---

Parking beside her apartment block, Eva slipped out of the car. She reached around to the trunk, where she had hid Nat's birthday present. The gift was neatly wrapped, safely tucked inside a gift bag with a cartoon camera design scattered around the bag. "I really hope she likes these..." She mumbled to herself. Eva always struggled with gifting people, and she definitely found it hard finding a gift for the mother of the group.

Inside the packaging, was a couple of gifts. One signed copy of Gregory Heisler's photography book, a pro-lens that was compatible with Nat's iPhone and some imported Jamaican blended coffee, just to sweeten the deal in case Nat didn't like any of the other gifts. Eva shoved her satchel inside the trunk, not caring if her clothes got wrinkled inside before shutting the trunk. The gift bag was carefully held in the crook of her elbow as she crossed the road towards the Daffodil building.

The aspiring model slipped inside The Mighty Bean, her blue eyes flitting across the room once before landing on a table with Natalya, Connor, Dom and Benji. Her smile widened, heading towards them with the gift bag out and ready to hand over to the birthday girl. "Happy birthday, Nat!" Eva wished, leaning down and giving her a hug before handing the gift over to her. "Oh, and good morning, everyone!"

"I really hope you like these, I wasn't too sure about what you'd like." Eva said, sheepishly as she sat down.

---

Less than a minute after he sent his text to Tas, his phone vibrated with her reply:

"Hey, sorry I had to run off last night, I'll fill you in on my wonderful shift when you get off work. ><! And of course I will hun. You're going to make it for the festivities later on?"

With a cheeky grin his mood brightened up tenfold, reading the message. There was something about Tas that just made Sam smile a little bigger every time. As he was about to shoot a text back there was a knock at his desk.

"Boss-man needs the edit in fifteen," Eric, one of his co-workers, said. "We're presenting to the clients right after, you're sitting in for this one too."

"Oh, alright! I'll get on it right now." Samson replied. He dropped his phone and quickly went to work. Again, he could feel it, today was his day. He gave a good idea to his boss and now he was going to be sitting in on a pitch. The intern finished up the easy fix and rushed to his bosses office with the final product. "Got it done and I sent it to your email, sir."

"Great," he replied. "Clients will be here in a few minutes. Get the conference room ready with waters."

The advertising intern nodded his head and did as he was ordered. Sam had finished up preparing the conference room and made his way back to his desk. He saw that his phone was blinking and noticed another he had gotten another text. It was from Nat this time.



He thought for a second, wondering what she needed, before he replied:



Sending his response he went on and finished up his text to Tas.



"Let's go Sam! Eric shouted from the conference room. "Clients are on the elevator.

Setting his phone down yet again he felt a rush. The blood in his veins pumped as the adrenaline kicked in. Even though he wasn't the one presenting, it was just exciting enough to be in the room when the pitch went down. It was going to be his turn one day, and that day was going to come soon.

---

Truth be told, Feliks probably could have just knocked on the door. Didi did live in the same building after all. But then Benji could’ve spotted the shiner, and he definitely would’ve thrown a fit. So the window it was. The window was more fun anyways.

Feliks laughed at Didi’s pissed exclamation over his eye, taking the proffered ice pack and trying not to wince as he slapped it over his eye and replied, “It’s no big don’t worry. Business misadventure. But hi, nice to see you too.”

Here Feliks paused, taking a moment to pointedly look Didi’s towl wrapped figure up ad down, “Very nice to see you. Dee, you often let weird men climb into your window while you’re naked?” Feliks chuckled, and moved a little to the left of the window, just in case today was the day she got fed up with his antics and pushed him out of it.

“Though it’d be nicer if you didn’t look like a zombie. I mean really did you get any sleep? like at all?” Honestly, this chick. One of these days she was going to pass out and not wake up for a week or two. But, ugh, he couldn’t exactly call her out on it. Pots and kettles and whatnot.

“Anyhow, two questions. One, do you have make-up and would you be willing to apply it to my face?” Felix said with a grimace, briefly removing the icepack to gesture at his purple eye.

Replacing the Ice pack, he continued, “Question two was whether you were free today, pre-party, but I mean, you look like you’re going to pass out so…?”

---

---

Tas hopped out of the shower and dried off, wrapping a towel around her as she noticed she had a message on her phone. Picking it up, she read it and smiled softly. She was about to reply but at the last moment giggled to herself and decided to wait; she had a better idea.

Grabbing her things, she headed to her room and quickly got dressed. Tas was never one for style, that much was obvious from her lack of differing fashions in her closet. It was either scrubs, sweats, or jeans. Since she was heading out, she chose jeans, how fashionable.

Slipping on a faded pair of fitted jeans acid wash jeans that were distressed a bit before rummaging through her closet. Eventually she found white ribbed tank top, putting it on and tucking it in before throwing on and oversized black men's button down dress shirt. Shoving her feet into her black converse she grabbed a comb and ran it through her hair before putting it up in a messy bun.

A little bit of lip gloss and eye liner later, she had her bag in hand as she rushed back out her door and towards the kitchen. Reaching into the refrigerator she grabbed the small lunch cooler she had prepped before work, gave Echo a wink and was out of the apartment in the blink of an eye; the door closing behind her.

Tas wasn't much for words, especially when she had her mind set on something. Rushing down she took the back exit and made her way to her car. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her friends but she knew if she stopped to talk she'd get side tracked. That was the last thing she wanted; a planned surprise had turned into an "I'm sorry to rushing off last night" mission.

A hop, skip and a jump later Tas had driven off and made her way to The Seaside Creative Group Office. Picking up her bag and the cooler, she climbed out of her car and locked it up. Stepping into the building, she slipped her ever present sunglasses off and placed them on top of her head as she made her way over to reception.

"Can I help you?" a young woman behind the glass desk asked; she was cute enough, probably another intern or something by the look of her age.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Samson Ahn," Tas said as she adjusted the strap on her bag.

