Note: Thanks a lot for the reviews you guys! I was pleasantly shocked when I saw I had gotten 6 reviews for one chapter! And from such cool authors! Well, except for Gibby (I like the name!) who doesn't write fics. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I think my quick edit is working because my other fic (Everlasting Falls) who's 2nd chapter is posted, has all the bold and italics (just not the stars). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I've already done one for the first chapter so this is useless.

Chapter Two: The Meet

Hilary's POV

She checked herself one last time in the mirror.

Hilary was wearing a blue collared shirt with a pair of blue pants. She wasn't exactly looking forward to this lunch thing, but she couldn't exactly refuse when her best friend had asked her.

And besides, the past was past right? No use being still being hung up on something that happened a long time ago. Hilary smiled reassuringly to herself and went downstairs where Mariah was calling to make sure it was okay for one extra friend to come.

Hil sat on the bottom of the stairs where she waited for Mariah to finish talking on the phone.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

Mariah put the phone down and turned to Hilary.

"Well?" Hil asked. She wanted to know whether she was going or not.

Mar smiled and answered "You're allowed to come! How awesome is that?!" Before Hilary could stop her, Mariah had run to her and hugged Hil really tight.

'Pretty awesome I guess. As long Ray's not too shocked.' Hilary silently said to herself as she tied to ignore the lack of oxygen she was suffering from Mariah's hug.

Ray's POV

"So who are these girls who are joining us for lunch?"

Ray had just arrived at Olive Garden on the clock and saw Mr. Jax waiting for him patiently at one of the tables by the window. He walked up to him and slid into a seat. All the while, asking him about the two other people who would be joining them for lunch.

He had just gotten a phone call form Mr. Jax saying that a couple of girls would be joining them.

Now Ray wasn't the type of person to be annoyed or angry over such a stupid thing. After all, it was just two girls right?

But things were getting rather stressing. Ray was known as one of the most eligible bachelors in all of California. All the ladies would ignore the fact that he was engaged for two weeks and still send him many, many love letters. Some girls would even be spotted spying on him at work. These girls probably tried to get Mr. Jax to let them have lunch with him.

Though luckily, he didn't have as stalkers and admirers as Kai.

Mr. Jax rolled his eyes and answered "Relax Kon, for your information, these girls aren't one of your many stalkers."

Ray asked "What makes you sure? For all you know, these girls could have disguised themselves to look harmless, but they're really blood sucking STALKING VAMPIRE GIRLS!" He shouted the last part so loud that the whole restaurant froze and stared at him.

Mr. Jax coughed apologetic and said to the restaurant "Carry on."

It seemed that no matter where he was, Jax still had the power to have anyone do anything he commanded. The restaurant went back to order.

He turned to Ray and said "Okay, Mr. Paranoid Guy....stop it! It just so happens these girls aren't going to suck your blood. And one of them is an old friend of yours and works for me! I invited her! And she invited another girl-who I don't know anything about, but she seemed fine from the way your old friend described her."

It took a moment to fully let it sink in, but Ray eventually got it. He questioned "Old friend? That's weird; I don't think I had any friends who were girls. And what do you mean she works for you?"

Jax answered "She's working as a beytester/janitor person. She tests the beyblades after teams are done with practice to make sure they're still in top condition. And she also cleans the stadiums and such. (A/N: I'm making this up okay!)" He stopped in smug silence.

"Ohhh..............I still have no clue who they are." Ray said shortly.

Jax opened his mouth and was about to say something, but stopped as the sound of a door opening was heard and turned to the source of noise.

Ray also turned. To say he was shocked was an understatement. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes had expanded twice their size. He was slightly aware that he heard Jax say something to him.

"Those are the girls who will be joining us for lunch Kon."

It was Mariah! And, some other girl who looked only slightly familiar.

Mariah's POV

Now, Mariah was never one to be surprised. She had been angry, happy, sad and was only rarely shocked. Surprised was out of the question.

But when she saw how Ray was looking at her, she just stopped for a moment. Then blinked and approached the table while focusing her eyes on Mr. Jax. He probably didn't tell who exactly was going to join them for lunch.

That guy had some twisted sense of humor.

Mariah said to Mr. Jax "Hey Mr. Jax. How's everything going? I hope we aren't too late or anything. The traffic was horrible."

Mr. Jax shook his head in understanding and replied "You're not that late Ms. Hiroshi. Just 3 minutes. In fact I'm surprised you didn't show up later. I could see and hear the cars from everywhere outside. Take a seat." He gestured to the seat across them (A/N: It was a 4 seat table. Ray and Jax are sitting in two seats beside each other).

Mariah sighed in relief and she and Hilary moved to sit when they heard a voice and froze.

"What's your friend's name?" Ray asked, finally coming out of his shock. He now had that old face of inner calm and goodness on his face.

Mariah smiled and said "This is my friend Hilary."

Ray's POV

He was observing the girls as they talked to Jax.

His eyes immediately drifted to Mariah first. She had changed, not that much, but enough to be certainly noticeable.

Her pink hair had gotten a bit darker and she no longer put any ribbons or anything but let it loose. But she still wore white and pink. She wore a pink long sleeved shirt with white pants. He could tell she hadn't changed much.

