Hey yo yo yo! Sorry for long updies! I haven't had the time to update anymore... You know, cuz' of school and stuff. Thanks to those who still read this XD hahaha! Anyways, I've changed the cover for fanfic, art by truly yours!

Warning: IMAGINATION is a must

Disclaimer: You know the drill XD

Chapter 11:
Karen and Rick

Kai's Side

"Claire!"

I screamed her name the moment I entered her farm. She's sitting on the grass with her heads down, her shoulders are shaking and the back of her hands are wet. One thing for sure.

She's crying.

I sat beside her and tapped her shoulder. Her body jumped a little, she puts her glasses at the ground and wiped the tears from her face but she didn't lift her head. Can't stop the urge to comfort the girl beside me, I patted her back.

Something inside me is telling me that something like this happened before.

I immediately remembered what I saw back at the shack but shrugged it off because that is not really important now, what's important is Claire who is crying because of that bastard!

"Claire... Please, don't cry..." I pleaded her.

She shook her head and puts on her glasses. I can still hear her sniffing, to reassure her, I patted her head "Come on... I know something happened here, I was by... I mean passing by when I saw Karen ran, crying." I looked away.

"In short, you were eavesdropping..."

Shit...

"Anyways..." I looked at her. "I want to comfort you Claire... I don't like seeing you crying..." I looked down and bit my lip.

Especially when that bastard is the reason why you are crying right now...

Silence enveloped the both of us, after what I said to Claire, she didn't utter a single word, only her faint hiccups and sniffs are the only sound I can hear from her. Her silence made my heart tighten that I had a difficulty to breathe normally. Seeing her hurting now makes me hurt too. I don't want to see her crying. I want to see her smiling even if it's a fake one.

Please...

I balled my fist, I can feel my nails as it digs to my skin. I am ready punch the hell out of that moron. Perhaps sensing my anger, Claire placed her hand at the top of my balled fist.

"If you are thinking that the reason why I am sobbing now is Rick, you're wrong. So..." she lifted her head and looked at me sincerely "Don't hurt him Kai... He didn't do anything wrong..."

Her eyes are red and swollen from her crying but it remained beautiful and reflective. It's like a mirror, her sapphire eyes reflect the moon and the twinkling stars above. Those eyes are telling me too that I shouldn't hurt Rick, that it's like a fortune teller, predicting that if I beat him to death it will hurt her worst.

Giving up to this girl's wishes, I sighed and told her about rejecting the idea of punching the hell out of Rick then she removed her hand from it.

Claire looked away and closed her eyes. "None of this is Rick's fault... I should have stayed away from him from the beginning."

I tilted my head in confusion "Why would you do that?"

She looked at me and smiled nervously "After I talked to her the day after the swimming competition, she's been giving me the 'cold shoulder'."

"Who's 'she'?"

I have a hunch that the 'she' Claire is talking about is a dirty blond drunk woman.

"Karen..." she mumbled

Nailed it.

"Why would Karen gives you the cold shoulder? Is not like she owns chicken boy, right?"

She looked at me with a surprised look pasted in her face. "But... I only told you her name and her giving the cold shoulders-"

"Karen likes- no, loves Rick." I interrupted.

She blinked her eyes for so many times and looked at the ground. I saw her mouthed the words 'I thought so' and sighed with a sad smile. Claire looked at the sky and asked me why I know about Jeff's daughter loving Rick. I chuckled and tousled her hair.

"Everybody knows. She loved him ever since we were kids you know. Karen is a possessive chick. Hell, I even remember what happened when we played that 'Spin the Bottle' game."

"You mean that game where you spin a bottle and when the mouth of the bottle pointed at you, the person who is at the opposite of yours is the one who is going to ask you 'Truth or Dare'?"

"Yeah... That was like, 10 years ago from now."

"Care to tell me?"

"Sure... Well, all of us kids decided to have fun at the inn that night."

I surely remember that, I even remember that time where Rick's eyesight started to blur.

-10 years ago-

Ann told us to have fun before I leave the town. We were all at the storage room, sitting at the floor, forming a circle. Before we started, the orange headed girl took out a bottle of grape juice and gulped it at in a flash then wiped the mouth of the bottle. Popuri stood up and explained how the game works and what the bottle is for.

Neither of us picked the 'Truth' instead all of us picked the 'Dare'. It's just like Rick and Gray are 'Bottle Magnets' it always stops on them. After Mary's dare, she spun the bottle and it stops at Rick again, this time the one who's going to asked him is Ann, since all of us changed places for more excitement, at least that was Ann stated.

She gave Rick a devilish smile and stood up. Ann asked him 'Truth or Dare' and as usual, he chose 'Dare', that made Ann sneer. She took a deep breath and blurted out her dare to Rick.

"I dare you... to kiss Mary on the cheek!"

