Alysha's POV:

After seeing Jerry off at the airport, Vic and Alysha walked out side by side. They chatted about anything under the sun as they neared the densha (train) station. The air abruptly went still when the station became more and more visible.

She glanced sideway at Vic. Alysha developed a liking for Jerry’s cool character. Too bad Jerry didn’t stay longer. ‘Poor Vic. He has to work by himself again. If Jerry was around to help him, maybe we could spend more time together.’

Alysha hastily turned her gaze elsewhere when her trail of thought traveled to an unfamiliar path. ‘What we? There’s no we. Vic and I,’ she corrected herself.

“I’m going back to the university,” Alysha announced to Vic. She has to break the silence before she thought of Vic and herself as a singular entity again. She slightly turned to her left, glancing at Vic.

Vic's POV:

A few time, Vic restrained himself from asking Alysha out for dinner that night. ‘Do I sound desperate?’ he asked himself. Vic mentally counted the time he had dinner with Alysha since he arrived in Japan. His lips curled a faint smile that only he could understand why. Every night. That was the number of time he asked Alysha out for dinner. ‘I am desperate,’ he concluded.

Vic was so deep in his own thought; he didn’t hear Alysha talking to him.

Alysha poked Vic on his upper arm when he continued to walk with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and his head bowed low.

Vic looked up and turned towards Alysha. “Can… can we go out for dinner tonight?  Again?” he hesitated a little before he asked the full question. Seeing Alysha’s dark brown eyes dilated, Vic mistook her reaction as being displeased with him. “I know this sound so weird...” he hesitated again. Adding a sweeter smile to the sweet look he gave Alysha, Vic continued, “...but I’m only here for a very short period. Before this, we talked so much on the phone and exchanged messages as much as we talk. I feel like...” Vic gulped. He rubbed one side of his nose lightly with his index finger.

Alysha's POV:

Alysha had a major shock when she heard Vic. ‘We? Did he hear me?’ Alysha’s heartbeat overwhelmed that of a sprinter who has just reached the finish line. Although she didn’t want to look straight into Vic’s pretty hazel eyes, Alysha couldn’t tore away her gaze from him. ‘Like what?’ she queried herself.

Vic grinned, showing his perfect row of teeth. The number of girlfriends he had was countable with all fingers but he had enough practice telling a girl his feeling. Why was it different with Alysha?

Heaving a low sigh, Alysha wished Vic hurried up with what he was about to say. Nevertheless, she continued to wait patiently as they advanced towards the densha station. Her inquisitiveness eventually outgrew her patience. “Like what?” she unconsciously uttered her thought loud enough to reach Vic’s hearing.

The whisper was nearly inaudible but Vic heard Alysha. “Like... Like... Like I like you,” answered Vic. With that, Vic took one deep breath and exhaled loudly. He was both nervous and restless after telling Alysha that he liked her.

Looking at Vic with flushed face and fluttered eyelashes, Alysha said, “Soo… desu ka.”  Looking down to her shoes, she bobbed her head a few times. “Suki desu ka?” she asked, more towards her own self in disbelief.  Trying to act cool about it, she tried to change the subject and even though knowing that Vic couldn’t understand her, she continued to speak Japanese. “Maiban wa anata ni aimasu. Bangohan o tabemasu ka? Suki desu ka?”

Chuckling, Vic bit his lower lips. “I agreed,” he playfully answered.

Alysha giggled. “Where are we dining tonight?” she asked, saying yes to Vic indirectly.

“You take me out, I’ll treat you dinner,” Vic suggested. He might be imagining things but he liked the firework he was seeing in the sky at this moment. Vic grinned widely. “You know the city more than I am.”

With a half pouting mouth and wrinkling forehead, Alysha finally decided on a place to take Vic out for dinner. “I’ll meet you at this same station at...” She deliberately let her voice trailed, waiting for Vic to tell her the time.

A few seconds later, after a quick recall of his schedule, Vic answered, “At nine?”

The tautness in the air that was momentarily there disappeared when both OKed the dinner plan tonight. They went inside the station, lost in their own thought.

‘We is not as mouthful as Vic and Alysha,’ Alysha told herself gleefully.

