"Never again."

"But you didn't..."

"Never again."

"Daizan that's so rude could I just..."

"Never again."

"..."

"You finished?"

"No obviously I am not I didn't get to..."

"Never again."

"..."

"Finished now?"

"...Yes."

"Ok that's great then we can talk about what I should wear for my first night at work. I was thinking about that turtle neck that I showed you the other night in lavender. I personally don't see many black women in lavender, but I think I look rather lovely. Don't you?"

"..."

"This is when you can say something besides yes." Daizan said turning her chair around so she could face K. They were working on a presentation for class in the computer lab. When K arrived to meet up with Daizan she was listening to music and any attempts K made to pry her away from the music were unsuccessful. K knew she was annoyed with how the night had turned out, but she didn't think she was going to lose a friend over it. She decided to try and wait till Daizan wanted to talk to her, but after 10 minutes she grew frustrated and decided to say something.

"Daizan can I please just say some things pretty please and you just have to let me say it no interruptions?"

"No" K had Daizan's full attention, which gave her access to her glare. K would usually back down since she was never one to tempt fate, but she had to get her thoughts off her chest.

"Daizan I am going to say this and you can hate me, but I have to say it." K put her hands in front her face in preparation for a backlash that never came. When she uncovered her face Daizan was still giving her a glare, but she wasn't saying anything. "Alright, thank you Daizan I will make this quick. First off I will say that I do not condone anything Akiyo did to you in the club. No man should put his hands on a woman ever. That being said I don't think you should be mad at me for letting them take us home. I know I was not supposed to drink, but I did and I value our lives so I asked Ricio to take us home. So in the end we are the victors, because we are alive and that's all that matters. So I will apologize for drinking, but I won't apologize for saving our lives." K finished and took a seat beside Daizan and proceeded to work on the report.

Daizan just looked at her with shock and mild amusement. Even though the speech has a melodramatic flair she did have to admit that K was right and if they had decided to drive who knows where they would be today. She just couldn't bare the fact that she had to ride with that asshole and listen to him completely ignore her the entire ride and talk about his stupid band. To be honest she wasn't really upset with K. Granted the girl could have called a friend or a cab to take them home, that wasn't what upset her so much. What made her mad was the fact that she had gotten so upset over Akiyo's actions.

Over the years Daizan had built up a wall where she was able to deflect things she deemed negative and go about her business. In high school she had managed to get by without friends and many social interactions, because of the wall she had built up. She never really thought much about the past, because her goals were never oriented in the past, but Akiyo had her thinking about the past.

"So do you want to drive to work with me?" Daizan asked K who turned and gave her a confused look.

"Where's work? I didn't know you had a job!" K said smiling happily for her. She didn't know much about Daizan's past, but she knew that she was constantly under financial constraints. Her confusion came from not knowing how she scored a job so quickly.

"Remember Marek the bartender?" Daizan asked sighing only when K gave her a shrug. She didn't seem to be that drunk last night. "Anyways you were running your mouth to him about how I needed a job and he offered me one as a bartender."

"OMG'S" K squealed clapping excitedly causing some library patrons to turn and stare at her, but it didn't seem to detour her.

"Indeed." Daizan replied with an impish grin. Even though her mind was still reeling from last night she did not regret it. She had done her homework on bartending before K came and it looked like a very lucrative business.

"I will so go with! But I think we should head to my apartment and change. You definitely won't get any tips wearing that." K pointed at her lime green turtle neck with a look of disgust. "I will even be some kind as to give you some shirts to stretch out as an apology for last night.

Daizan was not at all pleased with K talking about her wardrobe, but she knew that skanking it up was profitable in the bartending business. She had also learned that she bounced back quickly from being drunk. This also led to her learning that K did not since she had not been to any of her morning classes and she hadn't bothered to put on any make up. ‘I've never even seen her without any makeup on.'

With that being said they gathered up their belongings and headed to Daizan's car. The drive to the apartment was uneventful and consisted of K talking about her mother who was coming up for a visit. From the conversation Daizan learned that K's mother was French and worked as an interpreter for hire. K's parents were divorced and apparently her mother had not spent a lot of time with her during her developmental years. This is what supposedly led to K's promiscuous ways an adult, in K's opinion. All in all it was a whole bunch of TMI in Daizan's opinion.

