WARNING THIS CHAPTER IS KIND OF LIKE A FILLER AND I REALLY, REALLY HATE THIS ONE.

"Miss Wilson?"

I jerk out of my reverie and look at the counsellor in front of me.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"You seemed to have drifted off."

"Yeah she does that." Natalie snorts,"Must be fascinating in that head of hers."

"Well at least I have something in my head, I wish you could say the same." I reply drily.

She simply rolls her eyes.

"So you girls have issues, huh?" The counsellor asks.

Yeah, no shit.

"Look Mrs Sawy-"

"Please call me Sarah." She interrupts and Natalie nods.

"Can we please get on with this?" Natalie asks,"I have cheerleading practice."

Sarah raises an eyebrow,"As far as I know you've been suspended off the squad."

"Look. I'm the captain Melanie can't do anything." Natalie starts an I snort.

"You're just terrified that Melanie will replace you and your social status will go down drastically." I say.

"Puhleese I'm Natalie Anderson." He says and I roll my eyes.

"And I'm Clara Wilson." I reply,"What's your point?"

"My point is that fuck off."

I roll my eyes and mutter,"And my IQ points just dropped by a hundred."

"Miss Wilson if you're done." Our counsellor says,"So let's start at the beginning shall we? Clara can you tell me one thing that you hate about Natalie and a reason for it?"

Where do I even begin?

"She did get a bucket of oil paint thrown at me." I say,"In front of the entire school. When I was being asked out, on my birthday- Do you want more reasons?"

She shakes her head,"So far so obvious, Natalie what about you?"

"We'll for starters she's a boyfriend stealing whore."

I roll my eyes,"That's real rich coming from you. You're the one who stole him in the first place."

Natalie turns to me,"As far as I can see he was my boyfriend at the start of the year. Then he dumped me, for you. Again. So tell me how so you are not a boyfriend stealing whore?"

"Well you were the one who started dating him the first time just I throw it at my face. You almost did as well as my sister I'll give you that." I state drily.

"I actually like him unlike her." Natalie mutters.

"And when did this happen?" I ask,"Magically when you stopped being friends with me? Magically when you knew for just how long I've liked him?"

"Oh please at least I'm not using him as a rebound." She says.

"I'm not-"

"Oh really? I heard that you practically marathoned out of the chem lab when Jake came back." She says.

I resist the urge to choke her. But the worst part was that she was hundred percent right about the running out of the chemistry lab like my life depended on it.

At first I thought I had inhaled some fumes or something which was why I was hallucinating him and I looked away for a second, and then I looked back.

And he was still there.

And he was still looking at me.

And then I looked at Alec.

And then I ran out, mumbling something about third degree burns. I went to the third floor bathroom a place almost nobody came to and just stood in front of the mirror looking at my reflection which looked like I had just seen a ghost.

After that I just bunked the rest of chemisty telling myself to stop over reacting. So what he if was back? When the bell finally rang, I was in full mood to run out of school, Ussain Bolt style but then I realised that not only did I have to go to counselling but Alec was ride home and he had football practice.

"I just dropped something." I say giving my pathetic excuse,"I had to wash it off. And honestly but out of my life. It non of your flipping concern, after all you don't see me around asking who your newsy duck buddy is now do you?"

She snorts,"Is that what-"

"Okay girls that's enough." Sarah finally interrupts and Natalie huffs.

"So that two minute conversation between you told me that we have a long way to go." She says,"So Natalie please tell Clara what you would like her to stop doing."

"Fine." Natalie says,"I'd like Clara to stop pretending that she is a holier than thou good girl who has never done anything wrong."

"Okay." Sarah says,"And Clara?"

I keep my mouth shut.

She raises an eyebrow,"Do you have nothing to say to her?"

"I just want her to leave me alone."I say,"We both don't talk. We are not friends. And I have nothing against her as long as she keeps away from me and minds her own buisness."

"Well then stop going out with Alec." She says.

