Disclaimer: I do not own the following characters: Ken, Vanness, Vic, and Jerry. I do though own all the other characters in the story. All entertainment references belong to their respectful owners. The plot however is my own and anyone subject to taking it will be persecuted accordingly (with my broomstick). I frankly have no money to my name so suing me won't really get you anywhere.
Author's note: this story contains the infamous F4 with their respectful names. However it is not really they for I have borrowed their personalities from Meteor Garden/Hana Yori Dango so technically is not the real F4 but really their English names. Please read and review. Thanks!!! By the way....if anyone wants me to incorporate certain characters from Meteor Garden such as Shan Cai please feel free to tell me in the reviews.
Chapter 2:
After Josephine gave a brief but very informative tutorial on how to use the complicated shower system both of the girls took a long shower in their respective bathrooms. Josephine went to the living room to entertain Eli who was watching a music show on the T.V. Aunt Julie was in the kitchen trying to reach Angela and Queenie.
"Hello? Is this Angela or Queenie?" Aunt Julie asked when her call finally went through. "Good afternoon Angela. No there isn't a problem with Haylie. I was just wondering if you could stop by here tomorrow to help lead the girls to your place. I'm afraid they don't really know the way and the place is pretty tricky to find." Aunt Julie paused to listen to Angela speak on the other line while hurriedly getting a pad of paper out from a drawer and scribbling down the time they should be there. "Okay, that's great. Thanks Angela. I'll tell the girls." Aunt Julie hung up the phone and hastily ripped out the sheet of paper and folded it in half. "Are the girls almost done?" Aunt Julie asked Josephine who was adamantly watching an overly excited fan interview a handsome singer.
"Hmm? I think they are. I don't hear the water anymore," Josephine replied with her eyes still glued to the T.V. Aunt Julie shrugged her shoulders and went into the master bedroom to change her clothes and freshen up a bit. "I wonder if they drowned in there?" Josephine wondered out loud when commercials were on. Eli chuckled at her comment before abruptly stopping when seeing Haylie and Amara emerge from the hallway.
"Whew, that felt so much better! I can't believe I hadn't showered in like eighteen hours!" Haylie said with a sigh of relief while pulling her slightly damp hair up into a loose half ponytail. She was wearing a baby-blue short sleeved tee with Happy Bunny on it saying "It worries me how dumb you are," and a pair of blue jeans that sat low at her waist and flared out at the bottoms to reveal her blue and white suede tennis sneakers. On her neck was a blue, white, and pink shell necklace.
"I don't think we smelled that bad, but I really did feel dirty after not showering for so long," Amara agreed while fluffing her short, chin-length layered hair. She looked very rocker-chick in her fitted black short sleeved tee that said, "If it's too LOUD, you're too OLD!" in bold white letters with a pair of dark blue button up flares. She also had on a pair of chunky slightly heeled black combat boots with shiny silver buckles. On her wrist she wore a black leather studded cuff watch.
Eli (he understands English and can speak it quite well) raised an eyebrow at both girls' comments and gave a small twinge of a smirk. "Oh my gosh! Did I just see a hint of a smirk? He has expressions! He lives!!!!!!!!!!" Haylie said astonished. She pretended to faint for added effect much to his embarrassment. Eli blushed a deep red at her comment and quickly turned away when Amara caught his eye. "He blushes too!" Haylie gushed as she ran up to her cousin and gave him a big hug.
"Come now Ya Ling. Don't embarrass Eli. Speaking of which, Eli are you coming with us to go shopping? You are more than welcome, we can drop you off at home later if you would like," Aunt Julie said while exiting her bedroom and poking around in her purse for her car keys. "Now where did I put those darn things?" Aunt Julie set her purse on the sofa and skittered off into the kitchen to continue her search for her car keys.
"Mom! They are on the coffee table!" Josephine shouted toward the kitchen. She waited for her mom's reply but after not receiving it she grabbed the keys and ran towards the kitchen. "Don't you dare think about changing the channel, I want to see if Zai Zai's new music video will play," Josephine added before she turned the corner toward the kitchen. Eli, who was about to turn the channel to soccer, raised his hands in defeat at Josephine's stern glare. Haylie and Amara smirked at how Josephine could command someone twice her age.
"Eli, I thought you were braver than that. She is after all less than half your age and size," Haylie said with a slight smirk upon her face. "You're not gonna be outdone by an ten-year old now are you? Especially in front of Amara here, now what would she think of that?"
"Ping Ping may be only nine but she kicks as hard as you did when you was her age," Eli said briefly to Haylie in Chinese. Eli grinned and got up from his seat on the couch and walked away toward the kitchen leaving Haylie sitting on the couch with a flabbergasted look upon her face.
"Hmm...starting to feel the language barrier over here again," Amara stated pointedly when Eli was out of earshot. Haylie gave Amara a wan smile before turning down the volume of the television.
"I'm sorry, you must not like not understanding everything. Don't worry, when we are my cousin's place we'll be speaking mostly English, they really like practicing English," Haylie said with an encouraging smile. Amara returned the smile in agreement. Haylie turned up the volume on the T.V. and they both resumed watching the music video of a very familiar guy singing in an abandoned beach.
"Haylie, isn't that the guy who nearly mauled you at the airport?" Amara asked when realization dawned on her. She continued to scrutinize the screen more closely before saying, "Yup, it is definitely that idiot who nearly killed us!"
Haylie stared at the screen before responding slowly, "Zai Zai, where have I heard that before?" Haylie pondered over her question before grasping the answer finally and shouting, "PING PING!!! IT'S ZAI ZAI!" After quieting down she turned to Amara and grinned, "So he is a famous person and all this time I thought he just got some girls really mad at him." Haylie grinned sheepishly at Amara who smirked back at her.
"Where is he? Where is he?" Ping Ping screeched while sliding into the living room on her stocking feet. She unfortunately slid a bit too fast and crashed into Amara who was sitting on the arm of the sofa. Amara fell backwards onto Haylie who then fell backwards onto Eli who had come back before with a large bag of chips. "Uggghhhhh...why do I always learn things the hard way?" Ping Ping said while scrambling to get up but failing. "Ahhh! I missed it!!!!"
"I know you haven't seen me in a while Haylie but is it really necessary to be all over me like this?" a muffled voice said from somewhere below the human stockpile. Haylie struggled from her position and managed to push Amara off of her and onto the floor before whipping around and poking Eli in the stomach. "Owwww!!! Now that wasn't necessary!!"
"What's all the commotion about?" Aunt Julie said from the entrance of the living room. She was rolling a lint collector onto her skirt while waiting for their response. The foursomes hurriedly untangled themselves and situated themselves before responding.
"Complications with the television Aunt Julie," Haylie piped up with a sheepish grin. She snatched the television remote out of Eli's hand as if to make a point. "He wouldn't let us watch what we wanted so all the girls ganged up on him." Haylie gave a look to everyone as if to say, "PLAY ALONG!" The rest of the group nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"Umm...okay. Well come on then. Are you all ready to go shopping? Eli would you like me to drop you off at home. I have a feeling you wouldn't like shopping with a bunch of crazy women like us," Aunt Julie said with a slight hint of a smirk playing at the edge of her lips. "You could always come along and carry the bags for us." Aunt Julie winked at the girls as she said the last comment.
Eli shifted uncomfortably under all four ladies' looks and finally responded, "Whatever, I have nothing to do anyway. I might as well come, but I'm not playing manservant to you girls." Eli raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Are there any objections?" Amara grinned at his look of supposedly male dominance and glanced in Haylie's direction. Haylie returned the smile and winked playfully at Amara.
"Well, what are you four doing then? Come on! We have shopping to do!" Aunt Julie said excited as she triumphantly raised her car keys above her head and jingled them for emphasis. She hurriedly walked towards the front door with the children in tow behind her.
When they reached the Lexus the kids gathered around the side hesitantly not knowing where to sit. "What are you all standing there for? Get in!" Aunt Julie questioned exasperatedly. "Oh, I get it. How about the girls sit in the back and Eli you can sit with me up front?" Eli agreed and opened the door to the front passenger seat. The rest of the group piled in the back.
"Mommy can we listen to my CD please?" Josephine whined from her seat between Amara and Haylie. Both teens winced at the shrill voice. Eli, noticing their faces gave a smug smirk before turning around and taking Josephine's CD from her hand.
"What do we have here?" Eli said with mock interest as he eyed the CD he took from Josephine. "F4! Oh, I remember them. Aren't you obsessed with one of them Ping Ping?" Josephine nodded enthusiastically while Eli slid the CD into the car's CD-player. "This is going to be a long ride girls," Eli said with a wry grin in English to Amara and Haylie. Haylie and Amara both grimaced in response.
The soft melody of F4's song, "Can't Lose You Now" started to filter throughout the whole entire car. Deep voices from the CD began to sing and much to Haylie's surprise they weren't that bad; until at least, when Josephine didn't begin singing along. "Oh baby, baby! My baby, baby!" Josephine sang along loudly. Everyone except Aunt Julie winced in pain at the shrillness of her voice. Amara started to pound her head against the window as in attempt to knock herself unconscious.
Aunt Julie noticing everyone's uncomfortable looks threw a condescending look in the mirror towards Josephine to shut her up. Josephine getting the hint just started to hum along...quite off key and offbeat, mind you...to the music. There was a collective sigh from everyone as the awful singing stopped and all that could be heard was the harmonic voices of F4. Amara stopped banging her head on the window and rubbed her forehead to get rid of the redness that had formed there.
