Chapter Yon: A UFO Just Crashed Landed...Either That or You Just Said You're Getting Married...

“This is my fiancé, Ramnia,” Dietrich stated, putting a hand behind her back and propping her forward slightly. It was like a UFO just crash landed into the ice cream shop, and little green aliens popped out of it and demanded for our brains or something. It was just so totally out of the blue and incredibly unexpected, leaving us all speechless.

One thing that caught my attention (other then the fact that Dietrich just announced this girl as his fiancé), was that she was unbelievably gorgeous! I mean, she was like super model material, except she wasn’t sickeningly thin and had a good proportion body-wise. Her legs were long; it was almost like it never ended! I guess that’s why she was almost Dietrich’s height, and she wore a skimpy looking skirt with a light button down dress shirt.

“Wow! Talk about smexy overload!” I suddenly announced, breaking the apparent tension that had formulated just by their timely arrival.

This was followed by a light hearted joke, made by Garret, who proceeded towards his best friend and gave him a loud pat on the back. “Man, how come you never told me you had a girlfriend? Leaving your best friend behind while you go marry a hot babe…!”

Dietrich closed his eyes and shifted uneasily underneath his friend’s arm. “I never had a girlfriend nor have I said that I was going anywhere.”

“Oh, right right…your fiancé!” Garret corrected himself.

Dietrich shook his head and sighed heavily, and the girl next to him seemed uninterested in their conversation. Her eyes trailed along the ice cream shop and she folded her arms, looking uncomfortable. I put my hands behind my head; I tilt my head, walking up to her.

“You okay?” I ask, feeling her nervous aura.

She looked at me indifferently, something that set an off switch in the back of my head. You know, there was something about her that just rubbed me the wrong way. I shouldn’t judge people though; it’s just sometimes it’s best to listen to the little butterflies in your stomachs.

Garret put an elbow on my head (something people tend to do), and held out a friendly hand towards her. I open my mouth in protest; because I get the feeling she’s not the type to easily touch random people. “Hey, name’s Garret!”

Surprisingly, she responded with a hand and gently placed hers in his, but I noticed just how limp it was. She really doesn’t want to shake hands, does she? “Ramina,” was her answer. Her voice matched her face, I noted. It wasn’t delicate like some shy little girl and it wasn’t too strong, just evened and light enough.

Garret however, didn’t seem to notice the barely audible disinterest tone in her voice, something I picked up from just looking up at them. It was almost like I was in some tall people land, all these teens’ heights ranged around six feet, and where was I? Barely even five foot, heck, I don’t even know if I am five foot!

Dietrich took this chance to introduce everyone else in the room, namely just Lindsey and I. He pointed a finger at Lindsey, who flinched at the sudden attention she was given. “That is Lindsey Cheas…a friend,” he said, he hesitated on the last bit, and settled for the word, ‘word.’ I don’t even know if he has ever really officially considered Garret as his best friend, because whenever I ask him about it, he just brushes it off.

Lindsey smiled, walking over to us as Garret lifted his arm (which was getting rather heavy). “Hey Ramina, it’s nice to meet you.”

Ramina’s only answer was a nod, something that also irked me, but I remained silent. His attention was now on me, and he went silent. I wonder how he’d introduce me. I know for sure it’s not ‘friend’ like Lindsey or Garret, so maybe ‘enemy’, but I think it’s only me who calls us that. I know for a fact, that he doesn’t like me.

“This is Angel, my arch-nemesis.”

I perked up at the comment, and a broad grin appeared on my face. I pointed at me, “And you better not forget that, you heartless bastard!” Dietrich, though I think it was more mockingly, smirked back at me.

“I don’t want to hear that from a person who forgot her own name.”

“Hey! That was two weeks ago, and it was only for five seconds!”

“More like five minutes…you had to think real hard on it, until I said, ‘a’….”

“Sh-Shut up!”

