An hour later, Liz was sitting in a bustling cafe, a half-eaten sandwich in front of her. At the moment, all of her attention was focused on a short blond woman across the street. She was walking down the street, whispering conspiratorially with a tall, rather dashing man. She snorted in contempt. Fantine had never been one for subtlety. Here she was, just a month after her breakup with Takeshi, parading around on Cunningham's arm.

In general, that whole fiasco had left Liz feeling very confused. She was sad for Takeshi losing Fantine, because she knew he loved her. But Liz had also been ecstatic, now that Takeshi was single again. Luca had been right that morning, with his uncanny intelligence. She now admitted to herself that she had feelings for Takeshi, but she had never told anyone. She suspected that not even Amy knew, however good friends she was with Luca.

Her appetite was gone. "I can't believe I trust that damn cat more than I trust myself." She sighed and leaned her chair back. "I'm pathetic."

She jumped, almost falling out of her chair, when someone whispered behind her. "Now why would you ever say that?"

Regaining her balance, she whirled on the culprit. It took only a moment to recognize the disheveled hair, the slight grin, and the spark in his eyes.

"Vardeman!"

He sat back, surprised. "Hey, no fair! How do you know who I am?"

Liz did likewise, and folded her arms across her chest. "And what are you doing sneaking up behind me?"

The surprise on his face was replaced by another grin. "I asked you first!"

Liz huffed, rebuffed. "It's perfectly normal to know your opponent before a race. I studied up on you, so I can beat you down on the track."

"And what makes you think that you can?"

Liz smiled now. "Uh-uh. I asked first."

He chuckled, realizing his defeat. "Okay, okay. I was in this charming little Bistro, enjoying a calming cup of coffee, when I noticed that who else but Liz Ricarro was sitting behind me. I decided to do a little 'reconnaissance' of my own. The tabloids are so impersonal, you know."

"So, tell me. What are the muckrakers saying about me today?"

He smiled knowingly, and crossed his arms like Liz. "Oh, nothing. Unless you count the whole story about you chasing away Fantine to have Takeshi for yourself."

This time, Liz's tan couldn't hide her blush. Vardeman laughed outright when he saw.

"My god, I've done it! The great Liz Ricarro, embarrassed! Who would've thought it possible?"

Liz was getting angry, but she was a bit proud of the 'Great Liz Ricarro' remark. "What do you mean, embarrassed? What would I be embarrassed about? It's all just made up, anyway."

He chuckled again. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." This only made Liz blush darker.

Sighing, the humor of the moment passing, he continued "Oh, I'm sorry Liz. I just couldn't resist."

She cocked an eyebrow, still angry at him. "Liz? I barely know you. That's Miss Ricarro to you."

"Well excuse me, Miss Ricarro! I figured since we both know each other so well, I figured we were on a first-name basis."

Liz muttered something along the lines of "All lies, I tell ya."

A softer, more sympathetic tone made her look back up at Vardeman as he leaned forward. "But like I said, why would you ever call yourself pathetic? You're the defender for the IGPX champion team You've got more sponsors than you know what to do with, you're world famous, and you have more money than most people will make in a lifetime. How could you possibly be sad?"

She looked at her feet, depressed again. "You wouldn't understand."

He leaned back in his chair. "Ooh, I see. It's about Takeshi, isn't it?" Liz glared at him. "Yup, I thought so."

"And what makes you think you know me so well?" Liz said with suspicion.

"I don't. I was just trying to make conversation." He stood up to go, but stopped and smiled back at Liz. "Well, it's been fun, but I gotta go. My ride has arrived."

He walked out, leaving Liz looking after him. As he reached the street corner, an enthusiastic Laura Milan ran up beside him and slipped her hand into his. This only left Liz with an even longer list of things to wonder about as they disappeared into the crowd.

Unseen by Liz, Amy Stapleton stood a couple yards away, waiting at the corner of the street and listening intently. Luca, curled up in her arms, was doing a bad job pretending to be asleep. Amy knew he was awake, but his act just made her more suspicious of what she had overheard. Now that she thought about it, Liz had never denied having feelings for Takeshi. Vardeman may have had a point.

But rather than being pensive or embarrassed, Amy was simply amused. Liz had a crush on Takeshi! That would explain a lot. She leaned down and whispered in Luca's ear.

"So Luca, how long have you known?" Luca pretended to yawn. "A while, huh? Well, I guess you're the one with the computer brain." Luca dropped all pretense and looked up at her, now fully awake.

"Come on, Luca! You can't fool me that easily." Amy said, looking down at him.

Luca meowed, peeved. He then proceeded to go to drift off for real, irked that his ruse was discovered so easily. He started to purr, already asleep.

Amy looked back at Liz, who was moping again, her head on the table. Amy giggled to herself. Liz's depression was easily cured, and it was time for the unassuming midfielder to do a little uncharacteristic prying.

The next day, Liz woke up just as slowly, but was alone this time. Glad not to be silently interrogated again, she had time to just lay back and think. She certainly had a lot to think about, after the events of the day before.

After deciding that her situation was completely hopeless, and that no amount of moping was going to help, she got up. A quick glance at her computer told her that there was no surprise team meeting she was late for. She smiled as she slipped on her shoes, and savored the silence as she left her room. She closed her eyes and sighed.

And for the second time in two days, she ran into Takeshi, quite literally.

Luckily, this time they stayed on their feet. But only by Liz wrapping her arms around Takeshi's neck, leaving their faces only an inch apart. Stunned, they stayed in this awkward position for a couple moments. This time it was Liz who broke the mood.

"Uh, Takeshi..."

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind giving me some space?"

"Liz, you're gonna have to let go of me first."

She untangled herself and backed up a step. Trying to cover her embarrassment, she started talking.

"So, what were you doing in this part of the building? Namely, right in front of my room."

"Waiting for you, of course." Takeshi answered, with a bit of a childish grin.

"What? Why would you be waiting for me?"

He backed up and leaned on the wall, putting his hands behind his head as he often did. "I was hoping we could get in some sparring this morning. I need someone else to practice with, and I figure you could give me some pointers. I mean, you practically saved my life that time at the restaurant with Fantine. I figure I have a couple things to learn from you."

This put Liz's mind into top gear. Why is he asking me this? He's never wanted to spend time with me before. She glanced back up at him, and he smiled back. I wonder why he's suddenly being so nice.

Giving in to curiosity, she relented. "So, what made you come to your senses? About me being better than you, that is."

"Now wait, I never said that! I was only trying to be nice, you don't have to take it the wrong way."

"Okay, okay. I'll show you a thing or two, as long as you admit that I'm better than you."

"At what?"

"Piloting, of course. We both know that I could kick your ass on the track."

He turned his nose up at her. "Well maybe if we switched mechs it would be different. It's unfair for a forward to fight a defender. There's just too much of a size difference."

"Well, in that case, let's make a quick stop at the simulators. We could both try out Amy's mech, to make it fair." A devious thought popped into her mind. "Loser buys lunch today."

"It's a date." Takeshi said, holding out his hand. They shook on it. More than you know, Liz thought to herself.

Amy was, once again, snooping. The night before, she had dropped Luca off in their room, and headed off towards the hangar. Takeshi would be there, and she wanted to start up her little scheme. It hadn't taken much to convince him to join a joint practice session. Amy only needed to tell him to wait for Liz the next day. After all, Amy's room was farther away, and Takeshi was always awake first.

But it had turned out much better than she'd expected. That little debacle in the hallway had been brilliant. Plus, Liz's suspicions had cut off Takeshi from saying it was Amy's idea. They had even agreed to go out to lunch! Everything was coming together nicely.