Round Robin Fic (Modern) ?

[Eliar Swiftfire]

(Continued)

"Look at us now. Isn't it funny? You in your tuxedo, me in my gown, yet we're eating fishball noodles at the roadside stall." Janette smiled.

Indeed, they were a strange-looking pairs, attracting glances of everyone else in the stall.

"Well..." Derek started blushing and stuttering. "I'm so sorry... the party... er..."

"For what?" Janette looked puzzled, then, she burst into laughter. "Oh, you mean that? Don't be silly! I was bored too."

"You were?" Derek stared.

"Of course I am! Why else did I leave with you?" She smiled mischievously.

Derek smiled in return. You're lying... you're lying to me so that you can make me feel better... just like how you remember me hating parties... I remember how much you love parties too. I remember so many things about you. How we used to eat here everynight after classes. How you used to order two bowls of noodles everytime. We were such a happy couple...

... what went wrong between us? Ah... yes, you said that I never gave you the sense of security... I'm just not like William... are you happy with him now?

"Hey! Derek?"

Once again, she interrupted him from his reverie.

"Y- yes?"

Janette pouted. "You've been staring at my face all night long. Something wrong? A large acne? Pimples? My hair? Someone pasted a 'Kick me' sign at my back?"

"Er... no." Derek stammered, turning his attention back to his food... which is already very cold by now...

"Something in your mind then. Come on, spill." Janette said.

"DidItellyouhowbeautifulyouaretonight?" Derek blurted.

"Huh?" Janette stared blankly.

"I said... you look very... very beautiful tonight." Derek said slowly, he started to blush.

All of a sudden, a curtain of awkward silence draped heavily between the two. Derek started looking away, a sheepish grin on his face.

And she broke the silence.

"Thank you. Derek." Janette smiled. "You don't look too shabby either."

"Uh... hehehehe... well, my brother's a lucky guy! You better take good care of him, okay?" Derek chuckled uneasily. It wasn't exactly the response he had expected. But then...

It's time to let go...

(to be continued)
===============================

Author's note: Sorry, I can't really seem to write one loooooooong thingie in one single post, thus, the use of multiple posts.

No worries. The next one's going to be the last one. So many things I want to write... so many!!!

[Eliar Swiftfire]

"Kirsty, why aren't you sleeping? It's two already!"

"Hehe. Wait a min." Kirsty replied, her attention fixed on the computer screen before. Then, she heard the rustle of footsteps, and suddenly, her sister was standing beside her.

"What? You're playing computer games?" Monica frowned.

"Yup!" Kirsty said cheerfully. "Wait for a while, lemme save my game now."

"Seriously... I really don't see anything interesting about computer games... all those explosions, and um... blood and gore..." Monica looked queasy. To her younger sister's amusement.

"Big sis, computer games take LOTS of talent and skills you know. At least I'm enjoying something. You, on the other hand, takes things waaaaay to seriously. Seeing you laugh is as rare as seeing a pig fly... which is pretty much impossible." Kirsty said.

"What do you mean? I'm enjoying myself pretty well, young lady!!" Monica retorted. "Perhaps the only reason I can't seem to laugh is because I have a sister like you to worry about."

"Aw, I'm already grown up. I can look after myself. You should get yourself a boyfriend." Kirsty smiled, as she happily watched her orcish troops destroyed the elven ones in Warcraft 3.

Monica looked horrified. "Huh? Boyfriend?"

"Yeah. You know, companion, sweetheart that sort of thing? You can't spend most of your time, worrying about me! You'll look like a hag in no time! Soon, some people will think that you're my mother! Hey! Mission Accomplished! YES!" Kirsty burst into laughter.

"As far as I can remember, I've been acting as your mother... and father since mom and dad died." Monica said mirthlessly.

"And that's making me feel guilty." Kirsty said. All of a sudden, she sounded serious. (although she was still staring at the computer screen.) "I'm serious, big sis, you've been spending the past 12 years looking after me, doting at me. It's time for somebody to do the same thing for you."

"I was expecting you to do that, actually." Monica said. "Besides, hmph, all good men in the world are either... married, or er... well, that's about it. They are ALL married."

"There's still Derek... hmm.... those humans are attacking me..." Kirsty frowned. More explosions can be heard from the computer speakers

"HIM??????" Monica gasped. For the first time in ages, the whole cool emotionless facade of hers disappeared immediately. "Even if I'm the only woman in the world... and him, the only man, I will NOT even consider giving him a chance!"

"Whoa. Calm down. I was just kidding." Kirsty chuckled. "It's always funny to see you finally drop your whole 'ice queen' act, I guess I'm the only person in the world to see this. Why do you always get so worked up when I mention Derek... sheesh."

When she glanced sidewards, her sister has already disappeared from her view.

=================

Author's Note: Well, that's all for now. The reason this last scene was added was because I just wanted to add a backstory for the sisters, and hopefully, a bit more depth and personality for them too. The seeds of another pairing has been sown.