"I'm sorry but he's in a meeting," the woman said flatly as she looked Tas over, giving her a bit of a sneer. Tas just shrugged, ignoring the look she was shot and walked past her. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'll wait at his desk," she answered with a wave.

She didn't recognize the girl, must have been new. Tas knew the usual receptionist, older woman who was friendly and always greeted people with a smile; granted it wasn't often that she stopped by to surprise Sam but time to time she would pop in and see him. She wished she had the time or energy to do so more often but that was life. Lately she had less of both but she was determined today to make one of her surprise visits.

Finding his desk she plopped down in his chair and kicked her feet up, setting her things down beside her. He wasn't usually in a meeting, just setting them up; she wondered what changed. Did he get a promotion she didn't know about? Well, whatever the reason, she would wait. She didn't mind waiting for him; heck he'd spent many a night bringing her food and having to wait for her to finish up with a patient before they could talk. Now it was her turn.

---

"Have you ever heard of a front door?" she asked, Feliks ignored the question and was occupied by the tiny white towel over her body. “Very nice to see you. Dee, you often let weird men climb into your window while you’re naked?"

Didi crossed her arms over her chest self consciously holding the white cloth that covers her entire body, "Well, not as often as the birds that frequent here. Next time I'll try putting a sandwich on the bird feeder, would make my Saturday evenings less blue." She said, sarcastically, resisting the urge to give him a matching bruise on his other eye, while her ears turned a little redder than usual.

Feliks notes of Didi's lack of sleep as she grabbed her clothes by the bed where he was now sitting and hid behind the closet door. Her head's a bit woozy from those 9 hours of programming but, nothing that a tall hot cup of coffee couldn't fix. She peeked at Feliks from the closet while she dresses

"You know how coke has that effect on me." She smirked at Feliks surprise until he realized she was playing him.

" And thanks to you, I have to cram an extra cred the whole evening or I'll flunk a subject." She blamed Feliks for that crazy Karaoke sessions the night before, and the night before that. Rocking the stage while half of the patrons yelled, even pleaded to get these two fools off the mic, but they rocked the whole night anyway, unmindful of the begging crowd. She hurriedly wore her shirt and jeans, closing the closet behind her as she wore her jacket while she irritably looked for her sheoes. When Feliks asked her if she has make-up, she snorts at the thought.

"You're asking me that? That's Eva's department, you should be asking her. " She looked at Feliks swollen eye, feeling a bit bad for him. Rummaging through a drawer of junk, she let out a smile, successfully fishing out a strapped leather thing.

"Here." She threw the thing to Feliks, dangling it between his fingers to see a brown leather eyepatch, with a cross stitched pixel skull in the middle. " Will this do, Captain Cracker? " she jokes. "And I'll sleep when I'm dead. Gotta finish this ... brain torture of a homework after I get a last minute gift for Nat. Was hoping you could help me pick one out?" She said as she put on a pair of chucks while sitting next to Fee. She grabbed her phone next to her laptop on the bed, after hearing an alert. It was from Echo.



Smiling, she grabbed her shoulder bag hanging on the doorknob and shoved her phone down her pocket. "So, you coming?" Facing Feliks, who was still examining the eyepatch.

---

His meeting felt like years, but it was over in an instant. The clients loved the poster designs and were ready to kick off the campaign. His clients were a fresh and young group of guys who started up a new surf shop, something Sam could see himself getting into as a customer. Shaking hands and giving out his respects to his peers and co-workers he made his way back to his desk, grinning and feeling pretty accomplished. It wasn't until he was near his desk that he noticed something that brightened up his day yet again.

Tas was sitting in his chair twirling around. His grin turned into a blushed smile, it was an actual surprise that she was showing up at his office. It was usually him who was showing up to see her, with a box of food too. "So what did I do now?" Sam said jokingly, "It's either something really good or really bad."

Tas grabbed the side of his desk and brought her spin to a sudden halt, holding her hands out in front of her slightly as the room kept spinning. Tilting her head back she smiled up at Sam, he always looked so dashing when he was here. Normally she saw him like she was, jeans and t-shirts. She had to admit, he cleaned up nicely but in her eyes he'd look good in anything.

"Hello to you to," she said playfully as she stuck her tongue out at him. Tas had a very caring and jovial side, but it rarely came out. Nat saw it from time to time but around Sam the doctor was always happy; hell she wouldn't even make a snide remark to Dom in his presence.

"Figured since I had to run out on you last night, I'd make it up to you," she said as she reached over and picked up the small cooler she brought with her. "Got a few to have lunch with The Doctor? Sorry if I left my bow tie and fez at home," she teased as she pretended to adjust her imaginary tie.

Smiling from ear to ear Sam of course accepted the lunch, who could ever deny a beautiful girl from a lunch that she made? "I always have the time," he grinned. In his mind he ended the statement with a for you, but he kept that to himself. "Maybe I can get a check-up or something too, I haven't been to the doctors in awhile."

"But of course, have to keep you in top shape don't we? The Doctor is at your service," Tas chuckled.

He reached out his hands like the gentleman he is and helped the fair lady up from the chair. Tas's fingers laced with Sam's as he helped her out of the chair, stumbling slightly and pressing against him just barely before she righted herself. She brushed it off that she was still a bit dizzy from spinning in the chair.

"Um, sorry," she said biting her bottom lip lightly.

"You're perfect." Sam smiled. In a split second it hit him what escaped his lips. He stuttered back, "I mean, you're fine... So... there's uhh perfect spot out front we can eat at, it's got shade and everything." He tried his best to recover from his little Freudian slip as he pointed out towards the office entrance.

