1 comments/ 12403 views/ 0 favorites My Cup of Tea Ch. 01 By: soweet_cowgirl "The bike ride..." "What's the bike ride?" Sara knew intrigue was apparent on her face and her ignorance made her look stupid. But who cared? Jenna, best friend number one, wasn't one to judge. "Come on... Every love story has a bike ride. The guy rides the bike and the girl is behind him and they—" "I'd rather be on a motorcycle. It's much faster and bikers are hotties," Lisa, best friend number two, added and her arms stretched behind her neck to support her head. Her exposed body baked slowly in the sun and Sara could see drool on boys' mouths from a mile away. Jenna and Lisa were as different as day and night. True but oh so clichéd. Then again, what was original these days? Sara listened to the waves sweeping seaweed in and out from the wet sand. Salty air hit her face and the sunrays didn't dare to bake her crispy golden like Lisa. Conscious of her body as usual and afraid of the affects of UV rays on her skin, Sara hid underneath a big watermelon-colored beach umbrella with Jenna. Jenna, her long black hair in a bun, her green eyes covered by big-bug sunglasses, was reading a cheesy romance novel and eating baked chips. Lisa, in a teensy-weensy unpolkadotted blue bikini, oiled herself meticulously and winked at every cute boy within a few feet away. Sara laughed suddenly as the fact of possessing archetypical friends bemused her. This was officially the last summer of freedom... the summer before senior year began and she couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather be at the moment. Or with anybody else but Jenna and Lisa. High school was a place of drama and hurt, but it was nothing compared to college. The thought of colleges and universities shattered her laughter. Yes, she was quite the moody one, though classmates often referred to her as the least of three evils. Jenna, Lisa, and Sara were the self-proclaimed Feared Three. Like her flamboyant sisters, Jenna and Lisa made Sara their shadow. Being a shadow had its benefits, Sara would agree. She felt no pride in being a leader and so she was always the follower. Another face in the crowd? Why not? Plain and ordinary and at the most, she was pretty cute. Short brown hair and bangs framed her oval face. Her eyes were large but her lips weren't kissably full. Her nose wasn't a button but at least it wasn't crooked. She wasn't tiny, but she could use a few more inches to boost her height. As for her body, well let's just say no magazines would feature her as their choice model. "Anyway, loser, the bike ride is quite essential. Without it, the purity of young love is obsolete. Or rather, nonexistent." "Use words normal people can understand, you witch." Lisa flicked some oil at Jenna with her long, slender fingers. Jenna, a wiccan with a love for dark colors and moods, didn't find Lisa's title for her insulting. "Go on." Still intrigued, wide-eyed Sara edged closer to Jenna. "Imagine riding down an autumn path with the boy of your dreams on a bike with frictionless wheels. It is like floating on air." "Geez... You two have to grow up. These days, a bike ride is for fobs. Get it? Fobs. Find a guy with a Porsche, hop in and that's what I call romantic." Lisa shook her head and like a goddess, her cascades of pale hair danced in the air. She stood up and stretched her lithe body. "Let me teach you two a lesson. Love and purity do not mix." "Slu—" "Jenna heads up!" A water balloon sailed through the air fluidly and exploded upon impact with Jenna's barely-there chest. "Aw, I thought you would dodge it. And I got your book wet?" Angel-faced Joey was apparently the culprit of the rage-eliciting water balloon. Golden boy Joey, jock-extraordinaire with a flaming crush for Miss Goth. Jenna tossed her book aside and hastily wiped her drenched shirt. "I didn't come to the beach to get wet." "Me either..." Sara was an innocent bystander in the way of the now dead water balloon. In seconds, Jenna tackled Joey and both fell and hit the sand bum first. "Stupid moron!" While the lovebirds in denial fought it out, Lisa flirted up a storm with Joey's friends and Sara was left alone under the massive coverage of the umbrella. She picked up Jenna's book and flipped through the wet pages. "Love is a bike ride. There are bumps in the road. There are falls. One can ride alone. One can ride with another. Down a path that is both known and unknown... Interesting." Sara buried her nose in the book for the rest of the day. If there wasn't a niche for her to fill, then her place was beneath the umbrella, alone and yet still very happy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ian wanted to be in Europe. He wanted to work for an architect there. He wanted so much more than this boardwalk and this beach. Riding his bike to his aunt's house, he spotted an unusual umbrella on the beach. Maybe it was his boredom. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was even his exhausted muscles playing tricks on him. But whatever it was, he would have to agree that the girl beneath the umbrella was the silliest one he'd ever seen in a while. What sort of girl would wear her granny's one piece at the beach? He had to thank her though. He hadn't had such a good laugh in a long while. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ice cream! Sara loved ice cream. But ice cream did not love her. One look at her hips and the reason was clear. The skirt she wore along with the outfit for the creamery was ridiculous. She looked like a character from a too-happy fairytale. Tasting the ice cream early in the morning was part of her job, but no one had to know that. The cold spoon dared her to put ice cream on her nose. And she did. Customers would not arrive for another ten to fifteen minutes. She did forget about the other workers though. "Is that part of our outfit too? We have to wear the ice cream?" A guy in a similar uniform sans the skirt had slipped into the creamery. Tall. Somewhat dark. Very gorgeous. Sara's face did not burst into flames. Unfortunately, her blush was vivid and the same shade of crimson as the ripe flesh of a watermelon. She quickly wiped the ice cream away from her nose. "I'm sorry. I was probably interrupting something important. My name is Ian." Definitely the silliest girl ever, Ian thought, remembering her from the other day at the beach. "I'm Sshara... I mean Sara." A hand shot out to shake Ian's. A very sweet and sticky ice cream covered hand. "So I guess this job is pretty self-explanatory. Well, time for work." "Yea..." Eh. Cute guys were definitely not worth losing her heart to. Still, a girl could drool, eh? One month passed and Sara "convinced" herself to never develop a crush on the cute guy she stood next to every weekday for at least five hours. Lisa and Jenna visited often and before long, Lisa claimed Ian as hers, unbeknownst to Ian. "I know you like me. I like you too. That means you can be my boyfriend." Ian's jaw almost dropped as he handed Lisa her cone. Sara heard Lisa's words echoing in her head again and again, tempting her to either laugh or cry out in shock. Jenna smirked and left the drama to the creamery. "As they say it in England, you're not my cup of tea," Ian finally responded. He wiped his hands and left for the back offices of the creamery. Lisa dropped her ice cream and Sara immediately scooped her another cone, on the house. Lisa's defeat secretly made Sara's heart smile. Ian didn't fall for her charms. But then again, if even hot foxy mama Lisa wasn't his type, what was? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That was mean. You crushed her in front of everyone." "Everyone meaning a little old man and his granddaughter?" Ian grinned and watched Sara go off like a firecracker, quite amused. Her words streamed into his ears and danced. "I think you should apologize..." "I don't think so. She seems like the type to play guys. Her ego can use some beating." Ian got on his bike and looked at Sara with mischievous blue eyes. Sara found his stare locking on her own eyes to his and at that moment, the world became a blurry painting before her. Last summer of freedom. "You are the silliest girl I've ever met." She had expected something more along the lines of "You're cute." Disappointed, Sara turned away and blushed profusely as a million capillaries exploded across her cheeks. Her palms were sweaty and her feet were stone heavy. She wanted to run away. When he began to laugh, she wanted to bury herself instead. "Want a ride home?" The bike ride. "What?" "Want a ride home?" He asked again, this time stretching his words and pronouncing them carefully as if she were slow. Sara blinked. The two devils on her shoulders debated the pros and cons of accepting his offer, mostly the pros. Her lips moved before her mind decided. Her heart had taken charge. "Sure." Ian smiled and waited for her to take a seat. "Hold on to me. Oh come on, don't be shy. It's just me." Sara obliged reluctantly and wrapped her arms around his waist. His scent invaded her nostrils at full power. Though the creamery made all of them smell fruity, his clean scent was all his own. Her nose would never forget. "You don't have to press your face on my back. But that's okay." Ian felt his own face warm up a little. Luckily, Sara couldn't see. Sara felt lucky too. Ian couldn't see her unless he twisted his head enough to snap his neck. She hid behind his back and her heart's heavy pit-patting almost destroyed her chest. So warm was his body and so innocent was this body heat and contact. He sailed down the road. "Woah!" Sara held on tighter and laughed. Frictionless like on air... Sara closed her eyes. If only some things could last forever, she'd never open them again. "Do you worry about your future?" she asked timidly. "All the time." "I thought guys only worried about girls." "Funny. No. I don't at least." "Sure you don't." "Well I do think about this one girl." "Oh?" Sara's heart almost stopped. If jealousy could really turn one green, she would become a piece of lettuce soon. "Yes. She's weird. Funny. Sometimes she's quite stupid too. But she's very unique. And very... you." "What?" Sara's heart stopped. Ian was silent. His legs stopped pedaling. Sara's house was just around the corner. "She's you." Sara's lips parted and she loosened her grip around Ian's waist. Her hands were shaky. Did he just tell her she was quite stupid? And was he confessing something along the lines of his love for her? No way! "Do you like me?" Oh crap, she would just die if he said no or started laughing. "Maybe." He chuckled. "Maybe means yes in er... guy speak by the way," he said, stuttering a bit. People their age had a lot of drama in their lives. Parents divorcing, drugs, violence, melancholy, death, separation and other issues. At that moment, Sara Biea Affen experienced none of that. She was just another girl on a bike ride with just another guy. And yet, nothing else could compare to the sweet simplicity and innocence of their bike ride. "I like you too..." Ian smiled and turned his bike and pedaled hard. "Let's keep going then." My Cup of Tea Ch. 02 Sara Biea Affen bit her bottom lip and watched as baby arteries deliver blood across her face as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. "Hurry up brat!" screamed Gina, Sara's gorgeous sister with hair down to the butt and eyes bluer than the skies. "Jerry's going to be here any minute and I need to shave my legs!" Uh oh. Why did Gina need to shave her legs? Was it because she wanted to spend a night... no, no way. Sara shook the naughty thoughts away from her head. She just could not picture her sister, her role model, doing anything beyond holding Jerry the Jock's hand and kissing his prickly lips—he looked like a cactus sometimes when he didn't shave and Sara didn't know what Gina saw in Jerry. Gina was spending her last summer at home. Come September, she would be traveling to New York City to go to NYU. Jerry, on the other hand, had as many ambitions as a rock and decided to work for a while at a local gas station before learning to become a car mechanic. " Give me a minute." Sara stared at herself one last time before leaving the bathroom. The mirror in their bathroom was the only one that made her look pretty. But having heard Ian's words, Sara had a feeling from now on, even her reflection in a puddle of pee would look pretty. Her heart soared and she sighed. She was the luckiest girl in the world. Gina nearly knocked down the door. "I said I'll be out in a minute!" Sara pouted. She had to crane her neck to meet Gina's impossibly large and beautiful eyes—even Lisa was jealous of Gina and one could only imagine how many times Sara turned into a piece of broccoli in Gina's presence. "Have fun." Sara shook her head. Well at least even perfect girls needed to shave. And crap. Sara grinned and ran into her room, or rather flew because her head was in the clouds and the rapid beatings of her heart could easily defy gravity. The next morning, Sara woke up and turned into a zombie—every morning, even if she slept her full eight hours, she still looked like a puke-face. Her eyes were puffy and her hair was a total mess, but that really didn't matter, now did it, when a girl was in love? Pit pat went her heart and never had she felt more excited in going to work in the creamery for minimal wage, just to smell fruity at the end of the day. Gina, to Sara's semi-surprise, was not sleeping like a pig like every other day in the bed next to Sara's. She really didn't come home last night? For a split-second, Sara felt as if a bee had stung her heart but the mere thought of seeing Ian in just a few hours dispelled all other thoughts from her mind. Gina was turning nineteen in a few months—she could drive, buy cigarettes, and definitely rule her own life. She was smart, ambitious, and beautiful—a goddess on earth. Or rather an angel. When angels fell, Sara knew they fell hard but she shook her head and ran downstairs for breakfast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sara stood in front of the creamery and adjusted her frilly skirt. She looked like a cupcake princess from a cartoon about fairies. Her legs looked like they belonged to an elephant and her lips felt dry and cracked—she had forgotten her favorite strawberry lip-gloss that made her lips look pouty like those of kissing fishes. Sara scratched her head. What if Ian was joking yesterday? What if he only wanted to play with her heart, just like how Lisa did to all the dorky boys who tried to date her? What if he would come into work, point a finger at her, and laugh at her for falling for a trick or a mean joke? She'd explode. She'd stand right there and explode into a million chunks of gore-bits in his face. And then become a ghost and strange him, only to near death because she wouldn't want him to turn into a ghost too and break her heart after death. "No. No! I'm thinking too much about this!" "Do you usually talk to yourself?" Ian stood behind Sara with his arms crossed and his lips curved into a handsome smirk. Sara wondered if her heart would pop out of her chest any time soon and a bead of sweat traveled from the side of her head down her face. "You're... earrrly toooday." "I missed someone." If words could melt a person, Sara was now a puddle of nothing. "Good morning Sara." He smiled and walked into the creamery. Sara stood with her feet frozen and her eyes plastered to the perfectly sculpted back of Ian—he could audition for any hottie role and win, or save a million drowning girls at a beach if he were a lifeguard because all the girls would fake-drown just to be saved by him. He could have all the Ginas and Lisas of the world lined up at his door waiting for him to say yes to a date. This was life in a superficial world, but Sara couldn't complain. She was superficial too. And yet she couldn't help but feel a little saddened by the fact how everything worked. Good-looking people could have a million choices like at a super-buffet or a garden of free flowers. Plain looking people like herself waited light-years to be chosen and stood in endless lines at buffets—even if they were to choose, they'd hardly get what they what, or who they want. But for some reason, beyond Sara's comprehension, Ian decided to leave the buffet and go to a fatty-fast-food restaurant. Or fail to pick all the flowers available to him just so that he could have a handful of weed. Hey! Sara poked herself in the ribs. Stop comparing me to weed and a fatty-fast-food restaurant! With her heart beating at rates faster than the neuron conduction rates of a genius's brain, Sara entered the creamery and her eyes fell to her feet. What was she supposed to say to Ian? What was she supposed to do? Was she now his girlfriend? How was she supposed to act? Maybe she could sneak a few holds of his hand behind the counter. Feed him some ice cream with her finger? Sara blushed at her semi-naughty thoughts. "Hey Sara." Ian looked at her with nothing but lust in his eyes—or so she thought. "Yesssh?" "It's your turn to clean the bathroom today." Ian all but snickered. He covered his built torso with a pink apron—a pink apron that did nothing to detract from his gorgeousness or suggest to others of latent-homosexuality. If Sara had a bazooka