A/N: Naaaaw you guys wanted to kill me for that last cliffy. But aaaw there were some people who didn't want to kill me so I could update as well. I'm so brutally touched. ;D

Dedicated to UnePetitPissenlit for another great banner! Thanks girl! =))

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       "Nothing," Daniel said, sounding a bit sceptical, a failed attempt to sound like the usual. "Nothing. Nothing's bothering me. Why? Why do you ask?"

     From inside the computer screen, he could see Kristina raising her brows in an unconvinced manner. Daniel clenched his fist away from the web camera's view. How pathetic did he sound just now?

       "You said 'nothing' three times and 'why' two times." Kristina mathematically pointed out. "Either you're hiding something or your brain just got more damaged."

     Daniel laughed softly at her customary joke (read: insult). What the hell was he supposed to say? He laid his back comfortably on the chair he was sitting on and just quietly stared at her image on his computer screen. "You're pretty."

     The video was clear and purely in high definition, so he could clearly see her. She frowned at his lame cover-up. He was smirking at her as he folded his arms against his chest. "Stop changing the topic butthead."

       "Mrs Butthead," he flashed an attractive smile. Kristina felt a nerve pop.

       "Just because you won't tell me doesn't mean I won't know."

     Daniel silently sighed from his nostrils. He gazed at her suspicious face and wondered how he should tell her about his current crisis. But that wasn't his main concern. He was more worried on how she would react to this. "They want me to participate in a marriage interview."

     He saw her eyes widen from the shock. He knew it would be better to tell her about it now than have her finding out for herself. She slowly recovered when she blinked and knitted her brows. Even though they were having a conversation on a computer screen, both could feel the uneasy tension  and heavy atmosphere between them.

     Kristina stared at his eyes as if she was sending an optical message. Marriage interview? Daniel? Her lips quivered as she spoke. "W-With Mari?"

     It was Daniel's turn to be surprised. "You know her?"

       "Not personally," she explained slowly, her eyes trailing down to the plain keyboard. "Anne showed me her cousins' photos. Mari and Chie. They're with you there, right?"

     Daniel nodded his head. He fixed his gaze on her dazed expression and felt a tinge of hurt in his chest. What now? Can he smack himself for making her look like that now?

     Kristina softly laughed and found her eyes back to Daniel. She gave him a strained smile to somehow hide the hurt she was suddenly feeling. "She's really pretty."

     He gave her a grim face, showing how much he disapproved. The sound of that feigned laugh was lonely, and heart-breaking. "You're prettier."

       "Daniel," she sighed, a troubled look crossing her face. "Is Mr Richard planning to... with you two..?"

       "I don't know," he quickly and honestly replied. "But I have a feeling he wants me to marry her."

     Marry her. Marry. Her. Those set of words were enough to form a small lump in her throat. She swallowed hard to somehow make it disappear but it was difficult. She was having mixed feelings now. Annoyance, anxiety, worry, hurt... Taking in a deep and sharp breath, she looked at his image on the screen again. "So what are you going to do?"

     Seeing her expression made him want to kick himself on the face. He sighed heavily upon running his hand over his hair, making it dishevelled. "I don't know," he hopelessly replied. He hated saying that. He wanted to laugh at his self all of a sudden. He was a genius? What a joke. He didn't even know what to say to the girl he loved. "I rejected the idea, but my dad's on that bald-headed man's side. I can't do anything against my dad's wishes."

      She felt the lump in her throat getting bigger. Something started to prick her eyes so she quickly blinked back the water that was threatening to spill. This sensation was making her breathing a bit frantic and her feelings were swelling inside her chest. She didn't know what to say. "Oh..."

        "Kristina, please don't make that face," Daniel sounded like he was pleading. He seldom said her name and when did, Kristina knew he was serious. He leaned in closer to the screen as he studied her uneasy face. He knew she was forcing herself not to cry and he hated to be the reason why she was doing it. "Please don't cry."

       "Who's gonna cry you butthead?" she snapped. Again, she converted her feelings into anger. That was her only escape. "I really want to punch you right now, but I can't because you're not here and I can't break my mom's computer. So lucky you."

       "Lucky me?" Daniel repeated. "You don't know how much I want be punched by you right now."