“Again, do you only ever say that when you know you’re losing?”

“And again, shut up!”

“Pft…”

There was then a small chuckle, coming from neither Dietrich nor I, and it wasn’t Lindsey or Garret, but Ramina herself. We stared in bewilderment-excluding Dietrich-at the giggling Ramina, who politely put a hand to her mouth as her arms remained folded.

“My, I never thought I’d see the day that Dietrich Kingston would say so many words at once!”

Dietrich’s face turned back to one of its usual expressions, annoyed. His eyes narrowed, as he straightened up (as he had bent down to look at me better), and dug his hands in his pockets, leaving his thumbs to hang out.

“I wonder, what would your parents think when I tell them that their son is actually participating in life?” she commented, her eyes mocking.

For some reason, her tone made me angry, as I looked from one angry face to one amused face, and I didn’t know what to think. Dietrich was my mortal enemy, so I should be rooting this girl on when she talked back to Dietrich, but for some reason, it only made me mad.

“It’s rather pathetic really,” she continued, “that you’d waste your time at that rundown school.” Her eyes trailed around the shop and to us, and her brows furrowed in a disgusted manner.

“And to think, you could be attending that school that my father suggested, instead of wasting your life in this tacky little shop.”

She wasn’t particularly dissing us, but it felt like it. I guess it wasn’t my place to step in, but I couldn’t help it anymore. Before I could say anything however, I was cut off.

“That’s enough, Ramina,” Dietrich said sharply, glaring at her, and even that shut her up.

However, I noticed she gave him a little glare, and I had to hand it to her, she had guts. I looked back to see Lindsey making a face, and I could tell she was ready to blow just like me. I think Lindsey is better at keeping her cool at these sorts of things.

I fixed my composure and turned on my heel, heading for the counter. “I’m going back to work,” I grunted opening the sliding door and closing it behind me. I turned to look at Lindsey who followed close behind me, and I could tell she was peeved.

For a while, we spent the rest of the hours in total silence, I guess Ramina just killed the mood too badly. A few more hours, the time to close down the shop was drawing near, and I could see Lindsey look at the clock from time to time. She probably needs to go somewhere, I overheard it, but I won’t say much, but it’s a date with Jared. That’s fine I guess, but she should be careful.

“You can go early, if you want, we only have a few more minutes.”

Lindsey looked at me, puzzled. “What?”

“I said you can go early, you need to be somewhere right? You keep looking at the clock, it’s only a few more minutes, I can just wrap everything up and lock this place up,” I said in a matter-o-fact tone. It really wasn’t much of a big deal.

Lindsey frowned, “No, cause’ then I’d feel bad for leaving you behind!”

“Just go Lindsey, it’s fine, you still need to go home and get ready for…whatever it is that you’re gonna be doing, it’s fine it’s fine!” I waved her off politely, with a confident smile. Lindsey paused for a bit, and then looked at the clock and back at me.

“Okay, but I promise I’ll make it up to you, fer sure!”

“Right right, just go already!” I said, laughing.

She left with a smile, and I watched as she left through the glass doors and windows, and continued folding the napkins into the containers. Once I finished, I locked up the shop and proceeded home, I pulled out my iPod and played whatever song popped up.

My apartment wasn’t too far from the school or the shop, so I decided to just walk there, instead of calling my mom. She was probably working though; she doesn’t get home until eight, so I’m usually home alone. It’s not lonely though, not since the internet!

As I walked on, I noticed a familiar car drive by, a car that I really didn’t feel like seeing. It was Dietrich’s, how could I miss that damn show offish car of his? A Mercedes Benz (silver) to be exact, it’s something that he rarely took any pride in. He says he doesn’t particularly like driving, but bought it because Garret was going off about buying it, so he did (it’s not like he needs to save money…).

