FF-Time and Again[Book 3]COMPLETE!Epilogue now up.PM list page 74* - Page 20

"Alina Khurana," said Natalya, glancing down at her sketch. "The new werewolf queen. Whenever I have met her, she gives off a similar vibe..." "No," said Luke. "No, her name is Disha." "Disha?" said Natalya, still absorbed in the sketch. "Really?" "Yes," said Luke. "Why?" "Oh, nothing," said Natalya distractedly. "No, that's settled, I suppose. For a moment there I thought maybe you'd taken a fancy to the new werewolf queen. She is gaining some fame these days for her pro-peace ideas, you know. Much better than her predecessor. Oh, well. Just be careful, Luke." She looked up earnestly at him. "No matter what the attractions of the human are...matters of the heart are complex. I just don't want you upset." Luke nodded, and opened his mouth to reply, but Natalya had turned back to her designs. For a moment he stood there silently, then walked to his room.

The next morning was cloudy, yet Piya woke up in bed feeling incredibly happy. It was a few seconds before she remembered why, and then she sat up with a jolt. Abhay was no longer in the room. His jacket, which had been hanging over a chair, was gone, too. Stay calm, she told herself. He would have had a good reason to go... He eyes fell on a piece of paper, weighted down by a paperweight on the table next to her bed. She pulled it to her and scanned the short note in green ink. "Didn't want to get you in trouble. See you soon." She groaned at her own stupidity. Right. Of course he didn't want to cause trouble for her. Crumpling up the note and stuffing it in her bag, she got out of the bed and went to the bathroom.

When she emerged fifteen minutes later, she stopped in surprise. Alina was sitting on the chair and Misha was sitting on her bed, clearly deep in conversation- about her.She scowled. "-so there we were, and they were standing near the gate, and her face- you should have so seen her, Alina. It would have made you blush, I'm sure." Alina cast an amused glance at Piya and said, "No, I don't think so. I don't blush easily." "Well, if you're done gossiping like a pair of society ladies," interrupted Piya caustically. Alina snickered, and Misha didn't look abashed. "You should be thankful I didn't take a photo and mail it to the press. Supermodel returns home after a wild night.' Something nice and catchy like that, or-" But Misha never got to finish. Piya launched herself at her, and both of them ended up falling on the bed, tangled among the blankets, with the result that the bed seemed to be undergoing a small earthquake, accompanied by yells from within.

"What in the name of Heaven is going on?" Madhu Dobriyal entered, having been alarmed by the screams and yells. Alina bit the inside of her cheek as Madhu yanked the blankets away. "Misha! Piya! What nonsense is this? Are you both five years old?" Piya sat up, pushing the hair away from her eyes. "Mom, Misha started it! She's always teasing me-" "Mom!" began Misha, but Madhu glared at her. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Your sister has just got back her memories, she is delicate, and you tease her for it? Out, now. Get out of the bed and start getting ready or I'll give you oats for breakfast." "But, Mom, this is favouritism," whined Misha, but Madhu wasn't impressed. "Now.Misha!" Throwing Piya a dirty look, Misha left. Piya looked at Alina, who was staring off into space, a small smile on her face. "What do you want, now?" said Piya. Alina started. "Oh, hi," she said. "Sorry. I was just-" "I should've poured cold water down your neck," said Piya. "Give you a feel of what it feels like to be cold and wet and shivering-" "Cold and shivering? I didn't mean to make you cold," said Alina. "I thought- you and Abhay-" "What?" snapped Piya. "Oh, I don't know what," said Alina, smirking. "But it looks like abhay was more of a gentleman than I'd thought. I suppose it was too much for him to handle, in one night-" "What the hell do you mean?"said Piya, frowning. Alina waved a hand. "Nothing. Forget it. I just came to congratulate you- I guess you and Abhay are together, finally?" "Yes," said Piya. "How do you-" Alina smiled. "I had a very strong feeling it was waiting to happen. The amount of pressure both of you have been putting on each other, well, both of you were bound to crack. So what does Abhay think about your journey to the past?" Piya, who had been selected her clothes from her wardrobe, turned around, the aquamarine shirt in her hand. She stared at Alina, at a loss for words. "You haven't told him yet?" said Alina, correctly interpreting her expression. She stood up from her chair. "Why?" "I can't," said Piya, panic flooding her voice, almost choking her. "I can't tell him. He will hate me, Alina. I can't. I can't ever tell him- what would he think of me?" Alina gaped at her. "Are you insane? You're keeping something as big as this from him? What will you tell him when he finds out on his own? He'll feel awful!" "He won't find out," said Piya. "I can't- not now. I can't lose him again, Alina- not again, please." "You're doing exactly what he did," snapped Alina, irritated. "You two are such idiots." "You don't understand," she pleaded desperately. "Please- don't I deserve a bit of happiness?" Alina pursed up her lips in anger. "Do what you want, then, Piya. You always have. Just remember- lies and secrets tumble out, eventually. And then it causes more pain." She got up and went out silently, and Piya looked down at the piece of cloth she was holding. Was she making a mistake, not telling him? A voice inside her told her that Alina was right; truth had a way or coming out, and what if he heard it from someone else? He would be lost to her forever. But what if she told him? Would he even remember Piyali? Even if he did, would he believe her? Wouldn't he hate her?

