and how Nik sort of talked her into it? And that "amused half-smile"-I loved that part and the way he chuckled lightly after hearing her talk. Maybe it's too soon to hope she'll give him a chance? Haha, we’d definitely be seeing more places now, wouldn’t we, now that the group is back? And more tension and drama too?

Cannot wait XD Update soon XD

Okay…another long review. Haha, it happened again? Good practice for me perhaps XD

Happy Labor Day too!
-A Little Bit of Reality

First of all, I loved the idea of the flashback, which showed us the departure scene. I think you did a great job portraying it. There’s definitely something about Nik that stood out there. It's now making me question his motives even more. The fact that he’d gone with his family instead of staying…as you said, he was old enough. However, I think that was the red flag, which showed that he was, in fact, not prepared or had any desire to be in the long-term relationship with Tamy at all. Not then, anyways.

I really like the way you throw in these little words and scenarios, especially at that scene, where it definitely shows that Nik is the glue of the group. How ironic those words turned out to be! And making me even more curious about what caused the group to break up.

Wow, Nadine and Nik, there’s certainly something going on there. Not just Nadine, I mean, look at Nik too! Since you’re writing in the POV of an ex, it’s extremely interesting to read about that as it definitely creates tones of suspense and suspicion. I can imagine how Tamy must have felt seeing their closeness, especially how much she loved Nik! She has every right to.

Now, I have mixed feelings about Nadine and well, Nik, too. Because who knows? Why is he begrudging Tamy and Ansel’s closeness when he had the more affectionate-type closeness with Nadine? And why is the other 3 so bent on thinking Nik's the good guy here. So yes, like I mentioned before, I’m really looking forward to reading about Nik’s side of the story, as well.

Well, I am glad to see Lux being more than a bit of a brat, really. I think she certainly knew Tamy well. Actually, at that flashback scene, I’m really seeing and sensing the closeness of the group. There was a lot of fondness and unity among them, I have to say. No wonder Tamy is defensive, hurt and angry now. Ansel, too. Actually everyone is. The friendship is all gone now, and what's left is blaming each other.

So Nik is pretty confident too. Similar to what he'd been at that station and in Ansel's apartment . Haha, loved the hug between Ansel and Nik (yeah…bromance, okay that’s weird), but you know the way you wrote that party, it really showed they were almost like brothers, maybe. Well, they certainly were really great friends, weren’t they? I like Wolf too and the quiet way he’d bade farewell. He seems really reassuring. Plus, he can sense trouble from the start. I’ve a feeling he’s the one with most authority/control over the group. At least when he opens his mouth. I wonder if we'll see him at the more dramatic scenes. I am very much intrigued when Nik will find out about everything and then the other moments, too.

To be honest, I think Tamy was very open about her emotions towards the guy. Who, on the other hand, wasn’t. It seemed like Nik wanted to get out of it as soon as possible, but also that he’d kept on changing his mind every time he’d see her. As if he had ambivalent feelings about the relationship from the start. I can understand if someone wants distance from a relationship, in a way, but there wasn't a point in sort of dragging and leading Tamy on, right? And then again, we still don't know the entire story, so...

I really liked and could feel the way you’d described Nik’s hesitation at showing her reassurance and comfort. ‘The sullen edge to his words’ and then ‘he had hesitated a split second before leaning down’—these effectively showed us that their relationship probably wouldn’t have a happy ending. At least, not at that moment. I think Tamy definitely feels very hurt and emotional after that scene. Because she gave out her heart and he didn’t. So, now he’s back? Yikes.

In a way, I didn’t find it sad or strange that Tamy made that sort of childish remark to Nik. I see a girl who clearly fell in love with a guy and wanted to be with him. And she was young, too. And I see Nik, at the moment, as an ambivalent guy who’s trying to distance himself, and at the same time, sort of leaving her on a thread. Maybe for his own advantage? So yes, I can understand her defensive nature, especially because she loved him and wanted to be there for him. Then to discover that he’d been drifting away before the actual break-up took place…eh, that sucks.

There’s definitely a lot of history there. Very interesting past. Tamy is definitely stronger now and she’s definitely not going to let Nik get into her heart so soon. So I’m very thrilled to see how the events turn out. Do I want them to be together? Will Tamy let her guards down? Has Nik improved? I’m very curious and wanting to read more!

These lines are so meaningful and amazing :‘I was fine with who I was, and although not exactly sure of where my life was heading yet, I was slowing moving in towards happiness—or at least I hoped I was—’ Wow, this is a beautiful quote. It really is. It has so much depth. I can definitely relate to that.

