THE JACKET

Part I

Written by Sparrow

This is dedicated to the people who read my blog and had continuously encouraged me along the way. If not, this fic might never have been completed. XP

This is a plot idea that just struck me that I just had to write it down. Be warned of OCCness! Don't expect Daine to be too rational because she is pretty emotional after this guy she was totally into cheated on her. She rambles when she is nervous in this fic. Please take note of T rating!

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Human beings are curious creatures. One would think that with all the tragedies and insecurity of the world today, they would be on an active lookout for things that would cheer them up. Watch comedies, relax under the sun, and play at the beach. Stop and smell the roses. Be drawn by happy moments. Like bees to flowers.

Conversely, with so many problems human beings have to shoulder, one would think that they would ignore unhappy things. Like flies fleeing from Venus trap plants, not wanting to be swallowed in by the poisonous depression. After all, if your life is bad enough, why do you want to make yourself more depressed? Why waste so much tears and emotions on a completely fictional character that has a tragic ending in a movie?

But, like flies to garbage, people are curiously attracted to tragedies, bad news and depressing sights. Don't believe this? Take a simple drive along the highway. If you see a happy couple, singing along brokenly but with great gusto in a car, it would attract little attention. A couple that is obviously quarreling and gesturing, most would take a second look. A family getting out of a parked car, happily unloading their paraphernalia for a great weekend getaway would be hardly worth people's notice. On the other hand, people would slow their cars to a crawl to curiously peer at car accidents.

And, nothing gets people's attention like a "human car wreck".

A fine example of this phenomenon was being played at the edge of the Culfield Park. A young woman was sitting on a bench, her unruly hair messily framed her face that was red and stained with tears. She dabbed an ineffectual damp tissue across her eyes and blinked hastily and futilely to clear away the tears that welled from her eyes. Her normally clear blue-grey eyes were red and bleak. It was most unfortunate that at this moment, the oversized black jacket she was wearing attracted additional unwanted attention. Although it was winter and jackets were common, the particular jacket she was wearing looked expensive and decidedly male. The sleeves were far too long for her and hampered her ability to use her hands. However, she contrived to make the best use of this inconvenience by wiping the sleeve of the jacket across her eyes. The jacket seemed to hit her at mid-thigh and enveloped her slender frame.

In winter, not many people would be out and about, but this poor young woman seemed to be having a very bad day. Or more accurately, a very bad choice of location and time. She was seated at the edge of Culfield Park that connected the University of Culfield to the shopping district. Despite the cold weather and shorter days, students were driven out of their toasty beds to attend lectures before their grueling mid-term papers in hope that their tutors would throw them tidbits of examination hints. Some students kindly gave a pretense of being busy with something else while walking by, looking at her at the corner of their eyes. Some had just simply stopped and stared.

"That bastard," she mumbled under her breath in an incoherent chant. "I'm going to castrate him. Damnit. Just he wait and see. Bastard. Can't believe he did that to me. I'm going to kill him. KILL HIM."

The sound of the mobile phone rang persistently, interrupting her diatribe and increasingly inventive mutterings of revenge that were too crude for the ears of the young. It took the woman some time before she realized that the sound was coming from one of her pockets. Temporarily yanked out of her misery by the curiousity of the sound, she clumsily searched the jacket pockets and produced a slim flip phone.

"Hello?" She asked, her voice rough and hoarse from crying.

"Hi," a deep voice answered. "You took my jacket by mistake."

"What?" She asked, her mind fuzzy with grief.

"My jacket. You came to the Deli and… stormed off. You accidentally took my jacket in… your haste-"

"Yeah. Just say it. Stop mincing your words around me. I HATE liars," the young woman interrupted the man angrily. "I came in, saw my boyfriend, or should I say EX-boyfriend making out with some slut in the Deli. I made a scene, instead of that sorry bastard being sorry. He screamed at me as not satisfying his needs so he has to go elsewhere. MEN! Horny bastards. Expecting sex just because you are your girlfriend. For crying out loud, if sex is THAT important, go hire a whore!" She sniffed audibly.

The other voice was taken aback by her brutal honesty and there was a momentary pause before he wisely decided not to defend his gender but to placate her. "I do apologise if I had accidentally offended you. I must admit that it is my first time dealing with such a situation… Are you alright?"