"Thanks," Haylie mouthed to Aunt Julie when Josephine wasn't looking. Aunt Julie flashed a knowing smile in return and turned up the volume of the music. "So, where exactly are we going to go shopping?" Haylie asked when the song finally ended. She wasn't about to risk asking during a song for fear that Josephine might throw a death glare at her.
"Oh, I live near a shopping center downtown. They have lots of clothing shops, bookstores, electronic stores; you know the works. You girls should really pick up a cell phone there. They have the newest models and reasonable plans," Aunt Julie replied as she made a right turn into a crowded street full of pedestrians. She found a parking spot near a music store and hurriedly got out with everyone else. "So what do you girls think? It's a far cry from Grandma's shopping area isn't it Haylie?" Aunt Julie asked with a big smile. She spread out her arms and spun around for emphasis.
Amara and Haylie looked around at all the various shops and clothing stores with stunned faces. Eli looked around with an impressed look upon his face. "Wow, you're right Auntie. This place does have everything! But why do you feel we need to get cell phones? I mean we live in North Carolina, I'm sure the ones we buy here won't work over there," Haylie asked her aunt with a confused expression.
"Well, we do have the same companies here that you have in America but we have the latest phones from Japan. I got a call from you mother back in North Carolina to help you find a cell phone here and get you a nice plan to go with it," Aunt Julie explained while fishing her cell phone out of her purse, "I'm sure they offer international plans as well." Aunt Julie gave a small smile towards Haylie and then flipped open her phone and punched in some numbers. "How about a nice beauty day huh? I think that we should head by the spa nearby before I go to work. After that I'll go to work and you kids can go on your own for a while until I get off."
"But what about me Mommy? Do I go with them or come with you?" Josephine piped up from next to Eli. She was gripping his hand tightly yet again and giving her mom a pleading look.
"Nonsense Ping Ping! You have to go to your violin lesson. And then it's off to your English tutor for you," Aunt Julie replied with a bewildered expression, "You will have plenty of time to spend with Haylie and her friend tonight and later this weekend." Josephine pouted at her mother's response and followed slowly behind her mother with her head down. She was of course still holding on to Eli's hand like there was no tomorrow.
"So where do we go first?" Amara asked suddenly when she realized she had clue if they were going to go beautify themselves first (poor Eli, nothing to do for him) or go get Haylie's cell phone first. Her question was answered they stood in front of a small electronic store. Aunt Julie opened the door and the rest of them filed in after her.
"Why don't the rest of you go shop around while Haylie and I get some business stuff done?" Aunt Julie suggested to Eli, Josephine, and Amara. They quickly agreed and separated to various parts of the store. Aunt Julie and Haylie made their way towards a corner of the store where they had many cell phones displayed along with an assortment of cell phone accessories.
"Hello! How may I help you?" the college student looking young man behind the counter said with a smile. "Are you lovely ladies looking for a new cell phone?" He eyed Haylie as he said the last statement. Haylie shifted round under his searching gaze. Aunt Julie noticing Haylie's apprehension gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze before replying.
"I'm looking to by a cell phone for my niece here," Aunt Julie said with a business-like crispness in her voice. She stared down the young man and caused him to turn red at his previous actions. "Do you have any new cell phones that we may look at? I would like the latest models please," she continued. The young man grabbed a nearby clipboard and a pen before stepping out from behind the desk to lead the women to a display case.
Meanwhile at the digital camera display stood Amara. Amara was making funny faces into the cameras not noticing that her faces were being displayed on the big screen TV's behind her. "Mwah!!!!!" she blew a big kiss at the lens before then pretending to be a Jedi Knight and fighting with a light saber. "Swish!! Zap!!! Luke I am you father...err mother!!" she continued with her escapades.
Nearby Eli was inspecting a MP3 player when he looked up and saw Amara's figure on a big screen TV reenacting a scene from Jaws. "Da dun...da dun...da da da da da da da DUN," said the image of Amara on the TV before it burst into hysterical laughter. Eli's dark brown eyes widened at the sight before he shook his head in disbelief at her silly actions. He found his way toward her before she could make a bigger fool of herself. He passed by other customers who were pointing at the TV and giggling quietly. Eli ran a hand through his tousled black hair, not that it helped any because his hair fell into his eyes regardless of what he did.
Eli eventually came up behind Amara and watched as she hurriedly put on as many facial expressions as she can. "She still doesn't know her face is all over the TV screens does she?" he mumbled to himself before sighing loudly and walking up towards her. He stopped right behind her and quickly tapped her on the shoulder. Amara stopped in mid-facial expression before turning to Eli with a confused look.
"What?" Amara asked with a somewhat annoyed look upon her face. Eli smirked at her and pointed to the TVs behind her. Amara turned and gasped as she saw her figure and Eli's figure clearly on all the TV screens behind her. She hurriedly moved out of the way of the cameras before looking around nervously to see if anyone had seen her little show. Noticing the small group of people that had gathered around the biggest TV she felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. "Why didn't anyone tell me? I bet you were standing behind me the whole time watching me make an utter fool out of myself," Amara hissed in exasperation.
"Actually no, I just got here. I was busy looking at MP3s when I saw your face magnified three times its size on the big screen over there," Eli said while pointing towards the section he was just in as proof. "Besides, I was the one that told you what you were doing. I stopped you before you did farther damage." Eli grabbed her wrist and led her farther away from the cameras and the TVs. They eventually emerged in front of the video game system.
"Thanks. Sorry I yelled at you, I guess I was trying to save face. Let's not mention it again shall we?" Amara apologized with a sheepish smile. Eli smiled in reply telling her he accepted her apology. Amara turned to the video games and gave a small leap of excitement! "Oh my gosh! They have the Gameboy Advance SP's here for half the price they have in America! I am so buying one," she gushed before grabbing several color choices to pick from. Eli rose in eyebrow in surprise and just merely shook his head in disbelief again. Amara ignored his actions and began to mentally decide which one to buy.
Back with Aunt Julie and Haylie, the two were having an abundance of difficulty with the salesperson. He kept on suggesting new options for phones and services and then getting confused. He also had a slight staring problem. The young man seemed to always lose his train of thought when he was staring at Haylie too hard. Finally fed up with his incompetence Haylie asked nicely for a new salesperson to help them. "I'm very sorry, I am afraid I am the only person here to help you with cell phones," the young man replied to her plea with a leering smile. Haylie smiled back reluctantly and looked around for any source of help.
"How about you leave us alone for a few minutes while we pick out a cell phone? Then we can work on a calling plan," Aunt Julie suggested when she noticed Haylie's annoyance toward the young man. The young man nodded hesitantly and turned to go help an elderly couple with their problem. "How about I get Eli over here? I'm sure he can help with your little problem," Aunt Julie whispered to Haylie when the man was out of hearing range. Haylie quickly nodded in agreement at her aunt's suggestion and went off to find her cousin.
Haylie wandered around the store hoping to find her cousin in one of the many sections she searched but with no luck. Suddenly she bumped into someone when she was about to turn back to find her aunt. "Oops, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bump into you," Haylie mumbled to the person while she hastily brushed herself off from the impact.
"No problem. May I ask if you are looking for someone here?" a male voice replied. Haylie looked up from her embarrassed stance to come face to face with Vanness from the pastry shop. Haylie's expression brightened significantly when she figured out who he was, earning a winning smile from him when he noticed her reaction. "What a coincidence, fancy meeting you here. Your name is Haylie right?" Vanness said with a big smile as he stuck out his hand for her to shake.
Haylie hesitantly took his hand and gave it a firm shake before replying with a bright smile, "Yup, it's Haylie. And I am looking for someone; have you seen a guy that's about eighteen-ish walking around? He has on a gray t-shirt and a bad case of bed head." She looked around one last time for emphasis. Vanness looked around too for a guy that fit her description but came up short as well because Eli had happened to bend down at the exact moment Vanness looked in the direction of the video games.
"Nope, sorry. But I think I see your friend over there muttering to herself again I see," Vanness replied with an apologetic smile. Looking at Haylie's panicked expression he followed her gaze to the sleazy looking college student salesperson. "Ahh...I see why you were so desperate to find your male cousin! It's because of that dude right?" Vanness said with a knowing glance toward the salesperson. Haylie nodded and was about to make a quick exit when Vanness reached out and grabbed her by the wrist to stop her escape. "Maybe I can help, I mean I am a guy after all," Vanness said with sly smile.
Haylie gave Vanness a puzzled look that was quickly replaced with a small smile when the salesperson finally reached the pair with Aunt Julie hurrying behind him. Aunt Julie shrugged apologetically at Haylie and then flashed her a questioning look when she noticed that Vanness was still holding on to Haylie's wrist. Haylie of course had not realized that he was still holding on to her.
"Okay, your aunt here has picked you out one of our nicest and newest cell phone models for you. I just need you to come over to the desk so we can consult on what kind of calling plan you would like to have," the salesperson said with a chipper voice. His smile faltered a bit when he noticed Vanness' grip on Haylie's wrist. "Hello sir, may I help you?" he said with an edge in his voice.
Vanness noticing the guy's obvious dislike towards him gave him a smug grin before casually sliding his arm across Haylie's waist and pulling her even closer to him. Aunt Julie watching the scene unfold before her gave a small gasp of surprise. Haylie just smiled nervously. She had no clue what Vanness was doing but was playing along when she realized it might make the college student dude back off. "Oh no. I don't need any help. Thanks though," Vanness replied as he led Haylie towards the desk that the salesperson had pointed out.
