This was her room. She recognize the bed from when the edge hit her knees and caused her to fall backwards. The ceiling came into her line of vision for just a moment before being obstructed by a larger, swinging silhouette. She laughed carelessly as his hands slipped into her dress, held her breath as he descended. A breathless little murmur escaped her lips and his own voice, deeper, heavier, silenced her.

The room was characteristically bleak as Yumi opened her eyes. It was a dream, she convinced herself. There's nothing wrong with being attracted to him. Lust is fine. Its love I'll never do. A little disappointed with herself, Yumi rummaged through drawers to find adequate clothing. She had tried so very hard to avoid this. His presence had been intrusive from the beginning and Yumi simply could not control him. The solution was simple: eliminate Ulrich Stern from her life.

If he would not distance himself voluntarily then she would have to force him. Yumi did not like to resort to these sort of measures but Ulrich was creeping in through the cracks of her armor and it made her shiver. Yumi hated to admit it, but, the only reason things got so far was because she'd let them. What was it about Ulrich that weakened her defenses? What exactly did he do that reduced her to a simpering little girl?

They could have been friends. He seemed like the adventurous sort and he liked coffee. Coffee made for automatic best friend status in Yumi's book. They would have gone around while he was in New York and he would write when in Germany. It sounded pretty, but with a deflated sigh, the truth snuck up on Yumi.

They could never be friends. Not when she was so blatanly attracted to him and he returned the favor. If he wasn't attracted to her he wouldn't be hanging around. No one was generally charming; if people were laying their time at your feet it was because they were interested in something. Ulrich wanted something from her, but what? She didn't have money or any connections to speak of. She was just an average girl studying in New York in hopes for a little freedom.

Was it possible that Ulrich liked her simply because of herself? No, people like that didn't exist. That was the one thing her father had taught her that had yet to be proven wrong. Ulrich was just another opportunist. Yumi simply had to gain the upper hand. If she stopped seeing him her life would regain it's equilibrium and in a few months things would be relatively unremarkable. She wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of William or the inconvenience of Ulrich.

Slightly satisfied with her calculations, Yumi slipped into the shower and turned the knobs with familiar ease. The scorching water felt like hands and Yumi didn't bother to pretend she wasn't thinking about him.

"Miss Yumi," the receptionist greeted her as if she was her long lost sister. "Haven't seen you around! Your boyfriends came looking for you."

"Hello," Yumi returned meekly. This girl was really starting to freak her out. "I won't be staying, I just wanted to know if you're serving cheesecake--"

"What's the rush?"

A well pronounced groan from the receptionist and a pinched smile from Yumi as she swerved around. "William," she greeted with mock cheerfulness. "What are you doing here? It's nearly three in the afternoon."

It was precisely because it was nearly three in the afternoon that Yumi had decided to abandon her nomadic existence and make her way to the bakery. There was no way that Ulrich would be around, much less William. In less words; it would be perfect.

"I've been waiting for you."

Or not.

"I can't imagine why," Yumi smiled politely. "I thought we had finished talking."

"We haven't finished anything," William's tone was a little vicious as he grabbed on to her arm. Yumi winced in pain. "Let go of me," she bit out.

William raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Or what?"

"Or you'll have to deal with me."

Kill me now, Yumi thought as she glanced Ulrich in the doorway. She'd never been particularly interested in being part of a cliche and today was no exception. "Now, now," Yumi waved her hands as to call attention. "There's no reason why --"

"Is this the reason you haven't answered my phone calls?"

William's grip on Yumi's arm tightened. She could feel a bruise flowering underneath her sleeve. "He has nothing to do with this," she grounded out. Her arm was starting to hurt. Yumi tried to maneuver out of his hold but to no avail.

"Of course," William let out a bark of laughter. "No wonder you wouldn't let me touch you," Yumi stiffened. "You were with this guy all along."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

Yumi's voice was excruciatingly high in the silence.

"I think he's implying that you're a whore," the receptionist offered. The girl shrank back when she saw Yumi's withering look. Apparently it was a rhetorical question.