in her hands, she'd blast him to pieces for making her feel stupid. Sara wondered if her jaw dropped to the floor. My Cup of Tea Ch. 03 "Stupid Ian." Sara muttered as she scrubbed the life out of the toilet seat. Her back ached and it screamed for revenge. Just two days ago, Ian had told her he liked her. Just this morning, he had told her he missed her. And right now, at this very moment, as Sara wielded a menacing scrubber in her hand and smelled like tooti-frutti ice cream X manure, she felt as though someone had turned her head into a top as it spun and threatened to pop. What was going on in that head of Ian's? One moment he melted her with his words and the next—well, he made her want to strangle his perfect neck. "I guess this is what they call love..." The butterflies in Sara's heart flapped their wings and made her beating heart send warmth throughout her body. He made her... crazy. Well, she was a little crazy to begin with, as her two best friends and sisters would agree. In daydreaming like a little fool, Sara hugged the wet and smelly scrubber to her chest and sighed. "Eew." Sara chucked the scrubber and stood up like an Amazon princess in the middle of a battle. Today was a Wednesday and she finally realized it was Ian who was designated by the Boss himself to clean the creamery's bathroom every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sara smacked a sticky palm to her forehead and rubbed her face. She clenched her fists by her sides and stormed out of the bathroom. Sara shot an accusing finger at Ian. "You were supposed to scrub the john to—" For the first time in Sara's life, she became speechless. On top of the counter in front of her usual spot in scooping ice cream for the customers was a single long-stemmed pink rose wrapped at the stem with a beautiful white ribbon. "Ian..." Sara knew her face was flushed and sweaty from scrubbing the toilet. She knew she smelled like bleach mixed with fruitiness mixed with crap—well not really crap, no one crapped in the creamery's toilet, though there was this one time when Sara couldn't help herself. The chili from the night before had destroyed her GI tract and gave her diarr—anyway... Sara was absolutely speechless. She swallowed air down her throat and felt metaphorical flames flickering before her face. She thought she knew how to handle the boy before her—he wasn't much of an enigma, he was just someone from another planet because guys like Ian Forest Collins would never like girls like Sara Biea Affen, Plain and Not Tall. Since she first met Ian, everything had felt like a dream, like a teenage soap opera where she was the lucky star—just like the bike ride, but so far there had been no bumps in the road and no falls, just clear and smooth sailing down a frictionless path, with her arms reaching the clouds. As her eyes drank in the sight of the beautiful pink rose, Sara's heart reminded her how real everything was. She was a dreamer but at the moment, she was not dreaming. "Is that for me?" If he said no, she'd bury her face in a vat of ice cream. Or better yet, his face... Since meeting Ian, Sara found herself to be very violent! It was funny but violence solved nothing, kids. Ian shrugged. His eyes could house storms, Sara thought. They were impossibly blue—baby blue to be exact—and the darkness of his lashes and his hair gave him an exotic look, not like Tarzan, but more like a gypsy boy, a boy with magic in his soul and wonders in his heart. His eyes did not look at her and he seemed nervous as he stared at his shoes and held his hands rigidly by his sides. Suddenly, he looked up and his eyes locked with hers and he began to move toward her and stopped when only a foot of distance stood between their bodies. "I..." The warmth in his gaze threatened to melt her into her classic puddle of pee—Sara! Now's not the time to make strange jokes and stuff! Focus! Focus! His lips looked moist and he swallowed as his eyes traveled down to Sara's lips—Sara pouted them a little and she could swear they quivered. He turned his eyes away from her face and rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "I want you..." Ian laughed. Why were the words stuck in his mouth? Why did he feel so nervous? Would Sara laugh if she knew he had never confessed anything to another girl before? Would she explode into giggles if she knew she would be his first... everything? The confused look on Sara's face made his heart dance and he summoned his courage to finish the rest of his sentence. "I want you to be my girlfriend." Before she could even digest his words, Ian bent down and gave her forehead a soft kiss. Sara felt wonderful chills run down her spine and the back of her neck tingled. "You taste funny." Sara frowned-- why did he always have to ruin moments too? Ian stuck out his tongue and laughed. Sara narrowed her eyes. This was all happening too fast. And what was it that Ian saw in her? All these thoughts could make her head explode. She reached down for the pink rose. It hadn't bloomed yet. Someone wise once said love was also like a rose, beautiful in bloom but transient, so transient for the petals will always fall and the rose will always wilt. Love is then like a rose, only beautiful in bloom and their love was just blossoming. A mix of euphoria and sadness filled Sara's heart. She had known Ian for over a month now but it had only been two days since she knew how he felt about her. Sara breathed deeply. If love was a bike ride, then all she had to do was be unafraid, wear a helmet, and go full speed. Tears welled up in her eyes—she'd never felt happier. Luckily, the atmosphere in the creamery was great, not a single soul wandered in for ice cream. Well, it wasn't lucky for the Boss, but who cared about the Boss at the moment, especially when he gave them no bonuses and made them scrub the toilet. "I want you to be mine too. Well not girlfriend. Ugh..." Crap, leave it to Sara to screw the loveliest of moments up. To make up for her slip, she shot forward and wrapped her arms around Ian and crushed into him with a hug she wished could last forever. He scent, his warmth, his body—everything about him felt so right and familiar. He made her heart beat. He made her forget about her troubles. He made the queerness of the creamery bearable. Ian hugged her back tightly, so tightly she could hear the soft rumbling of his stomach and the beating of his heart, a steady beat at a quickened pace. "What the heck are you two doing?" Sara gently shoved Ian away from her as the sweetness of their embrace was shattered by no other than best friend number one and two, but mostly Lisa whose voice when peeved was squeaky enough to make eardrums commit suicide. "I told you my love spell would work." Jenna in fishnet stockings, a stripped shirt that fell to her knees, and her dark hair down in curls instead of the usual bun looked absolutely bewitching. Dark eyeliner framed her eyes and her bangs covered her forehead—the most prominent feature of her face. Jenna hated her big forehead but Sara admired it because Sara knew a wonderfully brilliant brain hid behind that forehead. As for Lisa, she was nothing less of the blond goddess she was, in a black skirt short enough to make an old man blush, a light-blue tank top that revealed too much, and her face glowing. Every since Ian rejected her, Lisa had plotted openly to crush his heart, which she knew was black because no one with a normal heart would reject her, Lisa of all people! She narrowed her beautiful eyes at Sara and Sara almost cringed in the corner like a frightened mouse in the presence of a killer cat. "I got free tickets to a concert for tonight. Don't know which band is playing, don't care. But if you want to come along..." Jenna sent Sara a wink. Sara wished Jenna had a spell potent enough to freeze Lisa. Ian looked at the three girls and felt cornered, as most boys do when outnumbered by girls. "I'll finish cleaning bathroom," he said with a shrug before he disappeared into the bathroom. "I can't believe you Sara." "Way to go girl." "You are a traitor!" "I knew you two had something going on." "I won't lose to the likes of you." The likes of me? Sara blinked. "Shut up Lisa." "Make me witch." "Guys just calm down! We... we were just..." "Whatever." Lisa dismissed the girls with a quick wave of her hand. "I'll remember this Sara Biea Affen." Lisa walked out of the creamery with clenched teeth and bulging veins in her neck and temples. "She's always like this. Forget her. Now about the concert." "But Jenna..." Sara's insides churned. Was it wrong to like the boy who rejected one of your best friends? Was she a betrayer? "What