Chapter Six
Chance Meetings

Hileimi looked down at Reidan, who had a pacifier in his mouth. It was the day after the party and she didn't remember anything important. That's why Jasmine and Shayna were there with their own 'children'. They were to supply her with the information she had missed out on.

"Where's Hilary?" she asked the other two, knowing very well she was at the party last night too. The girls looked at each other and Jasmine grinned.

"Seems like she has one helluva hangover," the brunette said, throughly amused. She and Shayna seemed to be the only ones who understood this, and Hileimi just shrugged.

"Fine, I can talk to her later then," the girl said, switching Reidan's position and patting him on the back. "Maybe she shouldn't drink so much."

"Maybe you should take your own advice, Hileimi," Shayna said, turning it around on her. The girl in question, looked away. Gray eyes softened. "You could've gotten seriously hurt or something. You didn't analyze the situation."

"We were really worried about you," Jasmine confided, smiling at her friend. "You just disappeared, chica."

"Sorry, yo," Hileimi said, giving a grin of her own. "I was really thirsty and you know I have to drink when I'm thirsty."

The other two girls nodded and sighed, knowing very well how whiny she got when she didn't get a drink.

"I don't really remember what happened though. I know I was going some where with some guy and hitting him or something . . . and that's it," the wine-eyed girl told them. "What happened?"

The other two looked at each other, silently debating who should talk. After a few seconds at which Hileimi was glaring at them, Shayna decided to speak. She turned down the volume of her trusty mp3 player, the headphones around her neck.

"We don't know much ourselves, so bear with the explanation," she started. Hileimi nodded and she continued. "Rei went off to find you and when he came back ten minutes later you were in his arms like a bride."

"Rei told us that some guy was gonna rape you or something but he stopped him," Jasmine declared, nodding as well. "I wanted to kick the guy's ass but—."

"The guy was already beat up," Shayna said, interrupting Jasmine once again. She sent a smirk the brunette's way and Jasmine threw a pillow at her. Kekoa started crying and the brunette went over to him, cooing calming words.

"Are you okay?" Shayna asked Hileimi, who was looking at her lap. The three of them were sitting on her big bed, sheets disarray from her slumber. The other girl looked up and grinned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied, laughing. The other black haired girl didn't say anything, because she knew what Hileimi was thinking about. It was a memory Hileimi would rather not talk about.

"Anyway, chica, I think you should just ask Rei what happened since he was the one that was actually there," Jasmine muttered, a piece of bread between her teeth. She lay down on the bed, Kekoa on her chest, and swallowed (even though she knew she shouldn't). Shayna looked at her friend, amused.

"I'm surprised you actually thought," she joked. At this, Jasmine stuck her tongue out, full of mashed up bread. Shayna grimaced at the childish antics, but it was all in good humor. When around her good friends, the gray-eyed girl was almost a different personality.

"I guess I don't have a damn choice but to ask him," Hileimi said, sighing slightly. Jasmine and Shayna looked at her, small smiles on their faces. "What?"

"You like him, don't you?" Jasmine asked smugly, Shayna for once not disagreeing. Wine eyes narrowed as they stared at brown and gray.

"No, I just want to be his friend," Hileimi answered, readjusting Reidan once more. "Unlike you, Ms. Flirty McFlirtenmeyer."

She laughed as her friend threw another pillow. Hileimi was only joking but it was true—Jasmine was the most boy crazy. She had the most boyfriends and was the most likely to check out a guy while he was right in front of her.

Shayna rolled her eyes, a smile on her features, as she turned the music up again. Loud rock swam to her ears, pleasing her very much.

The same girl came to a halt in front of Barnes & Noble. Normally, she'd go to the park to read but she was looking for a particular art book today. Turning her ever-present mp3 player off, she tucked the skateboard under her arm and opened the door. There was a rush of wind and Shayna looked around, well acquainted with her surroundings.

After a few minutes of searching, she found the book she was looking for. There was a small smile on her lips but then she remembered the real challenge in this store—finding a chair to sit in. Sometimes Shayna would be lucky and other times, not so much. After going around one side of the store, she started to go to the other side. She passed the romantic fiction section and something caught her eye. It made her stop in mid-stride.

Tala Valkov seemed very much into some paperback novel. On the cover, Shayna could see a woman with her sleeves down to her shoulders and a man kissing her neck. She raised an inky eyebrow in question, but quickly decided to walk away so that he didn't start talking to her. Unfortunately, this was not a good day. First, she couldn't find a chair and now Tala had just spotted her.

"Hey, beautiful, remember me?" he asked, hastily throwing the book back on the shelf. Shayna looked at it then looked back at Tala's aqua eyes. That's when she started walking away. "Hey wait!"

"Yes?" Shayna asked, not bothering to stop. Tala walked next to her, smiling.

