"Do you mind if I stayed back with you? " Mona asked. They had settled their differences and were friends again. Wren was happy they were in good terms again. Ignoring and not talking to them killed her but her pride wouldn't let her. They (Ian and Mona) apologized and regretted their actions. Ian looked even more sorry.

Seeing them here revived her spirits and made her better. The pills her mom gave her was working fast too. She was touched by their concern, leaving school just to see her. She was more than willing to go back to school again.

"Oh, don't you worry, I'll be fine. No, I'm fine now. I mean it " she assured her when she gave her an unbelieving look.

"Are you sure you're fine? I swear to God, I'll kill the guy that caused you this pain " It was Ian's turn to be concerned his eyes filled with rage and sympathy at once. That was when Wren noticed her friends had no idea that it was her period, but played it cool. She suspected Mona might know but said nothing.

"We can't let him to keep bullying you. I'm sorry I didn't stand up to him for you the last time. That was so cowardly of me. " He hung his head in regrets.

"You should stop saying that word, you know " Wren added

"What word?" he asked looking confused

"The s-word duh " she said rolled her eyes while Nathan snickered a laughter. And Wren rolled her eyes again.

"Guys I'll be performing next weekend. I'll give you the tickets, you don't need to pay. You're all invited "

"Oh! I get to see you sing on stage! " Wren squealed.

"A VIP ticket like last time? " Mona added, her eyes widening and Nathan nodded affirmatively. And Mona squealed for joy.

Nathan was the leader of a musical band called "The Rascals" made up of four boys. The other boys went to a different highschool from Nathan and they hooked up outside school. They practice and perform together and were very popular in the city. The group was initially started by Tristan and Nathan due to their love for rock music when they were in eight grade but Tristan's father wasn't in support of this and tried everything possible until he pulled him out. He always said that no son of his would be involved with music, his reputation and business always came first before anything else. Tristan hated his father for detaching him from what he loved, he and his brother had to always do his biding in order to be safe. Tristan dropped his position as the leader of this rising group and Nathan took over. This was one of the things that made him hate Nate, he believed he stole everything from him... And they always got into fights. Tristan hated his father for this too.
Meanwhile, Nathan was talented and played the piano and guitar. He was popular for this while Tristan had the voice. Nathan gained love from their audience, had a few thousand followers on Instagram and Twitter, and had a blog on YouTube which gained thousands of likes from his fans. Nathan was popular when it came to music and his dad supported him being a renowned artiste himself. ( This was a hell of explanation. Hope you get it now? Tristan's hatred for Nathan and all. Nathan was always lucky that was why Mona called him 'amazing ' at the beginning of the book. I hope I've cleared some confusion : ) enjoy! ;) )

***

"We've been here for almost an hour now and you've not said a word if not the certain nerd. You barely touched your food, what's wrong with you, Tristan!" He didn't seem to hear her, his eyes roaming around the big restaurant, one corner to another, waitress to another, looking for a turquoise eyed brunette with glasses.

Rachel on the other hand was angry. He kept looking around, infuriating her he was absent minded and barely listened to her as she kept talking and laughing with herself. It was until now she understood it all, and she started feeling bad for this stupid date. She regretted coming .

"I guess you're not ready for a proper date, Tristan. You shouldn't rub it in my face how unconcerned you are. I hate this as much as you do, but we don't have a choice. " Her voice shook as she said this. Their contractual relationship was killing her but she hated to admit it. As much as she felt bad, she didn't want to ruin her makeup with her tears and lose her chances with some other guy who might be available, neither did she want to want to cry in front of Tristan. She hadn't felt so irrelevant in all her life.. Even Nathan didn't want her....

COUPLE OF MINUTES AGO.....

Tristan looked cool in his jeans and hug top so did Rachel look adorable. They both walked into the restaurant, attracting attention from the people around. They looked like movie stars and Rachel loved the attention as she tightened her grip on his arm, smiling and whispering into his ears, making Tristan smirk. He understood her so well.

They hardly went out on dates on their own accord only when their families fixed it, either at the Caves' residence or the Robb's residence, with their parents present most of the time. She didn't like the the relationship, Tristan was her best friend but she had to keep this up for the sake of her father. He was all she had so she wanted to always please him. Tristan was doing the same, while hiding his feelings perfectly from the girl next to him. He knew she didn't like him like that, but just as friends. They had to keep their personal interests aside as hers heirs, to build a strong and powerful future for their family business which was their priority.

Rachel saw themselves as business partners since their relationship was solely based on business, apart from their friendship. Rachel had grown accustomed to it to a fault. She knew she was hurting someone, she wished she could do something about it.

A pretty waitress came to them and they placed their orders. Her eyes lingered on Tristan while Rachel glared her daggers and she moved away quickly while Tristan smiled.

"You really are a protective lover" he said, considering her actions.

"Of course, no one dares flirt with my boyfriend. " she said, laughing and for one minute Tristan wished she meant it. Rachel caught home staring at her weirdly and asked " what? "

"Nothing, " he said, coming back to himself "I was just wondering, you said the nerd worked here, right? "

"Yes, as a waitress to be precised " she said. Just then, the waitress arrived with their orders.

"Holy Molly. I love this dish" Rachel exclaimed excitedly and descended on the food.

"I thought you have gotten over your lust for food" Tristan said, studying her.

"Not a chance. Its a relief I finally lost weight, so I can return to my precious food. Baby, I've missed you " she said, taking a chicken sandwich and munching while Tristan watched, smiling at his best friend.

"My mom is doing a great job here. I can't remember when last I had food here. "

"Really? The food here is amazing. Forget I ever said it was jinxed " she added again.

"At what time exactly did you see her? Last time "

"See who exactly?" she asked, confused.

"The nerd. Does she really work here? Because I've not seen her. Maybe you mistook her for someone else "

"I saw her, I'm certain. I told you she's lowlife and I hate talking about her. She annoys the crap outta me " she said, frowning.

" Has she done anything to you particularly? " Tristan asked and continued with sentences like... She's different, I mean who exactly is she? I wonder how she had a chance....

***

PRESENT...

RECALL: " Look, Rachel. I'm sorry " she pulled her hand away from his grasp, picking up her bag.

"You hurt my pride, Tristan and you keep doing that. If you were here for the fucking nerd, you should have fucking told me! And not make me look like a fucking fool! " she swore in anger. Rachel hardly swore and if she did, she had to be really angry. She brushed him off, walking away " get lost! " she shouted finally, not looking back. And Tristan ran after her, feeling bad for his actions.

******

Short chapter, I know

I feel bad for Tristan #pouts .who else is in the same ship with me? One-sided crush sucks.. Don't you think so too?

Drop your comments, vote and spread the news! Thank you (namaste )

Don't mind, I'm into bollywood these days...hehe

#kisses
Me 💜😘