When did all of it start?

When will it all end?

Since when did it stop raining,

And since when did it start snowing?

I live in a dream, escaping from reality.

But when will I stop dreaming?

Slowly, the night is ending.

Forever Blue – Illusions

The sky was crisp and clear, sunnier than the other days of the week. It was a bit chilly, but not chilly enough to convince Yuko to wear a sweater to school. They were sophomores in school. There wasn't much difference from their freshman year in high school, except the fact that they were no longer the newbies to the school. The workload had increased, but not as much as junior year.

Yuko quickly dumped off her books into her locker and quickly walked to the place where she met her friend after school. If there was anything that would destroy her day, it would be having to take her books home. She always copied down the homework problems from the books early, so she wouldn't have to lug them up the hill as she walked home. Nothing pleased her more than dumping her books off into her poor locker that already had a ditch on the bottom.

"Hey Yuko, I wanted to ask you earlier, but I forgot to tell you," Saki asked Yuko as soon as she caught sight of her "Do you want to go to the mall after school tomorrow?"

It was typical of Saki inviting her sooner or later. Yuko had actually wondered why she hadn't invited her to some activity after school for over a time period of three days. There were three things that Saki's life revolved around, and going out was one of them. Regardless if it was a school night or not, it was what kept her alive.

"I can't."

"Why not?" She seemed disappointed. Though Yuko always spent minimal amounts of money in the mall, Saki always dragged her along with her to tell her if she liked the outfits that she picked out, though most of the time, her negative opinions didn't stop Saki from blowing off her money. That was the second thing that her life revolved around, clothes.

"I have trash duty."

"Really?" Saki replied in a half surprised, but expecting tone, "Were you tardy again?"

"Actually, no not this time as a matter of fact."

Saki gasped in an unserious way, "Really? What did you do?"

"Do you remember what happened during lunch time?" Yuko said, with not much joy in her voice.

"No not really."

"Think harder."

"Uhh... well you went to photo club today, so I didn't see you. Well that one time when you threw me my book."

"You're telling me you're not grateful?!" She sighed, "Only child... You know, the reason why I got trash duty was because of you."

Saki looked at her blankly. During lunchtime, Yuko was running late for her club meeting, but she still had Saki's chemistry book, which she needed next period, so she tossed it to her over the bridge, thinking it would save time. At the same time, a teacher happened to be standing by, observing the entire scene. She gave Yuko trash duty for throwing things across the campus, since it would "endanger students".

"Oh sorry." Saki apologized, taking the blame as usual. Though things sometimes weren't her fault, she always took the blame because she could never think of things to say back to get the blame off of her.

"Nah, it's alright. It's my fault for not bringing my chemistry book anyway. It's just that I hope you blow off all of your money at the mall on ugly outfits that no one likes." She teased.

Though Yuko expected Saki to say something like, "Hey, that's not nice!", Saki was easily distracted by the two boys talking at the opposite side of the balcony. That was the third thing her life revolved around, boys.

"Wooaaah, who's that?" Saki wondered, gazing at the end of the balcony.

Yuko wasn't surprised how easily Saki lost her attention. Yuko shifted to her right, trying to get a view at whoever Yuko was staring at, "Who, Kagami?"

"No, the guy he's talking to. I've never seen him before."

Yuko shrugged. She really could care less about guys. Around her, all of the girls were infatuated with their boyfriends, and the ones who didn't have one were infatuated with getting boyfriends, but for some reason, none of that ever really interested her.

Saki didn't seem to catch Yuko's response by the way she stared across the balcony.

Yuko raised her hand and waved at them, "Kagami!" She yelled.

Saki quickly turned her head away as Kagami glanced at them. He waved at his friend and parted with him before he started walking in their direction.

