"I'm just so happy Clara chose you," mom said as she praised Evan.

Rolling my eyes, I tapped my wedge-clad foot on the floor in impatience. Thankfully, my ankle has fully healed and I was now bandage free so that meant that I could go back to high heels and such, having a limit to what shoes I can wear was such a pain.

Meanwhile, my mom thought that it was god's gift to her for me to bring Evan to the wedding instead of Gray. She knows Gray, and she also knows the talks floating around him. She was aware that we were very close and she has never shown approval for the guy.

But with Evan who has come to our house multiple times and has showed how mature he was in some situations, she was elated for him to enter my life.

Besides, she thought that he was a safe option since she was already acquainted with his mother.

To be honest, I thought Will would be the one showing such a display. Luckily, he was away for the weekend because of another business trip.

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get suspicious at the sudden burst of business trips that pulled him away from here. I'm not stupid, I know he's doing something that no one in this house would be happy about.

"We're just friends," I clarified one more time.

She cooed at Evan once again and I groaned, finding this enough, "I'm heading to the car, just come out when you're ready."

We don't have much time since we got out of school at three and we had to be at the rehearsal dinner at eight. With more or less five hours allotted for the journey, we have to rush as fast as we can without causing any major accidents.

With my overnight bag in my hand I went to the front door. Just as I opened it, I jumped up in shock to see Gray standing there with his finger hovering on the doorbell.

I'm quite afraid to ask.

He saw me and his hand dropped before speaking, "Am I late?"

Peeking my head out, I scanned around the lot to see if anyone else was with him. When there was no one, I looked back at him, "For what?"

Did I accept an invitation to a party or something I forgot about?

"The wedding," he replied simply, about to reach for my bag.

Good thing though, the idea was quick to register in my mind. I took a step back and shook my head at him, "I told you that you don't need to come with me."

"But I wanted to," he trailed off and my expression softened.

I still have that soft spot for him. No matter how mad I can be, if he just looks at me with those brown eyes, I'm as good as done. I feel like that I'm the only person who can see the innocence in them, that lying under those harsh glares and deadly looks, he has the most harmless thoughts.

And like always, our moment was quickly ruined. This time, I was quite grateful that it did.

"Alright," Evan said, emerging from the inside of the house, "I managed to shake your mother off."

I don't know whether to hug the life out of this guy or to quickly shoo him away before Gray strangles him. This wolf loves having it all and for him, Evan was another hurdle in his childish wishes.

Gray's attention snapped towards the other brunette boy. Evan finally realized who was standing at my doorstep and he let out a low, "Oh."

This was not the predicament I thought I would be in. I thought the only problem I would be having today was trying to make it to the dinner without getting a ticket. With the amount of time we're spending having a staring contest here, I think that would be impossible now.

The clock was ticking and so was Gray's temper. If he doesn't leave right now, we're going to need to watch out for another bomb – me.

Thankfully, as empathetic as ever, Evan bent down and took my bag with one hand and snatched the keys from the other, "I'll wait in the car."

I watched as he walked to the vehicle and unlocked it, setting down our bags in the trunk before moving to the driver's side, getting in to start the engine and turn on the aircon. Switching my gaze back to Gray, his face still showed disbelief.

Oh come on, did he seriously think I would just be waiting for him? I'm no weakling.

"I thought you said that you didn't need anyone to go with you," he muttered, obviously trying to keep his voice leveled even though he looked like he was about to explode.

Maybe I shouldn't mention that I only told him that so that he would stop bothering me.

"Don't show me that look, Gray," I told him, "Not when you were the one who started it all."

If he thought that I would be just standing here while he pranced around with another girl then he's damn wrong. While he prowls around, I load my gun. While he chases the lamb, I move away because I realized that trying to run after him will be a complete waste of energy.

I just reached my powerhouse moment and he's not going to stop me.

"I said sorry," he groaned.

"No, you admitted you were an asshole," I reminded, "That was not a proper apology."

He reached out and took my hand in his, releasing a sigh, "I don't want to fight."

"Me too," I replied, "But that's the only thing we've been doing recently."