"Are you going to tell me your name now?" he asked her, a little hopeful. The girl silently shook her head and left it at that. "Why not?"

She stopped and looked him in the eye. "You're an arrogant and cocky flirt who's used to getting any girl he wants."

Tala blinked as she started to walk off. Damn, that girl is blunt. I don't know why, but that fire makes her even hotter.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, beautiful," Tala continued, going after his game. Shayna sighed, scanning an area for a chair.

"Will you stop calling me beautiful?"

"Will you tell me your name?"

"Touché."

After a while, Tala was still proving to be tenacious. In a way it was a good quality to have, but Shayna was just getting annoyed.

"Rachel? Marguerite? Helga?"

She had just stopped answering the stupid guesses. Honestly, who in their right mind would name a Japanese girl Helga? Because of all the games, she hadn't even had time to read her precious book. The two came around to the area where Starbucks was and Shayna cursed her luck. It seemed that someone else she knew was here as well.

"Hey, chika!" Jasmine walked over to them, a grin on her lips. "Sup, Tala?"

"Lookin' good," Tala said, nodding to the girl he met at the party. Jasmine laughed and Shayna stared at the red head as if he had sprouted another head. She didn't know if that's how he greeted girls but he was just hitting on her, and then he goes off flirting with Jasmine? Talk about manners.

No thanks Shayna thought. Instead of yelling at him for being a two-timer like some others would have done, she settled with walking away. Jasmine latched onto her elbow and held her in place though, and she sighed. What have I done to deserve this?

"Is Tala still trying to guess your name?" she asked her friend. Shayna fixed the brunette with a look and slowly nodded.

"And he's never going to guess it, right?" she calmly said, trying to tell Jasmine to keep her mouth shut. The girl just shrugged.

"You never know, chika," she laughed. Tala looked at them, very glad that even Shayna's friends were hot. Shallow bastard.

"Why're you here then, Jaz?" he asked the livelier of the two, who turned to him, a teasing twinkle in her eyes.

"I was going to get a shake, but I thought, nah," Jasmine said, trying very hard to annunciate two particular words. Shayna was about to glare at her, but Tala stopped her by speaking.

"Oh, well, you can just get coffee," he said, completely oblivious to the hint he had been given. As he turned to the menu Jasmine smacked her forehead and Shayna smirked at her.

The tropical girl got her drink and they all sat at a table, even though only Starbucks customers were supposed to be seated there. Jasmine got an idea.

"It's a sha-a-ame, nay?" she said, taking a sip. "I guess you both have to share with me."

Shayna was glaring at her from across the round table as Tala shrugged and grabbed two more green straws. She accepted it with a small nod of gratitude and tore the paper off as calm as she could. Jasmine was smirking at her friend while Tala was sipping on the caramel flavored drink, clueless to the battle that was being waged in front of him.

"Just tell me your name," Tala said to the ink-haired girl. Jasmine sighed in frustration as Shayna was triumphant again.

"I'd rather not." She took a sip of the drink, savoring in the taste of victory. Her friend wasn't done though, and she knew it. That's why she had a plan as well.

"You know, Tala . . ."

"Aren't you late for volleyball practice, Jasmine?"

The girl stiffened so quickly, it upset the hat that was atop her head. Jasmine immediately fixed it and checked her cell phone for the time.

"Shit!" She grabbed her roller blades off the ground, and hastily put them on. "I gotta go! Coach is gonna kick my ass!"

The two watched Jasmine skate out of Starbucks, leaving a few disgruntled people in her wake. Shayna looked back at Tala, expecting him to be laughing or doing something of the sort. Instead, he actually looked deep in thought. She cast him a wary look which she hid behind her cool, gray eyes.

"Shake . . . nah . . ." the red-head mumbled, putting a finger to his lip. Shayna's eyes threatened to widen.

No, don't show any sign. Just think of those words as what they are, no hidden meanings.

"Jasmine was acting a little strange, don't you think?" Tala asked her, giving her a concise look. Shayna wasn't so sure what he was up to—since he seemed so dumb before—but she wasn't going to fall for his Jedi mind tricks.

"She's always like that," she calmly said, taking the drink and sipping on it. Tala was giving her a very amused look and she stared back at him. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing,"—she calmed down a bit—"Shayna."

"Who're you talking to?" the ink-haired girl asked, trying to play it off. She took another sip as he continued to stare at her, a small smirk on his pale features.

"I know I may seem like it, but I'm not stupid," Tala told her, crossing his arms and leaning on the small table. The girl put the drink down and didn't even bother looking at him.

"You could have fooled me." There she was, blunt as ever. The man next to her wasn't phased. The smile was still on his lips.

"That's okay," he said to her, leaning back again. "I know your name now, Shayna, and we can get on to more important things."

