After a few weeks of this, Byron finally moved to the next step.

Talking to her.

Well, okay.

More like "Eh, hi! Lianne!" and a nod or two.

Lianne couldn't be rude and not respond, so she would respond appropriately, with either a "hi" or a nod.

She didn't smile.

So not to give him any ideas.

Not that it mattered for, to him, even having her look at him was enough to send him smiling the whole day.

His friends felt he was a lost cause but still rallied together to help him 'capture' his elusive Cinderella.

Then, the third stage came.

Instead of "coincidentally" meeting in the corridor, he would be "coincidentally" going to the same area. He would use this opportunity to walk beside her and talk to her.

Though 98% of the time, it was Anne who would be talking to him.

It didn't matter.

Sometimes, he would invite her over to join him and his friends. Sometimes, it would be that they were waiting for their ride home, or lining up for food.

Finally, when he figured he had gained enough presence and momentum, he was going to the final stage.

Asking her out.

He knew her father was strict, and thus, the likelihood of a 'yes' would be very low. He had thought long and hard of the perfect excuse to ask her out - or rather, have a quiet meal together.

It was during the sports day practice.

Her brother was involved in it, and naturally, she would stay behind as well and their father would pick them up later.

Today was one of those days.

Byron had planned it all out.

She's always in the bleachers, drawing. Anne would normally be with her, that lamppost. Well, he would casually 'drop by' and then, ask her out.

Well, technically, it wasn't asking her out but rather, invite her for a meal. Maybe play the sympathy card i.e. he needed company. He wasn't sure if that would work, so he would play by ear.

It was harmless, right?

Just a nice meal at the cafeteria while her brother was doing the exercises with the march past. Anne would most likely follow as well, but that was probably for the best. If he was to ask Lianne alone, she may reject him but if he got Anne to come along as well …

Byron was excited just thinking about it.

However, if he had known what was going to happen, he would have turned around and tried another day.

He had been so excited and pumped, that when that happened, he just … his mind went blank.

Never, did he consider for a minute, that Lianne already had a boyfriend.

The plan started off so well, too.

He didn't go to the bleachers immediately, but waited for 10 minutes before doing so. This way, he wouldn't seem desperate and she would already be quite comfortably seated in the bleachers.

He had a good feeling about this.

When Byron stepped onto the field, his eyes sparkled upon seeing Lianne exactly where he thought she would be.

It was a good thing she did things like clockwork. Or rather, her routine was basically the same.

Then again, they were students so what sort of drastic change would she do at school?

So there he was, foolishly heading towards the bleachers. He gave her a huge smile when she lifted her head to see who had walked by.

"Hi, Lianne," Byron said, thinking he did pretty well.

Not too friendly and desperate, but not too aloof.

"Hi," Lianne replied, not returning his smile and getting back to her sketch pad.

Byron didn't feel awkward at all but sat down next to her, facing the field, "Your brother is pretty good at leading the team."

"Mmm," Lianne replied absent-mindedly.

"Where's Anne?" Byron asked, curious though glad that she wasn't around.

"Oh, she just went to the ladies for a while," Lianne said, "She'll be back soon."

"Oh," Byron said then horror hit him. Would she think he had asked because he was interested in Anne?

He had better dispel that thought from her mind immediately!

"I notice that she's always with you," Byron said, keeping his voice even, "Your best friend?"

"No," Lianne replied.

"No?" Byron repeated, surprised.

"No," Lianne repeated, not bothering to look up.

"I'm surprised …" Byron said, still not believing it.

"Why?"

"Er .. because she's always with you?"

"So?"

Byron scratched his head, not knowing what to say to that.

"We hang out," Lianne said, "But a best friend would be someone that you confide in and trust."

Anne is someone she trusts, of course - but only trust to keep her safe. Not trust in the sense of baring her soul sort of trust. Only two people fit that bill and her mother was one of them.

As for the other …

"Sorry to keep you waiting," came a soft voice from beside Byron.

Byron stiffened.

That voice.

He would never forget that voice.

What was he doing here.

Wait.

How could he forget the existence of his being?

No, it wasn't that he forgot but rather, he just … pushed it out of his mind …

Okay. Fine.

He forgot.

The guy had never turned up again and there was no mention of the guy at all so Byron naturally blocked him from his mind completely.

Thinking back, why did he do so?

Then, Byron saw something that hit him even harder.

Lianne actually looked up from her sketching … with … a … great, big smile.

Well, heck, a smile.

It was a genuine, happy smile, too.

The guy stood in front of Lianne, at the level below the row that they were in and he leaned forward, "Hungry?"

Lianne nodded.

Byron sat there, aghast.

His golden opportunity!

"Really? That's great!" Byron said suddenly, "I'm hungry, too. Let's go to the cafeteria and eat!"

The moment Byron said that, he felt the chills. He looked at the guy who came, who had ignored him completely … until now.

"I wasn't asking you," the guy said coldly, his light blue eyes piercing him through before he turned towards Lianne, "Come on. Joseph will take another hour at least."

He took the sketch pad from Lianne's hands and placed it under his armpit, then took her hand in his.

Lianne turned towards Byron and said, "Bye."

With the guy's help, Lianne stepped onto the level below and headed out, leaving an open-mouthed Byron.

What happened?

He jerked when he felt a hand patting his shoulder.

"Burned, bro. Big burn, indeed."

Byron turned indignantly to look at who said those offending words and saw that it was Anne.

"Who is that guy?" Byron hissed under his breath, watching as Lianne was walking hand-in-hand with the tall, silver-haired dude.

What sort of hair is silver anyway?!

"Isn't it obvious?" Anne said, laughing.

Byron gritted his teeth.

"Boyfriend, huh?" Byron said under his breath. He was not happy about this. Making up his mind, he ran after them.

Anne pursed her lips as she watched him go, not worried. It was Zero after all. Since he's here, she could go back. However, seeing *that* sort of Zero was truly shocking.

She had to slap herself several times and rub her eyes.

That was a side of him that no one had never seen before.

A gentle look.

Okay, so *any* sort of look that had emotions on his face was already something no one had seen before. Yet, when he looked at Lianne, one could see how much she meant to him.

All the rumours about them were true?!

Lianne did tell her that she was only using Zero as a shield but seeing them together like that.

No way would she believe that it was only as a cover.

Not that she was going to blab anyway but still …

Anne shook her head.

This was really unbelievable indeed.

While Anne was coming to grips with it, another person watched the whole 'Zero-Lianne' interaction with wide eyes as well.

Even until now, his mouth was still wide open.

Despite the evidence right in front of him, he couldn't believe it still.

Despite the fact that he had heard how Lianne bossed Zero around, and how Zero had done everything as according to her instructions - even getting the morning-after pill and the wedding bands …

Yet, he still couldn't believe it.

Lianne and Zero.

Akikai felt he was getting to know too many secrets.

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

"Are you okay?" Zero asked worriedly, looking at Lianne as they walked out of school.

"Yeah," Lianne replied, "Just tired."

"You've been tired a lot lately," Zero observed, "Let's go for a check-up."

"Oh come on, Zero," Lianne protested, "Stop being so melodramatic. I just haven't had enough sleep."

Zero stopped, took her face in his hands, and stared intently at her.

"Please? For me at least?"

Byron, seeing this, felt his heart break.