He took a step forward and I expected myself to step back, but I didn't. I stayed glue to my spot as our gazes didn't fail to stay connected, "It's a choice between me and that idiot."

Well, that idiot he was talking about always strangely came to my rescue when this jerk was not around. An idiot? Not really.

"It was a choice between me and that lamb," I retorted, "And you chose the lamb."

I shook his hand off and I walked around him to proceed to my car. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him as he simply stayed unmoving, those eyes following me.

Those damn eyes.

I'm really going to regret this.

Turning back around, I ran up to him. He smiled down towards me, thinking that I chose him.

Nope, I simply decided to comfort the sad puppy.

Standing on my tiptoes, I pecked a chase kiss on his cheek, "Bye Gray, I'll see you when I get back."

He gaped when the words registered in his head. I then proceeded to sprint back to the car and shoo Evan out of the driver's side so I could get in. Gray was still frozen in disbelief and I resisted the urge to let out a maniacal laugh.

That's what he gets for fooling around.

You're not my number one anymore, boy. My number one now is myself.

"Are you sure about this?" Evan questioned as he buckled his seatbelt, "From where I was sitting, I had to look away because I thought you two would start making out soon."

Rolling my eyes, my hands settled on the steering wheel, "I'm sure."

Reversing out of the parking space, I went on to drive away. Gray still stood by my front door and I'm sure he'll snap out of it soon. If he doesn't my mom will tell him to go away when she realizes that he's just standing there.

"When we reach a gas station, I'll fill up while you buy us some snacks," I instructed, "We have a long drive ahead of us."

By the time we reach my dad's home, we'll literally have about ten minutes max left before the rehearsal dinner. That's if there's no traffic, but considering the fact that it's a Friday, that's just a faraway dream.

When we reached the gas station, Evan got out and headed straight to the store. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I went ahead and snatched my card from my wallet before I got out. I opened my car's gasoline door, swiped my card, and grabbed the nozzle.

After I got a full tank, I placed the nozzle back in just in time as Evan came walking out with a plastic bag in his hand. Hopefully, he got what I wanted because I didn't tell him anything specific.

And this queen has a very choosy palette.

"I hope you like Cheetos," he chuckled as he pulled out the large bag, "And I'm praying that you're okay with the Arizona green tea."

This smartass really does know me before I say anything.

I eyed the donut box that was sitting on his lap and I pointed towards it, "How about that?"

"For your dad," he said, patting the thing, "As a thanks for letting me stay in his house."

The moment Evan finalized that he was coming with me, I told my dad. He allowed Evan to stay in the available guestroom during the duration that we were there.

He didn't really have much of a choice, it's not like he's going to make Evan sleep in the barn with the chickens.

"You're doing some major sucking up to my parents," I laughed, "First my mom, now my dad."

"Got to get their approval," he joked as we continued on with our drive.

After five excruciating hours and cheese powder covered fingers, we finally reached the haystack.

Driving into the open gate, I stopped right in front of my father's house. Evan looked around in amazement, "When you said your dad lived in a farm, I thought you were exaggerating."

"Told you," I said as I got out and rounding up the car to get my bag. He followed the suit and we climbed up the wooden steps to dad's front door. Ringing the doorbell, I waited patiently and hoped that he was actually inside the house and not out there with the animals.

When no one answered, I groaned before taking out my keys and unlocking the door. He gave me a set of keys just in case of an emergency, I just rang the doorbell for common courtesy.

Getting inside, it was exactly how I left it – painfully so.

"Your room is upstairs," I told Evan as we went up through the creaky stairs.

I pointed towards my bedroom door and told him that it was where I was staying. Going to the unoccupied room, I opened the door and cringed when I realized how untouched it.

It had a good layer of dust in it, but since most of the furniture had some sheets protecting them, it was still good for use, "The bed sheets are found in the closet down the hall, if you need help or anything, just tell me."

"Clara?" we heard my dad call out from downstairs.

Evan looked down to grab a peek of the adult. He turned back to me and I smirked, "Ready?"

He gestured to his body and asked in a joking manner, "Do I look okay?"

