He loves her, but she loves him IC

[Kurogane86]

It was 5 o'clock in the morning the day Kei Assaragi had been waiting for, for the past month. His calendar was circled for this date and written in the box was the words "the day". Kei was sitting at his desk, among the piles of manga, collectables and cosplay ideas were several crumpled up papers.

"Dearest Yoko,

You may not know me but I have been interested in you since the opening ceremony 1st year. You're beauty struck me as the wind blew through your hair. I immediately knew that I had to get to know you. I noticed you had an interest in light novels and manga, I have to say you have great taste. The manga you were reading last month left me in tears. I have something important to ask you and would appreciate it if you could meet me on the roof afterschool. I will wait up there until you show up, so please consider meeting me there.

Signed,

Your secret admirer."

Kei smiled and stuffed the letter into an envelope. "This is it this will be the letter that will get Yoko to date me." Kei pulled out a picture of Yoko and smiled. "Oh Yoko, soon I'll tell you my feelings."

Kei got dressed and rode his bike to school. It was still really early only those on sports teams would be arriving at school. Kei quickly parked his bike and ran inside the school building, before getting inside he tripped, fell and hit the floor hard.

Kei got up, slowly he looked up and saw a blurry school. "Oh, man. Where'd my glasses go." Kei felt around until he felt the metal frame of his glasses. "Ok good." He put on his glasses only to find out that they were cracked. "Crap, why today." Kei made his way to the shoe lockers. He squinted at the lockers until he saw what he thought was Yoko's locker he pulled the envelop out and quickly placed it in a shoe locker. He heared someone coming so he quickly closed the locker and ran away.

The door was left half open as he walked away the name on the locker read Anna Tsujido.

Kei made his way up to his desk where he had a spare set of glasses. He felt exhausted, happy and nervous all at the same time. His exhaustion finally took over as Kei fell asleep at his desk.

@Mellie @Verite @Myka

 

[Mellie]

Yawning, the boy lazily stretched as he sat on his messy bed. His state of mind was rather hazy; he glanced at the window, hoping it was still night. He was up all last night trying to get his homework done until he gave up on the last questions. He'd figure he'd ask a classmate today for help.

Nao jumped off his bed and headed to the restroom. After he'd gotten dressed, he greeted his mother and ate some toast with jam. He gulped down some orange juice and waved goodbye to his mom.

Nao walked to school considering he lived close by and it was refreshing for him to walk in the morning. If he still felt sleepy, a walk would perk him right up. He arrived to the school, opting his sneakers for the school appropriate shoes. Two people crowded Nao, rustling his hair and slumping an arm over his shoulders.

"You ready for practice, Nao," one of them questioned.

"Can't wait till you take us to finals," another one of them enthused, as he pat Nao's back.

"Hey guys," chuckled Nao, a grin forming on his face. "You can bet on it, see you after school!"

Nao entered the classroom, sitting in front of his long time friend. He had his head burrowed in his arms, sleeping away most likely. Nao sat backwards on his seat, facing Kei, poking him gently on his cheek.

"Hey buddy, can I see your homework for a while?"

 

[N4na]

Tsujido, Anna

A black, outstretched SUV pulled up in front of the mostly empty school entrance. An older, well-dressed man stepped out of the vehicle and walked towards the passenger door. He pulled the handle open, revealing the only Tsujido daughter with her nose pressed up against the glass tinted window, just seconds away from completely face-planting onto the sidewalk. Luckily, the chauffeur caught the sleeping girl right on time, causing Anna to jolt awake as a result.

"Are you alright Miss Tsujido? We have arrived at your school."

Anna made a face in response, quickly pulling herself together and gathering all her stuff before exiting the car. Straightening out her clothes, she tried her best not to let any drowsiness show as she cleared her throat "My parents don't need to know this happened! Because if they find out…" The brunette turned her head towards the driver, shooting him the most eye-piercing glares "I'd know who'd done it." She continued, except now an evil expression took over the girl's once sweet features "And I'd make sure it'll result in a very unfortunate boot."

With a single flip of her hair, Anna dismissed her driver then continued onwards onto the school grounds. That little confrontation managed to wake the brunette up a bit, she no longer had the urge to pass out at any moment, which was fortunate. That scene was rather common for Anna. Her parents tend to have their workers report back to them about any little information they find out about her. But with her excellent ability to twist stories and throwing in small threats, Anna's found ways to keep the workers mouth shut.

