Chapter 4: I'm Not in Love

/ I like to see you, but then again, that doesn't mean you mean that much to me. So if I call you, don't make a fuss. Don't tell your friends about the two of us. /

Nina could feel the blood boil beneath her skin as she watched her opponent strut towards the garden where they would battle.

"This time, I'm going to finish you off for good," she hissed, only to get a chilling cackle in reply.

Her hatred towards her sister Anna wasn't completely unjustified. It wasn't nice to come home and have your sister immediately open fire on you. She was regaining her memory ever so slowly, but all she knew was that there was a lifetime of bad blood between them. Once she won this, hopefully Nina would be able to put the past behind her.

"Bitch!" Anna yelled, and charged towards her, effectively tackling Nina to the ground. She could feel a throbbing pain at the back of her head as the scent of dew-coated grass filled her nostrils. Squinting at the sunlight, she saw her sister standing before her with a horrible smirk on her face, angering Nina enough to sweep her legs in order to trip her younger sister.

The fight got ugly at that point, with Nina attempting to strangle her sister and Anna pulling her hair. The blonde Williams punched Anna right in the face, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she continued to rain fist after fist down at her sister. She was blinded by hate. A still-frame of her father's murder scene flashed through her mind as she delivered a swift, hard kick to the gut that rendered Anna unconscious.

Nina had won. But she didn't feel any better. To escape the sudden feeling of guilt, she turned around and walked away, her hands suddenly chilly. She looked down, and to her horror, she saw Anna's blood on her knuckles.

A rustling sound reached her ears, and she whipped around to avoid a cheap-shot from Anna, only to see that she was just struggling to get up. After a moment's hesitation, Nina wiped the blood onto her wifebeater and approached, slowly holding out her hand, still unsure of her sudden bouts of sympathy. It was so unlike her. But would my father approve of all this fighting?

Her raven-haired sister looked up, blood streaming from her forehead. She laughed bitterly. "Don't make this a fucking pity party, Nina."

"I'm not."

"Well, what," she sniffed, "you can grow a heart on command?"

"Quit yapping before I change my mind and kick your ass some more."

Anna gave her sister a half-smile as she took her hand. "Now, that's the Nina I know."

They walked side by side away from the garden, Nina looking elsewhere with her arms folded across her chest. "Look," she huffed, "I'm not going to burst into tears and embrace you or anything."

"I figured that much."

"I don't plan on rehashing the past, either."

"Yeah, I know." The younger sister looked down at her hands, which were clasped in front of her. "Damn, I'm starving."

"Uh, wanna order Chinese at my place?"

Anna grinned. "Well, sure...sis."

"Don't push your luck."

The TV glare was the only thing illuminating the room as the two sisters sat cross-legged on the couch, enjoying boxes upon boxes of noodles and dimsum. After twenty minutes of awkward silence, Nina spoke up. "Er...how's life?"

"Okay, I guess."

"What do you do?"

"Um, nothing much. Sleep. Eat. Fight. Freeload," she said, happily holding up her box of chow mein. "I mooch off of my multiple boyfriends, usually."

"Gross." Nina popped a piece of siu mai into her mouth. "You could get a job, you know."

"Well, you're one to talk. Resting on your laurels, dear?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." With skill like hers, Nina made a pretty large sum of money. Starting a new career was still an option, sure, but she would take a well-deserved break for now.

Just that moment, the door opened and in walked Raven. He stopped dead in his tracks as soon as his eyes fell on Nina's gorgeous companion.

"Hey, Raven," Nina called out, not taking her eyes off the TV. "This is Anna, my sister. Anna, this is my roommate, Raven."

He blinked, clearly shocked. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"Why am I not surprised?" Anna laughed. "Hey there," she greeted, flipping her silky black hair to look his way and flash him a smile. "Like she said, I'm her previously nonexistent sibling."

"Hello," Raven replied dazedly, before heading on to his bedroom.

Despite her amnesia, Nina recognized the predatory grin on Anna's face. "Oh, no. No."

"How come you didn't tell me you had such a hot roommate?"

She rolled her eyes. "He's not that hot."

"Yes he is!" Anna protested. "Me likey!"

"Don't touch him, he's my roommate."

The younger sister pouted. "But I -- "

"Don't give me a reason to bust your lip wide open again," Nina interrupted. "He pays half my rent, which is more than I can say for you."

"Fine. Boo."

"Speaking of rent...well, we have an extra room, so I guess you could stay here until we find you a job. No mooching, though -- once you start working, we're splitting the rent three ways."

Anna perked up at this. She spread her arms wide and smiled at her sister.

"Do me a favor, and don't."

"Okay, okay," Anna laughed. "But, thanks."

The raven-haired Williams sister burst into the living room. "Ta-daaa! What do you think?"

Nina nodded. "Professional enough."

"After twenty different outfits, it better be!"

Their exchange was interrupted by a knock on the door. "I'll get it!" Anna offered, gliding across the room to open the door. "My, my, aren't you a little too hot for Starbucks?"

"Who is that?"

"There's a super hot and unusually well-dressed delivery boy with coffee and doughnuts for you!"

She followed her sister to the door. "I didn't order any..."