"Like the prim and proper guy any dad would dream of," I teased as I went down.

"I saw your car, I was in your uncle's house," dad said when he saw me, "How was your drive?"

"Good," I simply answered as I gestured for Evan to show himself. When he did, he straightened up his shirt and gave my father a smile, "Dad, this is Evan, the guy I told you about."

My father nodded as they shook hands, "Nice to finally meet you."

"Same to you, Mr. Harper," Evan greeted before he went to the table and showed him the box of donuts, "Just a thank you for letting me stay."

He stared down at the sweet delights before his lips slowly curved into an appreciative grin, "Thank you, I didn't realize how much I missed eating these."

"You deserve a treat sir, I see you've been working really hard."

Such a suck up.

"You done?" I raised a brow at him. He let out a chuckle and I couldn't resist to release a laugh, lightly slapping him on the arm.

At the corner of my eye, I could see dad's gaze switching between the two of us before his smile started to get wider, if that was even possible.

"Well, you two should better start getting ready," he said, placing the donuts on the dining table, "I'll just be in the house next door with my brother, call if you need me."

I nodded and he waved goodbye as he went back out of that screen door. Rubbing my hands together, I turned back around to the staircase, "You heard him, chop chop."

When we got up, I did the liberty of picking out the bedsheets for his room. I instructed him to just pile up the dustsheets into the hallway and I'll put them in a laundry basket later when we get back.

While I started fixing myself up, my phone started buzzing from the inside of my bag. I didn't even have to look at the screen to know it was Gray who was trying to contact me. I've placed my phone on silent for the whole trip because he just wouldn't stop calling.

Rejecting the call once again, I pulled out the dress I brought from my bag. In the middle of putting it on, the phone started ringing once again and I groaned.

Will he just get the hint and realize that I don't want to talk to him right now.

Just like I predicted, my phone was left with a lot of missed calls when I finished with my hair and makeup. Scrolling through the notifications, I stopped when I saw that there was one message from Gray.

Unlocking my phone, I paused when I saw his text. It wasn't long, heck it was two words, but it was more than enough for me.

Suddenly, Evan came knocking on my door, "Hey, your bathroom is out of toilet paper," he paused when he saw my staring solemnly at my phone, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I told him, locking my phone and standing up, "It's in the cabinet by the sink."

After that message, Gray didn't bother me anymore. I guess that apology was his white flag and to be honest, it just made me all the more confused.

But I need to put on a happy face tonight.

I was reassured by Hallie that this time, it would be formally indoors so the last time wouldn't be repeating. That's good news to both me and my shoes.

"Clara, we're ready when you are," dad yelled as I fixed up the ribbon of my dress. Staring myself at the mirror, I observed my look from my curled hair up at the nude high heels that strangely paired up really nicely with my red cocktail dress.

My outfit was tight, but it wasn't too revealing. It stopped at a reasonable length and I made sure I didn't look slutty or anything. It's a difficult feat considering how my body is – hey, if I'm going to work hard every day to maintain this freaking figure then you better be damn sure I'm going to be confident with it.

I'll have to constantly remind myself not to bite my lip tonight for the sake of my red lipstick.

Exhaling loudly, I grabbed my purse and went out my room. Slowly walking down the stairs, I saw that the boys were sitting on the couch, talking amongst themselves to occupy the time.

"Ready," I declared walking up to them, "How do I look?"

Evan blinked down towards me, his mouth opening before quickly closing, words refusing to leave his mouth. I smiled gently, waiting for his opinion, but only a word escaped his lips, "Beautiful."

"Thank you," I replied softly.

Dad was still grinning proudly as he jiggled his keys in his hands and ushered us outside. I occupied the passenger seat as Evan was stuck with the backseat. The drive was quiet, only the music playing from the radio filled up the atmosphere.

Once we stopped right in front of the restaurant, Evan got out and opened up the door for me, "Shall we?"

I laughed as I placed my hand in his and slid out, slightly wobbling when my heels made contact with the cobblestone. Evan offered up his arm, which I gladly took, and escorted me inside.

