I have decided to make some covers for this story. I had a few ideas and can't get them out of my head. But it will take a while because I just finished my exams and just want to sleep. Staying up late isn't fun when you get up five hours later to know you have to write again. But today I felt accomplished by beating the smartest guy in my year at the Japanese test. By half a point! That was my goal for this semester's exams, as well as my friend who wanted me to beat him XD

Reviews:

TheOneMagic: I'm only putting like parts in it so there won't be a full story, but I will give you guys enough to understand what's happening.

freddycoops: Thanks for being a new reviewer :) And really? Hmm, come to think of it, I haven't read a story in a story before either.

CierraLuvsPokemon4Eva: I'm glad you liked my story :) And thank you for being a new reviewer.

pikachushinystar: Haruka is a rival, in a sense I guess. They both strive to besom the top author. May will be introduced soon, I'm just pacing things. Just wait and see what happens X) Thanks for being a new reader too.

cherrylovesshipping: Well Leaf is the Snow Fairy, so being cool applies X)

leafeonchick03: I'm happy that you liked the way I portrayed Leaf in this story, and that you're a new reviewer to me :) It's hard to find the line between cold and just plain devious – one that doesn't make her seem too excited about having a lover for the sake of her story, but still blasé enough that s stays true to her personality. That's something I'm going to have to work on.

Chapter Four: M1: Touch

No One

In most of the books Leaf had read, there was this simular line of reaction when someone came into contact with the other person's skin. Like a jolt of electricity has shocked through their entire body, leaving a surprising, yet somehow satisfying feeling. A connection; and one she needed to understand.

Leaf

Poke.

"So did you read my summary?" I asked Drew as we walked to school together.

Poke.

He nodded, playing with his phone. I couldn't tell if he was lying and reading at this moment or not. "Yeah I did; this morning when you woke me up at three."

Poke.

"Well I was excited that I finally posted it. You didn't have to read it if you were sleepy." Drew hid a laugh behind his lips. "I had to. You kept calling me until I picked up."

Poke.

"And why are you poking me?" I put my hand back to my side and sighed. It's not working. "Don't worry," I said as we approached the school. "I was just bored."

I don't understand. I did all the research, read all the books; interaction by touch is supposed to be stimulating… isn't it?

I looked down at my hands as if the answers were written on them. Which they practically were since bonds had a lot to do with touch. The feeling of heat, the longing for it once it's gone, the need for it to return…

I snapped out of my thoughts and pulled out my phone and began making a little note. It will be good reference to add that to my story. However it is a bit hollow. I need to actually feel that electrifying touch if I am ever going to write it in a form I understand.

The chiming of the bell came in on cue at the same time as the alert on my cell. Under the desk, I opened it up to check before the teacher came in.

It was a private message from her.

[Haruka: Nice summary. This is the first time I'm reading one of your romance themed books. Have you read mine? I think this will be interesting development.]

That's it? No taunts? No threats? No 'I'm better than you' speech? I have been getting too much hate mail from envious authors to remember what a normal message was like. But the fact it was normal made it all the more suspicious.

I debated with myself on whether to reply, but class had begun well before I finished contemplating to text back. In the end, I left the message on the page for the rest of the day.

It wasn't until last period that I began to grow even more curious about Haruka's text. Her name was back as the top author, and with already three chapters and four hundred reviews, I seriously needed to speed things up.

"Can you pass me that hammer?" Drew asked, already holding out his hand while his eyes were still on the wooden board below him.

He was crouched on one knee over a huge flattened archway that would be placed at the entrance of the school for the upcoming festival. I didn't understand why he volunteered. I don't even understand why I stayed behind after school hours when I didn't need to do anything. I thought about that for a moment as I absentmindedly passed Drew the heavy tool.

Everyone was apparently helping out with the fair. I don't see what was so interesting holding this celebration every year. What was there to celebrate anyway? Our school was fairly new, and the anniversary of its construction was way back during the beginning of autumn.

I puffed a piece of hair that was in the way of my glasses and Drew made a chuckle he thought I couldn't hear as he hammered away on a series of nails. "You could help out if you're bored," he suggested, getting up from the dusty ground. I gave him a blank look. But by the way some of the students around us stared at me I guess it seemed more like a glare. Drew knew the difference though and shrugged, "Worth a shot."