When they were walking towards the consultation desk Haylie leaned up towards Vanness' ear and hissed, "What the hell are you doing? You better not be messing with me or anything." She scowled at him to make a point. Vanness chuckled at her facial expression and just merely pulled her towards him closer before replying.
"Don't worry, I'm just helping you out with your guy trouble," Vanness whispered back when he pretended to be nuzzling her neck. Haylie gave a slight shiver at the close proximity he was to her and nodded slowly after thinking about his answer. Vanness smiled brightly at her reaction and pulled out a chair for her at the desk before taking a seat next to her and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Haylie shot him a warning glare before turning towards her aunt who had taken a seat next to her and gave her a reassuring look. Aunt Julie nodded knowingly and shot a look of gratitude toward Vanness who mouthed, "My pleasure," to her.
After a few minutes of business talk, mostly done by Vanness and Aunt Julie versus the sales person, the deal was done and Haylie walked away from the desk with her new cell phone clutched triumphantly in her hand. "Ooooh, I absolutely love your new cell phone! Come on lets go buy it some cute accessories!" Aunt Julie exclaimed excitedly. She grabbed onto Haylie's arm and dragged her over to the small baskets filled with different cell phone accessories. She instantly grabbed as many different kinds as she could and stuffed them into Haylie's arms.
"Umm...is this really necessary??" Haylie asked as more and more objects where stuffed into her arms. She glanced over at Vanness who was looking at the whole scene with a much-too-amused expression on his face. "What are you smirking about?" Haylie said with a scowl. She crossed, or at least tried to, her arms in front of her and gave him an expectant look. Vanness' grin widened and he paused before finally replying.
"Of course it's necessary for cute girls to have equally cute cell phones with them," Vanness finally replied with a playful wink thrown her way. Haylie turned slightly pink at his comment before looking up and spotting Eli, Amara, and Josephine behind him. All of them had their mouths hanging open in surprise. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Vanness asked when he saw Haylie's face; he turned around to see Amara's livid face, Eli's face of shock, and Josephine's face of total rapture.
"Hey Vanness! Weren't we supposed to meet up at the bookstore? Everyone is looking everywhere for you," a male voice said suddenly from behind Amara, Eli, and Josephine. Another tall, very good-looking guy had walked in through the doors of the electronic store. He looked at the small gathering before him with a confused look before putting on a deathly-charming grin and finally declaring, "Well, well, well. I see why you were held up, had some wayward fans did we?"
Haylie and Amara shot confused looks at each other when they heard the word fans muttered from the guy's mouth in English. "Um, sorry to intrude but may I ask who you are?" Haylie asked the new arrival. She flashed him a small smile before continuing, "My name is Haylie and I have no clue what fans you are talking about." The guy gave her a confused expression; he had not expected any of them to speak English at all.
"My name is Ken, nice to meet you Haylie. And may I ask who the rest of these people are and how you are somehow associated with Vanness here?" Ken replied in perfect English. Haylie's smile grew when she realized the guy must have been Vanness' friend. Upon hearing that Haylie had spoken to Vanness again, Amara gave a deep scowl of disapproval. Meanwhile Aunt Julie and Eli were both watching the seen unfold before them with a look of mild amusement and Josephine was in near tears at being so near her idols.
"This is my friend Amara, my aunt Julie, and my cousin's Eli and Josephine," Haylie replied while pointing at the correct person when she introduced them. In turn Ken gave each of them a small smile as a greeting. "And about Vanness, well I had met him earlier before and just now he was helping me out with a certain sub-specie problem." Haylie nudged her head towards the cell phone salesperson as she said her last statement.
"Oh. Well then, I'm sorry for misjudging all of you," Ken said as he accepted Haylie's answer. He gave a sheepish grin at all of them before catching Vanness' eye. "Come on then, we still have to meet the rest of the guys at the bookstore." Ken apologized to all of them yet again for their abrupt departure before heading out the store to wait in front of his shiny, black sports car. Haylie followed him with her eyes when he left and gave a gasp of surprise when she found she recognized the car he had just gotten in.
"Is something wrong Haylie?" Vanness inquired when he noticed her staring at the car that Ken had just gotten into. He narrowed his eyes at her sudden interest in the vehicle instead of him. "Hey! How would all of you like to meet a couple of my friends at the bookstore? I'm sure they won't mind." Vanness smiled at his brilliant idea and gave a hopeful look towards Haylie.
Haylie hesitated before answering knowing that they had other plans as well. It would be rude to skip out on her aunt, even though Vanness was super cute and the fact that his friend Ken was as well. While she was contemplating her answer Aunt Julie answered for her, "Oh I'm sure they would love to tag along with you. How about Haylie? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Haylie gave her aunt a confused look. What did she mean by saying it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Before she could voice her question she was interrupted yet again by her aunt, "Don't worry about Josephine and me. We have to go do some clothes shopping anyways. I'll call you when it's time for our spa appointment."
At her mother's words Josephine's mouth dropped open. "But Mommy! I wanna go too!!!!!!!" she whined. Vanness smiled at the little girl's reaction and continued to wait for Haylie to respond to his question.
"Umm...I guess we can go. Aunt Julie you know my cell phone number right?" Haylie finally said. She looked at Amara for confirmation but all she received as a simple shrug of the shoulders. "Eli, what about you? Want to join us? I think it'll be a lot more fun then being Aunt Julie's bag carrier," Haylie asked while she flashed Eli a big smile. She'll feel a lot more confident if she knew that at least Eli would be there if anything goes wrong. It wasn't like she didn't like Vanness. She just didn't know him or his friends all that well.
"Nah, sorry Ya Ling. I can't I have to go catch a bus and get home pretty soon. I just realized I have to go pick up Sis' from school," Eli responded with an apologetic smile when he saw Haylie's face fall. Vanness' smile though grew when he realized that Eli wouldn't be there to mess with his chances of getting to know Haylie better but his smile waned when he saw the deep scowl on Amara's face. Obviously Amara did not like how the entire scene was playing out at all.
"Great, so it's just you two girls now! We better leave soon. I have an appointment I can't be late for," Vanness said with a chipper voice he reached for the door of the electronic store and held it open for everyone before adding in a whisper to Josephine, "I'm sorry you couldn't come, how about I get some autographed pictures for them to take home for you? But you have to promise to keep this a secret okay?" Josephine's tearstained face brightened at his promise and she nodded enthusiastically and waved goodbye while she walked away hand in hand with her mom.
"Bye Haylie, take care of yourself okay? Call me if you need anything, I'm sure Aunt Julie inputted all of our numbers into your phone by now," Eli said to Haylie in farewell, "Bye Amara, nice meeting you. Let's keep away from cameras shall we?" he continued to Amara while giving her a wink. Amara smiled at his little joke before waving goodbye. Eli hugged Haylie and waved at Vanness before making his way towards the nearby bus stop.
"Great, we're stuck with pretty boy here again," Amara, said under her breath as she followed Vanness and Haylie towards the car. She sighed loudly as she stood next to Haylie while Vanness explained the situation to Ken. She gave a quick glance at Ken and scowled even deeper. 'I hope he isn't as rude as that Vanness character, even if he is just as cute,' she thought to herself. She shook her head to get the offending words out of her mind.
"Okay it's all set. Amara you want to sit in the front with Ken? I promise he doesn't bite...much," Vanness said happily as he opened the back door for Haylie to get into. Haylie smiled in thanks before sliding into the car. Amara scowled at Vanness because of his obvious advances towards Haylie but sighed and nodded. She reached to open the door but was shocked that Ken from inside already had opened it.
"Hi! Amara right? I'm Ken, guess you'll stuck with me for the ride huh?" Ken said with a big grin. "Don't worry, it won't be for that long. The place is only five minutes away," he added as he got in. Amara gave him a wan smile and turned around to shoot a glare in Haylie's direction. Ken laughed at her actions and decided to make polite conversation with everyone to break the ice. "So Amara, what did you buy in there?" Ken asked while fiddling with the stereo system. He finally settled on a station that was playing Karen Mok's latest song.
"A Gameboy Advance SP and a game," was Amara's cryptic reply. She wasn't really up for much talking at the moment. Currently she was thinking of ways to burn Vanness' hair into a pile of ashes. Ken glanced at her from the side and saw her infamous scowl.
"So...umm...do you speak any Chinese?" Ken asked lightly. His questions shook Amara from her trance and she shook her head quickly to say no. Ken nodded in agreement before continuing, "That's okay, the rest of us aren't worth talking to anyways." Ken turned to her and gave her another hesitant grin. Amara flashed a brief smile before scowling deeply again and gazing out the window. Ken's eyes had a flicker of sadness as he realized that Amara really wasn't up for talking. He averted his eyes back on the read before glancing at the back seat in the rearview mirror.
"Where exactly are we going? I know we are going to a bookstore but Vanness here doesn't exactly look like the type to read," Haylie asked Ken. She put her hands on the back of his seat and scooted upward to peer at him from the side of the seat. Ken chuckled at her actions while Vanness pretended to be hurt by her comment.
"That hurt. After all I did for you back there. This is the kind of treatment I get...." Vanness exclaimed with a somewhat indignant look upon his face. His act didn't last long because in a matter of seconds his angry face broke out into the usual charming smile. "Need I remind you that you Miss Haylie owe me big time," he added with a suggestive look at Haylie. Haylie gave a nervous smile before turning back to Ken.
