I walked into the Dot, to see KC sitting at the table directly near the door.

Great, I thought, Just when things were starting to get good, he had to come and mess it up.

I tried to walk by him, without saying anything, hoping he wouldn't notice me. But just like him not coming into my life during the times I didn't want him to, it was unlikely. As I walked by him, he turned around and his eyes focused on me.

"Jill, I was hoping I'd see you sometime today." KC said, "Come sit down."

"I can't, I'm waiting for someone." I said, and started to walk away to an empty table.

"Who? Mr. Death?" He indirectly referred to Eli.

"He's not Mr. Death." I said, defending Eli even though I only knew him for a few hours.

"How is he not? He wears all dark clothes and drives a hearse to school. What 16 year old drives a hearse to school?"

I walked over to his table and sat across from him. I didn't want to but I had to make some things clear to KC.

"Look, I don't know what you have against Eli but you'll have to get over it if you want to talk to me. You don't know him at all, and you can't judge him just by looking at him. It only leads to more trouble, so before you start running your mouth about him, get to know him. You'll probably be surprised."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eli standing in back of KC, looking at me with a half smile on his face.

I stood up and KC looked in back of him to see what I got up for. He saw Eli standing there and turned back around, wanting nothing to do with him. Eli and I walked away and sat in a table near the middle of the Dot.

"So, how much of that did you hear?" I asked him, hoping he didn't hear that much.

"All of it. You know, Drew's right. You're pretty cool." Eli said, taking off his black jacket, "How come you defended me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I wasn't defending you in specific." I lied. I was defending him and only him. But I didn't want him to know that. "I just don't like when people judge somebody from first sight. It annoys me."

Eli laughed a little. It was the first time I ever heard him laugh and it made me smile.

"Well, I'm used to it. Most people always make assumptions about me. It gets old sometimes but I have to deal with it. You're one of the few people who didn't judge me and actually took the time to get to know me." Eli said, looking at me with a gleam in his eyes.

I stared into them and suddenly got lost. They were like the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz. Full of life and color, even if it was just one color. Every time the light hit them, they changed shades of green and it was just wonderful. Almost like a beautiful show I could've watched over and over again.

"Most people are stupid. I used to be like that but then I realized that it's foolish because from one look, you think you know a person but after you actually get to know them, you realize how wonderful they are or how much they hurt you." I said, looking back at KC who was drinking a simple glass of coffee.

"I don't mean to dip into your business but I want you to know, all guys aren't like KC." Eli said, after he saw me looking at KC, "You'll find someone who's so different. You'll realize what you deserve and realize it's not what you had before."

That someone just might be you, I thought but didn't say aloud. Eli probably didn't feel the same way and it would be weird with that between us.

"I know, but I was in love with KC. It's like, he pulled me all the way up and I started to fall, thinking he would catch me but he didn't. He just let me fall." I could feel the tears starting to develop in my eyes, I tried to blink them back in but they fell down my cheeks instead.

Eli wiped them off with his thumb, in a swift motion. It sent a shock through me. The coldness of his soft skin against mine made me jump inside. His gentle touch just made me feel like butterflies were flying all throughout my body.

As he wiped them away, I thought of something Fiona told me a while back. She just got over a breakup and wanted me to realize what boys could do to you with just a 'bye'. I remember her exact words. She said: "They say no guy is worth your tears. Boy were they wrong. You cry tears of happiness, sorrow and hope. The guy that truly loves you will be the one who's there to wipe them away when they are shed."

Maybe Eli did care about me as more than a friend, I thought. But I wouldn't try it out yet. Risks would hurt more than just waiting to find out. I had patience when it came to waiting for something concerning a guy. As long as it wasn't it find out if he was really cheating or not.

"Jill, don't let KC get you down. Love is an endless cycle, one guy tears your world apart and another comes along and fixes it. And at one point, one guy will come in the cycle and he'll be right for you. You just have to wait because love is worth waiting for." Eli said, taking his hand away from my face.

"Sorry I got tears on your shirt." I said, pointing at the wet spot from my tears on his black long sleeve shirt.

Eli laughed a little then said, "Don't worry about it. There's a new invention out called the washing machine."

I laughed. Did he mean to be so just simply amazing or was he just like that?

"I think I know about it, I use it every week." I said, through my laughter.

"Then you should know that these," he pointed at the wet spot on my shirt, "Will wash away."

"Is that some type of two-way meaning thing? Like, they'll wash away on your shirt, and they'll wash away in real life?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd get it but I thought wrong." Eli said, smiling.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Mr. Goldsworthy. I'm very smart." I said, tapping my head to give emphasis to my statement.

"I didn't think you weren't. I just didn't think you'd get it." Eli said.

I laughed, "Okay. Well, I did. Now, how come you know exactly what to say and when to say it?"

Eli was caught off guard by my question, "What?"

"I mean, like when we were talking about KC and how he hurt me, you knew exactly how to make me feel better. How did you know how to?" I asked him.

"I've had experience. I have had my heart broken more times than I can remember. It's hard to go through when it happens but after a while, you get tired of it. You get tired of being hurt all the time and you start to think to yourself, 'Why do I always get hurt?' What you're going through now with KC is exactly what I went through at one time, so I know where you're coming from. Girls look at me, and probably think, 'He looks like he's mysterious. I want to find out why he is.' But once they do, they're off like the wind."

"Well, why are you mysterious?" I asked him. I wanted to find this out since I first met him.

"I can't tell you. You're probably the only girl that I don't want to lose."

Practice does make perfect. I think this story is coming along good. Reviews make me smile.