Title:Flames Of Love Author:Tapestry E-Mail:Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com URL:http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Teahouse/5879 Rating:PG13 Standard Disclaimer Apply I apologize,this is the first time I try scolding people on the story.Not recomended for Chad lovers.....And THIS time when I say PG13,I MEAN PG13. There's swearing in here!! *denotes thought A young woman with long raven hair sat in front of her desk.She was no more than 23 years old.She is a designer,going by the name of Raye Burns. "Aaaaah!!!"shouts the 23 year old.Raye threw her sketch pad onto the floor harshly.The board bounced away on the thick carpeted office floor. Raye was ready to tear her beautiful raven hair from frustration.She was supposed to design a spring wardrobe for the Spring of 2000.So far,all the designs that had popped up in her head were useless. She wanted it to be unique and extravagant.Raye gave a sigh and checks her watch.It was time for a lunch break.She'd promised to meet her friend from childhood, Serena Aames. Serena Aames was a model in the company.She was Raye's closest friend since childhood. "Hi Raye."said Serena brightly. "Hi..."muttered Raye unenthusiastically. "What's wrong??You look down."said Serena worried. "Nothing...I just can't think of any unique,extravagant designs.You know I'm suppose to be working on the Spring collection,while your boyfriend is doing the Summer collection."said Raye. Serena smiled."Well...I'm sure you'll come up with something...You're a brilliant designer!!"exclaimed Serena. Raye snorted."The boss doesn't think so...he's sending a designer from their Boston to help me with the collection."said Raye angrily. "Raye,what's wrong with working with a partner??"asked Serena. "It's just not the same!!!I wanted something unique!!Something I did by myself instead of creating it through partnerships!!"exclaimed Raye angrily. "Raye,will you stop shouting??I got a partner too...a terrible one."said a deep voice behind them. Raye turned to see her colleague,Darien Kincaid.He had dark midnight hair and piercing blue eyes. Serena frowned."Who??" "Ann Stephson."answered Darien with a frown. Raye broke into a smile."Ann??She's your partner??Boy,are you in trouble Kincaid."laughed Raye. Serena arched an eyebrow."Why?"asked Serena curiously. Raye giggled.Darien gave a frown. "Well...everybody in the building practically knows that Ann Stephson is well...infatuated with Darien."said Raye. "Exactly...she's sure to cling on my arm or...-" "Darien!!Yoo hoo!!"screeched a voice. "Err...I'll meet you girls at the cafe??."asked Darien running off. Raye gave a laugh... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A week later.... 'BRIIING!!' "Hello??"asked Raye.It was Tuesday in the afternoon and Raye was sitting at her desk trying to go over the designs. "Raye!!??"shouted a voice over the phone. "Mr Duncan??"asked Raye. "Come over to my office right now.I want you to meet your new partner, Mr Flemmings."said Mr Duncan. Raye frowned.*So....his name is Flemmings...yuck...'partner'...*thought Raye angrily. "Yes,Mr Duncan."said Raye putting the phone down with a click. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mr Duncan's office.... *So this is the big boss's office.Hmm...I could grow to like New York. I wonder what this Raye Burns is like..??I heard she's one of the company's top designers.*thought Jadeite. A knock sounded on the big mahogany doors. "Come in."said Mr Duncan. "Mr Duncan,..."acknowledged Raye. "Ahh...Raye!!I want you to meet your new partner,Jadeite Flemmings.... Jadeite,meet Raye Burns.She's one of our top designers."said Mr Duncan. Jadeite stared a the woman before him...she had long beautiful raven hair and piercing violet coloured eyes.She was beautiful...*She's ravishing.By the way her eyes flash with fire,she must be one spirited lady.