Whatever happened to Derek and Janny after their supper is up to da next writer. Yay.

Hmm... seems like I'm the only male writer here.


<font size="1">[ June 13, 2003: Message edited by: Eliar Swiftfire ]</font>

[Eliar Swiftfire]

... *raises an eyebrow*

There's nothing wrong with what I wrote, right? Or ya really want me to put all three scenes into one single post?

Or I'm not supposed to join the Round Robin in the first place? I asked, and seeing that no one responded, I assumed that I was allowed.

[junny]

Of course you're welcome to join. It's just that most of us assumed that after your post, Em would be the next one to post. I don't think we were expecting multiple posts. Or maybe I just didn't read the fine print.

So if you're done, then Em will be the next one up.

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Well, it will be tiring if I cram every single scene I wrote back then into one post. Too long. A difficult read.

Hopefully, there aren't any trouble with what I've written. Since I didn't make any drastic changes in the plot, just fleshing out Monica and Kirsty's relationship. See? I didn't even finish the 'date' between Derek and Janny!

So, do you imagine any TVB actors or actresses when you're writing the fic?

For me, Derek's Gordon Lam (or Roger Kwok). William's Louis Koo. Um... Janny's Jessica Hsuen. Monica's Kenix or Maggie. Yuppers.

And Kirsty's Michelle Saram... just kidding. She sux0r.

Um... me no figure out yet.

David's Chun Pui. DEFINITELY.

Grace is Lisa Wang.

The rest... me no know.

[junny]

Originally posted by Eliar Swiftfire
So, do you imagine any TVB actors or actresses when you're writing the fic?

For me, Derek's Gordon Lam (or Roger Kwok). William's Louis Koo. Um... Janny's Jessica Hsuen. Monica's Kenix or Maggie. Yuppers.

And Kirsty's Michelle Saram... just kidding. She sux0r.

Um... me no figure out yet.

David's Chun Pui. DEFINITELY.

Grace is Lisa Wang.

The rest... me no know.

Actually, this is one of the rare times that I don't feel anything for any of the characters. Well, maybe except Julian. But I don't feel any connection to the characters, which is rare seeing as I normally get pretty attached to the characters of my own stories.

I think Janette is a very flat character. And William hasn't been fleshed out enough. The rest are pretty passable.

[Em]

Hi Ed, great that you've decided to join our merry gang! I was just waiting to see how many more continuations you'd add before I did my bit. (My excuse for being late.. hehe)

Here's a bit more padding...

---------------------------------------------------

Derek returns to his modest apartment just behind his shop in the early hours of the morning after dropping Janette home. He wearily throws the keys to Ryan’s car into his little metal change dish next to the door and flings himself onto the sofa in an untidy heap. Dressed still in his half-loosened shirt and tux, he runs through the events of the evening in his mind again and his attention keeps being drawn back to the wonderful sight of Janette in her beautiful blue dress. He flicks on the TV and a late night black-and-white movie is showing on the screen, but Derek doesn’t really notice. The real movie is playing in his memories over and over again…

***

Some years ago – Blaukenheim Youth Camp, Germany

“Derek! Are you coming? Hurry… they’ve just left the pool!”
Some of Derek’s friends rush across the path towards the girl’s dormitory, trying to catch a glimpse of them getting changed and having a shower as young men do. Derek however, is hesitant as he wonders if he should be doing that.

“Are you sure we won’t get caught? I don’t want to get in trouble in case my dad…”
He doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before he is dragged away.

“C’mon you chicken. If you carry on like this then we will get caught!”
Bobby grabs Derek’s arm and pulls him along to catch up with the other two men in their early twenties. The four climb up a tree onto a ledge before shimmying across to a high window that looks down into the corridor just outside ladies’ shower cubicles. Scrambling over one another, they all try and catch a glimpse as the target group of girls wanders in, laughing and chatting and totally oblivious to what is happening. Among the group are two familiar faces – Janette and Monica.

As she reaches the doorway into the cubicles, Monica is eager to get out of her wet swimming costume, so with her towel draped around her neck, she starts to peel away at her top even before she has turned the corner. This excites Matt, whose turn it is to look and he taps excitedly on Bobby’s shoulder, narrating in precise detail what he can see. Bobby stands to his side and as Matt streams: “Oooo she’s stopped to talk to Janette… I can see her hand rubbing at her skin… she looks really uncomfortable… I think she’s going to take it off there and then… wow, look at her figure… wait, she’s pulling at her towel….now she’s pulling at her clasp…”

“Move over! It’s my turn…” Bobby yanks at Matt’s arm impatiently as he tries to push his reluctant friend out of the way to get a look for himself. Robin wants to see as well as he clambers over the two, but Derek keeps back, eagerly looking around in case they are spotted.

“Guys, calm down. You’re going to get us into trouble!” urges Derek as he sees his friends getting more and more aggressive.

