"Annoying," Kristina mumbled. It was already the last period for their afternoon classes, and Daniella kept chatting and giggling with Daniel. He, on the other hand, just kept nodding his head nonchalantly. "So annoying."

     Kristopher, who was sitting a few chairs behind the three of them, gently placed his cheek on his palm and absent-mindedly stared at Daniella. She looked happy. She was happy to see Daniel again, not him. He expected just as much, so why bother feel lonely about it now?

     Ella also kept on staring at them. Somehow, she wasn't sure whether to hate Daniella or to like her. What was going on around here? She recalled what Tina had said earlier. 'I shouldn't be bothered by her. I shouldn't be feeling irritated. What the hell is wrong with me?'

     She knew what her best friend exactly felt. She wanted to tell her, but decided not to, since she was too thick-headed to accept the fact that she was jealous. She glanced at Kristina; she was gripping her pen tightly and tried focusing all her attention to the teacher speaking in front, but it was obvious that she couldn't concentrate with what was going on in the corner of her eyes. "Aish. There's no telling what will happen later."

     A few seconds later, the bell rang. Their teacher abruptly stopped talking and advanced outside the classroom. Kristina sighed, closed her notebook and dropped her pen. She jotted down a lot of important notes, but she didn't get the lesson at all. She took a small glance at Daniel; he was putting his comic book back inside his bag. She sighed again, this time heavier.

       "Dan--"

       "Danny!" Daniella jumped from her desk and began pulling his arm. "Let's go out! C'mon!"

     Ignoring the loud girl beside him, he looked at Kristina with his usual eyes and asked, "Yup?"

     First she stared at him, then at Daniella, who was smiling cheerfully at her. "Nothing," she turned her head and looked away. Where was an idiot when you needed one? It was strange. Kristopher didn't come running to her as always. When she peered over her shoulder to see what he was up to, she found him still staring blankly at the board.

       "Kristopher?" she went to his desk and nudged his shoulder. She wouldn't normally do that, but judging from the circumstances right this moment, she figured it was necessary. "Class is over."

       "Oh-huh?" he faced Kristina and stared at her for a few seconds. When her presence finally registered in his brain, his eyes lit up and he flashed his usual idiotic-face. "Tinz!"

     Kristina half-smiled at him. There was something wrong. Not only with her, but with Kristopher as well. That new girl's appearance seemed to have made a big impact on them. But why? Daniel and Daniella were looking at the two of them.

       "Aaw! You two look so cute together!" Daniella chirped. Daniel just kept staring at Kristina.

       "Thanks," Kristopher mumbled. Kristina didn't protest this time, she didn't have the strength to. "Tinz, did you have something to say to me? Why did you come to my desk?" he asked, a hinge of teasing in his eyes.

       "Um..." she played with the hem of her shirt. "I..."

       "Danny, where do you usually go after class? Can I come with you?" Daniella said, her voice was loud. Kristina stopped talking and observed the two.

       "Nowhere," he replied. He stood up, put on his bag and looked at Kristina again, waiting for her to get ready as well. He slid his hands inside his pockets and brushed his car keys with his palm. Daniella noticed that.

       "You have a car, right? Can you take me to my new apartment? Oh yeah! Come visit me right now! I bought lots of food!"

       "Anne--"

       "Kristopher!" Kristina continued her speech, mimicking Daniella's way of calling Daniel. She felt annoyed, angry, sad and stupid. She didn't understand what she was feeling, all she knew was that her heart clenched and her insides went in knots every time that girl touched Daniel.

     She was confused but she converted those feelings into anger towards Daniel. She felt the need to get back at him, though not knowing why. "Kris..." she reluctantly grabbed a hold of his hand, earning the surprise of the three of them. "W-Wanna come to our house? E-Ella told me to invite you..."

       "What?" Kristopher was stirred. What's with the sudden invite? Daniel's face was unexplainable. His eyes were wide from the shock but a few seconds later, it went back to his normal face. Daniella was also surprised. "O-Okay with me, but why?"

       "I..." Kristina avoided her gaze at Daniel. She knew he was staring at her. "...just wanted to talk to you about some things... Ella said there were some things she wanted to ask you as well." Then, she forced a smile at Daniella. "Do you want to come too?"

       "Huh?" she blinked.

       "I... want to talk to you too," Kristina's voice began to stutter, her heart was going to explode at any moment now. She had no idea why she said all that. It was true that Ella told her to invite them to her house so they could talk, but she was only half-serious about it. She didn't expect Kristina to actually agree.

     Daniella glanced at Daniel, he was playing with the keys inside his pockets, something he usually does when he feels uneasy. She rarely got to see him in this state. She smiled cheerfully at Kristina and accepted her invitation. "Sure! I'd love to!"

     Kristopher felt his muscles tense up. Why was Kristina doing all this? He noticed her tremulous knees and could tell she was feeling uneasy as well. Her hands were shaking so she clenched it close and dug her nails into her palm.

       "And Daniel," she simply looked at him, her face showed him a fake smile. "Do you mind driving us to my house?"

     Ella was outside the classroom, leaning her ear against the door. "Go for it Tina!" she thought.

     Daniel creased his forehead in confusion. He silently sighed and nodded his head.

_________________________

     Elizabeth warmly greeted all of her daughter's friends and told them to come inside. Ella explained everything to her beforehand through text, so she decided to go out, giving the children some privacy. Ella, Daniella, Kristopher and Daniel were seated on Kristina's living room couch. The atmosphere was too heavy, Kristopher and Daniella were too awkward, Daniel was too tense, and Ella, well, was too Ella.