When Anna reached the shoe lockers, she stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted her own locker door hanging open. She couldn't help but feel like somebody had just meddled with it. After a moment of just staring, Anna slowly opened her locker from a safe distance before peeking inside. Everything appeared to be in perfect order, left completely untouched except for a single folded piece of paper that laid right on top of her uwabaki. Taking the folded paper between her fingers, Anna carefully unfolded the sheet and read through the handwritten note. She had to try her hardest not to burst out in laughter, because not only is this love letter super corny. BUT the apparent secret admirer had just given this letter to the wrong person.

"This must be the klutziest move I have ever witnessed." Anna giggled to herself as she shook her head, stuffing the letter into her school bag before switching out her shoes. Now this… is a golden opportunity. A golden opportunity that can actually make things interesting around this school.

"I can have some fun with this." Anna smirked at the thought as continued into the building and towards the locker rooms "But first… I need to get to practice."

 

[Verite]

Yoko Hayami was a punctual person.

She was one of those people who went with the saying "Early was on time, and on time was late." Thus, every morning, she almost always woke up rather early, which was helped nicely by a consistently healthy sleep schedule that most teenagers her age seemed to lack. What a pity.

If the majority of people in the world were not morning people, perhaps Yoko could be classified as quite the minority in that regard. She felt just as active in the morning as she did the rest of the day, which allowed her to wake up earlier than most other people, and let her take her time making breakfast & lunch, and leisurely walk to school at her own pace, leaving herself with just her own thoughts to keep her company.

Once she'd eventually reached the school, waltzing into the shoe locker room as she usually did, Yoko caught sight of her dear friend Anna, who seemed quite amused by something if she said so herself, the wealthy girl making her way deeper through the locker rooms. Walking over with a wave, the bespectacled girl began to speak, greeting her friend.

"Oh, good morning, Anna-chan!" She said with a wave from behind.

@Myka

 

[Kurogane86]

Assaragi, Kei

Kei was sleeping when he felt something poke him. He swatted it away gently, he tried to go back to sleep but the poking continued. He hesitantly opened one eye to see his childhood friend asking for last night's homework. "Argh" He groaned as he searched his desk for his notebook. He kept his head on the table as he searched. "I'm gonna make you buy me lunch as an apology" he said as he pulled out the notebook.

Kei looked outside and suddenly perked up, there she was. 'Yoko' He thought to himself trying to keep his staring unnoticed. He saw her walk through the school gates, her hair blowing in the wind. Kei noticed how lesureily she walked, it was as if she was walking in slow motion tword him. He envisioned her walking tword him with her arms wide open. She'd start running when she was within feet, and jump into his arms. They'd fall back and while she was on top she would steal a kiss. "Oh Yo..."

As Kei was dreaming he had his head resting on his arms. Kei's elbow slips off the desk just as the kiss was about to start. The jolt woke Kei up, his face was flustered, he had a small line of drool on his face. He looked outside, but Yoko was gone. He sat up and looked at Nao. His face got more red. "Stop looking at me."

 

[Mellie]

As he continued his persistent poking, Kei managed to stir out of his sleep and hand him his homework. Nao graciously accepts it and turns back to his desk.

"Yeah, don't sweat it," he answered in response to him buying Kei lunch. Nao compared answers, spotting where he went wrong and fixed it. After that he turned back at the exact moment Kei mumbled and slid too far off the desk. Nao snickered at the sight of Kei appearing disorientated and like a tomato.

"You okay there?" Nao pointed out Kei's drool. "What were you even dreaming about?" Nao suggestively nudges Kei, "and right before class too." If there was one thing about Nao is that he loves to tease people. He's never serious whenever he's around good company; he is however serious during baseball, even with that grin on his face.

Nao returned Kei's homework back. "Thanks a bunch, I owe you my life."

 

[N4na]

Tsujido, Anna

Before Anna could have gone any farther, a soft voice called out from behind her. Anna glanced back from where the voice resided and immediately spotted the owner of the greeting. Her eyes landed on a familiar pair of specs and welcoming smile that belonged to no other than Hayami, Yoko. Anna's up most brilliant friend, waving her delicate hand towards the brunette's way. Anna used one hand to get a good grip on the sling of her bag and used the other to wave back at Yoko. Nothing seemed to have put her in a good mood as fast as how Yoko's sweet and innocent nature did.