Vic's POV:

‘Phew! Alysha likes me! ‘Coz, if she doesn’t she wouldn’t have agreed to go to dinner,' Vic congratulated himself.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Alysha's POV:

“Ikimashou!” Alysha’s friend, Nanoko tugged Alysha’s hand, urging her to hurry up.

Alysha quickly threw her things in her bag single handedly. The task could be done half a time faster if Nanoko would just freed her hand. “Doko e ikimasu ka?” Alysha asked, gathered her bag and matched Nanoko’s hurried pace towards the lecture theater door.

Without glancing back or slowing her pace, Nanoko answered, “There’s a filming at a track a few stations from the university. I want to see him.”

Alysha emitted a low groan. She didn’t need to ask who ‘him’ was or why Nanoko dragged her along.  Nanoko was very passionate about her craze. Her latest craze was a mobile accessory in the form of little chain with various figures that illuminated whenever the mobile went off. Nanoko loved to share her craze with her friends. Alysha has two of those chains. The pink Hello Kitty figure was for her Nokia and the blue Doraemon figure was for her FOMA. Both were given by Nanoko. “Him” must be the new craze that Nanoko wanted to share with her.

“He’s so cute,” Nanoko chattered away as she dragged the half willing Alysha away from the university campus. Nanoko turned around, let go of Alysha’s hand and clasped her hands in front of her chest with glowing face. “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting him!” Nanoko gasped breathlessly.

Trying to share her excitement, Alysha smiled and spoke, “Is he cuter than my Takuya?”

One of her eyebrows arched. Nanoko walked besides Alysha. “I don’t dare to compare him with Takuya in case I angered you,” teased Nanoko, lightly.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Vic's POV:

Vic fixed his helmet, stretching his ears while trying to listen to the instruction given to him. The instructor was a famous motorbike racer in Japan in the 90s. He spoke in full Japanese but one of the actors working with him understood Japanese hence he acted as the translator. ‘If Alysha was here, she could be the translator too,’ Vic thought.

“Wakarimasu ka?” queried the instructor, looking fixedly at Vic. The racing scene would be a very dangerous scene. He looked up at the sky. The weather looked like it wasn’t cooperating with them. If the young lad wasn’t careful, he could be risking his life for this small scene.

Vic’s friend nudged Vic, signaling him to answer the instructor.

“Hai,” Vic hastily answered after the hard nudge on his rib, bowing a little at the instructor.

“Ni Ming Bai Ma?” his friend asked him, sounding concern. “Are you sure?”

“Hai,” Vic mischievously answered his friend in the little Japanese he knew. “Did you translate correctly?” he quizzed.

“Of course,” told his friend.

“If you translated correctly, of course I understand him,” Vic gave his logic to his friend. He smiled assuringly at him and bowed again at the instructor.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Alysha's POV:

When they arrived at the track, Alysha forgave Nanoko for being fanatical about seeing her idol. She gathered this and that from Nanoko enthusiastic tale about her idol. He was a tall foreigner with pretty eyes, cute smile and boyish face. Seeing the number of girls crowded outside the track, Nanoko’s excitement was only one fifth of the excitement she was witnessing now. Alysha shook her head in disbelief. This foreigner must be really extraordinary and one of his kinds.

Nanoko pointed to a male figure clad in racing gear from helmet to boot. “That’s him!” Nanoko shouted elatedly, joining the other girls.

Alysha stretched her neck and fought her way closer to the fence with Nanoko. “How do you know that’s him? He’s in full gear,” said Alysha.

Winking at Alysha, Nanoko cheekily answered, “Whether he’s in full racing gear or in his birthday suit, when you like someone, you’ll recognized him even from this far.” Nanoko chuckled. What she didn’t tell Alysha was that her idol was the only one wearing a racing gear in the filming. That was how she knew exactly which one was him.

Feeling uncomfortable being crushed by the crowd, her hearing ability decreased a few decibels after hearing the scream engulfing her. “Are we going to be here long?” asked Alysha, hoping that Nanoko could hear her above the noise. “I promised a friend I’ll eat dinner with him tonight.” Alysha glared at her wristwatch.

Nanoko shook her head vigorously. “Don’t worry.  We’ll stay only for a short while. He’ll ride the bike a few laps than they’ll leave.” Nanoko glared at her wristwatch too. “It’s only 4.00 PM anyway,” she stated, flatly. “Look!” Nanoko shouted, shaking Alysha arm gaily.