She pushed the thought back. It was her choice to make, surely. She didn't need to tell him. He need never know how pathetic she had been.She turned back to her wardrobe and took out her ripped jeans, trying her best to ignore the shame that filled her at the memory of that night in his arms, a moment stolen from someone else, a deception. No, she thought. She wouldn't think about it anymore. No more...

Luke watched Disha come out of her house, locking the door. She lifted the latch on the gate and came out, then her eyes fell on him, and a frown passed over her face, but only for an instant, before it cleared. She locked the gate and began to walk in the opposite direction. Now what? Thought Luke. Perhaps she hadn't recognized him. On an impulse he called out her name, "Disha!" The petite woman stopped in her tracks. He caught up with her. "Hi. Good morning." "Are you stalking me?" she said. Her tone wasn't accusing, but it had something of aloofness in it. "N-no," said Luke nervously. "I- I was only walking past, and I saw your house, so I-" Disha's lips twitched. "That has got to be the most overused line ever. Gosh, men these days." "But you haven't heard the entire thing," said Luke. Her eyes widened. "Yes?" "I saw your house, and I hung back to see if I could say hello. I think you're an interesting hu-person." She regarded him with some surprise. "Interesting. I haven't heard that one yet. You're quite creative." "I wasn't being creative," he protested. "I just... I was being honest. People like honesty, don't they?" "That depends," said Disha. "Some people don't. I'm one of those who do. But interesting? You hardly know me." "But you are," said Luke. She shook her head wearily. "Will you please stop flirting with me?" she said. "I'm way older than you." Luke felt a slight pang. So was it age that bothered her? If only she knew how old he really was... "Why does it bother you?" he asked. "I'm not- asking you out on a date or anything. And you're not that older than me-" "Because I don't like talking to people I don't know well," she said, sounding irritated. "Once is fine- twice is okay- but this has got to stop." His face fell. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know I was irritating you so much. I'll leave." He turned and started walking back. The only person he had found interesting wasn't interested even in talking to him. He didn't turn back, or he might have seen Disha look back at his retreating figure, her face reflecting a mixture of relief and guilt.

"Why have you worn your hair up?" was Abhay's first question as she came up to him. He was leaning against the car, looking admirably composed, thought Piya, unlike her, who was a bundle of nerves. She touched the bun on top of her head. "You don't like it?" Abhay shrugged. "Let's just say I'm having mixed feelings about it." She frowned. "What? What does that mean?" "Oh, you know," he smiled a slow smile that caused her to lower her eyes. "Never mind," he said, opening the car door for her. "Maybe I'll tell you later." Piya got into the car. Somehow, she could not bring herself to forget Alina's words. She was doing a wrong thing and she knew it. But what could she do? Abhay started the car, and she pulled herself back to reality with a start. "Did I upset you?" said Abhay. She started, and turned to him. "What? No," she managed to reply. "Don't treat me like a doll. I was just- just thinking." "About what?" said Abhay. "You can tell me, you know." How could she tell him an outright lie? She couldn't. "I don't want to lose you," she mumbled. "Piya." His voice was soft, caressing. "You won't ever lose me. I promise. I belong to you- don't you know that?" She smiled now, genuinely, happiness enveloping her, sniffing out doubt. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. "Uh- by the way, Abhay," said Piya. "Are we- you know- do we tell people-?" "That you are mine? Yes, I'd like to make that clear," he replied. "Really?" she said. "That's-" "There are a few things I wanted to talk to you about," said Abhay seriously. "I should have asked you last night, but-" "What is it?" she asked. Abhay demurred for a few seconds, choosing his words. "Siddharth," he said finally. "Why are you working with him? And when did you tell him that your memories came back, and why?" "He-I-" Piya stammered. "I didn't mean to tell him. It just- slipped out when he tried to tell me about everything that had happened-" "he tried to tell you?" Abhay repeated. "Why?" "Because he said he wanted to make amends," said Piya. "He said he wanted a family, and maybe I could- you know- help him-" Abhay didn't look as though he believed a word of it.

