"Say it before you run out of time. Say it before it's too late. Say what you're feeling. Waiting is a mistake."

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Chapter Eight

Ian's POV

"Stop!" she shouted.

My car quickly came to a halt. I frowned. "What? Why?"

"Just drop me here, okay? I'll walk from here," she stated without looking at me. She started to loosen her seat belt. Before she could get out of the car, I swiftly locked the door. She started to unlock it but I locked it again. This fight of ours continued for a few seconds until she finally gave up.

"Ian, just let me get out of the car!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," I pressed, ruffling my hair in exasperation.

"I don't want to be seen with you," she replied quickly.

My mood went down the drain almost instantly.

Was she ashamed of me?

She was ashamed to be seen with me, Ian Matthews, the most popular and hottest guy in college? This was getting ridiculous.

She must have noticed the hurt expression on my face because her eyes began to soften. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Are you ashamed of me?" I asked her directly, the look on my face hardened.

Her eyes bulged open in surprise as if she wasn't expecting my theory. "God, no! Why would I?"

I began to relax after hearing her answer, but my expression was still cold. "Ian..." she called out my name softly.

She touched my hand gently, her skin was soft and delicate like a flower. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just don't want your fangirls to attack me or whatsover if they see me coming out of your car. I hate dealing with drama. I don't like attention."

My lips began to form a small smile. "My fangirls?"

"Yeah, the girls who would surround you like you were their God or something." She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I won't let them hurt you, Rose. Mark my words. Okay?"

She was silent for a moment before she turned her head to me and nodded slowly. A pretty smile formed on her face. "Okay."

♦ ♦ ♦

Hailey's POV

As soon as Ian parked the car, I quickly climbed out of the car and stalked away from him. My steps were stiff and fast. I looked back and silently thanked God that he wasn't following me. But unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to the front as I bumped into someone. Her coffee spilled on my crop top.

I raised my head slowly, revealing a pretty girl with strawberry blonde hair who was smirking at me devilishly. Two girls who were on each of her side threw nasty glances at me.

"I'm sorry for the coffee. I didn't realize you were there," she said, faking a sympathy smile which made me cringe mentally. I didn't think it was a coincidence that she accidentally spilled her coffee on me.

"It's okay." I faked a smile. I didn't have any energy to make a big deal out of it, so I decided to forget it.

I noticed they were looking around warily before they took a step towards me. I stood still.

The girl in the middle prodded me in the ribs, her sharp fingernails stabbed my skin. She yelled, "You whore! How dare you come here with Ian?! Do you know who I am?!"

My patience had its own limit. Unable to control it anymore, I grabbed her hand harshly and pushed it away. "I don't and I don't care." I turned on my heel to leave, but she pulled my hand, digging her long fingernails onto my skin. I shrieked at the pain. I snatched my hand away instantly. I gritted my teeth. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Noticing my anger, she smiled maliciously at me and her minions looked at me with a hint of menace. She sneered. "That's just a little. I could do more than that. You really have no dignity. First, you stole Isaac from me. Now that he's gone, you're after his brother? You shamelessly seduced him. You're really a dirty whore!"

I shot back, "If you were that important to Ian, he wouldn't have gone to me, would he? Face it, bitch. He chose me over you. Both of them did. You're just a piece of trash to them."

"You fucking bitch!" She raised her hand to slap me. I was too stunned to move so I couldn't do anything other than to wait for the impact to take over my face.

When I didn't feel anything on my cheek, my eyelids fluttered open and I saw someone gripping the bitch's wrist.

Ian...

He yanked her hand before releasing it harshly. His expression was as hard as stone. I had never seen him looking this mad and serious. He was usually gleeful and full of happiness when he was with me, but this time he was different.

"What— what are you doing here, Ian?" She sent him a flirtatious smile before batting her eyelashes.

"You're lucky that I don't hit women or else I would've punched you so hard that you wouldn't have any teeth left." He spat. His eyes were as cold as ice as he stared at her threateningly.

Her minions whispered incoherently among themselves and she whipped her head towards them, glaring at them irritatedly. She scurried off, the clicking sound of her horrendous high heels echoed through the hallway. Her minions hastened towards her, following their leader's footsteps.

Ian wrapped his hand around mine, interlocking our fingers together. "Everyone!" he shouted. Some of the students began to turn their heads to us. "She's mine! If you have something to say to her, say it straight to my face! Don't ever bother her! Touch a strand of her hair and you're dead! Spread the words to the other people!"

My eyes widened in horror. "What are you doing?!" I whispered harshly.

He ignored me and pulled me to follow him, our fingers were still entwining together. When we had passed the crowded hallway, he loosened his grip on me and released my hand.

"How could you do that?! I told you that I hate dealing with drama. Now you're bringing drama right into my life!" I snapped.

He ran his fingers through his hair and heaved a sigh before he bored his green eyes into my blue ones. "Look... I know that you're upset. But I did that to protect you, okay?"

"Protect me? You call that a protection? Bullshit. I'm not even your girlfriend, for God's sake!" My eyes burned in anger. I turned away from him to leave.

"Rose!" He grabbed my wrist delicately.

I turned towards him, my eyes were blazing. "What?"

He raised his right hand, cupping my cheek tenderly, like it was made of glass. "I like you, okay? I know that you might not believe it, but I really like you. You're so stubborn. You're feisty. You're not like the other girls that I had met. You're very different. A good different. I know that it'll be hard for me to make you mine, but it's worth a shot to try. I'll wait for you. Because you're worth it."