It opened the floodgates and the woman poured her frustration and woes into the unexpected confidante. To his credit, the voice sounded genuinely sincere and made appropriate comments and noises from time to time. Her emotions raged from anger, before it transformed to sadness and self-introspection.

"I know I am not Varice Kingsford with the big blonde perfect hair, big boobs and flirtatious smile, but I'm not a hag either!" the woman whined. "What is wrong with me? I know I am not like the normal university female. I don't like wearing spaghetti straps or tight, short skirts. I definitely can look good if I wear that, but it's just so impractical! Can you imagine doing our lab work in that? And shaving is so inconvenient! Maybe I should have dressed better, act more bimbotic and feminine and all that." Her voice became quieter. "What is wrong with me? How can such a scum of the earth like him NOT want someone like me."

"I think you are pretty," the voice responded.

"You are just saying that to cheer me up so that I won't throw myself off the bridge and be unable to give you back your jacket," the woman sniffed and sighed.

"No, really," the voice said. "You have very beautiful eyes. Blue-grey. I think you have an unconventional sort of beauty, the sort that grows on you. I did notice you when you came in, before the whole brouhaha started."

The woman paused, touched that he actually seemed to mean it and deeply surprised that he remembered how she looked. Although her depressed state of mind attributed his attentiveness to her creating a scene at the Deli and him trying to be nice. "Oh… thanks."

"Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but if you are still outside, maybe it's time for you to start going home? It's starting to turn dark and it's not very safe for a female to be out alone at this time of year. Don't want to catch a cold before the examinations and there are not many people out here except us crazy students." The voice said.

"I don't think anyone is going to bother with a girl like me," the woman remarked, deep in self-pity. "I'm an utter mess. My eyes are swollen, my nose is running. Sex perpetuators will just run screaming. Frankly, I just feel so numb. I don't feel cold." She laughed depreciatingly. "Like I have the mood to go cram for my papers."

"Hmm… well, you my dear, have my jacket in your possession. It won't do if you get mugged and it gets stolen. So go home." the voice gently commanded, but with a certain firmness to his voice. "I expect my jacket to come back to me in its entirety. Anyway, I have YOUR jacket as ransom."

"Ha," the woman responded. "My purse is with me. My jacket hardly has anything in it. Doesn't matter. I don't think I ever want to see that jacket again. You can burn it."

"No, I think I will keep it with me," the voice teased gently. "I can use it to hunt down your scent and hire some dogs to track you down. Anyway, my wallet is with me as well, but I have some valuables in the jacket you are holding. But, I think I can do without it at the moment. It's almost dark. Night falls very fast in winter."

"Yeah, it matches my mood," she commented.

The voice apparently decided to take another tactic and he said, "Please DON'T tell me that you are going to try to play the pity card. Fall sick or get mugged. Make him feel guilty."

"PITY CARD?" the woman spluttered and heaved herself to her feet. "Are you kidding me? HE is to be pitied after I get through with him! And you actually think a puling worm like him can feel something like guilt?"

"Exactly," the voice agreed, "He probably can't feel guilt, so it's no point getting yourself sick or into trouble because of that."

"Well, yeah, don't you want your jacket back? I'm at the Culfield Park. I can wait for you to get back your jacket," the woman challenged, feeling obstinate.

"No," the voice pleasantly responded. "I will wait to get the jacket back at another time."

"Ha," the woman said. "So how do you expect to do that when you don't even know WHO I am and my contact details?"

"No worries, I will call you again at my mobile phone," the voice answered. "See you soon."

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"Hello."

"Hi hi! Are you Perrin?"

"No."

"Oh good, I would have scolded you till blood ran out of your ears!"

"He deserves that."

"Yeah, that cheating he-slut."

There was a pause before the voice asked, "Um… can I speak to… the girl carrying this phone? About five feet five I think, slender, smoky hair, dreamy blue-grey eyes-"

"Oh! You mean Daine? She's drunk right now, I don't think she's really up to talking to people."

"Let me try to talk to her nonetheless," the voice said firmly. There was a long pause and the sound of fumbling.

"Heeelllllooooooooo….." Daine mumbled.

"Daine? It's me," the voice said.

"Miri says you have such a great voice…" Daine said. "Sex chat-line… youuuuu."

The voice laughed, "That's the first time someone said that to me."

"Hmm…" Daine mumbled. "Sex…."

"Where are you?" the voice asked gently.

"Hoooommmeee, homeee on the rangggeeee, wheerreee thee deerrr anddd tthhheee-" Daine sang.

"How much did you drink?" the voice interrupted.

"Whiskey shots. Tequila. Beer." Daine mumbled, then added sadly, "Drown sorrows. But sorrows swimming."

"Oh dear," the voice sounded appropriately concerned. "No wonder you are drunk. Mixing alcohol can be very potent."

"I know!" she said excitedly. "Sex!"

"No, no Daine. NO sex," the voice quickly rebutted.

"Yes, get back at Perrin." Daine started to sound fascinated. "Show I am not a frigid stick like he thinks I am." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "He doesn't know. Nobody knows because I haven't done it yet. SHHHHHHHH!!!!"

"You should keep it that way," the voice said urgently. "You really DON'T want to waste your first time like that! You should only do it with someone you love."

"Good idea," Daine said, in a sing-song-voice. "That will show him. Yes it would! Yes yes yes!"

"No, no no no no," the voice protested, sounding panicked. "Daine, listen to me. You are drunk. Don't do this while you are not thinking clearly!"

"Go… outside… pick up guys…" Daine giggled. "They say some girls are easy lays, but ALL guys are easy lays…"

"Daine, DO NOT go outside," the voice commanded, then coaxingly said, "Converse with me Daine."

"Con-verse?" Daine repeated, her drunken mind thrown off-track by this unexpected concept. "Shoes?"

"Yes, shoes Daine," the voice quickly responded, quickly grasping the opportunity to turn her mind to more chaste topics. "What shoes are you wearing?"

"No shoes. Underwear?" Daine helpfully answered.

"Uh yes," the voice replied hurriedly. "Wearing underwear is good. Keeping them on is EVEN better. Let me tell you a funny story about my roommate."

The voice successfully kept Daine distracted and they talked about all sort of things. He soon learnt about interesting details of her life and she listened to all sort of information about him. It was his panic and desperation to keep her distracted that made him spill more than he had intended.

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"Hello?"

"Hello."

"Whew, I thought the mobile phone would have run out of battery." The voice said.

"Yeah well, it's true that I did get drunk, and fell asleep at some point without switching off the mobile phone. But, my friend managed to scrounge up the mobile phone charger. Thank goodness the brand uses a standard charger. Your phone is expensive mister!" Daine exclaimed, and made a face, unseen by the voice.

"Are you rambling because you remember what happened last night and feel dreadfully embarrassed or because you don't remember last night and feel embarrassed at what might have happened?" the voice asked, sounding amused.

"Oh, oh gosh, I am just…" Daine spluttered. "I can't even think of the polite, nice response to that. Oh heck! Since you already must be having the WORST impression of me either, let's just say that you have enough information to blackmail me. I am now regaining sobriety. Or maybe it's just that I happened to visit school to get some books. Everyone was staring at me weirdly. Everyone. Whispering. Talking. Like, I was this terminally ill person and they are like the doctors and nurses whispering about how bad my condition is. How they must treat me nicely because they must break to me bad news. I just, couldn't take it and hopped on the train back home. I just thank God that it's examination period and I don't have to go back for lectures any more." She took a breath and rested her forehead against the window pane of the train.

"I, I…" Daine said. "I can't stand it. I felt like, oh, ground open up and eat me up. Why is it that if a man strays, people take it matter of factly? Some think there's something wrong with me. The worse ones pity me. I, the victim. ME, the one who was cheated on, is coming out worse from this situation. What crap about men and their sexual urges and needs. Like it's some entitlement that they should get some. I mean, if I was a guy and he was a girl. Everyone would be going, oh that slut." There was the sound of her harsh breathing before she calmed down enough to make it softer.

There was silence for a while before she said, "You are in school, aren't you?"

"Me?" the voice blurted.

Daine smiled. "I realize… you're sweet. You probably called me to return your jacket. Thank you for not sic-ing the police on me yet. Look, I will go back and return the jacket to you. I mean, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"No," the voice said. "I am not in school. Besides, I am concerned about you."