"You'll find out soon enough Miss Haylie. We're here," Ken, replied after pulling up in front of what seemed to be an abandoned bookstore. Amara and Haylie eyed the bookstore with suspicion before getting out of the car. "May I?" Ken asked while offering his arm to Amara. Amara narrowed her eyes at him before letting out a large sigh and hooking her arm into his. Ken gave her a big smile and started to lead her towards the entrance to the store.
"Well, I'm not about to be outdone by Ken," Vanness muttered under his breath before grabbing Haylie's wrist and following after them with Haylie in tow. Haylie giggled at his silly actions but didn't pull her hand away from his.
As soon as they entered the building a short woman with a high ponytail appeared out of nowhere with a clipboard in hand. "Ahh! There you two are! You have to be in make-up ASAP!" she said briskly in Chinese while hurrying behind Vanness and Ken and pushing them into a different part of the store. Haylie and Amara didn't know what else to do but to follow. "Now what did I tell you two about bringing crazed fans to photo shoots? Remember what happened last time?" the lady reprimanded the guys as she thrust them down onto chairs before they were swarmed by a group of make-up artists.
Before either of them could ask anything the woman stepped up to them and started to circle them. "Hmm...you two will definitely do nicely. Now will you please fill out these forms while I go find someone to show you the ropes," she thrust a form into each of their hands along with a pen before disappearing behind a large clothing rack full of pants. Amara and Haylie gave each other confused looks before finding a table nearby to look over the papers.
"Okay...what was she saying. I'm betting if I spoke Chinese I still wouldn't understand her," Amara asked while skimming over the form, which was thankfully in English. "And what is with the whole circling and muttering thing? And these forms?" Amara continued.
"Uhhhh...I think she just wants us to fill these out or something. I don't know what for though. Oh yeah, Ken and Vanness are in make-up or something," Haylie replied. She uncapped her pen and began filling in the necessary information while occasionally muttering to herself in Chinese.
Amara continued to look at Haylie for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders and doing the same. After finishing up her form she glanced around and finally asked, "Hey...you don't think we're gonna be extras in a porno film do you?" At Amara's question Haylie started to have a sudden severe God I hope not...that would be sooooo awful!" Haylie coughed out while smacking Amara for her crude comment. Amara laughed at Haylie's reaction and resumed looking around the place. "Oh look, here comes someone. I think they were sent to speak with us. Maybe we can ask what we are doing here," Haylie piped up when she spotted another woman, this time with long orangey-red hair walking toward them.
"Hi girls! My name is Andie and what are you're names?" the woman greeted them warmly with a firm handshake. She gave them each a warm smile and took their forms from their hands. "A little nervous today are we? Don't worry these boys are very nice. Sometimes too nice if you ask me," she said when she noticed Amara and Haylie looking at her blankly.
"My name is Haylie and this is my friend Amara. We were just wondering what is going on here," Haylie said finally when she worked up enough courage. She turned to Amara and raised an eyebrow as if saying, "Maybe she'll tell us what's going on." Amara shrugged her shoulders in reply and Haylie turned her attentions back on Andie. "Umm...Ken and Vanness brought us here but as soon as they walked in they were whisked away by that lady with the ponytail," she continued.
"Oh! You mean Miriam! She's their stylist or something. We're doing a photo shoot for F4's upcoming ad campaign. Didn't either of them tell you?" Andie replied with a questionable air. She looked confused for a few moments but then gave a bright smile and taking them both by the hands and leading them toward a brightly lit area. "Well, I'm sure they will explain everything to you. How do you girls feel about being in a photo shoot with the famous F4? It's every girl's dream to be able to do this."
"Wait a minute...did you say a photo shoot? Like with cameras and lots of offensive lights?" Amara suddenly asked while jerking her hand out of Andie's grasp. She didn't like this at all. She didn't want to come to the stupid bookstore in the first place but she didn't really know anywhere else to go. "And what is the deal with the F4? I swear Haylie and I have probably never even met those pretty boys you people are so damn obsessed with over here."
Andie gave a bewildered expression at Amara's comments before giving a wary smile and at last saying, "Well you're here now. Might as well deal with it. We don't have time to find replacement extras. Plus, you'll be paid quite well." At the mention of being paid Amara's defenses lessened and she gave a big sigh of defeat.
"Whatever. I'll do it, but on one condition. I will not wear a frilly dress," Amara stated firmly with both arms crossed over her chest. Andie nodded in agreement and continued to lead them to a pair of empty chairs facing a brightly lit mirror.
"Okay, I have to go take care of a few other things. Just let the makeup crew work on you two until the stylist comes to give you your outfits," Andie said in farewell while taking their forms and putting them into a folder she was carrying. She waved goodbye and gave them a reassuring smile before walking off.
"Things I do for you Haylie," Amara muttered in aggravation as the hair and makeup people attacked her with various colors of eye shadows and a flat iron. She twitched when someone tried to apply eyeliner on her left eyelid and let out a groan of pain due to the fact that the lady had just poked her in the eye. "Yup, you definitely owe me big time. I'm going to need sixty cups of coffee to get over this," Amara groaned out while clutching her eye and swatting the people surrounding her away.
"Hold still young lady! Don't you want to be beautiful?" the makeup artist growled out in Chinese. Amara glared at the lady before turning her head away with an annoyed huff. The women sighed and muttered something about "Stupid models...always think they are so much better than normal people." She continued putting on eyeliner on Amara's eyes, ignoring the swats thrown at her.
After twenty minutes of being poked and prodded with various brushes and curlers both girls were led away by a tall slender man in all black. "Oh you girls look simply breath-taking! I'm so glad the clothes I picked out will suit you all perfectly," he said in a breathy voice. He pushed them into an area that was enclosed with a white curtain before continuing, "You are going to have to wear three outfits for the photo shoot. Your names are on whichever ones are yours. The photographer will tell you when to change outfits." He closed the curtain with a firm tug and all that was heard of him was his dainty footsteps.
"Whoa...is he a clichéd gay dude or what?" Haylie giggled out while she flipped through the hangers full of clothes. She started to pull out her outfits and arranging them neatly on a different rack. "But he was right about something. You look great in that makeup! Even though that lady had to fight to get it on you," Haylie continued while smiling cheekily at Amara. Amara glowered at her and grabbed her first outfit.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. We're gonna have to take it off somehow anyways," Amara stated matter-of-factly. She gave her outfit a scrutinizing gaze before groaning in exasperation. "Look at this! My first outfit makes me look like a freakin' prep," Amara complained loudly while pulling on the dark brown corduroy flares. She growled in frustration while fumbling with the belt. "Honestly, this is utter bullshit!" she screamed out as she finally got the belt on securely.
"Nah, your outfits aren't that bad. At least yours aren't all frilly and stuff like mine is. Is it possible to have that many layers in this dress?" Haylie said while holding up a long white sheer slip dress with ribbons that tied around her shoulders as straps. "I look like one of those damsel's in distress you always find in romance novels," Haylie giggled while slipping on a pair of white heels with thin white ribbon straps.
Amara shrugged on a soft cream off-the-shoulder sweater over her soft pink camisole. "Uh-huh. This is definitely not my cup of coffee!" Amara grumbled while stuffing her feet into a pair of black-heeled boots. She turned around to look at Haylie who was struggling with her heels. "Umm...having problems?" Amara asked with a raised eyebrow. Haylie nodded before stumbling a little and having to catch herself on Amara.
"Sorry. I was never very good at walking in these things. You have to admit though; we do look good in these outfits. Even if we would much rather be in different clothes," Haylie said sheepishly. She blew a few loose strands out of her hair before opening the curtain and stepping out. Her hair was pulled up into a loosely braided bun with thin white ribbons woven all throughout it and trailing down her back along with a few stray strands of hair.
"Yeah well, I bet we both remember what happened at senior prom," Amara said with a smirk upon her face. Her short hair was all flipped out at the ends to show her short layers and clipped back with sparkly barrettes.
"I see the ladies have arrived finally," Ken said when he spotted Haylie's noticeable white dress. His smile grew larger as he saw Amara emerge behind her with a deep scowl on her face. "You two look beautiful, as expected of course." Ken offered to each girl who hesitantly took it and were led to the meeting area. "Okay, here's the deal. We are doing two different shoots today; Amara, your shoot is actually in the bookstore here. Haylie, you are going to be taken outside behind the bookstore where it is an open field for some outside shots." Ken explained when they entered the meeting room.
Vanness, seeing their arrival abruptly stood up from his seat next to a very familiar looking fellow. "Wow! I didn't expect you girls to be drop dead gorgeous!" Vanness exclaimed as he walked forward to take a closer look. Haylie squirmed under his gaze and smiled nervously while Amara made to kick at him when he stepped up to her. "Ay! Watch it! I need to keep clean for the shoot. If you want to get dirty we can do it afterwards okay?" Vanness said while scooting away from Amara's reach. He gave a playful wink to Haylie and Amara. Amara glared daggers at him before being led away towards a seat by Haylie.
"Well, I'm assuming introductions are in order. We have a few moments before they split us up for the shoots," Ken said as he sat down next to an unfamiliar guy and looked at his watch. "I'm assuming you all know I'm Ken and that fool over there is Vanness," Ken stated while looking at Vanness pointedly. "Haylie. Amara," Ken said while gesturing to each girl for the remaining guys, "This is Vic and Jerry." The newly introduced guys waved at both girls casually. Vic though stopped in midwave and peered at Haylie strangely.