"That sounds great," she said as she leaned over and picked up her bag and the cooler. ""I have a blanket in the back of my car we can grab." Slinging her bag on her shoulder and pulling her sunglasses down she was about to say something when she heard a phone chime, turning she saw Sam's phone on his desk light up.

"Seems you're being paged," she said as she picked it up and handed it over to him.

The text was from Nat, with details of the favor she had asked.


"Nat needs food for her party tonight." Sam chuckled. "Korean food it is then!"

"Food emergency, call Dr. Delivery," Tas laughed. Sam shot over his reply and led Tas the way to the tree.


The two made a stop at Tas's car for the blanket before setting up their lunch, underneath a big tree in the open mall in front of the office. The setup was done quickly, with the blanket being laid out and the two grabbing a seat underneath the shade of the tree. Sam acting like a schoolboy giggled at the excitement of his lunch. "Wonder what you made me!"

Tas rested on her knees next to Sam as she pulled the cooler over, smirking at how he was acting. Why did he have to be so damn cute? It wasn't fair. Shaking the thought away she opened the cooler and started pulling out a couple of tupperwares that were sealed tight. Within them was nothing big but it was a nice meal.

Tas had marinated some flank steak in a pomegranate based sauce and seared it off, sliced thin and placed it over a bed of romaine tossed with some croutons and Parmesan. In a bottle was some Asiago and poppy seed Caesar dressing she had made. Tas wasn't the best cook in the world but Sam had shown her a few things and she picked up quick. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was a good meal, finished off with some fresh bread.

The last thing she pulled out was a Ziploc bag of quartered lemons. Holding them up she shook them slightly and chuckled.

"Just in case," she teased.

Sam's boyish heart exploded as she teased him with the lemons, she knew exactly what to do to make everything better. "You're the best.

---

He asked her for cover-up and she handed him an eye patch. This was definitely and Eva area of expertise. But Didi was closer and easier to track down. So eye patch it was.

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming, Just gimme one sec.” Feliks snapped the eye-patch on and checked it out in her mirror. All right, he could rock this. Maybye. Sort of. Okay, he looked ridiculous, but it was kinda fun in a goofy way.

“A’ight me hardy,” He said in a mock accent with a grin as he spun around to face her, “I’m ready for this treasure adventure. Avast ye stores! Here we come!” Laughing partially at himself, and partially at the eye roll Didi responded with, he followed her out the door. Well actually, he tried to follow her out the door, but bumped into the door because what is depth perception when you’re running on one eye, and had to try again before he was successfully able to trail along after her. Several minutes, and knocked over miscellaneous items, later, they were out at street level and hopping onto Didi’s bike. Which was mega cool, one of these days he was going to have to convince her to teach him how to ride it. Then maybe he could sit somewhere other than the majorly uncomfortable back seat.

Feliks tried to shift around, trying and failing to get comfortable, “Ugh. Didi, the bike is cool and all, but so not comfortable for the person in the back seat.”

He could practically hear her eye roll as she weaved in and out of traffic and shouted back over the city noise, “ Well excuse me for failing to modify the seats to be comfortable enough to suit your needs princess.” Feliks stuck his toungue out at her…which she couldn’t see… but whatever. Point still made.

“So you thinking boutique, pop-up, mall, or….?”
“Antinque store.”
Feliks paused, “…Antique store? Really?” Didi didn’t respond; too busy parking to deal with his judgment of her shopping choices. The antique store was a still a couple blocks away, and the two set off. Didi trying to encourage Feliks to pick up his feet, and Feliks doing his best to mess with her by walking as slow as possible. It took much longer to reach than would have been usual.

When they did finally reach the store Feliks wandered down the aisle behind Didi, trying desperately not to bump into anything as he pointed out things Nat definitely would not want for her birthday and was generally no help whatsoever.

“Dee! Check it out, a leg lamp, with fishnets!
“Feliks. Shut the hell up.”

Fishing behind a pile of ‘designer’ scarves and mirror with silvered edges Didi pulled out a small beautifully decorated ballerina music box. She smiled and showed it to Feliks. “I think I’m going to go with this one.”

Feliks looked at the box, looked at her, and then looked at the box again, “Didi. Really? Lame. So very lame.”

She flipped him off, “I think it’s perfect. What’d you get?”
Feliks smirked, “A sass dictionary.”
She snorted, “Yeah I win.“
Feliks rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, we will see. Come on, pay for your lame-o gift and let’s get out here. This place smells like old people failed dreams.” Didi chuckled, lightly hitting him upside the head as she walked by. As Feliks tried to fix his hair Didi paid, and the two of them left the store with a wave.

“So what’s next?” Feliks asked, switching between looking at Didi and over his shoulder as he walked backwards.
“Urm, homework, cramming. If you’ll recall, someone convinced me to come sing karaoke last night, and the night before.”
Feliks wrinkled his nose, “I mean, yes… But homework? Really?” [/color]
Didi smiled, “Yes Feliks, homework. You probably have some of your own to do right?”
“ehhh,” He grimaced, “Maybyeee….? I dunno, I missed my last couple classes.”
“Nice, well, I still need to do my work, so I’m goanna head back.”
“Fine, fine.” Feliks pouted, hopping back onto the un-comfy back of the bike.

When they got back to the apartment Feliks gave Didi a hug and waved her goodbye, pausing to check his phone. He had two missed texts, one from Eva and one from Conner.

Re: Eva notsoDarling
And by remind you never to hang with me again, I’m going to assume you mean remind you to always hang with me.

Re: Connor Competitor
I’m good, no need to worry. Was out late with buds last night, shopping with Didi this morning. Heading back to the apartment now. What you up to?

Feliks tucked his phone away, taking the stairs two at a time and bursting into the apartment before promptly proceeding to flop down the couch.