She laughed bitterly, "That's what a lot of people say now. I guess it's hip and cool to get all the gory details out of me. To know the poor victim and all the sordid details. To be in the know. No," she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know you're not like that. I just… dragged you into this mess called my life. All you wanted was your jacket back, but in return, you get this hysterical and psychotic girl."

"Daine," the voice responded. "I don't think your true friends think like that. I cannot deny that there are gossip mongers in school, but who cares about what they think. Anyway, you can return the jacket to me another day, I am rushing a take-home examination currently. So it would also be difficult for me to run to school now."

"You know the strange thing?" Daine said. "What you said is the correct answer. A logical one. A good answer. Yet, it just… doesn't sink in you know. I mean, I KNOW that. I know that is the correct answer I should believe and follow. Yet. It still hurts." Her voice broke briefly. "It hurts to admit it hurts. It hurt to admit that I threw in a 100 into the relationship and it meant nothing. I tried to psycho myself into thinking, oh hey, you didn't throw yourself into it, you didn't take it seriously, you didn't think he could be the one you were looking for. But it just…." She stopped, on the verge of tears. She blinked furiously.

A clock chimed in the background and Daine suddenly laughed weakly, "You are such a liar, I recognize that chime, it is the old clock tower near the university's library."

The voice sounded thoroughly chagrined, "I am having a take-home examination though."

She sighed, "Why don't you just ask me for your jacket? You don't know me. You shouldn't feel any obligation to protect me."

Daine thought he would laugh it off but there was a long silence before he finally replied. "I don't know either. But…. what I do know is that I do not want to be the source of your further distress."

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"Why are you calling me everyday?" Daine asked, resting her head against her hand on her desk.

"Am I?" the voice said. "Weren't you so weak in calculus that you asked me to explain to you how to do your problems? There's nothing like good revenge in getting good grades."

"Ha, don't you know guys are turned off by intelligent women?" Daine responded, half joking. "This is utterly spoiling my chances of ever finding a guy again."

"Rubbish," the voice said sternly. "Then he is not a real man. Like me."

She laughed, "Well excuse me, you hunk of a man. But anyway, there's something that bothers me though. I have your mobile phone, but why don't I get any calls or messages?"

"Why? Hoping to voyeur into my life?" the voice inquired dryly. "Well, sorry to disappoint you if you were snooping around my phone, but I am in the habit of not keeping any messages on my phone and deleting them after being received. Anyway, I am very strict about people contacting me during the examination period. They would get their heads bitten off. Besides, I told the essential people I had changed my number temporarily."

"What?" Daine yelped. "You have gotten another mobile phone? Don't be crazy! Don't waste your money like that! If you just get your phone and jacket back from me on the first day, you wouldn't have to go through all this trouble!"

"Yeah well," the voice remarked. "I am a sucker for punishment."

"Ha, I guess you must have gotten a new black jacket," Daine said.

"No, I expect for it to be returned to me eventually, there's now great sentimental value to it," the voice responded.

Daine felt what he said was in the spirit of humour, then proceeded to point out, feeling a bit bad that she was disturbing him, "Anyway, if you are that touchy during examination period, you shouldn't call so often. It's really alright! I. Am. Not. Going. To. Commit. Suicide. And. Visit. You. From. The. Grave."

"Ha. Ha. Ha," he said. "No, I am not calling you in fear of supernatural retribution. You help me clear my mind actually, when I take a break from studying. Normally I am a practical hermit during examinations. Never speaking to people. Never seeing them. But I guess I realized… it's nice to have some human interaction now and then. I am surprised as you are actually."

"Uh huh," she said disbelievingly.

The voice laughed, "No, seriously, my reputation for being reclusive during this period is quite well-known."

"Why don't you tell me who you are?" Daine questioned.

He was silent before he said lightly, "Is it really that important to know who I am? Would it be a definitive factor of how you would judge me?"

"No," Daine answered promptly. "Of course what matters is what is inside. As Juliet said, a rose by any name smells just as sweet." She sighed, he had been strongly elusive on the subject. "Anyway, I must admit something that might affect your reputation though…"

"My reputation?" the voice asked, surprised.