"Haven't we met before? Your name is Haylie right?" Vic asked Haylie in Chinese from across the coffee table. Haylie who was reaching for a cookie stopped midway when she recognized his voice. She looked up to see his small smile and gasped in recognition.
Author's note: this story contains the infamous F4 with their respectful names. However it is not really they for I have borrowed their personalities from Meteor Garden/Hana Yori Dango so technically is not the real F4 but really their English names. Please read and review. Thanks!!! By the way....if anyone wants me to incorporate certain characters from Meteor Garden such as Shan Cai please feel free to tell me in the reviews.
Chapter 2:
After Josephine gave a brief but very informative tutorial on how to use the complicated shower system both of the girls took a long shower in their respective bathrooms. Josephine went to the living room to entertain Eli who was watching a music show on the T.V. Aunt Julie was in the kitchen trying to reach Angela and Queenie.
"Hello? Is this Angela or Queenie?" Aunt Julie asked when her call finally went through. "Good afternoon Angela. No there isn't a problem with Haylie. I was just wondering if you could stop by here tomorrow to help lead the girls to your place. I'm afraid they don't really know the way and the place is pretty tricky to find." Aunt Julie paused to listen to Angela speak on the other line while hurriedly getting a pad of paper out from a drawer and scribbling down the time they should be there. "Okay, that's great. Thanks Angela. I'll tell the girls." Aunt Julie hung up the phone and hastily ripped out the sheet of paper and folded it in half. "Are the girls almost done?" Aunt Julie asked Josephine who was adamantly watching an overly excited fan interview a handsome singer.
"Hmm? I think they are. I don't hear the water anymore," Josephine replied with her eyes still glued to the T.V. Aunt Julie shrugged her shoulders and went into the master bedroom to change her clothes and freshen up a bit. "I wonder if they drowned in there?" Josephine wondered out loud when commercials were on. Eli chuckled at her comment before abruptly stopping when seeing Haylie and Amara emerge from the hallway.
"Whew, that felt so much better! I can't believe I hadn't showered in like eighteen hours!" Haylie said with a sigh of relief while pulling her slightly damp hair up into a loose half ponytail. She was wearing a baby-blue short sleeved tee with Happy Bunny on it saying "It worries me how dumb you are," and a pair of blue jeans that sat low at her waist and flared out at the bottoms to reveal her blue and white suede tennis sneakers. On her neck was a blue, white, and pink shell necklace.
"I don't think we smelled that bad, but I really did feel dirty after not showering for so long," Amara agreed while fluffing her short, chin-length layered hair. She looked very rocker-chick in her fitted black short sleeved tee that said, "If it's too LOUD, you're too OLD!" in bold white letters with a pair of dark blue button up flares. She also had on a pair of chunky slightly heeled black combat boots with shiny silver buckles. On her wrist she wore a black leather studded cuff watch.
Eli (he understands English and can speak it quite well) raised an eyebrow at both girls' comments and gave a small twinge of a smirk. "Oh my gosh! Did I just see a hint of a smirk? He has expressions! He lives!!!!!!!!!!" Haylie said astonished. She pretended to faint for added effect much to his embarrassment. Eli blushed a deep red at her comment and quickly turned away when Amara caught his eye. "He blushes too!" Haylie gushed as she ran up to her cousin and gave him a big hug.
"Come now Ya Ling. Don't embarrass Eli. Speaking of which, Eli are you coming with us to go shopping? You are more than welcome, we can drop you off at home later if you would like," Aunt Julie said while exiting her bedroom and poking around in her purse for her car keys. "Now where did I put those darn things?" Aunt Julie set her purse on the sofa and skittered off into the kitchen to continue her search for her car keys.
"Mom! They are on the coffee table!" Josephine shouted toward the kitchen. She waited for her mom's reply but after not receiving it she grabbed the keys and ran towards the kitchen. "Don't you dare think about changing the channel, I want to see if Zai Zai's new music video will play," Josephine added before she turned the corner toward the kitchen. Eli, who was about to turn the channel to soccer, raised his hands in defeat at Josephine's stern glare. Haylie and Amara smirked at how Josephine could command someone twice her age.
"Eli, I thought you were braver than that. She is after all less than half your age and size," Haylie said with a slight smirk upon her face. "You're not gonna be outdone by an ten-year old now are you? Especially in front of Amara here, now what would she think of that?"
"Ping Ping may be only nine but she kicks as hard as you did when you was her age," Eli said briefly to Haylie in Chinese. Eli grinned and got up from his seat on the couch and walked away toward the kitchen leaving Haylie sitting on the couch with a flabbergasted look upon her face.
"Hmm...starting to feel the language barrier over here again," Amara stated pointedly when Eli was out of earshot. Haylie gave Amara a wan smile before turning down the volume of the television.
"I'm sorry, you must not like not understanding everything. Don't worry, when we are my cousin's place we'll be speaking mostly English, they really like practicing English," Haylie said with an encouraging smile. Amara returned the smile in agreement. Haylie turned up the volume on the T.V. and they both resumed watching the music video of a very familiar guy singing in an abandoned beach.
"Haylie, isn't that the guy who nearly mauled you at the airport?" Amara asked when realization dawned on her. She continued to scrutinize the screen more closely before saying, "Yup, it is definitely that idiot who nearly killed us!"
Haylie stared at the screen before responding slowly, "Zai Zai, where have I heard that before?" Haylie pondered over her question before grasping the answer finally and shouting, "PING PING!!! IT'S ZAI ZAI!" After quieting down she turned to Amara and grinned, "So he is a famous person and all this time I thought he just got some girls really mad at him." Haylie grinned sheepishly at Amara who smirked back at her.
"Where is he? Where is he?" Ping Ping screeched while sliding into the living room on her stocking feet. She unfortunately slid a bit too fast and crashed into Amara who was sitting on the arm of the sofa. Amara fell backwards onto Haylie who then fell backwards onto Eli who had come back before with a large bag of chips. "Uggghhhhh...why do I always learn things the hard way?" Ping Ping said while scrambling to get up but failing. "Ahhh! I missed it!!!!"
"I know you haven't seen me in a while Haylie but is it really necessary to be all over me like this?" a muffled voice said from somewhere below the human stockpile. Haylie struggled from her position and managed to push Amara off of her and onto the floor before whipping around and poking Eli in the stomach. "Owwww!!! Now that wasn't necessary!!"
"What's all the commotion about?" Aunt Julie said from the entrance of the living room. She was rolling a lint collector onto her skirt while waiting for their response. The foursomes hurriedly untangled themselves and situated themselves before responding.
"Complications with the television Aunt Julie," Haylie piped up with a sheepish grin. She snatched the television remote out of Eli's hand as if to make a point. "He wouldn't let us watch what we wanted so all the girls ganged up on him." Haylie gave a look to everyone as if to say, "PLAY ALONG!" The rest of the group nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"Umm...okay. Well come on then. Are you all ready to go shopping? Eli would you like me to drop you off at home. I have a feeling you wouldn't like shopping with a bunch of crazy women like us," Aunt Julie said with a slight hint of a smirk playing at the edge of her lips. "You could always come along and carry the bags for us." Aunt Julie winked at the girls as she said the last comment.
Eli shifted uncomfortably under all four ladies' looks and finally responded, "Whatever, I have nothing to do anyway. I might as well come, but I'm not playing manservant to you girls." Eli raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Are there any objections?" Amara grinned at his look of supposedly male dominance and glanced in Haylie's direction. Haylie returned the smile and winked playfully at Amara.
"Well, what are you four doing then? Come on! We have shopping to do!" Aunt Julie said excited as she triumphantly raised her car keys above her head and jingled them for emphasis. She hurriedly walked towards the front door with the children in tow behind her.
When they reached the Lexus the kids gathered around the side hesitantly not knowing where to sit. "What are you all standing there for? Get in!" Aunt Julie questioned exasperatedly. "Oh, I get it. How about the girls sit in the back and Eli you can sit with me up front?" Eli agreed and opened the door to the front passenger seat. The rest of the group piled in the back.
"Mommy can we listen to my CD please?" Josephine whined from her seat between Amara and Haylie. Both teens winced at the shrill voice. Eli, noticing their faces gave a smug smirk before turning around and taking Josephine's CD from her hand.
"What do we have here?" Eli said with mock interest as he eyed the CD he took from Josephine. "F4! Oh, I remember them. Aren't you obsessed with one of them Ping Ping?" Josephine nodded enthusiastically while Eli slid the CD into the car's CD-player. "This is going to be a long ride girls," Eli said with a wry grin in English to Amara and Haylie. Haylie and Amara both grimaced in response.
The soft melody of F4's song, "Can't Lose You Now" started to filter throughout the whole entire car. Deep voices from the CD began to sing and much to Haylie's surprise they weren't that bad; until at least, when Josephine didn't begin singing along. "Oh baby, baby! My baby, baby!" Josephine sang along loudly. Everyone except Aunt Julie winced in pain at the shrillness of her voice. Amara started to pound her head against the window as in attempt to knock herself unconscious.
Aunt Julie noticing everyone's uncomfortable looks threw a condescending look in the mirror towards Josephine to shut her up. Josephine getting the hint just started to hum along...quite off key and offbeat, mind you...to the music. There was a collective sigh from everyone as the awful singing stopped and all that could be heard was the harmonic voices of F4. Amara stopped banging her head on the window and rubbed her forehead to get rid of the redness that had formed there.
