A/N: Dedicated to cn3433 for that lovely banner. I LOVE it. You made it with Danny and Tina's pics so I really appreciate it. ^_^

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Chapter 53 – Daniel's Enigma

       "Uuugh..." Kristina collapsed on her bed. She just got home a few minutes ago after an exhausting day at the mall. Ella actually begged her and Daniella to accompany her again because she said she needed to relieve stress or something.

     The whole day, they window-shopped and bought a few things. When they took a small break, Ella told her best friends all about what transpired at her house during New Year's. Kristina and Daniella just quietly listened and followed Ella wherever she went even though she was practically pacing back and forth from floor to floor. They could tell she was really out of it.

      To think that they started their shopping trip at one in the afternoon and ended nine in the evening. They didn't realize the time because Ella and Daniella were so engrossed in the new boutique that opened in the mall. Kristina could just quietly groan and follow them around like a lost child.

     She stretched a bit before kicking her shoes off. She didn't have the strength to change into her pyjamas anymore. She just wanted to sleep. Kristina became quiet again when she remembered Daniel. What could he be doing right now? Only one whole day passed by but she already missed him. Her cheeks turned red with the thought. Again, she groaned and slammed her face on the pillow. Why was she still in denial when they were already in a relationship? She was restless.

     Her pocket began to vibrate and she groaned against her pillow and grudgingly took her phone from her pocket, thinking it was Ella. She pressed answer and yawned before weakly speaking. "Hello..?"

     There was no answer. She sighed and asked again. "Hello? Who's calling?"

     Again, no answer. Irritated, she unintentionally raised her voice. "Speak up! I'm already tired and sleepy and I'm gonna pass out any moment now!"

       "Poopy?" Daniel supressed his chuckling from the other line. Recognizing his voice, Kristina sat up immediately. Her sleepiness somehow disappeared.

       "Daniel? Butthead?" she said quickly. She checked her phone to make sure and true enough, Daniel's contact name 'Sir Peanut Butter' flashed on her screen. A smile slowly tugged up her lips and she felt her heart flutter. "How are you? Where are you?"

       "I'm alright. I thought you were tired and sleepy and gonna pass out in any moment? What's got you excited? Miss me already?" he playfully replied. Kristina's eye twitched and didn't comment. He was right. She did miss him. But she will not admit it. Clenching the phone, she felt her cheeks heat up again. She heard Daniel laugh too. "This sucks. I can still tease you but I can't see your blushing face. Hey, send me a picture of you right now."

       "Are you an idiot?!" she exclaimed, embarrassed. "Did you call just to say that?! I'll hit you!" Kristina stopped when she realized what she just said. No... that wasn't what she wanted to say. She internally groaned. Why can't she sound like a caring girlfriend for once? She took back what she said immediately. "I-I mean..."

       "Sure." Daniel said, making her a bit surprised and suspicious. She wondered if he was just being sarcastic or not. "Hit me. Come here and hit me as much as you want."

     Kristina stayed silent. She knew exactly what he was trying to say. After a few seconds, she replied. "No. You should come back here already so I can beat you half-dead stupid butthead."

     He laughed. He sighed on the phone and she imagined him smiling. "I want to see you."

     She didn't reply and stayed quiet again. She held her cheeks and groaned when she felt herself getting flustered. She heard him chuckle lightly from the other line. She couldn't deny though. The feeling was mutual. "Me too..." she mumbled inaudibly and quickly stretched her limbs upon sitting straight on the bed, attempting to change the topic. "So what happened with Richard Yao and his son? Did you two get along?"

       "Oh yeah." Daniel said as if he just remembered. "I'll tell you, but before that, I have something important to ask you."

       "What?" she said as she laid down on her bed, feeling more relaxed. Her body was physically exhausted but her mind was mentally wide awake. She blamed it all on her stupid fiancé and his stupid sugar-coated words.

       "What's the colour of your underwear?"

     Did she say sugar-coated words? She actually meant butthead-covered words. For a few seconds, there was no reply. Kristina sounded as if she was asleep. As a nerve began to throb on her forehead, she roared on the phone, somehow switching to Spartan-mode. "WHAT'S WITH THAT WEIRD QUESTION?!"

     Daniel sounded unfazed and entertained with her reaction. "But wouldn't one be curious?"

       "THAT'S NOT THE POINT YOU STUPID PERVERTED BUTTHEAD!!!"

       "If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you the colour of my underwear too. Wait, I'll check," then there was a lot of shuffling sounds. Kristina released a heavy sigh of annoyance and embarrassment. How did their conversation turn out like this?

         "BUTTHEAD!!!"

       "Aha. Mine is in leopard-print."

       "WHO WANTS TO— L-Leopard?"