"Well, I," Daine blushed. "You don't need to worry about it really. Just that, I wear your jacket when I go out. Unlike you, I only have one jacket which is the one you currently have in your possession. I honestly didn't realize that some people might assume, wrongly assume that I was wearing my boyfriend's jacket. Anyway, your jacket is a very generic black jacket, so no worries! If anyone just links it, you can just tell them that-" her voice caught a bit and she forced herself to continue "-she is just some loser girl who took your jacket by mistake when she was dumped at the Deli. The Yella Deli incident." She took a breath and tried to sound light, "I know you probably don't want to be associated with me at the moment, but yeah, I just thought I should let you know." Her cheeks burned and she felt more pain than she had originally thought when she said that. "But it's ok really, I understand."

"Daine," that voice sounded infinitely tender at that moment. "Don't be silly. You are a great person and I wouldn't mind if my name was linked to yours." He added in a lighter tone, "I hate Perrin's guts. Hopefully, this makes him realize that he's a fool for not treating you better and he will get jealous as hell. So please, do continue to wear the jacket. It's partially my fault that I have held on to your jacket this long."

Daine felt a thrill of pleasure at his words, but tried to throttle the feeling down. He was just trying to be nice, platonically, right?

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"I heard some wonderful news," Daine sang. "Even though I know morally, I shouldn't be happy at people's plight, but really, I can't help it!"

"Hmm?" the voice said, sounding a bit hesitant.

"Perrin turned up with a black eye and bruises at the examination paper today," she said. "There are rumours flying around about how he got it. But common consensus was that he said something bad about the girl he cheated on me with and another person got offended and kicked his ass. Great question as to who was the one who thrashed the living daylights out of him."

"The girl he cheated on you with? Are you sure?" the voice sounded surprised.

"Well, they say it is a girl he was romantically involved in, but it's common consensus that it is the girl he cheated on me with… unless there was another girl I did not know of," Daine mused.

"Really… I don't think so though," the voice remarked. "Maybe it is you?"

"ME?" Daine laughed. "Oh my gosh. Me? No no, I am a pretty low profile person before the Yella Deli incident. My good friends are basically Miri, Miri and Miri. I don't think anyone would defend me besides her. You know how people are, they tend to ignore what doesn't affect them. Why, what rumours did you hear?"

"Hmm…" there was a voice and the voice seemed to be thinking.

"What?" she joked. "Perrin said something nasty about me and you kicked his ass?"

There was a suspicious pause before he said, "Whoever he is, Perrin just got what was coming to him."

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"You think exams are stressful enough, but why do silly twits introduce the idea of the winter ball after the examinations? Nobody has time to think of anything else besides cramming calculus in their heads. Everyone does last minute shopping, we end up wearing the same clothing and pretend that we don't notice," Daine grumbled, trying to keep her voice down as she was in the train on the way home. The voice made an appeasing noise.

"That's true," the voice agreed. "I guess males have it easier, standard penguin suits."

"Besides," she paused and took a breath, "I was supposed to go with Perrin. But of course now, I can't. I don't want to go alone, but if I don't go, it's like I'm hiding away from him. Both ways people will talk. Ack! I hate this. I already have a gown. A terrible, dreadful splurge. It's something I wouldn't have dared to buy if Miri hadn't browbeaten me into it. It's so expensive to me that I am forced to wear it some day. I will probably insist that they put it in the coffin with me when I pass away."

She paused and then continued consideringly, "You know, it's a modern world. Girls don't have to go with guys to balls. I just have to make sure that I look ultra-fabulous. Argh, but ultra-fabulous means people will stare at you. I'm not a normally ultra-fabulous looking girl, so people will think I look ultra-fabulous or an ultra-fabulous wannabe. It's so much skin! Ackk!!"

"Calm down Daine," the voice soothed. "Just go and I am sure you will look ultra-ultra fabulous. Actually… I want to ask you whether you wanted to go to the Winter Ball with me."

"What?" Daine spluttered. "It's alright, you don't have to, you know. I wasn't hinting to you or asking you to-"

"Daine," the voice interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Quiet," the voice scolded gently, but firmly. "I do want to take you to the winter ball. I had wanted to ask you for some time but the timing just was not right. So if you want to reject me, do it because you think from our conversations that I am some irritating jerk or boring nerd. DON'T do it because you think I'm doing it out of anything else than romantic interest."

"Romantic interest," Daine repeated dumbly. "You. Me."