Lol, man, reading about Stuttgart and all these places is really making me wish I can go there too. I’m actually googling stuffs about Stuttgart. Haha, tourism, definitely! I love it! I mean, when someone writes about a place in a book, I wish you can go and see it, and feel like your living the story with the characters…or if you already know the story, you're walking in the characters’ footsteps. Ah, I really want to do that too! XD Someday, hopefully…

Wow, Ansel is a busy guy, isn’t he? I love the conversation between him and Tamy. They just get along with each other like old pals, you know. For some reason, Ansel working so hard made me smile. Yeah, I don’t know. Haha, I liked the way he laughed when Tamy said ‘More people suing each other for money?’ There’s something there between them. I could be wrong, of course. I’m merely musing. But I feel there’s some sort of a connection, which might or might not evolve later on. As a writer, I’m sure you’ll pull us in. I'd always liked love-triangles, but not unnecessary ones, either. We’ll see…

For some reason, Tamy meeting a random guy at the university made me smile smile. Maybe because I just love random characters coming in and out of a story. Random things happening in life for no reason; it makes the story even more realistic. Life, definitely, is about people coming and drift apart...

All these places like Palace Street and the clothing shop named Gemini (really?) are making me want to stroll down the pavements and look around. I'm imagining it like a movie, now, haha XD

Fate clearly has other plans for Tamy. Meeting Nik when she meant to avoid him. Haha, reminds me of when I try to avoid someone and I always end up meeting them…randomly?

So Nik got hot? I liked the way you described his physique XD Haha, that was a pretty awkward moment at Ansel’s apartment when they'd seen each other for the first time. I saw Tamy’s renewed feelings quickly (“I felt my heart clench, then flutter anew…”) and I’m also happy to see Nik losing his self-confidence and cool at seeing her too. That was really interesting. So none of them has the upper hand, right now? It'd be really cool to read about the unexpected twists of events later on.

Woah, the question by Nik about Tamy and Ansel’s closeness makes me think he’s jealous. I think there’s definitely going to be some competition now. And Nik is going to act better, perhaps. Towards Tamy, maybe to win her back? What if he becomes manipulative, though, and tries to create some sort of a wall between Tamy and Ansel? I don't find Nik as that sort of a guy right now, but well, it's only been 3 chapters and I'd love to see him, more. He's a multi-dimensional character.

Lol, that line about Ansel’s messiness made me laugh XD “Your Honor, please hold on while I look for my notes”—hahaha XD Lol, I'm like him in that way! yay...I meant the whole messy factor (the desk part) . And the fact that Tamy actually saw some silverfish whilst rummaging through the notes, LOL.

So Nik has dark-blond hair? And blue eyes? Nicee XD I'm impressed.

I also like the way you threw in those sentences, which show us that Nik knows her well. By a lot. So that’d be interesting when he'd start throwing in things from the past or make comments that only she'd know. Especially at the particular scenarios involving the group.

I love the way you describe everything. Like people’s movements, specifically, I probably have mentioned it in all the reviews. But I will again! Regarding the coffee-scene, now. “Matching ghost of a smile on Nik’s lips”—these are really effective words. And it goes so well. I can really visualize everything; I really admire these simple things/words that make the story even more powerful. And I love these tension-filled scenarios, to be honest. Because they build up well for the climax.

I was also very intrigued when they had that conversation over coffee. They were both pretty awkward and uncomfortable with each other? So it definitely had an impact on both of them, that's great XD Nik did notice about the group falling out, didn’t he? I've a feeling that when/if Tamy thaws towards him, he'd quickly catch on to that too.

And, again Tamy is being reluctant to tell him about the friendship dissolved. I think she’s pretty torn about the situation, and particularly Nik. She’s bent on avoiding him, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to hurt him? I’m glad that is so. I think comparing the flashback scene and the present time, I’d say she’d definitely matured.

So, Nik straightaway asked her why did she come? Does he want her back? Does he still care? Huh, so many questions…(I’m just writing what’s in my mind, really). And that line “I’m like I’m seeing some things again for the first time”. Oh, wow, he said that. There’s such a double meaning to those words, I believe. “He was staring moodily”—haha, I found that hot XD...even though he was depressed.

