NOTE: Well, since I'm really determined to get this done by V-day, here is another update. Besides, I couldn't leave you all so emo and depressed. :( If you were wondering what happened to Runi and Talmage during that whole disaster, never fear! For here is your answer! :D

I had fun writing this...It's cornier than corn and cheesier than cheese...but I loved writing it! X3 Apologizes in advance to Runi and Keru if she seems OOC...I went a little crazy with this chapter. Especially since I was listening to "Say You Like Me"-We The Kings, "Today Was a Fairytale" -Taylor Swift, and "Could It Be" -Christy Carlson Romano. ;)

Enjoy!

WARNING: ...well, I can't really remember if there's swearing or sensuality...there's no slash...but there is quite a bit of fluff. :3

DISCLAIMER: Runi belongs to Kerukeru, Talmage belongs to me. No stealing!

Chapter 10.

Talmage's POV

That was bad! That was really bad! I can't remember the last time I ever felt that angry. It came out of nowhere. Like it had been bottled up inside of me this whole time. I guess it was a good thing it got unleashed on that jackass and not some unsuspecting person…but still, that was bad! What if they called the cops on us? Runi and I would be wanted fugitives! Our faces would be on television and fliers all over the place!

…well, I guess it wouldn't be too bad since I was with her though…

"Tage, stop!" Runi called out to me. I stopped in my tracks and looked back at her. We stood there for a moment. "What's wrong? Why did you run off and drag me along?"

"I…well…" After failing in trying to come up with a good reason, I hung my head. "I'm really sorry you had to see that Runi. I promise I'm not at all like that. I'm not like some psycho maniac out for blood or anything."

"…I believe you," she said quietly. Her violet eyes lowered slightly. "I'm losing blood circulation you know." It was at that moment I realized that I was tightly holding her hand.

"Sorry," I let go of her hand and shoved my own hands into my jacket.

"It's fine," she shrugged and shook her hand out. "Where were you going anyways?" I looked around the area and realized that I had no idea where we were.

"…somewhere…" I muttered.

"Really?" she gave me a look.

"…To be honest…I have no clue where we are," I sighed.

"Typical male," she shook her head. "Luckily for you, I have an idea of where we are."

"An idea?" I smirked.

"Well you made us run out of there so fast that I got a little disoriented," she defended herself. She then pointed ahead of us. "I think Red Water Park is over there."

"Which means you want to go play in the park?"

"Which means I'm about a mile away from my house." Runi started walking off by herself. "I'll see you tomorrow Tage."

"Oh…ok…" I muttered. I turned to start trying to find my way back to "Comet King" but then stopped. I couldn't leave Runi by herself. She could get hurt. I quickly spun around and caught up to her. "I'll walk you home."

"Um, thanks," she gave me a curious look. "But you really don't have to. The streets are pretty quiet around here."

"All the more reason to walk you home," I argued.

"I can take care of myself," Runi said with a challenging tone.

"I don't doubt it," I smiled. "But it'd make me feel better if I saw that you got home safely."

"Oh," she turned away slightly. We walked in silence for a moment and then my heart jumped up to my throat…this was the first time I was actually alone with Runi. Anytime I was with her we were either in class or amongst her friends. I never imagined I'd be alone with such a pretty girl.

'…Shit! Shit! What was it that Ricky told me to do?' I frantically wracked my brain to try and remember. 'I think he said I needed to stand up straight. Yeah, that's good! Then puff my chest out? No, not that. I look like some weird peacock…but maybe that was the point? Ok, I'll puff it out, but not too much. Then I've got to hold my head up high. Oh shit! That's too high! Like this maybe? A little lower? No, I think the last time was the right height. Dammit! Now I can't remember exactly how my head was!'

"Are you ok Tage?" Runi snapped me out of my thoughts. "You look like you're having some weird convulsions or something."

"Um…I'm fine," I muttered and turned away to hide my now reddened face. "I was just…um…practicing."

"…for what?" she asked.

"…the next basketball game," I fibbed. "We were going to do this weird…chicken dance thing…"

"Really?"

"Um…yes?"

"Ok…" I suck at cover ups. "…Well, I think you've got the chicken part down really well." She giggled. …I made her giggle! Wow! How awesome is that! I grinned at her and then continued grinning for a good minute or two. "…Do you think I'm manly looking?"

"Huh?" my grin vanished and I looked at her. Her violet eyes were glued to the ground.

"I was just thinking," she muttered.

"About what that douche said?" I asked. "Don't listen to him. He's a jackass that thinks he'd feel better about himself by hooking up with random people and putting others down." Runi didn't say anything. I guess that didn't really make her feel better. "…for what it's worth…I think you're perfect the way you are…"

"What?" she looked up at me.

"Well…I just mean…um…" I tried to come up with a cover up. "There are a lot of uglier girls out there and—"

"Uglier?" she asked. My mind suddenly went into panic mode.

"No, no!" I gasped. "I'm not calling you ugly! I swear! You're beautiful! You're one of the prettiest girls I've been with in a long time…I mean, not that I hang out with ugly girls or that I'm ugly anything…I mean, I think I'm pretty damn hot…wait! I'm not trying to come off cocky or anything! I just—"

"Don't hurt yourself Tage," Runi smiled. "I think I get what you're trying to say."

"Ok…good," I calmed down and blushed. "Because I think I'm going to go hide under a rock now." If I thought making Runi giggle was awesome, making her laugh was ten times better! Going into panic mode was totally worth it…

"Well, I can see why you don't say much during class now," she shook her head. "You'd probably make your brain explode or something."

"Probably," I chuckled. "That and I just like to observe people."

"Really?"

"Yeah. People are pretty interesting."

