*Jessica's P.O.V*

Beep beep:

Om bhur bhuva sawah . . .tat savitur varey niyam . . .bhargo devasaya dhimahi . . . Dhiyo yona prachodayat . . .

(It’s a very famous Gayatri mantra. Translation in English: Let us worship the supreme light of the Sun, the God of all things, who can so well guide our understanding, like an eye suspended in the vault of heaven.)

I groaned and checked my phone: 7:30 AM. I turned off the alarm and slowly got off the bed, which I was sharing with Nina.

Last night, we danced until it was 3 AM. I got tired and decided to go back to my room, but Nina insisted me to spend the night here, as it was very late and wasn't safe for a girl. I didn't want to take any risks, so I agreed.

I went to the small living room whoch was a completely mess and found Noah sleeping on the couch with a sweet smile on his face. I slowly made my way to outside the apartment without making any noise and started walking towards the dorm. I didn't want to disturb their sleep nor did I want to be late for college. I sent a text to Nina as I reached my room.

I quickly took a shower and dressed in a full sleeve long green top with black tights. I grabbed my things and rushed outside for college. Luckily, I reached the campus on time. I hissed as my head started spinning from the pain.

Perks of late night parties!

Cursing myself, I walked in the corridor when I heard someone called me.

"Hey Jessica, are you okay?"

I turned around and found Lily walking in my direction with a concerned look over her face.

I nodded. "Yeah, just a headache," I said, rubbing my forehead.

"Ah, side effects of late night partying." She gave me a sympathetic shrug and added, "Do you want a pain killer? I have one."

I shook my head and said, "No, I prefer to avoid pain killers. I will be fine. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah." I gave her assuring nod.

"Okay then, see you later." She waved goodbye to me and began walking towards her class.

I turned again and started walking. I took a turn and finally reached my class. My eyebrows furrowed when I found the class almost empty. Then I spotted Jelline stepping outside the class.

"Hey Jel! Don't we have class?"

She stopped and gave me a weird look. "Professor is on leave today, so it's our free period."

"Oh." I sighed in relief since I didn't want to attend class. This headache was killing me. At least now, I could have a strong coffee to get a relief from it. Then I remembered, I didn’t see her at the twin's party. "By the way... I didn't see you at the party? Where were you?" I asked, trying to make a conversation with her.

"My parents weren't at home and I was babysitting my younger brother," she said sadly. "How was the party? And where is Noah? I've tried calling him several times, but it always switched off," she added, making a face.

I laughed and said, "He must be dreaming of his princess." Jelline’s face hardened hearing after that and I immediately stopped laughing. Did I said something wrong? "Um, the party was great. We missed you." I tried to change the topic.

"Yeah, of course you missed me." She rolled her eyes. "You got new friends, Jessica, go and spend your time with them. Why can't you leave Noah alone?" She growled through gritted teeth.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, getting confused by her sudden outburst.

"Don't act innocent, I know you're playing with both boys."

"Both boys?" My mouth hung open.

"Noah and Max," she said and pointed a finger towards me. "I'm warning you, Max is like a fire . . . you will be burned, but won't gain anything from it. He will just use you, Jessica."

I blinked twice and processed everything she said. Though, she was wrong about Max, I didn't argue with her. It was useless right now. The thing that annoyed me was why she took Noah's name? Then I realised. Damn!

"You like Noah." I stated, crossing my arms.

She was taken aback with my response. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes widened. "It's nothing like that," she mumbled avoiding my gaze.

I put my hands on her shoulder and said, "No need to deny it, I can see it in your eyes. Besides, he is just a friend of mine. I won't come in between you two. Trust me." I nudged her shoulder.

She shook her head. "You have already, Jessica. Whether it was unintentional. He really likes you. He'd never said it, but it's in his eyes. I know him very well, and the way he looks at you... " she trailed off.

I closed my eyes and remained silent for few minutes as I didn't know what to do. I had an idea about Noah's feelings, and I tried my best to avoid him, but I can't control his feelings. I don't have that type of power in my hand.

