Wow, I've received so many reviews. I'm… speechless. If this continues I'm going to have to do something for you guys, like… I dunno, write a one- shot thank you ficcy. Oh that would be cool. A massive thank you fic ^^

Big thanks once more to Elsy and my Yami for beta-ing, really appreciate it as usual. You know my bad grammar and me. ^^;; So big love and huggles to you both!

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So my soap opera life… only just begun as I think I said before. School started that Monday, and I found myself engrossed in the architectural beauty of Purachina. It was a striking school, much more pleasing to the eye than Sheng Mao. Not that I didn't like Sheng Mao, it's just this… this was just amazing.

Yuri didn't leave me alone on the first day, we had different lessons of course, but he tried to be near me so I wouldn't get lost. His blunt… announcement the other day in the apartment left me shocked, but I guess it would be easier to tell me than for me to guess what the sounds coming from his room were every time Boris was round. Like that wasn't mentally disturbing!

I found that much like earlier schools, this one was no exception in popularity groups. I learnt early on in my first day not to cross the paths of those… popular members. Especially those who don't like different people, and boy was I different!

I learned how different I was when I arrived in the form room one morning, a whispering of my name then a snort of laughter erupting from two girls sitting in the corner. What was there to laugh at? Not much, really… unless you were on permanent lookout for something to laugh about. Unfortunately, most popular kids were. They patrolled the corridors like predators, looking for the wrong trousers, or the wrong shoes, or the wrong haircut. As I was usually wearing the wrong trousers, or shoes, and my haircut was wrong all the time, I didn't have to do much to send them demented.

Although I honestly didn't care, I liked my hair long, I liked my Chinese shirts, and I liked my trousers, and that's all that really mattered to me. What I didn't like was the incessant need to show me up… for example tripping me up when I was carrying my lunch tray; or knocking my arm when I was holding chemicals in science. Rigging my chairs, so they fell when I sat on them, and my belongings mysteriously disappearing.

However these people had lived here all their lives, they were smart of course… they had to be to get in this school, but they had no jobs. They lived off their parents' money, which was something I couldn't do. They hung around car allotments, parks, coffee shops, anywhere… I on the other hand had been here a few weeks, and already I had two jobs. Enough to support the rent, and chipping in for food and bills.

I did have two friends however. Despite the hate from popular people, two of them decided to befriend me. Well, one befriended me, the other was just there…

Max, a bubbly blonde, with an insatiable love for life, was the one who befriended me. He always seemed like he was on a sugar high, darting around like a mad man. He had a love for mixing primary coloured clothing, which made him stand out from the crowd. He was in my biology class, and was intent on becoming a doctor. It was his dream. I knew he had the brains for this, it was just that I couldn't imagine him as one. He was almost always bubbly… and this just didn't seem the doctor type… do you know what I mean?

Takao was always with Max. They were attached at the hip, speaking metaphorically. He had deep navy hair, and wore a hat atop of it. He dressed casually, and was very informal in his manner of speaking. He was gluttonous, and ate enough to feed a small family every lunch time. I don't think Takao liked me very much, but he did talk to me. Probably because Max did. Others who just dropped a casual hi my way in the corridor were Max and Takao's other friends.

Hiromi, a bossy girl, who I could see becoming a leader of some sort. Possibly a manageress or something like that. Kyouji was the other, a very computer literate boy, who would no doubt one day have some sort of I.T based job.

Lessons were ok… I didn't mind creative writing; in fact I rather enjoyed it. The teacher was nice too, a round woman with a cheery smile, frumpy shirts, and swishy skirts. She was what the popular people called a walking fashion disaster, yet she was a highly respected teacher.

Science was good, I liked chemistry… always have. Experiments have always been something I liked. They are… exciting in a way. To see something bubble over in a fizz of acid, or something set alight when you place it on water, gives you a kind of thrill. It sets your mind to think… how does that work? My teacher for science was a tall, menacing man. With a moustache… and a love for my drawings. He instantly recognised my doodles of Ryou from Yu-gi-oh, which I had scribbled on the front of my folder. It was kind of scary, a teacher knowing an anime character, from a few circles, half a face, and the clothing.