"Ah, Yoko! Good morning." Anna plastered on a warm smile and waited patiently for her friend to catch up. One of the things Anna truly admired about Yoko is how genuine the girl could be. Anna didn't have to act all lady-like, high and mighty. She felt at ease talking her heart out, not really worrying about what comes out of her mouth until it's a little too late. It's happened before where Anna can get a bit too… forward and rather harsh with her words. Since it's really one of the only times she can speak like that with someone.

"Hey! You won't believe what just happened. Some poor soul actually-" Anna froze mid-sentence, as a sudden realization hit her hard. On the letter, the person it was actually written to… her name is Yoko. Anna took a moment to examine her friend closely as she thought, no way… is the admirer talking about my Yoko? Now this definitely changes things.

After what seemed like a long few seconds of just standing there like a idiot without saying a single word, thankfully Anna came back to her senses before this awkwardly quiet moment dragged on for too long.

"Sorry! I uhhh… wasn't sure where I was going with that." Anna let out a nervous chuckle and started twirling a strand of hair around her finger. An annoying habit she couldn't help but do sometimes.

"Anyways, if you're not busy right now, you should come watch my practice." Anna quickly changed the subject, in hopes to direct any suspicious attention away for the moment "It's just morning practice so it wouldn't be for too long. I promise we'll be back in homeroom before class starts." She clasped her hands together and gave Yoko an encouraging smile "I know it can be a bit boring, but you can always just read one of your books. The pool side can be a very calming place at times."

 

[Verite]

"... Hmm? Jeez, it's amazing how scatter-brained you can be sometimes, Anna," Yoko initially said when it seemed like her dear friend wanted to say something, only to stop dead in her tracks mid-sentence.

Though many saw Yoko's honesty and genuine personality as a virtue, if there was any flaw to take from it, it was that she generally expected others to be as honest as her, and thus, she could be quite unfortunately naive sometimes.

Poor girl.

Sometimes though, it did pay off, and such was the case when Yoko had become friends with Anna for the first time. The bespectacled girl definitely knew that there was something different about Anna, and though one might say that their two personalities couldn't be any more different and contrasting, perhaps that was what made their friendship interesting and lasting. One usually had something to show the other.

And all this while, Yoko had yet to find out just what might have been waiting in store for her this time.

As the suggestion to go to practice for a brief moment was posed, Yoko pursed her lips, as if to think on the prospect, before giving a nod. If there wasn't time, what was the point in coming to school early, after all?

"Sure, I'd love to," Yoko responded with a pleasant smile to match Anna's, "And yeah, the pool can be pretty relaxing. Especially when there aren't any perverted boys taking a peek at us," she spoke, before beginning to walk with her friend to the pool.

 

[Kurogane86]

Kei looked embarrassed as Nao pointed out the drool and asked about his dream. He quickly wiped his mouth and got red. "You know, just Um." He looked at Nao wondering if he could tell his friend the truth. In all honesty it was embarrassing mentioning things like this to Nao. He's never cared about anything but baseball, not to mention he's extremely good looking. If Nao was serious he could get any girl he wanted. He had absolutely no idea how the common high schooler worried, and daydreamed.

Kei just smiled. "I was just dreaming of my favorite manga coming out with bonus chapters." He lied as he put on a carefree look. "I mean they never really finished it and it seems like such a waste I mean the fan base alone." Kei continued like that for a while knowing that Nao would eventually lose interest.

He took his homework back and smiled at Nao's thank you. He adjusted his glasses, "don't worry about it. What are best friends for. But. Now that you mention it if you really wanna pay me back you can come to the next comicket. I wanna cosplay this character but unless I have someone tall play my partner it won't make sense." Kei looked at Nao waiting for an answer.

 

[N4na]

Tsujido, Anna

Anna's face lit up as soon as Yoko accepted the offer of tagging along to the pool. As much as Anna enjoys swimming and company, she does have a niche when it comes to attention. Any chance she's got to show off her skills, couldn't put the confident damsel in a better mood. Especially when it comes to impressing friends. Though, Anna's newfound smile subsided when Yoko brought up the subject of peeping toms, it's not rare to catch a few boys sneaking their way over whenever the girls have some pool time. Thankfully it didn't happen that often during morning practice.