"He's lying," he said shortly. "He doesn't want us- he only wanted to use you as bait- why the hell did you trust him?" "He was human then!" said Piya sharply. "He couldn't have done anything to me! And Alina was there. She wouldn't have let him try anything, would she?" Abhay was silent for a minute. Then he said, "Please don't tell me you're defending him." "And you don't want to give him a chance," retorted PIya. "He saved me- he helped you only two days ago. He didn't have to do that!" Abhay sighed. "I don't want to fight with you, Piya. I know he helped us- but I don't trust him. He gave Maithali the idea of drowning you you-" "He did what?" said Piya, shocked. "No- he couldn't have. He wouldn't-" "Oh, he did,"" said Abhay bitterly. "You're so trusting, Piya. So willing to see the good in others, even if it's non existent-" "How do you know?" she asked shakily. "How?" "He told me," said Abhay, his tone hard. "He gloated about it."

Piya said nothing. She couldn't believe her own naivete. Inspite of knowing everything, she had somehow, again, believed that he wouldn't have harmed her. "Why are you always defending him?" said Abhay. "Why won't you understand that people like him- they are dangerous. They don't care about AYONE besides themselves, they're masters at manipulating people-" "I'll resign," said Piya suddenly. Her eyes stared out of the window, spitting venom at the glass. "I don't want to work for him anymore. You're right- it's about time I grew up. I'll never talk to him again." Abhay stared at her, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her, because that would lead to an accident. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It's not your fault. I started trusting him too. But I won't let him hurt you anymore, Piya. Just- just promise you'll never go anywhere alone with him. For whatever reason. You were probably safe these days just because Alina was there-" "I know," said PIya, turning to look at him with a brittle smile. "You were right, anyway. I was too foolish." "Don't think about it," said Abhay. "It's not your fault. I know how manipulative he can be." She nodded. "Yes, I suppose so," she said. A thought struck her, and she frowned. "When did he tell you I told him about my memories- was it when Alina took me home that night?" "He didn't exactly tell me," said Abhay. "But it was an easy guess. I knew that he knew something about you- something you didn't want me to know. I -uh- kind of overheard you two at the party." "You- but you didn't say anything!" she said, surprised. "You didn't say a WORD-" Abhay laughed hollowly. "You were literally running from me that time, in case you've forgotten. I din't want to take the risk of you shutting off completely- Gosh, I've missed you." He said the last words with real feeling, and Piya had to push away Alina's words again. "I thought you didn't want me hanging around- and I didn't want to burden you with that," she explained. "I was wrong, I know. And I'm-" "If you say sorry one more time, Piya, I will tie up your mouth," Abhay threatened. "And I'm not even joking. I swear I will do it." He looked so frustrated that Piya wanted to giggle. "All right, I'm not saying it. Keep your shirt on!" Abhay slowed down as they reached the college and parked the car. Then he turned to her and said, "Are you sure? That's not what you seemed to be saying last night." He opened his door and got out, leaving her t puzzle over what he was talking about. When he opened the door for her, she got out and asked him, "What do you mean?" Abhay raised an eyebrow. "You need reminding?" he asked seriously. Piya frowned as she tried to remember. What had she said in connection with last night? The answer hit her and she blushed fiercely. "Shut up!" she hissed, punching his arm. "I knew you had a violent streak," he said, still grave. "Now I have to put up with domestic abuse-" "Stop it!" she nearly punched him again, but stopped herself in time. "Fine. I'm going on ahead."