And there’s another group meeting? Yes! More drama! And Nik is so persistent, isn’t he? The way he made her agree to go with them? It was really funny too at how the events work

Dang dang dang. A part of me wanted to NOT read this just so that I could let the chapters accumulate and have this massive reading bonanza afterwards, but I JUST COULDN'T HELP IT. The tension between these two is off the roof, really.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

I don't think it was too awkward or forced. Well, it was a tiny bit, but I actually think that it enhanced the awkwardness Tamy must have been feeling - I think it was good! Is she still together with Ansel? (You don't have to answer this, by the way, if it would spoil anything! It's just rhetorical question musings) And I hope there won't be a love triangle, but I won't mind too much if their is. Also, it seems that Nik is finally noticing what he had missed out on but Tamy has moved on, mostly. I really liked how you showed how she had grown up and developed, too.

I should probably thank you for making my commute to work much more interesting. When you've read Blood and Chocolate countless times and you're just about to settle down for a 30 minute trip, well...I was prepare to bore the heck out of myself but luckily I spotted the notification message in my inbox.
Man, I can't get enough of her and Nik. Btw, I liked the flashback/clarification/musing to herself bit in the beginning, it was enough to clarify any questions yet interesting enough to keep me reading. So Ansel is a friend? Or was there something a little bit more?
I'm blaming Nik for the "detoriation" of their relationship, I may be a little biased. Not that I think she was blameless but jeez, choosing to pretend not to care isn't the way you go about things if you want to keep the girl.
I'm going to start harping on about updates 'cause this story (and your writing) is already a favourite. Oh, and Nik. Button down shirts and smirky grins? Yeah, definitely.

OH GOSH, this is so good! Her first very awkward alone moment with Nik since he has been back. I LOVE IT! I love how much tension the two have. It kind of breaks my heart to see that flashback. Honestly, it makes me view Nik in another light. Obviously, there is something still going on with the two. But the flashback makes me uncertain of what Nik was like. Did he purposely do that to avoid the future heartbreak. What were his intentions? Did he really feel that way? It is crazy how now she will reflect back in her memories in a different way. Because of the breakup and loss of friendship, all those happy memories in the past kind of doesn't seem so happy anymore. While it scares me to think of how much power Nik has over Tamy, I know Tamy has just as much power over Nik. I love the way you write . . . it lets us see Nik's feelings and emotions. He is not so confident as he may want to appear. I am still so curious to what the deal is with Ansel's and Tamy's relationship. I feel as if it may just be a close friendship, but I don't know . . . I guess I'll just have to wait and see. But I wanted to let you know, I am really enjoying this story. I look forward to what will come next! :)

Sorry for the late review! I really can't wait to here Tamy's side of the story - they think she's cheated but I want to know the truth! I feel sorry for her too - she may have done something wrong but it's no need to bully her. I'm not sure what I think of Wolf yet. He seems interesting.

Oooh I am so loving this story. You had me hooked from the first paragraph!
Update soon please :)

I've read your oneshots over the years and I'm glad you're posting this because it's great so far. There's obviously a lot going on even though its only been the first two chapters and I can already see there's a lot of hints here and there. You have really interesting characters and it seems that everyone has there own side of the story. I can't wait to read on and find out more.

I am confused, but very intrigued. Watching out for this! :)

You know, Tammy makes an amazing argument at the end. (Maybe Ansel is rubbing off on her, yeah!) I mean, why is that part of the group so bent on thinking Nik’s the only one hurting? To them, why is she the villain? But that sentence by Wolf was insightful and at the same time a bit ironic. ‘Because it’s not over for you, either.’

Honestly, it’s not over for either of them. History repeating itself with more angst and drama! XD
“Why don’t you practice what you preach?” Woah, I love that line. I want to use that on some one…
And look, there’s my penname. Cool XD

Okay, that was a big review. Couldn't stop myself at all. The characters just feel so real. XD Update soon! Seriously intrigued about the plot and the characters XD

Wow, your story made me write so much I'd had to post this on another browser because FP reviews have a word count too. apparently. eh.

-A Little Bit of Reality.
(My pen-name is too big to put it on the name thing)

Wow, first of all, Nik is quite the persistent guy, isn’t he? I mean, he clearly knows Tammy quite well, considering the exchange he had with her before she’d planned to bolt. I feel they have history together, so it'd be pretty hard for both of them to let go and move on. But I’m still not sure whether I’d want them to be together or even whether they'd actually end up together. It’s still too early to take sides, I think. And Nik seems quite the mysterious guy.