* Raye stared at the man before her..he had light blond hair and intelligent green eyes.She had to admit.He was irritatingly handsome.She saw a smirk creep on his face. "Nice to meet you."said Raye with fake friendliness. Jadeite caught her tone and replied with an equal amount of hostility. "Pleasure is all mine." "Now that you've been introduced,I want both of you to start work right away!!"he ordered. Raye nodded and walked towards the door,beckoning Jadeite to follow. Without hesitation,Jadeite understood and followed her out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So....what do we do now?"asked Jadeite. Raye sighed and opened the door to her office."I don't know."said Raye as she thought about the past few minutes.... ~FLASHBACK~ "I guess I'm stuck with you."said Raye frowning. "What's that suppose to mean??"asked Jadeite sharply. "Just that I've never had a partner and I didn't ever expect to have one!" exclaimed Raye angrily. Jadeite frowned."You don't like me very much do you?" "Sigh...nevermind...sorry I yelled at you...I wasn't suppose to have a partner but I wasn't showing much progress...only a lot of frustration.So Mr Duncan told me he was assigning a partner for me.A designer,meaning you, from Boston."explained Raye. "I see.."said Jadeite simply. "Hey Raye,who's your new friend??"asked a girl. Raye smirked..*She practically has hearts in her eyes.* "I'm Jadeite Flemmings."said Jadeite. Suddenly,there was a crowd of girls around Jadeite and Raye had to pull him away from the nosy and starry-eyed colleagues. ~END FLASHBACK~ "Sit down."said Raye. Jadeite sat on the sofa in her office and picked up some papers from the floor. "You designed this??"asked Jadeite holding up a piece of paper. "What??Oh..yeah..I designed that in frustration...it looks terrible." "Hmm..I'll say.."said Jadeite peering at the papers that were everywhere. "So...what's your theme?"asked Jadeite thoughtfully. "Theme??Spring wear...I want something unique and extravagant."said Raye matter-of-factly. "Well..that's going to be difficult.But well...I guess we coud try."said Jadeite. A knock sounded."Come in."said Raye. "Hey Raye,you ready to go??"asked a voice. "Oh,Sere...sorry..I can't...I've got work."said Raye. Jadeite stared at the young woman who had just entered the room.She had long beautiful golden hair and bright blue eyes. "Oh,Serena,meet Jadeite Flemmings.My partner for the collection."said Raye not looking up. "Hi,I'm Serena Aames.I'm a model for the company."said Serena. "Hi,.."said Jadeite dazely. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After Serena left... "Forget it."said Raye not looking up. "Huh??Forget what??"asked Jadeite dazed. "Forget Serena...you'll never win her affections."said Raye still sketching. "I don't know what you're talking about."said Jadeite blushing. "Sure you don't."remarked Raye sarcastically looking up from her design. "She's got a boyfriend.One she loves very much."informed Raye. "Oh?Who??One of those muscled types?"asked Jadeite curiously. Raye gave a laugh,it startled Jadeite. "No..no..her boyfriend is actually another top designer of Duncan Designs, Darien Kincaid.He's my cousin..."said Raye laughing. "Oh...I see.."said Jadeite blushing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another knock sounded. "Come in!"called Raye. "Hi Raye,you wanted these magazines??"asked a voice. "Hi Chad,yes..thanks.Chad,I want you to meet Jadeite Flemmings,from Boston branch.He's my partner on this Spring assignment.Jadeite,Chad Blyde."said Raye smiling. Chad Blyde,he had dark brunette hair and blue eyes.He looked at Jadeite displeasingly.Jadeite thought he sensed a little hostility from him. After he left,Jadeite bombarded Raye with questions... "He's your boyfriend??"asked Jadeite. "Chad??Oh no...he's one of my close friends.I've known him for 3 years." laughed Raye."Why do you ask?" "Oh,well...nothing..I just thought Chad didn't like me very much."replied Jadeite picking up one of the magazines. Raye smirked but said nothing... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A week passed... Raye and Jadeite had not very much progress in the collection or their friendship.... They constantly argued about each others designs and fashion creations. "No,no,no....Rio de Giorvan already came out with the daisy spring collection!!!"exclaimed Raye exasperated. "Well,we can't use starburst spark design,Thompson and Thompson came out with that LAST YEAR!!"retaliated Jadeite. "For mars sake,do you know we don't have a lot of time??It's nearly end of summer you know??We have to finish by winter for production and manufacturing!!"shouted Raye angry. Jadeite snorted."I KNOW when the damn blasted deadline is!!I think it's YOU who doesn't know WHEN the deadline is."remarked Jadeite sarcastically. "Oh please,you wouldn't be able to tell your @$$ from your head to tell when the deadline is!!!"retorted Raye. "Oh yeah,well you can take your $#!T designs and shove it!!I didn't come from Boston to New York to be insulted!!"said Jadeite angrily. "Well you can take your crap and can it!!"remarked Raye. "FLEMMINGS!!!BURNS!!"boomed a voice over the intercom. Raye and Jadeite jumped from their seats. Raye nervously pressed a button on the intercom. "Y-Yes Mr Duncan??"asked Raye. "WILL YOU AND FLEMMINGS SHUT WITH YOUR BLOODY BICKERINGS AND GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS BACK TO WORK!!!WHAT DO I PAY YOU FOR???!!" "Yes Mr Duncan!!"exclaimed Raye. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "How did HE know we were fighting??"asked Raye perplexed. Jadeite checked the intercom.."It was on.."said Jadeite matter of factly. Raye switched the intercom off with angry frustration."Nice observation Mr Einstein." "Sigh..I guess sitting here and bicker doesn't help.."said Jadeite. "Right..sorry.So what do we do now?"asked Raye. "Well...first thing is,do you think Serena likes me??"asked Jadeite. *sweatdrop...* "This is gonna be a looooong day." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day.... "Okay,so we'll do this design of vertigo...."said Raye to Jadeite.However he was not paying attention and was staring out the window behind her with a dreamy expression. "JADEITE!!"shouted Raye. This snapped him back to the task at hand. "What the hell is the matter with you???"asked Raye annoyed. "Nothing...I just...saw Serena this morning while I was having breakfast at Woods cafe."said Jadeite. "Uh-huh...did she see you??"asked Raye curious. "No,but I...-"began Jadeite. A knock sounded on the door. "RAYE!!!"shouted Serena. "Sere??"asked Raye. "Oh,hi Jadeite."said Serena as she noticed him. "What's wrong??"asked Raye. "Somebody sent me flowers and candy,and it ISN'T from Darien.Now Darien is well...a little peeved."said Serena. Raye gave a small smile."You mean ol'Kincaid is jealous??"asked Raye. Serena nodded."He locked his office door.And Ann is pounding on it." Raye giggled."Well...This just shows how much Darien loves you.But it isn't your fault if someone sent you flowers and candy,right??Don't worry, Darien will be over it by lunch."laughed Raye. "I guess....I'll try coaxing him out.I'm sure Ann's driving him nuts pounding on the door and calling him 'sweetcakes'.laughed Serena. "Hmmm...true....I've never seen YOU get jealous."pointed out Raye. Serena smiled slightly."I trust my Darien."said Serena walking out. After Serena walked out... Raye turned to Jadeite sitting in front of her.He had been silent during the whole conversation and wasn't even looking at Serena.His head was bent and a magazine held up. "It was YOU,wasn't it???"asked Raye. "I-I have n-no idea wh-what you're talking about."stuttered Jadeite sweatdropping. Raye pulled the magazine away and saw he was flushed.A look that shouted, GUILTY. Raye gave a smirk."Whatever.I just hope you'll pay more attention to the assignment at hand."said Raye. "Okay..okay." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After work.... Raye was taking a shower when her door bell to her apartment sounded. Wrapping a towel arounf herself,Raye hurried to the door. "Serena???"asked Raye bewildered. "Hi Raye...I caught you at a bad time??"asked Serena. "No...I was just finishing...come in and sit down in the living room..I'll go and put some clothes on..."said Raye walking away. Later... "Oh...so Jadeite was the one who sent the flowers and candy..."said Serena solemnly. Raye had just told Serena who her mysterious admirer was....Serena was silent for a good long while.... "So,how are things between you and Chad??"asked Serena brightly. Sweatdrop.....