"Actually," I said right after. "I think I will help out." I hopped up from the brick wall that surrounded the campus and began walking towards the building. From the windows of the front doors, I could see Drew's reflection. His mouth hung agape as if he were about to say something, but quickly refrained from doing so and swallowed his breath. A sign of hesitance meant that something was bothering him. I didn't have the time to question him on what though.

As I wandered the halls, dodging various decorations and misplaced school blazers, I tried to find Gary. This would be a good a time as any to see if he would be any help to my story. That and because I had gained no new material from Drew.

Through various whispers, mainly from the female student body, I have come to know that Gary was in one of the senior classrooms on the third floor. Finding him among a crowd of girls was no surprise. But at my presence they seemed to have cleared the area; one less disturbing variable to discard from the environment.

Now let's see if he can help me find that spark.

No One

Gary restrained from groaning too loudly by her entrance. He took up a languid posture while placing his hands in his pockets as she approached. "I want you to do something for me, and you know no bargaining or persuasion can get you out of this. That is if the cost of your secret were meaningless to you." Leaf felt to need to restate the fact to remind him the ball was in her court.

Gary licked his lips as he looked away; going over all the impertinent things he was going to say to her in his head. "Right, I'm your… lover or something…" He looked back at her. "What do I have to do?" he asked, not too eagerly.

Leaf took a step closer, her icy eyes solely set on him. Gary had the instinct to take one back, but for some reason restrained himself. Her irises were just so… cold. He hated when he was looked at like that. His anger began to rise.

"Mission One," she began, lifting up her index finger. "Touch me."

No blush or reaction in sight. She was dead serious. Her tone made Gary's fury subsided for the moment and was replaced by confusion, mixed with a hint of nervousness. "W-what?" he stammered, suddenly feeling that his knees were about to give way. He held onto a desk behind him for balance.

Once Gary found himself comfortable just sitting on the table, he finally found the nerve to look back at Leaf. Her expression was the same, although now he was sitting, she was about the same height he was. "Do you understand what you're saying?" he asked, hoping she was just a dense girl with an overactive imagination, despite her personality.

"Don't patronise me," Leaf sneered, placing one and on her hip that was jutting out to the side. "I don't mean that in a sexual way, if that's what your hormonal adolescent mind was thinking." Leaf was so upfront and serious that Gary found himself unable to respond. Who acts like this in real life? He thought with a twitching brow. He felt a little insulted by her comment despite the brutally honest truth behind it.

"Then what did you mean by that?" Gary said in an exasperated manner a moment later. He had a lot of things to prepare for and didn't have time for her… well whatever she was blackmailing him for. Gary still didn't know, and for some unknown reason didn't ask.

Leaf presented the palm of her hand upwards. Her nails almost touched his chest. "Just hold my hand." Gary stared back and forth between that and her eyes. "That's it?" he said questioningly. "Why do you want me to do that?" Leaf tried her best to conceal her irritated sigh, but her tightening lip and the roll of her eyes said her aggravation for her.

"Okay, okay," Gary relented with a sigh. "But first of all, you're doing it wrong." Unsure of what he meant, Leaf gave him a puzzled look; a glare in his eyes. Without waiting for a further response, Gary took Leaf's wrist and lifted it up so that her palm was facing him. His hand then moved up her hers.

At first, Gary pulled back. Her fingers actually felt like ice. For a second he wondered if she was going to melt.

"Don't stop now." Leaf said, making Gary revert his eyes back to her before staring back at their slowly approaching hands.

His fingers trailed from her wrist to her palm, following the lines as if they were a path. Leaf slightly winced as his touch. She was very sensitive and his movements were tickling her skin. Gary caught her cringe and considered pulling back, but Leaf pressed her palm to his. "Keep going..." she said in a small whisper. Her eyes slowly drifted shut as their fingers interlaced with one another. She didn't realise how breathless she felt, or how close she had advanced to Gary; although he certainly did.

He didn't say anything when Leaf's cool fingers knitted through his. He didn't say anything when her other hand found stability on his upper leg. He didn't say anything when he looked at her flushed face. He would have felt better if she were looking at him instead of having her eyes closed. It made him feel hot. Gary had to look away.

Leaf's breaths became slow and soft. You could almost hear her moan as she took in his touch. He's so warm… she thought. But it's not here either. Despite this, Leaf still held onto him. Her mind wasn't registering the fact that she wanted to move away. She couldn't even feel herself leaning forwards. The scent of his cologne hit her nose before her cheek grazed his. She felt the warmth on his face too.