"Oh tell me about it... they think we don't notice!" Anna rolled her eyes in response "I mean don't get me wrong I like my fair share of fans. But they don't have to be creeps about it!" she continued her rant, puffing out her cheeks in irritation as she does so. Her mind lingered for a moment longer at the word 'fans' causing her to think back at the love letter that may or may not be directed towards her friend Yoko. Glancing over at the bespectacled girl, she only wondered how many 'fans' Yoko has, she is a mature and intelligent person not to mention pretty as well. She wouldn't be surprised if Yoko were to be popular with the boys, Anna really hasn't thought about it much until now.

"Hey, Yoko-chan. Haven't you noticed any one acting strange lately? Giving you special treatment or unanimous gifts? Like a secret admirer or something?" Anna asked, trying her best to hold back a smirk. She knew this might be a bit of a uncomfortable. embarrassing and personal question to others, but the brunette is just dying to find out more. After waiting a few moments for Yoko's response, Anna soon slipped away into the girls locker rooms when they reached the swimming pool. There she quickly changed into her swimming gear before heading back out.

 

[Verite]

Yoko let out a small giggle at Anna's passing comments of enjoying attention to a degree. She had always come off as endearingly haughty in that regard, always holding an air of confidence that Yoko sometimes wished she had more of time to time. Especially when she was around someone like... Well...

The girl snapped out of her thoughts (and none too soon at that) when Anna had redirected the conversation, shifting it to revolve around Yoko for a change. A somewhat eyebrow-raising move, if only because Yoko found that she typically had so little going on that it was almost pointless sometimes to be asked what was going on with her, yet here she was, doing it again. As such, she did indeed raise an eyebrow at Anna's inquiries, wondering why she would be asking such questions, but also lightly holding her chin briefly, as though to ponder the answers simultaneously.

"A... secret admirer? Well, they wouldn't be very secret if I knew about them, would they?" Yoko responded, idly fiddling with a strand of her hair as she struggled to recall any such thing, but to no avail. Contrary to what Anna might have expected initially, it seemed that Yoko thought far less of the questions than anticipated. "In any case, I can't say that I've gotten any special treatment or gifts from anyone for little to no reason. Haaah... Believe me, you'd be the first person to know if something romantic like a love letter were to show up in my locker. Maybe I'm just too plain-looking for that though," she said, taking a breath as she took off her shoes and socks, settling down at the edge of the pool and putting her bare feet in, letting herself relax there.

"... Ah, why do you ask anyway? Is this a roundabout way of saying you have someone like that?"

 

[Kurogane86]

GM Post.

The school day proceeded as normal. Sports teams finished up practice and got ready for class to start. The girls arrived at class and it proceeded as always. A few classes, Lunch then the rest. The clock now reads 10 mins to the end of the school day. The evening sky is a soothing orange color as the students get ready to be dismissed for the day.

Kei Assaragi

Kei watched the clock closely completely ignoring his lessons. As the hands ticked closer to dismissal his heart pounder harder. He was nervous, sweat started to build on his brow as another minute ticked away. 'This is crazy. How can I go through with this? I'm just a stupid Otaku, how can I hope to impress Yoko? She's so beatiful, kind, smart, proper, the ideal woman for any boy.'

Kei stole a glance at Yoko. It was as if time stood still as he looked at her. Suddenly the bell rang and the class rep stood. "Stand!, Bow!" The teacher left first and the students were dismissed. Kei quickly gathered his belongings and ran out the classroom in a flash. He knew if he didn't get there first he would lose his nerve.

Kei made it to the rooftop. He was out of breath and breathing hard. "Damn it... I gotta... try harder... in gym." Kei took his bag and tossed it next to the railing. He popped a few mints in his mouth and did his best to fix his hair. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. "Ok, ok. It's almost time.....Oh god I can't do this, I gotta go." Kei reached for the handle but stopped when a breeze hit the back of his neck. He remembered the way the sakura petals would seem to dance around Yoko's head. "No, i. I have to tell her how I feel" Kei walked over to the railing with his back to the door.