I looked at Jelline's broken face and I immediately started feeling guilty for the mistake I never made.

"I'm really sorry, Jel. I didn't know, but trust me, I don't like him in that way. Actually, I-" I couldn't finished because Jelline interrupted me.

"Actually, you like Max," she said casually. It wasn't a question. She looked confident.

My eyes widened from the shock. "What?" I almost shouted.

She rolled her eyes. "C'mon Jessica. It's all over your face, but still, I can't see you with Noah."

I looked at her for few seconds and started laughing loudly. I like Max?

What a joke! She gave me a weird look, but I continued laughing. After few seconds, I stopped to catch my breath, but I was still chuckling.

"It wasn't funny," she said, placing her hands on hips.

"For me, it was." I again chuckled.

She rolled her eyes in response.

"C'mon Jel, he is just a friend. I know you warned me about him being a bad boy and all, but after seeing his other side, I actually accepted him as a friend, but nothing more. I can't fall for the bad boy." I mumbled the last part.

"Whatever you say, Jessica, but you are falling for him, whether you accept it or not."

I scowled at her but said nothing on the topic. "Where were you going?" I asked, ignoring her meaningful stare.

She caught it but decided to ignore it. "I was going to the library when you stopped me to discuss our love life," she said and winked.

I stared at her. "I already told you, there is nothing between us. Ugh, never mind, leave it. I'm getting a terrible headache, so I'm going to get a coffee. Want to come?" I offered, though, I didn't want her to come as I knew she would make my headache worse.

"You really want to invite me?" She raised her eyebrow and I gave her a sheepish smile.

"Actually-" I started but she cut me in.

"It's okay. I need to go to the library." She shrugged. I took a breath of relief, and we started walking in the corridor.

I was about to take a right turn towards the cafeteria when Jelline grabbed my hand and pointed a finger at the end of the corner. "Look, over there."

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked in the direction, she pointed. My heart sank, and I felt a rush of emotions bang around inside me. It's nothing, and it's normal... I tried to remind myself, but I failed. It was hard to accept, and it hurt looking at them. I gulped hard and turned away from the horrible sight.

"What happened?" Jelline cocked her eyebrow. Damn! She caught it.

"It’s gross. I don't like seeing people eating each other's face off." I quickly covered it nicely and put a fake smile.

Jelline gave me a suspicious look and sighed. "I guess, it was a side of your Max which you haven't seen yet. Get ready to see more," she said in a warning tone and walked away.

******

I was sitting alone in the cafeteria holding a cup of coffee. I was having an internal debate about whatever Jelline said. Maybe Max was a player or a bad guy, but it doesn't mean I should ignore him. He never did anything wrong to me so why did I need to stay away from him? I just needed to control my stupid feelings.

Why I was feeling so bad? It's his life, and he could do whatever he wanted to do.

Stop thinking about him. Ugh!

But, I couldn't’t stop thinking about him.
 
I didn't know how he has gotten into my head. And I hated the fact that he could mess up with my mind just so easily. 

"Hey beautiful, can I join you?" A voice interrupted my thoughts.

I lifted my head and saw Travis standing there, holding a cup of coffee. He gave me a small smile and sat besides me when I didn't said anything for a while.

"You seem lost. Trouble in paradise?" he asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "Just some stuff."

"And I thought we are friends," he said making a sad face.

"We only met yesterday," I said, reminding him.

"Yeah, and we told Lily about out new born friendship, remember?"

"It was you who said that." I pointed at him.

He chuckled. "You didn't deny either."

I rolled my eyes and looked away to hide the smile. This guy was really something! He took a sip of his coffee, then he looked at my cup and pointed at it. "Your’s is getting cold."

I looked at the coffee I was holding. I took a sip of it and my nose scrunched up from its cold temperature. I made a disgusted face and looked at Travis. "It already is."

He suddenly got up and walked towards counter. My eyebrows furrowed and I looked at him while he handed over cash at the counter. He turned to wink at me. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my phone to text Mahi.

Me: Watcha doing?

She replied immediately: Just going for sleep and you?