Saki nudged Yuko's shoulder, giving her a "what was that for?" look. Saki made sure to smile as Kagami walked closer to them. Though Saki would gladly get with any boy on campus, Kagami was always her number one choice. Yuko viewed him as an overachiever, but Saki saw him smart, and good-looking. Both views of him were equally correct, he was very academically gifted, and a lot of girls fantasized about him, but he was overly obsessed with his grades that he had no time for girls.

Kagami waved to them.

"Who was that?" Saki immediately asked.

Kagami looked behind him, realizing that his friend was no longer there, "Oh him? That's Lan. He's new here."

His name was just another piece of information in Yuko's head, but in Saki's, it rang nonstop. Kagami, being obsessed with grades, was no doubt the top of the class in all seven classes that he took. Just when Lan arrived to their school, he began achieving higher grades than Kagami's in several of his classes, so Kagami started competing with him, but as Kagami got to know him, they quickly became friends.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing too exciting. We both got trash duty."

Yuko gasped, "Wow, I never thought the day would come when the awesome Kagami would get a TRASH duty..."

"Yuko got trash duty too." Saki ratted her out.

"Oh really? What was it for this time?" Kagami asked, intrigued.

"What's your reason?" Yuko reverted the question back to him.

"None of your business."

"Well then there's no reason for me to tell you my reason is there?"

As usual, Yuko stumped him. Though Kagami was smarter than her in academics, she was smarter than him with words.

"Well, I should get going, or I'll be late."

Yuko chuckled, "You're such a nerd Kagami."

"Hey, I'm trying to be early so I don't get trash duty for being tardy."

Yuko shook her head, watching Kagami rush off to his after school classes.

Saki and Yuko walked together to the bottom of the hill where Saki's driver waited for her. Saki's parents were both politicians, so they rarely spent time with her at home. Since they weren't home to drive Saki home from school, they hired a driver to pick her up everyday after school. Most of the time, they would just hand Saki money to show them their love for her.

Yuko, on the other hand, took the bus home since she hated bothering her father for rides home. At the beginning of the year, Saki always watched her poor friend walk home in the burning hot sun, so she offered to carpool with her since they lived near each other, and since then, they've been carpooling together.

Saki waved at Yuko as she left her at her doorstep of her house. Though no one was ever home, Yuko always said "I'm home," as soon as she got back from school. Ever since her brother left for college, she was used to the loneliness she got at home. Her mother had passed away when she was young, and her father raised her singly.

That day wasn't much different then her other days. As soon as she got home, she finished her homework, spending the most time on Math homework, which to most people, was evidently not her forte. Usually, she'd be attacked with phone calls from Saki; regardless if she was at the mall with her cell phone, or at home with the cordless in her room, she never failed to call. Later, she ate a quick dinner with her dad before she retired to her bedroom where she would either practice her violin or read until she fell asleep. As she went to sleep that night, she lost herself into a deep dream.

The next day, as she predicted, went by more quickly than usual. Whenever she looked forward to something, the day always went slow, but whenever she dreaded something, it went by as quick as ever. Sooner than she had wanted, her appointment with the trash duty arrived, and she was already running late. She relieved as she saw the door, still propped open so people could still come in. She figured that her subconscious made her not want to go, even though she knew she had to, which caused her to be late.

'Right on time,' she thought to herself as she barely made it into the classroom where the rest of the people with trash duty met. The classroom was respectively larger than the other times that she had come, and a lot of people who she thought would never be there were there. Seeing this, it made her feel a bit better, having other people think that she must've been another one of those people who had gotten trash duty for a strange and unreasonable reason.

Observing the teacher's face, she could tell she wasn't in a good mood. Many of the teachers were forced to stay after their normal hours, not getting much more pay, so they could supervise the trash duty. Knowing the procedure from the other two times she's been there, she quickly found a seat, making sure it was the furthest to the door as possible.

She sat there, waiting for the rest of the people to come, though they were waiting overtime. She sat there, running her fingers along the initials carved by bored students on the table.

"Are we all here?" The teacher called out with her shrilling voice. The entire room suddenly grew silent.