I like Ansel and Tammy together. They have this great friendship and camaraderie. I just feel like they’ll always have each other’s backs and at the end of the day, joke about trivial things. Haha, I really love the way Ansel glared at her when she was going to leave. I think it’s very reminiscent of what these two used to have back in the old days. Nik seems quite insecure and cold when he sees Ansel and Tammy together. It’s intriguing and captivating at the way you delineated the tension in the two chapters.

And another thing, you just showed us everybody’s personalities so well. I mean, you have the main protagonist being very defiant and standing up for herself. You have Ansel, the cool and slightly amused lawyer, who, at the same time, wants to get rid of all the drama. Nik comes across as a seemingly quite-friendly guy (except for the exchanges he has with Ansel), but at the same time he seems wary. I think he knows more than he shows, maybe?

Nadine and Lux share an open hostility with each other too but, I feel they are not being mean just for the sake of it. There’s clearly a lot of misunderstanding and ‘clique within clique’ factor going around the group. I think both these girls care about Nik and just Nik. So I'd love to know the history regarding that, too.

And Wolf. He is really the quiet guy, who can say things that make everyone stop in their tracks and listen. A man of few powerful words.

Tammy is so defiant, it’s great and refreshing to read about a character like that. I can almost sense Ansel’s amusement at the way the others might regard his relationship with Tammy as something else. I can’t wait to see how Tammy and Ansel’s relationship/friendship also progresses, now that Nik is back. That’d be really interesting to read. A definite path for more drama and perhaps love-triangle moments?

Haha, Ansel has the classic style of argument. There is certainly a great deal of antagonism between him and Nik. I can’t wait to read about the full-fledged arguments and drama (which I’m assuming they are going to come in the later chapters XD).

I think I'm probably repeating myself, but Lux and Nadine are great additions to the story in fact. They add tones of drama and a bit of cat-fight. They show their feelings more than the guys, too. It’s amusing to see them gather around Nik, but well, he doesn’t give them that much attention, does he? Why do they care about Nik so much? I’ve a feeling you’ll slowly and surely pull us through the drama in the next couple of chapters. I can’t wait for the climax XD I feel like Gandalf in this scenario of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. The peacefulness just before the storm is about to hit. The storm, as in, the epic battle...

Half-smile, blue, piercing eyes…ah, I have to say I can’t wait to hear about Nik’s past to form a better judgment. Appearance-wise, he has certainly caught my attention XD He seems friendly with the girls, but he also comes across as persistent and quite confident when it comes to knowing about Tammy. At the same time, he is very cool and detached towards Ansel, which is making me really want to read about the other chapters, as he’s going to be rooming with Ansel for quite some time. That’s going to create some moments. And gosh, imagine running into Tammy alone? I really want some Nik and Tammy moments, mainly some conversation, just to gather more things about their past. This feels like a mystery novel.

Regarding Nik’s friendliness with the girls, maybe there are some underlying motives, I can’t help but wonder. As in when he was smiling at Lux fondly and he’d talk with Nadine every day when he was in Asia? That’s really interesting. He apparently likes them—or is he just glad about the attention? The line particularly was very interesting. “Wherever Nik went, the others followed.” So did Nik have some sort of a leadership command over the others? Is he the kind of person whose words everyone used to follow, maybe except for Tammy and Ansel…? Interesting and I’m captivated XD

Oh man, I can’t wait to find out what happens in the rest of the story!

The two girls—Nadine and Lux—also intrigue me, but I don’t think they are completely bad, as I've mentioned before. They just seem stubborn and unwilling to swallow their pride and former opinions. And at the same time, I don’t think they’d ever stand a chance with Nik. You subtly showed to us that Nik might be feeling quite a great deal about Tammy. Maybe it’s just the way she catches his gaze or the way he offered to walk her home.

I also love the way you show us the character’s movements and their reactions and facial expressions. It makes it so much easier to visualize and also feel with the characters. You don’t just write what the characters say. You just make them come alive with the words. I don’t know whether I’m making sense, but I really love the way every dialogue is accompanied by some action. You have this method of show-and-tell, you know. I mean, we haven’t had to read pages and pages of description to know what happened with the group. With two chapters, I can clearly feel the tension and at the same time, see a bit of the past just by reading about the interactions. I don’t know how you do it, but it’s great. And it makes the story so damn interesting and I’d love to know more.

Lux does make a good point, though. I mean, why is everybody—well, Nadine, actually—so bent on making Nik not know? This is making me more and more curious about their past and what really happened to make the group divide and be in this position. Can't Nik handle it? Was he that open about his feelings regarding Tammy? So insecure about her closeness with Ansel?