"Okay, it's cool, we'll figure something out." Benj had hopped the bus to the mall downtown and now stood in front of a map of the place. To his left was a food court, to his right was a string of department stores, around the corner was a Victoria's Secret... He shook his head. Gotta focus. He only had a limited amount of time. What was he supposed to get? A gag gift and a real gift, gum, an anime? He tried to think of what anime he didn't have for Connor to borrow. Should he buy a whole season, or just a movie or something? Nah, series were always better. Since that was at least something he was familiar with, he headed over to the Manga store. Moe huh? He skimmed through the magical girl titles but nothing struck him as particularly interesting. He probably owned half of them anyway, and the other half he'd seen and weren't as good. Looking through the different genres, his eyes alighted on one particular title. He pursed his lips and thought a moment, pulling the DVD off the rack to study it. After standing there for several contemplative seconds, he fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed. The other end rang for a bit, but no one picked up so he left a message.

A minute later he was back out in the walkway. Now the real hunt began. What had Connor said about the gag gift? Something about cleaning? "Hmm..." he headed into Sears and wandered up and down the aisles. "Oh! Magic Erasers!" he said, spotting the exact same ones Connor had told him. And they were one sale! He bought two, and picked up a couple packs of Connor's precious gum at the register.

At this point Benj still had quite a bit of cash leftover. Now for the real challenge. Benj guessed coffee would be an okay gift, but he kinda hoped to find something more original, otherwise it would really just be like another gift from Connor and not really from himself. He popped in and out of a few stores but nothing struck him as being quite right. He was about to give up hope and go with the coffee after all when he saw it hanging in one of the kiosks. It was perfect. After paying the vendor, who carefully packaged up the gift for him, Benj headed for the exit with a spring in his step. He had to wait at the bus stop for a few minutes and struck up a conversation with a girl sitting on the bench. By the time the bus came he had managed to exchange phone numbers with her, and they parted ways with a wave.

When he got back home Benji ran upstairs to wrap the gifts and stashed them in his room for the time being. He texted Connor briefly to see if he was still at the Bean. He was. Two minutes later they were reunited. "I'm back! Oh, hey Eva." He slid into the booth with them and pulled two packs of Trident Tropical Twist out of his jacket pocket, sliding them across the table to Connor and saying, in his best drig-dealer voice, "Here's the good stuff." He sat back and looked around, apparently everyone else had left. "I guess this is the otaku table now... Oh yeah, Eva, tell me about last night!"

---

Eva chuckled, still standing as Nat left to go shopping with her boyfriend. The girl barely managed to supress a squeal, 'my ship! They're gonna spend time together and do shippy things!' Eva let out a snort, her thought coming out in Gollum's voice. 'I really need to sort out my priorities.' Eva was pretty sure that joining Tumblr to sate her anime needs was a very bad idea. Now she can't stop 'shipping' and 'can't even-ing' when she sees said ships.

With Dom and Nat - 'Dominate! A-ha! Gotta write that name down somewhere soon...' - now busy with shopping, Eva had nothing to do all day other than to relax. She had made sure to ask her agent to not book anything today, but the shoot in the morning was 'too important to delay'. "If you're paying for my breakfast, I guess I can stay here a bit longer." Eva grinned at Connor. She rolled her eyes at his mock pout, seating herself down on the chair Connor had pulled out for her.

"We can keep the anime watching for later," She answered, peering down at her watch. "I'll probably try and get some shut eye so I can actually look presentable for Nat's party." Just then, her phone buzzed. Looking down, she realised it was a text from Feliks. "Hm, speak of the devil and he shall text."

To: Partymaster

You're such a bad influence on me. I almost missed my shoot in the morning because of you! ( >д<)

As soon as the girl put her phone down, Benji sat down at their table. Eva laughed at the otaku table, reminding her of her earlier thoughts. "Mornin' to you too, Broji." She emphasised his name, referencing to the new name on her phone. "Seems like Feliks and I got wasted again. All I remember is drinking a lot and laughing at doors."

---

---

Tas loved these moments she was able to steal away with Sam. It didn't matter if it was the rare occasions she was able to drop by his work in the middle of the day or those late nights when he brought her lunch; they were always wonderful times. Brief minutes where she could relax and not worry; when everything else faded away and it was only them.

Sure, she loved her friends and hanging out with the group; even if she sucked at showing it. And she adored her job; able to save people, it helped mend the fact she couldn't save her mother. Time with Sam however was different. She didn't know why, she didn't particularly care; she just enjoyed it.

The lunch had gone wonderfully. They ate, laughed, joked around. Tas filled him in on her last shift, telling him about the Code Black thanks to the massive pile up on the interstate. She filled him in on each patient, each injury; even going into detail how they couldn't wait for a surgical suite or even a surgeon and she had to perform her first heart massage to keep a man alive. Cracking his chest open there in the middle of trauma and slipping her hand under the chest plate; she held a man's heart in her hand that night and kept him alive.

"Probably the only time I'll ever have a man's heart," she laughed as she looked up at Sam. Though she had meant it as a joke, underneath it all it was how Tas felt. "Maybe I should have starting chanting Kali ma, Kali ma, like they did in Indiana Jones," she giggled as she pressed her hand to Sam's chest. "Kali ma, Kali ma!" she teased.

Once they had finished eating she had felt a bit groggy. Slipping her over shirt off, she balled it up and used it as a pillow as she rested her head in Sam's lap; something she did from time to time when they were hanging out. She lay there on her back, fiddling with a blade of grass, as she had filled him in on her shift. Her sunglasses slipping down as she spoke. Her eyes meeting his over the rim of them as she laughed softly.

"So, what happened with the meeting? Not used to be you being in one, tell me everything," she asked enthusiastically as she pulled her hand away and moved her shades out of the way; resting them on top of her head. Reaching up she tickled the underside of his chin with the blade of grass.

"Come on, enquiring minds want to know," she said as she smiled up at him still.