     Kristina stifled a laugh. "That sounded weird."

     Daniel noticed her fighting back a smile, so he continued. "I'm a butthead remember?" he shrugged his shoulders and pouted about as attractive as a gorilla. "Everything I say and do is weird."

       "Aha, so you're acknowledging it now." She said, trying her best to sound mad but enthusiastic.

       "Yes. I only noticed how much of a butt I've been to you." He said as he sighed like a poor old boy. He wanted to convey his feelings through his pointless sentences. He hoped that somehow those feelings would reach her, and those pointless sentences would amuse her. It was weird, but he didn't know what to do anymore. Seeing her like that made him a complete mess.

       "I mean, I count how many times we've kissed, I challenge you all the time even though I know I'll win, I act like a stupid idiot around you, I automatically turn into a pervert when you're pissed, I love teasing you just to see your furious expressions."

       He paused for a bit to observe her reaction. Kristina shuffled on her seat and concealed her real emotions. "Continue enumerating your buttheadness." She coughed, obviously interested on what more he has to say.

     Daniel did. But was it working? "I ate the thing you made for me and almost got myself killed, I sat on my idiot cousin's lap because I was ignoring his stupid presence back then, I agreed to be your dog just because of Anne's attempt to make stupid Tops jealous, I learned Japanese overnight through a phone application... Oh."

       "Oh," Kristina repeated, emphasizing it a bit more and was certainly sounding amused. She cleared her throat and kept a neutral expression. "Thanks for that recap. Hah. Those were fun times."

     Daniel noticed how she continued to fight back her smile by concealing it with a frown. He wanted her to just drop it and laugh already. He tilted his head to the right and narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards. "So, you don't want to punch me anymore?"

       "Are you kidding me?" she quickly replied. "I want to hit you more than ever now. I don't know. I'm sorry. I just... feel annoyed right now." She lowered her head and secretly sighed. She couldn't help but be honest with him. It was true, she did feel annoyed. She didn't understand why she was getting mad at Daniel though. She knew he couldn't do anything about it.

     He made a hopeless and dramatic sigh. How much will it take for her to laugh? He was already feeling mentally drained but he just needed to see her having a positive face before he continues this sucky day. He knew what she was feeling, but he didn't know what to do.

     Daniel laid his back on the chair, and then leaned in closer to the desk again. He was getting restless. "If you want, I'll hit myself for you."

     Kristina accidentally choked out a small laugh. She managed to cover it up though. "That's sick. And weird."

       "I'll kick my own face."

       "Since when did you get so flexible to do that? But I'd like to see you try."

       "I'll cook inedible, poop-like, breathing food similar to the one you made me and eat it."

       "Y-You're crazy..." The corners of her mouth were twitching up but she somehow stopped it by biting the insides of her cheek. Daniel had no idea what he was saying now. Even his mouth became restless enough to spout nonsense. He didn't realize though that that nonsense was working on her.

       "I'll act like a dog here. I'll bark whenever someone talks to me. Hey, that's not such a bad idea though." He seriously thought. Kristina had to force herself not to crack up. Saying those stupid things while keeping a straight face was hilarious. She was breathing heavily just to keep herself from laughing. "Maybe if I bark at Chie he'll stop pestering me."

     She took a deep breath again and held it so she wouldn't release the giggles she was trying so hard to supress. Daniel was oblivious to that though.

       "I should try going to the amusement park and fall asleep while riding on the rollercoasters again."

       "Stop. Stop... talking..." she breathed like a dying seal. She wanted to laugh. Like. Right. Now. It was so stupid of her to force herself not to laugh. It was just her pride that was making her do that.

       "Aah." Daniel sighed hopelessly again. He had no idea about the effect of his words to her. He just wanted to put off steam. In such a weird way. He scratched the back of his head carelessly. "Maybe if I take Chie to a haunted mansion and leave him there he'll cry."

       "Would you please not make me laugh I'm trying to stay mad at you." Kristina couldn't contain it any longer. She burst out in a fit of giggles and chortles. Daniel was confused at first but then suddenly realized what he had done. His brain sure was slow today.

