A/N: Hi! This is my 2nd attempt at writing original fic. This will be a pretty short story so I hope you will enjoy the story. Please read & review it. Thank you everyone! =)

He stood below her window for the umpteenth time. He had lost count of all the times he had stood below her window, waiting for her to draw her curtains. She had always looked the brightest & prettiest at her most natural, sans make up & elaborate hairstyles.

Exactly at 7 in the morning, she drew her curtain. He hid behind the tree quickly & took a peek. She looked ravishing as usual. He held his breath as her eyes swept the street, seemingly looking for him. 'Nay, it cannot be. She doesn't know that I'm here every morning.'

She stood by her window for a minute or so before turning towards her room & drawing her curtains once more. He let out his breath & breathed deeply for a minute or so. He was certain that she was looking for something while she stood at her window. She looked almost disappointed before she turned her gaze towards her room.

He shrugged & rested against the tree for a full minute before walking back towards his house, just 3 streets away. He had been peeking at her for year, ever since he was 16. They had known each other for a year & had been the best of friends. She trusted him with all her secrets & fears. He trusted her as well.

When had he fallen for her? He had no idea. He did not even remember when it was the first time he had peeked at her in the morning. It started as an accident. He was on his way home after a training session with National Police Cadets Corp (NPCC). It was dawn when he walked past her house & had noticed her standing by her window. She was just standing there, staring at the bright blue sky. She looked beautiful to him. He had never seen her this way.

He noticed, for the first time, that she has smooth fair skin & beautifully arched eyebrows that compliment her warm brown eyes. She wasn't short but had kept complaining about her height. She was very slender & every time he gave her a friendly hug, he was careful not to exert too much pressure. She was so slender that he was afraid of crushing her.

But she doesn't realize it.

She doesn't know that he likes her. He had liked her for a year now. He just didn't dare to let her know of his feelings for her especially since she is attached. His heart was aching when she told him that she has decided to accept one of their schoolmates as a boyfriend. He had been too much of a coward to tell her to reject that guy & be with him instead. Besides, she had never indicated interest in him before.

So, he listened to her exclamations of love & elation silently.

However, things had had not been smooth sailing for the couple. They had been together for half a year but had spent most of that time arguing & quarreling. He had thought of asking her to break up with him several times but had bit back his tongue when she had told him, tearfully, that she still loved him. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to mediate between the couple so that they could make peace. She had happily told him that he was the best & he would always be her best friend. He always smiled gently before asking for a hug. She would always oblige.

'Today will be a long day,' thought the boy. With his hands in his pockets, he did not notice another girl staring at him. 'He looks so cool,' thought the girl. She was admiring his tanned, strong arms & wide shoulders. She decided that today was the day she was going to know him.

"Hi," said the girl. The boy looked up from his downward gaze & looked into the beautiful amber eyes of the stranger that had said hi. "Hi," he said hesitantly, "do I know you?

She laughed & her eyes crinkled with merriment. He looked at her with interest. "I'm Shannon. You are?"

"I'm Jack. Hi, nice to meet you. So, have we met before?" asked Jack curiously.

"I've just moved into the neighborhood & had noticed you during your routine morning walks," she said easily.

He blushed, thinking of his peeping tom activity.

She smiled at his blushing face & said, "you look really cute. Care to meet up for a drink?"

He was taken aback with her forthrightness. She reminded him of her. She is also very frank & straightforward. "Yeah, I would like that," he said smoothly. 'What the heck? There's no harm in knowing someone new.'

She flashed her bright smile at him & nodded. "Here's my number," she fished out a piece of paper with her number on it, "remember to call me."

Again, he was taken aback with her preparation work. 'It seemed as if she had rehearsed the whole thing,' he thought, not knowing that she had been watching him for the past week.

"Yeah, I'll see you around. Where are you schooling anyway? I don't remember seeing you in my school," he asked casually.

"I'm studying at Crescent Girls School. You?" asked Shannon nonchalantly.

"I'm studying in GESS. You know the school across our street?"

She nodded & added, "I was posted to that school when I moved here but since it was in the middle of the semester, my school made an exception for me. I might be going to that school next semester. Anyway, are you free now? We might as well make good that coffee offer now."

He nodded & brought her to the café that he had always hanged out at.

"Wow! This café is really cool. I love the songs that they are playing," Shannon exclaimed when they were comfortably seated by the window.

Jack raised an eyebrow & looked at her carefully. The songs that the café was playing now were all Japanese anime songs. Unless she was an anime fan, there was no way she would enjoy the songs. He decided to test her & asked, "you like J-pop?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I don't like J-pop but I do like Japanese anime. I love most of the songs by the Japanese anime."

Jack was really elated with this news. He couldn't believe that he has finally found another anime fan like him. "Which anime is your favorite? At the current moment, my favorite is HunterxHunter," he asked eagerly.

With a common thread found, they chatted all day long in the café.

The next morning, Shannon happily skipped to the park. Jack had promised to show her around the neighborhood. He promised that the park has one of the most amazing sculptures & had insisted that she start the tour with the park. She had agreed quickly.

"Hi Jack!" she greeted him with a bright smile.

He smiled & said, "Hi! You are early. I'd just reached here myself. Ready to start the tour?"

With that, they explored the park & he brought her to the "amazing" sculpture that he had talked about. Turned out, the sculpture was removed from the park due to old age. It was removed months ago. He had turned a bright shade of red at the information. She chuckled at his embarrassment. Clearly, he had not been to the park for a very long time.

He had apologized profusely before offering a breakfast treat as an apology. He brought her to the same café where they had hanged out the day before. There, they spent the whole morning & afternoon arguing about the origin of some anime songs. If not for the fact that she was busy & could not stay, they would have happily stayed there chatting about anime & anime songs.

Jack was really having a good time with Shannon. He couldn't believe that she was so easygoing & so easy to be with. He enjoyed her company & had enjoyed arguing with her. She was really smart & fun to be with. Many of the laughs that they had shared were contributed by her witty comments. For a moment, he completely forgot about her. Until he got a call from her that evening.

"Hi, may I speak to Jack please?" asked a melodious voice.

"Hey, hi. It's me. How are you?" said Jack happily.

"Bored. I've been stuck at home this weekend. I called you yesterday & the whole of this afternoon. Where were you?"

"Oh my. You wouldn't believe this. I've just met this amazing girl that really echoes my obsession. She's so cool & witty. She's fun to be with & she is really smart. You wouldn't believe what she has to say about Love Hina. She has this incredible theory about the relationship between Na-"

"Jack!" said an annoyed voice, interrupting Jack's tirade of words about Shannon & anime.

"Oops, sorry. I forgot. You aren't interested in anime," he said quietly.

"I… never mind. I just want to check with you if you want to go to school together tomorrow. Zack is… not free so I thought we might walk to school together."

"Yeah sure," said Jack, not noticing her hesitation & pause. He felt like a second fiddle. Immediately, he felt guilty, 'it's not her fault.'

They chatted a while more but there seemed to be a tension between them so they cut off the connection quickly.

Jack sighed as he lay on his bed that night. For the first time in these few months, he thought of another girl other than her. He was rather captivated by Shannon's cheerfulness & forthrightness. In fact, the more he thought about her, the more enchanted he was with her & he had only met her for 2 days!

'I got to ask her out again,' he thought, before turning on his side & falling into a dreamless slumber.