-.-Thank You, Stranger-.-

Author's Note: First story -smiles-

Summary: She didn't know about his reputation. He didn't know about her past. They didn't know each other. It was merely a simple request. It was suppose to be only one ride, one short trip around the city, who knew that it would lead to a long journey?

Chapter 1: One ride

Her limp body swayed, her emerald eyes blank, as she left that door, not bothering to look back. Tightening her grip around her bag, she staggered down the street. Silky auburn hair danced upon her shoulders as strands of hair tickled her forehead, but she didn't care about something so miniscule.

A sudden force pushed her to the side slightly. She had bumped into someone. She heard a small 'sorry' from the stranger, but didn't bother replying. 'Rude much,' the stranger had murmured under her breath, not meant for the emerald-eyed girl to hear, but it didn't matter, her mind was elsewhere, as were her senses.

A short glint appeared in her eyes as they set upon a figure ahead. Her body straightened, somewhat, and now her stride was with a purpose, though her thoughts were haywire.

"Great," he muttered lightly under his breath, calloused hands roughly jerking at the key in the ignition. A low growl erupted from his lips as he gave another violent jerk to his bike. The glare of the sun, reflected from the silver, blinded his amber eyes. Swiftly putting a pair of shades upon his eyes, he returned to the task of trying to start the engine.

With another tug and jerk, the sound of the engine roaring graced his ears. Grinning at his achievement, he nonchalantly patted the sleek silver motorcycle given to him a few months earlier. Good girl, he inwardly smirked.

As his hands reached for the silver helmet in the back of the seat, he noticed someone looking at him. Scrunching his forehead, it would be stupid to look around to see who this person was looking at, since the person was looking straight at him, that he was sure of, he did the only thing that his brain would find as logic, he send a glare towards her way.

The glare didn't seem to affect her, yes; it was a golden-brown haired girl staring at him. He knew he was good-looking, with his rugged looks, amber brown eyes, and chocolate hair, but she didn't need to make it that obvious, did she? Given that she wasn't beautiful, nor was she ugly, he continued glaring at the strange girl. He noticed her lips moving slightly and figured that she just spoke and unconsciously gave her a quizzical look. As quickly as the confusion came, it left; he hated being confused.

"One ride," she softly spoke to the brown haired stranger in front of her, courageously louder than before, once she saw the confusion clouding his eyes. She knew she might've been considered a lunatic for what she was about to do, but all the logic had flown out her mind a while back.

"What?" he asked. His deep, silky voice echoed through the swift silence.

"One ride around the city," she stated, this time more clearly and commanding.

This girl in front of him was crazy, he finally concluded, as he stared at her as if she had grown another head. She was commanding him to give her a ride on his precious bike around the city. His gaze fixed upon her eyes. He finally saw how green they were, how firm they looked as she stared him down, and how protected they were.

Trying to break his gaze, he considered the possibilities. He would be late. Negative. He would have another person on his bike. Negative. He would be scolded at. Negative. He would waste gas. Negative. He would help a person? Posi- wait, how can giving a ride to someone be helping and positive? His common sense told him it was a bad idea, but, as his gaze fell upon hers again, he was told otherwise, and besides, he always got into trouble anyways.

She stared at him, eyes unwavering. She knew she would be a burden to him, but she couldn't back down now. In her mind, she knew that there was no way this man would give a ride to a simple stranger, but let's remember that her mind was not properly functioning at the moment. Imagine her surprise as he handed the helmet to her.

He didn't understand what he was doing. He watched himself reaching out with the helmet to her. He knew he was annoyed at what he was about to do, but now it seemed his body was not his own.

Slender fingers tentatively reached towards the helmet, but they were quickly taken back. Eyeing the man in confusion, she noticed he had a slight smirk on his face.

"I go pretty fast," he stated in an attempt for her to back out of it, but somewhere deep inside hoped that the girl wouldn't mind. Seeing her give a small nod, he handed her the helmet.