should I do?" Jenna shrugged. "Not my problem." She slapped two tickets on the counter and waved. "See you tonight." Sara sighed. Best friends forever? Best friends for life? Sometimes, best friends were scarier than the worst of enemies... Sara stroked the rose and bit her bottom lip. Was being with Ian worth losing a best friend over? When Ian poked his head out from the bathroom and waved the scrubber in the air like a sword, Sara knew she had the answer to her own question. He was... My Cup of Tea Ch. 04 "The Flaming Llamas?" Ian chuckled as his eyes scanned the concert ticket in his hand. "What sort of music do you like anyway?" He dropped the ticket on the counter and removed the apron from his torso. Sara shrugged. "I don't know. I like sappy stuff," she admitted with blushing cheeks. Music... will Ian and I ever have a song together? When will we share our first dance? How many first memories will we share together? When will we kiss? Sara's heart soared. "You'll come with me right?" she asked timidly. Ian cocked his head and rubbed his chin. I wonder what he'd look like with a beard... Maybe he'd sport one in a few years after we're married, thought Sara with drool brimming at the corner of her mouth. We'll have fifty kids and live in a mansion and... "Sorry... I'm busy tonight." The apologetic expression in his eyes could melt her, but his words were like an arrow that shattered her silly thoughts and pierced the bottom of her heart. Like an open book, the expressions on Sara's face were apparent to Ian and Ian curled his lips into a small smile. "I have some applications I have to work on," he quickly added. Excuses... he was giving me excuses already? You can't expect him to spend every waking moment with you, just because he's your boyfriend now, stupid Sara. But... "Applications?" Ian nodded. "I want to study architecture in Edinburgh this spring." Edin-where? Sara cocked her head like a confused puppy. "Scotland silly." "Oh."Where was Scotland again? "The UK?" Ian chuckled. Oh... she knew where the UK was... so Scotland was hundreds of miles away... And Sara would never, ever be in Scotland—she was deathly afraid of airplanes and mortified of change. She swallowed and felt her heart sank to the bottoms of who-knew-where, just somewhere deep, very, very deep. ------------------------------------------------ "Mama I'm hungry!" "You have a bottomless pit for a stomach. Do they not feed you at the creamery?" "I can't just drink milk and eat ice cream all day. Look at my hips! You gave them to me!" Sara gave Mama, her paternal granny, a gentle poke at her sides. Mama smelled like cookies and bleach—when she wasn't cooking away the hours, she was cleaning. She had snow-white hair in curls atop her cute head, a glamorous face always made up for every occasion, and the perfect amount of plumpness in her body. Taking care of the house and the girls was quite a chore for an eighty-year old woman, especially when Sara's parents were away on a business trip. Sara's dad, nicknamed Mister Curry, was in charge of a refrigerator factory. Sara's mom, Madame Naggy, a housewife, could not let Mister Curry fly off alone to China, not after she had heard so much about the willing and sly females who aimed to be every wealthy westerners' mistress or concubine. In the Affen household at the moment were Sara and Gina, Mama and Taylor their sixteen-year old cousin who had the hots for Lisa. On weekends, Lenra Ciea Affen, Sara's oldest sister visited them for lunch and dinner and brought Ace and Daniel, twin boys, over for their great-grandma Mama to play with. Sara knew of Lenra's cunning, she only wanted Mama to babysit the evil little twins so she could spend time with her husband Gary who was a dentist and could only afford to spend Saturdays with his semi-lonely wife, being so busy drilling away at people's teeth. Lenra was Sara's twin except in age. Save for being plumper and having more wrinkles, even the stupid and half-blind could see Lenra and Sara as sisters. Only Gina looked like a stranger, being so beautiful. I hate Gina. Sometimes... Sara sighed. Lenra married a wealthy husband and have two boys. Gina's going to study law at NYU. Gina... was she home yet? Sara the shadow was still unclear of her own future. She stood before a million roads with a fuzzy map. Oh well. Time to eat! "You will have to teach me to cook one day." "Cooking requires a little bit of talent and an ability to not make everything explode." "Why does everyone tease me?" Sara asked as she stuffed her face. After devouring the last of the food, she ran upstairs to get ready for the Flaming Lame-something's concert. Hopefully Lisa wouldn't be there. Else Sara would have make Jenna teach her an invisibility spell. Jenna's spells suck though. None have worked so far! "Gina?" No reply. Where the heck was Gina? I can't worry about her now, I have to get ready for the Flaming Pickles... Cornflakes, Yams? Llamas, right... After all, the baby of the house never had to worry about her older sisters... --------------------------------------------- "TDH! Freaking TDH!"1 "Kyle! You're so hot!" "Sign my boobs!" "Have my babies!" some guy or a very butch-gal screamed. Sara exploded into laughter. A thousand fan girls dressed like Jenna lined up in front of the Jerry Cramerstin Ballroom where the concert would take place—yes the Flaming Llamas were playing in a "Ballroom." She had to stand on her tiptoes if she wanted to catch a glimpse of the band but Sara had flat-feet and standing on her toes were not good for her feet, so her podiatrist never said but Sara knew. Her lazy feet never lied! "Yo." "Hey Jen." Jenna wore a blood-red dress with knee high black boots and had a cigarette crushed between her fingers. She never smoked. The cigarette just came with the outfit and if some important person showed up, Jenna would pretend to smoke it. Sara chose to wear a black skirt with a striped dress-shirt and sneakers... plain white sneakers. Unbeknownst to her, she was a fashion disaster and that was why Jenna always shook her head at first sight of Sara's current outfits. Why Jenna never told Sara, only the gods knew. Sara always thought Jenna had some kind of vestibular problem because she was always shaking her head and sighing... silly Sara. "Lisa's not coming?" "And that's a bad thing?" Jenna winked. Sara gave Jenna's arm a light punch. "Your new boytoy didn't come?" Sara shook her head. "He's not my boytoy." "Whatever." Sara looked around her and found her eyes studying the formation of groups in the crowds surrounding them. Girls stood in groups of four to five, some girls held on to their boys' arms, and some guys who looked like nothing but weirdoes stood alone or in creepy groups. The Flaming Llamas had strange fans. "Who'd you get the tickets from anyway?" "The lead singer." Sara arched a brow. "Wow." --------------------------------------------------- "I wanna be your gay lover I wanna make your man cry I wanna be with you forever..." Wailed the lead singer of the Flaming Llamas. Sara found herself shivering, not from the powerful AC in the Ballroom, but from the unexpectedly creepy lyrics of the band's songs. Blood is what I drink from your lips Every kiss is pain Every goodbye is knife wound..." "He's cute right?" "Who?" "Kyle. The lead." "Oh." Ian's fifty times cuter. Granted Kyle was tall and dark and handsome too, with violet eyes—contacts of course—and dirty blond hair ruffled enough to be rock-star material. He wore a low-cut black shirt and from where Sara sat, she could see a silver chain around his neck. His voice, she would admit sounded charmingly delicious, even when he sang the words "I wanna be your gay lover..." Was he gay? "We can meet them later." "Really? Then Lisa's going to miss out." "He's not her type. Your Ian is." Sara felt the warmth from her cheeks spread to the base of her neck. "I really like him." "Good for you." "Jenna..." Sara pouted. She knew despite Jenna's harsh exterior and words, inside Jenna's flat chest was a heart as golden as the teeth of some rich pimp. Sara stared at the band and then at the glowing faces of the other people in the audience. Did they all think Kyle and the Llamas were singing to each of them and staring at them? Did they know when bands played, they never really acknowledged the existence of each individual member of the audience? So Sara watched on with boredom clearly written across her face, all the while as her mind wandered and wondered what Ian was doing and if he missed her. --------------------------------------------- "Why the hell are you here?" Ian smashed a fist against the wall and his face flushed. "Did