“She’s undone her bikini top!” yells Matt as Bobby and Robin jump up to have a look, they all lose their footing and crash to the ground.

“Oh sh*t!” exclaims Derek as the girls are alarmed and come rushing around the corner to see what the noise is. He is still perched on the ledge as he loses control of his legs with the panic and he freezes for a moment.

“Come one Dez, let’s get out of here!” The other three have dusted themselves down and are about to run away.
Derek tries to regain movement in his legs, but they are not listening to him. He loses his footing and slips off the ledge onto the grassy bank below. Landing on his backside with a painful impact, Derek is a little dazed and as he tries to get up quickly to make his escape, he hears a loud cracking sound.

“OWWWWW!” he yells, attracting the attention of the gathering of girls and Mr Lau, the camp leader.

***
The campsite minibus returns from the hospital and Derek hobbles out on crutches, accompanied by a rather amused Mr Lau. For a man in charge of twenty-five students on an International Summer Camp, he is a remarkably easy-going man.
“I think you’ve learned your lesson.” He laughs as Derek writhes in agony, trying to get back to his dorm.
“You remind me of myself in my younger years, when I was on my first camp. I was smarter of course…”

A few of Derek’s friends and some others have come to meet them.
“No broken bones, just a torn ligament or two!” Mr Lau announces Derek’s condition to the group like it is a great achievement.
“Good job our little voyeur has bendy bones!”

Matt, Bobby and Robin sidle up to their friend and guiltily help to carry him back to the dormitory to rest. Following behind timidly is Janette, who is pulling along a rather reluctant Monica.
“Why are you so interested in the pervert?” Monica asks angrily.

“I just want to make sure he is okay.” Janette’s caring nature is immeasurable.
“It’s not nice to get hurt when you’re on holiday and I don’t think Derek would be that type.”

“You saw it with your own eyes what he was up to! You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!” argues Monica.

“I think it must be those friends of his, he seems like he’s the kind of guy who is easily influenced.” Janette still stands by him as it would appear she is attracted to his sensitive nature.

“I’d say you’re the one who’s easily influenced!” mocks Monica.
“Look, he’s okay now. Where are you still headed?”

“I wanna make sure he is okay.” Janette is insistent as she walks off towards the boy’s dorms.

“But we have a class in ten minutes.” Protests Monica.

“You go on if you want… I’ll be down a little later.”

Monica turns to leave, but she doesn’t trust her friend with Derek and decides to go along to protect her.
“I’ll come with you. I’d like to know how much he is suffering.”

***
Over the remaining weeks of camp, Janette spends a lot of time with Derek and looking after him as a summer romance blossoms between the injured man and his careful nurse. Unable to take part in most of the activities, Derek is kept company by Janette who helps him to write songs and poems to pass the time and in the beautiful settings of the European countryside, he is distracted from the pain of his recovering leg by the love he is developing for this beautiful girl. Janette proves her theory about his personality and in turn falls deeply in love with his sentimental attitude and attention to detail as the pair earn the ominous nickname of “Romeo and Juliet” from their campmates.

Monica accompanies Janette to visit Derek from time to time, but her feelings towards Derek have not changed, at least on the surface they haven’t. However, under the façade of the taunts of “pervert” and “scoundrel”, her envy of her friend grows as does her attraction towards this wonderfully loving and sensitive man. As the classiest and most beautiful girl in the group, she has the pick of any man there who all fall at the mercy of her stunningly good looks and yet she falls for the one man whom she cannot have, for her friendship with Janette is worth far too much.

***
After returning from Germany, Derek and Janette continued their relationship and spent several more happy months together in loving bliss. Studying together in the library, sharing their fishball noodles and seemingly the happiest pair of souls in the world. All went well until that fateful day…

“Janette, what’s up?” Derek answers the call as he walks out of his examination.

“I need you to do me a favour!” gasps Janette frantically.
“I’m just about to go into an important exam, but I’m really worried about Monica.”

“What’s the matter? Just calm down…” says Derek with concern.

“She’s really upset, I think she’s just been dumped… she rang me before and she sounded really drunk and depressed. I’m worried that she might try and do something stupid. Can you go and check on her for me?”

“Err… you know I don’t get on with her though… will that make things worse?” Derek is reluctant to help.

“Please Derek, I need to go and you’re the only person I can trust. I’ve left the key to our room with security. I’m pretty sure she is back there. I have a meeting with my tutor straight after the exam so I won’t be able to go back until later on tonight.”

Derek relents. He never wants to let her down.
“Okay. Call me after the exam.”
He collects the key and heads up to the room in the University halls that Janette shares with Monica. Pushing open the door, he sees a side of Monica that breaks his heart. He has never seen her so bedraggled and without her usual confidence as she lays slumped against the side of her bed with a large bottle of brandy in her hand. Her make up is all over her face and she is skipping from bouts of crazed laughter to sobs of extreme sorrow.

Derek sidles up to her and puts his arm around her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” he asks softly.

