Hey all, I'm SOOOOOO sorry I haven't updated sooner!! FF.net has been evil…it wouldn't let me upload anything! It's a long story, so I won't go into it, haha. Thanks to all my peeps that reviewed last chapter, it's good to be back! This chappie is dedicated to my fan-fic buddy MT (you know who you are!), lol! I was supposed to have it done before you went on vacation…looks like I failed ::sniff:: Enjoy everyone, and be sure to check out my other story, "Whispers of the Mind." The extremely short prologue is the only thing up right now, but I hope to update it by the end of the weekend. Ja ne!

***Esca-lover

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October 19, 1994

Hiya Van!

Wow, the last few weeks have been pretty eventful. Dryden and I are going steady now. He is NOT a nerd, Van, he's just more into books and science then sports, haha. (How's soccer going anyway! You haven't mentioned it since you made the varsity team last year as a freshman.) I don't think a Café is fishy at all, Vannie. It's actually quite sophisticated, so there. Alright, enough teasing for now, lol.

Last week Dryden took me to the museums' space exhibit. Ya, at first I was like, why would we go here? Not the typical date hangout to say the least. Little did I know he had an ulterior motive. We strolled the halls, looking at different spaceship models, alien findings (so they say), and were able to try on astronaut equipment. So far, the date had been strange, but more interesting then I had thought it would be. We'd been there for about an hour when suddenly Dryden took my hand and squeezed it gently. 'This is the real reason we came here,' he smiled and motioned to a small doorway. I looked at him, puzzled by what he had said. He opened the door…It was amazing! The room exploded with stars and galaxies! There was no lighting aside from the glowing orbs on the walls. 'See? Isn't this beautiful?,' he whispered and pulled me into a close embrace. 'This is the planets section of the museum,' he explained. 'This room was the beginning of my fascination with science. My parents would bring me here all the time when I was a child. Do you like it?,' he asked, his eyes hopeful. I was speechless, Van! He was sharing his past with me! No guy has ever done that before…not without a lot of persuasion, that is. (Well…I guess you have, haven't you. Poor Van, you don't count, haha) Not only was he sharing it with me, he wanted me to be a part of his past experiences! Talk about a sensitive guy! 'I love it,' I finally managed to blurt out. 'It's like I'm seeing into your soul, Dryden…thank you…' I looked up at him and smiled. All of a sudden my heart started pounding really hard…he was looking at me so intently. I felt myself blush, so I laughed nervously. 'What?' I giggled. 'You're so special to me, Hitomi,' he said solemnly. 'I hope you feel the same way…' His voice trailed off as he reached out and tilted my head towards his own. Then it hit me: HE WAS GONNA KISS ME!!! My heart was screaming for joy, but my body was so nervous! My first real kiss ever! What if I did it wrong? What if I was a terrible kisser? What if I had bad breath? What if…and as my thoughts rattled on, it happened. He kissed me…

…and then it was over. I was confused to say the least. I was expecting fireworks to go off in my head, or maybe symphonies playing in the background…but there was nothing. Dryden pulled away and brushed the hair out of my eyes. Luckily he didn't catch the disappointment in them. We left the museum and went our separate ways, a fast kiss exchanged before parting. Am I weird, Van? I just didn't feel anything behind his kiss…should I be upset? Should I talk to him about it? Maybe I'm looking into this a little too much. *sigh* Why did my first kiss have to be so…so blah! AHHHH! Ok, I'm stopping…I promised myself I wouldn't obsess. Keep me to that, alright?

Aside from that little glitch, our relationship is doing well. We just don't kiss a lot, that's all. My mom thinks it's cute, haha. She says we're saving the best parts for when we're more serious as a couple. I just laugh. Maybe she's right. Holloween is coming up, any plans?? I'm going to a costume party at the end of the month, I'll let you know how it goes. Any ideas on what I could dress up as?

Ok Van, no more girly details, you're off the hook. I have yet again loads of homework to finish up before the weekend is over. Wish me luck! Bye-bye!

Hugs,

Hitomi

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October 30, 1994

Dear Hitomi,

Well, I had a whole bunch of ideas for your costume party but I don't think you'll get this letter in time. So, I just won't tell you, haha. Whatever you dressed up as, I hope you had fun. I actually had a Holloween party of my own, and guess what? You get the details. (Hey, it's only fair, I had to hear all about your kissy stuff!)

