DISCLAIMER: Again, I do not own/work for Production I.G. OR CARTOON NETWORK. I DO NOT OWN IGPX OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.
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CHAPTER 2:

"…..Fantine?" Liz whispered.

"Huh," Takeshi asked, not hearing whose name she just mentioned.

"Turn around," she said.

Takeshi narrowed his eyes at her.

"No way, Liz! I'm not falling for that trick…you might flip me again," Takeshi said chuckling.

"I'm being serious. Turn around," Liz said, trying not to sound too frustrated.

Cautiously, Takeshi turned around, not wanting to let his guard down, but then he saw her. Fantine, the Forward for Team Skylark, or better known as….his ex-girlfriend, was standing by the entrance doors down the hallway. He didn't know how to react. Liz was uncomfortable. Fantine just stared at them, silently. Liz was the one who broke the silence.

She sighed, "Hmmm…um…I-I think I'll just head back to the party then."

Takeshi turned back towards her, took her hand and said, "Liz, it's ok."

"I only came down here to congratulate you. That was a very impressive race. I knew you all had it in you," Fantine said in her gentle French accent.

"Thanks," Takeshi and Liz both replied.

"And judging by the way you were both standing a minute ago, I am certain that Takeshi finally understood what I meant that day," Fantine said with a smile.

Takeshi's eyes widened as he remembered the day Fantine broke up with him. Liz just looked puzzled.

It was before the race between Team Satomi and Team Skylark and something had been bothering Fantine. She felt as if there was a huge gap between them; Takeshi always felt so distant. She knew part of the reason was because they lost communication. The only real thing they had in common was the IGPX. Another reason….was Liz Ricarro. Deep inside, since she spotted Liz following her and Takeshi on one of their dates, Fantine came to the conclusion that either Liz was worried that Fantine was going to take Takeshi away from the rest of the team, or…Liz was keeping "something" from Takeshi. Fantine knew it was the latter. So, she took it upon herself to bow out of the relationship. It was done with class; no bickering and no confrontations. She couldn't say that it didn't hurt, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Takeshi didn't understand of course, of her decision to end it, but eventually, Fantine thought, he would come to terms with it. Apparently, after seeing them together like this, he has.

"You take care of her, Takeshi," Fantine said gently.

"I can take care of myself," Liz snapped back.

Takeshi gave her a stern look, "Liz, she's trying to be nice. Besides, she knew my feelings for you before I knew my feelings for you."

"No, Takeshi, it's alright. Liz, I really am here to congratulate the team. I bumped into Miss Satomi earlier and she said that I was more than welcome to come. I was only going to do a quick Hi and Bye, when I saw the two of you out here," Fantine replied.

Liz felt bad for snapping at her like that. "I mean, it's never a good situation when you see a person's ex, especially when you are currently dating that person," Liz thought to herself as she, unknowingly, squeezed Takeshi's hand. Takeshi looked down and smiled at her. Liz blushed when she realized what she was doing.

Fantine said with a delicate smile, "How lovely."

Both Takeshi and Liz blushed.

"Well, I suppose I should get going," Fantine added.

"Fantine, you can stay," Liz answered back.

"Thank You, Liz, but my team and I must start preparing for next year."

"Yeah, but the season just ended. It's time to relax before all of us have to go back to training," Liz continued, "I do understand where you're coming from, but we've all had a very odd yet an exciting season, and we should all just relax for once."

Fantine looked at her, surprised at Liz's reaction.

"I know, but our team was bumped to the bottom. We must start training both physically and mentally in order to regain control."

Takeshi and Liz respected that. She was about to leave when Takeshi called out to her; she turned around.

"Fantine, thanks….for, you know…," he said as he raised the hand that was holding Liz's hand.

Fantine smiled back, "My naïve Takeshi, don't thank me for that. I guess I knew that it was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time before you made it happen."

Takeshi grinned. Liz was confused more than ever.

"Adieu," Fantine said as she left, but added, "Don't think Team Skylark won't put up a fight next season!"

Takeshi responded, " We never expected anything less."

Alone again, Liz was wondering what Fantine meant by, '...Takeshi finally understood what I meant that day.'

Grinning, Takeshi turned around to face Liz.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

He continued gazing at her when Liz looked up at him again.

"Didn't I say for you not to stare at me like that?"

"You did," he continued, "but I guess I still haven't learned to listen to my fellow teammates."

They both laughed as he slowly pulled her closer to him. Both of their hearts started pounding as he placed one hand under her chin and the other holding her hand.

Liz could feel her cheeks burning, "I'm the one who kissed him on the rooftop. Why the hell am I nervous again?" she thought, "Maybe because of the way he's doing it…..."

"Ok, Takeshi," he thought, "Don't ruin this! You kissed her on the rooftop. It's cool."

Takeshi continued to pull her closer...they heard each other's breathing...their lips were only inches apart……..

"HEY GUYS!" Jesse cried out to them.

Startled, they both jumped up, moving away from each other. Liz thought that her cheeks were going to explode. Takeshi started stroking the back of his hair.

"S-Sorry," Jesse said sounding embarrassed when she realized what she just interrupted.

"Not a problem," Takeshi said, "We were, uh...uh…Liz?"

Liz tried to explain, "Uh….we were just….I mean, I-I had something in my eye and Takeshi was just…."

"Just trying to kiss it away," Jesse interrupted, beaming from ear to ear.

"Right!" Takeshi and Liz said in unison, "……No, wait…"

"Guys, give me some credit, will you. Miss Satomi wants a group picture of all of us."

"We'll be right in," Liz said.

Jesse was still beaming when she walked back into the room and before the door closed, they could hear her starting to tell the others what had just happened.

Takeshi was already heading for the door, when Liz stopped him.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to make up for it."

She walked back in after playfully punching him in the arm.

"Well, Liz, you are known to be direct," she thought to herself.

Takeshi just stared at her while the door closed behind her. He put his hands in his pockets and walked back into the room, with a huge smile on his face…...

That's it for chapter 2. I know the ending of this chapter sounds like, well, the ending of the story, but it's not. I was trying not to change Liz's personality (making her into this girly-girl----nothing wrong with that, it's just not Liz's nature in the show). Stay tuned for Chapter 3 : )