In her head, Shayna was fuming. How could she be so blind? If he was in the same physics class as Hileimi then obviously he had some smarts. She sighed but didn't show her frustration on the outside. Also, he wouldn't have guessed if a certain someone hadn't messed everything up. Tala was now very much into getting to know her. Shayna knew what needed to be done. Jasmine had to die.

"A promise is a promise," she mumbled quietly, alluding to the conversation they had a the party before they saw Hileimi had been missing. It would be a small hassle, but Shayna was a girl of her words. Tala gave her a smile—a nice and innocent one.

"Alright, Shayna," he declared. He blinked a few moments as she stared at him, wondering what he was thinking about. For once, he didn't look like a drooling mongrel. He seemed like a regular guy when he turned to her, a decision obviously made in his mind.

"I like that name."

She cracked a knuckle once more—a thing she did when nervous. The cell phone was tantalizing her as it lay on its side, seemingly harmless. If she wanted to know what happened at the party, she would have to call him. She found his number in her phonebook, stared at it, and pressed call.

"Hey, Hileimi," the person who answered greeted politely. "It's a good thing that you're alright now."

"Hi, Rei," she answered, trying to keep her tone light by giving a smile. She didn't know what else to say and looked away from the screen.

Rei stared at her, knowing that she probably had a few questions and wanted some answers. It was still strange for him to see her so solemn. He was used to her being almost as loud as Tyson or Hilary without meaning to, laughing, or grinning at something he thought was stupid. The downcast eyes didn't suit her.

"I just wanted to say thanks for last night, yo," Hileimi said, looking back at the screen. Her hair was back to its natural curls and she silently tugged on the ends. "I was hella faded last night so I don't know what could've happened."

"I couldn't just walk away from something like that," Rei told her, glancing at Reidan who was visible in the corner of his screen. "Don't even mention it."

Hileimi gave a small, but bright, smile at this. Gold eyes watched as she cracked her knuckles once more before she spoke. "I know that you saved me and everything, but I have no idea what I did or said when you came around . . ."

"Ah, well, you were kind of beating the guy up," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "I watched for five seconds because you had him under your thumb."

Hileimi laughed at this, glad that he was loosening up when talking to her. She noticed he didn't mumble as much anymore and as long as he was speaking, she was fine. It was just another step closer to being his friend.

"Did I . . . do anything after that?" Hileimi asked him, glancing to the side again. The young man stared at her, wondering if he should leave out a little fact. Honesty got the better of him.

"You started crying and I just comforted you," Rei said, trying not to sound awkward. He knew that sentence could go many ways, but he was hoping that she wasn't offended. Instead, she looked downhearted.

Whenever I hope she doesn't act one way, she acts the other Rei thought, slightly frustrated. This girl is too unpredictable.

"Someday, I should tell you a story, babe," was what she said when she spoke. He was curious but he waved it off as Hileimi gave another smile.

"Why do Jasmine and Shayna call Baby?" Rei asked, her little pet-name invoking a question of his own. She seemed to laugh at this sighed.

"I call anyone 'babe' so they call me Baby," Hileimi explained, a smile coming back to her face. "Just like the girl from the first Dirty Dancing, they say."

"You're a dancer anyway," the young man said, shrugging and buttoning something on his shirt that he had forgotten.

"Only my friends call me that. You can call me that, too, if you want," the girl said, giving a joking wink. Rei looked at her then stared back at the mirror in front of him, an amused expression on his face. Hileimi knew he wasn't going to answer and took it graciously. "Where're you going, dressed up so nicely? A date?"

"Art exhibition later today and all day tomorrow," Rei easily said, checking his reflection one last time before turning to the phone. "I don't think we can hang out twice this weekend."

". . .We can lie, just this once," the girl said, a silencing finger at her mouth. He crossed his arms and gave it deep thought.

"Okay, fine. Just this once." Hileimi giggled at his response and he raised a raven eyebrow at her. "What's so funny?"

"I guess you want to chill with me more often, babe," she said, laughing. He stared at her and said nothing, settling on giving her another odd look. Her laugh was better than her tears.

"Markers, ruler, scissors . . ." Kai Hiwatari looked down at his supply list and frowned. It was Wednesday—the middle of the week—and he was the one doing the shopping. He was surprised that eighth graders needed so many elementary tools, though. He shook his head and dropped the items into his basket before trying to leave the aisle. Little did he know, someone was trying to get in and almost smacked into her. He looked up to her tanned face and gave a blank stare to contrast her twinkling one.

"Sup, Kai?" Jasmine greeted, brightly grinning. She glanced down at his basket and raised an amused eyebrow. "Looks like you got one helluva kiddy project going on."

The bluenette grit his teeth at the remark. Normally, he'd scare a person off with one word—if they were lucky they got six. Unfortunately for him, this girl wasn't normal.