“Drink with me!” instructs Monica, handing him the bottle.

“Mon, you know I can’t drink..”

“Drink it, I said.” She says sternly, before lapsing into another bout of sobs.
“All you men are the same, always have an excuse for everything.”

The sight of her crying again knocks the autopilot in him as he puts the bottle to his mouth and takes a gulp of the strong liquor that hits his bloodstream like an atom bomb.

“Now it’s my turn… hahaha!” giggles Monica as her emotion sways again.

“I’ll go and get a wet towel for you.” Says Derek as he rushes over to the sink in the corner of the room and wets a flannel for her face. As he walks back, his lack of tolerance for alcohol takes its toll as he feels his legs are a little wobbly.
“Here…” he says as he hands her the damp towel.

“Drink some more!” says Monica as she takes another swig from the bottle and hands it to Derek, who has notices her inability to take the towel and started to dab at her face. He brushes her hand away, but senses her anger about to erupt and quickly takes another fatal drink from the bottle. The drink seems very strong and he starts to lose coherency extremely quickly.

“Are you sure this is just brandy?” he asks hazily.

“Derek!” calls Monica to him as the last drops of higher brain function are suppressed. “You don’t know how much I love you… will you love me too?”

***

Some time passes and Derek wakes up with a major headache. He looks over and is horrified to find Monica lain beside him in her bed and they are both stark naked.

“What have I done?” he asks himself over and over again.

Monica is still fast asleep and as Derek pulls on his clothes, he tries to remember what happened in the hours before. Carefully, he puts a robe over Monica and pulls the blanket over. Then he looks at his watch and realises the time: it is 7 o’clock in the morning. He has been there all afternoon and night.

“Janette!” he thinks suddenly as he checks his pager and finds several messages from her. First asking if he is okay, then asking him to return her call and finally saying she can’t get back to her room because there is no answer so she will be going back to her parent’s house for the night.

Derek leaves the room quietly, wondering whether Monica will remember what happened that night any more than he can.

The following weeks are a living hell for Derek as he juggles the guiltiness he feels towards both Janette and Monica with the unknowing of whether either of them know anything. His lies and excuses put a strain on his relationship with Janette and she starts to feel that he is not as sincere as she envisaged. Derek starts to stand her up or cancel dates and it seems to her that he is losing interest and not as devoted to her as he once was. In fact, Derek is trying to evade contact with both her and Monica as he deals with his own emotional turmoil. After another few weeks of this insecurity and second-guessing, coupled with Monica’s continuing scorn for Derek and the odd bad word here and there, Janette finally decides to call it a day and end her relationship with Derek. He doesn’t fight it. At the time, it seemed to be the best thing to happen that would keep him from coming into contact with either woman.

***
Derek sighs as he switches off the TV and trundles back to his room. The regrets are in the past, but does life really give you a second chance?

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Originally posted by junny
Actually, this is one of the rare times that I don't feel anything for any of the characters. Well, maybe except Julian. But I don't feel any connection to the characters, which is rare seeing as I normally get pretty attached to the characters of my own stories.

I think Janette is a very flat character. And William hasn't been fleshed out enough. The rest are pretty passable.

Well, you can't seem to get attached to the characters cos' it's impossible to know them well. This is a round robin, even if you want to do something with a certain character, the character will end up being altered by another writer, thus, the character will seem to become a stranger to ya.

Hehehe, gimme some time and I'll try pound some life into some of the characters here. Well, those I'm interested in anyway. Unfortunately, I seem to give more of a damn about Monica, William, Janny, Derek and Kirsty than the others. So I might try to develop things between them.

Those stuff happening in UK ain't interesting me too much.

[junny]

Originally posted by Eliar Swiftfire
Well, you can't seem to get attached to the characters cos' it's impossible to know them well. This is a round robin, even if you want to do something with a certain character, the character will end up being altered by another writer, thus, the character will seem to become a stranger to ya.

Well, I beg to differ. I've had very successful writing collaborations with a friend, and things worked out well for us. In fact, I grew very attached to one of the characters of the collaborated story, and I'd take a sword to anyone who dares to criticise that character

The thing about a round robin is that since there's no plot-planning ahead, it seems as though writers can just simply take the characters and bend them at will. That's not quite it. Successive postings must not only make sure the whole story is logical and flows smoothly, they must also make sure the various people in the story are developing in keeping with their character as set out by the initial few posts.

[Em]

Originally posted by Eliar Swiftfire

Those stuff happening in UK ain't interesting me too much.

I think this side of the story will come into its own when Ryan moves over there. It is setting the scene a little there at the moment and just formulating the background for Katherine.

As for relating to the characters, I think that like Junny says, if the successive writers keep to the basics of the profiles we have laid down then they shouldn't be viewed as an empty canvas. More like a background on which to build the foreground of the picture.

As for my favourites in the story so far - has to be Derek and Ryan. Although I think Ryan needs some bringing out a bit. I agree that Janette is a shallow character when it comes to writing about her, whereas I can see a lot of potential in Monica and William's depths.

