Disclaimer: Nothing from Hamtaro is mine. That means no characters, no settings, nothing. Gosh, the more I say it, the more jealous I am that I didn't think up any of this awesomely cute stuff! Well… I did think of the story, but that's it. So… That I own. Nothing else. Haha.

AN: Hi, everyone! So, yeah. I got tired of working on yet another new fan fiction (that I will update hopefully soon) and decided to work on a few ideas that have been stewing in my head for a while now to pass the time. Never really had the time to work on anything, let alone any of my new work, so I figured to take advantage of the weekend and get to work finally. I really hope you all enjoy this! I know, it's definitely not the best thing out there, but I'm trying. So, it would be great if you could review what you think of it and how I could make things better in the future. Or if you're a ghost-reader like many of us are, it already means so much that you're reading my stuff. So… Keep on reading and I'll keep on writing! (Slowly but surely…) Thanks again, all. Thank you indeed!

Oh yeah. And P.S. They're ham-humans this time. x3

Third Time's the Charm

Chapter One: Part One- Scenes From a Chinese Restaurant

Her elbow was carelessly squished onto the red and yellow decorated table in the bustling Chinese eatery that night. The delicate peach skin at the bend of her arm wrinkled up and turned a deep hue of pink. The male friend accompanying her had both of his elbows in hiding under the table of their booth, propping his arms on it at the wrist. He was amused at how cute her face looked with her one hand scrunching up a cheek to hold up her drooping head. It gave him an idea of how she would look like without freckles almost.

With her other hand, the young strawberry blonde woman poked around in her left over soy sauce with a bitten-up chopstick. She was busy submerging her fortune cookie slip in it in dismay. She'd gotten the same prediction from her last fortune cookie and it was still in the process of coming true, if it would ever at all. She was too cowardly to make it happen, anyway. Someday, she vowed to herself, she'd become bold enough to do it... Oh, she could just kick herself for being so naïve sometimes. Her friend has neatly folded his tiny paper in half again and left it on his tray.

At a glance, passersby would mistake these two as a couple. But if one were to actually look closely, it was easy to tell the polar opposites were only on a friendly basis, as unmild as it was and despite how the girl wished it wasn't so. Something incredible about his eyes and how kind the soul he possessed made her long for the young man more and more each day. But the same amounts of fear and common sense kept her from pursuing him. They were destined and damned to be mere friends.

There was a silence amongst the pair for a short while, and because both of them were finished eating, the young man took a look at his watch and jumped a bit at seeing what time it already was. He promptly stood up.

"Well, are you ready, Sandy?" he asked as politely as he could after being startled in such a way.

She poked up her head and nodded. "Yep-P."

"Alright. Let's head out then." He smiled.

"I have to like, wash my hands first, Max. They're totally sticky from the orange chicken you flung at me." She glared in a teasing way, laughing to herself. She knew full well that her friend hadn't meant to do that, that it happened due to a fluke in how he'd held his utensils instead.

Maxwell's expression was strained and his eyes darted around subtly until they landed on the packets laying atop their table. He swiftly grabbed one, holding it out to offer to her.

"Hey. They have moist towelettes right here that you can use."

Sandy shook her head. She knew he was in much of a hurry, but was never one to be a push-over either. If she wanted to wash her hands, she'd do it.

"It'll only take a sec.," she promised, jogging away to the restroom to make it look like she was actually hustling.

She didn't only wash her hands, but used the bathroom as well. It was a strange reflex she had that every time she was in the presence of a toilet she thought to use it just in case she wouldn't be able to later on. Sometimes she really did have to go, but mostly it was that reflex.

As Sandy turned the squeaky handles of the sink to stop it with her wet hands, a silly idea came into her head. She brushed it off and cranked on the paper towel dispenser. All the while, the impulse stayed. Finally, she decided to walk back over to the sink and it was there she fiddled around in her jeans pocket to retrieve her wallet. Slipping out Maxwell's school picture from the year before and holding it up next to herself, Sandy looked in the somewhat smudged-up mirror.

"I love you, Sandy," she mumbled in her best impression of Maxwell without moving her lips much.

"Aww… And I love you too, Maxy…" she cooed as herself.

Her face smiled, but her heart sank. It was an insane little game of pretend that she played but it was the only thing that kept her in her mind. She personally didn't think that nineteen was too old to be able to make believe.

Sandy thought it was unfair and almost cruel how the gods didn't make him love her back when she cared so deeply for the boy. Most of her was ready to cry, but some of her actually wanted to laugh at such a typical occurrence. Only this kind of thing could happen to her.

With a weak frown and reluctance, she put the small photo with its crinkled up corners away, fixed her simple ponytail, and stepped out of the restroom.

Reminding herself that she'd taken much longer than agreed upon, she crept over to Maxwell timidly.

"Sorry I took so long," she peeped with a blush.

"Oh, it's alright," he replied with a pleasant smile.

Sandy growled to herself. Why did he always have o be so nice to her? ! It would have made it a lot easier to not be so in love with him had he just yelled at her or impatiently stormed off, leaving her there. Then she wouldn't have to be in such a predicament!

Bobbing her head up and down a few times numbly, she decided to forget about it and begin a conversation about something else instead.

"Like, how much was the bill?" was her question. It came out easy-going and candidly, but it was really important to her.

"I already paid for it. Don't worry."

Now he was even covering her tab? This generosity had to stop.

"Oh no, Max!" she cried out, biting her bottom lip. It didn't matter to her if people looked over because of the volume of her voice, even though she did tone it down. "At least let me pay you back for my food."

Maxwell looked at her calmly and talked in that manner. "It's no problem, Sandy. I got it. Just think of it as my treat, okay? Now let's go."

Sighing, the young woman followed her friend out. She made sure to get to the door before he did, though so that he couldn't open it for her too.

To Be Continued...