Ray's eyes shifted to the girl beside her. Now Ray didn't know exactly who she was, but she did look familiar to him. Almost as if she was someone he knew long ago, but forgot. She had long dark brown hair that reached to her waist. It was straight and framed her face. There were also ruby eyes on her face. Okay, now she looked really familiar. It was like her face had lit a candle in his head, but had not fully turned to fire since he still couldn't remember who she was.

"What's your friend's name?" He asked. And he got an answer.

Ray saw Mariah smile one of those heart melting smile and say "This is my best friend Hilary."

Hilary. The name seemed to light up another candle in his head. But still no fire. Ray mentally shook his head and introduced him and Jax.

"Nice to meet you both. I haven't seen you in a long time Mariah! Time really flies fast, doesn't it? Anyway, this is my friend/boss Mr. Jax. He told me you were working for him. And it's nice to meet you to Ms. Hilary. I'm Ray Kon." He held out his hand for her to shake.

It looked like she let out a silent breath of relief and hesitantly shook his hand. Ray was a bit confused. Why did she look so hesitant? It was almost as if she didn't trust him that much. But....why?

Hilary's POV

He didn't seem to recognize her. She two felt different things when she made that conclusion.

One part was relieved. If he didn't seem to remember her, then maybe the others wouldn't either (in case she met them). They were all still probably hung up on her 'replacement' that they forgot all about her. And that would make it all the more easier for her to pretend she didn't know him or them as well.

Another part of her was hurt. Even though it had been a long time, he should have at least remembered her name. And though she hadn't known him as well as Kenny and Tyson (she almost winced as she thought of the name), they were still good friends.

She let out a breath of relief and hesitated to shake his hand for a moment. He had after betrayed (along with all the others) her a long time ago. And even though his betraying didn't hurt as much as a certain bluenette's, he did hurt her just the same.

But.....if he didn't remember, then neither should she (well, at least pretend to). She shook his hand and put on a small smile "It's a pleasure to meet you. Mariah told me you two grew up together and had been close friends. I've heard all sorts of things about you."

Ray raised an eyebrow and said "Hopefully they're good things." He playfully said as he grinned at Mariah.

Mariah rolled her eyes and replied "Of course they are. What, you think I'd tell them about the time you almost......" She was about to continue but stopped when she heard Ray cough and interrupt.

"Yes well, let's hope you didn't tell too many embarrassing experiences. You know such as when you were......." He continued to tell many hilariously stories.

And Hilary found herself laughing with all the others as she heard of her friend's experiences. And some of Ray himself.

She only wished she could've been this happy forever.

Tyson's POV

Tyson was in a bad mood. Correction, he looked like a combination of Bryan and Kai when they're tired, angry, and brooding all at once.

He sat at his desk and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He had been interviewing candidates for a replacement photographer. And so far, he had come across ones that had no chance whatsoever.

Flashback



Tyson was waiting for the fist candidate. He quickly checked his watch and saw that the candidate was already 5 minutes late. He sighed and turned his head up when he heard the door open.

He almost gaped at who was at the door but quickly shut it and greeted him.

"Hello Mr. Keller."

The guy just grunted in response. Tyson was immediately scared. This guy looked liked some gang member or something.

He had to weigh at least 200 pounds! And he was wearing black baggy pants, a black vest over a black shirt and a bandanna on his head. The guy practically had 'gang' written all over him.

Tyson gulped and gestured to the seat in front of him. "Please, take a seat."

Keller grunted, sat in the seat (making it squeak, since he almost broke it), put his elbows on the table and looked at him square in the eye with a wild look in the eye.

Tyson's mind silently screamed 'Keller the Killer!'

It was going to be long interview. Second candidate was just as creepy. Maybe even more. Not as scary, but just as creepy.

And boy, Tyson was sure creeped out when he saw the Gay Guy talk to him.

The Gay Guy was wearing a pair of really tight leather pants with a pink (another thing that creeped him out) shirt. He was weird, weird, and did I mention WEIRD?! Heck Tyson got even more freaked out as he listened to the Gay Guy as he talked in a girlish voice.

"I like just so want this job! (Giggle giggle) I mean as soon as I saw that ad in the newspaper, I was just so, like, I am so there! Are those pants from Prada? Because I totally love that store, I mean it's just so......"

And this is where Tyson couldn't stand the gayness of the Gay Guy that he silently asked God why he deserved this horrible-horrible-thing!

And you really don't want to know what happened after that.



Third candidate. A nun. You heard me (A/N: Well, it was more like read, but never mind.), a Jesus-worshipping-freakin-nun!

No different from all the other nuns Tyson saw before. She was dressed in the usual black and white dress thingy, making her resemble a penguin.

He's not going to even talk about what she was saying.

"And it's just so nice to see you actually had time to talk to me boy! God Bless You! You look like such an angel! I wouldn't be surprised if you sprouted wings and joined Jesus! And bless that Jesus! The things he's done are just so remarkable! You should hear all about them you now? Hold on, I think I have my precious bible somewhere......"