you miss me Ian?" The man before his door smirked. Ian clenched his fist and delivered a swift blow to the man's face. The man laughed when he recovered from the punch and wiped away the blood from his nose. "I guess you didn't. But your mother does." With a shove to Ian's chest, the man made his way in through the door and sat himself down at the couch like the master of the house. ---------------------------------------------- Jenna whipped the cigarette up and planted it before her lips. "Swweet. VIP passes backstage baby. Come right in," said the loserly bouncer who stood guard in front of the band's makeshift dressing room. Sara sent apologetic looks to the girls who screamed for entry. They shot daggers back from their eyes and Sara shivered. "Forget them. Come on." Jenna pulled Sara by the wrist into the room, right when a cork from a champagne bottle had been released and it flew straight at Sara. "Ouch." Sara rubbed her forehead. If only Ian were here to kiss her boo boo... Peals of laughter filled the smoke-filled room. "Hey sorry about that. It's you? Sara something-something?" Kyle stood in front of Sara and Jenna and towered over them like a mountain, a good-looking mountain with lean muscles, tan skin, a great outfit, and messy hair any girl would want to fix or at least run her curious and aching fingers through. Sara Something Something... Does he know me? "And Miss Jenna Moonlight. Welcome to my lair." Sleazy, dark... Sara felt like she didn't belong here. She sent Jenna a look ignored and her eyes wandered. Four guys and two girls in a room—Sara felt like a groupie—one that um... did stuff for a band after a concert to entertain or relax them... Oh god... Sara would explode. "We're just about to go out. You're going to join us right?" Oh... Sara would have to give her imagination a beating sooner or later... Sara stared at her watch. Ten PM. Sara's bedtime was no later than eleven... "Yes we will," Jenna answered. "Great." Kyle landed his hand on Sara's shoulder and gave it a gentle pat. "You remember me right?" Sara shook her head and Kyle laughed. "I was the fat kid from Miss Ferginson's class." Miss Ferginson... second grade, Dinklestein Elementary. Fatty fat fat Kyle? "Really?" No way. Sara scratched the back of her head and smiled. People could really change in a few years. Or a decade to be approximately exact. "You look good," Kyle said while elevating his eyebrows. One thing was for sure. Kyle was not gay. It took a keen eye to catch Jenna's split-second frown. "Sara's not single," she said with hidden agitation in her raspy voice. "Really? Very interesting then." Sara in a daze failed to move when Kyle leaned forward and kiss her lips. She even felt his tongue trying to... to... She gasped and then quickly pulled away. He had stolen her first kiss from Ian! Sara covered her lips with her hand. Tears fell from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. "I hate you," she whispered before running out of the room. "Sara..." Biea Affen... He had never forgotten her name. Kyle felt a sudden hit to his chest as he watched the girl he had a crush on in elementary school run off with tears in her eyes. He'd seen a dozen of girls cry, especially after he'd bed them and forget even their names the next morning—One time he had twins in his bed and then... well, bloody hell. Sara's tears hit him like a cold shower after a drunken night. "The hell..." Jenna looked at Kyle with incredulity in her eyes. "What do you guys see in her?" Kyle shrugged and laughed. "Who? Let's go babe." We wrapped an arm around Jenna's shoulders and grinned at her like the mischievous fox he was. For a second, Jenna saw lust in his eyes and she smirked. She'd just have to cast a spell on him and lock him as hers. Lisa was nothing compared to Jenna in the presence of a guy she wanted. Jenna allowed Kyle to light her cigarette and later she didn't even mind his lips on hers and her neck, even after he had kissed Sara first. My Cup of Tea Ch. 05 Previously on My Cup of Tea: Ian punches a man in the face... Sara lost her first kiss to Kyle, the lead singer of the Flaming Llamas, Jenna's heart is not as golden as Sara thinks, and Lisa is on the verge of becoming Sara's enemy... ----------------------------------------- "Wow you look stupid." Sara narrowed her eyes until they became slits and delivered two swift punches to Taylor's arm. "You are stupid," she retorted. "Weak comeback Big-Hips. Weak." Taylor shook his head and made tsk-tsk noises with his tongue. Sara bared her unpearly whites at her cousin who towered over her by at least a foot. What was up with all these tall guys in her life anyway? Wasn't tallness a recessive gene? Tall people are freaks of nature, not in a derogatory sense—mostly nature favored shortness in humans or something like that. Sara was no science genius— she had just barely passed physics! Sometimes her knowledge of trivia was pretty impressive, but that only made her fluffy like a whipped pancake... "I'm so exhausted. Is Gina home yet?" "Didn't see her since yesterday." Taylor shrugged his boyish shoulders. Just a few years back, Sara remembered how he sounded just like a girl. Now he had a low toned voice and in the mornings, he had to shave—well he pretended to shave. He even had a few strands of auburn hair on his chest. With eyes green like a forest and short cropped auburn hair, Taylor looked one hundred percent... stupid to Sara. "For someone who is mooching off of us, you are entirely useless. Useless I say!" Sara flung a cushion pillow at Taylor's head. Taylor caught it—no big surprise, he played baseball—and smacked it squarely on Sara's forehead. "Ow! I was just hit here earlier!" With a flying cork from a bottle. Imagine that! What if she was taller and the cork had hit her squarely in the eye? Then she'd be a pirate with a patch over her eye—thank nature for providing her with more horizontal growth than vertical... sometimes. Her hips... Oh how Sara hated her childbearing hips! Why did all the good genes have to go to Gina? She could eat like a heifer and not gain an ounce! Gina... was she still out? At least she could afford to give her caring family a call. Well, Sara could call her too— they all had their cellphones. But since when were younger sisters supposed to be so naggy and concerned with the whereabouts and welfare of their older sisters? This wasn't Sara's duty as the youngest of the three Affen sisters to worry about the older ones—in fact, Sara should be very angry at the moment because neither Lenra nor Gina were home to receive Sara's spewing of words and to ease the confusion in her chaotic heart. She had so much she needed to spill into an open ear... But the only available ear at the moment belonged to Taylor and Sara made an ugly face at that thought. Taylor would just laugh at her troubles, her boy troubles. "Good night Taylor. Bad dreams and I hope you roll off the bed and crack your thick head." "Same to you, evil witch of the land of Big Hips." "I'll poison you." Sara shook a fist. "Not before you poison yourself. Ha I make myself laugh." And he laughed—like a stupid hyena on drugs. "That's because you're retarded." Sara stormed upstairs, took care of her sweaty clothes and teeth that were in need of much brushing, and plopped on her bed face first. "Oof." Two fingers traveled slowly to her chin and then her lips. She swept her fingers over her lips softly and the touch felt nothing like a kiss. But even Kyle's kiss felt... strange. She had not expected a kiss to be so spontaneous, so callous, so... lacking in fireworks and heartbeats. She found herself feeling more anger than embarrassment from Kyle's invasion of her lips. Think nothing of it. He didn't steal my first kiss. It was more like a peck on the lips, that's right. Stupid Kyle. He used to be so fat. Now when did I become so superficial? He is kind of cute now but he's not Ian. Ian... Good night Ian. She wondered what it would be like to fall asleep with another's beating heart by her ear. She wondered if she would still need a blanket with another's arms around her at night. She wondered what it would be like to wake up to the smiling face of the one she loved... She often woke up to see Gina's face (but that was different!)