(Companion piece for Chapter 1.)

He must be there. He is always there …

She ran with all her might but felt she didn't run fast enough. Her leg muscles were already aching and starting to get tired from all the running, but she willed herself to go on. Her energy is slowly diminishing and she was panting in and out. She stopped running and her eyes darting wildly around her surroundings trying to find him. Finally, her eyes caught the figure of a man leaning onto a wall in a peculiar manner. Her eyes went wide and she instantly ran towards the man.

Hang on there…I'm almost there…just hang on…

She reaches him and quickly cupped his bloodied face. His injuries were not as serious as the last time, and she breathes a sigh of relief. He was hurt very badly but he's still alive. Blood was all over him especially his clothes and his hair. Tears started to swell up in her eyes but she quickly blinked it away. She needed to look like she was mad. She glared at him with both her eyes. But he was smiling at her. Jerk! You're barely alive and you still manage to smile!

She opened her mouth and shouted at him. "Hey you! What the hell were you thinking? I thought I've told you to stop making fights with others! Why are you always fighting? Why are you always being so stubborn?"

She punched his chest out of reflex. He coughs. Panicked, she apologized again and again but was alarmed when she saw him collapsing. She catches his body just in time before he hits the ground. He had fainted.

Finally she let her tears roll down her cheeks and whispered to him, knowing he won't hear…Why are you always hurting yourself like this? Why won't you listen to me? Don't you know it makes me cry seeing you like this every time?

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That night she piggybacked him home again. She's exhausted and the added weight on her almost made her fall over. But surprisingly she managed to carry him all the way. As if she suddenly has this unbeknownst strength in her. When they reached home, she put him gently on his bed; undress his torn and dirty clothes, leaving him only in his short pants.

She wiped all the blood from his body, face and hair then tended to his wounds. She clenched her teeth when she saw that his previous wounds haven't healed completely. He seemed to get more wounds rather than heal from it. She's done bandaging now so she stayed awake and gazed at his bandage body.

Lately he began to pick fights more often, completely ignoring her request for him to stop his bad habit. When she saw his friend running towards her at her workplace, she noticed bloody bruises all over him and she knew he was at it again. He was at it again, despite all her pleas not to do so. Her boss will be mad at her tomorrow when he finds out she skipped her work shift again.

Her eyes started to get sleepy. She wanted to stay awake. She wants to be there when he woke up. But like always, she ended up sleeping beside him.

Later, she knew he had moved closer to her. She somehow has this special sense to know if someone's near her even when she sleeps. She could hear every move he made. Like always, she decided to keep her eyes shut. She secretly loves it when he stared at her for hours. Her eyes are closed, but she knew he was staring. She can feel it under her skin.

But tonight, his routine seemed to have change. He had moved closer than he usually does. He even gently caressed her face. She fought hard the urge to lean into his touch. The way his fingers softly trailed on her face sent jolts of electricity all over her entire body. It's the first time he had touched her. She calmly waited for his next move.

He is moving closer to her now, closer to her than he normally would. Too close even. She could feel his body heat radiating to her. She prevented herself from smiling, as if knowing what he was up to. Curious to see if her suspicions are true, she opened her eyes. Her eyes widen when she realize their faces are millimeters away.

He didn't move. Their eyes are directly in front of each other. She was too shocked or maybe too excited. She screamed. Then she quickly pushed hard against him. Feeling embarrassed and upset, she kept her eyes on him as she got up to her feet. Before she knew it, her hand spontaneously slapped him across his bandaged face. She winced a little. That had got to hurt a LOT. She blamed her quick reflex.

Why oh why did I slap him? She was panting. Her heartbeat is racing. Silly me, what was that slap for? You KNEW he was going to kiss you. You had expected it. Wanting…craving…begging it silently. It's been awhile since someone had kissed her. Damned needs. She could clearly see him frowning at her, so she put up an angered expression. Not at him, but at her own stupidity.

Say something, quick!

"What were you trying to do just now? Are you trying to take advantage of me while I'm asleep?"

Stupid! That's the best you can come up with?

"No, I wasn't." That was his answer to her. Then why were you leaning so close like that?

"Liar! You don't think I know that you were trying to kiss me just now?" Her index finger is pointing at him. He didn't look at her; but at her pointing finger.

She suddenly felt guilty for her harsh reaction. What have you just done? Slapping him like that, for what? For trying to kiss you? Don't forget, you secretly wanted it. You should be ashamed of yourself. "You….disgust me." She was referring to herself.

Did I just say that loud? Oh dear, she wasn't supposed to say it out loud. Now she really felt disgusted with herself. She had to get out of here. She needed to get away from him. She turned to leave. Once she was out his room, she leaned near the doorway, trying to calm herself.

"I just wanted to kiss you…"

She froze. Did he just said that? She replayed the words over and over in her head. She had hoped he did. Her fingers unconsciously touched her lips. The corners of her mouth curved into a small smile.

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~ Kiss me out of the bearded barley, kiss me beneath the milky twilight, kiss me down by the broken tree house…so kiss me… - Guess who sang this lyric?

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(Companion piece for Chapter 2.)

She busied herself, taking orders here and there. She wanted to avoid any possible conversation he wanted with her. She noticed him standing there for the last few hours.

