Read and REVIEW…

--

Grii Marten

Well that was fun. I ended up falling into the pool with the teen. He didn't like it very much though but boy, did I love that face he made when he found out I was telling the truth. And what's this? He blushed!

"I would give you my coat, but, sadly, it's damp." I grinned at the kid, trying to get him to smile.

"You grabbed me so it's your fault that you got wet." The white haired teen gave me a weak death-glare.

"No, wait! I didn't mean it that way!" I gave him the most pitiful look. "Sorry..."

The boy's red-head friend came up behind him and handed us a towel each. She turned to me, "Sorry about that; Herokii freaks out when someone shows up behind him when he didn't even know they were there."

The dog whimpered and the kid across me leaned down to pet him. "It's alright. I don't mind." I told her. I turned to the kid again to find him glaring at me. I smiled.

"Well, to make it up to you, how about you come to dinner with us?" The woman offered me. I couldn't refuse this chance to get to know this teen.

"Wait, what!" The teen obviously didn't like that idea. The woman turned to him to the point where I couldn't see her face and the kid sat back, suddenly pale.

"Sure," I said. "When?"

"Tonight, around six o'clock." The woman said. I glanced at my watch around my wrist and was surprised that it still worked after being in the water for so long. It was almost five thirty-nine. "It'll give us enough time to change." She turned to the boy and grabbed his arm, pulling him and his 'husky' away. I smiled after him, quite excited to finally find someone worth talking to... and he even likes one of my poems!

--

It wasn't very hard to find anything to wear; all I had were a bunch of black and gray sweaters with black pants. For once in my life, I actually regretted not putting a nice looking outfit into my suitcase. I picked out my clothes and took a quick shower, making record time.

After drying myself off I threw on the outfit and packed my small bag with a few books and loose-leaf paper along with poems I was currently working on. I was going to show Herokii everything, I'm going to impress him into liking me- or even falling in love with me.

Rain had started to poor when I left my room so I had to go back and get my umbrella. That's not going to look very flattering but at least I won't be soaking wet when I walk into the restaurant. The stairs where all the way on the other side of the deck (don't ask me why they put them there).

The people who built this boat… their idea of a food court is 10 fancy restaurants with 5 fast food restaurants all lined up on the same floor. I seemed to have forgotten to ask which restaurant we were going to eat at but then I spotted the white haired kid that I seem to have founded a new crush for sitting in an Italian restaurant called Pastaria. I slid through the door unnoticed by the teen who was sitting alone in a corner of the restaurant and closed the umbrella.

"So, where's your friend?" I asked, sitting across the table from and leaning my umbrella against the leg of the chair. Either he ignored me again or he was totally out of it. He was staring at the wall that divided the restaurant from the hallway. "What's wrong?"

He turned to look at me for a second and then went back to looking at the wall. "Go away. You're annoying me." I frowned at him in disbelief. How could he say such a thing? Isn't he glad that someone finds him attractive?

"That's not a nice thing to say, Herokii." His friend popped up beside the table and sat down next to him. "Sorry about that. You didn't make a very good impression on him the first time you two met. He's a little upset about that… I guess." She gave me a bright smile before turning to the teen. They argued for a second and Herokii turned to me.

"Sorry." He said through clinched teeth. Does he really not like me?

"Anyways, I don't think we properly introduced ourselves yet…" The red head turned to the boy again. "My name's Beryl. I don't tell anyone my last name and I won't tell you why." She looked to the white haired kid beside her. He didn't say anything and was still staring at the wall. She gave him a hard nudge in the ribs with her elbow, earning a wince from the kid.

The boy turned fully around and with a frown said "Herokii Dokuekihebi."

"And I'm Grii Marten. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand to them; Beryl immediately shook it. Herokii, however, wasn't doing so well. He decided to just nod instead.

"Hello. I'm your server and welcome to Pastaria. What would you like to drink?" A man in black clothing asked, flipping out a notepad. I didn't even know he was standing there until he spoke.

"Water, no lemon." Herokii told him.

He looked to me across from him. "What kind of wine do you have?" I asked him. He gave me a long list of the different wines. "I'll have red wine then."

"A water please." Beryl told him.

The man left us to talk again but the only problem was that Herokii wouldn't talk so our table stayed silent for a long time. At least… until the waiter came back with our drinks and a little something else...

"Herokii! Don't you dare!" Beryl glared at the teen. Herokii had started to reach for the bread basket as soon as it was sat on the table. "The person who we invite gets to take one first. It's proper manners."

I watched as the frown on Herokii's face deepened. He wasn't at all happy with the fact that he couldn't have a roll at the moment. "It's alright, I don't want one." I said, hoping that what I had just done will help with the issues between me and the white haired kid. For a second, I thought he was going to get mad at me again... he glared at me underneath those pale lashes… or, at least I thought he did. But, I couldn't be more wrong. Herokii finally gave me a smile, a very broad smile, before snatching a roll out of the basket and happily nibbling on it.