     She kept laughing without restraint and even held her face. She just felt so overwhelmed and nostalgic, maybe even a little relieved. "Daniel you're a dummy."

     He grinned widely, clearly amused and satisfied. He felt a rush of energy coming back into his system. He leaned in closer to the screen again. Seeing her expression was definitely priceless. Feeling stupidly warm and giddy, he continued grinning like a fool at her. "You finally smiled."

     She snorted at his remark then sighed. "Everybody said you're a genius but you really don't act like one. Heh. From an IQ of 162 when you were still six, how much did it increase anyway? It's incredible."

     Daniel, even though he already knew that she acquired that knowledge about him from somewhere (read: obviously Anne's big mouth), he was still pretty surprised when Kristina asked about it. He shrugged his shoulders. "In most cases and researches, the IQ decreases with age."

     Her eyes widened from the small lecture. "But Anne said it increases when you grow older?"

       "No it doesn't. Maybe that depends on the person I think," Daniel explained. "But in my case though, some guy from this association told me mine increased. I don't know. He said I'm just abnormally intelligent."

       "Abnormally intelligent..." Kristina mumbled, mimicking him. He just smiled at her. "You're still a butthead whatever anyone says."

     He laughed amusingly as he lazily rested his cheek on his shoulder. His lips curled up into a very attractive smile. "And you, my Mrs Butthead."

     She scrunched her nose in disgust. "You're still going on with that?!" Then, she stopped and narrowed her eyes. Daniel wondered why she did. She knitted her brows and buried her mouth in her palm. Sighing quietly, she eyed him on the screen again. "I think Mari's gonna have that name instead of me though..."

     Daniel frowned. "Do you want her to?"

     Kristina shook her head quickly. "Of course not!" She sighed heavily upon pinching the bridge of her nose. She hated feeling lost, confused and annoyed at the same time. "What're you going to do?"

     He smiled cutely, obviously happy with her reply. "I'll do something about it. But I have a question for you."

       "What is it?"

     He locked his gaze into her eyes for a small moment before continuing. "Do you trust me?"

     She nodded her head, but was unsure to where he was going with this.

       "Good," he said. "Just trust me. Okay?"

     Kristina gave him another smile and just before she could say anything else, Daniel's wonderful cousin barged in. She was surprised with the loud sound the door made when it abruptly hit the wall. Daniel groaned upon mumbling Kristopher's name. She was reminded of how Daniella entered her room just yesterday. Those two were the perfect pair indeed.

       "Yo Danny! I have a problem! A BIG—" Kristopher stopped when he saw Kristina's face on his computer. A foolish grin spread across his face as he ran towards Daniel and stuck his face in front of the camera, semi-blocking Daniel's view. "Hey Tinz! It's great to see you!"

       "Great to see you too," she smiled at the scene. Daniel was annoyingly pushing his face off but his cousin was just too persistent.

       "Anne and I talked on the phone last night too. She told me she already told you about Danny's historic biography?"

       "Some of it."

     Kristopher beamed. "That's great! I hope everybody's doing great back there!"

       "Would you please go away now," Daniel kept pushing him off. Kristopher stuck his tongue out and leaned his face closer to the web cam. Kristina laughed at how big his nostrils became as he came a bit too close to the camera.

       "Tinz, Danny's been mean to everybody ever since we got here." He told her like a kid telling his mom. "He's only nice to you! And right now he doesn't even want me to talk to you! How possessive cous! You only want Tinz for yourself!" Kristopher quipped, but Daniel was clearly not amused.

       "You said you had a problem. What is it." His tone was getting dark.

       "Oh yeah that's right. I had a problem. A big one."

     Daniel sighed. "You and Chie are so alike." Kristopher frowned distastefully at that comment. Kristina saw it all and immediately knew that Kristopher didn't like him as well.

        "After the meeting, Richard told me some very disturbing things." He explained, ignoring the comment his cousin made. Kristina looked genuinely interested. "He told me to not bother myself with Anne anymore and he said he's gonna arrange a marriage contract with me and some girl I barely know! Danny! He's crazy!"

       "He said that?" Daniel seemed surprised.