 

[N4na]

Tsujido, Anna

Walking towards the pool side, Anna tucked any stray hairs inside her swimming cap as she neared Yoko "Pffft, me?" Anna let out little laugh then started her stretching exercises "Yoko... you and I both know how I feel about high school romances. It's just too childish and a waste of time even. Plus, i'm only interested in men, like the star of that cool new drama that came out." The brunette smiled sweetly at herself, thinking back to her newly celebrity crush. Literally the only people the pompous girl paid any attention to. Before the conversation went any deeper, Anna pulled the goggles over her eyes and swiftly dived into the pool to begin her training.
.
.
.
After practice, they successfully made it back to class on time to start the school day. It actually went by pretty quick, school didn't seem as boring as it usually is. It could be because all Anna could think about was her plans for this letter. By the end of the day, she finally decided what she was going to do with the letter... and the fate of said secret admirer. As soon as the class was dismissed, Anna made her way over to Yoko's desk, where she waited patiently for her friend to gather her things before speaking "Yoko-chan, you can go on ahead without me today. I have a few things I need to take care of before I go." Followed with a grin, Anna waved her friend goodbye before proceeding to the staircase. Her pace quickened at every flight of steps, her patience were running low, it got to the point where she was almost sprinting up the stairs just so she can see the poor soul that wrote this letter. She only hoped she hadn't missed him.

Bursting through the doors in a huff, Anna's intimidating eyes panned the deserted rooftop until it stopped on a figure of regular teenage boy near the railings of the roof.

"You!" Anna exclaimed sternly, extending an arm outward in a dramatic manner as she pointed over at the boy "Are you the one who wrote this?" Anna held out the love letter between her fingers and swayed it side to side, keeping her intense stare on the boy's every move.

 

[Verite]

"Eh? W-Wait, but..." Yoko tried calling out to Anna as school ended, with her friend suddenly bolting and leaving her in the dust before the bespectacled girl could even get a word in eachwise. Oh, well. Guess she was heading home today? What a strange person Anna could be. What could she possibly be up to?

...

Yoko just shrugged and let out a sigh, before continuing to walk out of the building, idly thinking of where she might be able to bump into Nao. Sooner or later, she could suspect that the instances of her "accidentally" bumping into him after school would catch up to her, but... First, she'd have to confirm if Nao even remembered her. Or if he had practice today. That was also another factor to consider.

Oh. How nice it would be to be noticed.

 

[Kurogane86]

Kei's heart was beating like crazy as he heared the door open he closed his eyes and turned around. "I Lov...what?" He opened his eyes to see the rich girl of his class, Anna. "Letter?" He said as his cheeks got red. He saw the letter he spent all last night writing. "What? What are you doing with that?" It suddenly hit him. His glasses were broken this morning he must have put the letter in the wrong locker.

Kei falls to his knees then doubles over. "My perfect confession ruined." Kei looks up at his female classmate. "I'm sorry Tsujido-San I accidentally placed that letter in your locker." Kei stood up and headed to the door. "I'm sorry but can you please keep this a secret from Yoko, I don't want her to think any less of me. Sorry to waste your time."

Kei grabbed his bag and started walking by Anna. "Again I'm sorry that you had to waste your time." Kei reached for the handle getting ready to leave.

 

[N4na]

Tsujido, Anna

"Ah-Ah!" Anna slammed her hand against the metal door, making sure to keep it shut before Kei could leave "Not so fast lover boy." The brunette slipped in the little space left between Kei and the door, in hopes to force the boy back and away from the exit "I'm not letting you off the hook that easily."

Anna narrowed her eyes at her male classmate. The pompous girl always did her best to memorize everyone in her classroom, a business casualty she managed to pick up from her parents.
"Assaragi, Kei." Anna announced sternly, keeping the intense stare locked on the boy before her "As a close friend to Yoko, it is my duty to look after her." she took a second to collect her thoughts as she grabbed a strand of her perfectly wavy locks and caressed it softly.

"Are you really planning on confessing to her? How do I know you're actually serious about this?" Crossing her arms together, Anna moved closer to where Kei stood and shoved her face near his, that way she can get a better reading of his eyes to see how truly genuine he is about Yoko.

"If this is just a pathetic joke or desperate lust chase, I suggest you stop this now." Her hands tightened into fists as her voice changed from sweet, to demonic "Because if you mess with her, you mess with me and trust me when I say this. That is something you'll want to avoid completely... for your own safety."

