Clio: Hehe...well I'm in school now and enduring torture day after day like everyone else!

Queen of Fantasy: Lol, it would be funny seeing Shea's mangled remains daggling somewhere...

Kanilla: Is there any way that I can corrupt you into being evil?

Ray-is-sexy: I totally agree with your name!!! Haha. All will be revealed soon...next chapter, I swear...I'm not that evil!

Crimson Cheetah: Zarine did have a good reason to slap Ray...I mean, what would you do if you see your boyfriend kiss another girl? I would just beat him up because I will be so angry.

Crimson Shadows: It's not exactly a love triangle...

Obs3ssi0n: I think that Stupid Shit Head Eating Apples and Loser Eating Oranges are great names for our dear villains.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – The Kiss

Ray's POV

I caught my breath sharply. My mind was screaming, "NO!" She couldn't be leaving me! I just couldn't lose her! I just couldn't! She's everything...

She turned to leave, but I grabbed her arm quickly to stop her. "No, Zarine! Please don't!" I begged. She had to let me explain! It wasn't what it looked like!

"Let me go," she demanded. I refused to let her leave. I couldn't lose her to that jerk. He didn't love her like I did. All he wanted was to take advantage of her! She said to Leo, "Leo, please make him go away."

"You heard what she said," he said roughly, prying my fingers away.

I watched helplessly as they walked away. Leo put his arm around her shoulder (more like her head because she's so short) and smirked at me triumphantly when he gazed back at me.

The people who were watching us left one by one, buzzing with chatter as they went on with their own lives. I hardly noticed them. All I could think about was the gaping hole where Zarine used to be. She left me...somehow...somehow I had to get her to listen to me and believe that Shea had kissed me.

Shea walked up to me and said, "Aw...baby, does it hurt?" She reached out her hand to touch the bright red mark on my cheek, but I stepped away from her.

"This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you!" I said, my hands clenched into fists. If Shea hadn't kissed me, Leo...Leo wouldn't have managed to steal Zarine away.

"If you didn't like it, you could've pushed me away, but you didn't," she said calmly.

I had to keep a tight rein on my temper. "You know that Zarine and I are...were...together, you don't go around kissing guys who have a girlfriend. It's not right."

"It doesn't look like that rule applies to you anymore," she responded archly, laying a hand on my arm.

I didn't bother to answer her and left in disgust. Why, why didn't I listen to Zarine about Shea? I began to blame myself for this. Why didn't I stop associating with that blonde when I knew that Zarine didn't like her? Why did he follow her in the first place? He was supposes to be with the others, picking out the present for her upcoming birthday.

I didn't know where I was going until I saw the sea. Right, I had come here with Zarine once to show her the beautiful sun rise. I started walking down the stairs, having nothing better to do. I sighed heavily as I sat down on the bench. I wish...I wish Zarine was here, and that nothing had happened.

I wouldn't be in this mess if I had stayed away from Shea in the first place. It was because of her that I had stopped talking to my girlfriend, I mean, ex-girlfriend, for a week...it was because of her that I had a fight with Zarine and made her upset...it was because of her that I had lost the dearest person to me. I could live without Shea, but I could never live without Zarine.

I stared blankly out into the deep blue of the ocean, wondering what to do. That's it, when I get back to Kai's house, I'm going to apologize, explain, and tell her how much I loved her. However, it was less simple than I thought.

Zarine's POV

I sobbed my heart out on Leo's shoulder as we got out of sight. How could Ray do this? I thought he loved me...he said he did...he acted like he cared...but did he really? Or was he just pretending to love me for who I am instead of my looks?

"Zarine, if he cheated on such a great person like you...he isn't worth your tears," Leo said, rubbing my back to comfort me.

"You don't get it...he saved my life once...and he promised me that he wouldn't leave me..." I wept. No one was going to understand why he was so important to me.

My friend said fiercely, "If he had made such a promise to you, he should keep it."

"Thanks, but there's nothing I can do about it now...he...he's not mine to keep anymore," I said softly. It was true, his heart didn't belong to me. It probably was never mine.

"Can I stay with you for the rest of the day?" I asked hopefully. I couldn't face Ray yet. I knew that as soon as I see him, I'll start bawling.

"Sure," he answered happily. "I love being with you."

I smiled and dried my tears with the back of my hand. "Thanks," I said, squeezing his hand gratefully.

I ended up staying at his house for dinner and into the night. His house was luxurious, but not as big as Kai's mansion. His parents were really nice to me too. "I'll take you home," Leo offered. "It's not safe for you to walk back alone."

"I hope that you know how to drive a car," I said.

"Leo's got his license two weeks ago," his dad said proudly. "He got 90 on it. I would trust him to take you home safely."

"Dad had promised to buy me a new car as soon as I can choose between the ten cars that I have in mind," Leo told me. "But until then, I'll use his extra car."

"Thanks for dinner and letting me stay," I said, hugging Leo's mom.

"You're welcome, dear. Come back anytime," she said kindly.

Normal POV

Leo could barely hold back a snort when he thought of how his father thought he would drive safely just because he got a high score on his driving test. There was no way that he was going to do that, at least not when he was out with his friends.

Zarine was really quiet in the car. Leo couldn't help glancing at her and admiring how good she always looked. He had already managed to break Ray away from her. He just had to get her to like and trust him enough to go out with him.