"If you weren't with him," William's voice was low. "Then why did he come looking for you yesterday?"

It suddenly dawned on Yumi that both William and Ulrich had frequented the bakery in search for her. Regardless, she was in no mood for rationale.

"For the same reason your sister calls you," Yumi spat out. A momentary expression of shock settled into William's face. Had he honestly believed that she was that stupid? That naive? Yumi flexed her arm experimentally and winced. She rolled up the sleeve to survey the damage. "Just as she'd suspected, an ugly purple bruise was forming.

"I'm going to kill you," Ulrich said to William and for one terrifying moment, Yumi thought he might be telling the truth.

"Don't," she intervened. "He's not worth it." Then, as if it were an after thought. "I don't need you to defend me."

Ulrich didn't hear her or pretended not to, "I'm going to make you regret the day you were born."

Yumi sighed, seriously? Were they reading from a script?

"Look William," Yumi started, very slowly, as if speaking to a child. "What we had is over. Did you hear that? OVER. So please stop looking for me." She turned around to face Ulrich. "Listen," Yumi stopped. She had no idea what to say to him. He hadn't done anything wrong. Which, ironically, was the problem. "Thank you for being so ..." Idiotic? Charming? Annoyingly cute? "... thoughtful, but I don't need you to look after me. I really don't need you to do me any favors and I really don't need you to look through my mail."

"Yumi," she could almost see the gears spinning inside William's head. "I love you."

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up. You don't even believe that."

"Fine," William snarled. "But when you come crawling back--"

"Don't hold your breath," Ulrich cut in smoothly.

William seemed to have realized that his little facade was over. He gave Yumi one last look and then proceeded to march out of the bakery. When he was gone, Yumi let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"I thought you were going to fight him," she almost laughed. She settled for punching Ulrich in the arm with her good arm. "You idiot. Stay away from me."

Perfect, now she just needed to make a dramatic exit and Ulrich would forget about her forever. The receptionist handed Yumi a brown paper bag with a cup of coffee inside. "I guessed you might want it to go," she said sheepishly. Then she added as Yumi dug into her pocket, "Don't worry, it's on the house."

Yumi nodded and slid her coat into place. Her perfectly calculated day had just crashed and splintered into a million pieces. Unsurprisingly, Ulrich followed her out the door. She was halfway down the street before he cut her off.

"I'm sorry," he babbled. "I don't know what for, but I'm sorry."

He was too good. "You're really sweet," Yumi amended. "But you can't like me."

Ulrich didn't even bother denying it, "Why not?"

"Because," Yumi paused. Then she uttered the single most irrefutable reason there could be. "You're shorter than me."

Ulrich blinked. "That's it?" He laughed. "By like an inch."

"You live far away," Yumi objected.

"I'm in New York permanently," Ulrich was smiling now. "Try again."

"You're um, too ..." Yumi was running out of excuses. There had to be a perfectly good reason as to why this wouldn't work! "You're weird," she said at last. Then, when Ulrich didn't say anything she gained momentum. "That's right! Who else has conversations through the door? Goes to a coffee shop when they have an expreso machine in their house? Matches all the time? You have better hair than me! That's a sign of trouble." Yumi nodded her head vehememtly.

Ulrich's hand's gripped her shoulders. His eyes bored into hers. Something wrapped around Yumi's spine.

"I'm sorry I'm not taller than you," his smile widened. "Or that I'm not normal. I'm also sorry I have strange urges to visit a bakery for no other reason than to see a beautiful girl in the morning. You can blame my wardrobe on my um --," at this he paused, measuring his words. "Just forget the wardrobe, okay? I'll unmatch if you want."

"What about your hair?"

"I'll never wash it again," Ulrich grinned. "I'll put gel into it every day. I'll never cut it."

"And the conversations through the door," Yumi's voice was losing conviction.

Ulrich's voice, in turn, was softer. Amused and almost adoring. "If you would have opened the door that would have never happened."

"I wanted to," Yumi said without thinking. She caught herself and shook her head. "It would never work."

"Why not?"

Yumi didn't miss a beat, "I don't like you."