He caught up with her easily, linking an arm through hers casually. "Go away," she told him, shaking his arm off. "I'm still mad at you." "No problem," he said easily,his fingers clasping hers. "It'll stop you from apologizing, anyway. And besides, you're beautiful, all riled up. It makes me want to lots of things which aren't appropriate for a college campus-" She glared at him,now, sure he was mocking her, but he was still looking as serious as ever. She turned away. The man knew darned well she couldn't stay mad at him.

"Have you completed that prcis yet?" said Abhay. "The one Ms.Gupta set us?" "Yeah, I submitted it day before yesterday," she said smugly. Abhay heaved a sigh. "I suppose I can't ask you to help me with the conclusion, then. Oh, well, one badly marked prcis isn't too bad, I guess." Piya's head shot up in concern. "You haven't finished it yet? But I thought today was the last day to submit it!" "Oh, I'll submit it," said Abhay. "It just isn't done entirely. Oh, well, I suppose it's my own fault. I shouldn't spend so much dwelling on you." She elbowed him, grinning. "Enough play acting. Fine, I'm not mad at you, now happy?" His mouth quirked up in a smile. "Insanely. The beautiful goddess from heaven has condescended to lessen her fury on me-" He bowed theatrically. It was too much. Laughter bubbled up within her, and she threw back her head in mirth.

"Look at them, Kabir," said Misha. "They were shouting at each other the day before yesterday, and now she's laughing with him. Like seriously- it's like we don't even exist!" Kabir looked in the direction she nodded, to see Piya laughing her head off about something, against a pillar, while Abhay stood in front of her, lips quirked. "Leave them be, Mish," he said. "They deserve it. Goodness knows what happens between them- are you seriously trying to understand them?" "He's FLIRTING with my sister," said Misha, sounding annoyed. "I mean- fine, we get it, you're together- but do we have to put up with such blatant PDA?" "Mish, come on," said Kabir. "That's not PDA. They aren't doing anything friends don't- Piya laughs with us too-"

Piya had stopped laughing now. "What?" they heard her say to Abhay. "What are you looking at me like that for?" "It's nothing," said Abhay. "Come on, it's nearly time for class."

"That's nothing scandalous, Misha," Kabir continued. "They just walked off to class together.""Dude, how dumb are you?" said Misha. "Have you ever heard him talk normally- just like that- to anyone? He just made her laugh- have you ever seen him do that?"

Kabir groaned internally. "I get it, Mish, he acts different with Piya," said Kabir. "So what? He cares for her a lot. What's the problem?" Misha rolled her eyes. "Men!" "The way he's acting, Kabir. It's like he's going to- I don't know- marry her or something." A sudden idea struck her. "Hey, do you think he's already proposed to her?" Kabir started to snicker. She elbowed him in the stomach. "Oi. I'm serious!" "Why don't you go ask him?" said Kabir, grinning. "I'm sure he'd be delighted to tell you."

"No, see, you've made this flow chart wrong," said Abhay. "You see?" "Oh gosh, yeah," said Piya, hastily correcting it. "Thanks." "No problem," he replied. They were in the middle of class, and both of them were ignoring the many stares they were receiving from the rest of the people in the class. Piya glanced at T, who was still looking shell shocked at the apparent lack of any hostility between her and Abhay. She bit down the urge to giggle and turned to face the teacher. "Don't preen," she heard Abhay mutter out of the corner of his mouth. "Leave the peacock look for Tracker." She turned to retort, but stopped when she saw his head bent over his notes, grinning. "Serve her right," she muttered . "And stop laughing at me." His head came up for a second. "Me, laugh at you? Never," he replied. "Far be it for me to interrupt a good catfight. I'm just thanking the heavens you didn't pull her hair-" "I haven't ruled that out," muttered Piya. "Stupid bimbo." Abhay made no reply, his head still studiously bent over his work, still smirking.

When Piya and Abhay had entered the classroom together, bantering with each other, more than a few heads had turned. Then Tanushree Ambolkar, now topping Piya's "To gag/maim/kill" list, had made a lovely comment on how the Dobriyal sisters changed partners like clothes. Piya had opened her mouth to give her a good telling off in front of the entire class, but Abhay had swiftly taken her hand, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "Ignore her, ignore her," he muttered, almost pulling her to a seat. T's eyes had gone to their interlocked hands, and Piya wanted to giggle at the flabbergasted expression on her face.

