Disclaimer: Again, same as every other time, I have no rights to owning Hamtaro, any characters in it, or settings as well. That is all.

AN: Hey, everybody! Gosh! I'm really sorry about the looooong wait! Sure, it's a lot faster of an update than most other times with me, but still. I've been trying to type this thing for a week now and I'm so happy to finally get it up! I really hope the wait was worth it and that you all really enjoy yourselves while reading! It means the world to me that you even read! So, thank you everyone again for being so loyal and sticking with my stories! You're all great! ;)

Chapter Three: Part Three- Third Time's the Charm

Nearly five minutes had passed since then, maybe more, and the two friends were approaching their destination of the bus station. It was funny, but since they'd stopped talking, the outdoors seemed significantly colder. Neither minded really, they were so focused on the other.

Sandy's rapid switch in mood bothered Maxwell. The atypical goofy smile that used to be the shape of his mouth was now a perfectly straight line. Close to a frown, but not quite. The young reddish-blonde woman didn't look up to notice him noticing.. Alas, another one of life's circles.

He couldn't stand it anymore. The questions had become too overpowering and too many. His friend was fine just moments ago! It was such a wonder to him how she could be so unhappy during an enchanting night like this. A lovely girl not enjoying an evening as lovely as she…? This was too utterly strange for Maxwell. A fear grew inside of him that he'd done something wrong, some act that he didn't recognize he'd done that made her so sullen. He had to find out. Sandy was never one to be so out of sorts.

Coughing to clear his throat, he checked hi watch to see how they were doing on time. Just the weak hack would have sufficed to lure Sandy's attention, but his glance at the watch also got her to look at him. Their eyes met. It was the opportune time.

Maxwell wore a faint simper on his concerned face, not peeling his blue eyes from here sad ones.

"Is there something wrong, Sandy?"

Her heart almost skipped at him asking this. It was a happy skip, a miniscule jolt of glee feeling that she was cared for and worried about. Sandy knew it wasn't a good thing and that this didn't make her a nice girl, but everyone has had to have felt such things. She was only human, and as a human, tended to be selfish. But she decided to turn it down and replied in such a noncomplex way:

"Ah, no." A spontaneous sigh left her, making Maxwell doubt this statement even more. "Why?" she chose to interrogate in return.

"You're just looking peculiar, is all. Is everything okay?"

Now his distress was killing her. She felt as if she would drown in this compassion at any given second. The two's eyes had been dancing with each other this whole time and Sandy finally ended it by looking downwards once more. She averted her eyes because she could not lie to him with so much intention. She could not pass a fib right to his face. He was always good to her yet she wasn't doing the same that night. It was a little white lie that was partly the truth, but it still felt wrong.

"Umm… Yeah. It's just, I've like, gotten this fortune once before…" she trailed off. She blushed at the silliness which just flowed from her wobbling mouth.

Macwell couldn't help but laugh. Here he'd thought something major was troubling his friend and it turned out it was an insignificant issue with her fortune cookie! Of course, he remembered to take into consideration how terribly superstitious she was, but the entire ordeal brought a smile back to his face.

"Well, third time's the charm!" he exclaimed cheerfully, attempting to raise her spirits. This seemed to work since Sandy began to giggle herself. He placed his hand in his pocket and laced his fingers around two reasonably-sized packets. The crumpling noises they made were practically muted by the rest of the city's racket, luckily.

"Thanks, Max." How bright the grin she wore.

"What does it say anyway?" he casually pondered.

"Uhh… I dunno. I kinda like, threw it out," she replied sheepishly as her cheeks burned in embarrassment. The young man chuckled friendlily.

"Then, what did it say?"

Sandy's eyes broadened subtly. She couldn't possibly tell him what it said! That would be too mortifying! The situation was already awkward enough. Thus, instead of reciting the fortune she'd already remembered by heart, she made one up on the spot.

"Ehh… It was like, something like 'Your hard work will soon pay off'."

Of course it was fake, but it sounded like what a generally generic fortune cookie would say. Maxwell smiled thoughtfully, making Sandy's face mimic his because he'd bought it.

"I don't see why you're so disheartened by that." His tone was soft and almost fatherly. Sandy shrugged, half-smiling.