*How can she take it so easily...isn't she going to tell Jadeite that a relationship won't work out?????Wait a minute....why are you so worried????*scolded her mind. "Chad???Oh,he's been taking me out a lot lately...he's been hinting about marriage,I think..."said Raye. (~Note:She lied to Jadeite,about Chad being her boyfriend....~) "Oh??You thinking of accepting,pyro??"asked Serena amused. Raye smiled at the old nickname...."I don't know yet Rabbit...how about you and Darien????"prodded Raye. Serena gave a smile."Marrying Darien would really get my mother off my case,and solve his problem with Ann...but...Ann's been monopolizing his time....so we hardly talk ABOUT marriage...not that it's not crossed my mind...."mused Serena. "Mmmmm....I'd like to test how the name Mrs.Kincaid would suit..."said Raye as she drank her cappucino. Serena blushed..."Hmmmm....Serena Kincaid..."Has a nice ring to it don't you think???"asked Serena. "Oh definately....grandad would be thrilled,that's for sure..."laughed Raye heartily. "Why?"asked Serena curiously. "Grandfather Kincaid has been bugging your boyfriend,meaning cousin to settle down and start producing little Kincaids for him to play with..." laughed Raye. Serena blushed....then,the doorbell rang.... "Jadeite???What are YOU doing here????"asked Raye surprised. "Didn't Mr Duncan call you to say he wants us to work over-.....time...." he said as he saw Serena. Raye felt a funny feeling arise,but promptly squashed it and rolled her eyes at her colleague's googly eyes. "I didn't know Serena was here..."said Jadeite. "Well...I was just leaving..I thought I'd stop by Darien's place..."said Serena. "At this time???"asked Raye incredously. Serena grinned..."If,Jadeite has to work overtime...wouldn't that mean Ann and him too???I've got to protect him..."said Serena jokingly,a twinkle in her eye. Raye giggled slightly....*Looks like cousin will have a hectic night if Ann's there...or,he'll have a pleasant one...if Ann's not there...*thought Raye giggling. After Serena left,....Jadeite had a dreamy look in his eye... Raye sighed...He was in that starry-eyed trance again....shaking her head as that feeling arose again. Suddenly the doorbell rang.... "Hi,Raye!!Sorry it's late,I thought you might want to go-.....for supper." finished Chad when his eyes fell on Jadeite.... Raye expected him to rant and rave and question what Jadeite was doing at her apartment... "Oh...I didn't know you had company."said Chad slowly."Hello,Mr.Flemmings, what a surprise."grounded out Chad. "Hi...Mr Duncan wants us to work overtime on the designs!!Can you believe it???"asked Jadeite. "Yes,....amazing...how can he do that???"asked Chad eyeing Raye. Raye avoided his look with a 'Don't look at me,I'm innocent.'expression. How much worse could the day get??She'd had a hectic day at work,a gossip session ruined by Jadeite,and Chad,her boyfriend coming to call when Jadeite was at her apartment and they were alone didn't give a good impression to Chad.....*I think Lady Fate is toying with me...*groaned Raye to herself.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next morning.... "Raye!!!"boomed a voice over the intercom... "Yes Mr Duncan??"asked Raye sleepily. "Did you get any further with your project???!!" "No,I'm afraid not sir...the only thing we got further in is in problems and damn bickerings..."said Raye,remembering the disasterous night... ~FLASHBACK~ "I guess I'll leave the 2 of you,to your work,...MISS Burns..."said Chad putting emphasis on the miss and slamming the door behind him. Raye sighed...what was the point in going after him??They'd only get into a fight.... Raye turned her attention back to Jadeite who was smirking at her and was playing with a photo of her and Serena together on the beach... "Not your boyfriend eh??" Raye groaned...snatching her photo from Jadeite."Shut up @$$hole...and lets get on with our work...so STOP fantasizing about Serena..."bit out Raye angrily. "Whatever you say,miss sugar and spice and everything nice.."mocked Jadeite. Raye was about to give a scathing remark when she decided not to bother with him at all... ~END FLASHBACK~ "WELL,I DON'T CARE WHAT DAMN PROBLEMS YOU HAVE MISS BURNS AND