"For the billionth time Natalie, Alec asked me." I say,"He dumped you not me. I never asked him to dump you-"

"Hold up girls." And for some reason we both shut up as she looks at us curiously,"So this is about a guy?"

She says slowly.

"Yes."

"No."

I look at Natalie raising an eyebrow,"It's not about Alec?"

"Well that's just part of the problem." She snarks,"My main problem is that your a condescending little goody two shoes who is actually a two faced bitch."

Michella and Natalie should get married.

"Goody two shoes?" My voice rises,"Look Natalie I don't know what you've been getting high on and frankly I don't care less, but let's get one thing straight, lay off."

"Is that a threat?"

I throw back the line she had said to me right before she had impeded paint all over me,"We used to be friends figure it out."

"Well the Clara I knew couldn't say boo to a cat."

"Don't pretend you knew me." I say seething and Natalie is red,"Let's face it if we really were friends then-"

"I don't know what was going through my head being friends with you." She says,"Forget good girl you are a good for nothing bitch."

"Well I'm not the one who dumped paint-"

"I'm not the one who stood on the cafeteria table and practically announced that I had-"

"In my defence I never said you had it. I just told the truth-"

"Yeah well you sure as hell implied it. As if it's not enough for you to take Alec-"

"He is not your property." I say exasperated,"Just because he dated you for god knows what reason-"

"Stop acting like your innocent!" She bursts and I shut up.

We both sit there quietly and the counsellor finally speaks up,"You two used to be friends back in middle school, what happened?"

We both keep quiet.

"Look you guys need to co-operate or else your parents will get involved."

Natalie rolls her eyes,"Well best of luck getting her parents here, they-"

I throw a glare her way that even makes her stop. Even she can't go that low.

But I was wrong.

"-would probably just put you on hold and ask, Clara who?"

I shut my eyes clenching my fist. I let go of a long breath and look ahead. The counsellor stares at me and I look back with a steady gaze.

Sarah looks at me curiously and then at Natalie before finally saying,"Well that's enough for today."

"You two clearly need to start talking about your issues which you clearly have a whole lot of." She continues,"I want you to make a list of everything that you bothers you about the person siting next to you."

This sounds like couples therapy.

Natalie raises an eyebrow,"So this what are counselling will consist of? Yelling at each other and making lists?"

Sarah shrugs,"Yes for now. I'm letting you go now. Unless you want I start talking about your feelings-"

I'm out of the office before she completes the sentence and Natalie is right on my heels.

"You need to watch it."

I turn around. I had always been taller than Natalie and right now it felt good to tower over her despite her heels.

"I will bury you." I seethe,"Do not mess with me Natalie, you don't know me at all. So don't even try to take me on because I've kept truce all this while trust me you will go running away when I start fighting."

She smirks,"You could never take me on. What makes you think you could take me on?"

"Because I'm over being scared of you." I say,"When I realised just what a pathetic loser you are an in the end all you that going to be on your wall of achievements is the guys who you nailed and the fact that you were some wannabe cheerleader in high school. That all you're going to be Natalie, the has been."

"And what's going to be on yours?" She throws back," The fact that you are a lonely girl who nobody cares about , the one who will always be second to her sister, a nobody to her parents. Even Jake tossed you aside like last years trash. You are the one who is pathetic Clara."

"All you can do is cling on to Alec with all you've got hoping that you don't drown and you just can't let go of him can you?" She says,"You're scared that if you do then you are going to drown and nobody is going to care enough to save you."

She takes a step closer but I stand my ground as my mind is trying to soak the impact of the words she's saying.

"Don't mess with me Clara." She says,"I let you easy with the oil paint because you know that cutsie little crew you have of yours? The black haired one whose been at it with Jeremy? I will make sure that they run away from you and never look back.And when I snatch Alec back I'll make sure that he abandons ship like Jake did. And let me tell you I will make sure you sink like a rock with no one there to care enough to save you."

"I'd save her."

Natalie's eyes widen and my breath hitches and my hands go cold. I feel like I've been hit by a bus and I can't get myself to think.