---

Now, Jejomar wasn't the kind of person to get drunk. He hated getting drunk, it was when things went from good to really bad. He knew what happened when he was drunk and he didn't like it. From the sloppy kisses with homeless people (he still had the taste in his mouth the next morning) to singing his heart out in karaoke (his voice sounds like a zombie when singing). So when he stirred from his slumber with a pounding headache with a beer in hand, he knew something was up. He worked just ten minutes away from the apartments, in a tall glass office building. They recently released their newest game and they celebrated this by partying like animals. Jay was roped in and now regretted not leaving.

The headache was a deep, painful throb. The kind that drives into you, twisting around in there, pulling out harshly and then thrusting back in (innuendo unintended). Jejomar woke up on the floor, waking to a world of hurt and people. His co-workers and fellow interns were strewn across the blue carpet, beer oozing out of opened cans with the broken piñata pieces were spread everywhere. Holding his head in pain, he propped himself up and looked at the sight. "Why do I work with you guys?" He muttered under his breath, getting up on his feet before falling on his face with a loud THUD.



Jejomar let out a loud yelp of terror as face met with floor. 'Okay, standing up when hung over is difficult. If only it didn't hurt this much.' He eventually stood up and stumbled out of the office, grabbing his fedora on the way before tripping on a drooling intern who was sleeping like a starfish. He slammed into the elevator, carefully putting his beer can down before pressing the glowing "G". As the elevator descended downwards, his headache began to diminish slowly. He sighed in relief, letting himself relax in the slow moving elevator. He pulled out his phone, an incredibly cheap Samsung Galaxy J1, and then updated Feliks. Mostly for jokes, really.



Jejomar looked the text over once more before tapping "Send". His drunk adventures has been a kind of joke among the group, not that he liked kissing homeless men. No. Not at all. He cringed at the thought and subconsciously wiped his tongue with his hand. 'I should baptise my tongue in fire. I had way too much to drink that night.' He shook his head of such thoughts, the elevator doors opening to the underground parking lot. The man walked towards his reliable Nissan Juke, a gift from his parents that they bought for him when they visited. The interior was a little tight but it was a good car. He liked to use it mostly because SUV's don't really stand out in the roads of America.

Jay entered the car and turned the car on with a turn of the key. As he revved the engine, he felt a gnawing feeling at the back of his mind. Like he was forgetting something. 'The last time I had this, I forgot Eva's birthday....' His thoughts trailed off as he drove out of the parking lot. His mind wandered for answers, possibilities were written up and crossed out in the blackboard of the mind. "Did I forget to bring my bag? No, I left that in the apartment." He rambled on "Did I tell Eva that I was gone?" He immediately scratched that out, remembering what she said the other night. "Go out there, it's good that you're getting out there."

Jejomar smiled, that girl was a real star. A kind of pseudo-sister who helps him, he appreciated her help all the time. 'Well if it isn't that, what did I forget..... Oh.' He turned his phone on quickly, checking the date and confirming his suspicions. He usually wasn't one to forget someone's birthday, it probably had something to do with him getting smashed. Of course he already bought her present, he just forgot the specific date. Yeah, that sounds bad.

Taking himself out of his thoughts, Je-Je found himself in front of the Mighty Bean. He mentally patted his own head, thanking his subconscious for driving while daydreaming in the driver's seat. Quickly realising that's something crazy people do, he immediately chastised himself for patting the head of an imaginary person in his head. Without thinking about the fact that he chastised himself, like he was talking to another person. He parallel parked in front of the Mighty Bean, taking care not to bump into the other cars. Quickly reaching for his phone, he texted Natalie.



Jejomar let out a small smile as he sent the message. He pocketed his phone before heading out of the car, closing the door and locking it in one swift motion. He spotted Eva in the café, talking to someone. He was going to approach the door before pausing. A thought slowly creeped up in his mind, cheeks getting redder. 'Is Echo there?' And so, poor Jay opened and scrambled into his car, whipping his phone and frantically texting the one person that he knows is in the Mighty Bean.

---

---

"I know you are going to be wearing clothes at the party, goober. But what color scheme?"

These were the type of questions that more often than not got Dom into trouble. He looked over into Natalya’s pretty eyes and smiled ”I dunno, Nat; black? Navy? How about you choose? Oh dear. Either that was an extremely brave or extremely stupid choice. This is why Dom rarely talked. As more and more people and fits turned up, Dominic simply shook his head. ”You all realise that because of this, I am now going to have an entire cupboard in my kitchen dedicated to different types of coffee beans? No beer for any of you anymore, if any of you turn up at the door, you’re drinking coffee”

"Well, people, I hate leave all of you but me and Dom got some shopping to do." She motioned for Dom to get up as she would slip out of the seat and stand up. "I'm going to go and put these in the apartment, I'll be right back."

She kissed him goodbye and slipped away to their apartment to drop of her gifts. After short while, Nattie returned, car keys in hand.

"So, ready to go?"

”Of course, later guys” Dom followed her out to her car and climbed into the passenger seat beside her. ”Oh by the way, I almost forgot” He placed a hand behind her head and pulled her into a long, deep kiss. Every fibre of his being was screaming at Dominic not to stop. Finally pulling his lips away but keeping his head pressed against hers, noses grazing, he smiled.

”I kind of missed you”

"I know you are going to be wearing clothes at the party, goober. But what color scheme?"

These were the type of questions that more often than not got Dom into trouble. He looked over into Natalya’s pretty eyes and smiled ”I dunno, Nat; black? Navy? How about you choose? Oh dear. Either that was an extremely brave or extremely stupid choice. This is why Dom rarely talked. As more and more people and fits turned up, Dominic simply shook his head. ”You all realise that because of this, I am now going to have an entire cupboard in my kitchen dedicated to different types of coffee beans? No beer for any of you anymore, if any of you turn up at the door, you’re drinking coffee”

"Well, people, I hate leave all of you but me and Dom got some shopping to do." She motioned for Dom to get up as she would slip out of the seat and stand up. "I'm going to go and put these in the apartment, I'll be right back."