YOU BETTER HAVE THOSE DESIGNS FINISHED BY DUE DATE!!"shouted Mr Duncan over the intercom... Raye mumbled a curse...switching the intercom off.... The door to her office opened and Serena came in..."Jadeite sent flowers again....he's been asking me out,even though he knows I've got a boyfriend," said Serena. "So,blow him off...like you did to the ones before you met Dare."said Raye smiling. Serena smiled..."You mean accept them then drop the bomb they're not my type??"asked Serena laughing.. "Yeah..."replied Raye thoughtfully. Another of those weird feelings went through her body again...What was it whenever Jadeite talked about Serena,Raye wanted to stomp Serena to the ground... ~FLASHBACK~ Jadeite had fallen asleep on her coffee table trying to draw up some designs...he'd tried to stay awake....failing miserably... Raye laughed slightly at his antics.. *I've never really noticed how handsome Jadeite is at sometimes...even if he's sometimes the biggest louse...Waitaminit??What am I thinking??HANDSOME? Where did THAT come from????* ~END FLASHBACK~ Raye shook her head to rid herself of the errie thoughts..... A knock sounded...Chad entered the office...his face grim and serious. "I think I'll leave you 2 in privacy..."said Serena feeling the tension from both of them...silence hung in the air... After Serena left,Chd crossed the room and sat down on the couch in the office. "If you've come for an explanation about last night,you won't get one.." said Raye eyeing her boyfriend. "I'm not here for one..."said Chad cooly... "Then....what are you here for?"asked Raye. Chad crossed to her desk and picked up her phone..."Bring them in,"he said simply into the phone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A moment later.... Bouquets of flowers and candy were delivered into her room...Raye gasped, sitting down on the couch before she could faint on to the floor. Eyeing all the flowers and candy,Raye gazed at Chad... "Wh-What's all this for??"asked Raye dazed. Chad knelt in front of her...."Marry me."said Chad. Marry me...marry me...marry...marry...the words echoed in Raye's head. "Ch-Chad??"she croaked. Chad produced a clear beautifully cut diamond ring... "I-I....don't know what to say...I'll think about it.."said Raye. Chad smiled."Keep the ring..."he told her,placing it into her palm and closing her fingers around it.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later at Raye's apartment... Raye's eyes began to water as she stared at the ring on her bar counter.. *Oh...Chad's so sweet...but for some strange reason...I-I can't stop thinking about Jadeite...what's happening to me??Am I falling for that louse of a partner???*asked her mind.Somewhere along the way,Raye had fallen for her jerk of a partner...which was a fatal mistake... When had she fallen for the idiot??When they first met??Had she denied it to her heart all along??? Raye wept on the counter...unable to decide...she wept herself to sleep that night....falling into a dreamless sleep.... The next morning... Jadeite came 'floating' into Raye's office,with a dreamy look on his face. Raye smirked... "Hello Cloud-Head..."mocked Raye. "Hello Raye..It's a wonderful morning don't you think???"asked Jadeite. Sweatdrop.... Raye didn't think it was a wonderful morning...it was dark and gloomy,as it was raining heavily.She'd woken up that morning with puffy eyes from crying...there was no warm water that morning...she'd burnt her toast and she'd accidently tipped salt into her coffee...how could he call it a wonderful morning??? *Love must have turned his brain to spaghetti...if there was any brains to do so...*smirked Raye.*How ironic...* "So...why so..um-...up today??"asked Raye. "Serena agreed to go have coffee with me after work..."he sighed. *Hmmm....interesting...she's dropping the bomb on him already..*thought Raye to herself. She had to admit...the dreamy face did make Jadeite look cute...she gave a sigh and returned her attention to the design she was designing. Somebody was breathing down her neck.... She turned and saw Jadeite.... "Hey,that's neat...is it for the spring line??"asked Jadeite. Raye coloured slightly.."Err..yes.."replied Raye as she was aware of his proximity to her. Jadeite stared at the design,when he turned to face Raye,he saw the deepest most unique pools staring back at him... *I never noticed...what lovely eyes she had...