Most of the members of the family were already inside and when Hallie saw us approaching, she let out a tiny squeal and stood up from her seat, Michael following right behind his fiancé.

"I'm so glad you could make it," she grinned, pulling me into a hug, making me let go of Evan, "And you look amazing."

I smiled, slowly gesturing to the boy standing right next to me. Her gaze went to Evan and she slowly released me, "Hello."

"This is Evan," I told her.

Just like what he did to my father, he flashed her a warm smile, "Hello."

"Hallie," she introduced herself, "My, you look different from the pictures, not that it's a bad thing."

My eyes widened in realization that Hallie thought Evan was Gray. She only invited a plus one for me because of the photos plastered all over my social media.

"Oh that's not it," I stepped in before any other misunderstanding takes place, "Evan is one of my new friends from school."

My tone was clearly implying something and fortunately, she was quick to get it. She nodded in understanding before she went to introduce her fiancé, "This is Michael, by the way."

"Hey," Evan said, reaching to shake his hand, "Congratulations to you two."

Hallie walked us to our seats and I plopped down on the chair with an exasperated sigh, "I feel like this is going to be a long night."

"So how did you two meet?" my wonderful cousin asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"We bumped into each other at school," Evan explained, "She was really feisty to say the least."

His tone friendly and I had to pause in disbelief. The Evan I was used to was extremely sarcastic and had this smartass tone whoever you may be.

Recalling the way he snapped at me and the way I shrugged him off, I held back a laugh as I drank through my straw, "I told you to forget about that."

He shook his head before smiling at me, "I refuse to."

When we patched up everything, he mentioned that he will always engrave it in his memory because it was a reminder not to get to my bad side. Now that you mention it, I haven't been genuinely mad at him, it's usually him who's frustrated with me.

But still, we're here now sitting side by side at my own cousin's rehearsal dinner.

While Evan was distracted by the waiter setting his food right in front of him, I glanced towards Hallie who mouthed, "Details later."

What else is there to say? His sister bumped into me, he tried to defend her, I basically provoked him, we soon met again because of Will, we reached a mutual understanding that life is bullshit, his sister attracted the guy I've been running after for years, I tormented the said sister, he got mad at me, I apologized, and here we are now.

Now that I recounted it, that was an interesting timeline.

"Clara," Hallie cleared her throat loudly, "Can you come with me to the bathroom?"

I know for sure that I was going to get interviewed in there. I tried to refuse but all eyes were on me right now so I had no choice but to stand up and be held in her clutches.

She pulled me into the restroom with her, looking devilishly mischievous, "Evan looks like a nice guy."

"We're just friends Hallie," I repeated the same thing I told my mom, "I kind of, maybe, slightly, broke it off with Gray and I sort of begged him to come with me."

"Gray?" she questioned, "Was that the guy who I was talking about before?"

I nodded in response before speaking, "He found someone else."

Hallie dramatically covered her mouth before giving me a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry."

Calm the fuck down, girl, he didn't die.

"But I like Evan for you," she told me, "I see how bitter your face usually is when you visit, but this time, you're smiling."

I do not have a bitter face. I simply think this life is not for me and I don't find pleasure in living in a haystack, that's all.

"I don't like him that way," I said, "And I think I'm going to stay away from relationships for now."

She clicked her tongue before talking, "Only time will tell."

Only time can tell, eh?

-------------------

Earlier this week, I burnt the back of my hand with a curling iron and then yesterday, I burned my finger while cooking. Trina's list of fails just keeps on getting longer and longer. So that was my week, how was yours?

By the way, like the new cover? The only problem I had with the last one was the quality of the picture and I thought the color scheme was too dark. Current cover is still subject to change though.

I found out that the majority of my comments comes from the question posted at the very end so I'm going to entertain myself with it.

Question: A cliché non-cliché or a non-cliché  cliché? What does that mean? Have fun decoding and debating about it!

Wooh, I feel much better so thank you for your well wishes. Bye, see you next chapter! Wait, that feels wrong. Let's do that again:

Don't forget to comment, vote, and follow. I love you and I shall see you all next chapter.