Anyway... let's see what happens!

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Originally posted by junny
The thing about a round robin is that since there's no plot-planning ahead, it seems as though writers can just simply take the characters and bend them at will. That's not quite it. Successive postings must not only make sure the whole story is logical and flows smoothly, they must also make sure the various people in the story are developing in keeping with their character as set out by the initial few posts.

... that's exactly what I meant in my previous post. I myself has been working on a novel with another guy for a couple of years and both of us has grown attached to our characters too. However, we work differently though, usually, I would take a few chosen characters and work on them, while he'll take the other and work. We only need to discuss whenever our characters meet...

Anyway, back to this story....

Personally, I would like working on:

Monica (seems to be by far the female character that interest me most)

Derek (boring goody two shoe though)

Kirsty (important character that can go far if it's according to my plan)

perhaps Janny (if y'all don't want her to remain flat)

William (can be a pretty complex character)

But Monica's my personal fave. Seems to be the only one with spunk here.

[junny]

Originally posted by Eliar Swiftfire
... that's exactly what I meant in my previous post. I myself has been working on a novel with another guy for a couple of years and both of us has grown attached to our characters too. However, we work differently though, usually, I would take a few chosen characters and work on them, while he'll take the other and work. We only need to discuss whenever our characters meet...

Well... when I do collaborations with that friend of mine, we tend to discuss the characters and the plot, and how we want things to progress. So both of us are really involved in the building and shaping of the story and the characters. I find that this is more helpful so that we ensure a good flow for the story, and that the characters don't go OOC.

As for this round robin, I suppose the more interesting characters for me would be Kirsty and Julian. Maybe Katherine also. If Derek stops being a wimp and gains some spunk, I might grow to like him too. Janette is still too bland for words.

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Yeah, Julian's sorta interesting too, if executed well enough. Originally, I wanted to write something about him, but decided that writing something about Monica would be funner!

So, you're next to write?

[junny]

Originally posted by Eliar Swiftfire
Yeah, Julian's sorta interesting too, if executed well enough. Originally, I wanted to write something about him, but decided that writing something about Monica would be funner!

So, you're next to write?

Thanks for the compliment about Julian I did much of the character development for him, and I rather like him as is now Monica certainly needs development. Looking forward to reading something on her from you.

Yep, I'm up next. Give me a day or two...

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Thing is, Monica reminds me of Kenix Kwok's 'Black Widow' role in Reaching Out.

Hmm... maybe each of us should pick different story arcs to do.

Nah.

[junny]

Ok, here's my contribution. Eliar, you're up next (to my knowledge, Melanie is only a guest-writer and isn't sticking to schedule. I assume you are).

~

"How was the date?" Kirsty asks, grinning as she takes in Derek's flushed expression.

"Good, I suppose," he mumbles. "We all had fun."

"You and Jan?" Kirsty laughs. "I suppose that's probably the sum of your evening. You'd have been unlikely to take notice of the other people."

Derek's flush deepens. "That's not true, Kirsty. I saw some of our old schoolmates, and we did chat a bit. Monica came over and said hi..."

"Uh huh, she did?" Kirsty arches a brow. "Well, good for her. I'm assuming it was a very bland hi, as per my sister."

"It was a pretty OK hi," Derek corrects her.

"How come you never made your peace with her?" Kirsty asks, picking up a crayon to begin her doodling on the sketch pad in front of her.

Derek sighs. He doesn't have a definite answer for Kirsty too. Of course he will want to make peace with Monica, but over the years, she has never shown him anything except condescension. That only serves to heighten his guilt towards her and Janette, of course. And more guilt whenever he thinks about the incident. He hadn't done right by Monica, and if given a chance...

"So?" Kirsty probes, lifting her head at Derek's prolonged silence. "I know my sister's a terrifying ogre, but I've never known her to eat people. I'm sure you two can talk things out."

Derek looks apologetic. "I'm sorry. Over the years, you must have taken a lot of stick from her because..."

"Nah," Kirsty waves a dismissive hand. "It's not that. OK, I do admit it'd make things a lot easier if you guys just kiss and make up." She doesn't notice Derek's flush at that as she continues colouring. "I just think it's not good, you know, for resentment to boil over for so many years. And if Mon's taken the first step by inviting you to the party, I think you can reciprocate."

"Would she... rebuff my attempts to make peace?" Derek is doubtful.

Kirsty is silent for a moment, her brows knitted. "I don't know," she says at last. "You will have to try. I think she won't, if you're sincere about it."

Derek sighs again.

"You should also stop sighing," Kirsty remarks. "Just do it. If she does rebuff you again, then you know it isn't worth your effort anymore. But I don't see it that way." She sets the crayon aside and regards Derek seriously. "I don't know what happened between you and Mon, but I do know it's serious enough that she gets awfully upset whenever I mention you. And it isn't because of that old incident where she thought you were the pervert."