When they arrived at the apartment complex K jumped out the car and started to sprint up the steps to her fourth floor apartment. Daizan cringed at the thought of running up those monstrous steps. Last year she had made that mistake and had a scar on her left knee to remind her. She firmly believed that clumsy people like herself had no business running up flights of stairs.

She walked up to her third floor apartment and almost tripped when she got inside. On the floor was a pile of mail for her. Normally she didn't receive so much mail, but her birthday was yesterday so she knew she would get a couple of gifts. The first one she opened was from Mary and it brought a smile to her face. Yet another sewn item, but this time it was a blanket. In the previous years she had received a scarf, gloves and a hat. The blanket was the biggest one yet and Daizan felt grateful to have it knowing that Mary suffered from chronic arthritis. She had called yesterday, but Daizan had been in such a foul mood she hadn't bothered to call back. Now that she had a job she decided that she would give her adopted mom a call on the weekend.

The next gift was from Darian and Leroy much to Daizan's dismay. Opening the small envelope she found a card, $1000 in cash, and a plane ticket for her to come visit them in Florida some in June. ‘How presumptuous' Daizan thought as she moved onto the next letter, which was from her brother. She opened the letter, but she didn't read the card. Darius' words were sacred to her and she couldn't bear to read them unless she had time to read the card at least 10 times. Each year for her birthday her brother always sent her a longer than usual letter that contained a story. Daizan still talked to her brother, but going to see was something she hadn't done in two years. She looked back at the ticket from Darian and begrudgingly put it into her wallet.

After putting away her mail she went back into her room and started searching through her closet for something to wear. This time she searched making sure she kept in mind things K would like. In the end Daizan came up with four things: fitted distressed style leggings, a charcoal colored tube skirt, a simple yellow shirt that had a plunging V-neck and some closed toe black pumps. She put all the clothes in a bag, grabbed her purse and headed for K's apartment.

She didn't bother knocking on the door since K usually left it unlocked, which was unsafe, but she didn't really care since they lived in a gated community. When Daizan go inside she was greeted with K's backside as she rummaged through a bag looking for something. This wouldn't have bothered her if it K had been dressed. Daze coughed politely and K stood up and faced her.

"What did you bring?" K asked grabbing Daizan's bag and rummaging though it ignoring her gasping mouth. Much to Daizan's horrified dismay K was beautiful even sporting a blondish bush.

"Damn K could you put on some clothes?" Daizan asked looking toward the ceiling in an attempt to get the vision of her friends' nude body out of her head.

"This is how we came into the world, you shouldn't be embarrassed by it." K laughed going into her room. Daizan waited a couple of minutes before following and was now treated with the sight of K in an aqua bra and thong matching set.

"Thanks. Now what do you think of the clothes?"

"Much better! I think you can wear the jeans and the shirt for tonight and I have some purple wedges that will go with the shirt." K commented as she turned toward her closet in an attempt to locate the shoes. 

Daze grinned impishly at the success of her clothes and grabbed the bag as she went into K's bathroom to change. When she came back K was dressed and the wedges were on the floor beside her. She was wearing a dark red sheath dress that had short sleeves and a slit up the front that stopped mid-thigh. Today her hair was free and she was in the process of applying make-up. Daze grabbed a bottle of lotion and livened up her skin before putting the wedges on and securing the strap around her ankle.

"You know this is the most time we have ever spent together? If I didn't know better I would think you enjoyed my company." K said sticking her tongue out at Daizan. This caused her to snort and stick her tongue out at K blowing her a raspberry. K giggled as she turned to apply some eyeliner to her eyes.  Daze decided that she would watch and try and learn a little bit about make-up from K and she even applied some eyeliner to her own eyes. K was impressed she said so.

"Alright let's go"

"You're a natural" Marek cheered as he assisted Daze with a table order. She had arrived at 6 and was greeted by Marek who was outside having a smoke break. He took her by her hand and introduced her to her new co-workers. Daze was horrible with names, but managed to remember Dominik, who was Marek's co-owner.

