Anya was dumbstruck. She gaped at Zayan as he approached them with a slight smile on his face.

He looked just like he had two years ago- except, not quite. He was still essentially Zayan, with the same superior smile that she had at first found annoying but had grown to love. But time- and puberty, of course, she thought- had done wonders to him. He wasn't just cute anymore, and she wondered idly if she would get some serious burns from all the hotness if she touched him. She would even go as far as to say that he was as hot as Aiden. He was taller- almost two heads taller than her; she cringed, feeling like a pixie in comparison- and leaner. His hair was ruffled, making him look ten times cuter. His chocolate brown eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered... and they were trained right on her.

Gulping, she shook herself out of her daze and struggled to speak. Before she could say anything, though, he had already turned to Kaira. "Hey, my mum was looking for you. Some sort of cake emergency."

"Damn," Kaira muttered under her breath, and flounced off to find Mrs. Mehra after quickly waving goodbye.

Zayan's eyes flitted back to her, and he looked as though he wanted to say something to her. But she never found out what it was, because they were interrupted again as a chirpy voice called out, "Oh my, look who it is!"

Anya turned to see Nikki bounding over, and hardly got a good look at her before the other girl threw her arms around her, squealing in excitement.

"I've missed you so much, An!" Nikki said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in Anya's shoulder.

She finally stepped back, a broad smile on her face. "I can't believe you're finally back!" She beamed.

"Wow, you look... different," Anya stammered.

She definitely did. When Anya had visited them two years ago, Nikki had been a crazy but simple girl. Her dark hair- which was incidentally the same shade as Zayan's- had been long and straight. She had looked pretty, but wasn't really noticeable. She hadn't minded it, though, because her vivacious personality had made up for her simple looks.

But now, nobody could mistake her for a plain, sweet girl. She had changed her hair to match her personality. It was cropped short, reaching upto just above her shoulders, and streaked with pink. Her bangs almost hung in her eyes, and she reached up to impatiently push them out of the way as she smiled. When she did this, Anya noticed a simple tattoo of a crown on her wrist.

"I still have a hard time believing that mum actually let me cut my hair so short. Although I definitely can't forget all that effort and pleading I put in before she agreed," Nikki shuddered, probably reliving the experience of having to convince her mother that cutting her hair wasn't a bad idea.

Anya laughed as an image of Nikki on her knees as she begged the ever-stern Mrs. Mehra to let her change her look from girl-next-door to rock princess floated up into her mind.

"I honestly thought mum was going to have a heart attack when you showed her those pictures of the kind of haircut you wanted," Zayan cut in, chuckling softly.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad," Nikki scowled at him. "It's not like I was asking her to let me go bald or anything, Zee."

"Don't call me 'Zee'," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Fine," Nikki retorted. "Well, it really wasn't that bad."

"Really?" He mocked, "I don't think so. 'But mum, it's not like I'm saying I want to cut off my right hand! But mummy, pleeease? Pretty please? Pretty please with-'"

Nikki slapped the back of his head, making him splutter.

"I do not sound like that," she said angrily.

"Like what?" Zayan was clearly enjoying this.

"Like- like- like I'm some kind of delicate chipmunk princess on helium!"

"Chipmunk princess?" Anya burst into laughter, gasping for breath as she clutched at her side.

"Anyway, you're just jealous that mum always lets me have my way in the end, Zee," Nikki said, sticking her tongue out at her brother. She ruffled her hair and added, "Although I did have to settle for the next best thing when what I really wanted was to get a full-blown pixie cut."

Zayan tried to look indignant at her offhand comment about him being jealous, but smiled despite himself.

He looked at her then- really looked at her. She felt a blush working it's way up to her cheeks as she stared into his eyes. They looked so amazing. It was like staring into a pool of melted chocolate-

Wait, what? Why was she thinking about how great his eyes looked?

Get a grip, Anya. You can't go about admiring his looks. You're supposed to be mad at him and hate him, remember?

The thought jerked her back to cruel reality.

Dizziness washed over her and her breath started coming out in short pants, like she couldn't get enough air.