       "So!" she began. "Now that we're all gathered here...let's.... Talk!"

     Two hours passed. Ella and Daniella went along better than they both expected. They had a lot in common as well. Their cheerful personalities matched, their love for the same boy band, One Direction and other things.

     Daniel and Kristopher small-talked about the comic book they both liked, Dark Magician. It was all awkward at first, but after a little while, the awkwardness went away and they both chatted smoothly. Daniel kept glancing at Kristina. She was nodding at Ella and Daniella's conversation, though he doubted she understood what they were talking about.

       "Ahem," he cleared his throat. "I'm just gonna go out for a bit."

     Kristopher nodded his head and watched Daniel walk out the living room and in the garden. He felt relieved. It had been a long time since they talked like that. Although it was small, he felt happy about it. He remembered back when they were children, Daniel always talked about this 'Poopy' person and how they always played at her garden. He wondered if this garden he was talking about was the one he went to just now.

     Daniella noticed Daniel step out, so she excused herself and went after him. "I'll be right back!"

     The three of them; Kristopher, Ella and Kristina were left inside the living room. There was a moment of silence for about one minute, and then Ella spoke up.

       "Kristopher," she started, her face looked a bit serious, and a bit joking. "Do you like Anne?"

       "No," he replied, almost too quickly. It only made the suspicion rise in Ella's veins. She chuckled uncontrollably and slapped her knee.

       "Oh right! Like I'd believe that."

       "Is this the real reason why you two made us come here? To talk about that?"

     Ella fell silent and Kristina sighed heavily upon massaging her forehead. Kristopher grimaced at his feet and let out an audible breath. "I knew it."

       "I'm sorry," was all that came out of Kristina mouth. Kristopher smiled at her.

       "No, I'm not mad. Thanks for invinting me here. You probably noticed my unusual behaviour earlier and got worried right? Thanks for that too."

       "Sure..."

     Kristopher looked at Ella. "And you're probably wondering what Danny and Anne's relationship is?"

     The two girls nodded their heads.

       "To tell you the truth," he weakly smiled. "I'm not so sure myself."

     Kristina didn't look surprised. Although Kristopher didn't explain everything clearly, she already figured that the three of them were acquaintances back at Europe.

       "I'm jealous," he said. Ella and Kristina leaned closer to him as he began to confess. His voice was softer than a whisper, they could tell he didn't want to talk about this with just anybody. "I'm happy that Anne came here, I got to see her again. But she came here for Danny, not me. So... it kinda hurts... a bit. I think?"

       "You think?!" Ella exclaimed. "It must feel like a hundred knives stabbed your heart!"

       "Worse," he replied. "Are you somehow familiar with this feeling, Tinz?"

       "What feeling?" she asked, curiously.

    Kristopher laughed. "This stupid feeling called jealousy."

       "Jealousy?" she repeated the word a few times in her head. "I'm...jealous?"

       "Ask yourself," Ella said. "Daniel and Daniella have been gone for a while. What are your thoughts about those?"

     Kristina knitted her brows and narrowed her eyes. "It's annoying. But I'm not jealous."

     Kristopher and Ella sighed in unison. "You're denying your feelings again."

       "Am not!" she retorted.

       "Are too!" they both yelled.

     Kristina rolled her eyes and tried to ignore them and dodge the weird topic. She got up from her seat and went to the kitchen to have a glass of water. Behind the kitchen was their garden. She heard a faint sound from outside the door. "I still love you!"

     Her heart beat rapidly after concluding that it was Daniella's voice. Who else would she be talking to? That's right, Daniel. She hesitantly held the kitchen door's knob and slowly twisted it open.

       "Tinz?" Kristopher went inside. "Do you have something to eat--"

     He stopped when Kristina quickly opened the door, revealing an unexpected scene before their very eyes. The sun was setting, so the sky was tinged with blood-orange. Their garden was vast and the Bermuda grass was still left untrimmed. Standing in the middle of the garden were two people.

     Kristina watched in slow-motion as Daniella gave Daniel a kiss at the center of their childhood-playground. All she and Kristopher could see was Daniella's back because she was facing Daniel, so they couldn't make up where she kissed him.

     Daniel's eyes shot open when he saw Kristopher and Kristina watch them from the kitchen door. Kristopher was too shocked that he could barely move, Kristina felt her heart stop right at that moment. Daniel was more surprised with Daniella's sudden actions. One minute they were talking, the next... this.

       He couldn't explain what Kristina's reaction meant since she was too far, but he knew what she thought, and she was wrong. Why did Daniella kiss him? And what was going to happen next?

..................................................................................

A/N: Lousy descriptions, I know, I know. Lousy dialogues, I know, I know. Fast-paced, I know, I know. Overall: couldn't understand this chapter? I KNOW! I KNOW! AND I'M SORRY! I couldn't write everything I wanted to on this one so I'll write it in the next. RUSHED. YES RUSHED. THAT SHOULD BE MY NEW MIDDLE NAME. I'll edit this after the story's over, so please don't mind the crappy format. :(

Read [ONCE UPON A KISS - CHARACTER PROFILES]

Made it out of pure boredom, so all of you who want to know more about the characters in this story, (Kristina, Daniel, Ella, etc) just go there, read and comment if there's something you want to ask or don't understand about the story. Don't worry, it won't be boring! I promise! Now go there right now! It'll only cost you a few minutes of your time. If you're truly a fan of OUK, you'll read it LOLOLOL. XD

Stay tuned~

What do you think will happen next? ;)