       "That's terrible!" Kristina exclaimed. Not only was that man arranging a marriage against Daniel's will, but he was doing it to Kristopher too? She became worried for them. "Did you tell Anne about this?"

       "Not yet," he sighed. "I'm gonna call her tonight and tell her. Oh, and one more thing Danny!"

     Daniel tugged his left ear. "Stop shouting. You're so noisy."

     Kristopher's face became serious as he slid his hands inside his pockets. He stood straight and eyed Daniel. "The Yaos are acting suspicious don't you think?"

       "Yeah?"

     Kristina quietly listened to their conversation.

       "Do you want to investigate?" A sly smile formed on Kristopher's face. Both Daniel and Kristina were puzzled. Kristopher began chuckling like a maniac. "I asked Chie if we could sleep over at his place tomorrow night. He thinks we just wanna hang out and watch a bunch of movies, but the truth is, we'll be acting as spies and observe his every movement."

     Daniel's dark expression became ten shades darker. He was clearly not happy with the thought of spending an hour with Chie, but a whole night? He had to stop himself from killing him. He glanced at the screen a bit and noticed how Kristina was silently listening. He didn't want to talk about Chie with her around. She might find him interesting, but that was too unlikely. "Tops, his every movement is stupid. I don't want to waste my time watching him. And why a sleepover? Do you think we're girls?"

       "But it'll be fun!" Kristopher argued. "And who knows? Maybe his idiotic-act is just a cover up. Maybe they're really plotting something evil."

       "Still," Daniel sighed. "Why did you have to drag me into this?"

       "Because a sleepover is more fun with more people. You want to know the truth too don't you? And besides, I can't stand being alone with that guy. Don't leave me Danny." Kristopher said. Daniel wanted to hit his face on the desk. How could he say no? He thought that plan sounded alright but the sleepover part? He seriously thought his cousin caught the cooties from Daniella.

     Kristina was all laughs. She cooed at them both and wagged her brows suggestively. Even though she was inside a computer screen, she felt like she was there with them. "A sleepover sounds nice. You boys can have another pillow fight. Oh fun."

     Daniel felt like heavy weights were placed on his shoulders. He looked at her on the screen wearily. He was giving her that 'WHY' look, Kristina just felt more amused. Kristopher snickered.

       "I also want to ask him about Anne so..." he mumbled to himself. Daniel eyed him and gave him a knowing look.

       "So that's why."

       "He's her cousin! But I just met him a few days ago."

       "Just because they're related doesn't mean you have to get close to him," he said. "It might make your relationship with Anne more complicated if you talk to that guy."

     Kristopher snorted. "Said the Jedi of relationships." He shrugged his shoulders uncaringly, a gesture showing that he already made up his mind. He mockingly bowed in front of him upon clasping his hands together. "Arigatou for the advice, Daniel-sensei. Maybe I'll take it into consideration."

       "Zip it." Daniel warned. "Are you done? I'm in the middle of a conversation here."

       "But you gotta help me plan what we're gonna do tomorrow!"

       "Leave." He ordered.

     Before another argument broke out, Kristina chuckled and earned their attention. She waved her hand and smiled. "You two go ahead and spy on Chie. I wanna know what you find out about him too. Besides, I'm in the middle of cleaning my room so..."

     Daniel seemed disappointed that she wanted to end the call already. He wanted to talk to her more, but he respected her wishes so he nodded his head. "When we get to his room tomorrow, I'll call you and talk to you in a mushy and lovey-dovey voice right in front of him."

     Kristina had no reply for him. Kristopher slapped his back. "To make him jealous? Haha! Pure torture. That's nice! I'll call Anne tomorrow too."

       "You guys are so cruel," she laughed. She sighed and waved her hand lightly in front of her web cam. She looked at Daniel's face and laughed again. His pouting face would've been attractive to some girls, but to her, it was just freaking hilarious. "Bye." Giving Daniel a last sweet smile, she ended the video call.

     Kristopher made a small chuckle. "Tinz' gotten prettier lately. She's so cute when she smiles."

     Daniel glared at him and he slightly jumped from the shock. He knew his cousin was mad because he made Kristina end the call but it's not like he asked her to. He laughed inside his head. "Anne's right. Danny's whipped when it comes to Tinz. But then again... I'm whipped with Anne too. Oh damn."