*thought Jadeite hazely. Raye's eyes were a brilliant violet with flecks of silver floating around in them... Suddenly,Raye's mind gave her a mental kick...*WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING RAYE BURNS????HE'S THE IDIOTIC @$$ WHO YOU BICKER WITH!!*screamed her mind. She could feel his warm breath on her lips and a faint smell of his aftershave tickled her senses... Raye blushed slightly and turned away giving a light cough...this brought Jadeite out of his trance... *Whoa..did I just experience the twilight zone??I was about to KISS Raye Burns!!!*shouted his mind. Another voice in his head teased him..*I bet she's a good kisser...,c'mon Jade...admit it...you were attracted to her since the first time you met her...* *Was not!!Was too!!You're nuts!!I'm not the one arguing with himself!!* Jadeite snapped his attention back to the paper he was holding and went to seat himself on the couch....*What a wierd experience...can the day get any more weirder??* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later... *Alright Jade,breathe,breathe...Serena's right next to you...we're going to drink coffee..*thought Jadeite to himself...however,he had no problems breathing because his mind kept wandering back to this morning...He shook his head...*You can't possibly like RAYE BURNS...impossible..* At the cafe.. "A latté please,"ordered Serena. The waiter looked expectantly at Jadeite.."Cappucino for me.."he said. After the waiter had scurried away to get their orders,Serena stared at Jadeite. "Jadeite,I'll get straight to the point...I know you're a great guy and all,but I've got a boyfriend,and well..Dare loves me very much as I love him...so I'm sorry if I got your hopes riled up,but there is NO way...we'll ever have a relationship..I'm sure there's someone out there for you..."said Serena. "Not one chance?"asked Jadeite. "No."replied Serena firmly. At that moment,their cappucino and latté arrived...Drinking up her coffee, Serena paid the bill and got up... "Have a nice day Jadeite..."said Serena walking away,leaving Jadeite staring at his cappucino. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raye walked along the sidewalk as it was getting darker..she still didn't want to go home... Raye looked up and saw a dejected looking Jadeite walking towards a pub. Curious,Raye followed him. When she entered the bar,she saw him sitting at the counter looking sorry for himself... "Jadeite??"questioned Raye,touching his shoulder lightly. "Waiter!!Gimme a beer...."said Jadeite ignoring Raye. When the beer came,Jadeite drank it down quickly..."Another!!"he shouted at the waiter manning the bar. "Stop!!You'll get drunk!!"shouted Raye pulling at his arm... "Lemme alone.."he muttered,his speech beggining to slur. Raye glared angrily at Jadeite.."Alright...you wanna be a drunken @$$hole? Fine!!Andrew!!Give the jerk more!!"shouted Raye to the waiter at the bar. Andrew raised an eyebrow.."If you say so Raye..."said Andrew.. He knew Raye because her cousin,Darien and him were best friends and knew each other since college. Now Raye was shouting at this man,Jadeite??Yeah...telling him to die drinking all the bloody beers...Andrew gave a smirk. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even Later.... "Hey lookit the funny lady in the funny hat..."said Jadeite pointing at Elizabeth,Andrew's sister. "Sorry Lizzie...the bastard's drunk.."mumbled Raye. "Hey,I know Raye...we get customers like him all the time..but it's time to close...so you have to get the 'bastard' out..."laughed Elizabeth. "Alright drunkie-boy...I'm taking you home.."said Raye pulling his arm around her shoulder supporting him. Jadeite was too drunk to protest... Hailing a cab,Raye pushed him into the cab and gave the driver the address... Taking a lift up to his apartment,Raye searched his coat for his keys. Fumbling with them,Raye managed to open the door and close it behind them. Switching on a lamp,Raye