Me: sitting in cafeteria and holding a cup of hot coffee, which unfortunately is now cold :( I'm missing your coffee.

Mahi: Oh poor girl, btw where were you lost that you make it cold? And, I'm missing making coffee for you.

I gulped down. I couldn't tell her that I was feeling bad because I caught Max kissing a random girl. She will start teasing me again. Though, I can't hide anything from her, because she will eventually find it out. I was about to type something, when I got another message from her.

Mahi: Busy? Are you okay? Reply fast, I'm sleepy.

I sighed. It must be midnight there, I will talk to her later.

So I typed, Yeah, just going to class. You take rest. Good night. Talk to you later. Xoxo

I hit send and closed my eyes, remembering the moments which I shared with her. Our non-stop talks, stealing food from the kitchen, and when we get caught then we'd start blaming each other. Suddenly, I felt a fresh aroma of cappuccino around me and a small smile crept on my face. I immediately opened my eyes and found a grinning Travis. I gave him a confused look, then he pointed towards a cup, which was placed in front of me with latte art of smiley face on it. My face lit up, and I immediately took a sip from my favourite coffee. It was so yummy and delicious that all of the sad feelings vanished.

"Thank you!" I said, giving him a smile.

"Here, try this as well," he said and offered me a chocolate cupcake. It looked so delicious. I took a bite from it and was literally lost in the taste of the mouth-watering cupcakes.

"This is so-" I couldn't find a proper word to define it.

"I know," he said and winked. "You're welcome," he added.

I gave him a evil grin and grabbed the whole cupcake. "Hey, I want that too," he protested.

"Get yourself another. This one is mine now." I replied with a grin before taking another bite.

"But, I offered you to take one bite only," he said and pouted.

I chuckled, "Whatever, now it's mine." I finished it in another bite and gave him an evil wink. "It was so yummy. You've made my day, Travis."

"Next time, remind me not to offer it to you again," he retorted, but couldn’t hide his smile.

I playfully punched his shoulder when I felt someone's stare burn the back of my head, almost boring a hole into it. Suddenly, I heard someone clearing his throat and when I looked up to see the owner of that voice, I flinched.

"Yes, Max?" I asked in a bored tone.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked, glaring at Travis. His face was hard and it wasn't difficult to see that he was fuming from anger. But why?

"Yeah, I do, but later. I'm busy right now," I told him in a stern voice.

He looked at me, clearly shocked. He quickly composed himself and smirked. "It’s you who wanted to talk so talk now, otherwise, I don't have time."

I looked at Travis who was watching the whole scene with a confused face. Then I turned my face towards Max who had a smug expression on his face. Ah, I could've kill him at that moment, jerk! Then I remembered about what happened in the corridor.

"Well, I went to search for you, but you were busy sucking your girlfriend’s face off, so I came back." I smirked. "Oh, yeah, about that talk. I don't need to do it anymore, so you can leave now." I said coldly, acting as calm and casual as I could, though on the inside, I was fuming as well.

His eyes widened, realising that I had caught him doing his dirty things, but he didn't budge much and composed a blank face once again. "She is definitely not my girlfriend, and it was only a one time thing. If you haven't heard, then let me tell you one thing clearly; I don't date." He snapped at me, maintaining a cold, stoic face.

Ouch! That was so rude of him.

I tried to read his eyes but they were also cold and emotionless. I felt like he had covered everything with a void blanket and was hiding himself under it. I didn't like this Max; cold, arrogant, and such a jerk. I wanted him to open up to me like he did at the beach, but I guess, that was also a one time thing.

"Anyways will you introduce me to your new friend?" he asked and cocked his eyebrow.

I shook my head and gave Travis an apologetic smile, which he returned with an assuring one. I immediately felt better. "Of course, Max." I replied with a fake smile. As I glanced at him, I continued, "Well, meet Travis, my new friend and Travis." I stopped for few seconds and bit my tongue to stop myself for saying anything harsh against Max. Max smirked at me and gave me a challenging look to continue. My blood boiled and I couldn't control it anymore. "This is Max. The topper, player, or bad boy of this college, whatever you say. Nothing else." I throw out my all frustration into it.