     Daniel made an amused huff. Kristina imagined him having another smug look and if it weren't for this expensive phone, she would've crushed it on the floor already. "You believed it?"

     Realizing that she got fooled, she gritted her teeth and yet again sighed a heavy and audible breath. She bit her lip to keep herself from word-murdering him. Instead, she flipped her weight on the bed and slammed her face on the pillow. One frustrated groan came out as a muffle and Daniel laughed again.

      
       "Stupid, idiot, moron, pervert, butthead," she chanted against the pillow. She pressed the phone harder on her ear and took another deep breath to calm herself down. She hated getting irritated at the smallest things Daniel would do or say. It was infuriating. "ARE YOU DONE?!"

       "That should be my line," he sounded as if he was holding another breath of laughter. Kristina sighed another frustrated sigh but was secretly smiling to herself. It was getting hard to stay mad at him, especially since he was away. Trying to change the course of their discussion, she went back to her previous question, the one before Daniel daringly asked as well.

       "You said you'd tell me about what happened with you and Richard Yao earlier. So what happened?"

       "We talked about women."

     A small moment of silence passed.

       "I'm sorry, what?" Kristina asked.

       "Women," he emphasized clearly and grudgingly. "And he kept asking a lot of things about you too."

       "Me?" she sounded like she didn't believe it. "Why? And what did you tell him?"

     Daniel made a cruel chuckle which made Kristina feel suspicious and worried. "It's a secret between men."

     Knowing that no matter how much she'll ask, he'll never tell, she dropped it. She wasn't particularly interested in that anyway. "And his son?"

       "You mean the one who has a big crush on you? Yeah I met him." Daniel replied, sounding a bit annoyed. Noticing his tone, Kristina grinned and concentrated her questions on Richard's son.

       "What's his name? Age?"

       "Chie. He's seventeen or eighteen I think."

       "Is he nice to you? What's his personality like?"

     Daniel was quiet for a bit, somehow reluctant to answer her questions. Kristina's grin grew wider. Now that topic seemed to trigger something interesting.

       "Do you know the saying light travels faster than sound?"

     She didn't know where he was going with this. "Yeah?"

        "That's what I think of him. Because he may appear bright until he opens his mouth."

     Kristina chortled happily. That's exactly what she thought about him. "What do you mean?"

       "I don't like him."

       "Aaw why not?" she cooed teasingly. Right now, Daniel was pretty much sounding like a kid.

       "I don't like him 'cause he likes you."

     Kristina bit the insides of her mouth to keep herself from smiling. "How do you know he likes me?"

       "He has a lot of pictures of you. He got them from facebook, from Ella's profile."

     She made a mental note to ask Ella to delete those pictures of her. It made her curious as to how and why Chie managed to find her pictures there. How did he find Ella's account too? Kristina turned to the other side of the bed and continued her conversation with Daniel.

       "So? It's not like I'll like him back. Just tell him I'm yours and maybe he'll—"  

       "I'll tell him you're mine?" he sounded amused again. Kristina realized what she just said and quickly slapped her forehead. She ended up stuttering, attempting to cover up her slip-up.

       "NO! What I meant to say is you should tell him about our... our... t-thing!"

       "Thing?" he pressed, sounding more entertained. "Can you be more specific?"

     Kristina squeezed her pillow and internally screamed. "You know what I mean, BUTTHEAD."

     Daniel laughed again and his earlier stern tone seemed to be forgotten already. "Alright, I'll tell him you're mine and about our thing and I'll take those pictures from him too."

       "WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY?!" she squealed, embarrassed.

       "Are you blushing right now? Quick, take a picture of yourself and send it to me."

       "I'M HANGING UP YOU IDIOT!!!"

       "Wait!"

       "WHAT?!"

     Daniel smiled although she couldn't see it. "I love you. Night-night Poopy."

     Without another word, Kristina hung up and slammed her flustered face on her pillow. She uttered short screams and she kept pinching her cheek from time to time. Her whole face up until her ears and neck were red, her fingers were trembling and her heart was going to explode.

     She spat a few colourful words because once again, Daniel made her like this. "Butthead, butthead, butthead..!" she then violently grabbed her sheets on her feet and quickly covered herself. She tried her best to sleep because she was feeling exhausted but her mind was still wide awake. She mumbled a few more words and irritatingly tossed and turned on her bed. "Stupid, idiot, butthead. I love you too. Moron, stupid, robot. I hope you trip on a rock and land on your stupid butt."

     Right after she hung up on him, Daniel breathed out a fit of laughter. His face looked bright and relieved. He was currently at Richard's second garden. Apparently, that man had a lot of gardens surrounding his house. He seemed to be a nature-lover. Daniel checked the clock on his phone, it was still just four o'clock in the afternoon, but knowing the time difference, it was bed time back at Kristina's place.