Music… was something I did because I loved it. I was one of the minority… not many people did it. Most people took the practical subjects, but I was attached to my guitar and my singing. It was one of the things I loved to do most. Yet I hated to be in front of crowds… they scared me. Which was a little silly really; seeing as I wanted to one day perform on stage. My music teacher however had been… released so to speak, for an incident that was kept on the quiet. He would be leaving in about a month, and then we'd get a replacement. I'd heard a rumour that this teacher position was cursed, that they had even gone through three music teachers in one year! I mindlessly wondered how long the next would last…

After being tripped up a few times during lunch, I began to leave school grounds. Going to small cafes, sometimes grabbing some chips and walking in the park. Maybe even a sandwich sometimes, which was what I felt like today…

A favourite bakery of mine was around a three-minute walk from the school, and was run by a very nice couple. After going there a few times I had begun to talk to them, learning about them, and becoming… friendly with them. They had lived here all their lives, met in collage, and married after leaving. They had a three-year-old son, who took a shine to me, and was often hanging around when I visited there. This particular day he was seated a-top of the counter; he swung his legs and nibbled on a pasty.

"H'lo Wei!" He giggled out, wriggling down from the counter, a discarded pasty becoming a squished mess, and latched himself to my leg. I smiled at him. He was adorably cute, with his large brown eyes, and mass of black hair.

"Hullo," I said to him, ruffling his hair like Rai had done to me back in China. I looked over at his parents the other side of the counter, and said a respectable hullo to them too.

"Same as usual then Rei?" They asked, and I nodded as I lifted the bundle of life that was their son into my arms. I talked to the child in my arms, while his parents prepared my order. The child told me with enthusiasm his encounter with pigeons in the park, how when he chased them they waddled a while, then flew off. I began to think that if my father had loved me the way that this child was, would I have held an innocence and love for such trivial things?

I noticed a man walk into the shop, as I swung around a cheerfully giggling child in my arms, and recognised him as the 'cute ass' guy from a while ago. Up close he was a lot hotter, with two tonal blue hair, warm red eyes (which reminded me of a deeper shade of eye colour sported by a girl I'd met before), and a still cute ass. Our eyes met, for what must have been all of two seconds, before my order was called and I put the child down. I grabbed my sandwich, paid, and then left the shop and cute guy behind, like a distant memory that was to be faded with time.

The rest of that day was really uneventful, as usual. I attended lessons, played guitar during my free period (Yuri didn't turn up like normal, and I mused on where he could be…), and then walked home. Home… yes home. Yuri had made me feel so comfortable there, so loved and wanted that I believed it to be home. As blunt as Yuri was he was fast becoming a good friend, and besides… a little bluntness never hurt anyone.

I went to work in the evening… my restaurant job. I waited on tables, and served the customers. Some came in only the once, and I never saw them again. Others were the regulars, and came a few times a week. I had been working here for two weeks, and in another two I would have my first paycheck… that would be the first milestone in my new life. My first piece of income…

Boris became a regular appearance at our home. After I got home after work that night I found Yuri and him curled up on the sofa, a Pizza half eaten, and empty glasses discarded. I smiled, this was a normal sight, and I wondered why Boris didn't just move in. He almost lived here anyway.

They really loved each other. Despite Yuri's seeming immature outer shell, and Boris' need for sex 24/7, both loved each other deeply… and when they weren't at it like rabbits they were showering each other with affection. That was something I didn't need at the moment… a relationship. I'd have liked one of course, but there just didn't feel at this moment in time like there would be anyone out there for me.

Was I doomed to be the unloved, unwanted child, forever? Always the best man… never the groom?

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Poor Rei-chan, ne? Well, this is Kai's third mention… oh didn't I say… he has been mentioned before the last chapter. Heh, all the hints are there… you just have to really be paying attention. Tee-hee. As usual I'd be grateful if you review, I hunger for your comments. Feed me, rawr! ^^