And there he was. Hair smoothly hanging over his forehead in just the right way, gorgeous gray eyes, a white translucent polo that hardly hid the outline of his muscular body. Anna gazed on in admiration, Nina eyed him with disinterest. "Hi, Lee."

"I brought breakfast," he said with a grin.

"I didn't call you. And we're busy."

"No," Anna interrupted, caressing his forearm. "You can stay, sweetie. And how do you know my sister?"

"He's just a friend, Anna," she sighed. Though he tried to hide it, Lee couldn't help looking a little hurt.

Anna looked from one to the other, raising an eyebrow. She was convinced of the opposite, but she didn't say anything, because she knew that she had to pick her battles when it came to Nina. "Well, I have a job interview at 10am, so let's not waste any time!"

She grabbed the box of doughnuts and scurried ahead, leaving Nina and Lee at the door.

"Oh, she's just charming."

"You think?"

"Hmm. So can I tag along?"

"I suppose," she relented. "You drive." She took a coffee cup from his hand and strode ahead, as Lee chuckled and followed her.

"We were constantly fighting over Dad. When he died, we blamed each other for it, but I guess we've both finally decided to just grow up and move on."

They were both seated atop a mocha-colored brick wall no more than three feet high. Nina was silent for a moment, amazed that she managed to remember. She took Lee's hand in both of hers, studying it. "Big hands," she mused. "Just like Dad's."

He wrapped it around hers, lifting it to his face and softly kissing it before working his way up, leaving a trail of kisses on her arm. She had half a mind to slap him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She let out a short giggle. He inched his face closer and closer to hers. She knew she shouldn't -- it was wrong, it wasn't the way she'd planned things in her head. But he was Lee, constantly breaking every one of the rules of her organized, almost clinical, life.

But just as she was about to cave into him once more, the door of the building in front of them burst open and out walked her sister, who grinned wolfishly at what she saw.

"Your 'friend,' eh Nina?"

"Yes," she replied coldly, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "How did the interview go?"

"Uh...it didn't." Anna twiddled her thumbs and looked elsewhere, to Nina's dismay.

"Nooo," she groaned, "you hit on the interviewer again? That's the third one today! Let me guess -- he's married too?"

She nodded sadly. "But he was reeeeally cute, Nina, you should have seen him!"

Nina rolled her eyes. "Let's just go home. I've had quite enough for one day."

Lee and Nina walked at a distance behind Anna towards the car. "A 'friend', Nina?" Lee prodded. "Are you ashamed of me? Am I too old-looking for you?"

"No, Lee, but we aren't really, officially...together. You understand that, don't you?"

He hunched his shoulders sadly. "I guess."

Eager at the chance to spend time with Raven, Anna tagged along with her two new roommates to the gym.

"Bon soir, my beeeyootiful!" a tan, muscular man greeted Nina as she walked in. "Raven, my my, trés sexy! And who is zis lovely mademoiselle?"

"This is my sister, Anna --"

"Yes, she really does have a sister," Anna interrupted, shooting a glare at Nina.

"Anna, this is Jacques, owner of the gym," Nina said, motioning to the man in front of them. "Don't even think about it, sis -- he's gay," she hissed into her sister's ear once Jacques's back was turned.

"Come, come, mon cherie!" He quickly approached Anna and took her by the arm. "I talk to you."

It wasn't until about half an hour later when Nina finally saw her sister again. As she pedaled on the stationary bike, Anna approached her with a giddy smile on her face.

"I got a job!"

Nina stopped pedaling and stared wide-eyed at her sister. "What?"

"I really did! Jacques hired me to model for their upcoming advertisements!"

"That's great," Nina laughed, but Anna was already on her way to the treadmills to chat with Raven. Figuring they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, she decided to head back on her own. On her way back, however, she noticed the motel at the end of their street, and walked towards that instead. She dialed Lee's number on her cellphone.

"Hello?"

"It's Nina. We're either going to do things my way, or not at all. You still want to see me again?"

"Of course I do."

"Be...with me?" she asked in a tone far removed from innocent.

She heard shifting on the other end of the line. "Yes," he replied shakily.

She plopped down a fifty-dollar bill on the reception desk. "Here's how our little arrangement is going to work," she explained as she took the key and walked towards the elevator. "You are not my boyfriend."

"You're ditching me?"

"Not unless you want me to. Anyway, I will still allow you to be within a ten-meter radius of me, but only for sex. No hand-holding, googly eyes and hugging bullshit. Just raw, satisfying sex. There will be no cuddling afterwards or sleeping in. I will allow you to take me out to dinner, but only on days when I don't feel like paying for a meal. Outside of that, we are just friends." She slipped out of her rubber shoes and removed her socks.

"Are we exclusive?"

"Not really, but at least this way you won't have to visit that seedy club to find some poor girl. So are you in?"

"You leave me no choice," he replied, but by the tone of his voice she could tell he was smiling.

"Good. I'm in the motel a few blocks away from my apartment. Room 314. And I want you here, stat. And Lee?"

"Yes?"

"I'm naked."

"I'm there." Lee immediately put down the phone and hurried to get to the motel. Yes, she definitely had him eating out of the palm of her hand.

A/N: The featured song is performed by 10cc. Are you guys interested in seeing Anna/Raven? It could go either way, really, but if you don't like it, that's cool :)