"Thanks," Haylie mouthed to Aunt Julie when Josephine wasn't looking. Aunt Julie flashed a knowing smile in return and turned up the volume of the music. "So, where exactly are we going to go shopping?" Haylie asked when the song finally ended. She wasn't about to risk asking during a song for fear that Josephine might throw a death glare at her.
"Oh, I live near a shopping center downtown. They have lots of clothing shops, bookstores, electronic stores; you know the works. You girls should really pick up a cell phone there. They have the newest models and reasonable plans," Aunt Julie replied as she made a right turn into a crowded street full of pedestrians. She found a parking spot near a music store and hurriedly got out with everyone else. "So what do you girls think? It's a far cry from Grandma's shopping area isn't it Haylie?" Aunt Julie asked with a big smile. She spread out her arms and spun around for emphasis.
Amara and Haylie looked around at all the various shops and clothing stores with stunned faces. Eli looked around with an impressed look upon his face. "Wow, you're right Auntie. This place does have everything! But why do you feel we need to get cell phones? I mean we live in North Carolina, I'm sure the ones we buy here won't work over there," Haylie asked her aunt with a confused expression.
"Well, we do have the same companies here that you have in America but we have the latest phones from Japan. I got a call from you mother back in North Carolina to help you find a cell phone here and get you a nice plan to go with it," Aunt Julie explained while fishing her cell phone out of her purse, "I'm sure they offer international plans as well." Aunt Julie gave a small smile towards Haylie and then flipped open her phone and punched in some numbers. "How about a nice beauty day huh? I think that we should head by the spa nearby before I go to work. After that I'll go to work and you kids can go on your own for a while until I get off."
"But what about me Mommy? Do I go with them or come with you?" Josephine piped up from next to Eli. She was gripping his hand tightly yet again and giving her mom a pleading look.
"Nonsense Ping Ping! You have to go to your violin lesson. And then it's off to your English tutor for you," Aunt Julie replied with a bewildered expression, "You will have plenty of time to spend with Haylie and her friend tonight and later this weekend." Josephine pouted at her mother's response and followed slowly behind her mother with her head down. She was of course still holding on to Eli's hand like there was no tomorrow.
"So where do we go first?" Amara asked suddenly when she realized she had clue if they were going to go beautify themselves first (poor Eli, nothing to do for him) or go get Haylie's cell phone first. Her question was answered they stood in front of a small electronic store. Aunt Julie opened the door and the rest of them filed in after her.
"Why don't the rest of you go shop around while Haylie and I get some business stuff done?" Aunt Julie suggested to Eli, Josephine, and Amara. They quickly agreed and separated to various parts of the store. Aunt Julie and Haylie made their way towards a corner of the store where they had many cell phones displayed along with an assortment of cell phone accessories.
"Hello! How may I help you?" the college student looking young man behind the counter said with a smile. "Are you lovely ladies looking for a new cell phone?" He eyed Haylie as he said the last statement. Haylie shifted round under his searching gaze. Aunt Julie noticing Haylie's apprehension gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze before replying.
"I'm looking to by a cell phone for my niece here," Aunt Julie said with a business-like crispness in her voice. She stared down the young man and caused him to turn red at his previous actions. "Do you have any new cell phones that we may look at? I would like the latest models please," she continued. The young man grabbed a nearby clipboard and a pen before stepping out from behind the desk to lead the women to a display case.
Meanwhile at the digital camera display stood Amara. Amara was making funny faces into the cameras not noticing that her faces were being displayed on the big screen TV's behind her. "Mwah!!!!!" she blew a big kiss at the lens before then pretending to be a Jedi Knight and fighting with a light saber. "Swish!! Zap!!! Luke I am you father...err mother!!" she continued with her escapades.
Nearby Eli was inspecting a MP3 player when he looked up and saw Amara's figure on a big screen TV reenacting a scene from Jaws. "Da dun...da dun...da da da da da da da DUN," said the image of Amara on the TV before it burst into hysterical laughter. Eli's dark brown eyes widened at the sight before he shook his head in disbelief at her silly actions. He found his way toward her before she could make a bigger fool of herself. He passed by other customers who were pointing at the TV and giggling quietly. Eli ran a hand through his tousled black hair, not that it helped any because his hair fell into his eyes regardless of what he did.
Eli eventually came up behind Amara and watched as she hurriedly put on as many facial expressions as she can. "She still doesn't know her face is all over the TV screens does she?" he mumbled to himself before sighing loudly and walking up towards her. He stopped right behind her and quickly tapped her on the shoulder. Amara stopped in mid-facial expression before turning to Eli with a confused look.
"What?" Amara asked with a somewhat annoyed look upon her face. Eli smirked at her and pointed to the TVs behind her. Amara turned and gasped as she saw her figure and Eli's figure clearly on all the TV screens behind her. She hurriedly moved out of the way of the cameras before looking around nervously to see if anyone had seen her little show. Noticing the small group of people that had gathered around the biggest TV she felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. "Why didn't anyone tell me? I bet you were standing behind me the whole time watching me make an utter fool out of myself," Amara hissed in exasperation.
"Actually no, I just got here. I was busy looking at MP3s when I saw your face magnified three times its size on the big screen over there," Eli said while pointing towards the section he was just in as proof. "Besides, I was the one that told you what you were doing. I stopped you before you did farther damage." Eli grabbed her wrist and led her farther away from the cameras and the TVs. They eventually emerged in front of the video game system.
"Thanks. Sorry I yelled at you, I guess I was trying to save face. Let's not mention it again shall we?" Amara apologized with a sheepish smile. Eli smiled in reply telling her he accepted her apology. Amara turned to the video games and gave a small leap of excitement! "Oh my gosh! They have the Gameboy Advance SP's here for half the price they have in America! I am so buying one," she gushed before grabbing several color choices to pick from. Eli rose in eyebrow in surprise and just merely shook his head in disbelief again. Amara ignored his actions and began to mentally decide which one to buy.
Back with Aunt Julie and Haylie, the two were having an abundance of difficulty with the salesperson. He kept on suggesting new options for phones and services and then getting confused. He also had a slight staring problem. The young man seemed to always lose his train of thought when he was staring at Haylie too hard. Finally fed up with his incompetence Haylie asked nicely for a new salesperson to help them. "I'm very sorry, I am afraid I am the only person here to help you with cell phones," the young man replied to her plea with a leering smile. Haylie smiled back reluctantly and looked around for any source of help.
"How about you leave us alone for a few minutes while we pick out a cell phone? Then we can work on a calling plan," Aunt Julie suggested when she noticed Haylie's annoyance toward the young man. The young man nodded hesitantly and turned to go help an elderly couple with their problem. "How about I get Eli over here? I'm sure he can help with your little problem," Aunt Julie whispered to Haylie when the man was out of hearing range. Haylie quickly nodded in agreement at her aunt's suggestion and went off to find her cousin.
Haylie wandered around the store hoping to find her cousin in one of the many sections she searched but with no luck. Suddenly she bumped into someone when she was about to turn back to find her aunt. "Oops, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bump into you," Haylie mumbled to the person while she hastily brushed herself off from the impact.
"No problem. May I ask if you are looking for someone here?" a male voice replied. Haylie looked up from her embarrassed stance to come face to face with Vanness from the pastry shop. Haylie's expression brightened significantly when she figured out who he was, earning a winning smile from him when he noticed her reaction. "What a coincidence, fancy meeting you here. Your name is Haylie right?" Vanness said with a big smile as he stuck out his hand for her to shake.
Haylie hesitantly took his hand and gave it a firm shake before replying with a bright smile, "Yup, it's Haylie. And I am looking for someone; have you seen a guy that's about eighteen-ish walking around? He has on a gray t-shirt and a bad case of bed head." She looked around one last time for emphasis. Vanness looked around too for a guy that fit her description but came up short as well because Eli had happened to bend down at the exact moment Vanness looked in the direction of the video games.
"Nope, sorry. But I think I see your friend over there muttering to herself again I see," Vanness replied with an apologetic smile. Looking at Haylie's panicked expression he followed her gaze to the sleazy looking college student salesperson. "Ahh...I see why you were so desperate to find your male cousin! It's because of that dude right?" Vanness said with a knowing glance toward the salesperson. Haylie nodded and was about to make a quick exit when Vanness reached out and grabbed her by the wrist to stop her escape. "Maybe I can help, I mean I am a guy after all," Vanness said with sly smile.
Haylie gave Vanness a puzzled look that was quickly replaced with a small smile when the salesperson finally reached the pair with Aunt Julie hurrying behind him. Aunt Julie shrugged apologetically at Haylie and then flashed her a questioning look when she noticed that Vanness was still holding on to Haylie's wrist. Haylie of course had not realized that he was still holding on to her.
"Okay, your aunt here has picked you out one of our nicest and newest cell phone models for you. I just need you to come over to the desk so we can consult on what kind of calling plan you would like to have," the salesperson said with a chipper voice. His smile faltered a bit when he noticed Vanness' grip on Haylie's wrist. "Hello sir, may I help you?" he said with an edge in his voice.
Vanness noticing the guy's obvious dislike towards him gave him a smug grin before casually sliding his arm across Haylie's waist and pulling her even closer to him. Aunt Julie watching the scene unfold before her gave a small gasp of surprise. Haylie just smiled nervously. She had no clue what Vanness was doing but was playing along when she realized it might make the college student dude back off. "Oh no. I don't need any help. Thanks though," Vanness replied as he led Haylie towards the desk that the salesperson had pointed out.