She kissed him goodbye and slipped away to their apartment to drop of her gifts. After short while, Nattie returned, car keys in hand.

"So, ready to go?"

”Of course, later guys” Dom followed her out to her car and climbed into the passenger seat beside her. ”Oh by the way, I almost forgot” He placed a hand behind her head and pulled her into a long, deep kiss. Every fibre of his being was screaming at Dominic not to stop. Finally pulling his lips away but keeping his head pressed against hers, noses grazing, he smiled.

”I kind of missed you”

[quote=@HushedWhispers]
She again waved everyone goodbye then walked alongside Dominic as they made it to her little bug of a car. It was a present from her parents for when she went back home a couple of weeks ago. She loved her blue, drop top car as she couldn't help but to let the top down before unlocking her car and letting Dominic slide in. She cranked up her engine then looked at Dom as he spoke. "Forget wha...?" She didn't even get to finished as she was pulled into a deep kiss by him, loving every second that passed by.

She raised her hand up to caress his face gently then smiled while looking into his eyes. "I've missed you more, Dominic. Words cannot explain the countless of times that I cuddled my pillow and pretended it was you just so I could sleep happy and feel protected." It was true. When she wasn't sleeping over at Tasha's or someone else's apartment. She was in her bed, their bed, clutching the nearest pillow and even named it Dominic for that night. She thought it was sad but she loves him so much and makes her feel safe anytime he's around. Natalya realized that many people saw that since her top was down. She didn't care though. She was in love and people are in love, they kiss out in the open.

Natalya then broke apart from their heads pressed together as her smile never left her face. "Buckle up, Dom. You know how I am. I was thinking we could go to the Party City and find outfits? Any better ideas?" She said then asked him, which was a mistake because Dom didn't know anything about shopping for outfits except for himself and sometimes even her. It was cute though. She didn't want a guy to pick her clothes out for her anyway.

"Party City it is and yes I know how you drive. It's almost as bad as Tasha" Of course Dom was a guy's guy. He didn't shop. In fact if it wasn't for Nattie, most of his shopping would be done online so he didn't have to do it. Somehow, venturing out into the big bad world and talking to people didn't seem so bad with Natalya by his side. He loved her more than anything. She understood his need to disappear from the world and she accepted that part of him. How on Earth did he get so lucky? It was almost a catch 22 in reverse. If Dom had never been diagnosed with HCM, he would never have quit hockey and never had moved to San Francisco and never had met Nattie. It was strange. He missed playing with all his flawed heart but at this point, he couldn't imagine a world with Nat.

As the pair made their drive towards what was bound to be a shopping triathlon, Dom turned down the radio and looked at his pretty girl. "So, I've been doing some thinking Nat. I'm not going to take another trip, at least not for a while. I was up on that mountain and all I could think about was you and how working at the bar was only ever supposed to be a part time thing. So I think I'm gonna stay grounded for while, work out something to do with my life. I mean, maybe I should actually try college. Maybe find a better job, I don't know. All I know is I don't really want to be away from you"

It was often the main theme of one of their long midnight discussions; what was Dom's plan? When he first moved to San Francisco, he didn't have a clue on how long he would be staying, hence the part time bartender job. Then Natalya happened and all of the other misfit toys they call friends and he got lost in the shuffle. Without hockey, Dominic didn't really have any idea what to do with his future. As a kid he either worked the family farm or was on the ice with his team. Now with his heart condition and ties to San Fran, the future was still unclear.

Natalya nodded her head towards Dom as he said that Party City was fine. Her eyes cut to the street as she glided her car into a nearby lane. She was driving a bit slower than usual as she wasn't in any hurry since she was with Dom, as a matter of fact. She looked as he turned down the radio then raised a slight brow at him. Natalya knew what that meant - Meaningful discussion time. Her ears twitched at his words as she continuously glanced between him and the road, making various turns and such.

This is what she has always talked about with Dom, his future plans. She really imagine going anymore days or nights without Dom by her side. She looked at him then back at the road while speaking. "Well, Dom, as I told you time and time again, it's your life and I want to share it with you. I don't want to get in the way of whatever plans you have for your future." She said with a slight sigh as she made one more turn and that was into the entrance of Party City and parked her car into the nearest parking space, shutting her engine off. Natalya sighed then turned to face Dom, grabbing his hand and clutching it.

"Dom, whatever you decide, I'll support your decision to the fullest extent, okay?" She placed her hand upon his face then leaned in as she kissed him then broke it with a smile, locking her eyes with his beautiful gaze. "Now, come on. I need to look cute for my party." She said while grabbing her purse and getting out of the car, locking it with a button as soon as Dom got out and grabbing his hand as they walked inside of Party City.

"Thanks babe"

Every kiss from Nat was like a line of cocaine to an addict; she was addicting and gladly, this drug was all Dom's. She was always so understanding, always so wise. True perfection if ever it existed. Now all he had to do was not disappoint her ad find something to do with his life instead of being a waster, coasting by on tips from the bar.

Following Nat into Party Time and admiring her perfect form from behind as a good boyfriend should, Dom quickly chimed in with a forgotten piece of information. "Damn my girl is fine....oh and the bar is happy to supply the booze for your party by the way. I spoke to the boss while I was still at base camp. Turns out your boyfriend can be quite charming when he wants" Dominic was proud of himself. It took him a lot of build up to ask his boss to help with the party. Sure, his friends were probably more known to the manager than he was since they were his best clients but Dom felt like had overcome a small obstacle, talking and convincing him to give them the booze. He quietly patted himself on the back and smiled.

