FicWad

Chapter Two

Tyson looked curiously at the girl who was sitting across from him and his friends. She had waist length brown hair and ruby colored eyes. Her lips were set in a cute pout as she stared defiantly at him. The bluenette couldn't help but smirk. The girl was kind of cute.

Tyson cleared his throat. "Well, before we start this interview, I think it would be a good thing for you to tell us your name."

"Well, I think that I should learn your names as well," she said stubbornly.

Ray spoke before Tyson could say anything. "Okay. I'm Ray Kon," he pointed to his blonde friend, "That's Max Tate," he indicated the teen with two-toned hair, "He's Kai Hiwitari. And you've already met Tyson Granger."

The brunette nodded. "I'm Hilary Tatibana."

Tyson raised an eyebrow. "As in Tatibana Enterprises?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"You're family is rich, why would you come to stay at a place like this? Did your parents disown you or something?"

She winced at the mention of her parents. She always tried to avoid talking about her family unless she was talking to Tika. It hurt to much to think about them. "No."

Max gave her a confused look. "Then why do you want to stay here? Did you run away from your family?"

Tears began to prick at her eyes as she shook her head.

"Then why do you want to stay in an apartment building when you could stay in one of your families flats?"

She looked in the other direction to try and hide her tears. "You mean you didn't hear? It was all over the news last year."

Tyson noted the shakiness in her voice. She was trying not to cry. He knew that he probably shouldn't press, but he couldn't help it. "What was all over the news."

The brunette shook her head.

"The whole Tatibana family was murdered at a family reunion last year. According to the newscaster, there weren't any survivors," all of the guys looked at Kai in surprise. That was the most he had said in a year.

Hilary slowly turned her head to look at him as she wiped her tears. "There were three survivors. Me, my sister, and my niece."

"Then why can't you stay with your sister?" Max asked curiously.

She shrugged. "I don't know where she is. The only reason she and my niece are still alive is because they are the only ones that weren't at the family reunion."

"Okay," Kai said coolly, "if you really are a Tatibana, then why didn't you just take over your family business."

"Because, we're all supposed to be dead. If I tried that, he might come back and try to kill me and whoever I'm close to. I may be sixteen, but that doesn't mean that I don't know how a murderer's mind might work."

Ray looked her in the eyes. "What exactly happened? How were they all murdered?"

Hilary closed her eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "I barely know any of you, so I really don't think that I'm at liberty to tell you that. I've already told you more than you need to know. So, can we please get on with the interview?"

00000000

Hilary sat down beside Tika at the counter. "So, did you get the apartment?" her friend asked eagerly.

The brunette shrugged. "They were a bit skeptical at first because, I'm a girl, and their four guys. But they said that we can run a trial. They'll let me live with them for a month, and we'll see how things go from there."

Tika looked raised both eyebrows as she looked at her. "I'm surprised. I never thought I'd live to see the day when Hilary Tatibana moved in with four guys. Let alone any guy except for the one that she married."

Hilary rolled her eyes. "You really do overreact sometimes."

"So," Tika said as she leaned towards her best friend, "are they cute?"

She rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease! Do you seriously think that I was checking them out?"

"That cute, huh?"

Her face began to turn a light shade of pink as a picture of Tyson's bare chest made it's way into her mind. "I never said anything about them being cute!"

"Really? Then why are you blushing?"

"Okay. Maybe they were a little cute. You'll see them this afternoon, after we get back from school, when you come over to help me move some of my stuff over there."

"Why," Tika demanded, "do I have to help?"

"Because, I said so."

"That isn't a very good reason."

"Okay, fine. You don't have to. You'll just never get see if their cute or not."

The seventeen-year-old glared at Hilary for a few seconds. "Fine. I'll help. But you owe me big time. After all, I am the one who told you about the apartment."

Hilary rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll buy you diner at Daniel's tonight. Deal?"

"Deal."

000000000

Tyson stared at the door to the room that Hilary would be using. None of them had dared to go in there since they had cleaned out the room. And even that had been hard for them. It was strange to think that a girl might be taking their friend's place in the apartment. Especially one that was so hyper.

"Well, except when she talks about her family."

"Talking to walls again, Tyson?" Ray asked casually.

"No, just thinking out loud."
"About..."

Tyson looked at his raven haired friend. It seemed like Ray was the only one that really put effort into keeping their little group of friends together. "About what it will be like having to share an apartment with a girl. I mean, what if she tries to change the way we do things?"

"Oh, calm down, Tyson. I'm sure she's not that bad. Besides, it's only going to be for a month. She can't do much damage in that short amount of time."

"Yeah, really? What if we decide that we like her and let her stay and she totally changes on us and tries to redecorate the place?"

Ray rolled his eyes. "I doubt she'd try to refurnish the apartment if we allowed her to move in with us permanently. We don't even know her well enough to know if we like her. So, chill."

Tyson scowled at him. Then turned his attention back to the door to the room. "It seems weird to think that we're replacing him with a girl."

That caught the Chinese teen off guard. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying, won't it kind of be like we're trying to replace Kenny if we get a new roommate?"
His friend was quiet for a few seconds. "No. It just means that...we're moving on. It means we're trying to make sure we stick together. And keeping this apartment is the only way that we can do that."

The bluenette let out a deep sigh. "What if we're not ready to move on? I mean, his murderer is still out there...somewhere. And the cops have totally given up searching for him. For all we know, the murderer could be out there killing someone else at this very moment. I don't know about you, but I don't think that I'll be able to move on until I see Kenny's killer behind bars."

Ray looked away from Tyson and towards their deceased friend's room. "I feel the same way, Tyson. I really do."