She needed to get out of there.

Murmuring an apology, she excused herself and walked away quickly till she was sure she was far enough. She counted to ten and let her heart fall back to it's normal pace.

What exactly had just happened?

Maybe it was the brutal truth that had felt like a slap in the face to her. She was here, but that didn't change the fact that Zayan still had a girlfriend, and that he had said he regretted kissing her.

Clueless about what to do next, she whipped out her phone and punched in a number that she had memorized years ago.

After three rings, someone finally picked up, sounding confused. "Hello?"

"Faith. It's me."

Her best friend instantly relaxed as she recognized Anya's voice, but her voice still held a tinge of bewilderment. "What happened to your phone?"

"Oh, are you talking about the unfamiliar number? It's the one I have to use while I'm in India."

"Right, you told me about that," Faith realized. Anya heard a faint sound at the other end of the line. Had Faith smacked her palm to her forehead? The thought crossed her mind with some amusement.

"Well, I called because I'm sort of having a mental breakdown and you're the only one who can help me."

"Because I'm so wise and helpful?" Faith sounded smug.

"No, because you have a lot of experience with having mental breakdowns yourself."

"Hey!"

Anya laughed, then spoke somewhat hesitantly, "Sorry. Anyway, you won't believe who's here."

Faith squealed. "Beyoncé?"

Anya sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, you weirdo."

"Oh," Faith sulked. "Is it atleast Eminem?"

"What?" Anya was baffled. "Why on earth would Eminem be here?"

"Well, if Beyoncé can be there then I'm sure Eminem can be there too," Faith pointed out.

"Yeah, but Beyoncé isn't here, so don't get your hopes up."

"Okay, okay. So who are you talking about?"

"Well... i-it's Zayan."

All of a sudden Faith seemed to become really interested, and Anya could imagine her sitting up straighter with anticipation.

"Did you punch him in the face?" The other girl asked eagerly.

"Uhh... no."

"Why not?!"

Anya let out a long breath. "It's complicated."

"I've got time."

"It's hard to be mad at him when I'm still in love with him."

Faith squealed. "You didn't tell me that you love him before!"

"Well, I didn't know myself until I met him again. Oh, and there's another problem."

"You mean another reason why you can't bring yourself to punch the jerk?"

"Well, yeah."

"Does he have a bodyguard or something? Or is it his sister? Is she really protective or something?"

"Nikki?" Anya giggled. "No, she'd gladly punch him herself if she could." She inhaled sharply, then said, "Well, he's sort of... hot now."

Faith squealed again. "Are you serious? How hot?" She asked gleefully.

"Pretty hot, Faith."

"One a scale of one to Zac Efron?"

"I'd probably say... Aiden Clearwater."

"Whoa, really?" Faith's voice held awe. "Go for it, An. I give you my blessing."

"It's not that simple," she hissed. "He has a girlfriend, remember?"

"Oh. I guess all you can do is pine for him, then," Faith said sympathetically.

"Yeah, thanks for the wonderful advice," Anya rolled her eyes. "I need to know how to behave like a sane person when he's around."

"This is so exciting! It's like you having a crush on Alex Newman in middle school all over again. I mean, I know you went out with Aiden a couple of times, but I didn't really get the feeling that you were crazy for him or anything. I think you sh- hold on a second."

Anya faintly heard Mrs. Hamilton yelling something in the background. A few seconds later, Faith was back. "I'm sorry, I've got to run. I'll call you later?"

"Okay. Bye."

Anya disconnected the call and sighed. She glanced up, and only then did she realize that it was probably quite late.

As she made her way back, she could only hope that her feelings for Zayan would eventually fade. She didn't want to end this trip the way it had the last time.

Hey guys! WE GOT TO #84 ON THE WHAT'S HOT LIST!! *celebratory dance*

Thank you guys so so so much for all the reads and votes. I hope you vote on this chapter and continue to read ahead, I promise you won't be disappointed :)

Also, sorry that this was one of those chapters where nothing really happens :( but believe me, it was necessary for character development

Anyway! I'll leave you guys with a question:
If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Much love,
C&C xx