"OK Sweetness, lead the way

Natalya turned to Dominic when he mentioned that he had everything set in place regarding the booze. She turned towards him with a soft smile. "Charming or not, you're with me and I don't care about all of that." She winked then took his hand into hers as she basically dragged him around the whole store, throwing various things for her to try on into his arms. She even picked out a cute little outfit for him but he didn't think it was the best so she tried again and told him that he was wearing it, like it or not.

She grabbed Dom's arm and ran with him towards the dressing room as she basically pushed him into a nearby chair and grabbed all of her clothes. She changed into every single outfit and put on a little fashion show for Dom, just for shits and giggles. Natalya really valued Dom's opinion when it came to her party attire but that might've been a mistake - Trusting his judgement when it came to fashion. She turned to the mirror and found the perfect outfit as she looked at Dom over her shoulder, winking. She changed back into her regular clothes and grabbed Dom, again. She stopped in the middle of one of the aisle just as her phone chimed, seeing it was Sam texting her back. "Yes. Sam's parents are catering the party. Booze and Korean food. What could possibly go wrong tonight?" She smile and continued on waltzing towards the register.

To: Sammie
From: Natalya
Thank you, sweets! :* I'll repay you back someday. Or anything you need now? LOL. :D

Natalya and Dom went up to the cashier as she swiped her card for both of their outfits. They were placed on hangers for them both with a bag covering them. She grabbed hers with a thanks then waited for Dom to grab his as they walked outside back to the car, hand in hand. She laid her outfit perfectly in the small trunk and did the same with Dom's as they got into the car and headed back towards the apartment, where she needed to get ready as soon as possible.

---

"I'd blame Feliks for my wild party ways." Eva said, laughing. "Plus, I don't do it as often as you might think. Drinking too much alcohol will definitely ruin my non-existant modelling career." She reminded him, leaning back on her seat and letting out a huge sigh. While it was true that she should cut down on partying, and maybe try and find a back-up option to modelling since she wasn't getting jobs every day. The girl knew that in her heart, she couldn't go for a different career path without at least trying. Modelling was the only think Eva knew, even as a child, and she wouldn't want her life to go any other way.

Eva raised an eyebrow as Connor snatched the gum packet from Benji. "Y'know, it's not good to be addicted to those." She pointed out. She peered down as her phone buzzed in her hand, blinking in surprise at Jay's text. From the name, she knew immediately who it was. Huh, she'd have to give credit to her drunk-self's creativity. Partymaster, Broji and now this? 'Yep, I'm definitely going to have to look through these later and keep a note of them.'

To: Sweet not-actually-Baby Jesus

Coast is clear !! (ﾟヘﾟ)？

To: Sweet not-actually-Baby Jesus

Stop hovering around like a creeper and come in !

Eva placed her phone back onto the table, looking up right as Connor finished quoting his planned activites for the day. Her eyes widened slightly at his queston, hurriedly unlocking her phone and checking through her list of contacts. After scrolling for a bit, she finally stopped at the one name she was absolutely sure was Connor. "Uhh... well..." Eva tucked her phone back onto her lap, almost hiding the screen from his - or anybody's - view as she looked around. "Will you believe me if I say that your name hasn't changed?" She asked, with a sheepish smile.

She slid out of her seat, standing up and tucking her phone into her skirt pocket. "Jay's outside." She told Benji and Connor instead, "I'm going to get myself something to eat before my stomach decides to embarrass me." She excused herself, hurrying towards the counter where she sighed with relief. "I'll take a caramel latte and a chocolate muffin, to go, please." She gave her order, pulling out some spare change she had shoved in before leaving her shoot. While waiting, the girl pulled out her phone again and scrolled back down to Connor's name.


'Might as well change it while I can.' She thought to herself, changing his name with a pounding heart. She knew that if Connor ever found out about this, she would never be able to live it down.

---

---

---

Echo let out an accomplished sigh as she gazed across the now spotless apartment. She wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead and proceeded out of the apartment and outside, a large black garbage bag in her hand. She slowly walked over to the dumpster outside, lifting it's lid and tossing the bag inside before returning to her apartment and collapsing into her desk chair with a huff, blowing a lock of hair from her face. Echo grabbed her phone from her desk having heard it go off before her trek to the dumpster.



She plopped her phone down on her desk, padding over to her room in bare feet to retrieve her bag and sunglasses, grabbing a pair of socks from the drawer on her way out. After putting on both the socks and her beige riding boots, she put on her sunglasses and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, sliding her laptop in before heading down to The Mighty Bean.

Upon arrival she didn’t take notice to the group across the room, but instead went up to the counter, giving the barista a warm smile before ordering “I’ll take a dark roast coffee in whatever the largest sized cup is. Annnnnnnd maybe a biscuit too….yeah.”. She grabbed her wallet from her bag and counted out the appropriate amount of cash and was soon walking over to a table, purchases in hand. Upon passing the group’s table Echo seemed to almost retreat behind her hair at the sight of both Eva and Connor at the same table, two people she wasn’t really acquainted with. She glanced at them and gave a nervous wave before stopping and making an attempt at conversation “....Umm...hey guys…..you uhhh….you goin’ to Nat’s party? It’s...it’s gonna be fun!” she tried to say with the only confidence she had mustered up.

After a few awkward moments between them, Echo scurried off to a distant table and quickly put in her earbuds, taking a large gulp of coffee and avoiding eye contact with everyone. She swiftly snatched her laptop up and opened it up, sending a quick IM to Didi:

---

Jejomar sighed, relieved that his crush friend wasn't in the building. It wasn't that he hated Echo. Actually, the complete opposite really. It's always been a problem for the guy, asking girls out. Throughout his life, he's been shy and lonely, thinking that he would die alone. No one really shared his interests or personality in the Philippines, being shy wasn't something that was common. Years of being single and lonely didn't help when you finally found someone you liked. Eva called them the cutest couple in the world but he deftly forgot about that comment. 'She is kinda cute, I guess...' he let the thought trail off, the image of her following it out of his mind.

