Author's note: Nothing really.

Lorcan woke up pretty early, he didn't want to be late, not when there was so much at stake. He swiftly got dressed and strode into the cafeteria, where his first job would be. He was a bit early, so it wasn't a surprise when the lights were off.

Though he was, surprised when he found someone already there.

In the shadows of the early morning, stood a girl. Long black hair and a cast around her leg were all he could see since her back was towards him.

Lorcan cleared his throat.

The girl jumped. She turned around and quickly stuffed something into her handbag.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to work girl," he replied. Whatever the girl was doing, he didn't care. Why should he? He could snap her neck at any moment.

"Well, you're early." The girl fidgeted quite a bit as if she was new on the job. He assumed he was the partner the headmaster was talking about when he signed up.

Lorcan analyzed her for any possible threat. None.

He walked into the kitchen in the back of the cafeteria. It was overwhelmingly small. A 6 by 6-foot rectangle was carved through the wall, certainly to deliver the food.

Great, working 5 hours a day in a cramped kitchen with a scared little girl.

The lights flickered on and two males walked through the door. Elide stood up from where she was sitting and tried to act professionally. One of the two males looked at Elide and her new, partner Lorcan Salvaterre (as scripted on his shirt) with kindness and wisdom. The other male looked at them with wildness in his eyes and with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"My name is Emrys and this is my nephew Luca," Emrys, the wise one said, "I'll have you both know that after these long months, you won't be eating packaged ramen noodles like all you crazy teenagers do. Packaged food, please! It's an insult to chefs everywhere. Oh my bad. What were we talking about?

Oh right - Lorcan and Elide, the two of you have a list of things that need to be done before you can leave. Work together and get to know each other. You are stuck in the same room for 5 hours and there's nothing better than a good chat between chefs. I have a meeting to attend. Good luck and don't kill each other!"

Don't kill each other? He might as well have asked Elide's new partner, Lorcan, to wear a bikini.

Lorcan looked at the list, it was the size of his forearm. And the words were tiny and cramped.

Great.

The girl hauled a bag of potatoes onto the counter. She washed them all quickly and efficiently. She yanked out a knife from out of nowhere and started to skin them thoroughly. The way she worked with that knife…

Maybe she was a potential threat.

The girl began slicing the potatoes quickly and evenly. Each slice a perfect oval, as if she'd done this her whole life. She worked so fast that Lorcan was sure she'd cut her finger.

But she didn't. She just kept going and Lorcan couldn't help but stare. After about 20 potatoes the girl finally looked up, right at him he realized.

"Are you going to begin working or are you too busy staring at me?"

Lorcan's eyes widened. He scrambled for the boxes of tomatoes like the idiot he was.

He wasn't afraid of her. He wasn't intimidated. Why he was Lorcan Salvaterre! An incarnation of darkness and death.

Still, he couldn't help but glance over at her more than not.

Elide cut the potatoes in a rhythm. A beat that had swept her away again and again. But not this time. The sound didn't seem to consume her. It didn't seem to distract her.

Elide was sure it had to do with the male working to her right.

Lorcan Salvaterre. With his huge bulky self and constant scowl, Elide was sure that he normally caused people to piss themselves.

But Elide had seen worse. Endured worse.

Perhaps it was time for Lorcan Salvaterre to have his ego pushed down a notch. He was arrogant and stubborn. She knew it. She noticed it in the way he stood with his back straight. She noticed the triumphant look on his face after he finished dicing a tomato. She noticed how he would glare at the tomato when juice sprayed on his shirt.

But she was definitely NOT noticing those toned biceps from the corner of her eye. And she was definitely NOT intrigued by his six packs that were outlined from his shirt.

She barely even knew the guy. As her mother Marion had said, you observe, then take action.

For he was Lorcan Salvaterre. An incarnation of hard math tests and stinging paper cuts.

Nothing to worry about. Right?

Although she would prefer to stay quiet, Emrys had said that they were going to spend quite some time together. She might as well talk to him.

"So, where are you from?" Elide asked, trying to be a civilized, social being.

"Why do you care?" he gruffed.

"Why do I care? Okay, look Mr. I should want to know if my partner is actually a crazy, murdering psychopath."

Lorcan sighed, "You're quite feisty, aren't you. I'm from Massachusetts," he paused, "Where are you from?"

Elide grinned, "My mom! Duh!"

"Ugh! You know that's not what I meant."

Elide just looked at him with an innocent expression.

Lorcan rolled his eyes but couldn't help a ghost of a smile.

"Why did you get this job anyway?" Elide inquired.

"It's called asking." He said.

"But there has to be more. I doubt you would want to cook for hours with the girl of your dreams."

Lorcan gave her a look.

"Come on. Why did you want this job?"

"Why does anyone want a job? For money?"

"Need to pay your drug dealers?"

"I don't do drugs."

"Wow. What - next you're going to tell me that you aren't a psychopath?"

"You never know… " Lorcan held up his knife and wiggled his eyebrows.

Elide finished the potatoes and was now cutting some onions. She couldn't help her body's natural reaction to the chemicals that were released. And before you know it, tears slide down her face and she was sniffling.

It seemed Lorcan was pissed since he seemed to glare more often at his 12th tomato "I can do those for you."

He looked irritated but Elide could stand her ground, "Wow. Being generous huh. The next thing you know you are shredding your shirt like pads for my period! I doubt that you'd be able to handle the power of an onion. I'm sure you'd be crying on your 3rd onion."

"Here give that to me. I will not stand for this teasing. And I most certainly will not be crying."

Elide smirked and gave him three onions in exchange for his poor, squashed tomato.

