out again. There was never a good reason to talk to a girl like that. "All in all I think it was a good save."

"I dunno Talz," Xianghua answered with a shrug, "You never know what could have been!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Talim inquired with more curiosity than she thought necessary. Did Xianghua know this guy personally? She stopped before Xianghua's house, right next door to hers; the wooden structures sat a block away from Liritt Boulevard. Xianghua replied with only another shrug, and a small smile to go with it before darting into her house. Eh, it's not such a big deal I suppose. I'm just glad this night is done with!

"Do you want to wake up the whole damn street?" Yun-seong whispered despite the deafening blows to the door Maxi issued.

"Just want to make sure she heard me," Maxi explained, watching his breath float away in a white fog.

"I can't believe you made me walk all this way," Yun-seong changed the subject as they waited, "Its freezing!"

"Suck it up princess," Maxi hushed him before the door opened.

"What do you want now? I left a long time ago," Xianghua leered at them through small opening she created regardless of the treatment she has received from them earlier.

"The floor is yours," Maxi whispered before standing behind Yun-seong.

"Oh, well..." Yun-seong started hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck. "I was just in the neighborhood and... Well, if you could... I mean I kind of need some... You don't have to but..."

"Do you want me to get Talim?" Xianghua finally interjected with a slightly raised brow.

"No— YES!" He caught himself nervously. "That is... If you can, because if you can't then—"

"Tomorrow, I was gonna make up for missing our movie tonight," Xianghua stated, "She's supposed to meet me at the theater tomorrow at 1. Be there." Without another word the door was closed.

The two stood in an uncomfortable stillness before they could understand. "Reality check, that did just happen right?"

Maxi nodded clumsily, "Maybe there is hope for you after all."

10/17

PLEASE READ AGAIN!! IMPORTANT!: Ok, so November starts NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which I have to write a full length novel within a month. It's something I've been planning and preparing for. In the whole month of November I will be struggling to write at least 1,667 words a day to reach the minimum word limit.

So what does this mean?: It does NOT mean that I'm gonna push this story off to the side and completely forget about it, I promise. It just means the chapters will be coming at a slower rate. I don't want to rush through them while I'm working on the novel and give you chapters full of CRAAAAP!

Thank you for your understanding! :) I'm gonna try to get the next chapter out before the end of next week. It's almost completely written down.

:3