I tried to hide behind a mail post, but I failed miserably, as his car came to a slow stop. I watched as the windows of his car roll down, and saw a pair of dark green eyes looking at me from the inside of the driver’s seat. I scowled, putting my hands behind my back and arching my back while puffing out my cheeks, it’s this guy’s fault I’m in such a bad mood...!

“What’re you doing?” he asked, as if it weren’t already obvious.

“Walking,” I said blandly, not really caring.

“I know that you idiot, I’m asking what you’re doing walking alone, it’s dangerous for a girl to do that,” he said, like I was some two-year old. My scowl increased, and I turned my gaze away from him, annoyed.

“I’m not that helpless, I can look after myself thank you very much!”

“Says the girl who gets lost going to school every morning,” he countered.

I almost fell over in shock, h-how did he know that?! I gave him a dumbfounded expression, was this guy some kind of stalker?! Or was he just some psychic in hiding?

“Get in,” he finally said.

I shot him a look, “What makes you think I’m gonna just, ‘get in’, huh?! Who knows what you’ll do to me!”

“You want me to just ditch you here and get kidnapped or get in the car, and I’ll take you safely home,” he said, dead serious tone and eyes that seemed to make me want to smack the living hell out of him! Where does he get to act all high and mighty?!

Surprisingly, the drive was quiet; I guess we just didn’t have anything to talk about. What was even more surprising was that it was Dietrich who first broke the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

My eyes widened, and I turned to look at him, as if he had just declared world peace to the land or something. This was odd…Dietrich Kingston, apologizing, for who knows what?

“Err…why are you apologizing?”

“For what Ramina said…it was uncalled for, I told her that when I took her home.”

Oh, so that’s what he meant. I slumped in the chair, and contemplated the thought. “Hmm, she was kind of pissing me off, to tell you the truth….”

“Yeah, I could tell.”

I sat up, “Really?” I looked down, scratching my head, “hmm, I thought I hid it pretty well.”

“Not really, you’re easy to read…sometimes.”

“Sometimes? So does that mean, usually I’m not?”

“No, it’s just because you’re hardly ever thinking anything inside that thick head of yours.”

“Hey!”

And for a moment, I thought I saw him smile. For some reason, when I saw that, I realized, that despite Dietrich being such an ass all the time, he can be very ‘human’ like too. “Anyway,” I said, leaning back into the leather seat, “it’s not all that troublesome anymore.”

Now that I think about it, it doesn’t bother me much anymore. I hardly get pissed (angry yes, pissed no), so when I do, it’s hard to get rid of it, it takes a while, so I guess it deflated by now. “I’m surprised,” I said.

He glanced over quickly, then back at the rode. “How so?”

I smirked, “You actually said, ‘I’m sorry’…I’m never gonna let you live that down, you know that, right?”

“Do you ever let me live anything down?”

“Hmm,” I seriously thought about it, “nope.”

“Hnn.”

Then, the drive continued to be quiet after that. “Where do I turn after this?” Dietrich asked, stopping at a stoplight. I paused, looking around, my brows furrowed and Dietrich’s eyes on me.

“Don’t tell me you forgot where you live too.”

“Shut up! What do you mean, ‘too’?!”

“It means what it means….”

“Well, don’t mean…what you mean!”

“You make no sense at all….”

“Shut up, and it’s a left.”

I made another discovery, Dietrich and I could never have a normal conversation that lasts any more than three minutes (or seconds). I was surprised this guy didn’t know where I lived, since he seems to know so much already, so I asked him.

“Hey you,”

“My name isn’t ‘hey you’, and what is it?”

“How do you know that I get lost to school?”

“Guess….”

I scowled in annoyance, “That so wasn’t a guess! It was dead on! You’re a stalker, aren’t you?!” I pointed an accusing finger at him. He remained silent for a while, as he made another turn.

“No.”

“That was a pretty long pause….”