     The whole day, Daniel coldly ignored his cousin. He got even more upset because when he tried to call Kristina again, the line broke and so went on with his sucky day.

'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

     The next day, Kristopher and Daniel went back to the Yao residence.

     Carrying thin backpacks behind their shoulders which only contained a t-shirt and some snacks, they both entered the extravagant living room once again. They had heard that Richard went out to a business meeting and Mari was having a night out with her friends too. Perfect.

       "I'm glad you asked to sleep over tonight Top-Top," Chie said as he led his guests towards his room. It was on the third floor and they pretty much still had a long way to go to reach it. "And Danny-boy too. Everybody's out, even my mom's out having fun in the spa. I hate being alone."

     His mom? They never met his mom before. His mother would be the sister of Daniella's mom then. Kristopher mentally rolled his eyes. He hated the nickname Mari and Chie gave him. He was pretty sure Daniel was restraining himself from strangling Chie too. Since they left the house, his black aura had been growing larger and larger. He had to wait for five more agonizing hours before he can call Kristina again. It was draining his will to live, as melodramatic as that sounds.

       "I'm curious to see your room," Daniel lifelessly began. He thought it would be nice to start a decent conversation to kill time while they travel to his room. Note the sarcasm. He felt like they were walking forever. Just how ridiculously big was their house?  

       "Oh, you're up for an eyeful mate," Chie chuckled. "My room's pretty exotic."

     Both Kristopher and Daniel stopped. Did he just refer to his room as exotic?

       "How so?" Daniel asked again as they continued to walk. Chie tipped his chin up with his finger as if to think.

       "Pretend the room of my door is the secret passage to Narnia," he said, seriously. Kristopher snorted.

       "You mean it's like a jungle inside?"

       "No, I said Narnia not Jumanji." Chie said. He began explaining this very interesting theory about how his stuff mysteriously disappears. Daniel and Kristopher lost him in the middle of his explanation. They were still walking and walking and walking. Kristopher glanced at Daniel and noticed that he had stopped and just stood idly behind them. Chie didn't notice them stop because he kept on blabbering and walking ahead.

       "Danny, what's up?" Kristopher asked. Daniel looked at him, his usual doe-eyes looking exhausted. He weakly pointed at Chie's back and eyed his cousin pitifully.

       "I can't go on Tops. I fractured my motivation."

       "Danny!" He shout-whispered. "We already talked about this. Now c'mon, let's go." He literally had to drag his cousin's arm just to make him move forward. Then finally, after what seemed like a mile, they arrived at a large white door. There was some kind of symbol carved on the door but Daniel was too lazy to analyse it.

       "We're here!" Chie announced happily. "Get ready to see my amazing room."  

     As he opened the door, Daniel and Kristopher finally understood what he meant by 'exotic'.

     The whole room was like a dumpster. Dirty clothes were scattered everywhere—the floor, the bed, on the desk, the lamp... Not only that, but all sorts of magazines and comic books blended in the sea of t-shirts and shoes. It was a living poop-hole.

     Kristopher gaped at it. He was never used to messy rooms seeing that his maids cleaned his room every day. Daniel wanted to die. Even his room wasn't as sad as this one. They were going to sleep here tonight? Hell to the no. Chie walked in the room like it wasn't in that sorry state and skipped on a few shirts on the floor. "What are you two standing there for? Get in, mates!"

       "Where's the floor?" Daniel said.

       "This is a room..?" Kristopher second. Chie just chuckled as he stood in the middle of his room. Daniel and Kristopher went inside, careful not to step on his clothes, even though it probably didn't matter because everything on the floor had footprints all over them already.

     Daniel knitted his brows. This sorry excuse for a room (read: poop-hole/dumpster) was plain hideous. Even though it was fairly large and the walls were clean, the mess totally gave it away. He almost forgot he was in Richard Yao's house. He recalled the room behind the kitchen. Was that room Chie's doing too? What the heck are the maids doing?

       "Where are we going to sleep?" Kristopher asked, his eyes trailing all over the comic books on his desk. He was surprised to know that Chie liked to read Dark Magician as well. But still. The room. Ugh.