"I wasn't..." Derek protests, but she cuts him off impatiently.

"I haven't finished. Granted, that wasn't your fault, but it helped to shape the impression she has of you now. And whatever happened between you two later, and between you and Jan, hasn't done that initial impression a jot of good. But you haven't given her grief about it. In fact, you've gone out of your way to accommodate her, to avoid her bad moods, to be understanding if she yells at you when you see me home..." it is Kirsty's turn to sigh. "Even I am not so stupid to realise that there must be something more between you two, platonic or otherwise. Either you're an idiot to have suffered in silence for so long, or you're striving for sainthood. You're neither. So you would, I think, be atoning for your sins towards her."

Derek stills.

Kirsty is watching his expression intently. "I'm right, aren't I? Something bad must have happened between you two for relations to become this bad. You're no masochist, you won't take her verbal abuse in silence unless you feel you really owe her something. I know you, Derek," she pre-empts his protests. "I know you well enough to have said all that I have. She's my sister, and I love her. You're my good pal, and I love you like a brother. Talk to her, please?"

Derek bites his lip uncertainly. "I don't know, Kirsty," his voice is soft with doubt. "I'm not sure she wants to have anything to do with me..."

"Well, it won't hurt to find out for sure, would it?" Kirsty asks gently.

Derek looks resigned. "I suppose she and I are overdue for a good, long talk to sort things out," he concedes.

"I would say," Kirsty agrees. "It's something I've been meaning to speak with her about, but she's been busy lately and all, and I haven't had the chance to broach the subject. Besides, I think it'd be better coming from you."

"You think so?" Derek lifts a doubtful brow.

Kirsty smiles.

Derek sighs, for the third time, but there is a tiny smile on his lips. "All right, I'll give it a shot," he says. "But no guarantees that she'll listen to me and all that," he warns.

Kirsty grins slightly. "I would advise you to go prepared. Then again, if you speak from the heart, I am sure she'll listen. It won't kill her to hear you out."

Derek nods. "OK. Do you happen to know when she might be free?"

Kirsty laughs. "You expect me to do everything for you? I've already overstepped my boundaries by telling you to talk to her. You have to call her and ask, buddy. You have her number, right?"

"Yes," Derek says.

"Good," Kirsty looks approving. "I'm not rushing you to do this asap, but it'd be nice if you two could end this before the year is out," she grins.

Derek tries unsuccessfully to roll his eyes. Kirsty laughs at his botched attempt and picks up her crayons again.

***

Three days later, 6.30pm

"Get that faxed immediately," Monica instructs her secretary sternly. "And don't forget to send another copy to Richard on the 4th floor," she adds.

Her secretary nods and disappears out of the office. Monica leans back in her seat and rubs her forehead wearily. She glances at the wall clock. Only 6.30pm. There is still a few hours to go before midnight, and she groans slightly as she looks at the pile of files before her. Well, time to get back to work.

She is hard at work when the office phone rings. Absently, Monica picks up. "Monica speaking," she says, without bothering to look at the caller-ID. Probably one of her colleagues wanting her help on some case.

"Monica?"

She almost drops the phone. Monica stares at the phone in horrified fascination. She cannot, for the life of her, believe that he will call her. She must be tired. She must be hallucinating.

"Hello?" The phone squeaks out a few more frantic hellos.

"I'm still here," Monica says, managing to sound calm.

"Oh, good," Derek breathes a sigh of relief. "I thought the call was disconnected. Are you... busy now?"

"What's up?" she asks, injecting a suitable amount of distance in her voice.

Derek is quiet for a moment. "Well... if you're not too busy this week or the next, I'd like to... sort of meet up for dinner and maybe we could talk..."

Monica's eyes nearly pop out. Talk? Derek?

"Why?" she demands, belligerently. "You haven't wanted to talk for years," she sneers, bitterness creeping into her voice.

Derek sighs. "I know. I apologise for that. It was... not right of me. I think... we should have a talk to settle matters."

"What's there to talk about?" Monica asks flatly. "Goodbye."

"Wait!" Derek says, curiously firm for once, and enough to make Monica pause. "I think we need to end this animosity," he continues, after another brief silence. "It's not doing either of us any good."

"I'm surviving very well," Monica's voice is deeply sarcastic.

"I still think we ought to talk," Derek insists, surprising both Monica and himself. "You can walk away after that, and we may never ever talk to each other again, but at least we would have sorted it out." There, he's said out loud his three days' worth of thinking over Kirsty's suggestion.

There was a silence on the other end. "Fine," Monica says, curtly.

Derek sounds visibly relieved when he says, "Good. I can accommodate your schedule. When are you free to meet up for dinner?"

Reluctantly, wondering what she has just agreed to, Monica turns to her computer to check her online schedule. "Friday," she tells Derek.

Which is three days from today, Derek muses silently. "Sure," he tells her. "I'm fine with that. Um... would seven be ok with you?"