When they were walking towards the consultation desk Haylie leaned up towards Vanness' ear and hissed, "What the hell are you doing? You better not be messing with me or anything." She scowled at him to make a point. Vanness chuckled at her facial expression and just merely pulled her towards him closer before replying.
"Don't worry, I'm just helping you out with your guy trouble," Vanness whispered back when he pretended to be nuzzling her neck. Haylie gave a slight shiver at the close proximity he was to her and nodded slowly after thinking about his answer. Vanness smiled brightly at her reaction and pulled out a chair for her at the desk before taking a seat next to her and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Haylie shot him a warning glare before turning towards her aunt who had taken a seat next to her and gave her a reassuring look. Aunt Julie nodded knowingly and shot a look of gratitude toward Vanness who mouthed, "My pleasure," to her.
After a few minutes of business talk, mostly done by Vanness and Aunt Julie versus the sales person, the deal was done and Haylie walked away from the desk with her new cell phone clutched triumphantly in her hand. "Ooooh, I absolutely love your new cell phone! Come on lets go buy it some cute accessories!" Aunt Julie exclaimed excitedly. She grabbed onto Haylie's arm and dragged her over to the small baskets filled with different cell phone accessories. She instantly grabbed as many different kinds as she could and stuffed them into Haylie's arms.
"Umm...is this really necessary??" Haylie asked as more and more objects where stuffed into her arms. She glanced over at Vanness who was looking at the whole scene with a much-too-amused expression on his face. "What are you smirking about?" Haylie said with a scowl. She crossed, or at least tried to, her arms in front of her and gave him an expectant look. Vanness' grin widened and he paused before finally replying.
"Of course it's necessary for cute girls to have equally cute cell phones with them," Vanness finally replied with a playful wink thrown her way. Haylie turned slightly pink at his comment before looking up and spotting Eli, Amara, and Josephine behind him. All of them had their mouths hanging open in surprise. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Vanness asked when he saw Haylie's face; he turned around to see Amara's livid face, Eli's face of shock, and Josephine's face of total rapture.
"Hey Vanness! Weren't we supposed to meet up at the bookstore? Everyone is looking everywhere for you," a male voice said suddenly from behind Amara, Eli, and Josephine. Another tall, very good-looking guy had walked in through the doors of the electronic store. He looked at the small gathering before him with a confused look before putting on a deathly-charming grin and finally declaring, "Well, well, well. I see why you were held up, had some wayward fans did we?"
Haylie and Amara shot confused looks at each other when they heard the word fans muttered from the guy's mouth in English. "Um, sorry to intrude but may I ask who you are?" Haylie asked the new arrival. She flashed him a small smile before continuing, "My name is Haylie and I have no clue what fans you are talking about." The guy gave her a confused expression; he had not expected any of them to speak English at all.
"My name is Ken, nice to meet you Haylie. And may I ask who the rest of these people are and how you are somehow associated with Vanness here?" Ken replied in perfect English. Haylie's smile grew when she realized the guy must have been Vanness' friend. Upon hearing that Haylie had spoken to Vanness again, Amara gave a deep scowl of disapproval. Meanwhile Aunt Julie and Eli were both watching the seen unfold before them with a look of mild amusement and Josephine was in near tears at being so near her idols.
"This is my friend Amara, my aunt Julie, and my cousin's Eli and Josephine," Haylie replied while pointing at the correct person when she introduced them. In turn Ken gave each of them a small smile as a greeting. "And about Vanness, well I had met him earlier before and just now he was helping me out with a certain sub-specie problem." Haylie nudged her head towards the cell phone salesperson as she said her last statement.
"Oh. Well then, I'm sorry for misjudging all of you," Ken said as he accepted Haylie's answer. He gave a sheepish grin at all of them before catching Vanness' eye. "Come on then, we still have to meet the rest of the guys at the bookstore." Ken apologized to all of them yet again for their abrupt departure before heading out the store to wait in front of his shiny, black sports car. Haylie followed him with her eyes when he left and gave a gasp of surprise when she found she recognized the car he had just gotten in.
"Is something wrong Haylie?" Vanness inquired when he noticed her staring at the car that Ken had just gotten into. He narrowed his eyes at her sudden interest in the vehicle instead of him. "Hey! How would all of you like to meet a couple of my friends at the bookstore? I'm sure they won't mind." Vanness smiled at his brilliant idea and gave a hopeful look towards Haylie.
Haylie hesitated before answering knowing that they had other plans as well. It would be rude to skip out on her aunt, even though Vanness was super cute and the fact that his friend Ken was as well. While she was contemplating her answer Aunt Julie answered for her, "Oh I'm sure they would love to tag along with you. How about Haylie? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Haylie gave her aunt a confused look. What did she mean by saying it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Before she could voice her question she was interrupted yet again by her aunt, "Don't worry about Josephine and me. We have to go do some clothes shopping anyways. I'll call you when it's time for our spa appointment."
At her mother's words Josephine's mouth dropped open. "But Mommy! I wanna go too!!!!!!!" she whined. Vanness smiled at the little girl's reaction and continued to wait for Haylie to respond to his question.
"Umm...I guess we can go. Aunt Julie you know my cell phone number right?" Haylie finally said. She looked at Amara for confirmation but all she received as a simple shrug of the shoulders. "Eli, what about you? Want to join us? I think it'll be a lot more fun then being Aunt Julie's bag carrier," Haylie asked while she flashed Eli a big smile. She'll feel a lot more confident if she knew that at least Eli would be there if anything goes wrong. It wasn't like she didn't like Vanness. She just didn't know him or his friends all that well.
"Nah, sorry Ya Ling. I can't I have to go catch a bus and get home pretty soon. I just realized I have to go pick up Sis' from school," Eli responded with an apologetic smile when he saw Haylie's face fall. Vanness' smile though grew when he realized that Eli wouldn't be there to mess with his chances of getting to know Haylie better but his smile waned when he saw the deep scowl on Amara's face. Obviously Amara did not like how the entire scene was playing out at all.
"Great, so it's just you two girls now! We better leave soon. I have an appointment I can't be late for," Vanness said with a chipper voice he reached for the door of the electronic store and held it open for everyone before adding in a whisper to Josephine, "I'm sorry you couldn't come, how about I get some autographed pictures for them to take home for you? But you have to promise to keep this a secret okay?" Josephine's tearstained face brightened at his promise and she nodded enthusiastically and waved goodbye while she walked away hand in hand with her mom.
"Bye Haylie, take care of yourself okay? Call me if you need anything, I'm sure Aunt Julie inputted all of our numbers into your phone by now," Eli said to Haylie in farewell, "Bye Amara, nice meeting you. Let's keep away from cameras shall we?" he continued to Amara while giving her a wink. Amara smiled at his little joke before waving goodbye. Eli hugged Haylie and waved at Vanness before making his way towards the nearby bus stop.
"Great, we're stuck with pretty boy here again," Amara, said under her breath as she followed Vanness and Haylie towards the car. She sighed loudly as she stood next to Haylie while Vanness explained the situation to Ken. She gave a quick glance at Ken and scowled even deeper. 'I hope he isn't as rude as that Vanness character, even if he is just as cute,' she thought to herself. She shook her head to get the offending words out of her mind.
"Okay it's all set. Amara you want to sit in the front with Ken? I promise he doesn't bite...much," Vanness said happily as he opened the back door for Haylie to get into. Haylie smiled in thanks before sliding into the car. Amara scowled at Vanness because of his obvious advances towards Haylie but sighed and nodded. She reached to open the door but was shocked that Ken from inside already had opened it.
"Hi! Amara right? I'm Ken, guess you'll stuck with me for the ride huh?" Ken said with a big grin. "Don't worry, it won't be for that long. The place is only five minutes away," he added as he got in. Amara gave him a wan smile and turned around to shoot a glare in Haylie's direction. Ken laughed at her actions and decided to make polite conversation with everyone to break the ice. "So Amara, what did you buy in there?" Ken asked while fiddling with the stereo system. He finally settled on a station that was playing Karen Mok's latest song.
"A Gameboy Advance SP and a game," was Amara's cryptic reply. She wasn't really up for much talking at the moment. Currently she was thinking of ways to burn Vanness' hair into a pile of ashes. Ken glanced at her from the side and saw her infamous scowl.
"So...umm...do you speak any Chinese?" Ken asked lightly. His questions shook Amara from her trance and she shook her head quickly to say no. Ken nodded in agreement before continuing, "That's okay, the rest of us aren't worth talking to anyways." Ken turned to her and gave her another hesitant grin. Amara flashed a brief smile before scowling deeply again and gazing out the window. Ken's eyes had a flicker of sadness as he realized that Amara really wasn't up for talking. He averted his eyes back on the read before glancing at the back seat in the rearview mirror.
"Where exactly are we going? I know we are going to a bookstore but Vanness here doesn't exactly look like the type to read," Haylie asked Ken. She put her hands on the back of his seat and scooted upward to peer at him from the side of the seat. Ken chuckled at her actions while Vanness pretended to be hurt by her comment.
"That hurt. After all I did for you back there. This is the kind of treatment I get...." Vanness exclaimed with a somewhat indignant look upon his face. His act didn't last long because in a matter of seconds his angry face broke out into the usual charming smile. "Need I remind you that you Miss Haylie owe me big time," he added with a suggestive look at Haylie. Haylie gave a nervous smile before turning back to Ken.