Relieved that he was finally content with me, I turned to Beryl. "How'd you two meet?"

"It's a long story." She replied. "I don't think he wants anyone to know about him if he doesn't know them. So I can't tell you… only he can."

"Oh, well then, I'll ask him later." I thought for a moment to ask another question to keep the conversation going. I looked at Herokii for a second who had a few bread crumbs around his mouth like an innocent little kid would have when they were eating bread. Finding that pretty adorable, I found my next question. "What kind of food does he like?"

"Mostly pasta." Beryl stated, taking one of the bread rolls and putting some butter on it before biting into it. "He also likes some Chinese foods and he really likes chocolate." She leaned over the table towards me and, as if reading my mind, she said. "And if you think that's adorable," she indicated Herokii nibbling on the roll, "Then you'll really be surprised when a chocolate cake is in front of him."

"Ah…" I was a little afraid to find out. Don't little kids normally get really messy with cake and ice cream, especially if it were chocolate?

"Ahem." We looked up at the waiter who was still standing there. He didn't look too happy about us ignoring him again. "What would you like to eat?"

"Oh! Oops! We forgot to look at the menus…" Beryl said, covering her mouth with her hand in realization.

"I'll come back later then." The waiter walked off and the red headed woman grabbed the menus from behind the ketchup stand.

She handed one to Herokii who finished his roll and had grabbed another, already nibbling on it. Beryl tried to get Herokii to stop eating the roll and read the menu but Herokii refused to. To take a guess, he was probably really enjoying that roll. Beryl wouldn't have that. She snatched that roll right out of his hands and pointed to the menu sitting in front of him. Herokii pouted but did as Beryl wanted him to do.

I took a glance at the menu to see what there was. I wasn't really in the mood for pasta tonight but I'll go ahead and have some, so I wouldn't seem rude to Beryl or Herokii.

After coming to the conclusion of what we should eat; it was way after five minutes and the waiter still hasn't come back yet. There goes his tip. Beryl grabbed a waitress and asked when our waiter would come back. The waitress shook her head saying she didn't know but would go check.

After a few more minutes our waiter finally came back, apologizing. "There was a huge mix up in the kitchen; I was one of the few who were stuck to help." He said. "Anyways, what would you like to eat tonight?"

Beryl went first this time. "I would like a pasta primavera with a side of fresh vegetables."

"Would you like a salad or soup to go with that, ma'am?" The waiter asked her patiently.'

"Nah. I'll just go with that." She replied.

The waiter looked to Herokii who was staring at the roll he never got to finish. "Excuse me, sir. But what would you like?" The waiter asked, trying to get his attention.

"Oh!" Herokii's face turned red in embarrassment and turned to the man talking to him. "Chicken Parmesan over bowtie pasta, please."

The waiter nodded and wrote down his order. "And would you like soup or salad to go with that?"

"Uh…" Herokii paused, thinking. "What kind of soup do you have?"

"I believe vegetable soup and clam chowder." The waiter replied.

"Then no." When the waiter turned to me, Herokii grabbed the roll he never finished.

"I guess I'm going to have… hm… maybe just soup and bread." I said, still looking at the menu.

"Clam chowder or vegetable soup?" The waiter asked me.

"Clam chowder." I replied.

"And will that be garlic toast or a roll."

"Garlic toast."

"Your orders will be ready in a few. Would you like some refills?" He asked us.

"Yes please." Beryl told him, sliding Herokii's empty water glass towards him. The waiter took it and left. I watched in silence as Herokii finished off another roll and started to reach for another one. "Herokii! You're not going to want to eat your dinner!" Beryl shouted, snatching the bread basket off the table and putting it on the empty table next to us. "Look at you, you have crumbs all over you." For some odd reason, I couldn't help but picture Beryl as a mom. She'd be good at it.

"I'll eat my dinner, I always do." The white haired kid across from me begged her. "Please, just one more. I promise I won't eat anymore after that."

Beryl shook her head and said, "N.O. Eat your dinner first and once your done, you can have some more."

"But I want desert after dinner. Not bread." Herokii whined in protest.

"It's your decision: rolls or desert." Beryl stood from her seat. "Excuse me. I need to go to the restroom." She left us sitting there.

As soon as Beryl disappeared, Herokii made to grab for the bread basket sitting on the nearby table. I grabbed his wrist and pulled it away and he yanked it free from my grip. He stuck his tongue out at me in anger. "Cute." I replied to the face he made. He blushed and turned away. I reached over the table to grab his shoulder to calm him down but before I could he swatted my hand away. A huge red mark appeared shortly after.

Beryl came back and sat down beside the kid. She looked at me then at Herokii and her lips moved silently asking "What did I miss?"

"Not much." I mouthed back. That was an outright lie that I wasn't afraid to say.