Just then, the silence was broken by a student, trying to make sure he wasn't late for trash duty. Everyone's eyes turned towards the door, wondering who would run up the ramp and through the door.

"You're late!" The teacher yelled at the boy who appeared at the door. He had dark brown hair, and was taller than most of the students in the classroom.

"Sorry..." The boy apologized. The first thing that caught Yuko's attention was his smile.

The teacher looked down the roll sheet, searching for names that haven't been checked, "Hui Lan?"

He nodded.

"Your ID Number?"

"92846"

"Sit down."

"Just anywhere?"

"Yes! Hurry..." The teacher was getting impatient.

He did exactly what she told him to.

"No not ANYWHERE..." The teacher scanned the room, "Sit next to Yuko."

Yuko raised her hand, giving the boy a little help since she could tell right away he was a newbie. Quickly, the boy scrambled to the desk next to her, trying to avoid another explosion from the teacher.

"Welcome to trash duty." Yuko initiated, "I'm Yuko."

"I thought I recognized you. Kagami told me about you and Saki. From what I know about you two, you guys seem to be nice people."

"Are you for real or are you just saying that?" Yuko teased.

"No really, he does tell me good stuff about you."

"Good, then I won't have to beat him up after school."

He laughed, "I'm Lan."

"Nice to meet you Lan," Yuko sighed, "I think I know someone who'd kill to be in my position right now..."

Lan was the last person that was let in the room since everyone else that came late was told by the teacher that they had to retake it some other time. Soon, the teacher handed out the trash bags, and the trash pickers, reading the rules and regulations with handling the equipment. Soon after she assigned sections and partners, they began their 'hour of cleaning'. Just for the simple fact that they were sitting next to each other, Yuko and Lan got paired up.

"We're supposed to clean this up?" Lan asked, staring doubtfully at the trash covered football field.

"Yea... This is how the school looks after class is out. Someone has to do the dirty work for this place to be clean the next day, and students go ahead and trash it up, repeating the never ending cycle of trash." Yuko noticed his disbelieving expression, "Don't worry, it passes by quickly."

That was definitely a lie, but as long as he believed it, it was fine.

"Ok, to make things interesting, let's have a little game," Yuko suggested, "Whoever holds the trash bag has to share about themselves to the other person, like your favorite animal, or favorite season, just stuff like that."

"Sounds good."

"You can go first." Yuko handed him the trash bag while taking the trash picker.

"Hmm... Ok, my favorites. My favorite animal is... well, if I was forced to pick one, it would be a gerbil, and don't ask why."

Yuko felt like being nosy, but she knew it was better for if she wasn't.

"My favorite season is definitely Spring, since it's not too warm, and not too cold. My favorite color is blue. My favorite food is... probably bolo bau since it's the best thing out there."

The afternoon air blew through Yuko's hair, "How about what music you listen to?"

"Uh... I don't really listen to music."

"Yes you do. I can just tell by the way you said that."

"Fine, I listen to classical music." Lan confessed.

Yuko didn't respond.

"Hey, people are different."

"I didn't say anything. Why are you trying to read into my looks? Just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean that I'm automatically thinking that you're weird."

"But you still did."

"Why are you so pushy? You shouldn't judge people so quickly. Why would you think that I thought something like that?"

"Because you did." Lan said in an amused way.

Yuko knew he was right, but she wouldn't admit to it. She was surprised by the way he read through her. She was used to outsmarting Saki and Kagami with her words, so she wasn't expecting Lan to see through them.

"So, tell me, what are your dislikes?" Yuko queried, attempting to change the subject.

Lan knew what she was doing, but he just went along with it, "My dislikes... Well the things I dislike the most are people."

"Wow... Well that's one I haven't heard."

"Well not people in GENERAL, but certain people. I can't stand dishonesty."

"Good answer. Good answer."