—Gina looked like a ghost in her sleep but at the very moment she would wake up, she looked gorgeous again—unlike Sara who looked like a zombie for a whole good third of her waking and sleeping moments. Sara curled into a ball and fell asleep, only to scream awake in the middle of the night from having a nightmare. Kyle's gigantic lips had chased after her and drowned her in spit. She sat up in bed and in the dark, she could see Gina sleeping on her bed. Gina always woke up at the slightest of sounds but for some reason, Sara's scream did nothing to disturb her sleep. She must be exhausted... from what though? Sara's eyelids drooped. Sleep, good sleep... no more nightmares please! --------------------------------------------- The minutes ticked away and before long, it was 3:24 AM and Ian's eyes were wide open. Mina... Ian rubbed the picture in the frame he held in his hand. This year, if she were still alive, she'd be sixteen years old and squealing about her sweet-sixteen party like every privileged teen girl ought to. She'd be able to see the model houses he had built for her... the Mina Gardens, Mina's spa-room... Only Mina encouraged Ian when his dreams of becoming an architect were still nascent. Only Mina knew of his dreams and she played her part as his little sister well—he made her feel like a hero. Their father had died too soon, but Ian still wanted to follow a dead man's footsteps—a dead man like Matthew Collins was far greater than a man alive like Jack Bolster. Bastard. Sick bastard. Chills ran down Ian's spine and anger coursed through his veins in the form of blood nearly boiled. His stormy blue eyes stared at Mina's face in the picture. Thoughts of Sara suddenly invaded his head. With a smile and a few rare tears escaping from his eyes, Ian curled up into a fetal position in bed while hugging Mina's picture close to his heart. ------------------------------------------------ "So, you think you can set me up on a date with Lisa?" asked Taylor before he gulped down a whole glass of OJ. "For the millionth time... NO!" "Why not?" Sara rubbed her temples.Lisa probably hates me right now and stupid Taylor wants me to set them up on a date? Stupid Taylor—thank goodness stupidity doesn't run in the family! Silly Sara, you ain't much of a genius yourself. Ain't isn't a word? Shut up. "Because you're not her type. You're too... young. And your pimples scare her." "But I only have one! And we're practically the same age!" Taylor pointed to the little pink bump under the tip of his nose, a bump one could barely see unless he/she was right in front of Taylor's face. "Too bad. I have to go to work." "Will you two keep it down a little?" Gina came downstairs and muttered a few ear burning words. She had panda eyes and her hair was a mess—still she managed to look ethereal. "Well good morning to you too." Taylor narrowed his eyes at Gina. "Where did you go partying with what's his name?" "Jerry? We broke up." Sara's eyes widened. "I spent a day with him as he was crying like a baby and claiming he'd kill himself if I leave him." "My god... what happened then?" "I slapped him, hugged him, and spent hours talking to him. Sometimes I wonder why I even start relationships when I know I'd be the one to end them." So Sara was wrong. This was surprising. "I thought you guys were having a blast together." Though Sara felt bad for Jerry, she was secretly glad Gina broke off their relationship—he was going nowhere and Gina was reaching high for the stars and beyond. "Alright guys, I have to get to work. I'll see you tonight." "Bye." Sara stood up and gave Gina a last glance before she left the table. For some reason, Gina's expression seemed odd. Her face belonged to someone troubled and to someone who had just lied. No silly. Gina never lied. And she had no reason to. Sara shrugged off her thought and ran out of the house for work. ----------------------------------------------- Like a child, she skipped into the creamery and expected Ian to come in at least a few minutes after her arrival, on his bike as usual. Since he had given her a rose yesterday, she wondered if she needed to give him a gift in return. What would Ian like? Girly ribbons for his bike so other girls would know he's taken? Matching rings? Matching tattoos? Sara frowned at that thought—Mama would smack her to oblivion if she got a tattoo. She had to beg so hard when she was thirteen just to get a second hole in each earlobe. Sara bit her bottom lip in thought and looked like an idiot when she used too much brainpower, a cute idiot. A jar of stars! Sara clapped her hands together and smiled as her heart giggled—Ian wouldn't be able to do anything but look at the jar of stars (made from colorful and luminescent origami paper strips). She had begged Jackie Li to teach her how to make the stars last year and had never had a chance to make a full jar. Each star, Jackie told her, represented a wish. Every time one wanted a wish to come true, all one had to do was unfold the star and write a wish on the paper strip, bury it beneath the moon and voila... Sara doubted it would work but the notion was sweet and even romantic. Yes, she would make a jar for Ian then. Half a dozen of sticky customers and three hours later, Ian had not shown up for work. Every time the door opened, Sara perked her head to see if it was Ian who had just entered. Sara sighed and failed to greet the next person who came into the creamery. "You're alone here today?" The Boss! Sara cringed and her mouth felt frozen. The Boss was a middle-aged man with enough spunk to fill the souls of fifty teenage girls. He spiked his dark hair and wore shades even on days when clouds hid the sun, and yes even at night and even when he entered buildings—hospitals, churches, he'd didn't care. He was short by Ian, Taylor, and Kyle standards and thin like a branch. Sara had a feeling he snorted something up his nose—it was always pink and he always had the sniffles. He wore a white dress suit and looked like Winter Willy Wonka of ice cream land. "Where's Ian?" "He's... He just stepped out." The Boss narrowed his eyes. "For what reason?" "He..." Lies, Sara was terrible at telling them. "I don't care what his excuse is. You have to work for my money. The next time this happens, he's fired." The Boss stepped over to the counter and eyed the ice cream vats. Sara frowned slightly. With one month of summer left, she didn't know how to face the creamery alone if Ian were fired. "I... I underrrsstand..." "Good." The Boss smirked his oily lips and ran fingers that got stuck in his gel-overkilled hair. Sara tried hard not to laugh. The Boss frowned and left the creamery like the diva he was. Ian... He probably spent the night on his applications to where... Scotland, right. Sara sighed and with the Boss gone, Sara resumed her duties as the ice cream clerk and taste-tester... Mmm, rocky road. -------------------------------------------------- Jenna woke up with a headache at 4 PM in the afternoon, or near dusk rather had it been fall instead of summer. She could hear her brother and his friends practicing their moves as a makeshift band downstairs in the garage. She could hear the wailing of her cousin's kids—their babysitter was Jenna's somewhat pedophilic mother. Jenna smirked and smelled smoke laced with the odors of her body—sweat and something else. She yawned and rolled in her bed and her temples throbbed. Outside, the dreaded sun was having its fun, giving beach goers cancer. Jenna rubbed her eyes and specks of black eyeliner and mascara makeup covered her fingers. She stretched her arms over her head and looked down. On the floor next to her bed was a half-naked Kyle Sharp. ---------------------------------------------- Ian watched the waves from the beach roll in and wash over the sands. One month ago, he found himself amused by the sight of Sara in a granny's one-piece underneath the cover of a big watermelon umbrella. She made him forget his reality, forget his troubles... She brought back his laughter and his smiles. He made a turn on his bike. Sara's shift—well his if he were working at the moment—would soon be over. --------------------------------------------------- Sara stood idle outside the creamery. If only a knight in shining armor upon a white horse could come by and whisk her away to a land of fantasy and magic. Or just Ian, on his bike, to give her a ride home. Hey, she wasn't just lazy— she loved their bike rides... Well they had only had one so far but still. "Where is he?" Down the street was Lisa in a pink halter-top, walking toward her with a very peeved look on her lovely face. "I... don't know. I'm sorry Lisa." Sara sent her eyes toward her shoes and she swallowed. "I really like him." "I don't care." Sara needed more toes and fingers to count the number of boys Lisa had taken hearts from. A few of them, Sara even had crushes on, but they never noticed her. Shadows were easily ignored. Every Valentine's Day, as the roses and chocolates piled like mountains in front of Lisa's door, Sara was alone and