“I’m looking...” Alysha told Nanoko. She stared at the figure in the racing gear. Either the weather was too cold and caused her to hallucinate or she really was hallucinating but the figure looked familiar to her.  Too familiar. The more carefully she looked at Nanoko’s idol, the stronger her instinct felt of oh-he’s-so-familiar fact in her head.

“I hope he’ll take off his helmet,” Nanoko sighed. “It’s a waste coming here but can’t see his cute face.”

‘I hope so too,’ Alysha told herself quietly. Her curiosity thickened. The way he moved, nodding his head, his arms crossed on his chest... His gestures were all too familiar to Alysha.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Vic's POV:

The director gestured Vic to come to him. He watched Vic confident strides towards him and frowned. He too, like the instructor, was worry about the track. The track was a bit wet and he needed to ask Vic whether he was willing to do the scene today or postpone it to tomorrow.

“When do we start?” asked Vic, eagerly. The sooner they started, they sooner they wrapped up, the sooner he could go meeting Alysha. He rubbed his gloved hands together.

The director tiled his head at the instructor who was standing on the tack with both hands clasped behind him. “He’s a bit worry about the wet track. I’m worried too,” the director voiced out his discomfort.

Vic grinned from behind his helmet. “You insured me, right?” he joked with the director. Upon seeing the dead serious expression on the director’s face, Vic put on his serious expression too. “I’ll be careful. It’s only a few laps. But if you’re still worried, you can ask my double to do the more dangerous scene. He’s a real racer not an actor like me.”

Nodding his head with a still visible line on his forehead, the director agreed with Vic. “You’ll do the safe laps. Leave the dangerous laps to the double. He should be more experienced than you on handling the wet track.”

Vic walked away from the director, taking off his helmet at the same time. It was cold and the air pressure in his ears needed to be ease before his eardrums burst. Pinning the helmet under his armpit, on his rib, Vic ruffled his now flatten hair. Hearing the noise around him, Vic tilted his head up and met the staring eyes of his fans. He nodded his head one time and waved at them.

Alysha's POV:

The scream when the guy took off his helmet wasn’t loud enough to mask Alysha loud thumping heart. She almost fell on the ground due to her shock. It was Vic! She recognized him. When he turned to her, or rather to them at the fence, her guess was confirmed. Nanoko’s idol was none other than Vic. The Vic she was meeting for dinner tonight. The same Vic…

“Cute isn’t he? I told you that you’d be speechless,” jested Nanoko, in between her screaming and jumping, when she heard Alysha loud gasp.

“That’s Vic!” Alysha’s exclamation sounded more like a statement.

Nanoko nodded. “You know him? You are his fan too? You fooled me, Alysha,” accused Nanoko, giggling now and then while waving furiously at Vic.

Feeling flabbergasted, Alysha wasn’t sure whether she knew Vic or not. “I’m not sure,” she sincerely answered Nanoko. "Who are you, Vic Zhou Yu Min?" she asked Vic from afar. Alysha stood still among the jumpy girls, nursing her stun and trying to grasp things. She was oblivious to the noise and the movement surrounding her. Her attention was solely to Vic, on the track.

Hearing the last sentence coming out from Alysha, Nanoko's eyebrows arched. Nanoko couldn't understand the English statement Alysha made or why the sudden switch from Japanese to English while Alysha was taking to her, which she never did with her before this.  Feeling dumbfounded by the sudden change, she stared confusingly at Alysha who was still staring at Vic with her hurt, questionably looking eyes.

Vic's POV:

Right before Vic dropped his hand from the air, he caught a familiar girl among the crowd from the corner of his eyes. He gulped and his heart skipped a few beat. ‘Alysha?’ he asked himself. ‘Does she know? Why is she here?’ Numerous questions bombarded his head.

Vic’s assistant fixed Vic’s gear especially the button on his neck. “There. You are OK now,” she said, approving Vic and winking at him.

Vic tore his gaze from the crowd momentarily to give his assistant a thumb up to thank her. The only girl who was motionless in the crowd indeed was Alysha, Vic knew so. And she was staring at him fixedly. As he put his helmet on, he let his assistant drag him to the bike. His gaze never left Alysha. ‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked Alysha from afar.