But by the time the class ended, Piya had forgotten about her completely. Her final exams were only a week away, and she needed to study...she'd not studied at all for two days.

"Relax,"Abhay told her as they walked out of the classroom. "Don't worry about the exam. You'll be fine, trust me." "Thanks Abhay, but I really need to do well," she said distractedly. "So much happened in the past two days that I-" He squeezed her fingers. "It's all right. You were pretty good today. You only did one question wrong. You'll be fine, ok?" She nodded, feeling calmer, but only slightly. Abhay heaved a sigh. "Contradiction, thy name is Piya." "What?" said Piya. "I'm not a contradiction." He shook his head. "Never mind. You're probably hungry. Do you want to eat?"

"Yes, she does," came Misha's voice from behind them. "Hi, Misha," said Piya.

"Oh, she recognizes me!" exclaimed Misha. "Come on, you. And bodyguard slash boyfriend can go sit somewhere else. You're coming with me now."

"But-" Piya started to say. "Go on," Abhay told her. "I'll meet you in a while. I've got to return a book to the library anyway." Piya was dragged off by Misha, who ignored her protests completely.

"Good morning," said Abhay. Ms Gupta, who had been staring down at a tattered copy of "N or M?" looked up and smiled. "Hello, Abhay."

"I just came to return this." He held out the book to her. "Oh, yes," she said, taking it from him and marking a tick against his name on the register.

"What's wrong?" said Abhay. Ms Gupta seemed distracted...almost worried..about something. "Nothing!" she said sharply. Abhay's eyebrows met. "Is everything-" "Did you need anything?" she cut it, her tone slightly softer than before, but still biting. Abhay didn't question her any further. "No," he said. "no, I don't. Just leaving." He turned and walked out, his mind working furiously. Something had shaken Ms Gupta. But what? What could it be?

The train of his thoughts broke as he reached the canteen, and his eyes automatically sought her. She was sitting with Misha, Kabir and her other friends, talking to them. She looked so happy...so much happier. And she was his now... He couldn't take his eyes off her.

Kabir was watching Abhay. Misha had said Abhay was acting weird, but he didn't know how to explain it to her...Abhay had always acted different when Piya was concerned.

Whether it was betting that Piya would be expelled from her hostel, or being the only one to believe Piya, and stand by her, during the whole Danish fiasco, or challenging him to a game of basketball, with Piya in the room,going out of his way to hurt her, for god knew what reason, so many things Abhay did were motivated by Piya. Every time she needed help, he had somehow been there...was it surprising, really, that she was so happy now? Or the way he stared at her now, as though she was the most entrancing thing he had ever seen...

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and Piya's head turned to see Abhay typing something on his phone. She wished he would come and talk to her friends..."Look, she's mooning over him again," said Misha. "Seriously, what is it about this guy that makes you such a headcase? I've always wanted to ask you that." "Stop it, Misha," she said. "He's alone. I'm going to talk to him-" "Leave her be, Mish," said Kabir, as Misha opened her mouth. "Calm down. I'm sure she knows what she's doing- besides, she isn't the only one who's mooning. I don't think he'll hurt her, now. If he does, I'll help you beat him up, all right?" Piya had picked up her bag and gone after him. "Hey," she tapped him on the shoulder. "What's up?" "Hey." He looked up at her and stowed the phone away. "Why aren't you with your friends?" "Why won't you sit with them?" she challenged him . "I'm not going to let you-" "Piya, come on," said Abhay. "Your friends...well, they're your friends. I don't think I'd be very welcome- no, it's the truth, and you know it. They would be uncomfortable, and so would I. I'm not comfortable among humans, you know that , don't you?" She crossed her arms. "Oh, and you're so comfortable with your own kind." Alarm spread over Abhay's face."Oh, no, no, no. No way. You will not make me your next project." "What project?" said Piya, confused. "Oh, you know, your latest plan to give me a personality makeover. I can see it in your eyes. You'll have my neck till I agree to party at a nightclub and get drunk or something with a gang of friends-" "I did not say that," protested PIya. "I only wanted you to come and talk to them for a while-" "I know you didn't say that, technically," he replied. "I was talking about the long term goal. You love doing this, don't you?" "Love doing what?" she asked. He waved a hand. "Bringing me cakes, that book, when your long term goal was, as we both know, to prove how I am...you don't fight fair, Piya. That's why I'm telling you to drop this now..." They were walking along the corridor. "Well, what was I supposed to do?" said Piya. "You- you put up these walls around yourself- how was I supposed to get in? I didn't have any supernatural advantages, did I?" "Oh, yes, of course," said Abhay sarcastically. "So you simply used the persistence technique. Batter at the wall till it breaks, that's your method of working, isn't it? Only , you do it so sneakily I can't stop you.."