Wolf has quite the authority. Respect for a dude who talks less, but still says something that is brutally honest and at the same time with authority. I think I can relate to Wolf a lot, I don’t know. The whole quiet, non-confrontational types always make me interested and amused. Maybe because I’ve been in their positions before...eh, Well, anyway…

I love the way you show us Tammy’s thoughts, because in that way, we can figure out the fact that Tammy does care about Nik, too. I don’t know, I feel like she really does. Otherwise, why hasn’t she given him the worst possible doubt? I really like that aspect of her character. She is thinking about her own actions and wondering why is she being this way? Maybe she hasn’t figured out everything on her own yet. That actually creates a lot of suspense. Maybe that's why I have a bit of mixed feelings regarding Nik and I want to know more.

I’d love to see Tammy develop as a character, and at the same time, I like her strength of character, her defiance and her desire not to stand nonsense from people, who clearly hate her and didn’t take her side. I don’t know about Nik, but I have a feeling if Ansel doesn’t succeed, Tammy might just be able to put the former in his right position (maybe?). At the same time, she has this habit of running away too.

She’s really a multi-layered character. There are so many qualities about her that's intriguing and noteworthy. There are a lot of dimensions, I believe, that you’d explore with someone like her. I can’t wait to see how that progresses! I really admire that feisty side of her and at the same time, I also want to see her relationship with Nik. I’ve a feeling both their emotional natures will come onto the surface when they are together.

I’d love to know what happened with Nik and her, not just at the big split, but everything else that built up on that. I’ve a feeling she’s a person who falls really hard when she does, and Nik certainly must have done something unworthy of her trust and her love. Which is why she seems quite determined to avoid him now. She hasn’t forgiven him for what happened. She hasn’t forgiven the group either…will she? There's a stubborn streak to her. Actually, on all of them. So it's going to be really amazing to read how they'll be able to solve everything out (perhaps?)

Lastly, that was such an eye-opener. The walk back home with Wolf. Oh, Wolf works in Siemens? (My uncle used to work there…okay, not important. But it’s so great to read about these things. Makes me feel like I’m back in Germany or something, haha).

Wolf makes a number of good points, or comments, should I say? I like that Tammy asked him straightaway whether he’d hated her. Wolf is very honest, I think. But I also feel he’s also pretty opinionated about Tammy. He accuses her of being the same as before, but at the same time, shouldn’t he also know about what really happened? Shouldn’t he have talked with Ansel regarding the whole truth on the matter? He believed Nadine—who has her own reasons, I understand—but Wolf should’ve been less prejudiced. Wow, these characters are so complex and three-dimensional. I seriously would love to read about that. Oh yes, I have to agree with another reviewer. I really wish this was a book that I could read from the first to the last page at one go.

Oh man, I love descriptions, especially of landscape and buildings. “The façade of the building was an organized mix of pale pink at the top levels and a layer of limestone overlaying the wall of the bottom levels…’
Wow, this reminds me of a building in Mainz, I think. It was exactly like the way you described! XD

This is clearly making me remember stuffs about Germany. Even the ugly trees, haha.
Oh, the door is 23? I just realized…

You know, Tammy makes an amazing argument at the end. (M

seriously this is starting to be the beginning of something wayyyy too interesting... it might ruin all my plans for uni hahahaha

So I have to admit, the first time I read this - I kind of skimmed through the story. But after reading this chapter, I had to go back and reread and note everything that was going on. Reading between 6 characters, this can be tough to try to distinguish who is what. But after I dialogued and cataloged each, it was much easier. Each character is so different. There is so much going on. After rereading this, I have a better idea about this story. I feel like you reveal so much yet not enough for me to fit everything together. It kills me that as a reader, I won't know what exactly happen until probably in the way later chapters. I want to know why Tamy did what she did. Why did she choose that route because it is obvious there is so many things going on? I can't help but think whatever she did, she had a good intention of what she did. Ansel - I am glad somebody is still in Tamy's side. It must be hard to go alone if she didn't have Ansel. As for Nik, I don't know what to think of him. But I am definitely excited to read more. XD

Ooh the plot thickens. I am loving this story. Already decided I'm rooting for Nik and her. Sorry Ansel, nothing personal, I really like you I do but y'know Nik and his blue eyes.

Sounds like they've all been a bit hypocritical when it came to picking sides, now just waiting for the whole story, ahem. Just kidding...kinda.