This book is set in the UK (I'm British-Nigerian) and some comments were wiped out from this chapter due to some editing I did to make this chapter of the book make some more sense.

This book has been heavily edited. I've deleted chapters I don't like and I've kinda changed the plot. I've even changed one of the character's name entirely. Sorry, everyone, especially if you were reading it when I unpublished it.

Also, occasionally, especially when the spy stuff starts, I tend to write in a script format. This isn't because I'm lazy or anything, it's just that the characters oftentimes talk a lot and I don't always want to use speech marks, plus it's easier for me to understand personally.

The spy stuff doesn't actually start until like the chapter 20s or so, so yeah. I really hope you like this book. I've worked really hard on it.

Enjoy! :)
sereniity-

xxx

Inspirational quote: If plan A didn't work, remember that there are 25 other letters of the alphabet! So stay cool.

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Man, Kieran just couldn't stop looking at her.

She had the most luminous strawberry blonde hair, and the most pulchritudinous face anyone on planet Earth could ever think of.

Her eyes were really really endearing, they were deep blue, and they sparkled, like the ocean, which was what seemed to have mesmerised Kieran the most.

It was currently Friday, and Kieran was at the school cafeteria because it was lunchtime, however instead of eating his chicken sandwich, he was using binoculars to spy on a year ten girl that he seemed to have developed an instant crush on.

She was just so beautiful, Kieran literally couldn't take his eyes off of her.

And he was daydreaming about her for a few seconds, it seemed like years even, that was until he was brought back to reality again, back to his irritation.

Unexpectedly, his mate Clyde had waved his right hand in front of Kieran- Kieran had seen it but he had completely ignored him.

Clyde was Kieran's best friend at school, and they had been so since they were three years old.

According to Clyde, he moved out of his former school when people started teasing him and calling him 'Jekyll and Clyde', meaning that he was a malevolent half of someone, when he wasn't.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Clyde.

Another reason on why Clyde had moved out of his previous school was because he got bullied, and almost killed when a sixth former thought it was a "funny" idea to nearly and deliberately run over him, a few years back.

His name was also formerly Claus before he changed it, he had changed it because people had started naming him Santa Claus, which was something else he didn't like.

Even teachers often spelt his name wrong, and anyone could have seen Tippex all over his name when reading Clyde's reports or anything.

Kieran was also bullied too, and soon after, almost by accident even, Clyde and Kieran had become best mates.

Kieran was still intently staring at the year ten girl until Clyde decided to wave his right hand in front of Kieran again, to gain his full attention.

"Earth," he whispered. "Earth to Kieran? Kieran can you hear me mate?"

Kieran ignored him, that was until Clyde rudely decided to flick some water at Kieran's face, making Kieran stop what he was doing, drop his binoculars and howl in pain.

"What the hell, Clyde! What was that for?" Kieran shouted back, wiping himself with some tissue.

At least it was water, goodness knew what else it could have been.

Clyde fake smiled at him in return.

"Dude, it was the only way to get your full attention."

He had then unintentionally stared at Kieran's face before looking away from it again. Even though Kieran had wiped his face with tissue just now, he was still annoyed at Clyde.

Kieran was a hundred percent annoyed now, a thousand even.

"How would you feel if I threw this chicken sandwich at your face? You wouldn't like it, would you?"

Clyde laughed in return, however said nothing else.
That was when Kieran had actually done what he had said he would do.

There was pretty much nothing that Kieran couldn't or didn't want to throw at Clyde.

These were just his thoughts though, he didn't actually act on them. He didn't want to cause a bigger scene than what it was already like at the moment.

Furthermore, as a threatening insult, Kieran poured water all over his best friend too, just to get revenge back.

Not too much, however a lot more than Clyde did.

"And if you wanted me to listen to you so badly, you could have just asked me to!"

Clyde, who was also ticked off, sat down on the high chair in the school cafeteria next to Kieran.

"You didn't have to pour water all over me," he snapped back. "You've gone almost way too far Kieran."

Kieran didn't reply, just irritatingly looked at his phone camera at his face.

"Anyway..." Clyde trailed off. "I know you've totally got a crush on that new girl over there."

He briefly pointed to the girl that Kieran had been checking out earlier, before Kieran hissed at Clyde, telling him that it was rude to point at people and looked away.