"I wish you'd relax a bit, Abhay,"she replied quietly, touching his arm. "I wish you could...I don't know. I know you probably can't tell me everything, but I wish you had people to confide in-" "I have you now," he replied. "I don't need anyone else, not really." She raised an eyebrow. "And I can tell you things now, I guess," he said. "So I don't need friends. So please, please drop the idea of finding friends for me." She looked upset, but nodded. Unconsciously, her mind went to the past again. Piyali had been Abhayendra's best friend once...and see how that ended. Could she be Abhay's best friend? She hoped he would trust her this time. After all, he loved her, right? "What are you thinking about?" he asked as they walked into the History class, earlier than anyone else. "Nothing," she said. "Could you drop me to the office today? I just want to tell him I'm resigning." "Sure," said Abhay. "You don't have to ask me that. Oh, and by the way. We're having a surprise test today. I think you should go over the Mughals once." "How do you know?" she asked, as they sat down on a bench and she began looking through her bag for the notes. He smirked. "Supernatural advantages." "Super sensitive hearing?" she asked. "What? How is ultrasonic hearing going to help me know that?" he asked. "Oh," said Piya. "I always thought you could hear things a mile off." He snickered. "That's more of a werewolf trait, Nancy Drew," he said. "Canines have that ability. Vampires are essentially homo sapiens, with some Chiroptera traits. Dead, and immortal though.." he said the last words bitterly, his smile dying. "You read the teacher's mind?" she guessed again. "I don't go around snooping into people's minds," said Abhay, sounding quite insulted. "Just because I can read sometimes doesn't mean I don't respect other privacy, unlike you. I just tune it out. If we'd strain our minds listening to everyone, we'd go mad within decades.Not that a lot of us aren't anyway," he added. "I give up," said Piya. "Come on, tell me how you know." She had finally managed to get her notebook out of the bag. Abhay took a stray lock of her hair and twirled it around his finger. "I simply paid attention," he said, grinning. "Ms Dasgupta was talking about it to someone, and I just overheard her when we were walking. Happy?" "Nope," said PIya dryly. "I'm kind of sad, actually. Because if you wouldn't have told me, I could've gone to your mom and made you get a nice dressing down for making me cry again, she wouldn't have had any problem believing that."

"What happened?" said Natalya. "Luke?" But Luke said nothing. He simply turned and walked up the stairs. Natalys went to his room ten minutes later. He was staring out into space, a glass of blood in his hand. "What happened?" she said, going up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Luke-?" "Natalya, can you...can you be hurt by someone you've only talked to twice?" he said, his voice low. Natalya sat on the bed in front of him. "Do you mean...Disha, right? That's her name?" "Yeah," said Luke. "And she doesn't even want to talk to me."

Natalya sighed. "Luke, maybe..." "But then why did she come here yesterday? She was so aloof today." He gulped down the blood. "The one girl I find interesting, and she rejects me." Natalya said nothing for a while. Then, carefully,she said,"Maybe...maybe Disha has some problems of her own. It doesn't mean she hates you. No one could hate you, Luke. No woman could, anyway." Luke gave her a wan smile. "She could."

Natalya shook her head. "Don't be so negative. What's love without a few heartbreaks? You shouldn't get down. Try finding out about her. Maybe I should make some inquiries? Do you want me to?"

Luke shook his head. "No, Natalya. Please don't." "I just don't want you upset," said Natalya. "You can find out about her, but I just hope...I just want you happy."

PS.I am having lots of fun now.😆😆I agree this isn't a purely romantic update, but this was written a week before , actually. I only finished typing today. Annnd...I'd like some comments, please?I will make it up to you guys for last update, I promise.