There is another silence. "I can't promise," Monica's crisp voice comes back over the phone.

"I can wait," Derek says.

Monica is unable to suppress her frustration. "Why the hell do you want to talk, after all these years?" she barely refrains from yelling at him.

"I'll tell you that when we do sit down for that talk," Derek's voice is quiet but firm. "Seven. That's OK with you? I could wait a bit, if you do turn out to be busy that day. But I'd really like to sort things out."

"Fine, fine," Monica bites out. "Since when have I ever refused you?" the irony in her voice makes Derek flinch, but he refuses to let it show.

"Great. I'll see you on Friday," Derek says, still in that calm voice. "Take care, Mon. Bye." He hangs up the phone, visibly shaking.

Monica is left to stare at the receiver.

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Uh oh. I didn't know that Monica was at the party...

Hmm... okay, I'll just assume that Monica was at the party, came home, and had the little conversation with Kirsty, while Derek and Janny ran off to have their little supper at the roadside stall. Uh huh. Inconsistency scares me. Look at Dragonlance.

Anyway....

====================================

"So, Janny, how was the... um... party?" William asked, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Oh, it was fun."

"Ah. Is that so?" William said in calm, measured tones. Or at least, that was what he was trying to sound anyway. Stay calm... stay calm... I'm driving here...

"Indeed." Janny smiled. "Your brother is still a fun person to be with, by the way."

"Mmm - hmm." William's face was carefully expressionless.

"In fact, I wouldn't mind going out with him for another date again. He's just so funny!"

"HUH? WHAT?" The normally cool and composed William turned to look at Janny immediately, an expression of horror on his face.

Janny chuckled. "Ah. I'm just kidding, Will. Sometimes, you take things too seriously."

"I do?" William raised an eyebrow.

"I knew you would be jealous when I told you that we were going to the party."

"I'm not jealous. Definitely not. Me? No way. Nope. Uh uh."

"Derek and I ... are just friends now, okay? Perhaps, more than that soon."

That, unfortunately, prompted William to stare at Janny again. "Huh?"

Janny laughed again and placed her hand on William's. "Of course. He's going to be my brother-in-law soon!"

"Eh... hehehhehe..." William sighed inwardly in relief. Somehow, her touch made him felt a lot more comfortable. I wonder how I would feel if she really leaves me... for Derek... scary thought.

"One thing though, I wasn't kidding when I said you take things too seriously... come on, you should lighten up!" Janny interrupted William from his reverie. "Smile more!"

"Like this?" William looked at Janny, and forced a wide toothy smile.

The type of smile scary enough to tear at his mouth muscles.

"Oh boy... guess I'll stick with 'cool guy William'." Janny said.

==================================

Fastforward to Friday. At some rather high-class restaurant which will remain nameless due to the fact that the author himself was too lazy making up names. Derek sat alone, he glanced at his watch, took a sip of his glass of ice water... his gaze strayed to the entrance repeatedly...

And then, Monica entered.

With a silly grin on his face, Derek waved at her.

Monica stared coldly at him as she walked towards him.

"Hello, Monica. You look beautiful today." Derek stammered.

"I know." Monica took the menu from the waiter and started gazing through it. "You're paying today, yes?"

"Sure." Derek nodded.

"Waiter. I would like to have this... this, and this... oh, and this... please add this and this too..." Monica said to the waiter.

"Yes, ma'am." The waiter bowed, before walking away.

"Ehehehehe... what did you order?" Derek asked.

"The usual, lobster, abalone, sharksfin..." She shrugged.

Derek almost fell off from his seat.

"I was kidding." Monica said tonelessly. "Idiot."

"Hahaha! That was a good one!" Derek laughed awkwardly.

"I ordered a lot more than that." Monica said.

"Wha... ah. Okay." Derek almost wept.

"So, enough small talk. Tell me what you want." Monica said coldly.

"To say I'm sorry? Monica, I'm so sorry for what I did to you. Truth is, during these few years, I've been pretty guilty myself. I was pretty scared, you know, and erm..."

"SHUT UP!!" Monica roared. She lifted the table up and slammed on Derek repeatedly, until he was lying on the ground, squirming and groaning in pain. "Sorry huh? Sorry this!"

The woman took out a katana and started slashing at Derek while laughing hysterically. She ended up lifting the decapitated head of Derek.

It was a gruesome scene.

Even though it was just a scene from Derek's imagination anyway.

"So, enough small talk. Tell me what you want." Monica said coldly.

"Monica." Derek looked at her for a while. "I just want to tell you I'm sorry. For doing what I did back then. I know you never forgave me for that, truth is, I never forgave myself either. Every single night, during my most private moments, I am haunted by this, and it is slowly eating away at me. You were right, I'm a loser. I didn't even dare say it even though all these years, I've fallen in love with you."

"R...really?" Tears started to well up in Monica's eyes. "Derek... you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that!"

She jumped onto the table, pulled Derek up, and they both started kissing passionately until everyone else in the restaurant was staring at them. They ended up getting caught by the cops.