 Name: Dominik Leonia

Age: 40sih

Hair: Black (slicked back)

Eyes: Cobalt Blue

Like: Working, Art and Watches

Dislikes: Laziness, Fish and Red-Heads

Overall: Undecided

Most of her tour had consisted of her sitting and chatting with Dominik and Marek in their office that overlooked the club. Dominik was a sharply dressed man who was very handsome and charming, but Daze got the feeling he could be the opposite if he wanted to be. K was in the kitchen where they had left her waiting on some food. On top of being a well-known club, her workplace also doubled as a restaurant until 9. Marek went over a couple of signature drinks with her, which K sampled thoroughly. After an hour of practice he had announced Dominik was here and he wanted to meet her.

When she walked up the steps she wasn't sure who she thought she would be meeting, but she wasn't expecting someone like Dominik. As soon as she came through the door he came towards her and ignored her offered hand and brought her in for a hug. It wasn't long enough to make her think he was a complete creep, but it definitely made her blood boil and not in an angry way, which she found very confusing. Dominik's eyes bore into her and they were filled with passion. She could tell that he was a very dominant personality. Throughout their entire interaction Marek stood beside the door observing them, but not interfering.

"And here I thought Marek would bring us another pretty boy. I must commend m friend for doing such a good job. You will be a perfect edition to our little family." He said taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. Daze smiled sheepishly and nodded her head. This situation was leaving her flustered and uncomfortable. "If you have any problems don't hesitate to come to me. I tend to be the enforcer while Marek is more of the pacifier."

"Puh-lease Dom we know that's not true." Marek said chuckling as he sat on the couch in front of the desk and patted the spot next to him. Daizan slowly removed her hand from Dominik's and sat next to him. At first she was a bit uncomfortable talking to them, but as they continued to ask about her interest and spoke of their goals she became more and more comfortable. A lot of her comfort came from Marek more so than Dom who hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she came in the room. Daze told them about her life in the briefest way possible and they seemed interested to know even more. She had to deter them with questions of their meeting and the creation of club Luna. In the end she found out that Marek was Dominik's godson and Luna was initially just a restaurant until three years ago. She was surprised to find out that they both were born in Italy and they had come to America 9 years ago.

"Well Daizan I look forward to seeing you in my lovely establishment." Was Dominik's parting words as she returned downstairs to start her job officially. Marek seemed amused by the entire interaction, but didn't say anything about it.

By midnight the club was packed and Daizan had at least $200 in tips. Daizan was grateful to Marek for his help at the bar, which was divided into 4 sections. Each section had its own alcohols that were identical to the other three as well as its own bartender. With Marek helping Daizan he made it five bartenders instead of four and she could definitely see why they needed another one. On top of Marek's duties as bartender he would be stopped occasionally by a hostess, cook or bouncer where he would have to run off and do things. When this happened Daze could feel the pressure on her to keep up the pace and get her drinks out as well as engage the customers. At first she was fumbling and some of her customers would move to other sections, but by 2 am she had a hang on it. K spent her time split between the bar and dancing. Marek gave her permission to give K free drinks, much to Daizan's dismay. So far only one of K's drinks were technically free due to the fact men and women insisted on buying her drinks. Marek had told her that it was impolite to refuse them so he cautioned her to instead give herself a shot of water to appease them. This worked out great since they would leave her an even bigger tip if she drank with them.

"Could I have a rum and coke please Daizan?" A familiar voice asked. Instead of looking up to see who requested the item Daze went ahead and made it thinking it was one of her fellow employee's. When she went to hand the drink off her eyes connected with one of the last people she wanted to see.

"You." She said with disgust evident in her voice. This time Akiyo was wearing a black tank tip and he had decided to forgo the eyeliner. His hand was touching the other side of the class and his fingertips grazed her making her shiver uncomfortably.

"So you work here now, what a treat." He said taking a sip of the drink and looking intently at her with a bright smile. Daze frowned at him. ‘Has this fool lost his mind? Acting like were friends.' Daze thought as she decided to ignore him and help other customers on the opposite side of the bar.

Daizan once again got lost in the flow of working and for five minutes she did it successfully until she returned to the side of the bar where Akiyo was. He still had the same smile on his face and he held out his empty glass for her to take. Before Daizan could get her hand around the glass Akiyo grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him. The glass clattered onto the table as Daze was pulled till she was inches from Akiyo's face. In that instant she froze not really knowing what his intentions were until she was too late. His free hand snaked around her neck and pulled her in close enough so his lips could ghost hers. His lips then trailed up her cheek and then he finally planted a chaste kiss on her nose before whispering, "You have the cutest nose, I have been thinking about it all day."