       "On my bed. It's bigger than the usual king-sized mattresses, so I think the three of us will be able to fit."

     Chie moved on and looked like he was looking for something. Behind him, Daniel was staring at his cousin with an accusing glare. His eyes said 'You made me do this. You made me do this.' Kristopher fidgeted and kept his distance. He sensed that his life was in danger every time he got close to Daniel.

     Chie began scratching the back of his head. Kristopher asked him what he was looking for. He peered over his shoulder and flashed a slightly worried, slightly joking face. "Has anyone seen my bed?"

       "Maybe if I hit my head on this wall I'll die." Daniel passionately embraced the cold, marble wall.

     Kristopher suggested putting all the unnecessary stuff away before they settle in. He was slightly getting worried about his hopeless cousin. Daniel literally looked and talked like a living corpse. For the next twenty minutes, they began stuffing all the dirty clothes inside a laundry bag they found somewhere in the mess.

     He couldn't help but ask the question that's been bothering him. "Dude, why do you keep your room this messy anyway? Don't you have maids or anything?"

       "We don't let the maids enter our rooms," he explained. Kristopher immediately understood and was thinking that maybe he had no time to clean up because of his schedule but until Chie opened his mouth, his entire understanding demeanour crumbled. "I keep my room messy so that if someone tries to kill me, they'll trip over and die."

     Kristopher felt like laughing and rolling his eyes, but did neither one. He glanced at his cousin again and noticed that he was actually helping with cleaning up. He looked so busy cleaning the bookshelf. Figures. That bookshelf had the entire series of Dark Magician and a collection of tiny figurines of their favourite characters.

     Half an hour later, they already finished and the room looked great. Chie laughed happily as he fondled an unidentified blue object. "Amazing! My room is clean! And I never thought I still had this thing!"

     Kristopher smiled weakly, clearly looking exhausted. They came here to investigate, not clean. It was ridiculous. "You never know what you have until you clean your room buddy."

     Chie grinned gleefully. "I'm really starting to like you more Top-Top!"

     Kristopher kept smiling, but inside, his nerves were popping one by one. He really hated that nickname. Chie then turned to Daniel, who was currently staring at his phone, probably expecting a call or a text message. "And you Danny! You and Top-Top don't look like you're related at all. He's a happy-go-lucky celebrity while you're a calm and quiet genius!"

     Six... Seven... Eight... Kristopher breathed as he counted the nerves that seemingly popped in his head. Daniel shot his eyes at Chie's and both Chie and his cousin froze up when they saw the murderous intent in his eyes. He was clearly pissed. "I may look calm, but in my head, I already killed you three times."

       "Danny... Chill..." Kristopher said, even though he himself wanted to strangle Chie. Did he just call him a happy-go-lucky celebrity?

       "Yeah Danny-boy!" Chie laughed. "Relax. Geez you're so grumpy. Your temper's terrible!"

     Daniel, however, did not calm down. He scoffed and eyed Chie closely, his face still looking weirdly calm. "I don't have a bad temper. I just have a quick reaction to stupidity."

     Kristopher just quietly chuckled upon shaking his head. Chie grinned at him but was snickering inside his head. Well of course he felt insulted, but he had to keep this act going if they wanted their whole 'plan' to work.

     The three of them practically spent half the night in silence. Daniel didn't like the fact that he and his cousin will be sleeping right next to that guy, but he decided to be polite (somehow) and just stayed quiet. Kristopher was itching to ask Chie questions about Daniella already, but he didn't know how to open the topic.

     Due to the eerie silence, they could hear a few muffled noises from outside. Chie had a big window on his room so the sounds outside were audible. When they all noticed the noise, Chie laid flat on his bed and stared dully at his ceiling. "Don't know why my dog is barking, or I'm about to be killed."

     Kristopher turned to look at him. He was currently changing his shirt. "Those noises were barks? And I didn't know you had a dog."

     Daniel tapped restlessly on his phone as he sat down on the humongous bed. He was trying his best to distance himself from Chie. "Pray you won't be killed then."

       "My dog is way cooler than most people," Chie said. He sighed before flexing his muscles. "But anyway, either there's another stupid person trying to rob us, or there are zombies outside."