wishing she had a secret admirer, wishing someone would care about her enough to give her a gift on such a special day. Jenna always said Valentine's was just a commercial and marketing ploy of major businesses, but even she received a vial of blood from a secret admirer... and Sara knew it made her feel good. Though the rose Ian had given her was already wilting, she hung it upside down in the boiler room at home and waited for it to dry so she could keep it forever. Her first rose, a single long-stemmed was more special to her than a million bouquets. "I love you Lisa. But sometimes, I have to love myself too." Lisa narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "You know what? You're selfish. You knew I liked him from the moment I saw him." But he rejected you... Did people like the chase? Did Lisa like Ian even more after he was hard to get? "I told you you're not my cup of tea." Ian! "Hop on Sara." "If you dare, our friendship is over," Lisa hissed. Sara felt as though her heart had shattered into a million pieces. Her eyes passed from Ian's face to Lisa's. "If you can't accept this, you don't deserve Sara's friendship." "Ian..." Sara found his smile irresistible. She had known Lisa for years. But Lisa didn't even know what her favorite color was. Or ever comfort her when she was sad. Or stand up for her in school when she was bullied for stuttering when nervous. Or care for her feelings... "Goodbye Lisa." Sara took her seat behind Ian on the bike and he pedaled off, toward where, Sara didn't care. She buried her face on Ian's back and closed her eyes to prevent tears from escaping down to her cheeks and chin. My Cup of Tea Ch. 06 Previously on My Cup of Tea: Lisa and Sara's friendship is officially over. Jenna wakes up with Kyle on the floor by her bed. Ian's memories of his sister Mina bring pain to his heart. Gina has a secret... ------------------------------------------------- Kyle, bent over, hissed as he suffered from the kind of pain only males felt and feared. "Why'd you kick me for?" Again too, bloody blasted witch. He almost cried. Almost. "Because I like to see you suffer." Jenna took the cup of water by her nightstand and shot the contents at Kyle's head, drenching him and beads of water glistened on his naked shoulders. "Get out of my house before I kick your ass out." Kyle retrieved his shirt, narrowed his eyes at Jenna, and left the room. She smirked as memories of the previous night flooded her head in a sequence of comedic flashbacks. Kyle and his band hung out at a local bar and played a private session for the patrons of the alcohol-infested place. Jenna, having a potent liver for booze, found herself just slightly drunk when the group left. She and Kyle proceeded to make out for about half an hour in front of the bar. "Your place or mine?" Kyle asked. "Mine." Jenna laughed and felt a rush of high and freedom—she had never felt more wanted or powerful as no spells could make her feel the way Kyle made her feel at that moment. He only had his fake-violet eyes set on her and Jenna recognized the look—Joey had once looked at her that way even when his heart continued to deny his feelings for her. Kyle was a budding star and plenty of women wanted him but at that moment, he didn't give a flying finger about any of them. He kissed her, tongued her, and she even felt his hands clasped over her hips with his body dangerously close to hers. "Slow down bad boy." They shared a cigarette and rode a cab back to Jenna's place. For a while that seemed like hours, they made out on her bed with half their clothes off. Like a drug, she drowned in his kisses even as she could hear the noises from the bedroom next door—her brother was browsing through his stash of porn tapes and well... Anyway, downstairs, her mother was engaged in her own little world of artistic endeavors with her head always in the clouds—"long live flower children" was her motto. Her father had brought with him his share of gay lovers—maybe that was why Jenna both loved and hated the lyrics the Flaming Llamas were so popular for—they lived for angst and played on the fantasies of females about man on man action. Before long, her father just stopped returning him—he just ran off with one of his lovers. Sara was a fluff, she never liked Lisa, no one cared for her dreams, and Joey—well Joey, Jenna knew she could never depend on him. Jocks. Ha. What would and could he ever do for her? He laughed when she told him she wanted to compile the world's biggest and most comprehensive Book of Shadows. "What's that? A book about shadows?" "Get lost jerk." So she had strong arms around her and strong lips. She was loved. She was so loved. Until she realized Kyle was not a guy who could love. (He could... make love technically, oh yes it was evident from the way his PG-13 PG-13.) He just could not give her the love she lacked and yearned for so deeply and darkly. Being a player, Kyle had nothing to offer her, nothing at all. She laughed like a true witch and Kyle felt the skin on his back tingle. Before things got out of hand, Jenna kneed the poor jerk in the groin and fell asleep with a smile on her face. As her flashbacks faded, her smile only grew, esepcially when she watched him leave like an angry puppy with his tail between his legs. Adorable mais il n'est pas ma tasse de thé. ---------------------------------------------------- Sara sat down and rested her back on Ian's and watched the waves of foamy beach waters rush in and out from the sands. She drew a heart-shape on the sand and destroyed the unity of millions of grains mixed with baby shells. For a while, until the sun began to set, they sat in silence and enjoyed the peace the beach offered. If only music could play for us like in movies. Or suddenly fireflies would appear along with a flurry of cherry blossom petals. Still, no matter, what, the mood was perfect and Sara summoned her courage to be bold. Her fingers inched forward and found Ian's to intertwine. They were warm and they accepted her sans hesitance. "Why weren't you at work today? I missed you." Sara's heart began to beat like a drum at a rock concert—not the Flaming Llama's concert, they weren't that good anyway. Could he hear it? Did his beat with hers in unison? Ian remained silent. He closed his eyes and smiled. Sara's voice sounded cute like a little bell around a cat's neck. Except when she screeched. Sometimes when she laughed, she sounded like a horse. But none of these things mattered when it was the purity in her heart that he loved. "The Boss came in today. He's creepy." No reply. "A little girl came in with a boy. She said he was her boyfriend and she treated him to two scoops. He was a tomato-head the whole time!" Still no reply. Sara breathed deeply. "Funny how no one's here today. Usually kids are screaming all over the place." She let out a nervous laugh. Why was he being so quiet? Was he mad at her? Did he somehow find out about Kyle and the kiss? No... no way. Sara could just die if he did. But how could she let a relationship start off on a slippery landslide of a lack of trust? Her guilt swallowed her like a remorseless troll gulping down children. "Ian..." "Hmm?" "Last night, the lead singer of the Flaming Kappas kissed me." "Flaming Kappas? You mean Flaming Llamas?" Ian laughed and Sara wondered when her head would explode or her feet would become two drills so she could drill a deep well to hide herself. How could Ian fail to take her seriously on something so... sacred? Her first kiss was stolen from her boyfriend by some singer from a band with a lame name! "He kissed me on the lips just out of the blue... but it meant nothing to me." Rock stars—stereotypes about them were so true! "It means nothing to me either." Sara's heart sank. Why? How? "Though..." Ian turned and planted himself in front of her. "I'm curious." His eyes traveled and rested on her lips, her Kyle-claimed/invaded lips that parted slightly as if anticipating another pair's caress. "About what?" she asked with a semi-shaky voice. Her eyes were moist and her hair blew in the wind and Ian loved the way she blushed uncontrollably. "About who gives better kisses. And whether or not your lips taste as funny as your forehead." "Oh..." Wow.Sara bit her bottom lip and she didn't budge when Ian came forward until his face rested a half an inch away from hers.He smiled and then she no longer saw his beautiful blue eyes—exotic like the rest of his features. He seemed slightly Asian with his jet-black hair—was he a mix? Sara knew she was hardly lovely but if she and Ian ever had a child, she knew he or she would be very beautiful. Sara's heart worked overtime at