Jay waited a minute or two as his cheeks turned to normal, body plummeting back to normal temperatures. He wiped the sweat off his brow and exited the car. He carefully closed and locked the door behind him, pocketing his J1 as he did so. He entered the café with a calm face and immediately went for the counter, noticing the group on the table as he did so. "Uh, can I have a dark roast coffee in the largest cup you have. And uhm, one of those biscuits please." The barista raised an eyebrow at him as he made his coffee, Jejemor becoming increasingly shy.

When the man finally gave him his drink and biscuit, he rushed off without the change, the barista just shaking his head knowingly. Je-Je sat down on the table, on the seat next to Eva. He didn't really have a problem with the other two and liked shooting Connor up in most FPS. He greeted them with a wave, Eva looking at him with a strange smile. He furrowed his eyebrows before looking around the café, listing people as he went. 'Barista, old man, old woman, another barista, Echo, middle aged man-' He turned back to the previous girl, mind going fuzzy.

Jejemor locked eyes with her for a brief moment before he turned away, face redder than ever before. His heart thumped, pounding his eardrums with a fast beat of love. His body temperature went up a few degrees and he gulped. He looked at Eva with a pitiable/despising look on his face. "You told me the coast was clear." His heart thumped louder as he realised there were other people on the table.

Poor Je-Je.

---

---

When Didi said to Feliks that she was going to do homework, what she really meant was lie face down on the sofa while sleeping to the midday news on television. She was exhausted, and more importantly,totally broke, as the homeless guy scraping lint on the sidewalk. Her pay wouldn't be out until...never. The poor girl was fired last week, or willingly resigned, as she would rather tell, her boss was a total ass anyway. Aside from the homework that she should really be doing, Nat's party is just a couple of hours from now and she has to find something to wear. Fast. Because she would end up in Kip's furry winter cardigan and a pair of funky leopard pants, and Didi is long overdue for a cosplay.

What if I just skip the party? Make something up? Bad diarrhea. Yeah that usually works.

With all these thoughts spinning in her head, she couldn't really find the ease to sleep. Rolling over, her eyes on the white ceiling, while some news about some drunk driver crashing into a pavement played over the t.v, she fished her phone out of her pocket. Reading Nat's text once again, and realizing she doesn't really have the heart to bail out on her. After all, Nat hoped for her to be there and it was the least she could do for a great friend. Her thought filled dilemma was cut off when a message from Echo showed up. Her sleepy eyes widened into gladness.

To: Echo Young
Remind me to hug you when I get there. But srsly, tho, I got partial brain damage while figuring this whole thing out. You still up for it?

Hitting send, she immediately followed up with another message.

To: Echo Young
Too late. Already on my way.

She may have some time for the party after all. Now, to find a spunky looking dress to go with. Her contented smile turned into a slant when she scanned her contacts. Should she even dare? The very last person she thought she'd get some fashion advice from, and probably the only person who owns a store of various clothing in her wardrobe, The hell with it she thought. Let's just get this over with. her thumbs tapped on the keys, sighing as she hit send.



It's not that Eva has bad taste or anything, in fact its the total opposite. It's just that Didi isn't a total nut for fashion, for Eva's style in fashion to be precise. And right now, she'll take whatever she can get.

----

Didi inhaled the invigorating smell of coffee as she entered the cafe. She felt a little bad for missing the event earlier, and for not giving Nat her lame-o gift, as Feliks describes it. The weeb gang has their own little circle in one corner of the cafe, she gave them a breezy nod when they looked at her direction, then passed by Jejomar who was literally drooling at the sight of Echo.

"Sup, Jay." she said, then directly walked towards Echo. Didi sat next to her, gave her a smile while placing her laptop on the counter, then letting out a hefty yawn, arching her back. First thing's first, a tall cup of black would fully wake her.

---

With the coffee and muffin paid for, Eva brought the hot drink towards the 'otaku table' as Benji named quite aptly. She smiled, a bit awkwardly at Connor and Benji as she slid back into her seat again. She had pretty much just up and left the table without answering Connor, and she was sure that she was going to be asked again soon enough. 'At least I changed it, now even if he doesn't believe me, he'll have no choice but to go with what I have down.' She opened the package, pulling out the chocolate muffin and delicately setting it over the paper.

Eva looked up and smiled at Echo. While they weren't the closest, Eva was still a friendly one, as long as they weren't enemies, Eva would have no reason not to be friendly to the girl in front of her. "Yeah, we're going to the party - or well, I know I am for sure." She indicated to the two on her table, "I'll let them answer for themselves." She chuckled, rubbing the side of her arm awkwardly. The thin Led Zepplin tee was definitely not enough to keep the girl warm in the somewhat cool cafe.

It took a moment for Eva to register it was actually Echo, even as she answered the girl. Eva mumbled a curse under her breath, peering at the text she had sent Jay not even two minutes ago. 'Well, I guess he'll have no choice but to face her. God I hope he'll talk to her soon, I can only ship so much from afar - behave, Ev. You're straying off thought again.'

She grimaced as Jay took a seat beside her, waiting for the moment that he would realise that Echo was actually in the cafe, even if she were sitting pretty much on the other side. "She wasn't there when I texted you! I promise!" The girl said, stretching her arms out in a 'I surrender' pose. She looked at Benji, almost for help.

Eva's phone buzzed again, and she peered down at it. She chuckled darkly at Didi's request, ideas for outfits already running through her mind. Of course, Eva wouldn't force her to wear anything she didn't want to, but it didn't mean that she wasn't going to have fun dressing up Didi.

To: Windows Dee

Got you covered! Come to my place before the party and you can go thru my clothes !! ୧༼ ヘ ᗜ ヘ ༽୨