The waiter came back with refills and behind him was a woman with our food. The glasses clinked loudly as he poured our drinks. The woman gave Herokii and Beryl their pasta and our waiter handed my soup and bread to me.

"Enjoy." They said at the same time. The left us to finally enjoy our meals.

I sipped lightly on my soup. I almost burnt my tongue when I forgot to blow on it. The clinking of silverware against a glass plate caught my attention and I watched as Herokii pitifully attempted to cut his chicken. Beryl offered a hand to him but he boldly (but irrationally) turned her down. The poor kid tried so hard to cut it that his hand eventually slipped and he dropped the knife on the floor. Herokii made a face that he was about to cry but cheered up when his red headed friend took her knife and cut it for him.

Just watching Herokii try to act mature when he wasn't was a little too funny. The kid was childish but he was still older than he acted. Knowing that, I just want to protect him from any dangers that the world would dish out. He was naughty but at the same time innocent. So innocent, in fact, that it would be best if he was locked away from this horrible world.

Without realizing it, I was staring at him and, as luck would have it, he noticed. He looked up at me with those bright gold eyes and sent me a glare through those white bangs of his. The glare didn't do much for him because he had some sauce around his lips that he tried to clean up with the cloth but missed. I gave him another one of my famous grins and he went back to eating his chicken and pasta.

The table was silent for too long and I intended to break that silence. I turned to Beryl and asked her something I knew I was going to regret, "So, is Herokii available for the taking?"

The kid across from me slammed his fork into his plate, sending the whole entire restaurant into silence. He gave me another glare, this one a lot longer and a lot colder. "I already have a boyfriend and even if I didn't, you wouldn't have a chance with me!" He whispered harshly across the table. "Stay out of my love life!" Herokii abruptly stood from his seat and walked briskly out of the restaurant. The room stayed quiet after he left but soon all the chattering began again.

Beryl sighed and shook her head at me. "Don't worry, he doesn't have a boyfriend. He tells everyone who hits on him that so that they would stay away." She took another bite from her pasta. "But what gets me is why he all of a sudden got violent when he said that. Anyways, you better follow him and apologize to him. He doesn't like it when people ask questions like that about him." She sighed again and sat straighter in her chair. "I'll stay here and pay for the food."

"Sorry if I ruined your dinner." I apologized to her. I got up and left, hoping to catch up with Herokii. When I realized that I couldn't and he had run back to the rooms, I went back to Pastaria to find Beryl. "He locked himself in your room." I told her, eating some of the cold dinner I left behind.

"I know Herokii is going to get mad at me for this but here," She handed me a card key to their room. "You do know where our room is right?"

"I followed him there. Of course I know." I got up again to leave but turned back to her. "Save my food for me, will you?"

--

The key worked and I slid into the room. Herokii was on the bed curled up with his dog, sound asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, I quietly closed the door and tip-toed to his bed side, sitting down beside the bed to watch him. After a while of watching him, I couldn't help but to brush his hair back out of his face. I found out he was a light sleeper the hard way.

He smacked me across the face in a hurry and grabbed his dog, clutching it to his chest in an effort to shield himself from my gaze.

"Ow." I rubbed my cheek lightly, trying to avoid agitating it.

"What are you doing here! How'd you get in!" He cried, squeezing his husky so hard that it started whimpering. He released his hold on the dog and the dog limped away.

I sighed and sat on the bed, away from Herokii so I wouldn't scare him too much. "Your friend, Beryl, gave me the key." I pulled out the card and tossed it to him. "I wanted to apologize for what I said-"

"Go away! I don't care! Apology not accepted!" I really did upset him.

"I'm sor-"

"No!"

That was it. He wasn't going to listen. I jumped from my seat on the bed and grabbed the kid by his wrists, pulling him down to the bed and pinning him underneath me. "Listen, Herokii. Give me a chance to apologize… I'm sorry for what I said."

"I don't care! I already have a boyfriend!" He shouted again.

"No you don't! Beryl said you only say that to keep guys from hitting on you!" I repeated what I heard from his friend.

"She wouldn't know! I haven't told her that I actually found someone! Now go away!" The kid struggled to get out from underneath but I tightend my hold on his wrists.

"Who would you prefer over me?" I asked; I'm actually starting to believe him.

"His name is Soul, now go away!" The name rang a bell in the back of my mind and I suddenly remembered a Soul I knew.

"I bet you anything that he's cheating on you right this moment. He probably couldn't care less if you started dating another guy, Herokii." I said quietly.

"No! You're wrong!" He struggled again. "He promised he wouldn't!"

"Not everyone keeps their promises."

TBC...

So… tired… please… REVIEW...

Anyways… thanks for reading another chapter and sorry if I haven't updated in a while… been a bit busy with school (I finally have straight A's as a Senior in high school). But, if you would like to chat sometime about my stories or just to get to know the true Herokii (he's my inner/hidden personality) contact me on gaiaonline as Dark Mistress NeTokyo (I know, long name, who gives a care).