"You love her!" Clyde said out loud for the whole of the country to hear. Kieran just shot him a dirty look in the meantime.

"Don't be silly. I don't love her," Kieran lied helplessly. "I barely even know the girl. Let alone her name. For God sake Clyde."

And with an infuriated Kieran, however a rather triumphant Clyde, Kieran pushed Clyde off the table and unto the tiled cafeteria floor.

But Clyde wasn't fooled.

He got back up from the greasy, tiled floor and then pointed to the binoculars that Kieran seemed to have been looking through earlier, but all Kieran did was stare back blankly at him, before he arrogantly threw the binoculars on the floor.

"Silly binoculars... Wonder how they got there?" Kieran fibbed again, helplessly.

"You were spying on her. I'm not a fool, Kieran. I can see right through you. Most best friends can."

Kieran sighed.
Clyde was right. Kieran was so terrible at making it inconspicuously obvious that he liked someone.

"You know you like someone if you're jealous of who they talk to or are friends with that's the opposite gender as them," Clyde continued. "Kieran, my friend, don't deny it."

In the meantime, Kieran did a face palm when Clyde wasn't properly looking, leading to him sighing.

"I mean, would you like to talk to her?" Clyde suggested.

Kieran froze and nearly had a mini heart attack at the immediate thought of thinking about that.

He almost couldn't talk to girls.

Kieran was terrible at getting girls to like him, and talking to them was even worse because Kieran always undoubtedly made a downright fool of himself.

He hid silently under the table, away from Clyde, away from the world.

"What the!" Kieran replied back, going back up again. "Dude! You know I can't talk to girls! I get nervous."

"Exactly," Clyde agreed, nodding and taking some fake notes at the same time. "So we're here to face your nervous fears."

Kieran kept his mouth shut from saying something meaningless or just saying something downright stupid in general like he always did, no real surprise there much.

"Think about it.. I mean. When was the last time you talked to an actual girl you liked that wasn't your aunt or your grandma? Or any female adults or relatives in general? Oh and your sisters don't count either."

Kieran bit his lip.

"I don't know, Clyde. About seven years ago? My memory is like that of a goldfish, bro. Blank after ten seconds."

Clyde gasped, before saying anything else.

"See? This is why you've got to talk to her! Luckily I somehow manage to know her name after I heard someone say it the other day."

Kieran didn't reply again, just sat down, staring at her, in frustration this time, not in a love struck way like before.

"Vanessa!" Clyde bellowed across the entire cafeteria. "My friend Kieran here would like to talk to you!"

All Clyde got back from what he said were a few blank stares from a few girls, probably about twenty of them, and probably all named Vanessa as well.

Her name is Vanessa? Kieran thought. Wow. That's a pretty common name.

Once Clyde realised that there was obviously way more than just one Vanessa all happening to be in the cafeteria simultaneously, that was when he smiled faintly, turned red and started running his hand through his hair.

About a million miscellaneous girls were still staring at him, completely perplexed and baffled on what was currently going on.

"Whoops... Sorry. Wrong Vanessa." Clyde whispered shamelessly. "I meant that Vanessa. The strawberry blonde girl that's right over there."

Jeez, how many Vanessas are there in this school? Clyde thought to himself.

As soon as Clyde had said that, that was when Kieran ducked down instantly, as the year ten girl he had a developed a new crush on looked towards their direction.

Once Clyde had realised that Kieran was underneath the table, he almost became infuriated as they were arguing over Vanessa and how Kieran should stop being a coward and talk to her.

In the meantime, Vanessa was staring at them in confusion, and was about to completely look away until Kieran came up, half blushing, before smiling goofily and waved at her.

"Hey," Kieran yelled. "You look nice."

Vanessa smiled at Kieran for about a whole minute, but said nothing else, as her friend kept on rushing her to hurry up and leave the cafeteria so that they were in time for an ice hockey tryout.

"Yep." Kieran said to Clyde, still totally love struck from speaking to her. "I totally think she likes me, dude. We're late for ice hockey tryouts. Let's go Clyde!"

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Moral of chapter: Best friends are total lifesavers.

Year ten is ninth grade. So Vanessa's 15, but almost 16.