"Ok, now it's your turn," Lan insisted, handing the bag to Yuko.

"It's only been a few minutes. Are you sure you don't have anything to say? I'm sure there's more."

"Nah, that's all I have to say. I wanna know more about you now."

Yuko shook her head and took the bag, exchanging it with the trash picker, "Hmm... Well, my favorite animal is the sloth, because I want to be like them. They get to sit around for hours and not do anything. That's my ideal lifestyle. My favorite season is winter, because usually, I get to pile up in blankets and not do anything for hours. My favorite color is gray, because it's neither pure, nor corrupted. My favorite foods are instant noodles, and croissants, since you only have to microwave them for five seconds and they're done. And as for music, I like soft rock and jazz, because it makes me feel even more lazy."

"What are your hobbies?"

"My hobbies? Uhh.. I don't really have any real hobbies. Well, I like reading, and practicing my violin, but I'm not that good. Most of the time, it's to release my emotions, but usually, it's because I'm angry, so my playing gets edgy."

"You're probably good, but you're just too humble to tell me. There really isn't any definition to who's a good musician or not," Lan addressed, "Everyone has their own different style, and different opinion on what is good and what is not, so it's impossible to tell what's good and what isn't."

Yuko was surprised by his answer. Once again, she had underestimated him. It sounded almost as if he prepared it ahead of time to tell her that, "You must be a music person. I should've figured when you told me you listened to classical music. What instrument do you play?"

"I play the piano."

"Oh I love the piano. The violin is so boring. You can only play a few notes at a time, and there's not much expression you can put in it. I've always wanted to play the piano."

"Well, each instrument has their own attributes to it. You can only appreciate an instrument to its full potential once you discover its own unique musicality."

Yuko looked at his eyes, which seemed to be lost into a forever blue, "Does someone give you these quotes or something?"

Lan laughed, "What would happen if I said yes?"

Yuko smirked, "It depends if you would."

Though Yuko hadn't convinced herself earlier, the time actually had passed rather quickly than she predicted it to be. Before long, the entire football field was stripped of trash, and they still hadn't run out of things to talk about. Regardless if she wanted to admit it or not, she did have an eventful time at trash duty that day, and even after it was over, she wanted to go back.

"Welcome home Yuko," Her father said, acknowledging that he had arrived home before Yuko. During dinnertime, all she could think of was Lan. Even after dinner, she still thought of him. But suddenly, as she slammed her math homework onto the table, all recollections of anything around her instantly vanished as her attention focused on her math homework. That was one thing that Yuko hated the most. Though she was reluctant to ask for help, math was an exception, but whenever she asked for help, it never worked for her; it was almost as if she was determined to believe that it wouldn't work since she felt so lowly about math.

Suddenly, almost giving Yuko a heart attack, the phone rang at top volume.

"Hey!" Saki screamed over the phone as soon as Yuko picked it up. She didn't even have to say hello; Saki knew it was her.

"What Saki...? I'm doing my math homework right now..." Yuko complained.

"Ohmigosh, guess what?"

"What..." Yuko replied in monotone, almost as if she was a machine.

"I got THREE new outfits at the mall today. Too bad you couldn't see them."

"Oh no... too bad..."

"Ughhh, I don't know what to wear tomorrow..."

"...What was the point of going shopping today then?"

"Well I'm saving the new outfits for later days, but I can't wear them just on a THURSDAY. I have to save them for Fridays."

"Just wear that... pink thing." Yuko suggested, not notifying any specific outfit.

"No!" Saki retorted, "I wore that last month, the fashion police DO exist!"

Yuko rolled her eyes, "Trust me Saki, no one cares."

"Yea they do! You wouldn't believe how much other girls pay attention to these things."

"Well I don't."

Saki gasped, "Ouch Yuko, I'm hurt."

"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. You know, if you're trying to impress Kagami, get a 150 on the next test and maybe he'll notice you."