 

[Kurogane86]

Assaragi, Kei

Kei was surprised by Anna's forwardness he knew she was strong willed but this was diffetent. She got close and gave him the third degree about something that didn't really concern her. "I'm sorry Tsujido-San but I would like to go, besides this has.." She got closer, his face got beat red as he ducked out of the way and backed up tword the railing. "I'm serious about Yoko, I have only pure feelings for her."

Anna suddenly got angry, warning Kei to be careful. He flinched as she threatened him. "No, i. Promise I really do care about her and I would love nothing more than to avoid you Tsujido-San." Kei stumbled as he did his best to avoid Anna. "So please Tsujido-San please don't say anything negative to Yoko. I'll do anything so please." Kei pleaded as he opened his eyes just enough to see her response

 

[N4na]

Tsujido, Anna

Hearing Kei reassure that his actions are pure-hearted, managed to relax the girl. He didn't really seem like someone who would take advantage of another. Which actually works out perfectly, since Anna specifically enjoyed messing with innocent.

"Anything, you say?" Anna's dark aura slowly resided as she held onto Kei's last few words. Standing herself up straight, she rested a finger against her bottom lip as ideas began to flourish into her rather twisted and unpredictable mind. That's when she decided, this is her chance to finally make things a little more interesting around this school.

"You sure aim high, don't you Assaragi-kun?" Anna teased, a small, coy grin stretched across her face as she called out his name in a playful tune "You think your confession will actually get Yoko to notice you?" she continued, holding up a finger as she spoke "Let me tell you, Yoko won't waste her time with just any body. You've really need to find a place in her heart before you decide to make a move."

Anna spun around on her heal, her long hair fanning out behind her as she faces her back towards Kei "Of course you don't have to listen to me. You can just do your own plans, not that they'll really work... but go ahead! Knock yourself out." She turned her head back and locked eyes with the boy "Unless... I wouldn't mind helping you out with Yoko. I can put in a good word, maybe even set up a few things."

Just then, a strong, chilly breeze blew by, carrying Anna's curls along with it in the same direction right when she begun stating her proposal "On one condition... You have to become my own personal assistant and obey whatever I say."
...
After all, every successful business leader has some kind of assistant right?

 

[Kurogane86]

Nao

Nao was in the locker room getting his uniform on and prepping for baseball practice. He was putting on his hat when the younger players started horsing around. "Hey! This is a sacred place in which our sempai's spent their time prepping for games. It should be treated with respect." The juniors apologized and continued getting ready. The other players shot Nao a look as if saying good job.

Nao left the locker room and realized he forgot his lucky sweatband. He opened the door and called his 3rd baseman. "I gotta run back to the school building, I forgot my sweatband." He nodded and Nao took off running. He was so focused on the band that he didn't see a female coming his way he accidentally bumped into her and knocked the books from her hand. "Oh. I'm so sorry, Hayami-san." He bent over and picked her things and handed them to her. "Sorry I'm in a hurry." Nao said as he took off running to his shoe locker to retrieve his lucky sweatband.

 

[Kurogane86]

Kei

Kei was relieved when Tsujido-San told him she believed his feelings were pure. "Yes, exactly they are and I wouldn't even think about hurting Yoko in any way." A shiver ran down Kei's spine as she repeated his "anything" response. "Um...ye...yes." He immediately envisioned himself as a knight in one of his rpg games being towered over by the games final boss, wrapped in a dark cloak her power and intentions masked.

A switch flipped on Anna, she suddenly was caring girly again saying how she wasn't sure Kei had what it takes. "Um, as you said I'm not even on her radar, I do greet her every morning and bid her farewell every evening but I think she just thinks I'm being polite." Kei smiled akward as he started to blush.

"What? Really you'd do that for me?" Kei reacted to Anna's statement of helping him. "Wow thank you Tsujido-San I'd really...did you say I'd have to be your assistant? And obey your every command?" Kei started to laugh. "You got me, I uh." Judging by her expression she wasn't joking. "You're serious? Tsujido-San that's" Kei thought about it for a second. In his head a flag scene popped up in his head the choices read.

1. Become Tsujido-San's assistant and become happy with Yoko.
2. Say no, Tsujido-San tells Yoko you're a bad guy. Die alone.

Kei looked into her eyes and as determined as he could. "Ok, I'll do it."