The chapters will get longer, promise! These first three are just shorter, so I'm going to put them up this weekend. After that, I'll likely be back to my normal once per week schedule unless I get far ahead.

If I could quit my job and just write, I would!

"Next!"

Once the magic word was shouted out by the store manager, the next person in line stepped forward. This time it was a young girl, probably around 13 years old.

"Hello," Blake greeted the girl kindly. "What's your name?"

"Daphne! It's sooo awesome to finally meet you in person!" the young girl replied, positively bouncing up and down with excitement as she stood in front of the table. "I've read every single one of your books!"

Blake smiled at her, briefly thinking that the girl was quite young to have read some of the books she had written. But she knew that when she was Daphne's age...well, she had had an avid thirst for the experiences books could offer.

"That's always a nice thing to hear…I hope that means you enjoyed them?" she asked instead while grabbing another hardback off the top of the stack beside her and flipping open the front cover.

"I LOVED them!" Daphne exclaimed rather loudly, causing Blake to flinch nearly imperceptivity from the sudden loud noise.

"Well, I hope that you love this one just as much," Blake replied with a small smile before turning her attention down to the book in front of her. "So, Daphne, what kind of message would you like me to write and who should it be made out to?"

Blake always asked her fans what type of inscription they would like her to write for them. She had been told many times that she didn't have to, that she could just write the same few phrases over and over again, but she liked the idea that she was giving her readers something truly unique and special. Something that actually made their wait in line worth it. Plus, some people came up with some very interesting requests.

"I'd be happy with anything! And it's just for me."

She nodded. The most common request was for something "inspirational," even though Blake felt that she had little authority to be attempting to inspire others. Those were the easiest though, since she borrowed quotes from some exceptionally talented authors who were quite inspirational. Anything she wanted though…that was more difficult…thankfully, she had already gotten a good feel for the young girl's personality. Smart, bubbly, ardent reader… for Daphne, she felt it would be appropriate to write down one of her all-time favorite quotes:

'These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.'

Once she had finished signing her name, she blew lightly on the words to make sure the ink had dried before she shut cover. With another smile, she handed the book over to Daphne, who let out an adorable squeal of happiness as she accepted it.

"Thank you so much!" she cried out as she hopped out of line, standing over to the side to read what Blake had written to her.

It was nice sometimes to see how excited people were to meet her - and they did all share common experiences through the stories she had written. But, it could be very exhausting sometimes to greet new people over and over again for several hours.

She bent over to grab one of the many bottles of water that had been placed on the floor beside her, twisting off the cap in order to take a quick drink. Speaking with all of these people certainly made her thirsty too.

"Next!"

Excited whispers caught Blake's attention as she sensed a small commotion occurring in the crowd in front of her. Looking up curiously, she felt her breath catch in her throat when she found herself staring into deep lilac eyes.

"Hello again," Yang said quietly as she leaned closer to the table so that her words could not be easily overheard by the overly excited crowd of people behind her.

"Uh…I totally cut that lady behind me, so maybe you could be extra nice to her?" Yang smiled in embarrassment at her confession. That beautiful, radiant smile…Blake could probably write an entire book solely based on the blonde's smile.

She had resigned herself to never seeing the gorgeous woman again when she had walked out of the restroom. It wasn't like writers and actresses usually hung around the same crowds, after all…and besides their chance encounter, what really would they have in common? But here Yang stood, grinning at Blake like a fool.

Only then did Blake realize that she was still gawking at the girl in shock.

Collecting herself, she hastily grabbed another copy of her book and set it down in front of her. Flipping over the front cover she looked up to Yang, trying to maintain a calm expression even when her heart was hammering around in her chest from their close proximity.

"What would you like me to write?" she asked, thankful that her voice remained unwavering even though she could feel her hand tremor lightly as she clutched the pen between her fingers.

"Uh…well…" Yang began, leaning in even closer towards Blake as she lowered her voice to just above a whisper.

"I was kind of hoping that you'd...write down your number so that I could invite you to dinner sometime…"

Blake felt her jaw fall open a fraction of an inch. Had Yang Xiao Long really just…asked for her phone number? So that she could ask her out on a date?

Her face flushed heavily when she suddenly realized that from this angle, she could see straight down Yang's top. She dutifully lifted her eyes back to Yang's face, finding the blonde was still smiling at her hopefully, awaiting her response.

She turned away, finding it more and more difficult to think straight while looking into those eyes. Instead, she began scribbling hastily on the front cover of the book in front of her. Once done, she snapped the cover audibly closed and handed the book to the blonde, clicking her pen shut as she did so.

Yang looked at her, confusion reading on her face.

"Next," Blake spoke herself this time, waving the lady at the front of the line forward. Fortunately, Yang got the message and stepped off to the side and out of the way, disappointment radiating from her demeanor.

But Blake felt her pulse racing as she gave a nervous smile to the lady standing in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched closely while Yang opened up the book and read her words.

'I don't usually give my number to girls I meet in restrooms, but I suppose this time I can make an exception. 456-4689 Blake Belladonna'

Her heart skipped another beat when she noticed Yang look over at her again, that stupidly sunny smile back on her face. Snapping the book shut and humming a happy tune to herself, Yang headed out of the store, but not before stopping to take photos with several people along the way.

"I didn't know that Yang Xiao Long was one of your fans!" the lady in front of her said in an excited whisper as Blake absentmindedly passed a signed book across the table to her.

"Yeah…me neither…"