He must be freezing…silly fool…you haven't completely healed yet…

She took another customer's order, planting a lovely but forced smile on her face. She pretended to listen and nodded as the customer gave her his order.

This customer is so fussy….maybe you should prepare all that orders yourself…

When the customer finished his sentence, she gave him a nod and passed his order to another co-worker. She felt a little sleepy and ran into a customer who was standing in her way. The customer looked at her, upset. She quickly apologized.

This has to stop NOW…go home you idiot…I can't work properly with you staring at me all times…

She turned fiercely at him. She noticed he was staring at his shoes. Then she quickly went into the restaurant. She let out a breath, relieved that she is out of his vision. All those staring are making her uncomfortable…and strangely turn on.

"He's still out there, is it?"

"She jumped and looked at her side. It's her friend who is also her co-worker. They both had been friends since the first day they work together in the restaurant.

"Y…yes. He's been there for hours."

"Poor guy. He must be freezing."

"He should've stayed at home."

Silence filled the air.

"He's fighting again?"

She simply nodded at her friend.

"Last night too?"

She nodded again.

"Looks like he really wanted to see you." Her friend said, and peered through the restaurant's large glass window.

She remained quiet. There's no use denying at her friend's statement.

She knew he had wanted to see her. She could clearly see that. He confirmed that by waiting for her out there in the cold.

"Ah, he's leaving!" her friend said out loud.

Finally…it's about time…

She followed her friend's glance. Her friend was correct. He was leaving. But she knew she can't avoid him forever, since they both are staying in the same house. She sighed…

At least I can still avoid him tonight…

She quickly turned to her friend. "So, I'm on extra shift tonight right?"

Her friend grinned at her. "Planning on working extra late tonight, hoping that by the time you came back from work, he would already fall asleep. Thus, you can once again avoid talking to him."

She smiled wearily at her friend and sigh, "You read my mind."

"Hah! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Her friend raised a finger and sways her body left and right, giggling all the time.

"There! Am done for tonight!" She brushed her hands together. Then she raised her hands up in the air, as if she won another mission.

Her friend simple yawned. "Yeah. Me too. I'm heading home now."

"Alright then. I'm heading home too. Boy, boss sure likes to torture us a LOT!"

"No doubt about it. Well, see you tomorrow. Have a safe journey home."

"Okay, you too." She waved happily at her friend. She slowly turned her direction towards home.

Home. Him. Crap…I hope he's sleeping by now…

She took slow and small steps, thinking that if she does that she will be able to pass the time. But eventually she reached home. She checked any sign of life in the house.

No lights on…no moving shadows inside. This means…that he's asleep. Good.

She took silent steps and took out her key. She inserted the key into the lock and turned the key. The door lock clicked indicating it's opened. She opened the door; it was so dark inside the house. She switched on the lights.

She brushed away some dirt from her coat and tidied her hair. Then she looked up.

She jumped. Almost fell. She placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm down.

You are SUPPOSE to be SLEEPING NOW! I can't face you right now!

"Don't sneak up on people like that! You scared me!" She screamed at him. "What are you doing still awake at this hour? You are supposed to-"

"I'M SORRY!"

She was taken aback. "…sleep."

Whoa. I didn't see that coming. Never expected for him to actually apologize. Besides, he's done nothing wrong. Other than picking up fights with others. Is that what you are apologizing for?

He was giving her a pleading look. She can't help thinking how cute he is with those puppy eyes. She wanted to just kiss him silly for being so cute, but instead she just stared at him.

Silly boy. I should be the one apologizing. Not you. But my pride won't let me.

"I'm sorry."

She bit her lower lip. His voice is softer, almost like a whisper but enough for her to listen.

"I really am sorry. I know you're mad about last night. But I just want to tell you, I'm sorry."

She stared again. Her mind is still processing the current event. Realizing that she had been holding her breath, she gave lout a long sigh and took another breath.

"That's all. I'll go sleep now."

He walks away. She opened her mouth. But she didn't know what to say. She unconsciously called out his name.

He stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned to face her.

She concentrated at what she is supposed to be saying. When she finally knew what to say, she looked down before looking at him straight at the face again.

"Promise me this."

Hopefully, this time…it works…

She could see he is confused. "I'll forgive you if you promise me this. Just this."

"Okay."

She felt relieved hearing that. Okay…here it goes…

"Stop fighting. Don't EVER fight again."

She silently crossed her fingers. Hoping his answer would be yes. Please…please….say yes.

"Deal." Then he turned away again.

She nodded even when she knew he can't see it. As soon as he closed the door to his room she breathes out, realizing that she had somehow held her breath.

She smiled a little and walked towards her own room. But not before stopping in front of his room. She stood there as if waiting for something. "I'm sorry too, Alex." she whispered to his door before walking away.

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~ I've learned...that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

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(I just have to post this. I have double feelings about posting it though. It was suppose to end up elsewhere, probably in the dumpster? Err, enjoy? Anyway, does anyone have AsuRaku pictures? Especially the one that looked like their wedding and the one with their baby? I accidentally deleted those pictures while cleaning up my hard drive, :( O_0 ...)