It was an embarrassing scene.

Even though it was only a scene from Derek's imagination too.

"So, enough small talk. Tell me what you want." Monica said coldly.

Besides, hmph! I'm not even in love with her! And who the hell does she think she is? I'm here only because Kirsty asked me to. Yeah. But I gotta make peace with her first. Have to.

Derek opened his mouth to reply.

There was a flash a light. Monica and Derek almost jumped out of their feet. It was a Japanese man holding a Polaroid camera.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you from your conversation, sir, ma'am." The man said. "I'm an artist, and I've been desperately trying to work on my next masterpiece. Unfortunately, I ran out of ideas, so, I came here, hoping to get some inspiration... and voila! Like a gift from heaven, both of you appeared before me. Ahhh... so full of love, so... full of passion. Just one look at both of you and I know you're both passionate lovers! I wish I could kneel in reverence right now, thanking the Gods of Artistry for this wonderfully wonderful gift! I shall name my next masterpiece as Passionate Lovers!"

"Um... we're not..."

"Here, here's my name card. I'll be having my art exhibition in two months time."

"Yo... Yoshitaka... Amano."

"Here. Take the photo. I don't need it anymore. For, I have used the camera of my heart to take photo of that beautifully beautiful scene just now. So that it will remain in my memory forever." The artist, Amano, said.

"..." Derek replied wittily.

"..." Monica replied wittily too.

========================

Yoshitaka Amano's a real-life artist, by the way. Heh heh heh.

Anyway, I'm not finished with the Derek and Monica stuff. I'll continue writing tonight. I can't seem to cram too much in one post.

[Eliar Swiftfire]

"Well, that certainly was um... pretty.... interesting, huh?" Derek said.

"..." Monica replied in a very friendly manner as she continued eating her meal (yes, it's lobster).

"Hehehe," Derek forced a grin. "Perhaps we should go to the art exhibition."

"Not interested." Monica said, wiping her mouth with the napkin. "Speak."

"Huh?"

"Say whatever you want to say. I figured that you, being the loser you are, probably didn't have the guts to say anything just now, that's why I allowed you to finish your meal first."

Loser? That... that b*tch! I can't believe I've even slept with her before!! Hmph. I'm not going to say anything.

"Stop calling me a loser! YOU *****!" was what Derek wanted to say.

"Er..." was what he said instead.

I must do this for Kirsty.

Monica rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic."

Then, her cell phone rang.

"Monica speaking.... what..." She gasped softly. "... I'll come immediately."

The woman shot up to her feet immediately. "I have to go."

"What happened?" Derek asked.

Monica looked at him, her emotionless facade was replaced by a mask of fear. Her face had turned ashen. "Kirsty... got knocked down by a car..."

Then, she rushed out of the restaurant immediately.

"Wait! I'll come with you!!! Waiter!" Derek cried.


===============================

(Cut to Hospital)

Monica rushed into the hospital room, followed closely by Derek.

"... oh my god..." Monica burst into tears and collapsed onto the floor, beside the sanatorium bed.

"MFFFMMMHFFMMM?" Kirsty's voice was muffled by the layers of bandages that swathed her body from head to toe. She lay on the sanatorium bed, arms and legs suspended in traction like some sort of bizarre puppet.

"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry... I should've come home earlier." Monica continued weeping.

"MMMFFFMMMHHH!!"

"Erm... Mon?" Derek said.

Monica ignored him. "Why... why did you go out by yourself? Why? I told you I'll buy you dinner!!" She said between sobs.

"Mon...?"

"Shut up, Derek! Oh, Kirsty... I'm so sorry..."

"Um... excuse me, miss, can you please get your hands off my husband. Now?" Came a rather hostile voice.

"Huh?" Monica turned around, and saw herself facing a rather fat middle-aged woman.

Behind the woman, stood Derek... and Kirsty. Except for the bandage covering her forehead, she looked unhurt.

"KIRSTY!" Monica threw her arms around her little sister and wept. "I was so afraid!"

"... er... I can see that. Hush hush... I'm okay, big sis, really, I am..." Kirsty said, grinning awkwardly. She had never seen her sister act like that before... and it was starting to scare her. Of course, she might be embarrassed that she mistook that... um... mummy guy... as me.

[Em]

Another car accident - experiencing a bit of deja-vu here...

Are you done now Ed?
I'm psyching myself up for a bit of shock-mongering...
(junny should know what I mean!)

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Oh. Right. Forgot there's another car accident few pages back. Figured I would add some humour in it (provided that y'all notice it... um.... you all did at least crack a smile at Derek's wild imaginations and Monica's embarrassment, yeah? Of course, if my humour ain't working with y'all, which is a rarity, but it still happens, i might as well write everything in an angsty manner) for the sake of showing Monica from a different light. It's for pure comedic purposes. Maybe I should've write something about house on fire instead.

Yeah. I'm done.