He parked by the sidewalk in front of Kai's enormous house. Zarine looked at Leo and found him looking at her strangely. "Leo, what's the matter?" she questioned.

He didn't answer, but leaned forward to kiss her. She didn't pull back when she felt his lips on hers. In fact, she returned the kiss passionately.

"I should go," she stammered after he broke off the kiss. "Thanks!"

He felt a little disappointed when she didn't stay. He had hoped that it might have turned into a great make out. He smirked nevertheless as he watched her talk into the speaker, asking the butler to let her in. God, that girl is so damn hot, he thought to himself smugly, not to mention a great kisser.

Zarine could barely stop her heart from racing. What happened in there? she thought in confusion, Why did I even kiss him like that? I don't like him that way...he's just a friend...

Ray had been looking out his window when the kiss happened in the car. The Mercedes was right under a street lamp, so he had seen everything. She's already kissing other guys when she just broke up with me? he pondered. Why was she with him today?

"Where have you been?" Kai demanded when she opened the front door.

"No where," the petite girl answered wearily. Great, now she's going to have to get rid of Kai before she could have some time to herself to think about what happened during the day.

"You know I'm not going to let you off the hook with that answer," he told her bluntly. "Now tell the truth."

"Fine, I went out with Leo," she replied.

"The whole day?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

She shrugged. "So? What's the problem with it?"

"Nothing, but Ray's not going to be happy when he hears about it," he remarked.

She responded coldly, "I don't care about what he thinks anymore." And before Kai had a chance to question her farther on her crappy day, she had reached the second floor and disappeared out of sight.

Ray was standing in front of the door to her room, blocking her way. "Move," she barked. She felt so angry just to be around him. When Ray saw her hand reaching for the door knob, he covered it to stop her.

"Not until you explain," he responded. "I will let you go in afterwards."

"What?! You're the one that's have something to clarify for me! Now go away!" she snapped, trying to pry his hand away.

"Why were you kissing Leo?" he questioned sadly. "Are you forgetting about me already?"

She stared at him. Forgetting about him? As if! She wanted to forget him, but he had been on her mind the whole day! She didn't have one minute that she had stopped thinking, and wondering...except for the couple of minutes when she was kissing Leo. She couldn't even remember clearly what was going on then.

"Oh? And since when had you remembered me? You had been cheating on me! Did you remember that there's someone who loves you more than anything when you had little make out sessions with her?" she said, tears blurring her vision.

"Zarine..." he whispered. "I...love..."

"No you don't!" she yelled. "Stop saying that you love me when you don't! You can't love me that much if you go around and kiss other girls!"

"But –" he protested.

"What's going on?" Kai questioned. He had been bothered by what Zarine had said to him earlier, about not caring what Ray thought of her anymore.

"Kai!" the silver haired girl cried, flinging her arms around him. "Make Ray leave! He wouldn't leave me alone."

The Chinese boy felt so hurt by her words. Zarine wanted him to leave her...He couldn't process the information correctly. He felt like knives were sticking themselves into his heart.

"Why don't you go and get ready for bed? I'll come and talk to you in a few minutes," Kai said, in a surprisingly gentle voice. He glanced at Ray and Ray stepped away from the door without a word.

"What's going on here?" the Russian demanded after Zarine had gone into her room. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Ray protested. "Shea kissed me and Zarine saw us...she thought that I was cheating on her and refused to let me explain!"

"Wait, where did this happen?" Kai asked.

"In the park. She was with Leo and...that jerk was going to kiss her! I jerked him away from Zarine and punched him. She got so mad at me and slapped me really hard," Ray explained desperately. "She also told me that everything between us is over."

"Calm down," Kai told him. "So now she thinks that you were cheating on her with Shea and she wouldn't listen to anything that you say?"

The black haired boy nodded miserably and sighed. "I saw her kissing Leo in the car when he drove her home," he told Kai quietly.

"Okay, let me talk to her," said Kai before going into Zarine's room to talk to her.

Zarine wiped tears off her face when she saw Kai. He sat down on her bed and made her sit in his lap. "So...why wouldn't let Ray explain to you his version of what happened today in the park?" he asked.

"I don't know...I need to think about what happened today, and I don't want his explanation to complicate things. How do I know if he's telling me the truth?" she asked. "I don't want to go through all that again if I see him cheating again..."

"But he loves you...you know that," he said.

"I'm not sure about that anymore...what if he was just pretending?" she questioned.

He sighed, "Do you think he would have risked his life for you if he didn't love you?"

"I just need time to think about this..." she said.

"Sure, but don't take too long," Kai told her. "Ray...he might not be around by the time you figure things out. It's none of my business but I think it's a mistake for you to break up with him."

Zarine stayed silent. She didn't want to break up with Ray...but he...he had betrayed her. "Think about it, don't you want to be with him again?" he asked.

"I'll sleep on it," she grumbled. There was too much information to process and she was too tired. She got up and yawned widely. "Good night."

"Alright," he said, also getting up. "Think about what we talked about."

Ray was jumping with impatience by the time Kai came out. "Well?" he demanded.

"Give her some time to calm down. She says she'll hear you out when she's ready," Kai answered.

"And when is that?" Ray asked.

"Who knows?" shrugged Kai. "I don't think it'll take her too long to come around."


Sorry if you guys were looking forward to them making up with each other...it'll happen soon, I promise!! But I can't guarantee that it'll happen by the next chapter.