Wow. That was fast. I just love weekends.

You have no idea how much I want to tell you that I actually know where my story's going. But I can't. Not without lying, that is.

I just realized I'd neglected to add the ages of the characters. My sincerest apologies. oO

Sergei: 18 (senior) Bryan: 18 (senior) Tala: 17 (senior) Ivan: 16 (junior) Kai: 16 (junior) Rei: 16 (junior) Takao: 15 (sophomore) Max: 15 (sophomore) Kenny: 14 (sophomore, 'cause he skipped. He's just that smart.)

Any other characters will be revealed... later. Yeah. I have this obsessive-compulsive problem with focusing too much on one character and neglecting the rest, so just tell me if you think I need to concentrate on somebody else.

CHAPTER THREE - - - - - - - - - - -

The silvery droplets of rain that had once pounded upon the slick black pavement had slowed their descent from the cloudy heavens to a fine, light drizzle. For that, Kai was thankful. He wasn't too keen on catching a cold, and if the downpour had been any heavier, he would have forced himself to walk back into the school.

But there was no chance of coming down sick from such a piddling amount of precipitation, and so the garnet-eyed boy strode through the front doors of Bakuten High, head held high, as if daring the skies to strike him down. To an outsider, he probably resembled some sort of Roman god, the way his white scarf flew behind him in the light gale, the way his sleeveless black turtleneck clung to his torso, wet with rainwater.

He moved silently, a shadowed wraith, barely visible in the foggy mists that wreathed the old school building. The hems of his loose dark cargoes, though they reached the ground, made no sound as they brushed against the hardtop. Icy slate mixed with sapphire blue as the teenager's hair was mussed by the damp. Eyes were focused on a point just beyond mortal comprehension.

Kai Hiwatari looked, in short, like he knew exactly what he was doing and where he was going, when in reality, he was merely wandering around in circles.

It didn't bother him, though. He had, after all, been wandering all his life.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Tala Ivanov eyed the darkened sky. Seated as he was in an abandoned classroom, he was in no danger of getting wet. But that wasn't the problem. The redhead was restless.

Stretching slender arms above his head, the senior glanced at his companions. Bryan Kuznetsov had his lavender-haired head bent forward, and Tala knew that if he should stand and get a better look at whatever it was the 18-year-old had cradled in his rather large hands, it would be a book. Probably Intensity by Dean Koontz, judging from the stark black cover.

Sergei was scribbling away at math equations, and Tala amused himself watching the blonde spikes that made up the older boy's hair shiver and dance in response to the hurried scratching of the teen's right hand. Ivan was probably in the cafeteria; the diminutive junior insisted on eating as much as possible in the hopes that he would one day grow magically taller.

All in all, it was quiet. And though Tala appreciated silence, there was only so long he could sit in the room before he began to twitch.

The two other seniors barely acknowledged their friend's sudden departure.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Rain had never quite appealed as much to Tala as snow and ice. In his mind, the raging, unbridled fury that was the blizzard was the most beautiful thing in the world. Nevertheless, the cerulean-eyed teenager raised his head, as if to look God straight in the eye.

Bring it on, those crystal eyes seemed to dare the blank whiteness. Show me what you've got.

There was no lightning yet, no rumbling thunder to break the rhythmical beat of the sky's teardrops against the surface of the planet. The liquid streamed, smeared its way down the brown earth, the grey steel, the red brick.

It was as quiet here as it was in the classroom. But at least here... Tala was free. Free from the pressing demands of his father to achieve perfect grades. Free from his duties as captain of the soccer team. Free from being the 'big brother', despite his age, to those he cared for.

So immersed was he in his musings, the redhead didn't even notice the slender form crouched beneath the oak tree on the front lawn of the high school until he had almost tripped over it. Quick reflexes born of years of self-discipline and training allowed Tala to stop just short of the figure and subtly shift backwards to allow for more room.

There was so little movement from the one beneath the spindly, groping branches that the crimson-haired teenager first assumed, quite irrationally, that he, or she, was asleep. But then the black- clad body stood, so gracefully and suddenly that Tala had barely registered the movement before curious scarlet eyes pinned him with their piercing gaze.

Fire and frost clashed fiercely as the redhead and bluenette locked orbs. There was a silence, broken only by the faint creak of timber swaying in the strengthening wind. Tala took that time to appraise the other boy.

Tall, but not quite equal in height to himself. Lean and well- built. Silver and cobalt strands of hair contrasted sharply in their vibrant hues with the pale, almost ivory complexion. Two azure streaks marked high cheekbones. The boy's most striking features, his eyes, glinted with wariness. Probing, searching, examining.

He was gorgeous.

The redheaded senior had surprisingly few qualms admitting that to himself. He'd never fallen in love, or even developed a crush before, and didn't honestly expect to in the near future. He was merely, he told himself, stating a fact. Besides, even if it was love at first sight, shouldn't he be feeling something other than surprised indifference?

The same ruby orbs Tala had recently been admiring were now regarding him. Cobalt eyes clouded slightly as their owner wondered what the other boy would see.

A slender body, clad in white, orange and blue. Clear, indigo irises narrowed in speculation. Brilliant scarlet hair, now drooping slightly from the rain, obscuring a fine-boned, angular face.

The sudden, shrill screech of the lunch-time bell broke both teenagers out of their respective reveries. Without so much as a backward glance, the bluenette turned on his heel and swept back in to the school, leaving a slightly bemused and very wet Tala to stand beneath the oak tree and wonder what had happened.

But he shook it off as easily as he wrung the water from his jacket. He had better things to occupy his mind with. Today's tryouts, for instance.

- - - - - - - - - - -

To be Continued.

Oh. Good. Tala and Kai finally met. And Tala admits that Kai is drop-dead gorgeous.

Things are progressing. Slowly, yes, but progressing.

Patience, young Padwans. *smirks*

I sense some sort of pattern in my writing style here. Chapter Unus was sort of introspective, Chapter Duo was humourous, and now Chapter Tres is introspective yet again. So I guess Chapter Quattro will be humourous...?

Anyway, hope you liked. Next chapter, soccer tryouts! Haha!