000000000

Fifteen-year-old Hilary Tatibana smiled as she and her mother walked into the hotel where the Tatibana Family Reunion was being held. She couldn't wait to see everyone, especially her favorite cousin, Kenny Sanchez. It was his first year in college and she wanted to hear all about his first semester.

"Hilary," her mother said sternly, "calm down. People are going to think that there is something wrong with you if you keep jumping around like that."

The ruby-eyed brunette stopped fidgeting and looked up at her mother. "Do you see him?"
The older woman looked down at her with slight amusement in her eyes. "Do I see who yet, dear?"

"Don't play like you don't know, Mom. You know exactly who I'm talking about."

Her mother looked around quickly before smiling down at her daughter. "He's over there," she said pointing to the left, "sitting by himself."

Hilary rolled her eyes. "Of course. He hates talking to people, even if it is his own family."

"Yes," her mother said softly, "It seems as though you're the only one that he likes."

The fifteen-year-old smiled sweetly as she walked off. "That's because he has good taste."

She heard her mother's laughter ring through the room as she made her way over to a tall boy with brown hair and blue eyes. She couldn't help smile at the thought of the way he looked just two years prior: He had been at least a head shorter than she was, his brown bangs covered his eyes, and his glasses covered his eyes.

She giggled. "It's a wonder he could even see at all."

Kenny looked down at her when she reached him and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, Hilary."

Hilary grinned up at him and returned the hug. "Hey, Kenny. So, how's college life treatin' ya?"

"Its okay, I guess. I'm sharing an apartment with four other guys. They're really cool."

"Really? What are they like?"

"Well, one always seems to be on a constant sugar high, another has an appetite that could rival even yours," she gave him a skeptical look at that, "Really. I'm serious. The next one is sort of like the big brother of the whole group, and the last one is just...well, he's pretty hard to explain. He hardly ever talks and gives everyone the cold shoulder, but he gives us really good advice when we need it."

Hilary wrinkled her nose a little. "They all sound like a pretty strange group of friends."

Kenny laughed. "Yeah, we are."

0000000

"Hilary. Wake up!"

The sixteen-year-old's head immediately popped up at the sound of her best friend's voice, bringing her out of the past. "What?" she hissed back sleepily.

"Sleeping in class again, Ms. Tatibana?"

Hilary looked up and smiled sleepily at her Algebra teacher, Mrs. Gilmez.

"That's what," Tika murmured low enough for only Hilary to hear.

"If you're tired, Ms. Tatibana, I suggest that you go to sleep earlier."

Mrs. Gomez had gray hair that she kept tied in a knot at the base of her neck. Her greenish blue eyes looked old and tired, and she had a mole right above her top lip. She looks like a man, Hilary thought tiredly as she stared at the mole on her teachers top lip. I wonder how she ever got engaged, let alone married. Her husband must've been crazy to fall in love with an old hag like her.

"Hilary? Hilary, are you listening to me?" the teacher asked angrily.

The young teenager tore her eyes away from the mole on her teacher's top lip and looked her in the eyes. "Did you say something Mrs. Gomez?"

The older woman closed her eyes and let out a low growl. "I hope you enjoy seeing the inside of this classroom, Ms. Tatibana, because you're going to be seeing a lot of it this afternoon."

"Sorry, can't. I have very important business that I have to do after school today. Maybe, tomorrow."

"You can't reschedule detention, Hilary," the teacher said exasperatedly.

"Yes I can," she said innocently, "I just did."

Mrs. Gomez sighed and rolled her eyes. Sometimes there was just no reasoning with the child. "Fine, Hilary. Tomorrow."

Tika looked at Hilary in surprise as the teacher walked away. "How did you do that?"

She shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly. "It's a gift."

00000000

Hilary stretched as she placed the last box that she would be taking over to the apartment into her car. "I'm glad that we're finally done. My muscles hurt."

Tika scoffed as she inspected one of her nails. "Who cares if your muscles hurt? I almost broke a nail."

"Tika, you're such a baby! If it breaks, big deal. It will grow back again."

"Yes, but every time it breaks, I have to cut the rest of my nails so that the other ones aren't longer than the one that broke. And, it really hurts."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Then go home and tell your mother to kiss it for you."

Her best friend looked at her as if she were crazy. "As if, Hilary. I haven't asked my mother to kiss one of my scrapes or cuts since I was eight-years-old."

"Really?" the younger girl asked. "I stopped when I was five."

"Yeah? Well, that's because you're tougher than I am."

Hilary smiled brightly at her. "I am, aren't I?"

Tika rolled her eyes and got in the passenger seat of the car. "Whatever. Let's just go. I want to see how cute these boys actually are."

The brown haired teen rolled her eyes. "Do you ever think of anything besides boys?"

"Yeah, I think about shopping."

"Tika?"

"Yeah?"

"You're hopeless."

000000

Tyson turned away from the window and looked at his friends. "She's here...and it looks like she brought a friend."

"Well," Ray said as he stood up, "I guess we should help her bring her stuff up here."

Kai looked at him and snorted.

"Yes, you too, Kai. It's the least we could do."

"What do you mean 'the least we can do?' We're letting her stay in the apartment with us, aren't we?" Tyson asked as they walked out the door and headed towards the stairs.

Max shrugged. "Yeah, Ray. Tyson does have a point."

"I mean, that it's the nice thing to do."

Kai rolled her eyes. "I really don't see any point in being nice. She's going to be gone in a month."

"You don't know that, Kai."

"Yes, I do."

Ray rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Its not going to kill us if we help her bring in her things. I mean, how much could she have brought?"

"Well, it looks to me like she could bring a lot," Tyson said as he, Max, and Kai stopped a few feet away from her car.

His Chinese friend stared at all of the boxes in the back of Hilary's car and let out a big whoosh of breath. "She can obviously pack a lot."