Dedicated to:Silentobserver1

Thank you for showing enthusiasm while reading! Your compliments always make my day :D

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"People don't meet eachother by accident, they are meant to cross paths for a reason"

~Anonymous

Claire's POV

It was a windy Wednesday evening. The susurrus of rustling leaves reaches my ears; outside the window pane, the outstretched, rugged branches of a nearby tree caress and thump on the glass causing a soothing rhythmic sound to fill the air.

I turned my gaze back to my two friends seated with me on a round dining table, in a dimly-lit cafe. Logan and Adriel were chatting and laughing for the past ten minutes about this book they were currently reading on Wattpad, while I was left alone with my tempting Iced Vanilla Latte.

I fisted my palm and lifted it upto my lips "Ahem!" I cleared my throat. Their attention immediately shifted towards me "Can someone care to explain why we're here? If we're here to discuss about Wattpad, then I'm leaving"

"Well, Claire..." grinned Adriel, eyeing me and Logan intently "James and I decided to take your pretend relationship to the next level but he couldn't make it today. So now, you guys have to pretend you're on a date and I'm invisible"

My jaw dropped in awe and I blurted "What is this? Some kind of nerd-dating-drill?"

"It sure looks like it is, Cookie Jar" Logan butted in.

I glared at Logan, clearly annoyed "Okay, enough of this nicknaming shit! Why the fuck do you call me 'Cookie Jar'? What does that even mean? A jar filled with cookies? That's lame!"

"Shut your ass Claire!" Adriel yelled at me as if I committed a horrible sin "It's such a cute nickname! Plus, it's from this amazing Wattpad book called 'Boundless Ties' and you're insulting my favourite author!"

"It's a really good book, you should check it out" Murmured Logan, leaning back on his chair while he ran his hands styling his beach blonde hair.

I groaned in frustration, throwing my head back. I always wondered why my two friends were so obsessed with Wattpad. What was so great about it? Logan, being a dedicated writer, was even writing a book and it had more than a fifty thousand reads.

"Okay! Let this pretend date...commence" Adriel announced pompously.

"This is idiocy" I shot a disgusted look in her way.

"I'm enjoying this" Logan exclaimed, winking at me.

"Don't you dare fucking wink at me!"

"You can't order me who not to wink at" he shrugged.

"Don't talk to me like I'm your best friend, you're my boyfriend, you should respect me!" I playfully got off the table and pretended to pour the coffee over him.

"Sit your ass down Choco Chip" he chuckled as he tried to dodge me, making tissue rolls and tossing them in my direction "You can't defeat this badboy!"

The moment I actually started enjoying our little fight, Adriel suddenly got off her seat ragingly. With swift movements, she angrily pushed me and Logan back on our chairs.

Her eyebrows were furrowed together; wide open, glaring eyes stared at us. Her frown spoke many words that were impossible to understand. I spotted a pink flush creeping up her cheeks as she folded her arms across her chest, angrily. Logan and I weren't used to seeing Adriel this mad and it clearly, took us aback and our smiles disappeared.

"Do you guys think this is some kind of joke?" Adriel scowled and she evidently, was in no mood of joking, so I tied my tongue to refrain from answering anything sarcastic.

Her facade materialized from intense anger to a dejected and bitter expression. Sadness clearly showed on her face when her eyelids drooped.

Almost as if she was restraining herself from breaking down, her muffled voice spoke "Do you realize how hard it is for me to see you guys being bullied? Being beaten down everyday in front of my eyes, while I can do nothing but stare helplessly? Believe me; it hurts me as much as it hurts you"

Our gazes fell to ground in shame. I never realized it affected Addy so much, until now.

"I came up with this idea to help you" she continued, sternly "and if you guys are perceiving this as a joke then we might as well use this time in doing something more productive. I could be home working on my dream while you guys could be studying right now. But no, we're here so you guys can learn how to be more social, how to be more open to the other sex and mostly, so your life can be a little more than just studies..."

There was a heavy silence that ensued after which Logan broke it "We're sorry Addy, we'll be more serious from now"

"Yeah" my lips twisted into a forced smile; I nervously fiddled with my fingers.

Her expression changed again, but this time it was anointed with calmness and a million dollar smile "I love you guys...you were the only people who there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on, even when I was just a stranger. Now, I want to help you guys"

Logan linked his hand with hers and made her sit back down on her chair and said "Thanks Addy"

"Okay, this is getting too fucking emotional!" She pretended to wipe her fake tears away while we laughed our hearts out.

"Logan, listen carefully" she smiled at him "Girls love it when guys make the first move and to win a girl's heart, you should appreciate her as much as you fucking can"

"What if the girl is ugly?"