"Yes," the voice affirmed. "Do think about it, you don't have to give me the answer now. Anyway, it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to meet and change jackets. Though I must admit that I am developing a fond sentimentality for your jacket."

"Me too, but it's because it's comfy to wear. I can't quite imagine you wearing MY jacket," Daine joked.

The voice laughed, "No, of course not, it's just hanging over my chair. It's the first thing I see when I wake up and when I enter my room."

A sound interrupted their conversation. "Wait, I think you got a video message," Daine said, startled. "Let me see."

"Don't! Daine wait-" the voice instantly protested before he was cut off.

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"Hello?" the voice asked.

"Oh… hi…" Daine replied

"Is everything alright?"

"I…" she responded, then forced herself to laugh. "I just, didn't realize that you're more in demand than I thought."

"In demand? Daine, speak to me," the voice requested urgently.

"It's nothing, I saw your video message without your permission," she said meekly.

"And?"

"It was of Charissa… one of the campus… er…"

"Bicycles?" the voice helpfully supplied.

Daine laughed, "Well, yeah, campus bicycles, the usual joke thing well, she asked you whether you wanted to go to the Winter Ball with her."

"Are you sure she asked me?"

"Well, to be honest, she didn't say your name, I guess she was busy… acting sexy? But anyway, it's alright if you want to rescind your invitation to me. Since she did ask you first…"

"I don't care if she asked me first because I am not going with her. I want to go with you. Veralidaine Sarrasri." The voice interrupted firmly.

There was a long pause.

"Daine?" the voice asked, concerned. "Are you there?"

"I am just shocked," she replied. "You are heterosexual right?"

"Of course I am heterosexual!" the voice quickly said indignantly.

"I mean, you just turned down one of the hottest babes on campus to go with me," she said. "Me, you know, the girl you haven't really seen before."

"First, she may have sent the invite to the wrong mobile phone number. Second, I like your personality. Not hers. Who gives a damn if you're not the hottest girl on campus. Besides, the reason why she's hot is not because of her personality, but of her physical side, if you know what I mean."

"I'm very flattered." Daine remarked. "I am actually quite touched. I mean, wow, you must be one in a million. Based on the video, I would say you have a very high chance of getting lucky."

"Liking someone is NOT about the sex Daine. Well, it's like if hottest guy on campus comes up to you to ask you for a date," the voice explained.

"You mean like Numair Salmalin?" Daine said. "Well, he's hot and sexy and everything. Plus side is that he does have brains having historically high grades and supposedly quite a nice guy. I guess if he ever asks me to Winter Ball, I would just think he's joking and should be sent to a mental hospital. Besides, I think he's going with Varice who has been chasing him since forever." She laughed, "Oh goodness, but I think I know what you mean. If Perrin can cheat on me like this, imagine Numair, where temptation for him to stray is heaps abound, with so many other girls who are better than me throwing themselves at him. Nah, ordinary men are better for ordinary girls like me."

"He's not that bad! Perrin's an ass, you can't make a sweeping generalization that all men are like that," the voice protested.

"Alright, maybe not all men are like that. But logically speaking, I think that's why most couples I see, the girls are always equally good or better looking than the guys. Perhaps girls are less shallow. Or perhaps guys go for appearances and tend to go for the best package. Of course I am screaming, you shallow twits! But logically, you would always want to go for the best you can get. Why stay with A if B is better than A in all ways? I mean, around campus, you can see ugly, funny guys with pretty girls on their arms. But a fat ugly girl with cute guys? Never. Never I tell you. It's society I tell you, society!"

"I hope Perrin didn't turn you into a man-hater," the voice remarked.

"No… I like you, don't I? Perrin just made me more aware and more realistic. That people loving each other SOLELY because of what they are inside is rare. Appearances do matter. And… it is horrible to find out that my appearance is just… lacking… that I have no real expectation to think that a good-looking guy with a wonderful personality would like me."

"What did you say?"

"Er, that I have no real-"

"No, earlier," the voice said urgently.

"Perrin made me more aware and more realistic?"

"No, earlier than that?"

"The rant about societal expectations?" she asked.

"No," the voice said with exaggerated patience. "The one that you said you liked me."

"I did?" Daine said, panicked. "Er, no, you must have misheard. Oh, gotta go, I reached the examination hall. Talk to you later!"

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To be Continued…