     Kristopher was confused whether that was a pun or not. He said it so seriously. Daniel lazily laid his back down the bed as well, holding his phone above his head. He was still waiting for her call. "Zombies eat brains. In your case, you're safe."

       "Meanie," Chie mumbled. "I already told you. I'm a smart person. I'm just too lazy to show or prove that."

       "And I, don't care." He casually replied.

     Kristopher stood up and took his phone from his pocket. He tapped on it and notified his cousin. "Danny, I'm calling Anne now, why don't you call Tinz as well? You kept staring at your phone all day."

       "Okay," his cousin replied.

     Chie sat up immediately and looked at the two boys curiously. "Who? Who are you two calling?"

       "Our girlfriends?" Kristopher said unsurely. He already dialled Daniella's number and as soon as she picked up, he smiled and began talking to her. "Hello beautiful."

     They could hear Daniella's complaints from that distance. True, due to the differences of time zones, it was probably 1 am back there. Kristopher just chuckled at her ranting and went on with their conversation. Chie snorted. He could see how much Kristopher liked his cousin Anne through his expressions.

       "Aaw," he cooed. "I don't have a girlfriend. How lonely."

     He peered over Daniel and saw that he was texting. His face was so serious and doe-like that Chie wondered if he even knew how to smile. After staring at him for a few seconds, he noticed that the phone he was holding vibrated. He was surprised to see Daniel's quick change of expressions.

     Daniel's face lit up immediately. He pressed the phone on his ear and answered the call. He narrowed his eyes gently and after listening for a small while, a warm smile formed on his face and his whole mood changed softly. It was obvious that he was really looking forward to that call. "I'm good. What about you? Have you finished cleaning your stuff yet?"

       "Well!" Kristopher beamed. Chie turned his head to him and saw that he was holding his stomach, probably stifling his laughter. He watched as Kristopher spoke with bliss to Daniella. "Can't blame me for missing you. Yeah. Uh-huh. Anne, you're blushing right now aren't you?"

       "Poopy's pretty stressed today huh?" Daniel was busy talking to the phone himself. The tone he was using was different than usual. It was weird, but sweet. Seeing Kristopher and Daniel talking happily with their girlfriends on the phone made him feel out of place all of a sudden. And this was his house, his room.

     Chie looked at his pillow with a pitiful expression. "You love me right?"

     An hour later, the boys already finished with their long-awaited phone calls. Those calls were the only things they looked forward to each day at this place. Daniel looked satisfied. He lied on the bed and made himself comfortable. Kristopher lied down as well—he was in the middle of Chie and his cousin.

     Chie stared at them both. They noticed and gave him questioning looks. He grinned like a fool and pointed at them. "You two look like corny love-sick puppies talking to the phone. Aah. I envy you."

     He was met with heavy glares. Daniel most especially had the deadliest look of all. Kristopher sighed at the idiot's thoughtless words. "What about you, Chie? Why don't you have a girlfriend? It seems weird."

       "Nah," he shrugged his shoulders. "It's bothersome. Having feelings for someone is scary because that gives them the power to hurt you. I'm not going to give that opportunity to anyone."

     Daniel and Kristopher exchanged looks.

       "I like Krissy-Tina though. She's cute." Chie said with a smug look. He was testing Daniel's patience. Kristopher was prepared to calm his cousin down but Daniel barked back with an annoyed tone.

       "You inspire my inner serial killer."

       "Yup! You're scary! Scary!" Chie chuckled. What irritated Daniel most was how unaffected he was. Or seemed. He never felt such passionate hatred towards someone before. He himself wondered why he disliked Chie so much. Maybe it was because he kept talking about Kristina in such manner? If she were here and heard him call her those ridiculous names, for sure she'd beat him up before Daniel can even do so.

     He sighed heavily and stood up. Chie sat up from his lying position. "Where you going mate?"

       "Bathroom." Daniel said stiffly.

       "What for?"

       "To open the chamber of secrets, duh." He mentally rolled his eyes. Chie snickered before giving him the directions to their bathroom. He didn't have one in his room. Kristopher and Daniel could understand why now.