"Just am."

It was quiet once again between the two until they reached the bus station.

"Well, looks like we got here just on time anyway!" Maxwell beamed. He wouldn't have been as glad had they been late as a cause by Sandy, but he usually would have been nice about it. He had always been such a stickler for time.

Sandy nodded and smiled as well, giving no verbal response.

"Mn," she eventually hummed.

"Let's go, " Maxwell quickly ushered his friend through the doors, letting her in first not only to be a gentleman, but because he knew how pleased Sandy was every time she got the window seat. He supposed that was being chivalrous too, but categorized them differently despite this.

"Thanks," Sandy peeped.

The young man shed his half of the coat then and handed it to her.

"It's too warm in here for me. You can have it all now," he explained.

From her forehead to her chin and creeping down her neck, was an immense blush that took over Sandy's features. She looked up at him, bemused.

"Thanks," squeaked she again. Maxwell hadn't only given her the sleek leather coat, but a wink to go with it. The duo didn't speak for some while again after that.

The only thing that seemed to rip Sandy's eyes from the foggy window she'd been staring out of for the past ten minutes was the startle of getting poked in the thigh by Maxwell's searching hand as it wriggled around in her (really his) left coat pocket.

She immediately turned to him with a puzzled glower. He flushed lightly and glanced down apologetically.

"I didn't think that was you, Sandy. I'm really sorry…"

The girl has already brushed it off.

"Really, it's sooo fine. You said it was just an accident, so like, no problem! I know you totally didn't mean it. Like, just… Be more careful next time, or I'll think you're doing it on purpose." She laughed, sticking out her tongue playfully. In fact, she actually did want him to touch her like that- and mean it.

Maxwell toyed with his hands and whatever the noisy thing that was in them nervously. Sandy tilted her head to one side in curiosity and stared at his fidgety fingers, catching a glimpse of a shiny, clear object. It was a plastic of sorts.

Maxwell saw her watching and decided to reveal what was cradled in his big, folded hands.

There were a pair of fortune cookies and he promptly offered one to the smirking Sandy.

"What's that look for?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just like, so random! Plus, you like, never do that! I usually do!" Sandy responded through her giggles. Her stomach ached a bit from her laughter and for once she took something from Maxwell without feeling guilty.

With no hesitation, the young woman plucked her cookie from his spread out palm and tore into the plastic. Maxwell ripped his open more slowly and didn't get crumbs all over the place by just frantically going about so like Sandy had.

Each broke their treat in half, Sandy down the middle long ways and Maxwell down the center conventionally.

Maxwell slid the paper out and thereupon read it. He seemed to always have to be reading something. He took a bite of his cookie and faced Sandy, smiling fondly at what the message had said.

Sandy, as always, had to be different. She scarffed down her cookie before even looking at her fortune because she loved the suspense, the anticipation of what lied in store for her. Not much long after she'd swallowed did she unfold the little piece of paper and start to read it.

She didn't need to see the rest beyond the first two words. She already knew that line perfectly.

The nineteen-year-old could feel her dessert crawling right back up as she tried to control her eyes from spilling out all over her fair face or bulging out any more than they were then. Her bottom lip quivered worse than the rest of her trembling body, but not nearly as severely as her racing heart.

Sandy began to perspire a drenching sweat and her friend, who had been watching the now feeble girl all this time, frowned in deep concern at seeing her pallor. For someone who was so strong, she looked so terribly weak. In fact, she didn't even look like his Sandy at all that moment.

"You're sweating," he pointed out dumbly to her. "A-are you too warm in here?"

She widened her mouth to speak, but the short quake of the bus when it came to a stop interrupted her. Her glistening eyes darted about as people lined up in the aisle. Maxwell's eyes stayed affixed on her.

"J-j-just leave! I-I'll tell you when we get off…"

She doubted she could keep that promise, and Maxwell seemed to notice this, but he nodded in comply anyway.

To Be Continued…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Throw you off? Just because this story's based around threes doesn't mean that there should be only three chapters! Heehee. Oh, I love keeping you all in suspense! Thanks for reading again! Hope you stay around for the next chapter! Bye!

Oh! And Happy (Late) Halloween!!