"Cool…What did you observe about me?" I stared at her. If I told her about my observations, she would think I was a stalker or something. "Well?" I thought to myself for a moment.

"You're smart," I said quietly. "You get good scores on your test and homework because you always kind of light up when the teacher gives you back your papers. But you try to hide it by sitting in the back. I noticed that around wrestling season, you wear your old wrestling hoodie often…maybe to show people that you made it on the team and you could easily take them down?" I looked at her to see if I was right. She didn't say anything though. "It's like…you try to come off as tough and strong…but in reality you're probably just a little insecure…like the rest of us."

"…Those are pretty interesting observations about me," she muttered.

"I could be completely wrong though," I told her. "I have been before." An awkward silence fell after I finished…well, I thought it was a little awkward at least. No one has really asked me about my observation of people before…Does she hate me now because of what I said about her? Oh gosh, I hope not. I think I'd really go find a hole to fall in if she hated me…or the ocean…whatever came first.

"How long did it take you to learn to observe people like that?" Runi asked. She's talking to me…that's a good sign.

"Um…not too long actually," I shrugged. "It's just that…well, people are really focused on their own lives that they wouldn't notice if Bobby Joe wears yellow every third Wednesday because he thinks it gives him luck…Or that Seth is really upset over the fact that Ricky prefers to spend time with me or his paper than with him."

"Wow…it's like you're some weird fortune teller or something," she teased.

"Sometimes I wish I was….then I'd try to stop certain things from happening."

"You and me both bro." I smiled at her and she smiled back. "Well, here we are." I looked up and stared at her house. It was a large two story house with a chandelier visible from the sidewalk where we stood. It was painted with a soft blue and had white rimmed windows spread out evenly throughout the levels.

"This is your house?" I squeaked. After all this time observing her, it never clicked that she could be a rich girl!

"Yeah, this is it," she answered nervously and started walking towards her front porch.

"Wow!" I stared at the house as I followed her. "I live in a freaking shack compared to you!"

"That's what a lot of people say," Runi rolled her eyes. We stood at the front door for a second or two, not quite sure of what to say. "Well anyways, thanks for walking me home."

"It was my pleasure," I smiled at her. Runi blushed slightly. I got closer to her and gave her a hug. She hugged me back and we held each other for a long while. I pulled away slightly to look down at her and she looked back up at me with her beautiful violet eyes. Before I knew it, my lips were on hers.

I felt a spark light up in my heart as I gently pulled her closer to me. I wish my first kiss could have been right now. It would have been worth the wait. Once the kiss was broken we simply stood there and looked at each other. After a minute or two I realized what I had just done…and went back into freak out mode.

"Wow! Well, look at the time!" I chuckled nervously and let her go. "Um…I'm glad you're home safely! I'll see you later!" I quickly walked away from her house and down the street. Almost to the corner, I felt myself turn around and start to go back.

'Where am I going?' I asked myself. 'I lost my chance to tell someone I cared once, I can't let it happen again.' I got to her next door neighbor's house and stopped. 'But what if she didn't feel the same way?' I slowly turned around and started walking away. 'Then tell her! Maybe she'll feel the same way.' I spun around and started marching back. 'But I just kissed her! That's awkward to talk about after it happened!' After a battle of marching back and forth, I got tired and went back to Runi's house. I gently knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long for the beautiful purple streaked, black haired drummer to answer.

"Tage," she blinked when she saw me. "What—"

"I love you," I cut her off before she said anything else. Her face went blank with shock. I took a deep breath and continued. "You probably think that's crazy of me to say that, but it's true. You're pretty and smart and so incredibly fun to be around…in and out of class. Seriously, one of the reasons why I stay awake in that class is because you're there. I know that this is probably not the way it's supposed to be done. I should be your child hood best friend that you unsuspected fall in love with. I'm probably supposed to act like a stuck up jerk and have you fall for me that way, but that's not me. I'm just Talmage Date: A basketball player who's been crazy in love with the Teenage Wolves' drummer ever since she first walked into the class room…"

It was the beginning of February…and I felt like it was hotter than the middle of July. I wish I could have shut up…but my words were pouring out like a heavy waterfall. I swallowed nervously.

"That's…it," I muttered. "I just needed to let you know how I felt. It's corny and cliché, I know…but I meant ever word of it. It's ok if you don't feel the same way, I don't blame you. But just know that I'm not letting you go without fighting for you…or at least trying. Call me a creep or a stalker, but I'm not giving up on you." Runi didn't say anything for a while and I started to wonder if calling myself a stalker was a good idea...Finally, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek.

"I don't think you're a creep," she smiled. "I think you're being really sweet." I let out a huge sigh of relief and hugged her. When she let me go she had a soft blush on her cheeks and hid herself slightly behind the door. "I don't know…I think I might feel the same way."

"Really?" I asked hopefully. She nodded, and then went back to tough rocker Runi.

"But if you tell anyone, I'll beat you up," she glared slightly. I stared at her for a moment, observing her I guess, and then smiled.

"No you won't," I muttered. She opened her mouth to object, but then closed it.

"…you're right," she smiled. I leaned forward to kiss her again, and I was happy when she let me. "Text me when you get home, ok?"

"Sure thing," I murmured. Another kiss later, I finally let her go inside her house to go to bed. It was probably midnight or later as I walked home from Runi's house…but I was so happy that I didn't even care. Love is awesome!

Hee hee hee. Talmage is a little shy...like Runi...they're so cute. X3

Oh snap...I forgot to mention...after this chapter there's probably only going to be two more chapters left...I might be able to make it! ^0^

Anyways...feel free to leave me a review and let me know what you think. :)