I was dumbfounded. Dazed. Astounded. There were no words in the world that could describe what I was feeling. The butterflies in my stomach turned into dragons, flapping their wings, fluttering around. I felt sick. A good kind of sick. My pounding heart was going to jump out of my chest. My breath was caught inside my lungs. I was breathless.

"I— I need time to think." And with that, I left.

♦ ♦ ♦

As soon as I stepped into my apartment, I slumped against the couch exhaustedly. I saw Helen scooping a spoon of ice-cream into her mouth, while her eyes were fixated on the TV. Why did I always catch her eating whenever I came home?

I swear, this girl could eat an elephant yet she wouldn't get fat.

She started to speak, her eyes were still glued to the TV. "So... I heard about what happened today. People were gossiping about how Ian finally declared that you guys were a couple."

"Uh-huh," I said nonchalantly.

She finally turned towards me with a look that I couldn't decipher. "Is it true?"

"Of course not!" I faked a laugh nervously.

"Then why are you nervous?"

"Me? Nervous? Pshh, I'm not nervous. Haha." I faked another laugh.

She gave me an incredulous look that could only mean, 'You're stupid if you think that I believe you'.

I raised my hands in defeat. "Fine, fine! He confessed to me today, okay? He told me that he liked me."

Helen leapt out of the couch and started to squeal with delight. "I knew it! I told you that he truly liked you!"

I shook my head, smiling at her who was looking like a maniac.

"So what is your ship name gonna be? Haian? Hian? Hailan? Iley? Ialey? Ianey? Ianley? Ianiley? Or Ianailey?" She was grinning ear-to-ear like a fool. I began to question her sanity.

"Actually, we're far from that yet."

Her smile vanished instantly. "Wait, what do you mean? What did you say to him?"

"I... uh... I told him that I'd think about it. That's all."

"What? Why?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Duh. First, he's Isaac's brother. And second, I don't think I can accept anyone into my life again for now."

"Oh," Helen muttered. "Did he know about your past relationship with Isaac?"

I thought thoroughly before answering, "I don't think he did. If he did, he would've told me."

"Then why didn't you tell him?"

"I... I don't know how. I feel like it would be weird to tell him about Isaac and me, you know?" I glanced at her.

She then smiled at me, putting her right hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. I understand. Whatever your decision is, I'll support you, okay?"

"Thanks Helen." I felt like some weight on my shoulders had been lifted. "This is why you're my best friend. God, I love you so fucking much."

"I love you too, woman."

♦ ♦ ♦

Two weeks had passed yet nothing changed between us. I was still afraid to give him a chance. I was scared to have feelings again. I felt like I would be exposed. Like I was treading on thin ice. Liking someone would made me feel defenseless. And most of all, it would make me vulnerable. The incident with Isaac still haunted me whether I liked it or not. I was worried that Ian was the same. After all, they were brothers. What if Ian was just using me like Isaac did? What if all those sweet things he said to me was just a lie? What if all of it was fake? What if he was gambling with my heart? What if I didn't matter that much to him and I was just another bet?

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts. Ian hadn't bring it up to me through all of our conversations. Maybe he was giving me space; space to think. Space was the thing that I needed for now. I was glad that he respected my decision.

Respect. That was the key point to every successful relationship. We should respect each other. But Isaac didn't respect me. He threw my dignity to the ground and stepped on it repeatedly, like it was a dirt. That was why our relationship came to a failure. But then, our relationship wasn't real anyway. It was fake. All of it.

At least Ian didn't rush me into accepting him, like Isaac did. He was patient. Very patient. He was willing to wait.

For me.

Ian's voice brought me back to the reality. We were in the parking lot of McDonald's. "Let's eat first. Then I'll take you home."

"Okay," I answered, giving him a half-smile.

Ian had been giving me a ride all these days like he intended to. I just obliged, tired of arguing with him since he persisted it anyway. Sometimes when he didn't have any morning classes, he was willing to wake up early to give me a ride. And when his classes ended earlier, he would patiently wait for mine to end so that he could drop me off at my place.

Although sometimes it took hours of his time.

After we had settled in our seats, I noticed that there was something wrong with Ian. He was being kind of... quiet. Which was unusual for him. Usually, at a time like this, he would've teased me or stolen my fries or something. But not this. Not being silent like this.

"Hey," I greeted him softly.

He raised his head slowly. Although he tried to hide it, I could sense that there was something on his mind. Something was troubling him.

"Hmm?"

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he answered monotonously.

"Tell me if there's something wrong. Maybe I can help you?" I pushed him as light as possible.

He sighed deeply. "This Saturday— it's my parents' anniversary party. I just... I can't stand being around them, watching them acting like they're this perfect couple, while in reality, their relationship is disastrous. It's coming to an end. So why don't they just get divorce and get over with it? I hate seeing them faking their relationship in front of many people just to please those people."

I nodded, understanding the situation. "Do you really have to go?"

He heaved another sigh. "Unfortunately, I do. My parents will get extremely mad at me if I don't show up. It's an important event for them to show a good image to the public. For their expanding companies and restaurants. I will be a disgrace to them if I, as their son, don't show up on their anniversary."

I bit my lips, trying to think of a solution to his problem. 

I'm totally gonna regret this.

"Will it make you feel better if I come along with you?"

His face lighted up a little. "Really? You will do that for me?"

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Probably?"

"Thank you, Rose. That means a lot to me." His posture began to relax, a smile plastered on his face displaying his cute dimples. And soon after that, he returned to his normal euphoric self.

Little did I know that something big would happen at the party, or else I wouldn't have gone there at all.

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So... what do you think will happen at the party? What's the 'big' thing? Sorry, I can't give out any spoilers. Go find it out yourself on the next chapter!

xx,
Tris.