"Norou! I'm never going to get this right…" With a snort of disgust directly followed by a soft sigh of complete exhaustion, the raven haired student realized her fate and grudgingly accepted defeat. This stuff stretched far beyond her intellectual capabilities. She'd fail the test tomorrow… and probably fail the class at the end of the semester. Why couldn't she be smarter? Why couldn't she grasp this concept? For the tenth time in two hours she cursed her defective genes for giving her the "gift" of a short attention span and a defective brain… it just wasn't working tonight. "oroka…oroka…oroka na" she chanted, simultaneously hitting her head on the edge of the oak desk. "oroka n-"

"Yamete" Silence cloaked the room as the girl stopped her endlessly chanting and faced the young man sitting directly in front of her. His blue hair shone white in the bright afternoon light and the expression on his face, combined with the pronounced scar on his left eye, made him look older than she knew he was. She promptly flashed him a look of pure hate… darn him… he wasn't helping any… if anything, his presence added to her feelings of inadequacy. Taking in her animosity, he quickly gave her a wide grin. He was definitely iching for a fight. It was a rare moment indeed when she wasn't her sweet little self. Anyway, he rationalized, she need to let off some steam. "Remy" he commented, trying very hard not to break out in laughter, "you'll kill off all your brain cells."

"What brain cells? About twenty years ago you took them all before I could have a grab at them." His calm composure succeeded in heightening her state of annoyance… just like he knew it would. He'd known her long enough to take her biting remarks in stride and braced himself for the onslaught. He knew exactly what was coming next. "You know," she continued matter-of-factly, "This is all your fault. If you'd have been a better friend-"

"De nai" his restraint crumbled; his laughter bouncing off the walls, "Don't try to blame your stupidity on me"

She sighed. The fight faded as quickly as it came; She wasn't up to verbal sparing, even with Brian. She was just too tired… too tired of everything. "Gomen ne" she mumbled almost inaudibly while she began packing up her books and binders. It was hopeless… she was stupid, at least in this particular subject… but it never bothered her this much before. She sighed again. You can't be great at everything, right? Wait- scratch that- Brian was great at everything. How they became such good friends always puzzled her…she always hated the "perfect people"…but it had happened… and she enjoyed his friendship… it almost made up for the fact that he had introduced her to TJ, the most annoying, self absorbed, close-minded-

"ya minna"

Speak of the devil…

"Brian…" the fiery haired young man nodded towards the blue haired man. They had been friends for much longer than her and Brian and their friendship amazed her even more than her friendship with Brian. They were completely different, yet she could sense there was something… something that kept them together… something that made one tolerate the other's little idiosyncrasies… something shared just between the two of them…like a special secret…or a similar past?… whatever it was… it was there. And as much as she tried to limit the amount of time she spent with TJ, she had long ago accepted the fact that Brian's friendship came with this one "flaw".

After sharing a few greetings with his long time friend, TJ turned to her with a grimace on his face. Ever since he met her she had seldom been civil with him, and he wasn't expecting it now. "Remy…" he nodded.

Oh, thank the Gods!! He acknowledged my prensence!! She thought sarcastically. I bow to your greatness and pledge my undying servitude to you, oh great TJ.

But…as much fun as it would be to lash out at him, she held back. It was about time she practiced some restraint. Anyway, he was probably expecting an outburst like that from her. Why not knock him off balance a bit… this ought to be interesting.

Remy turned towards him and proceeded to give him the most dazzling smile she could muster considering her depressed mood. She almost lost it at the sight of his face. His eyes were stunned and wide and his mouth twisted in disbelief. "ya TJ" she finally greeted him, "What a shame… I was just leaving. But maybe I could catch you later. I always did enjoy your stimulating conversations" she said sweetly. Her smiled widened.

"Nani?" He was…shocked. She was actually being nice… He didn't get it. What's the game? Oh right… that's it. His shocked expression suddenly transformed into a knowing smile. A game… she wanted a game… he'd sure as jigoku give her one. "Watch it Rem…" he pointed to her upturned face, indicating the very wide smile, "your face might crack."

"And I'd still be prettier than you." She threw back.

"You're being very childish."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Am NOT!!"

"BRAT"

"BAKA!"

"Oerimasu ka" Brian's voice cut through the banter.

"Tondemonaiyo" fire gleamed in TJ's eyes, "this is far from over."

"Iie" Remy shot back feeling very tired and very exhausted, "I'm done." She picked up her bagpack. "ja Brian."

She left… both men stood: surprised and concerned that she gave up so easily.

~to be continued