As soon as he spoke he broke the spell that had been holding Daizan's body still and she pulled away. Akiyo still had that stupid grin on his face even while she rubbed her nose with her hand, before offering him her middle finger. On the opposite side of the bar she heard a laugh and turned to see Marek who had witnessed the entire event unfold.

"Don't tell me you're going to pretend like that didn't happen?" He asked as Daze proceeded to take more orders.

"Just so you know I don't know that man and you should throw him out for harassment." She said loud enough for Akiyo to hear.

"I could never do that to Aki he is such a talented singer." Marek replied waving at Akiyo who returned the wave with a head nod.

"Could you tell him to go away at least?"

"I could...but I would rather have you go on break instead. You have been working over 5 hours." Marek replied shooing her away with his hand. Daizan gave him a wide eyed look while her lips trembled.

"But...but I have only been working since 11."

"Your time started a 6 when you came in. So go take your break that's an order." Marek said turning away from her so he could man the bar. Daizan groaned in disappointment, but she could not argue that the extra cash would look nice in her bank account. And with that she lifted up the barrier that separated the bar from the dance floor and faced Akiyo.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked casually as she brushed past him. She ignored him and decided to go look for K who she had lost track of an hour ago. As long as she had a goal in mind she could ignore the presence in back of her.

Akiyo was definitely amused, which was something that didn't usually happen. He had been telling Daizan the truth when he told her he had been thinking about her nose all day. But along with her nose he had been thinking of other parts of her as well. While she wasn't usually someone that he would try and woo he was now addicted to doing just that. It wasn't often that he came up against challenging females, but when it did happen it was fun for him.

After Ricio woke up from his hangover he had asked the raven haired male why he had let her get to him. Akiyo didn't bother answering and instead diverted the topic to a potential gig that he had found. While Ricio looked the offer over Akiyo pondered his actions. He knew that she had struck a nerve, but he had never really acted out on his emotions before. Most viewed him as a playboy that had varying interest. And with each new interest brought a change of scenery and people minus Ricio who was always a constant in his life. They had been together since he was 14, but that did not make them friends. Ricio was his handler and his job was to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble so he could be of use to his father when the time came.

Maybe it was the proximity of her accusations that coincided with a certain memory that he didn't like remembering. Her defiant nature and fury reminded him so much of someone. If he dug a little deeper he could remember her and the more he dug the angrier he became. ‘No' he thought, ‘those memories must stay buried'. And so he lashed out without really giving it much thought and once the red haze of anger died down he realized he had made a mistake.

And now here he was following her around the club as she searched for her friend. Akiyo knew that she had left with Ricio a half hour ago to some location in the club and knew that they would not be back for some time. So he knew that he had time to get to know Daizan before the brunette returned.

Daizan was getting frustrated she had no idea where K was and didn't really know who she could ask. The club was loud and the lighting was dim so it was definitely not an ideal location for her to be searching. And to add to her frustration was the stalker that wouldn't just leave her alone.

"Want to know a secret." Her stalker whispered in her ear as she finished her search of the VIP section. He startled her which made her bump into a couple that had been in the middle of a make out session. The inebriated blond turned her head back in annoyance and told Daizan to watch herself, before returning to her previous activities.

"Look what you did." She growled turning around and pointing a threatening finger in his face. "Why don't you just leave me alone and find someone else to play with." Daizan had grown tired of avoiding him and decided to take him head own.

"But if I left you wouldn't get to hear my secret." Akiyo said in a sing song voice as he ran his fingers alongside her outstretched arm. Daizan pulled her hand back in annoyance and reluctantly decided to appease him.

"Tell me you're secret and then leave me alone." She commanded and Akiyo happily obliged her.

"I know where your friend is."

"Where?"

"With a friend."

"No...She didn't....Nu-uh...But she...Ugh she did." Daizan groaned in defeat as she envisioned K running off and leaving without warning.

"So I told you my secret. You should dance with me now." He said and then his voice got serious. "I won't hurt you again I promise. I should have never done it in the first place."

Daizan tilted her head to the side and pondered what he just said. She assumed for someone like him this would be the closest she would get to an apology. And with the location of K revealed and a half hour to burn she decided to turn a new leaf. Plus she assumed if she danced with him he might leave her alone.

"Okay one dance."