We were in the middle of the woods. There were a small table and 4 chairs, everything surrounded by trees. There was also a small vase in the middle of the table with some wildflowers.

It wasn't anything fancy, yet it was more beautiful than some Michelin restaurant.

"Better than McDonald's, right?" He smirked.

"Yeah, way better!" I gasped.

"Come on, sit down." I did as he said. While we lived in Maryburgh I went to nature all the time. There is just something so calming about it. And when we moved to London I thought that my little nature trips were over, so I'm extremely grateful for this.

Jake sat down next to me. We ate in silence, but it didn't feel awkward. My phone bleeped when I was in the middle of my cheeseburger, so I just decided to ignore it till I'd be finished with my food because I didn't really feel like spreading all the grease from the food all over my screen.

So when I was finished with the food and my hands were squeaky clean, I took out my phone.

"No no no, no technology in here." Jake said and grabbed my phone. Frankly, he did it with the hand that wasn't covered in ketchup.

"Don't no no no me, it might be my parents!" I snapped back while I was trying to get my phone back.

He looked at the screen. "It says that Mary sent you a message. Is Marry your mother?"

"No."

"Is Mary your father?"

"No!"

"Well, that she has to wait." he stated and put my phone in his pocket.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes Aila, I'm serious. I know how hard it is to adapt to such a change, so now I want you to concentrate on this moment. Don't bring up the past, don't think about the future, just take a deep breath and focus on this."

When I say my jaw dropped. I would never expect such wise words from someone who I met 2 days ago. And I had to make sure he meant it, even if it meant ruining this moment.

" Jake, I'll ask you once again. Are you serious? I've heard that you're a player and a jerk, and if you're doing this just to use me and then throw me away, please be honest with me now, and tell me your true intentions. I've been hurt before, and I don't want to go through that again… " I said while I was looking him in the eyes.

He blinked twice. Yeah, that's not important at all, I know…

" Who told you that? You know what, it doesn't matter, because it's not true. Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean that I'm bad. Few of my friends are like that, and I've seen then braking girl's hearts, and that's why I'd never do anything like that. I want to be your friend, I want to be someone you can lean on, because I know what it feels like to be the new person that everyone looking at as if you had 2 heads, and I don't want you to feel like that. I maybe don't know what you've been through, but you're not alone in this, okay? " He held my face in his hands.

" That's so nice of you. And I mean it, I wish there were more people like you. " I threw my hands around his neck and hugged him tightly.

" Thank you… " I whispered, but I wasn't sure whether he heard it or not.

" No need to thank me." he whispered back as confirmation that he heard me. I pulled back but my eyes were still focused on him.

"But why me? There are so many new people, why do you want to help me out of all of them?"

"Because you look like you need it the most. Especially after that stunt with Candice. And that's it for now about this subject. Tell me, what is your favorite band." I smiled and gladly answered his question.

* * * * *

We talked for hours until I had to return home. Jake walked me home again, which I was thankful for because I didn't remember the way.

When we were in front of our house, I hugged him and thanked him once again.

He gave me back my phone, and if he didn't, I would totally forget that he still had it.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a good night Aila."

"Yeah, you too." He waved at me and then turned and left.

I was sure that my dad was standing behind the door for at least 15 minutes, so I didn't even bother finding my keys.

"Open sesame!" I said and the door opened.

"Oh hi there Alibaba, where are your's 40 thieves?" my dad asked nonchalantly.

" I fired them. They were useless. There's nothing to be worth stealing in this country." I answered as I walked past him to the house.

"Okay, so let me ask differently...how was your date?"

"Dad, that's a bit forward, don't you think?" I teased him.

"No, it's not."

"Well, just for your information, it wasn't a date."

"Aila, darling, and you're expecting me to believe that? I might be old, but I ain't stupid. You like him and he likes you. I can already hear the wedding bells. "

"Oh dad, stop it because I'm starting to believe that you're really stupid. We've known each other for 2 days. I don't even know where he lives, so there's no chance for feelings. "

"I've fallen in love with your mother the moment I saw her..." he stated and I instantly knew he was being honest.

"I know dad, but that' s not my case."

"So I don't have to think about names for my grandchildren yet?"

"God, dad, NO! End of the discussion!" I stormed out of the room.

I don't get it. Everyone's father is extremely overprotective when it comes to boys. My dad wants me to start dating already. I suspect that he wants a friend, but he's too lazy to find some here in London, so he wants me to find a boyfriend he could be palls with.
The moment I entered my room I checked my phone. I had 4 new messages from Mary.

Mary: Have you seen Candice's  new post?

Mary: Girl, you're in a huuuuuuuge problem

Mary: Aila, where the hell are you? I hope Candice hasn't killed you already

Mary: Look, I don't know where you are, but text me immediately after you see this, I'm worried about you.

Okay, what the hell was going on?

I'm in trouble?

What did I do?

Okay, I may or may not threw a chewing gum out of a window today at school, but it wasn't a that serious problem. After some investigation, I found a new post on Candice's Twitter.

"Okay, so this new red-haired creature that calls herself a girl, called me plastic earlier today. I mean, how dare she? I'm all natural! So if you're reading this, you red-haired spotty monster, just know, that I can make your life a living hell, and I certainly will. "

What the hell does that mean. Who exactly does she think she is?! But more importantly, what am I gonna do about it?

Aila: What do you suggest? What should I do about it?

Mary: Thank God you're alive! And honestly, I have no idea. She's never done anything like this before, probably because she didn't have to. Nobody ever dared to stand up against her as you did...

Poor girl, it must have taken her a long time to write a message like that.

Aila: Okay, so do you think that ignoring it is a good idea:?

She replied immediately.

Mary: For now, it's probably the best you can do. The school would' t suspend her because of it because her parents are sponsors

Great. And all of this only because I said what everyone's thinking, but only I had the guts to say it out loud...

I got another message, but this one was from someone unknown.

Unknown: I can make your problems disappear

OH GO TO HELL! I had enough shit on my plane for the day, I really didn´t need some creep texting me.

_________________________________________

A/N: So, that's it for the new chapter. Also, today is Christmas (actually I'm 14 minutes late at where I live 😬🤫) so I wanted to post this as a gift from me to everyone who's reading this 😊
Stay safe 🤞