They began working. Elide began a countdown in her head.

Lorcan gritted his teeth. He had just finished cutting the first onion. Only two more to go. But Lorcan could feel tears, pricking his eyes. He blinked a few times.

He labored cutting the next one, he had to look away. And he stupidly made a stupid cut on his stupid finger.

Dammit. This wasn't going to work, "I'm going to be right back Elide."

Elide nodded with an amused and curious expression.

Lorcan jogged out of the cafeteria with a little smile on his face. He wasn't going to lose to her. Not in a million years.

ROOM 206. Perfect.

Elide put her knife down and her eyes widened at what she saw. Her jaw opened and she burst out laughing.

Right in front of her was Mr. Too Cool to Smile.

Wearing huge safety goggles.

He wiggled his eyebrows. He looked ridiculous.

Neon purple rimmed the huge goggles. The glass had to be at least an inch thick. It covered half of his face. It was bigger than most goggles. Where had he got it from? She didn't have a clue. Up until now, she didn't even know that there were goggles that big.

"Dork," Elide smirked.

He smirked and turned to the counter. He made a move to finish cutting his last onion if Elide hadn't grabbed it. She put it behind her back.

Lorcan looked at her. "Give. It. Back."

"Nope."

Before Elide could even blink, she was pinned against a wall. "It's getting kind of hot in here Mr."

"Gimme!"

"Say please."

"Please gimme."

"No."

With her good leg, Elide nailed him in the groin.

She escaped his grasp only to have him already moving. This time he grabbed her phone from her handbag and held it up.

"Gimme!"

Elide jumped and tried to reach it, but to no avail. It didn't help that Lorcan was practically a foot taller. And her cast didn't help either.

Elide had to unleash the thing that caused dinosaurs to go extinct. Stirred Hurricane Katrina. Had caused the World Wars. The revolutionary…

PUPPY EYES!

(Gasp)

(NOOOOOO)

Yup. It had come to that. Lorcan left her no choice.

She unleashed the ultimate weapon. Her eyes widened and she pouted.

Lorcan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He went slack.

Elide quickly drew the weapon and snatched her phone.

"That's not fair!" Lorcan snapped out of his daze.

"Well, you have your height. I have my cuteness."

Lorcan took the box of onions lying on a shelf and peeled and cut five of them.

"There. I exceeded your expectations."

Elide blinked, "What?"

"If I remember correctly," Lorcan made his pitch higher, a mockery of a girl's voice, "'I'm sure you'd be crying on your 3rd onion.' You're wrong."

"Your point is…"

"My point is that I've beaten your task, now you owe me something."

"There was no deal. That wasn't offered."

"Of course it is. It's the number one rule of dares."

"I assume you know this from from all of your drug dealers."

"I told you, I don't do drugs."

"Yeah yeah. What do I owe you?"

"I'll think of it when the time comes."

"Druggie."

"Girl."

"Big baby"

"Sassy shorty"

"Murdering maniac"

Lorcan paused, then sighed. "I can't think of anything you win."

Elide grinned

The girl-Elide excused herself - for what, he didn't know. So he continued the work. He washed, peeled cut a couple more bags of food. Apparently for a salad. Well, one dish was done. Only a few more to go. The pizza that the school had ordered was already stacked in a corner. Smelling delicious and giving Lorcan a devilish temptation to take one. If only Elide wouldn't notice. But she would. Lorcan knew it. Observant that one. Cute.

Lorcan's phone vibrated. He checked it. It was here.

Lorcan glanced around to make sure no one was there.

He texted:

Bring it to the front.

He grabbed pulled his sweatshirt over himself and put the hood over his head and he strode out to the front.

The man was waiting, "Where's the money?" He had a thick French accent and was covered in tattoos. There was a gun in his back pocket. Lorcan could sense it.

"I need the thing first." Lorcan wasn't going to be tricked. Especially when there was so much at stake.

The man pulled the thing out of his pocket and handed it to Lorcan. Who examined it and deemed it true.

Lorcan gave the man a wad of cash and waited until he could no longer see him.

"What are you doing?" Elide chirped.

Lorcan jumped. Damn it. He should have sensed her coming. Stealthy. Oh, she definitely was a threat. A threat, but a fun and entertaining one.

"I just needed some fresh air," Lorcan lied.

"Oh, cool. Come back in soon. I can't do everything by myself you know." And with that Elide gave him a nod and walked back in.

Lorcan checked his jacket, where he kept the item. It was safe and sound. Perfect.

He watched through the glass window as Elide continued their work. He had noticed little things along the way, like the mysterious object she stared at when he first saw her. He noticed the way she'd cover up things about herself with snarky remarks and teasing. Stealthy, secretive, observant. Stunning. That's what she was. It was mesmerizing. Alluring.

He had so much to do. But Elide…

He smirked and thought, 'Elide Lochan. What am I going to do with you?'

Elide wasn't stupid. She knew he was hiding things. How big or small? She didn't know. She prayed that it wouldn't hurt anyone that didn't deserve it.

But it was foolish to hope.

Author's note: Yeah… nothing too plot moving happened yet. But personally, I think it's important to create real relationships. I couldn't just spill all their secrets and back stories on their first encounter. They're both secretive so it wouldn't have made sense. I'm sure you'll understand why I did that.

Anyway, you won't have to wait too long for something plot moving to happen. Some romance then some tears. Just bear with me if the last two chapters weren't great. I'm trying different things.

And with that, be prepared to have some Awww moments in the next chapter. Review!

PS: I don't think I'm that great when it comes to writing fluff. I like to get to the point. But I tried this time. How did it turn out? Was it too boring?