"You'll find out soon enough Miss Haylie. We're here," Ken, replied after pulling up in front of what seemed to be an abandoned bookstore. Amara and Haylie eyed the bookstore with suspicion before getting out of the car. "May I?" Ken asked while offering his arm to Amara. Amara narrowed her eyes at him before letting out a large sigh and hooking her arm into his. Ken gave her a big smile and started to lead her towards the entrance to the store.
"Well, I'm not about to be outdone by Ken," Vanness muttered under his breath before grabbing Haylie's wrist and following after them with Haylie in tow. Haylie giggled at his silly actions but didn't pull her hand away from his.
As soon as they entered the building a short woman with a high ponytail appeared out of nowhere with a clipboard in hand. "Ahh! There you two are! You have to be in make-up ASAP!" she said briskly in Chinese while hurrying behind Vanness and Ken and pushing them into a different part of the store. Haylie and Amara didn't know what else to do but to follow. "Now what did I tell you two about bringing crazed fans to photo shoots? Remember what happened last time?" the lady reprimanded the guys as she thrust them down onto chairs before they were swarmed by a group of make-up artists.
Before either of them could ask anything the woman stepped up to them and started to circle them. "Hmm...you two will definitely do nicely. Now will you please fill out these forms while I go find someone to show you the ropes," she thrust a form into each of their hands along with a pen before disappearing behind a large clothing rack full of pants. Amara and Haylie gave each other confused looks before finding a table nearby to look over the papers.
"Okay...what was she saying. I'm betting if I spoke Chinese I still wouldn't understand her," Amara asked while skimming over the form, which was thankfully in English. "And what is with the whole circling and muttering thing? And these forms?" Amara continued.
"Uhhhh...I think she just wants us to fill these out or something. I don't know what for though. Oh yeah, Ken and Vanness are in make-up or something," Haylie replied. She uncapped her pen and began filling in the necessary information while occasionally muttering to herself in Chinese.
Amara continued to look at Haylie for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders and doing the same. After finishing up her form she glanced around and finally asked, "Hey...you don't think we're gonna be extras in a porno film do you?" At Amara's question Haylie started to have a sudden severe God I hope not...that would be sooooo awful!" Haylie coughed out while smacking Amara for her crude comment. Amara laughed at Haylie's reaction and resumed looking around the place. "Oh look, here comes someone. I think they were sent to speak with us. Maybe we can ask what we are doing here," Haylie piped up when she spotted another woman, this time with long orangey-red hair walking toward them.
"Hi girls! My name is Andie and what are you're names?" the woman greeted them warmly with a firm handshake. She gave them each a warm smile and took their forms from their hands. "A little nervous today are we? Don't worry these boys are very nice. Sometimes too nice if you ask me," she said when she noticed Amara and Haylie looking at her blankly.
"My name is Haylie and this is my friend Amara. We were just wondering what is going on here," Haylie said finally when she worked up enough courage. She turned to Amara and raised an eyebrow as if saying, "Maybe she'll tell us what's going on." Amara shrugged her shoulders in reply and Haylie turned her attentions back on Andie. "Umm...Ken and Vanness brought us here but as soon as they walked in they were whisked away by that lady with the ponytail," she continued.
"Oh! You mean Miriam! She's their stylist or something. We're doing a photo shoot for F4's upcoming ad campaign. Didn't either of them tell you?" Andie replied with a questionable air. She looked confused for a few moments but then gave a bright smile and taking them both by the hands and leading them toward a brightly lit area. "Well, I'm sure they will explain everything to you. How do you girls feel about being in a photo shoot with the famous F4? It's every girl's dream to be able to do this."
"Wait a minute...did you say a photo shoot? Like with cameras and lots of offensive lights?" Amara suddenly asked while jerking her hand out of Andie's grasp. She didn't like this at all. She didn't want to come to the stupid bookstore in the first place but she didn't really know anywhere else to go. "And what is the deal with the F4? I swear Haylie and I have probably never even met those pretty boys you people are so damn obsessed with over here."
Andie gave a bewildered expression at Amara's comments before giving a wary smile and at last saying, "Well you're here now. Might as well deal with it. We don't have time to find replacement extras. Plus, you'll be paid quite well." At the mention of being paid Amara's defenses lessened and she gave a big sigh of defeat.
"Whatever. I'll do it, but on one condition. I will not wear a frilly dress," Amara stated firmly with both arms crossed over her chest. Andie nodded in agreement and continued to lead them to a pair of empty chairs facing a brightly lit mirror.
"Okay, I have to go take care of a few other things. Just let the makeup crew work on you two until the stylist comes to give you your outfits," Andie said in farewell while taking their forms and putting them into a folder she was carrying. She waved goodbye and gave them a reassuring smile before walking off.
"Things I do for you Haylie," Amara muttered in aggravation as the hair and makeup people attacked her with various colors of eye shadows and a flat iron. She twitched when someone tried to apply eyeliner on her left eyelid and let out a groan of pain due to the fact that the lady had just poked her in the eye. "Yup, you definitely owe me big time. I'm going to need sixty cups of coffee to get over this," Amara groaned out while clutching her eye and swatting the people surrounding her away.
"Hold still young lady! Don't you want to be beautiful?" the makeup artist growled out in Chinese. Amara glared at the lady before turning her head away with an annoyed huff. The women sighed and muttered something about "Stupid models...always think they are so much better than normal people." She continued putting on eyeliner on Amara's eyes, ignoring the swats thrown at her.
After twenty minutes of being poked and prodded with various brushes and curlers both girls were led away by a tall slender man in all black. "Oh you girls look simply breath-taking! I'm so glad the clothes I picked out will suit you all perfectly," he said in a breathy voice. He pushed them into an area that was enclosed with a white curtain before continuing, "You are going to have to wear three outfits for the photo shoot. Your names are on whichever ones are yours. The photographer will tell you when to change outfits." He closed the curtain with a firm tug and all that was heard of him was his dainty footsteps.
"Whoa...is he a clichéd gay dude or what?" Haylie giggled out while she flipped through the hangers full of clothes. She started to pull out her outfits and arranging them neatly on a different rack. "But he was right about something. You look great in that makeup! Even though that lady had to fight to get it on you," Haylie continued while smiling cheekily at Amara. Amara glowered at her and grabbed her first outfit.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. We're gonna have to take it off somehow anyways," Amara stated matter-of-factly. She gave her outfit a scrutinizing gaze before groaning in exasperation. "Look at this! My first outfit makes me look like a freakin' prep," Amara complained loudly while pulling on the dark brown corduroy flares. She growled in frustration while fumbling with the belt. "Honestly, this is utter bullshit!" she screamed out as she finally got the belt on securely.
"Nah, your outfits aren't that bad. At least yours aren't all frilly and stuff like mine is. Is it possible to have that many layers in this dress?" Haylie said while holding up a long white sheer slip dress with ribbons that tied around her shoulders as straps. "I look like one of those damsel's in distress you always find in romance novels," Haylie giggled while slipping on a pair of white heels with thin white ribbon straps.
Amara shrugged on a soft cream off-the-shoulder sweater over her soft pink camisole. "Uh-huh. This is definitely not my cup of coffee!" Amara grumbled while stuffing her feet into a pair of black-heeled boots. She turned around to look at Haylie who was struggling with her heels. "Umm...having problems?" Amara asked with a raised eyebrow. Haylie nodded before stumbling a little and having to catch herself on Amara.
"Sorry. I was never very good at walking in these things. You have to admit though; we do look good in these outfits. Even if we would much rather be in different clothes," Haylie said sheepishly. She blew a few loose strands out of her hair before opening the curtain and stepping out. Her hair was pulled up into a loosely braided bun with thin white ribbons woven all throughout it and trailing down her back along with a few stray strands of hair.
"Yeah well, I bet we both remember what happened at senior prom," Amara said with a smirk upon her face. Her short hair was all flipped out at the ends to show her short layers and clipped back with sparkly barrettes.
"I see the ladies have arrived finally," Ken said when he spotted Haylie's noticeable white dress. His smile grew larger as he saw Amara emerge behind her with a deep scowl on her face. "You two look beautiful, as expected of course." Ken offered to each girl who hesitantly took it and were led to the meeting area. "Okay, here's the deal. We are doing two different shoots today; Amara, your shoot is actually in the bookstore here. Haylie, you are going to be taken outside behind the bookstore where it is an open field for some outside shots." Ken explained when they entered the meeting room.
Vanness, seeing their arrival abruptly stood up from his seat next to a very familiar looking fellow. "Wow! I didn't expect you girls to be drop dead gorgeous!" Vanness exclaimed as he walked forward to take a closer look. Haylie squirmed under his gaze and smiled nervously while Amara made to kick at him when he stepped up to her. "Ay! Watch it! I need to keep clean for the shoot. If you want to get dirty we can do it afterwards okay?" Vanness said while scooting away from Amara's reach. He gave a playful wink to Haylie and Amara. Amara glared daggers at him before being led away towards a seat by Haylie.
"Well, I'm assuming introductions are in order. We have a few moments before they split us up for the shoots," Ken said as he sat down next to an unfamiliar guy and looked at his watch. "I'm assuming you all know I'm Ken and that fool over there is Vanness," Ken stated while looking at Vanness pointedly. "Haylie. Amara," Ken said while gesturing to each girl for the remaining guys, "This is Vic and Jerry." The newly introduced guys waved at both girls casually. Vic though stopped in midwave and peered at Haylie strangely.
"Haven't we met before? Your name is Haylie right?" Vic asked Haylie in Chinese from across the coffee table. Haylie who was reaching for a cookie stopped midway when she recognized his voice. She looked up to see his small smile and gasped in recognition.