~Videl~

The girl who stood a few feet away from their table was glaring at Videl like she was seconds away from clawing her eyes out of their sockets. Kane was glaring back at her, squeezing Videl tighter to his body. Her side was pressing against his chest, and she could feel the vibrations as he growled at the girl,

"The fuck do you want?"

"Videl  isn't 'someone special',"  the girl spat, her fingers curling in air quotes, before she folded her arms over her chest. "Seriously?! You used to say she hated you!" 

Videl didn't even know this girl, but her words stung. What did the girl mean when she said Videl wasn't "someone special" - like she was referencing something?

"She did." Kane said, and even though Videl couldn't look away from the girl in front of them, she could hear the smirk in his voice. "But you know what they say . . . it's a fine line between love and hate."

Kane's words made the girl even more angry. Videl felt like she should be upset by him joking about their past that way, but she wasn't. She was more focused on the word love  coming from Kane's mouth. If she wasn't borderline terrified of the girl in front of them, she would have been filled with butterflies by his teasing words.

"Who is that, Kane?" Videl whispered to him, almost frantically. 

"Oh, please!" the girl shrieked, clearly having overheard the whisper. "Don't act like you don't know who I am! I know you, Videl - the weird little virgin girl who hates any guy that bothers to look at you. And  your slutty friend Sienna who runs through boyfriends like tissues."

V gasped in horror, stunned by her disdainful words. Videl shifted on Kane's lap to look at him, her eyes stinging with tears.

"Who is she? Why is she - " Videl's words choked off - she was afraid that a sob might spring out and open the floodgates. She didn't want this mean girl to see that she had made her cry so easily. She would not  cry in front of her, Videl decided.

"She's my ex," Kane scowled in the girl's direction, before turning his attention back to Videl. "I believe I mentioned that she was a troll?" His words were dripping with malice as his eyes flicked back to the girl that Videl should have realized was his ex-girlfriend. 

This  was his last girlfriend? If she wasn't glowering and spewing evil, Videl thought that his ex would be one of the most beautiful girls that she had ever laid eyes on. She had luscious, wavy hair that was almost red, and her eyes were a striking blue. She had impeccable make-up and long, modelesque legs that were so exposed by her mini-skirt that Videl felt uncomfortable looking at her. She really was nothing like Videl. But she was definitely no troll. She was evil and  gorgeous, and it was abundantly clear that this girl desperately wanted Kane back. Videl struggled with a nasty combination of unsavory emotions: instant hatred, niggling revulsion, miserable envy. She felt inferior to this girl, she felt jealous that she had been with Kane, and her awful words made her feel sick. 

"She won't fuck you, you know!" The girl snarled at Kane. "You're wasting your time with that one. Guys hotter than you have tried and failed. You're a fool if you think she'll spread her legs for you. She thinks her virginity is worth gold." Then her hateful blue eyes shifted to Videl who was cringing against Kane's chest like each of her words were a punch to her stomach. "Newsflash: it's not. If you do give it up for him, he'll fuck you for the novelty and then dump you for a girl with experience. You're not. fucking. special!"

"That's it, Darcy!" Kane shifted Videl off of his lap, guiding her by the hips to place her in his chair as he slid out to stand in front of his ex-girlfriend. He was shaking mad. "You just refuse  to accept that I'm over you! You think that you can get in her head and blow this for me?" With every word he threw at her, Darcy shrank more and more. "You are so damn jealous that you can't stand to see me  moving on? You're just mad that she has something you'll never have again, and it's fucking pathetic."

Kane completely wilted her with his disgust. She shriveled up, lips pursed.

"Now get the fuck out of here, troll," Kane said firmly, as he returned to the table and sat in the chair that Videl had been sitting in before he pulled her into his lap. "I'm sure there's a bridge somewhere for you to curl up under."

Darcy actually obeyed him, fuming as she stomped away with a flick of her wavy hair. Videl was stunned by the chaos that had just taken place. 

"Wow," Videl shook her head, eyes wide. "Why would you ever break up with her?" She managed a sarcastic lilt, though she was still pretty shaken by the whole situation. 

Something in Kane's eyes told her that perhaps he hadn't been the one to initiate the breakup, though Videl didn't think that added up with how much Darcy still clearly pined for him, so she assumed that she was probably reading him wrong.

"She's a psychopath," Kane muttered with a heavy sigh.

Videl nibbled her bottom lip and before she could stop herself, she asked, "What did she mean when she said I'm not 'someone special'?" 

Kane winced, looking oddly embarrassed. 

"Well - " Kane started, knitting his hands together, thoughtfully choosing his next words. "Last week, she was following me around, demanding to know who I was taking to the Cotillion, and . . . "

If she didn't know any better, she would think that Kane might have been blushing. He was avoiding looking at her.

"And . . . ?" Videl hesitantly prodded, puzzled by how nervous he seemed to be.

"And I said that I had someone special in mind." Kane confessed, his words coming out on an exhale. 

"Oh," Videl mumbled. It was her turn to blush, now.

Kane finally looked up at her and the intensity in his silver eyes answered her next question before she could ask it.

"I'm  someone special?" Videl's heart skittered to a halt. 

Kane nodded, his lips pressed together tightly, looking uncomfortable.

"This is not how I planned to ask you," he said remorsefully. 

Something about Kane being nervous and worried ignited a strange feeling inside her. A bold streak of confidence she didn't think she had ever felt before, even stronger than what the drinks of wine had given her on their movie night. She ached to show him that he had nothing to worry about. 

"Don't ask me," Videl said, standing up from the chair abruptly.