     He scrolled down on his phone and took long glances at the photos Ella sent him a few weeks ago. They were Kristina's candid photos and it was his personal entertainment. Since he was so busy staring at his screen, he didn't notice Chie sneaking up on him.

     Chie jumped in front of Daniel and screamed. "BONGGA!!!"

     Daniel was surprised but his face didn't show it. That wasn't the reaction Chie was aiming for. Daniel gave him a stern look before sliding his phone back into his pocket. "Now what do you want?"

     Chie grinned widely and pointed at his pocket. "You just called her didn't you? You had that love-struck puppy written all over your face! Go on, smile again! You look good when you smile!"

     Daniel semi-glared at him. "It's such a tragedy to be in the same age as you."

     Chie gasped. "I'm exposed?! Exposed?!"

       "No, you're just stupid."

       "No I'm not," Chie cheerfully argued. "I'm a smart person. I just do stupid things."

       "Please go away," Daniel said as he began to walk away. He never thought he would say this, but he wanted his cousin to be with him and never leave him at all costs. Ever since this morning, Chie has been stuck to him like glue. He guessed one of the main reasons why Mr Yao wanted him to meet his son, was to probably tame him or train him. Chie was like Kristopher in a lot of ways, and Richard Yao knew Daniel had experience with those types.

     With that suggestive thought in mind, he almost felt like dying. That may not be the real reason, but it was probable and ridiculous. His dad, Jonathan, came by just an hour ago and is now having a decent conversation with their host. Kristopher left earlier because word just got out that they both returned to London, and the press was going crazy. He decided to leave early and handle the situation... a believable theory but it was merely just an excuse because he didn't want to stay any longer in the baldy's house.

       "Where are you going now, mate?" Chie asked, catching up to his speed. Daniel mentally rolled his eyes.

       "Don't call me mate."

       "Then what'll I call you?"

       "Daniel."

       "That sounds boring," he dismissed the idea. "What does Poopy call you?"

     Daniel stopped in his tracks and released an annoyed sigh. Chie either didn't understand, or was just ignoring the hints Daniel kept leaving behind. "Don't call her that."

       "Then what'll I call her?"

       "Kristina."

       "That sounds boring too, but it's pretty," he said, smirking a bit. "Just like her."

     Daniel ignored him and after a few minutes of walking, there was silence. Until Chie broke the ice again. "Hey Danny."

       "What." He said flatly. He had no idea where he was going. Right at the moment, they were in a huge room that looked similar to the living room.

       "We just met this morning, I feel like you hate me already," his tone didn't sound offended at all. Daniel knew this boy was just trying to get into his nerves, and he was doing a pretty good job at it. Not even Kristopher was this annoying.

       "I don't hate you," he said. "Hating people takes too much energy."

     Chie smiled and was about to compliment him for his positive attitude until he continued.

        "I just pretend they're dead."

     Chie stopped as it registered into his mind, and then he laughed hysterically as if it was a very witty joke. Daniel continued to ignore him and invisibly looked frantic upon searching a way out. He wanted to go home already. As he quickened his steps, Chie did as well. Daniel was holding back the urge to punch him in the jaw to shut him up.

     Meanwhile, watching those two from a distance on her window, Mari's lips tugged up into a small smile. Her hair was different compared to earlier. She let it loose and her long black locks fell gracefully on her shoulders. She was also wearing a pretty, pale-green dress.

     Her father knocked on her door and entered. They greeted each other with cheerful smiles. Richard Yao presented her a folder which contained Daniel's bio and a few pictures. "Are you ready for the marriage interview?"

       "Yes," she giggled as she glanced at her brother and their guest again. "I'm so excited to get this over with. I'm sure he and my lovely cousin Anne will be very much surprised."

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A/N: Guys, guys. I've been receiving a lot of reviews and messages for this story lately. For that, THANK YOU!

Some of you asked for steamy moments between Tina and Dan, it'll come soon. :D

But one suggestion really got me thinking. One of you (you know who you are) asked if I could write a BS chapter. A BS CHAPTER! Omg. That would probably corrupt and destroy the innocence of this book (if there was any innocence in the first place lol) And I don't think I'm brave enough to write or even post something like that! But seriously? Wow. If you guys really want to, I'd have to do some research although I doubt I could take that too. -_- so in case I can't write one, I'm sorry. If you REALLY want a chap like that though, you can probably make a fan fic? Idk. You guys decide. Lol.

Ah! And what do you think of Mari and Chie? XD This chap just showed a glimpse of what they're like. I'm really excited to write about them and I already LOVE them! =)) Although you guys will probably hate them but oh well!

And thanks to@ isalia3 and @cn3433for giving me a few ideas. I may use them, but of course, I'll be adding more twists because I just LOVE messing with your heads. >:D

STAY. TUNED. =))