the exact moment she noticed the slight blushing of his cheeks—simply adorable. Then her own eyes were closed and she felt his lips touch hers faintly with a sweet, simple, and innocent kiss. Were there fireworks? Was the beating of her heart unstoppable? Did the kiss engulf her with flickering flames of innocent passion? Yes. All yes. If only some moments could last forever... Yes, this was Sara's favorite line. When their kiss ended, he hugged her. Ian, not Kyle, had stolen her first real kiss, along with her Energizer Bunny heart. That was all that truly mattered. ---------------------------------------------------- "Mama! The phone's ringing!" Taylor rolled his eyes. What good was an eighty-year old woman in the house when she didn't answer the darn phone? "You answer it! There's no phone in the can," replied the LOL (little old lady) with a scream from the upstairs bathroom. "Geez." Taylor picked up the phone and would scream into it if it were Sara on the other line. "Yo." "Is this how you greet everyone on the phone still?" "Andy?" "Yea. How are the Affens treating you baby brother?" "Great. Except for Sara. She sucks." "She's an angel." "And you must be... retarded." "You shouldn't use that term Taylor." "Whatever. What do you want anyway?" "Change of plans. I'm not going to Japan. I'm coming over too." "Great, like this house isn't already over-infested with women-folk." "Shut up Taylor. You should appreciate having so many sensitive females around you." "Why should I appreciate being driven to the endpoint of my sanity?" "Funny." "Whatever. When exactly will you be here?" "Tomorrow. Tell Sara I miss her, lots. But don't tell her I'm coming over. It'll be a surprise." "Sure. Night freak." "Good night love." Taylor blew a raspberry into the phone and slammed it onto the receiver so that his sister's eardrum would blow up or something along those lines. Taylor Thomas, aye, would never grow up and Andy rubbed her ear with a grimace on her face. ------------------------------------------------- Revenge is always sweet. Sara, you'll pay for your betrayal. Lisa played an awful song with her violin—a song that sounded fine tone and key-wise, but it seemed too harsh for the beauty and promise of a violin. It was perfect for a dark witch's theme and Lisa suddenly thought of the bwitch Jenna. Lisa wore a black bikini top and a flowing white translucent ankle-skirt. In years, her love for baking beneath the sun would bring her wrinkles, but to Lisa, she was one who would never grow old, what with Botox and all. Her French-manicured feet wore foam-green flip-flops and while other teens her age— unblessed with silver spoons in their mouths the moment of birth—worked away their summer, Lisa had too much time on her hands and too few friends to bother. Unlike the other girls like her, pretty and popular, Lisa found it hard to like people, though people liked her (or so she thought). She was fine with the guys but they were sweaty pigs in the summer and she'd rather play her violin then sweat a sea playing beach volleyball or saving dumb people from drowning at public pools or the beach. Rich girls didn't need to work for anything anyway. She dropped her violin and sighed before taking a sip from a cold glass of virgin pina colada. When she looked up, she noticed a man standing in front of her lawn with a sleazy smile on his face. "What are you looking at?" "You, good-looking." Lisa arched a perfectly sculpted brow. She sat on her porch with her tan legs exposed to the sun for all to admire. The young man did not sport drool on his lips and his features were passable enough not to make a little girl scream or milk curdle, as the saying went. Short-cropped hay-colored hair rested atop a smart-looking head. Sharp green eyes stared at Lisa from head to toe. He wore a navy-blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. From the lack of wrinkles on his adult face, Lisa estimated his age to be twenty-eight. "You are star material. Ever consider breaking into Hollywood?" Sleazeball. I'll play along. "Sure." Lisa licked her pink lips to make them glisten. She blinked and ran her fingers through her pale-blond hair and craned her long neck to expose her glorious skin for the man's eyes to feast upon. "Can I come closer?" At least he was polite in asking"I don't see why not." Aiden Mcfarland grinned and walked over to the lovely little lady and didn't have to try hard to resist her charms. She was still a developing female, with all her curves awkward, but he liked her personality and her seductive charm. She'd never make it big in Hollywood as she would be passed as a fluff-cake. But since his current girl was now a bore, he needed a new toy and this blond one here was perfect. He liked them young because with youth came naivety. He needed to play his cards right though because this one was a rich one, and rich girls were harder to handle than girls with money signs for eyes. He whipped out a business card and handed it to Lisa. Cali Starr Agency, Agent Aiden Mcfarland Discovery of hidden talent... and the rest Lisa just skimmed over. "Give me a call sometime." His eyes rolled over to her lips and in a low voice he added, "Or I'll always know where to find you." Lisa rolled her eyes at the man's back as he left and chucked the card. Still... Lisa Zirdak, a star? Could be considerable. Lisa laughed and entered her manse. -------------------------------------------- While people loved to sing while showering, Gina loved the way the water washed away her tears. Cold water drowned away her thoughts and her body shivered. She felt... disgusting. ------------------------------------------------ Ian finally called Sara that night, two hours after he dropped her home on his bike. Their first phone call! "You are coming to work tomorrow right?" "Yes for the fiftieth time." Sara could hear Ian laugh and his laughter sounded wonderful even when relayed through the phone. "I just want to make sure." For a minute, they were silent and Sara was content with just that. "I'll see you tomorrow then," Ian said, breaking the silence and making Sara wish they could talk all night. Guys don't talk forever on the phone, at least not many guys, and Ian's no exception. Sara sighed but then she smiled as if Ian could see her through the phone. Well he can't, so she puckered her lips and made funny faces. "Good night." "I..." And he hung up. "I love you..." Sara wanted to say. Sara's head fell down onto her pillow and she giggled like a silly dolphin. --------------------------------------------- What would you do if you knew he was the one who killed her? What would you do if you knew he wanted to do more? The words on the journal's pages became blurry. Ian rubbed his eyes and dropped his pen and watched it fall to his carpeted floor. A pen, with enough force, could stab through a man's heart. Ian laughed. Stabbing Jack Bolster's heart would be letting the bastard get off the easy way. ---------------------------------------- "Andy?" Sara's jaw finally found itself on the floor between her two feet. "But... Taylor said you were in Japan and..." "Now I'm here." Andy stretched open her pale arms and grinned at her cousin. Her freckled face, verdant eyes, and apple-tomato red locks of hair gave her an impish/pixie look. Sara always found Andy too pretty to be Taylor's sister, but then again, good looks didn't always run in the family. One look at Gina proved her theory true. Sara crossed her arms. "Another Thomas mooching off the Affen family, eh?" "Don't worry silly. I got lucky at a casino and won eight-hundred bucks." Now after her jaw made its way to the floor, Sara's eyes popped out into space. "But you're not—" "Old enough to gamble yet?" Sara nodded. "I have my ways." The red head winked and lied down on the sofa, only to dance up to greet Mama when the cute LOL entered the living room. Andy was Mama's favorite and Sara was never jealous of that. Sara was... well, someone in her family probably thought of her as his/her favorite. Mister Curry? Madame Naggy? Before Lenra had her demon twins, Sara was her favorite... Yea that's right! I'm the baby of the house after all—everyone's favorite! With Lisa no longer her best friend, a shadow needed someone new to hide behind. Sara had always admired Andy. So... now Andy was Sara's new goddess, a pixie-imp with a mischievous spark in her green eyes, countless freckles of adorableness, and the fair pale skin of a princess. And unlike Lisa, Sara knew Andy possessed nary a mean bone in her body. Yes, not one mean bone in her body, unlike stupid Taylor. Aha! Another thing that didn't run in the family—negative characteristics!