plopped him onto the couch... "Boy,you sure are heavy.."said Raye. "Suh-ree-na's got a boy-friend...No-no...relationship for me..."mumbled Jadeite incoherently. Raye sighed and went to the kitchen to find a wet towel... When she came back,Jadeite was still mumbling expletives.. "Hey,I'm a nice guy..." Raye rolled her eyes..."Yeah...nice guys get drunk all the time."she said aloud sarcastically. Jadeite cracked open an eye and saw blurry faces... "Hie-ya Raye...watch-a dooin he-re??" Ignoring the question... "Yuh were right Raye-baby....I dinnae stand a chance against Dari-en.." said Jadeite. Raye merely smiled. "Any-buh-dy ever tell ya,you're so beyootiful???"asked Jadeite again. Raye kept silent,still wiping his head...but there was a blush staining her cheeks... "So beyootiful...Raye...eyes like velvet colour....so-so pre-tty..." mumbled Jadeite. "SHE HATES ME!!"shouted Jadeite all of the sudden,startling Raye. "Me??I don't hate you Jade..."said Raye guiltily. "Yes you...do.."he whispered. "I think you better rest Jade..."said Raye getting up... "Don't GO!!!Raye!!"he cried out his hands clasping around her wrist... "Please..."he pleaded raspily.Tears were forming at his eyes,which startled her.... *Jadeite's...crying??*thought Raye to herself. "Alright...I won't leave....I'm right here..."whispered Raye. "Duh-n't leave...love you...."whispered Jadeite as he fell asleep... Raye was staring at him with shock...*No...I didn't hear that..* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Morning..... Jadeite awoke early that morning..."Ugh...hangover..."he muttered to himself.He stared around his apartment..*Eh?How did I get back here???* That was when he realized there was something heavy on his arm.... Looking down he saw a head of raven coloured hair....*Raye!!* He smiled slightly...her bangs were tumbling over her eyes...*So beautiful she is....*thought Jadeite brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Raye stirred slightly...peeking open one eye... "Jadeite!!"shouted Raye sitting up."Y-You're..uh...awake..." Jadeite chuckled..."Yeah...I am." Raye blushed...her eyes falling on the digital clock by the couch table.. "AAAAH!!We're late for work!!!!"shouted Raye running around. Sweatdrop.... "So??I'll just call in sick and you can ask for a day off..."said Jadeite calmly. Suddenly,a ping sound startled both of them.... "What was that??"asked Jadeite..then he saw something shiny at his feet. "What's this??"he wondered aloud,picking it up...he saw it was a diamond ring... He looked over at Raye who was suddenly searching her pockets.... "Ahem....this yours??"asked Jadeite... Sweatdrop.... "Errr..ehheheh yeah..thank you."said Raye taking the ring from Jadeite's hands. "Who gave it to you??"asked Jadeite curiously. "Chad...he proposed..."whispered Raye. A funny look passed Jadeite's face but quickly vanished as fast as it had come.."Oh....you accepted??" "No..I said I'd think about...and I still can't decide..."replied Raye eyeing Jadeite's reactions....his face was a mask..no expression whatsoever. "Well...I must be going...."said Raye picking up her purse..."Good day." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raye walked down the street,lost in her own thoughts...*Chad...Jadeite... Chad's sweet,caring,funny,handsome....and..I know he loves me...whereas, Jadeite's a jerk,obnoxious,pig-headed @$$...and he's so handsome...but..I don't know HIS feelings....he could have been talking about Serena yesterday I wouldn't know...* 'BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!' Raye stared in shock as the car tried to stop...she tried to move but it was like her feet were cemented to the ground....her mouth wouldn't open to scream..... Then,she was flying through the air...he body felt numb...when she hit the pavement,her body burst into pain....as if it was burning....she was fast losing consciousness...many people crowded around and tried to ask her questions... Millions of question's....so..so..dark... "Miss??You alright??" "Can you speak??" "Miss??" "Somebody call an ambulance!!" "She'd been hit!!" "Raye???!!Raye!!!Ra~...*" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raye found herself in a hospital when she woke up...."Wha-" "Miss Burns..I must say you lie down."said a firm voice. "H-How....long have I been unconscious???"she croaked..her lips and throat felt parched and painful... The doctor looked down at the charts..."Not long...5 hours.."said the doctor. "Raye???"asked another voice. Raye turned to look and saw an old friend...."Mina??" Mina Hearth was a nurse there and had been surprised when an old friend of hers came rolling into the ward... "How in the world did you get yourself into this mess,girl??"asked Mina. Raye smiled..."Guess I just picked up some of Sere's old bad habits.." laughed Raye. "Raye!!"are you alright??" "Dare??What are YOU doing here??" "I saw the accident...I called Sere...she's on her way here with Chad." Raye's heart constricted...*Chad??* "Raye??Are you okay?"said another voice. "Sere???" "Raye,baby..are you okay??" "Chad..." "I'm fine..."whispered Raye trying to sit up. "Oh no you don't,Miss Burns...you've got a mild concussion,three cracked ribs,a broken arm and internal bleeding and you call yourself fine???"asked Mina exasperated. Raye sighed.."You're Nurse 'Hurricane' Mina...you can be so serious sometimes."groaned Raye. Mina merely shrugged. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two days later... "Hey Raye.."said a voice. "Jade??" "How are you???"asked Jadeite holding a bouquet of flowers. "Fine...how's work??" Jadeite smiled..."For you..."he said thrusting the flowers at her."It's okay...but it sure is the hell boring without your noisy side to bother me." joked Jadeite. Raye smiled slightly.."You're still being a stupid idiot to someone who's injured,Jade."she laughed. "Maybe..." Raye smiled lightly.."Yeah...maybe..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The days passed easily...Raye had asked Jadeite to bring some of the designs to the hospital so they could finish the project... Raye was getting better and was allowed to go outside...provided she stay in the wheelchair.. Raye spent most of her time outside designing...Autumn was beautiful.. she'd be out of the hospital at the end of Autumn.Soon.... "Raye??"asked a voice. She stiffened...*Chad..* "Hi Chad.."said Raye turning to meet him. "You won't be marrying me will you??"asked Chad. Raye shook her head sadly..."No..."she whispered pulling out the ring. "No...you keep it...You fell for him,right??" Silence... "Well...whatever...I'll always care for you Raye..."said Chad touching her cheek lightly. "Chad..." "Shhhh...Don't say anything Raye...You don't have to."said Chad. Raye stared sadly as Chad Blyde,walked away...out of her life... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Raye?" Raye turned to see Jadeite staring at her...a funny look on his face. "Oh..hi Jade.." "Why didn't you accept??"asked Jadeite. Silence... "Raye??Tell me.."he pleaded. "I-I...couldn't..."she whispered..tears beginning to form. "Why???" "Because....I-I..." Jadeite stared at her,his eyes pleading. "I...l-lo-ove you..."she admitted..tears beginning to fall...she awaited the rejection...but none came. Opening her eyes,Raye saw he was bending down in front of her....he took one of her hands and rubbed it slightly. "J-Jade??" "I thought I loved Serena...but I was truly in love with you...it took me so long to realise that...when I heard you were in the hospital,I panicked you might not...live...I was so scared.." "Oh..Jade.." "I love you Raye..." Tears of happiness were brimming in her eyes... She promptly,stood up,getting out of her wheelchair.. "Raye!!What are you doing??Sit down!!"exclaimed Jadeite. "Shhh.."she whispered. She threw herself into his arms hugging him...Looking up...Jadeite bent down to kiss her... "I love you...Jadeite...from all my heart.."she whispered kissing him... The couple kissed....the sun setting throwing it's beautiful flaming colours at the couple as they kissed in the rays of the setting sun.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ The End.... Whew...finally...I thought this would never happen...it sucks right??You must forgive me for this it the first time I've had the characters swearing at each other.... :Þ Okay...ciao