I glance at Jake standing in the hallway in his football gear and I immediately look away.

No, no, no. Please don't.

"Besides I think she can swim pretty well Natalie." He says his voice is amused,"So she's going to be just fine, pity I can't say the same about you."

Natalie smirks,"Is that why you threw her away her like trash? We all know that you dumped on her ass and frankly I don't blame you. My advice babe, you run away before this one blows up."

His eyes meet mine for a second almost surprised but he regains his cool,"For your information Natalie, she dumped me. And for your information babe I don't take advice from girls who get their little egos boosted by putting other people down, especially people I ca-"

He catches himself right on time.

"Leave Natalie or so help me god I'll make sure that I screw up your nose job even more before." He regards her coldly.

"You're not supposed to hit a girl." She says looking a bit shocked.

"You're not one." I deadpan,"Just because some fake boobs on you does-"

Natalie more or less pounces on me but Jake is quicker and stands in front of me.

"I wouldn't do that." He says and Natalie seethes with anger.

She glares at me her eyes burning a hole into mine and I look back amused.

"Game on. I'd watch my back if I were you."

And with that she turns and leaves her high heels echoing through the empty hallway.

"Are you alright?"

His tone gives nothing away and it's casual as if he's asking a perfectly normal question to a friend.

I had pictured this in my head. A billion times when he had left me, what I would do if he came back. But now faced with the chance I was left paralysed.

What could I do?

Tell him to go fuck off and stop messing with my life?

To give him a standing ovation for successfully shattering my heart into the tiniest bits possible.

Or just forgive him for everything?

"I'm fine."

My voice is surprisingly sturdy considering everything. For some reason I can't get my gaze off the polished floor and get myself to look at him and say what I want to. To say something, anything. To ask him why he is back, why he just told Natalie what he did and why he cared.

My mind went blank as if it had just fused out. There is a limit to how much a person can take and I had reached mine long back when it came to things regarding Jake Henderson.

"Okay." He says.

I keep staring at the ground as his footsteps fade away. I finally manage to look up in the end knowing he's long gone.

In more ways than one.

____________________

I manage to get myself together in under two minutes. Although Natalie's words hurt they made me angry.

Mostly because it was all fucking true.

Game on, bitch. You messed with the wrong version of Clara Wilson.

It would have probably effected me more had it not been for Jake. No matter how much I tried I couldn't get his words out of my head. As much as I tried to divert my attention to the impending war that Natalie had just declared on me my mind kept on going back to him.

I'd save her.

She dumped me.

It was nagging me. As much as I tried to tell myself otherwise it was killing me as to how he could treat me like some acquaintance, a friend so casually without betraying a single emotion.

That's not my problem.

Then why in gods name are you making it yours?

She dumped me.

People I ca-

I shake my head.

It's not my problem, either anymore.

I curse myself for thinking so hard about him. There was no point after all. But still my mind kept going back to him, questioning as to why he had come back. Part of me I knew hoped that it was for me, but the other part of me the more dominant one buried that thought as deep as it could.

I was moving on, correction I had moved on. I was happy with Alec and whatever I had with Jake was just not my problem anymore.

I make my way towards the football field slowly contemplating as to wether I should actually wait or just walk to town and catch a bus from there. In the end I shake my head and tell myself to man up.

A practice match was going on and all the footballers were well into the match. According to my watch practice would end over in about twenty minutes max which I could easily wait out.

I spot Alec's number 9 jersey number far off on the other side of the field and think against waving. I take out my chemistry book and start working on my extra credit since clearly my chemistry marks were going to be stellar after my mishap.

Luckily before I dropped everything Alec had noted down enough to give me a passing grade and all I needed to do was do some, okay maybe a lot of extra credit work to bring up my grade and maintain my GPA.

I start solving the equations going through it as methodically as I can, although it's hard concentrating in the cold as well with all the noise coming from the cheerleaders but I carry on.

Why was he back?

