"Life is strange, right?"
Amaira whispered.

"Very."

"It makes you meet the weirdest of people and do the randomest of things."

"Hey! I'm not the one you're talking about, right?" Justin teased Amaira in a playful manner.

"Maybe you are or Maybe you are not."

She stuck her tongue out at him, continuing with his playful mood.

"That's pretty vague of an answer."

"Well, Life is vague."

Justin raised his eyebrows as if saying 'Oh yeah?' and she nodded her head in response.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she said-

"I was kidding. You are pretty much the sanest person I've come across. You kept me grounded, otherwise I'd have lost my sanity A long time back."

"You've been here for what, Five days? and you go all philosophical on Me?" Justin said, slightly blushing at the compliment and making the playful mood come back.

"Well, That is another one of my hidden attributes." She said, pretending to flip her hair dramatically, but failing misearably.

Justin let out a slow chuckle at Amaira's antics and continued the conversation.

"Ahan! So what all is there to Ms. Amaira Raichand that the world is unaware of?"

"Well well, -- That's for me to know and you to figure out."

He was silent for a minute and then let out a hearty laughter.

"I can't believe you just went cheesy on me." He fake gagged just for the effect.

She hit him on his arm, stuck out her tongue at him once again, and said

"What's wrong with cheesy? I love cheesy."

"And what about cliches?"

"I am a die hard fan of cliches." She said pausing at every word, for extra effect.

Amaira and Justin were having a playful conversation between them, when Chase passes by them. Their backs were turned to him, and hence, they couldn't notice his presence behind them.

He scrutunized the scene in front of his eyes, and unintentionally, his hands ball by his sides and his gaze throws daggers to the two people in front on him.

He looks behind him, and finds one of his friends passing by.

"Shane!" The guy turns around and yells

"Yeah?"

"Come here, Will ya?"

He jogs towards Chase and comes to stand in front of him

"I need you to Go and Tell Justin that Mr. Daniels would like to see him right now.."

"Um Why don't you do that yourself?"

"Does it look like I'll answer your question?"

Chase takes a deep breath, shakes his head and says

"Just do as I said!"

Shane, obviously being scared, of Chase's pissed off state, decides not to question him any further, and walks off to where Justin and Amaira were sitting, on the bench.

Chase, stares at the three of them from behind and notices Shane telling Justin whatever he had asked him to. Justin turns towards Amaira and says something to her, after which he turns and Leaves, and so Does Shane.

"So, you can laugh and Joke around with him, but when I am around, All I make you do is Cry?"

Amaira visibly stiffened on hearing Chase's voice behind her back. She closed her eyes, and tried to regain her composure. She made a movement to pick up her bag and leave, deciding to ignore Chase's presence.

As she had just taken two steps ahead, Chase was fast to stop her in her tracks and came to stand in front of her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She decided to keep her mouth shut and give him the silent treatment.

Unable to control his anger any further, he held onto her arms tightly, and shook her

" Answer Me, Dammit!"

She still didn't open her mouth to say anything, but felt the pain from his hold on her arms. Her eyes were focused on the ground, refusing to look into his hazel ones.

"Open your fucking mouth amaira And Answer Me!"

"Stop Chase"

She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

His eyes got filled with confusion. She lifted her head, and while looking into his eyes said

"You're hurting Me."

When he didn't make a move, she pointed towards her arms with her chin. Immediately, his grip on her loosened and he stared at her with wide eyes.

There were marks on her skin, where his fingers had been. Apparently, his hold on her had been way too tight.

His gaze flickered from her arms to her face where tears were starting to build in her eyes and he visibly gulped.

He closes his eyes, and runs a hand through his hair, pulling at the roots.

"Fuck!"

"Dammit. Fuck Fuck Fuck."

He continued to mutter profanities under his breath while staring at her tear filled eyes and the way she was gently rubbing her fingers over the marks he had left on her.

"I am sorry, Amaira. I swear, I didn't mean to do that. "

"I am really sorry. Damn! I am such an idiot."

"That's what It always comes down to right?" She said, in a low voice, such that Chase wasn't sure he had heard her.

But as he looked up to stare at her face, he noticed how tired she looked. He realised, how much he had hurt her in just a few days. There were bags under her eyes, which she had tried to conceal but hadn't been completely successful in doing that. Her eyes were swollen, probably, from crying overnight.

A few tears had managed to escape, as she had uttered her last sentence.

He took a few steps towards her, and came to stand right in front of her. She wasn't meeting his gaze and her eyes were fixed on the ground.

Chase lifted her chin with his fingers and made her look at him as he said

"I am sorry, baby."

He Looked Panicked for a second, at his slip of tongue, before he changed his words to

"I mean,..I am sorry Amaira."

And with his thumbs, wiped the tears that were pouring from her eyes.

"Why do you do this to me?" She said.

"Do what?"

"One moment, you're this sweet guy and funny guy, The next you're this big asshole and jerk who kisses me and calls it a mistake." She shut her eyes tightly, as if the scene from last night was replaying right in front of her eyes.

And as she opened them, she looked right into his eyes, as she whispered

"Why?"

He didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"I want to be the one who makes you smile like that. I don't want to make you cry Amaira. Not now, Not ever. Everytime I see those tears building up in your eyes, It kills me. And all I do, is Make you go through loads of pain and suffering. I don't know what I feel for you. Just that, Everytime you're around me, I want to wrap my arms around your waist, and hug you tight, and kiss you senseless. I want to make you mine. And this feeling? It scares the shit out of me. "

The feeling of speechlessness engulfed Amaira from all sides. She couldn't believe that Chase had just been so upfront about his feelings. And Involuntarily, There was a smile, that grazed her face, and she tried hiding from him, as he called her 'baby'.
---------
So, An Update After Almost 2 months :P
Probably, All of my readers Might have Left. College Life is hectic Man. :/
Anyway, To those who have stuck around?
I love you Guys, Okay? :)
Happy Reading!
-Kanupriya (: