Lianne was sitting behind this time, for she insisted that Zero bring her home first. She wasn't really angry at Zero, but she felt she had to set the ground rules from the start.
Zero had to know that Lianne was serious about considering the relationship and she didn't need him to provide her with the extra reason *not* to pursue it.
This move of hers was way beyond her comfort zone and she was still nervous about it. She smiled a bit to herself thinking about how shocked - and happy - Kai was when she kissed his cheek.
It was those little expressions of pure joy that played with her heart.
It would be so easy to fall for him, really.
Okay, fine.
She admitted that she did fall for him already … a little bit.
Just a tad.
The question was, would the budding feelings that were starting be drowned by the baggage that he brought with him?
Lianne didn't know.
Only time would tell.
She wouldn't push him away and she would use this time to get to know him, and his family. Lianne sighed, staring outside into the night sky.
Would he be her shining star that shone brightly in the darkness of the night?
Or would he be swallowed by the darkness?
Lianne looked at Zero's reflection from the car window.
Now, it's Zero's turn.
By getting him to send her home first, she hoped that the time alone with Lily would nudge them to the right direction.
Zero stopped at Lianne's apartment building and turned to look at her before she exited the car, telling her, "Be careful."
Lianne nodded and smiled at him, saying, "I will. Oh, and Zero. Trust your first instinct. You're right that Kai isn't bad."
Zero's lips twitched.
"Fine," he said, "I will still beat him up if he hurts you even a tiny bit, though."
"I know," Lianne said, "But that's only after I am finished with him."
Zero smiled, "Deal."
'That is, assuming Kyle hasn't finished him off first', Lianne thought to herself.
After making sure Lianne had gone into the building, Zero drove off.
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Upon reaching Lily's house, Zero got down to walk her to the house - even though Lily told him that he did not need to.
He ignored what she said and walked silently beside her as they reached the door.
It had been like that in the entire car ride, too.
No, not that he ignored her but that he was quiet.
Lily hadn't felt that it was an awkward silence though.
She could tell that he was thinking of a lot of things and thus, was being quieter than usual. From what she could tell, he wasn't deliberately snubbing her nor ignoring her.
That's just the way he was.
Somehow, just sitting next to him was enough.
But now, it was different.
Because he would be leaving her after she entered the house.
Lily suddenly felt like she wanted to spend more time with him.
The closer they got to the door, the more frantic she became inwardly.
What could she do to make him stay for a while?
Ask him in for a cup of tea or coffee?
No, that would be too forward of her, wouldn't it?
Would he think that she was inviting him in … for *that*?
No, he couldn't, right?
After all, she wasn't living alone.
Her family was home.
Yet, suddenly, Lily felt like she should live alone.
Lianne lived by herself and she was way younger. Come to think of it, why was she still living at home?
No, that's not the right thought at all.
Family was important to her.
She had no reason to move out.
Was she bad right now to be thinking such thoughts just because she was walking with Zero?
What was wrong with her?
Lily was aghast at herself.
With all these random thoughts going through her mind, Lily did not realise that her face was rather scrunched up at the moment. She was so deep in thought and emotionally affected that it showed on her face.
It made the quietly observing Zero utterly fascinated.
Lily was like a kaleidoscope.
She was mesmerizing every time you looked at her with her different expressions that appeared on her face on different occasions. For a dead-pan emotionless man like Zero, she was like a breath of fresh air.
She was completely different from Lianne, who was like a Ghost Cube. A puzzle that could not be solved (or rather, was extremely difficult to solve). Not that Zero ever tried. He just found Lianne an enigma and interesting.
The similarities between Lily and Lianne was that they were straight-forward.
Zero liked that.
He was beginning to wonder if he was going to have a second 'sister' now.
That would explain his growing fascination with her.
After all, he found that he was getting rather protective over her - hence, him rushing over the moment he had heard her scream.
Also, just like how it was with Lianne, he found that he wasn't adverse to holding her. Though granted, Lily was much softer than Lianne. Maybe because Lily was bigger than Lianne.
Not to say that Lily was fat, but that Lianne was rather petite.
Remembering how she had been so close to him earlier, he also recalled how nice she had smelled and …
Zero shook his head, wondering why he was getting distracted a bit. If Lily knew what was going on Zero's mind, she's probably smack his head in complete exasperation.
As it was, she was completely oblivious. By now, Lily had finally calmed down as they reached her door.
She turned to him with a smile, intending to say 'goodbye' and say her thanks with dignity (and not look like a besotted fool not wanting him to leave). However, it was then that her eyes fell again on that offending stain she had made on his shirt.
Her eyes opened wide.
How could she have forgotten about that?
She gasped, putting her hand on that stain and said as she looked up at him, "You will need to wash that tonight. If not, the stain won't get removed."
"Don't worry," Zero said, "It's no big deal."
"It is!" Lily said, feeling really worried as she stared at the stain, "I know! Let me wash it for you. I know a sure-fire method to do it. It's the least I can do."
"No, there's no need," Zero said.
"I insist!" Lily said firmly, "I'll feel bad if you don't let me do this for you."
"Lily, it's fine," Zero tried to persuade her.
No, it's not!" Lily said, looking highly aggrieved, "It's my fault and I can't let you trouble yourself."
Lily could see that Zero was not listening to her and she pursed her lips. She felt she had to be more aggressive and be firm in her words and actions. Lianne could do it so easily and all she had to do was say 'Zero' and he would listen.
Of course, Lily couldn't do that so she did the next best thing.
"Take off your shirt!" Lily demanded in a loud voice, putting her hands on his shirt buttons, just as her front door opened.