     After he left, Kristopher and Chie were alone. There was an awkward silence of course. They just realized how heavy the atmosphere was between them without Daniel around. Kristopher decided to start a conversation.

       "So, no girlfriend huh?"

     Chie shook his head. "Nope."

       "What about Ella?" Kristopher's face turned into a smug one. Chie snapped his head towards him and his mouth slightly hung open.

       "How did you—"

       "Your cousin tells me everything," he interrupted, explaining the reason why he knows about it.

     Chie's mouth twitched. "I see. Annie that sly girl."

       "You don't like Tinz," Kristopher said in a convinced tone. He folded his arms against his chest as he grinned at his host. "You're more interested in Ella aren't you? You're just saying you like Tinz so you can piss Danny off. What are you people plotting?"

     Chie almost winced. He breathed out a laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "You're sharper than you look. It's true I'm interested in this Ella Maxwell. We actually met before and then we exchanged emails."

       "You just admitted," Kristopher said triumphantly, but his moment of victory was cut short when Chie explained further.

       "But I also like Kristina. I think she'll make a very cute wife someday."

     Kristopher stared at him sceptically. That did not sound right. "You... What do you mean by that?"

       "Dad has this old friend who has this very nice son. He's just as rich and famous as you are. And, he's planning to let Anne meet that guy's son. I'm sure those two will hit it off once they meet," Chie grinned. Kristopher felt his blood boil. He tensed up at once and his knuckles turned white from clenching his fists too hard. Was that true? Did Daniella know about this?

     They didn't notice Daniel enter the room. He too was glaring daggers at Chie. He approached him and met his eyes boldly. "What are you trying to say?"

       "This is the plan you two want so bad to know about," Chie said. "That's the reason why you guys decided to sleep over right? Because you wanted to know what we're planning? There, I said it."

       "You people are trying to break us all apart?" Kristopher gritted his teeth.

       "Who said anything about that?" Chie shrugged his shoulders.

       "You're not making any sense, just like your old man," Daniel too. If not for their good nature, they would've beaten up this guy already. "You little prick."

       "Aah," Chie complained as he lied down on his bed carelessly. "Don't get mad you two. I'm only helping you guys."

     Daniel scoffed. "You consider this help?"

       "Why are you doing this to us?" Kristopher knitted his brows. He couldn't imagine Daniella with another guy. He knew she wouldn't fall that easily for just anybody, but he still felt insecure. Someone as rich and famous as he was? Was it someone he knew? He needed to find out fast.

       "Naaaw," Chie yawned, ignoring his guests. In truth, he was a bit afraid that he'd gone too far, but he also knew that they weren't the types to be violent with their host's son. He was dancing with death as he knew it but he had to do this. For his dad, his sister and his cousin's sake. "Let's go to sleep."

     Daniel breathed heavily as he watched Chie slip under his covers. He exchanged cruel glances with his cousin and they both agreed on one thing. They took their stuff and headed for the door. "We're leaving."

       "What? Why?" Chie asked. They didn't reply. They stormed outside and drove all the way back to Kristopher's house. It was a good thing Daniel brought his car. After they left, Chie sat on his bed and grinned wryly. Richard, Jonathan, Seth and Mari appeared and entered his room. They were inside the house all along. Jonathan and Seth had worried looks on their faces.

     They watched their guests drive away from the window. Richard patted Chie's head. "You speak too much. Now see, they gone."

     Mari giggled. "Everything's falling into place. I already contacted Anne. She'll be flying here in a few weeks to meet 'that boy' and for sure, her friends will tag along. We need to prepare."

       "I'm still not sure if this is the right thing to do," Seth mumbled to Jonathan. He sighed and shook his head. Richard turned to look at them. His eyes twinkled as he gave them another order.

       "You two take away your sons' phones. They must not contact their girls while they're here. It'll ruin all we planned." He chuckled softly as Jonathan and Seth hopelessly and obediently nodded. "Do not worry. This all for the best."

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

 
A/N: Now I'm sure everybody hates the Yaos now. HAHAHA. Oh well. Remember you guys used to hate Kristopher and Daniella too? Well, this one's a different case and story. I'm happy to say KEEP GUESSING what the plan is. Maybe some of you have a slight idea by now lol.