I bit my lips to control my laughter when Adriel slapped Logan right across the face the moment he said that "Shut up douchebag, everyone person has something beautiful about them! Look for it and let her know how amazing she is. Try that on Claire, let's see what you can come up with"

It took a while for Logan to recover from the slap he had just received; that he deserved by the way. He nervously leaned back on his chair and squeezed his eyes shut. His brows furrowed as he lifted his head towards the ceiling as if in a deep thought.

Logan and I weren't used to appreciating each other; we mostly roasted one another every chance we got so I was jumping from excitement on the inside.

"Alright, I'm ready" He shifted uneasily on his seat, adjusting his shirt neatly on its place. Clearing his throat, he suddenly stared at me straight into my eyes. His light sky-blue eyes were cloudless as his gaze softened just merely, causing an adrenaline rush down my nape, it made my stomach flip. It was appalling how just his mere gaze had such a great effect on me.

I instantly knew something big was coming but he began before I could stop him, and then, began a waterfall of emotions that gushed straight through my heart.

"They say people don't meet eachother by accident, and that they are meant to cross paths for a reason" he smiled tenderly in my direction, completely ignoring Adriel, who was excited as fuck.

"The moment I locked my gaze with you, it was like this invincible entity was convincing me that you're not going to be someone ordinary" he continued, with hand actions. While I stared into his beautiful eyes, my lips parted in awe "My heart forced me walk up to this angel in front of my eyes and I didn't realize then how important she was going to be to me. Your eyes...they were so blue, like a never-ending ocean of secrets. I wanted to swim in it, keep on exploring forever. At that instant, all I wanted, was to rake my hands through your sleek blonde hair locks"

Maybe I was so lost in his affectionate words that I didn't notice how his eyes reddened just slightly. He didn't stop, the words came flowing out, like a soul-subduing music "Every person that day perceived you as a nerd, but to me, you were beautiful, you still are. So much that it hurts sometimes, like spears digging into me from every direction"

"I'm scared Claire" he continued after exhaling audibly. He bit his lip while I nervously chewed on mine "...of losing you, of hurting you-"

"Logan..." Adriel spoke up, suddenly cutting him off in the middle. As if she noticed Logan's change in behaviour and sensed something was wrong, she spoke in a soft voice "Are you okay?"

He licked his chapped lips "Yeah, I'm okay, why?"

No, he was not okay. This was not okay. There was something in his voice that I couldn't spot. There was an immense void barricading my mind from my consciousness, I just couldn't think straight.

Did I want to cry? Yes, I did. But I didn't know why. Was there something Logan wasn't telling me?

Was it about me?

If yes, then I wasn't ready to hear it just yet.

Venetia's POV

My blood boiled with rage, every muscle in my heart endeavoured its best to slacken but it was of no use – the anger had reached my brain and it was violently coaxing me to make a move.

I knew it; I fucking knew they weren't in a relationship! 'Pretend Date' they fucking called it; annoying piece of shits.

But I ceased myself because if I turn around or shift even a little bit, in my chair, Adriel, Logan and Claire would spot me; them realizing I was spying on them was the last thing I wanted.

My best friend, Madelyn Thatcher, was here with me, witnessing every little thing going on behind us while we veiled in our hoodies. I stared dumbfounded into her eyes when I over-heard Adriel telling them how important it was to prove the bullies wrong.

Bullies my ass. I wasn't a bully. That bitch Claire deserved to be treated like shit.

"Did you hear them? I fucking told you Mads!" I blurted, keeping my voice low enough for nobody else to hear it.

Madelyn covered her mouth with her right hand and suppressed her laughter "Are they crazy? Did they really think they could fool the bullies?"

I scooted closer to her, making sure I was completely hidden from view, behind the seat "We're not bullies Mads! Tell me I'm doing the wrong thing by hurting Claire, c'mon, tell me!"

"You're not doing anything wrong Ven, but it's not right either, you know?"

"Fuck you Mads!" I sweared under my breath, peeking to make sure we weren't spotted "That bitch deserves it, she fucking deserves it!"

Claire had made my life a living hell. She had made, every little minute of my life, hard to pass. I would've even killed her if killers weren't thrown into jail.

Now that I knew her little secret, I had a plethora of brutal ideas gushing into my mind.

I smirked proudly "She destroyed me Mads, now I'm going to destroy her"

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Ah hah! Another mystery ;)

Any guesses what Claire could've done for Ven to hate her so much?? (Don't guess the right thing please :P)

MPB has been doing great, its finally at 2K reads and 200+ votes and its all because of you guys! I can't seem to thank you all enough for all the love!

Love, K

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