"Hmm," Ulrich was still smiling. "That's not what the receptionist said."

Damn receptionist, Yumi was going to kill her. "I don't even know her! How would she know?"

"Why would you let me give you a ride to school? Help me clean up my apartment? Have coffee with me?"

"It's cold out, of course I wouldn't want to walk," Yumi pointed out. "You dragged me to your apartment and you stalked me to the bakery. I didn't have coffee with you -- I was having coffee and you invited yourself."

Her words stung, she could see it in his eyes. But if there was something Ulrich proved to be, it was persistent.

"The receptionist warned me about this. Something about you denying your feelings."

That girl was dead and buried.

"You can't force me to like you," Yumi said, exasperated.

"Why can't you just admit you like me," Ulrich retorted. "What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of ANYTHING," and just like that, all the restraint Yumi had ever placed on herself for the sake of appearances disappeared. "You don't know anything about me! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

By the time Yumi realized she was crying it was too late. Ulrich had already seen what Yumi considered the worst of weaknesses. He stepped forward to put his arms around her but Yumi brushed him off.

"Stop it," Yumi said in between tears. "If you think I'm crying for you, you're wrong."

"I know," Ulrich said, and reached for her again, this time successfully. "I know."

They ended up in his apartment. Ulrich had shuffled her into his car after she had successfully dehydrated herself. She croaked out a request to be driven home but Ulrich ignored it. Secretly, Yumi was glad. She didn't think she could be alone at that particular moment.

There was an odd silence between them. It was neither tense nor comfortable. The only thing Yumi was feeling now was humiliation and embarrassment. She had been overwrought from the break up with William, the isolation, and the emotional confrontation had been the last straw. It was the closest Yumi had come to a nervous breakdown in years.

Ulrich parked, walked over to her side, and helped her out. Her eyes hurt from crying and her arm still pulsed with pain from the altercation with William. When Ulrich poured her a cup of coffee, Yumi said,

"I'm still not dating you."

Ulrich smiled, "That's unimportant now."

He was putting her over himself. Yumi wanted to hit him for being so good. "You're hiding something," she thought aloud and found she didn't care. "There's something you're not telling me."

"You're right," Ulrich admited. "But I haven't lied to you if that's what you're asking."

Yumi thought she ought to try, "Are you going to stop coming after me?"

"Nope," Ulrich replied cheerfully. "Not on your life."

Then, the most important thing. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I love you," he said it as if it was nothing. As if it was obvious.

"You don't know me," Yumi protested. "You don't know anything about me."

"If you're talking about things like your favorite color or what books you've read, then you'd be right. But how important are those things? Yumi," he paused. "That day, in the bakery, when you stopped what you were doing to help me --"

She should have just drank her stupid coffee. But now it was too late.

"You didn't have to do that. When you came here in the middle of the night, you could have gone anywhere else, but you didn't." He gripped her shoulders again and it felt like deja vu. The cup of coffee trembled in her hands. "You're good and kind," Ulrich continued. "You're opinionated, sarcastic, and independent. You like your coffee with two sugars, milk, and a spoonful of cream. You're polite. You don't let people walk all over you. You want to help people. You're ambitious. You're determined and you don't let anyones opinion of you weigh you down."

His voice lowered. "Does it really matter that I don't know what your favorite cereal is?"

"I hate you," Yumi replied. "I hate you because I like you. I hate the way you're so honest and trusting. I hate the way you're so inconveniently charming. I hate the way you write songs because I think it's sweet. I hate the way you know when to not ask questions and just make coffee. I hate that you have a really cute dog. I hate that you like me." She put her cup down. "I really hate that you refuse to give up on me."

"You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?"

Yumi smiled for the first time that day, "No."

"Good," Ulrich smiled back. "I won't make this easy on you either."

"This doesn't mean anything," Yumi stated after a silence.

Ulrich took her cup from her hands, fingers skimming her skin, making her shiver.

"No," he corrected. "This means everything."

I worked super hard on this chapter. I think you can see why. What did you guys think? Review and tell me :)