There was a spring in my step as I re-shelved the returned books and I had Peter to thank for it. Seeing him and getting a chance to talk to him made me feel lighter especially because he had no bad blood with me.

My mind then slowly drifted off to how he still looked handsome. He was one of those people who were just magnetic and when you talk with him, he'll give you his full attention as if nothing else in the world matters to him anymore.

When we were friends, we had this thing where we both just knew what the other person felt. There was never a need to make it obvious, it was like we read each other's minds. Peter always talked to people by looking at them straight in the eyes and because his were so beautiful, I often got lost in them if I wasn't already busy blushing from them.

It was this character that enabled him to read my eyes. He could tell if I was scared or angry without me having to say a word. I remember this one time when a fight broke out in front of us while we were walking back from school. We weren't on speaking terms back then but I felt a hand slip through mine and gently tug me back to safety. It was only when I looked at him that I realize I actually was scared but he didn't even look at me, he simply let go of my hand once I was safe.

I thought about how he still carried the scar above his lip even though everyone told him to get plastic surgery. It was a thin line that started from the center of his cupid bow and almost outlined his lips until it went up towards the end stopping across his nostrils. That scar was my fault.

It was the day he called off our short-lived romance and I was walking out of class with the scene replaying in my head like it was on repeat. I had to go down a hill to get to the school gates and this was a particularly favorite spot of reckless teenage cyclists as they often chose to zoom down like a bullet.

I was too distracted to hear one rouge cyclist's warning bell that when I did, it was too late but I was quickly shoved to the side by a strong arm. As I toppled over onto the thankfully green side of the pathway, I was confused by what had happened until I saw the cloud of dust in front of me. The cycle was in a corner along with the cyclist but there was another body in the middle of the path and I scrambled up as I recognized who it was.

Peter coughed as I rolled him over and I remember going cold as I saw the blood coming from his face that I thought he had ripped it bad. I was speechless and all I could do was sit there with his head on my lap as I frantically tried to wipe the blood with my handkerchief until a crowd formed and took him away.

He came back a few days later with the fresh scar and I hated what I had done to him. I tried to talk to him but he couldn't move his mouth properly yet so all I got were grunts and nods, basically anything other than a syllable.

I remember wishing that it could have been our make up story but he stuck to his choice and we began to drift apart, until today.

'How are you feeling now?', interrupted a voice and I turned to find Ethan holding a brown paper bag.

'Tired but good', I replied knowing that it was useless to lie to him anymore.

'I got back your frame', he said and I got down from the ladder to take a look.

I was impressed at how it was repaired, it looked brand new.

'Thank you, just give me the receipt and-'

'No, it's a token of respect on my behalf to your Ethan', he said and I found myself mentally drooling over him again.

'Okay', I said with a grin and put it back into its cover.

'Now, will you tell me what happened?', he asked as he followed me into the computer lab where I had to check if everything had been turned off properly.

'What did Nadia tell you?', I asked.

'She said that you had a cry over your friend', he said and I felt relieved to know that she didn't tell him everything.

'Yeah, I got this text from a guy who didn't like my relationship with Karthick. He started to bash me for writing about him by saying that I was romanticizing him and making it all up', I said.

'Did you respond to it?', he asked.

'No'

'Can I?'

'No'

Ethan sighed and then held the lab door open for me, I guess chivalry wasn't dead in some parts of the world.

'But why won't you reply?', he asked.

'Because talking to him is like trying to get a dog to talk. It's impossible!', I exclaimed and shook my head at the thought of even trying to reason with Ayush.

'So that's it?', he asked.

'Yes. It's called being the mature one and I'm pretty sure he was either high or drunk when he sent that', I said and sighed as I realized one user had ignored to close every single tab.

'I don't understand how people can be so kind to people who don't even deserve it', he mumbled.

'Yeah well Harry Styles owns my ass, so I gotta', I said with a grin but he looked at me confused.

'It's a fangirl thing. His motto is 'treat people with kindness' and so the fans started making memes where they'd tell themselves this line even when they were treated like shit- ' and I looked to find Ethan look completely lost '-and you don't understand a word I'm saying', I finished and went back to my job.

'Forgive me but I've trained my brain to stop listening whenever a female mentions Harry Styles', he said with a bored expression.

'Oh you're one of those people who don't like him or the rest of the guys', I said with a grin.

'No, I'm simply one of those people who are tired of hearing how angelic he is when they've clearly never seen him drunk', he scowled.

'You've seen him?', I asked stunned.

'Forget that I said that'

'No. You can't take that back! How did you meet him?', I asked excitedly.

'We sometimes meet at the same high-end clubs', he answered slowly with his hand on his head as if it pained him to explain.

'And you're saying he's a mess?', I asked.

'No. That is not what I meant. He's a charming lad and a good friend except for the fact that he's got all the females in the world drooling over him. It's like how you feel when your friend gets all the attention even though you know how much of a fool they are', he said with a sigh.

'You're that close?!', I squealed.

'Again, NO! We know each other and that's it. I just didn't expect to hear that you were obsessed with him', he said.

'Oh I'm not the Styles girl, that's Sumi. I'm a Horan girl', I grinned.

'But you just said something about him owning your behind', he said confused.

'First and foremost, always a Directioner. I support all of my five idiots', I grinned and he shook his head at me.

'Anyways, I just treat people that way. I don't want to waste my time with pointless quarrels and ruin my day', I said.

'That makes sense', he said I shrugged.

'Okay, now what was the lie?', he asked and I groaned but the look on his face was not helping me a bit.

'I met a friend that day. Well not meet, I got a glimpse of him and I was just stunned to see him. Like, I never expected to see him, here', I said.

'Why did you look so dazed then?', he asked confused.

'Because we sort of dated when we were young', I replied unwillingly and glanced at him to see his reaction which looked surprisingly calm.

'Oh, so are you guys on speaking terms or?'

'We are now', I replied and continued to tell him what had happened after he had left. Ethan didn't look affected one bit that I secretly felt disappointed at how he wasn't even a bit jealous. I guess I was the only one with feelings then.

'Do you want to date him now?', he asked and I blinked at him.

'What?', he asked.

'I've never really thought about it', I said taken aback by his question.

'Well?'

'I don't know. We're both different and we decided back then that it wouldn't work because o certain things which are still the same. I don't think I would', I said slowly and realized that it was the truth.

Peter might still fire cannons of butterflies inside me but there wasn't that romantic feeling anymore. I don't know about him but I clearly did not feel anything of the sort when I talked to him.

I looked up and found Ethan in a world of his own with a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

'What are you looking so smug for?', I asked

'I'm not looking smug', he said quickly and brought back his calm and collected posture.

Huh, but before I could say anything else, my phone pinged with a text message.

I opened it and was shocked to find a photo of Ethan and me from today's lecture. What was shocking was that he was lifting my shirt and the angle in which it was taken would make anyone think that this was the start of a passionate make-out session. Ethan's permanent romantic face was no help either and I couldn't believe that I was actually looking at him.

'This goes straight to your parent's email if you don't agree to meet me tomorrow night'- Noah

'What is it?', asked Ethan and I quickly locked my phone.

'Neena just spotted another rat', I lied and this time I made sure to put on my mask because I did not want Ethan to know. This was something that I could handle and I did not need him to come in and make a huge scene.

'Well its a good thing you have Salem', he said but I was listening anymore. I had to get that photo fast or it would be the end of me.