"Oh shut up," Saki was glad that they were on the phone, or else Yuko would've seen her blush.

"You should ask him out if you're always worried about his opinion."

"Well wouldn't you think that I would by now? Nothing can ever get to him. All that loser cares about is his grades and his Chinese dramas. I always feel so juxtaposed whenever I stand next to him. He has no time for girls. If I asked him out, he'd probably wouldn't even consider because of his precious GPA."

"Just act like Fa Mei Ling, and he'll definitely have time for you." Yuko teased, referring to the girl in one of Kagami's favorite dramas.

Saki giggled, "That scene ALWAYS gets him. You know, that part when he throws the locket into the ocean? He says it's his contacts, but it was obvious that he's crying."

"She annoyed me. She's too perky, but she was good at math. Obviously something I'm not good at right now."

"Hey, don't ask me. You're smarter than me. It's not like I understand a word Mrs. Lien says anyway."

Yuko grumbled over the phone, "I have to ask Kagami for help tomorrow, if he's not too busy."

Just then, Saki remembered to ask, "Oh yea, how was trash duty?"

"It was ok," Yuko said, trying to act as if nothing happened.

"It was ok? That's pretty good compared to all of the other times. If I can remember correctly, the words you used were repulsive, and atrocious."

"Well, it was ok this time."

"Really...? Yuko isn't being honest."

At that moment, Yuko finally discovered a way to get Saki completely jealous of her, sort of as a payback to how she got her in trash duty in the first place, "You know, Lan was there."

It worked, "REALLY? Did you TALK to him?"

"Yea... We were trash partners."

It sounded as if Saki had hyperventilated over the phone, "What was he like?"

"He's pretty nice. Nothing I had expected though."

Yuko could only imagine how Saki looked over the phone, "I'm so jealous!" Saki admitted, without much trouble.

"I think you would've liked him. He's really nice, but he's not too nice that it's fake you know? He really gives you this good feeling when you're around him. I mean you don't feel like you have to be perfect for him to like you; you can just be yourself, and he wont' treat you differently. He's also one of those people who are really smart, but don't ignore their friends like a certain person we know. He's on the tennis team, and he also has a level nine in piano."

"Wow... Yuko, it almost sounds as if you like him or something." Saki interrupted.

"Huh?" Yuko uttered, realizing that she got a bit carried away, "Nah, that's absurd. The only crush I have is on my math homework, since it's the thing I spend the most time with more than anything else."

Trying to change the subject, Yuko continued to rant about her math homework, but Saki knew Yuko had feelings for Lan. She never thought the day would come where Yuko would fantasize about a guy, just like the rest of the girls in their grade. It was about time, Saki thought, that Yuko finally had a crush on someone. Saki never expected Yuko to act like all of the other boy-dazed girls, but more than ever, she was beginning to resemble them.

A/N: WELL, I hope everyone really enjoyed that. That's my second original fic so far, and it's my first shoujo fic. Realizing that most of the readers on were female, I figured that to attract more audiences, I should write something more shoujo-ish (girlish). Well, since I'm not a girl, I really had a tough time writing about guys, since, as most of you know, in my previous stories, my guys have all had generally the same personality while the girls had diverse personalities. It's so hard to write about guys _ and it's also so hard to draw guys _. Well, I have to say that the credit goes to steph, for giving me the detailed description of her "dream guy", so hopefully, I'm good enough to live up to her expectations lol. Well, if you liked this story, please review. Instead of this story being a really long project, it's sort of a character development exercise, as it's only going to be about 5 or 6 chapters long. So if there's anything wrong, PLEASE please do tell me; I'm VERY open for suggestions, and if there's anything that you don't like about my characters, then tell me. Also, another thing, if you described some of the characters' personalities on how you view them, that would also be very helpful. Well, I hope you enjoy this fic, and those of u that have been reading Fallen Angels, hopefully you guys don't miss it too much that you don't enjoy this one. Well, thanks for reading.