“I was just thinking, ‘what an idiot’…”

“Liar,” I scoffed, folding my arms. We reached my apartment, and I was proven right that my mom wasn’t even home yet. Dietrich parked the car, and leaned back in his leather seat, pushing a hand through his auburn hair.

We just sat there in total silence again, not saying much and not thinking much (at least, on my part). I wanted to get out as quick as I could, because this uncomfortable, tense atmosphere was killing me. It was like there was nothing to say, and I hate it when it turns like that.

“Umm….”

“It’s cause’ you always say you do.”

“Huh?” I stopped, looking at him in puzzlement. He sighed heavily and put his hands behind his head, not looking at me but the ceiling of his car. “It’s cause’ you always say, ‘I got lost on my way to school again’, all the time to Lindsey and Garret, and Garret tells me practically everything…so that’s how I knew.”

Oh, so he was talking about that. I was only joking when I accused him of being a stalker, did he really think I meant it. Great, now I feel guilty…what if I made him feel bad? He may be my arch-nemesis, but he’s still a human being!

“O-Oh…” was the only stupid answer I could give.

Well, what else was I supposed to say?! I shifted in my seat, to look at him kind of. Something caught my eye, and as if instinctively, I reached out to adjust it. A stray hair had made its way out of Dietrich’s somewhat neatly pushed back hair (though, it kind of flared everywhere…). I guess I just do that to everybody, because I baby-sit you know? I forgot this was Dietrich, because as soon as I did it, his eyes snapped over to me, his arms came down and I could feel him go stiff, making me sit up straight and snatch my hand back, as if I had touched poison ivy or something.

“S-Sorry…stray hair…in your face, annoyed me…so I uhh…” I looked around, trying to find an excuse to leave. Screw it, I simply opened the car door and got the hell out of there! Before closing the door however, I leaned down and pressed my head to the car door.

“Thanks for the ride, Dietrich.”

And before I could hear his reply, I just went up the stairs like some crazy person and closed the door behind me. I pressed my back against the door, totally wigging out here and wondering what the hell kind of reaction that was (the one Dietrich gave).

Did I piss him off?! Holy shit, what if he took it wrong and he thought I was trying to hit his head again?! Aaagh, now he’s going to be mad and accuse me of hurting him! This is so not good…so not good.

That evening, as I started to make dinner and was trying to watch TV (heh, the sci fi channel…), I heard my cell phone ring. I dropped my things and, trying to use my oh so very cool and improved ninja skills, jumped over a basket, tumbled over some shoes, fell, ran a few steps and finally got a hold of my phone.

“Hello?” I answered, not particularly noticing just how breathless I was.

“Hey, did you just run a marathon or something?”

“Nah, my phone was in the living room somewhere…I was in the kitchen, so I used my ninja skills to get it.”

“What ninja skills?”
“Shut up loser, I have better reflexes then you,” I joked, I walked back into the kitchen to turn off the stove, wouldn’t want the house to burn down, now would I?

“Touché.”

“So, what’s up? You got a reason for calling me?”

“Bored, everyone is asleep or gone.”

“Same here, my mom hasn’t come back home yet, still working.”

“Still? When does she get off again?”
“8:00…I’m tired, aren’t you?”

“How the heck are you tired?! Didn’t you wake up at three today?!”

“Hey, miss wake up at the crack of dawn, I have the right to sleep in ya know! There should be a law, that says ‘Angelina Yang can wake up whenever the hell she feels like it without being disturbed’ type of thing, y’know?! And she shouldn’t have to be punished by that evil bastard Dietrich!”

“He’s not that bad, is he?”

I grumbled, “Says you, he actually considers you a friend…that prick!”

“It’s my childlike innocence!”

“Sure sure…childlike innocence my ass!” I snorted, smirking.

“So, what’d you do after I left you?”

“Got picked up by Dietrich.”

“Oh I see—wait…did I hear that right? You got picked up by Dietrich? Didn’t you just call him an evil bastard and a prick?!”