Here's what happened. Chid decided that he wanted to throw a party on Holloween night and invite all of the kids in our class. That's like 500 people…ya, his house is big enough, scary huh. Anyway, a few of us were talking over lunch and thought it'd be cool if we could turn his home into a haunted mansion. Chid got all excited and started planning right away. He called all sorts of companies looking for the best decorations, scary music, costumes…you get the picture. His parents even let him change some of the lighting for visual effect. They hired people to come in and set everything up, but I decided to come over early to make sure they didn't need any help. All I can say is, WOW. You should have seen this place, Tomi. Cobwebs hung from the iron gates and a masked sentinel opened them silently, allowing me to enter. As I walked down the long driveway, I could hear spooky music playing softly. Pumpkins littered the yard, while a black cat stared at me from the front porch. The dismal, cloudy sky added to the whole scene. Two hooded figures opened the front doors of the mansion, and as I stepped into the room the doors 'SLAMMED' shut. Ok, I admit it…that made me jump. Chid saw me from the staircase and laughed. 'What do you think so far, Van?' he said, and jumped down the steps. 'It's great,' I told him. 'The yard looks awesome.' Chid smiled broadly. 'The yard? That's nothing. Let me show ya around.' So he did. Thick, dark drapes were hung from the windows. Fog machines gave off swirls of mist. Black light was everywhere. Creepy organ music filled the place, and random, costumed servants haunted the floors. I could go on and on, Hitomi! Everything was perfect, even the food was made to look like monkey brains, eyeballs, and animal entrails.

After Chid was satisfied with my tour, we went to his room to pick out costumes (he had several to choose from). After lots of debating, Chid decided he would dress as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. He was the host, so it would be best if he could be recognized. The outfit came complete with a light saber…talk about cool. I don't usually get into dressing up, but my Zorro costume was just plain sweet. It looked exactly like the outfit from the TV show. The black, long-sleeved, silk shirt that laced up the neck, the tall, riding boots, the hat and mask…even the sword. I opted out of the mustache, though. Didn't want to deal with it.

Pretty soon, guests started arriving and the DJ kicked the party into full gear. Besides dancing, people could bob for apples from a steaming cauldron, carve pumpkins, or just wander through the halls. There were contests for best costume, food-eating, loudest screams, you name it. The whole place was packed, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Suddenly, the front doors slammed open, and screams were heard. Chid and I rushed over to see what had happened. Trouble had arrived.

There was Dilandau and his entire gang, right on the doorstep. Dilly was dressed as a pretty gruesome grim reaper, while his groupies wore skeleton costumes. The leader twirled his scythe casually and entered the room. 'So, the richie is throwing a Holloween party, huh?' he sneered and brought the blade to Chid's throat. Dilly leaned towards my friend and stared at him from under his black hood. Several girls gasped, and began whimpering. The whole room became silent, save the haunting music in the background. I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed for my sword. It was fake, but someone had to stand up to the gang. I was about to pull it out when Dilly laughed wickedly and whispered, 'Trick or Treat, pretty boy.' He removed his weapon from it's menacing position and smirked at the both of us. 'Mind if we join you?' His question hung in the air for several moments as Chid contemplated the situation. I looked at my friend and nodded. It was a rare occasion when Dilandau actually asked permission for anything, so I figured everything would work out. Chid gathered his courage. 'You can stay, all of you, on the condition that you promise not to upset any of my guests,' he said firmly. 'Fair enough,' the reaper shrugged, 'now let's party!' Everyone applauded, and things went back to normal. Members of the Slayers were dancing with everyone else, and Dilandau even congratulated the guy who beat him at one of the contests.

The next day at school, everyone was raving about how awesome Chid's party was. Everything had worked out great, even after a Slayer managed to spike the punch. It was a lot of fun, I have to admit.

You asked about soccer, right? Well, it's just not as exciting as it used to be. I'm considering dropping out next year. Of course, I'm not quite sure what I'll take up instead, but who cares. I'm sure I'll find something to fill my time.

So, you and Dryden kissed, huh? I guess I should congratulate you, haha. Don't worry about the first one lacking fireworks. Maybe he's a terrible kisser, lol. Anyway, I'm sure it's not your fault. What do you two do in your free time? I mean, the planetarium is nice I guess, but how does he treat you at work? It sounds like he cares about you, but maybe you're better off with someone else. You shouldn't have to stress about the relationship, ya know? Then again, I might not want to open my mouth about dealing with the opposite sex, haha. My last date didn't go so well. She ended up vomiting on me at a restaurant. Needless to say I won't be calling her again any time soon.

Well 'Tomi, I better be going. Schoolwork yadda yadda, blah blah blah. Hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Van

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There ya go everyone, hope it was alright. Leave me feedback, I love hearing from you!!! The next chapter is already started. I will update again by the Monday. PROMISE! Love you all, God Bless.