I looked at Travis who was watching me with an amused expression. I gave him a suspicious look, but he shook his head, so I decided to ask him later about it. I took a sip from my coffee and glanced at Max from the corner of my eyes who was looking hurt?

Shit! But why? Agh! What have I done? I called him a bad boy whereas I know him very well and especially about his past. Maybe he was a player but not a bad boy. Then why on the earth did I make that stupid mistake? Damn! These stupid hormones . . It's all because of them.

He had helped me so many times, and we were friends, right? That's what we last decided, how could I forget that? Get a grip on your stupid emotions. You shouldn't be affected by a stupid kiss, I cursed myself mentally. But before I could apologize or say something, he stormed out of the cafeteria without uttering a single word.

"Max, wait." I shouted but he was already outside.

Here we go again, but this time it was my fault. I really needed to apologize to him because he was the only one who could help me with Jake, or was that just an excuse to sort everything out with him? Oh God! I was going crazy. I closed my eyes in frustration.

"Are you okay?" A voice, which I recognized belonged to Travis, snapped me out of my thoughts.

I opened my eyes and was met with a concerned Travis. "Yeah, I think we should leave now. Next class is going to start soon," I suggested in order to avoid the topic of Max.

He gave me a suspicious look but nodded. I sighed in relief and finished my coffee. We got up from our seats and started walking outside the cafeteria.

After walking for awhile, he stopped and said, "My class is there. See you later."

I nodded and gave him a small smile. I was about to turn around when he grabbed my wrist and stopped me. "What?" I asked confused.

"You should talk to him," he stated and I raised my eyebrows.

"You like him," he continued and smirked at me.

"Huh?" I asked not getting anything. What he was talking about?

"Max, you like Max," he said, leaving my hand. "You are just running from your feelings, stop avoiding it, and accept it," he added, giving me a soft smile and then walked away.

My jaw dropped and my heart started beating fast. It was twice in one day when someone stated that about me, but it wasn't true. I didn't like Max. I wouldn't like him. He wasn't my type. There was no freaking way I would fall for a player. I couldn't let it happen. I groaned as I reached the class.

******

After the final bell, I collected my things quickly. I walked towards the parking lot. I looked around but there was no trace of Max. I tried calling him several times but he was ignoring my calls. I dropped many messages:

Hey, Max!

Are you busy?

Where are you?

Are you skipping class?

I'm really sorry for whatever happened in the cafeteria. I didn't mean to say it.

At least pick up the damn phone.

But there was no response; not even a single message. I wasn't disappointed, but I was worried for Max. After waiting for another 5 minutes, I pulled out my phone from y back pocket and dialled Kyle. He answered it on fourth ring:

"Hey, babe."

If I wasn't worried about Max, I would have given him some amazing retort for calling me babe.

"Where is Max?" I asked, ignoring his greeting.

"Well, hello to you too." He also ignored my question.

"Kyle, not now. Just tell me where Max is." I said getting angry.

"Something happened?" He sounded worried.

"Kyle," I hissed. Damn Kyle and his interrogation. I wasn't in the mood to deal with them.

"At home," he quickly answered.

"Okay," I replied and hung up.

I need to talk to him right now. I decided to head to his home, but then I realised, where does he live? I forgot to take his address from Kyle. Shit! I groaned loudly. Suddenly, my phone beeped and I received a text from Kyle with an attached file.

Address of Max, I thought you will need it. Have fun. ;)

I took a breath of relief and sent a reply:

Thank you so much and sorry for snapping at you. I really need to talk to him right now. Will see you later, again sorry. :)

I locked my phone and walked outside the college to catch a cab.

No more ignoring, Max.

*****

Sooooo, How was the chapter?
Happy? Excited?

What do you think about Travis?
Sweet, right?

And Jelline?
Don't hate her, she is just upset.

And Max?
Jealous :p

Will update soon (:

Till then, Happy Reading.
XOXO