“Mm, yeah I think I did, why?”
“You just said he drove you home….”

I don’t know where this was going, but I answered cautiously. “Umm…yeah I know, I just said it.”

“Angel! How come you didn’t tell me?! So, how’d it go?”

Again, I was confused, how’d what go? Was there supposed to be something going on? I don’t get it, and why the hell did she sound so excited?! It was totally freaking me out right now, what was she getting at, huh?

“It went…like it usually did?”

“You didn’t fight with him, did you?”

“…if I say ‘yes’…what would you say…?”
“I’d call you a dummy…”

“What, why?!”

I heard her groan at the other end, and I was left confused and blank. “I still don’t get it,” I said, but shrugged it off. I leaned against the kitchen sink as I turned off the stove and poured in my ramen into a plastic bowl.

“And you say I’m dense…”

“I’m sorry;I’m just not a hopeless romanticist like you.”

“Hey! I just like a good romance, can you blame me?!”

“Yes.”

“Well, anyway…I gotta go; I’ll call you later tonight! Bye!”

“Bye!”

After we hung up, I was stuck with nothing to do again. So I just sat there, deciding what the heck I should do but nothing really popping up. I guess, after I eat I’ll go to bed, because talking about sleeping with Lindsey made me sort of tired.

…..Next Day……

“Yes! I’m not late today, beat that Dietrich!” I announced to the world, as I walked happily to my 1st period.

“What was that, shorty?”

I tensed, as I flipped around to see Dietrich staring down at me like he usually did. I laughed nervously, scratching my head. “Err…nothing, of course…Dietrich!”

“Uh-huh,” he said, looking around, “have you seen that idiot?”

“Wow, aren’t you nice…and no, I haven’t seen him since first period, why?”

He grunted, his hand on my head, making me bend down from the weight and looking elsewhere. This guy, what was I, a hand stool? Curse my shortness…why does everyone do this to me?!

“Hey Angel I—oh…sorry, I’ll come back later!”

I snapped my head back to see Lindsey, a little grin on her face and stifled a giggle. I pointed at her, my eyes narrowing. “Don’t you even think about it, I forbid it!”

“Sure, what are you? My mother?”

“No, I’m your best friend, so I’m telling you I forbid it!”

Lindsey rolled her eyes and waved over at Dietrich, “Sorry Dietrich, can I borrow her for a few seconds; I’ll give her back after!”

“Hey, what am I? Some kind of thing that you can just freely give and take?!”

I however, was bleeped out by the two and completely ignored. “Be my guest,” Dietrich said, totally just shoving me over to Lindsey.

“Okay, thanks!”

I grumbled unpleasantly as Lindsey continued to drag me aside, I suppose she has something important to tell me, so I might as well hear her out. I put my hands on my hips, and titled my head to look at her.

“So, what’s up?”

Lindsey scratched the back of her head, looking away, causing my brow to crease. “Yes?” I ask, leaning against the wall behind me.

“I went out with Jared yesterday,” she admitted, looking at me, her face worried.

My own expression dropped in shock, “What?! Seriously?!”

I notice her shrink back, and I realized she was probably really worried. Lindsey wasn’t a coward, so it probably took a lot of guts to not tell your friend something this, important, and I could only let out a dejected sigh.

“We only hung out though, so it wasn’t a date!”

She corrected, almost embarrassed. I couldn’t help but smile, I guess it’s alright. “So, how’d it go?” I asked, surprising her.

“You’re not mad?”

I quirked an eyebrow, mad…? Why would I be mad? “Umm…mad for what?” I asked, tilting my head.

“You don’t like Jared, so shouldn’t you be chewing me out right now?”

“No, I don’t think I should…” I said slowly, not quite getting it, “I mean, it’s your choice who you want to date or not, right?”

“I just said it wasn’t a date!” she shouted at me, embarrassed.

I grinned, well; at least it gave me another opportunity to mess with her.