Tyson raised an eyebrow and waited as the nun shoved a book in his hands.

"Now turn to the first page, it tells just how the wonderful and great God first created everything. It says here in Exodus 1........."

It was going to be a very religious and......educational interview.

Flashback Ends

Tyson didn't even want to remember all the other candidates. There was an especially creepy one that looked like he should see a psychiatrist or something. Just thinking about it gave him the shivers.

He sank back into his chair and sighed.

Maybe tomorrow he would find someone less scary and more......normal.

Then, he would find the perfect photographer and would make such wonderful pictures the whole world would know it! And then, Mr. Jax would be so happy with him that he makes him the boss instead! And then everyone would look up to him, the kids, the adults, the teenagers, the toddlers, the preteens, the-well you get the point right? And they would show him just how much they worshipped him by putting constellation of him in the sky! And then, then........they would put a magnificent crown on his head and declare him king of the world! YES! YES!

...................................Hey, a guy could dream, right?

Mariah's POV

Mariah was having a great time at lunch with Ray and Mr. Jax and Hilary. It was just so fun! Ray would occasionally make such hilarious jokes that Mariah even saw Mr. Jax laugh, and she would make up some good stories about all sorts of topics that Hilary had milk coming out of her nose! All in all, it was a very happy lunch.

They quickly simmered down and Mr. Jax immediately went to other matters. Namely ones she and Hil knew nothing about. He discussed things like the economics to what sort of things your mother would cook at home. Mariah and Hil would occasionally sneak in a word or something they were remotely interested in, but otherwise they just let Ray handle everything.

But the next topic Mr. Jax talked about was something Mariah wasn't the least but prepared to hear. Because, oh, it was just so shocking!

"So Kon?" He finally asked as he turned his head to Ray.

"Yes Jax?" Ray also turned his head to Mr. Jax (Hil and she had were also staring curiously at him).

"How's the wedding planning going so far? I mean, after all, your wedding is coming up in a month or something right?"

She was speechless. And Hil was probably as well (she couldn't see her, even at the corner of my eye). You would be as well if you heard the conclusion that came into my head.

Ray was engaged. The glass I held in my hand slipped. I didn't care.

Ray's POV

He stared at Jax after he asked that question. What..........?

Then it clicked. Wedding planning. Wedding comes in a month.

"Oh. Well, we're making progress with the plans. Sometimes Salima would go shopping with Lola for some things together, other times we' go with each other. We've already got the caterer, the priest, the-"

"What?"

Ray stopped talking when he heard a voice say something. He turned to the source and his expression immediately shifted from talkative to shocked and guilty.

Mariah was looking at him with hurt and anger in her eyes.

Mariah's POV

It was unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

They had grown up together. They had been on the same team. They had been through so much together. And yet he never told her!

She stood up form her chair and stared at him, not caring about how many people were staring. She just stood there and let her eyes tell him everything.

Then, she walked out. It was just too painful. Too be friends with someone for such a long time, but quickly forgotten so much that he didn't even tell her about his engagement.

Mariah walked briskly on the sidewalk and headed to the apartment to clear her head.

Perhaps a nice drink of tea would help.

Hilary's POV

Hilary stared as Mariah walked out. Ouch. She was obviously very hurt.

A rush of emotions immediately hit her. Sympathy for her friend, anger towards Ray, and sadness for herself.

She got up and said "I'd better see if she's okay."

She didn't spare a glance at Ray' expression.

Tyson's POV

Tyson took a sip of his coffee and rubbed his forehead yet again.

He had gone through another 5 candidates who were even weirder than the first. Tyson heard the door open and looked up to see who it was. The rest of the candidates wouldn't show up until tomorrow, so who was it?

A sexy woman strolled to him and asked in a sultry voice "It's nice to finally have time with you hun." She move to the back of his shoulders and gave him a shoulder massage.

Tyson smiled and relaxed form her touch. She always did know how to get him.

"I'm sorry. It's just been so busy at work and things." He apologized.

The woman smirked and said "Don't worry about it. As long as I get to spend time with you I'm happy."

He leaned farther back into the chair and let her fingers go form his shoulders to his temple.

"Thanks Alicia. I'm glad to have a girlfriend like you."

"Of course you are pumpkin."

Chapter Two Ends...............To Be Continued

Note: I am so sorry for all those people who wanted to have Hilary and Tyson meet in this chapter! I really did try to make them meet, but I couldn't find a suitable timing unless I put it in another chapter. But I did develop the plot a bit so it makes it a bit more interesting.

What to Expect In the 3rd chapter:

1. Hilary comfort Mariah and have some questions answered about Mariah's feelings for Ray.

2. A confrontation with Mariah and Ray (will she forgive him?)

3. Have Hilary meet Tyson (definite this time)

4. Learn a little bit more about why she hasn't been in contact

5. Tyson finds a photographer

Hope this chapter wasn't too bad! Thanks for taking time to read. Please review! AN I'm really sorry if you found anything offensive in here. I have nothing agianst nuns or gay men, I just had to resolve to crude humor. And this chapter was a page shorter than the first one. I'm gonna make it up to you guys though. The 3rd chap. will be longer so don't fret.