"Gary?"

The said boy whipped his head into the direction of the doorway, where two girls from the year above him stood. Astonished expressions were plastered on their faces; hurt was also subtlety mixed in.

He was flustered by their arrival and strived to say something that would explain things. All the while Leaf slowly took her time retracting herself from Gary's embrace. She shot a glare at the two girls. Not a look, but an actual glare. And a look like there could scare the dead. Both upperclassmen shivered and took a frightened step back.

"O-oh, we're sorry," The blonde one said. "Are we interrupting something?" Her slightly taller friend asked. Leaf gritted her teeth. Jealousy was never a thing Leaf liked to be confronted with, and these two girls seemed like the perfect specimens for a good conflict. Sad to say she didn't need that in her novel at the moment.

With an irritated grunt, she pushed Gary away with more force than he expected, releasing her hand from his. That's when it happened.

There it was. Leaf's eyes widened with clarity. That jolt of electricity, she finally felt it. It was more of a feeling of loss though. The warmth from Gary's body was gone, and she felt the craving to touch him again.

That was all she needed for now.

As Leaf adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat, she quickly sauntered out the room, pass the two eyeing girls. But just before Leaf left, she turned back to Gary and said, "This is not over yet." With that, she hurried out of the classroom, ignoring all the elusively dirty looks she was getting from the upperclassmen.

Gary just sat there faintly panting, his hands still in the same position where he held her hand. It had drifted lower than he had though. He glanced down at it after who knows how long since Leaf left and waited until the last trace of her icy touch vanished. Why do I feel calmer? He wondered, moving his fingers as if he had just learnt how to use them.

Her touch was soothing. Even though she was cold, both in and out, Gary actually felt… warm.

He held her hand, but his touch was weak. His skin was as cold as hers, as if ice was flowing through his skin. He was dead after all. But he was warm. To Cue, he was warm.

Finian was so close to her, but he did nothing to go further. It was no tight embrace, but it meant something. Cue, in her many years of matchmaking, grouped this exchange as a display of mutual respect; nothing more.

Yet, she felt it. For a single second, she felt it. That spark that she had told many others about, the one that set their skin on fire. Her pale flesh was still cold, and the warmth Finian gave was nothing compared to what she had known. It was fast and fleeting, but a tingle remained on the place he had grazed her arms.

For some strange reason, she wanted to hold on. There was something missing. Something she wanted to know more about. That spark was gone. But the sensation lingered for another second of that seemingly endless hug.

Cue wondered if that spark will return if she were to touch him again.

Just once more…

With a relieved sigh, Leaf hit the publish chapter button on her phone.

It was another late night; the best time to write she thinks. It's dark and quiet with nothing but the light on her cell to distract her.

Leaf placed her mobile on her bedside table, a little glad to have finally stopped typing on it, but also a bit proud for publishing a chapter. She forgot how many she had posted up till now, but that hardly mattered. As long as she was right next to Haruka on the list, then Leaf was fine.

In the dim light of the streetlamps outside, she lifted up her hand from under the covers and stared at it. From her palm to her fingers to the back of her hand, her eyes wandered all the nooks and grooves that made her, her. She opened and closed it as if it weren't there at all; like she was dreaming.

Caressing her palm with her other hand, she traced along her love line – without actually knowing that it was – and thought about what she had researched on.

A touch doesn't send a jolt of electricity through your skin.

A touch doesn't make you want to create a connection.

It was the person.

It doesn't matter when, where or how, but whom.

Leaf rubbed her eyes under the rim of her glasses and yawned. Folding her hands under the folds of her pillow, she closed her lids.

And though her last thought lingered in her mind, she didn't have enough sense to make a note of it, or remember it in the morning after.

This book in a book fiction has inspired me to make an actual story. I already have a set of characters and a basic plot, only it is a little varied on the time period. Things will be explained later. The characters are inspired by my friends, imagination, and you readers who make me want to write more :) I wonder if I could do this for a living someday. I still have to make a decision about what I want to do when I'm older, but I don't know if writing is what I'm passionate about. Oh well, something will come up, that I'm sure of. Not that I'm procrastinating or anything! I just know by this feeling I have. Have you guys felt it? That sensation when you know something good is going to happen? It's uplifting.

XOXO AsianBunny