A look of hurt flashed on his face at her words.

"I'm your girl," Videl said with a flirtatious smile. "Try and stop me from going with you."

~Kane~

An hour or two of going back and forth on the elevators - moving Dare's things from his parents' quarters to Kane's - had worn the two of them out. The most awkward part was cramming Dare's mattress, box spring, and bed frame into the elevator - which had pinned them against the walls so thoroughly that they ended up hitting the icons for 4 different Levels, and had to wait for the elevator to needlessly make each stop, before the doors opened on Kane's Level. And when they hurriedly tried to shove it all into the hallway in a rush to escape their entrapment, they ended up tripping over the bed frame and tumbled to the floor, causing such a ruckus that two or three of the people from the private quarters that neighbored Kane's poked their heads out to see what was going on. And laugh.

By the time that they had finished dragging it all into Kane's quarters, and then into the spare room, Kane and Dare were absolutely beat. They collapsed onto the couch breathing raggedly, shared a weak, tired high-five, and cheered in mockingly dull, exhausted voices.

"I don't . . . ever . . . want to see that elevator . . . again," Dare huffed.

"Me either, man," Kane agreed. "Fuck that . . . however . . ."

Dare groaned, "What? No! No, what?"

"We said we'd go get groceries with V when we were done," Kane broke it to him gently. "But if you're scared . . ."

"No way," Dare laughed shrilly, his voice coming out in a higher pitch. "Me? Scared of that elevator? Nah, that elevator's scared of me. Stupid elevator . . . " Dare shook his head.

"How about you stay here and unpack - you know, let the elevator  have time to calm down and relax?" Kane joked, and Dare nodded vigorously.

"Sure, sure," Dare gratefully agreed, "I'll see you when you get back."

Kane wasn't excited to get back in the cursed elevator either, but he was excited to see V. After spending the movie night with her and most of the next day, it had been hard for him to part ways with her after their lunch and go back to his empty private quarters. He felt guilty for how Darcy had treated her in the Cafeteria, and he hoped that none of the words that bitch had said to V had messed with her head too much. Telling V that she was nothing special, that once he fucked her he would be done with her, calling her best friend a slut . . . 

Darcy went crazier than he had ever seen her, once she saw him kissing V's neck with her on his lap. Kane had to admit to himself that it must have been a mindfuck to see him with V like that, knowing that when he and Darcy had been dating, the old Videl had gone from a general distaste for him to full-blown hatred. It was crazy how things could change so much. Whatever Darcy thought didn't matter and he hoped that it didn't matter to V. Kane would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't want to get V in his bedroom and touch her in ways no other man had, but he was in no rush to take her virginity, and he had no plans to be finished with her once that happened. V was  someone special. It was worth it to him to be patient.

Kane went back to the elevator, for her. Once the doors opened on her Level, he made his way to her private quarters. At the same time, Sienna was leaving V's place and they locked eyes. Sienna didn't scowl or glare and it was fucking weird. She actually smiled at him.

"V said you were coming," Sienna nodded knowingly, her green eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, we're going to the Grocery," Kane told her, feeling awkward. 

V must have heard them talking and her door slid open. She had her hip-length, dark hair in a loose braid, and she was wearing a white sweater with a pair of acid-washed jeans. 

"You're here!" She exclaimed, and threw her arms around him in a warm embrace.

Sienna lingered beside them in the hall, looking genuinely happy for V.

"Where's Dare?" V asked when she pulled back to look around.

"Dare couldn't come," Kane said with a smirk. "The elevator's scared of him."

V and Sienna shared a look and giggled at the absurdity of the statement. Kane shook his head, chuckling, "Don't ask."

"Oookay," Sienna laughed. "I'll call you later, V. Bye, Kane."

With that, she turned and left.

"I think I handled it better when she hated me," Kane confessed. "This is just weird."

V smiled up at him, rolling her eyes. "Well, she doesn't hate you now," V told him. "She knows how much I like you, and that you're my . . . "

"I'm your . . . ?" Kane teased, taking her hand in his to hold.

"Boyfriend sounds weird," V giggled bashfully. "You're certainly not a boy - you're my . . . man?"

Kane winked at her, intensifying the blush on her cheeks. "That's right, princess, I'm your man."

.   .   .

It was clear that V was glad to be back in Grocery. She was bouncing and skipping from aisle to aisle, like a kid in a candy store. She had been haunted by her altercation with Lars, but with Kane at her side, she was carefree. Kane enjoyed watching her fill her cart, stopping every few feet to open her holo-menu and check what ingredients she still needed for the various recipes she wanted to try and cook. She couldn't stop smiling. Kane couldn't concentrate on his own groceries he had planned to get on this trip to accommodate his new roommate, he was so entertained by V's child-like joy. 

"Oh, and I can't forget Belle's blue popsicles this time. I will never hear the end of it if I come back empty-handed again . . . "

Amidst all of V's rambling chatter about the ingredients that she needed, mostly talking to herself than to him, the mention of a "Belle" stood out to him and had him perplexed.

"Belle?" Kane asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Who's that?"

V froze, halfway inside the freezer door, with her hand on a box of blue popsicles as if she hadn't meant to let the name slip. The scared look on her face triggered Kane's concern as she pulled the box out and closed the freezer door, almost in slow motion.

"V?" Kane asked, his concern building as she stood in place - staring down at the blue popsicles, paralyzed. "V, you're freaking me out. Who's Belle?"

"Um . . . " V mumbled, picking at a seam on the box with the edge of her thumbnail. "I can't tell you. You're going to think I'm crazy."