"How about you?" she asked, as she strapped on the helmet, quickly scanning around for another one.

"I only have one." He gave a simple shrug as he turned back to make the engine roar again.

Standing a foot away, she stared at him, uncertain. He, on the other hand, slightly twisted around, wondering if she needed help getting onto the bike, and whether or not to offer his hand. His thoughts were confirmed once he felt a hand on his shoulder, a soft clank from the foot rest, a slight pressure indicating that the girl was lifting her feet onto the bike, over to the other side, and finally, a sudden warmth behind him. He literally felt a tingle running down his back. Inwardly frowning at the response he had from the girl, he revved up his engine, silently thanking her for putting her bag between them and grasping him, not by the waist like all the females he knew, but rather on his shoulder.

Deciding to show him that she didn't need help getting onto the bike, she was sure that was what he was probably thinking, she placed her hand on his shoulder as leverage and swung her leg around. Placing the bag in-between the two of them, her hands sought their way up to, and cautiously rested upon, his broad shoulders just as he revved up the engine.

"Better hold on tight, and hope the cops don't catch us," the man shouted over the roar of the bike. She could literally feel him smirking as he spoke those words. Letting out a small yelp, she grasped onto his shoulders tightly as they left the parking lot of the university.

One ride around the city, huh? he gently mused to himself, trying to see how he could make this ride exciting, and then mentally hitting himself for his stupidity. He decided to make a sharp right turn onto the highway and dramatically picked up the speed.

Her eyes widened, feeling the wind splashing into her body. Her thoughts washed away and finally, after awhile, a small smile began to form on her face. Lifting up the plastic shield on helmet, she allowed the rush of the wind to greet her cheeks. Closing her eyes, as to savor each moment, she didn't notice the sun setting over the hill.

(A/N: I hope I give enough so that you can imagine how it is. .)

Rounding the corner with a low growl of the engine, they returned back to the place where they had met, half an hour later. Feet placed on the ground to balance the bike, the auburn haired girl got off the same way she got on. The empty street and the empty parking lot held an eerie silence, even with scattered people walking by, that neither wanted to break.

Click! The strap came off with a simple push; she gently lifted the helmet off, shaking her head in an attempt to rid herself of helmet hair. Slinging her bag onto her shoulder, she quietly handed the helmet to the man in front of her who was intently staring at her. She felt at peace, like she knew she would after the ride.

Taking in the scene of the young woman in front of him, he suddenly felt sorrow, sympathy and compassion; all which he should not feel being who he is. Reaching out for the helmet with his gloved hand, he seemed to be transfixed with the calm girl, not the rash, commanding, and eerily silent girl from before.

She stood there, arms folded neatly in front of her, watching as he put the helmet on. Her lips lifted upward as his gaze met her for what should be the final time. He saw and his stomach (or was it his heart?) felt a yearning for something. It was such a small smile, barely noticeable, but he knew it was a smile of gratitude. Whatever the ride did to her, she was grateful and somehow, someway, it made his lips twitch into an actual smile of his own, thanking the one who invented the helmet that she couldn't see.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft and heavenly as she gave a deep bow of appreciation to the male on the bike.

Giving her a quick nod his eyes darted to the school's clock tower and, just as he had predicted before, he would get a scolding for being late. But this time, for some reason, he wasn't worried about what was to happen. Revving up the bike again, he turned and, without so much as a goodbye, he darted away leaving an auburn haired girl watching.

One ride, she thought as she watched him drive away. A smile, not a fully bright sunshine smile, but it was enough, graced her lips as she rummaged through her bag for her keys.

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A/N: Hope you enjoy that: Review please so I could know what I need to improve on! I hope you all didn't mind me leaving some things to the imagination, to me, it's for the best for what's to come:

Again, obviously all author(s/ess) would like reviews and this authoress isn't an exception:

luv KC

p.s. This Chapter had been beta-read by Nanie-san! Thankies so much! D