The pen involuntary jerks in my hand.I curse because I just ruined one of my equations.

My mind flickers back to the hallway.

I'd save her.

The irony of that sentence is not lost on me.

Let it go, Clara. Let it go.

Yeah you wish you were as cool as Elsa.

This is ridiculous Clara. You're acting like the world has ended just because some boy has come back. Stop acting like one of those airhead girls. So what if he's back?

It's not like you're going to become buddies again, you're dating Alec and you're happy. You're with the-

"Look out!"

I duck just in time to see the football pass over my head missing me by a couple of inches.

That did not look like an accident.

"Oi Kevin!" One of the boys yell,"Watch where you're throwing."

I narrow my eyes at Kevin who currently raises his hand and yells,"Sorry!"

But he doesn't look sorry at all as he smirks in the direction of the boy in the number five jersey.

Jake.

I turn my gaze away from Jake trying not to overthink things and focus it back on Alec who just called a break and is heading in my direction.

Jake is the past. Alec is right now.

I smile and I can feel my mind getting lighter as Alec takes the seat beside me.

"Hi."

It takes me all my willpower not to throw my arm around him and just thank him for being there.

And being normal.

Well most of the times.

"I'm so sorry you have to wait." He says siting next to me,"It must be a nightmare."

I roll my eyes unable to keep the smile off my face,"I'm fine. Besides it's fun to see you play."

He raises an eyebrow,"You hate football."

I shrug,"Doesn't mean I can't start to like it for you."

He smiles.

"What's Kevin doing on the team?" I ask trying to sound nonchalant.

"Long story but he's good and we need him, his aim doesn't slip like that often."

Or he was aiming at me.

My mind flickers back to several months ago when Jake had picked fight with Kevin. I try to grasp onto something a faint memory of Kevin somewhere but it disappears as soon as it comes.

I glance at the field where Jake is standing. His eyes meet mine for the tiniest bit of a second but then he immediately looks away. I feel a brief pang of hope as well as hurt but I bury it as quickly as it appears.

He was not worth it.

I tear my gaze back at Alec as he sighs,"I was about to tell you that he was-"

"I know, but I said no bad news." I interrupt," I just wish that if you had told me earlier out chemistry grade wouldn't be in jeopardy."

He smiles,"Don't worry about that. Mrs Yetern will let us make it up. God help it if she fails you, the grade point average of our entire batch will come crashing down."

I find myself laughing at that.

"Jake told me about Natalie." He says slowly and I look at him surprised.

"Jake?" I ask just to be sure. His name feels like sandpaper in my mouth and I almost have to choke it to get it out.

"Yeah." Alec says,"I know weird. But that's not the point. The point is that are you alright?"

Was I?

I give him a smile and look at him earnestly as I say,"I'm a whole lot better now."

He looks away, his green eyes filled with guilt,"I'm sorry this is happen-"

"Don't even think it's your fault." I interrupt.

"But it is." He says,"If I-"

I shut him up with a peck on his cheek. For a second my gaze diverts to Jake and then i almost immediately look away.

"No apologies." I say,"Because it's not your fault and neither is she worth it."

"Natalie is going to be put in her place one of these days."He says fiercely and I smile.

"I know." I say,"But for now let's not waste a second on her."

"I love you, Clara Wilson." He says,"I hope you know that."

"I won't forget as long as you're there to remind me everyday."

He grins,"Good. That's the plan. And don't worry about chemistry you'll do just fine the next time."

I roll my eyes at that and he gives me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Gotta go."

"Hey Alec?"

He stops and turns around looking at me expectantly.

"You do know um- that um." I fiddle with my fingers trying to form a sentence,"That the fact that he's back changes nothing right?"

He strides back towards me and gives me a good long kiss, one that I can feel up to ,my toes.

Jeremy whistles and I pull away red with embarrassment.

Alec grins,"I know Clara. Why would it?"

I stare after him very pointedly trying to ignore this empty pit in my stomach.

It doesn't change a thing.