"It's for the kids I tutor at the middle school," Kai mumbled, still staring at her with his crimson eyes. The girl put her hands up in defense.

"Geez, boy, calm down," she said, a laugh still at the corner of her mouth. She peered at his supplies once more. "That's a great thing to do." Jasmine saw Amaya in Kai's free hand and waved at her, even though it was just a doll.

Kai stared at her weirdly and shook his head, just before she looked back up at him. He saw that she had Kekoa as well, but didn't copy her action. Instead, he waited for her to talk—which he knew she would.

"I'm trying to find a Halloween costume for him," Jasmine sighed, adjusting her hat. "Damn, I can't believe we're going to get graded on how we dress our kids. That's not part of real life!"

Kai stopped his chuckle of amusement from coming out. Though he didn't want to admit it, he thought she was completely right. No person in their right mind would berate a parent for getting an inadequate costume. But, seeing as they were still in high school, he supposed he had no choice but to follow the rules . . . for now.

But, if Jasmine was looking for a costume, then why was she in the school supply aisle? He voiced this question aloud, and she gave a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, uh, I'm kind of lost. This Wal-Mart is huge."

Kai decided to be gracious and show her the aisle she wanted. True enough, the aisle was big and had various costumes for anyone to wear. Jasmine's eyes lit up at their successful journey and thanked him with a huge, pearly grin. The young man watched as she looked around at the different outfits and didn't look away as she turned to him.

"I think this one would look good on you," Jasmine snickered, pointing at a certain costume. Kai frowned at the unflattering monk's outfit and almost rolled his eyes.

"And what will you wear?" he asked her flatly, "A nun's costume?"

The girl gave an elusive laugh and Kai smirked, his own way of laughing when sober. He couldn't believe how out of character he was acting. There was just something about this girl that made him feel . . . kind of nice.

"Alright, fine, what about a fireman?" Jasmine quirked an eyebrow his way and Kai held his poker face in check. He caught the innuendo though, and had to admit—she was witty.

He was still standing there ten minutes later, continuing to listen to her rants about the different choices. She couldn't decide what to get Kekoa. She thought he would look good in a mini version of the fireman outfit, but how it would look too cliche. Spiderman and Batman were too overdone.

Even though she was loquacious it was interesting to hear her view on the different topics. Her eyes lit up like it were her instinct. He hardly ever saw anyone so passionate about things so seemingly frivolous.

Since he was a gentleman, Kai waited until Jasmine sighed in exasperation. He raised a stoic eyebrow at her and she turned back to him, one hand on her hip. "Did you pick one?"

"I decided to just make one, damn it." Jasmine scratched her temple and rolled her eyes. "This wasted too much of our time."

As the two went to the cash register, Kai decided to go to the self check-out. He continued to run the markers through the scanner but it wouldn't cooperate with him. He frowned at it, ruby orbs calculating the faults of the stupid machine. Jasmine watched him, an amused and impish look on her lips.

"You're not doing it right," she said, taking the box from him and swiping it through in one motion. Kai frowned at how easy she did it and she didn't even notice. Instead, she took heed of something else. "So . . . why did you wait for me this whole time?"

The young man wasn't surprised at her inquiry; she had asked it as if wondering what time it was. He shrugged indifferently, because that was really how he felt.

"I felt sympathetic for you," Kai replied easily. It seemed like she wasn't bothered by his answer, and just smiled up at him. She bagged the last item after he deposited his cash.

"I guess I kind of felt the same for you," Jasmine sang, walking out the doors with his stuff. The young man stared at her, the strangest look on his face. He then realized that she still had his things. Kekoa started to cry when he caught up to her and he grabbed his bag from her, disinterestedly watching her handle the situation.

Author's Notes: OMG, okay, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. Sigh. School is a cliche excuse, I know, but it's the only one I have. I've wanted to update and write to my heart's content but lately I haven't had that spark. And that's my apology for having this chapter be so very short. I'm sorry! Idea's are slowing starting to flow again though! This is unedited, btw. I'm trying to upload this before my mom kicks me off the comp lol.

Pretty soon, I'm going to be doing a Baby-Think-It-Over project for one of my classes. Of course, it's not as high-tech as the one featured in this story but it has the same basic principle. If the baby cries then you have to use the sensor or change the diaper and whatnot. Truth be told, I don't know how much longer I'll have the characters using the cyborgs as means of interaction so I might do the experiment AFTER their's is over...

I've also started a livejournal, but I have no idea how to use it yet. I'll probably leave it basic for now. Lol. It's just going to be things related to my ongoing fics...thoughts on them and whatever else.

Thank you very much for your time and I apologize AGAIN for not updating too soon. At least I updated... I have another fic I haven't finished yet, either... Sigh. Thanks once more for reading and please, review?