Fashion Wars in Paris

Prologue

"Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you meet again."
-Richard Bach

October 30th, 2002.

Townsend Harris High School.

"Dani, did you finish your lab report for chemistry?" Sam asks Danika as they walk out of their English class and towards the cafeteria.

"Of course! It was a little difficult but I figured it out," Danika brags.

As they turn down the hallway, they heard loud noises. Danika frowns, recognizing a voice. She quickly march down the hallway with Sam following behind.

She finds a crowd of people gather cheering "Fight". Fearing the worst, she pushes through them to find her brother and another guy. It is quickly obvious that this isn't a fair fight.

Her brother is clearly too strong. The other kid seemed like a wimp. Boney structure. Loose clothes. Long hair. Big round spectacles. He looks greatly bruised sporting a black eye and burst lip. His ribs might be broken too. From the way her brother is punching him, it wouldn't be a hard feat. He appears to be struggling to push her brother off him, but the latter is too heavy.

Not being one who likes to watch a live show, she steps forward and roughly push her brother on the back. Her brother isn't expecting an attack and he staggers back shocked.

"Stop it! It's not fair to fight the helpless," she shouts at him in front of all.

"Dani..." he warns glaring.

Everybody stays quiet, knowing Danika is Jeremy's sister. They know not to mess with her if they don't want him as a rival. Not a single guy has asked her out because of the same reason.

But Townsend High's students are not the only one who feared Jeremy, his own nerdy sister also knew better than to stand up to him. The fact that she is going against him in front of all, is in itself is a really big deal.

She struggles to not buckle down in front of his glare. Turning her back to him, she helps the injured fellow stand up. She gives him a smile. He returns one shyly. She notices that he has the most beautiful green eyes.

"I'm sorry for what he did to you," she quickly whispers to him. She pushes her spectacles higher on her nose, receiving a nod from him.

"What's going on here? Everybody back to your classes and lunch," an instructor calls out suddenly.

All the students scatter away quickly. Danika finds herself watching the green eye guy limp away. She scowls at the realization that his leg is also hurt . Deciding to finally give her brother a piece of her mind, she turns to face him. Finding him giving her a murderous look, she freezes while he grabs her arm.

"Stop taking Anderson's side!" Jeremy whisper-shouts as his hold on her arm tightens.

"Ahh," Danika whines in pain. She struggles to get her hand free.

"Not a word, Dani," he tells her warningly as he looks over his shoulder for onlookers.

Lunch is in progress. He has pulled her away from her friends and brought her behind the boys locker room.

"Jer, you are hurting me," she says as a tear runs down her face.

"Good. You should be scared! Never take that Anderson's side. It won't end well!"  he gives her a final warning, letting go of her arm.

Nervously, she only nods at him. She couldn't believe it. Her own brother is bullying her like he bullies others. The realization sent her running out of the school. She hears him call out her name, but she doesn't stop.

She runs and runs until she gets to the track field. She settles down on the bleachers, head in hands. Soft sobs leave her mouth thinking of the past moments.

Danika looks up, feeling a tap on her shoulder. Her chocolate brown eyes meets with a familiar ocean green pair. She smile at him. She sees him pull out a handkerchief. Timidly, he holds it out for her. She blushes and takes it hesitantly. Taking her spectacles off, she gently wipes her tear-stained face.

Though her eyes are closed, she can feel him watching her, making her blush deepen. When she open her eyes to look at him, she can see a blur image of him looking in the different direction. She smiles inwardly putting the spectacles back on.

"Hi," shuffling his feet, he smiles.

"Hey," she replies, smiling softy.

For a minute, neither of them say anything. But it's still not an awkward silence; it's a comfortable one.

She looks around, feeling the wind blowing through her hair. It's a beautiful spring day. The sun's rays shine through the tree leaves. The only thing disrupting the beautiful day is the wind. Her eyes land on him. She notices his tall, lanky structure first. He wears baggy clothes, hiding bis body. His short black tendrils keeps annoying him as they dance with the wind. He looks adorable; his annoyance is evident as he keeps moving his hair out of his eyes.

She giggles, making him look at her. She instantly quiets down. He looks at her questioningly, but she doesn't supply him with an answer.

"You shouldn't have step in between the fight. I was fine."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," he says while looking at her with his intense green eyes making her blush and break eye-contact.

"Okay."

Silence settles.

She looks down and finds his handkerchief still in her hands. It seems to be handmade. There is a capital R sewn in the corner. She finds herself smiling feeling the softness.

He is the one to break the silence.

"I'm sorry that your brother is a bully. I saw him manhandling you today." He speaks through clenched teeth.

She looks at him, shocked, as she thought they'd been alone.

"I didn't think anybody saw us," she mumbles.

"Well, I did." His voice roughens.

She stays quiet playing with his handkerchief.

"I need you to promise me something. No matter what happens, you won't come in between me and your brother. Ever."