I can still remember his expression when he heard Ann, and also Karen's expression. He furiously shook his head and said 'No' many times while Ann and me, told him that 'A dare is a dare'. Not so long, Rick gave up resisting and sat beside Mary. He leaned to Mary and whispered at her, she smiled and whispered back then finally he kissed her cheek. Me, Ann, and Popuri laughed, but Karen, not. I looked at her, her cheeks are red in anger and she's glaring at both Ann and Mary. I elbowed Rick's sister and pointed at Karen, worried, she mouthed Ann the words 'She blew the fuse'. The orange headed girl shrugged and sneered, I looked again at Karen, she stood up and walk to Ann.

"Don't be affected about it Karen, that's just for fun, you know."

Brushing off what Ann told her, Karen pulled a handful of locks of hair that made Ann stumble and fell on her butt to the floor that made all of us gasped. Looking down at her, Jeff's daughter glared at her and stormed off, leaving us there, still flabbergasted on what she have done to Ann.

Mary kneeled down and asked her if she's okay.

"Yeah, I'm alright. You can't blame her, she's way too obvious."

After that, Karen never talked to Ann and vice versa.

-Present-

"Woah... I didn't know that Karen is like that..."

She looked at the ground with a pained smile playing in her lips. I patted her head and smiled.

"I always thought that despite that she's a little bitchy one, according to Ann and Popuri, she's a nice and kind person. Karen always smiles at me gently." she sighed.

"That's because she doesn't feel threatened that time."

She looked at me and tilted her head, obviously not getting what I said.

"It's just like an animal thing. Picture this, the two of you are predator, you're the mild and less threatening one and Karen is the wild and dangerous one while Rick is the dense prey." I started making an imaginary diagram in the air.

"The Karen-predator is in this side, the left side, and you are here, in the right side. Two of you spotted your dense prey Rick in the far middle. Now, the three of you formed a triangle. Karen is carefully observing and 'protecting' her prey when you appeared and she saw you, now her attention is on to you but you just sat on the grass, she felt that you are less threatening, Karen let you sat there. While you are doing nothing, the prey started moving to your direction. The wild predator sensing her prey going to you, she snarled and started to feel threatened to you. As the prey nears you, the wild one is now REALLY threatened, she decided to take matters to her own hands... Er... I mean paws. And use drastic measures, by any means necessary."

I smiled and looked at Claire, her jaws dropped, her eyes are twitching and she looked amazed about what I said.

"Wow..." She shook her head and fixed her glasses "For the first time, you told me something less idiotic. Hell, you even looked smart when you explain that." She smugged

"I'll take that as a compliment, if you don't mind."

Claire giggled and then laughed.

Seeing her laugh like that makes me happy.

"Even though your explanation does have sense, it's still a crappy one, especially the last part. But still, good job there, Kai the Pineapple loving moron." she grinned, flashing her teeth.

I tousled her hair and laughed about how messy is her hair. She glared at me and puffed her cheeks like a little kid. Amused by the farmer's reaction, I poked her cheek repeatedly.

"Stop that!"

"I don't want to, I like poking your cheeks, especially when you puff out it like that."

"Two letters Kai... F. U." she hits me in the head. "Anyways..." she looked at me and smiled "Thanks for consoling me. I really appreciated it. And that story about Karen's true nature, I'm glad that you told me about that, I don't know that is only a facade..." she dropped her shoulders.

"That was nothing... Oh, you know... When Karen was drank by herself at the inn, Ann told me that when Cliff accidentally sat beside her, she asked him this weird question. 'Do you know my favorite phrase?'"

"Her favorite phrase?" I nod "What Is it Kai?"

I narrowed my eyes and knitted my brows, making me look that I'm serious "Make your friends close and make your enemies closer."

The twig in her moved and Claire widens her eyes. "So that's it..." she patted my back "Thanks Kai... Now it's really clear to me."

"Just like I told you earlier, that was nothing." I looked at my cellphone, checked the time. "I should be going now or Ann's gonna kill me, it's past ten." I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my head. "See you tomorrow, Claire." Before going out her farm, I stopped at the gate and looked back, she smiled and waved her hand which I waved back too.

I was walking my way back to the inn when Popuri poked at me. She has this worried look in her face.

"How is Claire, Kai?"

"Not good, thanks to your brother." I said sarcastically to her.

"I know what happened and what my brother had done, but could you refrain for being sarcastic when you're angry at my dense for an older brother."

I widen my eyes at the words that came out of Popuri's mouth. For the first time, she scolded me and what's more, she did that because of Rick. She pulled my hand and led me to the beach.

Karen and Rick are there, both of them just staring at each other but the two of them are far from each other. Jeff's daughter just stood there, biting her lower lip and Popuri's brother stood straight, narrowing his eyes to Karen. Me and Popuri watched them at the entrance of the beach in Rose Square while hiding from them.

"Karen... I made it clear to you... There's nothing more than friends."

Karen flinched a little and glared at him. She bit her lip more and changed her stance. "Because you're not trying!"

"Why are you like this Karen?"

"Fuck it Rick!" she facepalmed "You are so fucking dense! Why can't you get it?! All those years! Everybody knows it except for y-"

"-I know it."

Me and Popuri widens our eyes and looked at each other.

He... Knew it?

Sorry for zee short chaptah! XD I'm snoozy when I wrote zee draft for this and when I re-wrote this hehe XD

Ready for chapter 12?

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