Elio saved the boy from my clutches by pulling me apart from him harshly, as I was too frozen to do it myself.

I had jumped the wrong guy? How? This guy looked like Elio from behind! Oh my God. I AM SCREWED.

I landed on my butt and looked at the panicking boy with eyes as large as headlights. From behind me stood Elio, looking every bit of raged and shocked I've ever seen him be. "Elara, what have you done?!"

I was at a loss for words as the boy who I had jumped on bowed over the fountain to retrieve his phone, while people around us stopped to be entertained by the scene; taking videos and pictures, commenting about it with each other, some observing silently but watching me judgmentally. Even the people from the upper floors stopped and bent over to witness the scene!

The embarrassment was killing me.

Elio joined the boy to help him recover his phone which was dripping wet between his fingers. I got up on shaky legs, my heartbeat thudding onto my ears as I peeked over Elio to see that the other boy was busy trying to turn his phone on, with an expression of utter distraught on his face. I bit my lip and offered him my handkerchief, to which he grabbed without looking at me. He began to urgently wipe the phone dry. "Thank y-" the boy started to say before stopping midway after he saw who I was.

"YOU!"

I gulped and hid behind Elio, using him as a shield.

"YOU DID THIS!" The boy slapped my handkerchief on the ground and gritted his teeth, trying to make his way towards me. Elio held his hands up, "Look bro, we can solve this without any fights-"

"Excuse me? This crazy girl jumped on me out of nowhere! She sent my phone flying into the pond!" the boy cried, wagging his dead phone in our direction to emphasize his point. "I am so sorry!" I apologized sincerely from my heart, hoping it could cut me some slack. But the boy did not fall into my puppy eyes, instead, his eyes burnt intently with the promise of murder.

"You better do something about my phone!" he complained out loud and the kids around him jolted, running away to their mothers. "I can p-pay for the repairs," I gambled, knowing damn that well that I was broke, and that my mother would give me a whooping that would last me a lifetime.

"Huh? Do you think that's enough? You will have to buy me a new one if it is dead for good!"

The buzzes of the onlookers filled the air as they watched everything unfold in front of their inquisitive eyes.

"I can't buy a new one! You could barely buy anything even if I sold myself!" I rebuked back, my grip tightening on Elio's shoulder as the other boy growled lowly from the back of his throat. His blue eyes wandered to the audience before he sighed out loud, "My poor father worked day and night to afford this phone! Oh, what might become of his sick heart if I tell him that his blood, sweat and tears were washed down the drain because of a dumb mishap!"

The murmurs of the bystanders increased as they looked down at me one by one, making me feel like a mouse trapped in the middle of a ring of stray cats. "Listen, why don't we take this outside?" Elio tried to reason, his green orbs colouring with worry and alarm. "No, I want to finish this right here, right now," the boy finalizes stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Listen," I stood by Elio's side, "I can leave you with my phone number, okay? Give me your phone, I can promise you that I can get it fixed." Oh, I pray to all Gods from all religions. I hope I don't have to buy him a new phone!

"Yeah? I don't believe you," the boy said and Elio appeared with a pen and paper. "I am Elio, and this is Elara. Our phone numbers are both written here. We can take responsibility for this without escalating this further, can't we?"

The boy picked it, contemplating our words as he stared at the numbers. "How do I know that this is not fake?"

Oh, for God's sake!

I jutted out my phone towards him, "Here, dial Elio's number and confirm for yourself."

The boy suspiciously took my phone and dialled the number on the paper. A satisfactory smirk graced our faces when Elio's ringing tone played. The boy huffed and pocketed the paper. "I'm Kael. You better fix this phone, soon. Or you will not like the consequences."

He gave us his mother's number, unhappy that he couldn't remember his best friends' numbers instead. With a fleeting look at us, he left the area through the dispersing crowd, leaving me to face the wrath of Elio.

He turned back to me with an emotionless face that had me feeling like I was staring into an abyss. "Listen, both of you looked exactly the same! With the black curls and wide shoulders and your tall structure...you have to admit!" I explained quickly, desperately trying to make him see my point of view.

Elio sighed tiredly and sat on the edge of the fountain, "Yeah, I can understand that. His body may be structured like mine but our appearances are not the same!"

Of course, their faces did not look alike, but the back view was what made me get into trouble. I clutched Kael's phone in my hand and pouted. I really hoped that it could get fixed! I'll lose all my money with this.

"Let's talk about this later. It's your fault I had to come here anyway. Let's get it over with already," I mumbled, not wanting to share the burden with myself alone. "Huh, don't try to shift the blame on me! But you are right. We need to do what we came here for first. Tomorrow is Lyn's birthday, but I have no clue what to buy for her!"

"What took you so long to buy her a gift? Her party is tomorrow!" I exclaimed as we started to wander around the mall.

"I was working part-time to find money to buy her a gift. I was so determined to earn that money that I forgot my real purpose!" he said, making me burst out laughing. "You are such a scatterbrain," I commented. "Hey, now that I think about it, didn't Lyn want the latest LV handbag?"

Elio clicked his fingers together, "You are right! I remember her saying that she wanted the latest version of it! Yes! This is why I needed you here with me, Elara!"

"Buy me ice cream in return," I gloated as we made our way to the LV store. "By the way, you know that it is going to be very expensive, don't you?"

Elio let out a deep exhale as we got on the escalator. "I know. But if it is for Lyn, I can afford to buy her anything in order to make her happy."

A smile grazed my lips at the love-struck expression my best friend was wearing. "You are making me feel very single. You guys are the cutest and most wholesome couple I have ever seen and she'll be happy just to see you attend her party."

Elio rubbed his nape in embarrassment and shrugged nonchalantly. Soon enough, we stood in front of the LV store which flaunted its items in grandeur, making my breathing stop as I greedily took in everything. "Come on, show me where that bag is!" Elio demanded impatiently. We navigated the store until I saw the sparkly handbag glimmering proudly under the spotlight, immediately setting me into a trance. The bag was peach pink with small pearls bordering its edges gracefully and I couldn't take my eyes away from it for a second. Oh, it would fit Lyn the best!

But it was the only bag left.

"Elio! You lucky poodle! It is the last one!"

The grin that enveloped his features could rival the shine of the items emitted at the LV store altogether. He set off towards the bag with a skip and reached out for it. Just as he caught hold of it, another hand landed over the glistening surface of the latest VT bag.

My smile dropped when Elio came face to face with none other than Kael himself.